Chapter XXIV. Influence of Purānas on Dharmashastra

Volume V: Part II pp. 913–1002

Chapter XXIV. Influence of Purānas on Dharmashastra

SECTION V CHAPTER XXIV Influence of Purāṇas on dharmaśāstra

Literary works and society act and re-act on each other. The state of Indian society a few centuries before and after Christ, riven as it was by the growing strength and onslaught of Buddhism, Jainism and other dissenting sects and disturbed by invasions of the Greeks, Śakas, Pahlavas, Hūṇas and other foreign tribes, gave much food for thought to those who were devoted to the Vedic religion and induced them to write works setting forth new ideologies and practices and effecting a re-statement of the ancient Vedic and Smṛti religioṇ When these works attained a position of authority and eminence, the endeavour of the followers of the Veda was to follow them as far as possible and to adapt their practices and religious rites to the requirements of the Purāṇaṣ We have to see how the Purāṇas set about their task of re-orientatioṇ We must note that current Hindu religious practices, judging from the saṅkalpa made at the beginning of every rite, are meant to confer upon the per- former the rewards declared by Śruti (Veda), Smṛti and Purāṇas (Śruti-smṛti-purāṇokta-phalaprāptyartham). The task was two- fold, viz. (1) to undermine the power and prestige of Buddhism and Jainism and the influence of the numerous philosophical¹ schools that had sprung up and (2) to wean away large sections of the masses from the attractive features of Buddhism and to convince them that they could secure in the re-orientated Hindu faith the same benefits, social and spiritual, as Buddhism promised and that the religious principles of the followers of Veda coincided with many of the teachings of Buddhism and were borrowed by Buddhism from Vedic practiceṣ Ultimately Buddhism vanished from the land of its origiṇ The main causes of this disappearance of Buddhism from Bhārata will be stated at the end of this section, but this much may be said here at once that the Purāṇas played a substantial role in bring- ing about the decline and disappearance of Buddhism by emphasizing and assimilating some of the principles and doctrines of Buddha ² such as ahiṁsā, by accepting Buddha himself as an avatāra of Viṣṇu, by adopting vegetarianism as a high form of austerity, by making use of monasteries and asceticism as stated in such smṛtis as those of Manu and Yaj.

The Purāṇas set about their task by saying that for the proper understanding of the Veda, knowledge of Itihāsa and Purāṇa was essential. A famous verse says ³ ‘one should strengthen the Veda by (the study and application of) Itihāsa and Purāṇa; the Veda is afraid of the (with the thought) that he (the man of small learning) may harm it’. Manu states ⁴ that those brāhmaṇas that have learnt according to the rules (of Veda study) the Veda together with the works that strengthen it are to be understood as śiṣṭas and are instrumental in making (the meaning of) the Veda clearly perceptible. The Vāyu ⁵ emphasizes in this connection that that brāhmaṇa who knows the four Vedas together with (the six) ancillary lores and the Upaniṣads would not be a wise man if he did not know Purāṇaṣ The Upaniṣads drop brief hints about the creation of ākāśa from the one brahma (in Tai. Up. II. 1), of tejas (Chāṇ Up. VI. 2. 3), of waters (Chāṇ Up. VI. 2. 4). The Purāṇas explain at great length the creation and dissolution of the elements (in the order reverse of that of creation) e. g. Vāyu 4. 17 ff, Brahma 1-3, Agni 17, Brahmāṇḍa II. 3 ff, Kūrma I. 2, 4, 7, 8 &c. The stories of Hariścandra and Naciketas that occur in the Ait. Br. and the Kāṭhopaniṣad are explained at length in Brahmapurāṇa (chap. 104 and 150 about Hariścandra), in Sabhāparva chap. 12 (for Hariścandra) and in Anuśāsana chap. 91 (for Naciketas). The famous dialogue of Yama and Yamī (Rg. X. 10) is expanded in the Narasimha- purāṇa (chap. 13. 6-36). The Viṣṇupurāṇa⁶ (IV. 6. 34 ff) sets out the story of Purūravas and Urvaśī, refers to the hymn in the Rg. X. 95 for that story and quotes the first verse of the hymn in a somewhat corrupt forṃ

But the claims of the extant Purāṇas go far beyond the above viz. as strengtheners of the Veda. The Kūrma⁷ states: '(put) on one side all the Purāṇas together with Itihāsa (Mahā- bhārata) and on another the highest Veda; it is this (Purāṇas) that surpasses (the other viz. Veda)'. The Mahābhārata also makes a similar claiṃ The Purāṇas appear to claim priority to the Veda. In note 1349 passages from the Matsya and other Purāṇas have been cited, stating that Brahmā first thought of the Purāṇas before all other śāstras and then the Vedas sprang forth from his lipṣ Several Purāṇas are spoken of as equal to the Veda (Vedasammita) as in⁸ Vāyu I. 11, 4. 12, Brahmā I. 29, 245. 4 and 21, Viṣṇu I. 1. 13, VI. 8. 12, Padma VI. 282. 116. Further, several Purāṇas claim to have been delivered by some God such as Brahmā (Brahmapurāṇa I. 30) or by the Wind-god (Vāyu I. 196)⁹ or by the avatāras of Viṣṇu as in the case of Matsya-purāṇa (I. 26) or Varāha (2. 1– 3). The japa-of Vedic texts was deemed to destroy all sins as shown in H. of Dh. vol IV. pp. 45–50. The Purāṇas also say that reading the Purāṇas or listening to a recitation of them would destroy all sinṣ¹⁰ Vide Vayu 103. 58, Brahma 175. 89-90, Matsya 290. 20, 291. 29 and 31, Viṣṇu VI. 8. 3, 12. Some of the Purāṇas indulge in extravagant praise of themselves, e. g. the Varāha-purāṇa (217. 12-13, 217. 15-16) states that reading ten chapters of that Purāṇa confers the merit secured by the performance of Agniṣṭoma and Atirātra sacrificeṣ Vide Brahma 254. 34-35, Agni 384. 13-30, Devī-Bhāgavata XII. 13. 11-17 in a similar straiṇ Moreover, the Purāṇas dwell upon the superior value and efficacy, as compared with the Vedic sacrifices, of some of the institutions on which they lay emphasis, such as pilgrimages,¹¹ vratas, bhakti. The Padma states ( I. 38. 2 and 18) that by merely going to Gayā or by taking a bath in the Phalgu river one secures the reward that the performance of Aśvamedha conferṣ The Skanda proclaims¹² 'I have no use for sacrificial rites that are declared by the Veda, that have no life in them, that are within the domain of ignorance and that entail injury (to animals). If (a sacrifice) is performed with such inanimate things as fuel-sticks, flowers and kuśa grass, the result must be similar (inanimate), since the effect is like the cause'. Vide Śāntiparva 337 for a story on the discussion between sages and gods about offering in sacrifices merely products of grains or goat-flesh. Offerings of flesh in sacrifices to gods were made in the Ṛgvedic perioḍ But even in the Ṛgveda there are a few verses that indicate that offerings of ghee and fuel-sticks were declared to be able to win the favour of gods as much as animal sacrifices might do. 'Whosoever¹³ offers to (or worships) Agni with a fuel-stick or with an oblation of ghee or with (the study of) the Veda or who performs a good sacrifice with prostrations, for him alone run fleet horses and his is most brilliant fame; and no evil whether brought about by gods or by men might reach him from any side. Another mantra ¹⁴ says 'O Agni! we bring to you an offering accompanied by a ṛkmantra fashioned (or produced) by our heart. May those mantras be oxen, bulls and cows from you'.

The purāṇas only pursue an attitude to Veda and sacrifices that is found in some of the Upaniṣadṣ The Muṇḍakopaniṣad¹⁵ says: 'one should know two vidyās (lores), parā (the higher) and aparā (the lower); the latter comprehends the four Vedas and Phonetics, aphorisms about solemn sacrifices, grammar, Nirukta (derivation of words), metres, astronomy; while the highest lore is that whereby the Imperishable (Reality) is known'. The same Upaniṣad condemns aparā-vidyā when it says 'These sacrifices are infirm (leaky) boats constituted by eighteen (persons) depending on which are declared actions that are inferior; those foolish people who welcome these actions as the highest good become subject again to old age and death'. The Kathopaniṣad ¹⁶ states that what are known as avidyā and vidyā are far apart from each other, are contradictory and lead to different resultṣ When Nārada approached Sanatkumāra and requested the latter to teach him, the latter said to him 'tell me what you know and then I shall tell you what is beyond that.' Then Nārada stated that he knew all the four Vedas, Itihāsa-purāṇa the fifth Veda and several other lores, whereupon Sanat-kumāra told him that the four Vedas and the other lores he had learned were merely a name and then he led Nārada gradually to the understanding of the Highest Self. The Bṛ. Up. I. 4. 10 condemns him, who worships a deity thinking he is different from the devatā, that he does not know the truth, that he is like a (sacrificial) animal to the godṣ Similarly, in several passages of the Upaniṣads austerities, liberalism, straight-forwardness, ahiṁsā and truthfulness are put forward as equal to or superior to the actual performance of the ceremonial of sacrifice (yajña); vide Chāndogya III. 17. 4, Praśna I. 15, Mundaka I. 2. 11.

Though in a few passages of the Upaniṣads the knowledge of the Highest Self is put higher than the four Vedas, the Upa-niṣads generally treat the Vedas as authoritative and quote Vedic verses in support of their statementṣ For example, the Ait. Up. II. 5 quotes Ṛgveda IV. 27. 1 (taduktam-ṛṣinā-Garbhe nu &c.), Praśnop. I. 11 quotes Ṛg. I. 164. 12 (pañcapādam pitaram), Bṛ. Up. II. 5. 15, 17 and 19 quote respectively Ṛg. I. 116. 12, I. 117. 22, VI. 47. 18 (rūpaṁ rūpaṁ pratirūpo). The Upaniṣads further emphasize¹⁷ that brahmavidyā is to be imparted only to those who are śrotriya (who have studied the Veda), who engage in their duties and who have properly per-formed Śirovratra. The Bṛ.¹⁸ Up. shows that Veda study, sacrifices, charity &c. are preparations for the knowledge of brahma: ‘Brāhmaṇas (and others) desire to know this (great Self) by study of the Veda, by sacrifices, gifts, tapas, fasting’. These passages make it clear that study of the Veda and per-formance of sacrifices enjoined by it are accepted by the Upa-niṣads as preparatory and as cleansing the mind of its lower passions and as making a person worthy of receiving the know-ledge of the highest truth about the One Supreme Spirit and that the Upaniṣads do not altogether condemn and give up the Vedas and sacrificeṣ

The Purāṇas adopt, in spite of the claims made by them here and there about their priority to the Vedas, about their own value and efficacy, the same attitude towards the Veda as the Upaniṣads do. They treat the Vedas as authoritative and enjoin The employment of Vedic mantras in many riteṣ The author contributed a paper to the Dr. Kunhan Raja Presentation volume pp. 5–8 on the ‘Vedic mantras and legends employed in Purāṇas’ citing illustrations from the Brahmapurāṇa. A few illustrations from other Purāṇas may be set out here. The Matsyapurāṇa (chap. 93) when describing the procedure of the homa to the nine planets prescribes nine Vedic mantras, five of which are different from those provided by Yāj. (I. 300–301). Vide p. 750 above for a comparative table of the two sets of mantraṣ In the Udvâhatattva¹⁹ Raghunandana remarks that the mantras ‘ā kṛṣṇa’ and others are common to persons following the four Vedas and that Bhavadevabhaṭṭa held the same view. Matsya prescribes that when inauspicious birds (like an owl) or animals cry near a house or enter it, a homa should be performed, or five brāhmaṇas should engage in a japa²⁰ of the hymn beginning with ‘Devāḥ kapota’ (Rg. X. 165. 1–5). In describing the whole procedure of the establishment of images of gods or the liṅga (of Śiva), the Matsya (chapter 265) prescribes numerous Vedic verses and hymns for the different parts of the ceremony. For example, for bringing about the purification of the image four mantras are prescribed viz. Rg. VII. 49. 1–3 and X. 9. 1; in providing for the placing of a jar full of water near the head of the bed on which the image is to be placed, two mantras ‘Āpo devi’ (Vāj. S. 12. 35, Tai. S. IV. 2. 32) and ‘āpo asmān mātaṛaḥ’ (Rg. X. 17. 10) are to be reciteḍ Matsya (265. 24–29) prescribes for the japa of several sūktas (hymns) by four door-keepers learned in the Vedas that are to stand in the four main direc- tionṣ The Agnipurāṇa (41. 6–8) providing for the laying down of baked bricks or stones in building a temple prescribes the recital of many Vedic mantras, viz. Rg. X. 9.1–3, Rg. X. 9.4, Rg. IX. 58. 1–4, Pāvamānī verses (either Rg. IX. 1. 1–10 or Rg. I. 24. 15, Rg. IV. 31. 1, Vāj. S. IV. 36 (Varuṇasya), Rg. IV. 40. 5 and the Śrīsūkta (of 29 verses beginning with 'Hiranyavarnām harinīm'). The Nāradiya-purāṇa (II. 73. 83-90) contains at end of each of the verses parts of vedic prayer, which occur in Rg. VII. 66. 16, Tai. Ār. IV. 4. 2-5 and Vāj. S. 36. 24; Bhāgavata I. 2. 21 ( bhīdyate &c.) is taken from Mundaka Up. II. 2. 8.

The Purāṇas not only prescribe Vedic mantras for various purposes, but suggest the employment of numerous Paurāṇika mantraṣ It appears that Paurāṇika mantras came to be employed along with Vedic mantras in religious rites even of Brāhmaṇas at the beginning of the Christian era or within a few centuries after Christ. Yaj. I. 229 prescribes that the Viśve Devas should be invited to come to a śrāddha with the ṛk, ‘O Viśve-Devas! Come, listen to this my call, sit down on these kuśas’ (Rg. II. 41. 13). On this the Mitākṣarā (about 1100 A. D.) remarks that along with the Vedic mantra mentioned by Yaj. a smārta mantra should also be employed viz. the mantra²¹ ‘āgacchantu mahābhāgā,' which occurs in Skanda and Garuḍa-purāṇa. Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. p. 440 note 984 for the ascription of this verse to various authoritieṣ The Vāyupurāṇa ²² prescribes that the mantra ‘adoration to the devatās, to pitṛs, to the great Yogins, to śrāddha and svāhā; they are always present' should be recited thrice at the beginning and at the end of śrāddha and at the time of offering pindus; the pitṛs quickly come when the mantra is repeated and goblins run away; this mantra protects the pitṛs in all three worlds'. This mantra is styled 'Saptārcis' (having seven flames) in Vāyu 74. 20, Braḥ- māṇḍa III. 11. 30 and in Vispudharmottara I. 140. 68 and by Hemādri on śrāddha pp. 1079 and 1208, who notes that it occurs in seven Purāṇaṣ In chap. 206 of the Agni in the procedure of offering arghya to the star Agastya (Canopus) Rg. I. 179. 6 has been adopted as verse 13. Not only are mantras from Vedic Saṃhitās prescribed by the Purāṇas for certain rites, but Upaniṣad passages also some- times with slight variance are bodily transferred into some of the Purāṇaṣ For example, Kūrma II. 9.12, 13 and 18 embody Tai. Up. II. 4 (yato vāco nivartante), Śvetāśvataropa. III. 8 (vedāham-etam puruṣam) and VI. 11 'eko devaḥ'. The Viṣṇu- purāṇa VI. 5. 65 is 'dve vidye veditavye iti cātharvaṇī śrutiḥ' and contains a passage of the Muṇḍaka Up. I.1.4 (vide note 1461 above). The Vāyu 20. 5 (praṇavo dhanuḥ) and 20. 28 (Ajām- ekām) are respectively Muṇḍakopa. II. 2. 4 and Śvetāśvatara-up. IV. 5. Vāyu 14. 13 (sarvataḥ pāṇipādantam) is almost the same as Śvetāśvatara Up. III. 16 and Vāmana 47. 64–65 has the same verse. Vāmana 47. 67 is almost the same as Ṛg. I. 10. 1.

This gives rise to interesting questionṣ The śūdras had no right to study the Veda. But as a matter of fact the Purāṇas contain as exemplified above a good many Vedic mantraṣ It is stated in the Bhāgavata²³ ‘women, śūdras and brāhmaṇas in name only are beyond the pale of the three Vedas; therefore the sage (Vyāsa) composed through compassion for them the Bhārata tale’. The Devībhāgavata states 'study of the Veda is not accepted for women, śūdras and brāhmaṇas in name only and Purāṇas are compiled for the purpose of benefitting theṃ From this it follows that in the case of śūdras the listening to the Bhārata was deemed to bring about the same results that the Veda does for dvijas and that even the śūdra may acquire the knowledge of the Self (and mokṣa) from the Bhārata.

Though the brāhmaṇas in the 5th and following centuries A. D. wanted to placate the śūdras who were probably a majority of the whole people and to wean them away from Buddhism, they still kept a distinction between dvijas and śūdras and the only concessions made were that the śūdras could worship in the same way as dvijas did and that they could have mantras (Paurāṇika) in their rites and ceremonieṣ For example, in allowing bhasma-snāna (smearing ashes on the body) the Padma (IV. 110. 236–289 ) provides Vedic mantras for men of the three varṇas but Paurāṇika mantras only (Padma IV. 110. 290–293) for śūdraṣ The Padma²⁴ further provides that śūdras could not perform prāṇāyāma or utter the sacred syllable 'om' but that they should substitute dhyāna in place of prāṇāyāma and 'Śiva' in place of 'om'.

Gradually in some matters the procedure provided in the Purāṇas came to supersede the ancient Vedic procedure pre-scribed for theṃ Aparārka states (on p. 14) that in Devapūjā one should follow the procedure prescribed in the Narasimha-purāṇa²⁵ and the like and not the procedure of the Pāśupatas or Pāñcarātras and (on p. 15) he says the same about the con-secration of temples,²⁶ images and the like.

The Narasimhapuraṇa (chap. 63. 5–6) says that the mantra 'om namo Nārāyaṇāya' enables one to secure all objects and japa of it frees a man from all sins and leads him to absorption into Viṣṇu.²⁷ The Agnipurāṇa (chap. 218) describes the procedure of the king's coronation and (chapter 219) sets out the Paurāṇika mantras (about 70) employed at the coronatioṇ Similarly, the Viṣṇudharmottara (II, 21) describes the procedure of coronation with Vedic mantras and (in II, 22) with 184 Paurāṇika verses invoking various gods, minor deities, sages, rivers &c. Medieval digests like the Rājanītiprakāśa (pp. 49-83), Nītimayūkha (pp. 1-4), Rājadharmakaustubha (pp. 318-363) describe the combined coronation procedure of Vedic and Paurāṇika mantras from the Viṣṇu-dharmottara (vide pp. 78-79 of the H. of Dh. vol. III. for details). The Rājanītiprakāśa (pp. 430-433) prescribes numerous mantras derived from the Viṣṇudharmottara as prayers and as blessingṣ

The Padmapurāṇa²⁸ narrates the interesting story of a person called Dhanaśarmā whose father followed only the Vedic path (śrauta-mārga), who did not engage in such Paurāṇika prescriptions as Vaiśākhasnāna and who therefore became a horrible and distressed preta. Some of the verses are very interesting. 'I performed in my ignorance only Vedic rites and I never observed Vaiśākhasnāna in honour of God Mādhava (Viṣṇu), nor observed a single Vaiśākha Full Moon vrata which is like an axe for cutting the tree of sins that afflicts one like a conflagration fed by the fuel of sinful deeds &c.; to one who studies many śāstras and several Vedas with their extensive ancillary Literature, learning does not come, if he has not studied Purāṇas'. This shows what importance came to be attached to Purāṇas not only for śūdras but even for brāhmaṇas who performed the Vedic rites prescribed for theṃ

The influence of the Purāṇas went on increasing gradually. At first it was said²⁹ that the dharma understood from the Veda was the highest, while the dharma declared in the Purāṇas and the like was inferior. This gradually changed and dharma was said to be of three kinds, Vaidika, Tantrika and Miśra and it was said in the Bhag̃avata³⁰ and the Padma that one may worship god Viṣṇu in any one of the three ways that one desireḍ The Padma adds that the Vaidika and Miśraka methods are declared to be proper for brāhmaṇas and the like, while the Tantrika method of worship is meant for a devotee of Viṣṇu and Devībhāgavata (XI. 1.21–23) states that Śruti (Veda) and Smṛti are the eyes of dharma and Purāṇa its heart, and that that is dharma which is declared by these three and that dharma can be found nowhere else than in these, that what is found in Tantras is put forward as dharma, but one should not accept that.

