Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari


Sri Vasavi Maatha is hailed with veneration for promoting peace and Ahimsa during the 11th century AD. She is credited with averting war and thereby saving many lives through logic and reason and overcoming brute force. She taught the world harming oneself or others isn't the way forward but bringing a change of heart is what matters in averting wars.
She is elevated with heavenly stature as a goddess amongst some sections of the Komti community and for some of these sections has become the "Kula Daivam" or the caste goddess. She is the caste goddess for the Arya Vyshya, Kalinga Vaishya, Arava Vysyier, Marathi Vaishya, Beri Vysya and Trivarnika Vysya community as per the various versions of Vasavi Puranamulu written in Telugu during the 18th century AD.
The many versions of Vasavi Puranas aren't restricted to Komatis alone but are also sung by various castes like Veera Mushtis, Jakkali-vandlu, Mailaris and other bards.
Jaina Komtis venerate her as Shanti Matha Vasavi who promoted Ahimsa for the benefit of all mankind and averted warfare and loss of life through peace and reason. Her actions brought a change of heart in the King who repented and became a Jain Monk handing over his kingdom to his son.

Bhaskaracharya and Parameshwari Mahatvam

The head priest of king Vishnuvardhana's kingdom was a renowned Bramhin named Bhaskaracharya and the author of Kanyaka Puranamulu. Varnashrama had not fully taken root in the south of Vindhyas and duties for caste groups had to be appropriated according to their Varna. The Komatis were engaged in trade and supporters of Jaina Dharma. However, since these Komatis were being organised as Vysya's by Bhaskarachrya and imposition of Varnashrama had to be organised by occupation and birth for the benefit of the society. The duty of the King was not suitable for Kusuma Sresti since he had to become a Vysya during the reorganization of society, ruling was not his occupation and would contradict his Varna and Dharma. The Vasavi puranamulu was written to show the ill efforts of following an occupation that contradicts Varna and Dharma. The varnashrama dharma maintains the Brahmins right to perform priestly duties or take up the duties of Kings and the Kshatriyas the right to rule. The right to trade existed with the Bramhins and Kshatriyas if they weren't interested in their prescribed duty. Agriculture and cattle rearing was prescribed as a means of livelihood for the Vysyas and Shudras. Vysyas along with the Bramhins and Kshatriyas also had the right to take up trade.

Shanthi Matha Vasavi Devi

According to Jain beliefs, Vasavi is a Jain princess of a prosperous kingdom. Her father was a benevolent king and well loved by his subjects. His kingdom was attacked by another powerful king who wanted to plunder the kingdoms wealth. Jaina Komatis believed in Vasavi Matha to be a true apostle of peace who was able to convince the king of his short coming through Ahimsa and he repented for his mistake and became a Jain wandering monk and gave up his kingdom. She also was able to prove Non Violence isn't just physical but should also not wish for violence in the mind and blessed the Jaina Komatis to prosper in business. Most Komatis still adhere to this principle and follow the practice of Ahimsa and Vegetarianism abstaining from Meat and meat products. They also do not take up profession which requires slaughter of animals.

Story of Vasavi

There is no authentic version of Vasavi Puranamulu and different versions exist among-st castes who are Komati and those that are not even Komtis such as interdependent castes like Veeramushtis a part of the Veerashaiva sect, Mailaris, Jakkali-vandlu etc.,
All these stories point towards a time when the Komatis faced stressful times or faced persecution and various versions exist which vary according to region, religious sects, castes and sub castes.

Shaivaite Tradition

Jangam Komtis are a sub group of the Veerashaivas who believe Kanyaka become an ardent devotee of Shiva who became a mendicant.
Shaivate tradition of the story mentions the Kanyaka as Kanyaka Parameshwari who cursed a king and killed him. She later showed herself as an incarnation of Parvati and went to Kailasa marrying Shiva who was worshipped as Nagareshwara. This tradition is more common among-st Beri Komatis and Gavara Komatis or Arya Vysys's whose family deity is Shiva.
This version has further evolved in recent years where the orthodox sections have dropped even the name Vasavi and only call her Kanyaka Parameshwari which is a very violent form of Parvati with 10 hands armed with multiple weapons like swords, spears, tridents, chakras who is blood thirsty and one of her many hands hold the severed head of the king, She is seated on a ferocious lion whose mouth is dripping with blood and human flesh pouncing on the decapitated body of King Vishnu Vardhana. Orthodox Arya Vysyas offer many kinds of Vedic sacrifices which includes killing of animals to appease the violent form of the goddess.

