The picturesque Bababudangiri hills are situated in Chickmagalur district of Karnataka. The Bababudangiri shrine has been in focus for the past few decades because of the communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. There are many legends and myths circulating about the shrine.
The Hindutva claims that the shrine belongs to the Hindus, for it is the place where the hindu ascetic god “Dattatreya” was “born”. The Muslims claim that , Bababudan ,a Sufi saint meditated in the caves of Budangiri about 1500 years ago. For centuries, Bababudangiri has been the symbol of true secularism and syncreticism.
Both Hindus and Muslims have been worshiping Bababudan without any religious conflict. However from the past 2 decades, Hindutva forces have been trying to saffronise this secular space for their own political gains. The Hindutva forces dream of creating a Hindu India and syncretic spaces like Bababudangri , have been an obstacle in the path of “making India hindu”.
Hindutva forces create an image of India as a goddess to be saved from the clutches of the Muslims and go back to the glorious Hindu past. The Sangh parivar claim Bababudangiri to be the birthplace of Dattatreya which was usurped by the Muslims. The Sangh Parivar calls for “the fellow Hindu warriors” to save their holy place and restore the “lost”land.
.This paper tries to put forth the different narratives and myths circulating about Bababudangiri and analyzes how questions of caste have been silenced and gender is foregrounded by the Hindutva in order to saffronise the syncretic shrine of Bababudangiri. The process of saffronisation is done by circulating false stories drawn from the different myths about Bababudan and Dattatreya .
The Shrine and the Rituals practiced .
The Shrine of Bababudangiri consists of four tombs of the disciples of Bababudan, the seat of Bababudan, the paduka, the nandadeepa and the spring of holy water. To the left of the seat one finds a tunnel which is believed to be the tunnel to mecca.
To the left of the cave we find the chilla of Mama Jigni or Anusuya The Sajjad-e-nishan, the administrative and the religious head of the shrine is believed to be the descendant of Bababudan.The religious rituals of the shrine are conducted by the Mujavar, who is appointed by the Sajjad-e-nishan.The rituals combine both Hindu and Islamic traditions.
The prayer that is chanted by the Mujavar traces the lineage of the Bababudan. There is a place where both Hindu and Muslims break coconuts for the fulfillment of their wishes. The Mujavar, though part of the Islamic tradition wears a saffron turban instead of a green turban.
The Myth of Dattatreya and Anusuya
There are no exact authentic written histories about Bababudan or Dattatreya. Dattatreya is considered as the reincarnation of the hindu trinity ,Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara.(Shiva).
The Puranic tradition claims that he was the reincarnation of Vishnu. The believers of Nath tradition believe him to be the incarnation of Shiva . There are many different myths surrounding the birth of Dattatreya.
Though the Markandeya purana and the
Brahma purana The Natha tradition believe that Dattatreya was born to sage Atri and Anusuya, there are different narratives about the reasons behind the birth of Dattatreya and the number of brothers and sisters dattatreya had .According to the Mahabharata, Dattatreya belonged to the lineage of the sage Atri and was not the son of sage Atri and Anusuya. There are many more myths circulating about Dattatreya's youth.
The reports that Dattatreya let go of all his brahminical ascetic roots and lived a worldly life. “The varies in its description of Dattatreya. In a few parts he is portrayed as an ascetic while in others he is the demon.
From the descriptions of Dattatreya drawn from the different narratives,we can assume that Dattatreya was a non vedic figure, who let go of his brahmanical roots and rebelled against it. It is believed that Anusuya the mother of Dattatreya also meditated in the hills of Bababudan. There are also stories about Anusuya having the power to make chapatis out of the soil from the cave.
One of the narratives also states that a Fakir once tried to molest Anusuya and she was rescued by Dattatreya.
The Myth of Bababudan and Mama Jigni
Sufism is supposed to be the mystical aspect of Islam Sufism like the Bhakti poets in India was an anti class/caste movement. It broke the barriers of caste and was greatly followed by the poor and the lower class section of the society.
Bababudan who was the disciple of Hazrath Dada Hayath Meer Khalandar belonged to the Sufi sect. It is also believed that Bababudan was the first one to bring coffee seeds to Chickmagalur The Shahkhadri and the Islamic wing of the Karnataka Komu Souharda vedike give different narratives about the origin of Bababudan and the history of the Bababudan hills. Mama Jigni is believed to be the adopted daughter of Bababudan, People believe that Mama Jigni had mystical powers to convert soil into bread .
