Viramushti caste is surname of many people in southern India. Viramushti caste meaning is For the following account of the Viramushtis in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao.[407]
They are Lingayats, but do not, as a rule, wear the lingam, as it is the custom to postpone initiation until death, when the linga is tied on the corpse by a Jangam before it is buried. Those who are initiated during life wear the linga suspended from the neck. The Viramushtis seem to have several sub-divisions, e.g, Naga Mallika (Rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which are believed to cure snake-bite, Puccha Kaya (Citrullus Colocynthis), Triputa (Ipom?a Turpethum), and Ramadosa (Cucumis Melo).
Girls are married before or after puberty. The menarikam custom, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncles daughter, is observed. A voli (bride-price) of sixteen rupees, or half a tola of gold, in the form of jewelry, is given to the bride.
The Viramushtis are professional acrobats and mendicants, and are attached to the Devangas and Komatis. The following legends are current to account for their connection with these castes. In days gone by, there was, in a big town, a great Lingayat mutt (monastery) named Basavanna Mandiram, presided over by a Jangam priest named Basavanna. The mutt contained three hundred crores of Lingayat priests, and great wealth was stored in it. This the Viramushtis guarded against thieves. A Telaga, Chikayya by name, who was a professional thief, determined to plunder the mutt, in order to satisfy his mistress. One night, when the Viramushtis were fast asleep, he entered the mutt, but, when he saw a number of Jangams engaged in devout worship, he abandoned his project, and determined to turn Lingayat. Accordingly, at day-break, he advanced to the place where the head of the mutt was seated, made known to him who he was, and informed him of his resolution. Opinions were divided as to the fitness of [408]receiving such an applicant, but it was finally decided that, if a man repented, he was a fit person to be received into the Lingayat fold, as the linga recognises no caste. The linga was accordingly tied on his neck. From that time Chikayya became a new man and a true Jangam, and went from place to place visiting sacred shrines. One day he happened to be at a place where lived a merchant prince, who never dined except in the company of a Jangam. On the suggestion of his wife Nilakuntaladevi, an invitation to dine was sent to Chikayya, who accepted it. After dinner, the merchant went out on business, and Nilakuntaladevi, noticing what a beautiful man Chikayya was, fell in love with him. He, however, rejected her advances, and ran away, leaving his knapsack behind him. Nilakuntaladevi cut off her golden necklace, and, having placed it in the knapsack, ran after Chikayya, and threw it at him, asking him to accept it. She then inflicted several cuts on herself, and, as soon as her husband returned home, complained that the Jangam had stolen her necklace, and attempted to ravish her. Information was sent to Basayya, the head of the mutt, and a council meeting summoned, at which it was decided that Chikayya should have his head cut off. The order to carry out this act was given to the Viramushtis, who went in search of him, and at last found him beneath the shade of a tree overhanging the bank of a river, engaged in worshipping his linga, which was in his hand. On searching the knapsack, they found the necklace, and proceeded to cut off Chikayyas head, which went several hundred feet up into the air, and travelled towards the mutt, whither the headless trunk followed on foot. On their return to the mutt, the Viramushtis found that the three hundred crores of priests had been miraculously beheaded, and the place [409]was a vast pool of blood. As soon, however, as the head and body of Chikayya approached, they became re-united, and Siva, appearing on the scene, translated him to kylas (heaven). At the same time, he restored the priests to life, and inflicted the following four curses on the Viramushtis(1) they were not to build or use houses, and are consequently found living under trees outside villages; (2) they were not to sleep on a cot; (3) they were not to use the wild broom-stick; (4) they were not to set up permanent ovens for cooking purposes, but to make impromptu stoves out of three stones. Taking compassion on them, the Devangas promised to give the Viramushtis a small sum of money annually, and to contribute towards their marriage expenses.
Viramushti.
Viramushti.
The Viramushtis are said to have become attached to the Komatis subsequent to the above incident. The story goes that some Komatis asked them to delay for three and half hours the march of Vishnuvardhana Raja, who was advancing with a view to marrying the daughter of one of them, named Vasavakanya (now deified into Kanyakamma). This the Viramushtis did by entertaining the Raja with their acrobatic feats. Meanwhile, the Komatis made a number of fire-pits, and put an end to themselves. Vishnuvardhana arrived too late, and had his head cut off. The Viramushtis prayed to Vasavakanya, inasmuch as they had lost both the Raja, who promised them a grant of land in return for their performance, and herself, who had promised to give a lump of gold to each gotra. The Komatis replied in a body that each family of their caste would in future give the Viramushtis an annual present of money, and help in defraying the expenses of their marriages.
