Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/469

Rh was a vast pool of blood. As soon, however, as the head and body of Chikayya approached, they became re-united, and Siva, appearing on the scene, translated him to kylās (heaven). At the same time, he restored the priests to life, and inflicted the following four curses on the Vīramushtis: — (1) they were not to build or use houses, and are consequently found living under trees outside villages; (2) they were not to sleep on a cot;(3) they were not to use the wild broom-stick; (4) they were not to set up permanent ovens for cooking purposes, but to make impromptu stoves out of three stones. Taking compassion on them, the Dēvāngas promised to give the Vīramushtis a small sum of money annually, and to contribute towards their marriage expenses. The Vīramushtis are said to have become attached to the Kōmatis subsequent to the above incident. The story goes that some Kōmatis asked them to delay for three and half hours the march of Vishnuvardhāna Rāja, who was advancing with a view to marrying the daughter of one of them, named Vasavakanya (now deified into Kanyakamma). This the Vīramushtis did by entertaining the Rāja with their acrobatic feats. Meanwhile, the Kōmatis made a number of fire-pits, and put an end to themselves. Vishnuvardhāna arrived too late, and had his head cut off. The Vīramushtis prayed to Vasavakanya, inasmuch as they had lost both the Rāja, who promised them a grant of land in return for their performance, and herself, who had promised to give a lump of gold to each gōtra. The Kōmatis replied in a body that each family of their caste would in future give the Vīramushtis an annual present of money, and help in defraying the expenses of their marriages. In accordance with the above legends, the Vīramushtis usually beg only from Dēvāngas and Kōmatis. When