The Bhaviṣya (Brāhmaparva I, 43–47) in a dialogue between Śatānika and Sumantu) first enumerates the 18 dharma-śāstras from Manu to Atri, states that the Vedas, the śāstras of Manu and others and the aṅgas are promulgated for the three varṇas and not for the benefit of śūdras, that śūdras appear to be very much helpless; how can they be able to secure the four puruṣārthas? They are devoid of āgama (traditional lore); what traditional lore was declared for them by the wise among artha and kāma? Sumantu replies:³¹ listen to the Dharma-śāstras that were declared by wise men for the benefit of all four varṇas and specially for śūdras viz. the 18 Purāṇas, the life of Rāma of the Raghu race (i. e. the Rāmāyaṇa) and the Bhārata (i.e. the Mahābhārata). declared by Parāśara’s son (Vyāsa); the compassionate Vyāsa composed a śāstra for the benefit of all four varṇas in which he comprehended the entire meaning of the Veda and the Dharma- śāstras; it is an unparalleled boat for all that are engulfed in saṁsāra. This makes it clear that the Purāṇas, the Mahābha- rata and the Rāmāyaṇa embody pristine traditions and thoughts and were deemed to have been composed as the instruments of the education and enlightenment of the common people. As a matter of fact we find that some Purāṇas like Agni, Matsya, Viṣṇudharmottara are encyclopaedic and include treatises on politics and government, on law, medicine, astronomy, astro- logy, poetry, music, sculpture &c. They illustrate India's life and character as a country and exemplify Bhārata’s achievements, weaknesses and shortcomingṣ Two questions that arise are: (1) could the Purāṇas including the Vedic mantras quoted therein be read by the śūdras themselves; (2) supposing that Vedic mantras could not be read by the śūdras, could they, if they were able to do so, by themselves read the purāṇas without a brāhmaṇa’s help. All writers of digests and commentaries were agreed that śūdras could not read or listen to the Vedic mantras contained in the Purāṇas (which being meant for the benefit of all varṇas contained Vedic mantras also), but only those that belonged to the three upper classeṣ Some writers, however, were agreeable to śūdras reciting Paurāṇika mantras in religious rites, relying on a passage of the Padmapurāṇa. But others like Kamalākarabhatta, author of the Nirṇayasindhu and Śūdrakamalākara, held relying on verses of the Bhaviṣya that Paurāṇika mantras alone were to be used by a brāhmaṇa in a, religious rite for a śūdra, that the śūdra was only to listen to the reading of a purāṇa by a brāhmaṇa reader. There was a third view held by Śrīdatta and others that a śūdra could recite a Paurāṇika mantra, but he should not himself read the Purāṇas and should only listen to the reading of Purāṇas by a brāhmaṇa. In the times of the Dharmasūtras the only mantras employed were mostly Vedic and therefore in the case of śūdras Gautama³² provided that the śūdras were allowed the alter- native of saying ‘namaḥ’ in place of a Vedic mantra. In the centuries preceding Christ the śūdras would naturally have been attracted to Buddha’s teaching as it was addressed to all including śūdraṣ Comparatively early orthodox writers like Kumarila knew that the śūdras formed the largest number of professed Buddhists when he says³³ 'the dicta of Śākya and others were all opposed, except a few relating to self-restraint, charity and the like, to all the fourteen sources of learning, were promulgated by Buddha and others that had strayed from the path of the three Vedas and did acts contrary (to the Veda) and that those dicta were presented by them to those who were deluded, who were outside the pale of the three Vedas, who mostly comprised the 4th varṇa (i. e. śūdra) and those that had 'lost caste'. Therefore, the learned brāhmaṇas who wanted to wean sections of the masses (including śūdras) away from Buddhist teachings composed new Paurāṇika mantras by the thousand and employed them in all religious rites like śrāddhas, vratas &c. It was, therefore, that earlier nibandha writers like Śrīdatta were prepared to allow śūdras to recite Paurāṇika³⁴ mantraṣ But when centuries had elapsed after Buddhism had disappeared from India, orthodox brāhmaṇa writers like Kamalākara³⁵ (who wrote his N. S. in 1612 A. D.) showed a stiffer attitude by confining śūdras merely to the listening to Purāṇas read by a brāhmaṇa and by not allowing them even to recite a Paurāṇika mantra. It may be noted that the Nara-simhapurāṇa in laying down the duties of śūdras provides that they should listen to the reading of purāṇas by a brāhmaṇa. (reader) and should worship Narasimha (avatāra of Viṣṇu). The relation of Śruti, Smṛti and Purāṇas and their spheres of application are summed up in the Nāradīyapurāṇa as follows:— "The Veda exists in different forms; there is the Veda which has the performance of sacrificial rites (as its sphere); smṛtis are the Veda for the householder's stage; both those are centered in (or supported by) the Purāṇaṣ Just as this wonderful world sprang from the ancient Being (God), there is no doubt that all this literature arose from the Purāṇaṣ I hold that the meaning (or purpose) of the Purāṇas is more extensive (or superior to) than the meaning (or purpose) of the Veda. All the Vedas always rest on the Purāṇas; the Veda is afraid of the man of little learning (with the thought that) that man may harm it. The Veda does not deal with the movements of the planets, nor does it contain correct calculations about the proper times (for religious acts), nor does it deal with the tithivṛddhi or tithikṣaya, nor with the determination of the parvans (amāvasyā, pūrṇimā &c.) or eclipseṣ Determinations about these were formerly made in Itihāsa and Purāṇaṣ What is not seen in the Vedas is all noticed in the Smṛtis; what is not seen in both is declared in the Purāṇaṣ What is declared by the Vedas and what is declared by the auxiliary lores—it is Veda that is declared by Smṛtis and Purāṇaṣ The person who looks upon Purāṇas in any other light would be born as a lower animal'.³⁶ The Nāradīyapurāṇa³⁷ further states ‘the merit acquired by those wicked men who speak about Purāṇas as arthavādas (mere laudatory³⁸ or condemnatory statements) are destroyed and the wicked man who regards as arthavādas the Purāṇas that are the means of uprooting (the evil effects of) all acts, reaches Hell'.

The Purāṇas introduced several striking changes in the religious rites, practices and ideals of the people. The most characteristic thought and the keynote of the Purāṇas is to declare how great rewards and results could be secured with little effort. The Viṣṇupurāṇa (VI. 2) narrates how sages approached Vyāsa with the question 'in what age does a little dharma yield very great rewards'? Vyāsa was bathing in the Ganges; he came out, uttered 'śūdra is good and Kali is good' and then again plunged into the river; then he again came out and said 'well done, O śūdra! you are blessed'; he again plunged into the river, came out and said 'women are good and blessed; who is more blessed than they'. When he finished his bath and performed his morning rites, the sages asked him to explain what he meant by calling Kali, śūdras and women good and blesseḍ He replied: 'a man secures in a single day and night in Kali age as much reward of tapas, celibacy and japa as is obtained in ten years in Kṛta age, in one year in Tretā and in a month in Dvāpara; therefore, I spoke of Kali as good; in Kali age a man secures merely by the glorification or incessant repetition of the name of Keśava what he would secure by deep meditation in Kṛta, by sacrifices in Tretā, and by worship in Dvāpara; I am pleased with Kali because a man secures great eminence of dharma with a little effort. Persons of the three higher varṇas have to study the Vedas after observing many strict rules, then they have to perform sacrifices which require wealth; they incur sin if they do not perform their duties properly; they cannot eat and drink as they please, but are dependent on the observance of many rules as to food &c.; dvijas secure higher worlds after great trouble; the śūdra serving the three varṇas, he has the right to offer the pākayajñas (without mantras) and therefore he is more blessed than a dvija. He has not to observe strict rules about proper and disallowed food or drink and therefore he was declared 'good' by me. A woman by serving her husband in thought, word, and deed secures with less trouble the same worlds that her husband secures with great effort and trouble and therefore I said a third time about women that they were blesseḍ The acquisition of dharma is secured with small trouble in Kali age by men who wash off all their sins by the water in the form of the qualities of their soul; śūdras do the same by being intent on service to dvijas and women also secure the same without trouble by service to their husbandṣ Therefore all these three are regarded by me as most blesseḍ⁴⁰ The Brahmapurāṇa chapter 229 verses 62-80 are identical with Viṣṇupurāṇa VI. 2. 15-30 and 34-36. The Viṣṇupurāṇa emphasizes that each one must do one's duty in the society in which one is born or one's duty which one has undertaken, that, if a person does this, he reaches the same higher worlds, whether he be a brāhmaṇa or a śūdra. This doctrine is the same as taught in the Bhagavadgītā ⁴¹ 18. 45 and 46 'a person secures the highest perfection (final emancipation) by being intent on carrying out the duties appropriate to him; man secures perfection (or bliss) by worshipping with the performance of his peculiar duties (not with flowers and the like or by words) Him from whom all beings proceed and by whom all this (world) is enveloped'. Ancient works like the Vedas, Jaimini's sūtras on Mīmāṁsā and the Vedāntasūtras did not consider or discuss how women or śūdras were to secure higher spiritual life and final Beatitude. The Vedāntasūtra (I. 3. 34-38) denies to the śūdra the right to study the Veda and the Upaniṣadṣ Buddha's teaching held out the same promise of liberation from suffering to all men irrespective of class or caste and was therefore most attractive to śūdraṣ The Bhagavadgītā and the Purāṇas changed the whole outlook of Indian society, high or low, and promised the same higher spiritual life or worlds to all who did their work under a sense of social duty, did not hanker after mundane rewards and brought all their actions, in whatever avocation they might be engaged, as an offering to Goḍ In the Padmapurāṇa ⁴² Vyāsa is made to say to Yudhiṣṭhira: “It is not possible to observe in the Kali age the rules of Dharma laid down by Manu and by the Vedas; the one thing which one should do is to observe a fast on Ekādaśī in both fortnights (of a month), which is an easy means (that entails little trouble, but yields very essence (of the teachings) of all Purāṇas; he should be pure and on Dvādaśī after worshipping Keśava with flowers be and then himself take his meal; those who desire to secure heaven should perform this vrata throughout their lives; even persons of evil conduct, the greatest sinners devoid of dharma, do not go to Yama (do not fall into hell) if they fast on Ekādaśī.” The Sūtasamhitā states ‘effort for acquiring true knowledge (of the Self) is meant for all (for persons even lower than śūdras), that effort made by explaining in a different language (than Sanskrit) and by the lapse of enough time will tend to the good (of the lowest)’. This clearly shows how the Purāṇas put before all people easy ways whereby they could attain bliss in the Hereafter.

The Bauḍ ⁴³ Dh. S., Manu and Vasiṣṭha emphasize that one should not invite a large company of brāhmaṇas at a śrāddha, because a large company destroys these five (advantages) viz. showing proper respect to invitees, propriety of place and time, cleanliness and the securing of worthy brāhmaṇas and It was further provided by the Anuśāsana-parva⁴⁴ and others that one should not go deep into examining the learning, family and character of brāhmaṇas in a rite for the gods, but in rites for the Manes close examination as to these matters is proper (or justified). The Purāṇas went against both these prescriptionṣ They are not tired of recommending again and again profuse expense in śrāddhas and condemning stinginess (lit. roguishness in spending money) in śrāddhas and also in such other matters as the observances of Ekādaśī. For example, the Viṣṇupurāṇa⁴⁵ quotes nine verses (III. 14. 22-30) as uttered by the pitṛs, two of which may be translated here ‘Would that a wise and blessed person be born in our family who not indulging in stinginess in spending wealth will offer piṇḍas to us and who would donate to brāhmaṇas for our sake jewels, clothes, a large conveyance, wealth and all enjoyments if he has riches’! Padma⁴⁶ recommends that avoiding stinginess brings pleasure to the pitṛṣ The Matsya (56. 11) prescribes that one should not show stinginess in the Kṛṣṇāṣṭamīvrata. The Padma says that that bad man who being possessed of wealth celebrates the jāgara on Ekādaśī in a close-fisted way loses his soul. The Brahmapurāṇa⁴⁷ says in a general way that whoever does a religious act with stinginess is a sinner.

Manu (III, 149) provides that ‘in rites in honour of gods one who knows dharma should not critically examine the brāhmaṇas to be invited for dinner, but in a rite for ancestors one should carefully investigate (the fitness of) brāhmaṇas’. This does not mean that in rites for gods any one may be inviteḍ We have to observe the general rule of Manu (III, 128) that donors should give only to a man who has studied the Veda dinner in rites for gods or pitṛṣ So what Manu III. 149 means is that deep investigation of ancestry &c. is not necessary in rites for godṣ

It is provided by the Vāyu⁴⁸ that there is to be no examination of the qualities and character of the brāhmaṇas at Gayā and the Varāhapurāṇa provides that all brāhmaṇas of Mathurā are like gods and that a brāhmaṇa of Mathurā not knowing even a ṛk verse is superior to a brāhmaṇa of another place that has studied the four Vedaṣ Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV. pp. 579, 670 for details of Gayā and Mathurā brāhmaṇaṣ The Padmapurāṇa and the Skanda (Kāśīkhaṇḍa 6. 56–57) recommend that at tīrthas (sacred places) one should not engage in investigation (of the worth) of brāhmaṇas, and that Manu declares that brāhmaṇas appearing (at a tīrtha) and desiring food should be feḍ⁴⁹

It is not unlikely that the above passages from the Vāyu, Varāha and Padma are later interpolationṣ When Buddhism was flourishing large companies of Buddhist monks were fed by the people. When Buddhism declined and disappeared from India after the 12th or 13th century A. D. people came to believe that there was great merit in feeding poor brāhmaṇas just as in former times people fed monks and the Purāṇas might have only echoed and emphasized the general sentiments of the people. If the people in general had not come to believe in this, the author feels that no amount of interpolations or insistence by the so-called crafty brāhmaṇas would have been effective. Writers, Western or Indian, that, relying on the notions current in the 19th and 20th centuries, pass severe and unmeasured strictures on the provisions for brāhmaṇas in the Purāṇas do great injustice to the authors of Purāṇas that flourished about a thousand years ago or more. Such writers should compare Indian medieval conditions, ideas and doings of brāhmaṇas with the claims of the Popes, Christian priests, Inquisitions and the state of monastic Orders in Europe from about the 10th century A. D. to the 15th century. In comparison it would be found that the conditions in Europe were terribly worse than in India in those centurieṣ⁵⁰

As a consequence of the abovementioned dominating principle the Purāṇas strongly recommend dāna (gifts, particularly of food), pilgrimages and baths in sacred waters, vratas, ahiṁsā, bhakti, repetition of the name of god, śrāddhas &c. These will be briefly illustrated below.

The Purāṇas institute a comparison between solemn Vedic sacrifices on the one hand and pilgrimages and baths at sacred places on the other. The Vanaparva⁵¹ contrasts the two as follows, “the solemn sacrifices promulgated by the sages cannot be accomplished by a poor man; sacrifices require many imple- ments and a collection of various materials, which are secured by kings or sometimes by rich men, but not by poor men who do not possess meanṣ Going to holy places confers merit and surpasses sacrificeṣ One does not secure that reward by such sacrifices as Agniṣṭoma, in which profuse fees are distributed, which is secured by repairing to sacred placeṣ” Vide H. of Dh. vol. IV pp. 561-564 for further encomiums of sacred places and the virtues to be cultivated for reaping the full merit of pilgrimageṣ

In pursuance of the same dominant principle the Anuśāsana-parva and Purāṇas extol fasts and vrataṣ The Anuśāsana- parva⁵² (107. 5-6) remarks that fasts are equal to sacrifices in the matter of rewardṣ They are put forward as superior to sacrifices in Padma.⁵³ It says: Viṣṇuvrata is super-eminent; a hundred Vedic sacrifices are not equal to it; by performing a sacrifice one may go to heaven, but one who observes the Kārttika-vrata goes to Vaikuṇṭha (the world of Viṣṇu). For the exaggerated importance attached to fasts and vratas, vide pp. 43-45 above.

First _dāna_. High eulogies of gifts have been sung from the Ṛgveda downwardṣ The subject of dāna (gifts) in all its aspects has been dealt with in the H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 837-888. The Mahābhārata in numerous places (particularly in the whole of Anuśāsana-parva) and the Purāṇas such as Matsya chap. 82-92 and 274-289, Agni chap. 208-213, Varāha 99-111, Padma V. 21. 81-213 (which agree almost verbatim with Matsya 83-92), Padma II, 39-40 and 94, III. 24, Kūrma II. 26 devote a great deal of space to the subject of _dānas_. But here only two topics in relation to gifts will be dealt with, viz., gifts of food and gifts to brāhmaṇaṣ The Ṛgveda condemns the person as merely a sinful one who does not offer food to the gods nor to his friends and uses it only to fill his own belly.⁵⁴ The Ait. Br. and the Tai⁵⁵ Br. speak of ‘food’ as ‘prāṇa’ (life). The Baudh⁵⁶ Dh. S. states "all beings depend on food, the Veda says 'food is life,' therefore food should be given (to others), food is the highest offering". Manu⁵⁷ and Viṣṇu Dh. S. state 'the man who cooks food only for his own sake (and not for offering to gods and men) eats merely sin'. The Bhagavadgītā carries the same message 'those who eat food left after offering in sacrifice are freed from all sins, but those who cook food for their sake alone eat sin'. The Padma has a fine passage 'those who always feed the cripple, the blind, children, old men, persons that are dis- eased, helpless and pinched by penury, always enjoy bliss in heaven; there is no end to the merit (accumulated) by constructing wells and tanks, where aquatic animals and others moving on land drink water when they desire, for water is the life of living beings and life is centred in water'. The distribu-tion of food particularly to learned brāhmaṇas is highly praised in Brahma-purāṇa ⁵⁸ 218. 10–32, Padma V. 19. 289–307m, Agni 211. 44–46. ‘The gift of food is superior to all gifts; food is the life of men, from food spring all beings; the worlds are dependent on food, therefore food is praised; man secures heaven by the gift of food; a person who joyfully gives food acquired by just means to brāhmaṇas deeply learned in the Veda is released from all sins’ says Brahma. The Agnipurāṇa says ‘The gifts of elephants, horses, chariots, male and female slaves and houses do not come up even to a sixteenth part of the gift of food (in merit); a person who committing a great sin afterwards distributes food becomes free from all sins and secures everlasting worlds’ (211. 44–46). The Kūrma ⁵⁹ prescribes ‘a man should give to a brahmacārin (Vedic student) food every day (i. e. when he comes begging); thereby he becomes free from all sins and reaches the abode of Brahmā’. Similarly, Padma calls upon house-holders to give as much cooked food to ascetics as would fill the begging bowl. From very ancient times a house-holder was called upon to perform five Yajñas (sacrifices) daily, two of which were Baliharaṇa and honouring a guest (Manu III. 70) and he was to place food on the ground for persons who had lost caste, who suffered from loathsome diseases, to caṇḍālas, dogs, crows and even insects ⁶⁰ (Āp. Dh. S. II. 4. 9. 5, Manu III. 92). Vide H. of Dh. vol II pp. 745–747 on Vaiśvadeva and Baliharaṇa. Underlying these provisions was the noble senti-ment of universal kindliness and charity, the persistent idea that, in spite of social gradations, rules and prejudices dividing men from each other, one Supreme Light pervades and illumi- nates the meanest of creatures and makes the whole world kiṇ This spirit of a householder to regard it as his duty to offer food to all needy persons and particularly to poor and deserving students and brāhmaṇas has prevailed almost to the present day, though during the last few years shortage of food, high prices and rationing have undermined it a great deal.

