Evolution of Shakti worship in India - A Brief Introduction

Shaktism is a very important religion among the Hindus of the present day all over India. Those who worship the Supreme deity exclusively as the Female Principle are called Shaktas. Shakti is worshipped in various forms and numerous shrines are dedicated to her images in different parts of the country. The Shaktas conceive their Great Goddess as the personification of primordial energy and the source of all divine and cosmic evolution. She is identified with the Supreme Being, conceived as the source and spring as well as the controller of all the forces and potentialities of nature. Nowhere in the religious history of the world do we come across such a completely female-oriented system.¹

Origin of Mother Worship

According to anthropologists, Mother worship with ceremonies and ritualist practices developed as a religious function under a particular social environment based on a predominantly matriarchal social system, where the mother was the central figure or the nucleus of the social structure. Two factors were mainly responsible for this important position of the mother in the primitive society: first, the economic role of women and second, the absence of any rigid law or system of marriage, leaving a wide field for promiscuity. Children, as social entities, had their social description or status mainly with reference to their mother and inheritance was also in the line of the mother. This dominant position of the mother in society made her a symbol, as it were of power, social and economic. It may therefore be presumed that when men of these matriarchal societies, inspired by their primitive emotion of wonder and awe, began to conceive of any higher supernatural being, they conceived it in the image of the mother.²

Mother worship was Universal in ancient world

Belief in some form or the other in the mother goddess is to be found in the good old days of many of the races, Semitic, Hellenic, Teutonic and Nordic alike. But what singles India out in this matter is the continual history of the mother cult from the hoary past down to the modern times, and the way in which the religious consciousness, developing and deepening round this Mother concept, has influenced the thoughts and ideas of the whole nation through the ages.³

God who exists as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the Universe must possess infinite power is a universal belief. But what lends it a specially Indian colour is the dominant tendency of the Indians to view this power or universal energy as something like a female counterpart of the possessor of this power. This power or Shakti, being conceived as a counterpart of the possessor of Shakti came to be recognized frankly as the consort of the possessor. This is responsible for the fact that not only among the Shaktas, but also among the Shaivas and Vaishnavas an important place is occupied by Shakti. There is seldom a god or a semi-god or a demi-god of India of the Puranic age for whom a consort has not been conceived as the inseparable Shakti.⁴

Mother worship during prehistoric and early historic period

Among the objects discovered in Mohenjodaro and Harappa it is interesting to see specimens of the yoni and from this it has been rightly concluded that the cult of the mother-goddess was already prevalent in the Indian continent in the chalcolithic period.⁵ A large number of stone discs, belonging to the period between 2^nd century B.C. and 1^st century A.D. found from Taxila, Kosam, Patna and other historical sites, depict nude figures of the goddess of fertility. To the same period of time have been assigned a few terracotta figurines collected from such widely separated sites as Sarnath, Basarh, Bulandibagh, Kumrahar and other places round about the old sites of Pataliputra, Bhita, Nagari, Samkisa, Kosam and Taxila. They represent females with heavy and exaggerated hips, round and prominent breasts and clearly marked navel and abdomen and seem to be associated with the primitive conception of the Mother-Goddess.⁶

Reference to Goddesses in Vedic literature

During the Rigvedic period we notice more importance attached to male gods and goddesses are conceived either as wives, daughters or the beloved of male gods. Among the goddesses known from Rigveda mention may be made of Usha, Saraswathi, Adhiti, Privthi, etc. Usha was entirely a natural phenomenon and no clear definite anthropomorphic features would be fixed for her. Though a maximum number of hymns are referred to Usha it is difficult to say if this goddess was at all a powerful one as she was dropped from the list of divinities later. The other female goddess Sarasvathi was a river goddess and later she is attached to Brahma and becomes a goddess presiding over knowledge. Also Prithivi or the earth goddess is held in high esteem in the Atharvaveda. However her anthropomorphic form could not be very well determined in the early period. Adithi in the Rigveda is the all-powerful great mother-goddess but during the later period almost goes into oblivion and even in the Vedas she has not been separately assigned any prayers.⁷

In the later Vedic period we find anxiety on the part of the Rishis to find a consort for their gods. This may be considered as the concrete attempt towards the achievement of the idea of Shakti, the feminine energy, as the spouse of a god. As a result Ambika, who is conceived as a sister of Rudra becomes the wife of Shiva who is also a Rudra. Gradually Shiva gained prominence and his spouse Uma became a powerful goddess. We also find the emergence of Durga who is connected with Agni. In the Taittiriya Aranyaka the names of Durga, Vairocani, Katyayini, Kanya Kumari appear in the verses addressed to Agni. Thus it is obvious that during the later Vedic period there was a definite attempt of assimilating some non-Vedic mother-goddess forms.⁸ According to Narendra Nath Bhattacharyya goddesses of the post-Rig Vedic literature like Ambika, Uma, Kali, Durga, etc., were non-Vedic deities later adopted by the Vedic people. The different names of the Mother Goddess appear to have originally indicated different tribal deities who were afterwards identified with the wife of Shiva Pashupati, the non-Vedic god known to have been worshipped by the people of Mohenjodaro.⁹

Reference to Goddesses in the Epics and Puranas

The Mahabharata, Harivamsa and the Puranas tells us that in early times female deities of different forms and names were worshipped in different parts of India by the followers of the Vedas as well as by the Shavaras, Varvaras, Pulindas, Kiratas and many other non-Vedic tribes. These female deities appear in these works generally as divine mothers associated as spouses with particular male gods, but much more prominently as virgin deities sporting on mountain tops and being the sources of origin of the divine mothers. Thus Durgi or Durga, a great mountain goddess associated very often with the Himalayas is called a virgin in early sources such as the Taittiriyaaranyaka and the Mahabharata. Another deity Vindhyavasini also appears as a virgin deity in all works.¹⁰

