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🧵 Threads of Devotion: National Handloom Day & Sri Jader Dasimayya

On August 7, India celebrates National Handloom Day, a tribute to the artistry, resilience, and cultural soul of our weavers. This date marks the launch of the Swadeshi Movement in 1905, when handwoven cloth became a symbol of resistance and self-reliance. But long before Gandhi spun Khadi into a national emblem, a mystic from Karnataka had already woven spirituality into every thread.

🌿 Jader Dasimayya: The Weaver-Saint of Mudanoor

Born in Mudanoor village, Yadgir district, Dasimayya was a 10th-century Vachana poet, a Devanga weaver, and a spiritual visionary. His loom was not just a tool—it was a temple. He believed that kaayaka (honest labor) was the highest form of worship, and he offered every woven cloth to Ramanaatha, his name for Lord Shiva.

His vachanas—written under the pen name Ramanaatha—are among the earliest in Kannada literature. They question gender norms, ritualism, and social inequality with stunning clarity and compassion.

“ಮೋಲೆ ಮೂಡಿದರೆ ಹೆಣ್ಣೆಂಬರು, ಗಡ್ಡ ಮೀಸೆ ಬಂದರೆ ಗಂಡೆಂಬರು
ನಡುವೆ ಸುಳಿಯುವ ಆತ್ಮನು ಹೆಣ್ಣೂ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಗಂಡೂ ಅಲ್ಲ – ರಾಮನಾಥ”

"If breasts form, they call her woman; if beard and mustache grow, they call him man.
But the soul that flows between is neither man nor woman."
—Jader Dasimayya

Handloom as Heritage, Handloom as Hope

India’s handloom sector employs over 35 lakh artisans, with 70% being women, and produces 95% of the world’s handwoven fabric. It’s not just about cloth—it’s about community, sustainability, and identity. This year’s theme, “Weaving Innovation into Tradition,” reminds us that handloom is timeless, yet ever-evolving.

Dasimayya’s life is a living metaphor for this theme. He didn’t just innovate with thread—he reimagined spirituality, gender, and social justice through the loom.

🌸 Reflection: A Vachana for Today

Work of the hands is worship divine,
Grace in the gaze is true dharma’s sign.
Wear not just cloth, but the fabric of heart—
For Ramanaatha lives in your art.

ಕೈಗಳ ಕೆಲಸವು ದೈವಿಕ ಪೂಜೆ,

ನೋಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಅನುಗ್ರಹವು ನಿಜವಾದ ಧರ್ಮದ ಸಂಕೇತ.

ಬಟ್ಟೆಯನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಧರಿಸಬೇಡಿ, ಹೃದಯವೆಂಬ ಬಟ್ಟೆಯನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿ—

ಏಕೆಂದರೆ ರಾಮನಾಥರು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.

 On this Handloom Day, let us remember:

  • That weaving is wisdom, when done with love.
  • That labour is sacred, when done with purpose.
  • That identity is fluid, when seen through the soul.

 

Let us teach our children, like Dasimayya did, that the loom is not just for cloth—it’s for character. And that every thread we wear is a whisper from our past, stitched into the present, with hope for the future.

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