Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch Volume II Part 19

THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHaGAVATAS AND PaSUPATAS

1

India is a literary country and naturally so great a change as the transformation of the old religion into theistic sects preaching salvation by devotion to a particular deity found expression in a long and copious literature. This literature supplements and supersedes the Vedic treatises but without impairing their theoretical authority, and, since it cannot compare with them in antiquity and has not the same historic interest, it has received little attention from Indianists until the present century. But in spite of its defects it is of the highest importance for an understanding of medieval and contemporary Hinduism. Much of it is avowedly based on the principle that in this degenerate age the Veda is difficult to understand,[440]

and that therefore G.o.d in His mercy has revealed other texts containing a clear compendium of doctrine. Thus the great Vishnuite doctor Ramanuja states authoritatively "The incontrovertible fact then is as follows: The Lord who is known from the Vedanta texts ...

recognising that the Vedas are difficult to fathom by all beings other than himself ... with a view to enable his devotees to grasp the true meaning of the Vedas, himself composed the Pancaratra-Sastra."[441]

This later sectarian literature falls into several divisions.

A. Certain episodes of the Mahabharata. The most celebrated of these is the Bhagavad-gita, which is probably anterior to the Christian era.

Though it is incorporated in the Epic it is frequently spoken of as an independent work. Later and less celebrated but greatly esteemed by Vishnuites is the latter part of book XII, commonly known as Narayan?iya.[442] Both these episodes and others[443] are closely a.n.a.logous to metrical Upanishads. The Mahabharata even styles itself (I. 261) the Veda of Kr?ishn?a (Karshn?a).

The Ramayan?a does not contain religious episodes comparable to those mentioned but the story has more than once been re-written in a religious and philosophic form. Of such versions the Adhyatma-Ramayan?a[444] and Yoga-vasishth?a-Ramayan?a are very popular.

B. Though the Puran?as[445] are not at all alike, most of them show clear affinity both as literature and as religious thought to the various strata of the Mahabharata, and to the Law Books, especially the metrical code of Manu. These all represent a form of orthodoxy which while admitting much that is not found in the Veda is still Brahmanic and traditionalist. The older Puran?as (_e.g._ Matsya, Vayu, Markan?d?eya, Vishn?u), or at least the older parts of them, are the literary expression of that Hindu reaction which gained political power with the accession of the Gupta dynasty. They are less definitely sectarian than later works such as the Narada and Lin?ga Puranas, yet all are more or less sectarian.

The most influential Puran?a is the Bhagavata, one of the great scriptures for all sects which worship Kr?ishn?a. It is said to have been translated into every language of India and forty versions in Bengali alone are mentioned.[446] It was probably composed in the eighth or ninth century.[447] A free translation of the tenth book into Hindi, called the Prem Sagar or Ocean of Love, is greatly revered in northern India.[448] Other sectarian Puran?as are frequently read at temple services. Besides the eighteen great Puran?as there are many others, and in south India at any rate they were sometimes composed in the vernacular, as for instance the Periya Puran?a (_c._ 1100 A.D.).

These vernacular Puran?as seem to be collections of strangely fantastic fairy tales.

C. The word Tantra originally meant a manual giving the essentials of a subject but later usage tends to restrict it to works, whether Hindu or Buddhist, inculcating the worship of Siva's spouse. But there are exceptions to this restriction: the Panca-tantra is a collection of stories and the Lakshmi-tantra is a Vishnuite work.[449]

The fact is that a whole cla.s.s of Sanskrit religious literature is described by the t.i.tles Tantra, agama and Sam?hita,[450] which taken in a wide sense are practically synonymous, though usage is inclined to apply the first specially to Saktist works, the second to Sivaite and the third to Vishnuite. The common character of all these productions is that they do not attempt to combine Vedic rites and ideas with sectarian worship, but boldly state that, since the prescriptions of the Veda are too hard for this age, some generous deity has revealed an easier teaching. This teaching naturally varies in detail, but it usually comprises devotion to some special form of the G.o.dhead and also a special ceremonial, which commences with initiation and includes the use of mystic formulae, letters and diagrams. Tantras, agamas and Sam?hitas all treat of their subject-matter in four divisions[451] the first of which relates to the great problems of philosophy, the second to the discipline necessary for uniting the self and G.o.d; the third and fourth to ceremonial.