Then as to gifts to brāhmaṇaṣ In the first place, it must be remembered that all brāhmaṇas were not priests and are not priests in modern timeṣ Similarly, all priests in all Indian temples and shrines are not brāhmaṇaṣ Temple priests are comparatively a later institution and in olden times they were looked down upon and are regarded as inferior brāhmaṇas even in modern timeṣ Manu (III. 152) states that a devalaka (a brāhmaṇa who performed for remuneration service before the image in a temple) was unfit to be invited at a śrāddha or to officiate in a sacrifice to gods, if he continuously served for three years in that capacity. The ideal set before brāhmaṇas from very ancient times was of poverty, of plain living and high thinking, of abandoning the active pursuit of riches, of devotion to the study of the Veda and śāstras, of cherishing a high culture and of handing down literature and cultural outlook. Smṛtis like Yaj. I. 213 recommend that even if a brāhmaṇa be fit for receiving a religious gift he should refuse gifts and thereby he secures the same worlds that habitual donors secure. It was for preserving such high ideals among brāhmaṇas that Yaj. I 333 prescribes that a king should make gifts of cows, gold and land and should bestow on learned brāhmaṇas houses and requisites for marriage (maidens, expenses of marriages &c.). Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 856-858 where references are given to inscriptions containing donations to brāhmaṇas of houses and marriage expenseṣ In these days every body talks of the high culture and literary traditions of ancient India. But who cultivated the vast Vedic and other Sanskrit literature, preserved it and propagated it for several millennia? The answer would have to be that it was mostly due to some of the brāhmaṇas who stuck to the ancient ideal for thousands of yearṣ If the Ṛgveda can be put forward in these days as the most ancient of the literary monuments in any Aryan language, who preserved its more than ten thousand verses with unparalleled care by oral transmission without hardly any variant readingṣ The reply will again have to be that the brāhmaṇas did it by a self-denying ordinance. The Brāhmaṇas had to study the Veda without ⁶¹ an eye to any ulterior motive, but simply as a duty and to understand the meaning thereof, they were to teach the Veda and other lores without demanding beforehand a fee, they had to bring up their own families, perform sacrifices and make gifts themselveṣ The only substantial sources of income were officiating at sacrifices and religious rites and receiving giftṣ These sources must always have been variable, fitful and precariouṣ The brāhmaṇas had no power to tax people as in the case of tithes in the West. Nor had they a regularly paid hierarchy of deacons, priests, bishops and archbishops as in the Anglican Church. Therefore, the brāhmaṇas are advised to approach the king or a rich person for their livelihood (vide Gautama IX. 63 'Yogakṣemārtham-īśvaram adhigaccet'). It should be noted that before Buddhism spread far and wide the sūtras and smṛtis emphasized that religious gifts should be made only to a worthy brāhmaṇa, learned and well-conducteḍ For example, Āpastamba⁶² prescribes ‘one should invite for dinner in all religious acts brāhmaṇas that are pure, that have studied the Veda and that one should distribute gifts at a proper time and place, on occasions of purificatory rites and when there is a worthy recipient.’ To the same effect are Vaṣ Dh. S. III. 8, VI. 30, Manu (III. 128, 132, IV. 31), Yāj. (I. 201), Dakṣa (III. 26 and 31). Not every brāhmaṇa was in those ancient times a proper recipient for a gift, but he had to possess qualities of what is called ‘pātra’. A few definitions of pātra may with advantage be cited here. The Anuśāsana-parva⁶³ has a long passage emphasizing the qualities of a deserving brāhmaṇa : 'gifts made to good brāhmaṇas that are free from anger, that are intent on dharma, are devoted to truth and self- control yield great rewards; the sages regard that pātra who studies the four Vedas with their aṅgas (auxiliary lores like phonetics, grammar &c.), who is active in doing six acts (viz. abstaining from wine and meat, observing the bounds of morality, purity, study of the Veda, sacrifices, making gifts). Even a single eminent brāhmaṇa endowed with intellect, Vedic learning, good conduct and character saves the whole family; one should bring from afar a brāhmaṇa on hearing that he is possessed of good qualities and is approved by good men and should welcome him and honour him in all ways'. Yāj. furnishes⁶⁴ a brief but striking definition of a worthy brāhmaṇa 'not by Vedic learning alone nor by tapas (austere life) alone worthiness arises; that person is declared to be pātra (worthy recipient for a religious gift) where both these (i. e. Vedic learning and tapas) and good conduct exist'. Manu provides that religious gifts given to a brāhmaṇa who has not studied the Veda or who is avaricious or deceitful are fruitless and lead the donor to hell (IV. 192–194). The Bhagavadgītā also (17.22) condemns a gift given to an unworthy person as tāmasa (affected by tamas, arising from ignorance or delusion).

As Buddhism grew in popularity and secured also royal support, the brāhmaṇas had to tackle several taskṣ They had to keep the number of brāhmaṇas at a high level, they had to find maintenance for those devoted to the deep study of the Veda and they had to make accommodation with prevalent Buddhist thoughts by assimilating as many of them as possible in their own writingṣ Every brāhmaṇa could not possess the memory, the intelligence and the persistent endeavour for long years required for memorizing and mastering even his own Veda and its subsidiary Literature. If one hundred brāhmaṇa families were patronized, hardly ten percent of them could have been masters of their own Veda, but there was always the possibility that those who were not themselves good Vedic scholars might turn out to be profound students (the number of brāhmaṇas was to be increased and they had to be fed and not to be allowed to fritter away energy and time in working for their breaḍ It is mainly due to these factors that some of the Purāṇas contain incessant and frantic appeals for gifts to brāhmaṇaṣ At the time when most of the purāṇas were composed, the brāhmaṇas were hemmed in by great difficulties and hostile forceṣ From about the 3rd century B.C. to the 7th century A. D. Buddhism enjoyed royal patronage under such great kings as Aśoka, Kaniṣka and Harṣa. Buddhism was not really a revolt against caste, but against the sacrificial system, against the Veda and its authority to show the way to salvatioṇ Buddha did not found a new religion, but he was a great reformer of Hinduisṃ He laid sole stress on moral effort, ahimsa, satya &c. which had already been integrated into Hinduism and were part of it and which continue to this day to be part of Hinduisṃ Buddha in his first sermon in the deer-park near Banaras preached that one who renounced the world should shun two extremes ⁶⁵ viz. the pursuit of pleasures and the practice of useless austerities, that it is the course discovered by him that led to wisdom and nirvana. He expounded the four noble Axioms or Truths (Āryasatyāni) viz. suffering (duḥkha), the cause of suffering ⁶⁶ viz. taṇhā i. e. tṛṣṇā (duḥkha-samudaya), the suppression of suffering (duḥkha-nirodha), and the way that leads to the suppression of suffering (duḥkha-nirodhagāminī patīpadā). This last is the Noble Eight-fold path (aṣṭāngiko ⁶⁷ mārgah) viz. right views, right thoughts or aspirations, right speech, right actions, right living, right exertion, right recollec- tion (or mindfulness), right meditation (i. e. briefly leading a virtuous life). These doctrines preached to all by the noble Buddha and his disciples were attractive as remarked by Rhys Davids,⁶⁸ particularly to the śūdras whose social position was low in the Vedic times and also in the days of the smṛtis No one could study the Veda in the presence of a śūdra, a śūdra could not perform sacrifices and had to serve the three higher varṇas in very ancient timeṣ Almost the same position was assigned to him by Manu (VIII. 413) viz. that he was created by God for serving the brāhmaṇa, though it is doubtful whether this could be or was enforceḍ Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 33–36 and pp. 154–164 for the position and disabilities of śūdras from the Vedic times up to the days of the Smṛtiṣ It should not, however, be supposed that all India had become Buddhist. Millions still remained Hinduṣ There was the danger and fear that with royal patron- age and the attractive features of Buddha’s teachings large masses might forsake their ancient faith.

The brāhmaṇas of the times when Buddhism was at its peak had to strive to keep the banner of the Vedic religion flying, to deprive Buddhism of its hold on the masses of the people and even on the intelligentsia and to make them stick to the old folḍ Buddhism itself had changed a great deal in its ideals, doctrines sometime before the beginning of the Christian era and for centuries thereafter. Buddha’s original doctrines were aimed at individual effort and salvation of the individual by his own effort and self-culture. Early Buddhist texts deny the existence of anything like a soul⁶⁹ and find no place for the idea of Goḍ Though Buddha spoke of Nirvāṇa he did not clearly define it nor does he specify the condition of the indivi- dual when he enters nirvāṇa. Aśvaghoṣa compares nirvāṇa to the extinction of a flame (Saundarananda, chap. XVI. 28–29). Because the doctrine of karma was deeply rooted in the popular mind at the time of Buddha, Buddhism took over that doctrine, which, to men who are not Buddhists, appears to be contradictory of the denial of the existence of a soul. The word ‘Dhamma’ is used in three senses in the Pali ‘Dhammapada’ (which being mentioned in the questions of Milinda is earlier than the 2nd century B. C.) viz. (1) the truth or law preached by Buddha, (2) thing or form, (3) way or mode of life.

As stated above, the original Buddhism preached by the Buddha and his followers in the first century or two after his parinirvāṇa was more or less a strict ethical code for individuals who sought salvation from the misery of the worlḍ The three central conceptions of very early Buddhism were the three refuges (or ratnas) Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Gradually a new doctrine was evolveḍ⁷⁰ It came to be thought that to care for one’s own deliverance and spend all efforts thereon was rather selfish, that as the Buddha himself out of compassion for suffering humanity worked for forty-five years to lead men to salvation by his exhortations and sermons, so a Buddhist should prefer to put off his own deliverance, should work for the deliverance of his fellowmen out of compassion (karuṇā) for their miserable lot and in doing so should be ready to be born again and again, should not care for his own salvation and should not be afraid of saṃsāra. Those holding these latter views deified Buddha, taught that Buddhahood was attained by Siddhārtha after under- going numerous births in doing service and rendering help to others and that this was a superior code of conduct (Mahāyāna, the Great Vehicle or Way ) to the selfish code of salvation for an individual himself (which came to be called Hinayāna, the lesser Vehicle or Way ). This extra-regarding gospel of Mahāyāna was very attractive and won great support in most countries of Asia.⁷¹ This doctrine of Bodhisattvas (meaning 'beings destined to be enlightened') is not consistent with the gospel of Buddha as preached by him in his first sermon at Banaraṣ There is a difference of ideals between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna. The original gospel relies on self-effort and moral regeneration and on the elimination of suffering and misery by the extinction of all passions and of hankerings or desires and of the desire of

Dutt (1930); the 'Bodhisattva doctrine in Sanskrit Literature' by Dr. Har Dayal (Kegan Paul, London 1932); 'The path of the Buddha' eḍ by Prof. Kenneth W. Morgan (New York, 1956) written by several scholars from different countries (for both Hinayāna and Mahāyāna).

A few books for those who want to know more of Buddhism in general and of Hinayāna and Mahāyāna are recommended here. 'The central conception of Buddhism' (London, 1923), 'The conception of Nirvāṇa' (Leningrad, 1927), 'Buddhist Logic' vol. I (1958), all by Th. Stcherbatsky; 'Vedantic Buddhism of the Buddha' by J. G. Jennings (Oxford Uṇ Press, 1948); 'Creed of Buddha' by Edmond Homes (5th eḍ); 'Introduction to Tantrik Buddhism' by Dr. Shashi Bhushan Das-Gupta (Cal. University, 1950), 'The Flame and the Light' by Hugh I. Faussett (London and New York, 1958); 'The Buddha and his Dhamma' by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (1957) in which he refrains from considering Buddhist Texts except those in Pali; 'Comparative study of Buddhism and Christianity' by Prof. F. Masutani (Tokyo, 1957). The Mahāyāna-sūtrālankāra of Asaṅga (eḍ by Prof. S. Levi) summarises in two verses (I. 9-10) the points (five) on which the two schools are in conflict. I-thing's 'Records of the Buddhist religion' translated by Dr. J. Takakusu (Oxford, 1896) surprisingly enough states (p. 15) 'These two systems are perfectly in accord with the noble doctrine. Both equally conform to truth and lead us to Nirvāṇa'. Buddha at least ignored (if he did not positively deny) God, he denied the individual soul and Eternity, he did not emphasize the most vital Upāyahmati vyajñānāť. He imagined salvation as a state of absolute quiescence and therefore regarded ordinary life as misery and asserted that salvation may be attained even in this very life. He did not claim to be God, but a human being. There are various kinds of Mahāyāna doctrines and great diversity of definitionṣ It may generally be said that works professing to teach Mahāyāna practical Buddhism, preach the worship of Buddha and future Buddhas, and assert that Nirvāna cannot be attained by the ancient method, that salvation cannot come in this very life but after centuries and aeons of the practice of virtue and helping otherṣ

Māntrayāna and Vajrayāna are said by some to be branches of Mahāyāna, about the latter of which a good deal will be said in the next sectioṇ According to Bhikṣu Rāhula Sāṁkṛtyāyana, Vajrayāna (700-1200 A. D.) is a synonym of Mahāyāna (400-700 A. D.) and merely the ulterior development of it (vide p. 211 of paper 'L' Origine du Vajrayāna et Les 84 Siddhas' in J. A. vol. 225 (1934) pp. 209-230. life ⁷³ itself. Buddha’s original teaching regarded it as a waste of time to ponder over such questions as 'Have I existed during the ages that are past or have I not?' 'Shall I exist during the ages of the future? Do I after all exist or am I not?' The Sabbāsavasutta (9–13) says that a wise man walking in the noble eightfold path understands what things ought to be considered and what things ought not to be considereḍ Vide S.B.E. vol. XI. pp. 298–300. Buddhism brought half of Asia under its influence not only by its promise of salvation to all by self-help, but more so by its teachings of profound tenderness, of active charity, of goodness and gentlenesṣ Mahāyāna laid great stress on doing good to all and on bhakti. Both the original teaching of Hīnayāna and the Mahāyāna teaching are attractive in their own way.

Buddhism insisted on the five śīlas ⁷⁴ that were binding on all Buddhists viz. prohibition of injury to and destruction of life, of theft, of sexual impurity, of lying and of intoxicating liquorṣ Five more precepts (which together with the preceding five were called Daśasikṣāpadas) were added for Buddhist priests, viz. prohibition of eating at forbidden hours, of attending wordly amusements such as dancing, song, music and shows, of the use of unguents and ornaments, of the use of a large or ornamented couch and of the receiving of gold and silver. About the śīlas it is clear that they were adopted from the ancient Upaniṣadic and dharmasūtra teachingṣ The Chāndogya narrates how Aśvapati, king of Kekaya, boasted before five great householders and theologians ‘in my ⁷⁵ kingdom there is no thief, no miser, no drunkard, no man without a fire-altar in his house, no ignorant person, no adulterer, much less an adulteress’. The same Upaniṣad ⁷⁶ quotes an ancient verse 'a man who steals gold, who drinks liquor, who dishonours his guru’s bed, who kills a brāhmaṇa—these four fall and a fifth also that associates with any one of these four.’ It will be shown a little later how ahimsā was emphasized even in the Upaniṣadṣ Thus ahimsā, non-stealing, sexual purity, truthfulness had already been emphasized in the oldest Upaniṣadṣ That an ascetic⁷⁷ had to give up all property and beg for keeping body and soul together is made clear by Bṛ. Up. III. 5. 1 and IV. 4. 22, Jābālopaniṣad 5, Gautama III. 10-13, Vasiṣṭha X. The other five precepts for priests such as not receiving gold or silver or giving up unguents, flowers, dancing, singing and music are laid down by Gautama⁷⁸ II. 19 and III. 4, Vasiṣṭha X. 6 &c. for Vedic students and asceticṣ Vide H. Kern (in ‘Manual of Indian Buddhism, Grundriss p. 70) who remarks that the superior morality for monks is nothing else but the rule of life for the dvija in the 4th āśrama, when he is a yati and all the details were taken from the Dharma-sūtras and Dharmaśāstraṣ

Ahiṁsā—The Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas lay great emphasis on ahiṁsā ( not harming or giving pain to a living creature ). The Upaniṣads too emphasized ahimsā. The Chāndogya⁷⁹ does so in several passageṣ In III. 17. 4 it says ‘tapas, charity, straight-forwardness, ahimsā, speaking the truth—these are the fees of this ( sacrifice without ceremonial )’. While describing how the person who has attained true know- ledge of the Self does not return ( to this saṁsāra ), the Chāndogya says that ‘he causes no pain to any creature except at tīrthas’. The Bṛ. Up. (V. 2.) says how Prajāpati told the gods, the asuras and men that the sound ‘da da da’ produced by thundering clouds conveys to the gods the necessity of self-restraint (dama), to the asuras of compassion (dayā) and to men of charity (dāna). Gautama ¹⁵²² specifies eight virtues of the soul, the first of which is compassion for all beings and states that he who has the forty virtues does not secure absorption into brahma. The Ādiparva provides 'ahimsā is the highest dharma for all beings; therefore a brāhmaṇa should never harm (or give pain to) any being'. The words ‘ahimsā paramo dharmaḥ’ (ahimsā is the highest dharma) occur very frequently in the Mahābhārata ¹⁵²³ (e. g. in Droṇaparva 192. 38, Śānti 265. 6, 329. 18, Anuśāsana 115, 25, 116. 38, Āśvamedhikaparva 28. 16-18, 43. 21). Śāntiparva (296. 22-24) enumerates thirteen virtues common to all men, of which freedom from cruelty and ahimsā are the first two. Vasiṣṭha IV. 4, Manu X. 63, Yaj. I 122 prescribe certain virtues as necessary in men of all varṇaṣ Vide H. of Dh. vol. II, p. 10 notes 25-27.

A few examples of emphasis on ahimsā in the Purāṇas may be cited here. The Vāmanapurāṇa ¹⁵²⁴ provides : ahimsā, truth- fulness, absence of stealing, charity, forbearance, self-control, quiescence of senses, absence of poor spirit or weakness, purity, tapas—this is the tenfold dharma applicable to all varnas. The Padma says : not by (the study of) the Vedas, nor by gifts nor by tapas, nor by sacrifices do men who kill creatures reach the goal of heaven; ahimsā is the highest dharma and the highest charity—this is what the sages always say; men that are compassionate treat flies, reptiles, stinging insects, lice and the like and human beings as themselveṣ Matsya goes so far as to state; great sages do not commend sacrifice in which there is killing; by donating grains of corn gathered in a field, roots, fruits, vegetables, vessel for carrying water according to their ability, sages practising austerities became established in heaven; absence of hatred and greed, self-restraint, compassion towards all beings, control of senses, celibacy, tapas, tenderness, forbearance and firmness—this is the root of the ancient dharma, which is difficult to accomplish. The Brahmāṇḍa (II. 31. 35 ‘tasmād-ahimsā dharmasya dvāram-uktam maharṣibhih’) says that great sages have declared that ahimsā is the door of dharma. The Padma (V. 43. 38) says ‘there is no dāna nor tapas equal to ahimsā’. It is interesting to note that the Matsya and Brahmāṇḍa regard ahimsā as ‘sanātana dharma’ and condemn animal sacrificeṣ The Kūrma⁸⁰ provides ‘ahimsā, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possession of wealth—these are briefly declared yamas that produce purity of mind among meṇ The great sages declare that ahimsā consists in causing no pain to all beings at all times by thought, word or deeḍ There is no dharma superior to ahimsā, no happiness higher than ( the practice of ) ahimsā; the injury ( to life ) that is caused according to ( Vedic ) precepts is declared to be ahimsā.’ The Upaniṣads commended a qualified ahimsā, while the original Pali books like the Samañña-phala-sutta forbad injury to all living beingṣ Most of the Purāṇas, in order to convince the masses that they did not lag behind the Buddhist preachings, generally insist upon unqualified ahimsā. Time brings about strange changeṣ Professing Buddhists in Ceylon, China, Japan and many other countries have no objection to partaking of fish and meat, while following the insistent advice of the Purāṇas, millions of Indian people ( not only brāhmaṇas but also others like vaiśyas and śūdras if Vaiṣṇavas ) have been strict vegetarians for centuries, though Buddhism vanished from India centuries ago.

