Rekha Pande
Department of History
University of Hyderabad
 Hinduism can never be viewed as one monolith tradition or
a unitary practice.
 Historically the religious beliefs and practices of the
Hindus were too divergent to constitute a coherent,
monolith religious system that has been a part of the
imagined image of Hinduism in modern times.
 The very term Hindu from which Hinduism is derived and
which was taken over by the western administrators,
scholars and merchants was the Persian variant of the
Sanskrit sindhu, the Indus River, a word applied already in
the Avesta both to the river and the country through which
the Indus flows.
 In the plural it denoted the population living in that
region, the Indus people.
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It is one of the oldest religions of humanity.
Refereed to as Sanatan( eternal) Dharma.
Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism own a lot to
Hinduism.
Tolerance and diversity: "Truth is one, paths are
many“
Many deities but a single, impersonal Ultimate
Reality.
A philosophy and a way of life – focused both on this
world and beyond
 Has no founder
 No hierarchal Clergy.
 No direct divine revelation.
 No rigidly prescribed moral code.
 Evolved from primitive animism to polytheism to monism
with out rejecting any
 Hinduism does not discard the various deities of different
faiths and cults but regards them as a manifestation of one
God.
 One impersonal Ultimate Reality –
Brahman
 Manifest as many personal deities
 True essence of life –
Atman, the soul, is Brahman trapped in
matter (“That art thou”)
 Reincarnation – atman is continually born into this world
lifetime after lifetime (Samsara)
 Karma – spiritual impurity due to actions keeps us bound to
this world (good and bad)
 Ultimate goal of life – to release Atman and reunite with the
divine, becoming as one with Brahman (Moksha)
 The Four Yogas - seeking union with the divine:
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Karma Yoga – the path of action through selfless service
(releases built up karma without building up new karma)
 Jnana Yoga – the path of knowledge (understanding the
true nature of reality and the self)
 Raja Yoga – the path of meditation
 Bhakti Yoga – the path of devotion
 Guru – a spiritual teacher, especially helpful for Jnana and
Raja yoga
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Bhakti Yoga is seeking union with the divine
through loving devotion to manifest deities
 In the home (household shrines)
 In the Temples (priests officiate)
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Puja – making offerings to and decorating the deity
images
Darsan – “seeing” the deity (not idol worship)
 Prasad – taking the divine within your own being through
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eating of food shared with the deity
 There are three major sects of Hinduism.
 Vaisnavism the members of which worship Vishn.
 Saivism the followers of which worship Siva.
 Saktas or the worshippers of Shakti.
 Each of these sects is further divided into subsects. Sri
Vaisnavism is one of the subsects of Vaisnavism
founded by Nathamuni and developed under
Ramanujacharya. Like Saivism, Vaisnavism was also
based on perfect faith and devotion or Bhakti.
 Saivism was further divided intoVir saivism.
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Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including:
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)
Shiva, god of constructive destruction
(the transformer)
Appears as Shiva Nataraj,
lord of the dance of creation…
and with his wife, Parvati, and son Ganesha
(the elephant headed remover of obstacles)
Durga, protectress
Kali, destroyer of demons
 The antiquity of Vaisnavism is traced back to the
Vedic period but it witnessed several changes
during the course of its development since the
Vedic period.
 In the Vedic period we have nature worship in the
form of Sun. Visnu and Agni are among the
several deities mentioned in the Rig-Veda.
 From a mere solar deity in the Vedic literature ,
Visnu emerged in the Epico- puranic period as a
supreme power in a composite form of the man
god – Vasudev Krishna, the Vedic God Visnu and
the cosmic God Narayana
 As the religion became popular among the masses and was
spreading far , it was accompanied by growth of devotional
literature, iconography, institutionalization of temple worship
and elaboration of sastras relating to the worship of God.
 This necessitated the composition of Agamas. The Agamas
contained principles of worship, installation of deity in a temple,
rules regarding the construction of temple structures.
 The period between 5th to 7th century witnessed the formation
of two type -s of Vaisnava Agamas – the Vaikhanasa and the
Pancharatras of which the former is termed as Vedic and the
latter as non Vedic.
 The Bhagvata religion was more inclined towards the
Pancharatra system.
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In the history of Vaisnavism the Pancharatra School , also referred to as the
Bhagavata, Sattavata, Ekanatika, occupies an important place.
 The special contribution of the Pancharatra school is the theory of
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emanation- Vyuhavada, which while bringing in the varying world into
existence from the supreme being leaves the latter quite unaffected.
The Vyuhavada, doctrine comprises of the worship of five Vrishni
heroes, Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Pradyumana, Aniruddha and Samba.
All these Vyuhas were simply manifested in the central deity , Vishnu
whose all pervading powers gave his followers protection from evil and
demonic forces.
To this was added the concept of Avatarvada, where Vishnu is
worshipped in various forms and ten forms were recognized as avatars.
By the age of Guptas Buddha also came to be identified with Narayana
and was worshipped as one of the ten avatars.
This is a perfect example of Hindu syncretism and absorption of rival
religionsThe Imperial Guptas were devout Vaisnavas and they
patronized this religion and this is clearly pointed out by their
inscriptions and coins.