These works have another feature in common, namely that they are little known except to those Hindus who use them for religious purposes and are probably not very anxious to see them published.

Though they are numerous, few of them have been printed and those few have not been much studied by European scholars. I shall say something more about them below in treating of the various sects. Some are of respectable antiquity but it is also clear that modern texts pa.s.s under ancient names. The Pancaratram and Pasupatam which are Vishnuite and Sivaite Sam?hitas are mentioned in the Mahabharata, and some extant Vishnuite Sam?hitas were perhaps composed in the fourth century A.D.[452] Ramanuja as quoted above states that the Pancaratra-sastra (apparently the same as the Pancaratra-tantra which he also mentions) was composed by Vasudeva himself and also cites as scripture the Sattvata, Paushkara and Parama Sam?hitas. In the same context he speaks of the Mahabharata as Bharata-Sam?hita and the whole pa.s.sage is interesting as being a statement by a high authority of the reasons for accepting a non-Vedic work like the Pancaratra as revealed scripture.

As already indicated European usage makes the words Tantra, Tantrism and tantric refer to the worship of G.o.ddesses. It would be better to describe this literature and worship as Saktism and to use Tantrism for a tendency in doctrine and ceremonial which otherwise has no special name. I have been informed by Tamil Pandits that at the present day the ritual in some temples is smarta or according to Smriti, but in the majority according to the agamas or tantric. The former which is followed by many well-known shrines (for instance in Benares and in the great temples of south India) conforms to the precepts of the Puran?as, especially on festival days. The officiants require no special initiation and burnt offerings are presented. But the agamic ritual can be performed only by priests who have received initiation, burnt offerings rarely form part of the ceremony and vernacular hymns are freely used.[453]

Such hymns however as well as processions and other forms of worship which appeal directly to the religious emotions are certainly not tantric. Tantrism is a species of religious magic, differing from the Vedic sacrifices in method rather than principle.[454] For all that, it sets aside the old rites and announces itself as the new dispensation for this age. Among its princ.i.p.al features are the following. The Tantras are a scripture for all, and lay little stress on caste: the texts and the ritual which they teach can be understood only after initiation and with the aid of a teacher: the ritual consists largely in the correct use of spells, magical or sacramental syllables and letters, diagrams and gestures: its object is less to beseech than to compel the G.o.d to come to the worshipper: another object is to unite the worshipper to the G.o.d and in fact transform him into the G.o.d: man is a microcosm corresponding to the macrocosm or universe: the spheres and currents of the universe are copied in miniature in the human body and the same powers rule the same parts in the greater and the lesser scheme. Such ideas are widely disseminated in almost all modern sects,[455] though without forming their essential doctrine, but I must repeat that to say all sects are tantric does not mean that they are all Saktist. But Saktist sects are fundamentally and thoroughly tantric in their theory and practice.

D. Besides the Sanskrit books mentioned above numerous vernacular works, especially collections of hymns, are accepted as authoritative by various sects, and almost every language has scriptures of its own.

In the south two Tamil hymnals, the Devaram of the Sivaites and Nalayira Prabandham of the Vishnuites, are recited in temples and are boldly stated to be revelations equivalent to the Veda. In northern India may be mentioned the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsi Das, which is almost universally venerated, the Bhaktamala of Nabha Das,[456] the Sur-sagar of Surdas and the Prem Sagar. In a.s.sam the Nam Gosha of Madhab Deb is honoured with the same homage as a sacred image. The awkwardness of admitting direct inspiration in late times is avoided by the theory of spiritual descent, that is to say of doctrinal transmission from teacher to teacher, the divine revelation having been made to the original teacher at a discreetly remote epoch.