It may be noted, however, that some of the Purāṇas are against carrying the doctrine of ahimsā to extremeṣ The Brahmāṇḍa and Vāyu both say that there is no sin, great or small, in killing a person ( e. g. a tyrant or a desperado ), when many will live in happiness by his death.⁸¹

Pūrta—The Purāṇas lay the greatest emphasis on what is called pūrtadharma, works of public utility, charity, social service and the relief of the poor and distresseḍ The word Iṣṭāpūrta occurs in the Ṛgveda once⁸² ‘May you be united in the highest heaven with your pitṛs ( ancestors ), with Yama and with iṣṭāpūrta’ ( merit acquired by sacrifices and works of public utility ). The word iṣṭa occurs several times in Ṛg. ( I. 162. 15, I. 164. 15, X. 11. 2, X. 82. 2 ), but the meaning is not certain except in Ṛg. X. 11. 2 where it appears to mean ‘sacrifice’. Pūrta also occurs in Ṛg. VI. 16. 18 and VIII. 46. 21, but the meaning is not certaiṇ ‘Iṣṭāpūrta’ occurs in several Upaniṣadṣ The Chāndogya states⁸³ 'But they who, living in a village, practise (a life of) sacrifices, works of public utility and alms-giving reach toward smoke &c.'. Similarly, the Praśna-upaniṣad asserts 'those, who practise the (mode of) sacrifices and works of public utility as activities to be engaged in, reach only the world of the Moon, and it is these that again return to this world'. The Mundaka says 'deluded people regarding sacrifices and works of public utility as the best do not know (recognize) any other higher good; having enjoyed (their reward) on the top of heaven, they again enter this world or even a lower one'.⁸⁴ Manu speaks of 'iṣṭa' and 'pūrta' and recommends that one should always practise with a pleased heart sacrificial gifts and gifts of the pūrta kind according to one's ability on securing a deserving brāhmaṇa. The Amarakōśa defines 'iṣṭa' as sacrifices such as digging a well or tank. The Mārkaṇḍeya⁸⁵ defines them as follows 'Maintaining the sacred fires, tapas, truthfulness, study of the Veda, hospitality and Vaiśvadeva–these are called iṣṭa; digging wells and tanks and building temples and distribution of food to those that need it—these are declared to be pūrta. The Agnipurāṇa has similar verseṣ The Padma (VI. 243. 10-14) cites the following as dharmakārya (religious works); temples of Viṣṇu and Śiva, tanks, wells, lotus ponds, forest of vaṭa, pippala, mango, kakkola, jambu and nimba trees, flower garden, distribution of food from morning to sunset, water distribution outside towns &c. The Skanda⁸⁶ says : the term 'pūrta' is applied in the dharma-śāstras to the erection of temples, construction of tanks, ponds and wells, laying out parkṣ Padma (VI. 244. 34-35) says that those who build monasteries, cow stables, houses of rest on roads, dwellings for ascetics, cottages for the poor and helpless, extensive house for Veda study, houses for brāhmaṇas, enter the world of Indra (i. e. heaven). ⁸⁷ Atri says that Iṣṭa and Pūrta are dharma common to all dvijas; a śūdra is entitled to perform pūrta-dharmas but not Vaidika rites (i. e. sacrifices). The Anušāsana-parva (chap. 58) describes how parks should be laid out and tanks constructed with trees on their bankṣ But the Varāhapurāṇa and some smṛtis went so far as to declare that a man secures only heaven by iṣṭa, but he secures mokṣa (final release from saṃsāra) by pūrta. ⁸⁸

Sometimes the Purāṇas express ideas that might strike us as rather modern, when they put forward social service and removal of suffering and distress as the highest dharma. In the Mārkaṇḍeya ⁸⁹ a king solemnly states ‘men do not obtain that happiness in heaven or in the world of Brahmā, which springs from giving relief to distressed beingṣ Sacrifices, gifts, tapas do not conduce to the relief here and in the next world of that man whose heart is not set on relieving the distressed’. The Viṣṇu recommends ‘a wise man should say (and do) that alone which would be for the benefit of creatures here and hereafter’. The Skandapurāṇa (Kāśīkhaṇḍa) avers ‘adversities of those good men in whose heart doing good to others is awake (i. e. active) vanish and prosperity comes to them at every step. That purity is not secured by baths at holy places, that reward is not obtained by numerous gifts, that (result) is not obtained by severe austerities, that is obtained by doing good to otherṣ After churning all extensive dicta the conclusion reached is this viz. there is no dharma higher than doing good to others and there is no sin greater than harming. otherṣ The Brahma states 'the life of the man who always strives for the good of others is fruitful (blessed); fire, water, the Sun, the earth and various kinds of crops exist for the benefit of others, and particularly the good (exist for others' benefit)'.

It is surprising that the Bhāgavata avers what is in advance of modern socialistic doctrines 'men have ownership over only that much as would fill their belly; he who thinks as his own what is more than that is a thief and deserves punishment (as such)'.⁹⁰

Bhakti—The Purāṇas lay very great emphasis on bhakti (religion of loving faith in God). This is not the place to dilate on the history of the cult of Bhakti from the earliest times to modern dayṣ For that purpose there are special treatises (some of which are noted below) that may be consulteḍ But a few words on bhakti in general may be said here before going into the ques- tion as to what the Purāṇas have to say thereoṇ Traces of the doctrine of bhakti may be discovered even in the Ṛgvedic hymns and mantras, some of which are full of loving faith in God, particularly in some of the hymns and verses addressed to Varuṇa and also to Indra. A few examples may be citeḍ 'All my thoughts ⁹¹ (or hymns) praise Indra in unison, seeking light, longing for him, as wives embrace their husband, their fair young lover, they (thoughts) embrace him (Indra), the divine giver of gifts'; 'your friendship ⁹² (with your devotee) is indestructible (everlasting); to him who desires a cow, you become a cow, to him who longs for a horse, may you be a horse;' 'O Indra, you are far better (or richer) than my father or my brother who does not feed me; (you) and my mother, O Vasu, are equal and protect (me) for (conferring) riches and favours'; 'You gave to Kakṣīvat, who offered a hymn and Soma libation to you and who had grown old, Vṛcays, who was a young woman; you became the wife of Vṛṣaṇaśva; all these (favours) of yours deserve to be loudly proclaimed during the offerings of soma libations’; ‘you who, shining brilliantly, come to each house assuming the form of a small man, (O Indra!) drink this Soma juice (produced) by being crushed with my teeth and mixed with fried grains, gruel, cake and laud’. Compare Ṛg. III. 43. 4, X. 42. 11, X. 112. 10 (in all of which Indra is called sakhā friend) and I. 104. 9, VII. 32. 26 (in both Indra is said to be like a father). It will be clear from these passages that the Vedic sages had reached the stage of sakhya-bhakti, that the sages believed that Indra was like a mother, that he assumed the form of a wife for the sake of a devotee, that Indra partook soma juice from a devotee who, in the absence of the proper imple- ments for crushing soma stalks, extracted soma juice from soma stalks crushed with the devotee's own teeth. These stories in the far-off ages of the Ṛgveda remind us of the stories in the works of the mediaeval ages about Rāma having accepted badara fruit from a Śabarī (Bhil woman) devotee who first tasted them with her teeth to see whether they were sweet or sour and the story of the God Viṭhobā of Pandharpur, having assumed the form of a mahār (an untouchable) and paid up to the Moslem king of Bijapur the money equivalent to the price of corn which, Damaji (a great devotee), who was in charge of the royal granary, allowed people distressed by famine to take away. Some mantras addressed to Varuṇa show the same kind of sakhya-bhakti. Vasiṣṭha.⁹² prays ‘O Varuṇa ! what is that great offence ( com- mitted by me) on account of which you desire to harm me, your friend and bard; declare that to me, O invincible and self-willed God, so that ( after propitiating you ) I shall be free from sin and may be able quickly to approach you with adoration’ ; ‘where are those friendships of ours ( of you and me ) which we safely enjoyed in former times, O self-willed Varuṇa? ; I ( then ) went to your big dwelling house that has a thousand doors; whatever offence we mortals commit against the divine hosts, O Varuṇa, whatever laws of yours we may have violated in our ignorance (or heedlessness), do not, O God, harm us on account of that sin’. It is remarkable that in the Ṛgveda there is a verse in which there is an apotheosis⁹⁴ of 'namas' (namaskāra, adoration or homage); 'Adoration itself is mighty, I offer service with adora- tion; adoration upholds the heaven and the earth; adoration to the gods, adoration rules these gods, whatever sin is committed (by me) I worship it away with adoration'.

Though the word 'bhakti' does not occur in the principal ancient Upaniṣads, the doctrine of the bhakti schools that it is God's grace alone that saves the devotee is found in the Katha and Muṇḍaka Upaniṣads, viz. 'this Supreme Soul is not to be attained by expositions (of a teacher) nor by intelligence, nor by much learning; He is to be attained by him alone whom the Supreme Soul favours, to him this Supreme Soul discloses His forṃ⁹⁵ This emphasizes the doctrine that God's Grace alone brings salvation to the devotee. The Śvetāśvataropaniṣad employs the word bhakti in the same sense in which it is used in the Gītā and ¹⁶⁴⁰ other works on bhakti. 'These matters declared (here) reveal themselves to that high-souled person who has the highest faith in God and the same faith in his guru as in God'. The same Upaniṣad emphasizes a doctrine of the bhakti school in 'I, desirous of mokṣa (liberation from saṁsāra), surrender myself as my refuge to that God who in former times created (established) Brahmā, who transmitted to him (Brahmā) the Vedas, and who illuminates the intellect of the individual soul'.

The word 'prapadye' in the Śvetāśvatara serves as the basis of the doctrine of 'prapatti' in the Vaiṣṇavite system such as that of Rāmānuja.

But among the original sources of the Bhakti cult are the Nārāyaṇīya section (chapters 335-351 of Citrāśala eḍ = cr. eḍ 322-339) of the Śāntiparva and the Bhagavadgītā. For the antiquity of Kṛṣṇa worship (vide pp. 129-131 above). Megasthenes states that Heracles (Harikṛṣṇa ?) was worshipped by Soursenoi (Śaurasenas) on the banks of Jobares (Yamunā) and had two cities Methora (Mathurā) and Cleisbora (Kṛṣṇapura ?). In the Nārāyaṇīya it is stated (in chap. 335. 17-24) that king Uparicara Vasu was a devotee (bhakta) of Nārāyaṇa, that he worshipped the Lord of Gods according to the sāttvata rules that were proclaimed by the Sun, that he (Vasu) consecrated his kingdom, wealth, wife and horses to God, thinking that they all belonged to the Bhagavat (the Adorable One) and performed sacrificial rites according to the Sāttvata ruleṣ

In the Śāntiparva, Sātvata and Pāñcarātra are identified ⁹⁷ and it is said that the seven sages called ‘citraśikhaṇḍin’ (lit. whose top-knots on the head were bright or wonderful) viz. Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasiṣṭha, proclaimed the (Pāñcarātra) śāstra and God Nārāyaṇa told them that the śāstra would be authoritative in the world and that king Vasu would learn the śāstra from Bṛhaspati to whom it would come by degrees from the seven sageṣ Chapter 336 of Śānti declares that to the north of the Milky Sea there was territory called Śvetadvīpa, where dwelt devotees of Nārāyaṇa who were called ‘Ekāntin’ and Pāñcarātra is called ‘Ekānta-dharma’.⁹⁸ A peculiar doctrine of the Pāñcarātra school is that of the four vyūhas (mūrtis or forms) viz. that the Supreme Person is Vasudeva, the individual soul is Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna is mind and springs from Saṅkarṣaṇa and Aniruddha is ahaṅkāra and originates from Pradyumna. ⁹⁹ It is this doctrine of the four forms of Vāsudeva, each springing from the preceding, that is refuted according to Śaṅkara in the Brahmasūtra II. 2. 42-45. The Śānti 348. 8 expressly refers to the Gītā as already declareḍ to Arjuna. In¹⁵⁴⁴ chap. 349. 64 it is said that Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Pāñcarātra, Vedas and Pāśupata are five lores that differ in their views and were promulgated by Kapila (Sāṅkhya), Hiraṇyagarbha (Yoga), Apāntaratamas (the Veda), Śiva (Pāśupata), the Bhāgavat Himself (promulgator of Pāñcarātra)] The Viṣṇudharmottara¹⁵⁴⁵ remarks ‘for seeking Brahma (the One Reality in the Universe) there are five Siddhāntas (systems) viz. Sāṅkhya, Yoga, Pāñcarātra,¹⁵⁴⁶ Vedas and Pāśupata’. ]Relying on Śāntiparva 339. 68 several writers particularly those of the Rāmānuja school assert that the whole of the Pāñcarātra system has Vedic authority, while others like Aparārka p. 13 and Paribhāṣāprakāśa (p. 23) do not accept it as thoroughly Vedic but only partially.

In the Vedāntasūtra¹⁰⁰ there are four sūtras dealing with the Bhāgavata or Pāñcarātra systeṃ The great Ācāryas are not agreed upon their interpretation, Śaṅkara saying that all the four sūtras refute some tenets of the Bhāgavatas, Rāmānuja saying that the first two sūtras (out of four) contain refutation and the other two do not. Śaṅkarācārya makes it clear that the doctrines of the Bhāgavatas that the Supreme God Vāsudeva is the Highest Truth, that He assumes four forms, that the worship of Vāsudeva consists in continuous single-minded contemplation are not the targets for attack, that what is refuted is the doctrine of the Bhāgavatas that the individual soul called Saṅkarṣaṇa by them springs from Vāsudeva, that Pradyumna ( mind ) arises from Saṅkarṣaṇa and that Aniruddha ( ahaṁkāra ) arises from Pradyumna. It appears from Śaṅkara's remarks¹⁰¹ on II. 2. 45 that in his day Śāṇḍilya was supposed to have promulgated the Bhāgavata or Pāñcarātra śāstra, because he did not find the highest bliss in all the four Vedaṣ In the Droṇaparva (29. 26-29) there is another and different reference to the four mūrtis of the Supreme for the benefit of the worlds viz. one performs tapas (austerities) on the earth, the 2nd has an eye on the world's good and evil deeds; the third comes to the world in a human form and does such acts as men perform; the 4th slumbers for a thousand years and when it arises from slumber confers the highest boons on those who deserve theṃ

It may be noted that even in the Mahābhārata Nārada's name is connected with Pāñcarātra. It is said 'this very secret doctrine, connected with the four Vedas, having the benefit of Sāṅkhya and Yoga and spoken of as Pāñcarātra, was (originally) uttered by the lips of Nārāyaṇa and was again communicated by Nārada.¹⁰²

Other great sources of the cult of bhakti are the Bhagavad-gītā, which is expressly mentioned in the Nārāyaṇīya section in the Bhāgavatapurāṇa and the Viṣṇupurāṇa. The Gītā contains the words bhakti and bhakta several dozens of timeṣ It may be stated here that the so-called Nārada-bhaktisūtras, Nārada-pāñcarātra, the Śāṇḍilya-bhakti-sūtra and the several extant Pāñcarātra-saṃhitās so far published are all later than the Gītā.¹⁰³ The Agnipurāṇa gives the names of 25 works on Pāñcarātra quoted in the note below.¹⁰⁴ The Maheśvara- tantra names 25 Pāñcarātra tantras promulgated by Viṣṇu, which are condemned therein as having no truth (26. 16 ff.). There is an extensive Literature on the Bhakti cult. Only a few of the important works in Sanskrit, their translations and works in English are noted here. Barth, Hopkins, Keith, Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar and others have propounded different theories as to what Kṛṣṇa represented, how he was identified with Viṣṇu who appears to be another name of the Sun in the Ṛgveda and came to be regarded as the highest God in Brāhmaṇa times (as in Ait. Br. 'Agnir-vai devānām avamaḥ, Viṣṇuḥ paramaḥ) and came to be identified with sacrifice (Yajño vai Viṣṇuḥ). When Kṛṣṇa, the friend of the Pāṇḍavas was identified with the Supreme Spirit, the full-fledged doctrine of Avatāras appeared as in the Gītā. The important works on bhakti are: The Nārāyaṇīya section of the Śāntiparva (chapters 322–351 in the Citraśālā edition and chap. 322-339 of the critical edition); the Bhagavadgītā; several Purāṇas, the most important being Viṣṇu and Bhāgavata; ¹⁰⁵ the Bhaktisūtra of Śāṇḍilya with the bhāṣya of Svapneśvara (eḍ by Jīvānanda, Calcutta 1876) and translation of both these (in B. L. series) by E. B. Cowell (1878); Śāṇḍilya's saṃhitā (Bhaktikhaṇḍa) in the Sarasvati-bhavan Series, edited by Anantasastri Phadke, (1935); Nārada-bhaktisūtra with English Translation by Nandlal Sinha (Pāṇini office, Allahabad, 1911); the Nārada-pāñcarātra (containing the Jñānāmṛtasāra section) in eleven chapters (eḍ for B. I. Series by C. M. Banerji, Calcutta, 1865) and English translation of it by Swami Vijñānānanda (Pāṇini Office, Allahabad, 1921); Sir R. G. Bhadarkar's 'Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism &c.' (1913, in the Encyclopaedia of Indo-Aryan Research); 'Das-Gupta's History of Indian Philosophy' vol. IV. (1949), wherein he deals with the Bhāgavatapurāṇa and the doctrines of Madhva, Vallabha, Caitanya and their followers; Grierson's paper 'Gleanings from Bhaktamālā of Nābhādāsa', in J. R. A. S. for 1909 pp. 607-644; 'History of Śrīvaiṣṇavas' by T. A. Gopinatha Rao (Madras, 1923), the Gospel of Nārada' by Duncan Greenless (Adyar, 1951); Nārada-bhakti-sūtras (text, translation and notes) eḍ by Swami Tyāgīśānanda (Rāmakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras, 1943) in five adhyāyas and 84 sūtras; the Ahirbudhnya-saṃhitā in two volumes (Adyar, 1916); Dr. F. Otto Schrader's Introduction to the Pāñcarātra and Ahirbudhnya-saṃhitā (Adyar, 1916); Jayākhya-saṃhitā with English and Sanskrit Introductions (G. O. S. 1931); the Parama-saṃhitā (G. O. S. 1946) with English Translation by Dr. S. K. Aiyangar; the Bṛhadbrahmasaṃhitā (of Nārada-pāñcarātra) in the Ānandāśrama series, 1912); Bhakticandrikā (commentary on Śāṇḍilya's Bhaktisūtras) by Nārāyaṇatīrtha (Sarasvatībhavan series, 1921, 1938); Bhakti-prakāśa of Mitramiśra (Chowkhamba Series, 1934); Bhakti-nirṇaya of Anantadeva (eḍ by Paṇḍit Anantasastri Phadke, Banaras, 1937). There is a good deal of Bhakti literature in South India, such as the hymns of the Āḷvārs, but no reference is made here to it for several reasonṣ

Before proceeding with the treatment of bhakti in the Purāṇas the words 'bhakti' and 'Bhāgavata' must be briefly defined and explaineḍ Śāṇḍilya defines¹⁰⁶ 'bhakti' as 'sā parānuraktirīśvare'. This may be interpreted in two ways 'the highest form of bhakti is affection fixed on God' or 'bhakti is the highest affection fixed on God'. Svapneśvara, the author of a bhāṣya on Śāṇḍilya, prefers the first and Nārada-bhakti-sūtra, Tilak and others favour the seconḍ Svapneśvara explains that in general 'bhakti' means 'affection fixed on a being that is to be won over or worshipped', but that in this śāstra it means 'a particular state of the mind having the Supreme Lord as its object' and quotes a verse from the Viṣṇupurāṇa uttered by the great devotee Prahlāda 'May that fixed (or unwavering) love, which the ignorant (or unreflecting) people feel for worldly objects, never depart from my heart, ever remembering you'. The Gītā employs the word 'prīti' (affection) and conveys that the word 'bhakti' is derived from the root 'bhaj' to resort to, 'Those whose minds are on me, whose lives are offered to me, who instruct each other, who speak of me, are always contented and happy. On these who are continuously devoted to me and serve me with affection, I bestow that knowledge by which they reach me'. Svapneśvara explains that the word 'anurakti' (with prefix 'anu') is employed to convey that the affection for God arises after the devotee secures knowledge of the greatness and other attributes of the Bhāgavat (Adorable One). In the Viṣṇupurāṇa the word 'anurāga' is used for 'bhakti', where, after describing the ascent of Rāma and his brothers to heaven, it says that the people of the capital of Kosala who had deep affection for those incarnate parts of the Bhāgavat (Viṣṇu), having their minds fixed on them, reached the position of residence in the same world with theṃ Śāṇḍilya further ¹⁰⁷ says that there is the teaching that there is immortality for him who abides in Hiṃ In the Chāndogya Up. it is said 'He who abides in brahman reaches immortality'. The idea is that immortality being the promise of abiding in God, there will be no indifference in the effort to know God or in the effort to cultivate highest affection for Goḍ It may be noticed that the sūtras of Nārada appear to be a mere paraphrase of Śāṇḍilya's aphorismṣ¹⁰⁸ Śāṇḍilya further (sūtra 7) provides that bhakti, like knowledge, is not an action because it does not follow an effort of the will and that (sūtra 9) it is different from jñāna, as the Gītā refers to self-surrender being attained by one having knowledge after many births (Gītā VII. 19).

Our ancestors had a great penchant for classifications, divisions and sub-divisionṣ Bhakti is divided into laukikī (of the common people), vaidikī (laid down by the Veda) and ādhyātmikī (philosophical), as in Padma V. 15. 164; or mānasī (mental), vācikī (verbal) and kāyikī (done with the body, such as fasts, vratas &c.) in Padma V. 15. 165–168; into Sāttvikī, Rājasī and Tāmasī (as in Bhāgavata III. 29.7–10 and Padma VI. 126. 4–11); into best, middling and inferior as in Brahmāṇḍa III.¹⁰⁹ 34. 38–41).

