Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis c7.57

c7.57

Reports on the Yogī castes of Bengal, who, as do those of Assam also,⁴ trace their origin to Kānphaṭas, are quite extensive. Buchanan⁵ traces the origin of this group in Bengal to one of two causes: either they belonged to the priesthood of the country during the reign of Gopicand, or, they were Śūdras dedicated to the religious life, degraded by Śaṅkara, who came with the Pālas from western India. Buchanan reports a tradition in North-eastern Bengal¹ to the effect that the Yogīs were formerly pupils of the great Śaṅkara, and that they took to drinking and were degraded. The legend of Gopicand² gives evidence pointing in this direction. For the Yogī, Hāḍī by name, who figures in that story was a sweeper (Dom) by caste. In Rangpur, Buchanan found low-caste Yogīs who were itinerant bards, who sang songs of Gopicand, who were descendants of the priesthood of the time of Gopicand.³ The same writer⁴ reported two divisions of Yogīs who did not intermarry. One were the Helayas, weavers and cultivators. Their women dyed thread and retailed turmeric, capsicum and other seasonings. The other division were the Theyayas, idle beggars who burned shells for lime. Some of these were cultivators. Both groups were eaters of impure food and drunkards who buried their dead. They were said to have been disgraced by Śaṅkara. They were illiterate. Elsewhere,⁵ Buchanan wrote that in eastern Bengal there was a caste of Yogīs who were weavers, lime burners, unskilled labourers, beggars and wandering singers. Some of them are now engaged in agriculture, some are goldsmiths, and some are found in the subordinate grades of Government service. In Rangpur they sing the cyclic songs of Gopicand.