Like the tale of Anusuya, it is also believed that a wandering Fakir once tried to molest Mama Jigni and she was saved by Bababudan.Though there are no written documents to support the stories about Bababudan or Jamal Magribi, We do find documents pertaining to the administrative rights of the Sajjad-e-nishaan These documents prove that administrative duties of shrine were fulfilled by the Sajjad-e-nishaan for centuries.
The Hindutva Myth of Bababudangiri
The Sangh Parivar has always been aiming at creating a Hindu India.
The violence in Gujrat and Ayodhya have been the battlegrounds of the militant “hindu India” project of the Hindutva forces.The Sangh Parivar draws on the story of Dattatreya to claim the Budangiri shrine as hindu. The Muslims have always been stereotyped by the sangh parivar as overtly sexual and violent beings.
They have been constructed as the 'other' who invaded India and plundered its riches. Hindutva creates the figure of Mother India being molested by the Muslim invaders. Using this figure of helpless pious woman.
Hindutva forces mobilize people to come forth and save the honour of the mother nation. In a syncretic space like Bababudangiri, the Hindutva forces manipulated the myth of molestation of Anusuya. Anusuya in the religious myths is a pious woman who is known for her devotion towards her husband.
Anusuya's devotion towards her husband results in the birth of Dattatreya who is none other than the reincarnation of Vishnu. Thus Anusuya is the figure of an ideal hindu woman.By focusing on the story of molestation of Anusuya, Hindutva forces create an emasculated figure of the Hindu man as against the overtly sexual figure of the Muslim male.
The hindu man is urged to appropriate the characteristics of the 'other' (i.e the muslim) and resort to violence in order to achieve the dream of an ideal Hindu state. Anusuya becomes the stereotypical image of a helpless and innocent woman who has to be protected from the “libidinous” muslim man.
The choice of the figure of Dattatreya by the Hindutva for their campaign is an interesting point to explore. Dattatreya was an ascetic. Ascetics were expected to be peace loving and tolerant.
This image of the ascetic fits perfectly into the hindutva image of the hindu as a tolerant man, who has been open hearted and accommodative towards the muslims. The image of the ascetic hindu is placed in contrast with the demonic muslim.The hindutva forces manipulate the image of Dattatreya in order to mobilize people against Bababudan and thus saffronising a syncretic space.
Colonialism created the notion of a homogenised brahmin India . This homogenisation silenced the different religious practices of various sects of hinduism in India. The ideology of brahmin India still continues in the hindutva discourses today.
In the Bababudangiri discourse one can see that the image of Dattatreya has been altered to portray him as the brahmanical hindu god. The irony lies in the fact that even in the Puranas, Dattatreya is known to be anti-brahmanical and anti-caste. Yet the photographs of dattatreya distributed by the hindutva forces show him wearing the sacred thread.
Dattatreya in the Puranic tradition and Natha tradition was a wanderer, a saint who did not believe in caste barriers or performed the brahmanical rituals . The Hindutva forces transformed the saint figure of Dattatreya into the God figure and introduced rituals like the Datta Mala and the Shobha Yatra. The practice of animal sacrifice which was a part of the annual Urs celebration has been stopped for it doesnt fit into the hindu brahmanical practice of ahimsa.
The Sangh Parivar silences the Sufi tradition of Bababudangiri and presents it as a Muslim shrine. The Hindutva also distorts the facts of the 1975 court case which was filed by hindu devotee's of the shrine to prevent the shrine from being a part of the WAKF board. But the Hindutva forces manipulate the facts of the case and claim that the 1975 case was against the islamisation of a hindu shrine.
The misrepresentation of a sufi shrine as a muslim shrine proves beneficial to the hindutva forces to silence the secular stance of sufism and gives it a muslim fundamental twist. The hindutva forces claim that the muslim fakirs took over the hindu shrine and support their argument by pointing out at the presence of the Paduka and the Nandadeepa. The paduka though seen as the footwear of an hindu ascetic can also be worn by a muslim saint.
And the nandadeepa can also be used as a means to light up the cave. The hindutva argues on the basis of baseless grounds to claim that hindu root of the shrine. The Sangh parivar has also changed the name of the place from Bababudangiri to Inam Dattatreya peetha This has been achieved by forcibly blackening the direction plates and changing them to Inam Datta peetha.
The different oral narratives of Bababudangiri
The Hindutva narrative of Bababudangiri has been assimilated by the common man of Chikmagalur. The hindutva has been successful in creating a divide between the Hindus and Muslims of Chickmagalur. The oral narratives of the residents of Chickmagalur clearly indicate the increasing tension between people of both communities.
