Religion, Philosophy and Society

Religion, philosophy and society

Subject: History
Lesson: Religion, philosophy and society
Course Developers :

9.1: Religion, philosophy and society in early India

Prof. Kunal Chakrabarti
Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
9.2: Vedic religion: rituals, deities and myths: Upanishadic
doctrines
Dr. Jaya Tyagi
Associate Professor, Venkateshwara College, University of
Delhi
9.3: A general survey of shad-darshanas and lokayata
Dr. Kanchana Natarajan
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University
of Delhi
9.4: Socio-religious ferment in north India (circa 6th to 1st
century BC): the philosophical doctrines of early
Buddhism, Jainism and the Ajivikas
Dr. Pragati Sahni
Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University
of Delhi
9.5: Consolidation of Brahmanical normative tradition:
dharma, varnasharma, purusharthas, samskaras
Dr. Jaya Tyagi
Delhi
1
Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
9.6: Spreading and changing traditions: Buddhism and

Jainism form circa 2nd century BCE
9.7.1: The making of Puranic Hinduism
Prof. Kumkum Roy
Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University
9.7.2: Forms and feature of Puranic Hinduism
9.7.3: Bhakti movements in South India
Dr. Naina Dayal
Assistant Professor, St. Stephen's College, University of
Delhi
9.8: The beginnings of Tantrism
Dr. Jaya Tyagi
Delhi
Language Editors: Naina Dayal, Rahul Govind, Veena

Sachdev and Bharati Jagannathan
Production Editor: Ashutosh Kumar
Assistant Professor, Lady Shri Ram College, University of
Delhi
2
NOTE:
The dates in modern historical writings are generally given according to the
Christian calendar. In recent years, the use of AD (Anno Domini) and BC (Before
Christ) has to some extent been replaced by BCE (Before Common Era) and CE
(Common Era). Both usages are acceptable, and both sets of abbreviations have
been used in these e-lessons.
Table of contents
Chapter
9: Religion, philosophy and society

9.2: Vedic religion: rituals, deities and myths: Upanishadic doctrines
9.3: A general survey of shad-darshanas and Lokayata
9.4: Socio-religious ferment in north India (circa 6th to 1st centuries BC):
the philosophical doctrines of early Buddhism, Jainism and the Ajivikas
9.5: Consolidation of Brahmanical normative traditions: dharma,
varnashrama, purusharthas, samskaras
9.6: Spreading and changing traditions: Buddhism and Jainism from circa
2nd century BCE
9.7.2: Forms and features of Puranic Hinduism
Summary
Exercises
Glossary
Further readings
3
Religion and society are related to each other in a fundamental way. Societies are
characterized by the values they embody, the motivations they encourage and the
incentives they sanction. Societies are also marked by the ideals which generate a particular
set of beliefs, attitudes and practices. Therefore, religion cannot be defined or understood
without reference to human social relations. Religion prescribes norms for social order,
individual behaviour and collective action. Thus, all religious traditions are expressions of
the relationship between some of the most important objectives of human life and everyday
conduct.
Religion and philosophy are two enduring forms of spiritual expression. They enter into
relations with one another only in specific historical terms, because it is the thought of a
philosopher or school of philosophy that interacts with a specific religious tradition in a given
spatio-temporal context. It is therefore necessary to understand how social formation,
religious faith and philosophical reflection are historically related to one another. We will
illustrate this relationship with three examples from early Indian history.
The caste system and its justifications
The Upanishads: Karman and transmigration of soul
The brahmanical social order is based on a classificatory system called caste. This system
divides the whole society into four varnas (social ranks according to their functions) and
innumerable jatis (occupational groups), both of which are characterized by a strict order of
ranking and other restrictions. This classificatory scheme traces its roots and derives its
legitimacy from the earliest brahmanical cosmogony (a theory of the origin of the
universe), which appeared in the later portion of the Rig-Veda.
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According to it, the four varnas emerged from the dismembered body of a cosmic being,
called Purusha. We are told that in the beginning, the thousand headed Purusha pervaded
the earth on all sides. When the gods performed the sacrifice with Purusha as their oblation,
his mouth became the brahmana; his two arms were made into rajanya (kshatriya); his two
thighs the vaishya; from his two feet the shudra was born.
Through this origin myth, three vitally important aspects of caste were established, which
helped to validate the system later. It showed that the castes appeared with the creation of
life itself, that the body parts produced the four categories of humans in a descending order
of purity, and that the hierarchy was based on a supernatural authority which made it
theoretically irreversible.
Evidently, this system is inherently restrictive and discriminatory. A startling example of this
discrimination is that the brahmanical law-books prescribe variable punishments for
members of different caste groups for the same offense. Let us look at two instances:
The Apastamba Dharmasutra declared: If someone kills a kshatriya, he should give a

thousand cows to erase the enmity, a hundred if he kills a vaishya, and ten if he kills a
shudra (I.24.1.1-3). Manu Dharmashastra, possibly the most authoritative of the
brahmanical law-books, ruled: A king (kshatriya) who shouts abuse at a brahmana should
be fined a hundred (units of money), a vaishya who does this, a hundred and fifty or two
hundred, a shudra (should be given) corporal or capital punishment (VIII.267.276).
These injunctions appear to us as grossly unjust. Those who were at the receiving end of
this treatment must have felt so even more keenly.
Thus, despite the claim of divine origin, it required a strong theoretical justification for such
a severe system of social organization to function effectively over a long period of time. The
system also needed to hold out some promise of improvement of their present condition in
the future for the lower castes to bear their current deprivations with fortitude and hope.
Both these purposes were served by the formulation of the twin concepts of karman
(actions undertaken in life) and transmigration of the soul.
The idea that each living being has a soul and that, unlike the body, it is indestructible, first
appeared in the later Vedic literature. In the Aranyakas, and more importantly in the
Upanishads, the fundamentals of the complex of ideas associated with soul were laid down.
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The Taittiriya Aranyaka proclaims that human beings are subject to repeated deaths; their
actions eventually devour them. The Katha Upanishad more explicitly affirms that human
beings die and are reborn like corn. They may be born as human beings or as lower forms
of life depending on their actions committed in the previous birth. Rebirth is inevitable for
those who die without knowing the Brahman (the ultimate reality).
The logical implications of these ideas for the society were first clearly articulated in the
Mahabharata. It states:
When a shudra serves the brahmana, the kshatriya and the vaishya properly and to their
satisfaction, his suffering comes to an end with his death and he enjoys residence in
heaven (V.40.26). And again: The soul, traveling from one body to another, is ultimately
born as a brahmana (XII.28.5).
Brahmanical law-books present long discourses on actions and their consequences through
various births. Karman and transmigration of soul are two of the most enduring concepts of
brahmanism which have explained and provided justification to the caste system for two
millennia. This is not to suggest that Upanishadic speculations were not guided by a spirit of
genuine philosophical enquiry. But this speculative philosophy was put to use to justify and
perpetuate a social order conceived and articulated by the brahmanas.
The Puranas: Bhakti and transcendence
However, as an explanatory device this scheme falls short on several counts. To begin with,
it is not clear whether suffering precedes action or vice versa. Besides, in this formulation
the relationship between karman and fate (niyati or daiva) is not apparent. It has been
repeatedly stated, especially in such philosophical texts as Yogavasishtha, that fate is the
supreme power which decides human destiny. More accessible mythological texts, such as
the Puranas, reiterate that fate is so powerful that it actually determines karman. But, fate
should have had no place at all in this scheme, for the doctrine of karman is founded on the
irrefutable assumption that appropriate consequence must necessarily follow action.
However, since the knowledge of actions committed in the previous birth is withheld in the
next birth, this causal linkage can never be clearly established.
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Thus, this elaborate explanation, which served as the most important theoretical
justification of the caste system from the brahmanical point of view, could not really allay
the fear and possible resentment of the lower castes. The promise of redemption it had held
out to them was so elusive, and it was set in such a remote future, that it very nearly lost
all practical value. Brahmanism, therefore, had to think of a more realistic alternative.
The alternative was worked out in the concept of bhakti or unqualified devotion to god, first
unambiguously propounded in the Bhagvad-Gita and then endlessly elaborated in the
Puranas.
In the cosmogonic narratives of the Puranas, it is Brahma, a deity endowed with rajasika
guna or the quality to act, who initiates the process of creation. He began by creating
ignorance. He eventually created man, the only creature that satisfied him because,
suffering pain caused by ignorance, he seeks liberation. This desire for liberation impels
human beings to act, which is the performance of dharma.
It is difficult to define the term dharma, but in the Puranas it increasingly came to signify
proper conduct. The Vishnu Purana, one of the most important of the early Puranas,
expresses its anxiety about the need to preserve proper conduct in its description of the
degenerate Kali age, the last period in a cosmic time cycle. It says that in the Kali age the
varnas will give up the performance of duties assigned to them by the Dharmashastras. The
shudras will be the dominant social group and women will become independent and selfwilled. In short, the entire brahmanical social order and its supportive values will
disintegrate. Yet, in the text, the brahmana seer Vyasa proclaims:
Kaliyuga is the most blessed age, for liberation from the endless cycle of births and deaths
(moksha) can now be very easily obtained by simply invoking the name of god. However,
he dutifully adds: Blessed are the shudras because by merely serving the twice-born castes
they obtain the results of performing sacrifices and attain the desired end. Blessed too
are women who, by being simply dedicated to their husbands, can obtain all the results that
men attain through great hardship (VI.2.22-23,28-29).
In theory, this formulation allows the lower orders and women a shorter route to liberation
from a presumably painful existence on earth, if only they devote themselves to god and
adhere to their ordained caste and gender duties svadharma and stridharma. Thus, we
see that an iniquitous social system was justified through the application of a set of
philosophical concepts such as karman and the transmigration of soul and maintained
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through the deployment of a religious ideology such as bhakti, which was later subjected to
much philosophical debates.
Buddhism: Dukkha and its remedy
While the brahmanas were busy formulating and legitimizing the varna-based social order, a
number of religious leaders emerged in the 5 th century BCE with very different ideas on
principles of social organization and aims of human existence. Gautama Buddha was one of
them who was instrumental in founding a religion that had a profound impact on the life and
thought of the people in early India and later.
Several historical factors precipitated the emergence of Buddhism. Agriculture, based on the
use of iron tools and paddy transplantation, resulted in the making of a large food producing
economy, particularly in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This created conditions for the
rise of towns supported by trade, artisanal production and the use of metal coins. Increase
in agricultural production made it possible to collect regular taxes from peasants, on the
basis of which large states could be founded. It was necessary to create a social
organization that would sustain these economic and political formations. The brahmanas
designed the varna order and clearly demarcated the social and economic functions of each
varna.
An inescapable feature of the varna order was that the two higher varnas garnered power
and prestige at the cost of the lower ones. They claimed many privileges including those of
receiving gifts, exemption from taxation and punishment. Understandably, the varna divided
society generated tension. We cannot fully ascertain the reaction of the vaishyas and the
shudras, but the kshatriyas, who wielded political authority, resented the ritual domination
of the brahmanas. Growth in trade and commerce led to greater affluence of some sections
of the vaishyas. It is natural that they would expect recognition of their improved status in
society.
Of the many radically new ideas that the Buddha propounded, one was to question some of
the fundamental assumptions of the varna system. He reproved the brahmanical notions
that varna status can be acquired only through birth, that it is irreversible in a lifetime, and
that the varnas are arranged in a given hierarchy with the brahmanas at the top. He thus
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automatically challenged the premise behind these suppositions that the upper varnas are
inherently superior to the lower varnas. It should be remembered that the Buddha did not
altogether reject the varna system as a valid form of social classification, nor did he
completely deny the notion of a varna hierarchy. What he seems to have contested was the
linking of birth to inherent status, privileges and disabilities, the idea of an immutable varna
order and permanency of categories among owners of the means of production. Buddhism
admitted women and shudras into its monastic organization, though the extent to which it
changed their material position in society is difficult to measure. What is far more significant
is that he perceived both social and economic stratification as dynamic and, therefore, open
to reformulation. As a social philosopher, he declined to accept the existing caste and class
divisions as static and not subject to continually changing nature of the world. This is a
fundamental principle in Buddhist philosophy to which we will now turn.
Buddhist philosophy is based on a keen perception that suffering (dukkha) is pervasive in

human life and that it is due to spiritual ignorance. The Buddha asked his disciples to resist
a life of both indulgence in sensual pleasure and perpetual self-mortification. The middle
path between these two extremes was designed to encourage true knowledge, tranquility
and enlightenment. This path is to be pursued through a succession of lives towards an
ultimate goal, which is liberation or nibbana. The idea of passage through numerous lives is
common to both brahmanism and Buddhism, but unlike in brahmanism, the final goal in
Buddhism is conceived as a transcendent state in which the individual is free from craving
and sorrow and is thus liberated from suffering.
To begin with, many historians of philosophy in the West were reluctant to acknowledge
early Buddhism as philosophy in the classical Greek sense of the term, for the Buddhas
teachings, even though not averse to abstruse questions about the nature of reality, have a
practical goal. However, it was gradually recognized that the middle path was both an
intellectual discipline and a philosophical practice that charts a middle way between the
extremes of affirmation (in which things are treated as permanent entities) and negation (in
which they are treated as utterly non-existent).
Let us look at the teachings of the Buddha and their philosophical implications in some
detail. One of the most important systematic accounts of early Buddhist thought is found in
the Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta (discourse on the turning of the wheel of the
teaching). It begins with an exposition of the middle path and then presents the four noble
truths discovered by him. These are the truths of suffering, the arising of suffering, the
cessation of suffering and the path to the cessation of suffering, as follows:
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What then is the Holy Truth of Ill? Birth is ill, sickness is ill, death is ill. To be conjoined
with what one dislikes means suffering. To be disjoined from what one likes means
suffering. Not to get what one wants, also that means suffering. In short, all grasping at any
of the five Skandhas [the constituents of the personality -- body, feelings, perceptions,
volitional impulses and consciousness] involves suffering.
What then is the Holy Truth of the Origination of ill? It is that craving which leads to rebirth,
accompanied by delight and greed, seeking its delight now here, now there, i.e. craving for
sensuous experience, craving to perpetuate oneself, craving for extinction.
What then is the Holy Truth of the Stopping of Ill? It is that complete stopping of that
craving, the withdrawal from it, the renouncing of it, throwing it back, liberation from it,
non-attachment to it.
What then is the Holy Truth of the steps which lead to the stopping of ill? It is this eightfold
Path, which consists of right views, right intentions, right speech, right conduct, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration (Edward Conze, selected and
trans. Buddhist Scriptures. London: Penguin Books, 1959, pp. 186-7).
They provide an outline of the major themes of Buddhist thought.
Value addition: what the sources say

The Dhammapada on the saint
He whose passions are destroyed, who is indifferent to food, who has perceived (the
nature of) release and unconditioned freedom, his path is difficult to understand like
that of birds through the sky.
Even the gods envy him whose senses are subdued like horses well tamed by the
charioteer, who is free from pride and free from taints.
Such a man who is tolerant like the earth, like a threshold; who does his duty, who is
like a lake free from mud: to a man like that there is no cycle of births and deaths.
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Source: The Dhammapada, VII: 4-6.
The truth of suffering is connected with two other important aspects of Buddhist thought
the doctrine of impermanence (anichcha) and no-self (anatta). Buddhists argue that while
some things are painful in an obvious way, others cause suffering when they change and
pass away. Eventually everything changes and passes away. Since things change, they lack
the permanent identity or self that we attribute to them. They are nothing but a series of
momentary phenomena that create the illusion of continuity, such as moments in the flow
of a river.
According to the second noble truth, suffering is caused by desire and desire arises out of
ignorance through a causal sequence called patichcha-samuppada. The most fundamental
form of ignorance is the misconception that there is a self. When one realizes that nothing
has any permanent identity, the causal sequence unravels and suffering begins to cease.
Thus, one can observe that the Buddhist conception of a dynamic and mobile social
structure was closely related to its foundational beliefs about the nature of things. Indeed,
the doctrine of impermanence became a major point of controversy between the Buddhist
and the brahmanical philosophers. These debates have greatly enriched Indian philosophical
traditions. Buddhist monasteries encouraged systematic elaboration of Buddhist thought,
which resulted in the articulation of such major philosophical schools as Madhyamaka and
Yogacara. These schools developed in tandem with the brahmanical philosophical schools
and profoundly influenced each other.
0
Samkhya: the making of the Brahmanical goddess
The third example relates to Samkhya, one of the six systems of brahmanical philosophy,
and its role in the articulation of the goddess in such religious texts as the Puranas.
Scholars dealing with the history of the goddess in India virtually unanimously proclaim that
the basic impulse behind the worship of the goddess is non-brahmanical, non-Sanskritic,
indigenous. Recent research increasingly suggests that the Indian goddesses date to preVedic times. However, they occupy a marginal place in the Vedic pantheon, if at all. On the
other hand, goddess worship was popular among the non-brahmanical peoples of India,
especially in the areas peripheral to the brahmanical sphere of influence. The brahamnical
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adoption of the goddess helped it absorb various local cultural elements and served to make
it appear acceptable to them. The first unmistakable attempt to incorporate a non-Vedic
goddess in all her essentials within the brahmanical fold was made in the Mahabharata and
the Harivamsha, supposedly a supplement to the Mahabharata. A striking feature of the
hymns addressed primarily to Durga in these texts is that they reveal a pattern of recurring
motifs concerning the conception of the goddess, her basic attributes, her chief associations,
and the nature of her worship.
The goddess is said to have several names and forms in which she is worshipped in different
parts of India by the Shavaras, Varvaras, Pulindas and other tribes. She is a virgin deity,
sporting on the mountains (the Vindhya or the Himalaya) and inaccessible forests and
caves. She is followed by ghosts, associated with wild beasts such as tigers and lions,
carries a bell and is adorned with peacock tails. She is primarily a war-goddess who is fond
of battle and destroys demons, is endowed with varieties of weapons and protects her
devotees. She is worshipped with meat and wine and sacrifices are offered to her.
This is a pre-eminently non-Vedic goddess, recognized for the first time in brahmanical
literature. The process of assimilation had simultaneously begun, for she is described in the
same text as the mother of the Vedas as well as the end of the Vedas. This process was
carried forward in some of the Puranas, until the synthesis of her non-Vedic characteristics
and brahmanical embellishments reached its culmination in the Devi-Mahatmya section of
the Markandeya Purana around the 6th century CE. In this text, the non-Vedic features of
the goddess are retained, presumably for the sake of authenticity, but are elaborated with
the help of myths and epithets in a manner that subtly connects her with the Sanskritic
tradition. In retrospect, the process of transformation of the goddess appears to be so
natural that one tends to forget that it was born out of the Puranic need to accommodate
non-brahmanical customs and practices in order to broaden the social base of brahmanism.
Even though the brahmanas of post-Vedic times considered it desirable, formal admission of
the goddess within brahmanism required the sanction of an internal authority. That sanction
was provided by the Samkhya school of thought. Shorn of its metaphysical subtleties, the
Samkhya explanation of the cosmic evolution is the following:
Samkhya, as we have it now, admits of two principles, prakriti or matter and purushas or
souls. (These purushas should not be confused with the Purusha of the Rig Vedic hymn,
from whose dismembered body the four varnas emerged.) Samkhya believes that before
this world came into being, there existed a state of dissolution in which the guna
compounds (the ultimate subtle entities) had disintegrated into a state of disunion and had
by their mutual opposition produced an equilibrium, the prakriti. Later on, disturbance arose
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in the prakriti and, as a result of that, a process of unequal aggregation of gunas in varying
proportions took place, which brought forth the manifest world. The state of equilibrium is
broken by the transcendental influence of the purushas.
Samkhya therefore explains the creation of the universe in terms of an interlay between the
prakriti and the purushas without necessarily ascribing to either primacy in the creative
process. Although the prakriti is energized into action only when in contact with the
purushas, just as iron moves when in proximity of a magnet, the purushas are not agents of
action by themselves, but inert witnesses. To put it plainly, prakriti and purushas are
partners in the enterprise of creation. Not even a suggestion of the goddess is implied in
this conception of the creation of the universe, for Samkhya denies the existence of god or
any other exterior influence in matters of creation.
Value addition: interesting details

Samkhya and human suffering
It is interesting to note that even Samkhya is fundamentally concerned with the
condition of human suffering. Ishwara Krishnas Samkhya-karika (c. third century
CE) begins with the statement: From torment by three-fold misery arises the
inquiry into the means of terminating it (The Samkhya-karika, I.).
According to Samkhya, human beings suffer from three kinds of pain intrinsic
(adhyatmika), extrinsic (adhibhautika) and superhuman (adhidaivika). The intrinsic
is two-fold, bodily and mental. Bodily pain is caused by the disorder of wind, bile and
phlegm. Mental pain is due to desire, wrath, avarice, affection, fear, envy, grief, and
the non-perception of particular objects. Extrinsic pain is caused by men, beasts,
birds, reptiles and inanimate things. Superhuman pain is due to the evil influence of
planets and the various spirits.
Source: Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli and Charles A. Moore, eds. 1989. A
Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
426.
Yet, the term prakriti is of feminine gender. Although, according to the rules of Sanskrit
grammar, the gender of a particular word does not necessarily signify the gender of the
object denoted by that word, in the Samkhya formulation prakriti has actually been
conceived in feminine terms. Prakriti has been variously depicted in such key texts of
Samkhya philosophy as Samkhyakarika and Samkhyasutra as a shy wife or a seductive
dancing girl, who bewitches the purushas into the act of creation. Thus, irrespective of
whether Samkhya had consciously intended it or not, in the subsequent philosophical
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discussions the separation and union between the prakriti and the purushas have often been
understood in the metaphor of the elemental man-woman relationship. This is how the idea
that the feminine principle is the material cause behind creation came to acquire its place in
brahmanical thought. Attribution of divinity to this feminine principle was the next
predictable step and, with the theistic transformation of prakriti, brahmanism had created
space for the goddess. The Puranas almost invariably draw upon the Samkhya concept of
prakriti as the model for the supreme goddess. Here is a typical example from the DeviMahatmya:
(You [the goddess] are) the cause of all the worlds; although possessed of the three
qualities (triguna), by faults (doshaih) you are not known; (you are) unfathomable even by
Hari, Hara and the other gods. (You are) the resort of all, (you are) this entire world which
is composed of parts, for you are the supreme, original, untransformed prakriti (84.6).
This statement, however, is not entirely correct, for the Samkhya conception of the prakriti
was transformed by the Puranas. The amendments the Puranas introduced were of three
kinds. First, prakriti, the supreme creator, was given the status of goddess. Second, a
special category called mulaprakriti or primordial nature was created which made room for
subsidiary or derived prakritis. This allowed the Puranas to assert that the various local
goddesses are manifestations of the supreme goddess. Third, this mulaprakriti was invested
with a creative energy or power called shakti. Besides, in this reformulation of the Samkhya
concept, the purushas are divested of any share in the creation of the universe. These
innovations are alien to Samkhya, but are not so removed from it as to render the ancestry
of the prakriti, as exemplified in the Puranas, unrecognizable. An important socio-religious
requirement of brahmanism was thus met through a creative rearticulation of a
philosophical concept.
9.2: Vedic religion: rituals, deities and myths: Upanishadic

doctrines
Sources
The Vedic corpus includes the Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. The earliest
of the Vedas, the Rg Veda can be dated around 1500-1000 B.C.E (some date it around 1900
B.C.E) and is divided into ten mandalas (books) of which mandalas 2 to 7 (also called family
books) are the earliest and mandalas 1,8,9 and 10 were added later. The Rg Veda
(henceforth, RV) consists of hymns devoted to different deities. The Yajur, Sama and
Atharva Vedas were compiled subsequently. The four Vedas along with the Brahmana texts
are collectively called shruti, implying that they are texts which have been revealed by the
gods and thus given a divine status. These texts are also called apaurusheya i.e., they
were compiled with minimal human intervention and emphasizing their oral routes of
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transmission. The oral transmission has been by and large accurate, so much so that
Michael Witzel calls the Vedas tape recordings of the past (1997,258). Each Veda has
Brahmana texts attached to it which have elaborate explanations of Vedic hymns in prose.
The Brahmanas were compiled by Brahmanical shakhas (schools of learning) specializing in
the study of Vedas and contain details on rituals. The Aitareya and Shatapatha Brahmanas
are two significant texts. The Aranyakas, meaning forest books, comprise mystical
explanations for the rituals to be conducted while living a life of seclusion in forests. R.N.
Dandekar (1992, 29) feels that they contain transitional material between the mythology
and ritual of the Vedic texts and Brahmanas on the one hand, and the philosophical
speculations of the Upanishads on the other. The Upanishads deal with philosophical and
theological issues and represent the final stage in the development of Vedic religious
thought and the last phase of Brahmanism (Dandekar 1992, 29). The time period of the
later Vedic texts is approximately between 1200 and 500 B.C.E.
Historiography on Vedic religion

Vedic religion has been a subject of interest since the earliest times. Even when the Vedas
were being compiled, Brahmanical schools, called shakhas began specializing in particular
Vedas. These shakhas emphasized oral rendition of the Vedas and the correct performance
of rituals. They also began elaborate speculation on aspects of Vedic religion, some of which
is consolidated in the Brahmanas and Upanishads and subsequently in the post Vedic
Vedangas and the Dharmashastras. The Mimamsa tradition is one such which has been
devoted to interpretation of Vedic knowledge and which laid stress on the performance of
Vedic rituals. The shadadarshanas, six schools of philosophy which we will learn about
subsequently, also trace their origins to Vedic philosophy. Vedic studies were dominated by
brahmanas who spent years learning the obscure hymns and rituals and fiercely reserved
the exclusive right to perform these rituals.
Modern studies on Vedic religion can be traced to the beginning of the nineteenth century
when scholars like H.T. Colebrook and others like Eugene Burnouf, Roth and Adalbert Kuhn
began taking an interest in Vedic studies (Chakrabarti 1995, 180). It was Max Muller who
highlighted the importance of a comparative approach to the study of Vedic religion by
studying Vedic mythology and deities in relation to Indo-European myths. Max Muller called
the Vedic religion a form of kathenotheism, i.e., although many gods were worshipped
(polytheism), each of the deities is projected as supreme amongst the gods in the hymns
devoted to him, indicating the presence of the notion of one supreme deity. Others like A.A.
Macdonell divided the Vedic deities into three main categories- celestial, aerial and
terrestrial, gods of the heavens, atmosphere and earth. Such divisions, although helpful in
classifying the different deities, tend to be an oversimplification of Vedic myths. While the
Vedic gods and goddesses are associated with natural phenomena like rain, thunder, dawn
and dusk, it would be simplistic to assume that the Vedic people were merely nature
worshippers or that their religion was only a form of naturalistic polytheism as some of
their beliefs had moved beyond anthropomorphizing of natural phenomena, that is, the
personification of natural phenomena to more abstract speculations on the origins of the
15

cosmos. Studies like those of Jan Gonda, R.N. Dandekar, S.A. Dange, Brian Smith and
Wendy Doniger have highlighted the deeply complex nature of Vedic cosmogony, i.e. issues
of origins and the mythology of the Vedas.
Vedic deities and religious practices

The Rig Vedic people worshipped several gods whom they referred to as devas. Arrayed in
opposition to them were the asuras. The names of the deities in the RV are similar to those
in the Avesta, showing similarity between the Aryans and early Iranians, hinting at a
common Indo-Iranian past. In the RV, the devas are worshipped and asuras are their rivals
whereas in the Avesta it is the ahura who is worshipped and the daevas who are the rivals.
Hajime Nakamura (1992) has shown that for the Vedic people, religious experience was
focused around the world around them and that they were able to correlate the natural
world, the cosmos and their community life with each other. The hymns address natural
phenomena themselves, like the shining sun the gleaming moon, and the violent storms
which were worshipped rather than as the sun god or moon god.
Indra was the most significant god, associated with thunder and rains. He is called the
liberator of waters which were held in captivity by Vrtra, the demon of drought, whom he
defeated. He is, therefore, also known as Vrtrahan, slayer of Vrtra. He was the conqueror of
Vala whom he defeated along with other asuras, and thus was the warrior deity to be
invoked in times of battle and crisis. The dominant heroism which Indra represents with
more than 250 hymns addressed to him shows that wars and battles were an inherent part
of Rg Vedic society.
Soma was a drink and also worshipped as a wise deity. He was closely associated with Indra
and Agni and there are references to Indra drinking Soma. Agni, literally fire, was
worshipped as a god and also as an intermediary between the gods and men. The gods had
to be pleased by pouring oblations into Agni, the sacrificial fire, without which any Vedic
sacrifice was incomplete. The cult of fire worship has Indo-European origins. Surya, the Sun
god, was the son of Dyaus. Savitar, Vivasvant, the Ashvins and the Rbhus were also
associated with the Sun. Sometimes a number of deities are also mentioned as one
collective unit- the Adityas were also associated with the Sun, two of whom were Varuna
and Mitra along with Aryaman,Bhaga, Ansa and Daksha. Varuna is an intriguing god as he
was associated with keeping the cosmic order (rita) in balance. He was also the upholder of
order. Varuna with Mitra kept the heavenly movements in order and Varuna fettered and
punished wrong doers. The Maruts were storm gods and the Ashvins twin horsemen. RV
hymns also refer to the Vishvedevas, a generic term encompassing all gods. Vayu, Pushan,
Brihaspati and Apas (waters) were other deities. Other minor deities included Tvastr,
Ksetrapati and Saranyu.
Value addition: did you know?

16

Worship of Agni
The Aryans developed the worship of fire to an extraordinary degree. Agni was the
personification and deification of the sacrificial fire. He was the priest of the gods and
the god of the priests. In the RV he was second to Indra in prominence. He has three
forms- terrestrial, as fire, atmospheric, as lightning, and celestial, as the sun.
Source: Embree, Ainslee T. 1992. Sources of Indian Tradition. New Delhi:
Penguin Books, 9.
The references to goddesses are much fewer and except for Usas, they seem to be marginal
goddesses. Usas, the goddess of Dawn, projected as a beautiful, shy maiden, is the most
prominent goddess with about 20 hymns devoted to her. Other important goddess were
Aditi, the mother of the Adityas, Vac, the goddess of speech, and Saraswati, a river
goddess. Ida, Raka, Sinivali and Prithvi, Anumati, Aranyani, Bhaga, Nirriti were goddesses
associated with fertility and bounty.
The RV discusses dual divinities mentioned as word compounds- Indragni, Indravaruna,
Indravayu, Dyavaprithvi, Varunamitra, Indrasoma, Indrabrhaspati, Indra Vishnu,
Indrapusana, Somapusana, Somarudra, Agnisoma. There are also references to a seemingly
lower category of deities like the Rbhus, Apsaras, Gandharvas and Vastoshpati. The mention
of some mythical priests and heroes may point to ancestor worship. Venerable persons
included Manu, Bhrgu, Atharvan, Dadhyanc, Angirases, Virupas, Atri, Kanva and Kutsa.
Whether they were actual historical figures or not is not clear.
Sacrifices or yajnas were performed to appease the gods. The gods were invited as guests
to feast on the oblations; they were given food and drink, flattered and propitiated. The
priest who conducted the sacrifice was called the hotr, and oblations of food and drink were
offered amidst invocations. Soma was also drunk during sacrifices. S.A. Dange (2000, xiv)
mentions that although the yajna was known in the RV, its types are not mentioned. Fire
was invoked to accept the offering of the agnidhra, and another priest, the udgatr sang the
praise. The vedi or the fire altar is also mentioned in the RV.
Figure 9.2.1: Performance of Vedic rituals in modern times
17

Source: www.radiosai.org
Marriage and death ceremonies are mentioned in the RV showing that social customs and
practices were being brought under the aegis of the priests in order to give them ritual
sanctity. Both cremation and burial practices seem to have been common as RV 10.15.14
refers to fathers as being both cremated, agnidagdha, and uncremated, anagnidagdha.
Some complex myths of the RV seem to be hinting at deliberations on the origins of the
universe. The Purushashukta hymn in the 10th mandala of the RV refers to the Divine Man,
Purusha, as the primeval, original man. The universe was created as a result of a primeval
sacrifice and the immolation of a cosmic being, Purusha. It was from him that the four
varnas were created. In some other verses, all sources of energy derived from the
hiranyagarbha, the golden womb. Yet another hymn indicates a belief that the world
evolved from asat, a state of nothingness, from which tad ekam, The One, evolved. This
seems to be hinting at some kind of monism, the worship of One.
Table 1: Deities in the Vedic Corpus (This list is only indicative and
not exhaustive.)
Celestial
Atmospheric
Terrestrial
Goddesses
Abstract Deities
Demons /
Adverasaries
Dyaus
Indra
Saraswati
Ushas
Tvastr
Vrtra
Varuna
Tripta Aptya
Prithvi
Sarasvati
Visvakarman
Vala
Mitra
Apam Napat
Agni
Prithvi
Prajapati
Arbuda
Surya
Matarisvan
Brihaspati
Ratri
Manyu
Visvarupa
Savitr
Aja Ekapad
Soma
Vac
Sraddha
Svarbhanu
18

Pushan
Rudra
Puramdhi
Aditi
Surana
Vishnu
Maruts
Dhishana
Diti
Sushna
Adityas
Vayu Vata
Ila/ Ida
Sambara
Ushas
Parjanya
Prshni
Pipru
Ashvins
Apah
Saranyu
Namuci
Indrani
Cumuri
Varunani
Dhuni
Agnayani
Source: Macdonell, A. A. 1971. The Vedic Mythology. Delhi: Indological Book House.
In the later Vedic texts, some of the deities seem to have undergone transformations which
are attributed to the changing milieu. The Rg Vedic people were organized in nebulous
groups called the ganas and vish, and mainly practiced pastoralism in the region of
Saptasindhava. The Later Vedic texts are based in the region of the Upper Gangetic Valley
where territorial states had emerged and agricultural practices were dominant. Some of the
Vedic deities like Vishnu and Rudra emerge as prominent deities in the later period. D. D.
Kosambi has suggested that this could be because of interaction and assimilation with nonAryan populations. Rudra is clearly a subordinate god in the RV and is described as fierce,
destructive like a terrible beast, akin to a bull. He is also called an asura and lord of the vast
world, ishana. He seems to be associated with malevolence in the RV, quick to anger, but
also easily appeased. The later Vedic texts have more elaborate descriptions of him: he is
portrayed as being thousand-eyed, blue-necked and blue-tufted, copper-coloured and red,
clothed in skins and dwelling in the mountains (AV 2.27, 11.2). He is called an archer and
associated with weapons like bow, arrow, bolt and club (Macdonell, 1971, 74).Vishnu is
barely mentioned in the RV but becomes a significant deity in the Brahmana texts. The RV
19

mentions Vishnu in the context of his three strides, with which he strode over the different
worlds; two of the strides are visible to men, the third is celestial.

