204 soIAL, CULTURAL AND BCONOMIC HISTORY OP INDt

DIA
ye
popular appeal with the masses. It is interesting to learn that
sacrificial posts or yupas were set up in an extremely far-of the
in the Kutei province of Borneo pla
after the performanceePace
some
with a Hinduname, Mulavarman, son ome
sacrifice
varam and
by a
ruler
grandson of king Kundunga. He performed a r sva
sacrifice called Balhusuvarnaka and made a gift of 20,000 co
the Brahmans. The inscriptions also refer to other sacrifices and
various other ceremonies.

BHAK TIS M B HA G VATI SM

The doctrine of bhakti, or devotional faith, as a means to salvation
and opposed to the path of action (Karma-marga) and the path of
knowledge(jnanomarga),is consideredto be the foundationofmodern
Vaishnavism. As a religious term bhakti is defined as 'an afeetion
(anurakti) fixed upon the Lords' in a selfless spirit. It is looked upon
as 'faith' and not as 'belief'. The devotional faith implies not only a
personal god, but one God. As such, it is essentially a monotheistic
religion. Bhaktism may be traced to a period not earlier than the
fourth century B.C. in the time of Megasthenes who is the first to
point out the two separate cults associated with Vasudeva, namely
Vishnu and Siva, whom he accords the Greek names Heracles and
Dionysus. Earlier, the famous grammarian'Panini (fifth century
B.C.) mentions the rule for the formation of the word 'vasude
vaka as a person whose object of worship is Vasudeva. Hete
bhakti might be taken in the sense of religious adoration. The
later in the epics
important role of Vasudeva-Krishna, as nariated
faith and
and the Puranas, and his achievements. enlisted the
when
devotion of the people. It is difficult to determine the age
founder
the Vasudeva-Krishna cult flourished. A reference to the
which
of this sect can be traced in the Chhandogya Upanishad
the ser
refers to the sage Krishna, son of Devaki, as a disciple of
of virtues
rishi) Ghora of the Angirasa family. The inculcation
Such as asceticism (tapas), charity (dana), simplicity or piety (arjava),
non-violence (ahimsa) and truthfulness (satyavachana) in the pass
the discourse ot
age in that Upanishad and also in the Gita,
Krishna with Arjuna on the battle-field, suggest the time of sage
Krishna. This is confirmed by a reference to the Vasudeva-Krishna
cult as contemporary to the Jain Tirthankar Arishtaneni wn
preceded Parsvanath and was much earlier than Mahavira (SIXE
cent. B.C.)
 206 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OR he
INDIA
Bhagavat, Vasudeva and Narayana (the cosmic
philost
god), suggests the mingling of the three streams-Vedic, osophic
and cosmic-to form the triveni unified into historic
thetoric
Vaishnavism. of
The popularity of the Bhagavata religion outside Mathnra
with the Yadava-Satavata-Vrishni people in western
Indi andd
the northern Deccan is evident from the Satavahana
inscrint
inscriptio
mentioning Vasudeva as the greatest of all gods, and a Satavahn.
king claiming equality with Rama (Baladeva or Samkarshana) an
Kesava (Vasudeva-Krishna). An inscription from Chinna
(Krishna
district) dated in the second century A.D. begins with an adoration
to Vasudeva, while a Prakrit charter of the Pallavas refers
to a
devakula of Bhagavat Narayana. The name of a Pallava ruler men-
tioned in the Allahabad inscription of Samudragupta is Vishnu.
gopa, herdsman of Vishnu. This suggests the extension of the cult
to the south as well. Iconographic or iconic representations of the
god Vishnu are not noticed earlier than the beginning of the
Christian era. A four-armed figure of the deity with a wheel
(chakra) in the upper right hand is found on the coins of the
Panchala tribal ruler Vishnumitra; while a seal-matrix attributed
to Huvishka has the four-armed Vishnu with a conch (sankha),
wheel (chakra), mace (gada) and a ring-like object instead of the
lotus. The last of the imperial Kushana line assumed the name
Vasudeva. The theory of incarnation or avatara expounded in the
Bhagavad Gita or 'the song celestial' delivered by Krishna, is an
important feature of Bhagvatism.
The Gupta period is equally important for two other features
concerning Brahmanism. It witnessed the evolution of neo-Vaish
navism from the tribal form of Bhagavatism practised originally by
the members of Vasudeva's family. This new aspect was associate
with the Pancharatra. The second feature was the popular worship
of the avataras or Vishnu, which may be traced
incarnations of
back to later Vedic literature. Pancharatra, signifying five nights,
and was
was a special ceremony lasting for five days and nights
performed in honour of the Vaishnava deity or it might have beeu
a five-night sacrifice performed for Narayana. It could as welu
have suggested the five vehicles, representing five aborginal doc
rines, syncretized to form a single monotheistic religion dedicai
to the god, namely Vishnu. Both views are suggestive of monothelsu
and
and bhakti or devotion in worship. Condemniing sacrihces
 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY 207

