The Goddess and the King: Cāmuṇḍēśvari and the Fashioning of the Woḍeyar Court of Mysore
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THE GODDESS AND THE KING: CĀMUṆḌĒŚVARI AND THE FASHIONING OF THE WOḌEYAR COURT OF MYSORE By CALEB SIMMONS A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2014 1 © 2014 Caleb Simmons 2 To Mama, Daddy, and Howard 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I must begin with by expressing my gratitude to the members of my committee. They have been instrumental in the completion of this project and for shaping me as a scholar and a person. Vasudha Narayanan has introduced me to so many aspects of the Hindu traditions, most importantly the world of South India, for which I am forever grateful. Additionally, her academic dexterity looking at texts, performance, and diaspora has certainly guided my interests towards the same. I will always be amazed by her tireless work ethic, and I am so thankful (now) for the way she forced me and the other students in her courses to mimic her effort and by writing and writing and writing some more. It has been critical for my progress as a scholar and my ability to communicate my research to others. While I thought her requirements were cumbersome at the time, I now, having re-read some of those papers, realize that it was much more painful for her than me. It was through the work of Kathleen M. Erndl that I first fell in love with the Hindu traditions and the goddesses of India. I can still remember stumbling across Is the Goddess a Feminist? in the library of Southwest Missouri State and reading her essay on possession. Less than a month later I told my advisor that I wanted to go to graduate school and study Hinduism. I have been so fortunate to have her as my M.A. advisor and now on my Ph.D. dissertation committee. Manuel Vasquez opened my eyes to the application of theory in my work through his Methods & Theories course. Additionally, since becoming the Chair of the Religion Department he has been extremely supportive providing funding for both my research and professional development. Vandana Baweja has been so generous with her time, and her perspective on my project and on my interpretation of the aesthetics of the Mysore court are an invaluable resource. I am forever indebted to Travis L. Smith. He has always been so generous with his time whether I showed up at his office or home and proceeded to talk about myself for hours or if it was him responding with line by line comments on preliminary chapter drafts that were less like chapters 4 and more like incoherent streams of consciousness. I am so thankful for his sagely insights into my scholarship, career, personal relationships, fashion, you name it. He has truly embodied the role of mentor and was there to correct my missteps (and there were many) in each. I have been truly blessed with a remarkable committee, and though the first stage of life is now over my debt to my teachers will certainly remain. Beyond my committee, I am extremely grateful to all of my Religious Studies professors from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University), especially John E. Llewellyn and James Moyer. I am so thankful that they introduced this Junior accounting major to the world of the academic study of religion. I am also indebted to the faculty of Florida State University, especially Martin Kavka and Adam Gaiser, but I will never forget an earnest conversation with Bryan J. Cuevas when he explained the difficult reality of the academic job market and told me I needed to either go all in or go home. It was exactly what I needed to hear and really redirected my career. All the faculty at the University of Florida have been instrumental for my growth as a scholar and as an academic through coursework and conversation, foremost amongst them Anita Anantharam and Robert Kawashima. I also must recognize the contributions from the faculty and staff at Santa Fe College and University of Mississippi, especially William Lawhead, who helped me develop as a teacher and scholar. I have been blessed to work with a great group of fellow graduate students at both FSU and UF, especially Jimi Wilson, Jaya Reddy, Christine Walters, Ved Patel, Carly Dwyer, Anuradha Pandey, John Carbone, Amy Brown, Kendall Marchman, Greg McElwain, Joseph Witt, Clint Bland, Keri Johnson, and Kerri Blumenthal. Additionally, a very special thank you is required to Ron Ozbun (retired) of the Religion Department and Donna Tuckey of the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research. Last, and certainly not least, gratitude has to be given to Anne 5 Newman, without whom I probably would have never figured out how to register for courses much less graduate. I am very fortunate to be able to thank many different institutions for financially supporting this dissertation. Most