Worship of Female deities inspired from non-Vedic tribes

It is highly probable that the non-Vedic tribes had a matriarchal system of society and that it was due to this system that the custom of worshipping female deities grew among them. They used to worship their deities by offering them meat, wine and it is highly probable that on these occasions they sacrificed human beings, drank wine, indulged in frantic revels and practised sexual promiscuity. These tribes seem to have worshipped their female deities mainly for protection against ferocious wild beasts and ghosts. They also appear to have believed that these deities were able to protect them in all kinds of danger and to confer on them wealth and prosperity as well as victory in war. Many of the Shakta deities of the Puranas and Tantras like Uma, Kaushiki, Vindhyavasini, Durga, Candi, Kali, Chamunda, Kamakhya, Shakambhari and others were modelled on the popular deities of the aboriginal tribes and those associated with mountains, namely Himalaya and Vindhya.¹¹

None of the names of the different forms of Durga is mentioned in the Vedic Samhitas and the Brahmanas. It was only at a much later date that the aboriginal deities began to be admitted into the Vedic pantheon by a very slow process of assimilation and Uma was the first non-Vedic deity to be regarded as the wife of Rudra.¹²

According to S.K.Tiwari many tribal goddesses were assimilated in the Vedic pantheon over a period of time. For instance Dhartimata or goddess of the earth was a tribal goddess who became Bhudevi and associated with Vishnu-Varaha (Lord Vishnu in the boar form). Similarly Vindhyavasini, the mountain goddess of Vindhyachala and Parvathi, the mountain goddess of Himalaya were later unified in the form of Durga.¹³ The famous Shakti goddess Kamakhya in Assam worshipped in the form of Yoni was the goddess of the Kirata tribe, the Khasis who used to called their goddess as Kamei-kha.¹⁴

Cult of mother-goddess belongs to tantric tradition

According to S.K.Ramachandra Rao, the cults relating to the mother-goddess and female tutelary deities belong to the tantric tradition, the rituals involved in them clearly reveal this background, although symbolism and interpretations have in many cases been borrowed from the Vedic thought structure and were perfected by the staunch votaries of the Vedic tradition.¹⁵ This is also the view of S.K.Tiwari who says that the birthplace of Shaktism and Tantricism, the predominant forms of Hinduism was North-Eastern India or Assam, when there were no ancient Brahmanic settlements, no ancient centres of Vedic learning and Puranic traditions.¹⁶

The actual forms of Shakti and Shakti worship which became popular in the historical period do not appear to have been derived from early Vedic ideas, though the trace of the conception of Shakti may be found in the early Vedic literature. The various iconographic forms of the Mother-Goddess, the reference to their dwelling in the caves, all point out to the indebtedness of the Hindu cult of Shakti to the beliefs and practices of non-Vedic or non-Brahmanic peoples living in the forests and hilly regions of the country.¹⁷

Concept of Supreme Goddess Shakti culminated in Puranic period

As indicated in the archeological excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro and the literary works of the Vedic period, the worship of female deities in India goes back to a remote past, but the conception of a central goddess Devi as Shakti, to whom all other female deities were affiliated as her parts or incarnations, and the compilation of Puranic works dealing with her praise, nature, exploits and worship were matters of comparatively late ages. The Shakta Upapuranas like Devi Purana, Kalika Purana, Devi-bhagavata, Bhagavati Purana, Chandi Purana, Mahabhagavata, Devirahasya, etc., are all the works of comparatively late days.¹⁸

The conception of Shakti was fully discussed in the Puranas and many legends were imagined to explain the entry of the mother-goddess cult in various Hindu sects.¹⁹ The culmination of the Shakti conception is found in the Devimahatmya section of the Markandeya Purana. Sri, Durga, Candi, Annapurna, Jagaddhatri, etc., are some of the names of the mother-goddess Shakti. These names may represent different local goddesses fused into one Supreme Mother-Goddess. They are explained also as representing different attributes of the great Mother-Goddess.²⁰

Sri Shankaracharya and the Shakti cult

The Shakta philosophy and rituals, expounded in Kashmir tantric works like Candrakala-Vidyastaka and Shubhagama Pancaka and in Gaudapada’s Subhagodaya relate to what is compendiously known as Sri Vidya or Brahmavidya, which is rather the practical course or sadhanasastra not only of the monism of the Upanishads, but also to a large extent of the final liberation expounded in the Tamil Shaiva philosophy known as Siddhantha.²¹

The worship of Devi (Shakti) was one among the six forms of saguna worship approved and propagated by Sri Shankaracharya. In the Saundaryalahari, he expounds Her greatness and Her identity with the Atman or Brahman. In all the advaita monasteries founded by Shankaracharya and his successors, the mystic secrets fo Sri Vidya and the worship of Sri Chakra are kept alive to this day. At Sringeri, one of the four oldest seats of the monastic order founded by Shankaracharya, the presiding deity Sharada Devi, who is enthroned on a Sri Chakra, symbolises the highest knowledge, ‘the knowledge of the Self’. Tradition ascribes to Shankaracharya and other seers the installation of the Sri Chakra in important temples. The most celebrated is that in the Kamakshi temple at Kanchi.²² But S.K.Ramachandra Rao says that the authorship of the Saundaryalahari is wrongly ascribed to Shankaracharya and he was entirely ignorant of Sri Chakra. It is probable that Vidyaranya who is regarded as a teacher in Shankaracharya’s line was proficient in the Sri Chakra cult. Associated with the founding of Vijayanagara Empire and with two pontificates, Sringeri and Kanchipuram he was a great spiritual, social and political force in south India. It may be due to his influence that the Sri Vidya cult spread in this part of the country.²³

