History of India from
C. 300 C.E. to 1206 Check Your Progress 1
1) Describe the main features of Kingship during the post-Gupta period.
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2) Write in about five lines the role of samantas in polity.
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8.5 RELIGION IN THE POST-GUPTA PERIOD
You are by now familiar with certain broad stages of the religious history of
early India. While archaeological material suggests that certain elements of
Indian religions were present in the archaeological cultures dating prior to the
Vedas, the hymns of the Rig Veda give us for the first time, an idea of how
prayers were offered to deities to please them. However, the simple prayers of
the Rig Veda gave place gradually to complex rituals dominated by Brahmanas
and one can notice the growth of a close relationship between the Brahmanas
and the rulers and warriors in this situation. Not only the wandering ascetics
who moved away from the established society but also the Buddhist and Jainas
did not accept the dominance of the Brahmanas and the rigid social and moral
order which the Brahmanas advocated. There, thus, grew the heterodox
movements which received support not only from rulers and rich merchants but
also from other sections of people. In the post-Gupta period Buddhism reached
the height of its glory, spread to countries outside India and Buddhist structures
were constructed on a large scale.
Meanwhile, certain changes were taking place within Brahmanism as well as
within heterodox sects. From the religious point of view, the most important
change was that the devotee was considered as being bound to the supreme god-
head by devotion (bhakti) and the god-head was worshipped in the form of
images. Vaishnavism and Shaivism as parts of Brahmanical religion attracted
many devotees; image-worship became widespread among the Buddhists who
worshipped not only the Buddha or Bodhisattva but also a host of other deities;
the Jainas, too, worshipped the images of Tirthankaras, various minor deities,
stone ayagapatas and other objects. The Brahmanas used image-worship to
build up pantheons of deities by assimilating gods and goddesses from diverse
sources. This is how many female deities (shakti) became prominent in
Brahmanical religions in this period.
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In fact, there was no homogeneity in Brahmanical religions and religious Polity, Religion and Culture
in the post-Gupta Period
practices, and beliefs varied widely. Different sects of Shavism, such as the
Pasupatas, the Kaula-Kapalikas and the Kalamukhas were opposed to the
dominance of the Brahmanas. They had their own religious orders centered
around mathas (monasteries) and they received support from many royal families.
At the same time, Brahmanas who cultivated the Vedas and continued to perform
Vedic sacrifices received royal support and agrahara settlements of the
Brahmanas came to be a major link in the spread of Brahmanical ideas and
practices throughout the country. The temple also became an institution which
drew people together and served effectively in the spread of ideas. Although in
the complex religious situation of early medieval India the Brahmanas were
gaining ascendancy, one should keep in mind also the following terms:
1) The orthodox Brahmanical order continued to be challenged, particularly
by movements within Shaivism, by poet-saints and by those who practiced
Tantric form of worship.
2) Most religions, irrespective of whether it was Brahmanism, Buddhism or
Shaivism, developed institutional bases in the form of temples and
monasteries.
3) Ruling powers and elite sections of society supported institutions and
Brahmanas, monks, acharyas (religious heads) and others by grants of
land, wealth and by other means. By these acts of patronage, the ruling
powers and elite sections of society strengthened their own social base.
8.5.1 Emergence of Bhakti
Brahmanism had to accept the growing importance of new gods like Shiva and
Vishnu side by side with Vedic gods like Indra and Varuna. It also assimilated
many other popular deities like Vasudeva, Skanda and so on. All these led to the
growth of the Bhakti cult.
An important characteristic of later Brahmanism was its capacity to adopt new
trends. This became necessary to meet the challenge of the ‘heretical sects’
which were opposed to Brahmanism. Besides adopting new gods, Brahmanism
gradually shifted its emphasis from Vedic rituals to Bhakti, which implied the
cultivation and development of apersonal relationship between God and the
devotee. Thus, a monotheistic concept of God, with either Shiva or Vishnu as
his manifestation and Bhakti (loyalty and devotion) to him was gaining strength.
