Badaga Tradition · The Nilgiris
Lord Shiva — Hiriyodaya
Known to the Badagas, the indigenous community of these same hills, as Hiriyodaya — one of their most important deities, and none other than Lord Shiva Himself.
WHO HE IS
A god of the hills the Foundation calls home
Pranavagiri sits in Badaga country — the Nilgiri hills the Badaga people have called home for generations, well before the Foundation’s own work began here. Hiriyodaya (recorded in older ethnographic accounts as Hiriya Udaya) is one of their most important gods, with a temple at Tandanad, near Kotagiri.
He is worshipped together with Mahalingaswami — a form of Shiva — during the Devvē festival held each June or July, which is why the community identifies him closely with Shiva. Women of the Madhave sept bring their first-born children to the temple for this occasion, dressed in holiday attire and wearing the traditional nose ornament, elemukkuththi.
His temple
At Tandanad, near Kotagiri — one of a group of villages with temples dedicated to him and to Mahalingaswami.
His festival
The Devvē festival, held in June or July, marking the point in the year when the reaping of the crop begins.
Identified with Shiva
Worshipped alongside Mahalingaswami, a form of Shiva, in a joint observance shared across village temples.
This is a starting page, drawn from published ethnographic accounts of Badaga tradition. If your family or community can add to it, or correct it, the Foundation would be glad to hear from you.
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