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Signature: _____________________________ ______________ Date Narrating Devotion: Representation and Prescriptions of the Early Kannada Śivabhakti Tradition according to Harihara’s Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu By Gil Ben-Herut Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Division of Religion West and South Asian Religions _________________________________________ Laurie L. Patton Advisor _________________________________________ Sara L. McClintock Committee Member _________________________________________ Velcheru Narayana Rao Committee Member _________________________________________ R.V.S Sundaram Committee Member Accepted: _________________________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies ___________________ Date Narrating Devotion: Representation and Prescriptions of the Early Kannada Śivabhakti Tradition according to Harihara’s Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu By Gil Ben-Herut B.A., Tel Aviv University, 2004 M.A., Tel Aviv University, 2007 Advisor: Laurie L. Patton, Ph.D. An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Division of Religion West and South Asian Religions 2013 Abstract Narrating Devotion: Representation and Prescriptions of the Early Kannada Śivabhakti Tradition according to Harihara’s Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu By Gil Ben-Herut In this dissertation, I reconstruct the early cultural history of what is known today as Vīraśaivism or Liṅgāyatism by reading the Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu, a collection of hagiographies composed in the Kannada language in the early thirteenth century. This vast collection of short to middle length poems, each dedicated to the fantastic life of a Śiva devotee, produces the first narrative account about the śaiva devotional tradition from the Kannada-speaking regions. Despite its significant role in shaping medieval Kannada literary practices and later representations of this religious movement, this text was never previously studied by Western academia. By analyzing literary and religious aspects of the Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu, I examine the function of narrative for an emerging religious movement. I argue that this text should be understood in its context, as part of a rich oral culture collectively performed by devotees. Focusing on the first literary moment of a religious tradition’s narrativization, I offer new perspectives for understanding representations of sainthood as a tool for inculcating communal practices and communicating nascent forms of theology, social and political attitudes, and devotional prescriptions. Contrary to dominant conceptions, I claim that this religious tradition, during its early phases, was highly inclusive in terms of worship practices and social appeal, as attested by the absence of confining linguistic signifiers such as vīraśaiva or liṅgāyata from this text. There are two parts to this dissertation. In the first part, dedicated to the literary context of the Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu, I look at this text’s unconventional literary form as central to its meaning. In the second part of the dissertation, I explore various religious attitudes prescribed in the Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu, with relation to the devotee’s relationship with the god, fellow devotees, and religious “others” of various orders: the king, the Brahmin priest, and the Jain opponent. My dissertation employs various strategies in order to provide new models for understanding the relationship between literary representation and the nascent religious community in which it is produced. Narrating Devotion: Representation and Prescriptions of the Early Kannada Śivabhakti Tradition according to Harihara’s Śivaśaraṇara Ragaḷĕgaḷu By Gil Ben-Herut B.A., Tel Aviv University, 2004 M.A., Tel Aviv University, 2007 Advisor: Laurie L. Patton, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Division of Religion West and South Asian Religions 2013 “Can one deny the existence of the child simply because it assumes transformed features as an adult?” Desai (1968: 272) “Reading is like a bet. You bet that you will be faithful to the suggestions of a voice that is not saying explicitly what it is suggesting.” Eco (1994: 112) Acknowledgments I am grateful to the many people who supported me on the labyrinthine path of doctoral studies. My advisor Laurie Patton has been a teacher, guide, and mentor for the last six years, influencing my thinking and inspiring me on many levels, and I am indebted to her for her foresight that guided this project from its earliest stages. I am also fortunate to have had on my dissertation committee Velcheru Narayana Rao, an authority of rare magnitude on pre-modern South India. His sharp insights greatly contributed to my work. Sara McClintock has been a tremendous supporter of my project and a highly sensitive reader of the dissertation. It is difficult to exaggerate the contribution of R. V. S. Sundaram, the fourth member of my dissertation committee, on my study of the Kannada language and on this dissertation. In addition to teaching me pre-modern forms of the Kannada language, R. V. S. Sundaram gave me access to treasures of medieval Kannada literature, and I am deeply grateful for his continual and gracious cooperation. My journey into the world of Kannada began nine years ago, when I traveled to Mysore in order to read Sanskrit texts with H. V. Nagaraja Rao. Although he does not consider himself a Kannada scholar, Nagaraja Rao was the first and primary inspiration for me in taking this linguistic path, and I consider myself fortunate to have known and worked with him. Any reference to Kannada culture in Western scholarship in incomplete without mentioning the magisterial oeuvre of A. K. Ramanujan, whose insights continue to pave the way for anyone interested in this world. At the Central Institute for Indian Languages (CIIL) in Mysore, under the benevolent guidance of the late Lingadevaru Halemane, I was introduced for the first time to the basics of the Kannada language. Like in the case of Ramanujan, Halemane’s premature passing is a great loss for any lover of Kannada culture. I am grateful to my other teachers at the CIIL: the late Talwar, Vijaya Lakshmi, Shishira, and Jyothi Shankar. By good fortune or perhaps in reward for benevolent past deeds, I studied under Jyothi two years later during the Advance Kannada Academic Year program of the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), also held in Mysore. I will never forget the many hours I spent with Jyothi reading Harihara’s texts. She has been a wonderful companion on this demanding path. I also wish to thank the rest of the teachers of that unforgettable year: Akka Mahadevi, Shubha Chandra, and Poornima. The AIIS has made an invaluable contribution to my development in Kannada and to my research project. I thank Philip Lutgendorf, Martha Selby, and Elise Auerbach for their continual support and responsiveness. Equally cooperative were the people of the Delhi branch of the AIIS, headed by Purnima Mehta. I also thank Purushotham Bilimale for his help. I am grateful to several Kannada scholars who graciously offered their help and wisdom: the late L. Basavaraju, T.V. Venkatachala Shastry, M. M. Kalaburgi, M. Chidananda Murthy, N. S. Taranatha, Basavaraju Kalgudi, and Basavaraju Kodagunti. Special thanks are extended to Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi. I will always remember the long hours we spent together in his book-laden den, discussing Vīraśaivism and Kannada literature, and reading primary and secondary materials. Many ideas in this dissertation were born during these meetings. Robert Zydenbos was incredibly helpful in thinking about Kannada literature and religions, and in connecting with specific people, and I am thankful to him. I am thankful to the people of Suttur Mutt and Tumkur Mutt in Mysore city, who gave me access to their libraries and contributed from their knowledge. I wish to extend an especially hearty thank you to several people of the city of Mysore: Rajalakshmi, Kuttu and Angeela Cariappa, John Gilbert, Flora Brajot, Suddha, Bharat Shetty, Ben and Rita, Anand, and Shrinivasa, for helping me whenever a need arose. I cannot think of a better place to do research than the small heaven called Mysore. The final phases of my dissertation project involved engaging conversations and readings by different people who offered their comments and thoughts to this subject- matter, and I am indebted to them all: Joyce Flueckiger, Paul Courtright, Tara Doyle, Leela Prasad, Paula Richman, Leslie Orr, John Cort, Brian Hatcher, David Shulman, Yigal