Antiquity of Durga worship

The worship of Durga has prevailed from ancient times and she was worshipped under various names and aspects. The Mahabharata (Virataparva and Bhishmaparva) contains two hymns addressed to Durga in which she is stated to be Vindhyavasini and found of blood and wine.²⁴ In Mahabharata (Vanaparva), Durga is described as the daughter of Yasoda and Nanda and the sister of Vasudeva (Krishna). In Mahabharata (Bhishmaparva), there is reference to the different names of Durga like Kumari, Kali, Bhadrakali, Candi, Uma, Katyayani, etc. But as the dates from these passages in the Mahabharata are far from certain, no chronological conclusion can be stated. Literary works and coins supply some firm data about the antiquity of the Durga cult. References to Durga and her exploits are found in the works of Kalidasa. If we hold that Kalidasa flourished between 350-450 A.D. then it is quite probable that the worship of Durga may go back some centuries before 300 A.D. The evidence of coins lends support to this conclusion. A Simhavahini goddess is seen on the reverse of the coins of Chandragupta I of the Gupta dynasty (about 305-325 A.D.). On a coin of Kushana king Kanishka there is a figure of a goddess seated on a lion which is probably Durga and this shows that She was worshipped even earlier during first or second century A.D.²⁵

Durga worship in South India

The form of Durga standing on the severed head of a buffalo is described in the Silappadikaram while the story of Sakkravalakkottam in the Manimekalai we hear about a temple of Durga. From this it appears that even in the pre-Pallava days temples for Durga were built in Tamilnadu.²⁶ Among the numerous sculptures that stand as monuments to the cultural greatness of the Pallava and Pandya rule from 7^th to 9^th century A.D., are the panels, representing Mahishamardini, carved in monolithic and cave temples of south India. The members of the famous medieval trading corporation Aihole-500 were worshippers of Bhagavati Durga in whose honour they erected temple in different parts of the Deccan and south India.²⁷ The structural temple of the goddess Durga at Aihole was erected by the Chalukyan kings who ruled between 550-642 A.D. We also find a figure of Durga slaying Mahishasura in cave number one at Badami. At Ellora in Rameshvar cave there is a carving of Durga slaying Mahishasura which probably belongs to 650 A.D.²⁸

With the rise of the Cholas under Vijayala (850-870 A.D.) the cult of Durga entered a new phase in south India. The Tiruvalangadu Plates of Rajendra Chola says that Vijayala built a temple of Nishumbhamardini at Tanjore, and this aspect of Durga appears to have been popular during the early days of Chola period. This representation is found even in miniature bas-reliefs of many temple found in Tanjore district of Tamilnadu.²⁹ In the Shiva temples of the early Chola period, a separate sub-shrine was assigned to Durga and in the later epochs, she was generally represented with four arms and standing on the head of Mahisha in a shrine or niche to the north of the sanctum.³⁰

Ugra (ferocious) and Sowmya (gentle) goddesses

The Shakti cult has two aspects, the dynamic or the ferocious aspects and the benign or the beneficent aspect. In her ferocious aspect, she is differently called Chandi, Kali, Chamunda, Sati, etc.³¹ The ferocious or Ugra incarnations of Shakti are goddesses who are by nature black and dreadful and are always performing fearful and war like actions, killing the awful enemies of the humanity at large and safeguards their devotees interests. These deities are found of meat and wine and bali is an essential feature of their worship.³²

In her benign aspect Shakti is known as Bhavani, Vijaya, Devi, Uma, Gauri, etc.³³ These goddesses have a very charming personality and graceful character. They always help the people to have all their desires achieved and treat their devotees with motherly affection. These goddesses are offered vegetarian meal.³⁴

Goddesses known for their brilliance

Some of the Goddesses like Bala Tripurasundari, Saubhagyabhuvaneshvari, Annapurna, Gayatri, Sarasvati, Lalita, Mukambika and Rajarajeshwari are described as mild and extremely beautiful and of dazzling brilliance.³⁵

Goddesses related to Vishnu

There are some incarnations of Shakti related to Vishnu. Sometimes she incarnated to help him or as a consort of his incarnation. All these are benign goddesses like Vaishnavi, Radha, Mahalakshmi, Yogamaya Mahamaya, etc., work for the welfare of the world.³⁶

Folk goddesses

Folk goddesses called as Yoginis are associated with the fearful forms of Devi and are worshipped with bali. These Yoginis are sometimes represented as eight fairies or sorceresses created by Durga and sometimes as mere forms of Durga, 60 or 65 in number and capable of being multiplied to the number of ten millions.³⁷

Saptamatrikas

Another type of goddesses are the Saptamatrikas or seven mothers who according to Devi Purana are very kind like the human mothers, specially for the children.³⁸ The names of these goddesses are Brahmi, Maheshvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Mahendri and Chamunda. Sometimes with Mahalakshmi they are counted as eight mothers.³⁹

Village goddesses

Almost every village in south India has a shrine for village goddesses whose worship is generally performed by non-Brahmins. Besides animal sacrifices, some of the peculiar ceremonies which take place in these temples are fire-walking, lashing oneself with a whip, piercing a metallic wire right through the tongue or through the sides of the mouth, carrying on head, the Karagam (decorated pot), lamps of ghee, or earthen pots with blazing fire in them. In honour of these deities, annual festivals called jatras are held.⁴⁰

The historical development of the Shakti cult appears to draw much from non-Vedic and pre-Vedic sources of religious traditions. But the ingenuity and speculative genius of the Brahmanas succeeded in grafting the religious beliefs on the non-Brahmanic and non-Vedic people on the stem of Vedic religion or philosophy. The study of the evolution of Shakti worship in India gives another proof of the assimilative character of the ancient Indian religion.⁴¹

Reference

1. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya – History of Shakta Religion, Munshiram Manoharlal Publisher Pvt Ltd, 1974, p.1

2. Shashi Bhusan Das Gupta – Aspects of Indian Religious Thought, A.Mukherjee & Co Pvt Ltd, Calcutta, 1957, pp: 43,44

3. Ibid, pp: 42,43

4. Ibid, pp: 74,75,76

5. V.R.Ramachandra Dikshitar – The Lalita Cult, University of Madras, 1942, p.37

6. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya – Op.Cit, p. 49

7. B.P.Sinha – Evolution of Shakti worship in India, D.C.Sircar Edited, The Sakti cult and Tara, University of Calcutta, 1960, pp: 47,48,49

