Introduction

An ascetic is looked upon with utmost reverence in Hinduism: his feet are worshipped, he is crowned, and accorded titles. He imparts knowledge, eternal values, and philosophical knowledge and is a source of divine power. The efficacy of his power and sacred status lies in the fact that he is a saṃnyāsin (ascetic/monk) who has renounced the temporal concerns of worldly life. He commands respect and a high status in Indian society whether he belongs to Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu religions. But rarely do we see an image of an ascetic on the Hindu temple. This query and in particular the rise of his status in various dimensions, icon and relic, has been my framework to probe into this complex topic that led me to examine the institution of the ascetic, namely, the monastery or the Hindu maṭha in Karnataka which led me to the strange icons within. It was like a huge square box adorned with flower garlands and saffron cloth; I was told that that it contained the relics of the ascetic who lived in the monastery. Worship of the relics of a human being is an anomaly as Hinduism considers death as polluting and the ashes of a deceased person are immersed in the river Ganges in Hinduism. I began by investigating into the reasons for the enshrinement of the relics within the monastery and the naming of the icon as vṛndāvana. This article particularly focuses on the term and its meaning, the “whole-body relic” and the icon of the head of a particular denomination of Hindu Vedanta Vedānta Vaiṣṇava monastery.

The method of inquiry followed here is multidisciplinary due to the multifaceted nature of the icon. Usage of artistic and textual evidence within a historical context as well as oral traditions and discussions with ascetics and scholars have been utilized. The field work was conducted in Dvaita centers at Mulbagal, Sannati, Malkhed, Udipi, Hampi, Mantralaya, Tumkur, Kaladi, Kolar, and Sode in the state of Karnataka. But the topic is replete with problems. There are no historical records or literary references to the burial practices or to the manner of its construction or even a description of its form. There are very few secondary readings on this topic. Research on the literary aspect of the vṛndāvana as the garden of Krsna has been conducted by Maura Corcoran in 1995, but there is no mention of the vṛndāvana of the monk.Footnote 1 There is only the small monthly Kannada magazine, Sudha that contains merely few images of the icon. Other works in Kannada are largely about the interpretation of Dvaita theology, pilgrimage sites, and biographical aspects of the ascetic.

Before attempting to comprehend the reason for the usage of the term vṛndāvana for the icon, it is crucial to uncover few relevant aspects about the concept of an ascetic and his institution—the monastery.Footnote 2 The popular words for an ascetic are many, such as guru, sadhu, sant, bhikku (in Buddhism), muni, baba, saṃnyāsin, tirtha, ananda, swami, and acharya. He is also a teacher of spiritual knowledge and informs the community about values of Hinduism using ancient scriptures and mythological stories. By a transmission of his spiritual experience, he kindles our inner spirit by his “light,” leading to our psychological transformation that can be qualified as liberation. Despite the YouTube talks and numerous books, the ascetic has been recognized as an imperative tool for spiritual growth due to the personal touch he provides. There is something special about him—his inspiration, charisma, and wisdom that inspires and provides solace from the chaotic dualities of life. The ascetic has an option of living within a monasteryFootnote 3 or staying as a renunciate outside the institution.Footnote 4

The Hindu institution of the ascetic is the monastery or maṭha. The origin of the word is from the root word, maṭha (maṭh, to inform). There exist various kinds of matha orders, and they differ in their religious beliefs, rituals, philosophy, organizational structure, imagery, and disciplinary codes. Almost all are headed by an ascetic saṃnyāsin (ascetic)Footnote 5 who is often a celibate.Footnote 6 Between the fourth and ninth centuries, it was a rest house for travelers and ascetics, a religious and educational institution often associated with a temple.Footnote 7 Between the ninth and twelfth centuries arose the Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Vedānta, and Lingāyat monasteries which were supported by powerful kings. Royal patronage had repercussions on Vedic teaching and learning and most importantly, on the trajectory of maṭhas. The founders of each major monastic order institutionalized the system through forces of lineage, individual identity, symbols, icons, philosophical theories and religious practices. It was the period when Islamic armies were invading that led to the movement of population from north and west to South India. This also contributed to the complete collapse of Buddhist monasteries which had relied on great kings for land and money grants.Footnote 8 Meanwhile, the Buddhist sangha had greatly influenced the formation of Hindu Vedānta monasteries.