Prapatti (self-surrender) is distinguished from bhakti in works of the Rāmānuja and of other Vaiṣṇava schoolṣ It consists of five points¹¹⁰ viz. resolution to yield (to God's will), the abandoning of opposition, faith that God will protect (the devotee), praying to God to save the devotee, and a feeling of helplessness shown by casting one's soul on Hiṃ Bhakti has as synonyms the words ‘dhyāna’, ‘upāsanā’ &c. and is subsidiary to prapatti. The Gītā explicitly makes no such distinctioṇ In Gītā II. 7 Arjuna speaks of himself as ‘prapanna’ (who has approached or surrendered himself for salvation). The final advice at the end of the Gītā enjoins what is called prapatti in later works ‘On me fix your mind, become my devotee, sacrifice to me, offer adoration to me; you will certainly reach me; I declare to you truly, you are dear to me. Giving up all (dharmas) duties, come to me as your (only) refuge; I shall release you from all sins; do not grieve.¹¹¹ Vide also Gītā VII, 14, 15 and XV. 4 for other instances of the use of the root 'pra-pad'. The theory propounded in the Gītā and other works on bhakti was that bhakti led on to 'prasāda' (favour or grace) of God which enables the devotee to attain mokṣa.¹¹² The Gītā (18. 56, 58, 62) says 'a man, though always performing all actions, but solely depending on me, obtains an imperishable and eternal place through my favour; if you fix your mind on me, you will get over all difficulties through my favour; go to Him as the refuge with all your heart, O Arjuna, through His grace you will attain the highest peace and an everlasting abode.' In the Viṣṇupurāṇa Prahlāda¹¹³ is told by the Adorable One 'as your mind is firmly and devotedly fixed on me you will by my favour attain the highest bliss'. The idea of God's grace occurs both in the Katha and Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣadṣ¹¹⁴ 'The Self, smaller than the small and greater than the great, is hidden in the heart of the creatures; a man who is free from willing anything and free from grief sees the greatness of the Self through the favour of the Creator'.

There is a great difference between the Gītā and the Nārāyaṇīya sectioṇ In the former, though the Supreme Soul is called Vāsudeva,¹¹⁵ the doctrine of the four vyūhas, that is very characteristic of the Nārāyaṇīya section, is totally absent and further even the names of Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha do not occur in the Gītā. In my opinion the Gītā is the older of the two, as it propounds the general doctrine of bhakti, while the Pañcarātra doctrine in the Nārāyaṇīya is only one of the several bhakti schoolṣ Moreover, the Nārāyaṇīya section represents that Gītā had already been proclaimed and that the knowledge brought from Svetadvīpa by Nārada is the same as that declared in the Harigītā (chap. 346. 10–11, 348. 53–54). Śānti (348. 55–57) mentions that there was only one vyūha or there were two, three or four and that the Ekāntins attached great importance to ahiṃsā. Besides, the worship of Vāsudeva is older than Pāṇini, since¹¹⁶ Pāṇini teaches the formation of the word Vāsudevaka as meaning ‘one whose object of worship is Vāsudeva’. Vide Dr. Bhandarkar's ‘ Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism &c.’ paragraphs 2–10 (pp. 3–19 of vol. IV of the collected works) for the antiquity of Vāsudeva worship. The general view of most medieval writers on dharmaśāstra about Pañcarātra is represented by the Pārijāta quoted in the K. R. that the Pañcarātra¹¹⁷ and Pāśupata śāstras are authoritative only so far as they are not opposed to the Vedaṣ This was the view of the Sūtasaṃhitā also, on which a commentary was composed by the famous Mādhavācārya.

In some Purāṇas the word Vāsudeva is not derived¹¹⁸ from Vāsudeva (as the son of Vāsudeva) but from the root ‘vas’ to dwell. ‘Vāsudeva is so called because all beings dwell in the Highest Self and Vāsudeva dwells in beings as the soul of all’. Compare Gītā 9. 29 ‘I am alike to all beings; none is odious to me nor dear; but those who worship me with faith dwell in me and I too dwell in them’. The word bhagavat calls for a brief notice. It was generally applied to Vasudeva. The Viṣṇupurāṇa says ‘The word bhaga is applied to the six qualities collectively viz. fulness of sway, manliness (or energy), glory, auspiciousness, knowledge and indifference to wordly objectṣ This noble word bhagavān applies to Vasudeva who is the Highest Brahma and to no one else’¹¹⁹. The Viṣṇupurāṇa¹²⁰ further states that the word ‘bhagavat’ may be applied secondarily to others on the ground of possessing special qualities “that person may be called ‘bhagavān’, who knows about the creation and dissolution (of the world), about the origin and final destiny of beings, and knows what is vidyā and avidyā (nescience). Knowledge, strength, power, sway, manliness, splendour—all these in their entirety, excluding the three guṇas (and their effects) that are to be avoided, are expressed by the word bhagavat". Bhāgavata is one who worships ‘Bhagavat’ (i. e. Vāsudeva). This is an ancient worḍ It occurs in the Besnagar column inscription (of the 2nd century B. C.) of Heliodora, a Greek of Takṣaśīla and ambassador of Antialkita, who calls himself a bhāgavata (a devotee of Vāsudeva); vide above p. 516 ṇ 742 and ‘Indo-Greeks’ by Prof. A. K. Narain (1957), where at end he gives the full Besnagara Inṣ of nine lines and its reading (Plate VI.). It appears that ‘bhagavat’ was rarely applied to Śiva also. The Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad speaks¹²¹ of Śiva as ‘bhagavān’. Patañjali in his bhāṣya on Pāṇini V. 2. 76 speaks of Śivabhāgavata.¹²² In the Ghoṣūṇḍī stone Inscription¹²³ in Sanskrit (near Nagari in the Chitorgadh District of Rajputana) there is a reference to both Saṅkarṣaṇa and Vāsudeva as bhagavat and it calls them Sarveśvara (about 200 B. C.). while the Besnagara inscription speaks of Vāsudeva alone and Heliodora calls himself bhāgavata. In some early records such as the Pīkīra grant of Simhavarman (E. I. vol. VII. p. 161) and in Gupta Inscription No. 4 (at p. 27) Simhavarman and Candragupta (II) son of Samudragupta are called ‘paramabhāgavata’. Akrūra is styled mahābhāgavata in Brahma-purāṇa 190. 20; Padma VI. 280. 27 defines a Mahābhāgavata as noted below.¹²⁴

Three mārgas (paths) are spoken of in ancient works viz. karmamārga, bhaktimārga and jñānamārga. It is necessary to say here something about the path of bhakti and that of jñāna. Both these paths are deemed to lead to the same goal, viz. mokṣa. The mode of approach in the two is, however, different. In the path of knowledge (or avyaktopsanā) it is not bare book knowledge of brahman as the Supreme Soul and as nirguṇa that will lead to mokṣa; for that purpose is required brāhmi-sthiti (state of identifying oneself with brahma) men- tioned in Gītā II. 72. This condition can be secured only by great efforts and long practice as described in Gītā II. 55 and the following verseṣ In the path of knowledge whatever actions the person concerned may do are brahmārpaṇa, as described in Gītā IV. 18-24. In the path of bhakti the bhakta resigns him- self to God's grace and whatever he does he consigns to the God worshipped by him such as Vāsudeva (saguṇa and vyakta). Arjuna asks the Lord a question in Gītā XII. 1 ‘of the worshippers who thus constantly devoted meditate on you and those on the Unperceived and Indestructible, which best know devotion'. The reply given in XII. 2–7 is ‘those who, being constantly devoted and possessed of the highest devotion, worship me with a mind fixed on me are regarded by me as the most devoteḍ But those who, restraining the group of the senses, and with a mind equable to all, meditate on the indescribable, indestructible, unperceived (Principle), which is all-pervading, inconceivable, unconcerned, immoveable, and constant, they, devoted to the good of all beings, certainly attain to me. In the case of those whose minds are attached to the unperceived (Principle or Spirit) the trouble is much greater, since the unperceived goal is attained by embodied beings with difficulty. In the case of those, however, who dedicating all their actions to me and regarding me as their highest goal worship me, meditating on me with a devotion towards none beside me and whose minds are placed on me, I, without delay, become their deliverer from the ocean of samsāra and death'. In chapter 9 the path of bhakti is spoken of in these terms ‘it is the chief among vidyās (lores), chief among mysteries; it can be best means of sanctification; it can be directly apprehended, it is in accordance with dharma, imperishable and easy to practise'. According to the Gita, therefore, the path of bhakti is easier than the path of knowledge.

The Bhāgavata says that bhakti is ninefold¹²⁵ viz. hearing about Viṣṇu, repeating his name, remembering him, worshipping the feet (of the image of Viṣṇu), offering pūjā, bowing (or homage), treating oneself as the slave of Viṣṇu, treating Him as a friend and surrendering one’s soul to Hiṃ According ¹²⁶ to Nārada-bhakti-sūtra it is elevenfold (as noted below). It is not to be supposed that all these nine methods have to be practised at the same time. A devotee practising any one of these, viz. remembering or reciting His name, may thereby become a true bhakta, and may win God's favour and secure liberation (Śāṇḍilyasūtra 73). The Gītā (VII. 16–17) states ‘four classes of men, who are (all) fortunate, worship me viz. one who is in distress, the seeker after knowledge, one who seeks some desired object (or seeks wealth), one who is possessed of knowledge; of these he who is possessed of knowledge, who is always devoted and who worships One (Being) only is distinguished (above others), for to the man of knowledge I am extremely dear and he is dear to me’. Śāṇḍilya provides that the four aspects (out of nine) viz. remembering God, reciting His name, narrating stories about Him and bowing to Him (His image), find their place in the bhakti of those who are distressed, for these are said to be the means of expiation of sins, as the Viṣṇupurāṇa says (II. 6. 39) that remembering Kṛṣṇa is superior to all prāyaścittaṣ Śāṇḍilya further says that those guilty of mortal (grave) sins are only entitled to the bhakti of the distressed; but when their sins have been wiped off they would be entitled to the other forms of bhakti.

Gītā does not expressly enumerate all these nine modes of bhakti, but most of them can be gathered from various passages of the Gītā such as IX. 14, 26, 27 and from passages in other Purāṇaṣ For example, the Viṣṇupurāṇa ¹²⁷ says ‘whatever be the expiatory rites, consisting of austerities, deeds of charity &c., to remember Kṛṣṇa is superior to them all’ and ‘that repetition of His name with bhakti is the best solvent of all sins, as fire is of metals’. In the Bhāgavata ¹²⁸ it is said ‘whatever the devotee does by his body, speech, mind, organs of sense, by his intellect or by his soul or by the force of temperament that he follows— all that he should offer to Nārāyaṇa who is highest’. This is entirely in line with Gītā IX. 27 and may be called ‘dāsya-bhakti’; while Arjuna's bhakti is ‘sakhya-bhakti’, as Lord Kṛṣṇa himself speaks of him as ‘my devotee and a friend’ (Gītā IV. 3). It appears that the Gītā regards the performance ¹²⁹ of the duties of his station in life by a bhakta as worship (arcana or pūjā) of God 'worshipping by the performance of one's duties (without an eye to the fruit or rewards of them) God from whom the world springs and by whom all this world is permeated, a man obtains perfection (and not only by offering flowers or by reciting the name of God).

This central doctrine of the Gītā of what is called 'niṣkāma-karma' was accepted by the Purāṇaṣ The Viṣṇu II. 3. 25 adopts it. The Agnipurāṇa in chapter 381 gives a summary of the Gītā in 58 verses which are mostly made up of passages from the Gītā. It winds up the summary with the verse quoted in note 1575 and emphasizes bhakti in the last verse.¹³⁰ The Garuḍa-purāṇa summarises the Gītā in 28 verses (I. 237–238). The Padma (in VI. 171–188) contains the māhātmya of each of the 18 chapters of the Gītā interspersed with legends about the fruit of reading each Gītā chapter (1005 verses in all). A few further examples may be citeḍ The Kūrma says¹³¹ 'therefore even a man not possessed of (high) wisdom should perform all his duties (or actions) abandoning with all efforts the fruit (or reward) of actions; he obtains (high) abode after some time'; 'actions done after offering them to me do not tend to bind down the doer but tend to mukti (liberation)'. The Mārkaṇḍeya also refers to 'niṣkāma-karma'. The Bhāgavata-purāṇa provides 'a man performing (the rites) prescribed by the Veda but with-out attachment (not caring for the reward) and surrendering them to God secures freedom from the bondage of karma and the declaration of the reward (in the Veda) is only meant for stimulating effort'.

The doctrine of advaita in the Upaniṣads (such as in Īśā 16, Tai. Up. III. 4 and 8, Bṛ. Up. II. 4, 14, IV. 3. 30–31, IV. 5. 15) was for the wise. They offer very little to the ordinary maṇ about God or the ultimate destiny of man or the way to God and did not solve the common man's problemṣ The Gītā took up the problem of the common man; it shows to the lowliest of the lowly that there is hope for him, that the One and the True Being can enter into his life, if he consecrates all the daily duties and actions of his station in life to God and that salvation will come to every one if one has loving faith in God and surrenders him-self entirely to his Grace. The Gītā proclaims (IX. 30-32) 'If even a man that has been very badly conducted worships me without worshipping any one else he should be regarded as a good man, since he has resolved upon the right course; he quickly becomes a righteous soul and reaches everlasting peace: O Arjuna! you may affirm that my devotee is never ruineḍ By taking refuge with me even those that are born in despised castes, also women, vaiśyas and śūdras reach the highest goal'. The Śāṇḍilya-bhakti-sūtra provides¹⁵⁷⁸ that all down to persons of the despised castes are entitled (to follow the path of bhakti) to learning bhakti at second hand just as they can learn the common rules (of ahiṁsā, truthfulness &c.). The Purāṇas speak in the same strain as the Gītā and are some-times even more explicit and emphatic. The Brahma-purāṇa paraphrases Gītā IX. 32 and proceeds 'my devotee even if he be a caṇḍāla attains the desired beatitude, if he be endowed with the right faith; what need be said about others?' The Padma¹⁵⁷⁹ states 'A Pulkasa or even a śvāpaka and other persons belong-ing to Mleccha tribes become eminent and worthy of being honoured, if they are solely devoted to the worship of the feet of Hari'; 'Even a śvāpaka is a Vaiṣṇava if on his lips there is the name of Hari, in whose heart there is Viṣṇu and in whose stomach goes food offered to Viṣṇu'. The Bhāgavata contains¹⁵⁸⁰ the following remarkable statement: ‘Homage to that Supreme Lord, by resorting to whom as refuge Kirātas¹³⁵ (mountain-dwellers like Bhils), the Hūṇas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pulkasas, Ābhīras, Kāńkas, Yavanas, Khasas and the like and other degraded men are purifieḍ’ These sentiments were not mere platitudes, but had been very largely acted upoṇ Even in the medieval ages in India we have women saints like Mīrābai and Aṇḍāl (in South India), untouchables as saints like Nanda, Cokhāmelā (in Mahārāṣṭra), Rai Das (a chamār disciple of Rāmānanda), sinners like Ajāmila honoured as saintṣ Saints like Kabir¹³⁶ (a Moslem weaver) and Tukārām had probably not much book learning, but their hymns are recited by Hindus including orthodox brāhmaṇaṣ

The invasions and gradual conquest of India by Moslem invaders from the Northwest threw down a challenge to Hindus from 11th century A.D. onwardṣ It was met in various wayṣ The first was the composition of comprehensive digests of smṛtis of which the Kṛtyakalpataru of Lakṣmīdhara (about 1110–1130 A.D.) in the North and Hemādri in the Deccan (third quarter of 13th century). The second and the most important way was on the spiritual front. From the 13th century to the 17th century there was a great revival of spirituality on an unprecedented scale which produced saints and mystics in all parts of India such as Jñāneśvara, Nāmādeva, Rāmānanda, Kabir,¹³⁶ Caitanya, Dadu (in Rajasthan), Nānak, Vallabhācārya, Ekanātha, Tukārām, Rāmādāsa (and many others of lesser fame) who all agreed on fundamentals viz. unity of God, the need of self-purification, condemnation of the pride of caste and of formalities of worship, and surrender to the Deity for salvatioṇ The third was the creation of such independent kingdoms as that of Vijayanagara (1330–1565 A. D.), of Mahārāṣṭra (under Shivaji and the Peshwas) and of the Sikhs in Punjab. This last cannot be dealt with in this work. The doctrine of bhakti had a great appeal to all sections of the Hindu community and its propagation by the Purāṇas went a long way in weaning away Hindus from Buddhisṃ Not only so, Mahāyāna Buddhism took over the doctrine of bhakti and works like the ‘Questions of Milinda’ and the Saddharmapuṇḍarika¹³⁷ contain passages which agree closely with the Gītā. The Gītā exhibits a wonderful spirit of tolerance and accommodation, not found in the scriptures of other religions which were founded by great prophetṣ It says¹³⁸ ‘even those, who are devotees of other deities and worship them with faith, ( indirectly ) worship me only but with a non-śāstric ( or irregular ) procedure.’ The Bhāgavata-purāṇa elaborates the same idea; ‘O Adorable One! others worship you alone in the form of Śiva while following the path promulgated by Śiva and propounded in different ways by several ācāryas, all worship you who are Lord and who comprehend in yourself all gods; those also who are devotees of other deities and appear to have different ideas do in the end reach you, just as all rivers rising in mountains and flooded by rains enter the ocean from all sides’. The Śāntiparva¹³⁹ also contains a similar idea ‘Those who worship Brahmā, Śiva or other deities and whose conduct (or practice) is intelligent will (ultimately) come to me, who am the Highest’. This doctrine has its germs in the Ṛgveda¹⁴⁰ itself where it is said 'the One Reality the sages speak of under various names; they call it Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan (wind-god)'. This work cannot afford, for reasons of space, to go into the several bhakti schools such as those of Rāmānuja, Madhva (who postulated five eternal bhedas), Caitanya and Vallabha (that gave rise to an erotico-mystical brand of bhakti) and otherṣ

In their zeal for the spread of the cult of bhakti the Purāṇas are sometimes guilty of gross exaggeratioṇ The Brahma-purāṇa¹⁴¹ says 'men even after having committed many sins under the influence of error (or delusion), do not go to Hell, if they worship Hari who removes all sins; those men also who always remember Janārdana, though they may be guilty of roguery, reach, after they die, the happy world of Viṣṇu. Even a man who is habituated to flying into extreme rage, if he recites the name of Hari, has his faults destroyed and attains mukti (liberation) as the king of Cedi country did'. The Vāmana-purāṇa¹⁴² observes “what has that person got to do with many mantras (i. e. he has no use for those), who is a bhakta of Viṣṇu? The mantra 'namo Nārāyaṇāya' is able to accomplish all objectṣ Success is for those who have bhakti for Viṣṇu; how can there be failure for them in whose heart is enthroned Janārdana dark like a blue lotus?” The Vāmana and Padma Purāṇas say that a man secures the same results by repeating the names of Viṣṇu that he would secure by visiting all the tīrthas (sacred places) and holy shrines¹⁴³ in the worlḍ

Many Purāṇas, particularly the Viṣṇu and the Bhāgavata, are replete with the eulogies, the theory and practice of bhakti. and illustrative stories about it. For reasons of space it is not possible to go into this matter at any length. A few noteworthy points alone will be toucheḍ A few verses eulogizing the Bhāgavatapurāṇa may be cited as samples of extreme exaggeratioṇ ¹⁴⁴ Thousands of Aśvamedhas and hundreds of Vājapeya sacrifices are not equal to even the 16th part of the story narrated by Śuka; he who always recites a half or a quarter verse of the merit of Rājasūya and Aśvamedha; he who listens to the words of the śāstra of Śuka (i.e. Bhāgavata) at the time of death, Govinda being pleased with him confers on him Vaikuṇṭha; this is a good expiation for all sinners viz. uttering the name of Viṣṇu, since ( at that time ) their mind has Viṣṇu as the only object of thought ¹⁴⁵ Another point is the story of Ajāmila in the Bhāgavata (VI. 1. 20 ff and VI. 2), Padma (I. 31. 109 and VI. 87. 7) and other Purāṇaṣ Ajāmila ¹⁴⁶ (who aban-doned his brāhmaṇa wife and kept a mistress) was a moral wreck addicted to gambling and thieving. When on his death-bed at the age of 80 he loudly called upon his youngest son named Nārāyaṇa (out of ten sons born of the mistress) with affection and recited that name and thought of that alone, he became free from his sins and attained a high position difficult to attain'. Such stories have given rise to the common belief that the last thought at one's death leads to a new birth appro-priate to that thought ( ante matiḥ sā gatiḥ ). The Upaniṣads contain the germ of the idea of the last thought; vide Chāṇ Up. III. 14. 1, VIII. 2. 10, Br. Up. IV. 4. 5. In the 'Questions of Milinda' (SBE vol. 35 pp. 123-124) this idea of the importance of the last thought is taken up. It may be that a single heart-felt invocation of the name of God, a single act of faith after repentance and complete surrender to God's will, cancels the result of a whole life of crime and siṇ This is the moral of Ajamila's story, but it is liable to be grossly misapprehended and might create a complacent belief that a man may commit as many sins in his life as possible, but if he remembers God at his death and repeats His name then, all sins of his are cleared away and wiped out. This is a rather dangerous doctrine. The Gitā (VIII. 5–7) puts the matter in a clear light. ‘That person, who remembers me at the time of death and passes from the world leaving the body, attains my essence, there is no doubt about that. Whatever form a man remembers when he leaves the body, to that he goes, because he was always engrossed in that forṃ Therefore remember me at all times and engage in battle; there is no doubt that having fixed your mind and intellect on me you will attain to me’. This passage of the Gitā suggests that a person will remember the name of God at the time of his death only if he had been so doing all his life, while engaged in actively performing all his duties and not caring for the rewards thereof and that it is extremely rare or almost impossible for a man to remember God at the last moment when throughout his life he had been ungodly and a great sinner. The above idea is again emphasized in verses 10–13 of chap. VIII (of the Gitā) and in chap. XIII. 3 (yo yac-chraddhah sa eva sah).