Vaishnavite Tradition

Vaishnavite Tradition of the story exists among-st Trivarnika's and Gavara Komtis for whom Venkateshwara is their family deity. Kanyaka is not associated with Parameshwari but as an incarnation of goddess Laxmi. They pay homage to Lord Venkateshwara in the Tirumala hills. They believe in Vaishnavism which spread down south during the reign of King Vishnu Vardhana along with a decline of Jainism and Buddhism.

Jaina Tradition

Komtis who practice Ahimsa worship her as Shanti Matha Vasavi Devi who convinced the King to give up his kingdom who later became a Jain monk through the teaching of Ahimsa. She blessed all komatis to take up Ahimsa and prosper in trade. Her clever reasoning saved the lives of Komatis and non Komatis alike.

Vasavi Puranamulu in Telugu written by Bramhin Bhaskaracharya

Kusuma Sresti, the king of the Arya Vysyas was ruling the kingdom making Vasavi Penugonda as capital city for all the 18 mahapattana's during 10th–11th century AD. Kusumamba was his wife. They were ideal couple and led a peaceful domestic life. They were worshipping Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu as the part of their daily duties. His kingdom was part and parcel of Vengidesha, which was ruled by Vishnu Vardhana-7 or Vimaladitya Maharaj.
The couple were childless and became concerned about who would succeed them. They approached Kulaguru Bhaskaracharya. He advised them to perform Puthra Kamestiyaga which Dasharatha had observed.
During the auspicious hour, Kusuma Sresti couple started the yaga. The Gods were pleased and sent prasadam through Yagneswara. There was a divine utterance that they would get children after eating prasadam. With utmost devotion they ate Prasadam, and within a few days the sign of pregnancy was found with Kusumamba. She expressed unusual desires, which indicated that she would give birth to children who would fight for the welfare of all.

Childhood

Kusumamba gave birth to twins on 10th of Vaishakha. The boy was called Virupaksha, and the girl Vasavamba. During childhood, Virupaksha demonstrated leadership qualities while Vasavamba was inclined towards art, architecture and music and showed a philosophical approach to life.
Under the guidance of the Vysya kula guru Bhaskaracharya, Virupaksha learnt Vedas, fencing, horse riding, martial arts and archery. Vasavamba studied fine arts and mastered philosophical subjects. Virupaksha went on to marry Rathnavathi, the daughter of Aridhisresti of Aelur Town.

Attempted marriage

Kusumasresti welcomed and entertained Vishnu Vardhna at Penugonda when the latter visited during an expedition to expand his empire and vanquish his enemies. During this visit, Vardhna noticed Vasavamba and determined to marry her. This caused Kusumasresti a dilemma: he was neither in a position to accept Vardhna's wishes nor to refuse the offer. The disparities of age and caste, as well as the fact that the emperor was already married, were significant objections, but, in consultation with advisers and family members, Kusumasresti decided that Vasavamba should make up her own mind. Her response to was express a desire never to marry and to focus her life on less worldly issues.
Kusumasresti told Vardhana of his daughter's decision, which caused a fury and an attempt to capture Vasavamba by force. The battalion sent to achieve this aim was thwarted by the Vysyas of Penugonda.
Kusumasresti arranged for a Great Conference comprising the Chiefs of the 18 cities and the leaders of all 714 gotras, to be held in the presence of Bhaskaracharya. There were differences of opinion at this conference, with 102 gotra chiefs preferring resistance to the overtures and attacks of Vardhna but the leaders of the other 612 gotras believing that matrimonial alliance would be safer and more beneficial. Bhaskaracharya favoured the minority view, saying that retaining respect was of greater significance than protecting life, and Kusumasresti was inspired by this support. Thus, the unity of the Vysyas was broken and the 102 gotras prepared for the defence of Penugonda against further attacks by Vardhana.

Vasavi Devi's reaction

Vasavi entered onto the scene and said: "Why should there be bloodshed among ourselves for the sake of a Girl? Why sacrifice the lives of soldiers for our selfish desire. It is better to give up the idea of war. Instead, let us rebel in a novel way. We can control war through non-violence and self-sacrifice. Only people with strong will power and moral strength can participate in this kind of self-sacrifice." Vasavi's new idea was delightful to her parents and they decided to act in accordance with Vasavi's directions.

Athmam Balidhana

As per the directions of Parameshwari, at the holy place of Brahmakunda on the banks of Godavari, the royal servants arranged 103 Agnikundas in a special way. The whole city was observing that day as a festival day. Then Parameshwari asked the couples of the 102 Gotras: "Will you plunge into this holy fire along with me?" Everyone of them whole heartedly gave their consent.
She smiled and revealed her true self, which had the glittering radiance surpassing the brightness of the sun. She said: "I am the incarnation of Adi Parashakti. To safeguard the caste system and to reveal to the world the magnanimity of Vysya's by feeding Bramhins regularly. I come here in Kaliyuga. Kusumasresty during last birth was a great Saint by name Samadhi as per his aspirations he could attain salvation along with the people of 102 Gotras. That is why I asked you all to undergo Athmam Balidhana." Parameshwari advised the gathering about Feeding Bramhins, Practising Rituals, Agriculture, and Cow Worship.

