1884.] 
of Beligion in the Himalaya. 
55 
Gosdins .—The Grosains* founded by S'ankara ;:^cliarya are still a 
powerful body in these hills. S'ankara Acharya had four principal dis¬ 
ciples who are usually named Padmapada, Hastamalaka, Suresvara or 
Mandana, and Trotaka. Of these the first had two pupils, Tirtha and 
Asrama ; the second had also two, Vana and Aranya ; the third had three, 
Sarasvati, Puri and Bharati, and the fourth had three, Gir or Giri, Par- 
vata and Sagara. These pupils became the heads of the order of Dasa- 
nami Dan dins or ‘ ten-named mendicants,’ and any one joining the fra¬ 
ternity adopts one of the names. Formerly all supported themselves by 
alms and were celibates. I^ow some have married and become house¬ 
holders or have taken to trade or arms as a profession and are not ac¬ 
knowledged as brethren except perhaps in western India. The Gosains 
proper are called Dan dins from the clanda or staff carried by them in 
their travels. They are ruled by an assembly called the Dasanama, com¬ 
posed of representatives of the ten divisions which has complete control 
over all the mathas of the order. On the death of a Mahant his successor 
is usually elected by the members of the matha to which he belonged or, 
in some cases, the chela or pupil succeeds. The chief matha of the order 
represented in Garhwal is at Sringeri on the Tungabhadra river in the 
Madras Presidency. They serve at Rudranatha, Kalpeswara, Kamaleswara, 
Bhil-kedar, and indeed most of the principal temples dedicated to Siva. 
Jdngamas .—The Jangamas or Lingadharis, so called from their wear¬ 
ing a miniature linga on their breast or arm, acknowledge the spiritual 
supremacy of Basava, minister of Bijjala Deva Kalachuri Raja of 
Kalyana and who murdered his master in 1135 A. D. Basava wrote the 
Basava-Purana and his nephew, the Channa-Basava Parana, which are 
still the great authorities of the sect. The name Basava is a Kanarese 
corruption of the Sanskrit ‘ vrishahha,’ and the Basava-Purana is written 
in praise of the bull FTandf, the companion and servant of Siva. The 
Jangamas style themselves Puritan followers of Siva under the form of a 
linga and call all others idolaters. They say that they reverence the Vedas 
and the writings of Sankara Acharya, but they reject the Mahabharata, 
Ramayana and Bhagavata as the invention of Brahmans. They consider 
both S'ankara Acharya and Basava to have been emanations of Siva. 
Basava himself was a S'aiva Brahman and devoted himself to the worship 
of Siva under the form of a linga as the one god approachable by all. He 
denounced the Brahmans as worshippers of many gods, goddesses, deified 
mortals and even of cows, monkeys, rats, and snakes. He denied the use 
of fasts and penances, pilgrimages, sacrifices, rosaries and holy-water. 
He set aside the Vedas as the supreme authority and taught that all 
* The name is derived according to some from ‘ go,’ passion, and ‘ sivdmi,’ mas¬ 
ter : he who has his passions under control. 
