233. Panjurli

The cult of Panjurli, the boar spirit, is a time tested icon of the early stages in the psyche and evolution of human tribes in this land. Early tribes trusted in supernatural forces that apparently controlled the good and bad conditions of their lives. They considered that a good, comfortable and secure life is the result of blessing of the deity and conversely believed that life gets upset when the deity curses.
The evolutionary transition of tribes from forest to agricultural phases some five to seven millennia ago also laid foundation for initiation of new cults among the tribes. A Wild boar that destroyed early farmers crop became a source of awe and irritation. The boar destroyed some crops and the affected person considered that it was the curse of the deity.This could be the origin of the cult among the tribes. However, it can be seen that successive theological cults absorbed and assimilated the essence of Panjurli cult. For example, the Varaha (=boar)incarnation of Maha Vishnu is a concept based on Panjurli or its equivalent cult. Kings of Kadamba dynasty,based in Banavasi region, upheld the boar cult as seen by naming of the river as Varaahi. Similarly, Vijayanagar Kings held Varaha, the boar, as their royal insignia.

PaDdanas (=oral epic poems), trickling down through ages, are only the sources of past history in the form of recitation of anecdotes. Variation is noticeable in these paDdanas from place to place and also in length, adapted to a particular performance during annual festivals.

Oral songs and ballads (kabitas and paDdanas) are sung during annual festivals and during day to day activities, viz tilling, seedling and harvesting in paddy fields, peeling areca nuts, function of ‘madarengi’ (henna tattooing custom) on the eve of marriage, tapping toddy, and as pastime during leisure.

Panjurli

Vedic scriptures make a division of Aryans and Non-Aryans, who are shown in poor light. Scholars now say that they were of one and the same race with common culture and languages and were dependent on each other. The division of Bharatvarsha as ‘Uttarapath’ and ‘Dakshinapath’ (also known as Aryavarta and Dravidavarta) was a regional one with ‘Vindhya Ranges’ standing in the middle as a divider. Dravidapath or Dravidavarta is so called, as it is a peninsula, encircled by three seas. This is vindicated by the great Philosopher Shankaracharya of 8th Century from South, while replying Mandana Mishra’s question, “Who is he?” Myth of Aryan and Dravidian Races, which is a concept nurtured by colonialists, continues still.

Tulu traditions and orature (=oral+ literature), as a part of Dravidian culture relate to social, political and religious psyche of Tulunadu, located between Western (Sayhadri) Ghats on the East and Arabian Sea on the West. Tulunadu is an epitome of peaceful co-existence. All regions thrived in Tulunadu. Hinduism (with Vedic Gods and later on Mother Goddess, Shiva and Vishnu
Taking center stage), Buddhism (later on absorbed into Shaiva cult) and Jainism are naturally evolved into socio-religious order. Islam and Christianity took root in India under political considerations and coercion. There is a synchronization of Daivas (deified living legends or heroes of Past, including Muslims) and Vedic Gods and Goddesses. They are worshipped as personalized, Community and Group of Villages (Maagane) Gods and Godheads in shrines and temples. This is unique to Tulunadu. The peaceful living is manifest in precedence and sequences of annual festivals/celebrations in shrines and temples. The meeting of deities takes place(in the form of possessed impersonators) of one temple, where the annual festivals (āyana , teru, kola or nema) have just concluded, is the mark of starting (‘kodi erunu’, meaning raising of temple flag) and permitting of annual festivals in an adjacent village. This meeting takes at the periphery of latter temple.