Relation Between Vedānta , Vaiṣṇava, and Dvaita Maṭhas

Between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, there arose a parallel system in the state of Karnataka, namely, the Vedānta maṭhas that included Advaita, Viśiṣṭādvaita, and Dvaita maṭhas that based their philosophy on the Vedās and Upaniṣads. The Advaita maṭha was established by Adi Sankaracarya (788–820) who began to articulate commentaries on the Upaniṣads (also known as Vedānta (at the end of the Vedās). Few centuries later, Ramanujacarya (1017–1137) founded Viśiṣṭādvaita maṭhas, and in the thirteenth century, Dvaita maṭhas were established by Madhvacarya (1199–1278).Footnote 9

The Advaita monistic philosophy of Adi Sankaracarya believed that the ātman (individual soul) and brahmaṇ (universal soul) are identical while the Dvaita (Dualist) order believed that the former is dependent on the latter. In addition, Dualist monasteries of Madhvacarya were Vaiṣṇava and firmly believed that Viṣnu and his ten avatāras (incarnations) are the greatest gods, unlike Advaita religious practice where worship was accorded to Śaivite, Vaiṣṇavite, and Śakta gods and goddesses. Vedanta maṭhas grew to be popular religious, educational, and philosophic institutions with a multifarious function. Headed by an ascetic who was learned in the interpretation of the Vedas, Upaniṣads, Epics and Pūraṇas, they grew to be formidable institutions at key sites with numerous branches in Karnataka.Footnote 10 The development of these large Vedanta maṭhas was due to the charisma of the ascetic head and his organizational ability, scholarship, and leadership qualities apart from the institutionalized guruparampara (lineage), systematization of Vedic philosophy, and royal patronage. However, it was only in the Vedanta Dvaita monastic order that the paradoxical phenomenon of whole-body relic worship in the form of the vṛndāvana was (and still is) conducted.

Vṛndāvana: Description, Enshrinement, and Proliferation

Etymologically, the term vṛnda means a multitude, or an assembly; it can also be translated as vrinda vṛnda—āvana protection of a collection of knowledge, indirectly meaning the guru/ascetic head who was a learned scholar. The term also means the garden/forest/orchard of Vrnda, wife of Visnu.Footnote 11 In this forest/garden of Vrnda, Krsna is said to have danced with his female devotees, gopis.Footnote 12 The term vṛndāvana is also related to Tulasi vṛndāvana which is a sacred pot with the Tulasi plant, that is worshipped by women in almost every Hindu household and sacred to Vaiṣṇavas for the worship of Visnu and Krsna.Footnote 13

A vṛndāvana is a non-figural, immovable stone sculpture in the form of a container/shrine ranging between 5 × 5 ft and 9 × 9 ft. (Fig. 1). Installed on a stone platform, it has a defined iconography: it is a closed cubical with a hollow space in the center for placing sacred objects, such as precious stones. Below the structure is a pit in which the embalmed body of the ascetic head is deposited. It does not merely consist of post-cremation remains like those of the Buddha but the entire “whole-body relic” of the saṃnyāsin belonging to the Dvaita order.Footnote 14 Thus, the vṛndāvana may be called a mortuary or sepulchral structure. A typical vṛndāvana consists of three superimposed square stone terraces—a base, body or central short shaft, and a top layer or slab that is surmounted by a running leaf/petal design on all the four sides.Footnote 15 Some have a lotus-shaped top (Fig. 2); others may contain a Tulasi plant (Fig. 3); others are decorated with symbolic motifs, such as ladders (Fig. 1) or small generic images of an ascetic, or of gods (Fig. 2).Footnote 16 Above the vṛndāvana (within the sanctum of a monastery) is placed a small metal image of Krsna (Fig. 4) or an avatara of Vishnu, such as Rama or Narasimha. These mortuary structures are normally erected on the banks of rivers near temples, but the growth of built environment in these areas has led to the incorporation of vṛndāvanas into monastic architecture.

Fig. 1
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Vṛndāvana of Raghavendraswami, Mantralaya

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Fig. 2
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Vṛndāvana of Vidyanidhitirtha, Yaragola

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Fig. 3
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Nava Vṛndāvana, Anegondi

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Fig. 4
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Vṛndāvana in worship, Uttaradi maṭha Hospet

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The relics in a vṛndāvana can be “divided” and multiplied to install a new vṛndāvana. However, since it is a “whole-body relic,” it cannot be divided in the strict sense of the term. A particle of mṛttikā (sacred soil) or a deposit from the original whole body moola (original) vṛndāvana can be reinstalled to create secondary mṛttikā vṛndāvanas and secondary or branch maṭha. Thus, each Dvaita maṭha that has a moola vrndavana (with the original mummified body) is known as a moola maṭha with its own branches in different geographical areas. Among the major centers that contain the vṛndāvana are Udipi with about 20 vṛndāvanas, Navavrndavana in Anegondi with nine, Mulbagal with five, Malkhed with seven, Sode with 12, Gokarna with eight, and Kolar with four. Among them, the most famous is the pilgrimage site of Mantralaya known for the moola vṛndāvana of Raghavendra Swami.

