Abstract
The giving and receiving of blessings and curses form an important part of ethical reckoning and its causative dynamics in North Karnataka popular religion. Powerful V?rasaiva ascetic gurus, called Viraktas, are said to have s?pa-anugraha samartha, the ability to both curse and grace. While these gurus are known primarily as teacher-protectors of devotees?royal, wealthy, and peasant?oral historical narratives are yet threaded with their curses, s?pas or ?nes1 in Kannada. Gurus' curses are seen as part of community moral functioning and must be distinguished from imprecations given by those of evil intent. Curses are often disconnected in modern Western life from anything either powerful or good. All too commonly we curse to express daily personal irritation and allow fictional television or film evildoers to entertain us with their impreca tions. Yet throughout history, cursing has often been part of a society's protective efforts (as in Egyptian tomb inscriptions), warnings or punishments (as in the Bible), and verbal explanations for unexpected illness and death. Difficult life situations, paradoxical events of compounded misery, still leave us asking, "Why did this happen? Did I or you do something to cause this trouble?" Gwrw-curses in India offer one type of causal explanation for the alarming, partly unexplained anomalies of human existence. However, since such curses involve respected gurus or deity as curser, issues of moral accountability are heightened. Should one blame God or teacher for bestowing a curse? As we shall see, it is probably not a good idea. Curses play crucial roles in the Hindu epics and later works based on them. According to William Smith (1986: 269-72), curses most likely came into classical literature from Indian popular culture. Karnataka's oral traditions represent one such regional popular culture, so reading curse tales from both literary and popular sources, one senses the presence of common characters and similar themes. P. V.
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