The Divine Spirits are classified in three categories, firstly ‘Ullaya or Chakravarti’ (i.e Lord of Lords, considered as manifestation of Devi, Shiva and Vishnu); secondly, Rajan (considered as Kings, who lived before deification after death) and thirdly, 'Kamberlu' (Danda nayakas or Chieftains). Firstly, these Daivas manifest themselves, through a medium, in the palace of their kingdom or house of their birth when alive and are worshipped in these places, called ‘moolada mane’ (place of origin), and they are believed in other places also as their devotees are spread. Here is a case of direct contact, though through medium, with the deities. This speaks a volume how the custom of ‘Daivaradhane’ (=Spirit Worship) took root in Tulunadu (as also in adjoining Kerala with migration of certain ‘Daivas’ (also called ‘Bhootas’) to Kerala and vice versa. (Note: In Kerala, this Spirit worshipping is called ‘Theyyam’. Refer article by Dr. U.P. Upadhyaya in ‘Taranga’, a Kannada Weekly, March 4, 2010 Issue).

Significant ‘Rajan Daivas’ are: (1) Jumadhi (Sanskritised as Dhumavati), believed to be reincarnation of Aadi Shakti (Mother Goddess), (2) Jarandaya, supposed to be the reincarnation of Shiva or Dharmaraja and (3) Babbarya or Bobbarya [supposed to be the reincarnation of Shastara and born to a Mogaveera woman as Babbana at Mulki (See ‘Babbana Babbarye’ in Mogaveera January 2009 Issue, written by Narayana A. Bangera). (The other version says, he is born to a Bunt woman and a Muslim trader)

Panjurli Daiva is assistant to Rajan Daivas, as cited above, as 'Kshetrapala' (Guardian of the area), in maintaining justice and peace in the places where he is believed and worshipped. He has got seven manifestations. He is the Divine Spirit, who sits in judgement on the conduct of members of a family, village and cluster of villages. Hence he is known by different names. In South of Tulunadu, he is known as ‘Annappa Panjurli’ at Dharmasthala, in the North he protects the borders as ‘Tembikalla Panjurli’, in the East, he is worshipped as Kuppettu Panjurli, in the West he is known as ‘Bolada Panjurli’, and at individual Tuluva households he is known by simple name of ‘Panjurli’. His adventures while guarding and protecting the borders of Tulunadu and benevolence on oblating devotees are legendary.

Dr. B.A. Viveka Rai writes his impressions in “Epics in the Oral Genre System of Tulunadu” as follows:
“Interestingly, in one version, the narrative about the genesis of Panjurli is made to include even the Vedic gods, as Vishnu’s sweat is transformed into Panjurli. Likewise, Shiva has been depicted as a character possessing the qualities of both the deity and a village farmer.
More than ten paddanas exist that give an account of the adventures of Panjurli bhuta and thereby its dissemination in the Tuluva region. All of the episodes substantiate the supremacy of Panjurli bhuta and the reasons for its worship in different places. With its magical power Panjurli causes buffaloes tethered to a jackfruit tree to vanish, momentarily blinds the priest who carried the god in procession at Dharmasthala, makes the elephant of the Kepaadi temple fall sick, does the same to the cattle at Kalle beedu, kills the two wives of Hebri Ballala, and so on.
Thus it is that Panjurli bhuta exhibits its supreme power through an array of magical deeds. The people who are affected approach the soothsayer, who with the help of magical objects discovers the reason for the disaster, namely, Panjurli’s miracle. The remedy for the calamity is also provided by the soothsayer: he suggests that a shrine should be built for Panjurli and a festival performed. The people act accordingly and are saved from the disaster. These same incidents, with some variation in the manifestation of the calamity, are repeated in neighboring places. Thus Panjurli is worshipped in different places for different reasons, all concerned with untoward events involving the people, their crops, and their
cattle.”
The word: Panjurli
‘Panjurli’ as per tradition means ‘Panji kurle or kurli, i.e. a wild boar’s offspring. This offspring was created by Lord Shiva and was cursed by Goddess Parvati for his misdeeds of destroying her ‘kadalivana’ (=banana grove). The curse is mitigated by ordaining him to be born on Earth as a Divine Spirit to protect and uplift the masses from evil to good. There is another version in Bappanadu Kshetra Mahatme that he was born out of sweat of Hanuman, which fell into the ocean while carrying the mountain bearing the Sanjivani herbs.
Panjurli (Panji+urli) is a compound word wherein Panji = wild boar is clear. The exact meaning and source of 'Urli' here is baffling and is to be recognised.
‘Uri’ has the meaning of angry, savage, wild, ferocious and fierce, as we can understand in Ugra Narasimha or Uri Brahma (Uri Brahma is one of the Daivas, worshipped in Athur Bailu Mahalingeshwar Temple). The suffix ‘li’ generally represents ‘animal’ or ‘bird’, as we find in ‘pili (=tiger), ‘palli (=lizard), ‘eli’ (=rat) and ‘gili’ (=parrot), etc.
What makes it clear is that Panjurli means: an Ugra (=violent) Panji (=boar), a deity with abilities to punish for the evil deeds and bless the good. Overall, the word 'Panjurli' means a wild boar.
Uruli
There is a place in Pune District, named 'Uruli'. One part of it is called ‘Uruli Devachi', which is famous for Mahatma Gandhi Naturopathy Foundation. This place is always in news these days because of villagers’ agitation against dumping of garbage by Pune Municipal Corporation and recurrence of fire at dumping sites owing to summer heat. The other village is called Uruli Kanchan and has a railway station by that name. This word ‘Uruli’ is fascinating as it is akin to our Uruli in Tulu. This word reminds me ‘Panjurli’, a Divine Spirit, worshipped in Tulunadu and enkindles my quest for exact meaning of ‘urli’ in ‘Punjurli’