8. Ibid, p. 50

9. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya – Op.Cit, p. 31

10. R.C.Hazra – Studies in the Upapuranas, vol II, Sanskrit College, Calcutta, 1963, p. 17

11. Ibid, pp: 18,19,20

12. Ibid, p. 21

13. S.K.Tiwari – Tribal Roots of Hinduism, Sarup & Sons, New Delhi, 2002, p .128

14. Ibid, p .132

15. S.K.Ramachandra Rao- Sri Vidya Kosha, Sri Satguru Publications, New Delhi, 2000, p. 178

16. S.K.Tiwari, Op.Cit, p.133

17. B.P.Sinha, Op.Cit, p. 51

18. R.C.Hazra, Op.Cit, p.1

19. B.P.Sinha, Op.Cit, p. 52

20. Ibid, p.54

21. K.R.Venkataraman – Sakti Cult in South India, Haridas Bhattacharyya, Editor, The Cultural Heritage of India, vol- IV, The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, 1956, p. 255

22. Ibid, p.256

23. S.K.Ramachandra Rao, Op.Cit, pp: 179,180

24. P.V.Kane – History of Dharmasastra, vol-2, part-2, BORI, Poona, 1941, p. 738

25. P.V.Kane – History of Dharmasastra, vol-5, part-I, BORI, Poona, 1958, pp: 185,186

26. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya – Op.Cit, p. 83

27. K.R.Venkataraman – Sakti Cult in South India, Op.Cit, pp: 252,253

28. Narendra Nath Bhattacharya – Op.Cit, pp: 82,83

29. Ibid, p.100

30. K.R.Venkataraman – Sakti Cult in South India, Op.Cit, p. 253

31. T.V.Mahalingam – The cult of Sakti in Tamilnadu, D.C.Sircar Edited, The Sakti cult and Tara, University of Calcutta, 1960, p. 17

32. Pushpendra Kumar – Sakti Cult in Ancient India (with special reference to the Puranic literature), Bhartiya Publishing House, Varanasi, 1974, p. 260

33. T.V.Mahalingam, Op.Cit, p. 17

34. Pushpendra Kumar, Op.Cit, p. 241

35. H.Krishna Sastri – South Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses, Madras Government Press, 1916, 218,220

36. Pushpendra Kumar, Op.Cit, pp: 236,237,239

37. Ibid, p. 236

38. Ibid, p. 235

39. H.Krishna Sastri, Op.Cit, p. 190

40. Ibid, pp: 223,226,227

41. B.P.Sinha, Op.Cit, pp: 54, 55

Also see

https://ithihas.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/tantra-a-brief-introduction-part-ii/

https://ithihas.wordpress.com/2018/02/05/tantra-a-brief-introduction-part-iii/

Sri Basaveshwara - Founder of Protestant Hinduism

Basaveshwara (1131-1168 A.D.), born in Bagevadi in Bijapur district of Karnataka State in India was the founder of the Lingayat/Veerashaiva religion. The aspirations which every generation across the world cherish like social justice, female emancipation, dignity of labour, equality in laws, a democratic society built on rational ideals were all foreseen by Basaveshwara way back in the 12^th century A.D., when he launched a socio-religious movement to built a society based on the above ideals.

Devotee par excellence

Sri Basaveshwara was called Bhakti Bhandari by his followers and such was his devotion to God that in one of his vachanas he asks Kudalasangamadeva to make him lame so that he may not wander here and there, to make him blind so that his eyes do not stray, to make him deaf, so that he may not hear any thing to keep him from desiring another thing, except the feet of the Lord. In another vachana he says – “O Lord, make me a parrot in this worldly forest and put me in the cage of devotion and make me utter Shiva, Shiva”. He compares worldly life to a lamp exposed to blowing wind and wealth to a gathering of crowd in a market place. Don't trust them and worship Kudalasangamadeva, he urges.

Basaveshwara’s religion based on equality and fraternity

Basaveshwara preached equality and said that there is none lesser than me and none greater than the devotees of Shiva. He declares that man’s worth should be judged not by his birth but by his thoughts and deeds, by his conduct and character. In one of his vachana he says - “ The earth which is the home of untouchables and temples is one and the same. The water which is used for washing dirt and ablution is one and the same. Similarly for those who worship Kudalasangamadeva, caste is one and the same for all ”. In another vachana he says - “One who kills is a Madiga (name of an untouchable caste), one who eats filth is a Holeya (name of an untouchable caste). For Shivasharanas (devotees of Shiva), who wish good for all creatures, all are of higher castes”.

Mediators have no role in Basaveshwara’s religion

To Basaveshwara, the temple represented institutionalism of the rich and the bigoted. He and his colleagues categorically stated that no Veerashaiva should build a temple, nor should he enter a temple as God in the form of Ishta-Linga was on one’s own body and He resided in one’s heart in His true form. In one of his vachana Basaveshwara says- “Those who have money build temples. What can I build being a poor man. My legs are its pillar, my head its golden pinnacle. There is destruction for what stands still but not for that which moves”. Thus Basaveshwara was able to do away with temple-cult and priest-craft which had become the centres and means of exploitation. Condemning those who would pay and get worship done by others, Basaveshwara in one of his vachana says – “Can the pleasure of one’s mating and eating one’s food be assigned to another? The daily ritual worship of one’s Linga is to be done by oneself. Can this be assigned to another? Those who do it casually do they know you Kudalasangamadeva”.