Enshrinement of Relics

In Hinduism, there is no cremation of the deceased body of an ascetic as it does not have to be purified by fire.Footnote 17 The renunciant is understood to have performed his own cremation during initiation and hence there are no postmortem cremations; instead it is either buried or his whole body immersed in a river.Footnote 18 In Dvaita maṭha, the funerary practice for the ascetic head consists of embalming, deposition and construction of the vṛndāvana. Normally after the death, of the ascetic, the body is washed and clothed with a saffron cloth. It is placed in a sitting posture, facing east or north east, and sand and salt are piled over it.Footnote 19 Coconuts are broken to crack the skull which affords the imprisoned soul to be “liberated” from the body.Footnote 20 Three months later, on an auspicious day, it is taken in a procession (by placing it is placed in a sitting posture followed by monks and disciples)Footnote 21 and deposited in a pit. Heaps of camphor and salt are poured on it.Footnote 22 A stone vṛndāvana is constructed above the pit, and precious stones, beads, and gold objects, small images of deities, and 108 saligramas are deposited inside.Footnote 23 After the deposition of the mummified body, the ritual of pratishthāpana (or establishing the image) is conducted with the help of offering lights, flowers, orange robe recitation of Vedic chants, and Vaiṣṇava sacred marks, such as the sankha and cakra.Footnote 24

Proliferation of Vṛndāvana

As mentioned above, only the Vedanta Dvaita maṭhas house the relics of the ascetic head. But there is no vṛndāvana for Madhvacarya as his body was never found. After his death, his disciple Naraharitirtha erected the first vṛndāvana of Padmanabhatirtha (1317–1324)Footnote 25 in Navavrndavana, Anegondi, near the capital city of Vijayanagara (Hampi) across the river Tungabhadra (Fig. 3). Soon, other disciples set up their own maṭhas which ultimately divided into Aṣṭa maṭhas and Deṣastha maṭhas. The former with its center in Udipi are the Palimaru maṭha, Adamaru maṭha, Krsnapura maṭha, Puttige maṭha, Sirur maṭha, Sode maṭha, Kanayur maṭha, and Pejavara maṭha. The Desastha maṭhas were divided into the Uttaradi maṭha, Sosale Vyasarja maṭha, Kundapura maṭha, Raghvendra Swami maṭha, Sripadaraja maṭha, Majjigehalli maṭha, Kudli maṭha, Balegaru maṭha, Subrahmaṇaya maṭha, Bhandarkeri maṭha, Bhimana-katte maṭha, Citrapura maṭha, Gokarna-Partagali-Jivottama maṭha, and Kasi maṭha. In each of these denominations in their main and secondary monasteries, there is a vṛndāvana. From the past 700 years, the whole-body relics of the ascetic heads of 28 maṭhas are deposited within the mortuary icon.

Vṛndāvana: Mythology, Geography, and Theology

Mythological Story of Vrnda

The term vṛndāvana has variations in meaning and interpretation. Apart from the popular meaning of Krsnas’ garden and the Tulasi plant, it is about the story of Vrnda. It has its origins in the Padma PurāṇaFootnote 26 in the mythological story of samudra manthana or Churning of the Ocean. The warrior, Jalandhara, could not be defeated by either Siva or Visnu due to the devotion of his wife Vrnda towards him (pativrtadharma). Hence, he attempts to seduce her, but at that moment, Visnu’s “vehicle” Garuda (eagle) appears in the sky. In the Vaiṣṇava version of the story, Visnu cheats on Jalandhara’s wife, Vrnda, and “excites” kāma (sexual love) in her. Vrnda flees and finds herself in various fearful forests till at last she finds out that she has been cheated. She immolates herself and is transformed into a goddess, Vrnda Devi. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Vrnda is transformed into goddess Tulasi who is the wife of Krsna. Tulasi is the sacred pot along with the tulasī plant that is worshipped by women in almost every Hindu household. Hence, above some vṛndāvanas, as in Anegondi, one can find a Tulasī plant (Fig. 3). More importantly, the pot, in which it is grown, is in the form of a cuboid stone/brick structure, which resembles the shape of the memorial, vṛndāvana. Having established the link between Tulasi and Kṛṣṇa, we now move on the relation between Krsna’s vṛndāvana and that of the ascetic.