J.T Molesworth's Marathi-English Online dictionary provides the following meanings for the word 'Urli':

1) Borders or skirts or purlieus.
2) Curling or entangling (as in cloth threading)
3) Gurgling, rippling of whirling brook, purling
4) A stanchion, purlin, etc.
5) suspicious, jealous, malignant, grudge-bearing, morose, sulky, churlish.

Uruli in Tulu

This interesting Tulu word 'Uruli or Urli' is a bell metal vessel. This process of alloy making involves mixing and rolling. The utensil rolls over or tumbles down because of its round shape. Rice, cooked in this vessel, is offered to God as 'Naivedya' (Oblation) in temples (See Tulu Lexicon). Tumblers, made of brass or bronze, are also called as 'uruli or urli'. They tumble down because of its round shape, tapering at the bottom. Such tumblers are not used these days. One, who is now between 40 and above, must have eaten in trays made of bell-metal (Pitteleda battalu) and drunk water in ‘urlis’ in one’s childhood. Tulu villagers know these utensil-objects, which are now part of antiquity. Steel glass (without rim) has taken the place of brass/bell metal ‘urli’.


Panjurli and Varthe


The cult of Panjurli appears to be as old as the beginning of agricultural phase of human civilization,probably it dates back to 3000 BC or older.
The cult of Panjurli appears to have been rejuvenated around 4th Century CE during the uprise of Kadamba regime.As you know, Sanskritization was the order of the day at that period.The age old Spirit of Panjurli became Varaha and was moulded as one of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu!
Besides, the incidental information suggests that Panjurli was worshipped in female form during the Kadamba regime. It was known as Varahi. One of the rivers flowing in the Banavasi(Kadamba Kingdom)-to Kundapura region was named as Varahi! Further, it appears that the people began to worship Varahi as "Varah(i)ti" . The ti or thi suffix is indicative of female forms, as you know, from examples like gowdti,ullalti, etc.In due course, Varahti became Varti or Varte!
So there were two forms(avtars) for the same cult!There were people who worshipped both the forms together.
This has lead to the confusion of relationships between the two forms. Some people think that Panjurli and Varthe area brother and sister while others argue that they are husband and wife. It can be opined that this can resolved by considering that Panjurli and Varthe are the two forms of a single Spirit power.


