1840.] On the Creed, Customs and Literature of the Jangams, 171 



On the Prayers used. 



The prayers of the Jangams are addressed to the image they wear: 

 which they salute as Basavesa. 



The mantras or prayers are borrowed from the Vedas : but they do 

 not practise the (anushtha'nam) " mode" practised by Bramins. 



The daily prayers usually are in the mother tongue. Occasionally 

 they use a Sanscrit canticle: as the following, borrowed from Sancar 



ACHARI : — 



Andydsena maranam; vind dainyena jivanam ; 

 Dehdnte mama sdyujyam curushiod Parameswara ! 

 " O supreme Lord, grant me an easy death, a life free from poverty^ 

 and eternal happiness* when I leave the body!" 



Or they offer hymns of praise as the following, which is written in 

 the common metre called Malini. The metre iis broken in the fourth 

 line; and though it might easily be rectified, they leave it as it is, the 

 words being sacred : — 



Nayana eamala madhye, jyoti rupa pracasam, 

 Pran'ava maya sabindum, pran'a-linga swarupam I 

 Vihata janana pas'am, vighna vich-ch-heda hetum 

 Hara hara Guru santam OM nam as Siva'ya Lingam I 



Blessed image I meditate on Thee who dwellest between my eyes, 

 " in glorious form! who art the word and the sign, f the supreme being! 

 " Free me from the ties of the flesh thou who loosest every bond ! 

 O Teacher thrice blessed!" 



Among Bramins the great mantra is the Gayatri. This is used by 

 the Aradhyas but the Jangams reject it, and use i}\Q Panch-dxari, or 

 five-syllabled spell adding the shad-axari ; or spell of six syllables ; 

 i. e, the Panch-axari with the addition of the word OM. 



A celebrated verse says : 

 Veda matdcha Gayatri, mantra mdtrd shad axari. 



Accordingly in rejecting the Gayatri they reject the Vedas, the Panch= 

 axari or five syllabled spell, is Namasivdya'^ or glory be to God. If the 

 syllable om (like Amen) be prefixed om Nama Sivaya," then it is 

 called shad-axari or six syllabled. 



* Literally Ideniificalion. The Saiva creed describes eternal happiness as consisting 

 in four (padavi) points: denominated 1, sdlokiam, 2, sdmipiam, 3, sdrupiam, and 4, 

 sdyujiam. That is, 1 dwelling in heaven, 2 in the very presence of God, 3 bearing his 

 ima^e, and 4 becoming one with him. 



+ Here, as in a former verse, the Sanscrit scholar will wjt exact a more rigid translation 

 as that would require explanatory notes, and render the subject more tedious. 



