From 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism': Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition

Social Scientist

From 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism': Negotiating the Myth of the Great TraditionAuthor(s): Vijay NathSource: Social Scientist, Vol. 29, No. 3/4 (Mar. - Apr., 2001), pp. 19-50Published by: Social ScientistStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3518337 .

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19

VIJAY NATH*

From 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism': Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition* *

I am indeed extremely grateful to the executive committee of the Indian History Congress for the great honour they have done me by asking me to preside over the Ancient Indian History section of the present session of the Congress. This position has been occupied by some of the most distinguished historians of our times and I am only too conscious of my limitations. I consider this honour to be a recognition of the little work I have done in this field and earnestly hope that I will be able to prove worthy of the trust reposed in me.

In this address I intend to focus upon a subject on which I have been working for the last so many years. A part of my findings have just been published in the form of a book called Puranas and Acculturation: A Historico-Anthropological Perspective. As can be inferred from the title itself, my study reveals some linkage between the forces of acculturation, which due to the demands and pressures of an expanding agrarian order, had gained unprecedented momentum during Gupta/post-Gupta times, and the more or less parallel phenomenon of composition of the Puranas. The latter appear to have been composed for a very specific purpose, that of serving as instruments of dissemination of mainstream religious ideology amongst pre-literate and tribal groups undergoing acculturation.

A careful scrutiny of the Puranic content, moreover, shows that Brahmanism of the Dharmasastras and the Smrtis underwent a complete transformation at the hands of the Purana composers, so that it came to acquire wholly new aspect, which can best be described as Puranic Hinduism. I would like to seize this opportunity so graciously offered to me by the organizers of the Indian History

* Jankidevi College, University of Delhi, Delhi. ** Presidential Address for Ancient India Section of the 61st Session of the Indian

History Congress, Calcutta. Social Scientist, Vol. 29, Nos. 3 - 4, March-April 2001



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Congress to share with you some of my findings related to this development. Here I may, however, clarify that the two terms 'Brahmanism' and 'Hinduism' which I have used to juxtapose two consecutive stages of development of a religious system that had its source in the Vedas, reflect entirely the perception of later-day historians.' Terms such as 'Hindu' or 'Hindutva' certainly do not occur in the texts belonging to the period under survey.

The most remarkable development in the field of religion during Gupta/post-Gupta times was the rise of 'Hinduism', which like a colossus striding across the religious firmament soon came to overshadow all other existent religions. Certain features which distinguished it from its Vedic Smarta roots were its ever widening horizon and popular base, its theological and sectarian pluralism, its Tantric veneer and an extraordinary thrust on devotion or bhakti. Whereas Brahmanism had represented more or less a single religious strand drawing mainly upon Vedic ideology and throughout manifesting an elitist outlook Puranic Hinduism proved to be a multiplex belief-system which grew and expanded as it absorbed and synthesized polaristic religious ideas and cultic traditions. So that quite in contrast to Brahmanism, Puranic Hinduism through its gargantuan powers of assimilation and synthesis was able to bring within its vortex all possible classes and segments of society, literate as well as preliterate.

The transition from 'Brahmanism' to 'Hinduism' was neither sudden nor abrupt nor was it a complete breaking away from the past tradition. It was more the outcome of a slow and gradual process of evolution and growth, reflecting a remarkable continuity along with significant shift in ideological thrust and approach. What however, is really noteworthy is the precise time of its efforescence. Puranic Hinduism developed at a time when society was in the throes of a changing economic and political order. The period represented a watershed in Indian history, when a flourishing market economy was giving way to a closed landed economic order; when foreign and indigenous tribal groups had begun staking their claims to political power, leading to its fragmentation and the eventual rise of a feudal order.

The parallel rise and growth of Puranic Hinduism on the one hand and the politico-economic upheaval and changes taking place on the other, definitely suggests some kind of symbiotic connection between the two developments. But to fix the nature and degree of such a correlation, a more detailed investigation is certainly called



FROM 'BRAHMANISM' TO 'HINDUISM'

for. Such a study would necessarily entail addressing two basic issues: (i) What factors led to the rise of Puranic Hinduism in the later

half of the first millennium AD? (ii) How it came to shed its elitist aspect and developed features,

which not only augmented its popular base and character, but also transformed it so completely from Brahmanism of the dharmasutras and the Smrtis that it came to acquire an almost new identity and an entirely altered visage?

Our primary concern in this presentation is therefore to look into the factors responsible for the transformation of Brahmanism into Puranic Hinduism and account for the genesis of some of the popular religious beliefs and practices that became integral to the emergent system.

FACTORS THAT LED TO SUCH A TRANSFORMATION

1. Religious rivalry A fact long acknowledged2 about the changes besetting

Brahmanism during the opening centuries of the Christian era is that they were largely the result of sharpening of conflict amongst various religious systems fighting for space. The rivalry was as much responsible for the changes occurring within these systems as it was for their proselytizing activities in uncharted territories lying in remote tribal belts such as those in central India and the Deccan.3 In fact, Buddhist and Jaina monks may be regarded as pioneers in carrying civilizational influences into culturally backward areas and thus inaugurating the process of acculturation there. The rise of Mahayanism, which provided to Buddhism a more popular base and immensely widened its popular appeal seem to have further deepened such a threat perception on the part of the brahmanas.

It was, therefore, the fear of losing ground to these more enterprising rival systems, which led the brahmanical leaders to unbend from their former elitist and almost inflexible stance and take more notice of the needs of people standing on the lower rungs or the extreme periphery of society. Only such an attitudinal change can explain the growing projection of Visnu as a compassionate god,4 who through intense devotion could be won over to alleviate the sufferings of the humblest of devotees. It explains also why through the newly developed incarnation theory hope was sough to be instilled in the hearts of the despairing and the destitute. It explains moreover why such popular religious practices as making dana,s visiting tirthas,

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observing vrata6 and japa7 which were within the means of the ordinary people began to be widely recommended for all, including women and sudras and were supposed to yield much greater spiritual merit than even the performance of Vedic yajnas. But most of all it explains why a special genre of Brahmanical texts, namely the Puranas began to be composed from the third-fourth centuries AD onwards.8 The latter were meant to be recited at collective gatherings and have been rightly described as "scriptures for the common people". Even the wider acceptance given to idol and temple-centric worship was perhaps yet another move on the part of the Brahmanical leaders to counter the growing popularity of Buddhist and Jaina monastic institutions and shrines. The latter became objects of liberal patronage of kings and common folk and served as important indices to the growing popularity of their respective orders.

2. Socio-economic factors But more than religious rivalry it was the exigent conditions

created by a fast changing socio-economic order which made it incumbent for the Brahmanical ideologues to take due cognizance of the changes affecting contemporary society and make adjustments of a more existentialist nature.

Amongst other factors it was the decline of trade with the western world following the collapse of the great Roman empire9 which adversely affected commodity production, internal trade and eventually even monetary economy and urbanization. Mercantile economy suffered consequently, resulting in maximum pressure being exerted on cultivable land as chief means of production. 10 But agrarian expansion on any extensive scale was possible only through improvements in both agricultural technology and irrigational methods as well as reclamation of virgin tracts and land lying waste.11 It is not surprising, therefore, that from this time onwards texts such as Krsi-parasara which dealt with the knowledge of plants and agricultural techniques, began to be produced in large numbers.12 Even developments related to such allied subjects as astronomy, metallurgy and even veterinary science become quite conspicuous from this period onwards and considerable space is devoted to them even in such religious texts as the Puranas.13

Reclamation of virgin or waste-land however was not possible through individual initiative alone. Some amount of state enterprise and sponsorship was needed for such reclamation activities to gain momentum. But since large centralized empires such as that of the




Mauryas had given way to smaller kingdoms with an extremely decentralized administrative structure, it was proving difficult for the latter to mobilize resources for the purpose. Even the imperial Gupta rulers are not known to have displayed much initiative or enthusiasm in this direction. The maximum we learn is about the repair of the famous Sudarsana lake during the reign period of Skandagupta.

Consequently, kings both big and petty had only one option open to them that of donating such land to individuals and corporate bodies who could be expected and even motivated to make them cultivable. Besides being made in perpetuity, the land grants were made more attractive for the recipients through the addition of major administrative concessions and fiscal immunities such as exemption from payment of most taxes.14 The beneficiaries being thus armed with complete right of ownership as well as substantial autonomy over the donated land, were bound to develop a keen vested interest in making them agriculturally profitable.

That reclamation of virgin tracts was a primary purpose of such gifts of land, at least during the initial phase, is more than evident from the fact that during Gupta/post-Gupta times, they are generally found to be made in areas lying away from the Indo-Gangetic plain since the latter had already been subjected to considerable agricultural pressure. Majority of land grants belonging to this period are reported from such outlying regions as Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa.s1 In fact, the earliest epigraphic record of a land grant occurs not in UP, Haryana or Punjab but in Western Deccan.

Moreover, the fact that during this earlier phase land was being donated not by wealthy merchants and landed magnates, but by kings and their royal kinsmen,16 who expectedly had more to benefit from any agricultural expansion undertaken within their territorial boundaries, further strengthens the impression about reclamation of waste land being their chief targeted goal.

The practice of making land grants, therefore, proved to be of such tremendous importance that the Brahmana lawgivers could not remain averse to it for long. Gift of land necessarily entailed the transference of a valuable form of wealth and an important item of private property from one family to another on a permanent basis. It naturally had long term legal and financial implications. It raised certain key questions regarding a person's right of ownership over such donated land vis-a-vis that of his family's as well as his right to

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alienate it through gift. Other related issues involved its partition and inheritance. It became imperative therefore, for the lawgivers not only to take cognizance of the development but also to undertake necessary legislation for regulating it. The newly promulgated Dharmasastric injunction regarding king being the owner of all land17 was one such ruling which had a direct impact on the practice of land grants. Even though our sources confirm the existence of private ownership of land, still such an injunction by the lawgivers provided to the king the necessary mandate to undertake gifts of particularly those categories of land, which had been lying waste and were theoretically considered to be state owned.