aing
and penances, the votaries believed in a
austerities

Being, known variously Narayana, Krishna, Vasudeva,

as
s h u n n i n g

sh
or Vishnu and manifested in various vyuhas or
Supren

Bhagavat
ari,
number of incarnations varies and
also their so
The
ranges. The number

Narayana, Narasim
and Vamana are considered divine,
ure.
e seven others are supposed to be human. These incarnations
whi
the number to 24. Even Buddha is
n on multiplying raising
accepte as an incarnation of Vishnu, in later times, roughly
A.D.
about the tenth century
The worship of some of the avataras or incarnations is men
tjoned in inscriptions between the fourth-eighth centuries A.D.
and also in the literature. The Udaigiri cave inscription of the
time of Chandragupta II refers to the boar incarnation of Vishnu
aad also an inscription of the time of the Huna King Tormana
(c. A.D. S00) records the erection of ast one temple of Narayana in
the form of a boar. A Damodarpur inseription of the time of
Buddhagupta (c. 480) refers to the gods Svetavarahasuamin and
Kokamukhasuamin, both representing the Varaha avatara. The
wOrship of the different avatars of Vishnu was also popular in
the south as is indicated by an early Kadamba record from
Tagare belonging to the sixth century. Most of the records of the
Chalukyas and their feudatories begin with an adoration of
Vishnu in his Varaha incarnation. Krishna and Rama as
incar-
nations of Vishnu are worshipped in this
to Vishnu's
period. Kalidasa refers
being born as Rama in order to destroy Ravana. The
Kerala saint king Kulasekhara was a
devotee of Vishnu. Vishnu in
his Vamana avatara is mentioned in the
Junagarh inscription of
Skandagupta. There are also references to installations of the
image of Krishna, one such
varman (ifth
being by the Maukhari chief Anant-
century) in a cave in the Barabar hills in Bihar.
he worship of Krishna and Baladeva in the Tamil
dout the time of the Guptas is evident from the literature country
of
region.
at
The
Silappadikaram refers to temples of the two gods
Madura, Kaviripaddinam
count became and other places. This part of the
A Alvars wer the stronghold
of the Bhagavata
devotees with their celebrated religion.
The
Kriwere
Krishna
and Bhakti cults.
its
songs on the
Narayana,
successors,
They also composed songs in
Sucana, Krishna, Rama and Vamana. The Alvars honour and
of
the Vaishnava acharyas, preserved their
Audeva-Narayana in the Dravida country
the worship of
208 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OP
INDIA
It might well be mentioned here that
as
Bhagavatism
Pancharatra which were coalesced in the earlier period bec and and
diffetentiated in the Gupta period and this came
later on as well. The
difference
vyuhas or 'ranges' associated with persist
ratra were not independently worshipped. The doctrine
of th
vyuhas mentioned in the Amarkosa was not very popular
with thee
ordinary worshippers of Vishnu. The Harshacharita of
separately mentions the Bhagavatas and the Pancharatrikas, Bana
later
on explained as the devotees of Vishnu
(Vishnu-bhaktas) and a
sect of Vishnu worshippers (Vaishnava-bheda). The vyuhas origi.
nally constituted Sam Karshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha, but
were later modified to include the joint worship of
Baladeva,
Krishna, and Subhadra or Ekanamsa (devi born as the
of Nandagopa, Krishna's foster father). A later
daughter
inscription from
Bhuvanesvara (Orissa) refers to the adoration of Bala, Krishna
and Subhadra. Varahamihira refers to the combined
image of
Baladeva and Krishna with Ekanamsa standing between them.
In Kashmir the vyuha cult developed in which the worship of the
Vaikuntha-chaturmurti form of Vishnu comprised the four
vyuhas.
Vaishnavism and the mythology associated with Vishnu also
found an echo in the sculptures of that period. Deogarh temple
probably belonging to the sizth century represents Vishnu as
reclining on Ananta Naga (serpent). This relief is also depicted
at Badami, belonging to the period of the early Chalukyas, some
of whom were devotees of Vishnu (paramabhagavatas). It depicts
Vishnu lying on the serpent Ananta with Lakshmi rubbing his
feet. There are depictions of the Boar (varaha), Dwarf (vamana)
and Man-lion (nrisimha) incarnations of the deity as well. Many
legends of the Krishna sage are also portrayed in stone. Repre-
sentations of the avatars or incarnations of Vishnu are also repre-
sented in the Dasavatara and Kailasa temples at Ellora (eighth
century), as well as in the works of art at Mammalapuram.
Krishna 1s also represented at stray places ; on a sclupture fro
Paharpur (north Bengal ) about the sixth or seventh centu1y A.D.
and at Pathari in central India. An approach between Vaishna
vism and Saivism and with some form of Tantrism is also noticeu
in workS of art. The image of Harihara (Siva and Vishnu) a*
Badami, and that of Krishna, installed by Anantvarman In
Nagarjuni hills along with the image of Bhupati (Siva) and
 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
209
Devi,
ne
(i.e. Durga) in another cave
in the same hil1, may be
The men-
edhere.
ed here. T Gangadhar inscription of A.D.
423,
building of a temple full of dakinis by a devotee ofrecording
tnanour of the divine Mother noted for
honour oof Vishnu,
in magic rites (tantra),
that the Tantric cult was influencing the
sugges