Vṛndāvana and the Garden of Kṛṣṇa

The popular concept of vṛndāvana means the garden of bliss where the Vaiṣṇava God, Krsna, danced with Radha and his girlfriends, the gopis.Footnote 27 But what is relevant for our study is that, above every stone, sepulchral structure can be found a small metal image of a Vaiṣṇava god, such as Rama or Narasimha or Krsna (Fig. 5). The rationale for the placement of the image of Krsna was in the narrative of Madhvacarya. He had found the image in a ship that was in danger and had rescued it by his miraculous powers and had installed it in the “temple-maṭha” in Udipi in 1250.Footnote 28

Fig. 5
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Votive vṛndāvana of Raghavendraswami

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Description of the Geographical Site of Vṛndāvana

We move now to the next link between Krsna’s vṛndāvana and that of the ascetic head. For the meaning of the former, Marcuo Corcoran provides a detailed analysis of its meaning with a description of the site from literary evidences, particularly the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Viṣṇu Purāṇa and Harivaṃśa (quasi-historical texts).Footnote 29Vṛndāvana as an ethereal place of Krsna is referred to in all the three Purāṇas although there are slight variations in meaning. In the Harivaṃśa, it is a terrestrial and extra-terrestrial site. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (300–100 BCE), Vrndavana is a terrestrial place as well as celestial one. In the Mahābhārata, both the transcendent and immanent forms of Krsna have been described, but it treats him as a hero and historical events take place in time and space while retaining Visnu as a transcendent deity.Footnote 30 In the Padma Purāṇa, it is stated that the site of Vrndavana (around Mathura) is in a geometrically ordered form like a maṇḍala: square in shape with four doorkeepers within which are 16 segments (in the form of lotus petals) over which are 12 segments (called woods) and an inner core that has eight divisions in the form of eight petals. Vrndavana as a place of beauty and enchantment, love, and ananda (bliss) is described in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa. This space of eternity is untouched by the material world and is a metaphysical space with a divine nature. Thus, the construct of the term vṛndāvana undergoes transformation from the forest of Vrnda, a goddess, a sacred site to a theological concept.

The geographical site of Vrndavana was identified by the Gauḍīya Gosvāmīs in the sixteenth century to have been near Mathura, the birthplace of Krsna. There is sufficient evidence to prove that the site existed earlier than the discovery by the Gauḍīya Gosvāmīs. The Jain Vividhatīrthakalpa (1307–1332) identifies the site as related to Krsna.Footnote 31 F.S Growse proved that Mahmud of Ghazni had seen it in 1071.Footnote 32 Furthermore, Nimbarka (seventh century), who hailed form the South, is said to have lived in Vrndavana near Mathura. Both Madhvacarya and Naraharitirtha (who built the first icon, vṛndāvana) had visited the site.

Vṛndāvana, Metaphysical and Religious Concepts: Site and Icon

The garden of vṛndāvana as described in the Purāṇas as consisting of 12 forests with its four sides and corners can be related to the square form of the icon (Fig. 1). According to the Dvaita interpretation, the four corners represent the four vyūhas (emanations) of Visnu, namely, vyūha forms of Viṣṇu, Vāsudeva, Sankarśana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha, as doorkeepers. The four vyūhas also stand for four concepts: individual consciousness, intellect, mind, and ego. The four sides symbolize the bhagavata rūpa or God’s form, ananta rūpa or eternal form, sveta rūpa or pure form, and vaikuṇṭha rūpa or heavenly form respectively. The lotus petals are in the form of “tenes” that run around above the vṛndāvana (Fig. 1). Vṛndāvana is the pericarp of the thousand petalled lotus and is also its center, where Krsna lives.Footnote 33 The vana of ānanda (bliss) where Krsṇa danced with the gopis is clearly expressed in the Bhāgavata (VI, 4, 48) “In me whose attributes are infinite both individually and collectively and constitute my essence.” According to B.N.K. Sharma “what is infinite is blissful. There is no lasting bliss in what is limited.”Footnote 34 This is the eternal state of ānanda of the mummified body as the ascetic was pure and thus his body is eternal and even beyond decay. Furthermore, in Dvaita philosophy, there is no absolute death for the individual soul or jīva, particularly for the ascetic, and hence, the vṛndāvana is worthy of worship (as stated in the Guru stotra of Raghavendraswami).

