A brief note on the Bharadvaja clan

Bharadvaja is one among the saptarishis mentioned in the Shatapata Brahmana. Though a descendant of Angiras, Bharadvaja is also considered one among the gotra rishis. The Bharadvajas were descendants of a seer Bharadvaja, son of Brhaspati and a descendant of Angiras. The original habitant of the Bharadvajas was on the banks of river Saraswati.

Followers of the Pushan cult

Besides attending to the services of the high gods of the Vedic pantheon, namely, Indra, Agni and Soma, the Bharadvajas cherished and adhered to a distinct cult of Pushan and to the cow worship. Pushan is one among the various gods mentioned in the Vedic literature. He was the Lord of the paths and helped the nomadic tribes on their ways. Whenever cattle went astray and were lost, the pastoral worshippers used to appeal to Pushan, who as their patron god of cow herds and shepherds, readily recovered their lost property. Out of the eight complete hymns in the Rigveda, glorifying god Pushan, the patron god of cow herds and shepherds, five occur in the 6^th mandala of the Rigveda whose composers were the Bharadvajas. The Bharadvajas were the followers of the Pushan cult and were priests of the pastoral tribes.

The foremost enemy of the pastoral tribes were the Panis who were notorious cattle lifters. Thus there was in the early Vedic times, a continuous conflict going on between the Bharadvajas and the Panis and the former invoked their patron god Pushan, to punish these cattle lifters.

According to R.N.Dandekar there are indications in the Veda that the pastoral god, Pushan evoked mockery at the hands of certain other people- perhaps priests and warriors, who worshipped gods of a different order. The usual method adopted by the Vedic poets to combine the different gods of the Vedic tribes in one great pantheon was to bring all such gods in contact with Indra who represented, so to say, the ‘official’ religion of the Rigvedic samhita. The Bharadvajas were responsible for assimilating the Pushan cult with the Indra cult and Pushan came to be regarded as Indra’s comrade and given a share of the Soma offering, which he was earlier denied. The earlier sacrificial offering to Pushan was Karambha, i.e., gruel.

Patronized by kings

In recognition of their capacity as poets and singers, the Bharadvajas were patronized by kings and from the position of the priests of a pastoral tribe they became the priests of a warrior tribe. Bharadvaja was the priest of rulers like Divodasa II and his son Pratardana of Kashi and Divodasa Atithigva, the ruler of northern Panchala dynasty and his contemporaries like Srnjaya and his son Prastoka and Abhyavartin Cayamana. In the Ramayana, Valmiki depicts Bharadvaja and his hermitage and mentions that Rama and Bharata paid him respects on more than one occasion. The famous teacher of the Pandavas, Dronacharya and his son Ashwattama belonged to the Bharadvaja family.

As teachers and authors

About sixteen seers belonging to the Bharadvaja family have composed hymns of the Rigveda of which the whole of the 6^th mandala and a number of hymns in the fourth, ninth and tenth mandala are ascribed to them. In the Upanishads the Bharadvajas are referred as seekers of esoteric knowledge and teachers transmitting the knowledge of Upanishad. Bharadvaja is also the author of a Srauta Sutra and a Grhya Sutra which bears his name. Shantiparva of Mahabharata refers to one Bharadvaja as a writer on Rajashastra (Political Science) and Kautilya cites the views of Bharadvaja in his works which shows that he (Bharadvaja) was also a writer on Arthashastra. Panini refers to one Bharadvaja as a grammarian and we have a treatise on Shiksa (phonetics) known as Bharadvaja Shiksa. In Charaka Samhita we have information about Indra revealing the knowledge of Internal medicine (kayachikitsa) to Bharadvaja.

Bharadvaja refers to different individuals

It should be remembered that the name Bharadvaja refers not to a single person but to different individuals belonging to the Bharadvaja family and who lived in different times and in different places. For instance Bharadvaja who was the priest of Divodasa Atithigva, the ruler of North Panchala dynasty was 23 in descent of Bharadvaja who helped Pratardana, son of Divodasa II to regain his kingdom from the Vitahavya Haihayas. Similarly the Bharadvaja (known as Payu Bharadvaja) who composed the hymns in the 6^th mandala of Rigveda was the son of Bharadvaja who was the priest of Divodasa Atithigva. The name Bharadvaja referred to by Valmiki, and as an author of different treatises were different individuals belonging to the Bharadvaja clan.

Bharadvajas, as worshipper of sun god

Pushan is one among the solar divinities and his paths have been described as sun-god’s rays. Nirukta declares him a sun. According to V.C.Srivastava, the Upanishads mention the Bharadvajas as one among the several sages associated with sun worship. The Govindpur Stone Inscription of the poet Gangadhara dated 1137-38 A.D. mentions Bharadvaja as the first Maga Brahmin brought to India by Samba to appoint them as the priests of sun temples. Gangadhara says that the Angiras Bharadvajas were held in great respect in Magadha in the 12th century A.D. Several inscriptions like the Kaira Plate and Sankheda Plates of Dadda II, inform about the gifts to sun god by persons belonging to Bharadvaja gotra.

The Bharadvajas played a significant role in enriching Hindu religion and culture.

