at Adōni in the Bellary district, refused to be measured by me in the afternoon, as they would not have time to bathe, and remove the pollution by evening. In Telugu dictionaries, the Kōmatis are given the alternative names of Mūdava Kolamuvāru (those of the third caste), Vaisyalu, and Nallanayya Todabiddalu (those who were begotten from the thighs of Vishnu). As already stated, there are among the Kōmatis ordinary Saivites, who daub themselves with ashes; Lingāyats or Vīra Saivas, who wear the linga in a silver casket; Rāmānuja Vaishnavites; Chaitanya Vaishnavas, who are confined to the Kalinga section; and Mādhvas, who put on the sect marks of Mādhva Brāhmans. The Traivarnikas are a special class among the Vaishnavas. They imitate the Vaishnava Brāhmans more closely than the rest. They, and their females, tie their cloths like Brāhmans, and the men shave moustaches. Unlike the Saivites and Lingāyats, they eat flesh and fish, and drink spirituous liquors. They will eat in the houses of Sātānis, whereas other Kōmatis do not eat in any but Brāhman houses. But it may be observed that Velamas, Balijas, Kammālans, Ambattans, Vannāns, and many other castes, will take neither water nor food from Kōmatis. This, however, does not prevent them from purchasing the cakes prepared in ghī or oil, which the Kōmatis sell in petty shops.
Writing early in the nineteenth century, Buchanan refers *[1] to a dispute at Gubbi in the Mysore State between the Kōmatis and Banajigas, which arose from the former building a temple to their goddess Kanyakamma. Purnia, the Prime-minister, divided the town by a wall, thus separating the two parties. The Kōmatis
- ↑ • Journey through Mysore, Canara and Malabar.