Soon Bhakti became the dynamic force of later Brahmanism also called Hinduism
(you will be reading about Bhakti in detail in Unit 16)
8.5.2 Syncretism of Deities
An important characteristic of the new Brahmanism was its genius to syncretize
many local deities and to evolve a monotheistic great God. Syncretism in this
context will mean that deities worshipped at different places and by different
people were recognized as identical and were worshipped as manifestation of
the same supreme deity. Thus, Vasudeva was identified with Vishnu, a minor
Vedic god and Narayana, a god of obscure origin mentioned in the Brahmana
literature. Then, Vishnu was closely connected with the name of Krishna who
represented the fusion between martial hero and a flute-playing pastoral deity.
Vishnu could assimilate many other cults – the cult of the “divine boar” which 125
History of India from prevailed among some of the tribes of Malwa; the cult of Parashurama, a
C. 300 C.E. to 1206
Brahmana hero; and Rama, the great hero of the Ramayana. Then, Vishnu rose
to the status of the Universal God in the Bhagavad Gita.
Similarly, Shiva came to be syncretized with the Vedic Rudra and Bhairava, a
tribal god, and was worshipped in the form of the phallic emblem (linga). With
Shiva were later associated certain other deities such as Skanda and the elephant-
headed Ganesha. These theistic cults stressed the merit of worship rather than
the performance of Vedic sacrifice.
8.5.3 Incorporation of Tribal Rituals
Yet another important feature of later Brahmanism was its incorporation of the
tribal rituals keeping the Vedic Yajna rites supreme only in theory. In course of
time, the merits derived out of these new rituals were equated with the merit of
the Vedic Yajna. Further, the sacred spots of the tribals were included as new
places of pilgrimage (tirtha) with suitable myths to make them respectable. The
Itihaasa and Puranas are full of such material or stories which inspire bhakti
(devotion) to a personal god.
8.5.4 Royal Support to Temples and Theism
The Puranas highlighted the merits acquired by visiting great cult entrées like
Mathura and Varanasi which were major places of pilgrimage. This gave stimulus
to the institution of the temple. In fact, the Puranas and other texts of the period
list numerous places of pilgrimage (tirthas) which drew devotees in large numbers
because visiting tirthas would ensure merit. The temple, which housed the
deity, became a place of worship and, thus, drew devotees away from home to
an institution which became a public center. The Gupta age marked the beginning
of temple construction. It laid the foundation of the typical styles of Indian
temple architecture. The Epic and Puranic stories relating to Rama and Krishna
were represented in the temple sculptures. Excellent specimens of them are still
found in the Deogarh temple. The Gupta emperors patronized both Shaivism
and Vaishnavism. However, the personal religion of most of the Gupta rulers
was Vaishnavism which led to the creation of a number of important Vaishnava
centers and Vaishnava sculptures in the Gupta period. However, in the 6 th and 7th
centuries CE Shaivism seems to have replaced Vaishnavism as recipient of
royal patronage in northern India. Shaivism counted among its followers’ supreme
rulers – foreign as well as indigenous – such as Mihirakula, Yashodharman,
Sasanka and Harsha. Pashupata or Shaiva acharyas are frequently mentioned
in contemporary records which include inscriptions and many literary works
like those of Varahamihira, Bana and Hiuen Tsang.
8.5.5 Spread of North Indian Religions to the South
All the major north Indian religions – Brahmanism, Jainism and Buddhism –
travelled southwards. The Brahmanas brought with them the Vedic Yajna cult
and the two theistic cults Vaishnavism and Shaivism. The kings were in favour
of the Vedic rituals as they conferred ritual status on them. The theistic cults
struck root among the people. However, eventually the devotional theistic cults
were to prove stronger than any other religious force in the south, and this was
recognized even by royal patrons who extended support to Vaishnavism, Shaivism
and their sects. Among the early Chalukyan kings of Vatapi some professed
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Bhagavatism and others, the Pasupata cult. The famous bas-reliefs of Badami Polity, Religion and Culture
in the post-Gupta Period
testify to the popularity of the theistic cults in the Deccan in the 6 th-7th centuries
CE. Similarly, the Pallavas of Kanchi patronized the two theistic cults as shown
by the monolithic rathas (chariots) at Mahabalipuram and many bas-reliefs on
them.
Bhakti, centering around the worship of specific deities, began to spread fast in
the south through the brahmana settlements and temple-centers where the
exposition of the Epics and the Puranas was institutionalized by means of
munificent land-grants. Thus, Bhakti was popularized among the common people.