Basaveshwara’s religion based on high moral standards

Love of mankind, pity for mankind, pity indeed for all life was the central fact of Basaveshwara’s religious teachings. Compassion was the base of his religion as evidenced by his vachana which says- “Lord without compassion can there be any religion? There must be compassion for all creatures as compassion itself is the root of religion. Anything otherwise is unacceptable to Kudalasangamadeva”. Basaveshwara denounced meaningless rituals and taught simple and sensible practices conducive to a clean and good life. He gave the highest priority to unimpeachable character, an upright conduct, politeness, abstaining from violence, speaking truth, pleasing manners and clean habits.

Similarities between Basaveshwara and other prophets of ancient India

Ancient India had seen the rise of various religious movements led by prophets like Sri Krishna, Buddha and Mahavira. Though the time gap between these prophets referred above and Basaveshwara are centuries apart there are a lot of similarities between the teachings of Basaveshwara and that of the teachings of Sri Krishna, Buddha and Mahavira.

Krishna’s Nishkamakarma and Basaveshwara’s Kayaka

Karma marga or nishkamakarma that is action without desire or expectation is one of among different paths to obtain salvation as enunciated by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Sri Krishna stressed the importance of performance of duty in a detached way. So also to Basaveshwara kayaka was work done with absolute detachment and to fulfill the needs of both the individual and the society. He was of the view that no individual should be a burden to the society and everyone should take up some job of his choice and perform it sincerely. The shivasharanas of the Veerashaiva movement followed different professions. Machayya was a washer man, Muddaiah was a cultivator, Ramanna was a cowherd, Sangaiya was a hunter, Chennayya a shoe maker and Maraiya was a firewood seller. It was from the contribution from the shivasharanas that Basaveshwara used to arrange dasoha (lunch) for the jangamas, who were liberated souls moving from place to place to preach Lingayat philosophy. In Basaveshwara’s concept of kayaka no occupation was superior or inferior to another and it was honesty and sincerity which decided the merit of the means of livelihood.

Means to secure the grace of God

Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita chapter 13, verse seven says that one attains supreme bliss if he does not have pride, is free from hypocrisy, non-violent, has forbearance, uprightness of speech and mind and control over senses. Similarly Basaveshwara said that internal and external purification can happen if one abstains from injuring others, getting angry, speaking untruth, despising or criticizing others and praising oneself and this was the key to secure the grace of God.

Basaveshwara followed the footsteps of Buddha by instructing his doctrines through vernacular

Buddha explained his simple doctrines in Pali, the language of the people and it attracted the masses as spiritual truths were made available to them in the language understandable to them. Similarly the mystics and reformers of the Veerashaiva movement sought for a popular medium for their self-expression as well as for the spread of the tenets of the new faith. Thus arose the vast literature in simple and forceful Kannada prose known as vachana literature. Basaveshwara according to Masti Venkatesh Iyengar made the first great effort in Karnataka to employ the mother tongue of the people for original statements of high thought and religion.

Denied intermediaries between bhakta and God

According to Buddha neither a sacrifice to gods can wash away sin or any prayer of a priest. Hence the intercession of the priestly class was futile for a man to change his destiny. The same view was shared by Basaveshwara who said that worship is a personal communion between the devotee and the god. There should be no mediator between the Linga and Bhakta and to arrange worship done by others in temples has no virtue.

Ahimsa and Vegetarianism

One of the cardinal principles of Jainism is ahimsa or non-violence. All objects, animate or inanimate possess life and feel pain on the infliction of injuries. Therefore Jainism stresses the need of non-injury to any kind of living being however low may be the state of its evolution. The same principle was upheld by Basaveshwara and love and compassion were the watch-words of his philosophy and religion. Like Jains, the Lingayats abhor meat eating and are strict vegetarians.

Empowerment of Women

Apart from the similarities of ideals which Basaveshwara had with the earlier religious reformers of ancient India, we find the movement led by Basaveshwara addressing various socio-religious issues not dealt with by the above religious reformers. For instance, for the first time in the history of the world, women were given an important place in religious and social life. Unlike the leaders of other religious faiths Basaveshwara did not consider women as an obstacle for spiritual advancement or preached celibacy for spiritual aspirants. Hence we find way back in the 12th century A.D. subaltern women discussing and debating in public forums with men and their sayings (vachanas) recorded for posterity. Some of the women who were associated with the shivasharana movement were Akkamahadevi, Akkanagamma, Sommavve, Ranimahadevi, Muktayakka, Kalavve, Bonthadevi, Guddavve and Thayamma.

Originator of Self-respect Movement

Another revolutionary aspect of Basaveshwara’s movement was to infuse a high level of self-confidence to its adherents. Whatever may be their vocation or caste affiliation, once a person became a Veerashaiva, his confidence level was amplified and he considered himself inferior to none. Madivala Machayya a Veerashaiva was a fiery man and was not afraid of even the king. It is said that he refused to wash the clothes of the royal family and walked in the streets of Kalyana sounding a bell and announcing that he would punish any bhavi (non-Veerashaiva) who touched him. This act of Machayya was in retaliation for a rule imposed on untouchables who were expected to announce their arrival in the town by some kind of signaling. In one of his vachanas Basaveshwara says that none is inferior to him and no one is superior to a Shiva bhakti. Hence becoming a Veerashaiva meant leveling of one’s status in a hierarchical society.

Both Basaveshwara and Ambedkar favoured Upanishads to Vedas

According to Basava a man’s worth should be judged not by his birth but by his thoughts and deeds, by his conduct and character. He condemned the caste ridden society and raised his voice of protest against the fourfold division of the Hindu society. While accepting the truth revealed in the Upanishads, Basaveshwara vehemently protested against the rituals prescribed in the Vedas and the priest-craft responsible for it. He defied the varnashrama dharma and supported the marriage of the daughter of Madhuvarasa, a Brahmin with the son of Haralayya, a Dalit.

