[Footnote 516: They are called Daśanâmis which merely means that each ascetic bears one or other of ten surnames (Sarswati, Bharati, Tirtha, etc.). See for a further account of them Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, pp. 374-379. The order in all its branches seems to have strong pantheistic inclinations. They mutter the formula Sivo'ham, I am Śiva.] [Footnote 517: I have been told by south Indian Pandits that they think Śaṅkara was bom in a Bhâgavata family and that there is some evidence his kinsmen were trustees of a temple of Kṛishṇa. The Śâktas also claim him, but the tradition that he opposed the Śâktas is strong and probable. Many hymns addressed to Vishṇu, Śiva and various forms of Durgâ are attributed to him. I have not been able to discover what is the external evidence for their authenticity but hymns must have been popular in south India before the time of Śaṅkara and it is eminently probable that he did not neglect this important branch of composition.] [Footnote 518: See Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 16.] [Footnote 519: This maṭh has an endowment of about £5000 a year, instituted by the kings of Vijayanagar. The Guru is treated with great respect. His palankin is carried crossways to prevent anyone from passing him and he wears a jewelled head-dress, not unlike a papal tiara, and wooden shoes covered with silver. See an interesting account of Śringeri in _J. Mythic Society_ (Bangalore), vol. VIII. pp. 18-33. Schrader in his catalogue of the Sanskrit MSS. in the Adyar Library, 1908, notices an Upanishad called Mahâmâyopanishad, ascribed to Śaṅkara himself, which deals with the special qualities of the four maṭhs. Each is described as possessing one Veda, one Mahâvâkyam, etc. The second part deals with the three ideal maṭhs, Sumeru, Paramâtman and Śâstrâthajnâna.] [Footnote 520: There is some reason to suppose that the Maṭh of Sringeri was founded on the site of a Buddhist monastery. See _Journal of Mythic Society_, Bangalore, 1916, p. 151.] [Footnote 521: Pracchanna-bauddha. See for further details Book IV. chap. XXI. _ad fin._] [Footnote 522: The old folk-lore of Bengal gives a picture of Śiva, the peasant's god, which is neither Vedic nor Dravidian. See Dinesh Chandra Sen, _Bengali Lang. and Lit._ pp. 68 ff. and 239 ff.] [Footnote 523: _J.R.A.S._ 1899, p. 242.] [Footnote 524: See some curious examples in Whitehead's _Village Gods of South India._] [Footnote 525: Rice, _Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions_, pp. 27 and 204.] [Footnote 526: The early Brahmi inscriptions of southern India are said to be written in a Dravidian language with an admixture not of Sanskrit but of Pali words. See _Arch. Survey India_, 1911-12, Part I. p. 23.] [Footnote 527: See Rice, _Mysore and Coorg_, pp. 3-5 and Fleet's criticisms, _I.A._. XXI. 1892, p. 287.] [Footnote 528: The various notices in European classical authors as well as in the Sinhalese chronicles prove this.]