In spite of the doctrine that God is one¹⁴⁷ and the doctrine that whatever form of the deity one may worship, the worship reaches the Supreme Being, Vaisnavas and Saivas have been wrangling and abusing one another. For example, the Varaha- purāṇa makes Rudra declare the supremacy of Viṣṇu (chap.¹⁴⁸ 70. 14 Nārāyaṇah paro devaḥ), denounce Saiva-siddhāntas that are outside the pale of the Vedas and put forward the outstanding view 'that such non-Vedic views were promulgated by Śiva himself at the request of Viṣṇu in order to delude people.' Some Purāṇas started by saying that the Bauddhas and Jainas¹⁴⁹ were asuras and enemies of gods that were purposely deluded by goḍ For example, the Matsya (24. 43-49) says that the sons of Raji deprived Indra of his kingdom and share in sacrifices, that Bṛhaspati, at Indra's request, deluded the sons of Raji by composing a treatise of Jina-dharma which was opposed to the Veda and then Indra killed theṃ Vāyu 96. 230-32, Matsya 47. 11-12, Bhāgavata I. 3. 24 appear to suggest that Viṣṇu himself deluded the people. The Agni (16. 1-4) also says with reference to the Bauddhas that Viṣṇu deluded theṃ The Viṣṇu-purāṇa¹⁵⁰ (III. 17–18) narrates that when the gods were defeated by the asuras (who also practised tapas and studied the Veda) they approached Viṣṇu and prayed to him to help them and to destroy the asuras and that then Viṣṇu produced from his body Māyā-moha (lit. who causes delusion by wiles) and made him over to the godṣ Māyāmoha, who was naked, had shaved his head and held a bunch of peacock feathers in his hand, went to the asuras that were practising tapas on the banks of the Narmadā (III. 18. 1–2) and told them that if they followed his words they would secure mukti, led them away from the path of the Veda, taught them formulas of sceptical reasoning and weaned them away from their dharma. Then he approached other asuras and taught them that sacri- ficing animals was sinful, taught them nirvāṇa and the doctrines of vijñānavāda. Some of the passages are very striking 'In a short time the asuras were deluded by Māyāmoha and abandoned all concern with the path depending on the three Vedaṣ Some condemned the gods, while others condemned the body of sacrificial rites and brāhmaṇaṣ (They thought or said) The statement that killing an animal (in sacrifices) is desirable for the sake of Dharma (for accumulating merit) does not stand to reason; to say that offerings burnt by fire would conduce to reward (in the next world) is childish talk; (if it be said that) Indra attained the position of God by means of many sacrifices and enjoys the fuel-sticks of the śamī tree, then an animal (that subsists on leaves) is superior to Indra (who enjoys hard and thorny śamī samidhs). If it is desired (by the Veda) that the animal killed in a sacrifice attains heaven, then why does not the sacrificer kill his own father in a sacrifice (and send him to heaven)? If one (the son) performs śrāddha (with the thought) that what is eaten by one (brāhmaṇa diner at śrāddha) tends to give satisfaction to another (i. e. the deceased father of the offered of śrāddha), then travellers would not carry food (on their backs) which causes weariness to theṃ' These are the arguments used by atheists (cārvākas). It is remarkable that even tāntrik works like the Kulārṇavatantra make Śiva say that he declared certain śāstras purely for deluding certain bad people who did not know the Kaula dharma.¹⁵¹

From condemning the Jainas and Bauddhas some Purāṇas, entirely unmindful of what the Gītā declared (in note 1584), proceeded so far as to say¹⁵² that a brāhmaṇa who is not a Vaiṣṇava is a heretic, that Viṣṇu himself assuming the form of Buddha proclaimed a false śāstra, and that all śāstras such as the Pāśupata, Vaiśeṣika of Kaṇāda, Nyāya of Gautama, Sāṅkhya of Kapila, Cārvāka of Bṛhaspati are tāmasa; that the māyāvāda (of Śaṅkara) is a false śāstra and is disguised Bauddha (doctrine) and the extensive śāstra (Pūrvamīmāṃsā) of Jaimini is condemned, since it made gods as of no use (in his system). The words of the Padma-purāṇa are; ‘Listen O Goddess, while I declare to you in order the tāmasa śāstras, by merely remembering which even wise men become sinnerṣ First of all I promulgated Śaiva śāstras such as the Pāśupata system; then the following were declared by brāhmaṇas that were possessed ( or engrossed ) by my śakti (power); viz. Kaṇāda proclaimed the great Vaiśeṣika system, the Nyāya and Sāṅkhya systems were declared respectively by Gautama and Kapila : the much despised Cārvāka doctrine was promulgated, for bringing about the destruction of daityas, the false doctrine of Bauddhas that go about naked or dressed in blue garments; I myself, O goddess, assuming the form of a brāhmaṇa declared in the Kali age the false śāstras of the doctrine of Māyā which is bauddha in disguise. The brāhmaṇa Jaimini composed the great system of Pūrvamīmāṃsā, which is unmeaning on account of its atheistic discourse'. Vijñāna-bhikṣu in his Sāṅkhya-pravacanabhāṣya (who flourished about 1550 A. D.) quotes eleven verses from the Padma VI. 263 and holds the peculiar view that no śāstra that is āstika (admits a soul) is unauthoritative nor is there any contradiction, each śāstra being of full force and true in its own sphere. The original Sāṅkhya sūtra, on which he comments, tries to establish the impossible thesis that the teachings of the Sāṅkhya are not in real or irreconcilable contradiction with the doctrine of all-pervading oneness of brahma or with the doctrine that brahma is bliss (ānanda) or the system of theism (i. e. a personal God). Sectarian exclusiveness and bigotry went so far that the Brahmāṇḍa¹⁵⁴ contains a dialogue between sage Agastya and Rāma in which it is said that the 108 names of Kṛṣṇa (who is acknowledged by all to be an incarnation of Viṣṇu) are so potent that the merit secured by repeating thrice the 1008 names of Viṣṇu is secured by repeating only once one of the 108 names (of Kṛṣṇa).¹⁵⁵

The Viṣṇu and Padma do not stand alone in this strange story of Viṣṇu himself or through Rudra teaching false doctrines for deluding the ungodly or those that dissented from or reviled the Vedaṣ There were other Purāṇas that sing the same tune; for example, the Kūrma-purāṇa indulges in a vendetta against many śāstras and systems in several placeṣ A few passages are set out here. (Devī says) 'the various¹⁵⁶ śāstras that are found in this world and are opposed to the Vedas and smṛtis are based on tamas (ignorance), viz. Kāpāla, Bhairava, Yāmala (a class of Tantra works), Vāma (left-hand practices of a class of Tantras), Arhata (Jain doctrines), these and others are meant for deluding (persons); I produced these śāstras in another birth for deluding people'; 'therefore in order to protect (people) against those who were beyond the pale of the Vedas and for the destruction of sinners we shall, O Śiva, compose śāstras for deluding them; Rudra being thus advised by Mādhava (Viṣṇu) composed śāstras that delude and Viṣṇu also urged on by Rudra did the same;' ( they produced the śāstras ) called Kāpāla, Nakula,¹⁵⁷ Vāma-Bhairava (early and later), Pāñcarātra, Pāśupata and thousands of others; Śaṅkara came down to the earth, wearing garlands of skull-bones and covered with ashes from a cemetery and wearing profuse matted pair, trying to delude this world and engaged in begging for the benefit of these'; 'One should¹⁵⁸ not honour even by words Pāñcarātra and Pāśupata people that are heretics, following prohibited avocations and those who follow left-hand śākta practices; when Buddhist mendicants, Nirgranthas, those who study the Pāñcarātra doctrines, Kāpālikas, Pāśupatas and other similar heretics, being bad and deluded, eat the śrāddha food ( meant for a deceased person ) that śrāddha would be of no use in this world and the next.' For details of some of the heretical sects, vide ‘Heretical sects in the Purāṇas’ by Śrī Radhakrishna Choudhary in ABORI vol 37 (1956) pp. 234-257.

The Gītā ( in chapter 16 ) speaks of two classes of people, viz. those born to godlike endowments and those born with demoniac qualities and describes the latter in verses 7-20. Some of the verses probably indicate that the reference is to atheists and the like; for verse 8 states 'they say that the world is devoid of truth (i. e. contains nothing that one can believe), devoid of any fixed principle (such as virtue and vice), devoid of a Ruler, and is produced by union brought about by lust and nothing else¹⁸⁰. After describing their thoughts and aspirations the Gītā winds up ‘these perform sacrifices which are hypocrisy and against the prescribed procedure; they hate me in their own bodies and in those of others; these impure and cruel enemies I continually throw down in into demoniac wombs and being deluded, in each birth they go to vilest states without ever coming to me’. This is entirely different from what the Padma and other Purāṇas say about Pāśupatas, Pāñcarātras and about non-Vaiṣṇavaṣ

Both the Bhāgavata and the Padma say that¹⁵⁹ (the cult of) bhakti first arose in Draviḍa country, it progressed or prospered in the Karṇāṭaka, it was found in only a few places in Mahārāṣṭra and declined in the Gurjara country; it was, on account of the terrible Kaliyuga, broken up by heresies and remained weak for a long time; but having reached Vṛndāvana (near Mathurā) it got a fresh start and assumed fine forṃ In book XI. the Bhāgavata again reverts to this assertion that in Kali people are solely devoted to Nārāyaṇa only in a few places but to the greatest extent in the Draviḍa country where flow the rivers Tamraparṇī, Kṛtamālā, Kāveri and Mahānaḍi flowing to the west and states that those who drink the waters of these rivers are generally devotees of Vāsudeva.

Most great moral and spiritual upheavals have a tendency to reach a very low level in course of time. That appears to have happened in the case of bhāgavataṣ The Atri-smṛti has a verse containing a sarcastic reference to bhāgavatas¹⁶⁰: ‘Those who are devoid of Vedic studies learn śāstras (such as grammar, vedānta, logic &c.), those who are wanting in śāstric lore become readers of Purāṇas for others; those who cannot be readers of Purāṇas become tillers; but those who are broken down even there, become bhāgavatas'. Atri appears to say that bhāgavatas are idlers, who do not study Veda or śāstra or who cannot even read Purāṇas to others for their livelihood or do not engage in agriculture and who pretend to be worshippers (or bhaktas) of Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa and fatten on what is given by others that are deluded into thinking that they have forsaken everything for the sake of their love of Goḍ They become what are called 'buwās' in Marāṭhi and other modern Indian languageṣ

Another striking development of the bhakti cult is the Erotic Mysticism (madhurā bhakti) associated with the worship of Kṛṣṇa and of Rādhā in that form of Vaiṣṇavism established by Caitanya and Vallabhācārya. For the Vaiṣṇava movement inspired by Caitanya, vide Dr. S. K. De's work on ‘the Vaiṣṇava faith and movement in Bengal’ (Calcutta 1942) and the author's ‘History of Sanskrit Poetics’ (1951) about Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi of Rūpa-gosvāmin pp. 298-302. In the bhakti cult established by Vallabhācārya great importance is attached to the guru, who is one of the descendants of Vallabhācārya and to whom almost divine honours are paiḍ A wonderful development of bhakti towards Rāma, regarded in the Rāmāyaṇa and in popular tradition as a paragon of restraint and all manly virtues, culminated in an erotic mysticism about Rāma and Sītā also. The devotees of this mystic cult have to consider themselves as brides of Rāma or the female friends of Sītā, they are supposed to seek Lord Rāma's favour through Sītā, who graciously intercedes with the Lord for the devoteeṣ Among the followers of Vallabhācārya the guru tells the devotee to look upon him (the guru) as Kṛṣṇa and upon himself or herself as Rādhikā.

For want of space further details about these bhakti cults have to be passed over.

Supreme importance is attached to Vedic mantras and also Paurāṇika mantraṣ They will have to be dealt with at some length in the sections on Tantras and on Pūrvamīmāṁsā. But some treatment of mantras, particularly vedic, may be given here as well. The word mantrakṛt occurs about twenty-five times in the Ṛgveda. Only once does the word mantrakṛt occur in the Ṛgveda¹⁶¹ (IX. 114. 2) 'O sage Kāśyapa! offer obeisance to king Soma Lord of plants with the chants of the composers (or authors) of mantras, thereby sending forth your own voice &c.' Mr. Kapali Sastry is inaccurate when he states (on p. 67 of the translation of his 'Rgbbāsya-bhūmikā in English) ‘we see frequent mention made in the Rik saṃhitā of the rishi as the author of the mantra and he cites only Rg. IX. 114. 2 and I. 67. 2. The latter mantrakṛt. Rg. I. 67. 2 (addressed to Agni) runs ‘holding in his hand all powers (or riches), sitting in a cave (i. e. concealed) he placed the gods in fright; heroes (men or gods) that place (offer) prayers know him (Agni) to be here when they recite mantras formed in the heart.' There is no direct reference to rṣis here (but to narah) and what is emphasized is that mantras already extant as the heart's outpourings enable the reciters of the mantras to find him (Agni). There is nothing to show that the mantras referred to in the verse are meant to be impromptu; the idea is rather that mantras that already existed and conveyed heartfelt devotion have to be employed to find Agni. The very next verse makes the position clear when it says, ‘like the unborn (Sun) he (Agni) supports the wide earth and fixes in its place the sky on account of the mantras that turn out true'. This clarifies two things, viz. that when this mantra (I. 67. 3) was recited there already existed a host of mantras¹⁶² and secondly, that the mantras that existed long before were deemed to have helped in supporting the earth and the sky. The ancient mantras were supposed to bring Indra to attend thrice in the day for a short time to the sacrifices of devotees when invoked with mantras addressed to him (Rg. III. 53. 8); similarly, mantras when recited by wise men bring Yama to receive offerings (Rg. X. 14. 4); Rg. X. 88. 14 states ‘we raise our voices with mantras towards Vaiśvānara Agni, who is wise and who shines brilliantly all days'. The word mantra¹⁶³ is

( Continued from last page ) explains 'अजो न क्षो आधापृथिवीं तस्तम्भ स हि पलाशितं संति सर्वे देवा अनैपुण्येभ्यः।। ऋ. I. 67. 3. also employed in the singular several timeṣ A few striking passages are set out here. ‘Indeed, God Brahmanaspati (Lord of Prayer) proclaims the mantra fit for recitation (by the mouth of the hotṛ ), in which the gods Indra, Varuṇa, Mitra, Aryaman make their abode, O Gods !’; ‘We utter that very mantra (in which Indra and other gods are praised together) in our sacrifices, the mantra being one that produces bliss and being free from all blemishes (or is incomparable); ‘Do place among the Gods a mantra that is not short, that is well-arranged and that is well ornamented; ancient fetters do not reach him who is in (the good grace of ) Indra by the sacrifice (or praise) ; ‘I address the same mantra for you (all) and offer for you (all) one offering (into fire)’. From these passages it appears that when these verses were recited there was a body of already existing mantras; which were supposed to be inspired by the Lord of prayers (or speech) and from which the choice of a long and well-formed one was to be made. Apart from the above passages the word mantra occurs in Rg. I. 31. 13. I. 74 1, I. 147, 4, I. 152. 2, II. 35. 2, VI. 50. 14, VII. 7. 6, X. 50. 4 and 6, X. 106. 11, in only one of which (Rg. II. 35. 2), apart from Rg. I. 67. 2 already quoted, the words ‘hṛda ā sutastam mantram’ (mantra well chiselled from the heart) are used and in another verse more simply the word ‘atakṣan’ (in VII. 7. 6 mantram ye vāram naryā utakṣan) alone is useḍ In two passages (Rg. X. 95.1 and X. 191. 3 first half ) the word ‘mantra’ appears to mean ‘consultations, holding counsel together’. In Rg. I. 20. 4, Ṛbhus are called ‘satyamantrāḥ’ and are said to have made their parents young. There are controversies about what the Ṛbhus stand for and it is difficult to say what is meant by ‘satyamantrāh’ in relation to Ṛbhuṣ Rg. VII. 76. 4. is a¹⁶⁴ somewhat enigmatic verse. It means ‘they (Angirases) alone, ( our ) ancient pitṛs, learned (or wise) and following the right path, enjoyed companionship among gods and they found out the Light (the Sun) concealed (by Svarbhānu, eclipse); they, whose mantras were true, brought forth Uṣaṣ’ In some passages where other words like stoma or brahma are used, there is mention of the stoma or brahma being made and polished by the devotee (e. g. X. 39.14 ‘etam vaṁ stomam-Āśvināvakar- mātaksāma bhṛgavo na ratham’). Vide Rg.I,62.13 for ‘navyam ataksad brahma’, Rg. V. 29.15 (Indra brahma kriyāmāṇā jusasva śaviṣṭha yā te navyā akarma); brahmakṛtaḥ (composers of prayers or praises) are mentioned in Rg. VII. 32. 2 and X. 50. 7. Other words like gir (several hundred times), dhīti (about 100 times), brahma (over a hundred times) mati (about 100 times), manīṣā (over 60 times), vacas and vacasyā (over 100 times), stoma (about 200 times), sukirti (five times), sūkta (four times) are employed in the sense of ‘thought, word or thought-out hymn or verse of praise’ and in several cases the sages of the Ṛgveda state that it is a new verse or hymn of praise that they employ. Vide ‘navyāsibhir-girbhiḥ’ and ‘giram share navyasīm jāya- mānām’ in Rg. V. 42. 13., in Rg. VI. 49. 1, VII. 53. 2; ‘Pra agnaye navyasīm dhītimagnaye’ in Rg. I. 143. 1; ‘vaiśvānarāya matir-navyasi śuciḥ soma iva pavate’ (Rg. VI. 8. 1) and ‘iyam te navyasīm agne adhyāyasmadā’ (Rg. VIII. 74. 7); iyam te agne navyasīm manīṣā’ Rg. X. 4. 6; ‘tā valgu¹⁶⁵ Dasrā puruśā- katamā pratnā navyasā vacasā vivāse’ (Rg. VI. 62. 5); ‘navyasī sukirtiḥ’ in Rg. I. 60. 3; ‘sa pratnavat navyase viśvavārā sūktāya pathāḥ kṛṇuhi’ in Rg. IX. 91. 5; ‘nū navyase navīyase sūktāya pathāḥ kṛṇuhi’ in Rg. IX. 91. 5; ‘nū sūktāya sādhayā pathāḥ’ in Rg. IX. 9. 8. It is a remarkable fact that when words like ‘sukirtiḥ’ and ‘sūkta’ that occur only four or five times in the whole of the Ṛgveda are qualified by the word ‘new or fresh’, the word ‘mantra’ occurring so many times does not even once bear the adjective ‘new’. This emphasizes the conclusion stated above that in the times of many of the extant Rgvedic verses mantras were a large group already existing, from which prayers were drawn as occasion required, though now and then new verses were added to those already existing. It may here be stated that in some places the Ṛgveda looks upon prayers (dhīti) as divine and as on the same level with Aśvins, Uṣas, and the Sūn (VIII. 35. 3) and that ancient prayers were inherited from ancestors (III. 39. 2 ‘seyamasme sanajā pitryā dhīti’).