Vishnu Vardhana's death

Devi disappeared as soon as the divine words came out of her mouth and people saw her in human form. Then all of them entered into holy fire after meditating upon their Gods.
Though Vishnuvardhana felt bad omens, he marched ahead and reached the main entrance of Penugonda. Then his detectives reported all that had happened in the city. He could not bear the great shock and his heart shattered into pieces. He fell down vomiting blood and he was no more.
The self-sacrifice of Vasavi and the end of Vishnuvardhana was the talk of the town. People condemned the deeds of Vishnuvardhana and appreciated the epoch maker Vasavi and her non-violent principle.

Sri Vasavi Devi's legacy

The son of Vishnuvardhana, Raja Raja Narendra rushed to Penugonda and repented about the incident. Later, Virupaksha consoled him and said: "Brother, let us learn and formulate the present and future on the strong base of past. Vasavi had come to rescue of the people without giving room for great bloodshed. Her non-violence gave a good result". Hence forth Vysya's shall not fight or rule states but shall engage in service and as well wishers of others including services such as trade and agriculture.
Virupaksha visited many pilgrim centers like Kasi, Gaya and others under the guidance of Vysya kula guru Baskaracharya. To commemorate the pilgrimage they installed 101 lingas for each gotra in Penugonda. Then, Narendra installed a statue of Vasavi as a token of respect. From that day onwards all Vysya's began performing poojas to her and she is considered as Vysyakula Devatha-Vasavi Kanyaka Parameswari.
Vasavi's life is worth remembering because of her faith in non-violent religious values and her defense of the status of women. She became immortal because she has been mainly responsible for the propagation of the reputation of Vysya's throughout the world. Vasavi, who had rejected worldly pleasures, won the minds of Vysyas and is the champion of peace and non-violence and is remembered by the faithful. She averted the needless loss of life of many people of her community / kingdom through the Supreme sacrifice of sacrificing one's life through "Sati" or "Self-Immolation".
And through her "Atma Samarpana", she communicated the powerful message that "Common Good is greater than Individual benefit, and one should be ready to give up one's own life if necessary for the same...and, Sacrifice itself is greater than enjoyment of worldly pleasures got through unethical means".
Inspired by her act, couples of 102 gothras too participated in the community event, i.e all of them stepped into the 102 "Agnikundams" after she did.

Gotras

There were 714 gotras before agnipravesham of vasavi matha now there are 102 gotras among Ārya Vaiśyas. They followed 102 Rishis for conducting their rituals. Surname gotras and Rishis for identification and classification for all the Ārya Vaiśyas are one and the same. The gotras is equivalent of the Sanskrit names of Rishis.
Groups of Ārya Vaiśyas became followers of particular Rishi for conducting their rituals and they claimed to be the followers of that particular Rishi. Thus they are identified by the Rishi name. And for still feature identification they use a pre-fix surname generally indicating the area from which they migrated or the profession to which they belong and other such identification.

Caste Hierarchy

The Komatis who accepted the Varnashrama had to submit themselves to the ruling authority of the Kshatriyas and follow the instructions of Brahmins to conduct all rituals. They had to give charities and had to feed Bramhin's regularly in order to maintain their caste status as Vaishya. However the Niyogi's, a powerful Bramhin caste who are also successful traders opposed them and clashes are recorded and riots occurred between Bramhins and such Komatis who took up Varnashrama. This period saw Komatis going back to Jainism and some sections embracing Buddhism and people in Karnataka and Maharashtra becoming Lingayats. Today Komatis who call themselves Arya Vysya are accepted as one of the many south Indian Vaishya castes whether they engage in trade or are in services. Sections of Komatis are covered either in OBC or EBC reservations based on central, state or region based guidelines.

Movies

Shri Kannika Parameshwari Kathe was a big screen Kannada movie released in 1966 starring Dr. Raj Kumar, Pandhari Bai, BS Dwaraknath, Ramachandra Shastry, Narasimha Raju and Ramadevi as main star cast. This movie was produced and directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy.
In 2012 a Telugu movie "Sri Vasavi Vaibhavam" was released depicting Goddess Kanyaka Parameshwari Devi life. Actress Meena acted as Goddess Parvati and actress Suhasini played the main role of Goddess Kanyaka Parameshwari.