The Virashaiva tradition

In Karnataka, in the twelfth century, a new movement was led by Basavanna (1106-68), a Brahmana who was a minister at the court of a Kalachuri ruler.

His followers were called Virashaivas ('heroes of Shiva') or Lingayats ('wearers of the linga'). Lingayats worship Shiva as a linga, and men wear a small linga in a silver case on a loop over the left shoulder. Their revered wandering monks are called jangamas.

Lingayats believe that on death, the devotee will be united with Shiva and will not return to this world. So they do not cremate the dead, as the Dharmashastras prescribe; instead they ceremonially bury them.

They challenged the idea of caste and the 'pollution' attributed to certain groups by Brahmanas. They questioned the theory of rebirth. And they encouraged practices disapproved of in the Dharmashastras, such as post-puberty marriage and the remarriage of widows. As a result, they won followers among those who were marginalised in the Brahmanical social order.

Their ideas survive in vachanas (sayings), composed in Kannada by women and men who joined the movement. Meanwhile, ideas of the Tamil Vaishnava saints were absorbed into Sanskrit traditions, for example in the Bhagavata Purana. Heroes of Shiva against caste and ritual.