Vaishnava
religion.
aishnavism also crossed the high seas and became popular in
the countries of South-east Asia. Purnavarman of Java, probably
helonging to the fifth century A.D., is compared to Vishnu in the
belo
Ciaruton rock inscription. He was deified as an incarnation of
Vishnu, as was Airalanga of eastern Java in later times in his
fomous Varaha-Boar incarnation form. The well known My-son
inscription from Champa (Annam) (fifth-sixth century) refers to
the worship of Vishnu along with Mahesvara, Uma, Brahma
and other deities. The kings of Champa in later times also claimed
to be incarnations of Vishnu. His worship was popular in Cam-
bodia (Fu-nan and later Kambuja) as well. There are invocations
to Vishnu in inscriptions along with a reference to Sri or Lak-
shmi as his consort, while another inscription of Gunavarman
records
svamin,
a donation for the image of Vishnu called Chakratirtha-
which was consecrated by Brahmans versed in the
Vedas. It also speaks of the Bhagavatas, the cult of Sakti
and the doctrine of karma. The composite form of Siva and
Vishnu, named variously as Sankara-Narayana, Sambhu-
Vishnu, Hari-Achyuta and Hari-Sankara, is aiso recorded in
inscriptions.
Doctrines and Sub-Divisions of Vaishnavism : The above historical
the eighth cen-
Survey of Vaishnavism from earliest times to about
Tury is made on the basis of literary, epigraphic and archaeological
SOurces. Reference may be made tothe fundamental doctrines
now
oT Vaishnavism and the contributions of acharyas who
founded
in the north as well as in
ne different schools of Vaishnavism them include the ones
he south. The most important among
and Madhava or Anan-
Ounded by Ramanuja (eleventh century)
datirtha (thirteenth century) who preached the doctrine of
of non-duality (advaita) of
uality (dvaita) as against the doctrine school was Ramananda's
ankaracharya (eighth century). The third distinctions in the
ourteenth.century) who eliminated caste sphere
was Vallabhacharya
Worship, and used the vernacular. The last
210 sOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY OF D
A

(sixteenth century) noted for his pushti-marga or t h e .

