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{{short description|Shaivite religious sect in India}}
#REDIRECT [[Lingayats]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox religious group
| group        = Lingayatism<br> <small>[[Veerashaiva]]</small>
| flag          =
| flag_caption  =
| image        = Basava statue crop.png
| image_caption = [[Basava]]nna 12th-century statesman, philosopher, poet and Lingayat saint
| population    =
| founder      = [[Basava]]nna (1131–1167 CE)
| religions    = [[Hinduism]] (Shaivism)
| scriptures    = ''[[Vachana sahitya]]''{{•}}''[[Karana Hasuge]]''{{•}}''[[Basava purana]]''{{•}}''[[Shunyasampadane]]''{{•}}''[[Mantra Gopya]]'' {{•}}''[[Siddhanta Shikhamani]]''
| languages    = [[Kannada]]
| related-c    = [[Kannada people|Kannadigas]]
| regions      =
| tablehdr =
| region1      = [[Karnataka]]
| pop1          = 15,893,983<ref group=note>16% of state's population </ref>
| ref1          = <ref>{{cite web|title = CM Devendra Fadnavis to get demand for Lingayat quota examined by state panel|url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|work = The Times of India|access-date = 5 August 2021|archive-date = 5 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805150753/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|url-status = live}}</ref>
| region2      = [[Maharashtra]]
| pop2          = 6,742,460<ref group=note>6% of state's population </ref>
| ref2          = <ref>{{cite web|title = CM Devendra Fadnavis to get demand for Lingayat quota examined by state panel|url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|work = The Times of India|access-date = 5 August 2021|archive-date = 5 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805150753/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|url-status = live}}</ref>
| region3 = [[Telangana]]
| pop3 = 1,500,000<ref group=note>4.2% of state's population </ref>
| ref3 = <ref>{{cite web|title=Telangana state has around 15 lakh Lingayat population|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/amp/nation/current-affairs/200418/telangana-state-has-around-15-lakh-lingayat-population.html|access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref>
| website =
| notes        =
}}
{{Lingayatism}}
{{Saivism}}
{{Hinduism}}
'''Lingayatism''' or '''Veera Saivism''' is a [[Hindu denominations|Hindu denomination]] based on [[Shaivism]].{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=6}}<ref name="HR">{{cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Elaine M. |date=August 2019 |title=The Tangled Roots of Vīraśaivism: On the Vīramāheśvara Textual Culture of Srisailam |editor1-last=Copp |editor1-first=Paul |editor2-last=Wedemeyer |editor2-first=Christian K. |editor2-link=Christian K. Wedemeyer |journal=[[History of Religions (journal)|History of Religions]] |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] for the [[University of Chicago Divinity School]] |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=1–37 |doi=10.1086/703521 |issn=0018-2710 |jstor=00182710 |s2cid=202376600 |lccn=64001081 |oclc=299661763}}</ref><ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/> Initially known as ''[[Veerashaiva]]s'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''[[Veerashaivism]]'' have been used synonymously,{{refn|group=note|name=Lingayatism-Veerashaivism}} but ''Veerashaivism'' may refer to the broader ''Veerashaiva'' philosophy which predates Lingayatism,{{sfn|Michael|1992|p=18, note 1}} to the historical community now called ''Lingayats'',{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=71}} and to a contemporary (sub)tradition within Lingayatism with Vedic influences.<ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/>{{refn|group=note|name=Panchacharyas_dating}}
 
Veerashaiva Lingayatism was revived,{{refn|group=note|name=Panchacharyas_dating}} by the 12th-century philosopher and statesman [[Basava]] in Karnataka.{{sfn|Ishwaran|1981|p=76-78}} ''Lingayatism'' may refer to the whole Veerashaiva Lingayat community, but also to a contemporary sub-tradition dedicated to Basava's original thought, and to a movement within this community which strives toward recognition as an independent religion. Lingayat scholars thrived in northern Karnataka during the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] (14th-18th century). In the 21st century, some Lingayats have sought legal recognition as a religion distinct from Hinduism and Veerashaivas,<ref name="HR"/>{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>{{refn|group=note|name=separate_identity}} a request which has gained political support from the Congress-led Karnataka government, but is opposed by others.<ref name="HR"/><ref name=BS_2018 group=web/><ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/>
 
Lingayatism is generally considered a Hindu sect{{sfn|Levinson|Christensen|2002|p=475}}<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>{{refn|group=note|name=Hindu_sect}} because their beliefs include many Hindu elements.{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}{{refn|group=note|name=shared_beliefs}} Worship is centered on [[Shiva]] as the universal god in the iconographic form of ''Ishtalinga''.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}<ref name="HR"/>{{refn|group=note|name=Dalal_linga|Roshen Dalal (2010): "The linga is worshipped by all Shaivites, but it is the special emblem of the Lingayats or Virashaivas, a Shaivite sect."{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}}} Lingayatism emphasizes [[qualified monism]], with philosophical foundations similar to those of the 11th–12th-century South Indian philosopher [[Ramanuja]].<ref group=web name=EB_Lingayat/> Lingayatism rejects any form of social discrimination including the caste system and authority of Vedas and Puranas.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=52-56}}
 
Contemporary Lingayatism is influential in [[South India]], especially in the state of [[Karnataka]].<ref name="HR"/>{{sfn|Gall|Hobby|2009|p=567–570}} Lingayats celebrate anniversaries (''jayanti'') of major religious leaders of their sect, as well as Hindu festivals such as [[Shivaratri]] and [[Ganesh Chaturthi]].<ref name=Patil34/><ref name=campbell149/><ref name="Srinivas1995p158">{{cite book|first=M.N.|last=Srinivas|title=Social Change in Modern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrJB-MsbWvoC&pg=PA158|year=1995|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-0422-6|pages=157–158|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415005512/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrJB-MsbWvoC&pg=PA158|url-status=live}}</ref> Lingayatism has its own pilgrimage places, temples, shrines and religious poetry based on Shiva.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Wolf | first=Herbert C. | title=The Linga as Center: A Study in Religious Phenomenology | journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion | publisher=Oxford University Press | volume=XLVI | issue=3 | year=1978 | doi=10.1093/jaarel/xlvi.3.369 | pages=369–388}}</ref> Today, Lingayats, along with [[Shaiva Siddhanta]] followers, [[Nath]]s, [[Pashupata Shaivism|Pashupaths]], [[Kapalika]]s and others constitute the [[Shaivism|Shaivite population]].<ref name=shaivam.org group=web/>{{refn|group=note|For an overview of the Shaiva Traditions, see Flood, Gavin, "The Śaiva Traditions", in: Flood (2003), pp. 200-228. For an overview that concentrates on the Tantric forms of Śaivism, see [[Alexis Sanderson]]'s magisterial survey article ''Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions'', pp.660--704 in ''The World's Religions'', edited by Stephen Sutherland, Leslie Houlden, Peter Clarke and Friedhelm Hardy, London: Routledge, 1988.}}
 
==Etymology==
Lingayatism is derived from the Sanskrit root ''[[linga]]'' (Shiva's mark) and Sanskrit suffix ''ayta''.<ref name="Iyer1965"/> The adherents of Lingayatism are known as ''Lingayats''. In historical literature, they are sometimes referred to as Lingawants, Lingangis, Lingadharis, Sivabhaktas, Virasaivas or Veerashaivas.<ref name="Iyer1965">{{cite book|author=L.K.A. Iyer|title=The Mysore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9jbqGLH7ioC&pg=PA81|year=1965|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=81–82|id=GGKEY:HRFC6GWCY6D|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014030/https://books.google.com/books?id=w9jbqGLH7ioC&pg=PA81|url-status=live}}</ref> The term Lingayat is based on the practice of both genders of Lingayats wearing an {{transl|hi|iṣṭaliṅga}} contained inside a silver box with a necklace all the time. The {{transl|hi|istalinga}} is an oval-shaped emblem symbolising [[Parashiva]], the absolute reality and icon of their spirituality.<ref name="Iyer1965"/>
 