The Brahmanical ideologues could not help but capitalize on the new development. They began to recommend gift of land to brahmanas as yielding far greater spiritual merit than that acquired through the performance of Vedic yajnas.18 Gift of land began to be considered a mahadana'9 or the greatest of gifts. The growing importance attached by the brahmanas to the gift of land not only brought about a significant change in the very tenor of Brahmanical belief-system with gift-ritualism gaining importance over sacrificial ritualism,2?0 but also provided an additional incentive to the donors in the form of spiritual merit to be earned through it.

But what really enhanced the popularity of the practice, especially with the royal donors, was the prestige it was believed to confer21 and the religious sanction it gave to their ritual status and political power.22 Making gift of land to brahmanas now served the same function which Vedic yajnas had done in an earlier age, that of providing ritual validation to the newly gained power of aspirant chiefs and nobles.23 The development besides bringing a significant shift in Brahmanical ritual beliefs also made the lawgivers active collaborators of the ruling class. The latter did not correspond to the ksatriya stratum alone24 but was much broader based and comprehended within it even foreign and tribal elements.

But more than anything else it led to the emergence of brahmanas not only as the chief recipients of land grants, but also as a prominent class of land owners25 who were no longer dependent upon their traditional vocation, namely, the performance of intellectual and priestly duties alone for earning their livelihood. As a class of land- owners of substance they could naturally be expected to take to other economic pursuits including agriculture.26 The development was bound to bring about certain structural changes in the brahmana caste stratum. The rise of an affluent landowning segment, however




small, tended to fragment it on class lines. But even a more important source of internal conflict was the

regional and cultural divide which set in over a period of several centuries between midlandic brahmanas and their other counterparts who as beneficiaries of land grants had to emigrate to far off regions and send down roots afresh in their new settlements.27 A natural corollary of such a development was the rise of numerous sub-castes on the basis of their regional affiliations.28 Thus we get references to Govardhana brahmanas, who belonged to a place bearing the same name and situated in the extremities of the Sahya mountains.29 In a Rastrakuta charter of the time of Indra third [dated AD 926]30 we get reference to five classes of north Indian brahmanas namely Sarasvata, Kanyakubja, Utkala, Maithila, and Gauda. Brahmanas of south India are similarly classified into five sections collectively known as Panca- Dravida.3"

Moreover as the number of land grants went on multiplying and there was a greater tendency on the part of donors to make collective donations to as many as at times a thousand brahmanas,32 it can scarcely be expected that all the recipients were either of pure Midlandic origin or bore the same high credentials based on learning and ritual purity as the former. Whereas some of them may be expected to be the descendants of the original immigrants, others no doubt had a more mixed origin. Thus in the Markandeya Purana (135.7, 136.36) there are references to brahmanas who were sprung from families of Raksasas. In fact, we get references to such categories of brahmanas as Sudra brahmana, Mleccha brahmana, Candala brahmana and even Nisada or Marjara brahmana.33 The latter is described as one who is a thief/robber and is fond of fish and meat. How far the labelling of brahmanas as Sudras, Candalas and Mlecchas was done merely on qualitative grounds or such appellations were used to signify those brahmanas who were forced to earn their living by offering their priestly services to Nisadas, sudras, etc. or else they denoted members of latter caste groups who had to be inducted into the brahmana community, needs to be ascertained before we can actually assess the degree of impact exercised by the practice of land

grants on the structural formation of the brahmana caste order. Thus whereas references to Nisadagotra are available as early as

the time of Panini (4.1.100), H. Risley in his book Tribes and Castes

of Bengal (vol. 1, p. 21) has referred to a low group of brahmanas of Bihar called Atharvas.34 In fact, R.P. Chanda has35 sought to establish on ethnological grounds, the wide disparity in the shape of the head

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of Kanyakubja and Maithila brahmanas of U.P. and north Bihar on the one hand and the Nagara brahmanas of Bengal on the other. According to Chanda the brahmanas of outer countries of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Bengal are more closely related to their non-brahmana neighbours classed as sudras and antyajas. That such brahmanas were held in far lower esteem and were to be excluded from ancestral rites is evident from a passage of the Saura Purana quoted by Hemadri (thirteenth cent. AD) in his Sraddhakalpa.36

Moreover, the fact that the authors of the Puranas deemed it necessary to attribute to brahmanas of outlying regions mythical origins further points to their doubtful antecedents. Thus according to Skanda Purana, the Gitpavana brahmanas of Konkan were created from the funeral pyre of sixty men by Parasurama in want of brahmanas to perform for him a sraddha rite.37 According to the same Purana Parasurama in a similar manner created the Karhada brahmanas from camel's bones38 and also conferred brahmanahood upon some Kaivarta families who later came to serve as priests to that caste.39 Local traditions as recorded in the Bombay Gazetteer40 would seem to further bear this out. According to one of these local traditions Lord Rama on his return from Lanka in order to perform a sacrifice collected eighteen thousand hill tribes and made them brahmanas. It is quite probable therefore, that the Malava or Malvika brahmanas originally belonged to the Malava tribe.4' Similarly, the Boya brahmanas mentioned in the Koneki grant of Calukyan king Vinuvardhana II (El, XXXI, pp. 74-80) actually belonged to the Boya tribe of Andhra.42 The Padma Purana (Srsti Khanda) testifies to the clash of interests between the Maithila brahmanas of Kamarupa and those of local origin called Parvatiyas.43

There is thus enough evidence to suggest that the brahmana caste stratum by early medieval times had come to be hierarchically graded and comprehended elements other than those of strictly pure and Midlandic origins. In fact the latter must have constituted only a small fraction of the brahmana community which was fast acquiring a pan-India character and comprised a far more heterogeneous conglomeration of region44 and profession based groupings. Large number of tribal and aboriginal priestly groups appear to have gained entry into its fold as low-grade brahmanas. Commanding very poor social esteem such brahmanas were not even permitted to study the Vedas or attend sraddha ceremonies.

The practice of making land grants, therefore directly affected the composition of the brahmana varna, providing it with a more




heterogeneous aspect. It was also largely responsible for bringing about a significant attitudinal change on the part of brahmana ideologues towards the marginalized sections of society.

There are evident some other repercussions of the practice of land grants on Brahmanism, which proved to be of a more serious and far reaching nature. Our study shows that brahmana beneficiaries had to generally more away from their native places to regions, some of which were quite untouched by civilizational influences and were mostly inhabited by preliterate groups practising their traditional mode of living and often sporting a somewhat belligerent attitude towards stranigers. It was thus a rather disquieting experience for the brahmana beneficiaries to be thrown into such close proximity with a people, who had until then remained peripheral to the Brahmanical order and whose presence in remote forested zones had in no way impinged upon their day to day life. The Brahmanical lawgivers earlier had no compunction therefore in branding them as Mlecchas,45 whose very sight was declared to be polluting and any physical contact with whom had to be scrupulously avoided.

But with the growing incidence of land grants to brahmanas, the situation changed completely. As owners of brahmandeya land, they needed to make them cultivable, in order to be a source of income to them. This could be done only by mobilizing sufficient labour force, which was both willing and cooperative in making such a venture successful. Since importing such labour from far off civilizational zones was by no means economically viable, they had to necessarily depend upon local people for providing it.46 Following the policy of ethnic segregation and maintaining a stiff attitude of complete aloofness, therefore was becoming almost impossible for the brahmana beneficiaries. It explains to a large extent the attitudinal change on the part of brahmanas towards people, who so far had been treated as pariahas and outcastes.47 The change in outlook is reflected even in some Dharmasastra texts and accounts for the numerous relaxations which began to be made in favour of sudras.48 In fact, ritual formations such as making dana, observing vrata and japa, visiting tirthas, performing puja and listening to recitation of religious texts such as Puranas (katha) began to be favoured and widely recommended as much for the sudras as members of other varnas.

Such simple concessions were not enough, however, to appease and win over the preliterate groups or even to make them give up their belligerent stance49 towards immigrant brahmanas, who appeared more as intruders and encroachers upon their sacred land

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than as peaceful settlers. It was perhaps even more difficult to make the native residents adopt a submissive attitude towards the same people who were claiming to be the new proprietors of the land. Moreover, lack of adequate economic resources rendered the use of force,50 military or otherwise, for cowing down the natives equally impossible.

But what made it into an absolutely uphill task was the need to make the tribal groups abandon their traditional method of growing food and instead adopt a system based on intensive field cultivation.51 Hence to make a people firmly rooted in tribal tradition to take to a ploughshare based technology for which preservation of cattle wealth was an important precondition, proved to be the greatest challenge which the brahmana recipients of land grants had to face and without overcoming which they could not hope to reap the fruits of their newly acquired wealth in the form of their landed estates.

What added to the complexity of the problem was the fact that preliterate mode of earning livelihood had its roots in a firmly entrenched and vibrantly alive religious tradition52 which was continually being reaffirmed and reinforced through ritual re- enactment of its mythical lore. The challenge therefore had to be met essentially on a religious plane and in two successive stages, involving first the erosion or deconstruction of their existent belief-system and then reconstructing in its place another system which could prove more conducive to such a transition from a more predatory form of cultivation to field agriculture.

Thus the problem was not merely one of establishing new relations of production with the original inhabitants of the land but also of developing a religious system which while catering essentially to the needs of the elite section of society, could still hold appeal for the simple minded tribal folk.