Reference

• Thaneswar Sarmah – The Bharadvajas in Ancient India, PhD Thesis submitted to the University of Poona, 1980

• V.G.Rahurkar –The Seers of the RGVeda, University of Poona, 1964

• R.N.Dandekar- Vedic Mythological Tracts, Ajanta Publications, Delhi, 1979

• V.C.Srivastava – Sun Worship in Ancient India, Indological Publications, Allahabad, 1972

Life and Works of Sri Shankaracharya

Sri Adi-Shankaracharya India’s par excellence philosopher and religious reformer was born at Kalati in Kerala to Shivaguru and Aryamba. Scholars differ as to the date of Shankaracharya’s birth. John Fleet and K.T.Talang attempted to place him in between the 6^th and 7^th century A.D. A.B.Keith place him in century 800 A.D. and S.N.Dasgupta mention Shankaracharya as living from 788 – 820 A.D. Shankaradigvijaya by Madhavacharya and Shankaravijaya by Anandagiri are the biographical works of Shankaracharya which provide information about him. These works are dated around 14^th century A.D. At a very young age Shankaracharya became an ascetic and on the banks of river Narmada met his guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada under whom he studied for four years. Govinda Bhagavatpada taught Shankara the profound philosophy of Advaita and directed him to write a philosophical commentary on the Vedanta Sutras, also known as Brahma Sutras, then interpreted in diverse theological ways.

According to the Advaita tradition the supreme Lord, Sri Narayana or Sadashiva himself revealed the wisdom of Advaita to Brahma, the creator, who in turn imparted it to sage Vasishtha. This wisdom was handed down first as vamsha-parampara, i.e. as line of succession from father to son; from Vasishtha to his son Shakti, from Shakti to his son Parashara, from Parashara to his son Veda Vyasa and from Veda Vyasa to his son Shuka. From Shuka commenced the sishya-parampara, i.e. the line of succession from preceptor to disciple; from Shuka to his disciple Gaudapada and from Gaudapada to his disciple to Govinda Bhagavatpada and from Govinda Bhagavatpada to Sri Adi Shankaracharya.

At Varanasi Shankara wrote commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. Then he travelled throughout India on foot three times from Nepal to Rameshwaram preaching the universal philosophy of Advaita in important centers of learning, places of pilgrimage and in capitals of kings. He also defeated many opponents in debates of whom the Mimamsa scholar Mandana Misra of Mahishmati and his wife Bharathi and the Sakta commentator Abhinava Gupta were famous.

Shankara’s works

Shankara wrote commentaries on the eleven principal Upanishads like the Chandogya, the Brihadaranyaka, the Taittiriya, the Aitareya, the Svetasvatara, the Kena, the Katha, the Isa, the Prasna, the Mandukya and Mundaka. He also wrote commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutra. His other important works Atmabodha, Aptavajrasuchi, Dasasloki, Aparoksanubhuti, Upadesasahasri, Prabuddha Sudhakara and Viveka Chudamani. His religious hymns are contained in works like Dakshinamurthy Stotra, Ananda Lahari and Soundaraya Lahari.

Socio-religious reforms

Shankara’s aim was to revive the Vedic dharma based on the philosophy of Advaita. He saw to it that morally reprehensible modes of worship followed by the Kapalikas, Saktas and followers of Ganapati were abolished. For the benefit of theists Shankara instituted the Panchayatana puja or worship of the five aspect of the deity – Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Aditya and Ganesha. He also composed hymns on them and either founded or renovated temples dedicated to them. He united various religious sects by popularizing the collective worship of Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, Ganesha, Kumara and Shakti; for which he came to be known as Shanmata Sthapanacharya. Shankara established four monasteries, at Dwaraka (Kalikapeeta with Padmapada in charge) in the east, Badri (Jyotirmatha with Totaka in charge) in the north, Puri (Govardhanapeeta with Hastamalaka in charge) in the east and Sringeri (Sri Sharadhapeeta with Sureshvara in charge) in the south. He is said to have brought five Lingas from Kailasa and consecrated them at Kedara, Nilakanta Kshetra in Nepal, Chidambaram, Sringeri and Kanchi. Shankara organized the numerous wandering monks all over the country into ten definite orders of sanyasis under the name Dasnamis. The Dasnamis add at the end of their names any one of the following suffixes, namely Saraswathi, Bharathi, Puri, Giri, Tirtha, Vana, Sagara, Aranya, Parvata and Asrama.

Advaita in practice

Shankara wanted his followers not just to theorize his Advaita philosophy but put it into practice. This message he gave in the form of an episode in which he himself was involved. Once when Shankara was on his way to have his bath at river Ganga at Kashi his pupils asked a Chandala coming in the opposite direction to make way for their guru. The Chandala asked Shankara how he might consistently teach Advaitism and practice such differentiating observances. This thought provoking question struck Shankara who composed Manisha Panchaka, containing five philosophical verses expressing the Advaita sentiments and where he (Shankara) acknowledge the Chandala as his guru. The message of Shankara was that for a follower of Advaita it is absurdity to practice discrimination between humans and that one should view all as One and the same.

