1884.] 
of Religion in the Himalaya. 
57 
is tlie linga. The cow confers benefits by means of its ndcler, bnt this is 
filled through the mouth and body, and therefore if a Yira-S'aiva desires 
the image to benefit him, he must feed the mouth, or in other words sus¬ 
tain and comfort his fellow-worshippers, and then the blessing will be 
conveyed to him through the teacher.’ When the Brahmanical Sfiva is 
mentioned in their books it is only to show that the true Vira-S^aivas 
ai'e more than a match for the Bhii-suras or gods of the earth as the 
Brahmans style themselves. The ordinary S'aiva temples are in some 
cases served by orthodox Smarta (S'aiva) Brahmans. The Jangamas 
still serve some of the principal temples in Garhwal.* 
Kdn^hatas .—The Kanphata Jogis conduct the worship in all the 
Bhairava temples that are not ministered to by Khasiyas. Their princi< 
pal seat is at Danodhar on the edge of the Ran of Kachh about twenty 
miles north-west of Bhuj in the Bombay Presidency. They wear brick- 
dust coloured garments and are remarkable for the large earrings of 
rhinoceros horn, agate or gold worn by them and from which they are 
named. They are very numerous in these hills and possess several large 
establishments. They follow the Tantrika ritual, which is distinguished 
by its licentiousness for both the linga and the yona are worshipped by 
them, and they declare that it is unnecessary to restrain the passions to 
arrive at release from metempsychosis. They are the principal.priests of 
the lower S'akti forms of Bhairava and even of the villao’e ffods, and eat 
flesh and drink wine and indulge in the orgies of the left-handed sect. 
Departing from the original idea of the female being only the personified 
energy of the male, she is made herself the entire manifestation and, as 
we shall see in the case of Durga, receives personal worship, to which 
that of the corresponding male deity is almost always subordinate. The 
S'aktas are divided into two great classes, both of which are represented 
in these districts, the Dakshinacharis and Vamacharis. The first comprise 
those who follow the right hand or open orthodox ritual of the Puranas 
in their worship of S'akti, whilst the latter or left-hand branch adopt a 
secret ceremonial which they do not care openly to avow. The distinc¬ 
tion between the two classes is not so apparent in the mass of the S'aktas 
* The chief authorities for the Lingayat system are :— 
The Basava-Purana of the Lingayats translated by the Eev. Gr. Wurth, J. B. B. 
E. A. S., VIII., 63. 
The Channa-Basava Parana translated by the same. Ihid. 
The creeds, customs and literature of the Jangamas, by C. P. Brown, M. J. L. S. 
XI. 143 : J. E. A. S., Y n. s. 141. 
The Basava-Parana, the principal book of the Jangamas, by the same. Ihid., 
XII. 193. 
On the Gosains by J. Warden, M. J. L. S. XIV. 67. 
Castes of Malabar. Ihid., 1878, p. 172. 
H 