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Panjurli is a powerful Divine Spirit. He is considered to be intolerant to feuds and disharmony in a family, in a village or between villages and becomes vengeful when devotees commit mistakes. So, Marathi meaning of ‘urli ‘(i.e. suspicious, jealous, malignant, grudge-bearing, morose, sulky, churlish etc) seems relevant.

Our academic interest is limited to theoretical analysis of the word without any disrespect to the Deity or the believers. Bear in mind, there may be no connection between Uruli/ Urli of Pune District to Urli in Panjurli. It only provoked us to search for possible meaning of the word.

-By H. Vishwanath & Ravi

51.Stage III: Migration from Pirak . 800-500BC

The Pirak civialization phase was reported to have culminated around 800 BC. Tulu language even today has the retained word “pirak” that means ‘ancient’ or ‘aspects connected to remote past’.This can be considered as the fossil memory of Tulu people of their residence at Pirak. In other languages like Kannada the word survived as ‘prak’(=ancient) and Prakrit can be considered as the language of the pirak (prak) area. Prakrit is also considered to be the unrefined form of Sanskrit. Tulu and other south Indian languages have ample Prakrit words in them. Mostly, these were borrowed and assimilated during their residence in Pirak area. At the same time, early Tulu and other early Dravidian language groups lent some words that were absorbed into prakrit and Sanskrit.
During the 800-500 BC period most of the resident groups left Pirak region and entered India proper (as is now) and settled in comfortable areas nearer to water sources like rivers and perennial springs. Possibly, the groups left in different batches, maybe each of some 5 to 10 individual families of able bodied members and found their ways through the new territory before settling in relatively comfortable zones. It is possible that early South Dravidian groups consisting of early Tulu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam tribes migrated in different batches during the period.At this stage these early Dravidian languages were similar to each other and were more like regional variations of a single language. Predictably they settled intermittently at several places on the way before reaching their ultimate destinations in select parts of Southern India. The identity of early Kannada and early Malayalam ancestors probably carried different name tags then, since the present identity names ‘Kannada’ and ‘Malayalam’ were coined chronologically later and in situ in the present habitat.

Theological evolution
During the period Upanishads and Puranas were being compiled. The Rigvedic Gods Mitra, Indra,Varuna, Agni and others took back seat in favour of ascendacy of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha independantly among three different tribal groups. Brahma atained the status of Almighty Creator. The concept was further extended to include the all-pervasive cosmic force of Brahman. Valmiki, a hunter turned into bard and sage compiled the epic of Ramayana, based on primitive legend of Rama, that originally dated back to the post-LGM period when the sea-levels receded and Srilanka was accesible from Indian mainland on foot.The epic that highlighted the supremacy of the Lord Brahma, was subsequently edited and interpolated by several later authors, with liberal addition of fantasies and exaggerations.During the period, the Mahabharata was also being compiled, as an expanded and blown up version of battle of ten kings described in the Rigveda.
Another group, possibly led by the cattle-herders (Yadavas), upgraded and expanded the ancient legend of Vishnu. Vishnu, worshipped by early pre-Vedic, dark-colored tribes, was a minor god of lesser grade than the lord of Sea, Varuna for the Vedic sages during the compilation of Rigveda. Ten different theologic legends of the region were compiled together under the ten incarnations of Vishnu.(More on Vishnu and ten incarnations, cf. post 34 ).
Similarly, another group advocated the supremacy of Lord Shiva, who was tribal superman who possibly advocated the cult of phallus worship. Thus the phallic worship gradually merged with the Shaiva cult.Several tantric and mystic cults evolved during the period.
Yet there were many who did not subscribed to any of these theological cults.These dissatisfactions led to the development of Jainism and Buddhism. In response these diversions the followers of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha joined hands together and formed the concept of Trimurthy.
Similarly the primitive cult of Yoni worship assimilated with parallel Mother Godess worship that eventually evolved into the cult of Shakti or the Durga later in the history.
The Panjurli (Boar or Varaha) cult apparently originated in N Africa and Central Asia. The boar (or swine or Sus scrofa) is native of central Europe, Mediterranean, Atlas mountains, N.Africa and Asia. In Celtic mythology boar was sacred to Godess Arduinna. In Persian (Iran) Sassnid Empire, the boar was respected as a brave and fierce animal; the title of ‘boraz ‘or ‘Goraz’ (=boar) was added to the personal names of the braves. In Belgium, boar is the mascot of one of the infantry divisions of the Belgian army. In Chinese horoscope, boar is one of the twelve months of the zodiac