Historically, ''Lingayats'' were known as ''Virashaivas'',{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=71}} or "ardent, heroic worshippers of Shiva."{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=1-5}} According to Blake Michael, the term ''Veerashaivism'' refers both to a "philosophical or theological system as well as to the historical, social and religious movement which originated from that system." ''Lingayatism'' refers to the modern adherents of this religion.{{sfn|Michael|1992|p=18, note 1}} The term Lingayats came to be commonly used during the British colonial period.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=71}}
 
In the 1871 and the 1881 colonial-era census of British India, Lingayats were listed as ''[[shudras]]''.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=143}}{{refn|group=note|According to S.M. Jamdar, "who is spearheading the demand" in 2017/2018 for recognition of Lingayats as a separate religion, and M.B. Patil, Chandan Gowda also claims that "the Lingayats were recorded as a caste within the Hindu religion for the first time in the 1881 census done in Mysore state."<ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/>}} In 1926, the Bombay High Court ruled that "the Veerashaivas are not Shudras".{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145, note 7}}
 
The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''[[Veerashaivism]]'' have been used synonymously.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}{{sfn|Ahmmad|Ishwaran|1973|p=5}}{{sfn|Ikegame|2013a|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=bV5ElF17ezwC&pg=PA83 83]}}<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>{{refn|group=note|name=Lingayatism-Veerashaivism|Lingayatism-Veerashaivism:<br>* Roshen Dalal (2010): "Lingayats or Virashaivas, a Shaivite sect."; "A Shaivite sect, also known as Virashaivas."{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}<br>* Encyclopedia Britannica: Encyclopedia Britannica: "Lingayat, also called Virashaiva"<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>}} ''Veerashaivism'' refers to the broader ''Veerashaiva'' philosophy and theology as well as the movement, states Blake Michael, while Lingayata refers to the modern community, sect or caste that adheres to this philosophy.{{sfn|Michael|1992|p=18, note 1}}{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=71}} In the contemporary era, some state that Veerashaiva is a (sub)tradition within Lingayatism with Vedic influences,<ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/> and these sources have been seeking a political recognition of Lingayatism to be separate from Veerashaivism, and Lingayatism to be a separate religion. In contrast, Veerashaivas consider the two contemporary (sub)traditions to be "one and the same community" belonging to Hinduism.<ref name=BS_2018 group=web/>
 
==Lingayatism==
The origins of Lingayatism is traced to the 11th- and 12th-century CE in a region that includes northern Karnataka and nearby districts of South India. This region was a stronghold of [[Jainism]] and [[Shaivism]]. According to Iyer and other scholars, the Lingayatism theology emerged as a definitive egalitarian movement in this theological milieu, growing rapidly beyond north Karnataka. The Lingayats, states Burjor Avari quoting Jha, were "extremely anti-Jain".<ref>{{cite book|first=Burjor|last=Avari|title=India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Subcontinent from c. 7000 BCE to CE 1200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XziTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT285|year=2016|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-23672-6|page=285|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415010032/https://books.google.com/books?id=XziTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT285|url-status=live}}, Quote: "In the long run, however, their [Jain] influence in Karnataka waned owing to the rise of the Lingayat sect of the Virashaivas, led by a saint known as Basav. The Lingayats were extremely anti-Jain."</ref> The Veerashaiva philosophy enabled Lingayats to "win over the Jains to Shiva worship".<ref name="Iyer1965"/><ref>{{cite book |first=Kathleen |last=Kuiper |title=The Culture of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8PJFLeURhsC |year=2010 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-61530-149-2 |pages=147–148 |access-date=26 September 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206083035/https://books.google.com/books?id=c8PJFLeURhsC |url-status=live }}</ref> The Lingayats were also anti-Brahmin as evidenced by the polemics against the Brahmins in early Veerashaiva literature.<ref>{{cite book|author=D. Venkat Rao|title=Critical Humanities from India: Contexts, Issues, Futures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nnhQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT143|year=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-23492-4|pages=143–145|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034404/https://books.google.com/books?id=nnhQDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT143|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
According to a tradition which developed after Basava's time,{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=5}}<!-- **START OF NOTE** -->{{refn|group=note|name=Panchacharyas_dating|Dating of ''Panchacharyas'' tradition:<br>* Schouten (1995): "The death of Basava certainly did not bring the Virasaiva movement to an end [...] Virasaivism gained a firm foothold in Hindu culture. In this process of consolidation, it was felt to be appropriate to emphasize the agreements, rather than the deviations, with the dominant religion. Hence, the Virasaivas tended to present themselves as pure Hindus who shared the age-old religious tradition. This went so far that the role of Basava as the founder of the movement was downplayed. Virasaivas even claimed that their school of thought already existed long before Basava. In their imagination, they sometimes traced the history of Virasaivism back to primordial times. Legends arose among them which related that five teachers, sprung from the five faces of Siva, descended to earth, in each of the ages of the world under different names, in order to preach the eternal truth of Virasaivism. Basava would have been nothing more than a reviver of this religion which had existed from times immemorial."{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=5}}<br>* Bairy: "[Venkatrao, in 1919 the president of the Karnataka History Congress], mentions that many Lingayaths took objections to him mentioning Basava as the founder of Veerashaivism in his writings. Finding that very strange and unfathomable, he asks a Lingayath friend about the reasons for this. The friend tells him how that very question - of whether Basava is the founder of Veerashaivism (accepting which would not only mean that it is dated to as recent as the twelfth century but also subverts the Panchacharya tradition which claimed a more antiquarian past) or just a reformer - was a major bone of contention between the two sections of Lingayaths.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=147-148}}<br>* According to Aditi Mangaldas, in the 14th century ''Veerashaivism'' developed as a sub-sect of Lingayatism.{{sfn|Mangaldas|Vaidyanathan|2014|p=55}}}}<!-- **END OF NOTE** -->  ''Veerashaivism'' was transmitted by five ''Panchacharyas'', namely Renukacharya, Darukacharya, Ekorama, Panditharadhya, and Vishweswara, and first taught by Renukacharya to sage [[Agasthya]], a Vedic seer.<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/> A central text in this tradition is [[Siddhanta Shikhamani]], which was written in Sanskrit, and gives an elaboration of "the primitive traits of Veerashaivism [found] in the Vedas and the Upanishads" and "the concrete features given to it in the latter parts (Uttarabhaga) of the Saivagamas."<ref name=Amazon group=web/><ref>M. Sivakumara Swamy, translator (2007){{fcn|date=November 2021}}</ref> While Veerashaivas regard the ''Siddhanta Shikhamani'' to predate Basava, it may actually have been composed in the 13th or 14th century, post-dating Basava.<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/>
 
According to [[Gauri Lankesh]],{{refn|group=note|name=Lankesh|Writing for ''The Wire'', and summarizing research by S.M. Jamdar and Basavaraj Itnal.}} "Lingayats are followers of Basavanna," while Veerashaivism is a Vedic Shaiva tradition, which "accepts the Vedic text."<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/> Basava's reform movement attracted Shaivite Brahmins from Andhra Pradesh; a century after Basava, "their descendants started mixing practices from their former religion with Lingayatism."<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/> Basava's teachings also got mixed-up with Vedic teachings because much sharana literature was lost after the exile of sharana authors from the Bijjala kingdom.<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/>
 
