• Source: Lingayat Vani

The Lingayat Vani community (marathi: लिंगायत वाणी) is an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They belong to Veershaiv sect of Hindu Shaivism and are also referred to as Veershaiv-Lingayat Vanik or Lingayat Balija or Vira Banajiga or Bir Vanigas. The name Vani is derived from the Sanskrit word 'Vanijya' which means trade.
The Lingayat Vanis were a trading community, widely distributed in the western Maharashtra(konkan, pune, kohlapur) and eastern Maharashtra-marathwada region(Parbhani, Nanded, Latur, Udgir, Yeotmal and ahmednagar) and the north karnataka region.
They rejected Brahminical authority over the Vedas and shastras but embraced Vedic knowledge without dismissing it. They worship all gods, considering them forms of Shiva. The 13th-century Telugu Virashaiva poet Palkuriki Somanatha, who authored key Lingayat scriptures, affirmed that "Virashaivism fully conformed to the Vedas and shastras."




Social Status


Lingayat Vani belonged to the upper class and therefore were strict vegetarians. Devout Lingayats do not consume meat of any kind including fish. The drinking of liquor is prohibited.They mostly speak Marathi Language. Lingayats traditionally believed themselves to be equal in status to Brahmins, and disregarded them for their support to casteism. Some Lingayat Vanis were so anti-Brahmin that they would not eat food cooked or handled by Brahmins.
Lingayat Wanis migrated to Maharashtra from North karnataka like the Lad-Shakhiya Wanis who migrated from chittorgarh, Rajasthan in 13th century. Both Lingayat wani and Ladwani were excluded from the list of backward castes by the Maharashtra Government. Both the communities have deep and historical, social and familial bonds.
In Maharashtra, The Veershaivas, the Gujjars and the Rajputs are three important communities. The Veershaiv Vanis who migrated from north Karnataka are found primarily in south Maharashtra and Marthwada while Gujjars and Rajputs who migrated from north India have settled in north Maharashtra districts. These communities were rich, used to keep weapons like sword, guns etc. and usually were local village heads. Next to Marathas, Lingayat Vanis were seen to be a dominating community in politics as well as local markets.




Varna Status


After being placed in the shudra category in the 1881 census, Veershaivas demanded a higher status. Lingayats persisted in their claims for decades. In 1926, the Bombay High Court ruled that "the Veerashaivas are not Shudras."
Historians Velcheru Narayana Rao and Sanjay Subrahmanyam observed that during the Nayaka period, this right-hand caste emerged as trader-warrior-kings, driven by new wealth and the merging of the Kshatriya and Vaishya varnas into one.




The Veerashaiva Theology


In Veerashaiva theology the Panchacharas denote the five codes of conduct to be followed by the devotee. These Panchacharas are. 1. Shivachara 2. Lingachara 3. Sadachara 4. Bruthyachara and 5. Ganachara. See: Panchacharas.




Festivals and Gods


They are religious people and worship all Hindu gods and goddesses, considering them forms of Shiva. Their chief family deities are Ambabai of Tuljapur, Banali and Danammái in Jat, Dhanai in the Konkan, Esai, Janai, and Jotiba of Kolhapur, Khandoba of Jejuri, Mahadev, Malikarjun near Vyankoba in Tirupati, Revansiddheshvar in Satara, Shakambari in Bádámi, Siddheshvar of Sholapur, Yallamma of Saundatti in Bijapur, Virbhadra of Mukhed in Nanded, to all which places they go on pilgrimage.




= Family Deities

=
Their chief clan gotras are Nandi, Vir(or Veer or veerabhadra), vrishabh, skand and bhringi. They worship lord Virabhadra or narsimha as their kula devata and some have Bhadrakali, Bhavani mata or Satvai mata as their kul devi.
Lingayat Vanis from Nanded worship virabhadra deity of Mukhed as their kul daivat and the priest is usually a lingayat vani only. The worship is carried out by jangams and is the same as that of Brahmins except that they offer their gods neither red flowers nor kevda flower.
Virashaivas believe to be originated from Shiva's Jats and therefore worship lord virabhadra as their ancestral god. They believe in having qualities of a Bhrahman, Kshatriya and vasihyas and neglect discrimination(same was the purpose of virabhadra to kill daksha).
They carry Marathi surnames like Deshmukh, Devane, Kalyani, Desai, Gowda, Nandedkar, Eklare, Rao, Appa, Bagmare, Dongre, Falke, Naik, Umre, Nandkule etc.

Many veerashaiva rulers had Lord Virabhadra as their family deity and special lunches used to be prepared. Many of then warriors having heroic slogans of "Jai Veerbhadra", repeatedy hacking and pierching enemies. Lingayat Vani marriages have a Gugula Ceremony in which special prayers are offered to Lord Ganesha and Lord Virbhadra. It is performed by the bride or bridegroom and their mothers.