Early Tulu migration
Tulu tribes carried the Panjurli and Bermer cults of spirit worship from Pirak to Tulunadu as described in earlier posts. The early Tulu tribes were not inspired or influenced by theological evolution of Brahma, Vishnu or Mahesha. They adhered to their cults of spirit and serpent (Naga) worships. Tulu tribes picked up words from the languages existing in the regions they travelled through. Throughout the route from Rajasthan border to Tulunadu, we find numerous settlements named after Naga: Nagur, Nagor, Nagori etc. Similarly along the same route we find relics of ‘Bermer’ (horse mounted deity )worship that were later converted to ‘Brahma’(the creator God) worship especially in north India(example: Pushkar, Rajasthan).

Early Tamil migration
The early Tamils carried the Shiva cult, along with the assimilated primitive phallus worship cult, with them when they migrated and eventually settled in the present Tamilnadu. The early Tamils were inspired by the style of compilation of Vedas and Upanishads were by group of Vedic sages. They adopted the concept and composed the Tamil Sangam literature in early Madhurai kingdom, established near Kanyakumari during ca.300BC .

34. Ten incarnations of Vishnu

A number of several older theological faiths and beliefs prevalent in the northern Indian society at that time in the history (ca.300 BC or later) were synthesized into a uniform model of incarnations. The ten divinities conceived by earlier civilization sects were recomposed and unified into the concept of ten avatāras of Lord Vishnu. The words ava (=downward) + tāra (=passage) refers to the descent of God into earth in human/animal forms. These include:
1. Matsya -The fish God
2 Koorma-The Tortoise
3. Varāha-The Boar
4. Narasimha- The Lion Man
5. Vāmana-The Dwarf
6. Parashurāma-The Axe Rama
7. Rāma
8. Krishna
9. Balarām/ Buddha and
10. Kalki.
All these incarnations are essentially adoption and mythification of ten different faiths that prevailed at different time periods of evolution of civilization in the Indian subcontinent.
The stories are also more or less, probably unknowingly, arranged according to evolution of life starting with the primitive vertebrate fish and culminating with most evolved human beings
1. The acceptance of ‘Matsya’ or The Fish God as an avatar throws light into one of the major disputes relating to the deciphering of Indus valley civilization. The seals unearthed from the archeological sites of Indus valley civilization, like Harapa and Mohenjodaro, contain a large number of images of fish pictograms. These fish symbols were interpreted as representing stars according to Iravattam Mahadevan (on the basis of dual meaning of the word “meen” in Dravidian languages); whereas Asko Parpola maintained that these represent the Fish God revered by the inhabitants of the Indus valley. It appears that the interpretation of Asko Parpola is more in order. The concept of the Fish God worshipped by the Indus valley people (mainly Dravidians?) remained in the mindsets of the people long after the destruction of Indus valley civilization. Later in the history, the same concept/myth was adopted into Vaishnavism (Vishnu cult) as Matsya avatār, the initial incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
2. The role of the Giant Tortoise, the Koorma avatār, is remembered in the occasion of mythological churning of the Sea (Samudra mathana) for obtaining the amrutha. The rivalry between the Sura (divine persons) and Asura (demons) groups manifested in this legend is an exaggerated version of churning of buttermilk for obtaining butter. During the early history cattle grazing and dairy activities were widespread in the subcontinent. Even Krishna belonged to the family of cattle keepers (Yadavs). The mythical legend visualizes Mount of Meru placed on the Koorma as the churning rod tied with Adishesha ( the serpent associated with Vishnu), as the churning rope pulled in a tug of war fashion by Sura and Asura groups on opposite ends. The whole churning process is done in the sea (instead of buttermilk pot) and ‘amrutha’ (the elixir) is sought out of this churning instead of butter. The entire mythical fantasy glorifies the rivalry and animosity between Vedic Aryan and Jew tribes that shared similar and contemporaneous cultural evolution during the time.
3. Similarly the Great Boar was worshipped in northwestern subcontinent during the early historical period. The Boar spirit-god (‘daiva’) ‘Panjurli’ worshipped by Tulu tribes must have been the original source of this myth. According the legend of ten incarnations, the Boar God (Varaha) rescued the Earth from the fury of the Sea and it also eliminated Hiranyaksha, the brother of Hiranyakashipu.
4. The Narasimha (the Lion-man or the half man-half lion avatār) represents the story of an innocent boy Prahlada rescued from the clutches of the tyrant father Hiranyakashipu, but with lot of fantasies attached to it. According to legends, Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha were the Asura brothers born to sage Kashyapa, the grandson of Lord Brahma. Sage Kashyapa had four wifes namely Diti, Aditi, Vinita and Kudroo. Diti and Aditi were sisters of Gauri, the wife of Lord Shiva. Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha were born to Diti. The Sura class (Gods) were born to Aditi. Vinita gave rise to Garuda (the Eagle), the carrier of Vishnu. Kudroo gave rise to Nagas, the serpent class. The Naga worship was in vogue since earliest days of civilization.