The Dvaita ascetics incorporated and applied the symbolic meanings to the mummified body and converted it into an icon that led to an increase in the sacred status of the expired ascetic as well as that of the lineage of Dvaita ascetic heads. By establishing the icon, the monks transformed dead organic matter into a sacred object and compared it to the blissful state (in the garden of Krsna) that the ascetic had achieved. Krsna lived in Vrndavana and by analogy worship to the vṛndāvana meant worship to Krsna. In addition, Dvaita ascetics were constantly attempting to prove their philosophy as superior to that of Adi Sankaracarya’s Advaita, and one of the ways was to introduce the icon that could be worshipped elaborately as that of a God (within a Hindu temple). Worship of the icon with mantrās from the Vedās, offering of flowers, lights, music, and symbols along with the provision of free blessed food to the devotees led to public support. Thus, the icon proved to have facilitated the spread of Dvaita maṭhas along with its numerous branches. There were multifarious factors for the naming of the commemorative monument of the ascetic: the rise of the ascetic and of monasteries, their desire to maintain traditional education system within the institution in the wake of Islamic conquest, popularity of Krsna, the competition between Dvaita and Advaita, the narrative stories about the biography, and power of miracles by the ascetics, but most importantly its relation with Krsna’s vṛndāvana as the sacred space of bliss.

Vṛndāvana and the Bhakti Movement

Another link that provides support to the naming of the mortuary icon stems from the popular term bhakti. Bhakti has been defined as love towards God, religious devotion, surrender, brāhmaṇaubhāva (experiencing communion with God) without finding any fault in him by the śiṣya (disciple).Footnote 35 It was incorporated by Ramanujacarya and Madhvacarya who reinterpreted the Vedic concepts and praised the love of Krsna. They incorporated the devotional content and synthesized it with Dvaita theology. The bhaktivāda (argument of bhakti) was also a means to supersede the Advaita doctrine. According to him, bhakti is concerned with saguṇa Brāhmananda and is directed towards a personal object with attachment to the God which cuts the argument by Sankaracharya, ‘I am Brahman’ in which case there is no object of love. Dvaita order of monks particularly Vyasatirtha elaborated the concept of bhakti by the inclusion of surrender to God, as well as constant meditation, yoga, upavāsa (fasting) during ekādasi, japa (chanting), vrata (vow), sravana (listening), and smarana (remembering) God. The haridāsa bhakti movement (servant of God) was propagated by the kirtanās (songs) composed by ascetics and saints that led indirectly to the popularization of the cult of ascetics. In fact, it was the Dvaita ascetic Naraharitirtha who had constructed the earliest vṛndāvana and who also popularized the movement in Karnataka.Footnote 36

Conclusion

A relic/icon of the expired ascetic head of the Hindu monastery and its scared status is a conundrum, especially the usage of the term vṛndāvana. It was the genius of the ascetic heads of Dvaita maṭhas that invented and re-conceptualized the meaning of the mummified “whole-body relic” into a sacred icon by elaborate worship. The maṭha was a place for him to practice institutionalized renunciation with detachment and yet a place to train priests, teachers, students and ascetics. It led to an involvement by the public for worship of the lineage of ascetics (and gods) and propogation of Dvaita theology. The incorporation of the mortuary immovable structure into the premises of the maṭha led to its daily veneration that transformed it into a sacred icon. Its multifaceted content/meaning with its unique aniconic form, relic worship, and naming it as the blissful garden of Krishna further enhanced the sacred status of the monastery. The vṛndāvana represented eternal, divine ānanda and the equanimity of a yogi experienced by the ascetic heads.

Historical reasons contributed significantly to the rise of the ascetics such as the preceding history of the monastery, particularly the Buddhist sangha, Saivite ones in Central and South India, royal patronage, and the voluminous theological treatises. The contribution of Madhvacharya was significant in reinterpreting the Advaita doctrine, infusing it with bhakti towards Visnu/Krsna and even turning the maṭha into a temple with the image of Krsna. Furthermore, the living head of the maṭha with his charismatic leadership, knowledge, and renunciation inspired the community to transform the monastery into a congregational place for worship and conduct death rituals and festivals, apart from provision of free feeding and lodging. The bhakti movement provided additional stimulus that led to a re-contextualization of the icon.

Here, the dead and living and material and the immaterial were woven together in the vṛndāvana. It is possible to infer that applying the term vṛndāvana with its popular connotation with Krsna’s garden to the mortuary icon led to an increase in the status of the monastery but more importantly that of the living ascetic head. By the innovative strategy of naming the icon as vṛndāvana, the concepts of an ascetic, God, and relic were integrated. This was a symbolic appropriation that had deep religious and sociological effect on the community. Convincing evidence supports the fact that the re-interpretation and re-definition of the term can be grasped by a synthesis of various perspectives: mythological, ontological, philosophical, and historical.