According to Gauri Lankesh,{{refn|group=note|name=Lankesh}} Veerashaivism is preserved and transmitted by five peethas (Rambhapuri, Ujjaini, Kedar, Shreeshail, Kashi), which play an essential role in the Veerashaiva tradition.<ref name=Wire_2017 group=web/> In contrast, the {{transl|hi|virakta}} monastic organisation upheld "the ideals of Basava and his contemporaries."{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=15}}{{refn|group=note|According to Chandan Gowda, these five mathas "predate Basava."<ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/> Yet, according to Schouten, monasteries of the older Saiva schools, "such as the [[Kalamukha]]," were taken over by the Virasaivas.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=14}} Two kinds of monastic orders developed, the more conservative''gurusthalada'' monasteries, and the {{transl|hi|viraktas}} which were faithful to "the ideals of Basava and his contemporaries."{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=15}}}} According to Bairy, the {{transl|hi|virakta}} tradition criticised "[t]he Panchacharya tradition, the Mathas which belonged to it and the (upper) castes which owed their allegiance to them" for their support of Brahmins and their deviation from Basava's ideals.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145-146 (note 8)}}{{refn|group=note|Bairy: "The Panchacharya tradition, the Mathas which belonged to it and the (upper) castes which owed their allegiance to them were accused by those espousing the Viraktha tradition of actively collaborating with the Brahmins in order to defame the 'progressive' twelfth century movement, which apparently spoke against caste distinctions and often incurred the displeasure of the upper castes within the Lingayath fold."{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145-146 (note 8)}}}}
 
According to Sri Sharanbasava Devaru of Charanteshwar Mutt, interviewed in 2013, Lingayatism is a separate religion, distinct from the Hindu cultural identity, while Veerashaivism is a Shaivite sect "based on Vedic philosophy."<ref name=thehindu_2017_Sharanbasava group=web/> Sri Sharanbasava Devaru further states that Veerashaivism "started gaining importance only after 1904 with some mutts mixing Veerashaivism with Lingayatism."<ref name=thehindu_2017_Sharanbasava group=web/>
 
According to ''[[India Today]]'', while "Veerashaivas' claim that the two communities are one and the same," orthodox Lingayats claim that they are different.<ref name=India_Today group=web/> Lingayats claim that Veerashaivas do not truly follow Basava, accept Vedic literature, and "worship idols of Lord Shiva."<ref name=India_Today group=web/> Veerashaivas further "owe allegiance to various religious centres (mutts), [while] the Lingayats mostly follow their own gurus."<ref name=India_Today group=web/>
 
==History==
 
===Basava (12th century)===
{{See also|Basava}}
[[File:Basava Gaint Statue 108 feet, Basava Kalyana.JPG|thumb|right|[[Basava]], the influential leader of Lingayatism<ref group=web name=EB_Basava/>]]


The [[Vachana sahitya|Sharana-movement]], which started in the 11th century, is regarded by some as the start of Veerashaivism.{{sfn|Shiva Prakash|1997|p=168-169}} It started in a time when [[Kalamukha]] Shaivism, which was supported by the ruling classes, was dominant, and in control of the monasteries.{{sfn|Shiva Prakash|1997|p=168}} The Sharana-movement was inspired by the [[Nayanars]], and emphasised personal religious experience over text-based dogmatism.{{sfn|Shiva Prakash|1997|p=169}}
{{Redirect category shell|
 
{{R from move}}
The traditional legends and hagiographic texts state Basava to be the founder of the Lingayats and its secular practices.{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=239–240}}{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=52-53}}<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/> He was a 12th-century Hindu philosopher, [[politician|statesman]], [[Kannada]] poet in the Shiva-focused [[Bhakti movement]] and a [[Social reformers of India|social reformer]] during the reign of the [[Kalachuris of Kalyani|Kalachuri]] king [[Bijjala II]] (reigned 1157–1167) in [[Karnataka]], India.{{sfn|Ishwaran|1981|p=76}}<ref group=web name=EB_Basava/>{{refn|group=note|Encyclopedia Britannica: "Basava, (flourished 12th century, South India), Hindu religious reformer, teacher, theologian, and administrator of the royal treasury of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I (reigned 1156–67)."<ref group=web name=EB_Basava/>}}
 
Basava grew up in a [[Brahmin]] family with a tradition of Shaivism.{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=52-53}}{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=2-3}} As a leader, he developed and inspired a new devotional movement named ''Virashaivas'', or "ardent, heroic worshippers of Shiva". This movement shared its roots in the ongoing [[Bhakti movement]], particularly the Shaiva [[Nayanars]] traditions, over the 7th- to 11th-century. However, Basava championed devotional worship that rejected temple worship with rituals led by Brahmins, and emphasized personalised direct worship of Shiva through practices such as individually worn icons and symbols like a small [[linga]].{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=1-5}}
 
Basavanna spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as ''Vachanaas''. Basavanna rejected gender or social discrimination, and caste distinctions,{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=52}} as well as some extant practices such as the wearing of sacred thread,{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=239–240}} and replaced this with the ritual of wearing ''[[Ishtalinga]]'' necklace, with an image of the [[Lingam|Shiva Liṅga]],{{sfn|Bunce|2010|p=983}} by every person regardless of his or her birth, to be a constant reminder of one's [[bhakti]] (loving devotion) to god Shiva. As the chief minister of his kingdom, he introduced new public institutions such as the ''Anubhava Mantapa'' (or, the "hall of spiritual experience"),{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=2-3}} which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to discuss spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.{{sfn|Das|2005|p=161-162}}
 
After initially supporting Basava, king Bijjala II disagreed with Basava's rejection of caste distinctions. In 1167 the Veerashaivas were repressed, and most of them left Kalyāna, Bijjala's new capital, spreading Basava's teachings into a wider area in southern India. The king was assassinated by the Veerashaivas in 1168.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=5-6}}
 
===Consolidation (12th–14th century)===
After Basava's death, Shaivism consolidated its influence in southern India, meanwhile adjusting to Hindu orthodoxy.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=6}} Basava's nephew Channabasava organised the community and systematised Virasaiva theology, moving the Virashaiva community toward the mainstream Hindu culture.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=14-15}} Basava's role in the origins of Shaivism was downplayed, and a mythology developed in which the origins of Veerashaivism were attributed to the five Panchacharyas, descending to earth in the different world-ages to teach Shaivism. In this narrative, Basava was regarded as a reviver of this ancient teaching.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=6}}{{refn|group=note|According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "According to South Indian oral tradition, he was the actual founder of the Lingayats, but study of Kalachuri inscriptions indicates that, rather than founding a new sect, he in fact revived an existing one."<ref group=web name=EB_Basava/>{{dubious|date=March 2018}}}}
 
Monasteries of the older Saiva schools, "such as the [[Kalamukha]]," were taken over by the Virasaivas.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=14}} Two kinds of monastic orders developed. Due to their roots in the traditional schools, the ''gurusthalada'' monasteries were more conservative, while the ''viraktas'' "constituted the true Virasaiva monastic organisation, shaped by the ideals of Basava and his contemporaries."{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=15}}
 
===Vijayanagara Empire (15th–17th century)===
In the 14th-15th century, a Lingayat revival took place in northern Karnataka in the [[Vijayanagara Empire]].{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=15}}{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=64}} The Lingayats likely were a part of the reason why Vijayanagara succeeded in territorial expansion and in withstanding the Deccan Sultanate wars. The Lingayat text ''[[Sunyasampadane]]'' grew out of the scholarly discussions in an Anubhava Mantapa, and according to Bill Aitken, these were "compiled at the Vijayanagara court during the reign of Praudha Deva Raya".{{sfn|Aitken|1999|p=109–110, 213–215}} Similarly, the scripture of Lingayatism ''[[Basava Purana]]'' was completed in 1369 during the reign of Vijayanagara ruler [[Bukka Raya I]].{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=64}}
 