Rudra and Vishnu
Rudra and Vishnu become important deities in the Later Vedic texts. The etymology
of the word rudra is uncertain. Some feel it is derived from rud, to cry, while others
feel rud means to shine or be ruddy coloured and it means one who shines bright or
is the red one. As for Vishnu, the strides seem to refer to the course of the sun.
Vishnu took them for helping men in distress, and also gave humans their space for
existence by taking these stretched steps. He was also a friend of Indras. In the
Brahmanas, the three steps are taken in earth, air and heaven. In the Aitareya
Brahmana, Vishnu is considered the highest god, Agni the lowest.
Source: Macdonell, A. A. 1971. The Vedic Mythology. Delhi: Indological Book
House, 41-77.
The later Vedic texts contain the mantras which can be divided into three categories- Ric,
verses of praise in metre meant to be chanted; Yajus, which are in prose and intended for
recitation in lower voice at sacrifices; and Saman, intended for singing at the Soma
ceremonies. The Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda are compilations of mantras and
hymns recited by the adhyaryu, udgatr and brahmana priests respectively. The Atharveda
has a special and ambiguous status amongst the Vedas as it deals with black magic,
sorcery, shamanism and healing. It contains incantations and magical formulae to control
diseases and misfortunes. The practice of sorcery, spells and charms seem to indicate
attempts to control adverse conditions. However, the Atharvaveda also contains very
archaic material in early Vedic language and thus is a significant source for studying the
multiplicity of practices that existed in the Vedic context. Its recitation was said to cure
illness, bestow long life, remove bad luck and bring about the ruin of enemies. The first part
of the Atharvaveda consists chiefly of spells and incantations concerned with protection
against demons and disaster, spells for the healing of diseases, for long life and for the
fulfilment of various desires or aims in life. The second part of the text contains speculative
and philosophical hymns. In its third section, the Atharvaveda contains mantras used in
marriage and death rituals, and also mantras on kingship.
Later Vedic rituals

Later Vedic rituals need to be discussed separately as one finds special emphasis on the
conduct of rituals, the manner of reciting the mantras and the specific proportions of the
ritual vedi, the altar. Why were such sacrifices conducted? One of the earliest studies on
sacrifice is that of Hubert and Mauss who showed how the sacrifice was a religious act in
which the sacrificer becomes a religious agent and bridges the gap between the sacred and
the profane with the help of an intermediary or guide. Scholars have tried to trace the
20

symbolism in rituals and have debated on issues like the efficacy or the results of the Vedic
sacrifice. Heesterman distinguishes between sacrifice and ritual. According to him, the
systemized, individualized, sanitized and idealized ritual codified in Vedic texts is radically
different from a sacrifice. Sacrifice involved death and destruction while the transcendent
ritual of the brahmana is a move to imaginary ideals and thus mediates between the human
and the transcendent world. However, according to Heesterman, rituals become
meaningless closed systems. Staal has also shown that Vedic rituals are orthopraxy, i.e.,
pure activity, and have little relevance outside the ritual arena. However, Brian Smith has
shown that the function of Vedic ritual is to forge connections between animate and
inanimate things, between people, between the known and the unknown. It was in an
attempt to classify all things around them and to manage them that the Vedas emphasized
rituals. Jan Gonda has shown that the purpose of the rite is clear and is indicated in the
name of the rite or by the chants that are prescribed during the rite. (Chakravarti 1995,
203)
The later Vedic texts give more prominence to rituals which were very elaborate and
complex and became the means to please the deities as well as achieve materialistic and
spiritual goals. Some of these rituals continued from Rg Vedic times and also have a
common Indo- European origin; they become more elaborate in the Brahmana texts. The
rituals were carried out in the open in especially created ritual arenas called the vedi. The
altar was strewn with sacred grass and the sacred fire was lit. The main priest, the
adhvaryu, would offer oblations of milk, melted butter, grain and cakes. In elaborate rituals,
other priests were also involved, like the hotr who chanted mantras and the udgatr.
Sometimes different types of brahmanas were presided over by the main purohita
brahmana.
Figure 9.2.2: Preparations for agnistoma in modern times

Source: www.india-picture.net
The Soma ritual, Agnistoma, was a prominent ritual in which a sacrificial arena was
demarcated for the carrying out of the ritual and an animal was sacrificed along with
oblations of food and drink. It seems to have been an Indo-Iranian ritual. The Brahmana
21

texts also mention daily sacrifices like the agnihotra which was conducted by the
householder daily by pouring oblations into the ritual fire and seems to have emulated the
cult of sun worship. The agnicayana was an elaborate ritual which required the creating of a
special arena. Frits Staal has documented this ritual and shown how precise and specific
tasks needed to be carried out to perform this ritual. There were also seasonal sacrifices
called the caturmasya.
The sacrifices could be carried out only by brahmanas who were specialized in the Vedas
and had precise knowledge of the particular tasks that were to be carried out in the course
of the sacrifice. The yajamana or patron was the person on whose behalf the sacrifice was
conducted. Complex royal sacrifices like rajasuya (royal consecration), vajapeya,
ashvamedha (horse sacrifice), and purushamedha (human sacrifice) had kings as the
yajamana. Some of these sacrifices lasted a whole year and involved several members of
the community and were thus events in which large participation and competition for
resources was the norm. The significance of these sacrifices was that they provided the king
with sacral aura and legitimized his right to rule. The brahmanas encouraged such sacrifices
because it gave them the opportunity to seek gifts as dana and dakshina and further
reinforced their superiority in the social hierarchy.
Upanishadic doctrines
The term Upanishad means to sit near and impart knowledge and therefore implies a
certain degree of secrecy in the process of learning. Paul Deussen has divided the extant
Upanishads into these categories:
1. Ancient prose Upanishads - Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya,
Kausitaki and Kena.
2. The metrical Upanishads - Kathaka, Isha, Shvetashvatara, Mundaka and Mahanarayana.
3. The later prose Upanishads - Prashna, Maitayaniya and Mandukya.
Colebrooke had mentioned 34 primary Upanishads, a list which he later extended to 52, but
which can be reduced to 45. Some scholars list 108 Upanishads; the actual figure may be
somewhere in between (Deussen, 39).
The Upanishads contain intense philosophical speculations on matters related to the
universe. Like the Brahmanas, they are also attached to specific Vedas e.g., Brihadaranyaka
and Isha (Shukla Yajurveda), Taittiriya, Shvetashvatara and Katha (Krishna Yajurveda),
Chandogya (Samaveda), Mundaka, Mandukya and Prashna (Atharvaveda). The Kaushitaki
and Maitrayani Upanishads are also important. Robert Hume (1877, 2) feels that they
represent the earliest attempts at systematic philosophizing and also that through the
Upanishads, Vedic thinking was gradually veering towards monism. However, some of the
22

Upanishads actually also present the opposing philosophy of dualism which was later picked
up by the Samkhya school of philosophy.
The speculations in the Upanishads are not consistent or homogenous and even within an
Upanishad there are divergences in thought, opinion, and interpretations. They derive their
ideas from the Vedic texts but attempt to approach Vedic concepts with a different
perspective. Some of the Upanishads have philosophical speculations, e.g., the Chandogya
explains all objects as a composition of three elements, in the Katha Upanishad, prakriti or
nature is elaborated upon. There is an attempt to create a Unitary Whole out of the world
in these texts. On the other hand, they elaborate on and develop the concept of Brahman,
to embody a power that created, pervaded and upheld the totality of the universe (Hume
1877, 15). There is evolution in the concept of Brahman from the Rg Vedic times when it
meant a hymn to the Upanishads when it came to embody physical features like breath,
sense, organs and also food, water, heat and such like. Gradually it came to represent the
macrocosm, the vast totality of the universe, undefinable and expansive. The totality of
Brahman had to be attached to the reference of the self, the atman. The atman was the
microcosm, which turned to the inner self of human beings. Thus, the larger force which
pervades all cosmos is the Brahman, while the individual inner self is the atman and the
ultimate reality is that atman and Brahman are identical to each other.
While the ritual of the Later Vedas attempted to bring humans and the cosmos closer, the
ideology of the Upanishads links the two in an integrated whole, which is considered the
ultimate reality. Some of the later Upanishads seem to be representing a backlash against
the overemphasis on rituals in the later Vedic texts. Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.1, 2, 7-13 hold
that while sacrifices are important for religious rigour, they do not impart knowledge of
reality. The text states, the fools who delight in this sacrificial ritual as the highest spiritual
good go again and again through the cycle of old age and death, and such ignorance is
likened to going around in circles like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
The Upanishads also expound the philosophy of maya, illusion, as the essence of the
universe. They also delve into eschatology, and espousing as they do, the doctrine of
transmigration they are preoccupied with release from the rebirths. This is to be attained
through moksha, true emancipation. The Upanishads attempt to lead men from ignorance to
knowledge and perception by transcending the physical world and identifying with the inner
self, the atman, which is identical with the Brahman, the ultimate principle, the absolute
reality. They attempt to explain the atman as free from evil, old age, death, grief, hunger
and thirst, and which desires the Real Truth, satya. The philosophy of atman is expounded
later in the Bhagavata Gita.
9.3: A general survey of shad-darshanas and Lokayata

Darshana
23

The Sanskrit word darshana is derived from the root drish which means to see. Though
very often the term darshana is used to denote the English word philosophy Indian
darshanas have more focused practical and soteriological motivations: the latter implies that
they aim for moksha or spiritual liberation as the final goal. Almost all schools engage in
enquiring about the nature of bondage, liberation and the means of acquiring that
liberation. Most of the schools also regard knowledge of reality as the sole means of
attaining liberation. However, the nature of what is real and the means of acquiring such
knowledge differ from school to school.
Indian darshanas are classified into two groups: astika and nastika. The schools which
believe in the authority of the Vedas are called astikas (the believers) and those that do
not admit the authority of the Vedas are called the nastikas (the non-believers). However,
this category is not a fixed one. The Buddhists and the Jainas regarded as nastikas by those
who believe in the Vedas, in turn can regard the non-believers of their scriptures as
nastikas. There are six astika schools that accept the Vedas as valid and authoritative. They
are called the shad darshanas and are as follows: Nyaya, Vaisesika, Sankhya, Yoga, Purva
Mimamsa and Vedanta. The three major darshanas that do not admit the supremacy of the
Vedas are Lokayata, Buddhism and Jainism. We shall briefly delineate the Lokayata and
the shad darshanas.
Lokayata
Lokayata is one of the ancient darshanas which expounds the doctrine of materialism. The
origins of this school are shrouded in mystery.
Lokayata (lokesu ayatah lokayatah i.e. what is generally accepted and commonly believed)
is a view prevalent amongst common people. Its original texts are lost but its philosophy
can be known from the writings of its opponents. This darshana is called Nastika, Charvaka,
Lokayatam, Barhaspatya, Svabhavika, Bhutavada etc; the philosopher who systematized
this school is Brihaspati. According to the Lokayata darshana death (maranam) is
liberation. The school therefore did not concern itself with pursuits that lead to heaven
(swarga) or emancipation from bondage (moksha).

There is no abiding soul
When one day, I had thus asked Ajitakesakambalin, he said: There is no such thing,
O king, as alms or sacrifice or offering. There is neither fruit nor offering. There is
neither fruit nor result of good or evil deeds. There is no such thing as this world or
the next. There is neither father nor mother, nor beings springing into life without
them. There are in the world no recluses or brahmans who have reached the highest
point, who walk perfectly, and who having understood and realized, by themselves
24

alone, both this world and the next, make their wisdom known to others.
A human being is built up of the four elements. When he dies, the earthy in him
returns and relapses to the earth, the fluid to the water, the heat to the fire, the wind
to the air; and his faculty passes into space. The four bearers, on the bier as a fifth,
take his body away; till they reach the burning ground men utter forth eulogies; but
there his bones are bleached, and his offerings end in ashes. Fools and wise alike, on
the dissolution of the body, are cut off, annihilated, and after death they are not.
Source: Samanna-phala-sutta, Ed. Chattopadhyaya, D. P. 1990 (reprint).
Carvaka/Lokayata, An Anthology of Source Materials and Some Recent
Studies, Ed. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya. New Delhi: Indian Council of
Philosophical Research, 48.
This school was severely criticized by most other schools that often presented the Lokayata
views in their texts (as mentioned above) but only to demolish them completely at a later
point. Early Buddhist scholars like Buddhaghosha point out that Lokayatas were well versed
in vitanda and vada that is destructive and constructive forms of arguments. We also know
from such critiques that their philosophy centered on ihaloka, or this-world, followed by an
uncompromising realism and materialism. That there were many schools and many views
within the Lokayata system can be further gathered as well.
The 14th century treatise Sarvadarsanasamgraha written by the scholar Madhavacharya
gives a popular exposition of Lokayata philosophy. In this section we follow the treatise of
Madhavacharya as it deals systematically with the metaphysics and epistemology of
Lokayata philosophy. It must be kept in mind that the author of this work follows a schema
of hierarchical classification at whose apex stands Vedanta and at the bottom, the lowest
stands materialism.
The Lokayata system proposed the doctrine called svabhavavada/naturalism, according to
which the relation between cause and effect is only accidental. Causation stands rejected for
it cannot be rationally explained. And so the doctrine of Karma (that actions generate
corresponding consequences or effects) which is so central to the Indian way of thinking is
rejected by them. God as a primal cause of this universe or as prime dispenser of justice is
again unacceptable to them.

Feminine creative principle as supreme
The Khasis have a saying, from the women sprang the clan. Similarly, the Chinese
word for the clan-name means born of a woman. And the modern scholars have
interpreted this as evidence of mother-right in ancient China. It is not difficult to see
why mother-right should produce sayings like these. The father has no kinship with
his children, who belong to their mothers clan. He is thus considered an alien, a mere
25

visitorthis gives us some idea of the anomalous position of the purusha in motherright.
Source: Chattopadhyaya, Debiprasad. Lokayata: A Study in Ancient Indian
Materialism. New Delhi: Peoples Publishing House, 407.
As to the question of how knowledge of the world can arise, ordinary perception alone, that
is, direct acquaintance with objects through the sense organs, is accepted. The Lokayatikas
refused to accept inference, verbal testimony and comparison, means of knowledge
commonly accepted by other darshanas, because they all go beyond the scope of
perception. For instance, knowledge through inference is generally believed to arise as
follows: There is smoke on the hill; wherever there is smoke there is fire; therefore, there is
fire on the hill. The conclusion here does not rely on perception alone but also on reasoning
based on the unvarying, universal relationship (called vyapti) between smoke and fire
(given in the second statement above). Since this cannot be established through perception,
inference stands rejected. A consequence of this narrow gateway to knowledge is also that
since sense perception can give us particular truths and knowledge of particular facts alone,
knowledge about universal relations is also rejected by the Lokayatikas.
As to the composition of the world and its objects, Lokayata darshana contended that there
are four elements, namely, earth, water, fire and air that are the building blocks of this
universe. They rejected akasha or ether because it cannot be known through perception.
The complex world has come about through various combinations of these four elements.
They believe that consciousness itself is an incidental product arising out of the complex
permutation and combination of these four elements. Just as the combination of betel,
areca nut and lime produces red colour, even though none of these elements separately
possess this colour, a particular combination of the elements produces consciousness
though elements separately do not possess it. Consciousness is thus a by-product of
matter. Lokayatikas identify consciousness with the gross body and declare that with the
death of the body, consciousness also fades into oblivion.
At the ethical front, the Lokayatas accept kama or fulfillment of desire as the ultimate goal
of life. Artha or material acquisition as the means for fulfillment of kama was also given
importance unlike ethical duty (dhamma) and spiritual liberation (moksha) which were
completely disregarded.
Nyaya-Vaisesika
The Nyaya and Vaisesika schools, regarded as samana-tantra, offer similar views on various
subjects and will be dealt with together in this presentation. While Vaisesika developed an
extensive ontology, Nyaya offered an epistemology. Nyaya to a large extent accepted the
Vaisesika ontology. The Vaisesika darshana was systematized by Kanada in the work called
Vaisesika-sutras which was commented on by Prashastapada in his classical work Padarthadharma-sangraha which was itself followed by many other commentaries. Gotama, on the
26

other hand, is the first sytematizer of Nyaya darshana and composed the Nyaya-sutras
(possibly 2nd century CE). Sutras are short verses clearly expressing content with minimal
material. Vatsyayana composed a commentary on the Nyaya-sutras (425-500 CE) and thus
steadily a highly sophisticated system of Nyaya darshana came about that grew until the
19th century. Both Nyaya and Vaisesika advocate strong realism (that physical objects have
an independent existence free from our perception of them) and pluralism (that the world
consists of many unique existents).
The Vaisesikas hold the view that all existent objects can be known and named. According
to them everything in this universe can be brought under seven categories or padartha. The
seven padarthas are (1) substance (dravya) (2) quality (guna) (3) action (karma) (4)
generality (samanya) (5) particularity (visesha) (6) Inherence (samavaaya) and (7)
absence/non-existence (abhava). Dravya is like a base or foundational substance in which
actions and qualities inhere. Dravya is of nine kinds namely earth, water, fire, air, ether,
time, space, soul and mind. While earth, water, fire and air are elemental substances, ether,
time, space, soul and mind are non-elemental. Earth, water, fire and air in their eternal
form are atomic in nature and in their gross form give rise to compound objects. Time,
space, ether are all-pervasive, eternal and one each and are non-atomic. The soul is nonphysical, non-atomic and is not known through physical organs. Manas or mind is an
internal organ and is atomic but does not give rise to compound objects.
Guna or quality and karma or action inheres in substance. There are 24 qualities and five
kinds of motion. Samanya is a universal or a generality. It is based on the common
characteristic of things which fall under the same class, for instance human-ness, or crowness. Visesha is particularity that allows us to distinctly see the uniqueness in things.
Samavaaya is an inseparable relation that holds between, for instance, the part and the
whole, the quality and the substance, the action and the substance, the particular and the
universal and the particular and the substance. Abhava or non-existence exists as a
category in its own right. There are four kinds of abhava. 1) non-existence of something
before it comes into being (Pragabhava), e.g., the cake is not existent until it is baked 2)
the non-existence of something after it has been destroyed (dhavamsabhava) e.g., the
cake does not exist after it is eaten 3) mutual negation (anyonyabhava) e.g., the cow is not
a horse or the horse is not a cow 4) and absolute non-existence, the total absence of any
connection between two things at any time (atyantabhava), e.g., a married bachelor.
Nyaya accepts these Vaisesika categories but also offers a very impressive science of critical
reasoning dealing with epistemology and logic. The final goal of Nyaya darshana is liberation
or apavarga, and this is defined as freedom from pain and suffering. Knowledge is the
means to achieve apavarga. According to Nyaya, the external world can be known,
understood (jneyatvam) and expressed in language, (abhidheyatvam). Knowledge reveals
reality just as a lamp reveals the objects placed before it. Knowledge can be either
presentative (yathartha), as arising from objects or representative (ayathartha), as arising
from memory. Presentative knowledge can be valid (prama) or invalid (aprama). Prama is
the right apprehension of an object which must correspond to reality and also lead one to a
successful activity (i.e. acquiring or getting rid of the object in question). Invalid knowledge
27

(aprama) includes memory, doubt, error and hypothetical reasoning.
correspond to reality and hence does not give rise to successful activity.
Aprama does not
Nyaya believes, quite unlike the Lokayatas, that there are four valid means of knowing:
perception (pratyaksha), inference (anumana), verbal testimony (shabda) and
comparison (upamana). Perception is a foundational pramana because all the other three
pramanas are dependent on it. Gotama defines perception thus: perception is that which is
generated through the contact of the sense with the object (Indriya-arthasannikarsajanyam jnanam). Perception has two stages. In the first stage there is only a
faint awareness of an object without there being the awareness of the qualities and the
relations that it (the object) possesses. This raw perception is indeterminate, prejudgmental and pre-linguistic called nirvikalpaka pratyaksha. In the second stage the object
is cognized along with its qualities and relations and hence becomes determinate. The
object can then be described to another through words if wished and this is savikalpaka
pratyaksha. Perception may be ordinary (laukika) or extraordinary (alaukika). Ordinary
perception which is of five types- visual, auditory, tactual, gustatory and olfactory- is
brought about when the five sense organs come in contact with external objects.
Extraordinary perception is also accepted by the Nyaya school and is that which comes
about through an unusual contact of the senses with the object e.g., skilled yogis through
intuitive power can perceive objects that existed in the past and will exist in the future even
though their senses are not in contact with these objects.
Inference is mediated knowledge that arises through a mark or sign called linga or hetu.
Through such a mark the knowledge of what is not seen arises. In the classic example of
smoke and fire (as discussed in the Lokayata section above) fire is that which is to be
inferred (sadhya). However, only the smoke on the hill can be seen. If the invariable
relation (vyapti) between smoke and fire be evoked as in wherever there is smoke there is
fire, then the presence of fire can be inferred. In this way anumana is another important
means of acquiring valid knowledge.
Upamiti or comparison is a third kind of pramana accepted by Nyaya darshana. This is
produced by the knowledge of resemblance or similarity. A man who has never seen a wild
cow is told by a person in his village that the former resembles a cow, so when he actually
comes across a wild cow in the woods he is struck by its resemblance to a cow and
knowledge about it arises in him. This knowledge arises through seeing the similarity
between the wild cow and cow in his village and also on remembering the description that
he received from the person. Verbal testimony (sabda pramana), the final means, refers to
the knowledge that arises from the words of a trustworthy person (apta vakya). Testimony
can imply that of either humans or gods.
Some other concepts central to Nyaya darshana must be mentioned too. Causation is
generally an important theme in Indian darshanas. Causation is posited to explain the origin
of the universe and to explain the occurrences of effects around us. Lokayata, we saw
earlier, rejected causation. According to them there is nothing called a cause or invariable
condition that precedes the effect. According to the Nyaya School, however, there is a
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relation between the cause and the effect. Furthermore, the effect is not just a mindless
repetition of a cause. Effect is a new product not already present in the cause. The effect is
non existent or asat in the cause. This doctrine of Naiyayikas is called asatkaryavada.
To explain the origin of the universe the Naiyayikas bring in god. However god is considered
as one of the nine substances. God co-exists with eternal atoms, space, time, ether, minds
and selves and these serve as raw material for god to create this world. Just as a potter
would produce a pot using raw material such as clay, water, the potters wheel etc, so too
god using raw materials like atoms etc creates the world. The world is tailored to the
collective need of the souls. The action of this intelligent efficient cause is responsible for
the newness in the effect. Udayana, a later Nyaya commentator, in his text
Nyayakusumanjali offers elaborate proofs for the existence of god.
Atma or soul, being a substance, possesses consciousness/knowledge as an incidental
attribute. Atma is defined as a knower and an experiencer of pleasure and pain. The
existence of the soul can only be inferred and not directly known. Apavarga or release is
defined as absolute freedom from pain. Bondage is due to a wrong perspective about the
world. Cessation of suffering can happen only with right knowledge. With right knowledge
all experience of consciousness disappears and the self remains in the pure substantive
state forever without any pain.
Sankhya-Yoga
Sankhya and Yoga are very old systems amongst the Indian darshanas. Tradition regards
Kapila as the founder of the Sankhya system. The seminal text called Sankhyakarika
authored by Ishvarakrishna is the earliest Sankhya text. Patanjali is regarded as the
systematizer of the Yoga philosophy and is the author of the Yogasutras. While Sankhya
offers a theory, yoga offers practice. Yoga and Sankhya schools are intimately related to
one another and are regarded as samana tantra schools like Nyaya and Vaisesika. Therefore
they will be dealt with in one section. Yoga accepts the metaphysics of Sankhya and the
latter accepts the practical yoga of Patanjali. While Ishvarakrishnas Sankhya dispenses
with the notion of god totally, yoga retains god as an object of yogic concentration. The
notion of god does not play any major role in yoga philosophy. The term Sankhya refers to
the enumeration of the principles found in material existence. The systems of Sankhya and
Yoga are strictly soteriological; the schools aim at liberating the Purushas or souls from
suffering.
The Sankhya and Yoga darshanas have had a tremendous influence on Hindu culture,
philosophy and its psyche. According to Sankhya philosophers there are two realities:
matter and consciousness. These two principles, they contend, are opposed to one another.
The knower of matter is considered to be superior to inert matter. Inert matter cannot be
reduced to consciousness or vice versa. Hence, Sankhya offers a philosophy of
uncompromising dualism between the two. Of the two realities, the non-material inactive
consciousness, the knower, is called purusha and the dynamic yet inert material is called
29

prakriti. As a system Sankhya accepts the reality of all things that we perceive in the world:
it is pluralistic and realistic. The universe evolves from the single material principle Prakriti,
and is not constructed out of multiple atoms by god as Nyaya maintains.
The theory of causation occupies an important part in Sankhya philosophy too but causation
is understood by them quite differently from the Naiyayikas. They support satkaryavada
according to which an effect pre-exists in the cause. Effects are the transformation of the
basic stuff called prakriti; hence this view is called prakriti-parinama-vada. The cause of the
whole universe is in fact prakriti. It is interesting how the Sankhyas posit prakriti as the
cause. Prakriti first contains everything in a non-manifest form. It is made up of three
strands called gunas viz., sattva, rajas and tamas, held in equilibrium. When the equilibrium
is disturbed, the three gunas in conjunction generate this universe: they cause evolution
and production. They are compared to the oil, wick, and the flame of a lamp, which though
opposed, yet cooperate to produce light in a lamp. Sattva stands for goodness; it produces
happiness. It is light and bright, buoyant and illuminating. Its color is white. Tamas is
opposite in nature to sattva and stands for darkness; it produces dullness, inertia and
indifference. It stands in opposition to all movements and rhythm and promotes ignorance,
bewilderment and confusion. Tamas is represented as black. Rajas provides the motion
required for evolution and it stands for movement, energy and passion. It is represented as
red. Every living beings mind and body are a composite of the three gunas. The process of
evolution also involves the purusha as will be explained below.
Purushas, free from the gunas, are infinite in number, and are eternal principles of
consciousness. As pure jna, subjects they stand immutable, and totally inactive. A purusha
is other than the body, senses, mind, intellect and ego (all considered to be products of
prakriti) and thus are different from the psychical and the physical objects. It remains a
silent witness of the mind-body complex. According to Sankhya philosophers, the existence
of a conscious principle in a body can neither be doubted nor questioned for knowledge
must presuppose the existence of consciousness.
Even though prakriti, the creative dynamic principle is inert, yet it is said to evolve for the
sake of liberating the bound purushas. As to the question why prakriti undergoes
disequilibrium, it is believed to be caused by its proximity to the purushas. But a related
question remains unanswered in the Sankhya system as to how two disparate realities
namely the purusha, the conscious and yet immobile principle and prakriti, the inert and yet
mobile principle can come together to begin the process of evolution. Sankhya however
likens this to a cooperation of two men, a blind and a lame one that perform a pilgrimage.
Prakriti being blind (unintelligent) requires the help of purusha who can see, and purusha
being lame (immobile) requires the help of prakriti who can move. With mutual help
evolution begins. This view however has many problems and is severely critiqued by other
darshnas. Despite a lacuna in explaining the interaction between prakriti and purushas, the
Sankhya system does not yield to the pressures of monism. It retains its dualism which is a
hallmark of this darshana.
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Finally, according to the Sankhya darshana, just as a red flower placed next to a crystal
looks red, the guna-free purusha in the proximity of gunas (prakriti) seems to assume the
qualities of prakriti. This apparent misidentification causes unending pain and suffering to
the purusha and this is bondage. The purusha in order to be free or liberated has to
discriminate between itself and prakriti. The persistent and continued discernment of the
nature that I am not prakriti, nothing of prakriti is mine liberates the purusha. Thus
liberation is nothing but the right knowledge of the true nature of purusha and prakriti.
The term Yoga is derived from the root yuj which means to yoke, or to bind together.
What is implied here is stilling or calming of the mind and its modifications by means of
controlling the senses etc. This darshana gets intimately related to the Sankhya school, by
offering a method by which cessation of mental functions can be accomplished. The ultimate
goal of yoga is stressed therefore as the cessation of mental functioning (cittavrittinirodha),
and this they believe can be achieved only by the intense disciplining of the mind.
The practical dimension of Patanjalis yoga posits the practice of the eight fold angas or
limbs. The eight angas in an ascending, progressive order are 1) restraint (yama) () 2)
discipline (niyama) 3) appropriate bodily exercises (asana) 4) rhythmic breathing
(pranayama) (5) withdrawing the senses from their objects (pratyahara) 6) focused
concentration and attention (dharana) 7) meditation (dhyana) 8) and the final step in yoga,
where the mind is absorbed in the object of meditation (samadhi). A practice of each of
these leads one to the higher stages that culminate in samadhi where mind and its
ceaseless activities stop. The mental and physical afflictions (klesas) from rajas and tamas,
afflicting the self, are destroyed and the yogi is liberated. To be liberated is to be free from
the gunas of prakriti and free from ego.
Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa/Vedanta

Purva Mimamsa and Uttara Mimamsa are treated as allied systems of thought. Jaimini, the
organizer of the Purva Mimasa School composed Mimamsa-sutra, while Badarayana,
undertook a systematization of Upanishadic philosophy in his work Brahma-sutras. The term
Mimamsa from the root man means investigation or examination and is applicable to both
the systems. Purva Mimamsa, rooted in the Vedas, was primarily concerned with the
interpretation of rituals contained in the early portions of the Vedas called the karmakanda.
Shabara (possibly 2nd century CE) wrote an elaborate commentary on the Mimamsa-sutras
which came to be known as Shaabara Bhashya. From the seventh century onwards two
major Purva Mimamsa schools, the Bhaatta of Kumarila Bhatta and Praabhakara of
Prabhakara Mishra emerged.
Uttara Mimamsa, on the other hand, is known by the name Vedanta and its primary concern
was interpreting the jnanakanda or knowledge portion of the Vedas. The most influential
proponent of the Vedanta tradition was Shankaracharya (788-820 CE) who wrote a
masterpiece commentary on the Brahma-sutra supporting Advaita or non-dualism.
Ramanujacharya (12th century CE) and Madhvacharya (13 th century CE) also wrote
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commentaries on the Brahma-sutra and propounded the philosophies of Visishta-advaita
(qualified monism) and Dvaita (dualism) respectively.
The central concern of Purva Mimamsa is the examination of Dharma or righteousness as
found embedded in the Vedas. The notion of dharma is influential even today in the Hindu
legal system and civil law and stands influenced by the Mimamsa study of Vedic injunctions.
According to the Purva Mimamsakas, the Vedas are not authored by any being, human or
divine. A set of prescriptive injunctions enjoining actions found in the Vedas were
considered to be eternally valid and infallible.
Value addition: common misconceptions

The nature of self
Now Yajnavalkya had two wives, Maitreyi and Katyayani. Of the two Maitreyi was the
one who took part in theological discussions One day, as he was preparing to
undertake a different mode of life, Yajnavalkya said Maitreyi, I am about to go away
from this place. So come, let me make a settlement between you and Katyayani.
Maityreyi asked in reply: If I were to possess the entire world filled with wealth, Sir,
would it not, make me immortal?
No, said Yajnavalkya, it will only permit you to live the life of a wealthy person.
Through wealth one cannot expect immortality.
What is the point in getting something that will not make me immortal? retorted
Maitreyi. Tell me instead, sir, all that you know.
Yajnavalkya said in reply: I will explain it to you.
The Self you see, is imperishable; it has an indestructible nature. For when there is
duality of some kind, then the one can see the other, the one can smell the other, the
one can taste the other, ...when however the whole has become ones very self, then
who is there for one to see and by what means?
Who is there for one to smell and
by what means? Who is there to taste and by what means? By what means can one
perceive him by means of whom one perceives this whole world?
About this self one can only say not-not-.
He is ungraspable, for he cannot be grasped. He is un-decaying, for he is not subject
to decay. He is not bound; yet he neither trembles in fear nor suffers injury.
Source: Patrick, Olivelle. The Early Upanisads (Annotated
Translation). Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 126-131.
Text
and
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Just as the eternal and authorless Vedas cannot be destroyed or re-created, the world too
according to these Mimamsakas is uncreated and eternal. They thus dispense with the
notion of god. The world order is kept intact by the correct and timely performances of
ritualistic actions. The primary focus of the school is the elaboration of Vedic rituals. To
prioritize actions over inactions, Mimamsa gives importance only to the prescriptive
statements of the Vedas and ignores the descriptive ones. Prescriptions enjoin actions and
hence are considered useful. Thus vidhi or injunctions from the Vedas form the ground for
dharma. Performance of dharma can bring about the pleasures of heaven (swarga). The
souls return from heaven back to human existence after reaping the fruits of their karma.
The concept of moksa was non-existent in this darshana until later.
The philosophy of Shankaracharya is called non-dualism or Advaitavada. Shankara rejects
all the schools that posit matter as source of the universe. The atomic philosophy of the
Nyaya, the materialistic philosophy of Lokayata and the dualism of Sankhya posit matter as
the source, while according to Shankara unconscious matter cannot create this complex
world. And so the ultimate source has to be a single, part-less Brahman or consciousness.
Brahman is the common underlying essence or atma, behind the multiple forms and names.
The names and forms are not actual transformations, but mere appearances in Brahman.
The world which comprises of names and forms are unreal, for they do not persist. The term
unreal here does not however mean that they are totally non-existent like a sky flower
(khapushpa). The world has a relative existence because worldly transactions are happening
and cannot be denied entirely.
Brahman/Atman or Consciousness has an absolute existence; it is believed to exist without
being negated or sublated. The world is simply but a superimposition on Brahman, the nondual substratum. So long as the superimposition lasts, the world appears to be real with all
its varied transactions. The superimposition is caused by the timeless illusory principle
called maya. This is like mistaking a rope for a snake. The mistake happens because one is
not able to see or is ignorant of the given, the rope, properly and this causes distortion or
the wrong perception of a snake. Ignorance assumes a dual form, first veiling the given
and then projecting something in its place. The rope is first hidden from sight (avarana) and
then something else is projected (viksepa) in its place.
According to Shankara, individual selves are identical with the eternal non dual Brahman.
The Self resides in the body not like a bird in a cage, but as wood in a wooden table. The
real self is called the Atman and it is different from the gross body, mind, breath, intellect,
ignorance etc. This Self is immutable, never born and never does it ever perish. It is Being,
Existence and Consciousness, self-effulgent and a self-evident principle. This pure principle
is indeed the supreme Brahman. Liberation is the recognition of this truth, recognition born
out of knowledge. Bondage is identification with the body and transposing the qualities of
body mind etc on the immutable Self. Liberation is simply the removal of this
misconception based on superimposition. Shankara holds the view that liberation is neither
an achievement, nor a result of any action. When the ignorance is removed and the ever
liberated Self is known, then empirical existence just disappears, swallowed up in the Self,
like the squall of wind accompanying a stroke of lightening that vanishes into the sky, or the
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fire that sinks down into the burnt-out fuel. (Shankara, Chandogya Upanishad Bhashya
8:1:1, Translation by A. J. Alston, A Samkara Source Book, Vol. 6, Shankara on
Enlightenment, Shanti Sadan, London, 1989, p. 22)
9.4: Socio-religious ferment in north India (circa 6th to 1st

centuries BC): the philosophical doctrines of early Buddhism,
Jainism and the Ajivikas
Around the 6th century BC, towns and cities of northern India, which so far had been
dominated by a ritualism that sprang from the Vedas, were encountering a new wave of
spiritual sects. Wandering ascetics holding varying beliefs must have been a common sight
to the people living in these parts. But what was noteworthy was that some of these orders
became more established and started to gain popularity amidst the diminishing hold of the
till-then prevalent sect. They had dynamic advocates with tremendous personalities. Of
these Buddhism and Jainism are well known. In addition to them there existed a lesserknown sect known as the Ajivika that also contributed ingeniously to Indias budding
spiritualism and thinking. The Buddhists, the Jainas and the Ajivikas were similar in so far
as they moved away from the ritualism associated with Brahmanism. They are sometimes
referred to as the nastikas, as mentioned in the previous lesson implying that they are
non-orthodox or heretical in their non-acceptance of the Vedas. Though some of the ideas
spread by the three sects were probably not new and had existed in some form or other
before them, scholarly research is now quite certain that these ideas were formulated and
taught more evocatively by them and that several new ideas were also introduced. All the
three sects stood independent and competed with one another. Each contributed to enrich
Indias spiritual history. Most sects also received royal patronage and this entrenched them
more firmly on the north Indian landscape.
The Ajivikas
Makkhali Gosala was the important teacher of the Ajivika school. This school propagated the
doctrine of determinism (the belief that all actions and events are preordained). Believed by
many historians and philosophers to be an important part of Indian spiritualism, sadly, little
of the Ajivika doctrine and its course of development survives today. Most of the religious
and philosophical doctrines as well as texts of this school have disappeared. That they did
have their own texts is amply known from Buddhist and Jaina sources. The scholar A. L.
Basham has done one of the best and most detailed studies on the Ajivikas and most of
what is said below is based on his research.
One of the main sources of information about Gosala and other teachers is the Buddhist Pali
Canons Digha Nikaya. In one of its sections or chapters, known as the Samannaphala
Sutta, six heretical teachers have been named. (Walshe 1987, 91-97) It appears from this
34

reading that these teachers were well known and had a respectable following. Though the
Pali description is aimed at critiquing them and showing their weaknesses, this Sutta is very
valuable as a historical record of these teachers. The teachers are mentioned in the
following order: Purana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala, Ajita Kesakambali, Pakudha Kaccayana,
Sanjaya Belathiputta and Nigantha Nataputta. Many historians have drawn the conclusion
that Kesakambali was a precursor to the materialists (i.e., the Lokayatas mentioned in the
previous lesson); Belathiputta was an agnostic; and Nigantha Nataputta was Mahavira, the
founder of Jainism. However whatever the status of these three, there is little controversy
about their not being considered Ajivikas. Gosala, Kassapa and Pakudha Kaccayana, on the
other hand, are clearly Ajivikas as can be known from data gained from later literature.
Gosala propounded niyativada in the Samannaphala Sutta considered today as the most
important Ajivika contribution. That Gosala taught niyativada is also confirmed in Jaina
literature. Kaccayana represented the theory of atomism that followed strict determinism,
and Kassapa spoke of an ethics in which no action could acquire blame. However it must be
kept in mind that though these doctrines are ascribed to particular teachers, the Pali Canon
itself is not consistent in its description of them. Contrary descriptions add some confusion
to the historical understanding of the Ajivikas.
According to Kassapa, a person remained morally unaffected by the kind of actions he
performed. So a person could commit murder and large-scale violence without being held
responsible. According to the Samannaphala Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, Kaccayana
propounded an atomic theory that recognized seven elements: earth, water, fire, air,
pleasure, pain and the life-principle. These elements are unproductive and uncreated,
explains the Sutta, but stable. They remain unaffected by each other and cannot cause each
other pleasure or pain. Thus no man can be held responsible for taking anothers life. In fact
it cannot even be said that a life was taken, for nothing can affect anything else. A sword
inserted in someones body only invades the space between these seven elements and not
the elements themselves. The materialistic philosophy of the Ajivikas surfaces in
Kaccayanas thought when he classifies the life-principle as an element, one among the
seven. Historians believe that Kaccayana was possibly one of the oldest atomic theorists
and may have inspired the Jainas, Vaishesikas and others to think along similar lines.
Elsewhere in the Pali Canon, two teachers named Nanda Vaccha and Kisa Sankicca are
mentioned who may have been Gosalas contemporaries. Along with Gosala they were
considered to possess the highest purity amongst all Ajivika members. However there is no
doubt that it is Gosala who is the most important Ajivika teacher. He is known as Gosala
Mankhaliputta in Jaina literature and he supposedly lived around the same time as Buddha
and Mahavira, who were his rivals. It is believed that Gosala had followers and a sect that
met regularly, and was quite akin to the sects of the Buddhists and the Jainas that held
regular assemblies. There was a lay community too that supported the ascetics. Literature
points out that Gosala walked naked and other Ajivikas followed his footsteps.