 Tradition gives us a list of twelve Alwars including a woman. Most of
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these belonged to the Pallava period and came from different parts of
the Tamil country.
Some of these were Brahmins and others came from different sections
of society.
Tiruppanalwar was a saint of depressed castes (pana community of
Sudra caste), Nammalwar the greatest of Alwars was a Vellala,
Tirumangai Alwar was a kalla and Kulasekhara Alwar was a Kshatriya.
Even those of the Alwars who were brahmins, one of them was a
repentant sinner and another Tirumalisai was a person of dubious
parentage.
The Alwars composed hymns in poetic tamil and their songs were
influenced by the stories of gods of the epics and Puranas.
The works of all the Alwars is collected and preserved in the name of
Nalayira Divya Prabandham, which consists of altogether 4000
verses.
 The Alwars were ardent lovers of Lord Visnu and
worshipped him in all his avatars.
 They emphasized the universal nature of God. The
essence of their teachings was that salvation was
attainable to all, even the uninitiated.
 Nammalwar or Satakopan in his Tirvaymoli is
philosophical and lyrical, dispassionately speculative
and filled with the outpourings of an anguished heart.
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 The idea of prapatti or saranagati through the guru also seems to have originated
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with Nammalwar.
Its importance lies in the fact that initially for the Alwars Bhakti or devotion was
considered as a means of salvation.
They aimed at the service in Vaikuntha by performing it in this world in relation to
the archavataras.
Subsequently this service that was very simple in the beginning developed certain
prescribed methods for its practice and became an organized system of worship
with certain rigid methods that are impossible for the common man to follow.
This was probably due to the growing Brahmanical control over the movement and
the temple organization.
Since the lower section could not perform these rituals a guide in the form of Guru
was needed to seek salvation.
Out of this developed the doctrine of self-surrender or Prapatti. This doctrine was
developed fully in the age of Acharyas and became an essential aspect of Sri
Vaisnava philosophy.
 The coming of the Acharyas started a new epoch in the history of Sri-
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Vaisnavism.
The Acharyas parampara seems to have begun in the first half of the 9th
century A.D.
The Acharyas were learned in Sanskrit as well as Tamil and they tried to
interpret the essence of Vedas and Upanishads in terms of Tamil
Prabandhams.
They combined the gyan and karma with bhakti for realizing god. All
the Acharyas were orthodox Brahmins who discharged their duties
strictly.
They encouraged the study of Vedas, performance of rituals and other
temple festivals, strictly according to Vaisnava Agamas but at the same
time they also introduced the study of the recitation of Prabandhams(
the hymns of the Alwars) in public and private worship.
This principle is called Ubhaya Vedanta Siddhanta i.e. the duel complex
nature of trying to reconcile
 Sri Ramanuja was born in 1017 A.D. at Sri Perimbudur
to Kesava Somayaji and Kantamati.
 His mother was the sister of the great bhakta,
Tirumalanumbi, who was serving Lord Venkateswara
at Tirumala.
 Ramanuja had his early education under
Yadvaprakash, a teacher of the advaita school of
thought.
 Soon differences arose between both of them and
Ramanuja left him and went to his uncle
Tirumalainambi. It was here that he had his strong
foundation in Hindu philosophy.
 Saivite tradition has prevailed in India in some form or
other and archeological evidence point out to the worship
of Siva by the Indus valley people.
 In the Vedic period Siva was called Rudra having the power
to rule over heaven and earth.
 He is also Pasupati the protector of cattle. He is also seen
as the invisible force behind all sorts of destruction,
catastrophes and other sorts of mishappenings.
 After the epic period, of the Ramayana and Mahabharata
he becomes a theistic God and was represented as a God of
wide prevalence and becomes very popular.
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 Nayanars were saints who were active between the
fifth and the tenth centuries.
 . Nayanars were from varied backgrounds. They
ranged from kings to soldiers to the untouchable.
 The Nayanars who were considered as the foremost
among the 63 are Appar Thirunavukkarasar ,
Sambanthar, is one of the 63 Nayanars,. Sambanthar
composed many hymns on Shiva, some of which were
collected at a later date. These hymns form a part of
the religious canon of Saivism.
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 A branch of Saivism which was becoming popular in North western
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parts of Karnataka was Vir Saivism under the leadership of Basavanna
around 12th century.
He was the Prime Minister of Bijjala of the Kalachuri kingdom of
Kalyani. Though he was born in a Brahmin family he revolted against
the inhuman and irrational rituals and orthodox practices. Though
born into a privileged class which enjoyed all the advantages and
benefits of high society, he nevertheless cared deeply for the upliftment
of the under privileged and the unprivileged.
He did not internalize the traditional brahmanical values of the family
into which he was born and broke away from these and at the age of
sixteen he even removed his sacred thread. After this caste did not
matter for he says,
“What if one masters the four Vedas
He is untouchable, who is without a linga”.
 Another person who contributed a lot to Vir saivisam was Akka Mahadevi.
 She was a contemporary of Basavanna.. She was the daughter of a rich
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merchant in the village of Udutal. Having born into the lap of luxury she must
have led a very comfortable life.