===Ikkeri Nayakas, Keladi dynasty (16th-18th century)===
The Virasaivas were an important part of the Vijayanagara empire army. They fought the Bijapur Sultans, and the Virasaiva leader Sadasiva Nayaka played a key role in leading the capture of Sultanate fortress such as at Gulbarga.<ref name="Stein1989p84"/> This success led to Nayaka being appointed as the governor of the coastal Karnataka Kanara region. This emerged as a Lingayat dynasty, called the [[Nayakas of Keladi]]. Another group of Virasaivas merchants turned warriors of the Vijayanagara empire were successful in defeating the Deccan Sultanates in the [[Lepakshi]] region (Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border region).<ref name="Stein1989p84"/> After the collapse of the Vijayanagara empire, the Lingayat Keladi/Ikkeri dynasty ruled the coastal Karnataka till the invasion and their defeat by Hyder Ali seeking a Mysore-based Sultanate.<ref name=shastry1982/><ref>{{cite book|author=Kodancha Gujjadi Vasantha Madhava|title=Western Karnataka: Its Agrarian Relations A.D. 1500-1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t0AaAAAAIAAJ|year=1991|publisher=Navrang|isbn=978-81-7013-073-4|pages=113–114|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415035131/https://books.google.com/books?id=t0AaAAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
The Virasaiva dynasty Nayaka rulers built major 16th to 18th-century shrines and seminaries of Lingayatism, repaired and built new Hindu and Jain temples,<ref name=prasad2007>{{cite book|first=Leela|last=Prasad|year=2007|title=Poetics of Conduct: Oral Narrative and Moral Being in a South Indian Town|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JnLhdHpOKjwC|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13920-5|pages=74–77|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034854/https://books.google.com/books?id=JnLhdHpOKjwC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=hatcher2015>{{cite book|first=Brian A.|last=Hatcher|title=Hinduism in the Modern World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19aoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT43|year=2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-135-04630-9|page=43|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415004142/https://books.google.com/books?id=19aoCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT43|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Michell|1995|pp=65–68}} sponsored major Hindu monasteries such as the Advaita [[Sringeri matha]] and the Vaishnava [[Udupi]] mathas, as well as forts and temples such as at [[Chitradurga Fort|Chitradurga]].<ref name=prasad2007/>{{sfn|Michell|1995|pp=71–72}} They also started new towns and merchant centres in coastal and interior Karnataka.<ref name="Stein1989p84">{{cite book|first=Burton|last=Stein|title=The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OpxeaYQbGDMC|year=1989|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26693-2|pages=84–85|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=9 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809073231/https://books.google.com/books?id=OpxeaYQbGDMC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=shastry1982>{{cite book|author=A. K. Shastry|title=A History of Śriṅgēri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxAdAAAAMAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Karnatak University Press|pages=34–41|access-date=5 October 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034402/https://books.google.com/books?id=MxAdAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Shankaragouda Hanamantagouda Patil|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=R84n-Wv1S-8C&pg=PA39 39–40]}}</ref>
 
===Caste-status debates (19th–20th century)===
In early decades of the 19th century, the Lingayats were described by British officials such as Francis Buchanan as a conglomeration of Hindu castes with enormous diversity and eclectic, egalitarian social system that accepted converts from all social strata and religions.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=78-81}} However, the British officials also noted the endogamous tradition and hereditary occupations of many Lingayats, which made their classification difficult.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=81-84}} In the 1871 and the 1881 colonial era census of British India, Lingayats were listed as ''[[shudras]]''.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=143}}{{refn|group=note|According to S.M. Jamdar, "who is spearheading the demand" in 2017/2018 for recognition of Lingayats as a separate religion, and M.B. Patil, Chandan Gowda also claims that "the Lingayats were recorded as a caste within the Hindu religion for the first time in the 1881 census done in Mysore state."<ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/>}} According to the sociologist [[M. N. Srinivas]], Lingayats traditionally believed themselves to be equal in status to Brahmins, and some orthodox Lingayats were so anti-Brahmin that they would not eat food cooked or handled by Brahmins.<ref name="Srinivas 1956 p=481">{{cite journal | last=Srinivas | first=M.N. | title=A Note on Sanskritization and Westernization | journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=15 | issue=4 | year=1956 | pages=481–496 | doi=10.2307/2941919 | jstor=2941919}}</ref><ref name=ikegame2013p128>{{harvnb|Ikegame|2013b|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sBgLb8XIGR8C&pg=PA128 128–129]}}</ref> The egalitarian Lingayats, states Srinivas, had been a major force in Sanskritization of Kannada-speaking (Karnataka) and nearby regions but against elitism.<ref name="Srinivas 1956 p=481"/><ref name=ikegame2013p128/>
 
After being placed in the shudra category in the 1881 census, Lingayats demanded a higher caste status.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=143}} This was objected and ridiculed by a Brahmin named Ranganna who said that Lingayats were not Shaiva Brahmins given their eclectic occupations that included washermen, traders, farmers and others, as well as their exogamous relationships with the royal family.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=144}} Lingayats persisted in their claims for decades,{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=143}} and their persistence was strengthened by Lingayat presence within the government, and a growing level of literacy and employment in journalism and the judiciary.{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145}} In 1926, the Bombay High Court ruled that "the Veerashaivas are not Shudras."{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145, note 7}}
 
According to Schouten, in the early 20th century Lingayats tried to raise their social status, by stressing the specific characteristics of their history and of their religious thought as being distinctive from the Brahmin-dominated Hindu-culture.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=16}} In the 1910s, the narrative of Basava and Allama as the "founding pillars" of the Lingayats gained new importance for the identity of parts of the Lingayat-community, with other parts responded with rejection of this "resurrection."{{sfn|Bairy|2013|p=145}}
 
===Separate religious identity (21st century)===
According to Ramanujan, "A modern attempt was made to show Lingayats as having a religion separate from Hindu when Lingayats received discrete entry in the Indian constitution of 1950."{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}<ref name=thehindu2000 group=web/><ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/> Individuals and community leaders have made intermittent claims for the legal recognition of either being distinct from Hinduism or a caste within Hinduism.{{refn|group=note|name=separate_identity|Separate identity:<br>* Ramanuja (1973): "A modern attempt was made to show Lingayats as having a religion separate from Hindu when Lingayats received discrete entry in the Indian constitution of 1950.{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}<br>* The Hindu (11 December 2000): "Mallaradhya, who became a prominent politician after his retirement from the IAS, had laid claim to the non-Hindu tag in the mid-Seventies at a time when the Devaraj Urs government had appointed the First Karnataka Backward Class Commission, headed by Mr. L.G.Havanur."<ref name=thehindu2000 group=web/><br>* Encyclopedia Britannica: "In the early 21st century some Lingayats began to call for legal recognition by the Indian government as a religion distinct from Hinduism or, alternatively, as a caste within Hinduism."<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>}}
 
In 2000, the ''Akhila Bharatha [All India] Veerashaiva Mahasabha'' started a campaign for recognition of "Veerashaivas or Lingayats" as a non-Hindu religion, and a separate listing in the Census. Recognition as a religious minority would make Lingayats "eligible for rights to open and manage educational institutions given by the Constitution to religious and linguistic minorities."<ref name=thehindu2000 group=web/>{{refn|group=note| Arguments centre on the wording of legislation, such as "This Act applies to a Hindu by religion... including Veerashaiva, a Lingayat," making a distinction between Lingayats and Veerashaivas. Others opposed the campaign, noting that "the population of Lingayats would be mentioned separately alongside those of Arya Samajists and a few others considered as subgroups of Hinduism in the final Census figures."<ref name=thehindu2000 group=web/>}} In 2013, the ''Akhila Bharatha [All India] Veerashaiva Mahasabha'' president was still lobbying for recognition of Lingayatism as a separate religion, arguing that Lingayatism rejects the social discrimination propagated by Hinduism.<ref group=web name=IT_Naheed_2013/>
 