2

In considering the evolution of modern Hinduism out of the old Vedic religion, three of the many factors responsible for this huge and complicated result deserve special attention. The first is the unusual intensity and prevalence of the religious temperament. This has a double effect, both conservative and alterative: ancient customs receive an unreasonable respect: they are not abolished for their immorality or absurdity; but since real interest implies some measure of constructive power, there is a constant growth of new ideas and reinterpretations resulting in inconsistent combinations. The second is the absence of hierarchy and discipline. The guiding principle of the Brahmans has always been not so much that they have a particular creed to enforce, as that whatever is the creed of India they must be its ministers. Naturally every priest is the champion of his own G.o.d or rite, and such zeal may lead to occasional conflicts. But though the ant.i.thesis between the ritualism of the older Brahmanism and the faith or philosophy of Sivaism and Vishnuism may remind us of the differences between the Catholic Church and Protestant reformers, yet historically there is no resemblance in the development of the ant.i.thesis. To some extent Hinduism showed a united front against Buddhism, but the older Brahmanism had no organization which enabled it to stand as a separate Church in opposition to movements which it disliked. The third factor is the deeply rooted idea, which reappears at frequent intervals from the time of the Upanishads until to-day, that rules and rites and even creeds are somehow part of the lower and temporal order of things which the soul should transcend and leave behind. This idea tinges the whole of Indian philosophy and continually crops up in practice. The founder of a strange sect who declares that nothing is necessary but faith in a particular deity and that all ceremonies and caste observances are superfluous is not in the popular esteem a subverter of Hinduism.

The history of both Sivaism and Vishnuism ill.u.s.trates these features.

Siva begins as a wild deity of non-moral attributes. As the religious sense develops he is not rejected like the less reputable deities of the Jews and Arabs but remains and collects round himself other strange wild ideas which in time are made philosophical but not ethical. The rites of the new religion are, if not antagonistic, at least alternative to the ancient sacrifices, yet far from being forbidden they are performed by Brahmans and modern Indian writers describe Siva as peculiarly the Brahman's G.o.d. Finally the Sivaite schools of the Tamil country reject in successive stages the grosser and more formal elements until there remains nothing but an ecstatic and mystical monotheism. Similarly among the Vishnuites Kr?ishn?a is the centre of legends which have even less of conventional morality.

Yet out of them arises a doctrine that the love of G.o.d is the one thing needful so similar to Christian teaching that many have supposed it must be borrowed.

The first clear accounts of the worship of Siva and Vishn?u are contained in the epics and indicate the existence of sectarian religion, that is to say of exclusive devotion to one or other deity.

But there is also a tendency to find a place for both, a tendency which culminates in the composite deity San?kara Narayan?a already mentioned. Many of the Puran?as[457] reflect this view and praise the two deities impartially. The Mahabharata not unfrequently does the same but the general impression left by this poem is that the various parts of which it consists have been composed or revised in a sectarian spirit. The body of the work is a narrative of exploits in which the hero Kr?ishn?a plays a great part but revised so as to make him appear often as a deity and sometimes as the Supreme Spirit. But much of the didactic matter which has been added, particularly books XII and XIII, breathes an equally distinct Sivaite spirit and in the parts where Kr?ishn?a is treated as a mere hero, the princ.i.p.al G.o.d appears to be not Vishn?u but Siva.

The Mahabharata and Puranas contain legends which, though obscure, refer to conflicts of the worshippers of Siva with those who offered Vedic sacrifices as well as with the votaries of Vishn?u, and to a subsequent reconciliation and blending of the various cults. Among these is the well-known story of Daksha's sacrifice to which Siva was not invited. Enraged at the omission he violently breaks up the sacrifice either in person or through a being whom he creates for the purpose, a.s.saults the officiants and the G.o.ds who are present, and is pacified by receiving a share. Similarly we hear[458] that he once seized a victim at a sacrifice and that the G.o.ds in fear allotted to him the choicest portion of the offerings. These stories indicate that at one time Brahmans did not countenance his worship and he is even represented as saying to his wife that according to rule (dharmatah?) he has no share in the sacrifice.[459] Possibly human victims were immolated in his honour, as they were in Kali's until recently, for in the Mahabharata[460] it is related how Kr?ishn?a expostulated with Jarasandha who proposed to offer to Siva a sacrifice of captive kings.