Similarly in a prepared speech to be delivered at the 1936 Annual Conference of the Jat-Pat-Todak Mandal of Lahore, Babasaheb Ambedkar said that the Hindu religion, as contained in the Vedas and the smritis, is nothing but a mass of sacrificial, social, political and sanitary rules and regulations, all mixed up. What is called religion by the Hindus is nothing but a multitude of commands and prohibitions. If Hinduism has to become a true religion, in the sense of spiritual principles, truly universal, applicable to all races, to all countries, to all times, it should have a new doctrinal basis —a basis that will be in consonance with liberty, equality and fraternity, in short, with democracy. But I am told that for such religious principles as will be in consonance with liberty, equality and fraternity it may not be necessary for you to borrow from foreign sources and that you could draw for such principles on the Upanishads. Ambedkar while mentioning the names of Ramanujacharya and Kabir as persons who had worked for the abolition of caste and untouchability has not made any reference to Basaveshwara. Probably he was not aware of the teachings of Basava and his religion; may be due to lack of translation of Basaveshwara’s works in other languages especially English. If Ambedkar had been aware of the tenets of Basava dharma, he would surely have embraced the Lingayat religion.

According to P.B.Desai, Basaveshwara was an unyielding advocate of social reform, a courageous fighter against orthodoxy, ignorance and vested interests, a relentless crusader against shams and superstitions, an upholder of dignity of man, a champion of equality of persons with faith and character, an establisher of a new religious and social order, a literary genius, a mystic and a saint who fulfilled his mission and left a trail of its flame for the enlightenment of posterity. Dasoha or free feeding and establishment of mutts for imparting education are some of the legacy of the Veerashaiva movement led by Basaveshwara.

Sri Krishna’s role in the decline of the Vedic cult

A historical survey of religious cults in India shows that after a period of flourish, many cults were discarded or replaced by a new cult or assimilated and amalgamated into a more robust form of belief and system of worship.¹ One such cult which lost its significance over a period of time was the Indra cult and Sri Krishna played an important role in its decline.

Characteristics of Indra and his cult

A human hero, Indra attained godhead by virtue of his miraculous exploits.² Indra represented mainly valour and force, but he combines with those traits certain others, which one would not like to associate with the idea of the divine. Thus he is vain and boastful and is found of an intoxicating drink, Soma.³

In Indra cult or Vedic religion, powers of nature like fire, wind, sun, etc., were personified and hymns addressing these gods were uttered while offering materials like milk, grain and ghee to them. The motive was to secure the objects of ordinary desire-children, cattle, etc., or to get one’s enemy out of the way. Later this childlike worship gave way to an organised hieratic sacrificial cult.⁴

Sri Krishna's cult - A reaction against the barren excesses of the Vedas

As a reaction against the barren excesses of the Vedas, Sri Krishna started a new cult also known as Bhagavatism and was one of the reform movements started against the domination of the Brahmins and the sacrifices performed by them. Dr. Bhandarkar holds the opinion that the cult of Vasudeva (Krishna) was formed from the same intellectual ferment which produced Buddhism and Jainism, but it was a religious reform. It repudiated the slaughter of animals and the inefficiency of the sacrificial ritual and advocated the path of devotion as the way of salvation. This cult which was flourishing in the fourth B.C. was essentially a Kshatriya movement and was not much favoured by the Brahmins.⁵

Evidence to the fall of Indra and rise of Krishna

From the days of Rigveda, a festival of Indra connected with his worship was celebrated wherein a pole (Indra dhvaja) bearing an image of Indra was exhibited. This is referred in Rig Veda, Ramayana, Mahabharata and also Silappadhikaram, a Tamil epic.⁶ In Harivamsa, it is said that Sri Krishna challenged the utility of observing the festival in honour of Indra and pleads for a worship of the Hills and the Woods- which are the grazing grounds for the cattle. Krishna initiates a new form of worship-Giri yajna, a sacrifice in honour of the wooded hill Govardhana. Indra who was enraged at this insult creates a furious shower of rain, storm and thunder. Krishna is said to have uprooted the hill and held it aloft by his right hand and provided cover from the elements. Indra after having watched the miracle of the lifting of the Govardhana hill and saving the cattle came and paid respects to Krishna.⁷

Reference to the above story is also found in Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Vishnu Purana and Srimad Bhagavata.⁸ This incident is also represented in art and can be found in a relief dated third century A.D. in the Mathura Museum and at Krishna Mandapa cave at Mahabalipuram, dated 7th century A.D. to cite a few.⁹

According to Dhirendra Nath Pal, this incident might be an allegory signifying that the Indra worshippers finding their god slighted attacked the Gopas and made an attempt to destroy their new sacrifice and that Krishna in this armed attack protected the hill on which the Gopas took shelter.¹⁰

Bhagavad Gita questions the efficacy of Vedas

Sri Krishna not only challenged the utility of observing the festival of Indra but also questioned the efficacy of performing Vedic rites to attain moksha (liberation). He states that the practice of Vedic rites does not lead to liberation (Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2, verses 42,43). He also says that performance of Vedic rituals give finite results whereas by meditating upon him (Krishna), one gets final liberation(Bhagavad Gita, chapter 9, verses 20,21,22). Unlike Vedic rites which are performed with an intention to get a desired result, Krishna says that action should be performed without any attachments (Bhagavad Gita, chapter 3, verse 28).

Indra- Symbol of Vedic religion

About 250 out of the 1028 Rigvedic hymns are exclusively devoted to the glorification of Indra. Apart from these hymns, there are several others, wherein he is praised in association with other gods or is referred to in some other connection in the Rigveda. As the most popular god of the Vedic pantheon Indra has always been regarded as the very symbol of the official Vedic religion- the Indra mythology being very nearly identified with the Vedic religion as a whole.¹¹ Hence Indra’s ignominious fall shows the wane of the Vedic religion.