Shankara’s Advaita philosophy

Reality or Brahman

According to Shankara nothing really exists but the Supreme Spirit known as Brahman. Brahman is pure Existence, Consciousness and Bliss (Sat-cit-aananda). He is Absolute, impersonal, changeless, eternal and all-pervading. What is commonly called Nature (animate and inanimate) is but an illusion (Maya) and a dream caused by the ignorance (avidya) which surrounds the Supreme Spirit and hides it. This has been summed up in the words ‘Brahma Sathya, Jagan Mithya’. Phenomena appear real for the same reason that things seen in a dream are real so long as the dream lasts. The aim of life is therefore to cast of the gross sheaths that surround the Spirit within us and to realize its identity with the Supreme Spirit.

Orders of Reality

Shankara distinguishes four kinds of reality.

• Paramarthikasatta– The ultimate metaphysical reality (of Brahman).

• Vyavaharikasatta– The pragmatic or empirical reality which is experienced by humanity as a whole for all time.

• Pratibhasikasatta– The apparent reality which belongs to the objects of illusions, hallucinations and dreams. This is privately experienced and is of short duration. For example, mistaking a rope for a snake.

• Tuccasatta– The reality which is inexperienceable, imaginary objects, some of which may be self-contradictory or impossible. For example, one may speak of ‘the son of a barren woman’. A barren woman cannot have any sons, so the existence of the son of a barren woman is impossible and self-contradictory.

Soul or Atman

The Atman is the individual human soul clothed in the upaadhis or limiting adjuncts and is called Jiva. The Jiva or individual soul is essentially the same Brahman and is therefore self-luminous, unlimited and free. Its limitedness and all its consequent effects are due to certain conditions (upaadhis), which again appear through nescience (avidhya) and as such are unreal. Thus an elimination of the upaadhis amounts to an elimination of the apparently dual natural of the jiva.

States of experiences

Advaita Vedanta identifies four state of experience for a jiva. They are

• The waking state (Jagrat avastha)

• The dream state (Svapna avastha)

• The deep sleep state (Sushupti avastha)

• The pure consciousness state (Turiya)

The world of duality is available for our experience only in the waking and dream state. But in deep sleep state we are not aware of any objects or any world of plurality. It is a state wherein we experience only the knowledge of ignorance; we neither know the truth or falsehood. In the Turiya state the entire pluralistic world rolls away and the experience of the non-dual reality alone remaining as eternally true; for Turiya is Brahman, indivisible and immanent. Hence attaining this state of experience which is the highest upasana (worship) is instructed upon ascetics.

The Universe or Jagat

Brahman as a sole Reality appears as the objective universe and it an illusory manifestation of Brahman. Reality or Brahman has the power of taking an existential form, namely the universe without undergoing any modification. The existence of the universe is relative and is not original, separate or independent of Brahman. How Brahman manifest itself is beyond human comprehension and can be answered only by some theory such as that of Maya.

Maya and Avidya

Maya is the cosmic illusion and the potency of Brahman which makes the jiva experience duality. It is the medium for the reflection of Brahman (as jivas) and for the projection of this world. Maya presents to the human mind Reality broken up into subject and object. This division, splitting up is unreal; but as the mind works only as an organ of differentiation, it cannot disclose truth which is ever one and undivided. Maya has no real entity and has only an apparent existence and the moment truth is known it is dissolved. Maya, which is also called, avidya, (or nescience in English) has two powers, called, avarana sakti and vikshepa sakti. Avarana sakti covers Brahman, as it were, as a cloud covers the sun and makes us, the jivatmas, forget that, in our true nature, we are Brahman. At the macrocosmic level, vikshepa sakti is the force that projects the differentiated nama roopa, i.e., the world of objects and bodies and minds and superimposes them on the sub-stratum, i. e., Brahman. At the microcosmic level, vikahepa sakti makes Jivatmas make the mistake of looking upon themselves as limited individuals and the universe of nama roopas as real. As a result, we, the ordinary human beings, identify ourselves with our body mind complex and regard ourselves as separate individuals, limited in space, time and entity, subject to all the vicissitudes, changes, joys and sorrows of life and go through the cycle of births and deaths. When we understand that we are not different from the infinite Brahman, we are freed from this cycle. Until this happens, one goes through the cycle of births and deaths.

Theology in Advaita Vedanta

While maintaining that on the paramarthika plane (i.e. as absolute reality), there is only the non-dual attribute less Brahman (nirguna Brahman) Advaita Vedanta accommodates, on the vyavaharika plane, (as a lower order of reality), Brahman with qualities (saguna Brahman) called Ishwara. As Ishwara, Brahman has all the characteristics of what is called a personal God; the creator, preserver and destroyer of the world and a friend and savior of finite souls. The purpose of accommodating Ishwara is to enable a spiritual aspirant (jiva) go through the ritual of devotion and worship and gradually acquire knowledge of the Self through meditation. The specialty of Advaita Vedanta is it does not make any distinction between gods of one religion and another. An aspirant can accept Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Rama, Krishna or Durga as manifestation of saguna Brahman and worship in a church, mosque or a temple. The worship in this plane is meant as a preparatory and purificatory discipline and from this he has to move to the next stage of identifying himself with the Supreme Spirit (Brahman). From metaphysical standpoint, both jiva and Ishwara are Brahman, but on the phenomenal level from the religious standpoint their relation is in terms of master and servant. Ishwara the master knows his oneness with Brahman and therefore enjoys eternal bliss whereas jiva the servant is ignorant of his higher, divine origin and is therefore subject to the self-deceptive trials and tribulations of a mundane existence.

