ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>&#256&#298 PANTH</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="PANTH"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279&#256&#298 PANTH, one of the twelve sects of <i>yog&#299s</i>, whose adherents worship &#256&#299 Bhav&#257n&#299, a tribal female deity, believed to be an extension of &#346akti. &#346iva in the form of <i>ardhan&#257r&#299&#347vara</i> is said to have two forms represented by his own halves. His right side is the male whose followers are called <i>dak&#7779in&#257ch&#257r&#299s</i>, whereas his left portion represents the female known as &#346akti, the basic power also called Amb&#257, Durg&#257, K&#257l&#299 or Bhav&#257n&#299. Worshippers of the female aspect of &#346iva are called <i>v&#257mam&#257rg&#299s</i>, known for their peculiar beliefs and customs. They accept no taboos in the matter of food and accord religious sanction to sexual freedom. They practise austerities; for a living they would go begging from house to house. Their living style (<i>jugat</i>) consists in smearing their bodies with ashes (<i>bibh&#363t</i>), wearing heavy rings <i>(mund&#257 or mundr&#257)</i> in their split ears and covering their bodies with a loose shroud (<i>khinth&#257</i>). When they go out begging, they carry a begging bowl in one hand and a club (&#7693a&#7751&#7693&#257) or fire-tongs in the other.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In course of time, many sects based on this <i>&#347akti</i> principle appeared throughout the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent. &#256&#299 Panth is one of them and the Mahar tribals once found almost exclusively along the River Sutlej, opposite F&#257zilk&#257, especially in the Montgomery, Mult&#257n and Bah&#257walpur area, worshipped this female spirit and kept her image in their homes. Gur&#363 N&#257nak during his preaching journeys came across several varieties of <i>yog&#299s</i> at places like Gorakh Ha&#7789a&#7771&#299, Achal Va&#7789&#257l&#257, Sumer Mountain and Gorakhmat&#257, now known as N&#257nak Mat&#257. There are extensive references in the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib which testify to these meetings. In the <i>Japu</i> (stanza 28) Gur&#363 N&#257nak exhorts an anonymous <i>yog&#299</i> belonging to the &#256&#299 Panth to cultivate control over the mind which was more important than all bodily exercises and discipline. Says Gur&#363 N&#257nak: "Make contentment thy earrings, modesty thy begging bowl and wallet and the Lord's meditation thy ashes. Let the thought of death be thy patched coat, chastity like that of a virgin's body thy life's deportment, and faith in God thy staff. The realization of brotherhood with all is the real creed of the &#256&#299 Panth. "O Yog&#299, deem the conquering of the self as the conquest of the world" (GG, 6).</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Bhattacharyya. N. N. , <i>Indian Mother Goddess</i>. Calcutta, 1971<BR> <li class="C1"><i>History of the Tantric Religion</i>. Delhi, 1982<BR> <li class="C1"> Chakravarti, Chintaharan, <i>Tantras : Studies on Their Religion and Literature</i>. Calcutta, 1972<BR> <li class="C1"> Rose, H. A. , <i>A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province</i> [Reprint]. Patiala, 1970<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Jodh Si&#7749gh<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>