35

Description of an Ajivika
we may envisage the typical Ajivika of the early period as usually completely
naked, no doubt covered with dust and dirt, perhaps bent and crippled, and armed
with a bamboo staff.
Source: Basham, A. L. 1951. History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas. London:
Luzac and Company Ltd., 109.
However, this tradition of abandoning clothes was given up by the later Ajivikas. Initiation
to the Ajivika clan carries many stories and appears to have been a torturous event
involving many lasting physical mutilations. Once initiated, the Ajivika had to follow severe
ascetic practices, often including great bodily anguish. A Jaina source called the Bhagavati
Sutra claims that death by starvation was not uncommon in the Ajivika way of life. Despite
the severity of the Ajivika lifestyle the Jainas did not have a charitable disposition towards
them and criticized them for their unchaste ways. The Buddhists on the other hand ridiculed
them for fasting but eating in secret.
Makkhali Gosala and niyativada

The cardinal doctrine of the Ajivikas is niyativada or the theory of determinism.

Niyativada defined
there is no cause or condition for the defilement of beingsThere is no cause or
condition for the purification of beingsThere is no self-power or other-power, there
is no power in humans, no strength or force, no vigour or exertion. All
beingsexperience the fixed course of pleasure and painpleasure and pain have
been measured out with a measure limited by the round of birth-and-death, and
there is neither increase nor decrease, neither excellence nor inferiority. Just as a
ball of string when thrown runs till it is all unraveled, so fools and wise run on and
circle round till they make an end of suffering.
Source: Walshe, Maurice, trans. 1987. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A
Translation of the Digha Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 94-95.
According to this theory good or evil, pleasure or pain have no specific causes or conditions.
They arise and fall without a reason and go on till a certain number of births in various
realms are covered this process takes 840, 0000 aeons (collection of countless years) to
be precise. The doctrine of karma that was central to other schools was simply ignored here
and every event was explained through the central thesis of niyati or determinism.
According to the doctrine of karma the present life of an individual, rich or poor, healthy or
sick is so because of his past actions. Nothing was left to chance in Buddhism, Jainism and
the Vedic philosophies of karma. For the Ajivika on the other hand, everything was a result
of chance. Actions happened without any underlying moral considerations.
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A fragment of Jaina literature (taken from the Jaina sage Shilankas commentary on the
Jaina Canon text Sutrakritanga, where he acts as a niyativadin) explains the futility of
human effort: the same fate may befall two individuals, of whom one makes an effort to
perform an act and the other does not, leaving everything in the hands of destiny. If
performing an act with an effort were really worthwhile then the one who made the effort
ought to have had better luck. But such luck is seldom seen. Only a fool blames himself for
his sorrow; a wise man understands that he is not responsible for what befalls him.
(Basham 1951, 233) In all, niyati implied that human activities did not really contribute to
the nature or structure of the world. It was niyati alone that determined and controlled
everything.
The Ajivikas have been mentioned in Mauryan inscriptions in northern India and they appear
to have received some patronage from them. There is little mention of them after this.
However, the sect also spread to the south of India where they survived until about the 14 th
century AD, after which they faded into obscurity.
Early Buddhism
The time when the Ajivikas were making their mark on the philosophical map of India, a
young man of seemingly royal origins set out to discover the truth of life. He strived on until
he knew the true nature of reality and was from that moment called Buddha or the
enlightened one. The Buddhas (563-483 BC?) personality shines through in literary
accounts. He was indeed an exceptional teacher with innumerable followers who devoted
their lives to the then newly-established sect referred to as dhamma or Law.
The Buddha preached for almost forty-five years. After his death, as was the tradition of
those times, his teachings were memorized, chanted collectively and then transmitted
orally. Most evidence of the Buddhas teachings comes from the Pali Canon which is believed
to have been composed between the 5th to 3rd century BC and written down around the 1st
century BC. It got this name since it was memorized and recorded in Pali, a commonly
spoken language of the time. The Canon is significant for it is a storehouse of information
on the history and philosophy of early Buddhism. The Pali Canon consists of three broad
literary divisions referred to as the three baskets or tipitakas namely Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya
Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Sutta Pitaka contains the discourses of the Buddha and
has five parts called the Nikayas, namely the Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta, Anguttara and
Khudaka. What is presented below has been largely drawn from the Sutta Pitaka and the
Vinaya Pitaka, the latter being concerned with ascetic disciplines. The Abhidhamma Pitaka
that contains lengthy philosophical discussions has not been included in this introductory
report.
The central core of Buddhist philosophy revolves around three refuges the Buddha, the
dhamma (Skt: dharma) and the sangha. The young man mentioned above who became
the Buddha was named Siddhartha Gotama, Gotama being his clan name and Siddhartha
his personal name. A story often told (though it does not exist in the Pali Canon) is that
after having led a pampered and protected life, an unexpected exposure to sickness, old
37

age, death and a wandering mendicant moved Siddhartha to such an extent that he
abandoned his royal comforts and retreated to the forest to find wise men who could
instruct him about human sufferings. We do know from the Pali Canon however that
Siddhartha, wandering in the forests, realized that no one seemed to have a formula for the
permanent eradication of suffering. Eventually through his own practice he gained
enlightenment, a state that implied that he understood the cause, conditions and nature of
suffering, thereby transcending it for all times. Eventually he returned to human habitation
to teach what he had understood. His first sermon was at the Deer Park in Benares and it is
said that all the mendicants who listened to him attained enlightenment soon after. From
then on the Buddha travelled ceaselessly through cities and forests to preach. The Pali also
contains a description of his final days and his eventual death.

Buddha image
The image of the Buddha was possibly constructed after the 1 st century AD. Before
this his presence is depicted through motifs such as feet, wheels, trees and some
related imagery. The historical Buddha therefore may not resemble the popular
Buddha image at all.
Source: Original
The Buddhas teachings themselves are often referred to as dhamma (though it should be
noted that the term dhamma may have other meanings). A plausible way to understand
the teachings as dhamma is through an examination of the Four Noble Truths along with
certain other factors that come to be connected with these Truths in imperative ways. The
discussion below therefore covers the Truths and some of these factors. A foundational
description of the Four Truths is given in the Digha Nikaya. (Walshe 1987, 344-349)
The four noble truths

The first Noble Truth is the proclamation that there is suffering or dukkha. It must be
remembered that the English word suffering does not do full justice to the Pali dukkha
which carries a deeper and more extended sense of pain. Every aspect of life such as birth,
sickness, old age, and death, including moments of happiness is considered to be dukkha.
Losing what we are attached to, being exposed to something undesired or not being able to
get what we most desire are all included under dukkha. Dukkha does not only pertain to
the physical but also to the psychical our hopes, aspirations and ambitions.
Buddhism believes that all dukkhas or disappointments are tied to our failure to grasp the
five factors namely material body (rupa), feeling (vedana), dispositions (sanna), character
(sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana) that go into the making up of an individual. The
individual is not a composite whole but rather a unique combination of mental and psychical
factors. There is no permanent abiding soul or self underlying these five factors (this led up
to the anatta or no-soul theory) and the latter simply disintegrate at death. This individual,
38

due to ignorance and attachment, aspires for permanent happiness. However there is
nothing like permanence (leading up to aniccavada or the theory of impermanence). The
quest for eternal happiness is self-defeating and therefore generates only dukkha.
The second Noble Truth declares that every suffering has a cause and this is referred to as
dukkha samudaya. The cause of dukkha is identified as tanha (Skt: trishna) or craving. So if
dukkha is looked at as suffering or disappointment then craving can be looked upon as
causing these states. Characteristically the life of an individual embodies craving for
pleasures of the senses, and if these are not fulfilled then for another existence where these
would be met. At the same time there is a yearning to avoid the unappealing and what
appears as harmful to the self. Craving underlies human existence. Buddhist texts mention
in many places that however much the individual gains, ultimate satisfaction is difficult to
achieve. In other places it is pointed out that craving has three aspects lobha, moha and
dosa; greed, hatred and delusion. Due to the constant presence of these, lasting happiness
and satisfaction become elusive and hard to obtain.
Some issues whose knowledge is presupposed in the definition of the second Noble Truth
must be examined in greater detail. These are kamma (Skt: karma) and rebirth and
paticcasamuppada (Skt: pratityasamutpada). The doctrine of kamma is extremely important
in Buddhist philosophy. Though not new in its origin it was adapted to Buddhist purposes
and acquired a new look. The basic idea though remained the same: every action is followed
by its consequence. In Buddhist thought it can be looked upon as a natural law where the
effect must necessarily follow the cause. But what the Buddha added to kamma was a
previously missing moral aspect. Good and bad actions done intentionally led to similar
consequences. Repeated actions of a certain kind in turn created dispositions, that is,
tendencies to act in certain ways. This suggests that the constant repetition of something
becomes habit-forming and disposes the individual to act in the way dictated by the habit.
Telling a lie for the first time may be awkward but once the agent has performed the act
several times not only does it become easier but more natural for the agent. Thus he has
created a lying disposition. The Buddha looked upon intentional actions done through body,
mind and speech as kamma. The Buddha is quoted as saying 'Monks, I say that determinate
thought [intentional action] is action [kamma]. When one determines, one acts by deed,
word or thought. (Anguttara Nikaya, Part III, section 415, 294). Thus even thinking evil
thoughts was a kammic action generating results. Good actions are kusala kamma, i.e.,
done through pure and upright dispositions; bad and wrong actions are akusala kamma,
referring to their evil and malicious underlying dispositions.
The energy or dispositions that the agent generates through kamma carry through lifetimes.
According to Buddhism it is not the soul (since there is no soul) that is reborn; rather it is
these dispositions that seek to be expressed in the next lifetime. The Buddhists, due to this
belief, supported the idea of transmigration and laid down a rather elaborate cosmology.
The earliest texts speak of six realms of rebirth gods, human beings, titans, hungry
ghosts, animals and hell beings. Kusala kammas lead to heaven and all others are realms of
great suffering. The human realm is however accorded a different status for though it too is
one that contains suffering, it is also the only one where suffering can be conquered. The
life one gets within the human realm with riches or poverty, ugliness or beauty can also
39

be explained as the work of kamma. No realm can be a permanent abode and beings must
move on to suffer consequences of their deeds. The endless wandering through the realms
is referred to as samsara and every effort is made in the literature to show its power on
those who are caught in its grip.
The Buddhist explanation on causes runs deeper, and a chain of causes of life and existence
as we know it is encountered in paticcasamuppada or dependent origination. Through this
the Buddha described further the notion of causality. These teaching are so important that
at one place dhamma is equated with paticcasamuppada one who sees one sees the other
and vice-versa. (Majjhima Nikaya, Book I, section 190-91, 236-37) A short formula is
given for the phenomenon as well as a longer one. In the latter the Buddha pinpointed
several causes each leading to an effect, the latter turning into causes leading to further
effects. The chain of causes and effects was cyclical with no first cause posited. Due to this
cyclical nature the causes and their effects occurred again and again endlessly. These
causes are enumerated between eight and twelve in different sources. The twelve are as
follows: 1) ignorance 2) kamma-formations 3) consciousness 4) name and shape 5) six
senses 6) sensory contact 7) feeling 8) craving 9) clinging 10) becoming 11) birth 12) old
age and death, grief and suffering. (Majjhima Nikaya, Book III, section 63-64, 107) The
formula at a glance points to the presence of dukkha; it also justifies the presence of
kamma and rebirth as well as the individual being a combination of the five factors. Each
step moves on to the next one and binds the being tighter into desire for the next existence
and rebirth. Liberation from the cycle is suggested mostly through targeting the step of
ignorance, for though the cycle can be broken at any point ignorance is the step that human
beings are most equipped to modify.

The short formula
This being, that becomes; from the arising of this that arises; that not being, that
becomes not; from the ceasing of this, that ceases.
Source: C. A. F. Rhys Davids and F. L. Woodard, trans. 1922. The Book of
Gradual Sayings. Volume II. London: Pali Text Society, 23.
Breaking out of the cycle of paticcasamuppada, stopping further rebirth and thus ending all
dukkha is the final aim of Buddhist philosophy. This is nibbana (Skt: nirvana) and the third
Noble Truth or nirodha encompasses this idea. Nirodha signifies the end of craving. Once
craving ends the other factors start to disappear too, like a house of dominoes where the
flipping of one card flips all others in turn. Ten fetters that must be overcome to attain
nibbana have been named: these are belief in self, doubt, clinging to rites and rituals,
sensual desire, ill will, desire for the world of pure form, desire for the world of no-form,
pride, restlessness and ignorance.(Walshe 1987, 26-27) One who has destroyed the fetters
and achieved nibbana in this lifetime, not to be born again, is referred to as an arahat.
However the nature of nibbana itself remains mysterious and hard to pin down. No detailed
examination is presented. It has been pointed out in the sources that nibbana can be
attained in this life and then finally at the death of the physical body. The former implies the
40

end of greed, hatred and delusion, and this description can be found in the
Canon.(Samyutta Nikaya, Book III, section 190, 158). One description of final nibbana is
as a flame blown about by violence of the windgoes out, cannot be reckoned (as
existing), even so a Muni, delivered from name and body, disappears and cannot be
reckoned (as existing). (Suttanipata, verse 1073)
The fourth Noble Truth suggests the path to nibbana, the final ideal, and is referred to as
magga (Skt: marga). Magga is synonymous with the Eightfold Path. The Path has three
broad divisions for its eight aspects. These are wisdom (panna), morality (sila) and
meditation (samadhi). Wisdom includes right view and right thought that imply a correct
grasp of Buddhist teachings and a determination to apply them fully. Morality includes right
speech, right action and right livelihood and pertains to living a flawless everyday life
without harming anyone. Meditation includes right effort, right mindfulness and right
concentration and envisages a training of the mind conducive to attaining higher spiritual
states. Morality, meditation and wisdom must be pursued simultaneously and all are equally
important in achieving the final goal.
Morality and meditation

However it is not only in the Eightfold Path that morality has been prescribed; ethical
prescriptions can be found embedded in various other teachings. Ethical actions are given
importance in Buddhist scriptures for they play a role in attaining nibbana. It has already
been shown above that kamma acquired a moral sense. The Buddha did not posit the
presence of a god and kamma played the role of moral regulator. The Vinaya or the book
that lays down the rules of discipline for monks is very categorical about the ethical rules
that are to be followed stringently by monks as upholders of dhamma. Though rules are
somewhat relaxed for lay disciples, they too are given ethical advice, such that whatever
role they play they must act towards others with respect and kindness (Walshe 1987, 461f).
Sila also represents moral precepts. Buddhism lays down five precepts (panchasila) to be
followed by disciples. These are abandoning the taking of life, abandoning the taking of
what is not given, abandoning sexual misconduct, abandoning false speech and abstaining
from intoxication. The list becomes more complicated as other precepts are added such as
refraining from eating at wrong times, refraining from music, from using garlands and so
on. In addition to the Eightfold Path and the Precepts, virtues such as modesty, courage and
generosity are mentioned often. A virtuous disposition was of great importance in the
spiritual quest.

Ethics in action
Breaking away from the traditions of the time that encouraged the caste-system, to
be understood here as a class-hierarchy based on birth, the Buddha is believed to
have said that it is action and not birth that decides the status of the individual. He
condemned the caste system consistently. Rituals that included animal sacrifice were
41

also deplored and retributions reaped by the agent who conducted such sacrifice
(such as diseases) are often described in the Canon.
Source: Original
More can also be said about meditation. Mindfulness (sati) is crucial in Buddhist meditation
and implies practicing a focused awareness on four factors namely body, feelings, mind
and mind objects to understand their true nature in order to give up attachment to them.
It is explained in great detail how such awareness must be cultivated. Elsewhere meditation
objects known as kasinas are recommended to improve concentration. Likewise
contemplation on four sublime states is recommended loving kindness, compassion,
sympathetic joy and equanimity such contemplation shuts out negative states. These four
also signify moral attitudes that should underlie all the agents actions and are not limited to
only being meditation subjects. Once seriously practised the person meditating essentially
goes through eight jhanas (Skt: dhyanas) or levels or stages of meditation that
progressively become more subtle and refined, until at the highest stage one can get a
glimpse of nibbana.
The third and final dimension that forms the core of early Buddhism is the sangha or
collective body or order of Buddhist practitioners that the Buddha himself insisted on. He
recommended frequent meetings between sangha members focused on harmony, rules of
training, virtues and abstinence from desires. All this would ensure that all members
prospered in spiritual matters. (Walshe 1987, 233) There was probably an inherent
realization in the Buddha, especially since he didnt appoint a successor, that a collective
body such as this alone could sustain the dhamma over time and ensure its success. The
Vinaya as mentioned earlier contained rules for monks (and nuns) as a way to safeguard
the spiritual growth of both the monk himself and the order. It was heartening that the
Buddha allowed the inclusion of women in the order, going against the common tradition of
the time. However, his acceptance, it must be admitted, was not immediate and he had to
be asked over and over again by his faithful disciple Ananda (who was representing the
Buddhas foster mother and other women intent on entry into the sangha) for permission
until the Buddha finally acquiesced. The acknowledgement of the presence of women in the
sangha also expressed itself in the form of a text of the Pali Canon, the Therigatha, written
by women and telling their stories, something quite unusual for the time.

Nun Mutta in the Therigatha while renouncing her domestic
duties
Free am I (sumutta), oh, so free am I (sadhu mutta) by being freed (muttiya) by
means of the three crooked things: the mortar, pestle, and my crooked
husband.'(Therigatha 11)
Source: Blackstone, Kathryn R. 1998. Women in the Footsteps of the
Buddha: Struggle for Liberation in the Therigatha. Surrey: Curzon, 44.
42

This examination of early Buddhist philosophy, though not exhaustive, contains the essence
of what the Buddha had to say. After the Buddhas death, and since he had not appointed a
successor, schisms developed in the next few hundred years, especially amongst those who
approached the teachings in a conventional way and those whose understanding was more
expansive. Buddhist councils (three) were held to debate the points but Buddhism became
divided and many sects developed. During the time of Ashoka, Buddhism got a boost and
the emperor did his utmost to spread its message around India and even abroad. Eventually
two schools stood out that of the Elders, known today as Theravada, and Mahayana
(literally the great vessel) representing the more liberal adherents. Though no fixed dates
have been determined some scholars believe that Mahayana developed a hundred years
before and after the 1st century AD. Mahayana then became the popular form of Buddhism.
Its onset coincided with a revival of Vedic religion, a point which well affected the way this
school developed.
Jainism
Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, is believed to have lived around the same time as
Gotama. Often the two sects of Buddhism and Jainism are likened but this is erroneous as
their philosophies were quite distinct even though they were united in their stand against
the orthodoxy of the Vedas. Mahavira Vardhamana is considered to be the last and twentythird Tirthankara or prophet of the Jainas and was conferred the title of Jina, the conqueror.
Belonging to the family of a kshatriya chieftain he left home at the age of 28. He wandered
about naked and practiced severe austerities for about 12 years until he attained spiritual
release. Mahavira never claimed that he was the expounder of original teachings which were
ascribed to the many prophets before him, but he can take credit for organizing the
teachings and giving some semblance to the Jaina order.
The source of early Jaina philosophy is the Jaina Canon which includes multiple works. After
a long oral tradition (similar to the Buddhists) in the language of Ardha-magadhi it is
claimed that the Canon was written down almost 500 years after Mahaviras enlightenment.
However exact dates remain controversial. The Canon includes a main body of writings
called the Sutras (made up of Angas, Upangas, Chedas, Mulas and other works) which were
followed later by commentaries and further compositions. It was however only around the
1st century AD or so that systematic works based on the Jaina Canon began to take shape in
the work of Jaina scholar Umasvati.
Jainism is often identified with its stand on ahimsa or abstinence from violence. Though not
the first to think about it, the Jainas gave ahimsa enormous attention. They were united
once more with the Buddhists in criticizing the ritualistic culture of the sacrifice of animals.
However, though the Buddhist stand towards the eating and treatment of animals remains
somewhat ambiguous, the Jainas appear to be quite categorical in their approach and
believed that respect for the life of animals in all senses had to be upheld vigorously.
However, in the practice of austerities, the Buddha clearly did not encourage starvation and
other extreme measures, whereas Mahavira appears to have believed in their efficacy in
43

attaining higher spiritual stages. It appears that this was not considered violence by Jainism
but rather a means to a certain end. (Matilal 1981, 4-6)
The truths
The Jainas, as is given in Umasvatis work Tattvartha Sutra, accepted that the universe was
composed of the following seven categories of truths, namely, soul (jiva), the inanimate and
non-sentient material (ajiva), inflow, bondage, stopping, wearing away and liberation (to
which list one Jaina sect added two more categories: reward or dharma and punishment or
adharma). Of these categories two underlying essentials must be remembered: that the
interaction between soul and matter defines worldly life and that the law of karma drives
the universe. (Tatia 2007, XXIII) The first category of truth, the soul, is many in number,
conscious and eternal. Souls possess the qualities of bliss and energy, apart from
consciousness, as pointed out in a later text. They also possess perfect knowledge and
intuition when free from alien influx. The second category of truth, the ajiva, is also
imperishable and is of 5 types space, motion, rest, time and matter. Of these, matter
(pudgala) consists of particles or atoms and these form the material basis of physical
bodies. In inflow, the next truth, it is these atoms that combine with the soul and thereby
cause bondage. Every karma done through body, speech and mind leads to the inflow of
atoms into the soul (even though the Jainas admit that good karma leads to weakening of
bondage, the next truth, and bad karma leads to strengthening of bondage). The fourth
truth, that is bondage, occurs with this union of soul and matter resulting in the covering up
of knowledge and intuition that the soul possesses. It goes without saying that once the
inflow of matter is stopped the soul can start to regain its glory. For this the Jainas
recognize the next truth, which is stopping the karma inflow. For stoppage are suggested
control over the mind, body and speech. The latter three, as mentioned above, play the role
of the doorway through which there is an inflow of matter into the soul and once the three
are controlled, matter can be stopped from entering the soul. The five senses, passions
(anger, pride, deceit and greed), indulgences (of causing injury, lying, stealing, incontinence
and possessiveness) and urges must be restrained as well to stop the inflow of matter. Once
the process of stoppage is started there is a wearing away of karma particles and this
appears as the next truth. The aspiring individual is drawn to tapa or asceticism which also
assists in the wearing away of karma particles.

Jaina austerities
The six external austerities are: fasting, semi-fasting or reduced diet, voluntarily
limiting the variety and the manner of seeking food, giving up delicacies or a
stimulating diet, lonely habitation and mortification of the body. The six internal
austerities are: penance, reverence [humility], service, scriptural study, renunciation
and meditation.
Source: Tatia, Nathmal, trans. [1994] 2007. Tattvartha Sutra of Umasvati.
44

Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 232.
The observance of vows becomes important for it determines the variety of karma inflow.
Five vows are central:
1) Ahimsa or abstinence from violence in speech and action, to the extent that even
unintentional stepping on insects while walking must be considered as violence.
2) Asatya-tyaga or abstinence from untruth that implies speaking honestly and in a
calm and pleasant way.
3) Asteya or abstinence from stealing, and using things belonging to others only with
their permission
4) Brahmacharya or abstinence from sexual relations (celibacy), or not to be
preoccupied with women or to look at women, and not to do anything that may
increase lust.
5) Aparigraha or abstinence from possessiveness or desire, yearning, greed for sensual
objects, as well loathing for repulsive items.
Spiritual training differs for lay followers (householders) and ascetics. For lay followers once
faith is entrenched a set of five small vows (as given above) and directions are laid out.
These vows and directions give clear instructions as to how the individual is to live his life,
what actions are to be refrained from, how others are to be treated, and also cover aspects
such as food, fasting, meditation, occupation, travel and possessions. Renunciants must, on
the other hand, take the five great vows and must follow them completely, something that
may not be possible for lay disciples. Thus it is the degree of practice and not the vows that
differ for lay followers and renunciants.

Triratna
Jainism mentions triratna or the three jewels of right faith, right knowledge and right
conduct. With the correct understanding of the seven truths mentioned above and
living in accordance with them the possession of the three jewels becomes
guaranteed.
Source: Original
Following of vows absolutely and ascetic observances help the practitioner to concentrate
his mind, which then leads to liberation, the final truth. He must disregard physical
calamities, must be self-controlled, with wisdom, free of desire, in order to transcend the
limited world. Fourteen stages or gunasthanas are then discussed in the texts that lead to
complete detachment. Once the highest gunasthanas are perfected the soul, free of karma,
climbs upwards to the top of the world or siddhashila. This is its eternal position, unaffected
by the world and free of limitations that it faced in the world. It gains infinite knowledge,
infinite seeing, infinite power and infinite joy.
45

Perfected souls
There at the top of the world reside the blessed perfected souls, rid of all
transmigrationThe dimension of a perfected soul is two-thirds of the height which
the individual had in his last existencethey all dwell in one part of the world, and
have developed into knowledge and faith.
Source: Jacobi, Hermann, trans. [1884] 2004. Jaina Sutra, Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass Publishers, 213.
Anekantavada
The central and very unique idea of Jaina philosophy however remains anekantavada
whose roots are believed to have been laid by Mahavira himself. That said, the earliest
texts have few references to the concept, intending to focus more on the spiritual and
ethical. Many scholars suppose that anekantavada was an offshoot of the Jaina belief in
ahimsa, but however it came about, it soon captured not only Jaina imagination but also
that of other philosophical schools existing at the time and later. It appears that the Jainas
were trying to make sense of the two dominant views of the time the monistic view that
spoke of an eternal reality underlying a changing world and the view that accepted change
alone as the ultimate real.
Mahavira himself developed, as scholar B. K. Matilal sees it, a philosophy of synthesis and
toleration. He wanted to understand different positions so that he could determine the way
to resolve them. Anekantavada can therefore be considered as a philosophy of synthesis
and reconciliation. The term, says Matilal, has two senses: first, it represents the Jaina
(metaphysical) view of reality. According to the Jainas reality is manifold and contains
multiple aspects. Getting limited by a narrow view is bound to cause confusion and thus
cultivating awareness about all possible viewpoints is important. Secondly, anekantavada
also represents a method which allows for the reconciliation and integration of philosophic
views and in this sense appears to represent Mahaviras philosophy. As a methodology it is
developed through naya-vada, the doctrine of standpoints and syad-vada the doctrine of
sevenfold predication. (Matilal 1981,19-25)
Anekantavada developed more logically post the 1 st century AD and in time the Jainas
enumerated seven view points or nayas as follows: naigama or reference to entities without
distinguishing their general and special characteristics; sangraha or emphasis on general
character alone; vyavahara or reference to particular character alone; rijusutra or emphasis
on here-and-now aspects; shabda or emphasis on the character of words used; sambhiruda
or reference to distinguishing between words that denote the same object; and evambhuta
or restriction of particular words to particular usage. Thus the first four nayas are focused
on things and the last three on words. Each naya is incomplete in itself, the Jainas believe,
and must be combined with others for the full picture which is referred to as pramana.
46

On the other hand syad-vada pinpoints seven ways of predication that disqualifies one-sided
knowledge. It is stated that from one point of view each: something is, syad asti; something
is not, syad nasti; something is and is not, syad asti nasti; something is inexpressible, syad
avaktavyam; something is and is inexpressible, syad asti ca avaktavyam; something is not
and is inexpressible, syad nasti ca avaktavyam; and something is and is not and is
inexpressible, syad asti ca nasti ca avaktavyam. For the Jainas no judgment is absolute and
each judgment is correct only from its point of view. Thus a pot is eternal because its atoms
are indestructible but a pot is not eternal for its shape, colour and so on can be destroyed.
So both judgments, though contradictory, are not incorrect when viewed from a certain
point of view.
Anekantavada has left a deep mark on Indian philosophical thought even though it had its
fair share of critics. In general, Jainism as a sect grew in popularity but never really spread
outside of India. In time, like Buddhism, it developed a schism with the formation of two
sects: the Shvetambara and the Digambara. The differences between the two sects are
quite minor (concerning issues such as the wearing of clothes and the lives of perfect
saints) but they appear to have kept a distance from each other. The Jainas are believed to
have received patronage from the Nanda dynasty (around 300 ? BC), as well as from
Chandragupta Maurya who followed them. However Ashoka turned to Buddhism. Jainism
then gradually moved away from the north Indian state of Magadha towards Orissa, Gujarat
and the southern states. A centre was also established in Mathura. Jaina literature thrived
and grew until about the 13th century AD.
9.5: Consolidation of normative Brahmanical traditions: dharma,

varnashrama, purusharthas, samskaras
Sources and context - why was there consolidation?
Brahmanical tradition began to be consolidated even when the earliest brahmanical schools,
called shakhas evolved when the Vedas were being compiled. Gradually these shakhas
began to have intensive and highly specialized theological debates on the interpretations
of Vedic hymns. This is clear from the complex discussions in the Brahmaa Texts and
subsequent Brahmanical literature. Between 1500 and 500 B.C.E, Vedic knowledge,
performance of rituals and state systems spread throughout the Northern part of the Indian
subcontinent. Parallel changes in the form of emergence of different cults and ideologies
created further social flux.

Elements of continuity in Brahmanical
relationship between shrutis and smritis
traditions:
the
47

The Dharmashastras fall in the category of the smriti texts, separate from the Vedas
and Brahmana texts regarded as sacrosanct, the shruti. There is a complex
relationship between the shruti and the smriti and although ritual and day to day
practices are based on the smriti, they derive their legitimacy from the shruti.
Strategies like replication and repetition of Vedic ideas while adding new ones were
used for constituting post Vedic texts as Vedic. Such practices were adopted by
brahmanas to seek sanctity and legitimacy for the traditions they were constantly
incorporating and creating.
Source: Smith, Brian K. 1998. Reflections on resemblance, ritual and
religion. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 21-29.
It was during this crucial period of transition that some brahmanical schools began
elaborate exercises to consolidate traditions in specific compilations, such as the Vedangas,
of which one part are the Kalpa Sutras. Each kalpa was supposed to have three books. The
formal rituals were in the Shrauta Sutra, the household rituals in the Grihya Sutras and the
last, the Dharma Sutra, defined dharma or what may be regarded as correct conduct.
However, only the compilations of Ashvalayana, Apastamba and Baudhayana have all the
three parts. The Shrauta sutras deal with formal rituals, the shrauta rites to be performed
by the ahitagni brahmana, one who maintained the three ritual fires instead of just one like
an ordinary householder. While these rites were meant primarily for brahmanas, they were
supposed to act as role models for the rest of the society and many of these rites were
performed by well off sections of the society including rajas and the vaishyas. The
household texts, the Grihyasutras discuss the rituals to be conducted in the household by
the grihapati, the head of the household.
The Dharmasutras reflect early attempts at consolidating Brahmanical traditions relating to
different aspects of thought and practices which included deliberations on dharma, the
varnashramas, purusharthas and also the samskaras. It is difficult to define these concepts
with precision as they were supposed to reflect an ideal social set up. There are variations
and conflicts within the texts themselves as to what they represent, but many of these were
actually practiced. We can also see that these practices gradually become institutionalized in
these texts.
There are several stages in the evolution of these institutions, for example, most of the
early Grihyasutras like those of Ashvalayana, Baudhayana, Shankhayana, Gobhila and
Apastamba which belong to a period between 800-500 B.C.E, refer to rites and practices but
these get classified in Dharmashastra texts under institutions like the Varnashrama and
Samskaras later. Thus, the tradition of consolidation and classification was an ongoing
process which continued in texts like the Gautama Dharmashastra and still later, the Manu
Smriti. Gautamas was the first Dharmashastra which was not attached to a kalpasutra and
can be said to be a true precursor of the Manu Smriti. Other works like the Mahabharata
and the Ramayana, Kautilyas Arthashastra; Vatsyayanas Kamasutra and several other
texts give us details on the varnashrama system and the purusharthas. However, one has
to keep in mind that these texts do not represent a homogenous, unchanging tradition and
48

represent an amalgamation, diffusion and adaptation of different types of practices and
cultures as Brahmanical tradition spread to different parts of the Indian subcontinent.