Vedic Brahmins animosity against Sri Krishna’s religion

The Vedic Brahmins had contempt towards the Bhagavatas (who were also referred as Satvatas¹² and Pancaratris) as they worshiped images and lived upon the offerings for initiation and those made to temple gods. They did not perform the Vedic duties and had no relationship with the Brahmins and so they (Bhagavatas) were not regarded as Brahmins by the Vedic Brahmins. It was considered that even by the sight of a man who takes to worship as a means to livelihood is polluted and should be purified by proper purificatory ceremonies. The Vedic Brahmins also regarded the Pancharatra texts adopted by the Bhagavatas as invalid and non-Vedic.¹³

The Vedic definition of dharma was quite different from that of the Bhagavatas. Dharma according to Bhagavata Purana (the devotional literature of the Bhagavatas) consists in the worship of God without any ulterior motive- a worship performed with a perfect sincerity of heart by men who are kindly disposed towards all and who have freed themselves from all feeling of jealousy.¹⁴ This interpretation of dharma by the Bhagavatas was superior to the Vedic definition of dharma which could produce only sense gratification of various kinds.¹⁵

Hence Medhatithi, the commentator on Manu Smriti discards not only Buddhism and Jainism as being outside the true Vedic dharma but also the followers of Pancaratra (Bhagavatas) and the Pasupatas as well. He held that their (Bhagavatas) teachings are directly contrary to the mandates of the Vedas and as an illustration he points out that the Bhagavatas considered all kinds of injury to living beings to be sinful, which directly contradicts the Vedic sanctions to sacrifice animals at particular sacrifices. According to him injury to living beings is not itself sinful but only such injury is sinful as is prohibited by the Vedic injunctions. So the customs and practices of all systems of religion which are not based on the teaching of the Vedas are to be discarded as not conforming to dharma.¹⁶ Another reason for the Vedic Brahmins to denounce the Bhagavatas was due to the latter initiating and admitting within their sect even women and sudras.¹⁷

As the popularity of Krishna rose, his opponents tried to defame him by creating stories like Krishna marrying 16,000 maidens and by even interpolating the Bhagavad Gita wherein Krishna is made to declare that he created the four castes.

Bhagavad Gita – Bed-rock of Hindu philosophy

Today Sri Krishna is the most highly esteemed religious prophet among the Hindus and his teachings are contained in the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma-Sutras technically known as the three prasthanas- form the bedrock of Vedanta philosophy. According to Hindu tradition, a philosopher or sage seeking to preach a new doctrine must gain his support from the above three texts which alone are the valid authorities on super-sensuous truths.¹⁸

^Reference

1. O.C.Gangoly – Indra cult versus Krsna cult, Journal of the Ganganath Jha Research Institute, vol vii, November, 1949, part -I, p.1

2. R.N.Dandekar – Vedic Mythological Tracts, Ajanta Publications, Delhi, 1979, p.162

3. M.Hiriyanna – The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1949, p.11

4. M.Hiriyanna – The Essentials of Indian Philosophy , pp:10,11 and Outlines of Indian Philosophy, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London, 1949, p.35

5. N.Luniya- Life and Culture in Ancient India, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, Agra, p.213

6. O.C.Gangoly – Op.Cit, pp:45

7. Ibid, pp: 7-10

8. Ibid, pp: 12-15

9. Ibid, pp: 20,21

10. Dhirendra Nath Pal- Sri Krishna- His Life and Teachings, Published by C.C.Basak, The Research Home, Calcutta, 1923, pp:60,61

11. R.N.Dandekar – Op.Cit, p.141

12. “The Satvatas are counted by Manu as a low caste people born from outcast Vaishyas and not entitled to the holy thread. The Satvatas were of course regarded as the same as Bhagavatas, and their chief duties consisted of worshipping in Vishnu temples by the order of the king. They also repaired or constructed temples and images for their living and were therefore regarded as outcast.” Surendranath Dasgupta-History of Indian Philosophy, vol- II, Cambridge University Press, 1952, p.546

13. Surendranath Dasgupta – A History of Indian Philosophy, vol-iii, Cambridge University Press, 1952, p.15

14. Surendranath Dasgupta – A History of Indian Philosophy, vol-iv, Cambridge University Press, 1961, p.10

15. Ibid, p.11

16. Ibid, p.7

17. Surendranath Dasgupta – A History of Indian Philosophy, vol-iii, pp: 19,20

18. Swami Nikhilananda – The Bhagavad Gita, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre, November 1944, p.2

Rishis of Ancient India

 Sayana connects the word rishi with drsh (to see) and says that the Veda, which was beyond the scope of sense-perception, was revealed first to the sages through the favour of God. As the sages were the first ‘to see’ the Veda, they are called rishis.¹ The Rigvedic hymns were composed mainly by rishis like Grtsamada, Vishwamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bhradvaja, Vasistha and Kanva and their family members.² The only factor that distinguished the rishis from the general citizens were their special poetic gift, their ability to see things beyond what the general people were able to see. As such, the word rishis in Vedic tradition came to mean ‘one who can see’.³ Therefore, a rishi was an inspired poet or sage to whom the hymns of the Vedas were revealed.⁴

Followers of Nivrttidharma and Pravrttidharma

The Mahabharata presents two sets of seven rishis said to have expounded two kinds of values. One set of seven rishis, viz., Sana, Sanatasujata, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatakumara, Kapila and Sanatana are said to be the spiritual sons of Brahma, who follow the religion of renunciation (nivrtti dharma). They are the foremost of all persons conversant with Yoga and have profound knowledge of Samkhya philosophy. They are the teachers of the scriptures on duty and it is they who introduced the dharma of liberation.⁵

The other seven rishis namely, Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha, known conjointly as Citrashikhandins are said to be the preceptors of the Veda and the followers of the world-affirming dharma (pravrtti dharma).⁶ The sages who followed the pravrttidharma were called agnihotrins and were householders. They re-establish the shrinking dharma in every age by the powers of their penance, learning and established usages. They are said to perish at the time of dissolution because of their worldly activities.⁷