Several hymns and verses of the Ṛgveda are purely philosophical, cosmological, mystic and speculative as I. 164. 4, 6, 29. 32, 39, 42; X. 71, X. 90 (Puruṣasūkta), X. 129, X. 81–82 (Viśvakarmaṇ), X. 121 (Hiraṇyagarbha), X. 139, X. 72, X. 125 (Vāk), X. 154 (state after death), X. 190 (creation).

About the meaning and purpose of Vedic mantras there are great controversieṣ This much may be said here that according to the Pūrvamīmāṁsā system the whole Veda is concerned with sacrifices, that Veda is divided into two classes, Mantra and Brāhmaṇa, that Vidhis (hortatory important part of the Veda, that a very large number of Vedic passages are mere arthavādas (that contain either praises of vidhis or are to be explained metaphorically or merely repeat what already exists or are of a legendary character) and that mantras only serve the purpose of bringing to the mind of the sacrificer or priests what is to be done in a sacrifice and that the words used in the mantras ordinarily bear the same meaning as that in popular Sanskrit.

Long before Yāska (several centuries before Christ) there were several schools of Vedic interpretation such as the Aitihāsikas (who acc. to Nir. II. 16 said that Vṛtra was an Asura son of Tvaṣṭṛ, while acc. to the Nāiruktas Vṛtra means only ‘cloud’ and the Veda contains metaphorical descriptions of battles, that the twins that Saraṇyu is said in Rg. X. 17. 2 to have given up are according to the Aitihāsikas they are Mādhyamikā-vāk, while according to Yama and Yamī, as stated in Nir. XII. 10), the school of Naidānas is mentioned about ‘syāla’ and ‘sāma’ in Nir. VI 19, the school of ancient yājñikas in Nir. V. 11. Rg. I. 164. 32 (ya im cakāra) is differently explained by the Parivrājākas (ascetic school) and the Nairuktas (etymologists). The Nirukta also mentions the names of seventeen individual predecessors (from whom it differs often and who differ among themselves) such as Āgrāyaṇā, Audumbarāyaṇā, Kautsa, Gārgya, Gālava, Śakāṭā- yaṇā, Śākapūṇi. There are several mantras of which two different meanings are given in the Nirukta as in Nir. V. 11 on Rg. VIII. 77. 4. In Rg. I. 164 there are several verses with two meanings or more e. g. verse 21 (yatrā suparṇā &c.) has two meanings (acc. to Nir. III. 13) one relating to the devatā Sūrya (adhidaivata) and the other spiritual (adhyātma); similarly, verse 32 of the same hymn has two meanings in the Nirukta (II. 8); the verse 39 (r̥co akṣare parame vyoman) is explained in four ways by Sāyāṇa; verse 41 (gaurīr-mimāya) is explained by Sāyāṇa in two ways, both being different from Yāska’s explanation (in Nir. XI. 40 ); verse 45 ( catvāri vāk parimitā padāni) is explained in six ways (more or less different from each other ) by Sāyaṇa; it is also explained in the Mahābhāṣya (p. 7 of M. M. Abhyankara-śāstri’s eḍ). The verse ‘catvāri śṛṁgā’ (Rg. IV. 58. 3) has been explained from very early timeṣ Nir. (XIII. 7) explains it as referring to Yajña. The Mahābhāṣya (p. 6 of the Mahābhāṣya ibiḍ) also does the same. Sāyaṇa explains it as referring to Agni (identified with yajña) and Surya. This verse is a riddle. Śabara¹⁶⁶ in his bhāṣya on P. M. S. I. 2. 38. ('abhidhāne arthavādaḥ') explains it but Kumārila and others explain it (e. g. the word ‘tridhā’) with reference to Mantra, Brāhmaṇa and Kalpa, but when this verse was first proclaimed there must have been no Brāhmaṇas and Kalpasūtraṣ In several cases the Nirukta gives the adhidaivata (physical) and adhyātma (metaphysical or spiritual) or adhiyajña and adhyātma as in Nir. X. 26 (on Rg. X. 82. 2 ‘Viśvakarmā vimanā’), Nir. XI. 4 (on Rg. X. 85. 3, adhiyajña and adhidaivata meanings), Nir. XII. 37 (on Vaj. S. 34. 55 ‘sapta ṛṣayaḥ’, both adhidaivata and adhyātma.), Nir. XII. 38 (on Atharva X. 8. 9 ‘Tiryag-bilaś-camasa &c.’ both adhidaivata and adhyātma). In Rg. (I. 164) verses 11-13 and 48 contain a very imaginative and poetic description of the year, the seasons, months and total days and nightṣ

In recent years Śrī Aurobindo in ‘Hymns to the mystic Fire’ (translated in the esoteric sense, 1946 ) and his ardent and devout disciple Sri. T. V. Kapali Sastry (in ‘Rgbhāṣya-bhūmikā in Sanskrit and its English translation, Pondicherry 1952 ) have started a theory about the Ṛgveda mantras which must be briefly stated and examineḍ Śrī Aurobindo first intended to publish an edition of the Ṛgveda with a word by word construction and an English translatioṇ But he gave up that idea on account of other pre-occupations and rests content in the above book with the text and translation of about 230 verses in all from the 1st, 2nd and 6th maṇḍalas of the Ṛgveda and a foreword of 48 pages in which he propounds his theory. While this was being written by the present writer, Śrī Aurobindo's large work of 634 pages ‘on the Veda’ published in 1956 reached his handṣ Over 60 hymns are dealt with in this big book and 283 pages are devoted to the elaboration of his theory first outlined in the brief work of Śrī Aurobindo mentioned above and reiterated with greater emphasiṣ On page 9 of the work of 1956 he states “the ritual system recognized by Sāyana may stand, the naturalistic sense discovered by European scholar ship may, in its general conceptions be accepted, but behind there is always the true and still hidden secret of the veda – the secret words which were spoken for the purified in soul and the awakened in knowledge”. In this work also he sticks to the meaning of ṛta as truth and on p. 84 translates ‘ṛtam’ as ‘Truth-conscious ness’, when in his first work he translated ‘ṛta-cit’ as Truth-con sciousness’. Instead of comparing the several hundred passages where the word ṛta occurs in the Ṛgveda he sticks to his own rendering which is unacceptable to most scholars and makes a very perfunctory attempt at finding the correct meaning. One should like to have some clear examples of the distinction between Light and Consciousness in modern times and also in the Veda. So far as the present writer knows, in the language of ancient symbolism Consciousness is identified with Light. In the recently published book he deals with less than ⅓ th of the total hymns (1017 or 1028) of the Ṛgveda. Readers are asked to subscribe to his views although he condescends to translate in the first work less than ⅓ th of the total number of verses in the Ṛgveda and hardly ever enters into a discussion about the meaning of words like ṛta. Śrī Aurobindo (Foreword p. III.) concedes that Sāyana does not reject the spiritual authority of the Veda and that Sāyana does not deny that there is a higher truth contained in the ṛkṣ He further says (IX) that we must take seriously the hint of Yāska (Śrī Aurobindo does not quote the Nirukta, but probably he has in mind Nīr. I. 20 ‘sākṣātkṛtadharmāṇa ṛṣayo babhūvuḥ’). Then he proceeds to state (XVII) that many whole hymns of the Veda bear on their face a mystic meaning and that the ṛṣis (p. XIX) for the sake of secrecy resorted to double meanings, a device easily manageable in the Sanskrit language. This is a hypothesis which cannot at all be accepted and is no more than mere conjecture. The Vedic mantras were composed thousands of years ago, when all persons among whom the sages moved must have spoken the same language, though generally not so polished and poetical as that of the mantras and they were not addressed to men like the moderns whose every day thoughts, surroundings and languages are entirely different. Both the Master and the disciple (Mr. Kapali Sastry) cause confusion (or, may be, are themselves confused) by supposing that the difficulties of the modern students of mantras did exist even at or near the time of the mantraṣ The most sublime thought of the Ṛgveda is that there is only one Spirit behind the various gods, Indra, Mitra, Varuṇa, Agni, Yama, Mātariśvan, that originally there was only that One, there was no day and night, no death and immortality. Śrī Aurobindo himself describes (p. XXXII) Rg. I. 164. 46 and X. 129. 2 as 'the summit of the vedic teaching.' This view of the one Entity is also illustrated in Ṛg. VIII. 58. 2 'one and the same Agni is kindled in many places, the one Sun enters the whole world and becomes many; the one Dawn illumines all this (physical) world, One became all this (assumes various forms)'. No secrecy was observed about this fundamental truth and it was proclaimed in mantras that can be understood even by an ordinary man of to-day who knows a little Sanskrit. Because we of these recent centuries cannot understand some mantras, that does not mean that the ancient seers were guilty of a subterfuge and purposely composed mantras with two meaningṣ They might have indulged in the pastime of two meanings (express and metaphorical) in a few cases as poetic deviceṣ¹⁶⁷ It is no fault of the sages, if we cannot understand their meaning, just as a blind man, who does not see a wooden post and comes to grief by dashing against it, should not blame the post, but should blame himself; we are to blame ourselves and should not foist upon the ancient sages a stratagem created by our own imagination or lack of knowledge (Nir. I. 16 ).¹⁶⁸ Śrī Aurobindo admits (p. XXXIII) that there are some key words in the Ṛgveda such as ṛta, kratu, śravas, ketu and that elaborate work would have to be done to fix the meanings of such wordṣ But he does not undertake a study of the key words (each of which except ‘ketu’ occurs hundreds of times in the Ṛgveda) by comparison of Ṛgvedic passages and considering the light shed on these words by the other Saṁhitās and the Brāhmaṇaṣ He mentions the occurrence of the word ṛta in I. 164. 47 and IV. 21. 3 (sadanāt-ṛtasya) and ‘ṛtasya pathyā’ in Ṛg. III. 12. 7 and jumps to the conclusion that the last two words mean ‘the path of truth’ and remarks that ‘we have to find the path of Truth’ (Foreword p. XXX.). In the H. of Dh. vol. IV. pp. 2–5 it has been shown that ṛta in the Ṛgveda has three meanings, viz. (1) the regular and general order in the cosmos; (2) the correct and ordered way of the cult of the gods; (3) ‘moral conduct of maṇ’ In the Ṛgveda ṛta is not the same as ‘satya’, but the two are differentiateḍ In Ṛg. V. 51. 2 the Viśve-devas ¹⁶⁹ are described as ṛtadhitāyaḥ (whose ordinances are true or fixed) and the sage prays to them to come to his sacrifice and to drink (ājya and soma) by the tongue of Agni. In Ṛg. X. 190. 1 both ṛta and satya are said to have arisen from rigorous or refulgent tapas (of the Creator). In the Ṛgveda ṛta involved a very wide conception as stated above and ‘satya’ had a restricted meaning viz. truth or static order. In Ṛg. IX. 113. 4 Soma is described as one who proclaims ṛta, satya and śrāddha (faith). Therefore, Śrī. Aurobindo is quite inaccurate when he translates ṛta by the word ‘Truth’ and draws important conclusions from his inaccurate renderingṣ Similarly, Śrī. Aurobindo does not give a correct rendering when he translates (Foreword p. XXX) the word ‘ṛtacit’ as truth-conscious (whatever that may mean acc. to Śrī. Aurobindo). Mr. Kapali Sastry (p. 46) goes a step further than his great master by stating that in the mantras true knowledge is termed ‘ṛtacit’ Truth-consciousness (with a capital C). It appears that both Master and disciple are misled by the meaning of ‘cit’ in such an attribute as ‘sat-cit-ānanda’, applied to brahma. They appear to take ‘ṛta-cit’ as meaning two distinct things ‘ṛta’ and ‘cit’. The word ‘ṛtacit’ occurs five times in the Rg.; in ¹⁷⁰I. 145.5, IV. 3.4, V. 3.9 (‘ṛtacit is here an epithet of Agni), in VII 85.4 (it is an adjective of hotṛ) and in IV. 16. 10 it qualifies the word nāri (in the context, Śacī, the wife of Indra). The present author wonders whether Śrī Aurobindo and his disciple cared to go into the meaning of ‘ṛtacit’ in the several verses where it occurṣ They pay no attention to the word ‘ṛpacit’ that occurs in Rg. II. 23. 17 as an attribute of Brahmanaspati.¹⁷¹

The space at the author's disposal does not allow him to show up the other unwarranted propositions and conclusions of Śrī. Aurobindo and Mr. Kapali Sastry. The author will set out the final conclusion of Śrī. Aurobindo (Foreword p. XXIX) “what then is the secret meaning, the esoteric sense which emerges by this way of understanding the Veda? ……… The thought around which all is centred is the seeking after Truth, Light, Immortality. There is a truth deeper and higher than the truth of outward existence, a Light greater and higher than the light of human understanding which comes by revelation and inspiration, an immortality towards which the soul has to rise. We have to find our way to that, to get into touch with this Truth and Immortality.” This is a grand peroration, but all this is built on shaky and meagre foundations, such as the wrong meanings attached to the words ṛta and ṛtacit. Mr. Kapali Sastry (on p. 46) practically reproduces this grand summing up of his guru.

Mr. Kapali Sastry launches (on pp. 22–26) a bitter diatribe against Sāyaṇa but ultimately he has to admit (pp. 27–28) that Sāyaṇa is not merely useful, but indispensable to the students of the Veda. On p. 23 he translates a sūtra from Jaimini's work ‘the purpose of the Veda being ritualistic, words which do not have that significance are useless’ and remarks that this clearly lays down that the only purpose of the Vedas is that of ritual, those that do not pertain to that (ritualistic action) are worthlesṣ The author doubts whether Mr. Kapali Sastry has carefully read the Pūrvamīmāṃsāsūtras or has at least correctly stated the position; what he quotes is the Pūrvapakṣa view (prima facie view). Jaimini's position is contained in the 7th sūtra¹⁷² ‘as those passages (that do not directly concern themselves with ritualistic actions) form one syntactically connected whole with the passages prescribing vidhis they are to be considered as commendatory of the vidhis’. Mr. Sastry is not satisfied with saying (on p. 8) ‘the sages Madhucchandas and others are seers of the mantra, the Gods were present to the vision of these seers of old’, but he adds ‘this seer of the beyond is also the hearer of the truth; therefore that the poet-seers are truth-hearers kavayaḥ satyaśrutah, is famous in the Veda’ (p. 64). The present writer wonders whether Mr. Sastry carefully read the original passages where the words ‘kavayaḥ satyaśrutah’ occur in the Veda. The words kaviḥ and kavayaḥ occur several hundred times in the Ṛgveda, but ‘satyaśrutah’ occurs only thrice in Ṛg. V. 57. 8, V. 58. 8 and VI. 49. 6; Ṛg. V. 57. 8 and V. 58. 8 are identical. In Ṛg. V. 57. 8 and 1617a V. 58. 8 it is the wind-gods (Maruts) that are addressed as kavayaḥ (wise) and satyaśrutaḥ (well-known as conferring true rewards) and not sages. VI. 49.6 (first half of which is addressed to Parjanya and Vāta-wind god) runs ‘O esta-blishers of the world! (O Maruts!) that are wise and well-known as conferring true rewards, make the world turn towards the man by whose lauds you are praised’ (this half seems to be addressed to the band of Maruts). Further comment is superfluouṣ¹⁷⁴ The Mīmāṁsakas made a sweeping generalisation that the whole Veda is meant for sacrifice. They went rather too far but they had substantial grounds for doing so. On pp. 980-982 of the H. of Dh. vol. II, it has been shown how even the Ṛgveda discloses that a complicated system of sacrifices with three `sāvanas`, numerous priests, three fires, existed in those far-off days and sacrifices like Atirātra (Rg. VII. 103. 7) and Trikadruka (Rg. I. 32. 3, II. 11. 17, VIII. 13, 18, VIII. 92. 21, X. 14. 16) were being performeḍ The Mīmāṁsakas had a long tradition behind theṃ But the case of Śrī Aurobindo's theories is entirely different. On flimsy grounds and mistaken meanings he builds up an imposing structure of an exoteric and also an esoteric meaning of vedic mantras, propounds that the sages wanted secrecy for their doctrines and all that they were concerned with was Truth, Light and Consciousnesṣ It has been already shown that there are several philosophical and speculative hymns in the Ṛgveda. But there is no motive of secrecy thereiṇ If it is only Truth, Light and Consciousness with which the vedic sages were concerned ten thousand verses would not have been necessary. One should like to know what secret or higher or deeper esoteric Truth or Light or Consciousness to be kept concealed from common men is contained in hymns such as Rg. VII. 55 (sleeping charm), VII. 103 (maṇḍūka-stuti), X. 34 (gambler's song), X. 119 (exhilaration of power of Soma on Indra), X. 166 (invoking destruction of enemies), X. 190 (brief creation hymn), X. 191 (for concord and co-operation). Many more such hymns may be cited, where the theory of secrecy and Truth, Light and Consciousness would entirely fall. Besides, what is the secret (or spiritual or esoteric) element in such passages as those quoted above viz. I. 164. 46, X. 129. 2, VIII. 58.2, which clearly express the most profound Truth. If the Mīmāṁsakas made a too wide generalization, Śrī Aurobindo makes a far wider generalization with very little basiṣ

The mantras of the Ṛgveda have a meaning and are not unmeaning letters as often in Tāntrik workṣ There is a discus-sion in Nirukta I. 15-16 where it is said that in the absence of the Nirukta the apprehension of the meaning of the words used in mantras would not follow and the view of Kautsa is cited that the Nirukta is useless for understanding the meaning of mantras, since the mantras themselves have no sense (or are useless or purposeless). Yāska ¹⁷⁵ replies that mantras do possess a meaning since they employ the very same words that are used in ordinary Sanskrit, and then quotes a passage of the Ait. Br. (I. 5). Śabara on Jai. I. 2. 41 states that where one cannot get at the meaning one has to come to some meaning on a consideration of other Vedic passages and on the basis of roots following Nirukta and Grammar.

One of the important topics dwelt upon at length in the Purāṇas is that of avatāras. This emphasis on the conception of avatāras has greatly influenced the forms of religious worship, vratas and festivalṣ The subject of avatāras has been dealt with in the H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 717–724. It has been shown there that the beginnings of the doctrine of avatāras and of some of the well-known avatāras may be traced to the Vedic Literature viz. to the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa (story of Manu and the fish in I. 8. I. 1–6), story of Kūrma (tortoise) in Śatapatha VII. 5. 1. 5, of Varāha (Boar) in Śat. Br. XIV. 1. 2. 11, Vāmana (Dwarf) in Śat. Br. I. 2. 5. 1 ff., Kṛṣṇa, son of Devaki, in Chāṇ Up. III. 17. 6 and that the number of avatāras and the names also varieḍ But the treatment was not exhaustive and hence some details are added here from the Purāṇas and from general considerationṣ

Avatāra (from root tr. with ‘ava’) means ‘descending’ or ‘descent’ and the word is applied to gods, assuming the form of a human being or even of an animal and continuing to live in that form till the purpose for which that form was assumed was carried out. Reincarnation is one of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. But there is a vast difference between that doctrine and the Hindu theory. Re-incarnation in Christianity is single and unique, while in the Hindu theory as adumbrated in the Gītā (IV. 5–8) and the Purāṇas there have been many incarnations of the Deity and there may he many more in future. It is a comforting belief for ordinary men to hold that when the affairs of the world are in a mess God comes down to the earth to set matters right. And this belief is held not only by the Hindus and Buddhists but by many peoples (including some in the rich and educated West) far apart from each other. Most Hindus, however, do not believe that great men, saints or prophets like Śaṅkarācārya, Nanak, Shivaji or Mahātmā Gandhi are born again as avatāras in times of crisiṣ The Buddhist made Buddha in their Mahāyāna teachings go through many avatāras as bodhisattva before he attained Buddhahooḍ In modern times many persons pose or are made to pose as avatāras by their admirers or followerṣ Recently, Mr. J. G. Bennett (Hodder and Stoughton, 1958) has published a book called 'Subud' (Sushila, Buddha, Dharma) in which he suggests his firm belief that one Pak Subuh who hails from Indonesia is an avatar, the messenger from above for whom mankind is waiting. The Indian theory of avatāras is connected with the theory about yugas and manvantaraṣ When the world is in serious trouble, people believe that deliverance will come by the grace of God and they are often justified in their belief by the appearance of godly men who appear with some noble mission and masterly idea suited to the particular time and place when they appear.