Way to Moksha

Shankara prescribes Jnanamarga for self-realization. But a mere intellectual apprehension of the advaitic truth is of no avail. Only through a systematic approach can this is achieved through Shravana (formal study), Manana (reflection) and Nididhyaasana (meditation), i.e. to transform into direct experience the mediate knowledge of Ultimate Reality acquired by the study of Upanishad and by reflection upon their teaching. In Advaita, moksha is not something which has to be attained hereafter. The essential nature of every jiva is already Brahman and only the wheel of ignorance has concealed its real nature and therefore the jiva undergoes pains of samsara until it realizes its inherent divinity. Therefore the jiva does not lose its individuality in moksha but the limitations of that individuality are overcome by knowledge and immediately here and now it attains universal Brahman.

Advaita- A Universal philosophy

Shankara’s system of Vedanta can stand on its own feet as pure metaphysics without the help of any theology, unlike other theistic Vedanta systems like Visishtadvaita of Sri Ramanuja and Dvaita of Sri Madhvacharya. Hence those prefer a philosophy to a theology will have a natural leaning towards Shankara. But at the same time Shankara’s system also provides theologies as provisional stand-point- just a base camp for those attempting to climb the Mount Everest of Advaita. And the beauty is that not one particular theology but any number of them including foreign religions like Islam and Christianity can be fitted into the frame work of Shankara’s metaphysics provisionally. This wonderfully accommodating power of his doctrine is perhaps the most attractive feature of his philosophy to many of its followers.

To Shankara goes the credit for reviving the Sanatana Dharma and rescuing the Vedic culture from foundering. A brilliant thinker and vigorous debater he reconciled the conflicting sects prevailing in his times. He was a realized soul, a sage, philosopher, scholar, poet, socio-religious reformer and organizer; all rolled into one. He passed away in 820 A.D. at Kedarnath.

Ideas, beliefs and concepts which evolved Hinduism

In Hinduism, animism and polytheism, pantheism, panentheism and henotheism, dualism, monotheism and pure monism exist side by side. The communication with gods can be done through elaborate rituals, through trance, through Yoga and asceticism, through offerings of animals and through bhakti (devotion). Beliefs in Karma, rebirth and casteism are questionable and not considered as blasphemy. Hindus are free to choose their ishtadevata, the deity to whom they wish to devote themselves fully. They are also free to change their favourite deity. All these factors make one to consider Hinduism as not one religion but a group of distinct Indian religions. The above factors was the reason according to Heinrich Von Stietencron for Hinduism to create a culture of accepted diversity, able to develop generous liberality and tolerance between religions and ideologies to a degree which civilizations based on Judaism, Christianity and Islam were never able to achieve.

Hinduism, a Parliament of Religions

Even from very early times, there had existed in India side by side with the Vedic religion, several popular tribal religions. The gods and goddesses of these tribal people were different from the the divinities of the official Vedic divinities. So also the religious practices of the tribal religion were different from the Vedic religious practices.

There were pre Vedic gods like Pashupati – Yogishvara, Sivan, Sharva, Bhava, the cult of Mother Goddess. These gods were worshipped in the form of an image, or a carved figure or some other concrete symbol and were offered bali in the form of blood of animals. Yoga, penance and austerities, wandering mendicancy, ecstatic conditions engendered through special medicaments constituted some of the main factors of their religious practice which was known as Muni-Yati culture in contrast to the Vedic culture which was the culture of the Rishis. Just like the Vedic texts some literature of the non Vedic religious texts may have been produced in the Vedic age. But as no special efforts as in the case of the Veda were made to preserve it, those texts may have been lost forever.

These popular tribal religions soon came under the spell of Vedism and though they did not actually adopt the religious ideology and practices of Vedism in any appreciable measure they vowed allegiance to the Veda. The decline of Vedism offorded these tribal religions to assert themselves and even Vedism in order to meet the challenge of the heterodox movement encouraged these popular religions to a certain extent. Consequently most of the popular religions, with their variety of gods and religious practices came to be organised into one single but multi-charactered whole, which was held together by means of the thin thread of their allegiance to the Veda. This is the genesis of Hinduism.

Hence according to R.N.Dandekar, Hinduism in its origin was verily a parliament of religions, over which the Veda formally presided but whose normal functions like any other presiding authority in modern parliamentary systems, it does not seem to have noticeably influenced.

Hinduism has no trace of Vedic influence

The Vedic texts contain no Hindu dogma, no basis for a creed of Hinduism, no clear guidelines for the Hindu way of life. It may suffice to recall here the cyclical world-view, the doctrine of Karma and rebirth, the ethical principle of ahimsa and the soteriology of final liberation for all of these, the oldest and most fundamental Vedic texts provide no clear identifiable basis. The Hindu pantheon, the forms of worship and devotion (bhakti) and the temple cult are not Vedic. Some of the prominent features of Hinduism like bathing in holy rivers (Kumbh mela), taking out religious processions (rath yatra), celebrating festivals, collective singing (kirtana) are all alien to Vedic cult.