It is to be noted that the way in which the Brahmanas transformed the earlier
religious forms into temple-centered theistic culture in the north was repeated in
the south also.
8.6 BHAKTI MOVEMENT IN SOUTH INDIA
The final form of theistic Bhakti was largely the result of the influence of the
Tamil devotionalism. This devotionalism was a product of the fusion between
ecstatic local tribal cults (e.g. VelanVeriyadal) and northern theistic schools.
This cross fertilization started at Tiruppati and Kalahasti, which then constituted
the northern door of the Tamil country. Then, it developed around Kanchipuram,
the Pallava capital, and soon reached the region of Madurai, the Pandyan capital.
The TiruMuruguArruppadai – a famous devotional work on Muruga, the local
tribal god who was syncretized with Skanda in this work – is the earliest example
of this cross fertilization.
Soon, this Tamil devotionalism developed into a great movement when it was
adapted to the two theistic cults Shaivism and Vaishnavism. Then, Tamil Bhakti
movement was characterized not only by intense ecstatic piety for the deity, but
also an aggressive militancy against the heterodox cults which were growing in
popularity among the people with royal support.
This movement was spearheaded in the 6th century CE by gifted poet-saints who
traversed the country many times with great missionary zeal. All their way they
sang their hymns, danced and debated with the heterodox cults. Among these
hymnal poet-saints the Shaiva saints are called Nayannars and the Vaishnava
saints as Alvars.
This great wave of religious enthusiasm attained its peak in the early 7 th century
and its triumph was largely achieved in the two centuries that followed. The
hymns of the saints of this period are marked by an outspoken hatred against the
Buddhists and the Jainas. As a result, public debates, competition in the
performance of miracles and tests of the truth of their doctrines by means of
ordeal became the order of the day.
There were other reasons for the success and popularity of these hymnal saints.
Unlike the Brahmanas who propagated Hinduism through esoteric theories and
the use of Sanskrit, the hymnal saints sang in easily understood forms using
only the popular language Tamil.
Their Bhakti was not a reverence for a transcendent deity, but ecstatic love for
an imminent one. Being unable to stand before the force of this Bhakti wave
which also attracted royal support, Jainism and Buddhism had to retreat from
the South. 127
History of India from
C. 300 C.E. to 1206
8.6.1 Protest and Reform in the Bhakti Movement of the South
and its Later Transformation
Whereas the Brahmanas were obsessed with caste regulations, the Bhakti
movement not only ignored caste but also included men and women of all
castes. Among the Nayannars, Karaikkal Ammai was a woman and Nandanar
was a member of the depressed class. Among the Alvars, Andal was a woman
and Timppan was a hymnist from a “low caste”. Thus, the whole movement
carried elements of protest and reform. However, it soon became part of the
establishment, lost its early character and got engulfed by Brahmanical orthodoxy.
The Bhakti movement ran parallel to the growth and consolidation of early
medieval monarchies, first under the Pallavas and then under the Cholas, Pandyas
and the Cheras. Many rock temples were cut, and structural temples were built
for Shiva and Vishnu throughout the Tamil land by almost all the reigning
monarchs.
These temples were endowed with vast landed property, often tax-free. Extensive
areas of land were donated to the Brahmanas as is evident from the thousands
of donative inscriptions on the walls of the south Indian temples. A prince-priest
axis soon emerged. The monarchs fervently welcomed the rich temple-centered
bhakti (unflinching loyalty) as it suited the monarchical ideology. The Brahmanas
welcomed this as it enabled Brahmanism, with its institutional base in the temple-
centered agrarian settlements, to emerge as the most dynamic force in south
India.
Everywhere, the local temple was the nucleus of religious life and a new social
formation. In these temples the two arms of the Brahmanical religion – the
ritualistic Vedic cult and the theistic devotional cult – could meet. The temple-
centered Bhakti enabled the all-embracing caste system to attract all the original
tribes of south India within its fold and place them in the hierarchical caste
order. This order fixed the ritual and social status of the tribes with the Brahmana
as the fixed point of reference. The ideology of Bhakti could bring together
kings, priests and the common people within a network of understandable social
relations.