Categories of Rishis

There were three categories of sages, namely Brahmarishis, Devarishis and Rajarishis. Also, five classes of sages were enumerated, like the mind-born sons of Brahma, Maharishis, Rishis, Rishikas and Mantravadins. It is not clear whether the group of seven sages formed a separate class. Most probably they were the same as the mind-born sons of Brahma also referred to as Prajapatis. They are also mentioned as Maharishis and probably were the same as Brahmarishis who were the first in the three categories of sages mentioned above.⁸

Brahmarishis

The Brahmarishis were concerned mostly with divine knowledge, deep learning and ethical conduct. They enrich the store of knowledge in order to enhance the spiritual well- being of the people. They were highly proficient in the doctrine of Brahman.⁹ It is stated that only in the five gotras, namely, Kashyapa, Vasishtha, Bhrgu, Angiras and Atri are the Brahmarishis born. It is for their knowledge of the Vedas, their birth and tapas that they are well-known. They are superior to Devarishis and Rajarishis.¹⁰

Devarishis

The Devarishis were those who had reached the god’s status by their knowledge and establishing communion with the Divine Being.¹¹ They were inferior to Brahmarishis but were superior to Rajarishis. The descendants of Dharma, Pulastya, Kratu, Pulaha, Prabhasa and Kashyapa were known as Devarishis. Their ultimate goal was the Devaloka. Nara, Narayana, Parvata and Narada, etc., are mentioned as Devarishis.¹²

Rajarishis

The kings who composed hymns were regarded as Rajarishis or Rajanyaarishis.¹³ They are mostly born in the vamsas or families of Manava and Aida. Their ultimate goal is Indraloka. Among the Rajarishis were kings like Janamejaya, Anga, Somadhi, Jahnu, Divodasa, Yayati, Kartavirya Arjuna, Janaka, etc.¹⁴

Saptarishis

In the Shatapata Brahmana there is reference to Saptarishis or seven rishis also called Prajapatis (mind-born sons of Brahma) and they were Gotama, Bharadwaja, Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, Kashyapa and Atri. The names of the Saptarishis given in the Mahabharata are Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vasishta.¹⁵

Gotrarishis

All Brahmins are supposed to be descended from Brahma and legend says that when Brahma made a sacrifice, seven Brahma rishis emerged from it and they were Bhrigu, Angiras, Marici, Atri, Pulaha, Pulastya and Vasishtha. Pulaha gave birth to Rakshasas and Pulastya to Pishachas while Vasishtha died and appears as a descendant of Marici. Thus, all existing Brahmanas are the descendants of the first four rishis. From the first four rishis appear eight rishis known as gotrakaras or family finders and they are Jamadagni (a descendant of Bhrigu), Bharadvaja and Gotama (descendants of Angiras), Kashyapa, Vasishtha and Agastya (descendants of Marici), Atri and Vishwamitra (descendants of Atri).¹⁶

Subsequent to the formation of the above eight families ten more families came into existence. They consist of those Brahmanas who once followed the profession of Kshtriyas (warriors) became again Brahmanas and followed either Bhrigu or Angiras. They were Vitahavya, Mitrayu, Shunaka, Vena, Rathitara, Mudgala, Vishnurviddha, Harita, Kanva and Sankriti.¹⁷

The formation of the Gotra lineage of the Brahmanas after the Vedic rishis establishes the fact that the later Brahmanas became the representatives of the rishis of by-gone days. The inheritance of the rishi tradition seems to be also one of the factors which made the Brahmanas the intellectual leaders of the society.¹⁸

Paramarishis

The Paramarishis were experts in sacrifice and promulgators of the Padmavidhi in sacrifice. Sanatkumara is the chief of the Paramarishis and they are said to reside in Prayaga.¹⁹

Shrutarishis

The Shrutarishis hear the highest and hence the title. They are so called because they know the path of knowledge by penance etc., as described in the Upanishads.²⁰

Viprarishis

The Viprarishis were those Brahmanas who were engaged in discharging proper duties as enjoined upon by the law-givers. In earlier times they used to recite Kathas and Gathas and came to belong to the Samavedic branch.²¹

Representatives of the Vedic thought

The rishis who represented the Vedic current of thought, sponsored the Indra-cult, recited prayers, performed homas and lived a full social life of a householder. The rishi-hood was not a monopoly of any particular class or sect. Many of the Rig Vedic rishis were poets, priests and warriors combined. Nor rishi-hood restricted to the male sex and several rishikas like Vishvavara, Ghosha, etc., distinguished themselves by their writings. The rishis played a very significant role in the religious, social, political and literary history of ancient India.²²

The characteristics of rishis who represented the glorious past and were closely connected with the ritualistic culture, changed considerably on account of the impact of the Muni-Shramana tradition and more positively by the presence of the Upanishadic trend.²³

Reference

1. V.G.Rahurkar – The Seers of the RGVeda, University of Poona, 1964, p. xiii

2. C.Kunhan Raja – Vedas: A Cultural Study, Andhra University, Waltair, 1957, pp: 44-47

3. Ibid, p. 41

4. John Dowson – A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History and Literature, London, 1897, p. 268

5. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Brahmanas in Ancient India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, 1979, pp: 66,67

6. Ibid

7. S.G.Kantawala – A Note on Rsis, Journal of the Oriental Institute, Vol-vii, 1957-58, Baroda, p. 62

8. D.R.Patil – Cultural History from the Vayu Purana, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Poona, 1946, pp:21,22

9. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, p. 132

10. D.R.Patil – Op.Cit, p.22

11. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, p. 132

12. D.R.Patil – Op.Cit, p.22

13. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, p.5

14. D.R.Patil – Op.Cit, p.22

15. John Dowson – Op.Cit, p. 268

16. P. Chentsal Rao – The Principles of Pravara and Gotra, Mysore, 1900, p.ii

17. Ibid, p. iii

18. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, p. 5

19. S.G.Kantawala – Op.Cit, p.65

20. Ibid, p.66

21. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, p. 132

22. V.G.Rahurkar – Op.Cit, pp: xv,xvi

23. Govind Prasad Upadhyay – Op.Cit, pp: 131, 132