In the Vishn?u-Puran?a, Kr?ishn?a fights with Siva and burns Benares.

But by the time that the Mahabharata was put together these quarrels were not in an acute stage. In several pa.s.sages[461] Kr?ishn?a is made to worship Siva as the Supreme Spirit and in others[462] vice versa Siva celebrates the glory of Kr?ishn?a. Vishnuites do not disbelieve in Siva but they regard him as a G.o.d of this world, whereas their own deity is cosmic and universal. Many Vishnuite works[463] are said to be revealed by Siva who acts as an intermediary between us and higher spheres.

3

In the following sections I shall endeavour to relate the beginnings of sectarianism. The sects which are now most important are relatively modern and arose in the twelfth century or later, but the sectarian spirit can be traced back several centuries before our era. By sectarians I mean worshippers of Siva or Vishn?u who were neither in complete sympathy with the ancient Brahmanism nor yet excommunicated by it and who had new texts and rites to replace or at least supplement the Vedas and the Vedic sacrifices. It is probable that the different types of early Indian religion had originally different geographical spheres. Brahmanism flourished in what we call the United Provinces: Buddhism arose in the regions to the east of this district and both Vishnuism and Sivaism are first heard of in the west.

The earliest sect of which we have any record is that of the Bhagavatas, who were or became Vishnuite. At a date which it is impossible to fix but considerably before the epoch of Pan?ini, a tribe named the Yadavas occupied the country between Muttra and the sh.o.r.es of Gujarat. Sects of this tribe were called Vr?ishn?i and Sattvata. The latter name has pa.s.sed into theology. Kr?ishn?a belonged to this sect and it is probable that this name Vasudeva was not originally a patronymic but the name of a deity worshipped by it. The hero Kr?ishn?a was identified with this G.o.d and subsequently when the Brahmans wished to bring this powerful sect within the pale of orthodoxy both were identified with Vishn?u. In the Mahabharata[464]

the rule or ritual (vidhi) of the Sattvatas is treated as equivalent to that of the Bhagavatas and a work called the Sattvata Sam?hita is still extant. Bhagavata appears to be the most general name of the sect or sects and means simply _of the Lord_ (Bhagavat), that is worshippers of the one Lord.[465] Their religion is also called Ekantika dharma, or the religion with one object, that is monotheism.[466]

A considerable literature grew up in this school and the princ.i.p.al treatise is often spoken of as Pancaratra because it was revealed by Narayan?a during five nights.[467] The name however appears to be strictly speaking applicable to a system or body of doctrine and the usual term for the books in which this system is expounded is Sam?hita. All previous discussions and speculations about these works, of which little was known until recently, are superseded by Schrader's publication of the Ahirbudhnya Sam?hita, which appears to be representative of its cla.s.s.[468] The names of over two hundred are cited and of these more than thirty are known to be extant in MS.[469]

The majority were composed in north-western India but the Pancaratra doctrine spread to the Dravidian countries and new Sam?hitas were produced there, the chief of which, the isvara Sam?hita, can hardly be later than 800 A.D.[470] Of the older works Schrader thinks that the Ahirbudhnya was written in Kashmir[471] between 300 and 800 A.D. and perhaps as early as the fourth century. It mentions the Sattvata and Jayakhya, which must therefore be older.