of my funding has come from the American Institute of Indian Studies, and I greatly appreciate their financial support for my Hindi and Kannada Language training. Furthermore, I am thankful for their support and the generous support of the donors who endowed the AIIS Daniel H. H. Ingalls Memorial Research Fellowship that I received to conduct research in Mysore for 2013-2014. I have been fortunate to also receive funds from the UF Religion Wells Fund, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Religion that have on numerous occasions provided support for me to conduct and present my research in the US, UK, and India. I am also indebted to the UF Graduate School Office of Graduate Minority Programs that generously provided financial support in final stages of the dissertation process. This dissertation also owes much to the intellectual contributions of other scholars that I met during my time in India. I met Vincent Burgess on the CLS (AIIS) Hindi program, and since his friendship has been invaluable for my academic and personal growth. I am thankful for those I met through the Archive India Institute, especially Manu Devadevan, and the EFEO Archaeology of Bhakti Workshop and Conference. Mekhola Gomes has also been extremely influential during my time in India, and she has helped shaped many of my thoughts relating to epigraphy. Elizabeth Mount was extremely helpful during our year-long Kannada program, and I am exceedingly happy that she never held a grudge when I insisted on shifting every class discussion to something relating to Cāmuṇḍi or the Woḍeyars. Sarah Pierce Taylor has been such a boon from the Goddess. She read several early drafts of my work, provided innumerable 6 insights into medieval Karnataka, and shared my excitement for the final season of Breaking Bad—all things I cherished immensely. During my time in Mysore I have had numerous aides, guides, and informants. I am so thankful to the city and its citizens for being such gracious hosts. My teachers at the AIIS Kannada program were incredibly helpful, both in teaching me the language and introducing me to life in southern Karnataka. The members of the Karnataka Directorate of Archaeology and Museums provided priceless guidance and assistance, including Director R. Gopal and Deputy Director (Palace) T. S. Subrahmanya. Three of the most helpful and knowledgeable people in all of Mysore have been staff at the Mysore Palace K. S. Veṅkaṭēśēś (Superintendent), Śylēndra (Head of Security), and Madu Nāyak (Guide Lecturer). Additionally the Mahārāja’s personal curator Michael Ludgrove was extremely helpful in my interactions with the royal family. I am also grateful for those that played multiple roles as guides, informants, subjects, and friends. I was fortunate to very been able to meet the late Mahārāja Śrī Kaṇṭhadatta Narasiṃharāja Woḍeyar. The late Mahārāja was very generous with his time, knowledge, and in giving whatever assistance necessary for my project. His staff, especially Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, Paṇḍiyan, and Narasimha of the Jayacāmarājēndra Art Gallery, were exceedingly helpful. None, however, have been as instrumental to this project and my time in Mysore as the people of Cāmuṇḍi hill. Everyone there has been so helpful and welcoming. The first to notice my constant presence were the musicians Puruśōttam and Satyanārāyaṇa. Since all of the temple musicians have welcomed me into their group and introduced me to everyone else at the temple. After them, many of the temple workers, Śaśi, Rāja, Mādēśa, and many others, have become dear friends and always went out of their way to make sure that I got all the information they or I thought I needed, including arranging for and accompanying me to kōṇa mule. All of the priests 7 at Cāmuṇḍēśvari have been extremely generous taking the time to answer my questions and helping me build my Kannada vocabulary; though they have all been helpful, Mōhan Kumār, Mañjunātha, and Abhilāṣ Dīkṣit always offered to explain the rituals and made sure that I had a vantage point to observe them. Additionally, Śaśiśēkhar Dīkṣit, the head priest, has been endlessly supportive of my project and helped in every way possible, including allowing me to ride with Cāmuṇḍēśvari from the temple to the Palace on Dasara, a very rare opportunity. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not thank my family and friends for their support throughout my life. Like the genealogies of medieval India, my identity is fashioned through my relationship to them. I am especially grateful for my Mee-Maw, Paw-Paw, Nanny, and Grandaddy. Though, all but Mee-Maw are no longer physically with us, they are all constantly present in my thoughts and actions. I am so thankful for everyone in Jay: the Simmons, Jernigan, Phillips, Dobson, Hendricks, Boisvert, and Wolfe families.