There was an urgent need therefore, to recast existent Brahmanism on more liberal lines and reorient it so completely as to become more amenable to the tribal collective ethos as well as become the main frame of reference for them. With the help of Puranic mythology and certain ideological constructs such as those related to sin (mahapataka, Agni Purana, ch. 168; Varaha Purana, chs. 131-36), hell, curse, etc.,53 which were meant to serve as strong moral deterrents, the emergent system aimed at making the natives conform to a new set of moral values and behavioural norms. This had to be done by first disabusing their minds of some fixed notions related to physical cleanliness, ritual purity and such practices as ceremonial drinking of toddy54 and ritual




killing of animals particularly cattle for food. The latter specially came in the way of their adopting a new agricultural technology.

It explains why the brahmanas adopting a more lenient stance began to attach greater efficacy and spiritual merit to those ritual performances, which required group participation. For example such ritual practices as bathing in holy rivers and tanks (snana), taking out religious processions (ratha-yatra), celebrating festivals (parb), performing puja in shrines and temples, collective singing (kirtana) and listening to recital of Puranic tales now became integral to the Brahmanical belief-system and were instrumental in narrowing down the gap between the latter and its tribal counterpart.

Such an attitudinal change on the part of brahmana pedagogues could not have been easy, steeped as they were in religious orthodoxy. No wonder therefore they began to raise the bogey of 'kaliyuga'55s, projecting it as a period of extreme crisis for explaining and even justifying the need for resorting to such expedient measures. But from their point of view these were indeed critical times, when the Brahmanical system was being thrown out of gear due to more than one reason. The problems and pressures caused by religious rivalry and the arrival of foreign hordes on the social firmament appeared to be further compounded by the recalcitrant behaviour of tribal groups who had so far been held in utmost contempt by brahmanas and had not been allowed access into the mainstream of Brahmanical order. It was the newly arisen need to acculturate them and to make them more compliant to the wishes of the new owners of brahmandeya land, which forced the lawgivers to develop a special code of conduct to be valid only under dire and stressful conditions (apatkaladharma).56 Howeverr under the blanket covering of exigent circumstances, the lawgivers sought to provide sanction to most tribal usages, including their peculiar food habits. Thus during times of emergency the code permitted a person to eat even the flesh of a dog or adopt occupations and crafts such as hunting or tilling soil,57 which were traditionally forbidden for him.

Thus the 'apatkala' theory was more a subterfuge on the part of brahmanas to affect rapprochement betweent two disparate religious traditions. The theory finds detailed exposition in some of the early Mahapuranas,s8 which were meant to give to Brahmanism a more popular orientation.

The rise and growth of landed economy and the increasing popularity gained by the practice of making land grants to brahmanas in peripheral zones were factors which when combined with the

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pressures exercised by the rival religious systems became largely responsible for some of the changes besetting Brahmanism in the early half of the first millennium AD as well as for the adoption of a more liberal attitude by its theorists and ideologues.

PURANIC HINDUISM: SOME SALIENT FEATURES AND THEIR GENESIS

As noted above a sea of change is perceptible between Brahmanism of the Dharmasastras and 'Hinduism' as reflected in the Puranas. Despite a prominent continuum, whereas the former represented a more or less a single stream fed mainly by the Vedas and the Vedangas, Puranic Hinduism on the contrary was more like a vast ocean with the Brahmanical stream no matter how big and forceful, still representing only one amongst numerous others flowing into it and making it an all encompassing mass of religious beliefs and practices. The source of its authority and strength lay not merely in the Vedas but was far more variegated, each one of them being as vibrant and efficacious as the other. Though Hinduism has often been compared to a banyan tree which does not allow anything to grow beneath or near it, yet it would be more appropriate to describe it as a tree which has not one but multiple roots with each one of them nurturing and resuscitating it, at the same time vesting it with remarkable heterogeneity and popular appeal. And though it may not be easy to determine the exact source of some of its salient features, yet the conditions under which these took shape may provide some clue to their genesis.

A survey of certain features characterizing Puranic Hinduism may be undertaken under the following heads: (i) pantheon related developments leading to sectarian plurality, (ii) new ritual formations with puja and a collective mode of worship gaining greater importance than the offering of homa or sacrificial oblations, (iii) mythological overgrowth as reflected in the Puranas, (iv) changed character and format of the new Brahmanical texts, (v) assimilation of Tantric element,and (vi) the new ideological thrust on bhakti with Puranas once again serving as its chief medium of disseminaiton. Sincewe are delving only into the popular aspects of Hinduism, deeper theological tenets and other related developments do not fall within the immediate purview of our present study.

1. Pantheon related developments The Hindu pantheon as reflected in the Puranas suffered from

what may best be described as a demographic explosion, for we come




across names of millions fo deities, who were sometimes hierarchically graded but can mostly be classified in terms of their sectarian affiliations. Though all the major deities are found to be integral to the Brahmanical pantheon right from later Vedic times or even earlier, yet it is only during the first millennium AD that the two principal gods Visnu59 and Siva,60 while retaining their position in the Triad as the Preserver and Destroyer of the universe, also became the focal points of two emergent sectarian streams Visnuism and Sivaism. The third dominant stream was represented by Sakti. The latter had initially figured in the Brahmanical pantheon not as an independent deity but as the more active female principle and consort of the three principal gods,61 Brahma, Visnu and Siva in her triple aspects of Saraswati, Laksmi and Parvati/Durga. It is only from the opening centuries of the Christian era that Sakti as Devi emerged as an object of worship in her own right and became the focus of an independent cult named after her.62 The new cult soon proved to be as central to Tantric beliefs as it was to most existent preliterate religious systems. In fact, Mother-goddess cult has always been an inherent part of the latter, ever since man took first faltering steps, towards civilization.

Visnu and Siva, on the other hand, as integral components of the Triad while continuing to be a subject of theological speculation, however, in their subsequent sectarian avataras began to absorb countless local cults and deities within their folds. The latter were either taken to represent the multiple facets of the same god or else were supposed to denote different forms and appellations by which the god came to be known and worshipped. Thus whereas Visnu came to subsume the cults of Narayana, Jagannatha, Venkateswara and many others, Siva became identified with countless local cults by the sheer suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, e.g., Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara, Chandesvara. The long lists of names of Sakti or Devi furnished in the Puranas,63 specially in the Devi Bhagavata Purana, provide yet other examples of such pantheon related overgrowth. In the case of Visnu such absorption was rendered easy by the doctrine of incarnation,64 propounded and popularized through the Puranas. That the doctrine was meant to serve at least partially such a purpose can be inferred from the fact that the exact number of incarnations never remained fixed at ten, but became far more inflated in some of the later Puranas. We find that if some incarnations of Visnu such as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha and perhaps even Nrsimha helped to incorporate certain popular totem symbols and creation myths, specially those related to wild boar,65 which

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commonly permeate preliterate mythology, others such as Krsna and Balarama became instrumental in assimilating local cults and myths centering around two popular pastoral and agricultural gods.66 An example of tribal accretions to Visnuism is provided by a Puranic myth according to which Visnu in his incarnation as Narasimha was infatuated with and married a forest belle belonging to the Chenchu tribe.67 The latter ever since then came to regard Narasimha as their son-in-law. The recognition of Lord Buddha, the founder of a major rival sect, as an incarnation of Visnu, was perhaps nothing more than an astute attempt to subvert the existence of Buddhism as an independent creed.68

Visnu's two most popular incarnations as Rama and Krsna, also became the focus of a strong bhakti tradition, which found expression particularly in the Bhagavata Purana. Thus Rama became the object of complete devotion to some preliterate tribes which have been mythicised as vanaras. One of them Hanumana, who was perhaps also a local monkey god, became so closely interwoven into the Rama tradition that he emerged as an important Hindu deity in his own right and continues to be so to this day. Similarly the ever widening current of Krsna tradition69 deeply immersed in pastoralism, began to subsume numerous Naga, yaksa and even some hill and tree based cults. Even the heroes and anti heroes of the Mahabharata war due to their close association with Krsna became integral to the latter's ever expanding lore. However, out of the five Pandavas, it was chiefly Bhima the husband of Hidimba, a she-demon, who became a popular cultic figure in some parts of the subcontinent supplying the essential link between the newly developed Hindu pantheon and its preliterate counterpart.70

The more indigenous origins of Siva on the other hand made the adoption of a different mythical frame necessary. It had to be one in which collective ethos and close familial ties played a key role. In fact, as is quite apparent from the Narasimha-Chenchu71 myth cited above, preliterate groups are generally known to share close familial relations with their respective gods and deities. It has therefore, in keeping with such an ethos, that Siva was believed to be attended upon by not one or two but a whole band or gana of Yaksas,72 who were regarded as his close kinsmen. The latter's description as being ungainly and repulsive looking would perhaps make them out to be mythical counterparts of indigenous tribes.

The leader of the ganas, the elephant-headed Gandes,73 who was the centre of a major regional cult became Siva's older offspring.




Similarly, his second son Skanda or Kumara came to be identified with some more well-known deities such as Karttikeya Mahasena,74 a war god and Murugan and Subrahmanya two popular deities worshipped in south India. Moreover, some light on Skanda's tribal antecedents may be thrown by the Puranic tale, which recounts how he was born in a forest under a thicket. Siva's wife Parvati, the mother of Ganesa and Skanda, was herself a prominent mountain goddess who was also worshipped in her more aggressive aspect of Durga. While another river Goddess Ganga was believed to be trapped in Siva's tresses, which were also adorned by a crescent moon. It was his former wife Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksa, who protesting against the insult done to her husband, immolated herself in her father's sacrificial fire.75 According to the same Puranic myth, as her body was being carried by her distraught husband pieces from it fell at different places, transforming the latter into Sakta-pithas.76

Moreover, such primordial fertility symbols as snake and bull are also found to penetrate the mythical lore centering around Siva, one as his chief body adornment and the other as his favourite mount Nandi, whose worship became integral to Sivaism. Some other animals and birds who found their way into Siva's fold mainly as personal mounts of different members of the family included lion, peacock and even a rodent specie, namely mouse.