The most remarkable feature of this literature is its elaborate doctrine of evolution and emanation from the Deity, the world process being conceived in the usual Hindu fashion as an alternation of production and destruction. A distinction is drawn between pure and gross creation. What we commonly call the Universe is bounded by the sh.e.l.l of the cosmic egg and there are innumerable such eggs, each with its own heavens and its own tutelary deities such as Brahma and Siva who are sharply distinguished from Vishn?u. But beyond this mult.i.tude of worlds are more mysterious and spiritual spheres, the highest heaven or Vaikun?t?ha wherein dwells G.o.d in his highest form (Para) with his Saktis,[472] certain archangels and liberated souls.

Evolution commences when at the end of the cosmic night the Sakti of Vishn?u[473] is differentiated from her Lord and a.s.sumes the two forms of Force and Matter.[474] He as differentiated from her is Vasudeva a personal deity with six attributes[475] and is the first emanation, or Vyuha, of the ineffable G.o.dhead. From him proceeds Sankarshan?a, from Sankarshan?a Pradyumna, and from Pradyumna Aniruddha. These three Vyuhas take part in creation but also correspond to or preside over certain aspects of human personality, namely Sankarshan?a to the soul that animates all beings, Pradyumna to intelligence and Aniruddha to individuality. Strange to say these seem to be the names of distinguished personages in the Sattvata or Vr?ishn?i clan.[476] Mere deification occurs in many countries but the transformation of heroes into metaphysical or psychological terms could hardly have happened outside India. Next to the Vyuhas come twelve sub-Vyuhas, among whom is Narayan?a,[477] and thirty-nine Avataras. All these beings are outside the cosmic eggs and our gross creation. As a prelude to this last there takes place the evolution of the aggregates or sources from which individual souls and matter are drawn, of s.p.a.ce and of time, and finally of the elements, the process as described seeming to follow an older form of the Sankhya philosophy than that known to us. The task of human souls is to attain liberation, but though the language of the Sam?hitas is not entirely consistent, the older view is that they become like to G.o.d, not that they are absorbed in him.[478]

Thus it is not incorrect to say that the Bhagavata religion is monotheistic and recognizes a creator of souls. Indeed Sankara[479]

condemns it on the very ground that it makes individual souls originate from Vasudeva, in which case since they have an origin they must also have an end. But Ramanuja in replying to this criticism seems to depart from the older view, for he says that the Supreme Being voluntarily abides in four forms which include the soul, mind and the principle of individuality. This, if not Pantheism, is very different from European monotheism.[480]

The history of these Bhagavatas, Pancaratras or worshippers of Vishn?u must have begun several centuries before our era, for there are allusions to them in Pan?ini and the Niddesa.[481] The names of Vasudeva and Sankarshan?a occur in old inscriptions[482] and the Greek Heliodoros calls himself a Bhagavata on the column found at Besnagar and supposed to date from the first part of the second century B.C.

The Pancaratra was not Brahmanic in origin[483] and the form of the Sankhya philosophy from which it borrowed was also un-Brahmanic. It seems to have grown up in north-western India in the centuries when Iranian influence was strong and may owe to Zoroastrianism the doctrine of the Vyuhas which finds a parallel in the relation of Ahura Mazda to Spenta Mainyu, his Holy Spirit, and in the Fravashis. It is also remarkable that G.o.d is credited with six attributes comparable with the six Amesha Spentas. In other ways the Pancaratra seems to have some connection with late Buddhism. Though it lays little stress on the worship of G.o.ddesses, yet all the Vyuhas and Avataras are provided with Saktis, like the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of tantric Buddhism, and in the period of quiescence which follows on the dissolution of the Universe Vishn?u is described under the name of Sunya or the void. It attaches great importance to the _Cakra_, the wheel or discus which denotes Vishn?u's will to be,[484] to evolve and maintain the universe, and it may have contributed some ideas to the very late form of Buddhism called Kalacakra. This very word is used in the Ahirbudhnya Sam?hita as the name of one of the many wheels engaged in the work of evolution.