Many popular religious ceremonies participated by all sections of the Hindu society including Brahmins have nothing to do with Vedic cult. For instance in Karnataka, Bhutaradhane (worship of spirits), Nagaradhane (worship of Nagas), Karaga (pot worship), all had its genesis among the non-Brahmin communities.

Orthodox Brahmins were opposed to temple worship

Image worship was essentially non-Vedic in origin and was adopted by the Brahmin priests when Vedic sacrifices became too expensive and went out of vogue. Yet the orthodox Brahmanas looked down upon such priests and Manu states that the temple priests should not be invited to a sacrifice offered to the gods and manes. He regards the food given to them as wasted, a later text goes further and forbids the people to touch, or speak to, those who live on temple service. The excuse for despising the temple priests given by the orthodox Vedicists was that they (the temple priests) degraded religious devotion by making it a means of livelihood. But it should be noted that the Vedic priests themselves accepted big amounts of wealth as fees for sacrifices performed for their patron. Hence the main reason for criticising the temple priests was due to their being the custodians of non-Vedic traditions. The Samba Purana mentions that temple priests denounced the code of Manu which shows that originally the temple priests did not accept the social rules of Manu but followed a different tradition and this may be one of the reasons for their unfavourable position in the orthodox texts. Though from around 400 B.C. the use of images became popular among all Hindus, the Srauta Brahmins refused to adopt the cult of images. And till some two centuries ago (1800 A.D) there were Srauta Brahmins in existence who had never bowed down to idols. It was only after the identification of Vedic deities with non-Vedic popular divinities that the use of Vedic mantras in the ceremony of worship must have followed. But it remained confined to the members of the upper three varnas.

Brahmin Puranic writers unified and assimilated all cults into a single framework

In India there existed a vast variety of cultures and religions; from the most simple to the most complex or sophisticated. The Puranas played a tremendous role in unifying these cultures and religions. For instance the so called ‘little traditions’ like the influence of forests, worship in temples, worship of Mother goddess, worship of Shiva and Linga, worship of animals and trees and probably the practice of vegetarianism, teetotalism and ahimsa were all assimilated and integrated into a ‘new great tradition’ of Hinduism by the Puranas. The writers of Puranas absorbed and synthesized polaristic religious ideas, multiplex belief systems and cultic tradition and were able to religiously unify all possible classes and segments of society, literate as well as pre literate.

Popular Gods of Hinduism are all non-Vedic gods

Prominent gods of present day Hinduism like Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Jagannatha of Puri, Venkateshwara/Balaji of Tirupathi, Vittala of Pandrapura, Ayyappa of Sabarimalai, Muruga/Skanda/Subramanya, Ganesha, Hanuman, Durga, Kamakya Devi and a host of other gods and goddess are all non-Vedic gods. For instance Shiva called Rudra in Rigveda is referred as a relentless destroyer of sacrificial rites, a war-lord and cattle lifter. It is this Rudra who gets absorbed in Shiva. In the process of becoming Mahadeva, Shiva had also absorbed numerous other contradictory cultic male and female deities by the time of the Puranas like Ganapati, Muruga, Manasa, Durga, Amba who were deities specifically associated with tribals residing in forested and hilly areas. Another prominent god of modern day Hinduism, Vishnu absorbed and appropriated Balarama, the haladhara, god of agriculturalists, the cowherd god Gopala Krishna, Narayana, Jagannatha, Venkateshwara and numerous totemic cults through the unique mechanism of avataras (incarnation).

Avatara theory synthesised gods of various cults

The Avatara theory may be regarded as a major factor in the religious synthesis brought about by Hinduism. Originally, the different divinities like Rama, Krishna, Parashurama, etc., seem to have been the gods of different religious cults. In course of time when these cults federated themselves to form what came to be known as Hinduism, some kind of unity of godhead was sought to be achieved by those gods being represented as the incarnations of a one single god Vishnu. This also helped to elevate the status of the objects of worship of certain primitive cults.

Brahmins themselves disowned their gods

The Purana writers especially those who had a leaning towards Vaishnavism denigrated the Vedic gods to extol and elevate their own particular god. As Indra the Vedic god stood in the way of the ascendency of Vishnu, they distorted the Vedic accounts of Indra and even fabricated new stories to bring Indra into disrepute. Similarly false stories about Brahma, the gods of Brahmins were invented by the Purana writers affiliated to Shaiva and Vaishnava cults to belittle and disgrace him in the eyes of the devotees. The writers of Puranas were Sanskrit knowing scholarly Brahmins. If Gods like Indra, the popular and foremost god of Vedic Brahmins and Brahma were shown in poor light in the Puranas, it means that some section of the Brahmin community had lost charm with their gods and found gods of other religious cults appealing. So much so that they not only incorporated tribal deities but also some of their prominent physical traits and iconic features along with rituals and mythical beliefs connected with them. For instance, the image of Lord Jagannatha of Puri is known to manifest distinctly tribal features and continues to be crafted of wood; while Dattatreya is found to be represented in the Puranas as a forester given to strong spirituous liquor and who according to 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 Vishnu, namely Balarama.