The significance of the Manu Smriti
While it is wrong to pay undue importance to the dharmashastras, it is true that
texts like the Manu Smriti were repeatedly commented upon and quoted in
subsequent periods. Vatsyayana and Yajnavalkya placed Manu high on the list of
Dharma Shastra authors. The text held a pre-eminent position by 5th century C.E. (or
even as early as the 3rd) as Brihaspati states that Manu is the authority and any text
contradicting Manu has no validity. It is no wonder that Sir William Jones sought to
translate it in English in 1794, and it was a highly regarded text for scholars like Max
Muller and Nietzsche.
Source: Olivelle, Patrick. 2005. Manus Code of Law, A Critical Edition.
Translation of the Manava Dharmasastra. The University of Texas Centre for
Asian Studies. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006, 7.
Why did these texts attempt to codify and canonize social and ritual traditions?
Some of the answers can be seen in the texts themselves and the anxieties with which they
want to maintain social order and the hierarchies of varna and gender. The Manava
Dharmashastra, or the Manu Smriti (henceforth MS), is significant for the study of
brahmanical traditions as it was compiled at a time (in the first couple of centuries of the
Common Era), according to Patrick Olivelle, when things were not too favourable to
Brahmanical privilege as the author of the MS defends Brahmanical privilege with
intensity and urgency (2005, 35-39). R. N. Dandekar feels the consolidation was a result of
Brahmanical revivalism, when a synthesis between the ritual way of life and the withdrawal
and renunciation of the Upanishadic phase were brought together to touch every aspect of
human life religious, academic, domestic and social (Embree 1988, 213). It was in the
time after the compilation of the Brahmanas, Upanishads and between the early Shrauta
sutras, Grihya Sutras and the early Dharmashastras, i.e., between 600 B.C.E to 100 C.E.
that some crucial projections related to brahmanical normative traditions were made. The
concept of dharma itself changed within this time, as we will see below. Thus, changes in
this period can also be seen with regard to social norms, varna categories, ideas related to
ritual purity and in notions regarding patriarchy. These texts also seem to be organizing
themselves in order to deal with the growing popularity of Buddhism and Jainism and other
sects. Thus, inspite of the references to householdership, the MS actually venerates
asceticism and celibacy, which could have been as a result of the influence of the Buddhist
bhikkhus and Jaina stress on monasticism.
Dharma
49

The word dharma comes from the root dhri, to sustain, and seems to refer to a religioethical ideal. It represents the moral order which sustains human society and the individual.
Dharma seems to have eventually replaced the concept of rita, the Vedic notion of cosmic
order according to V. Raghavan (Embree 1988, 209). It is the first of the purusharthas, the
four ends of man, and seems to address the philosophical aspect of the raison detre, the
relevance of a humans life. It can loosely be translated as morality or right conduct. Some
equate the term to religious conduct and customs, which is not quite correct, as the word
has many meanings and includes customs, codes or laws of a group, e.g. in the texts we
find references to the need to conduct oneself according to the gramadharma or
kuladharma, meaning the customs of a village or of a family. In the post Upanishadic
phase, influenced by Upanishadic mysticism, dharma came to be classified with these dual
concepts,
activity, (pravritti), and
retirement from life (nivrrti).
Later, the two became separate and right activity was identified with ones dharma, pravritti
and the latter, nivritti came to be identified with moksha (Embree 1988, 210).
In the time period between 600 B.C.E to 100 C.E. the connotations and meaning of the
word, dharma seems to have changed. According to Patrick Olivelle, dharma was not a
central term in the ritual or theological vocabulary of the middle and late Vedic texts, and
did not play a central role in the post-Vedic Shrautasutras and Gihyasutras. It was given a
new theological definition when it was taken over by the new religions emerging in the
Gangetic valley, especially by Buddhism. Dharma became the central concept within these
religions, defining the essence of their theology and way of life. The concept of dharma was
further given a boost in the Mauryan times when it was made the defining concept in the
political ideology of the Mauryan empire. Thus, Ashokas use of the term dhamma, with
some basic principles which would forge a bond amongst the populace and between them
and the state, helping in governance, seems to have further expanded the concept of
dharma.
Patrick Olivelle says that the idea that there should be a single dharma for the brahmaa
came about as part of a process accompanied by wider knowledge and familiarity with
geography of the subcontinent, especially the northern part. Gradually, the concept of
sacred geography expanded to Aryavarta, a concept which was not there in Apastamba
and Gautama and appeared for the first time only in Patanjalis Mahabhashya and was
included in the Arthashastra and the MS.
Ideas concerning the ideal ruler of an expanded state emerged in parallel to the ideal code
of conduct for brahmanas and the other social categories in this new social dynamics. The
Ramayana and the Mahabharata both elaborate on the concept of dharma, while Rama is
the epitome of the ideal son, husband and king; Yuddhishthiras projection as the
dharmaraja was meant to highlight the importance of maintenance of dharma by the ruler.
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The Manu Smriti (MS 8.15) states that dharma, when violated, destroys and when
preserved, it preserves. The MS seems to include many aspects of human life as the
dharma. Thus, Manu elaborates on the dharma related to varied issues from the creation
of universe, the sacraments, studentship, marriage, purity and pollution, womens conduct,
kings duties, laws related to husband and wife, property and inheritance, the varnashrama,
and such. The patriarchal orientation of the MS can be seen in its claims that the highest
dharma relates to guarding of wives. This last passage shows how anxiety related to
sexuality and the need to control women supercedes all other dharmas, or laws related to
society, according to MS 9.6,7. Thus, patriarchal concerns seem to be over and above any
other concerns and were imperative for the maintenance of the varnashramadharma.

The highest dharma according to the Manu Smriti
MS 9.6,7 Seeing that this is clearly the highest Law of all social classes, even weak
husbands should guard their wives; for by carefully guarding his wife, a man guards
his offspring, his character, his family, himself and the law specific to him.
Olivelle, Patrick. 2005. Manus Code of Law, A Critical Edition. Translation of
the Manava Dharmasastra. The University of Texas Centre for Asian Studies.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006, 747.
One of the important characteristics of dharma is that it has never been static, and it
changes according to change in circumstances and change in time periods. Dharma for
Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, the four ages or yugas in which time is divided are different
as each age requires different approaches to life. The four yugas represent cycles of
creation and destruction of the universe in which there are variations in moral, spiritual and
ethical norms, according to which dharma also changes, according to R. N. Dandekar
(Embree 1988, 220).
Varnashrama
The varna system was an attempt to regulate social categories on the basis of clearly
demarcated roles that they had to perform.The varna system projects society as divided
into four varnas brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya and sudra. Whereas the early RV society
was divided into three parts brahmanas, rajanya and the vish; the purushasukta hymn in
the last part of the RV mentions that the four varnas emerged from the four different parts
of the creator the brahmanas from the head, the kshatriyas from the arms, the vaishya
from the thighs and the shudras from the feet. Thus, the varna system came to be
projected as being hereditary, occupational and hierarchical by the end of the Vedic period.
Gradually, over time, the importance of performing ones duty, karma, also projected in the
Bhagvata Gita, came to be emphasized. Varna categories began to crystallize with growing
taboos related to intermarriage and interdining. Purity and pollution taboos also came to be
added. The MS refers to the need to maintain the purity of varnas. The MS traced the origin
51

of different categories of untouchable communities to varnasamkara, or the contamination
of varnas because of intermingling. (This is discussed in greater detail in the chapter on
Social Aspects) Along with the division of society on the basis of varnas, the life of each
man was to be divided into four stages, the Ashramas.
Ideally the four stages which a person must go through in the Ashrama system are
brahmacarya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sanyasa. The concept of the four ashramas
developed gradually. In the Brahmana texts, there is reference to the brahmacharin and the
Aranyaka texts deal with life in the forests, it was only later that all these different ways of
leading a life were incorporated in one life span of a single person. Even the Grihya Sutras
refer to only two important stages in mans life the brahmacharin and the grihapati, but
by the time of the MS, the ideology of the four ashramas had become crystallized,
incorporating the other stages too. (Olivelle 1993)
Brahmacarya is the period of studentship when an initiate who has undergone the
upanayana ritual is supposed to gain tutelage under an acharya, in preparation for his
future role in society. He is supposed to be celibate and abstain from enjoyment of material
things, living a life of austerity. The Grihya Sutras and later dharmashastra texts
categorically state that only when one has the rite of upanayana performed, he becomes a
dvija, i.e., a twice born. One who had not performed the rite was termed as
patitasavitrika, and was to be socially ostracized. The rite seems to have been allowed
for males of the upper three varnas and played a crucial role in creating social categories,
segregating women and shudras in society. The performance of the rite on dvija males
underlined that women and shudras were not supposed to have access to knowledge and
any formal learning. However, it is mainly Vedic knowledge and learning that seems to be
emphasized here and one can always speculate on how necessary Vedic knowledge and
learning was in actual survival. It is obvious that shudras, women and other categories had
to resort to traditional methods of sharing knowledge and learning.
The grihastha stage began after marriage when a person was expected to lead the life of a
householder and devote himself to having children and looking after the family. Most
dharmashastras seem to think that this was the most important stage of a persons life. The
MS refers to the superiority of the grihastha. Manu states that student, householder, forest
hermit, and ascetic all the four orders have their origins in the householder, meaning that
they all gain sustenance from him. The MS also states that among all of them, according to
the dictates of Vedic scripture, the householder is said to be the best, for he supports the
other three, and, as all rivers and rivulets ultimately end up in the ocean, so people of all
the orders ultimately end up in the householder (MS 6.153 and 6.89,90, Olivelle 2005,
153).
The next stage is the Vanaprastha when a person was supposed to forsake material life and
move to the forests, usually accompanied by his wife (who had to devoutly follow her
husband) in preparation for the last and final stage, of sanyasa. A true sanyasi was one who
would forsake all material attachments and pleasures and be prepared for death and the
journey beyond.
52

The significance of projecting these four stages in a persons life was that it incorporated
several ways of living, of celibacy, householdership, and renunciation, all in one life.
However, it also seems to be influenced by Buddhist and Jaina traditions of renunciation and
thus the four stages seem to be an amalgamation of diverse traditions and thoughts.
Purusharthas
One of the main concepts that underlies Brahmanical attitude towards proper conduct is the
balance of the four aspirations of humans, the chaturvarga: dharma, artha, kama and
moksha. This entailed leading a life devoted to the pursuit of correct conduct, attainment of
wealth, pleasure and liberation. The idea of the four purusharthas seems to be a
consolidation of the different paths encouraged in the different texts and also attempts to
rationalize the relevance of human existence.
The first of the purusharthas is righteousness and duty, the performance of rituals and the
pursuit of dharma. Artha is the second aspect of a persons life wherein the main purpose of
human activity is material gain. Kama, the pursuit of pleasure is the third end of a persons
life; followed with Moksha, liberation from worldly life. We have already discussed the first
concept, dharma, yet an ideal life is one where there is balance between all the four. The
dharmashastras state that pursuit of artha and kama should be controlled by consideration
of dharma. The relationship between the three is summed up by MS 2.24 which states that
- Some say that dharma and artha are good, others say that kama and artha are good, and
still others say that dharma alone or kama alone is good, but the correct position is that the
three should coexist without hurting each other.
The concept of artha can be traced back to the Atharva veda in which the idea of ends
justifying the means is put forward. This seems to be in opposition to dharma, the need to
achieve ones goal through righteousness. The projection of artha as an alternative route to
achieve desired ends is hinted at in the Mahabharata too, when different characters deviate
from their dharma for personal and material gain. One of the most important treatises that
we can refer to on artha is Kautilyas Arthashastra. Kautilya defines Artha Shastra as the
philosophy which deals with the acquisition and maintenance of the earth (territory,
kingdom, material wealth?). The text deals mainly with techniques of governance, but also
underlines the linkages between power, wealth and governance. Some of the other texts
that deal with political power include the Shantiparvan of the Mahabharata, the Manu
Smriti, Yajnavalkya Smriti, Kamandakiya Nitisara, Shukra Nitisara. In Tamil, the Kural, a
work of Tiruvalluvar deals with the three ends of man. (Embree 1988, 236)
Kama, the third of the purusharthas, represents the pursuit of pleasure and the enjoyment
of all pleasurable things. In the scheme of the purusharthas, it is another raison detre,
reason for existence of humans. Kama, as represented in early texts, includes sensual
enjoyment and also pleasure from aesthetic activities, singing, dancing, music, literature. It
refers to the satisfaction of the senses, taste, smell, touching, hearing and seeing things
that give pleasure. The texts claim that indulgence in kama, when balanced with dharma
and artha, can also lead to attainment of spirituality and salvation. The role of the
53

householder in Brahmanical texts seems to imply that kama can be channelized towards
maintenance of social order when restricted to marital pleasures. There are texts that deal
with kama shastra, the science of attaining pleasure in a comprehensive way. Vatsayayanas
Kamasutra refers to sixty four kalas, skills that constitute a persona with artistic skillsthese included dancing and singing and also composition and finding solutions of puzzles.
Courtesans were supposed to be talented in these skills. Sanskrit literary works are steeped
in rasa, a term which depicts pleasure to be gained from indulgence of the senses and the
celebration of natural beauty. Rasa is an integral part of Kalidasas works, especially the
Abhigyanshakuntalam.
Moksha is the final and supreme aspiration. Desire for liberation from the cycle of
transmigration was there in Upanishadic thought but also receives encouragement in the
Buddhist concept of nirvana and the Jainas Kaivalya. The Upanishads, Bhagvad Gita,
Puranas and even Tantric texts deal with the subject in an elaborate manner although they
deal with it in different ways. In the Upanishads, moksha is an individualistic concept, one of
unifying the individual with the universal self, the atman with the Brahman. In the Gita,
moksha is rooted in earthly existence, following ones dharma (svadharma), and through
doing ones work with rigorous self discipline, karmayoga.
Samskaras
The word samskara means sacrament or a religious ceremony or act regarded as outward
and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. It is derived from the word, samskrita, which
means purified in RV. Though many of these rites may have originated even before the
Vedic period the term does not occur in Vedic literature. The Brahmana texts mention few
rites like upanayana and the funeral but not the word samskaras. In the Shatapatha
Brahmana, the term refers to the rite of preparing or purifying the havis offering for the
gods. The Grihyasutras also do not use the term although they refer to the ritual acts that
later came to be known as the samskaras. The term they use are pakayajnas, rites for
which an offering of cooked food is given. The Parashara Grhyasutra has other systems of
classification for daily rites. It divides rites into four classes, the huta, the ahuta, prahuta
and prasita. Huta are offerings thrown into fire like vivaha and simantonnayana. Prahuta are
those rites where after offerings in fire, gifts are given to brahmana, for example,
jatakarmana and chaula. Ahuta are rites when after offerings in fire and gifts to brahmana,
offerings are received, rites like upanayana and samavartana.
According to the Mimamsakas, the meaning of samskaras is ceremonious purification of
sacrificial materials. In the Jaimini sutra the term is used for purificatory rites. Sabara,
commentator of Jaiminis text explains the term as an act which makes a certain thing or
person fit for a certain purpose. In classical sanskrit literature the term is used as a
purificatory rite, ceremony, consecration, sanctification and hallowing of idea, education,
merit. (Rajbali Pandey 1994, 15-16) The list of samskaras varies but by and large these are
the samskaras mentioned, starting with the marriage sacrament,
Vivaha (marriage rites),
54

Garbhalambhana (rite for attaining pregnancy),
Pumsavana (rite for the birth of a son),
Simantonnayana (parting of the hair rite, during gestation to ensure well being of mother
and child and birth of a son),
Jatakarmana (rite performed at the birth of a child),
Namakarana (rite for naming the child),
annaprashana, (first feeding of cereals),
chudakarana or chaula (tonsure),
Upanayana (initiation rite),
Samavartana (taking of ritual bath after the completion of studies), and finally,
Antyeshti (death rites).
The inclusion of these rites which were widely practiced in Brahmanical texts seems to be an
attempt to brahmanize common practices, to assimilate them, categorize them and present
them in an organized manner. The purpose of these rites also seems to be to highlight the
ritual role of the householder and also regulate his day to day life. Brahmanical texts
consider the role of the householder crucial for the maintenance of social order. Moreover,
the rites also must have been an occasion for dakshina for the brahmanas and thus, priests
were able to extend their sources of income by tapping the resources of the householder.
The rites allowed brahmanical intervention in intercommunity activities like marriage and
death.
These rites also create hierarchies based on varna and gender and underline the differences
between social categories. We have already seen how the rite of Upanayana segregated
young boys on the basis of their varna. Moreover, as discussed above, women and shudras
were excluded from the rite of initiation. The rite of marriage was equivalent to the initiation
rite for women. In the marriage ritual, attention was given to the need for women to be
steadfast and loyal, and to have progeny through marriage. After marriage, a number of
rites emphasize the importance of having progeny, especially sons. Thus the
garbhalambhana, Pumsavana and Simantonnayana were rites conducted for safe pregnancy
but also to have sons, as the reference to pumsa, male child shows. The Jatakarma was a
birth rite performed in the birth chamber, it was a rite to purify the child from the pollution
of birth and give the child breath, life and intelligence. The rite was performed by the
householder and seems to imply that the natural birth was polluting, purification rites were
required to enable the child to be ritually purified. The rites seem to focus on the bond
between the male child and the father, while the mother and child are polluted, sutika. The
following rites of namakarana, giving of name to the child; chudakarana, the tonsure of the
child; annaprasana, the first time the child has cereals all reveal how the different stages in
the childs life needed to be celebrated. However, it seems as if the rites of passage for a
55

male child are more celebratory in nature while for women it is specifically mentioned that if
the rites are performed, the mantras should be mumbled and not recited loud. Moreover,
some rites seem to be specifically for boys, rites like the upanayana, godanakarma,( the
first shaving when a brahmana is given a cow as dakshina); and samavartana (the ritual
bath after the period of studentship after which the student becomes a snataka, literally,
one who has bathed but meaning a learned person).
9.6: Spreading and changing traditions: Buddhism and Jainism

from circa 2nd century BCE
Introduction
The beginning of the second century BCE was marked by the collapse of the Mauryan
Empire and the emergence of several new states. These included that of the Shungas, who
controlled parts of northern and central India, and the Satavahanas, who dominated the
Deccan and claimed to be lords of the three seas. The northwestern part of the subcontinent
witnessed the incursions of diverse peoples the Bactrian/ Indo-Greeks, the Shakas, who
extended their control over Gujarat and parts of the west coast as well as Mathura, and the
Kushanas. Both the Shakas and the Kushanas were of Central Asian origin, and the latter
retained contact with the region even as they extended their control over parts of north
India.
The spread of Buddhism and Jainism

We know that Buddhism and Jainism originated and spread primarily in parts of present-day
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the 6th/5th centuries BCE. By the end of the period we are
considering (c. 8th century CE), Jainism had extended its influence as far west as Gujarat
and as far south as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The spread of Buddhism was even more
spectacular through Central Asia to China, Korea and Japan, and to the south and south
east to Sri Lanka, Myanmar and further east. How do we know about these developments,
and how did they take place?
Tracking the spread: architectural remains and inscriptions

One of the most enduring indications of the spread of these religious traditions is provided
by the architectural remains of stupas, monasteries, also known as viharas, and chaityas.
Consider, for instance, the discovery of the stupa at Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), far from
the original Buddhist heartland. Or the find of a two storeyed monastery dedicated to Jaina
monks, painstakingly hollowed out from the hillside, at Udayagiri (Orissa). Then there are
56

dozens of artificially constructed cave sites located strategically near the passes of the
Western Ghats, most of which were dedicated to Buddhist monks.

The story of Amaravati
You may have heard of Amaravati, one of the most famous centres of early
Buddhism. It is likely that the Mauryan ruler Ashoka built a stupa at the site.
Later, it was decorated with limestone slabs carved with some of the most
exquisite sculpture produced in the subcontinent. These depicted scenes from
the life of the Buddha, as well as other themes.
Over the centuries, the local population shifted their support and patronage to
other beliefs and practices, and the stupa gradually fell into a state of decay.
In the late eighteenth century, a local zamindar rediscovered the site, and
began using its remains for building his house.
But there was more to come: in the early 19 th century, during colonial rule,
Amaravati attracted the attention of British surveyors and amateur
archaeologists. While this was useful insofar as many of the sculptures that
were lying in disarray were now carefully retrieved and preserved, it also had
an ironic fallout. The British were keen that the sculptures be sent to England,
for display in the British Museum. This was partly because they felt that they
would be better preserved in London, but also because these works of art
were regarded as trophiessuggesting that the rulers could take what they
wanted from the land.
And there these sculptures remain till date, although some sculptures from
Amaravati can be seen in museums in India as well.
Source: Original
Figure 9.6.1: A Jaina monastery in Orissa, hollowed out of natural rock.

Source: http://www.digambarjainonline.com/know/jarts.htm
57
Figure 9.6.2: The main cave at Karle, one of several sites along the Western Ghats.
Note the stupa at the far end, and the way in which the roof has been carved to imitate
wooden rafters.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karla_Caves
Finds of inscriptions also help track the spread of these traditions. Most of these are votive
inscriptions, recording gifts made to religious institutions or individuals. Some of the
inscriptions are short, recording only the name of the donor, whereas others are far more
elaborate. Inscriptions have been found on a variety of surfaces on the pedestals of
images (generally of stone) that were dedicated, on pillars and railings that were erected
around structures, and on the walls of caves. From about the middle of the first millennium
CE, inscriptions on copper plates often record the grant of land to religious institutions. As in
the case of architectural remains, inscriptions have been found from different parts of the
subcontinent, in Prakrit, Sanskrit and Tamil, indicating once more, the vast areas through
which these traditions spread.
58
Figure 9.6.3: This is an early Ayagapatta (a stone carved with sacred motifs, and the figure
of a Jaina tirthankara) from Mathura, dating to the early centuries of the common era.
Note the inscription at the bottom.
Source: http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainisme
The accounts of Chinese pilgrims

From the fourth to the seventh century (and possibly earlier and later as well), Chinese
Buddhist monks came to India to learn about the religion in the land of its origin, and to
collect Sanskrit manuscripts, which they then translated. The journeys they undertook were
arduous beyond imagination making their way through desolate deserts, raging storms,
across treacherous passes and through the seas driven by their unwavering faith.

The routes taken by the Chinese travelers
If you wish to trace the route taken by Faxian, you could log on to the following
website.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/asia/asia_features/buddhism/buddhist_pilgrimage
/pilgrims/Faxian/index.html.
59

Check for Xuanzangs route as well.

The tireless translator
Xuanzang carried back several Sanskrit manuscripts with him, and spent years
translating these into Chinese. In all, he translated 74 texts. These included the
major texts recognized as canonical within Buddhism, works on logic and philosophy,
as well as works within the Tantric tradition. In several cases, the original Sanskrit
texts were lost over the centuries, and modern texts and translations were prepared
for publication from the Chinese versions, which were preserved carefully.
Source: Original
The support of patrons

What helped the spread of these traditions? Part of the answer lies in the support offered by
kings. One of the most celebrated of these is the support offered by Kharavela to Jaina
monks, recorded in an inscription, some details of which are included below.
The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela

Hathigumpha, as the name suggests, is a cave. It is located near Udayagiri and is close to
Bhubaneswar, the capital of present-day Orissa. The cave contains one of the best-known
inscriptions of early Indian history, a prashasti or a composition in praise of a king named
Kharavela. Although the writing on the rock surface has been subjected to wear and tear,
primarily owing to the seepage of water over centuries, enough remains for us to piece
together some of the achievements that Kharavela wished to document for future
generations. Consisting of 17 lines, the text provides a year-by-year account of the rulers
activities. What follows is an approximate translation of parts of the text, originally
composed in Prakrit. The meanings of some terms used to designate Jaina monks are
enclosed within square brackets [ ] while other words, added by the translator to clarify the
sense of the text, are within round brackets ( ). The inscription begins with the following
words:
Salutation to the arahatas [literally those deserving of respect] and to all the siddhas [those
who have attained enlightenment]!
Line 14: And in the thirteenth year, on the Kumari hill in the well-founded realm of victory,
were excavated the jivadehashriykas [shelters for the monks] by his graceful majesty
Kharavela, devoted to the worship of those who depended on royal patronage, those who
had fulfilled their (religious) vows, (and) those who sought shelter during the rains for use
as comfortable resting places by the arahata (recluses). The cause of whose future gliding in
60

the course of transmigration had been greatly extenuated (and) who were (there) for
fulfilling the yapa (rainy season vow).
Line 15: For the honoured recluses of well-established reputation and the Jnatrikas [those
belonging to the spiritual lineage of Mahavira], viewing all things alike, (and) the monks
belonging to (different) orders, (and) coming from a hundred directions, with hundreds and
thousands of stones quarried out of excellent quarries (and) collected from (an area
extending over) several yojanas (a measure of distance, often taken to be about 2 miles) by
expert heads, (his majesty caused) indeed (to be made) sleeping and sitting
accommodations fitted with artistic pillars on a slope near the arahata resting place and
caused the columns to be set up in a beryl set hall with an ornamental courtyard at the cost
of seventy five hundred thousand (pieces of the standard coin) and in 64 panels intersected
with sculptures, caused to be produced (the scenes of) peaceful music.
Excerpt from Barua, B. M. 1929. Hathigumpha Inscription of Kharavela, in Old Brahmi
Inscriptions in the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 259285.
(The other achievements recorded in the inscription include a range of building activities,
the kings involvement in cultural activities, and victories over contemporary rulers.)
Kharavela was not alone in adopting this policy of supporting monks, nor was the
construction of monasteries the only way in which support was extended. Take for instance
the example of the Kushana king Kanishka. According to Buddhist traditions, one of the last
major Buddhist councils to discuss and resolve matters of doctrine was held during his
reign. Other rulers such as Harshavardhana also supported Buddhism, and the Chinese
pilgrim Xuanzang spent several years at his court.
Moreover, not all patrons were of royal origin votive inscriptions indicate that ordinary lay
men and women often contributed to the construction and maintenance of religious
institutions. While some inscriptions stress that these gifts were explicitly acts of piety,
present-day scholars (e.g. Heitzman, James. 1984. Early Buddhism, Trade and Empire, in
Studies in the Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology of South Asia, ed. Kenneth A.R.
Kennedy and Gregory L. Possehl, 121-137. New Delhi: Oxford and I.B.H. Publishing Co)
have suggested that many donors belonged to social, economic and political networks
where the ability to offer gifts was recognized as a marker of status. This may explain why
the most spectacular gifts were those associated with royalty; while others participated in
these practices, they did so in more circumspect ways.
Monks and nuns as patrons

Early scholars working in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century tended to rely
extensively on textual sources for understanding religious traditions. This led them to
assume that monks led a life of austerity. However, from the 19th century itself, several
hundred inscriptions were found and deciphered from dozens of sites across the
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subcontinent. These indicated that monks and nuns often made gifts, and more often than
not commissioned both buildings and sculpture. One of the scholars who has drawn
attention to the need to recognize the testimony of archaeology and epigraphy is Gregory
Schopen. In an article published in 1991 (Archaeology and Protestant Presuppositions in the
Study of Indian Buddhism. History of Religions, Vol. 31, 1-23), he wrote: The point here is
not whether individual monks or nuns did or did not possess private property the evidence
we have, from all periods, indicates that they did. The point is that every time epigraphers,
archaeologists, or art historians assumed that the textual ideal either was or had been
actually in operation .There appears to be, however, no actual evidence that the textual
ideal was ever fully or even partially implemented in actual practice. (Schopen 1991, 7-8)
According to Schopen, this valorization of textual traditions and the refusal to confront the
evidence from archaeology and inscriptions in its own right has its roots in western
intellectual traditions, which were partly shaped by the concerns of the Protestant
Reformation and its tendency to value texts over practices in understanding religion (in this
case Christianity) in general and religious histories in particular. This is an interesting and
provocative argument. It is also a reminder that our approaches to religious history (as
indeed to other histories) are often implicitly and explicitly shaped by our assumptions
about what these should ideally be like. We often tend to dismiss or marginalize evidence
that does not fit in neatly within our theoretical frameworks.
Spreading messages through stories

If patrons were important in providing material support that went into the making of
monasteries, stupas and chaityas, with sculptural depictions of some of the significant
elements of the traditions, stories provided another important mode of communication. We
will consider, briefly, two examples, both drawn from Tamil literature. These texts, often
referred to as epics, are attributed to Ilango and Chattanar respectively. The first
composition, the Shilappadikaram, deals with the lives of a merchant named Kovalan, his
mistress, a courtesan named Madhavi, and his wife, Kannagi. At one stage, the poem
describes the journey that Kovalan and Kannagi make to Madurai. Their companion is a
Jaina nun, who is depicted as a wise woman, who helps the couple along their way.
More explicitly religious is the story of Manimekalai, both the name of the epic, and of its
heroine, the daughter of Madhavi and Kovalan. Briefly, it is about how Manimekalai
overcomes several obstacles, including being pursued by a prince, Udayakumara, who is
infatuated by her beauty. She is aided by a goddess who is also named Manimekalai. After a
number of adventures, the human Manimekalai attains knowledge both of abstract Buddhist
philosophical doctrines as well as about the value of compassion. She actively exercises this
to save the people of her land from a disastrous famine.
These were by no means the only stories that were composed, compiled and circulated.
Jaina and Buddhist literature included several anthologies, of which the Buddhist Jatakas are
perhaps the most celebrated. Many of the stories were of popular origin, and were adapted
by monks, who tried to insert notions of Buddhist ethics into them. Stories from the Jatakas
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were also depicted in sculpture and painting (including some of those found at Ajanta,
Maharashtra) at a number of sites. It is likely that pilgrims who visited these sacred spaces
would be reminded about the message of these stories when they saw these visual
representations.
Changes within the traditions

The trend towards deification
By the second century BCE, there is evidence for the use of images of venerated figures,
including the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, and the principal Jaina tirthankaras. For
decades, scholars interpreted this as a sign of decline from a lofty idealism to forms of
worship more suited to ordinary people. However, Gregory Schopen, who, as we saw
earlier, tends to look at the evidence from a fresh perspective, presents, amongst other
things, a fascinating reconstruction of how monks and nuns within the Buddhist tradition
were actively involved in promoting traditions of image worship. In an article first published
in 1989 (On Monks, Nuns and Vulgar Practices: The Introduction of the Image Cult into
Indian Buddhism. Artibus Asiae, Vol. XLIX, 153-168), he demonstrated, piecing together
evidence from inscriptions, how a monk known as Bala, who was well-versed in the three
Pitakas, the core texts of early Buddhism, got large images of the Buddha (about ten feet
tall) made at Mathura, which was an important centre for sculptural production, and had
them installed at Sarnath (where the Buddha was supposed to have preached his first
sermon), and Sravasti, an important site with a famous monastery at Jetavana.
Incidentally, the images would have been transported over distances of at least 200 miles.
Closely associated with Bala was a nun named Buddhamitra, also knowledgeable in the
three Pitakas, who was responsible for setting up another image of the Buddha, this time in
Kaushambi, near present-day Allahabad. Clearly, monks and nuns were not preoccupied
only with meditation in seclusion, but played an active role in introducing new practices,
which made the religious traditions accessible, and attracted support.
Deification was accompanied by devotional modes of worship. With this, we find evidence
for the composition of some of the most moving texts of all times. Consider, for instance,
the Bhaktamara Stotra, composed by the Jaina monk Manatunga, possibly in the second
half of the 6th century CE, in praise of the first tirthankara, Adinatha (Cort, John. 2005.
Devotional Culture in Jainism: Manatunga and his Bhaktamara Stotra, in Incompatible
Visions: South Asian Religions in History and Culture, Essays in Honor of David M. Knipe,
ed. James Blumenthal, 93-115. Madison: University of Wisconsin, Madison). This remains
amongst the most popular Jaina texts, recited by devotees till date. Here is a verse from the
text, as translated by Cort:
Praising you
instantly destroys
the sinful karma that binds
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embodied souls
to endless rebirth
just as the suns rays
instantly shatter
the all-embracing
bee-black
endless night.
So, while paths of meditation and contemplation remained open, new modes of devotion
were recognized as ways of approaching the ultimate goal of liberation.
What is also evident is that devotion as a mode of worship emerged through dialogue
amongst various traditions. Consider another verse (also translated by Cort) of the
Bhaktamara Stotra and notice how Adinatha has been compared with deities associated with
other traditions:
You are the true Buddha
for the knowledge
praised by the wise
awakens in you.
You are Shankara
for you make the triple world happy.
You are Brahma the Creator
o firm one
for you show the rules
of the rites on the holy path.
It is obvious
o lord
only you are Vishnu, the Best of Men.
Creating space for nagas and yakshas

64

Less well understood is the acknowledgement of nagas and yakshas (as well their female
counterparts, naginis and yakshinis) as divinities. It is likely that the nagas, often equated
with serpents, were popular deities, as were the yakshas, spirits often associated with
prosperity and fertility. These divine or semi-divine beings were depicted through some of
the most exquisite sculpture that has survived. Here are two examples:
Figure 9.6.4: Sculptural representation of a yakshini from the gateway of the famous Great
Stupa at Sanchi. Notice how carefully she has been depicted, as well as the tree, symbolic
of life, fertility and prosperity, which she holds on to.
Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2101/stories/20040116000106600.htm
65

Figure 9.6.5: This is an illustration of a sculptural fragment from Amaravati. The human
figures with hoods on their heads represent nagas and naginis.
Notice the figure to the far left, meant to be a Buddhist monk who is approaching these
deities.
Source:
http://huntington.wmc.ohiostate.edu/public/index.cfm?fuseaction=showThisDetail&ObjectID
=30031266&detail=large
Debates within the tradition

It has been customary to regard the period that we are considering as one when doctrinal
differences hardened, leading to the emergence of distinctive schools of thought within both
Buddhism and Jainism. We know, for instance, that this period witnessed the emergence of
Mahayana (literally, the great vehicle) Buddhism, which laid stress on compassionate
Bodhisattvas and on devotion. By contrast, the Theravada (the path of the elders) tradition
attempted to retain older values, emphasizing austerity and meditation. Further, towards
the end of this period, interaction with Tantric beliefs and practices led to the emergence of
a new form of Buddhism, often referred to as Vajrayana (the way of the thunderbolt).
Within Jainism, too, we find differences: most notably those between the Digambaras
(literally, the sky clad), who tried to uphold the traditions in all their stark austerity, and the
Shvetambaras (those who wear white clothes), who attempted to work out a more
moderate way of life and work within society. In this context, one of the issues that was
hotly debated was whether women could attain liberation or not. Interestingly, women
renouncers were (and are at present) a large body within the Jaina tradition. While most
Digambaras argued that women were, by nature, incapable of attaining the highest goal,
the Shvetambaras (and certain sects allied to the Digambaras) disagreed strongly,
advancing a wide range of ingenious arguments. For instance, the Digambaras pointed out
that it was virtually impossible for women to abandon clothes; consequently, they would be
attached to clothes. In a situation where the attainment of liberation required complete
detachment, women were doomed to failure unless they were reborn as men. Their
opponents countered these charges by stating that clothes for women were comparable to
the broom that Jaina monks carried with them, to sweep the path on which they walked, so
as to remove small insects and avoid killing them by mistake. From this point of view,
clothes were a part of womens equipment, and not necessarily an obstacle to their quest.
The intensity with which these debates were conducted gives us a sense of a lively, vibrant,
intellectual atmosphere, one in which everything could be questioned, analyzed and
scrutinized, rather than being blindly accepted.
We should also remember that it is possible to overstate sectarian differences. By the period
under consideration, if not earlier, the Buddha was revered as a deity within both the major
strands of Buddhism. Likewise, although the Digambaras claimed that the earliest textual
traditions had been irretrievably lost, they as well as the Shvetambaras created and
preserved an enormous textual tradition. Jaina manuscripts are amongst the most widely
66

available, partly because getting the texts copied was regarded as a meritorious act. And
these texts, composed in Prakrit, Sanskrit and Tamil, are an invaluable resource for
historians. More fundamentally, both Jaina sects upheld the need for strict ahimsa, nonviolence towards all living things.
And finally
A question that has often been asked, and sometimes answered is: what happened to these
traditions subsequently? It has been customary to talk about and account for the decline of
Buddhism (and to a lesser extent Jainism) in terms of shrinking patronage, and of people
being attracted to alternative traditions, most notably Shaivism and Vaishnavism. There
may have also been open conflict. For instance, some Tamil Shaiva texts describe conflicts
between the Jainas and the Shaivas in graphic terms. So it is possible that these (as well as
later conflicts) may have led to an erosion of the widespread influence of these traditions.
However, it is important not to overstate the case for decline. Institutionalized religions are
amongst the most complex human institutions and Jainism continues to flourish in some
parts of the subcontinent (most notably in Rajasthan and Gujarat). In the case of Buddhism,
the last few decades have seen a remarkable revival, as it has been adopted, under the
inspiration of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, by Dalits, as a religion that symbolizes compassion, the
quest for human dignity, and rationality.
Value addition: common misconceptions

Which religion is the best?
In the 19th century, when Charles Darwins theories about biological evolution began
gaining ground, social scientists tried to apply these to social developments as well,
grading economic, social, political, cultural and religious practices according to a
scale. Implicitly, and often explicitly, the benchmarks for such comparisons were the
values of western, capitalist, and occasionally Christian societies. In terms of
religion, it meant that monotheism (the belief in a single god) was regarded as the
highest form of religious development. Nineteenth and early 20th century scholars
who attempted to study early Indian religious traditions often evaluated them along
these lines. Some scholars tended to highlight elements of monotheism, or even
monism (the belief in a universal, all-pervasive spirit), and tended to dismiss other
elements (including the worship of images) as indications of lower forms of religious
beliefs and practices. At present, at least some scholars tend to be less judgmental;
and to respect and attempt to understand multiple beliefs and practices. As you can
well imagine, this is not always easy.
Source: Original

67

Some preliminaries
The Puranas tell us that there are four yugas or ages Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.
Dharma is likened to a bull that stands firm on four legs in the Kritayuga, and loses one leg
in each successive age, so that adharma is three-quarters rampant in the Kaliyuga. In the
fourth age, men rob and harm each other. No wife is obedient to her husband. Brahmanas,
kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras flout their varnadharma. When everything in the world is
turning upside down, men are puny and short-lived their diminished lifespan and feeble
intellect make them incapable of learning the pristine Veda. In view of the imminent onset
of the Kaliyuga, Vyasa divided the one Veda into four to make it easier for mortals to learn
and retain it. He also composed the Puranas, which are collectively known as the fifth Veda.
While the first four Vedas could only be heard by men of the three twice-born varnas, the
Puranas present themselves as texts for everyone for those who are allowed access to the
other Vedas as well as those who are not. The word 'Puranic' is derived from Purana. While
the Puranas acknowledge the sanctity of the four Vedas, Puranic Hinduism is different from
the sacrifice-based religion of the Vedas it is more inclusive than Vedic religion, for
instance.