Though the Pancaratra is connected with Kr?ishn?a in its origin, it gives no prominence to devotion to him under that name as do modern sects and it knows nothing of the pastoral Kr?ishn?a.[485] It recommends the worship of the four Vyuhas[486] presiding over the four quarters in much the same way that late Buddhism adores the four Jinas depicted in somewhat similar forms. Similarly the Sivaites say that Siva has five faces, namely isana or Sadasiva (the highest, undifferentiated form of the deity) at the top and below Vamadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Sadyojata, presiding respectively over the north, south, east and west. It is thus clear that in the early centuries of our era (or perhaps even before it) there was a tendency in Vishnuism, Sivaism and Mahayanist Buddhism alike to represent the ineffable G.o.dhead as manifested in four aspects somewhat more intelligible to human minds and producing in their turn many inferior manifestations. Possibly the theory originated among the Vishnuites,[487] but as often happened in India it was adopted by their opponents. None of these theories are of much importance as living beliefs at the present day but their influence can be seen in iconography.

As a sect the Pancaratras seem to have been a subdivision of the Bhagavatas and probably at the present day many Vishnuites would accept the second name but not the first. The Pancaratra is studied at only a few places in southern India but its doctrines permeate the popular work called Bhaktamala and in view of the express approbation of Ramanuja and other authorities it can hardly be repudiated by the Sri-Vaishn?avas. Bhagavata is sometimes used in the south as a name for Smartas who practise Vedic rites and worship both Siva and Vishnu.[488]

4

In these early times there were strenuous theological struggles now forgotten, though they have left their traces in the legends which tell how the t.i.tle of Kr?ishn?a and others to divine honours was challenged. Amalgamation was the usual method of conciliation.

Several G.o.ds grew sufficiently important to become in the eyes of their worshippers the supreme spirit and at least four were united in the deity of the Bhagavatas, namely, Vasudeva, Kr?ishn?a, Vishn?u and Narayan?a. Of the first three I have spoken already. Narayan?a never became like Vishn?u and Kr?ishn?a a great mythological figure, but in the late Vedic period he is a personification of the primaeval waters from which all things sprang or of the spirit which moved in them.[489] From this he easily became the supreme spirit who animates all the universe and the name was probably acceptable to those who desired a purer and simpler worship because it was connected with comparatively few legends. But there is some confusion in its use, for it is applied not only to the supreme being but to a double incarnation of him called Nara-Narayan?a, and images of the pair may still be seen in Vishnuite temples. They are said to have revealed the true doctrine to Narada and are invoked at the beginning of each book of the Mahabharata.[490] One of the main theses of the Narayan?iya[491]

is the ident.i.ty of Narayan?a and Vasudeva, the former being a Brahmanic, the latter a non-Brahmanic name for the Deity.

The celebrated Bhagavad-gita[492] which is still held in such respect that, like the New Testament or Koran, it is used in law courts for the administration of oaths, is an early scripture of the Bhagavata sect. In it the doctrines of Kr?ishn?a's divinity, the power of faith and the efficacy of grace are fully established. It is declared to be too hard for flesh and blood to find by meditation their way to the eternal imperceptible spirit, whereas Kr?ishn?a comes straightway to those who make him their sole desire. "Set thy heart on me, become my devotee, sacrifice to me and worship thou me. Then shalt thou come to me. Truly I declare to thee thou art dear to me. Leave all (other) religious duties and come to me as thy sole refuge. I will deliver thee from thy sins. Sorrow not." But the evolution of San?karshan?a, etc., is not mentioned. The poem has perhaps been re-edited and interpolated several times but the strata can hardly be distinguished, for the whole work, if not exactly paradoxical, is eclectic and continually argues that what is apparently highest is not best for a particular person. The Hindus generally regard the contemplative life as the highest, but the Bhagavad-gita is insistent in enjoining unselfish action: it admits that the supreme reality cannot be grasped by the mind or expressed in speech, but it recommends the worship of a personal deity. Even the older parts of the poem appear to be considerably later than Buddhism. But its mythology, if not Vedic, is also hardly Puranic and it knows nothing of the legends about the pastoral Kr?ishn?a. It presupposes the San?khya and Yoga, though in what stage of development it is hard to say, and in many respects its style resembles the later Upanishads. I should suppose that it a.s.sumed its present form about the time of the Christian era, rather before than after, and I do not think it owes anything to direct Christian influence. In its original form it may have been considerably older.