Reasons for insisting Vedic origin of Hinduism

In spite of glaring evidence which proves that Hinduism has nothing to do with Vedism, many Hindus especially orthodox Brahmins insist that Hinduism is nothing but Vedism. This is because having spent a considerable time in memorising the Vedas with great effort, the truth that it has nothing to do with Hinduism will make their knowledge irrelevant and themselves jobless. Moreover many Brahmin mutts teach Vedas to children who spent nearly ten to twelve years memorizing the mantras and studying the Vedangas texts. The government provides grants to many of these mutts and it is a source of livelihood for many pandits. Many rich Hindus also provide donations to these mutts (though they send their children to convent schools and universities abroad). While disowning the Vedic background of Hinduism will affect the livelihood of a few people, its acceptance would give anti-Hindu forces lot of ammunition to criticise Hinduism and break unity among Hindus by harping on issues like caste discrimination, restriction imposed on Shudras to study Vedas, contents in the Manu Smrti wherein Shudras are degraded, etc., all features restricted only to the Vedic cult, but could now be used to defame Hinduism when identified with Vedism.

Disparaging Hinduism means disparaging the OBCs and Dalits

Many people make derogatory remarks against Hinduism thinking that it is a religion of Brahmins. But the fact is Hinduism comprises various religious cults and sects founded by non-Brahmins and Tribals. Hence criticizing Hinduism means abusing the ancestors of present day OBCs and Dalits. It should be noted that the role of Brahmins in Hinduism was that of a synthesizer, who brought all diverse and local cults under an all-India Sanskritized frame-work. His other role was that of a custodian of temples (constructed and patronized by non-Brahmins), the responsibility of which was handed over willingly by the non-Brahmins themselves.

Reference

1. P.L.Bhargava – The Origin and development of Puranas and their relations with Vedic Literature, ABORI, vol – 58/59, Diamond Jubilee Volume, 1977-78

2. R.N.Dandekar - Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita: A fresh approach, Journal of the Oriental Institute, M.S. University of Baroda, vol – xii, No.3, March 1963, p.233

3. R.N.Dandekar – Early Indian Philosophy – Some Casual Reflections, ABORI, vol-75

4. R.N.Dandekar – God in Hindu Thought, ABORI, vol 48/49. Golden Jubilee, 1968

5. Surabhi Sheth – Religion and Society in the Brahma Purana, Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1979

6. Vijay Nath – From Brahmanism to Hinduism: Negotiating the Myth of the Great Tradition, Social Scientist, vol – 29, No 3/4, March-April 2001

7. Krishna Mohan Shrimali – The Formation of Religious Identities in India, Social Scientist, vol – 45, No 5/6 May-June 2017

8. Wilhelm Halbfass – Tradition and Reflection Explorations in Indian Thought, State University of New York Press, 1991 ,pp: 1,2

9. Suvira Jaiswal – Origin of image worship and its rituals, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol – 28, 1967

10. J.N.Farquhar – Temple and Image Worship in Hinduism, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No.1, January 1928

11. Heinrich Von Stietencron – Hinduism: On the Proper use of a Deceptive Term in Gunther – Dietz Sontheimer, Hermann Kulke Edited: Hinduism Reconsidered, Manohar, New Delhi, 2001

Ashvins, the Deified Healers of Ancient India

The Ashvins are mentioned in the Rigveda, the Mahabharata and the Puranas as divine physicians who restored eyesight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, blessed children to the barren and revived life of the dead, cured leprosy, knew the art of rejuvenation and midwifery and possessed the skill of surgery. The Ashvins are historically considered the original expounders of medicine during the primitive period of Ayurveda.

The Ashvins are known in the Rigveda to be offsprings of Vivasvan and Saranyu. Sometimes they are called Nasatya and in later Vedic literature the two are differently referred to by two individual names, Nasatya and Dasra. The name of Ashvins as Nasatya is mentioned in the Boghazkoi inscription dated 14^th century B.C. along with other Vedic gods like Indra, Varuna and Mitra.

The Ashvins may have been human first, physicians and surgeons in whom their admiring patients looked upon as persons possessing supernatural powers and then were deified in view of their benevolence and the efficacy of their aids. By the time the hymns of Rigveda were composed they had fully attained the status of gods. In terms of hymns dedicated to them they rank next to Vedic gods, Indra, Agni and Soma having 54 entire hymns and several others in part addressed to them.

Among the Vedic gods Rudra is appealed to remove sickness and is called the greatest physician among physicians and appears superior to Ashvins. But there is no instance cited in the Rigveda in which Rudra is shown to have administered his medicine, while there is a large number of such illustrations on the side of Ashvins. Even in the case of other gods like Surya and Varuna who are referred as healers, the Ashvins stand unique among all of them by virtue of the practical instances which they have to their credit. One speciality of the Ashvins was their followers could approach them directly and without the help of intermediaries for remedial measures unlike other Vedic gods where the intervention of the priest was found necessary to gain their favour.

Founders of Chavanaprasha

In Ayurveda there is an invigorating tonic known as Chavanaprasha, a tonic for regaining vigour and strength. It was this tonic which the Ashvins gave to sage Cyavana and this was later prescribed by Cyavana to others. The Ashvins were said to be fond of Madhu (honey) and said to have learnt the secret of honey-lore (madhyvidya) from Dadhyanc. Honey has an important place in the science of medicine and it possesses valuable healing properties and is used as a soothing drug. The constant association of the Ashvins with Madhu shows that it may have been a popular drug which they administered.