The Garuda (eagle) concept itself is interesting. Abraham, the prophet, was traveling on horse-back. The original Brahma derived from Abraham, was also horse mounted. (However, the Brahma’s configuration subsequently changed with time.) In the fashion of original Brahma, it became a convention later to depict swift carrier animals (sole vehicles of that time) for all Gods. Incidentally the eagle is also the killer of snakes. Thus myth creators chose Garuda as vehicle for the Vishnu, maybe also to subjugate the dominance of the Naga cult.
We can see amalgamation of several myths in these legends. The origin of Gods (Sura class), Demons (Asura class), Naga class and Garuda were theologically explained in these fantasies. The word ‘daitya’ (=giant) has come from Diti. Apparently, the daityas (the Asura class), were huge in build: possible connotation to tall Caucasian race.
5. The story of Vamana, the dwarf, is somewhat perverse. It demonstrated the glorification of the mischievous demand of a dwarf who asked land for placing three steps and cunningly subjugated the righteous King Bali, who was a very popular king respected and loved by his subjects. The respect for King Bali continued among his subjects even after he was vanquished to ‘Patala’. Tulu and Malayali people since ages traditionally celebrate a special night of lights, in honour of King Baliyendra, during every Deepavali. Thinking in terms of natural justice, there was no fault on the part of King Bali except that he belonged to the so called Asura class.
6. The Parashurama was a determinant, powerful man who killed many Kshatriya kings to avenge the insult done to his family. To distinguish from the Rama proper of Ramayana, this man was called Parashu-ram, the word ‘parashu’ referring to the weapon which he carried with him, the axe.
But the real fantasy attached to the Par ashram in the West Coast of India, Konkan Karavali and Malabar, is that he retrieved the coastal land from the Lord of Sea. He made agreement with the (Arabian) Sea that land upto where he can throw his axe, be vacated by the Sea. This is an interesting story of retreat of the Sea attributed to a fantasy superhuman character. Regression and transgression of the Seas is a phenomenon that has occurred all over the globe at during the historical past. The most recent regression documented in the West coast is about 6000 years ago, according to geologists. People living during the time of regression of the Sea, witnessed the dumbfounding phenomenon and the story was passed down the history through oral transmission from older to younger generations. After a few generations the story was attributed to this hero Parashurama, who they imagined could do this kind of feat using his superb axe.
7. The story of Rama may be a prehistoric pre-Vedic folk-tale told and retold to generations from elder members to younger ones. The characteristic presence of monkeys or primitive human beings (apes or ape-like hairy men) puts the date to prehistory. The story was blended with mild doses of fantasy and was repackaged by Valmiki, a hunter turned poet approximately during the period 500 to 800 BC. At the time of re-composition of the Ramayana, the concept of Brahma was evolving from the primitive concept of horse-mounted tribal hero based on the life of Abraham (Tulu Brahma: the Bermer) to four headed God of creation. Brahma was eulogized and blown into a fantasy of greatness as analysed in detail by S.S N. Murthy. He was also pictured as a ten-headed deity. It is interesting to note that much of the geography of southern India and Srilanka have been described in Ramayana. People must have been freely traveling by foot at that time in these areas.
8. The Krishna again was a mass hero, popular since his childhood days. The epic of Mahabharata is an unbelievably expansive canvas of blow-ups and fantasies built around an actual late to post-Vedic war of ten kings, as analysed by S.S.N.Murthy and others.
Both Rama and Krishna are hailed as blue-skinned (eulogy for the pleasantly dark- skinned) God incarnates. The emphasis on ‘blue skin’ reveals that there were light skinned people at that time. It also indicates that these Rama and Krishna were from the dark-skinned natives of that time.
9. Balarām, Krishna’s brother, was considered as one of the incarnations in the beginning but later was replaced by Buddha, who was more popular at the time of synthesis of the concept of ten incarnations.
10. Kalki is the futuristic fantasy of the ten incarnations that hopefully wishes that God shall come again to set things right, if bad continues to prevail on the world. It was an empty slot reserved for the unseen future mass Hero.
The Balaram-Buddha changes suggest that the list of incarnations were compiled at the time of Buddha and peak of Buddhism.
I have recounted the simplistic analysis of the sociological growth and evolution of theological concepts in our land. For theological documentation of the ten incarnations of Vishnu, kindly peruse Guru Vishwanath’s blog posts dated August-September 2005.
In Tulunadu and Kerala, initially, at least from ca. 500 BC, it was the dominance of spirit worship that has continued to sway even today. Shiva and Ganesha temples were introduced after 5th Century AD by Kadamba Kings, who dominated over local Alupa chieftains. The Kadamba Kings followed Shiva cult possibly under the influence of Pallava Kings.
By the time of Acharya Shankara (ca 9th Century AD), the Krishna cult spread to Tulunadu and Kerala. According to legends, the Krishna was the deity in the family of Shankara. Madhvacharya of Udupi further popularised the Krishna cult during the 12th century in the West Coast.