Most of the Hindu residents assert that the shrine is a hindu temple and silence the presence of the tombs of Bababudan's disciples. The image of the Hindu god and the ritual of Datta-mala and Shobha-yatra has gained importance over the annual Urs celebration. The hindutva forces also create the fear of the muslim in the minds of Hindus by spreading rumours of women being raped The Hindutva forces quote examples from the muslim jihad to ask Hindus to stay united .
The hindutva forces borrow from the very religion they oppose and propagate hindu ideals. False stories are spread about the shrine. People are told that the tombs are filled with weapons like knives and choppers and any hindu devotee visiting the shrine would be killed and drowned in the spring of holy water.
The muslim residents maintain the Islamic and Sufi roots but also state that devotees of both communities worship in the shrine.
Conclusion
The syncretic space of Bababudangiri has been saffronised by the hindutva forces. The saffronisation is mobilized by foregrounding the myth of the molestation of Anusuya and silencing the anti brahmanical stance of both sufism and Natha tradition of Dattatreya.
A brahmin heritage is created by evoking the figure of Dattatreya as god than that of an anti-brahmanical wandering ascetic. The Hindus minds are poisoned against their muslim neighbours by creating a demonic, overtly sexual image. The hindu men are “awakened” by emasculating them and also evoking the image of the helpless innocent “goddess” who is being physically assaulted by the muslim other.
The men are forced to appropriate the stereotype of the other (i.e the Muslims) in order to protect the hindu nation and hindu mother. The hindutva narrative draws on the different myths of Bababudangiri and Dattatreya but also succeeds in creating another pro hindu myth by manipulating gender and caste.
References:
The Muslims believe that it was the place where Mama Jigni, the adopted daughter of Bababudan meditated where as the Hindus believe that Anusuya, Dattatreya's mother meditated there.
This ritual was started by the Wodeyars and is practiced by both Hindus and Muslims.
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2006.
Sage Atri asked for 3 sons and one daughter to the trinity and hence Chandra, Dattatreya, Durvas and Shubhatreyi were born.
Ibid.
“A brahmin named Kaushik was staying in a town called Pratishthaan. He used to go to a whore inspite of being a Brahmin and having a devoted wife. Later he suffered from l and was thrown out by the whore.
Then he came back to his wife who accepted him still. However, he still did not care for the wife, and was thinking about the whore all the time. One day he asked his wife to take him to that whore.
In that town, the sage Mandavya had been spiked instead of areal thief and he was lying on the spike in the forest. While walking through the deep forest in the night, Kaushik happened to hit his leg by mistake to Mandavya sage who cursed him to death before the sunrise. To stop the curse, Kaushik's wife with her powers stopped the sunrise which created havoc.
The gods then went to Brahma who in turn went to Anusuya and asked her to convince Kaushik's wife to allow the sunrise. She convinced Kaushik's wife and brought back Kaushik to life after the sunrise. Gods were very happy with Anusuya and she had the trio born to her.
” Another myth states that “ had masked the and whole was in the dark. Atri released the Sun out of 's hands and lighted the . The gods were happy and and were born as Durvas and Dattatreya to Atri-Anusuya.
Sage praised Anusuya very much which made the wives of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva jealous of Anusuya. They requested their husbands to go and break her "pativrata" vrata They went to Anusuya as guests when Atri was not there at home and asked her to serve them (lunch) without wearing clothes. She agreed and by meditating on her her husband, put water on them, converting them into 3 babies.
The three goddesses who were waiting for their husbands to come back arrived at the scene to find their husbands being converted to babies. They repented and Anusuya asked the three Gods to be born as her 3 sons."
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Anusuya and Atri are believed to have been residing in chitrakoota when Brahma Vishnu and Shiva visited them. There is a temple in Chitrakoot.
Madhyapradesh where sati anusuya is worshiped.
Ibid
One legend states that Atri meditated on the riksha kulaparvat (kula mountain) and impressed the Trinity. The Trinity granted him a boon and Atri asked them to be his children (or have children like them).
So Atri and Anusuya had 3 sons namely, Soma or Chandra (the Moon) from , Dattatreya from and sage Durvasa from .
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, to free himself of all attachments, into a lake where he stayed for many years by doing so, he also hoped to evade an assembly of who remained on the banks of the lake awaiting his return. emerged from the water in the company of a . The text relates that he with her ( ), , and enjoyed singing and music.