Originally the Ashvins were benevolent kings

Yaska says that originally the Ashvins were beneficent kings. They may actually have gone about healing the sick, rescuing men in distress or salvaging those in shipwreck. They may have been kings who were fast riders and fond of their horses so that they came to be inseparably connected with them. Later after their death, people wishing to cherish their memories and remembering their innumerable kind acts deified them. Naturally there was opposition and violent resistance by the worshippers of the orthodox pantheon, devotees of respectable gods like Indra on the ground that these (Ashvins) were mere men with no sanction of tradition or antiquity to their credit, whose human history was recent and still fresh in men’s mind and whose achievements (viz., healing the sick and helping those in distress) were unworthy of bona fide divinities and hence unfit for Soma offerings.

The social taboo against the Ashvins is understood better if we remember the position of doctors in ancient Indian society. A passage from Mahabharata says that offerings to a Brahmin who practices medicine become pus and blood. Manu also lays down that a physician should be avoided in a sacrifice. The Vasishta Dharmasastra says that a doctor may not be invited in sacred ceremonies. The Apastamba Dharma Sutra prohibits the partaking of a physician’s food. This resistance was overcome gradually; a section of the people started worshipping the Ashvins and others followed them and later they received their due share of the Soma libation.

The episode of Ashvins replacing the original head of Dadhyanc with that of a horse and finally putting back the original also betrays their human origins. If they had been gods they could have brought back the human head to Dadhyanc even after it was cut off by Indra. But the Ashvins did not do so. It is also possible to imagine that they had placed an artificial horse head, looking like a mask above the original head of Dadhyanc. So when Indra came and took off the head, it was the artificial horse head which stood over Dadhyanc’s original head that was removed.

The dual nature of the Ashvins may have been a later addition and that the Ashvins originally may have been only one. The circumstances that gave rise to the duality may have taken place in this way. The human Ashvin, after he was deified, became a divine being. So he appeared, first as a person who had a two fold – human and divine existence and then his two fold existence developed the conception of the Ashvins as two beings- a human Ashvin and a divine Ashvin.

Though works like Purvakaranagama, Suprabhedagama, Amshumadbhedhagama and Vishnudharmottara gives description of the images of the Ashvins, it is highly doubtful if ever they were sculptured and set up in temples, for at the present time we do not hear of the existence of such images anywhere in India as Svayampradhana deities. But their carvings as attendants of the Sun can be found on the same block of stones used for sculpturing of the image of the Sun.

Reference

Ganesh L Chandavarkar - Ashvins as Historical Figures, Journal of the University of Bombay, vol iii, part vi, May 1935

Jyotir Mitra – Ashvins, The twin celestial physicians and their medical skill, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol 45, 1984

T.A.Gopinatha Rao – Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol – 2, part 2, The Law Printing House, Madras, 1916

Sukumari Bhattacharji – The Indian Theogony, Firma KLM Private Ltd, Calcutta, 1978

A short note on the Cult of Dattatreya

Considered as the foremost in the line of divine teachers to incarnate on earth, Sri Dattatreya is venerated by both the orthodox and subaltern Hindus. The Puranas mention Dattatreya as the son of sage Atri and Anasuya. The story of his birth found in the Puranas is full of absurdities. According to F.E.Pargiter, Dattatreya was a descendant (not son) of a historic person Prabhakara, who is called Atri or Atreya. Rigopoulos Antonia is of the view that Dattatreya was a Yogin- possibly a historic figure who became legendary and later adapted into the more sanitized and bhakti oriented views of the Puranas. Similar is the view of J.N.Banerjea who says that Dattatreya seems to have been a famous sage in actual life, who was deified. It was in the Puranic period that Dattatreya was raised to the status of an avatara of Vishnu.

According to Brahmanda Purana, Dattatreya did penance from his childhood and became a hermit. According to Markandeya Purana (dated between 5^th to 7^th century A.D.) he was staying near a water reservoir on Sahyadri mountain and was called Avadhuta. Avadhuta is a generic term for those enlightened sages of India who wander about, naked and free of all attachment to the world. In the Jabalopanishad, Dattatreya is referred to as a Paramahamsa and there is an Upanishad named after him. Texts like Avadhuta Gita and Tripura-rahasya are attributed to Dattatreya.

Dattatreya is always connected in tradition with the great Haihaya king Arjuna Kartavirya who propitiated him and was favoured by him. This means that Dattatreya was a contemporary of Parashurama, who exterminated Arjuna Kartavirya and who is also considered an avatara of Vishnu.

Evolution of Dattatreya’s worship

According to Harivamsha, Vishnu assumed Dattatreya’s incarnation for the specific purpose of the revival of true knowledge – Sat-dharma. This emphasis on the role of Dattatreya as the saviour of truth and knowledge is of cardinal importance in understanding of the Dattatreya’s cult. It is this emphasis that is the origin of the custom of referring to Dattatreya as Sri Guru. Once this concept of Dattatreya as ‘Guru’, the great preacher of dharma, had taken firm root in the religious tradition of the society, a very interesting phenomenon occurred. New sects and philosophical systems that arose later on, especially during the 9^th and 13^th century A.D., have attempted to bring Dattatreya and his great prestige in their fold.