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32. Origin of Animal and Spirit worship

The existence, nature and form of God have been contested since thousands of years without conclusive answers. However, those who have reposed faith on some form of God have succeeded in their missions since ages because of the power of their faith. Thus it is important to have faith and belief in ones worship in the style of positive thinking. The exact nature or form of God is not important as far as goal is concerned. During the long years of evolutions of human civilization men have worshipped animal gods and their spirits in the beginning. Subsequently they switched over to hero worships and later to Gods in human forms. These evolutionary developments ultimately led to the concept of formless God.

Boar:Panjurli
Earliest form of worships in human civilizations of the Indian subcontinent was animal worship followed by spirit worship. When early nomadic tribal people became agriculturists and settled into habitations and colonies around their agricultural fields (6000 to 4000 BC), their main concern were guarding crops from wild boars. They were unable to tame them or predict their attacks in the beginning. Probably they also held the belief that these boars have a leader or reigning God and wished that by worshipping that Boar God they would be free from the pestering of boars. Apparently this is the way how boar began to be worshipped by the early primitive civilizations. The wild Boar God was the ‘Panjurli’ bhoota or ‘daiva’ of Tulu tribes.
The term ‘bhoota’ refers to spirit of the dead creatures. ‘Daiva’ refers to God. Early societies including primitive Tulu tribes attributed godly status (‘daiva’) to various spirits. The early societies believed that all living creatures continue to live as spirits even after death. This led to the development of the concept of reincarnation.