But perhaps even more significant were the developments related to Siva's iconic manifestation. Siva was depicted in what appeared to by a typical tribal garb attired in deer-skin and sporting matted hair. Moreover, the adoption of phallic symbol for Siva further forged the links between Sivaism and fertility cult as practised by the preliterate groups.77 Worship of Siva in his linga form gained such wide popularity specially in peripheral zones that shrines dedicated to it came up in very large numbers78 and an entire Purana came to be named after it.

Thus pantheon related developments clearly reveal that proliferation in the number of Puranic deities was mainly due to the absorption of local and regional cults, but the need for such assimilation lay essentially in the emergent economic order, which made it necessary for the brahmanas particularly the recipients of land grants to actively woo preliterate groups dwelling in and around brahmadeya lands. And there was no between way of doing so than giving recognition to the gods and goddesses worshipped by the latter.79

Though one historian80 is inclined to regard such cultic assimilation specially in the context of Bhakti movement in south India to be more in the nature of 'hegemonic appropriation' which 'invilved

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assimilation of the cults but rejection of their non-confirmist practices,' yet this may not be entirely correct, specially when viewed in the light of developments marking Puranic ritual formations, which we shall presently consider.

Moreover it needs to be also ascertained as to how far such

absorption was mainly due to Brahmanical recognition being given to tribal deities, and was not instead a corollary of the penetration of tribal elements into the brahmana caste stratum; in which case brahmanas of doubtful origin and exhibiting prominent tribal affiliations could easily be expected to have inducted at least a few of their more popular tribal gods and goddesses into the Puranic pantheon. If the latter is found to be true then instead of it being a case of brahmanisation of a 'hegemonic' kind, it could very well prove to be more a case of the Brahmanical pantheon getting tribalized through not only the incorporation of tribal deities but also the adoption of some of their prominent physical traits and iconic features along with some ritual and mythical beliefs connected with them. Thus if the image of Lord Jagannatha of Puri is known to manifest distinctly tribal features and continues to be crafted of wood,81 Dattatreye one of the many incarnations of Visnu is found to be represented in the Puranas as a forester given to strong spirituous liquor and who, according to the Markandeya Purana (XIX.10-12) has to be worshipped with the offerings of meat, wine, perfume and garlands to the accompaniment of music. Spirituous liquor is said to be a weakness of yet another incarnation of Visnu namely Balarama.

2. Some new ritual formations Certain prominent developments related to ritual growth took

place during first millennium AD. The most outstanding amongst them

pertained to ritual gift-making which began to override and supercede Vedic sacrificial ritualism,82 despite attempts on the part of Satavahana and Gupta kings to revive the latter. Granting land to religious beneficiaries became a common practice which not only received due

recognition and sanction of the brahmana theorists but had as observed earlier some far reaching repercussions for the brahmana varna itself.

Besides gift of land, certain other more innovative forms of gift- making also appeared for the first time in the Puranas. These include the sixteen mahadanas83 or great gifts, which find earliest mention in the Matsya Purana (dated around fourth century AD) and the numerous Dhenu and Meru danas (Agni Purana, ch. 21.2), in which various




types of gift-items such as different kinds of cereals were heaped up in the shape of a cow or a hillock and then gifted to deserving brahmanas. The occasions for making gifts also multiplied. Besides such occasions as observance of vratas, ritual gift-making at places of pilgrimage was imbued with great spiritual merit and became an important means of sin expiation. Since such gift-making was widely recommended to members of even lower varnas, it helped in diluting the elitist character of Brahmanical ritualism.

The growing importance of the institution of tirthas84 was yet another significant development which marked Brahmanical ritualism during Gupta/post-Gupta times. There is evident during this period not only a remarkable extension of its definitional scope and ritual format but also an unprecedented increase in its numbers. The Puranas abound with names of thousands of tirthas distributed all over the country. However what is really significant is not just their sudden proliferation but the fact that such growth is found to be concentrated more in areas which were far removed from the core Brahmanical zone. This is amply borne out also by sources other than the Puranas as we have tried to show elsewhere. There is thus perceptible a clear linkage between the growing popularity of the institution of tirthas and the spread of Brahmanical cultural influences in peripheral regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Andhra country. But whether such a development was the result of the spread of Brahmanical influences into tribal areas or it was the outcome of already existent tribal shrines and cultic centres finding a place in the Puranic tradition may not be so easy to ascertain. Nevertheless, the inclusion of such tirthas as Kurkuri tirtha (Skanda Purana, V.3.205), Bhilla tirtha (Brahma Purana, 169.4), and Hatakesvara (Skanda Purana, VI. 108) in the Puranic lists does very strongly suggest the latter.

Another ritual formation very closely related to the institution of tirthas was that of observing festivals or parb85 which were marked by group participation. The practice of taking out images of gods kept in chariots in huge processions called ratha-yatra was definitely one which does not reveal Vedic antecedents but which became an annual feature at many prominent pilgrimage centres from the time of the Puranas. The annual ratha-yatra at Jagannatha Puri is specially famous and is known to attract large crowds.86

Collective bathing in sacred rivers and tanks87 on special occasions such as twelve and six yearly Kumbha and ardha-Kumbha88 became from this time onwards yet another feature of tirtha-centric activities,

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which gained wide popularity. Some other forms of tirtha ceremonialism which involved group participation included circumambulation or parikrama and listening to Puranic tales or katha. That such ritual formations were meant to heighten the collective ethos and popular appeal of places of pilgrimage is no doubt much too apparent, though the real source from which some of these ritual practices were derived needs a more careful probing.

Another parallel development very closely related to the institution of tirthas was the practice of installing images of deities and the building of temples89 and shrines which gained momentum mainly from the opening centuries of the Christian era. The practice had already become widely popular with Buddhism and Jainism. It was therefore becoming exigent for the Brahmanical leaders to follow suit in order to cope with the pressures exercised by the growing religious rivalry. But this could not have been the only reason why image and temple worship suddenly gained so much importance in the Brahmanical system. Perhaps a far more important reason may be sought in the close interaction between the latter and its preliterate counterpart, to which some form of idol-worship had been integral right from the very beginning.90 Hence for preparing some sort of meeting ground between the two antithetical systems it became necessary for the brahmanas to attach greater importance to idolworship (Varaha Purana, chs.179.83; Matsya Purana, chs. 258- 61) as well as the practice of enshrining them in temples. This is fairly evident from the Puranas, which contain large sections dealing with the subject of temple-building and the installation of images of Brahmanical deities (pratima-pratisha). The Agni Purana, contains a chapter (327) on 'devalaya mahatmya'. According to a verse of the Visnudharmottara Purana (III) 'building of temple is auspicious in the Kali age as is also the installation of divine images.' In the Puranas rules regarding temple architectural planning and style have been posited for the first time.91 That from Gupta period onwards construction of temples by members of the ruling elite became a widely prevalent practice is amply borne out by archaeological and inscriptional evidence. Our data backed by anthropological research moreover, points to the practice becoming an important instrument of providing religious validation for the ritual and political status of the donors.92 Thus epigraphic records testify to the construction of temples dedicated to tribal deities by local chieftans who had staked their claims to political power.93 For instance an inscription from Chittor belonging to the eighth century records the erection of a temple




of Kukkuresvara Mahadeva by King Kukkuresvara.94 The Kanas copperplate belonging to sixth-seventh centuries AD alludes to a temple in Orissa, which was dedicated to Yaksa Manibhadra.9s What is specially noteworthy is the fact that most of such temple-building activities are found to be concentrated in far flung tribal-belts. Thus temples of this period are reported from such places as Osia, Kholvi, Poladungari, Binaika, Khejariao, and Dhamanar in Rajasthan, Ter in Andhra Pradesh, Mandhol in Maharashtra, Benusagar in the Singbhum district of Bihar and Dahparbatia in Assam.96

Another significant development in Brahmanical ritualism during this period was related to temple-ceremonialism,97 which reveals a close temple-tribe nexus. The Soligas for example are traditionally entrusted with the task of carrying the utsava-murti of Lord Rangaswamy and his consort in Karanataka.98 Similarly the Chenchus performed special temple duties at the Srisailam temple of Siva and were even entitled to receive endowments.99 As pointed out by James Preston the Rauts who were once a tribal people but are now regarded as a sudra sub-caste, are by tradition temple servants at the temple of Goddess Sarala in Orissa.100 They work in the temple along with the brahmana priests but with different functions. Similarly the temple of Lord Venkatesvara at Tirupati is known to be closely associated with the Kuruba tribe,101 the Jagannatha temple at Puri with the Savaras,102 and the Surpanesvara temple in Gujarat with the Bhilas and the Tadavis.103 The tribal priests variously called Bhopa, Munda-

pahan, etc., are known to perform certain specific functions in the

temple ceremonialism such as offering animal sacrifices'04 or pulling the chariot of the temple deity. Such a close temple-tribe nexus thus not only gave rise to a distinct cadre of functionaries attached to different temples and generally graded hierarchically'05 but it was also responsible for the brahmana priests (pujari) being relegated to a very low social status in the brahmana hierarchy.