The Shaktas were probably the first to do so, as the Markandeya Purana would show. It depicts Dattatreya engaged freely in the enjoyment of wine and meat and practising the five ‘ma’ kar rites of the Shaktas. He chose Mahur, the famous Shakta centre as his abode, according to that Purana.

Next came the Nath Sampradayins who claim Dattatreya as their guru. The Goraksha-Siddhanta Samgraha quoting the Tantra-maharnava mentions Dattatreya as one of the 12 great Nathas or Maha Nathas: seventh in rank. The Natha Yogins played a substantial role in the expansion of Dattatreya’s cult and it was primarily through Nathism that Dattatreya was introduced to the Marathi speaking area and was adopted by the Mahanubhavas. Similarly, the Aghoris consider Dattatreya, the first teacher (Adi-guru) and Shiva incarnate.

Shankaracharya’s relationship with Dattatreya

Shankaracharya is traditionally credited with the authorship of various hymns in Dattatreya’s praise, such as Dattatreya-bhujanga-stotra. According to Shankara-vijaya-vilasa, Dattatreya manifested himself to Shankaracharya at Badrinath. The Juna Akhada at Ujjain- one of the seven Akhadas founded by the Dashanami Naga Sannyasins has Dattatreya as its tutelary deity, identified as Rudra-Shiva. Dattatreya’s link to Shankaracharya and the Dashanami order was certainly inspired by the former’s characterization as a divine Jnana-Yogin.

The Mahanubhava sect

The Mahanubhava sect was founded by Guru Chakradhara (died 1272 A.D.). They acknowledge in the Reality of one god Parameshvar, who has five major incarnations: Krishna, Dattatreya and three sect figures namely Cangadeva Raul (Chakrapani), Gundam Raul (Govinda Prabhu) and Chakradhara. The Mahanubhavas rejected the caste system and the worship of idols and refused to acknowledge the ritual and scriptural authorities of Brahmins. They regard Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata and the Sutrapatha (a collection of aphorisms of Chakradara) as the standard and classical religious works.

Dattatreya Sampradaya

The Dattatreya Sampradaya was founded by Narasimha Sarasvati (1378-1458 A.D.) was a religious order, orthodox in its outlook and which stressed the values of ritual observances and believed in the varnashramadharma (caste system). The basic religious text of this Sampradaya is the Guru Charitra written in Marathi by Sarasvati Gangadhar around 1538 or 1550. The devotees of this Sampradaya consider and revere Sripada Vallabha (1323-1353 A.D.) and Narasimha Sarasvati as the historical avataras of Dattatreya. The important pilgrimage places connected with this Sampradaya are Audumbar and Narsobavadi in Maharashtra and Ganagapur in Karnataka. Popular saints of Maharashtra like Eknath and Dasopant were devotees of Dattatreya.

According to G.S.Ghurye the credit for the spread of Dattatreya’s cult in Maharashtra goes to Narasimha Sarasvati. Similar is the view of Rigopoulos Antonio who says that Narasimha Sarasvati may be considered as the actual founder of the religion of Dattatreya in the Marathi region.

Representation of Dattatreya

Dattatreya is now represented with three heads and six arms and is surrounded by four dogs of different colours said to represent the four Vedas and by a cow said to represent Mother Earth. This three headed portrayal of Dattatreya was popularized by Narasimha Sarasvati and one can find no certain reference to this modern three headed Dattatreya prior to the work Guru Charitra composed around 1550 A.D. The oldest carving of Dattatreya represents the deity in a standing posture with one head (ekmukhi) with two or four arms, often bearing the common emblems of Vishnu, coupled with the Padukas, usually placed in front of the murti. At Mahur Dattatreya is worshipped in one headed form. The Vishnu-dharmottara Purana says that Dattatreya should be sculptured exactly like sage Valmiki. In all Dattatreya’s shrines the chief object of worship is the Padukas (wooden sandals) of Narasimha Sarasvati.

At present, the Dattatreya cult is confined to western India – Gujarat, Maharashtra and northern Karnataka. Dattatreya is considered as the most potent deity for driving out evil spirits and today the important centres of the Dattatreya cult are more well known for their miraculous supernatural powers rather than centres of philosophical learnings or Yoga. There is little doubt the latter would have been more befitting to Sri Dattatreya’s role as Guru - the preacher of dharma, says M.S.Mate.

Reference

• Antonio Rigopoulous – Datta – The Immortal Guru, Yogin and Avatara, State University of New York Press, 1998

• M.S.Mate – Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1962

• G.S.Ghurye – Gods and Men, Popular Book Depot, Bombay, 1962

• Hariprasad Shivprasad Joshi – Origin and Development of Dattatreta Worship in India, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, 1965

• F.E.Pargiter – Ancient Indian Historical Traditions, London, 1922

• Jitendra Nath Banerjea - Hindu Iconography (Vyuhas and Vibhavas of Vishnu), Journal of The Indian Society of Oriental Art, vol - xiv, 1946

• I.M.P.Raeside – Dattatreya, Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, vol.45, No 3, 1982

• Haridas Bhattacharyya – (Editor) –The Cultural Heritage of India, vol – IV, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Calcutta, 1956

• P.V.Kane – History of Dharmashastras, vol -5, part-2, BORI, Poona, 1962

• Vettam Mani – Puranic Encyclopaedia, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1975