In medieval and modern times the avatāras of Viṣṇu have been regarded as ten, viz. Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha or Narasiṁha (Man-lion), Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Rāma (son of Daśaratha), Kṛṣṇa, Buddha and Kalkiṇ The Varāha-purāṇa mentions these ten in that order.¹⁷⁷ An inscription on the lintel above the figure of Śaṅkara-Nārāyaṇa in the Varāha-Perumal¹⁷⁸ temple, this Paurāṇik verse except the first six letters (which cannot be read) is seen inscribeḍ The locus classicus about the descent of God in different forms is in the Bhagavad-gītā¹⁷⁹ viz. 'Whenever piety or righteousness (dharma) declines and impiety grows up, I create myself. Age after age I am born for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers and the establishment of piety'. The same idea occurs in some of the parvans of the Mahābhārata, as in Vanaparva 272. 71 and Aśvamedhika-parva 54. 13. None of the ten avatāras, except those of Kṛṣṇa and probably Rāma, ('Rāmaḥ śastrabhr̥tām-ahaṁ', Gītā X. 31) are, however, mentioned by name in the Bhagavad-gītā. The number and names of the avatāras are not uniform in the Mahābhārata. In the Nārāyaṇīya section of the Śāntiparva (chap. 339. verses 77–102) only six avatāras and their exploits are expressly mentioned, viz. Varāha (bringing up the earth submerged in the ocean), Narasiṁha (killing demon Hiraṇyakaśipu), Vāmana (vanquishing Bali and making him dwell in Pātāla), Bhārgava Rāma (extirpating kṣatriyas), Rāma, son of Daśaratha (killing Rāvaṇa), Kṛṣṇa (killing or vanquishing Kaṁsa, Narakāsura, Bāṇa, Kālayavana, Jarāsandha, Śiśupāla). Then the same chapter ¹⁸¹ mentions ten avatāras as follows: Haṁsa, Kūrma, Matsya, Varāha, Narasiṁha, Vāmana, Rāma (Bhārgava), Rāma Dāśarathi, Sātvata, Kalki. Here Buddha is omitted and Kṛṣṇa is addeḍ In the Harivaṁśa ¹⁸² it is said that the past avatāras have been thousands and in future also they would be thousandṣ Śāntiparva says the same (I. 41. 27 ff) names only the following and their exploits, viz. Varāha, Narasiṁha, Vāmana, Dattātreya, Jāmadagnya (Paraśurāma), Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and Vedavyāsa. But as Keśava is said to be the 9th (I. 41. 6) it is to be under- stood that Matsya and Kūrma were counted, though not expressly named and Kalki Viṣṇuyaśas is mentioned as a future avatāra. The usual ten avatāras are named in Varāha¹⁸³ (4. 2, 48. 17-22, 55. 36-37), Matsya 285. 6-7, Agni (chap. 2-16 stories about all ten), Nṛsiṁhapurāṇa (chap. 36), Padma VI. 43. 13-15). In Vāyu 98. 68-104 the text presentṣ the avatāras in a confused manner and appears to mention ten avatāras, viz. Varāha, Narasiṁha, Vāmana, Dattātreya, Māndhātṛ, Jamadagnya, Rāma (Daśarathi), Veda-vyāsa, Vāsu-deva, Kalkin Viṣṇuyaśaṣ In Brahmāṇḍa III. 73. 75 ff there are lists of avatāras different from the present teṇ In the Bhāgavata the avatāras of Viṣṇu are mentioned in several placeṣ In I. 3. 1-25 twenty-two avatāras including Brahmā, Devarṣi Nārada (who promulgated the Sātvata system), Nārā-yaṇa, Kapila (who taught to Asuri the Sāṅkhya system), Dattātreya, Ṛṣabha (son of Nābhi and Merudevī)¹⁸⁴ Dhanvan-tari, Mohinī, Vedavyāsa, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, Buddha, Kalki are mentioneḍ In II. 7 twenty-three avatāras are mentioned, many of which are the same as in I 3, but in II. 7 Dhruva, Pṛthu son of Vena, Hayagrīva are mentioned, the first two of which are mentioned as avatāras hardly anywhere else. In Bhāgavata XI. 40. 17-22 the following avatāras are mentioned, viz. Matsya, Hayāśīrṣa, Kūrma, Śukara, Narasiṁha, Vāmana, Bhārgava Rāma, Rāma, Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Buddha, Kalki. In Bhāgavata XI. 4. 17-22 sixteen avatāras are set out, viz. usual ten plus Hariṣeṇa, Datta (Dattātreya), Kumāra (Nārada), Ṛṣabha, Vyāsa and Hayagrīva. Twelve avatāras are noted in Matsya 99. 14 and Padma V. 13. 182–186. The Prapañcasāratantra (ascribed to the great advaita teacher Śaṅkarācārya) mentions (in Pātala 20. 59 ) Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Nṛsiṁha, Kubja (i. e. Vāmana), three Rāmas (i. e. Bhargavarāma, Dāśarathi Rāma and Balarāma), Kṛṣṇa and Kalkin (i. e. it omits Buddha). The Ahirbudhnya saṃhitā (5. 50-57) enumerates 39 avatāras of Vāsudeva, that are set out by Otto Schrader in his Introduction to the Pañcarātra and the Ahirbudhnya saṃhitā, pp. 42-43. The Viṣṇupurāṇa ¹⁸⁵ states that Lakṣmī follows Viṣṇu in his avatāraṣ The Purāṇas are full of the descriptions of the exploits of Viṣṇu in his several avatāraṣ But it should not be supposed that Śiva had no avatāraṣ The Vāyu (chap. 23) mentions 28 avatāras of Maheśvara the last of which was Nakuli (Lakuli) as verse 221 sayṣ In Varāha 15. 10-19 all avatāras are praised except that of Buddha. But Varāha (48. 20-22) provides that worship of Narasiṁha frees men from the fear of sins, of Vāmana leads to removal of delusion, of Paraśurāma to wealth, one should worship Dāśarathi Rāma for the destruction of cruel enemies, one desirous of a son should worship Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa, one who desires a handsome form should worship Buddha and one who desires Kalkin for the slaughter of enemieṣ¹⁸⁶ The Agnipurāṇa (chap. 49. 1-9) describes what characteristics the images of the ten avatāras should possess and says that the image of Buddha should be represented as having a quiet face, long ear-lobes, fair complexion, wearing an upper garment, seated in Padmāsana posture and his hands should have the varada and abhaya poseṣ

From the facts that Kṣemendra in his Daśāvatāra-carita¹⁸⁷ (composed in 1066 A. D.), and the Gitagovinda of Jayadeva (court poet of Lakṣmaṇasena) mention the usual ten avatāras with Fish as the first and that the Matsya passage about ten avatāras is quoted by Aparārka (first half of 12th century), it follows that all the ten avatāras of Viṣṇu had become recognised throughout India at least about the 10th century A. D. Kumārila (7th century A. D.) did not accept Buddha as an avatāra, though about that century some people had come to recognize him as such (vide note 1629). Besides, as shown above, there were many views about the total number of avatāras, their names and the order in which they appeareḍ Vide Dr. Katre's paper in Allahabad University Studies, vol. X, pp. 37-130 for discussion on 33 avatāraṣ The Varāha avatāra is mentioned in the Eran stone Boar¹⁸⁸ Inscription of Toramāṇa (Gupta inscriptions pp. 158-160) in the first quarter of the 6th century. The Raghuvamśa (IV, 53 and 58) refers to the recovery of land near the Sahya mountain from the Western Sea by Rāma (Bhārgava); vide pp. 89-90 and note 224 above for references in the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas to Paraśurāma's exploitṣ The Sarvānukramaṇī p. 42 on Rg. X, 110 names as ṛṣi Jamadagni or his son Rāma The Meghadūta mentions the planting of the left foot of Viṣṇu on Bali (i. e. the Vāmana avatāra). Māgha in Śiśupāla-vadha (XV. 58) regards Bodhisattva (Buddha) as an avatāra of Hari and as sought to be tempted by the hordes of Māra. Māgha¹⁸⁹ flourished about 725-775 A. D. The know-ledge of Vāmana and Kṛṣṇa avatāras can be carried back centuries before the Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali, since it refers to works and dramatic representations of the imprisonment of Bali and the killing of Kaṁsa (vide pp. 130, 203 and notes 330, 521 above). In the Daśāvatāra cave at Ellora one sees the representations of Varāha, Narasiṁha, Vāmana and Kṛṣṇa. These caves are ascribed to the 8th century A. D.¹⁹⁰ Therefore, it appears almost certain that some at least (viz. Vāmana, Paraśu-rāma and Kṛṣṇa) of the usual ten avatāras had been recognised some centuries before Christ and all ten had come to be recognised by some writers and other people before the 7th century A. D. The conception of avatāras contributed largely to the increase of Dharmaśāstra material. They gave rise to numerous vratas and festivalṣ For example, the Varāhapurāṇa devotes chapters 33–48 to dvādaśī-vratas in honour of the ten avatāras from Matsya to Kalkiṇ There are separate festivals called Jayantis of the avatāras such as Narasiṃha-jayantī on Vaiśākha śu. 14, Paraśurāma-jayantī (on Vaiśākha śu. 3). Vide pp. 262–263 for the tithis and months in which the different avatāras appeareḍ¹⁹⁰

Descriptions of each of the ten well-known avatāras occur in several Purāṇas; for example, Matsya avatāra is described in Matsya chap. 1–2, Agni 2, Narasiṃha 37; Kūrma in Agni 3, Bhāgavata I. 3. 16, VIII. 7–8–10, Narasiṃha 38; Varāha in Matsya 247–248, Vāyu 6. 11–26, Bhāgavata III. 13. 18–45, III. 19. 25–30, Narasiṃha 39; Narasiṃha avatāra in Brahma 58. 12 ff., 213. 43 ff., Matsya 161–163, Bhāgavata I. 3. 18, VII. 8. 18, Narasiṃha-purāṇa 41–44; Vāmana in Brahma 73 and 213. 80–185, Vāyu 98. 74–87, Vāmanapurāṇa 78. 51, Bhāgavata VIII. 18. 12 to VIII. 22. 33, Narasiṃha 45; Paraśurāma in Matsya 244–246, Bhāgavata IX. 15. 13, IX. 16. 1–26 and vide above pp. 89–90 and note 204; Rāma in Brahma 176, Agni 5–11 (the seven kāṇḍas of the Rāmāyaṇa are summarised), Vāyu 88. 183–198, Bhāg. IX. 10–11, Padma IV. 1–68, Narasiṃha 47–52, Kṛṣṇa in Brahma 14–17, 180–212, Agni 12–15, Bhāg. X. 3. 44–45, 50–52 &c., XI. 1 and 30, Narasiṃha 53; Buddha in Brahma 180. 27–39, Agni 16. 1–3, Varāha 180. 27–29, 213. 32 ff., Padma VI. 31. 13–15, Bhāg. I. 3. 24; Kalkin—Vide H. of Dh. III. pp. 923–925 for referenceṣ The avatāras and their jayantis are described in many Dharmaśāstra works, but the Todarānanda, vol. I. edited by Dr. P. L. Vaidya in the Ganga Oriental Series probably contains the longest account of the ten avatāras (pp. 39–386). Thousands of verses are devoted by the Purāṇas to each of the topics of dāna (gifts), śrāddha, tīrtha and vrata and they have been quoted at length by works on Dharmaśāstra. It would be best to bring together by way of illustration a few of the pages of the previous volumes of the History of Dharmaśāstra on these subjectṣ

Vide vol. II. pp. 880-881 (for gifts of certain dānas called dhenus from Matsya chap. 82, Varāha, chap. 99-110, Agni, chap. 210), p. 882 (for gifts called parvata or mere from Matsya 83-92, Agni 210 quoted by Aparārka pp. 344-454), pp. 884-885 (for grahaśānti from Matsya 93 and about images of planets from Matsya 84), p. 892 (for dedication of a reservoir of water to the public from Matsya 58), pp. 895-896 for the planting of trees and the dedication of a garden to the public (Matsya 59, Agni 70), pp. 896-899 (for dedication of temples and consecration of images in Matsya 264-266, Agni 60 and 66); vol. IV. pp. 162-164 about various hells (Agni 203, 371, Brahma 22, 214-215, Brahmavaivarta, Prakṛtikhaṇḍa 29 and 33, Nāradapurāṇa I 15, Padma IV. 227, Bhāviṣya, Brāhmaparva 192, Bhāgavata V. 26, Viṣṇu V. 6, Mārkaṇḍeya 12 and 14); vol. IV. p. 170 about heaven being really happiness of the mind (Brahma 22. 44 and 47, Viṣṇu IV. 6. 46); vol. IV. pp. 177-178 on the doctrine of Karmavipāka (Vāmana 12, Mārkaṇḍeya 15, Varāha 203, Viṣṇudharmottara II, 102); vol. IV. p. 181 on the signs of approaching death (Vāyu 19, Liṅga 91, Mārk. 43. 29-39 or chap. 40 of Venk. eḍ and Viṣṇudharmottara III, 218); vol. IV. p. 212 on cremation (Varāha 187, Garuḍa II. 4); vol. IV. p. 256 on the persons entitled to perform funeral rites (Viṣṇu III. 13, Mārk. chap. 30 of B. I. eḍ and 27 of Venk. eḍ); vol. IV. pp. 261-262 the rites after death being called pūrva or nava, madhyama (navamiśra) and uttara (or purāṇa) in Viṣṇupurāṇa III. 13; vol. IV. p. 265 about an ativāhika body being assumed by the soul of a dead person (Brahma 214, Mārk. 16, Agni 230 and 371); vol. IV. p. 272 on āśauca (impurity on birth and death) from Kūrma II. 23, Liṅga I. 89, Garuḍa, pretakhaṇḍa 5, Agni 157-158, Vāmana 14. It is unnecessary to refer to the pages of this volume itself for numerous references to Purāṇas as regards tithis, various vratas, times for religious rites, astrological matters &c.

It should not be supposed that the Purāṇas are restricted to topics called religious in popular parlance and to the five characteristic topics of creation, re-creation (sarga, pratisarga &c.) Some of the Purāṇas contain an exhaustive treatment of the duties of kings, ministers, commander-in-chief, judge, envoy scribes, court physician and of coronation, invasion &c Many of these matters have already been dealt with in vol. III. of the H. of Dh. The most exhaustive treatment of what may be called political matters is found in Matsya chap. 215-226 and 240, Agni 218-242, Viṣṇudharmottara II, chap. 2-7, 18-21, 24-26, 28, 61-63, 66-72, 145-152, 177. Among other Purāṇas Garuḍa I, 108-115, Mārkaṇḍeya 24 (in Venk. ed, or 27 in Banerji's eḍ), Kalikā 87 contain some discussion of matters political. It should be noticed that both Matsya (240. 2) and Agni (228. 1) employ the two technical words, ‘Ākranda’ and ‘Pārṣṇigrāha’ that are part of the theory of Maṇḍala in Kauṭilya (VI. 2. p. 260) explained in H. of Dh. vol. III. p. 222. The Matsyapurāṇa is profusely quoted by one of the earliest extant digests on Dharmaśāstra viz. the Kṛtya- kalpataru on Rājadharma (pp. 23, 25-30, 34-38, 42-43, 55-61, 118-122, 123-124, 158-161 and many verses from chap. 227 and 241 of the Matsya on the administration of justice in Vyavahāra- kāṇḍa pp. 342, 345, 348, 377, 406, 409-10, 562, 581, 594-95, 599). The same digest quotes many verses (pp. 9-13, 128, 166, 178-181) from the Brahmapurāṇa which are not found in the printed Brahma (Ānaṇ eḍ), but which are quoted by the Rājanīti- prakāśa of Mitramiśra (borrowing from Kṛtyakalpataru) pp. 138, 158, 283, 416-419 and some by the Rājadharmakaustubha of Anantadeva (pp. 326-330). The Viṣṇudharmottara on Rājadharma is not quoted in the Kṛtyakalpataru on Rājadharma, but it is frequently quoted by the Rājanītiprakāśa e. g. Vi. Dh. II. 18. 1, 5-14 are quoted by R. N. P. on pp. 32-33, Vi. Dh. II. 18. 2-4 are quoted by R. N. P. p. 61, Vi. Dh. II. 22. 1-185 are quoted by R. N. P. pp. 66-81 (on mantras to be recited and the several divinities to be invoked at a king's coronation), Vi. Dh. II. 23. 1-13 are quoted by R. N. P. on pp. 82-83 (describing the rewards of the mantras recited in Vi. Dh. II. 22). Vi. Dh. is quoted 21 times by the Rājadharma-kaustubha. These three Purāṇas alone (Matsya, Agni, Viṣṇudharmottara) devote several thousand verses to the topic of rāja-dharma and allied matterṣ The Garuḍa-purāṇa (I. 108-115) devotes about four hundred verses to Rājanīti (political thought) but many of them are like subhāṣitas (bon mots) and are borrowed from Manu (e. g. Garuḍa I. 109. 1 and 52, 110. 7, 115. 63 are respectively Manu VII. 213, VIII. 26, II. 239, IX. 3), the Mahābhārata, the Nāradasmṛti (e. g. ‘na sā sabhā’ in Garuḍa 115. 52 is Nārada III. 18). The Garuḍa itself states that it will expound the essence of nīti (Rājadharma) based upon Artha- šāstra¹⁹¹ and the like; while the colophons at the end of chapters 108-114 aver that they contain the Nītisāra promulgated by Bṛhaspati. One verse is almost the same as the Introductory verse 5 of Bāṇa’s Kādambarī¹⁹² and I am disposed to hold that it is the Garuḍa that is the borrower. Certain verses from the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa (24. 5, 23-33 or chap. 27 and 21–31 in Banerji’s eḍ) are quoted by R. N. P. pp. 30–31 (about the duties of kings and their acting in the peculiar ways of five gods, viz. Indra, Sūrya, Yama, Soma and Vāyu). The Dāyabhāga quotes the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa for pointing out that sāpiṇḍya in the matter of inheritance and succession is different from sāpiṇḍya for the periods of aśauca (impurity on death¹⁹³). The Kṛtyakalpataru on Rājadharma (pp. 182–183) quotes a passage from Skandapurāṇa on the festival of Kaumudīmahotsava to be celebrated by the king. The same passage is quoted by R. N. P. pp. 419–421. The Kṛtyakalpataru (on Rājadharma) quotes a long passage (pp. 201–212) from Bhaviṣyapurāṇa on ‘ Vasordhārā ’, which is quoted by the R.N.P. (pp. 447–457) from the Devīpurāṇa. The Kālikāpurāṇa in chapter 87 devotes 131 verses to Rājanīti, in which a summary is furnished of the course of conduct that should be followed by the king. This chapter expressly mentions the works of Uśanas and Bṛhaspati (verses 99 and 130) and advises the king to honour brāhmaṇas that are advanced in knowledge, learning, tapas and age, to control his senses, to employ the four upāyas (sāma, dāna, daṇḍa and bheda ), to avoid the vices of gambling, drinking, indulgence in sexual matters and hunting, to practise the six guṇas (yāna, āsana &c.), to test the princes, councillors, the queens and other female relatives by upadhās (investigation of character by various tricks ).¹⁹⁴ It appears that Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra was not available to most medieval writers and therefore they relied on the purāṇas for the treatment of Rājadharma. But the early purāṇas like the Matsya appear to have made use of Kauṭilya's work. Vide the author's paper on 'Kauṭilya and the Matsya-purāṇa' in Dr. B. C. Law presentation volume II, pp. 13-15. In the matter of the administration of justice and the law of succession and inheritance also some of the Purāṇas have influenced the views of writers of nibandhaṣ The Kṛtyakalpataru on Vyavahāra quotes about twelve verses from the Kalikā-purāṇa on the marks of a truthful party or witness and on the appropriate ordeals in the case of the several varṇas,¹⁹⁵ their procedure and the different causes of action (vide pp. 79, 205, 210, 211, 221, 231, 238). Three verses from the Kalikā (chap. 91. 35–37) about the twelve kinds of sons and the impropriety of making a punarbhava, svayamdatta and a dāsa successor to a kingdom are quoted in the R. N. P. pp. 35 and 42. Verses 38–41 of Kalikā, chapter 91, about the sons that can be adopted and the age up to which they can be adopted are quoted by the Dattakamimāṁsā p. 60 (Ānaṇ eḍ) and by the Vyavahāramayūkha p. 114, though the latter remarks that they were not found in two or three msṣ of the Purāṇa.¹⁹⁶ In connection with the question of the seniority among twins the Mayūkha quotes Śrīdhara's comment on Bhāgavata (III. 19. 18) that the son born first is the younger one; but the Vyavahāramayūkha¹⁹⁷ makes the interesting remark that in the Purāṇas practices opposed to the smṛtis are frequently seeṇ