In spite of this, the did not him, and , accompanied by his , continued to engage in these practices and was on by those for .”
Ibid
a list of his twenty-four : , , sky / , water, fire, sun, , , , sea, , , , bear, , fish, , a , a maiden, a , a , , , and . The image of the ranged from that of a living in the woods with , to that of a frightening, even , being.
”
Research indicates that the origin of Sufism cannot be traced back to a single definite cause; different theories have been presented that highlight the roles of expanding the mystic ideas in Qur’an by various means, the synthesis of Persian civilization with Islam, and incorporating ideas and practices of other mystic systems such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Gnosticism in formation of Sufi tradition. The evidences in support of these theories include the existence of considerable similarities between Sufism and cultures and doctrines predating and outside Islam.
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The Islamic wing of the Karnataka Koma Souharda Vedike in Chickmagalur believe that Bababudan brought in coffee seeds from Baghdad . Chickmagalur is still famous for Arabica brand of coffee.
The Shahkhadri states that in the 14th century, One of the Sahabi's of Prophet Mohammad Sheikh Abdul Azeez Makkhi alias Dada Hayath Meer Khalandar came to Chickmagalur and preached Islam.
He went back after some time and the other members of his family, Jamal Magribi came to Chickmagalur and meditated in the hills of Bababudan giri. He also stated that sayyad Budan shah Khadri was one of the family members but he did not meditate in the Budan giri hills. One is not sure why the hills got the name Bababudangiri.
The Islamic wing states that a sufi saint came to Chickmagalur and propagated sufism . Jamal-Shah-Khadri and his brother Musa-Hussain-Shah-Khadri brought coffee seeds from Baghdad to India Ballal Raja gave Jaagra or Inam land to them.where they sowed coffee seeds.
Bababudan's four disciples meditated along with him in the cave and hence their tombs are also a part of the shrine. Mama Jigni was the adopted daughter of Bababudan.
The Mysore Muzrai Manual 1934, Chapter XI Mohammadan Institutions.
Mysore Archaeological report . University of Mysore. Government press.
1932.
Mysore Gazetteer Vol.V.
C.Hayavadana.Rao.
1930.
Proceedings of the Mysore Representative Assembly, Government Branch Press. October 1927.
Supplement to the Mysore Gazette, October 7, 1913.21
Chapter VIII-Miscellaneous, Mysore Administration Report, 1926-27.
Rice Lewis.
Epigraphic Carnatic, Vol VI, 1901.
Elliot.H.
Robert, Coffee planting in Mysore. 1895.
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2006
"Hindus" and "Hinduism" are orientalist constructions originating with late eighteenth century British administrators who believed "the essence of India existed in a number of key Hindu classical scriptures such as Vedas, the codes of Manu and the shastras that often prescribe hierarchical ideas" -- a conclusion eagerly "supported and elaborated by Brahmins". (2) Britishers not only absorbed this understanding, they put an official seal on it "by applying a legal system based on Brahminic norms to all non-Muslim castes and outcastes, the British created an entirely new Brahmin legitimacy. They further validated Brahmin authority by employing, almost exclusively, Brahmins as their clerks and assistants.
"(3) " -- this fabrication through repetition of India as unitary Hindu society has -- obscured the reality of a segmented society, with Brahmins and other upper castes exercising a monopoly of power, fabricated Hinduism is found everywhere." (4)
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“The then caretaker of the Dargah, Shah Khadri and two Hindu litigants challenged the government order making it a Wakf property. The judgement pronounced that the shrine is revered equally by the Hindus and Muslims, and ordered the status quo to be maintained. The court also upheld the rights of Shah Khadri regarding the inheritance.
“
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A waqf is an inalienable religious endowment in Islam, typically devoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The WAKF board maintains all the Islamic mosques and shrines around India.
Though this change of name has not been through the Government, The Hindutva forces have been successful in changing the name by blackening the direction markers on the way to Bababudangiri. The place has been popularized as the Dattapeeta by the Sangh Parivar around the country.
One of the priests of a temple in Chikmagalur warned hindu researchers to inform the police or take a policeman with them before heading towards Bababudangiri to ensure their safety.
One of the shopkeepers also said that Hindus can maintain their caste structures at home but they need to portray a united stand against the Muslims. He quoted examples from the Jihad of Muslims to show how the Muslims stay united. He also provided example of muslim woman abiding by the rules of purdah even if they are highly educated unlike hindu women who forget their roots
A perfect Libran. Hates people who pretend to be something else. Loves honesty.
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