With the increasing patronage of kings and landed magnates, the Bhakti movement
soon became part of the establishment. Thus, all traces of dissent, protest and
reform were obliterated in the 10th century CE. The Alvars and the Nayannars
do not appear any more. Their place was taken by Vaishnava acharyas, all of
whom were Brahmanas or the Shaivite acharyas who all came from the rich
landed Vellala caste.
Check Your Progress 2
1) Discuss the reasons for royal support to temples.
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Polity, Religion and Culture
2) In what ways did the Bhakti movement in the south differ from in the post-Gupta Period
Brahmanism?
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8.7 EMERGENCE OF TANTRISM
The religious practices which originated in the most primitive fertility rites of
the non-Aryan tribal circles later came to be known as Tantrism. It not only
infiltrated into the other ‘civilized’ cults (Jainism, Buddhism, Shaivism,
Vaishnavism etc.) but also emerged as a challenge and reaction to these cults, as
all of them had developed vested interests and had become parts of the
establishment by the early medieval period.
8.7.1 Some Main Features of Tantrism
Women clearly enjoyed a higher status in all the tribal belts. Since in the Sanskrit
texts they were bracketed with the shudras, it became necessary for them to
raise their traditional ritual status by means of Tantric initiations. The reason for
the importance of female deities in Tantrism is that in all the tribal belts the cult
of the mother goddesses was widely prevalent. These aboriginal goddesses
entered into Brahmanism as Shakti, Buddhism as Tara and Jainism as many
Yakshinis. The Gaudavah – a Prakrit text of the early medieval period – associates
Kali and Parvati with such tribals as the Kols and the Sabaras. Shakti is known
as Matangi (a goddess of Matanga tribes) and Chandali (a goddess of the
Chandalas). At the end of the Gupta period many tribal goddesses were absorbed
into the higher cults, together with many magical rites and a new form of animal
sacrifice. All these increased in importance throughout the early medieval period.
Tantrism emerged as a religious factor in the 6th century CE and became a strong
force by the 9th century (You will be reading about Tantrism in detail in Unit 16).
8.7.2 Tantrism and the Heterodox Religions
Tantrism penetrated Buddhist, Jaina and the Brahmana theology. Early Buddhism
and Jainism tried their best to check the infiltration of these Tantric practices
into their cults. In the earliest phase of their history Buddhism and Jainism
launched a systematic campaign against the cult of image worship, rituals and
sacrifices as destructive of all morals. They stressed on the purification of soul
for the attainment of nirvana (salvation).
Mahayanism is said to have developed into Mantrayanism or Vajrayanism in the
Andhra region by adopting Tantric practices. Many Tantric texts emerged since
the 3rd century CE from Andhra and Kalinga and spread to Vanga and Magadha
where Nalanda developed as a centre of Tantric study during the reign of the
Palas. The Vajrayana Tantric literature is so vast that only a nominal catalogue
of its works found in Tibetan language comprises three high volumes.
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History of India from Idol worship and rituals appeared in Jainism in the early centuries of the Common
C. 300 C.E. to 1206
Era. Puranas and other literature emphasized that the devotees of Adinatha
could get victory over enemies and ward-off diseases and evil spirits. In the
early medieval age Tantrism infiltrated into Jainism on a significant scale as it
did into other religions. As a result, Jainism developed a pantheon of Yakshas
and Yakshis (the attendant demi-gods and goddesses of the Tirthankaras) together
with a number of mantras (magical formulae) to propitiate them. Many Jaina
Tantric texts, which incorporated elements of magic and miracle, glorified the
cult of Yakshis like Padmavati Ambika, Siddhayika and Jvalamalini. These Yakshis
were believed to bestow superhuman powers on their devotees. The Yapaniya
sect of the Jainas was the foremost in propagating Tantric mode of worship in
early medieval Karnataka.
8.8 CULTURE IN THE POST-GUPTA PERIOD*
In the fields of art, architecture, literature and poetry, the post-Gupta period
witnessed great achievements. The beginnings of temple construction can be
traced to the Gupta period as briefly mentioned in Unit 2. From the post-Gupta
phase, we have the evidence of profusion of temple building in both north and
south India. The scale and grandeur of the temples also grew manifold. Many
architectural features such as ground plans evolved from the earlier styles. The
flat roof was now replaced by the tall central tower known as shikhara and we
also see smaller shikharas over subsidiary shrines accompanying the main shrine.