pat and
abundance'. Scores of other teachers propagated Vaishnouth of
Krishna in their own way. They included, notably
worship
deva, Umapati, Vidyapati and Chandidas in the Nama-
,
the fourteenth
fourteenth-
fifteenth centuries, Narsi Mehta, Kabir, Chaitanya, Mirabai
Surdas, Tulsidas in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries and
Sankardeva in Assam.
The Bhakti cult is based on certain fundamental doctrines
These imply in the main that God is beyond the ken of logic or
argument and is attained only through whole-hearted devotion.
Penances and religious observances alone cannot lead to the attain.
ment of God. In the Bhagavata religion great stres6. is laid on
God's grace. No human achievements, intellectual, moral or spirit.
ual. are enough for communion with God. It is He who grants
wisdom to the devotee and chooses to reveal Himself to him.
Thus, the Bhagavad Gita enjoins the devotee to relinquish all relig-
ious rites and action and take refuge in Him who alone can free
him from all sins. The nature of bhakti is defined as intense love
for God, free from attachment to worldly objects, eschewing know.
ledge and action. Further, bhakti does not imply renunciation of
all desires (nirodha), but the consecration of all desires and
actions to God. Knowledge (jnana) is linked with devotion.
In the words of the Lord, "the wise devotee (jnanim) is ever

united with Me in thought and is attached to Me with single-

of
minded devotion'. A life of devotion is not necessarily one
inaction. In fact real action implying duty in the world, pleases
inacti-
God. As such Bhagavatism does not preach a philosophy of
which the
vity and quietude. There are, however, certain qualities Pancha-
devotee should cultivate. It is suggested by Narada in his
souls
ratra that wealth and sex are the two rocks on which many
are shipwrecked. Also, atheists disturb our faith in
God. Hence
we should not listen to talk concerning women,
wealth and n
he
ana
character of atheists. We should give up egoism, pride
than acto
passions. Devotion, according to Narada, higher
is
higher than knowledge, and higher than the concentration o
mind (yoga). It is higher than all other means of salvation
the righ
one
cult of Bhakti is open to all, as nobody can deny any
devotion

to love God. As such the road to salvation through Sex or status.

open to everybody irrespective of caste, character, sex or
Pancha-
the old
Ramanuja's Vaishnavism is the Vasudeva of
 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
211
system combined with Narayana and Vishnu elements.
ratrem inin his system is reduced to the form of a continuous
r a t r a

Bhaktism
litation on the supreme soul. It, thus, corresponds to the
me a n a s , or meditation for attaining union with the supreme
ed
deityr e f e r r e d to variously as Brahma, Isvara or Vishnu who exis-

before all else and is the cause and creator of all things. He is
ted
free from all imperfections and apart from Him there is nothing.
According to him, the supreme deity is full of love and sympathy
for mankind, and takes different incarnations for the salvation of
meD, the fullest and most perfect incarnation being that of Rama.
His doctrine of the supreme being and the individual soul having
separate entities gives his philosophy the name of Visishtadvaita
or "qualified non-daulism'. According
to him, the individual soul
of faith.
is subject to ignorance and suffering caused by lack
but
The way to salvation (moksha) is not knowledge (jinana)
is
faith (bhakti) or love of God. The influence of Ramanuja
evident in the works of Madhava, Vallabha, Ramananda, Kabir
and Nanak.
school of
Madhava (1197-1280), the philosopher-founder of the
Brahman. HHe
dualism also called Anandatirtha, was a Kanarese
or non-dualism. He computed
was opposed to Sankara's advaita
of the world,
the theory of maya (illusion) or the unreality
or love and faith,
and aimed at establishing the doctrine of bhakti,
on a secure basis. He considered
God as the material as well as
the theory of his
the efficient cause of the world, and propounded
for his body, individual souls
being a composite person having five eternal
inanimate world. He sets forth
(jiva) and the
the distinction between
distinctions or individualities, namely,
the inanimate world,
God and the individual spirit, God and
individual
the individual spirit and the animate world, one
and another.
spirit and another, and one inanimate object from the Par-
Al knowledge, according to Madhava, springs

the means by which it is produced. It is of

nalman, whatever and that which
kinds-that which leads to worldly existence,
WO unreal and
salvation (unoksha). Knowledge which is
to to the body.
an attachment
to worldly existence creates
ng a
the knowledge of God by
True knowle
knowledge, the other hand, is
on
perception of God or Hari is
aitained. The
ch moksha is of vairagya
by service to God through the method
dned self control
disgust of
of worldly
St equanimity (sama) and
pleasures,
212 SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY
OF INDIA