The concept of the 'fifth Veda'
Religions like Buddhism, Christianity and Islam began with historical founders whose
teachings were codified in a single sacred text or a group of texts regarded as the
canon. Hinduism did not have a historical founder whose teachings could be
recorded, but the Vedas are usually regarded as authoritative. Not surprisingly,
several post-Vedic works have been linked with this canon. And the term 'fifth Veda'
has been used for a range of texts -- from the Mahabharata and the Puranas to the
Natyashastra.
Source: Original
Do the four Vedas tell us anything about this fifth Veda? The Atharva Veda mentions purana
in a list of different sorts of wisdom. (One can note that purana is a singular noun, and must
be seen as distinct from the many texts we know as the Puranas.) The word purana can
also be found in the Upanishads, where it tends to occur with the term itihasa. Since itihasa
and purana are included with the four Vedas and the Upanishads in a list of different kinds
of knowledge in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, might the implication be that they were
distinct from the texts that comprise the Vedic corpus? Itihasa means thus (iti) indeed (ha)
it was (asa).The word purana means old, and it seems to denote an ancient narrative in
Vedic literature; however, we cannot be sure of its nature.
The Atharva Veda and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad tell us that the purana was of divine
origin. The Puranas that we are familiar with also claim that their chief narrator usually
the bard Lomaharshana or his son Ugrashravas gathered information, through Vyasa,
from the god Brahma. This has made people ask whether there was originally one ancient
68

narrative from which the Puranas that we know today were derived. The Puranas with which
we are familiar state their number to be eighteen. In fact, the number of well-known
Puranas is well over eighteen. But the generally accepted eighteen are Agni, Bhagavata,
Bhavishya, Brahma, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Garuda, Kurma, Linga, Markandeya,
Matsya, Narada, Padma, Shiva or Vayu, Skanda, Vamana, Varaha and Vishnu.
The Padma Purana associates each of these texts with one of three deities Vishnu,
Brahma or Shiva. The Bhagavata, Garuda, Narada , Padma, Varaha and Vishnu are linked
with Vishnu; the Bhavishya, Brahma, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya and
Vamana with Brahma; and the Agni, Kurma, Linga, Matsya, Shiva and Skanda with Shiva.
The Padma Purana informs us that the Puranas of the first type lead those who read them,
or hear them being narrated, to salvation and those of the second sort secure heaven for
their devotees. The third type, we are told, lead to hell! The Padma Purana is a Vaishnava
text, or one in which Vishnu is the divine focus, and it regards the Puranas it links with
Brahma and Shiva as inferior to those it associates with Vishnu. In fact, it would have us
believe that Shaiva Puranas, or those which acknowledge Shiva as the supreme deity, may
do a great deal of damage their devotees might end up suffering in hell. And this is just
one example of the spirit of sectarian one-upmanship that we find in the Puranas. However,
it must also be mentioned that, even while exalting a particular deity over others, the
Puranas suggest the interdependence, and ultimately the oneness, of all gods.
Revered Puranas other than the eighteen listed above the Devi, Devibhagavata, Kalika
and Vishnudharmottara, for instance are classified as upa or sub-Puranas. And there are
other texts, such as those on sacred topography and places of pilgrimage as well as
Buddhist and Jaina Puranas, which have become part of the Puranic tradition. Chapters
9.7.1 and 9.7.2 are about Puranic Hinduism, so Buddhist and Jaina Puranas will not be
discussed here. One can, however, note that they sometimes provide a different perspective
on tales found in Hindu texts.

A Jaina Purana about Rama
The Paumachariya of Vimalasuri is a Jaina rendering of Ramas story. In it, Ravana is
a noble, learned Jaina, not a flesh-eating demon. He does abduct Sita, but is not
presented as an insatiably lustful villain. He is instead a rather tragic figure a great
man undone by his passion for a woman, a passion that he knows will bring about
his downfall but which he cannot resist. The Rama of the Paumachariya is also a
Jaina. In fact, he is such an evolved Jaina that he is reluctant to kill anything or
anybody, even the man who has abducted his wife. And it is Lakshmana, not Rama,
who kills Ravana. The Paumachariya is full of references to Jaina places of pilgrimage
and Jaina legends. In short, even though this text is regarded as part of the Puranic
tradition, Vimalasuris rendering of Ramas tale is really rather different from the
versions of Ramas story that we find in the Hindu Puranas and the Ramayana of
Valmiki.
Source: Narayana Rao, Velcheru. 2004. Purana, in The Hindu World, ed.
69

Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby. New York and London: Routledge, 108. See
also Goldman, Robert P. and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman. 2004. Ramayana,
in The Hindu World, ed. Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby. New York and
London: Routledge, 91.
The contents of the Puranas

The Puranas tell us that as a genre they are meant to be characterized by the panchalakshana (literally, five defining marks). In other words, they were supposed to deal with
five topics. These are: sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara and vamshanucharita. Sarga
means the creation of the world, and pratisarga its destruction and re-formation. Vamsha
denotes the genealogies of gods and sages, and vamshanucharita the succession of ruling
families. Manvantara signifies the periods of the different Manus. We gather that the first
Manu Manu Svayambhu was born of the god Brahma. And from this Manu descended a
series of Manus. One of them was the wise king Prithu who ruled the earth so righteously
that she was named Prithvi after him. Another Manu whose reign is highlighted is the tenth
Manu. A great flood occurred when this Manu was ruling. Everything was submerged, but
the tenth Manu, his family and seven sages survived. We are told that humankind sprang
from Manu, and manava (literally, descended from Manu) is a common word for human.
(We can note that, on the whole, the manvantara scheme does not seem to fit easily with
that of the four ages discussed earlier. However, we are sometimes told that each
manvantara contains 71 mahayugas or great yugas, and each mahayuga is divided into the
four ages called Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.)
Although a Purana may discuss the five topics that every Purana is supposed to deal with,
the present Puranas by and large contain an enormous range of material that is unrelated
or, at best, very tenuously related to the pancha-lakshana. A Purana may summarize
Ramas story and that of the Mahabharata war; describe numerous ways of worshipping
various gods and goddesses; list the characteristics of the images of a range of deities;
advise on how cities should be established; tell us why certain rivers are sacred and why
certain cities are not; discuss the diseases to which humans and other creatures are prone
and suggest cures for them; delineate the nature of different sorts of women and the
characteristics of different types of snakes or sins or eatables; speak of how to pacify
unfavourable planets or cast a spell on ones enemy; discuss the art of warfare, dancing,
grammar, poetics, music, painting, different facets of dharma and a lot else. It would be
evident that there are a number of topics in this list, and many many more in the Puranas
with which we are familiar, that the Vedas are not concerned with and which are also not
easy to slot into the five heads of sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara and
vamshanucharita. Since the Puranas seldom conform to the pancha-lakshana criterion, it
has been suggested by some that they are heavily revised versions of an original purana.
Others, however, hold that the Puranas, as we know them, are likely to have been
composed from about the 4th-5th centuries CE. It is argued that since we know next to
nothing about any older purana, we cannot rule out the possibility that the extant Puranas
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share their name, and little else, with a category of literature that predated their
composition.
The evolution of the Puranas

That the word purana occurs in Vedic literature has already been mentioned. That a set of
texts known as the Puranas actually existed before the beginning of the Common Era is
indicated by references to them in the Dharmasutras of Gautama (600-400 BCE) and
Apastamba (450-300 BCE) and in the Mahabharata (400 BCE-400 CE). But the Puranas, as
we know them, contain a great deal that post-dates the period of these three texts. In other
words, the contents of the Puranas were not fixed in the last few centuries BCE or the early
centuries CE. In fact, most scholars now hold the view that the composition of the extant
texts of the Puranic corpus began in about the 4th-5th centuries CE, and that these were
repeatedly revised for a very long period of time. That alterations were made for several
centuries is evident from the fact that the Bhavishya Purana, for instance, contains
references to Nadir Shah and Akbar. By and large, major changes were made in three
different ways by adding new chapters, by substituting old portions with fresh ones, and
by putting together new works with old titles. However, the additions or substitutes or new
works were not always freshly composed specifically for the Purana into which they were
inserted very often, they were chapters and sets of verses transferred from one Purana to
another or from another type of smriti text to a Purana. Because deletions and additions
were made regularly in this way, the Puranas have units that date to different ages. R.C.
Hazra has worked out in some detail the periods to which different sections of the Puranas
belong, and his Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, originally
published in 1940, is still regarded as the standard reference work on the subject.
But why were the Puranas revised constantly? These texts themselves tell us that changing
times necessitated periodic revision. We know from other sources too that times were
changing. And that is invariably reflected in literature and in peoples practices. R.C. Hazra
has argued that there were two main stages in the development of the rites and customs
described in the Puranas. The first phase dates to the period from about the 6th century
BCE, or even earlier, to the end of the 2nd century CE; and the second phase to that
between the 3rd and the 6th centuries CE.
Hazra suggests that criticism of Vedic sacrifice and its social context predated the 6 th
century BCE, but protest was institutionalized and gained strength with the rise and
popularity of Buddhism and Jainism. He also writes that early Vaishnavism and Shaivism too
appear to have been rather different from Vedic religion. The Shaivas, for instance,
sometimes wandered around completely naked, lived in cemeteries, smeared their bodies
with ashes, shouted and screamed in public, made lewd gestures, ignored varna rules,
permitted women and shudras to worship their god, and did much else that the custodians
of Vedic religion would have found unacceptable. And a number of smriti texts refer to the
Shaivas as duracharah depraved people who could corrupt others and threaten Vedic
orthodoxy.
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Hazra goes on to say that Vedic religion also suffered at the hands of rulers like the Mauryas
who patronized heterodox faiths. A great deal has been written about the Maurya king
Ashokas support of Buddhism. He was not the only ruler who showed an interest in
doctrines that the custodians of Vedic religion would have regarded with suspicion, or found
downright unacceptable. The Puranas describe these kings as shudras and the age in which
they ruled as the Kali age the black age when even brahmanas, let alone the less
spiritually attained, tend to get seduced by the arguments of nastikas or those who say
that there is no such thing (na + asti) as the authority of the Vedas; when men of the
lowest varna manage to reduce their erstwhile masters to servitude. According to Hazra, the
advent of casteless foreigners such as the Greeks, Sakas, Pahlavas, Kushans, Abhiras and
others who became politically powerful got Vedic religion into further trouble: not only did
their unorthodox religious customs influence the people amid whom they settled; they, like
the rulers whom the Puranas have branded shudras, sometimes extended their support to
faiths like Buddhism (Hazra 1975, 204). For instance, the Buddhists claimed the Kushana
ruler Kanishka as a patron. A Buddhist Council was held to discuss matters of theory and
practice during his reign, missionary activity was accelerated and Buddhist missions were
sent to Central Asia and China.
In short, Vedic sacrifice and all that it stood for were seriously undermined. The custodians
of Vedic religion felt the need to emphasize the importance of the sacrifice, or at least to
establish the authority of the Vedic texts which discussed the institution of the yajna, and to
reassert the significance of varnadharma as the only valid principle of social organization.
This was attempted by two sets of brahmanas in two different ways. One set the more
orthodox reiterated the importance of the sacrifice. They espoused a range of grihya
(household) rites in smriti texts known as the Grihyasutras. And a number of the grihya
rituals, such as the wedding, were given the character of a sacrifice with the fire as their
focus. In describing various rites, the Grihyasutras also tell us how much access different
members of the household had to the sacred. Other smriti texts codified detailed rules
regarding who were and were not entitled to participate in the ritual use of the Vedas
beyond the small world of the household, and also much else. Hazra argues that the other
set of brahmanas the more numerous smarta Vaishnavas and smarta Shaivas dealt with
the situation somewhat differently.
The word smarta means based on smriti and, in our context, denotes brahmanas wellversed in smriti. And, as must be evident by now, a Vaishnava is a person for whom Vishnu
is the supreme god, as Shiva is for a Shaiva. Drawing on Hazra, we mentioned that
Vaishnavas and Shaivas were initially associated with un-Vedic practices and treated with
enormous suspicion by many smriti writers. So, what sort of people does Hazra have in
mind when he speaks of smarta Vaishnavas and smarta Shaivas? He clarifies that not all
Vaishnavas and Shaivas indulged in unorthodox practices, and that among the early
worshippers of these two deities there was one section of people who, though won over to
the worship of these two deities, looked upon the Vedas as authorities, attached great
importance to the Varnadharma and the Smrti rules, and did not give them up (Hazra
1975, 203). Hazra calls them smarta Vaishnavas and smarta Shaivas, and argues that they
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not only propagated the worship of their gods, but also introduced smriti materials into the
Puranas, so that these texts came to espouse brahmanical precepts. Even so, the appeal of
these works cut across caste and gender boundaries, for it was believed that reading them,
or listening to them being narrated, or devotion to their principal deity could cleanse anyone
of their sins and lead them to salvation. And Hazra concludes that the role played by smarta
Vaishnavas and Shaivas was crucial in the evolution of the Puranic corpus and the
development of Puranic Hinduism a form of Hinduism which included rather than
excluded. (One must remember, however, that inclusion involved the acceptance, or at
least a show of acceptance, of the authority of the Vedas and all that they were believed to
stand for varnadharma, for instance.)
Things seem to have really started looking up for smarta Vaishnavas and Shaivas during the
period of Gupta rule (4th to 6th centuries CE). This was a crucial era in the codification and
spread of Puranic Hinduism, and the Guptas appear to have been its sponsors. Gupta kings
took the names of the gods of the Puranic pantheon, so we find rulers named after Rama
and Shivas son Skanda or Kumara, for instance. Gupta monarchs called themselves
bhagavatas (devotees of god) and put the figures of Lakshmi, Vishnus consort, and Varaha,
one of his incarnations, on their coins. Icons of Puranic deities were sculpted and temples
built to house them. The Gupta period is regarded as the great classical age of Sanskrit
literature an age in which literary works of an exemplary standard were composed. The
name that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of outstanding writers of Sanskrit is
that of Kalidasa. He lived in the Gupta period and wrote, among other things, the
Kumarasambhavam and Raghuvamsham two celebrated mahakavyas (literally, great
poems) about the birth of Shivas son and Ramas dynasty respectively. And the early
Puranas the Markandeya, Matsya, Vayu and Vishnu were given their present form in the
Gupta age. Of course, changes were made to them later, and the corpus of Puranic texts
kept growing for many many more centuries.
Hazra goes on to say that by the 5th century CE, Vaishnavism and Shaivism had come
under the influence of practices which we associate with Tantrism. (One can note that the
terms Tantrism and Tantric are derived from tantra. The Tantras came to designate a
corpus of texts. These works date from the middle of the first millennium CE. But customs
that are branded as Tantric antedate the period of their composition the texts known as
the Tantras codified pre-existing practices.) The word tantra is often translated as a loom.
And in Tantrism, the divine is visualized as formed of the union of the male and female
principles, as a woven fabric is constituted by the warp and woof two sorts of threads that
we can see uniting to form the cloth on the loom. Tantric customs may thus be regarded as
instruments for comprehending the components of the divine, for understanding and
attaining it. The etymology of the term provides another clue about what Tantrism involves.
Tantra is sometimes derived from tanu, body. The human body is seen as the medium
through which all that is desired may be attained. Belief in homology, or visualizing a
correspondence between an aspect of the individual (the microcosm) and a feature of the
external world (the macrocosm), is an important part of Tantrism. It is thought that after
mentally installing the features of the divine at various places in and around his/her person
and progressively identifying with the divine, the adept can gain control over the path to
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liberation, or over other people, or aspects of nature. This is possible because there are
homologies between the microcosm (the human body) and the macrocosm (the world
beyond) in so far as both have emanated from one source the divine. By realizing a
homology the adept gains control over its underlying power. And Tantrism involves a set of
techniques in which the body is used for worshipping the divine and acquiring powers by
tapping certain homologies.
Hazra writes that the customs which we associate with Tantrism are purely of non-Vedic
origin (Hazra 1975, 218). They neither presuppose the infallibility of the Vedas nor the
social superiority of its brahmana custodians. And women and shudras could be initiated
into these practices. Even in the watered-down form in which we know it today, Tantrism
enjoins what orthodox Hinduism taboos - the five Ms ( matsya or fish, mamsa or meat,
mada or liquor, mudra or hand gestures and maithuna or copulation), albeit under ritually
controlled and not unbridled orgiastic conditions. Hazra argues that the spread of customs
that are branded Tantric so undermined brahmanical orthodoxy that the authors of the
Puranas had to do more than adding those topics that came within the scope of the early
smriti texts. It became necessary to introduce chapters on such popular religious practices
as puja (popular worship) and pratishtha (consecration of images).
While incorporating sections on popular religious customs in the Puranas and thereby
making those a legitimate part of Puranic Hinduism, the authors of the Puranas attempted,
at the same time, to add Vedic elements to these practices and to purge them of features
that we associate with Tantrism. Some Puranas categorically state that scriptures influenced
by what we brand Tantric characteristics are shruti-smriti-viruddha or incompatible with
shruti and smriti, and that they can lead people astray. Those who revere such texts, we
are told, should be expelled from the kingdom by righteous rulers. But the battle against the
influence of Tantrism was a losing one, and Tantric elements are very noticeable in those
parts of the Puranic corpus that date from the 9th century. New material continued to be
added to the Puranas, and while things Vedic became increasingly rare over time, Tantric
features became more pronounced.
The Puranic process

It would be clear from the previous section that the Puranic corpus as we know it evolved
over a period of several hundred years. That the thrust of Puranic religion was in its
accommodating processes would also be evident from the discussion above. Another
example that of Vishnus avataras will make the latter point even clearer. The word
avatara is commonly translated as incarnation. It is derived from ava-tri, meaning to come
down, to descend. The deity descends from the transcendental to the mundane world. The
reason for this is stated in the Bhagavadgita: Krishna says that he incarnates himself age
after age [f]or the protection of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for the
establishment of dharma (IV.8). Here Krishna appears as the god who descends.
Elsewhere, he is one individual that Vishnu descends as. Vishnu is believed to have ten
incarnations. They are: Matsya (the fish), Kurma (the tortoise), Varaha (the boar),
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Narasimha (the man-lion), Vamana (the dwarf), Parashu Rama (Rama with the axe), Rama
Dasharathi (Rama of the Ramayana), Krishna, the Buddha and Kalki (who will come on a
white horse, bring the wickedness of the world to an end and establish a new era).
Vaishnavas regard Vishnus non-human and human incarnations as symbolic of their chosen
gods presence in and power to manifest himself through all forms of life. The development
of the doctrine of Vishnus avataras may also be seen as a process of assimilating deities
from a range of traditions. Some avataras appear to have Vedic roots, others do not. For
instance, the incarnation as the dwarf seems to have developed from a feat attributed to
Vishnu in the Rig Veda of travelling through the universe - he strides through the earth and
sky and the regions beyond human knowledge in three steps. This suggests his might and
omnipresence. In the Puranas, the three strides are linked with the role that all avataras are
meant to perform establishing dharma at a time when adharma is gaining ground. Vishnu
incarnates himself as Vamana to save the world and the gods from Bali. In a dwarfs guise,
he asks Bali for as much land as he can cover in three steps, transforms himself into a
giant, and wins back the whole universe for the righteous. By contrast, the Buddha avatara
obviously does not appear in the Vedas. His incorporation into the list of incarnations
suggests an attempt by Vaishnava theologians to absorb heterodox elements. It illustrates
the inclusive nature of Puranic Hinduism with its propensity for dealing with the unorthodox
and the heterodox by gradual assimilation.
The process of assimilation could not always have been easy. For instance, the absorption of
the Buddha as an avatara is likely to have been troublesome: things Vedic are constantly
deferred to in the Puranas, and the Buddha had been an articulate critic of Vedic sacrifice
and its social context. So, he could not have been co-opted into the Puranic pantheon
without some unease. There seem to have been two stages in his absorption into the list of
Vishnus incarnations. To begin with, his role is to lead adherents of Vedic religion astray.
We are told that during the battle between gods and demons, the gods were defeated and
sought refuge with Vishnu. To help them, Vishnu incarnated himself as the Buddha. In this
form, Vishnu persuaded the demons to abandon Vedic rites and become Buddhists instead.
Giving up Vedic religion enfeebled the demons, and they could be defeated by the gods.
Here, the gods win thanks to the Buddha, but the point to note is that that deity is not
without ambiguity he creates heretics. We encounter a more obviously positive Buddha
avatara in the later additions to the Puranic corpus. The Devibhagavata Purana, for
instance, offers homage to Vishnu who became incarnate as the Buddha in order to stop
the slaughter of animals and to destroy the sacrifices of the wicked (X.5.13).
The complexity of the religious process under discussion comes through even more clearly
in the scholarly work on the appropriation of local cults those Little Traditions which are
usually thought to be oral, carried by the non-literate and confined to small areas. The
literature on the subject makes us aware that our perspective must not be limited to that of
the absorption of Little Traditions into the Great Tradition, which is seen as pan-Indian,
prestigious, authorized by written texts produced and/or preserved by brahmanas. It makes
us aware that a Little Tradition may have an enormous influence on the tradition of a
considerably larger area than that with which it was associated originally, if not on the pan-
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Indian Great Tradition. The work on the cult of Jagannatha (literally, Lord of the World)
may be used to illustrate this point. We can begin with some evidence from the famous
Jagannatha temple at Puri in Orissa; and in doing this, we are moving beyond looking only
at written texts. The temple has attracted pilgrims from many parts of India for several
centuries. However, even in the times in which we live, it is not difficult to trace
Jagannathas origins to a Little Tradition.
Jagannatha is said to be identical with Krishna. But in his temple at Puri, Jagannatha is not
represented anthropomorphically, or in human form, as Krishna usually is. Instead, we find
a roughly carved wooden statue lacking limbs. This suggests the deitys tribal roots, for
tribal shrines tend to contain symbols like wooden posts or stones they generally do not
house anthropomorphic images of gods. That Jagannathas origins may be traced to a Little
Tradition is also evident from the important position occupied by the non-brahmana Daita
priests in temple ritual. These priests are believed to be descendants of the original tribal
worshippers of the deity. To this day, they are entrusted with services which involve
intimate contact with the image of Jagannatha adorning and moving it, for instance.

Why does Jagannatha look the way he does?
The Skanda Purana informs us that Jagannatha was the deity of the Shabara tribe to
begin with, and that he was taken over by brahmanas. It seems that the original
'tribal look' of the god's image was retained by its new custodians because it was
just too well known to be discarded.
Oriya folk versions of the story of the Jagannatha temple at Puri also explain why its
main images are the way they are. We are told that King Indradyumna requested the
artisan-god Vishvakarma to sculpt the image of Jagannatha. Vishvakarma agreed,
but laid down a condition: he should not be disturbed while working. Indradyumna
promised him that, but could not contain his curiosity, and peeped through the door
of the workshop. Angered by this breach of promise, Vishvakarma left the images of
Jagannatha, his brother Balarama and their sister Subhadra incomplete. And that is
how they have remained.
76
Figure 9.7.1.1: Jagannatha, Balarama, Subhadra

Source: http://puri.nic.in/photo1.htm
Source: Eschmann, A. 1978. The Vaisnava Typology of Hinduization and the
Origin of Jagannatha, in The Cult of Jagannath and the Regional Tradition of
Orissa, ed. Anncharlott Eschmann, Hermann Kulke and Gaya Charan
Tripathi. New Delhi: Manohar, 99. See also Roy, Kumkum, Kunal Chakrabarti
and Tanika Sarkar. 2005. The Vedas, Hinduism, Hindutva. Kolkata: Ebong
Alap, 82-83.
Given the comparatively large number of Shaiva temples in Orissa until the 12th century
CE, it seems reasonable to describe that region as predominantly Shaiva. Then, in 1135 CE,
with the start of the construction of the temple of Jagannatha at Puri under the patronage of
a monarch of the Choda-Ganga dynasty, the worship of that local deity was raised to the
status of an imperial cult. In 1230 CE, another Choda-Ganga ruler dedicated his realm to
Jagannatha, describing himself as that gods deputy and son. In other words, not only did
Jagannathas image come to be housed in a grand temple sponsored by a king, rather than
in a simple tribal shrine, but he was now projected as the overlord of an area which was
considerably larger than that with which he was originally associated. These developments
have been seen as part of the process of the consolidation of the Choda-Gangas power.
That process must, in turn, be viewed in the context of the pan-Indian trends of early
medieval times (roughly dated to the period between the 6th and 13th centuries CE).
Scholars like Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya have argued that the early medieval period was
characterized by a noticeable increase in local state formation, and that some local states
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grew, over time, into major regional powers. Both sorts of developments often involved the
extension of the state into pre-state tribal areas, and the interaction between tribal and
state societies was an important feature of early medieval times. The relationship between
tribal and state societies was characterized not by the sustained displacement of the former
by the latter, but by a process of partial integration. This involved the gradual absorption of
tribal groups into the caste system, their integration into court militia and the acceptance
and patronage of their gods by kings. An oft cited instance of the royal patronage of a deity
of a Little Tradition is that of Jagannatha. This example certainly reflects the complex
religious process (as also the political and societal processes) underway in most parts of
India during, and even after, the early medieval period. This process of religious synthesis
the Puranic process it must be remembered, continued well after the composition of the
18 Puranas enumerated in the first section of this lesson.

An expanding pantheon: Santoshi Ma
This goddess of fulfilment or contentment was virtually unknown before the 1960s.
At that time some pamphlets describing Santoshi Ma were circulated, and her
worship began to spread in parts of western and northern India. It was, however, a
hugely successful Hindi film, Jai Santoshi Ma, released in 1975, that made her really
famous. Temples dedicated to the goddess were constructed in many parts of the
country. In homes, her worship involves comparatively simple and inexpensive rites
which do not need the intervention of a priest. And her popularity has inspired the
composition of a Sanskrit Purana.
Figure 9.7.1.2: Santoshi Ma

Source: http://jaisantoshimaa.com/photo_gallery.asp
78
Source: Roy, Kumkum, Kunal Chakrabarti and Tanika Sarkar. 2005. The
Vedas, Hinduism, Hindutva. Kolkata: Ebong Alap, 79. See also Doniger,
Wendy. 2009. The Hindus: An Alternative History. New Delhi: Penguin
Viking, 677-678.
9.7.2: Forms and features of Puranic Hinduism

Forms of Puranic Hinduism: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism
Vaishnavism
It would be evident from Chapter 9.7.1 that Vaishnavism cannot be visualized as a
homogeneous, unchanging entity. We have discussed Vishnus avataras briefly. They begin
to appear during the later phases of the composition of the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata. The number of incarnations varies: it seems to have started from a nucleus of
four (Mahabharata XII.337.36), but in later texts as many as twenty-nine have been
mentioned. However, by the second half of the 1st millennium CE, the standard number was
accepted as ten, and we listed the commonly recognized ten in Chapter 9.7.1. The growth
of the Vaishnava pantheon through the development of the doctrine of Vishnus avataras
may be understood as a process of assimilating deities from a number of traditions. It would
be clear from Chapter 9.7.1 that the process of religious synthesis continued well after the
5th-6th centuries.

Krishna's early life
Individual avataras did not remain static figures. For instance, the stories about
Krishna grew over time. When we encounter Krishna in the Mahabharata, he is
already an adult; the Harivamsha, the appendix to the Mahabharata, gives him a
childhood. It tells us about Krishna's birth and escape from the clutches of his evil
maternal uncle Kamsa, his growing up amid cowherds on the banks of the Yamuna,
his dances and sport with young milkmaids, his slaying of Kamsa, the establishment
of the city of Dvaraka, and much else. These themes are developed in texts like the
Bhagavata Purana (9th-10th centuries). Unlike the Krishna of the Bhagavadgita, the
young Krishna appears to show little concern for the protection of dharma and the
destruction of adharma; he does much that seems easy to fault -- he indulges in
innumerable love-affairs, for instance. Yet the adult Krishna seems not to have won
the hearts of as many devotees as the young Krishna.
Source: Original
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We will now turn to an earlier period of the history of Vaishnavism, when three cults centred
on Vishnu, Narayana and Krishna-Vasudeva evolved and merged. The merging began with
the fusing of Narayana with Vishnu, and subsequently, those two came to be identified with
Krishna-Vasudeva. The completion of this process is variously dated between the 2nd
century BCE and the early centuries CE. This predates the extant Puranas, but may,
nevertheless, be seen as a part of the Puranic process.
Of the three deities Vishnu, Narayana and Krishna-Vasudeva, let us begin with Vishnu. He
appears in the Vedic corpus as a solar god who sends blessings from heaven in the form of
life-giving energy. His benevolent personality is remarkably consonant with that revealed in
later mythology, where he has a much more prominent role than in the Vedic texts. The
Vedic Vishnu traverses the earth, the sky and the regions beyond human knowledge in
three steps. His striding through the universe suggests Vishnus all-pervasiveness and
power. However, it seems that the predominance of the Vishnu element in Vaishnavism is a
late development, one that dates to the 4th-5th centuries CE. This is suggested, for
instance, by the fact that the Mahabharata generally speaks of the supreme deity as
Narayana and very rarely as Vishnu. Thus, it is held that the former, rather than the latter,
was the pre-eminent figure to begin with.
It has been argued that Narayana was a non-Vedic divinity. He is first mentioned in the
Shatapatha Brahmana, and appears to have been considered extremely powerful at the
time of the composition of that text. Indeed, the Shatapatha Brahmana tells us that he
gained supremacy over all beings by performing the Pancharatra Sattra or five-day sacrifice.
Suvira Jaiswal draws our attention to the fact that the Shatapatha Brahmana identifies the
Pancharatra Sattra with the Purushamedha, a sacrifice which involved the ritual killing of
purusha (man). Pancharatra, as a name of the worshippers of Narayana, occurs for the
first time in the Narayaniya a chronologically late section of the Mahabharata. That
section also describes Narayana as Pancharatrika. The epithet can be understood as
meaning the performer of the Pancharatra Sattra mentioned in the Shatapatha Brahmana.
It indicates the source from which the designation of his devotees may be derived. The
ritual killing of man seems to have been abandoned by the period of the composition of the
late portions of the Mahabharata, but the name Pancharatra continued to denote many of
Narayanas followers. The Mahabharata classifies the Pancharatra system as distinct from
the Vedic. Its adherents are clubbed with Buddhists, Digambaras and Pashupatas, and
branded anti-Vedic in texts such as the Kurma Purana. The Kurma Purana post-dates the
merging of the gods Vishnu, Narayana and Krishna-Vasudeva, and its denunciation of the
Pancharatras suggests that the process of religious synthesis did not wipe out all the older
beliefs and practices associated with the non-Vedic Narayana. And the inclusive character of
the Pancharatra tradition is evident when its texts tell us that everyone who comes for
initiation into the Pancharatra fold, even a low-caste woman or child, should be initiated
without distinction of descent or class.
Jaiswal writes that Narayana was the original bhagavat. The word bhagavat is derived from
the root bhaj, meaning to divide, to share with, to obtain as ones share. Bhagavat is
one who possesses and shares bhaga [literally, portion or wealth or good fortune]; and
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Bhagavata (pronounced Bhaagavata) may be understood as one who has a share in
bhagavats bhaga. Jaiswal argues that the term bhagavat originally applied both to men and
to gods. It denoted the holder and dispenser of communal tribal wealth. Bhagavat
Narayana, thus, represented the entire tribal settlement. And, to begin with, Bhagavata
meant the individual member of the community who, by virtue of belonging to the tribe,
was a shareholder in the bhaga held by bhagavat (Jaiswal 1981, 229-30).
Jaiswal goes on to say that as a varna-based social organization gradually replaced the
much more egalitarian tribal set-up, the meaning of the words bhagavat and Bhagavata
changed. Bhagavat Narayana came to denote a transcendental supramundane god, and
Bhagavata no longer meant a sharer in communal wealth. A Bhagavatas relationship with
bhagavat Narayana was now clearly one of subordination, indeed, of devotion. Further,
Jaiswal argues that the tension between the old and the new created a division among
Narayanas worshippers in the early centuries of the Common Era, the Pancharatra and
Bhagavata emerged as distinct sects. The Pancharatra disregarded varna distinctions and
followed old non-Vedic practices. On the other hand, Bhagavatism, which accepted varna
divisions and much of what those stood for, was absorbed into the brahmanical tradition
through the identification of the non-Vedic Narayana with the Vedic Vishnu (Jaiswal 1981,
230).
Let us now turn to Krishna-Vasudeva. Megasthenes mentions that the Sourasenoi of the
Mathura area held Herakles in special honour. Herakles has been identified as Krishna, and
the Sourasenoi as the Shurasenas. Thus, we can conclude that Megastheness statement
suggests the prevalence of the veneration of Krishna in the 4th century BCE in the Mathura
region. The Mahabharata and the Puranas refer to the rulers of the Mathura area as the
Yadavas, who included the Vrishnis. In the Mahabharata, Krishna appears as a chief of the
Vrishni clan. He sides with the Pandavas and acts as their counsellor in the war against the
Kauravas. His advice is not just shrewd, it sometimes seems unscrupulous. However, the
Bhagavadgita, a late portion of the epic, offers a justification for Krishnas subterfuges. It
provides a new context that of Krishna as bhagavat/ god in which we can understand
his role in a war that is both righteous and extremely destructive. But it is important to note
that Krishna continues to be treated as a human ally of the Pandavas in the chronologically
early portions of the Mahabharata that follow the Bhagavadgita. Given his considerable
human role in the epic, it has been argued that Krishna may have been a historical
character, a human hero who was deified during the centuries when the Mahabharata was
taking shape.