But more than anything else, it was the adoption of the puja mode of worship (Agni Purana, chs. XXI; XXIII) which undermined the Vedic practice of offering homa or oblations into the sacred fire and cast Brahmanism into a more popular mould. The composition of the puja ingredients such as flowers, leaves and fruits of specially those trees which grew in forests such as the Bilva (or Bela) tree, would point to a certain dependence upon and proximity to the natural environment. The latter in its turn may reflect a more primitive form of worship which became an integral feature of Puranic Hinduism. Moreover the inclusion of such items as masks or mukha-kosa and

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even animal flesh and intoxicant drinks amongst puja offerings for particular deities106 very definitely suggest tribal influences.

Most ritual formations during Gupta/post-Gupta times are found to share certain common features. Most of them encouraged group participation and required the use of minimal resources thus bringing them within the means of the lowest substratum of society. They are moreover known to impose lesser degree of gender and caste based restrictions and also tended to narrow down the gap between the functions performed by the officiating priests and the guru or preceptor whose presence in ritual performances now became more prominent.

3. Mythological overgrowth A significant development which distinguished Puranic Hinduism

from Brahmanism was an ever expanding mythical tradition which permeated the entire content of the Puranas lending to them a more popular base and appeal. Besides its sheer quantum, what is most remarkable about Hindu mythology is the fact that it is derived not merely from Vedic and Smarta traditions but from far more variegated sources, ranging from Tantric to highly diversified tribal and folk traditions.

It may be noted that whereas myths help to express, enhance, codify and provide religious sanction to beliefs,107 folklore is essentially an effective system for projecting definite cultural values and goals.t08 An extensive use of myth and folklore therefore could prove to be a sure means of developing an alternate socio-religious tradition. Hence the adoption of a structural framework for the Puranas which was so heavily laden with mythology may give us some idea about the specific purpose for which these texts were composed. The fact that their composers so heavily relied on mythology for achieving it, clearly shows that they were not only addressing an audience which may not have been wholly literate but were also seeking to bring about certain fundamental changes in the existent Brahmanical tradition.

By using the language of myth the Brahmanical ideologues were able to transform current happenings and developments into mythological events of great antiquity just as some local usages and tribal practices were invested with ritual sanctity and became means of earning spiritual merit. This is particularly evident in the case of such ritual performances as listening to katha'09 recital or offering puja or even collective participation in festivals held at places of pilgrimage such as the ratha-yatra at Jagannatha Puri. As already mentioned it was only with the help of myths that the idea of curse or




hell could be made to evoke such awe and fear in the hearts of simple- minded common folk, that they could be made to conform to a new set of moral values and behavioural conduct.110

What is most striking about Puranic mythology is that much of it cannot claim any genuine antiquity. In fact, in order to cast current events, developments, local legends and tales into a mythical frame, Vedic deities and ancient seers had to be introduced as their chief dramatis personae. For example, the story about the ten Praceta brothers who were out to destroy the forest trees but were dissuaded from doing so by the god Soma himself"1' is clearly an attempt to mythicise the widespread phenomenon of deforestation which must have followed in the wake of agricultural expansion taking place during Gupta/post-Gupta times. Similarly the story about how Asura king Bali was tricked into parting with his whole kingdom by Visnu in the guise of a brahmana Vamana12 could very well be interpreted as an allegorical representation of the ongoing phenomenon of land acquisition by the agents of Brahmanisation. The same holds true also of some tirtha related legends, in which Vedic gods and sages are described as sanctifying places of pilgrimage by their miraculous deeds, austerities and sacrificial performances.113

An important myth used to great advantage in the Puranas was that related to the four yugas.114 As we have tried to show elsewhere it was chiefly with the help of Kaliyuga myth that the challenges posed by changing social order could be placed in a proper perspective and dealt with great dexterity by the Brahmanical ideologues.51 The myth was largely responsible for giving a new dimension and expanding the horizon of existent Brahmanism.

As already mentioned myths related to creation and the Brahmanical triad were equally instrumental in assimilating tribal creation myths16 and local cults and deities and transforming and integrating them into the Hindu belief system. In fact it was through myths such as the one related to Sati's immolation in her father Daksa's sacrificial fire that innumerable tribal goddesses with their strange physical features, attributes and names such as Vidali, Uluki, Gokarnika, Pilapacchika could be absorbed into the Hindu pantheon. The rise of a distinct sect centering round Sakti-worship was a direct corollary of the incorporation of countless tribal female deities into the Puranic pantheon.

Myth seems to have been used in the Puranas also to reduce the varna/tribe hiatus and smoothen the process of cultural assimilation. Certain myths such as the one about Vena and his two unnaturally

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created posthumous sons Nisada and Prthu appear to have been specially woven into the Puranic kernel for the specific purpose of redefining the exact nature of relationship shared by the two juxtaposed social orders as well as their respective social duties and ritual status vis-a-vis one another. Significantly the myth which has it roots in Vedic mythology appears in maximum number of Purnas117 and is found to undergo several stages of elaboration and change which I have tried to analyse at length elsewhere.

4. Changed character of new religious texts The transformation from Brahmanism to Puranic Hinduism is

best reflected in the changed character and format of the new genre of scriptural texts that began to be composed from this time onwards. Even a cursory scrutiny of their contents shows that they contain minimal of didactic material and are instead replete with mythological tales and legends with far greater popular appeal. The Puranas specially contain a lot of other kinds of material of a more wide ranging and eclectic nature. This has both inflated their size as well as invested them with an encyclopaedic character. Their composers have moreover adopted a new style of writing based on narration and story-telling with frequent interrogatory interjections by Puranic characters seeking clarification and further elaboration. This was apparently done to cast these texts into a more popular mould so that they could be easily comprehensible even to the non-literate segments of society. The only reason why the composers should have opted for such a style could be because they were targeting a totally different set of audience. The latter not only lacked intellectual finesse but was wholly rooted in folk tradition, in which myths and rituals play a seminal role in augmenting group identity and in defining and reaffirming social role and status.

Unlike the Vedas, the Dharmasutras and the Smrti texts, the new genre of Brahmanical literature was meant not so much to be studied and deliberated alone as for public recital and collective listening.18 Listening was in fact a very important part of Puranic culture. Thus according to the Vayu (103.58), Brahma (175.89-90), Matsya (290.20), and the Visnu (VI.8.3) Puranas reading Puranas or listening to their recital would destroy all sins. Banabhatta alludes to the recitation of the Vayu Purana in his native village.119 The Puranas also contain references to the popular practice of holding saptah or seven days reading sessions of a Purana, which was considered to be as important and meritorious as a vedic sacrifice.120 But perhaps what




is even more significant is that during such recital sessions there had to be present by the side of the reader or vacaka another person whose main duty was to go on explaining the difficult passages and ideas occurring in the text.121 Such a practice clearly underlines the fact that the Puranas as a genre of literature were meant for the edification not so much of the intelligentsia as of the simple-minded common folk with limited powers of grasping abstract concepts and deeper philosophical tenets.

5. Tantric elements gaining prominence in Puranic Hinduism Another significant development that distinguished Puranic

Hinduism from Brahmanism of the Dharmasutras and the Dharmasastras was the growing absorption of Tantric element.122 In fact in all later Puranas purificatory rites as well as those connected with the construction of temples or with the processes of clearance of forests and other agricultural operations are found to be heavily laced with Tantric ritualism. The Bhavisya Purana (II. .11.11.1) recognizes the Tantras as an authority on consecration of trees, tanks, etc. Tantric elements are found to abound in the initiation ceremony (diksa) as described in the Garuda Purana (I.9), Padma Purana (Srsti Khanda, 31.8.75) and Agni Purana (1.17.2). Tantric elements found very fertile grounds specially in such sectarian Hindu systems as Saktism123 and Sivaism which are known to draw heavily upon Tantric ritual beliefs and practices. This is specially evident from such sectarian Puranic texts as the Linga Purana and the Devi Bhagavata Purana.

Significantly the roots of Tantrism are believed to lie in preliterate magical and fertility rites connected with agricultural operations. The assimilation of Tantric rites and practices during Gupta/post-Gupta centuries into not only Hinduism but almost all other prevailing creeds will have to be attributed therefore to the growing importance gained by agrarian system combined with the accelerated pace of interaction between the established religions and the preliterate tradition as embodied in tribal cults and ritual practices.'24 Such interaction must have been largely stepped up by the penetration of mainstream cultural forces into remoter tribal belts for purposes of agricultural expansion. The increasing tilt towards Tantrism thus not ony distanced Puranic Hinduism from Brahmanism but also lessened the hiatus between the former and the preliterate tradition. In fact some of the tribal ritual practices such as ritual drinking and dancing and even offering of animal sacrifice as part of fertility rites were incorporated into the Sakta belief system via Tantrism.125

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6. Focus on bhakti The extraordinary thrust laid on bhakti or devotion as a means

and end of all religious thought and action was yet another feature which distinguished Puranic Hinduism from Brahmanism. Bhakti as a theistic construct revolved essentially around (a) an object of devotion who could be Bhagavan or some personal god, (b) the

supplicant or the bhakta (i.e., devotee) and (c) the guru who guided as well as initiated the latter on the path of devotion. It is significant that all these constituents of bhakti are known to receive the earliest and perhaps the most exhaustive treatment in the Puranas, especially in the Bhagavata Purana (11.3; III.29; XI.14).126 It mentions as many as nineteen different classifications of bhakti, ranging from a threefold devotion to thirty-six fold devotion, although a ninefold devotion

comprising (a) sravana (or hearing), (b) kirtana (or collective

chanting), (c) smarana (or remembering), (d) padasevana (or service at god's feet), (e) areanam (or offering worship) (f) vandana (or praising), (g) dasyam (or displaying feeling of servitude), (h) sakhyam

(or friendship), (i) atma-nivedanam (or self-surrender) is more

frequently recognized and recommended. It is apparent that one of the chief elements of bhakti which is continually emphasized in the Puranas is that of self-surrender and humility manifesting itself in the servile demeanour of the supplicant. Although criticisms are levelled against an overtly feudalistic approach to bhakti, yet it can

scarcely be denied that at least some of its elements such as padasevana and atmanivedana or prapatti can be understood and appreciated better against a certain contextual background. Thus it is remarkable how the manifestation of a similar spirit of abject surrender towards the brahmana beneficiary by the people residing over the donated land could effect material change and improvement in the dialectical

relationship shared by the two, making the latter more compliant and quiescent to the wishes of the former.