The Bhagavad-gita identifies Kr?ishn?a with Vasudeva and with Vishn?u but does not mention Narayan?a and from its general style I should imagine the Narayan?iya to be a later poem. If so, the evolution of Bhagavata theology will be that Kr?ishn?a, a great hero in a tribe lying outside the sphere of Brahmanism, is first identified with Vasudeva, the G.o.d of that tribe, and then both of them with Vishn?u.

At this stage the Bhagavad-gita was composed. A later current of speculation added Narayan?a to the already complex figure, and a still later one, not accepted by all sects, brought the pastoral and amorous legends of Kr?ishn?a. Thus the history of the Bhagavatas ill.u.s.trates the Indian disposition to combine G.o.ds and to see in each of them only an aspect of the one. But until a later period the types of divinity known as Vishn?u and Siva resisted combination. The worshippers of Siva have in all periods shown less inclination than the Vishnuites to form distinct and separate bodies and the earliest Sivaite sect of which we know anything, the Pasupatas,[493] arose slightly later than the Bhagavatas.

5

Patanjali the grammarian (_c._ 150 B.C.) mentions devotees of Siva[494] and also images of Siva and Skanda. There is thus no reason to doubt that worshippers of Siva were recognized as a sect from at least 200 B.C. onwards. Further it seems probable that the founder or an early teacher of the sect was an ascetic called Lakulin or Lakulisa, the club-bearer. The Vayu Puran?a[495] makes Siva say that he will enter an unowned corpse and become incarnate in this form at Kayarohana, which has been identified with Karvan in Baroda. Now the Vayu is believed to be the oldest of the Puran?as, and it is probable that this Lakulin whom it mentions lived before rather than after our era and was especially connected with the Pasupata sect. This word is derived from Pasupati, the Lord of cattle, an old t.i.tle of Rudra afterwards explained to mean the Lord of human souls. In the San?tiparvan[496] five systems of knowledge are mentioned. San?khya, Yoga, the Vedas, Pasupatam and Pancaratram, promulgated respectively by Kapila, Hiran?yagarbha, Apantaratamas, Siva the Lord of spirits and son of Brahma, and "The Lord (Bhagavan) himself." The author of these verses, who evidently supported the Pancaratra, considered that these five names represented the chief existing or permissible varieties of religious thought. The omission of the Vedanta is remarkable but perhaps it is included under Veda. Hence we may conclude that when this pa.s.sage was written (that is probably before 400 A.D. and perhaps about the beginning of our era) there were two popular religions ranking in public esteem with the philosophic and ritual doctrines of the Brahmans. The Mahabharata contains a hymn[497] which praises Siva under 1008 names and is not without resemblance to the Bhagavad-gita.

It contains a larger number of strange epithets, but Siva is also extolled as the All-G.o.d, who asks for devotion and grants grace. At the close of the hymn Siva says that he has introduced the Pasupata religion which partly contradicts and partly agrees with the inst.i.tutions of caste and the asramas, but is blamed by fools.[498]

These last words hint that the Pasupatas laid themselves open to criticism by their extravagant practices, such as strange sounds and gestures.[499] But in such matters they were outdone by other sects called Kapalikas or Kalamukhas. These carried skulls and ate the flesh of corpses, and were the fore-runners of the filthy Aghoris, who were frequent in northern India especially near Mount Abu and Girnar a century ago and perhaps are not yet quite extinct. The biographers of Sankara[500] represent him as contending with these demoniac fanatics not merely with the weapons of controversy but as urging the princes who favoured him to exterminate them.