In accordance with the above legends, the Viramushtis usually beg only from Devangas and Komatis. When [410]they approach a village, they generally halt under a tree, and, early in the morning, dress up as acrobats, and appear with daggers, sticks, etc, crying Good luck! Good luck! They caper about as they advance, and, when they reach a Devanga or Komati house, perform their acrobatic feats, and wind up with a eulogium of the caste. Money and food are then doled out to them.
Whenever a Devanga, Lingayat Komati, or other Lingayat wants to make a hero (vira) of a deceased member of his family, he sends for a Viramushti (or hero-maker), and has a slab planted, with a recognised ceremonial, at the spot where he is buried.
In a further note on the Viramushtis I am informed that they correspond to the Virabhadra Kayakams of the Canarese Lingayats, like whom they dress up, and adorn themselves with small lingams, the figure of Virabhadra, a sword, a plate bearing a star, and heads of Asuras (demons). Every important Saivite temple has one or two Viramushtis attached to it, and they are supposed to be servants of the god Siva. One of their chief duties is to guard the idol during processions, and on other occasions. If, during a car procession, the car will not move, the Viramushtis cut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. There is a Tamil proverb that the Siva Brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas the Viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. The custom is said to be dying out.
The principal occupation of the Viramushtis is begging from Beri Chettis, Devangas, Komatis, and washermen. In former days, they are said to have performed a ceremony called pavadam. When an orthodox Lingayat was insulted, he would swallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house [411]of the offender, who had to collect some Lingayats, who would send for a Viramushti. He had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant Viramushti woman, pujaris (priests) of Draupadi, Pachaiamman and Pothuraja temples, a Sembadava pujari, Pambaikarans, Udukkaikarans, and some individuals belonging to the nearest Lingayat mutt. Arrived at the house, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying on the ground. With his sword the Viramushti man then made cuts in his scalp and chest, and sprinkled the recumbent man with the blood. He would then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. Besides feeding the people, the offender was expected to pay money as pavadam to the Viramushtis and mutts.
Some Viramushtis style themselves Vastad, or athletes, in reference to their professional occupation.
Viramushti caste is one of the many castes subcastes of India.
India has thousands of castes and subcastes, they are in existence and practice since the Vedic times. They were created to solve the problem of division of labor. Viramushti caste name could indicate the type of work people belonging to the Viramushti caste do or did in earlier times. Many last names in India indicate the place the person originally belongs to. All castes sub castes are primarily divided into 4 categories:
1.Brahmins – The learned or priestly class
2.Khastriyas – The warrior class or those with governing functions
3.Vaishyas – The trader, agriculturalists or cattle rearers class
4.Shudra – The class that serves other three categories
Viramushti caste belongs to one of the above 4 categories. Indian caste system is the best system to solve the problem of division of labor. In earlier times there was no rigidity in caste system. Indian caste system is still the best solution for the problem of division of labor, the only change that is needed as per changed times is that rather than having a vertical hierarchical system with Brahmins on top and Shudras at bottom, it would be good to have a horizontal socialist system with Brahmins, Khastriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras all at same level.
The caste system of India is in ruins at present. It is also cause of bloody quarrels in certain parts of the rural India. People of backward castes have reservations in government jobs, this facility is widely misused in India. Many of the backward caste people have become rich and still use the facility for their benefit. Many in India believe reservation in jobs should be given on the basis of poverty rather than caste because there are many poors in upper castes as well.
Many criticize the Indian caste system because of bad material condition of lower castes but if they observe in an unbiased way they would find that there are many in upper castes with bad material conditions. The problem lies in power not in castes, power can corrupt anyone be it from upper caste or lower caste.
All cultures, all countries, all religions have caste system in one form or the other. Christians have different churches depending on the region or language or skin color of people. Muslims have a priestly class that tries to control everything. Arab Muslims before the oil boom were so much divided among tribes that if you drank water from a well of a different tribe you could be shot dead. Tribal divisions still exists among Muslims. You can also see the caste system in a different form in your corporate companies. I had seen different food and drinking facilities for people at different levels.
Viramushti caste is also known as Viramushti Gotra.
Caste situation is quiet different in urban India, people in urban areas especially youngsters don?t bother about castes. Inter caste, inter religious, inter lingual marriages are quiet common in urban India. Inter caste, inter religious and inter lingual marriages in rural areas attract severe criticism and many times people are expelled from community for not marrying as per religious and caste rules.