It is moreover significant that the Bhakti movement is known to have its origin and development mainly in the outlying regions away from the Brahmanical heartland.127 This is admitted in a frequently occuring verse in the Puranas, according to which Bhakti originated in the Dravida country, flourished in Karnataka and had sporadic success in Maharashtra. Hence whatever the nature and degree of diversification which beset the bhakti ideology at a later stage, two facts which stand out prominently are (i) bhakti per se specially at the ideational level signified only the dual qualities of devotion and

loyalty and (ii) it served as a double edged ideological mechanism




which was used by two opposite social segments to achieve two diametrically opposed ends. If bhakti during the early medieval period served as an effective ideological instrument in the hands of the mainstream ideologues seeking to indoctrinate the marginalized social segments by inculcating in them the principles of devotion, loyalty and self-surrender; in the subsequent period it helped more to articulate protests against social injustice and religious bigotry. So that whereas in the initial stages it was utilized chiefly by the elite group to bolster and augment the emergent feudal social order, at a later stage it served more as a tool in the hands of the depressed sections to fight against social inequalities and religious fundamentalism. It is significant how the earlier exponents of bbakti right from Ramanuja to Vallabhacarya and even the majority of Alvar saints belonged chiefly to the upper stratum of society.128 During the late medieval phase on the contrary the leaders of Bhakti movement, such as Raidasa and Kabira were generally drawn from the lower rungs of society,mainly the working class. The ideological potential of bhakti is, in fact, immense just as'its dimensional scope is extremely vast and though the subject has all along evoked great interest among scholars,129 the most recent study having been undertaken by Professor Suvira Jaiswal,130 who considers the Bhakti movement to have been instrumental 'in forging of a broader cultural unity by integrating tribal and local or regional cults within a Brahmanical framework', yet as she also admits there is a need to carry on further investigations specially with regard to the origins of bhakti.

My own study, which is however of a macro nature, shows that the growing thrust on bhakti in Puranic Hinduism was directly in response to the demands of a changing social order and the need to meet the challenge on a religious plane. Moreover pantheon and ritual- centric overgrowth in existent Brahmanism was the result not so much of 'hegemonic cultic appropriation' by its agents as it was the outcome of a syncretistic fusion of the latter with several disparate but equally vibrant cultural traditions. It led to such a mass absorption of tribal and folk elements that Brahmanism changed beyond recognition and became so broad based that it threatened to wipe out of existence all other rival creeds. But most of all the development forever erased the monolithic structure and character of Hinduism.

In the end I wish to reiterate the need to view the Puranas afresh in order to gain through them new insights into the forces of social change operating during the period of their composition. I once again thank the organizers of the Congress for giving me this wonderful

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opportunity for sharing some of my research findings with all the learned historians gathered here today.

NOTES

1. Romila Thapar, Interpreting Early India, Delhi, 1992, chapter on 'Imagined Religious Communities? Ancient History and the Modern Search for a Hindu Identity', p. 65.

2. P.V. Kane, HD, V, ii, p. 913; R.C. Hazra, Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, sec. ed., Delhi, 1975, p. 208.

3. B.S. Hanumantha Rao, 'Religion and Society in the Vengi Chalukyan Kingdom', in Sriramacandrika, ed., A.V.N. Murthy and I.K. Sarma, Delhi, 1993, p. 419; H.P. Ray, 'Early Buddhist Monachism and Its Socio-economic Implications', The Age of the Satavahanas, vol.I, ed., A.M. Shastri, New Delhi, 1999, pp. 199-204.

4. Suvira Jaiswal, The Origin and Development of Vaisnavism, sec., rev., ed., New Delhi, 1981, p. 130.

5. Vijay Nath, Dana: Gift-system in Ancient India c, 600 BC-C, AD 300. A Socio-economic Perspective, New Delhi, 1987.

6. S.C. Banerji, 'Puranic Basis of Vratas Mentioned in Bengal Smrtis' Indian Culture, XIII, 1946-47, pp. 35-44,; P.M. Upadhye, 'Vows in the Purana Literature', Bharatiya Vidya, XXXII, 1972, pp. 13-19; K.K. Gupta, A Socio-

Religious Study of Visnudharmottara Purana, New Delhi, 1994, pp. 175-78. 7. N.N. Sengupta, 'The Practice of Religious Recital (japa), Journal of UP

Historical Society, XII, 1939, pp. 22-48. 8. Vijay Nath, Puranas and Acculturation: A Historico-Anthropological

Perspective, New Delhi, 1001, ch. 1. 9. R.S. Sharma Indian Feudalismn, Delhi, 1980, pp. 54-55; H.G. Rawlinson,

Intercourse between India and the Western World: From the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome, reprint, Delhi, 1977, p. 151.

10. R.N. Nandi, 'Growth of Rural Economy in Early Feudal India', Presidential Address, PIHC, 1984.

11. K.S. Singh, 'Technology and Acculturation: The Brahmanical Model Reconsidered', Social Science Probings, I, II, 1985.

12. Vide Lallanji Gopal, Aspects of History of Agriculture in Ancient India, Varanasi, 1980, pp. 2, 26-29.

13. Agni Purana, ch. 121.44-52; contains reference to some interesting astronomical considerations to be observed in connection with six agricultural operations. A summary of the Parasara Smrti in thirty-nine verses was

incorporated into the Garuda Purana (ch. 107); vide R.C. Hazra, Studies ill the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, p. 142.

14. Saroj Dutta, Land System in Northern India (c. AD 400-700), New Delhi, 1995, p. 100; R.S. Sharma, Indian Feudalism, p. 39.

15. K.M. Shrimali, Agrarian Structure in Central India and the Northern Deccan, New Delhi, 1987; Saroj Dutta, op. cit., p. 101; S.K. Panda, 'Socio-economic condition in South Orissa: A Survey from Earliest Times to AD 1568', JAIH, XVII, i-ii, 1987-88, pp. 135-63; N.K. Bhattasali, 'New Lights on the History of Assam - The Empire - Builders of Assam', IHQ, XXI, 1945, pp. 19-25;




Puspa Niyogi, Brahmanic Settlement in Different Sub-divisions of Ancient

Bengal, Calcutta, 1967. 16. EI, I, pp. 32, 36; IX, p. 166; X, p. 25; XI, p. 281; XXIV, p. 180. 17. R.S. Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India,

third edition, Delhi, 1991, pp. 80-81. 18. V.S. Pathak, 'Vedic Rituals in Early Medieval Period: An Epigraphic Study',

ABORI, XI, 1959, pp. 218-19. 19. Vijay Nath, 'Mahadana: The Dynamics of Gift Economy and the Feudal

Milieu', The Feudal Order: State, Society and Ideology in Early Medieval India, ed., D.N. Jha, Delhi, 2000, pp. 411-40.

20. Even the epigraphs from sixth century AD onwards occasionally mention the decline of Vedic activities in the Kali age, EI, I, viii, pp. 229-307.

21. Vijay Nath, 'Ritual Symbolism and Status Conferring Role of Dana', PIHC, 1989-90, pp. 80-87.

22. Hermann Kulke, Kings and Cults: State Formation and Legitimation in India and Southeast Asia, Delhi, 1993, p. 11; Romila Thapar and M.H. Siddiqui, 'Tribals in History: The case of Chhotanagpur', in Social Stratification, ed., Dipankar Gupta, 1991, p. 423; Vijay Nath, 'Mahadana', The Feudal Order,

p. 419. 23. V.S. Pathak, op. cit. 24. R.C. Hazra, op. cit., p. 209. 25. R.K. Dikshit, 'Land Grants of the Candella Kings', Journal of Uttar Pradesh

Historical Society, 1950, p. 237; A.P. Shah, 'Feudatories and Beneficiaries in Medieval Orissa (AD 600-1200)', JIH, LIV, 1976, p. 552; R. Vajpeyi, 'Brhaspati on the Emergence of Landowning Brahmana Community', ABORI, LVII, 1976, pp. 181-87.

26. Parasara Smrti, II, 2, 'Brahmana devoted to six fold duties should resort to cultivation', Brhat parasara, V.118; 150, provides for brahmanas to do cultivation work. Vide Lallanji Gopal, op. cit., p. 27; reference to 'ksetra- karan brahmanan', in Contributions to the Economic History of Northern India, Calcutta, 1962, pp. 17-18.

