became Karnams, with the title of Patnaik, but there is no intermarriage between them and the higher classes of Karnams. The Mahantis of Orissa are said to still maintain their respectability, whereas in Ganjam they have as a class degenerated, so much so that the term Mahanti is now held up to ridicule.
Mahāpātro. — Said to be a title sold by the caste council to Khōduras. Also a title of Badhōyis, and other Oriya castes.
Maharāna. — A title of Badhōyi.
Mahēswara (Siva). — A synonym of Jangams (priests of the Lingāyats). The Jangams of the Sīlavants, for example, are known by this name.
Mailāri.— The Mailāris are a class of beggars, who are said* [1]to "call themselves a sub-division of the Balijas, and beg from Kōmatis only. Their ancestors were servants of Kannyakammavāru (or Kannikā Amma, the virgin goddess of the Kōmatis), who burnt herself to avoid falling into the hands of Rāja Vishnu Vardhana. On this account, they have the privilege of collecting certain fees from all the Kōmatis. The fee, in the Kurnool district, is eight annas per house. When he demands the fee, a Mailāri appears in full dress (kāsi), which consists of brass human heads tied to his loins,and brass cups to his head; a looking-glass on the abdomen; a bell ringing from his girdle; a bangle on his forearm; and wooden shoes on his feet. In this dress he walks, holding an umbrella, through the streets, and demands his fee. If the fee is not paid, he again appears, in a more frightful form called Bhūthakāsi. He shaves his whiskers, and, almost naked, proceeds to the burning-ground, where he makes rati, or different
- ↑ * Manual of the Kurnool district.