Puranic Hinduism that is reflected in the Puranic literature often depicts a main
deity such as Vishnu or Devi being accompanied by a host of attendant deities
and this becomes evident in the temple complexes dedicated to them. The
shikhara as an additional feature provided ample scope for experimentation in
terms of embellishment. They were richly and exquisitely carved and beautified
with sculptures. Another departure from the Gupta period was that the temples
grew in size: from small places of worship to gigantic structures.
These temple complexes began to serve many functions. For example, they
came to be associated with the coronation and procession ceremonies of kings
as depicted by many sculptural panels of these temples. The temple also became
a symbol of royal power, hence kings commissioned building of monumental
temple structures to convey a sense of their power. Secondly, now entire mathas
(counterparts of Buddhist sanghas) were attached to the temple just like a stupa
and it became a centre of religious learning where recitations of Puranas,
Ramayana and Mahabharata, and other compositions were made by professional
narrators.
In the field of literature, the patronage to Sanskrit continued. In fact, post-Gupta
period witnessed the perfection of classical Sanskrit. Poets of widespread repute
such as Bharavi, Kumaradass and Dandin and great dramatists like Vishakhadatta
lived in this age. Along with renewed interest in various branches of knowledge
such as mathematics, astronomy and medicine, new subjects of study such as
various schools of philosophy like Mimamsa and Nyaaya evolved in this period.
King Harsha was an ardent connoisseur and patron of learning. He was himself
a poet, dramatist and writer of three plays. His court poet Banabhatta wrote
Harshacharita (biography of Harsha) and Kadambari. His court attracted poets,
*This Section is written by Dr. Abhishek Anand.
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dramatists, philosophers and painters from far away. He is said to have convened Polity, Religion and Culture
in the post-Gupta Period
the famous Kanauj Assembly that was attended by numerous learned scholars.
A significant contribution of the contemporary Puranic literature is the writing
of Vamshanuvalis i.e. genealogical lists of kings and dynasties, which is to be
seen in the wider context of the Iitihaasa-Purana tradition. This should silence
those who argue and allege that ancient Indians lacked a sense of history. The
post-Gupta kingdoms began writing their own history, the evidence of which
comes from the inscriptions issued by kings, their biographies (charitas) and
chronicles etc. For example, the Harshacharita decribes Harsha’s rise to the
throne, Sandhyakara-Nandin’s Rama-charita gives an account of the Pala ruler
Ramapala’s crushing of revolt by the Kaivartas and reassertion of his power.
Another evidence of the historical consciousness of people in this time comes
from the texts that began to be dated in eras, such as the Harsha era of 606. The
beginning of these eras was associated with a king or a dynasty, but they were
calculated on the basis of calendrical traditions or astronomical observations,
thereby indicating the historical importance of time grasped by the people of
this age.
8.9 SUMMARY
From the above sections a fair idea may be obtained regarding the polity of the
post-Gupta period. There were a number of common features. Monarchy had
become a regular feature throughout the length and breadth of the subcontinent.
A regular division of each state’s territory for administrative purpose, a hierarchy
of officials forming the bureaucracy, a standing army and a sort of revenue or
taxation system may be found in all the kingdoms, particularly in central parts
of each sovereign state. But, when compared to the Mauryan polity the King’s
government during this period did not possess effective powers and control
throughout its territory.
In this Unit you have seen how Brahmanism had to accept the growing importance
of new gods and assimilated many other popular deities. The Bhakti cult emerged
out of the various religious cults and became very strong in South India. It
ignored caste regulations and women had a higher status in Bhakti movement
when compared to Brahmanism. Tantrism emerged as an important force in the
early medieval period. The practices of Tantrism infiltrated into other religions.
As far as the period under study is concerned, the new elements were just
emerging and they took more definite shape in later centuries.
Significant development occurred in the realm of culture in the post-Gupta
period. Temple styles became crystallised and now elaborate temples began to
be constructed. This development was helped by the huge number of land-
grants which the temples were endowed with. Literature flourished in this period.
Vamshavalis and charita literature emerged and are a mine of information about
various dynasties and their kings. New fields of study were an important
development of this period.
8.10 KEY WORDS
Adhiarana : a court of justice.
Alvars : the Vaishnava Bhakti saints of early medieval Tamil
country (6th-9th century CE). 131