= Veera gotra

=
The veera gotra belongs to the gotrapurusha Renukacharya (also known as Revaṇārādhya or Revaṇasiddha) who was the teacher of the great sage Agastya of Pañcāvati.

The gotra of Veerabhadra is also shared by Jat community like the Lingayat Vani community. Virabhadra and Daksha's daughtergana's womb originated the Jats. Virabhadra had five sons and two grand sons named Pon Bhadra, Jakh Bhadra, Kalhan Bhadra, Brahma Bhadra, Ati Sur Bhadra, Dahi Bhadra and Anjana Jata Shankar. Seven major Jat gotras are named after these seven descendants of Vir Bhadra.




= God Khandoba

=
Khandoba, a revered god, has significant influence within this community. Born in a Lingayat Vani family, his worship plays a role in their identity. Many believe him to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva.Khandoba had two wives, Mhalsa from the merchant (Vani) community and Banai from the shepherd (Dhangar) caste.




= Lingayat Vanis believing in both Vaishnavism and Shaivism

=
A famous story of Tukarama, vaishnava saint meeting a devotee named Niloba Gosavi Pimpalnerkar despite being from a Shaiva lingayat vani family. The story goes as:
"Tukáráma had promised, while yet on earth, to a Lingayat Wáni to appear to him at his death. Accordingly when the Wáni felt his death approaching, he sent to Dehu for Ramesvar, Tukáráma's younger brother, and his younger son. When they arrived, Tukáráma appeared. The Wani alone perceived him, and made obeisance to him, and put sweet-smelling powder on his forehead, and garlands on his neck. The two then spoke together, and all marvelled, for they saw nothing but the garlands of flowers, which seemed as if suspended in the air."
Gowar Seth, a lingayat vani was the Taalkari(an instrumentalist) of saint Tukarama.Similar stories of a devotee of Saint Dnyaneshwar, Danappa Vani of Tembhurni village in Solapur are famous.




= Sacrificial Practices in the Community

=
In 1877, a Lingayat Wani and a Sanyasi Gosain sacrificed a 12-year-old boy in Kolhapur State to seek divine guidance for hidden treasure from Shiva. While such rituals stemmed from religious beliefs, they contrast with Rajput practices like female infanticide, which arose from economic and social pressures. Both reflected harmful traditions addressed by British reforms in India.




Origin & History


From the 13th century, inscriptions in Andhra mention "Vira Balanjyas," warrior merchants managing long-distance trade with armed protection. They formed pekkandru collectives, distinct from nagaram linked to Komati merchants, and included members with titles like Reddy, Boya, and Nayaka..
The Five Hundred guild, called Ayyavole in Kannada, Ayyavolu in Telugu, and Aryarupa in Sanskrit, operated across Southern India and Southeast Asia, gaining prominence under the Cholas. Upholding the Veera-Banaju-Dharma (law of noble merchants), they were known for their courage and enterprise, with the bull as their emblem displayed on their flag.
They were merchants, traders, agriculturists and Zamidars and some were also Jagirdars before the 19th century. They were given the titles of Desai, Appa, Rao, Deshmukh or Patil.
Banajiga have been mentioned in several Vijayanagar documents as wealthy merchants who controlled powerful trading guilds . To secure their loyalty, the Vijayanagar kings made them Desais or "superintendents in the country".




= Lingayat Vanis and Marwari Rajputs

=
In the middle of 12th century, during the kingdom of kalyana, one of Basava's apostles, is said to have gone to Marwar kingdom of Rajputs, and brought back 196,000 Marwari converts and spread them all over the Panch Dravid country or Southern India. The names in common use among men are Baslingappa, Vishwanath rao, Gopalshet, Krishnappa, Malkarjun, Maruti, Rajaram, Ramshet, Shivappa, Shivlingappa, hanumant appa, and Vithoba; and among women, Bhagirthi, Chandrabhaga, Janki, Kashibai, Lakshmi, Rakhumai, and Vithai.




= Veershaivas and The Bhonsle Clan

=
The Bhonsles had a special affection towards the Veerashaiva faith. Maloji Bhonsle, grandfather of Shivaji, was a devout shaivite and built multiple temples and one of them was a large 49 acre tank built for a lingayat matha of village Shingnapur in the satara district. Rajaram Bhonsle, son of shivaji, also made some grants for the temple in the name of lingayats living there.
Karnataka's Deputy CM Govind Karjol claimed "Shivaji’s forefather Belliyappa was from Soratur in Gadag district in Karnataka. When there was drought in Gadag, Belliyappa left for Maharashtra. Shivaji was the fourth generation of the family". This shows even Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was ‘a Kannadiga' like the Lingayat vani community which migrated to Maharashtra from Karnataka centuries back.