A Greek worshipper of Vasudeva
Besnagar, the site of ancient Vidisha, has a stone pillar surmounted by a garuda, a
mythical bird regarded as Vishnu's vehicle. The pillar contains the Prakrit inscription
of Heliodorus, a resident of Taxila, who was sent as an ambassador by the IndoGreek ruler Antialkidas to the ruler of Vidisha, Kashiputra Bhagabhadra, c. 140-130
81

BCE. In the inscription, the Greek ambassador states that he erected the garuda
pillar of Vasudeva and calls himself a Bhagavata. The foundations of a structure near
the pillar may well represent the remains of an ancient temple. Here, and elsewhere,
it seems that archaeological sites and inscriptions, as also coins and sculptures,
provide important data about religion in early India. In some cases, they suggest
earlier beginnings for aspects of Puranic Hinduism than textual sources.
Source: Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India:
From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education,
372, 433.
It appears that Krishna-Vasudevas cult amalgamated with that of Narayana/ NarayanaVishnu over time. Further evidence for the synthesis of these cults comes from the
Narayaniya a late portion of the Mahabharata that post-dates the Bhagavadgita. Here,
Narayana, the paramount deity, tells the seer Narada that Vasudeva is the supreme
purusha, the inner ruler of all. We also gather that Narayana performed asceticism by which
he became Brahma and saw Shiva. Shiva granted Narayana superiority over all beings. The
Narayaniya describes the worshippers of these gods by various names, including Bhagavata
and Pancharatra. It also mentions several groups of ascetics, among them the Vaikhanasa,
which was later classified as a Vaishnava sect. The variety of names suggests the existence
of slightly differing groups. The picture that emerges is of several currents merging and
evolving, of synthesis, but not complete integration.
Shaivism
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Like Vishnu and Vaishnavism, Shiva and Shaivism grew by a process of accretion. However,
it is generally held that Shiva did not have avataras. The features making up his complex
nature came together in a single ambivalent figure. It has also been pointed out that deities
from diverse traditions were incorporated into the Shaiva pantheon by building Shivas
family. But first, let us look at Shiva himself.
Shiva literally means the auspicious one, but some of Shivas characteristics can be traced
to Rudra, a sinister god who occupies a subordinate position in the Vedic pantheon. Rudra
lives in the mountains, he is clothed in skins. He is feared for his easily-aroused anger. His
worshippers implore him to spare men and cattle, but not to come in person. Rudra appears
to be something of a misfit among the divinities of the Rigveda: he is not offered the same
sacrifices as the others; instead, a ball of food is thrown on the ground for him. Indeed, one
can ask whether Rudra was a non-Vedic deity to begin with, an outsider who was being
absorbed into the Vedic pantheon.
Shiva, like Rudra, can be fearsome. And there is clear evidence of Shivas exclusion from
orthodox sacrifice in the Puranas. In fact, this is developed in the myth of Dakshas yajna,
explaining both how Shiva was left out and then accepted into the orthodox pantheon:
Daksha, who was Shivas father-in-law, began a sacrifice from which Shiva was excluded.
Shivas wife Sati was both enraged and deeply upset at this slight to her husband. When
she immolated herself, burning with fury and sorrow, Shiva attacked Daksha's yajna. He
was finally pacified and the sacrifice was completed; Shiva was now given pride of place as
the foremost god and the main offering was made to him.
Rudra, however, was not the only deity from whom Shiva inherited aspects of his nature
and mythology. It has, for instance, been argued that Shiva draws something of his
connection with heat the heat of asceticism and of sexual desire from Agni, the fire god.
And the tension between Shivas ascetic and erotic aspects is an important feature of his
portrayal in the Puranas. Shiva is seen as the reconciliation of contrasts he is both ascetic
and erotic, malevolent and auspicious, destructive and creative. These opposites are not
regarded as separate characteristics but as complementary states on whose relationship life
depends, and they are believed to form part of Shiva the complete, omnipresent deity.
Now for Shivas family. His son Ganesha, for instance, seems to have been co-opted into
the Shaiva pantheon. We gather that Shivas wife Parvati created Ganesha out of the dirt of
her body to guard her inner chambers. She created him in her husbands absence, without
his intervention. When Shiva arrived at the door of Parvatis quarters, Ganesha did not allow
him to enter. A fierce battle ensued in which Ganesha was finally beheaded by Shiva. A
distraught Parvati insisted that her son be brought back to life. Shiva commanded his
minions to fetch the head of the first living creature they encountered. The first living being
they saw was an elephant whose head they hewed off, and that was joined to Ganeshas
body. Then Shiva sprinkled holy water on Ganesha and he awoke, whole and fit, and
elephant-headed. And Shiva declared that Ganesha would be worshipped before all other
gods, even Shiva himself. Historians discern the process of assimilation of an outsider into
the Shaiva pantheon in the story of Ganeshas confrontation with Shiva and his absorption
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into Shivas family. That the incorporation was not without its problems is suggested by the
fact that Ganesha was beheaded for his insubordination and had to be given a new head
before he could be inducted into the Shaiva pantheon.
As for Shaiva sects, the Mahabharata in its latest parts refers to the Pashupatas, the
worshippers of Shiva Pashupati, as a distinct group along with the Pancharatras and certain
others. The Puranas tell us that Shiva binds the individual soul (pashu) to the cycle of birth
and rebirth with a noose (pasha), and that he is the lord of pashus Pashupati. Pashupata
texts inform us that anyone who desires release from the entanglements of worldly
existence must pass through a number of stages in the progress to union with Shiva, to
liberation from the bonds of individual existence. To begin with, the aspirant is attached to a
temple, smears ashes on the body and worships Shiva by dancing, roaring like a bull and
laughing. Later, he leaves the temple, stops applying ashes, invites ridicule by seeming
drunk and by acting nonsensically or indecently, and lives in a cremation ground. Practices
such as trembling and suddenly falling down are prescribed, for these are believed to help
him conquer the senses and take him closer to the divine. The worshipper gradually
manages to sever all worldly ties. His final resting place is Shiva: he shares that gods
nature, his omnipotence.
One can attempt to look for the rationale behind some of the stranger practices of the
Pashupatas. It has been argued that when Pashupatis worshipper bellowed, he was
imitating a mighty animal (another meaning of pashu), and that he was copying Shiva in his
wild laughter and dancing. Imitation is believed to result in the imitator gaining some of the
powers of the one who is copied. Such imitation, trembling and suddenly falling down may
also suggest a background in the ideas of possession prevalent among primitive peoples
who lived beyond the pale of the brahmanical Great Tradition, in the belief that the divine
can temporarily take over the shaman. There may be another explanation too. There is
evidence that the Pashupatas were divided into orthodox and heterodox groups, between
which there was some tension. One can ask whether the orthodox group was attempting to
reform/brahmanize a heterodox faith. Indeed Pashupata texts which stress that the aspirant
only pretends to be drunk and to make lewd gestures, and that he does not actually violate
morality seem to suggest this. In them, original actions are substituted by symbolic
gestures, and thus rationalized.
It was not only heterodox Pashupatas who were treated with suspicion by the orthodox,
members of some other Shaiva sects the Kapalika, for example were too. Kapalika
means bearer of the skull, from kapala or skull, the most distinctive symbol of this group.
The Kapalikas connection with the skull may be linked to the Puranic myth of Shivas
beheading of Brahma, and can perhaps be seen as an act of imitation by Shivas
worshippers. In texts of the early medieval period, Kapalikas are also associated with
licentiousness in matters of drink and sex, and even accused of acts of human sacrifice in
their propitiation of Shiva.
This said, we can end by repeating that Shiva was also a major focus of Puranic Hinduism.
In that, he is a paradoxical figure. He is unconventional and disruptive, but also creates,
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sustains and renews. He symbolizes the truth that opposites co-exist in our lives and in the
world. The true nature of reality, with its many apparent polarities, is encompassed by
Shiva.
Shaktism
Now for the worship of the Goddess the third major divine focus in Puranic Hinduism. The
cults associated with her are usually termed Shakta, from shakti (power, energy), denoting
power as, or of, the goddess. It is generally held that the worship of a supreme Goddess
cannot be traced to Vedic religion. Male deities dominate the Vedic pantheon; and while
goddesses do appear in Vedic literature, none of them rivals the important male gods.
Additionally, the female divinities of the Vedic texts have no real relation to Devi the great
Goddess whose attributes are all-encompassing, who embodies every individual goddess,
the one from whom all individual goddesses emanate. However, contemporary and later
archaeological evidence, as also that which predates the period of the composition of the
Vedic corpus, suggests the significance of goddesses. The word goddesses (with a small
g) is used here deliberately because one cannot be sure of the veneration of a paramount
Goddess in pre-Vedic India, and indeed, till the early centuries of the Common Era. There
may have been a number of powerful goddesses to one or the other of whom members of
different communities offered absolute allegiance. These goddesses might have shared
many characteristics and yet had distinct identities. This said, it is generally maintained that
the veneration of an immensely mighty goddess is pre-Vedic, non-brahmanical and nonSanskritic in its origins. By the middle of the 1st millennium of the Common Era, deities
from a range of traditions had been incorporated into the Puranic pantheon, and the
appearance of the Goddess in the Puranas must be seen as part of the Puranic process.
One may especially mention the Devi Mahatmya, a eulogy on the Goddess, which forms a
section of the Markandeya Purana. This is dated to about the 6th century CE, and gives a
detailed account of the origin, appearance and exploits of the Goddess. That she was
initially somewhat of an outsider in brahmanical texts is suggested by her habitats and
habits. She is very often called Durga, literally woman of difficult terrain. Durga is
repeatedly associated with mountains, usually the Himalaya or the Vindhyas. One of her
common epithets is Vindhyavasini, she who dwells in the Vindhyas, and these Vindhya hills
are projected as dangerous in a number of brahmanical texts, at least partly because they
were peopled by hostile tribal groups. Indeed, Durga is said to be venerated by tribal
peoples such as the Shabaras. Further, in this worship, she is said to receive (and enjoy)
meat and blood, both of which are regarded as polluting in a number of smriti texts. In the
Devi Mahatmya, Durga is also described as consuming wine during her battle with Mahisha,
the buffalo demon. Her taste for alcohol, and her laughing and glaring with red eyes under
its influence, again convey a picture of an unorthodox deity. Additionally, Durga is
associated with some negative qualities or powers such as sleep and maya (delusion).
Indeed, in the Devi Mahatmya, she is called Mahamaya (the power that binds people to
delusion), Tamasi (darkness) and so on. In that text, she puts Vishnu to sleep, reducing him
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to powerlessness he is only able to slay the demons Madhu and Kaitabha when she leaves
him.
Durga too is a slayer of demons she fights those whom the male gods cannot defeat, and
she wins. In perhaps the best-known account of her origin, she is created when the male
gods are unable to subdue the mighty demon Mahisha:
After performing heroic austerities, Mahisha was granted the boon that he would be
invincible to all opponents except a woman. He defeated the gods in battle and usurped
their positions. The gods assembled, and furious about Mahishas victories, emitted their
fiery energies. These congealed into the form of a woman; she embodied the strength of all
the gods and annihilated Mahisha in battle.
Durga is said to have created female helpers for herself on the battlefield. Kali is one of
these she springs from Durgas forehead, and is withdrawn into Durga after battle. We
can ask whether this may be seen as an attempt to integrate one form with another.
Indeed, we are often told that the Goddess is one, but manifests herself plurally: she is the
fierce Kali as well as the benign Gauri, for instance. Sometimes Shivas wife Parvati is called
both Kali and Gauri. On one occasion, when Shiva called Parvati Kali (black), she took
offence and resolved to rid herself of her dark skin. She became golden-complexioned
(Gauri) by performing austerities. In some versions of the myth, her discarded black skin
became a warrior goddess who fought demons. This said, we can end by noting that,
despite attempts at bringing diverse goddesses under a unifying umbrella, they also
continued to be venerated in their individual identities. This is suggested, for instance, by
the 8th century Prakrit text Gaudavaho. That work paints a vivid picture of the worship of
Vindhyavasini, the goddess of the Shabaras, who is propitiated by human sacrifice.
Features of Puranic Hinduism: images, temples, pilgrimage, vows

and ritual specialists
Images/icons and iconography
God is believed to be omnipresent, essentially formless and invisible. But innumerable
people over the centuries have also believed that their chosen deity can take up residence
in his/her images (murti and pratima are the commonly used terms). It is an act of
graciousness on the deitys part to become visible as an icon. In this way, god caters to the
needs of human devotees, for most of those who revere the divine require an accessible
focus to venerate their chosen deity. However, an image cannot be made in just any way
its fashioning has to follow the directives of a tradition, Great and/or Little. An icon
generally depicts a particular myth, or an aspect of a deity, or indeed, a combination of
these.
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Icons: some examples
A Vaishnava image can be of Vishnu himself. He usually has four arms and holds a
lotus, conch, mace and a discus symbolizing the wheel of dharma in his hands. (The
depiction of more than two arms and hands is, of course, an artistic device. It is the
artists' way of suggesting the many sorts of powers and facets of a deity, of
expressing a wealth of meanings through a single image.) Or one may find an icon of
Vishnu depicting a feat attributed to him. One may, for instance, find Vishnu with
one leg raised high -- here he is Trivikrama, 'Vishnu of the three strides', and this
representation harks back to a Vedic motif that we mentioned in Chapter 9.7.1. Or
the image can be of one of Vishnu's avataras -- of Rama with a bow and quiver of
arrows; or the child Krishna dancing on the many-hooded Kaliya, the king of the
snakes whom he subdued; and so on.
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Figure 9.7.2.1: Four-armed Vishnu

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FourArmedVishnuPandyaDynasty89thCentury.jpg
88
Figure 9.7.2.2: A painting of Vishnu seated on lotus

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vishnu.jpg
We may find an icon of Shiva by himself. He could be depicted as Nataraja, lord of
dance, for instance. His dance is the dance of both creation and destruction. As
Nataraja, Shiva is four armed; the palm of one hand bears a flame that symbolizes
purification or annihilation, one hand holds a small drum which emits the cosmic
sound that pervades the whole universe, a third hand displays the abhaya mudra or
gesture assuring devotees that they need fear nothing, and the fourth points to an
upraised foot inviting all those who believe in him to take refuge at his feet. Shiva
tends to have matted locks (unlike Vishnu who has beautifully arranged hair) and a
cobra (symbolizing fertility) entwined about him. Both the creative and destructive
aspects of Shiva are implied in the Nataraja icon the cobra, for instance, suggests
the former and the flame in Shivas hand, the latter. That god often holds a trident
and has a third eye in the middle of his forehead. A burst of fire from this central eye
reduced Kama, the god of love, to ashes when he tried to interrupt Shivas
meditation. It is believed that Shiva can burn up the whole world when angered. We
may also find this deity with Parvati, his wife the loving, erotic, creative and
familial aspect of his personality is more clearly depicted in these images.
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Figure 9.7.2.3: Bronze Chola statue depicting Shiva dancing as Nataraja

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Natarajainmetropolitan.jpg
Source: Original
Deities are also represented aniconically. For instance, Shiva is very often worshipped in the
form of a linga (literally, mark or symbol), signifying the phallus or the erotic, fertile,
creative aspect of that god. The linga is usually a short, cylindrical pillar of black stone with
a rounded top. It mostly stands in the centre of a shallow, tear-drop shaped bowl, also of
black stone, which represents the yoni or female sexual organ. The linga and yoni symbolize
Shiva and Parvati, god united with goddess, the coming together of male and female, the
fusing of opposites, a synthesis, creative power.
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The temple
As image worship gradually became established as an alternative to the Vedic yajna, it was
thought necessary to build residences (devamandira, devalaya) for these objects of
veneration. Image worship seems to have become an important feature of the Great
Tradition by the last couple of centuries BCE. To begin with, natural features like caves
were used to house images. Stone temples began to be built in significant numbers from the
middle of the 1st millennium CE. This coincides with the period of the Guptas. That was a
crucial time for the development of Puranic Hinduism, and temple-making and worship are
salient aspects of that religion.

The temple and the human body
Connections are made between the temple and the human body. The ritual for
building a temple begins with digging the earth and planting a pot containing
precious stones, metals, herbs, soils and minerals. The analogy with a woman is
clear the earth is the womb, the seed (the pot) is placed inside her, the offspring
(the temple) grows out of her. The different parts of the structure are named after
various parts of the human body. For instance, the sanctum sanctorum, which is
raised above the implanted seed/pot, is the innermost and darkest part of the
temple, and is called the garbhagriha, the womb-house. The top of the temple is
known as the shikhara, the head. The symbolism may be extended even further. If
the temple has three doors, they are said to represent the three states of
consciousness (sleep, wakefulness, dream) through which one may reach the deity
within, and so on.
Source: Original
Temple-building and worship involve symbolisms of gradually coming closer to the divine.
Temples are often built on hills or in the mountains, or have long flights of steps leading up
to them, and the ascent signifies lifes spiritual journey. Climbing up is regarded as an
enlightening experience. The worshipper is thought to be purified progressively in his/her
approach to the sanctum sanctorum. This can begin by passing through walled enclosures
surrounding the temple complex. It could include a ritual bath in the temple pond
symbolizing cleansing and regeneration. And, like image-making, temple-building follows
time-honoured rules pertaining to design and proportion.
Pilgrimage and centres of pilgrimage

Those in search of the divine may also journey to a sacred place much larger than a temple
they may make a pilgrimage to a city like Banaras. They would want to have the
darshana of the place itself as well as of the representation of its presiding deity housed in
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a temple. The word darshana means seeing the divine. It is thought that the pilgrims
vision is sharpened by the rigours of a journey to a centre of pilgrimage -- they live very
simply, with few material comforts. It is believed that they are progressively cleansed as
they approach a place like Banaras. Their destination is a spiritual one, so also is their
journey.
The term used for a centre of pilgrimage is tirtha. It comes from the root tri which means
to cross over. Tirtha can be translated as crossing place or ford. Some tirthas are indeed
fords where rivers can be crossed safely. Banaras, for instance, is located at the ford where
the uttarapatha, the ancient northern Indian trade route, crossed the Ganga. The term
tirtha, however, generally denotes a spiritual ford where one crosses over from this shore
of the mundane world, of ignorance of god to the other shore the far shore of liberation
from entanglement in the flow of individual existence, of knowledge of the divine.
The stories of tirthas are recounted in mahatmyas (hymns of praise). These lauds of
particular deities or places form part of the Puranic tradition. Some may even be found in
the eighteen major Puranas enumerated in Chapter 9.7.1. For instance, Banaras is glorified
in one of the seven sections of the Skanda Purana the Kashi Khanda. Kashi is the most
ancient name of Banaras. It is commonly derived from the root kash, to shine. Thus, Kashi
is the luminous one, the illumining one. The Kashi Khanda tells us that it is because the
light, which is Shiva, shines [kashate] here, that the city is called Kashi. Anyone who dies
in Kashi whether pure or sinful, brahmana or outcaste, man or woman is liberated from
the cycle of birth and rebirth. And Banaras is only one tirtha in an extensive network of
sacred places. These dot the land which stretches from the Himalaya, the abode of the
gods, in the north, to Kanya Kumari, where the Goddess dwells at the southernmost tip of
the country; and this entire area is criss-crossed by pilgrimage routes.
Vrata
We have drawn attention to some of the religious shifts that form part of the development
of Puranic Hinduism. The shift from the yajna meant to be performed only by Vedic experts
to puja (worship, mostly image worship) by nearly all is an example. The shift from rituals
in which a plot of ground is temporarily cordoned off and made into a sacred space by
experts in a consecration rite, to worship in permanent structures open to a far wider range
of Hindus is another. However, of the features of Puranic Hinduism under discussion, the
vrata, bhakti and pilgrimage are the only three in which the right of participation is
extended to everyone, irrespective of caste and gender. We have already written about
pilgrimage. Bhakti is the subject of Chapter 9.7.3. Now for the vrata.
A vrata is a vowed observance, a religious act of devotion or austerity which is performed
for the fulfilment of a specific wish the birth of a son, the long life of ones husband,
victory in a war, the advent of rain, for instance. The story of Savitri illustrates a number of
aspects of the vrata, and the names of some Puranic vratas include Savitri. One may
mention here vratas such as the Brahma-Savitri and Vata-Savitri. Savitri is regarded as a
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model of wifely devotion and resolution to this day. Her tale is recounted in the
Mahabharata and repeated, with variations, in several Puranas. It is as follows:
Savitri chose to marry Satyavan even though he was destined to die within a year of their
marriage. For a little less than a year, the couple lived happily in a forest hermitage. Some
time before the fateful day, Savitri undertook a rigorous vow to fast and remain standing all
the time (including at night) till the day of her husbands death, and this vow she kept. On
the day of Satyavans death, Savitri made a libation into the fire and performed the early
morning rites. When Satyavan started for the forest to gather fruit and firewood, Savitri
followed him. After a while, Satyavan felt extremely tired. He lay down under a tree and
died. When Yama, the god of death, came to take away Satyavans soul, Savitri followed
him. A lengthy conversation ensued between Yama and Savitri. Finally, Savitri was able to
persuade the god of death to bring her husband back to life. In fact, Yama granted
Satyavan a life of four hundred years.
What does this story tell us about vratas? It is evident that vratas could be observed by
women. This is an important point, for women and shudras were debarred from many
religious activities. The law book of Manu, for instance, tells us that there is no ritual with
Vedic verses for women and that shudras are not entitled to hear, learn, recite or teach the
Veda. In contrast, the Puranas prescribe vratas for men and women of all social groups, and
tell us that they are particularly for women. We learn that vows are undertaken for a
specific period of time for the realization of certain desires. We gather that vratas involve
enduring hardships Savitri is said to be gaunt from standing upright and from her fast.
Savitri performed some early morning rituals on the day Satyavan was due to die these or
other rituals appear to form part of vratas too. The procedure of a vrata, as described in
texts of the Puranic corpus, may include having a ritual bath; going to the temple; making
floral designs before the icon of ones chosen deity there; offering presents like clothes,
sweets and betel leaf to the god at regular intervals; singing and dancing before the image;
spending the night in the temple; staying awake and listening to the story of why the vrata
being observed came to be kept, and to other tales from the Puranas; giving gifts to
brahmanas; and so on.
Sometimes Puranic texts tell us that merely listening to an account of why a vrata came to
be observed is sufficient to obtain what one desires. In other words, the katha element of
vrata is emphasized. The word katha may be translated as telling or narration, and these
two terms imply the presence of listeners. But what sort of people were these kathas
narrated to? We noted that the Puranas recommend vratas for men and women of all social
groups. Everyone, irrespective of their caste or gender, would also have been entitled to
listen to vratakathas. A skilled storyteller can hold an audience captive. And as listeners
enjoy a story and participate in its progress, they become receptive to its moral. The katha
recounted on the occasion of a vrata could have been a very effective medium for the
transmission of messages particularly brahmanical messages contained in the Puranic
tales -- to a large and varied gathering of all kinds of people.
Ritual specialists
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We have repeatedly drawn attention to the inclusive character of Puranic Hinduism and
emphasized its appeal to a fairly wide range of Hindus. But we have also mentioned various
rituals that form part of that religion. Making offerings to images in temples, participating in
katha sessions and even cremation at pilgrim centres are examples. It is important to note
that for all the openness of Puranic Hinduism, such rituals could not, and cannot, be
performed in just any way. They very often required, and continue to require, specialist
officiants.
At a tirtha like Banaras, there are priests and sacred specialists to help with every aspect of
pilgrimage. For instance, there are the pandas, who meet pilgrims as they arrive in the city,
make arrangements for their stay, and oversee the entire pilgrimage. There are the
karmakandis, priests who assist in particular rites; and the mahapatras, who specialize in
death rites. At Banaras and elsewhere, there are also pujaris who officiate in temples. At
certain times of the day, the main image housed in a temple receives visitors. This is when
worshippers can have the darshana of the deity. But a pujari presides over the occasion at
which contact is established between the divine focus and the worshipper.

The story is told of how the Tamil saint, Tirumangai Alvar, began his career as a vassal of
the Chola king. Unable to pay tribute to the king, he was imprisoned for a while. After he
was released, Vishnu himself in the form of Ranganatha appeared and commanded
Tirumangai to enlarge his temple at Srirangam. The saint was so overcome by devotion,
that he even took to highway robbery to collect funds for the project. When his labourers
demanded their wages, he threw them into the river, consoling their grieving relatives with
the thought that they were now at the feet of Ranganatha! As construction neared its end,
Tirumangai went to Nagapattinam and stole a golden image of the Buddha from a stupa,
melting it down to gild Vishnus shrine. Incensed and demanding justice, the Buddhists
dragged him before the king. But such was Tirumangais devotion, it is said, that the king
conferred upon him many honours and let him go instead. (Davis 1999, 83)
Sainthood is a strange thing. We are so used to the idea that a saint is necessarily good or
virtuous that we often ignore such stories of eccentric and aggressive behaviour. Saints
were not always popular people. Stories told about them often portray how they broke with
prevailing norms and boundaries. But the tradition eventually accepts such behaviour and
even justifies it, because of their great devotion to God. Tirumangais own poems are filled
with descriptions of how overpowering devotion can lead an individual beyond all restraint.
This legend suggests not only how a saint related to the society that surrounded him, but
also how the bhakti movements in South India set up a highly contested religious terrain.
Understanding the emergence of bhakti
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The bhakti movements were an important force in the religious history of South India
between the 7th and 12th centuries. The saints of South India are largely unknown outside
the region, but they were the first to experience the intense love of God that marked bhakti
religion. There were two streams to the movement -- Shaiva and Vaishnava -- and they left
behind hymns of tremendous beauty which dealt with human love and the love of God and
reached out to all sections of society alike.
The social background of the bhakti movements

So as to understand South Indian bhakti, we must place it within the background from
which it emerged. In the sixth century CE, the Chalukya, Pandya and Pallava dynasties rose
to power. For the next three centuries, they dominated politics in the region: waging war,
upholding Brahmanical hierarchies, and patronizing art and culture.
The new dynasties used inscriptions to make grand statements about their power. While
kings gave grants to brahmanas and temples, in return, brahmanas and temple priests
asserted the kings divinity and his right to rule. The spread of land grants led to the
expansion of the kingdom as well as the extension of agriculture into dryland areas and
forests. The heterodox faiths, Buddhism and Jainism, began to decline; they were replaced
by the passionate devotion of the bhakti saints and a temple religion which provided a new
set of myths and a new world view.
The roots of bhakti in South Indian religion

While the bhakti movements represented a new trend, they also drew from the earlier
religious traditions of South India. Similarities exist between the bhakti hymns and early
Tamil poetry. Later classical texts such as the Paripatal praise the gods Murugan and Mayon
in terms which anticipate the early medieval hymns. Similarly, the sixth century poem, the
Tirumarukarrupattai (Guide to the Lord Murugan) advises devotees to approach the Lord
and seek his grace. Each of the six parts of the poem describes a sacred site of Murugan or
one of his temples. In the earliest Tamil poems, Murugan was the heroic deity of the
mountains, presiding over acts of love and war. But now he becomes a God to whom the
devotee must offer worship.
Thus, bhakti imposed itself upon an earlier network of cults and deities in the region. The
landscape of tinais or ecological regions was now replaced by a network of temples and
shrines. In this process of absorption, A.K. Ramanujan argues that the bhakti movements
used whatever they found at hand, and changed whatever they used. (Ramanujan 1981,
104) Elements of the different religious traditions, of Sanskritic and folk culture were all
reworked and transformed under the influence of bhakti.
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How the bhakti hymns reworked the conventions of early Tamil
poetry
What She Said:
It used to be more radiant
than the colour of the soft peeled stalk
of a water lily in the pond of our town,
but now
my dark skin has become pale.
Hart (1979)
What She Said:
Skin dark as young mango leaf
is wilting
Yellow patches spread all over me.
Night is as long as several lives.
All this are the singular dowry
my good heart brings
as she goes over
to the cool basil
of my lord, the Dark One
with the wheel that cuts down demons.
Ramanujan (1981)
Both these poems speak in the voice of a young woman who describes how her skin
has lost its lustre because she is pining for her lover. The similarities between them
are evident for they use the same conventions. But they are in fact separated by a
gap of several centuries. The first poem comes from the early Tamil anthology, the
Aingurunuru, the second is a composition from Nammalvars Tiruviruttam. The
implied lover in the first poem is a warrior or a chieftain. The lover in the second
poem is Vishnu, the Lord.
The poems have parallel themes and forms yet their spiritual orientations are
different. This is because the bhakti saints consciously reworked the early Tamil
songs of love and war to sing the praises of their Chosen Lord.
Source: Hart, George. trans. 1979. Poets of the Tamil Anthologies: Ancient
Poems of Love and War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 20;
Ramanujan, A. K. trans. 1981. Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Visnu by
Nammalvar. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 124.
The saints of South India
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There were two major streams to Tamil bhakti -- the Alvars and Nayanars -- who expressed
their devotion to Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Tradition tells us about the names and
careers of some important saints.
The Alvars
The term 'Alvar' means one who is immersed in God. The bhakti of the first three Alvars -Poykai, Putam and Pey -- was a simple devotion, a rendering of divine grace after they
experienced Vishnus presence while sheltering from a storm. Later, they came to be
worshipped as amshas or incarnations of Vishnu.
Periyalvar was born as Vishnuchittan, an untutored brahmana who served Vishnus temple
at Puduvai. Legend has it, that transformed by divine grace, he was able to prove the
superiority of Vishnu in a philosophical dispute at the Pandya court.
Tirumangai, a petty chieftain and highway robber, was converted to the path of Vishnu by
the woman he loved. Representations show him carrying a spear and accompanied by his
wife Kumudavalli.
Nammalvar was a lower caste saint who spent his life in fasting and meditation. He
compiled four series of verses to provide poetry to the ordinary people. For this reason, he
is called Nam-Alvar, Our Alvar. The Vaishnavites consider his four works equivalent to the
four Vedas.
The Nayanars
There were 63 Nayanars or Shaivite saints. The term Nayanar means a leader', in the
sense of Gods chosen apostle. While the early Nayanars led a life absorbed in Shiva, later
saints began to propagate Shaiva bhakti, bringing them into conflict with the Buddhists and
Jains.
Among the 63, the Muvar or the three great hymnists - Appar, Sundarar and Sambandar are given prominence. Their hymns constitute the major part of the Shaivite canon.
Although Appar was born into an orthodox Shaivite family, he left to join a Jaina monastery
at Pataliputra (modern Patna). But when cured of a painful stomach ailment by his sister, he
returned once more to Shivas path. The memory of his betrayal filled his poems with
penitence and humility. For the rest of his days, he travelled across South India, singing the
praises of Shiva.
Sambandar was born into a brahmana family in the Tanjavur district. Invited by queen
Mangaiyarkkarasai to the Pandyan court, he defeated the Jainas through miracles and
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debates and converted the kingdom to Shaivism. His hymns speak of the worship of Shiva
not through religious observances but through an emotion that fills the heart and mind.
Figure 9.7.3.1: Shaivite saint Sambandar: from worshippers of gods,

the saints themselves came to be worshipped and their images were made and placed in
temples, as this image of Sambandar shows
Source: Saraswati Mahal Art Gallery, Photo by Benoy K. Behl,
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2507/stories/20080411250706800.html
Sundarar was the child of poor brahmana parents, adopted and raised by a local chieftain.
His hymns stress the contemplation of Shiva as the one true path to bliss.
Important features of bhakti

The love of God
The poems of the saints are marked by neither ritual prescriptions nor orthodox learning.
Theirs was a personal experience of God, an ecstatic knowledge, a deep-rooted love.
Repeatedly, the poets address their chosen deity with the question: How can I find you?
How shall I recognize your form? For the Nayanars and Alvars, the Lord was both an
impersonal absolute as well as a close associate (friend or father, lover or child). Thus,
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Periyalvar sang of Vishnu as both an Omniscient, Ageless, Beginningless God as well as
the infant Krishna whose golden anklets jingle as he plays in the dust.
There is devotional surrender, but the saints also see themselves as being in a position of
familiarity with the Lord. Sundarar even asks Shiva for advice when conflicts spring up
between his two wives! In each case, the quest is to reach the Lord, to touch him even, to
achieve direct contact.
Yet the God is always supreme, and the bhakta or bhaktin surrenders to his absolute power.
They speak of themselves as being no more than adiyar, slaves of the Lord. Thus, Sundarar
says to Shiva: You may sell me/ Im your slave/ to no other am I bound.
Love, too, found its voice in these poems, and Tirumular preached that Love and God are
the same, for few do know/ that love itself is Shiva. The path of the saints required
neither great wealth nor deep knowledge. All that was required was the love of God.

Crazed saints and devotional frenzy
The acts of the saints could take the form of devotional frenzy. But the bhakta is
content to be reviled as a madman, and is unashamed, because he has immersed
himself in God. And so, Nammalvar sings,
Mumbling and prattling
the many names
of our lord of the hill
with cool waterfalls,
long strands of water,
while onlookers say,
Theyre crazy,
entering and not entering
cities,
standing still or swaying
before a laughing world,
they dance, they leap,
undone by feeling -and the gods bow down
before them.
Source: Nammalvar. Tiruvaymoli, 3.5.8. in Ramanujan, A. K. trans. 1981.
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Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Visnu by Nammalvar. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 120.
Old rituals and new

The bhakti saints thought little of orthodox religion, stressing the futility of ritual acts. Appar
says that there is no need to bathe in the Ganga or chant the Vedas, no need to perform
strict tapas or fetch water from tirthas: One thing alone will to your rescue come / seeing
everywhere the Lord Supreme.
But did the saints really do away with ritual observances? Their poems indicate that they
could not divorce themselves entirely from conventional religion. Many of their metaphors
draw from orthodox religious practice, although they also invert them at the same time.
The shift, such as it occurs, is towards a new religious language and ritual. The earlier ritual
space was the platform of sacrifice, which involved the services of Vedic priests. Now,
worshippers congregated at the public space of the temple to perform puja or worship.
Instead of absolute, impersonal gods, there is the new world of mythology where the Gods
have personalities, exploits and faces.
Image worship assumed importance in this period. Both Shiva and Vishnu could take shape
in many images, but this did not detract from their universal form. Idols helped devotees to
visualize God and concentrate their devotion in one place. Although the bhakti hymns are
not exercises in iconography, they provide vivid and immediate descriptions that bring the
Gods before our eyes. These poetic images were to inspire sculptures, idols and paintings in
medieval temples. But for the poet, the image was not an object. The image was the God.
The local God in the local language

What such measures served to do was locate the God in a local region, his temple in a
particular shrine. Thus, Shiva appears as the dancing Nataraja in Chidambaram, Vishnu as
Narayana on his serpent bed at Srirangam. The saints travelled across the land, singing the
glory of hundreds of places. Origin myths of temples often associated themselves with the
Gods heroic acts and miraculous deeds. Subsequently, sacred sites -- whether mountains,
water bodies, or shrines -- were renamed with the prefix tiru meaning holy or auspicious.
Of all literary languages, Tamil was perhaps the best placed to express the new religious
devotion since it possessed an old and well-developed literary tradition. The hymns are
close to spoken Tamil and can be understood even today. They draw upon all kinds of
sources: Periyalvars hymns, for instance, approximate the structure of lullabies, folk
melodies, as well as songs accompanying the games that children play. While the
conventions of classical Sanskrit poetry are also used, the hymns are natural rather than
stylized and closer to the rhythms of the spoken word.
100
How incorporative was bhakti religion?