In 2017, the demands for a separate religious identity gained further momentum on the eve of the 2018 elections in Karnataka.<ref name=Economist_2017_medievalpoet group=web/> While the Congress party supports the calls for Lingayatism as a separate religion,<ref name=KPN_2018 group=web/> the BJP regards Lingayats as Veerashaivas and Hindus.<!-- **START OF NOTE** -->{{refn|group=note|In July 2017, Congress – the political party in power in Karnataka – formed a team to "evolve public opinion in favour of declaring Veerashaiva Lingayat community as a separate religion", according to ''The New Indian Express'', "to outflank the BJP in a poll year."<ref name=NIE_2017 group=web/> According to India Today, reporting August 2017, the ruling Congress party has publicly endorsed that Lingayatism is a separate religious group, not Hinduism.<ref name=India_Today group=web/> In contrast, the BJP Party leader, former Karnataka chief minister and a Lingayat follower [[Yeddyurappa]] disagrees,<ref name=Economist_2017_medievalpoet group=web/> stating that "Lingayats are Veerashaivas, we are Hindus" and considers this as creating religious differences, dividing people and politicizing of religion.<ref name=newsminute_2017 group=web/><ref name=thehindu_2017_karnataka group=web/> According to the Indian Times, "both Lingayats and Veerashaivas have been strong supporters of the saffron party for over a decade," and historian A. Veerappa notes that "Congress has carefully crafted a divide within the Lingayat community by fuelling the issue," cornering BJP-leader Yeddyurappa on the issue, who "has been forced to stress the common identity of Lingayats and Veerashaivas."<ref name=India_Today group=web/>}}<!-- **END OF NOTE** --> In August 2017, a rally march supporting Lingayatism as "not Hinduism" attracted almost 200,000 people,<ref name=Economist_2017_medievalpoet group=web/> while the issue further divides the Lingayat and Veerashaiva communities,<ref name=India_Today group=web/> and various opinions exist within the Lingayat and Veerashaiva communities. According to India Today, "Veerashaivas claim that the two communities are one and the same," while orthodox Lingayats claim that they are different.<ref name=India_Today group=web/> Veerashaivas further "owe allegiance to various religious centres (mutts), [while] the Lingayats mostly follow their own gurus."<ref name=India_Today group=web/> Nevertheless, some mutts support the campaign for the status of a separate religion, while "others content to be counted as a caste within Hinduism."<ref name=Economist_2017_medievalpoet group=web/>
 
In March 2018, the Nagamohan Das committee advised "to form a separate religion status for the Lingayats community." In response, the Karnataka government approved this separate religious status, a decision which was decried by Veerashaivas.<ref name=BS_2018 group=web/><ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/> It recommended the Indian government to grant the religious minority status to the sect.<ref name=fe_2018 group=web/><ref name=thehindu_2018_03_23 group=web/> Central NDA government does not took any decision on this. This is on hold status.
 
==Characteristics==
Lingayatism is often considered a Hindu sect.{{sfn|Levinson|Christensen|2002|p=475}}{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/>{{refn|group=note|name=Hindu_sect|Hindu sect:<br>* Encyclopedia Britannica: "Lingayat, also called Virashaiva, member of a Hindu sect"<ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/><br>* Levinson & Christensen (2002): "The Lingayats are a Hindu sect"{{sfn|Levinson|Christensen|2002|p=475}}}} because it shares beliefs with Indian religions,{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}}{{refn|group=note|name=shared_beliefs|Shared beliefs:<br>Ramanujan (1973): "But we believe Lingayats to be Hindus because their beliefs are syncretistic and include an assemblage of many Hindu elements, including the name of their god, Shiva, who is one of the chief figures of the Hindu pantheon."}} and "their [Lingayats] beliefs are syncretistic and include an assemblage of many Hindu elements, including the name of their god, Shiva, who is one of the chief figures of the Hindu pantheon."{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=175}} Its worship is centred on [[Hindu]] god [[Shiva]] as the universal god in the iconographic form of ''Ishtalinga''.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}{{refn|group=note|name=Dalal_linga}} They believe that they will be reunited with Shiva after their death by wearing the ''lingam''.{{sfn|Sinha|Saraswati|1978|p=107}}
 
===Ishtalinga===
[[File:Akkamahadevi Udathadi1.JPG|thumb|right|An idol of [[Akka Mahadevi]] holding ''Ishta Linga'' in her left hand]]
 
Lingayat worship is centred on the [[Hindu god]] [[Shiva]] as the universal [[supreme being]] in the iconographic form of ''Ishtalinga''.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=208-209}}<ref name="HR"/>{{refn|group=note|name=Dalal_linga}} The Lingayats always wear the ''Ishtalinga'' held with a necklace.<ref name="HR"/><ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/> The Istalinga is made up of small blue-black stone coated with fine durable thick black paste of cow dung ashes mixed with some suitable oil to withstand wear and tear. The ''Ishtalinga'' is a symbolism for Lord Shiva.<ref name="HR"/><ref name=EB_Lingayat group=web/> It is viewed as a "living, moving" divinity with the Lingayat devotee. Every day, the devotee removes this personal linga from its box, places it in left palm, offers puja and then meditates about becoming one with the linga, in his or her journey towards the ''atma-linga''.<ref name="WaghorneCutler1996p184">{{cite book|first1=Joanne Punzo|last1=Waghorne|first2=Norman|last2=Cutler|first3=Vasudha|last3=Narayanan|title=Gods of Flesh, Gods of Stone: The Embodiment of Divinity in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LD91JTIl8uIC&pg=PA184|year=1996|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-10777-8|pages=184 note 15|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-date=27 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627072559/https://books.google.com/books?id=LD91JTIl8uIC&pg=PA184|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
===Soteriology===
 
====Shatsthala====
Lingayatism teaches a path to an individual's spiritual progress, and describes it as a six-stage ''Satsthalasiddhanta''. This concept progressively evolves:{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=9-10}}
* the individual starts with the phase of a devotee,
* the phase of the master,
* the phase of the receiver of grace,
* Linga in life breath (god dwells in his or her soul),
* the phase of surrender (awareness of no distinction in god and soul, self),
* the last stage of complete union of soul and god (liberation, [[moksha|mukti]]).
 
Thus bhakti progresses from external icon-aided loving devotional worship of Shiva to deeper fusion of awareness with abstract Shiva, ultimately to advaita (oneness) of one's soul and god for ''moksha''.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=9-10, 111-112}}
 
====Mukti====
While they accept the concept of transmigration of soul (metempsychosis, reincarnation),{{sfn|Curta|Holt|2016|p=575}} they believe that Lingayats are in their last lifetime,{{sfn|Curta|Holt|2016|p=575}}{{sfn|Malik|1943|p=263}} and believe that will be reunited with Shiva after their death by wearing the ''lingam''.{{sfn|Sinha|Saraswati|1978|p=107}}{{sfn|Curta|Holt|2016}}{{sfn|Malik|1943|p=263}} Lingayats are not cremated, but "are buried in a sitting, meditative position, holding their personal linga in the right hand."{{sfn|Curta|Holt|2016}}
 
Indologist F. Otto Schrader was among early scholars who studied Lingayat texts and its stand on metempsychosis.{{sfn|Schrader|1924|pp=313–317}} According to Schrader, it was Abbe Dubois who first remarked that Lingayatism rejects metempsychosis – the belief that the soul of a human being or animal transmigrates into a new body after death. This remark about "rejecting rebirth" was repeated by others, states Schrader, and it led to the question whether Lingayatism is a religion distinct from other Indian religions such as Hinduism where metempsychosis and rebirth is a fundamental premise.{{sfn|Schrader|1924|pp=313–317}} According to Schrader, Dubois was incorrect and Lingayat texts such as ''Viramahesvaracara-samgraha'', ''Anadi-virasaivasara-samgraha'', ''Sivatattva ratnakara'' (by Basava), and ''Lingait Paramesvara Agama'' confirm that metempsychosis is a fundamental premise of Lingayatism.{{sfn|Schrader|1924|pp=314–315}} According to Schrader, Lingayats believe that if they live an ethical life then this will be their last life, and they will merge into Shiva, a belief that has fed the confusion that they do not believe in rebirth.{{sfn|Schrader|1924|pp=313–317}} According to R. Blake Michael, rebirth and ways to end rebirth was extensively discussed by Basava, Allama Prabhu, Siddharameshawar and other religious saints of Lingayatism.{{sfn|Michael|1992|pp=102-114}}
 