27. EI, II, p. 180; VI, pp. 40-54; R.K. Mohanty, 'Migrations of Brahmanas to

Orissa', in Sriramacandrika, ed., A.V.N. Murthy and I.K. Sarma, Delhi, 1993, pp. 387-95; Vasudeva Upadhyaya, 'Migration of Brahmanas from

Madhyadesa', JBRS, XLV, 1959, p. 310' K.M. Gupta, 'On some Castes and

Caste-origins in Svlhet', IHQ, VII, iii-iv, pp. 178-19. 28. B.N.S. Yadava, Society and Culture in Northern India During the Twelfth

Century AD, Allahabad, 1973, p. 22. 29. Vide Brahmanda Purana, translated and annotated by G.V. Tagore, Delhi,

1983, Introduction. 30. El, XXXII, iv; IHQ, XXVIII, p, 133; B.N.S. Yadava, op. cit., pp. 19-22. 31. Vide D.G. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India,

Delhi, 1960, p. 16. 32. CH, V, no. vi, B.P. Majumdar, 'Collective Land Grants in Early Medieval

Inscriptions', JASB, X, 1968, pp. 7-17. 33. Varaha Purana, ch. 139; Atri Smrti, vv. 373-83; vide Kane, HD, II, i, p. 131;

B.N.S. Yadava, op. cit., p. 21. 34. Significantly the Visnu Purana (III, 6, 28) and the Visnu Purana (61, 79)

associate the Atharvaveda brahmanas with some sciences such as Ayurveda, Dhanurveda (military science), Gandharvaveda, Arthaveda, etc.; vide

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46 SOCIAL SCIENTIST

Chitraleks Gupta, 'The Atharvavedic Brahmanas of Inida', in Man in India, LVII, iii, 1977, p. 223.

35. R.P. Chanda, The Indo-Aryan Races, reprint, Calcutta, 1969, pp. 86-88. 36. Ibid., p. 102. 37. Vide John Wilson, Indian Caste, vol, II, Bombay, 1887, p. 9. 38. Ibid., p. 21. 39. Skanda Purana, Sahyadri Khanda, Uttarardha, 1.36. 40. Bombay Gazetteer, IX, i: vide R.P. Chanda, op. cit. 41. Vide Tribes and Tribal Life, ed., A.K. Singh, New Delhi, 1993, p. 277. 42. Vide B. Rajendra Prasad, 'Boyas in Ancient Andhra Society', JIH, LVI, 1978,

p. 22. 43. Vide Joydev Ganguly, 'The Social and Religious Background of the Study of

Smrti in Mithila,' pt. I, Our Culture, IV, 1956, pp. 239-51. 44. Upinder Singh, Kings, Brahmanas and Temples in Orissa, New Delhi, 1994,

p. 125; V.G. Pandey, 'Gujarat Brahmanas: Are they the descendants of Kanaujiyas?' Bharatiya Vidya, vol. XVII, 1956, pp. 33-36.

45. Aloka Parasher, Mlecchas in Early India, New Delhi, 1991, pp. 119-20. 46. Ifran Habib, 'The Peasant in Indian History', General Presidential Address,

PIHC, 1982; Joan P. Mencher, 'Agricultural Labourers in Peasant Societies: The Case of South Asia', in Social Anthropology of Peasantry, ed., Joan P. Mencher, Bombay, 1983, p. 295.

47. Vayu Purana, LVIII, 38-49; Brahmanda Purana, II, xxxi. 39-49; vide R.S. Sharma, Sudras in Ancient India, sec. rev. ed., Delhi, 1980, pp. 243-44.

48. R.S. Sharma, Sudras in Ancient India, p. 246. 49. An inscription of Chedi King Jaggaladeva in Madhya Pradesh mentions the

ferocious Dhiru tribe, EI, XIX, p. 210. 50. El, I, pp. 334, 337; II, pp. 15, 194; IV, xxxiv; XIX, p. 210; V.S. Upadhyaya,

'A Note on the Tribes Mentioned in Medieval Records', JBRS, XLVII, 1961. 51. N. Gopala Rao, 'Diffusion of Agricultural Innovation among the Tribal

People: A Case Study in Andhra Pradesh', Vanyajati, XXIX, 1981, pp. 33- 36; Bhupinder Singh, 'Deepening Dilemmas of Tribals and Technology', Tribal

Transformation in India, II, ed., Buddhadeb Chaudhary, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 305-315; K.S. Singh, 'Environment Technology and Management', Man in India, LXX, ii, pp. 123-30.

52. D.N. Majumdar, 'Tribal Cultures and Acculturation', Man in India, XIX, 1939, pp. 99-172.

53. Vijay Nath, Puranas and Acculturation, ch. 6, 'Certain Ideological Constructs as Mechanisms of Social Control.'

54. S.V.V. Satyanarayana Rao, 'Drinking in the Tribal World: A Cross Cultural

Study in 'Culture Theme' Approach,' Man in India, LVII, ii, 1977, pp. 97- 113.

55. Matsya Purana, ch. 273. 56. Visnu Purana, III.8. 57. Agni Purana, 162.2. 58. Visnu Purana, III.8. 59. Pranabanand Jash, History and Evolution of Vaisnavism in Eastern India,

Calcutta, 1982. 60. Sukumari Bhattacharji, The Indian Theogony, Cambridge, 1970, pp. 178-

207; 284-300. 61. Ibid., pp. 158-77; N.N. Bhattacharyya, History of Sakta Religion, New Delhi,




1974, p. 47; W.C. Beane, Myth, Cult and Symbols in Sakta Hinduism: A Study on the Indian Mother-Goddess, Leiden, 1977; R.C. Hazra, Studies in the Upapuranas, Calcutta, 1958.

62. N.N. Bhattacharyya, op. cit., p. 65; C.M. Brown, God as Mother: An Historical and Theological Study of the Brahma-Vaivarta Purana, Hartford, 1974; Usha Dev, The Concept of Sakti in the Puranas, Delhi, 1987; Varaha Purana, chs. 91-94.

63. Kurma Purana, 1.12. 64. Agni Purana, II-V; XVI: D.D. Kosambi, 'The Sources of the Bhagavad Gita

and the Avatara Syncretism', JBBRAS, V, 1948-49, pp. 24-25; Suvira Jaiswal, op. cit., pp. 132-47.

65. Maheshwari Prasad, Some Aspects of the Varaha-Katha in the Epics and Puranas, Delhi, pp. 13-18, 70-79.

66. Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., p. 290. 67. Vide K.S. Singh, 'Hinduism and Tribal Religion: An Anthropological

Perspective', Man in India, LXXIII, i, 1993, pp. 1-16; M.L.K. Murthy, 'The God Narasimha in the Folk Religion of Andhra Pradesh, South India', South Asian Studies, XIII, 1997, New Delhi, pp. 179-88.

68. Bhagavata Purana, 1.3.24; vide Suvira Jaiswal, op. cit., p. 146. 69. Benjamin P. Soli, 'The Krsna Cycle in the Puranas', Themes and Motives in a

Heroic Saga, Delhi, 1984. 70. B.R. Sharma, 'Impact of the Mahabharata on Folk and Tribal Culture of

Himachal Pradesh', The Mahabharata in the Tribal and Folk Traditions of India, ed., K.S. Singh, New Delhi, 1993, pp. 34, 38; B.R. Sharma, 'Tribal Myth and Legends and Their Role in Development in Himachal Pradesh', in Tribal Development Appraisal and Alternative, ed., S.K. Gupta, New Delhi, 1998, pp. 23-24.

71. K.S. Singh, 'Hinduism and Tribal Religion: An Anthropological Perspective', Man in India, LXXIII, i, 1993, pp. 6-7.

72. V.S. Agrawala and Moti Chandra, 'Yaksa Worship in Varanasi', Purana, I, ii, 1960, pp. 198-201; Diana L. Eck, Banaras: City of Light, London, 1983, p. 69.

73. Varaha Purana, XXIII; Agni Purana, ch. LXXI; Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., pp. 183-84; G. Satyanarayana Rao, Myth and Deities: Some Aspects of Hindu Iconographic Traditions, Madras, 1993, pp. 79-86.

74. G. Satyanarayana Roa, Myths and Devities, pp. 87-97; Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., pp. 18-82; P.K. Agrawala, 'Skanda in the Puranas and Classical Literature', Purana, VIII, I, 1966, pp. 135-58; association of Skanda with the Yaudheya tribe has been discussed by A.K. Chatterjee, The Cult of Skanda Karttikeya in Ancient India, Calcutta, 1970, p. 35; Varaha Purana, XXV; Matsya Purana, ch. V; Brahmanda Purana, 11.3.

75. Matsya Purana, ch. XII; Padma Purana, Srsti Khanda, ch. V; Kurma Purana, XV; Vayu Purana, 1.30; Skanda Purana, VI.70; Devi Bhagavata Purana, VII.30.

76. D.C. Sircar, The Sakta Pithas, p. 6; References to one hundred and eight scared places of Sakti are found in the Matsya Purana (XIII.26-53); Padma Purana (Srsti Khanda, XVII.184-211); Skanda Purana, (Avanti Khanda, XCVIII, 64-92); Devi Bhagavata Purana, (VII. 30.55-83); Brahaddharma Purana (II, chs. 1-11); J.N. Tiwari, Goddess Cults in Ancient India (with special reference to the first seven centuries AD), Delhi, 1985, p. 31.

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48 SOCIAL SCIENTIST

77. Sukumari Bhattacharji, op. cit., p. 179. 78. Reference to sixty-eight Svayambhuva Lingas occurs in the Skanda Purana,

vide A.B. Awasthi, Studies in the Skanda Purana, pt. II, Lucknow, 1978, p. 130.

79. Romila Thapar, Interpreting Early India, p. 66. 80. Suvira Jaiswal, 'Change and Continuity in Brahmanical Religion with

Particular Reference to Vaisnava Bhakti, Social Scientist, XXIX, Nos.5-6, 2000, p. 14.

81. J.P. Singh Deo, Origin ofJagannatha Deity, Delhi, 1991, p. 8; Binayak Mishra, 'folklore and Pauranic Tradition of God jagannatha', IHQ, XIII, 1937, pp. 600-609.

