Buchanan’s journey through

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being are fuppofed to be actual incarnations of Siva . When a Guru leaves this world,and is reunited to Siva in heaven, he is in general facceeded by a perfon of his ownnomination. The Guru generally educates four or five children of his own family,with a view of choofing the fitted of them for his fucceffor. Thefe pupils are takeninto the matarns at five or fix years of age, and until they attain their thirteenth year,are called Mari; after which they are not by name diftinguilhed from the commonJangamas; but if they choole to marry, they muff relinquish all hopes of becoming aGuru. The-pupil is made a Guru (fage), or an incarnation of God , by receivingfrom his mailer a particular upadefa; and in cafe of a Guru’s dying without havingdifclofed this awful fecret, the other Gurus affemble, appoint the moil promifingpupil to fucceed, and at the fame time deliver to him the upadefa of his rank. TheGuru, when he pleafes, may marry ; but he is thereby degraded from being a portionof the divinity, and from his power; and no one has yet been found fo defirous ofmarriage, as to relinquifh thefe pre-eminencies.

There are many inferior matams which are occupied by Sannyafis, called Mahantina.Thefe originally received an upadefa from fome of the four chief Gurus, and werefent to didant parts to manage the concerns of their fuperiors; but, though they allacknowledge the fuperiority of the four Gurus, yet they educate pupils in the famemanner; and from among thefe appoint their fucceffor, by teaching him theirupadefa. Thefe pupils, till they arrive at the age of puberty, are called Putta Devaru.The Mahantina having fent deputies to different places, even thefe have now affumed afeparate jurifdiction, and educate their own fucceffors.

The Mahantina attend at marriages and funerals, and punifh all perfons of the call,for every kind of offence againfl religion, by ordering every good man to avoid com-munication with the delinquent. This excommunication is not removed, till, by theinterceflion of friends, and the rnofl humiliating requefls of the offender, he obtainspardon by paying a fine under the name of charity. On this occafion, the Mahantinabellow fome confecrated water and victuals, which wipe away the offence. The Gurusoccafionally vifit the different Mahantina throughout the country ; but it is the Guruonly of the matam from whence the Mahantina originally came, that poffeffes anyjurifdiction over the inferior.

The Pancham Banijigaru worfliip only Siva , his wife, and his fons : but they allegethat Brahma and Vifhnu are the fame with Siva . They fuppofe, that their fedt hasexifted from the beginning of the world; but that at the time of Bejala Raja, whoreigned about feven hundred and twenty years ago at Kalyana Pattana, the Kingsand mofl of the people were Jainas. At this time Baiwana, the fuppofed fon ofa Brahman, became prime minifler of the Raja, and reftored the worfliip of Siva .Many of the Jainas were converted, and their defendants now form the Jaina Baniji-garu, who, although they have the fame religion with the Pancham, are never ad-mitted to the prieflhood, nor to intermarry with the original fedt. Bejala Raja havingbeen put to death by Jagadiva and Bomanna, two fervants of Bafwana, that miniflerreigned in his Head; and then promulgated the law which this feci now follow ;and this, with an account of all the adtions of Bafwana, are contained in a bookcalled Bafwana Purana; which was written by a Brahman called Bhimakavi, at thedefire of Bafwana. The fedt are in poffeffion of another book of great authority.It confids of fix Saflrams written by a Jangama named Nijaguna, who, in theconverfation which he had with an image of Siva at a temple on a hill nearEllanduru, received the neceffary inftrudtion. After he had finifhed the book,tlais Jangama did not die; but the image, opening, received him into its Jubilance.