===Shiva: non-dualism and qualified monism===
{{Main|Panchachara|Ashtavarana|Shatsthala}}
[[File:Necklace with Shiva's Family LACMA M.85.140.jpg|thumb|A necklace with pendant containing linga symbol of Shiva are worn by Lingayats. [[Rudraksha]] beads (shown above) and ''Vibhuti'' (sacred ash on forehead) are other symbols adopted as a constant reminder of one's principles of faith.{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=244}}]]
 
====Qualified non-dualism====
''Shunya'', in a series of Kannada language texts, is equated with the Virashaiva concept of the Supreme. In particular, the ''[[Shunyasampadane|Shunya Sampadane]]'' texts present the ideas of [[Allama Prabhu]] in a form of dialogue, where ''shunya'' is that void and distinctions which a spiritual journey seeks to fill and eliminate. It is the described as state of union of one's soul with the infinite Shiva, the state of blissful moksha.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=388-389}}{{sfn|Schuhmacher|1994|p=202}}
 
This Lingayat concept is similar to ''shunya Brahma'' concept found in certain texts of [[Vaishnavism]], particularly in [[Odia language|Odiya]], such as the poetic ''Panchasakhas''. It explains the ''Nirguna Brahman'' idea of Vedanta, that is the eternal unchanging metaphysical reality as "personified void". Alternate names for this concept of Hinduism, include ''shunya purusha'' and ''Jagannatha'' in certain texts.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=388-389}}{{sfn|Das|1994|p=9, 101–112}} However, both in Lingayatism and various flavors of Vaishnavism such as ''Mahima Dharma'', the idea of ''Shunya'' is closer to the Hindu concept of metaphysical ''[[Brahman]]'', rather than to the ''[[Śūnyatā]]'' concept of Buddhism.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=388-389}} However, there is some overlap, such as in the works of Bhima Bhoi.{{sfn|Dalal|2010|p=388-389}}{{sfn|Bäumer|2010}}
 
Sripati, a Veerashaiva scholar, explained Lingayatism philosophy in ''Srikara Bhashya'', in [[Vedanta]] terms, stating Lingayatism to be a form of qualified non-dualism, wherein the individual [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (soul) is the body of God, and that there is no difference between Shiva and Atman (self, soul), Shiva is one's Atman, one's Atman is Shiva.{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=244}} Sripati's analysis places Lingayatism in a form closer to the 11th century [[Vishishtadvaita]] philosopher [[Ramanuja]], than to [[Advaita]] philosopher [[Adi Shankara]].{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=244}}
 
====Qualified monism====
Other scholars state that Lingayatism is more complex than the description of the Veerashaiva scholar Sripati. It united diverse spiritual trends during Basava's era. Jan Peter Schouten states that it tends towards monotheism with Shiva as the godhead, but with a strong awareness of the monistic unity of the [[Brahman|Ultimate Reality]].{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=9-10}} Schouten calls this as a synthesis of Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita and Shankara's Advaita traditions, naming it ''Shakti-Vishishtadvaita'', that is monism fused with Shakti beliefs.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=9-10}} But Basava's approach is different than [[Adi Shankara]], states Schouten, in that Basava emphasises the path of devotion, compared to Shankara's emphasis on the path of knowledge—a system of monistic [[Advaita]] philosophy widely discussed in Karnataka in the time of Basava.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=111-112}}
 
====Panchacharas====
[[File:Kudala Sangama.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kudalasangama]] in [[Bagalkot district]], a temple and pilgrimage site linked to Guru Basavanna]]
The ''Panchacharas'' describe the five codes of conduct to be followed by the Lingayats. The ''[[Panchachara]]s'' include:{{sfn|Klostermaier|2010}}
* Lingāchāra&nbsp;– Daily worship of the individual Ishtalinga icon, one to three times day.
* Sadāchāra&nbsp;– Attention to vocation and duty, and adherence to the seven rules of conduct issued by [[Basavanna]]:
**{{transl|hi|kala beda}} (Do not steal)
**{{transl|hi|kola beda}} (Do not kill or hurt)
**{{transl|hi|husiya nudiyalu beda}} (Do not utter lies)
**{{transl|hi|thanna bannisabeda}} (Do not praise yourself*, i.e., practice humility)
**{{transl|hi|idira haliyalu beda}} (Do not criticize others)
**{{transl|hi|muniya beda}} (shun anger)
**{{transl|hi|anyarige asahya padabeda}} (Do not be intolerant towards others)
* Sivāchāra&nbsp;– acknowledging [[Shiva]] as the supreme divine being and upholding the equality and well-being of all human beings.
* Bhrityāchāra&nbsp;– Compassion towards all creatures.
* Ganāchāra&nbsp;– Defence of the community and its tenets.
 
====Ashtavarana====
The ''Ashtavaranas'', the eight-fold armour that shields the devotee from extraneous distraction and worldly attachments. The ''[[Ashtavarana]]s'' include:{{sfn|Klostermaier|2010}}
* [[Guru]]&nbsp;– obedience towards Guru, the Mentor;
* [[Linga]]&nbsp;– wearing the ''Ishtalinga'' on your body at all times;
* [[Jangama]]&nbsp;– reverence for Shiva ascetics as incarnations of divinity;
* [[Pādodaka]]&nbsp;– sipping the water used for bathing the Linga;
* [[Prasāda]]&nbsp;– sacred offerings;
* [[Vibhuti]]&nbsp;– smearing holy ash on oneself daily;
* [[Rudrāksha]]&nbsp;– wearing a string of ''rudraksha'' (holy beads, seeds of [[Elaeocarpus ganitrus]]);
* [[Mantra]]&nbsp;– reciting the mantra of "Namah Shivaya: (salutation to Shiva)"
 
====''Kāyakavē Kailāsa'' doctrine and karma====
[[File:Kailaasa.png|thumb|''Kayakave Kailasa'' in [[Kannada]]]]
''Kayakave kailasa'' is a slogan in Veerashaivism. It means "work is heaven" or "to work [''Kayakave''] is to be in the Lord's Kingdom [''Kailasa'']". Some scholars translate ''Kayaka'' as "worship, ritual", while others translate it as "work, labour". The slogan is attributed to Basava, and generally interpreted to signify a work ethic for all social classes.{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|p=35-36}}
 
Lingayat poet-saints accepted the concept of ''[[karma]]'' and repeatedly mention it in their Shiva poetry. For example, states Ramanujan, Mahadeviyakka mentions karma and resulting chain of rebirths that are cut short by bhakti to Shiva.{{sfn|Ramanujan|1973|pp=116-117 with footnote 45 on p. 194}} Lingayatism has the concepts of karma and dharma, but the Lingayatism doctrine of karma is not one of fate and destiny. Lingayats believe in ''kayaka'' (work) and the transformative potential of "one's work in the here and now".<ref>{{cite book|first=Karigoudar|last=Ishwaran|title=A Populistic Community and Modernization in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNYUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25|year=1977|publisher=Brill Archive|isbn=90-04-04790-5|pages=29–30|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414234936/https://books.google.com/books?id=nNYUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA25|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Schouten, Siddharama and Allama debated the doctrine of karma as the law of work and merit, but Allama persuaded Siddharama that such merit is a low-level mechanism, and real mystical achievement transcends "the sphere of works and rewards" and is void of self-interest.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=105-106, 114}} These ideas, states Schouten, are similar to those found in Bhagavad Gita which teaches "work must be done without any attachment to the results".{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=106-107}}{{refn|group=note|According to Venugolan, the Lingayatism views on karma and free will is also found in some early texts of Hinduism.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Venugopal | first=C. N. | title=Reformist Sects and the Sociology of Religion in India | journal=Sociological Analysis | publisher=Oxford University Press | volume=51 | year=1990 | doi=10.2307/3711676 | pages=S.77–88| jstor=3711676 }}</ref>}}
 