82. Skanda Purana (i.II.13.59-60) proclaims 'I have no use for sacrificial rites that are declared by the Vedas, that have no life in them, that are within the domain of ignorance and that entail injury (to animals)'.

83. Vijay Nath, 'Mahadana: The Dynamics of Gift Economy and the Feudal Order', The Feudal Order, 411-40.

84. Vijay Nath, 'Tirthas and Acculturation: An Anthropological Study', Social Science Probings, X, I-iv, 1993, pp. 28-54; E.A. Morris, Pilgrimage in the Hindu Tradition, Delhi, 1984; B.N. Saraswati, 'Traditions of Tirthas in India', Man in India, III, i, 1983.

85. MakhanJha, Readings in Tribal Culture, ch. V, Religious Beliefs and Practices, New Delhi, p. 119; A.M. Kurup, 'Tribal Festivals of Central India', Folklore, May, 1970, pp. 159-65; V.S. Agrawala, Ancient Indian Folk Cults, Varanasi, 1970, pp. 39-48.

86. Hermann Kulke, 'Rathas and Rajas: The Car Festival at Puri', Car Festival of Lord Jagannatha Puri, ed., S.C. Mahapatra, Puri, pp. 81-97.

87. SAvitri V. Kumar, The Puranic Love of Holy Water Places, New Delhi, 1983. 88. Vijay Nath, 'Tirthas and Acculturation', Social Science Probings, p. 34; D.P.

Dubey, 'Kumbha-Mela: Origin and Historicity of India's greatest Pilgrimage Fair', National Geographical Journal of India, XXXIII, iv, 1985, pp. 467- 92.

89. Skanda Purana, I, i.5.56; Tahsildar Singh, 'Matsya Purana and Early Medieval Temple Architecture', Purana, XXV, I, 1983, p. 54; Vijay Nath, 'Tirthas and Acculturation', Social Science Probings, pp. 31.32.

90. James J. Preston, 'The Evolution of an Orissan Goddess Temple', Folk Culture, vol. II, Institute of Oriental and Orissan Studies, pp. 116-19.

91. Matsya Purana, 186.11. 92. Hermann Lulke, 'Tribal Deities at Princely Courts: The Feudatory Rajas of

Central Orissa and their Tutleary Deities', Folk Culture, vol. II, pp. 13-24; Michael W. Meister, 'Temples, Tirthas and Pilgrimage: The Case of Osian', Folk, Faith and Feudalism, ed., N.K. Singhi and Rajendra Joshi, New Delhi, 1995, pp. 68-70; Karma Oraon, 'Impact of Hindu Pilgrimage on Tribes of

Chhotanagpur', Social Anthropology of Pilgrimage, ed., Makhan Jha, Delhi, pp. 118-29.

93. El, XI, p. 18; S. Tripathy, 'Folk Elements in Indian Inscriptions', Folk Culture, I, p. 136; R.A. Sharma 'The Temple of Barahed', Pracya Pratibha, XIV, i-ii, 1989-90, p. 18; R.R. Halder, ed., Samoli Inscription (AD 646), El, XX, pp. 97-99.

94. Vide Dasaratha Sharma, Rajasthan Through the Ages, Bikaner, 1966, I, p. 240.




95. El, XXVIII, p. 328. 96. K.C. Jain, 'Ancient Temples of Rajasthan', History aiid Culture, B.P. Sinha

Felicitation Volume, ed., B. Sahai, Delhi, 1987, pp. 119-25; D.P. Sharma, 'Decorated Brick Temples of Post-Gupta Period', ibid., pp. 112-18; R.K. Mishra, 'Traditions of Temples and Shrines in Ancient Sea-ports of Kalinga', Orissa Historical Research Journal, XXIII, 1968, pp. 80-85.

97. Vijay Nath, 'Tirthas and Acculturation', Social Science Probings, p. 50. 98. K.S. Singh, 'Hinduism and Tribal Religion: An Anthropological Perspective',

Man in India,LXXIII, i, 1993, p. 7. 99. Ibid., p. 8.

100. James J. Preston, op. cit., p. 116. 101. K.S. Singh, 'Hinduism and Tribal Religion', op. cit., p. 7. 102. S. Patnaik, Brahmanical Religion in Ancient Orissa, New Delhi, p. 53. 103. L.S. Viswanath, 'Pilgrimage Centre in a Tribal Area', Maln in India, LXV, iii,

1985. 104. Karma Oraon, 'Impact of Hindu Pilgrimage on Tribes of Chhotanagpur',

Social Anthropology of Pilgrimage, ed., Makhan Jha, Delhi, p. 120; C.J. Fuller, 'Sacrifice (Bali), in the South Indian Temple', Religion and Society itn South India: A Volume in Honour of Prof. N. Subha Reddy, ed., Sudersen, Delhi, 1987, p. 21; Usha Dev, 'Reference to Animal and Human Sacrifices in the Kalika Purana, Charudev Sastri Felicitation Volume, Delhi, 1974, pp. 424-28.

105. P.V. Kane, HD, IV, p. 699. 106. Kalika Purana, chs. 57 and 71; P. Shah, Pauranic Ritualism of the Fifth

Century, Calcutta, 1993, p. xiii. 107. G.K. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures,

Cambridge, 1970, pp. 253-59. 108. William R. Boscom, 'Four Functions of Folklore', The Study of Folklore,

ed., Allan Dundes, Englewood-Cliffs, 1965, pp. 279-78; S.L. Srivastava, Folk Culture and Oral Tradition, New Delhi, 1994.

109. G.C. Mishra, 'Vrata-Kathas of Orissa', Folk Culture, vol. I, op. cit., pp. 33- 38.

110. Vijay Nath, Puranas and Acculturation. 111. Visnu Purana, 1.15. 112. Bhavata Purana, VIII.15.23. 113. Vijay Nath, 'Tirthas and Acculturation', Social Science Probings, pp. 35-36. 114. Brahmanda Purana, 1.2; Varaha Purana, ch. 68. Cornelia dimmitt Church,

'The Myth of the Four Yugas in the Sanskrit Puranas: A Dimensional Study', Purana, XVI, i, 1974, pp. 5-25; J.J. Chemburkar, 'Historical and Religious Background of the Concept of Four Yugas in the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata Purana', Purana, XVI, i, 1974, pp. 67-76.

115. Vijay Nath, Puranas and Acculturation, ch. IV. 116. H. Blackburn, 'Creation Myth in India', Man in India, LVII, iii, 1977, pp.

191-207. 117. The story of Vena and his two unnaturally created posthumous sons Nisada

and Prthu is reproduced in almost all major Puranas such as the Mdtsya Purana (1.10); Visnu Purana (i.13.68-87); Vayu Purana (Uttara Khanda, 1.107-111); Padma Purana (Bhumi Khanda, XXVII.18-49; 91-106); Garuda Purana (1.6.5); Bhagavata Purana (IV.17-18); Brahma Purania (IV.70): Skanda Purana (V.2.49.5).

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118. P.V. Kane, HD, V, ii, pp. 915-916; V. Narayana Rao, 'Purana as Brahmana Ideology', Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, ed., Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty, Delhi, 1993, pp. 94-95.

119. Vide V.R.R. Dikshitar, The Purana Index, 1951, p. xiv. 120. S.A. Dange, Glimpses of Puranic Myth and Culture, Delhi, 1987, p. 3. 121. Vijay Nath, Puranas and Acculturation, ch. II. 122. J.N. Banerjea, Pauranic and Tantric Religion, Calcutta, 1966. 123. M.C. Joshi, 'Sakta-Tantrism in the Gupta Age', Aruna Bharati, Professor

A.N. Jani Felicitation Volume, Baroda, pp. 77-81. 124. R.S. Sharma, 'Material Milieu of Tantrism', The Feudal Order, ed., D.N.Jha,

Delhi, 2000, p. 441. 125. M.C. Joshi, op. cit., pp. 77-81. 126. Rukmani Rajamani, A Critical Study of the Bhagavata Purana, Varanasi,

1970, ch. V, 'The Origin and Development of the Conception of bhakti with

special reference to the Bhagavata cult', pp. 174-213. 127. N.M. Kansara, 'Early Bhakti Movement in Gujarat (fifth century AD to

fifteenth century AD),' New Dimensions of Ilndology, ed., R.N. Mehta, Delhi, 1997, pp. 48-64; B.K. Majumdar, 'Emergence of the Bhakti Cult: Early History of Vaisnavism in Bengal', The Bhakti Cult and Ancient Indian Geography, ed., C.D. Sircar, Calcutta, 1970, pp. 24-35; Tradition and Modernity in Bhakti Movement, ed., Jayant Lele, Leiden, 1981; M.G.S. Narayana and K. Veluthat, 'Bhakti Movement in South India', The Feudal Order, ed., D.N. Jha, Delhi, 2000, pp. 339-400.

128. A.K. Majumdar, Bhakti Renaissance, Supplement to Bharatiya Vidya, XXIV, i-iv, 1964, p. 18.

129. V.K. Thakur, 'Social Roots of the Bhagavata Gita: A Note on the Role of Ideology in the Early Medieval Feudal Complex', Historiography of Indian Feudalism, New Delhi, 1989, pp. 67-69,104-18; Friedhelm Hardy, Viraha- bhakti, The Early History of Krsna Devotion in South India, Delhi, 1983; R. Champakalakshmi, 'From Devotion and Dissent to Dominance: The Bhakti of the Tamil Alvars and Nayanars', Tradition, Dissent and Ideology, ed., S.

Gopal and R. Champakalakshmi, Delhi. 130. Suvira Jaiswal, 'Change and Continuity in Brahmanical Religion', op. cit.,

pp. 3-23.



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