The bhakti saints were not lone hermits but members of a community. The idea of the
bhakta kulam or a community of believers cut across boundaries and became a spiritual
and social force. Historians, however, continue to argue over the extent to which bhakti
created space for socially marginalized groups, whether lower castes or women.
The bhakta kulam and the household life

Shiva and his family
Depictions of Shiva and his family became a well-loved theme in sculpture as can be seen in this image
from the time of the Pallavas. These depictions drew upon the descriptions of the saints and a parallel
between word and image can often be seen.
Source:
Saraswati
Mahal
Art
Gallery,
Photo
by
Benoy
K.
Behl,
http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2507/stories/20080411250706800.html.
The idea of the bhakta kulam provided a sense of oneness, as groups of saints walked
together, singing hymns and preaching their faith. Buddhism and Jainism were religions that
stressed total renunciation for the ascetic. In contrast, the Nayanars and Alvars did not
believe that a householders life was incompatible with devotion to God. Scorn not the joys
and delights of life / for they are not hostile to a life beyond, sang Appar, pointing out that
Shiva himself, though a supreme renunciant, lived the life of a householder with Parvati.
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Though the love of God was paramount in the saints' lives, human emotion was also a part
of their existence. It is this humanness of their character, Vidya Dehejia argues, which
enabled the ordinary devotee to identify with the saints. (Dehejia 1988, 29-30)
Yet, as Uma Chakravarti shows us, while the bhakti movement broke down the grihasthasanyasa (householder-renunciant) divide for men, in actual practice it did not do so for
women. The path of the women saints deviated from the household life prescribed for them
under Brahmanical patriarchy. Consequently, for the bhaktins the dichotomy between the
love of God and marriage to a mortal man was never resolved. (Chakravarti 1999, 309)
Women within the bhakti tradition

The inclusion of women within the bhakti tradition marked an important departure from
Brahmanical Hinduism where women were debarred from spiritual attainment and the
ascetic life. While bhakti created space for the self-expression of women, the extent to
which gender boundaries were dissolved needs a closer look.
Clearly, the experience of bhakti was not the same for all women. The Alvar saint Andal
refused to marry anyone but Vishnu. Her poetry is filled with yearning for him and in the
Nachchiyar Tirumozhi she describes a vision of her marriage with him. Legend says that she
disappeared into the idol of Vishnu at Srirangam after having been married to him. In
contrast, the Nayanar saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar was originally the beautiful Punitavati
whose spiritual power so overwhelmed her husband that he left her to seek another wife.
Punitavati then called upon Shiva to take away her beauty so that she could spend the rest
of her life in his service; this wish is granted. From then on, she dances like a pey, a
demoness in the cremation grounds of Tiruvalangadu, singing:
Even if I can get it, I want nothing
whether this form, ghostly form
is becoming or not
Of Him, having another eye on his forehead,
Of that Shivas ghostly attendants
I am one.
(Ramaswamy 1997, 133)
Thus, the bhaktins shaped their lives by adopting two different approaches to sexuality.
Karaikkal Ammaiyar negates her sexuality and is able to transcend it, while Andal expresses
her devotion in the form of bridal mysticism, disappearing into her chosen Lord. But while
Karaikkal Ammaiyar can continue religious life in the ordinary world, Andal cannot return.
By denying the bonds of earthly marriage, the bhaktins tried to escape the confines of
patriarchy and Brahmanical religion. In seeking the love of God, they could spend their
lives absorbed in meditation, in a personal relationship that could not even be considered
within the domain of a good wife.
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A saint negates her sexuality
Iconographic depictions of Karaikkal Ammaiyar show her with a shaved head,

pendulous breasts, an emaciated body and clanging cymbals in praise of her Lord.
These show a woman quite different from the way women were supposed to look and
behave.
Source: www.metmuseum.org/.../h2/h2_1982.220.11.jpg
Yet the difference between women and men could not be completely resolved. The bhaktins
may have freed themselves from the social norms of behaviour, but they still lived within
the confines of their female body. The acceptance of women saints within orthodox religion
was also not an immediate process. Iconographic representations of Karaikkal Ammaiyar
do not appear until the 12th century. While the Tiruppavai of Andal is sung on festive
occasions, especially marriages, her more erotic Nachchiyar Tirumozhi is never sung within
the temple context.
Although the bhakti movements made spiritual attainment possible for women, there is an
ambivalence towards the position of women saints and the spaces offered to women were
curtailed as time went by. While Andal and Karaikkal Ammaiyar attained sainthood, the
other women mentioned in the sources exist in marginal roles: as devout mothers, sisters
103

and wives who assist the bhaktas. As Vijaya Ramaswamy points out, the Periya Puranam is
filled with references to the bhaktas bartering, selling and making use of their wives so as to
further their devotion. Kaliyar Nayanar, for instance, tried to sell his wife in the market so
as to buy oil for the temple lamps! Even in the later mathas or monasteries, women were
excluded. (Ramaswamy 1997, 135-136)
Despite all this, women devotees seem to have made themselves a part of the bhakti
movement, following a call such as that contained in Andals Tiruppavai which tells them
that in the worship of Hari they will find only joy.
Bhakti and the lower castes

The presence of lower caste saints has also led some to argue that bhakti represented a
rebellion against the Brahmanical caste system. The fact remains, however, that one third
of the total number of saints were brahmanas by birth. At the same time, there were also
saints drawn from a variety of social situations -- cowherd, fisherman, potter, weaver,
merchant, farmer, army commander and untouchable.
Stories in the Periya Puranam describe how Shiva himself frequently appeared to show that
caste and ritual had no value for him. The saints themselves did not maintain caste
hierarchies. Although a brahmana, Sundarar loved and married two lower caste women, a
clear subversion of orthodoxy. Appar declared in a hymn that he respected neither material
wealth nor religious eminence, but would revere a true devotee even if he were an
untouchable Pulaya engaged in skinning a cow for its flesh.
The Shaiva saint Nandanar was in fact an untouchable engaged in the slaughter of animals
for leather and animal gut. His hearts desire was to view the image of the dancing Shiva in
Chidambaram, but he was denied access to the temple. Shiva, however, commanded the
temple priest to light a fire before the temple door, and Nandanar passed through it
unharmed, disappearing under the foot of the dancing Shiva.
The Vaishnava saint Tiruppan Alvar was also an untouchable who spent eighty years of his
life singing the praises of Vishnu, standing a mile from the Srirangam temple. Appearing in
a dream, Vishnu asked the temple priest to place Tiruppan Alvar on his shoulders and carry
him into the shrine. Once inside the sanctum, the saint sang one last song, before merging
into the divine image.
Such stories show that lower castes were able to create a space for themselves within the
bhakti tradition, proving that salvation was possible for all who loved God. Yet the number
of these saints was small, and their oppression as a group continued in society. What the
bhakti movements succeeded in doing was to create a few spaces of freedom without
overturning the existing hierarchy.
104

Bhakti and the question of 'Indian Feudalism'
The proponents of the idea of Indian Feudalism view bhakti as the ideological basis of the
new social order. They argue that the ideology of bhakti, in conjunction with other features
like urban decay, the growth of an agrarian economy, the diversification of castes, social
insecurity, and political decentralization was representative of the feudal period. These
arguments need to be examined in greater detail.
Where God is like the feudal master

The linkage between feudalism and bhakti was first advanced by D.D. Kosambi and scholars
have since expanded upon the theme. Bhakti with its ideas of subservience and devotion
was seen as an ideology to uphold the feudal social structure of the period. Just as the
feudal lord demanded service, loyalty and surrender from his vassal in return for protection,
just so was the bhakta tied to his God. R.N. Nandi, for instance, argues that faith in an
absolute superior was in keeping with the loyalties demanded by a feudal society. (Nandi
1986) The doctrine of divine condescension and total surrender represented by bhakti, he
argues, was advanced by the landholding priestly elite to provide a moral justification for
the exploitation and subjugation of the masses.
There are problems with such an understanding in the context of South Indian bhakti. This
linkage is not immediately evident upon reading the texts. To begin with, while the bhaktas
saw themselves as subservient to God, they also assumed a voice of friendship, familiarity
and love. The relationship was not one of divine condescension; often they talked to God as
father, friend or lover. Divine grace is not always shown in terms of protection, but also
involves the destruction of the ego and the deprivation of the devotees material prosperity.
(Ramaswamy 1997, 111-112) There is thus an emotional and metaphysical dimension to
South Indian bhakti which cannot be ignored.
Fields, temples, songs and kings

But aside from the verses in the texts there are also the economic and social contexts of
bhakti. There is no doubt that the bhakti movements arose in an expanding agrarian milieu.
The extension of land grants to brahmanas and temples served to bring new lands under
cultivation. As R. Champakalakshmi has shown, agrarian development increased social and
economic differentiation in the countryside. Cities grew up in the vicinity of temples, a
process known as temple urbanism. The structural temple positioned itself in the landscape
as the link between God in the cosmos and his local form. (Champakalakshmi 1999)
As temples became central to the new organization of space -- sacred, economic, social and
political -- we need to consider the ways in which bhakti religion worked in tandem with this
system. The space of the shrine is central to the workings of bhakti. The poets wandered, in
105

constant pilgrimage, in the hope of finding their Lord. In the course of these wanderings
they visited temples in each village and town, often composing hymns in praise of these
sites. Some of these hymns provide breathtaking descriptions of images and rituals. Thus,
Sambandar describes how the image of Shiva appears when it is being taken out in a
festival procession at Naraiyur:
The Lord of Citticaram shrine in Naraiyur,
who has the river in his hair,
the poison stain on his throat,
and the Vedas on his tongue,
goes resplendent in ceremonial dress,
as his devotees and perfected sages
sing and dance his widespread fame,
and the sound of festival drums
beaten on the streets where the temple car is pulled
spreads on every side.
(translated by Peterson, vide Davis 1999, 183)
106
Figure 9.7.3.2: Map showing geographical spread of sacred shrines in Tanjore district
Source: Spencer, George W. 1970. The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns.
Numen, Vol. 17, 238.
107

The Alvars speak of 108 divine places while the Nayanars sing of 274 sacred sites. Such a
large number of sites might suggest that the sacred landscape was an extensive one. Yet
George Spencer shows how when we ignore districts containing only one or two sacred
places, an interesting concentration can be seen to occur. Of a total of 260 places which can
be identified today, 229 or 88% are located in the four districts of Chingleput, South Arcot,
Tiruchirappalli and Tanjavur. Tanjavur alone has 160 sacred sites. (Spencer 1970, 236-239)
(See map showing the concentration of sacred sites in the Tanjore district).
This concentration of sacred places overlaps clearly with the most fertile and populous
agrarian lands: this is the Kaveri region where settled agriculture first took shape in South
India. All this ties into the significant role played by temples in extending systems of
irrigation and agriculture.
The bhakti movements provided a new set of philosophical references, a new ideology
better adapted to the circumstances of the time. While resolving certain conflicts, they also
created new areas of rivalry and discord. The traditional Vedic priests now had to yield
space to the Puranic cosmology and the new temple cults. Bhakti, with its promise of
salvation, appealed to women and lower caste groups who had been traditionally
marginalized. These were also the groups which had so far found succour in the faiths of
Buddhism and Jainism. Bhakti grew in a situation of direct conflict with Buddhism and
Jainism, especially the latter. The ultimate decline of the heterodox faiths went a long way
in heralding the expansion of Puranic religion in the Tamil country.
By the ninth century, the Chola kings systematically began to use bhakti shrines and
centres as sites for their temple building. From a small shrine, the temple became a
towering edifice with many gateways and enclosures and a multitude of shrines. Temple
complexes such as those at Tanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram became huge centres,
the focus of both sacred and secular enterprise. Temples became huge landed magnates
with tenants and servants, even investing money in land, guilds and trade.

The temple landscape
108
Temples like the Brihadeshvara temple in Tanjavur were built in the Chola period and
became towering edifices, visible from many miles away, defining features of the
religious landscape.
Source: http://www.art and archaeology.com/india/thanjavur/bri01.html
In the development of the temple, the emergence of hierarchical relations in the
countryside, the concentration of political and economic power, and the extension of
agrarian civilization - the bhakti ideology had an important role to play. It emerges first in
the context of these developments, and subsequently goes on to bolster their increasingly
complex forms.
Saints are not just born, they are made

It follows, then, that we should see bhakti not as a single, homogeneous tradition, but as
one that varied in its development across time and place. The simple devotion of the early
saints came to be the foundation upon which massive temples were built. The hymns sang
the praise of certain shrines, and the priests of these shrines spread the fame of the saints
and their hymns. The two processes reinforced each other.
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We remain uncertain about the historicity of many of the saints. For some, their poems
provide indisputable evidence, giving us clues about the period in which they lived, while for
the rest, hagiographies written many centuries after their death, blend legend with fact so
that we are unable to tell the truth.
Figure 9.7.3.3: An image of Ramanuja, who developed and codified a theology drawing from
the bhakti of the saints
Source: http://www.ramanuja.org/ramanuja/ramanuja.html
Despite the concept of the bhakta kulam, the religion of the Nayanars and Alvars did not
represent a developed, codified theology. It was only in the 11 th century that the
Srivaishnava movement of Ramanuja provided the theological expression of the bhakti of
the Alvars, while the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition emerged with the codification of the poetry
of the Nayanars. The ceremonial worship of the saints began a few centuries after their
death. In 1014 CE, the Chola king Rajaraja I, while constructing his great temple at
Tanjavur, asked his craftsmen to produce copper images of the Shaiva saints to be
consecrated within. The ritual singing of their hymns also became a part of temple ritual and
festivals, continuing in Tamil Nadu even today.

Tantrism: meaning, origins and evolution
The word tantra did not have a religious meaning originally. In the Vedic texts it is used in
the sense of a loom, the Shrauta sutras use the word to depict any work that contains many
parts, or as an act that serves the purpose of many acts. Tantra eventually came do depict
the method of doing or making something and by the time of Patanjalis Mahabhashya, it
meant a branch of knowledge. The scientific texts came to be known as Tantras, and the
word came to have a wider meaning, denoting a system and school of thought
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(Bhattacharya 1999, 19). In a more specific sense, tantra came to mean a system of
thought, ideas and practices that were elaborated in a class of texts concerning matters
related to tattva (theory or pure knowledge) and mantra (practical means or chanting of
mystical sound).
There are several Tantric texts, most of them belonging to the medieval period. Some
scholars record sixty four texts while others divide the texts into categories based on
chronology. However, texts belonging to Gupta period, like the Kubjikamata are also known.
The Shaiva Agamas of the South are mentioned in the 6th century Kailashanatha temple
inscription of Rajasimhavarman in Kanchi. Some sophisticated tantra arguments come from
scholars like Abhinavagupta. The Pancaratra Samhitas, of which traditionally there are
supposed to be 108, deal with four principal topics- gyana, knowledge; yoga, concentration;
kriya, making or activity; and charya, conduct or doing. Then there are the eighteen Shaiva
Agamas which belong to the 8th and 9th centuries.
Some traditions divide the texts into the three streams of Tantric tradition - Dakshina,
Vama, and Madhyama. The right handed path, or dakshinachara interprets Tantric ideas like
the panca makaras, (the five Ms, explained below) in a symbolic way. The left handed path,
the Vamachara interpret it literally. Tantric concepts are prevalent in Shaivism, Shaktism,
Vaishnavism and also in Buddhism and Jainism. It is the union of Shiva and Shakti which is
a recurring theme in Shaiva Tantric thought, the male principle is usually denoted as
passive and the female principle as active, together they represent totality. In Tantric
Buddhism, it is the male (upaya) which is active and the female (pragya), passive. Texts
like the Guhyasamaja Tantra and the Manjushrimulakalpa are some texts which discuss
tantric Buddhism.
Approaches towards Tantrism

Scholars who came in contact with Tantric practices in the colonial period tended to refer to
it in derogatory terms. Thus, Monier Williams, Hopkins and Winternitz refer to the practices
as degenerations of religion. The rituals are regarded as magic and occult, and Waddell
called it a monstrous and polydemonic doctrine. Indian scholars like B. C. Chatterjee also
regarded the practices as revolting and misguiding. However, others emphasize the spiritual
aspects of the tantric ideas. Sir John Woodruff produced some exhaustive studies on tantric
practices and rituals and encouraged scholars to look into questions of origins and social
context of the rituals.
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Figure 9.8.1: Depiction of Shri yantra
Source: www.columbia.edu
Historians have emphasized on the economic origins of tantric ideology. The magico-tantric
rites are said to be related to aspects of fertility and agrarian production. R. S. Sharma in
The Material Milieu of Tantricism (1984, 175-89) has shown the links between feudal
economy which is agrarian and land based and tantric ideology. He feels that tantrism
emerged as a result of the interaction of brahmanical structures with tribal practices. While
it is a fact that many of the patrons of tantric teachers were landed proprieters, some of the
ideology of tantrism can be traced to a very primitive substratum in the Indian
subcontinent. Erhengel has referred to the prevalence of mother right in India, D. D.
Kosambi also referred to mother goddess cult sites in India. Works like those of N. N.
Bhattacharya trace the origins and evolution of tantric practices from pre Vedic, Vedic,
Tribal and other multiple practices and connect it to the prevalence of the mother goddess
cult. This helps in placing the beginnings and evolution of Tantrism in its social, historical
and cultural context.
Vedic origins of Tantrism

One of the defining characteristics of Tantric thought is that it seems to have arisen
separate from, and in opposition to Vedic thought and knowledge. However, later Tantric
thinkers like to highlight the linkages with Vedic traditions. Traditional Vedic and
Brahmanical ideology tends to denounce Tantric practices even though many practices have
derived from Vedism and openly or secretly, many Brahmanas have also supported Tantric
practices.
One of the basic differences between Vedic and Tantric religion is supposed to be the
support base, while Vedic religion is thought to be elitist, brahmanical, hierarchical and
patriarchal; Tantrism is thought to be supported by the lower classes and castes and is also
woman oriented. This may be true to some extent, and Tantrism did reject the varna
system and patriarchy and seems to be in opposition to the Smarta-Puranic tradition.
However, the fact is that while Vedic knowledge and learning became more obscure and
unreachable with shudras and women specifically told to keep away from Vedic learning;
Tantrism incorporated popular beliefs, cults and rituals and social ideas which included
women and shudras. Many Tantric teachers are supposed to have had low origins. However,
in course of time, as Tantrism developed it too became institutionalized, class oriented and
hierarchical.
When discussing religious systems, we tend to study different religions as separate
categories, perhaps because we are used to the modern concept of separation of religious
identities. However, the similarities and commonalities between different religious thoughts
is striking and needs attention. We also have to keep in mind that the idea of having an
exclusive religious identity may not have always been there and in Ancient India there are
plenty of instances to show that one could follow and patronize different practices at the
112

same time. It is important to realize that both Vedic and Tantric practices have emerged out
of diverse influences, both are assimilative and syncretic and there are some elements in
Tantrism that can be traced to Vedic practices. However, it is difficult to ascertain the
degree of influence over each other as there are scholars who trace certain Tantric practices
to a pre-Aryan milieu and also highlight the incorporation of these elements in Vedic
practices. Thus, it is difficult to determine exactly which influenced the other, and very often
these religious ideas are borrowed from practices that have been existent and floating
around for a long time before they are sorted out, segregated and classified into religious
categories like Vedism, Tantrism, and such. Thus, we have to be careful when studying the
history of ideas and religious practices as we find there are many differences in different
systems of thought but a closer look will show commonalities too.
Tantrism and the mother goddess cult

Tantrism has a special relationship with the female principle and with environmental matter,
Prakriti. It is understood that Prakriti attracts a number of forces, conceived as Purushas or
Male principles and it is the union of Prakriti with the male principles that leads to creation.
The female principle is worshipped in Tantric texts, in the form of Shakti. Shakti is
manifested in women, and men should approach women with reverence, purity and
devotion according to texts like the Devibhagavata. The line - striyo devah, striah pranah,
striya eva hi bhushanam is found in many Tantric texts.

Tantrism and matriarchal societies in ancient India
Some scholars feel that prevalence of Tantrism with its emphasis on women and
sexuality points to prevalence of matriarchal society.
There are references to women ruled states, stri-rajyas in works of Megasthenes,
Arrian, Polyaenus, Solinus, in the north-eastern, north-western and the Pandyan
country. Xuanzang referred to Suvarnagotra country in the Kumaon Garhwal region
as the kingdom of women. This is also mentioned in the Garudapurana and the
Vikramankadevacharita.
Scholars like Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya feel that prevalence of mother - right is the
only possible explanation for the origins of Tantrism and its emphasis on the female
principle. According to Chattopadhyaya, agriculture was the discovery of women and
in the initial stages, the role of women in agricultural societies was superior and
predominant.
Whether the social system of early societies was matriarchal is debatable. Moreover,
whether Tantrism can be linked to an ancient matriarchal past (if there was one) is
also not clear as even though there is stress on the female principle in Tantrism,
113

males outnumber women in the actual performance of tantric rites. However,
tantrism does allow women the right of initiating persons into the cult and acting as a
guru, women can perform religious exercises such as uttarasadhikas and mudra, one
of the five MS, makaras, basically means a woman. Thus women are a very integral
part of Tantric practices.
Sources: Bhattacharya, N. N. 1982. History of the Tantric Religion, An
Historical, Ritualistic and Philosophical Study. Second revised edition, 1999.
New Delhi: Manohar, 118-124.
Chakrabarti, Kunal. 1995. Recent approaches to the History of Religion in
Ancient India, Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History, ed. Romila
Thapar. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 183.
N. N. Bhattacharya traces the mother goddess cult to the Harappan times - Harappan ring
stones, mother goddesses and seals depicting plants coming from a womans womb are
connected to similar post Vedic depictions- a seal at Bhita showing a goddess with a lotus
emerging from the womb. Similarly, post Vedic goddesses figurines in Inamgaon, Vadgaon,
Bhinmal, Lauriya Nandangarh, and Piprahwa and figurines of the Maurya and Shunga period
are connected to these. The cult of the mother goddess between the Mauryan and Gupta
period is seen in the Gajalakshmi motif of the goddess depicted with two elephants on her
side, there are other depictions of the female principle in Tamil texts-goddesses like Amari,
Kumari, Gauri, Samari, Suli, Nili, Aiyai, Sayyaval,Karravai, Nallai, Kanni, Shankari, Kannaki.
The assimilation of the Kannaki cult into the cult of Bhagavati and Kali also took place
(Bhattacharya 1999, 198).
The new social and economic setup of the Gupta age radically changed the religious outlook
of the people (Bhattacharya 1999, 199). The ceremonial worship of Vishnu, Shiva, Buddhist
and Jaina deities and structures were built around their figurines- temples came up. Even
though the deities were represented with consorts, the female principle had to be given
separate recognition and this led to the development of Shaktism. This is seen in works like
the Devimahatmya section of the Markandeya Purana, and the projection of the goddess as
the demon slaying Durga and the destroyer Kali.
The Five MS
Tantrism encourages conduct of certain practices, sadhana, in order to attain moksha.
These practices involve the Five Ms or the panca makaras- maithuna, madya, mansa,
matsya (mina) and mudra. Let us see what these practices represent.
Maithuna, or sexual activity is one of the main activities on which Tantric ideology is based.
It is through this that the feminine is incorporated with the masculine. The emphasis on
sexual activity can be traced back to Vedic practices like the Ashvamedha sacrifice, where
the queen is made to lie down with the dead horse or even the Vajapeya rite which
114

emphasizes on fertility. In the Harappan culture too, one comes across the prevalence of
phallic objects, whether they were worshipped is not clear.
In tantric ideology, the cult of srichakra symbolizes womens reproductive parts, along with
rites like the bhagayaga and latasadhana. In contrast to Vedic thinking which regards
menstrual blood as polluting and taboo, in Tantric ideology, menstrual blood or khapushpa
is venerated. In tantric practices, fertility and death are both to be conquered. Similarly, the
practice of shavasadhana, that is, rites performed on a corpse is a tantric practice which
seems to be associated with the need to master the fear of death to gain control over ones
senses.
Madya, the use of wine for ritual purposes is highlighted in Tantric practices. Some scholars
like to give a mystical interpretation to the use of wine in tantric practices. Any type of
wine, purified by mantra is fit for sadhana. It is also described as the nectar essence of the
union of Shiva- Shakti flowing from the highest cerebral region.
Matsya, or fish, represents that which destroys fetters and leads the way to salvation.
Mansa, flesh, is supposed to symbolize the body of Shiva and the oneness of all living
beings with each other. Mahamansa denotes the flesh of eight animals- cow, man, ram,
horse, buffalo, boar, goat and deer, which were regarded sacred to the deity.
Mudra, postures of the body, especially of hands, symbolizing yogic exercise and spiritual
attainment. It also denotes fried cereals, geometrical diagrams and women.

Tantra and the human body
Tantra attributes supreme importance to the body, deha or kaya. The tantra maxim
is: that which is not in the body is not in the universe.
The body of the sadhaka is the abode of the desires, istha, and the goal to be
sought, sadhya. The unfolding to the self power, atmashakti, is to be brought about
by self realization, atmadarshana which is the aim of sadhana. Shakti, or power,
conceived as the Female principle is in the individual, and it is only for this Shakti
that the existence of the individual is justified. The repository of Shakti is the passive
Male Principle, and the purpose of Tantric sadhana is to get these two principles in
non-dual and absolute union within the body.
Source: Bhattacharya, N. N. 1982. History of the Tantric Religion, An
New Delhi: Manohar, 40.
Tantrism and Saivism
115

Shaiva sects are connected to Tantrism and its spread. Most of these became prominent in
the medieval period but trace their origins to early times. The Pashupatas, Kapalikas,
Kalamukhas, Virasaivas or Lingayats, Kanphata or Natha yogis were Shaiva cults which
incorporated and propogated Tantric practices, the kapalikas lived in cremation grounds and
carried skulls; the lingayats worshipped Shiva in the form of a linga.

Lower social base of Tantric teachers
The five great Tantric teachers in the Natha tradition, the Adisiddhas, belong to the
lower sections of society.
Minanatha or Matsyendranatha was a fisherman.
Gorakshanatha was either a fisherman or a kaivarta.
Hadipa, was the stable sweep of Queen Mainamati.
Source: Bhattacharya, N. N. 1982. History of the Tantric Religion, An
New Delhi: Manohar, 23.
Tantrism and Buddhism
Figure 9.8.2: Image of kalachakra/mandala (tantric Buddhist diagrams)

Source: www.viewonbuddhism.org
116

There is a debate about the earliest teachings of Buddha and how much of Buddhism is
influenced by Upanishadic thought and whether brahmanical thought was influenced by
Buddhism. While we do not know if some of the tantric practices of Mahayana and
Vajrayana Buddhism can be traced to the earliest times, we do find significant tantric
elements in Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism tried to reach to the masses,
including local cults and rituals; but was also highly idealistic as is seen in the Madhyamika
and Yogachara systems of Mahayana Buddhism. The Buddha is conceptualized as having
three kayas or bodies, dharma, sambhoga and nirmana or rupa. Along with the three kaya
concept was the idea of the incarnations of Buddhas of the past, present and the future.
Each of the Buddhas had a Boddhisattva and a goddess as a female consort, like
Avalokiteswara is a god of compassion and his female consort is Tara who represents
pragya, wisdom. The Dharani, which is a Mahayana text of 4th to 8th centuries C.E., refers to
mantra, mudra, mandala, kriya, carya; which are characteristics of Tantric cults too. The
Divyavadana has the chant, om mani padme hum, while the Prajnaparamita sutras lay
emphasis on the female principle. Tibetan Buddhism or Vajrayana Buddhism does not
differentiate between itself and Mahayana Buddhism. The supreme being is Lord
Vajrasattva, vajra means thunderbolt and sattva implies pure knowledge. A pantheon of
deities also evolved around this deity.
In the Buddhist tantras, Pragya is worshipped in different forms as a goddess, a woman
meant for sadhana, a young woman and also as the female organ. Pragya is mentioned in
association with Upaya, the male principle, also depicted as the moon and the sun or as
Shakti and Shiva. It is the union of Pragya and Upaya through the principle of Yuganaddha
which brings raga and maharaga (emotion and intense emotion), samarasa (oneness of
emotion in which the two become inseparable) and finally mahasukha or the great bliss
(Bhattacharya 1999, 218).
117
Figure 9.8.3: Buddha in Tibetan Buddhist traditions

Source: www.fpmt-osel.org
Summary
Religion, while addressing the question of individual salvation, functions essentially

as a social phenomenon.
Most philosophical systems of

institutional religion or another.
These systems primarily concerned themselves with metaphysical and other

appropriate issues, but the religions selectively drew upon them to explain, justify or
legitimize beliefs and practices the religions prescribed or endorsed.
A student of history is required to look into this entire network of relations in order to
understand the nature of interdependence of ideas and practices in a society at a
given point in time.
pre-modern
India
were
associated
with
one
Summary
Vedic religion was polytheistic and had complex myths.
Indra was the main god in the RV, followed by Agni and Soma.
118
Varuna was the god of rita, the cosmic order.
Vedic goddesses were not as significant as the gods.
The Rg Vedic people practiced sun worship and also some form of ancestor worship.
The Later Vedic period saw a change in religious ideas and, although the old gods
continued, some like Rudra and Vishnu gained in prominence.
The rituals of the Later Vedic period become complex and signify the rising clout of
the ruling class and the brahmanas.
Upanishadic doctrines veer away from rituals and emphasize the unity of the
Brahman with the atman and the doctrine of transmigration.
Summary
There are six astika schools and three nastika schools.
The six astika schools are Nyaya, Vaiseshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Purva Mimamsa and
Uttara Mimamsa/Vedanta.
Nyaya-Vaisesikas are realists and pluralists, while Vedanta is idealistic.
The Sankhya darshana is dualistic, postulating two realities, Prakriti and Purusha.
Yoga is a darshana that engages in the practice of controlling the mind.
Uttara Mimamsa is a darshana that concerns itself with dharma and the source of
dharma, the Vedas.
Lokayata is the only darshana which postulates materialism and accepts the view
that matter is the source of this universe.
Summary
The orders of Buddhism, Jainism and the Ajivikas arose and gained popularity amidst
the diminishing hold of Veda-based ritualism around the 6th century BC.
None of the Ajivika texts survive today and most of what is known about them
comes from Buddhist and Jaina sources.
Makkhali Gosala is considered the founder of this sect and his central philosophy
revolved around niyativada or the theory of determinism.
119
Two other important Ajivika teachers were Purana Kassapa and Pakudha Kaccayana.
The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gotama.
One of early Buddhist philosophys central ideas is the Four Noble Truths suffering,
its cause, it stoppage and the path prescribed.
The theory of no-self and the theory of impermanence also shape Buddhist ideas a
great deal. Kamma is treated as important: right or wrong intentional actions
generate good and bad effects respectively. The notion of causality referred to as
paticcasamuppada is introduced to explain further the sequence of causes and
effects.
Attention is also given to meditation and morality, and the scriptural texts of early
Buddhism offer many descriptions of their nature and practice.
Mahavira is considered the twenty-third Jaina prophet who synthesized and

popularized the religion a great deal.
Ahimsa or abstinence from violence is given much importance in this religion and its
violation is considered a serious breach.
The Jainas recognize seven categories of Truth, starting with the animate soul and
ending with liberation. The various truths in between describe how bondage happens
and how an aspirant can gain liberation.
In ethical practice the Jainas recognize five great vows for ascetics. The same vows
are to be practiced by householders but to a lesser degree.
The seeds of anekantavada were laid by Mahavira and it was followed up effectively
by later Jainas. Anekantavada suggests that reality has many aspects. In time seven
nayas or standpoints were recognized and sevenfold predication in a doctrine called
syad-vada was introduced.
Summary
The Dharmasutras reflect early attempts at consolidating Brahmanical traditions

relating to different aspects of thought and practices.
The concept of dharma, changed with changing times and came to mean an ideal
way of life.
The varnashramas included

vanaprastha and sanyasa.
the
four
ashramas
brahmacharya,
grihastha,
120
The purusharthas, also called the chaturvarga were dharma, artha, kama and
moksha and represented the four reasons for human existence.
The samskaras included rites of passage, from birth to death.
Summary
The spread of Buddhism and Jainism was facilitated by the movements of traders,
monks, nuns, kings and other people.
Patrons played a crucial role in spreading as well as in shaping these traditions.
Stories provided an important means of communication.
New trends included making and worshipping images of teachers of these traditions,
the composition and use of devotional literature, and the assimilation of popular
deities.
Differences emerged within the traditions, but there were shared ideas as well.
Summary
The word 'Puranic' is derived from Purana.
While the Puranas acknowledge the sanctity of the four Vedas, Puranic Hinduism is
different from the sacrifice-based religion of the Vedas.
The Puranas with which we are familiar state their number to be eighteen. In fact,
the number of well-known Puranas is well over eighteen.
The Puranas tell us that as a genre they are meant to be characterized by the
pancha-lakshana (literally, five defining marks). In fact, they seldom conform to the
pancha-lakshana criterion.
The Puranas, as we know them, are likely to have been composed from about the
4th-5th centuries CE.
R. C. Hazra has argued that there were two main stages in the development of the
rites and customs described in the Puranas. The first phase dates to the period from
about the sixth century BCE, or even earlier, to the end of the second century CE;
and the second phase to that between the third and the sixth centuries CE.
The Puranic process continued well after the composition of the 18 major Puranas.
121
Summary
Vishnu, Shiva and the Goddess are the major divinities of the Puranic pantheon.
Vishnu and Shiva make only cameo appearances in Vedic literature, and it is
generally held that the worship of a supreme Goddess cannot be traced to Vedic
religion.
Puranic Hinduism is marked by a shift away from yajna-based religion. Image

worship, temple-going, pilgrimage, the observance of vows and bhakti are some of
the important features of Puranic Hinduism.
Much of the Hinduism that is commonly practised today is Puranic Hinduism. So, not
surprisingly, many of the features of Puranic religion discussed in Chapter 9.7.2 will
be familiar to readers of the chapter.
Summary
The bhakti movements drew upon the earlier religious and literary traditions of South
India, but also transformed them.
The poems of the Tamil saints are marked by an intense devotion and love of God.
The two streams of the movement were devoted to the worship of Vishnu and Shiva,
and their saints are called the Alvars and Nayanars respectively.
Puja and pilgrimage became the new forms of ritual, mapping out a sacred landscape
in the Tamil country. Bhakti arose in an expanding agrarian milieu where kings gave
grants to brahamanas and temples, and it also worked to bolster these emerging
forms of religious and political power.
Although women and lower caste groups used the bhakti movements to harness
spaces of expression otherwise denied to them, the bhakti movements did not
overturn existing hierarchies and became increasingly conservative with time.
Yet we cannot deny the tremendous popularity of the Tamil saints among all sections
of society alike. The Alvars and Nayanars died miraculous deaths, disappearing into
their chosen Lord, but their hymns continue to occupy a sacred space in the cultural
and social life of the Tamil people.
Summary
Tantra denotes the art of doing something properly, and includes four principles
gyana, knowledge; yoga, concentration; kriya, making or activity; and charya,
conduct or doing.
122
The right handed path, dakshinachara believes in following the 5 makaras

symbolically, the vamachara follows them literally and the madhyachara follows the
middle path.
The five makaras are madira, maithuna,madya, mansa, matsya and mudra; liquor,
sexual activity, meat, fish and hand gestures.
Tantric practices can be traced from the earliest times, some trace the feminine
elements to the mother goddess cults.
The concept of shakti and shiva are central to tantric practices and together they
symbolize totality.
9.1: Exercises
Essay questions
1) Is it correct to say that the theory of Karman attempted to legitimize the

brahmanical system of social classification?
2) The Buddhist conception of a dynamic social structure was closely related to its
foundational belief about the nature of things. Discuss.
3) How did the Samkhya philosophy help brahmanism appropriate the goddess?
9.2: Exercises
Essay questions
1) What were the religious beliefs of the Rg Vedic people?
2) Discusses the changes in Later Vedic religious practices.
3) What was the role of the brahmana in the conduct of religious practices?
123
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
Question
Match the following:
a) Ric
lower voice
i) written in prose, and intended for recitation in

at sacrifices
b) Saman
ii) verses of praise in metre meant to be chanted
c) Yajus
ceremonies
iii) verses intended for singing at the Soma
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) and ii), b) and iii), c) and i)
Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer
Vedic chants are divided into these three categories.

Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
124

2
Match the following
Question
a) Polytheism
on top
i) worship of gods in hierarchical way with one
b) Kathenotheism
ii) worship of many gods
c) Monotheism
iii) belief in god
d) Theism
iv) worship of one god
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) and ii), b) and i), c) and iv), d) and iii)
a) Polytheism means the worship of many gods.
b) Vedic religion has been regarded as kathenotheistic, where the gods

are worshipped in a hierarchical manner with one of them regarded as
supreme.
c) Belief in one god is monotheism.
d) The belief in god is called theism.

Reviewers Comment:
125
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Multiple choice question
Question
Pick the odd one out:
a) Indra, Rudra, Aditi, Varuna

a.
b) Aditi, Ushas, Gargi, Varuna.
c) Aditya, Maruts, Indra, Varuna.
d) Indra, Rudra, Varuna, Pushan.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
b)
The list contains Gargi who is mentioned as the wife of a sage. The rest
are all Vedic deities.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
126

Question
Find the odd one out:
a) Dyaus
b) Varuna
c) Surya
d) Agni
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
d)
Agni is a terrestrial god, the rest are celestial deities.

Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Fill in the blanks
Question
The Upanishads attempt to lead men from ignorance to knowledge and
perception by transcending the physical world and identifying with inner
self, _______ which is identical with the_________, the ultimate
principle, the absolute reality.
127

Correct Answer /
Option(s)
the atman, Brahman
The atman is the inner force which aligns with the cosmic totality, the
Brahman to for a unified whole.
Reviewers Comment:
9.3: Exercises
Essay questions
1) Explain the Lokayata materialism. Why do they reject god, karma, self and rebirth?
2) Discuss Sankhya dualism. Describe the nature of prakriti and purusha according to
Sankhya.
3) What is a padartha? Discuss briefly the seven padarthas.
4) Explain Shankaras advaitavada. What is the nature of jagat/world according to
Shankara.
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
True or False
LOD
1
Question
1) Lokayata accepted an abiding soul independent of the body.
2) Nyaya and Vaisesika darshanas believe in an external reality independent of the
knower.
3) Sankhya darshana accepted the existence of one universal purusha.
128
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) False
2) True
3) False

1) Lokayata rejected the notion of an abiding soul independent of the body.
According to them a particular combination of the four elements produced
consciousness.
2) Nyaya Vaisesikas are called realists because they believe in the existence of the
external world that can be known, seen and expressed through language.
3) Sankhya accepts two principle realities, matter (prakrti) and consciousness
(purushas). However it believes that there are infinite numbers of purushas.
1) Lokayata is the only school that offers a critical materialism and with ample
reasons it rejects the existence of a soul independent of the perceptible body.
2) Nyaya and Vaisesikas are realists and their entire darshana stand on the edifice
of their realism.
3) Sankhya offers us a strict dualism and within that dualistic framework it accepts
infinite number of purushas. It postulates pluralism for pururshas.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
Match the following
LOD
2
Question
1) Brahman exists as a non-dual principle and all individual selves are none other
than Brahman.
2) There are only four means of arriving at valid knowledge.
3) Cessation of mental functions are brought about by the eight fold practice.
4) Inference is not a means of arriving at valid knowledge.
a) Lokayata
129

b) Advaita Vedanta
c) Nyaya
d) Yoga
Correct
Option(s)
Answer
/
1) 1) and b), 2) and c), 3) and d), 4) and a)

1) Advaita Vedanta is the only school which accepts Brahman as the non-dual
reality and every individual soul as non separate from that Brahman, the Universal
consciousness.
2) According to Nyaya there are only four means of arriving at valid knowledge. All
other means of knowledge can be subsumed under these four kinds.
3) The effort of Patanjalis Yoga sutra is to offer a practice oriented theory to help
understand the functioning of the human mind so that it can be controlled. If offers
the astanga or the eight fold limbs for this purpose.
4) Lokayata is the only school in Indian darshanas that rejects anumana or
inference as a means of arriving at valid knowledge.
1) Brahma satyam, jagan mithya, jivo brahmaiva na parah (Brahman alone is real,
the world is an appearance in Brahman and the individual self is none other than
Brahman) is the central philosophical position of the Advaita school.
2) Nyaya School offers pramana vada (theories for arriving at valid knowledge) and
it accepts only four pramanas.
3) Patanjalis work is called Ashtanga yoga and his sutra Yogah cittavrtti nirodhah
brings out the central aim of this school which is to control the functions of the
mind.
4) Lokayata darshana rejects anumana because the universal statement called the
vyapti vakya can never be sufficiently established.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Question
130

1)The central concern of Purva Mimamsa is:
a) A study of Pramanas
b) Understanding the nature of Self
c) To understand Dharma
d) To prove the existence of god.
2) Samavaya according to Vaisesika is:
a) An inseparable relation obtaining between substance and qualities.
b) An invariable relation between the sadhya and hetu.
c) A relation between prakrti and purusha.
d) That which brings about the eternal separation between the soul and god.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) and c), 2) and a)

1) The central concern of Purva Mimamsa is to identify what exactly constitutes
Dharma so that one could perform the actions stipulated by the Vedas.
2) Samavaya is a nitya sambandha and is different from samyoga which

is a separable relation.
1) Jaiminis first Mimamsa Sutra begins thus Athato Dharma Jijnasa, Now
therefore an enquiry into Dharma stands as the authority for a study of dharma
being central to Purva Mimamsa.
2) The entire Vaisesika philosophy stands on the edifice of the samavaya

relation that is postulated by them. This is central to the realists for it is
this relation that cements the disparate items.
Reviewers Comment:
9.4: Exercises
Essay questions
131

1) What according to Buddhism is the nature of suffering and what causes it? How can it
be removed? Does the focus on suffering make the Buddhist approach pessimistic?
2) Explain in detail the process of liberation according to Jainism.
3) Who were the Ajivikas? What is their central philosophy? Do you think the latter has
any relevance?
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
1) The ideas on which niyativada and syad-vada are based are approximately the
same.
2) The Buddhist theory of anattavada denies the presence of an abiding self.
3) Buddhism believes that the physical body must die before nibbana is attained.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) False
2) True
3) False

1) For the Jainas' and Ajivikas' philosophical viewpoints are quite dissimilar. The
basis of niyativada is Ajivika determinism and their disbelief in karma. The basis
of the Jaina syad-vada on the other hand is the idea that a thing can be observed
from different points of view. The former is descriptive of reality whereas the
latter points to a method.
132

2) It must be remembered that this denial applies to the presence of an
enduring, eternal self (atta or atman) only. The actual empirical existence of the
individual as a mind-body (nama-rupa) complex is never denied.
3) Nibbana according to Buddhism can also be gained during the life of the
agent. Buddhist scriptures describe it as the end of greed, hatred and delusion.
However final nibbana coincides with the agents death.
1) Please understand the main differences between the Ajivika and Jaina
philosophical methodology and understanding of reality. There is no scope for a
likeness between niyativada and syad-vada.
2) and 3) In the case of Buddhism, please keep in mind that each theory or
philosophical doctrine the Buddhists support has subtle nuances that must be
considered in order to have a thorough understanding of this religion.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
Question
1) No karma is accumulated for committing violence.

2) Austerities help in the wearing away of karma.
3) Only intentional actions are included under karma
a) Jainism
b) Buddhism
c) Ajivikas
133

Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) and c), 2) and a), 3) and b)

1) These are particularly the views of the Ajivika, Purana Kassapa, according to
whom no amount of violence made the agent morally culpable. No action was
capable of generating consequences that affected the future of the individual.
2) This is the Jaina view according to which austerities are a means to an end
the end being the attainment of spiritual liberation and in order to attain the
end these means must be practiced. Austerities stop the inflow of karma matter
into the soul, this process being the central cause of bondage.
3) The Buddhists changed the spirit and focus of karma or kamma by adding the
word cetana or intention in its explanation only intentional actions were
kamma. This gave kamma its moral character.
1), 2) and 3): The Ajivikas moved away radically from the karma theory but the
Buddhists and Jainas continued to support it albeit in their own ways. Their
understanding of karma, what caused bondage and liberation, differed to a great
degree from each other as well.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Question
1) Anekantavada:
a) is a view that reality has many (aneka) aspects but one of these aspects is
centrally important.
b) is the Jaina theory of religious toleration that allows for the happy coexistence of many religions.
134
c) represents the view that reality has many aspects and also represents a
methodology for the integration of philosophical views.
2) Sati or mindfulness:
a) pertains to ethical practice: it enhances ethical practice.

b) is about being observant and practising awareness of body, feelings, mind
and mind-objects
c) is focused awareness of the Buddha, dhamma and sangha.

Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) and c), 2) and b)

1) The first option is rejected for though reality has many aspects according to
the Jaina theory of anekantavada, no single aspect is centrally important. Each
has relevance from one point of view. The second is also incorrect for though
anekantavada may promote religious toleration, the Jainas meant it as a
description of a metaphysical reality and a methodology. Therefore the third
option is the correct one.
2) The first option is rejected here for though this meditation may advance
ethical practice, its mission is to focus attention on aspects pertaining to body
and mind: as the practitioner develops steadily an unwavering mind through
such mindfulness he or she is ready for higher spiritual states. So though ethics,
meditation and wisdom must be simultaneously pursued, each also has a specific
function following which the other two are advanced. The correct option is thus
the second one. The last is incorrect, for mindfulness is not about awareness of
these Buddhist symbols, though knowing and understanding them is extremely
vital.
Reviewers Comment:
135
9.5: Exercises
Essay questions
1) What were the reasons for the consolidation of brahmanical traditions in the post
Vedic period?
2) Do you think the varnashrama dharma helped in enforcing varna and gender
divisions?
3) What does the term dhamma imply? How has its meaning changed over the
ages?
4) What do the purusharthas represent?
5) What was the social purpose of the samskaras?
Objective questions
Question no.
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
Question
1) simantonnayana
a) rite for achievement of conception
2) garbhalambhanam
b) rite for first tonsure of the child
3) pumsavana
c) rite for parting the hair of woman

during conception
4) samavartana
d) rite for having a male child
5) sutika
e) rite for taking the ritual bath after

completion of studies
6) cudakarman
f) woman who has just given birth and

hence, polluted
136

Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) and c), 2) and a), 3) and d), 4) and e), 5) and f), 6) and b)

Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Question
One who had not undergone the rite of upanayana was known as:
a) brahmacarin
b) snataka
c) patitasavitrika
d) grihastha
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
c)

Patitasavitrikas are those who have face social ostracism as a result of not having
upanayana performed on them. The rest are stages in the ashrama system - a
brahmacarin is one who has had the upanayana rite; a snataka is one who has
learned the vedas and taken the ritual bath, samavartana; a grihastha is one who
has undergone the marriage ceremony, vivaha.
Reviewers Comment:
137

Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Question
Place these samskaras in the order they are to be performed on an individual
assuming the first one, jatakarman, is performed on him when he is born:
1) upanayana
2) jatakarman
3) annaprashana
4) antyeshti
5) vivaha
a) 2, 3, 1, 5, 4
b) 2, 1, 5, 3, 4
c) 2, 5, 3, 4, 1
d) 2, 3, 4, 5, 1
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a)

The birth rite jatakarman, is followed with the first feeding of the child,
annaprashana, followed by the initiation, upanayana, then there is vivaha, marriage
and when he dies, the death rites, antyeshti.
Reviewers Comment:
9.6: Exercises
Essay questions
1) Read the excerpt from the Hathigumpha Inscription and write in your own words, what
the king gifted to the Jaina monks.
138

2) Locate the references to texts and archaeological evidence in the lesson. To what extent
do these support the view of Schopen that archaeological evidence tells us more about
religious beliefs and practices than texts?
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
State whether true or false:
a) Inscriptions are the only means of reconstructing the history of the spread of
Buddhism and Jainism.
b) During the first millennium CE, Buddhism spread to Africa and South America.
c) The Chinese pilgrims who came to India were keen to collect Buddhist
manuscripts.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) False
b) False
c) True

a) The lesson discusses a variety of sources for reconstructing the history
of the spread of these religionssculpture, architecture, texts, etc.
b) The spread of Buddhism was through Central and East Asia as well as
South and Southeast Asia.
c) The Chinese pilgrims were interested in learning about Buddhism,

therefore they collected manuscripts, many of which they translated into
Chinese.
139

The same as the above
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Question
Pick the correct answers (there can be more than one):
a) Kings who offered support to Buddhist monks and institutions included:
i) Chandragupta Maurya (ii) Kanishka (iii) Samudragupta and (iv) Harshavardhana.
b) Stories that were used to spread ideas about Buddhism included:
i) Manimekalai ii) Panchatantra iii) Jatakas iv) Hitopadesha
c) New religious practices included:
i) performing sacrifices ii) making and dedicating images iii) composing devotional
literature.
d) The differences between the Digambaras and Shvetambaras extended to:
i) all areas of religious beliefs and practices ii) some areas of religious beliefs and
practices.
Correct Answer a)
/ Option(s)
b)
c)
d)
ii) and iv)

i) and iii)
ii) and (iii)
ii)
a) Chandragupta Maurya was probably sympathetic towards Jainism,

while Samudragupta supported Brahmanism.
b) The Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha contain stories that are closer
140

to the Brahmanical model of society.
c) Sacrifices were performed since Vedic times.
d) The Digambaras and Shvetambaras shared several religious beliefs and

practices, although they had some differences, most notably regarding
the use of clothes and about the question of whether women could attain
liberation or not.
The same as the above.

Reviewers Comment:
9.7.1: Exercises
Essay question
1) What do you understand by the expression 'Puranic process'? Do you think that it has
continued into our own times?
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
The Puranas only deal with five topics: sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara and
vamshanucharita.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
False
141

The Puranas tell us that as a genre they are meant to be characterized by the
pancha-lakshana (literally, five defining marks). In other words, they were
supposed to deal with five topics. These are: sarga, pratisarga, vamsha, manvantara
and vamshanucharita. Sarga means the creation of the world, and pratisarga its
destruction and re-formation. Vamsha denotes the genealogies of gods and sages,
and vamshanucharita the succession of ruling families. Manvantara signifies the
periods of the different Manus.
Although a Purana may discuss the five topics that every Purana is supposed to deal
with, the present Puranas by and large contain an enormous range of material that
is unrelated or, at best, very tenuously related to the pancha-lakshana. A Purana
may summarize Ramas story and that of the Mahabharata war; describe numerous
ways of worshipping various gods and goddesses; list the characteristics of the
images of a range of deities; advise on how cities should be established; tell us why
certain rivers are sacred and why certain cities are not; discuss the diseases to
which humans and other creatures are prone and suggest cures for them; delineate
the nature of different sorts of women and the characteristics of different types of
snakes or sins or eatables; speak of how to pacify unfavourable planets or cast a
spell on ones enemy; discuss the art of warfare, dancing, grammar, poetics, music,
painting, different facets of dharma and a lot else. It would be evident that there are
a number of topics in this list, and many more in the Puranas with which we are
familiar, that are not easy to slot into the five heads of sarga, pratisarga, vamsha,
manvantara and vamshanucharita.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
The extant Puranas date to the period of the Vedic corpus.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
False

The word purana occurs in texts of the Vedic corpus. It means old, and seems to
denote an ancient narrative in Vedic literature. However, we cannot be sure of its
nature. Most scholars hold the view that the composition of the extant Puranas
began in about the 4th-5th centuries CE, and that these were repeatedly revised for
a very long period of time.
142

Reviewers Comment:
9.7.2: Exercises
Essay question
1) How is Puranic Hinduism different from Vedic religion?
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
a) The most important gods of Puranic Hinduism are Indra, Agni and Soma.
b) The Devi Mahatmya glorifies Vishnu.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) False
b) False

a) Indra, Agni and Soma are very important gods in the Veda. Vishnu and Shiva are
the great gods of Puranic Hinduism.
b) The Devi Mahatmya is a eulogy on the Goddess.
Reviewers Comment:
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
143

Question
a) Banaras
i) Shaiva sect
b) Kapalika
ii) 'woman of difficult terrain'
c) Durga
iii) Bhagavata
d) Heliodorus
iv) tirtha
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) and iv), b) and i), c) and ii), d) and iii)

a) Banaras is one tirtha or centre of pilgrimage in an extensive network of sacred
places in India.
b) Kapalika is the name of a Shaiva sect. Kapalika means 'bearer of the skull', from
kapala or skull, the most distinctive symbol of this group. The Kapalikas' connection
with the skull may be linked to the Puranic myth of Shiva's beheading of Brahma,
and can perhaps be seen as an act of imitation by Shiva's worshippers.
c) Durga means 'woman of difficult terrain', and Durga is associated with mountains,
usually the Himalaya or the Vindhyas.
d) In a 2nd century BCE inscription found at Besnagar, Heliodorus, a Greek from
Taxila, describes himself as a Bhagavata.
Reviewers Comment:
9.7.3: Exercises
Essay questions
1) What were the main features of bhakti religion? To what extent did the tradition of bhakti
draw upon earlier religious practices and culture and to what extent did it mark a
fundamentally new departure?
144

2) Do you think religious reform movements such as bhakti or Buddhism served to better
the condition of women and the lower castes or did they only provide a safety valve for the
expression of dissent?
3) Critically read the article Bhakti Movement in South India by M.G.S Narayanan and
Kesavan Veluthat. How does it refine your understanding of the socio-religious and political
processes involved in the bhakti movement of South India?
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
True or False
Question
State whether true of false:
a) The bhakti movements have their roots in South India.
b) The saints upheld ritual observances and caste.
c) Buddhism and Jainism were in conflict with the bhakti tradition.
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) True
b) False
c) True

a) While the tradition of bhakti was to spread its roots across the subcontinent and
develop in myriad ways, its first emergence can be traced to South India, especially
the Tamil region.
b) The saints spoke out against conventional ritual observances and gave a strong
critique of the hierarchies of caste.
c) The narratives of bhakti religion speak out against the heterodox faiths of the
Buddhists and Jainas and also engage in philosophical confrontations with them.
Reviewers Comment:
145
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
Question
a) Alvars
i) Chidambaram
b)Nataraja
ii) Nachchiyar Tirumozhi
c) Andal
iii) Vaishnavite saints
d) Nammalvar
iv) Low caste saint
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
a) and iii), b) and i), c) and ii), d) and iv)

a) The Alvars were Vaishnavite saints
b) An important shrine of Shiva as Nataraja is in Chidambaram.
c) An important composition of the bhakti saint Andal is her Nachchiyar Tirumozhi
d) Nammalvar was a low-caste saint.
Reviewers Comment:
9.8: Exercises
Essay questions
1) How do we trace the origins of Tantrism?
2) Elaborate on the significance of the five Ms.
146

3) How does Tantrism relate to Vedic practices?
4) Describe the connections between the mother goddess cults and Tantrism.
Objective questions
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Match the following
Question
1) Maithuna
i) liquour
2) madya
ii) sexual activity
3) mansa
iii) fish
4) matsya
iv) meat
5) mudra
v) postures of the body, women
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
1) and ii), 2) and i), 3) and iv), 4) and iii), 5) and v)

The five makaras are practices which are encouraged in Tantrism, Maithuna
denotes sexual activity, madya denotes liquor, mansa denotes meat, matsya
denotes fish and mudra, postures of the body, cereals and women.
Reviewers Comment:
147
Question Number
Type of question
LOD
Fill in the blanks
Question
The three streams of Tantric tradition are Dakshina, Vama, and Madhyama. The
right handed path, __________ interprets Tantric ideas like the panca makaras,
the five Ms in a symbolic way while the left handed path, the ________interpret
it literally while the________ is the medium path.
a) madhyama, vamachara, dakshinachara
b) Dakshinachara, Vamachara, madhyama
c) Vamachara, madhyama, dakshinachara
d) Vamachara, dakshinachara, madhyama
Correct Answer /
Option(s)
b)

The right handed path is called the Dakshinachara which interprets Tantric ideas
like the panca makaras, the five Ms in a symbolic way while the left handed
path, the vamachara interpret it literally while the madhyama is the medium
path.
Reviewers Comment:
148
Glossary
Cosmogony: a theory of the origin of the universe

Karman: in a broad sense, the term refers to all actions undertaken on earth. But the term
is also used in a more technical sense of a ritual act, such as the performance of a sacrifice
Samkhya: literally, enumeration. The term also refers to one of the six systems of
brahmanical philosophy
Glossary
Cosmology: studies related to the origins of the universe
Eschatology: study of doctrines related to death and after death
Kathenotheism: projection of one god as the supreme amongst many gods
Polytheism: worship of many gods
Glossary
Advaita: non-dualism
Anumana: inference
Aprama: invalid knowledge
Astika: in the context of Indian philosophy it means those who accept the authority of the
Vedic texts
Atma: self
Brahman: the supreme consciousness
Aastikas: tn the context of Indian Philosophy means those who reject the authority of the
Vedic texts
Dvaita: dualism
Isvara: the god
Lokayata: name of the school that propounds Indian materialism
Maya: the illusory power of Brahman
Prama: valid knowledge
Pratyaksha: perception
Sabda: verbal testimony
Shruti: those sacred texts that are transmitted orally
Upadhi: an adjunct
Upamana: comparison
Vishistadvaita: qualified non-dualism
Darsmoksha: denotes Indian philosophy in todays context
Moksha: liberation
Maranam: death
149
Glossary
anekantavada: Jaina belief that reality has many aspects and for true knowledge to arise
an amalgamation of all these aspects is necessary
dhamma: one of the three jewels of Buddhism, it stands for Buddhist teachings here - the
word has several other meanings
dukkha: in early Buddhist philosophy it represents suffering, anguish and discontent,
pertaining to body and mind, and arising out of attachment
magga: the Path to enlightenment in Buddhist philosophy relating to the Eightfold Path with
its three - fold division of morality, meditation and wisdom
niyativada: the philosophy of Makkhali Gosala that everything is predetermined and the
agents effort counts for nothing
pudgala: matter in Jaina philosophy that flows into the soul and leads to its bondage.
Samannaphala Sutta: a discourse in the Digha Nikaya, a text of the Pali Canon of the
early Buddhists, containing, among other things, information on religious teachers who may
have existed around the time of the Buddha
Glossary
Ahitagni: one who maintains the three ritual fires instead of just one
Gramadharma: the customs of a village
Grihapati: head of the household
Kuladharma: the customs of a family
Pakayagya: offerings of cooked food, mainly for household rites.
Patitasavitrika: one who is degraded for not undergoing the initiation rite, Upanayana
Raison detre: the reason for ones existence
Social ostracism: not allowed to participate in social events, being kept out of community
Sutika: a woman who has just given birth to a child and is in confinement
Theological: dealing with religious issues
Glossary
Bodhisattva: a term used for the Buddha in his previous births, common within the
Mahayana tradition. Here the Bodhisattva was used to designate a man who had attained
enlightenment, but instead of seeking nirvana or final liberation, remained in the world to
help other beings in their quest for enlightenment out of a sense of compassion.
Bodhisattvas were often worshipped as divinities.
chaitya: shrine that could be associated with natural features such as caves or trees, or
could consist of a structure built of wood and/ or brick. Some of these were apsidal, i.e., u
150

shaped, with the curve of the u at the furthest end of the structure. Some also contained
structures, such as small stupas
Pitaka: Pali term, meaning basket, used to designate the containers for manuscripts, and,
by extension, the texts they contained. Buddhist tradition recognizes three Pitakas, the
Vinaya, dealing with rules for the monastic order, the Sutta, containing a wide range of
dialogues and stories about the teachings of the Buddha, and the Abhidhamma, dealing with
philosophical matters
stupa: literally mound. This is a term used to designate structures, built of earth, brick
and/ or stone, often containing relics of the Buddha or his disciples, and sites of worship.
They were often regarded as symbolic of the presence of the Buddha.
tirthankara: literally one who helps cross (the stream of life), a name given to Jaina
ascetics who had attained liberation. The Jaina tradition recognized the existence of 24
tirthankaras
Glossary
nastika: a term indicating heterodox faiths, i.e., those which do not base themselves on
Vedic literature. Buddhism and Jainism are in this category
pancha-lakshana: literally, 'five defining marks', or the five topics that the Puranas were
supposed to deal with
Shaiva: pertaining to Shiva, a worshipper of Shiva
Vaishnava: pertaining to Vishnu, a worshipper of Vishnu
Glossary
Bhagavata: name of a Vaishnava sect. The deity was Narayana- Krishna-Vishnu
darshana: 'seeing' the divine; intellectual perspective or orientation
Kapalika: 'skull-bearer', a sect of Shaivas who imitate Shiva's wandering with Brahma's
skull
Pancharatra: literally, 'five nights'; name of a Vaishnava sect
Pashupata: follower of Shiva Pashupati, 'lord of beasts'
shakti: power, energy; power as, or of, the goddess
tirtha: crossing place or ford, a centre of pilgrimage
vrata: a vowed observance, a religious act of devotion or austerity which is performed for
the fulfilment of a specific wish
Glossary
Bhakti: the term bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which suggests notions of sharing,
participation, equality and loyalty. In South India, the first reference to the term occurs in
the poetry of Appar where it is spelt as bhathi. Central to the path of bhakti is the devotion
151

and love of the devotee towards God. The devotional mood of bhakti is thus quite distinct
from the path of action (karmamarga) of the Vedas and the path of knowledge
(jnanamarga) of the Upanishads.
Glossary
Occult: supernatural, mystical
Prakriti: literally, nature and all natural phenomena; representing the female principle
Purusha: male, representing the masculine principle
Syncretic: reconciling different streams of thought
Tantra: the method of doing or making something
Tattva: fundamental theory
Further readings
Halbfass, Wilhelm. 1991. Tradition and Refection: Explorations in Indian Thought. Albany:
State University of New York Press.
OFlaherty, Wendy Doniger, ed. 1999. Karma and Rebirth in Classical Indian Traditions.
Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Radhakrishnan, Sarvapalli. 1993. Indian Philosophy, 2 vols. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Further readings
Chakrabarti, Kunal. 1995. Recent Approaches to the History of Religion in Recent
Perspectives of Early Indian History. Ed. Romila Thapar. Bombay: Popular Prakashan, 176236.
Dandekar, R. N. 1992. The Brahmanical Tradition: The Vedic Period and the Ultimate Reality
in the Upanishads in Sources of Indian Tradition, Ainslie T. Embree ed. Indian edition:
Penguin Books, 1-40.
Dange, S. A. 2000. Introduction in Vedic Sacrifices Early Nature. New Delhi: Aryan Books.
Deussen, Paul. 1906. The Philosophy of the Upanishads. 1966 edition. New York: Dover
Publications
Hume, Robert Ernest. 1877. Outline in The Thirteen Principle Upanishads. 2000 edition.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1-72.
Macdonell, A. A. 1971 edition. The Vedic Mythology. Delhi: Indological Book House.
152

Nakamura, Hajime. 1992. Myths, Gods and Sacrifice: Thought in Early Agricultural
Communities in A Comparitive History of Ideas, 11-46, Indian reprint.
Witzel, M. ed. 1997. Inside the Texts, Beyond the Texts, New Approaches to the study of
the Vedas, Proceeding of the International Vedic Workshop, Harvard University, Harvard
Oriental Series, Opera Minora, Vol.2, Cambridge, MA: Deptt
Further readings
Dasgupta, Surendranath. 1963. A History of Indian Philosophy, Cambridge University Press.
Fowler, Jeaneane. 2002. Perspectives of Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of
Hinduism, Sussex: Academic Press.
Sharma, Chandradhar. 1973. A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal
Banarasidass.
Hiriyanna, M. 1994 (reprint). Outlines of Indian Philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarasidass.
Radhakrishnan, S. 1927. Indian philosophy. Volume I. London: George Allen and Unwin.
Further readings
Basham, A. L. 1951. History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas. London: Luzac and Company Ltd.
Blackstone, Kathryn R. 1998. Women in the Footsteps of the Buddha: Struggle for
Liberation in the Therigatha, Surrey: Curzon.
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. [1916] 1964. Buddha and the Gospel of Buddhism, New York:
Harper Torchbooks.
Fausboll, V., trans. [1881] 2004. Suttanipata, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
Freer, Leon, Ed. 1884-1904. Samyutta Nikaya. 6 Volumes. London: Pali Text Society. C. A.
F. Rhys Davids and F. L. Woodard, trans. 1917-30. The Book of Gradual Sayings. 5
Volumes. London: Pali Text Society.
Jacobi, Hermann, trans. [1884] 2004. Jaina Sutra, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
Matilal, Bimal Krishna. 1981. The Central Philosophy of Jainism, Ahmedabad: L. D. Institute
of Indology.
153

Morris, Richard and E. Hardy, Ed. 1885-1910. Anguttara Nikaya. 6 Volumes. London: Pali
Text Society. F. L. Woodard and E. M. Hare, trans. 1932-6. The Book of Gradual Sayings. 5
Volumes. London: Pali Text Society.
Tatia, Nathmal, trans. [1994] 2007.
Banarsidass Publishers.
Tattvartha Sutra of Umasvati. Delhi: Motilal
Trenckner, V. and Robert Chalmers. Ed. 1888-1925. Majjhima Nikaya. 4 Volumes. London:
Pali Text Society. I. B. Horner, trans. The Middle Length Sayings. 3 Volumes. London: Pali
Text Society.
Walshe, Maurice, trans. 1987. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the
Digha Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
Further readings
Embree, Ainslie T. ed. 1988. Sources of Indian Tradition. 2d Rev. ed. First published in
1958. New Delhi: Penguin Books.
Olivelle, Patrick. 1993. The Ashrama System: The History and Hermeneutics of a Religious
Institution. Austen Texas: Oxford University Press.
Olivelle, Patrick. 2005. Manus Code of Law: A Critical Edition. Translation of the Manava
Dharmasastra. The University of Texas Centre for Asian Studies. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Pandey, Rajbali. 1994. Hindu Samskaras. 2d Rev. ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Smith, Brian K. 1998. Reflections on Resemblance, Ritual and Religion. Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass.
Further readings
Dundas, Paul. 2002. The Jains. London and New York: Routledge.
Gombrich, Richard. 1988. Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to
Modern Colombo. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Jain, J. C. 1984. Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canon and Commentaries, 6th
century BC to 17th century AD. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Schopen, Gregory. 1997. Bones, Stones and Buddhist Monks: Collected Papers on the
Archaeology, Epigraphy and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India. Honolulu: University of
Hawaii Press.
Websites that provide access to a range of material include the following:
http://www.jainism.org/
154

http://sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm
Further readings
Brockington, J. L. 1997. The Sacred Thread: A Short History of Hinduism. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Chakrabarti, Kunal. 2001. Religious Process: The Puranas and the Making of a Regional
Tradition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal. 1997. Introduction: The Making of Early Medieval India, in
Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya. The Making of Early Medieval India, 1-37. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Doniger, Wendy. 2009. The Hindus: An Alternative History. New Delhi: Penguin Viking.
Hazra, R. C. 1940. Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs. 1975
reprint. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Narayana Rao, Velcheru. 2004. Purana, in The Hindu World, ed. Sushil Mittal and Gene
Thursby, 97-115. New York and London: Routledge.
Roy, Kumkum, Kunal Chakrabarti and Tanika Sarkar. 2005. The Vedas, Hinduism, Hindutva.
Kolkata: Ebong Alap.
Further readings
Jaiswal, Suvira. 1981. The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism: Vaisnavism from 200 BC
to AD 500. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Kinsley, David R. 1986. Hindu Goddesses: Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu
Religious Tradition. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Lipner, Julius J. 1998. Hindus: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices. London: Routledge.
O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. 1981. Siva: The Erotic Ascetic. New York: Oxford University
Press.
Further readings
155

Brockington, J. L. 1997. The Sacred Thread: A Short History of Hinduism. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Chakravarti, Uma. 1999. The World of the Bhaktin in South Indian Traditions -- The Body
and Beyond. in Women in Early Indian Societies, ed. Kumkum Roy. New Delhi: Manohar,
299-321.
Champakalakshmi, R. 1999. Trade, Ideology and Urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD
1300. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Davis, Richard. 1999. Lives of Indian Images. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
Dehejia, Vidya. 1988. Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints. New Delhi:
Munshiram Manoharlal.
Nandi, R. N. 1986. Social Roots of Religion in Ancient India. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi and Co.
Narayanan, M. G. S. and Kesavan Veluthat. 2000 (1978). Bhakti Movement in South India.
in The Feudal Order: State, Society and Ideology in Early Medieval India, ed. D. N. Jha. New
Delhi: Manohar. 385-410.
Ramanujan, A. K. trans. 1981. Hymns for the Drowning: Poems for Visnu by Nammalvar.
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Ramaswamy, Vijaya. 1997. Walking Naked: Women, Society and Spirituality in South India.
Shimla: IIAS.
Spencer, George W. 1970. The Sacred Geography of the Tamil Shaivite Hymns. Numen, Vol.
17: 232-244.
Sundaram, P. S. trans. 1996. For the Love of God: Selections from the Nalayira Divya
Prabandham. Delhi: Penguin Books.
Further readings
Bhattacharya, N. N. 1999. History of the Tantric Religion, An Historical, Ritualistic and
Philosophical Study, second revised edition (First edition, 1982). New Delhi: Manohar.
Chakrabarti, Kunal. 1995. Recent approaches to the History of Religion in Ancient India,
Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History, ed. Romila Thapar. Bombay: Popular
Prakashan.
156

Sharma, R. S. 1984. Material milieu of Tantricism, Indian Society: Historical Probings (In
memory of D. D. Kosambi), ed. R. S.Sharma and Vivekanand Jha, third edition. New Delhi:
Peoples Publishing House, 175-89.
157

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Religion, philosophy and society

9.1: Religion, philosophy and society in early India