Manteswamy Kavya - Honnayakanahalli Saalu

Rendered by Mysuru Gururaj and Party.
Recorded by Kala Audio Company, Mysuru.
Manteswamy Kavya - Honnayakanahalli Saalu
Soon after Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru left the village of Rāja Boppe Gauḍanapura, he arrived in the village of Ādi Honnāyakanahaḷḷi in search of a suitably sacred place to undertake dhyāna. Just as the first beams of sunlight swept across the horizon, the wealthy Śaraṇe Muddamma emerged from her bath in an opulent red sari to begin her morning duties. As she entered the verandah to milk her cows, her gold and pearl bangles chimed against the brass binde she clasped in her hands and the flowers in her hair filled the air with a sweet fragrance. Her forehead was anointed with the most sacred and aromatic sugandha dravyas, making her appear as auspiciousness incarnate. Across the courtyard, Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru arrived at the threshold of Śaraṇe Muddamma’s home after deciding it was a satisfactory place of worship. He called out to Muddamma for alms, “bikṣhavō bikṣhā dharmaguru kalyāṇada bikṣhā.” Muddamma, absorbed in the task of milking her cow, did not hear the call of Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru, so he called again loudly for bikṣhā while beating his ḍamaru. The ringing tone of Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru’s voice and the beats of his ḍamaru startled the cow, who then kicked the binde out of Muddamma’s hands and caused her to fall over. In a fit of rage, Śaraṇe Muddamma scolded Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru, “lō nānenge manṭode angē ninna maneyu manṭegali hōgō!” Let your house also fall the way I fell down! Dharege Ḍoḍḍavaru took the word “māntōgōdu,” meaning to fall, as the root for his new name while he praised Muddamma for being the first person to name him. Thereafter he took upon the name “Manṭēdalingayya” and later became known affectionately as Manṭēswāmi. Upon seeing Manṭēswāmi with jaṭājūṭa, clad in tigerskin, holding a tambūri, kandāya, bikṣhā jōḷige, and ḍamaru, and besmeared in sacred ash, Muddamma realized that he was none other than a Śiva svarūpa. Upon this realization, she took him inside her home and performed seva for him and asked him to reside in her home.