====Dāsoha doctrine====
''Dasoha'' is the purpose and result of ''Kāyakavē Kailāsa'' in Lingayatism.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=111–113, 120, 140–141}} ''Dasoha'' means "service", and more specifically "service to other Lingayats" including the ''[[Jangam]]a''. Regardless of one's vocation, Lingayatism suggests giving and donating a part of one's time, effort and income to one's community and to religious mendicants.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=111–113, 120, 140–141}}{{sfn|Michael|1992|pp=40–45}}
 
According to Virasaivism, skilful work and service to one's community, without discrimination, is a means to experiencing the divine, a sentiment that continues to be revered in present-day Virasaivas.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=138–141}} According to Jan Peter Schouten, this doctrine is philosophically rooted in the more ancient [[Soham (Sanskrit)|So'ham]] Sanskrit [[advaita|oneness]] mantra related to [[Shiva]], and which means "I am He".{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=113–114}} This social ethic is also found among other Hindu communities of South India, and includes community provisioning of grains and sharing other essentials particularly with poorer members of society and those affected by natural or other disasters.{{sfn|Vasavi|1999|p=71–76, 79–81}}
 
===Lingadharane===
''Lingadharane'' is the ceremony of initiation among Lingayats. Though ''lingadharane'' can be performed at any age, it is usually performed when a fetus in the womb is 7–8 months old. The family Guru performs [[Puja (Hinduism)|pooja]] and provides the ishtalinga to the mother, who then ties it to her own ishtalinga until birth. At birth the mother secures the new ishtalinga to her child. Upon attaining the age of 8–11 years, the child receives ''[[Diksha]]'' from the family Guru to know the proper procedure to perform pooja of ishtalinga. From birth to death, the child wears the Linga at all times and it is worshipped as a personal ishtalinga. The ''Linga'' is wrapped in a cloth housed in a small silver and wooden box. It is to be worn on the chest, over the seat of the indwelling deity within the heart. Some people wear it on the chest or around the body using a thread.
 
===Vegetarianism===
Lingayats are strict [[vegetarian]]s. Devout Lingayats do not consume beef, or meat of any kind including fish.{{sfn|Ishwaran|1983|p=119–120}} The drinking of [[liquor]] is prohibited.<ref name=cultural.maharashtra.gov group=web/>
 
===Militancy===
The early Lingayat literature, including the Basava Purana, highly praises militant action against anyone who persecutes a fellow Lingayat or their ability to practice their Shiva-bhakti traditions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sivalingayya Channabasavayya Nandimath|title=A handbook of Vīraśaivism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4w0aAAAAMAAJ|year=1979|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=xxiii|isbn=9780896840539|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415005828/https://books.google.com/books?id=4w0aAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ishwaran pp. 72–82">{{harvnb|Ishwaran|1980}}. "From the point of view of the emergence of Lingayatism as a militant religious movement, the reign of one of these kings of Karnataka, Bijjala II (1100–1167) is significant. [...]"</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Indira|last=Peterson|editor=Winand M. Callewaert and Rupert Snell|title=According to Tradition: Hagiographical Writing in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrMwdEqHLzEC&pg=PA225|year=1994|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03524-8|page=225|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034918/https://books.google.com/books?id=GrMwdEqHLzEC&pg=PA225|url-status=live}}, Quote: "In the stories of the 13th century Basavapurana the Nayanars, along with local Virashaiva saints, become, literally, militant 'warriors' of Siva, fighting to defend the worship of the linga and the devotees in the light of the Virashaiva ideology."</ref> According to Schouten, one of earliest assassinations in retaliation for persecution happened in the 12th-century when King Bijjala was murdered. However, states Schouten, the early texts of Lingayats give different accounts on who ordered the assassination leading to doubts about the trustworthiness of these historic texts.{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=5 with footnote 3}}
 
===Temples and rites of passage===
Lingayats believe that the human body is a temple. In addition, they have continued to build the community halls and Shaiva temple traditions of South India. Their temples include Shiva linga in the sanctum, a sitting Nandi facing the linga, with mandapa and other features. However, the prayers and offerings are not led by [[Brahmin]] priests but by Lingayat priests.<ref name="Srinivas1998p42"/> The temple format is simpler than those of Jains and Hindus found in north Karnataka.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Julia A. B.|last1=Hegewald|first2=Subrata K.|last2=Mitra|title=Re-Use-The Art and Politics of Integration and Anxiety|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AxdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT75|year=2012|publisher=SAGE Publishing|isbn=978-81-321-1666-0|page=75|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415003230/https://books.google.com/books?id=AxdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT75|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Schouten|1995|pp=119, 167}} In some parts of Karnataka, these temples are samadhis of Lingayat saints, in others such as the [[Veerabhadra Temple, Yadur|Veerabhadra temple of Belgavi]] – one of the important pilgrimage sites for Lingayats,<ref>{{cite book|author=Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere|title=Rise of a Folk God: Vitthal of Pandharpur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUeeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-977764-8|pages=70–72|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414234937/https://books.google.com/books?id=jUeeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA70|url-status=live}}</ref> and other historic temples, the Shiva temple is operated and maintained by Lingayat priests.<ref name="Srinivas1998p42">{{cite book|first=M.N.|last=Srinivas|year=1998|title=Village, Caste, Gender, and Method: Essays in Indian Social Anthropology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-4K3AAAAIAAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-564559-0|pages=42–43, 111|access-date=27 September 2018|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414234933/https://books.google.com/books?id=-4K3AAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Patil34>{{harvnb|Shankaragouda Hanamantagouda Patil|2002|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=R84n-Wv1S-8C&pg=PA34 34–35]}}</ref> Many rural Lingayat communities include the images of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha in their wedding invitations, while Ganesha festivities are observed by both rural and urban Lingayats in many parts of Karnataka.<ref name=Patil34/> Colonial-era reports by British officials confirm that Lingayats observed Ganesha Chaturthi in the 19th century.<ref name=campbell149>{{cite book|author=Sir James MacNabb Campbell|title=Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Dháwár|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924070623727 |year=1884|publisher= Government Central Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924070623727/page/n163 148]–149}}</ref>
 
===Festivals===
They celebrate most of the Hindu festivals and their own festivals;
* [[Makar Sankranti|Makara Sankranti]]
* [[Ugadi|Yugadi]]
* Nagara Panchami
* [[Raksha Bandhan|Rakshabhandana]]
* [[Ganesh Chaturthi]]<ref name=Patil34/><ref name=campbell149/><ref>[https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/kalburgi-lankesh-questioned-lingayats-modi-rahul-courted-them/63529/ Kalburgi & Lankesh questioned Lingayats, Modi & Rahul courted them] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927165242/https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/kalburgi-lankesh-questioned-lingayats-modi-rahul-courted-them/63529/ |date=27 September 2018 }}, The Print, Quote: "For instance, he [Kalburgi] questioned the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi by Lingayats [...]"</ref>
* [[Navaratri]] (Dasara, a ten-day, nine-night festival)
* Deepa
* Siddharameshawar Jayanti [[Solapur]] (14 January: Sankranti)
* Allamaprabhu Jayanti (Ugadi)
* [[Maha Shivaratri]]<ref name="Srinivas1995p158"/>
* [[Basava Jayanthi|Basava Jayanti]]
* Akkamahadevi Jayanti
* Basava Panchami (known as Nag Panchami) on this day Basava merged with God
* Neelamma Shashti (next day of Basava Panchami) on this day Neelagangambike merged with God
* Madival Machideva Jayanti
* Channabasavanna Jayanti ([[Deepavali]])
 
==Literature==
{{Main|Vachana Sahitya}}
{{wide image|Plam leaf of 11th and 12th Century with Vachanas.jpg|750px|align-cap=center|[[Vachana Sahitya]] (also called ''Sharana Sahitya'') on a [[Palm-leaf manuscript|Palm Leaf]]}}
 
===Lingayat literature===
[[File:Akkamahadevi Vachana2.JPG|thumb|right|A vachana (poem) by [[Akka Mahadevi]]]]
Several works are attributed to the founder of Lingayatism movement, Basava, and these texts are revered in the Lingayat community. In particular, these include various ''Vachana'' (literally, "what is said"){{sfn|Olson|2007|p=239–240}} such as the ''Shat-sthala-vachana'', ''Kala-jnana-vachana'', ''Mantra-gopya'', ''Ghatachakra-vachana'' and ''Raja-yoga-vachana''.{{sfn|Rice|1982|p=53–54}} Saints and Sharanas like Allamaprabhu, Akka Mahadevi, [[Siddarama]] and Basava were at the forefront of this development during the 12th century.
 
