Origin and development of Vaishnavism

 

The religious and cultural history of India reveals that South India has made distinct contributions to Indian culture and Civilization despite her initial indebtedness to northern sources for much of the spiritual impulse provided for the development of the major religions of the land. They had their origin no doubt in North India, but once they were planted in the soil of the South they grew and developed in such a way as to make distinct contributions to their religion and philosophy in the subsequent centuries.

It is natural to expect that not a little of this contribution was due to the impact of the northern religions and cultures with the social, religious and cultural background of the people of the South. The history of Vaishnavism in South India, therefore, should take note of its origin in the North, the religious background of the South with which it came into contact and lastly, its distinctive development in its southern milieu.

The origins of Vaishnavism must no doubt be traced in the Vedas, wherein Vishnu is one of the several deities to whom prayers (hymns) were sung and worship offered.

Though there are references in the Rig Veda describing his long strides and the three steps by which he measured the universe and to ‘Paramapadam’, his abode described ‘as an eye fixed in heaven’, he seems to have held but a subordinate place among the Vedic Gods.

The worship of these innumerable gods having become mechanical, a wave of religious and philosophical speculations arose towards the close of hymn period regarding the nature of God. Man and the Universe and the relation between them. The philosophic speculation of the Upanishadic seers served no doubt to establish the transcendence and the immanence of God on the contemplation of whom one could attain bliss.

But they could not answer the practical needs of ordinary men who wanted an object of adoration and worship in their daily life.

It must be noted too that the free and unfettered speculation of this period led, by way of a reaction to earlier thoughts on religion and forms of worship, to the rise of Buddhism and Jainism in the Eastern regions of Magadha and new theistic systems of worship in the Western Regions round about Mathura. The worship of Vasudeva was one such theistic systems. While Buddhism and Jainism denied the existence of God and prescribed self abnegation and a strict code of moral conduct for salvation, the new theistic systems of the west developed the idea of a supreme God of devotion to whom was the sole means of salvation. The worship of Vasudeva which belonged to this system was called the Satvata and the Bhagavata religion. ‘Satvata’ because of the name of its followers, (Satvatas) and ‘Bhagavata’ presumably because of the worship of Vasudeva as the ‘Bhagavat’.

The development of Bhagavata Religion:

As it is this Vasudeva cult that formed the basis for the later development of Vaishnavism, it is necessary to trace the various phases of its development. There is enough literary evidence 1 to show that the worship of Vasudeva existed as early as the 4th century B. C. its subsequent progress is indicated clearly by the following literary and inscriptional records. 2

1. See R. G. Bhandarkar-Vaishnavism, Shaivism and minor religions. Section 2.

2. R. G. Bhandarkar – Vaishnavism, Shaivism and minor religions – Sections 7, 8 and 9.

1. Patanjali. in his comment on the Panini Sutra ("TV, 3, 98) interprets the term ‘Vasudevaka’ to mean 'the worshipful’. (Patanjali may be ascertained to the 3rd century B. C.)

2. The Ghosundi Inscription; assignable to the 2nd century B.C., mentions the construction of a wall round the hall of worship of Sankarshana and Vasudeva.

3. The Besnagar Inscription – assignable to the earlier part of the 2nd century B.C. refers to the erection of a Garuadhvaja with the image of Garuda at the top in honour of Vasudeva ‘the God of gods’ by Heliodora, who calls himself a Bhaagavata.

4 Nanoghat Cave Inscription No. 1, assignable to the 1st century B.C., in which the names of Sankarshana and Vasudeva occur.

 

The foregoing records would show clearly the progress of cult during nearly four centuries before the Christian Era. The last of inscriptions noted above is significant as showing that the Bhagavata Religion already in its developed form had spread southwards and it is reasonable to infer that it spread further south grad unity into the Tamil Country in the course of the next century or two.

The subsequent development to be noted is the evolution Vaishnavism as the result of an interesting process of syncretism by which Vasudeva, the God of the Satvatas came to be successively identified with Narayana, Vishnu and finally with the Cowherd Krishna.

The identification of Vasudeva with the Cowherd Krishna, became the predominant influence in the further development of Vaishnava thought and religion. As we have no reference at all the Cowherd Krishna in early literature and the major work in which we get references to his exploits is the Harivamsha of about the 3rd Century A.D., we may say that this should have happened sometime before it, that is, roughly about 2nd century.

Within the chronological set up provided by the literary and inscriptional records noted above it is possible as Dr. Bhandarkar has shown, to give an outline of the development of Vaishnavism. The worship of Vasudeva is as old as Chandragupta Maurya who reigned in the last quarter of the 4th century B.C. This is shown by the allusions of Megasthenes, the Greek Ambassador to the existence of this cult in his account. We have already noted its further development upto the first century B. C. as indicated by the Nanaghat Cave inscription 1. After a long interval of nearly 4 centuries we get again evidence to show the reemerge nee of the Bhagavata religion about the first quarter of the 4th century A.D., when the Guptas rose to power. Students of history know that the Gupta princes Chandragupta-II Kumaragupta-ll and Skandagupta styled themselves as ‘Parama Bhagavatas' in their coins. They were the worshippers of Bhagavat or Vasudeva We have enough literary evidence to show its continuous development in the subsequent centuries as one of the major religions of India.

The foregoing brief account would show that after its rise and early development in the north, Bhagavatism with its vital doctrine of devotion came into the Tamil country in the early centuries of the Christian era and began to influence the spiritual thoughts and aspirations of the people in that region. The influence of the Bhagavata religion, its doctrine of devotion, and the stories of the exploits of Krishna which formed an important element in it are all reflected in full measure in the works of the Alvars.

 

CHAPTER II