Serpent:Naga
Similar another mysterious creature that appeared suddenly around their inhabitations, sometimes biting one of their members fatally was cobra or the serpent. Sometimes it did not bite due to unexplainable reason for them at that time. They held in awe the mysterious power of the snakes to kill humans with just a poisonous bite. This led to the concept of serpent or Naga worship in the primitive tribal societies of the Indian subcontinent.
Both these forms of worship (Panjurli and Naga) were later absorbed into the pantheon of Indian Gods Panjurli, the boar revered by the early tribes became the Varāha, the third incarnation of Vishnu. Naga worship was absorbed as serpent around Shiva’s neck and as Adishesha, the poetic mattress and umbrella for the reclining Vishnu. In southern India, at places the Naga worship has subsequently been merged with the worship of Murugan or Subramanya.
. The concept of Panjurli and Naga worship was carried from the northwestern Indian subcontinent to Tulunad along with migrating Tulu tribes, where it is continued to be followed even today. The list of Spirit Gods has grown during the long historical past and the individual Tulu families believe in specific spirits since ages. Even those who subsequently embraced the worship of major Hindu Gods like Shiva Vishnu/Krishna and Shakti /Durga or even Jainism still ardently worship the spirits perpetuated by their lineages.

Fish God
Thinking on similar vein, it appears that the fish symbols portrayed in the Indus valley seals represent the Fish God worshipped by the inhabitants of Indus Valley. The citizens of Indus valley were particularly apprehensive of the floods that characterized the Indus and its tributaries. To ward off floods, possibly they believed in the Fish God that controls the rivers and the Sea. The memories of the Fish God culture survived long after the Indus Valley perished. The legend was absorbed later in the history as the first incarnation of Vishnu.
Another animal figure found in Indus seals is that of bull or bison. Subsequently the bull was adopted as the vehicle of Shiva.

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29.The Rice: Vrihi and Arih

The relics of rice grains recovered from the archeological sites of Pirak area, Baluchistan suggest that the area was known for rice cultivation around 1700 BC. The mixed civilization at that time period composed of Vedic scholars and proto-Tulu, proto- Tamil and Dravidian communites at Pirak, as has been dealt in earlier posts here before.
Origin of the Sanskrit word ‘Vrihi’ that means rice (Oriza sativa) and sometimes other cereals like wheat and barley, has been discussed by Indological experts like Asko Purpola. The word is generally said to be not directly influenced by or related to the Dravidian words ‘arih’ (Tulu) and ‘arisi’ (Tamil) that represent the rice. On the other hand it has been fairly accepted that the Tamil word ‘arisi’ was adopted by Greek, Latin and also English as ‘rice’.
Sankaran Nair (2003) suggested that ‘Vrihi’ is a modified form of the word ‘varahi’. He cited that there are several varieties of rice designated as Graishmic, Hemanti, Varshic, Sharada, Salini etc described in ancient Sanskrit texts. Varahi is the female form of mythological Varaha, the boar incarnation of Lord Vishnu. (Varahi, is also the name of a river in Western Karnataka).
The word ‘Varahi’ has further ramifications. First connotation is that the Varaha was worshipped at that time by communities and cultures prevalent then at Pirak area. Spirits worshipped by the Tulu communities, even to date, include ‘Panjurli’ which is the Tulu form of Varaha. Appaently, the Panjurli or the Varaha was worshipped more widely at that time. The Varaha concept, later in the history, was absorbed as one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
Thus the word ‘vrihi’ might have brought into Sanskrit usage as rice was predominantly grown and consumed by those who worshipped the Varaha or Panjurli. Besides, there is certain degree of similarity in pronunciation of the words ‘vrihi’ and ‘arih’.

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