dama), acquaintance with the lore, self-surrender

which the mind is devoted to God, as the best of(saranagattin
all
is full of the highest love. He is things, and
woishipped with devotion
and
faith. Besides guru bhakti, or attendance on the teacher, Parmat.
man bhakti or firm devotion to God leads to
moksha or eternal
bliss.
The contributions of other Vaishnava saints fall in the
medieval
period of Indian history. During this period the forces of Islam
gained a permanent foothold on Indian soil and a direct clash
between the two ideological camps was inevitable, Hinduism being
on the defensive. Bhaktism in this period aimed at giving solace
to the Hindu mind. The need was not for a highly philosophical
approach but one which would meet the needs of the masses,
particularly the down-trodden and the socially backward. The
message of bhakti conveyed to them in the vernacular rather
was

than in the high-fown language of the intellectuals. Ramananda

and his disciple Kabir were the pioneers of this new religious
of all men before
awakening. Ramananda emphasized the equality
and admitted al
God, preached against the ideology of caste,
castes including the lowest to his fold.
He declared that 'whoever
break with the Hindu
adores God, is God's own'. He did not
God, Rama and
of idol worship and preached faith in one
practice included Raidas
his consort Sita. Ramananda's twelve disciples
low caste leather worker, Kabir of the Muslim weaver caste
a
members o
and Sena, a barber. Later on,
Dhana, a Jat peasant,
famous lady saint Mirabai, and
this Vaishnava sect included the
Malukdasa (sixteenth-seventeentn
the Hindi poets Tulsidasa and
century).
o R I GIN A ND E VOLU TION
SAIV I S M - I T S
times tn
Saivism be traced to much earlier
The origin of may
both were referred to by Mc in
that of Vaishnavism, although I tis Suggest d that Saivism
dra
 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
Vasudeva-Bhagavata cult was 205
The
T h e

and the name

shnu and the earlier
Vedied e i t y
given to it wasidentified with
vism. As a further
navIs
a rV a i s h n a

step
it was
Vaishnava the
e (or hero) named
Narayana who haddentified with a dharma
identified a
ancharatra-satra, which lasted
Jled five performed a deified
deifiec
sacrifice
to attain superiority over all days and was sacrifice a

beings. It appearsperformed
n orde

Vedic sacrifice
of
eficiency was
ciated with Bhagavad.
The
hesised with the that the
Bspect

devotional
cult
served a powerful religious
as
force
ramana religions, Buddhism and against the Krishna-Vishnu-Narayana
orthodox Vedic religion on the Jainism, whichonslaught
the
defensive. had placed of
the Sunga period (second
In
eult which was century B.C.) the
Bhagavata
ga name for the Vrishnis confined to the land Vasudeva-
of the
leva-
anothe

Tndia, and according to the Satvatas,

westet
Western
associated with Mahabharata, in
adhyadesa or Vasudeva,
'midland' India. Patanjali, the extended over
ions the names of KTishna and
Janardhana, grammarian,
the synonyms of
men-
Aea, and also refers to festive gatherings in the Vasu-
Vasudeva-Krishna) and Rama temple of Kesava
(Balarama). The reference to
Vocudeva-bhaktas or devotees, the
staging of Balibandha or the
hinding of Bali, associated with Vishnu, and the
Kensa by Krishna himself suggests the growing
slaying of
popularity of this
cult and the supreme Lord associated with it in different names.
The epigraphic records of this period are also important. The
Besnagar Pillar inscription of the late Sunga period refers to the
setting up-of the Garuda column (garudadhvaja) of Vasudeva, the
god of gods (devadeva) by Heliodorus, a Bhagavata. He was the
son of Dion and a native of Taxila who had come as ambassador
from the court of the Indo-Greck king Antialkidas to king
Bhagabhadra of Kasiputra. A fragment of the shaft of another
Octagonal column. evidently from Besnagar, records the erection
of the Garuda column of the temple of the Bhagavata (Bhagavatah
devotee of Bhagavata.
prasada) by Gautamiputra, who was a
1nese two records are suggestive of femples of Bhagavat-Vishnu
the vahana or
at Vidisa (Madhya Pradesh). Garuda appears as
from Ghasundi (Udaipur,
of Vishnu. Another inscription
e B.c. records the erection
of a
century
4jasthan) of the second Sam Karshana
and Vasu-
Bhagavata
ne encosure of worship for It was built by
Bhagavata
enclosure of Narayana. divinities,
n the association of
the three
Gajayana, son of Parasari. The