= Lingayat Desais and The Marathas

=
The founders of the family of the Lingayat Desais of Kittoor are said to have been two brothers of the name of Haraimullappa and Chickmullappa, merchants by profession, who resided at Sumpgaum.This suggests the Desais would have been equivalent to Lingayat Vanis in social manner. By some means or other the family seems to have risen to distinction under the Kings of Bijapur, from whom it received the title of "Sumsher Jung Bahadoor", together with the more substantial favours of sundry inams and offices in and about Kittoor.
Bajirao Sarkar Peshwa remembered with gratitude the help and co-operation extended to them by Raja Mallasarja in defeating Tippu Sultan of Srirangapattana in 1781. Mallasarja showed extraordinary cleverness in escaping from the prison of Kapaladurga. Besides he was a very able administrator of his kingdom. In recognition of his valour, cleverness and ability Bajirao conferred the title of 'Pratap Rao' on Raja Mallasarja.




= Veershaiva Merchants of Vijaynagar Empire

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The Veershaivas likely were a part of the reason for the success of the Vijaynagar empire in territorial expansion and in withstanding the Deccan Sultanate wars. Many kings were veerashaiva in faith and belonged to the Karnataka and Lepakshi region. They were an important part of the Vijayanagara Empire army.
Virasaivas merchants turned warriors of the Vijayanagara empire defeated the Deccan Sultanates in the Lepakshi region (Karnataka-Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh border region).
Virupanna and Viranna, two Veerashaiva merchants, both brothers who were Governors under the Vijayanagar Empire, built Veerbhadra temple in Lepakshi around the late 16th century. Virupanna chose this particular form of Siva to demonstrate the contempt the Veerashaiva community had for the caste-bound, rigid hierarchical order of society prevalent then. The shields, daggers and assorted weaponry of the figures sculpted all over the temple complex suggest also the militant aspirations of this community.
After the collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, the Veershaiva Keladi/Ikkeri dynasty ruled coastal Karnataka. This emerged as a Veerashaiva dynasty, called the Nayakas of Keladi.




Freedom Struggle






= Bhakti Movement

=
Lingayatism is known for its unique practice of Ishtalinga worship, where adherents carry a personal linga in a silver box necklace, symbolizing a constant intimate relationship with Shiva. A radical feature of Lingayatism is its staunch opposition to the caste system and advocacy for social equality, challenging societal norms of the time.




= Hyderabad Liberation

=
They were involved in the liberation of Hyderabad state from nizams and helped in the process internally. There were freedom fighters from latur, namely Bhimrao Mulkhede, Laxman tuljaram devane, datta raghoba Devane, who actively participated in the liberation struggle of Hyderabad. Whereas in Nanded region, VishvanathRao appa, Hanmantappa Devane killed nizam saudagar(local headman appointed by nizams in every village) and looted local British banks creating more chaos for the nizams internally. The mundaragi camp headed by sivamurthy swami hiremath and chenappa wali succeeded in protecting victims of razakaars and also attacked razakars creating a necessary internal chaos and defeat of princely state of Hyderabad.




= Modern Period

=
From 1918 to 1969, Lingayats were seen to dominate in the freedom struggle movement, and later in the Congress party. From 1956 to 1969, Congress had four chief ministers who were lingayats. After that its Hindutva ideology lead the community to support BJP extensively




Hindu Veershaiv Lingayat Manch, Maharashtra



A protest meeting was held on behalf of Hindu Veerashaiva Lingayat Manch, Pimpri Chinchwad city at Mahatma Basaveshwar Memorial, Bhakti Shakti Chowk, Nigdi to protest against the 24th session of the All India Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha concluded at Davangere in the state of Karnataka in protest against the appeal that the word Hindu should not be written in the column of religion in the upcoming census.
"The debate over the religion of the Veerashaiva Lingayat community has now come to an end. Social activists are creating controversy over religion in such a way as to deliberately create a gap between Hinduism and Lingayat society". Mahatma Basaveshwar Putala Samiti President, Shri Narayan Bahirwade, appealed that everyone from the Lingayat community should register as Hindu in census. The community rejected the claims of politically funded organizations to divide the lingayat community for vote bank benefits.




Notable People


Shivraj Vishwanath Patil - Minister of Home Affairs of India (2004–2008) and10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (1991–1996).
Ajit Madhavrao Gopchade - BJP Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, activist from Maharashra and one of the Kar Sevak, part of the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
Basavraj Madhavrao Patil - Member of the 13th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani - Indian politician, Former Cabinet Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries and RSS loyalist.
Basanagouda R. Patil - Indian Politician
Tatyasaheb Kore - also known as Sahakarmaharshi, was a key figure in transforming the Warana region of Maharashtra through pioneering cooperative ventures like the Warana Co-operative Sugar Factory and other initiatives in dairy, banking, and education.
Shanta Hublikar - actress and singer from early years of Indian cinema.




References






Sources


Velcheru Narayana Rao; Gene H. Roghair (2014). Siva's Warriors: The Basava Purana of Palkuriki Somanatha. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6090-6.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Lingayat Vani
• Lingayatism
• Vaishya Vani
• Linga Balija
• Terani
• Anjanvel Fort
• Maratha titles
• Marathi people
• Deshmukh
• Yatindra Mishra