Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c14.44

c14.44

(iv) Śaiva Siddhāntins: By the Vijayanagar days religion had become too much associated with ritualistic ceremonials on the one hand and philosophical speculations on the other. The caste system had become rigid, and ceremonials had taken the place of devotion. Hence there was a general revolt against the rigidity of caste and the elaborateness of rituals, and the scope for the study of the religious literature of the country was expanded by the free use of the vernaculars. This widespread discontent against rigid orthodoxy resulted in the rise and spread of the cult of Śaiva Siddhāntism among the Śaivas. The author of this movement was one Meykaṇḍadēva who wrote the Śivajñāna-bōdham which contains the principles and tenets of that creed.²⁴ He stressed the importance of Śiva in the religious pantheon, and made Śaivism the popular religion among the masses. Meykaṇḍa had a worthy line of followers in Pattiragiriyar, Paṭṭaṇattu Piḷḷaiyār, Parañjōti Muṇivar and a few others. They stressed the importance of *bhakti* or devotion in preference to rituals and ceremonies. Śiva Vākyar ridiculed idol worship thus: "What is the use of decking stones with flowers? What true religion is there in the ringing of bells, the performance of set obeisances, the going around fanes, the floating of incense, the offering of things arranged as if in a market?" About pilgrimages he asked: "Can a bath in the Ganges turn black into white?" But he said: "Shun illusions, repress the senses, then the sacred waves of Kāśi will swell within your breast." Paṭṭaṇattu Piḷḷaiyār had no love of life. He says about the body: "It is a property claimed by various agents—by fire, by worms, by the earth, by kites, jackals, and curs. Its ingredients, moreover, are nasty and of bad odour". He insists upon the love of God. To him forms of worship and the scriptures are all 'godward perfidy'. He pleads for the true love of God.²⁵ This movement slowly spread in South India during the Vijayanagar days.