Other important Lingayat literature includes:{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}
* [[Shunyasampadane]]
* [[Mantra Gopya]]
* [[Shunyasampadane|Shunya Sampadane]]
* [[Karana Hasuge]]
 
The ''[[Basava Purana]]'', a Telugu biographical epic poem which narrates the life story of Basava, was written by [[Palkuriki Somanatha]] in 13th-century, and an updated 14th-century Kannada version was written by [[Bhima Kavi]] in 1369. Both are sacred texts in Lingayatism.{{sfn|Rao|Roghair|2014|pp=21–23}}
 
===Vedas and shastras===
Lingayat (Veerashaiva) thinkers rejected the custodial hold of Brahmins over the [[Veda]]s and the [[shastra]]s, but they did not outright reject the Vedic knowledge.{{sfn|Prasad|2012|p=104}}{{sfn|Rao|Roghair|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Rao|Roghair|2014|p=7}} The 13th-century Telugu Virashaiva poet [[Palkuriki Somanatha]], author of [[Basava Purana]]—a scripture of Veerashaivas, for example asserted, "Virashaivism fully conformed to the [[Vedas]] and the shastras."{{sfn|Prasad|2012|p=104}}{{sfn|Rao|Roghair|2014|pp=7-8}} Somanatha repeatedly stated that "he was a scholar of the four Vedas".{{sfn|Rao|Roghair|2014|p=7}}
 
Lingayatism considers the Vedas as a means, but not the sanctimonious end.{{sfn|McCormack|1963}} It rejected various forms of ritualism and the uncritical adherence to any text including the Vedas.{{sfn|Ishwaran|1980|p=72-76}}
 
===Anubhava Mantapa===
The ''Anubhava Mantapa'' literally means the "hall of spiritual experience".{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=1-5}} It has been a Lingayat institution since the time of Basava, serving as an academy of mystics, saints and poet-philosophers for discussion of spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.{{sfn|Das|2005|p=161-163}} It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the Lingayata. It was presided over by the mystic Allamaprabhu, and numerous sharanas from all over Karnataka and other parts of India were participants. This institution also helped propagate Lingayatism religious and philosophical thought. Akka Mahadevi, Channabasavanna and Basavanna himself were participants in the [[Anubhava Mantapa]].{{sfn|Schouten|1995|p=1-5}}
 
==Pilgrim places of Lingayats==
* [[Kudalasangama]]
* [[Basavakalyan]]
* [[Basavana Bagewadi]]
* [[Ingaleshwar]]
* [[Solapur]]
* [[Srisailam]]
* [[Ulavi]]
 
==Demographics==
Lingayats today are found predominantly in the state of [[Karnataka]], especially in North and Central Karnataka with a sizeable population native to South Karnataka. Lingayats have been estimated to be about 16% of Karnataka's population<ref>{{cite web|title = CM Devendra Fadnavis to get demand for Lingayat quota examined by state panel|url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|work = The Times of India|access-date = 5 August 2021|archive-date = 5 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805150753/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|url-status = live}}</ref>and about 6-7% of [[Maharashtra]]'s population.<ref>{{cite web|title = CM Devendra Fadnavis to get demand for Lingayat quota examined by state panel|url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|work = The Times of India|access-date = 5 August 2021|archive-date = 5 August 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210805150753/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/cm-devendra-fadnavis-to-get-demand-for-lingayat-quota-examined-by-state-panel/articleshow/70339881.cms|url-status = live}}</ref>{{sfn|Levinson|Christensen|2002|p=475}}{{refn|group=note|Levinson & Christensen (2002): "The Lingayats are a Hindu sect concentrated in the state of Karnataka (a southern provincial state of India), which covers 191,773 square kilometres."{{sfn|Levinson|Christensen|2002|p=475}}}}
 
Significant populations are also found in parts of [[Andhra Pradesh]] and [[Telangana]] bordering Karnataka, as well as [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]], [[Gujarat]] and Sri Lanka. The Lingayat diaspora can be found in countries around the world, particularly the [[United States]], [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Australia]].<ref name=Economist_2017_medievalpoet group=web/>
 
==Reservation status==
 
Today, the Lingayat community is a blend of various [[caste]]s, consisting of [[Forward caste|Forward Castes]],<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 November 2020|title=Yediyurappa holds off plan to add Lingayats in OBC central list after Amit Shah intervention|work=The Print|url=https://theprint.in/politics/yediyurappa-holds-off-plan-to-add-lingayats-in-obc-central-list-after-amit-shah-intervention/553756/|access-date=31 December 2020|archive-date=1 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101091814/https://theprint.in/politics/yediyurappa-holds-off-plan-to-add-lingayats-in-obc-central-list-after-amit-shah-intervention/553756/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|date=28 November 2020|title=Cabinet defers decision on inclusion of Lingayats in OBC|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cabinet-defers-decision-on-inclusion-of-lingayats-in-obc/article33195847.ece|access-date=31 December 2020|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223105947/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/cabinet-defers-decision-on-inclusion-of-lingayats-in-obc/article33195847.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Other Backward Class|OBC]] and [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|SC]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2018/mar/23/lingayat-scs-obcs-may-not-welcome-minority-tag-1791248.html|title=Lingayat SCs, OBCs may not welcome minority tag|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=11 August 2018|quote=Out of 99 castes listed within the Lingayat community, about 20 come under SC and another 15 come under OBC...According to sources, about 7 per cent of Lingayats come under SC/ST category.|archive-date=11 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811064041/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2018/mar/23/lingayat-scs-obcs-may-not-welcome-minority-tag-1791248.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Currently, 16 castes of Lingayats have been accorded the OBC status by the Central Government.<ref name=":0" /> According to one of the estimates by a Lingayat politician around 7 per cent of people in Lingayat community come under SC/STs.<ref name=":1" /> Veerashaiva Lingayats get OBC reservation at state level in both Karnataka<ref name=Karnataka>{{cite web|title=CASTE LIST Government Order No.SWD 225 BCA 2000, Dated:30th March 2002. |url=http://kpsc.kar.nic.in/New%20Cast%20List.htm |website=KPSC |publisher=Karnataka Government |access-date=17 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920230051/http://kpsc.kar.nic.in/New%20Cast%20List.htm |archive-date=20 September 2014 }}</ref> and Telangana.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tsmesa.in/2015BCW_MS16.pdf|title=STATE LIST OF BCs(List of BCs of Telangana State)|website=www.tsmesa.in|publisher=Backward Classes Welfare Department, Government of Telangana|access-date=11 August 2021|page=7|archive-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811152125/http://www.tsmesa.in/2015BCW_MS16.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
==See also==
* [[Lingam]]
* [[Jangam]]
* [[List of Lingayats]]
 
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|35em}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}
 
==Sources==
 
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==External links==
* [http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00013643/00001 The Lingayats], N.C. Sargant (1963), University of Florida Archives
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2844333 Lingayats as a Sect], William McCormack (1963)
* [http://lingayatreligion.com/ Lingayat Religion]
{{Lingayatism topics}}
{{Shaivism}}
[[Category:Lingayatism| ]]
[[Category:Anti-caste movements]]
[[Category:Karnataka society]]
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]]
[[Category:Bhakti-era Hindu sects]]
[[Category:Indian religions]]
[[Category:Monotheistic religions]]
[[Category:Shaiva sects]]

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