She was a great devotee of Siva and initiated into worship at a very early age by
an unknown Guru.
She grew up into a beautiful young women and the chieftain of the land named
Kausika fell in love with her.Kausiki was an unbeliever and Mahadevi Akka was
forced to marry him much against her wishes.Most probably he used coercion
and a show of authority to subjugate Akka Mahadevi.
Legend goes that she told him that she would leave him if he touched her
thrice against her wishes and when he does so she leaves him .When she leaves
him she breaks all the marital relations as well as her clothes and walks about
naked.
Walking naked and wandering around in quest of her spiritual powers she
finally comes to Kalyan to the assembly of sanits( Saranas)
 The radicalization of the Vir saiva sect did not last for a long time
even in Karnataka.
 The absence of economic equality and the in build occupational
and income differentiation’s between the very poor madigas and
Holeyas on the one hand and the very rich Ookkalingas
merchants on the other resulted inevitably in the reintroduction
of caste hierarchies and social inequalities.
 So in its original the Virsaiva was professedly a fraternal
association overriding all caste discrimination. But it soon
developed social exclusiveness based on the privilege of birth
and cleanliness of profession, much along the lines of the
brahmanical caste system, which the sect originally decried
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 The expression Sakthism, is derived from the word
"Shakti." The word Shakti means "Power" both
latent and manifest. When personalised it means
the Devi of Power; she is Devaa.
 The Devi Shakti is the power aspect of the
supreme spirit. The doctrines and ritual of
Sakthism are contained in a special branch of the
Holy Scriptures of India, called Tantra Shastra,
which acknowledges the authority of the great
Veda.
 The focal point of
Saktism is the power
(Sakti) of the
universe and while
meditation upon, the
worshiper dedicates
himself to the
mother
 The Goddess Shakti is the "power" which pervades the
whole of the universe, and from which the Universe
has emanated.
 There is nothing within the manifest world , which is
not Shakti in its essence.
 The manifest world is mind and matter, that is to say,
all that we call our thought, will, imagination, etc. is
mind, and all the realm of nature is matter.
 The follower of Sakthism, the worshipper of Shakti, is called Shakta.
 His conception of the Goddess is described in the Shakti Tantra
Shastras, i.e., the holy scriptures of Sakthism, often in a very poetical
way.
 Whereas we speak of Mother Nature only in a comparative manner, for
the Shakta it is absolute reality. Nature is Her body. Her presence is
personally felt by him, when he is standing on the fertile ground of the
earth; he touches Her life in the blossoms of the pure lotus-flower. She
animates all living creatures.
 His own body is a part of Her great body. Worshipping Her in all Her
different forms, he will find Her light, too, within his mind and
consciousness. Thus, to the Shakta the whole universe of mind and
matter reveals itself in its unity; he see before him Her great body
which he adores; Her sacred feet, Her heart, Her mind. Hence there is
no difference between the Shakta and shakti.
 The principal doctrine of "Sakthism", is that the whole Universe of
mind and matter is created by Her, the Powerful Goddess Shakti.
 It must be understood that every great Indian philosophical system has
its own Cosmo-Genesis, that is, its special conception of the evolution
of the world and its beginning. As a matter of fact, every conception of
life and the Universe requires such a foundation to give it the necessary
firm hold. So the whole created world has as its creative Power Shakti,
the goddess, just as in this world the female element is constantly
maintaining it.
 But She, the creative Goddess, can do nothing without Him, the God,
Shiva, just as no woman can bear fruit without the co-operation of the
male element. The relation of Shakti to Shiva, is of a very subtle,
spiritual nature.
 He, Shiva is in contrast to all creation, be it mind or matter. He is the
underlying pure consciousness , which is independent of, and superior
to, all creation. In
 One of the deepest secrets of Sakthism is the union of the
highest spiritual male consciousness, Shiva, with the allpervading female power, Shakti.
 This union of Shiva and Shakti takes place in the highest
spiritual regions before anything has been created, so to speak,
in the night of Brahma.
 Out of this union the Universe is born--Shakti evolves as mind
and matter, whereas Shiva remains as the underlying
background, unaltered.
 This highest spiritual state of union is inexpressible by words;
but it is approximately circumscribed by the Sanskrit words; Sat-Chit--Ananda. Sat means Being; Chit means Consciousness,
and when these are united with one another, there Ananda-Bliss--the highest spiritual bliss, is the issue.
 Another important feature of the Shakti-worship is the active participation of
women in the ceremonies.
 The Shakta treats them as altogether equal; even more. She, his Wife, is
regarded by him as his Shakti Goddess; She, the mother of his children,
represents to him the Great Mother. Such an attitude is naturally reflected in
the daily life of Shakti Hindu families.,
 There is the Panchatattva Ritual--the most important ritual of Sakthism, which
is still nowadays performed in Bengal. The name "Panchatattva" is derived
from the words "Pancha", five, and "Tattva", elements. The five elements of this
ritual are Wine, Meat, Fish, Parched Corn and Sexual Union.
 Men and women meet as equal partners. They sit together--the man beside the
women--in a circle, called Chakra. Following elaborate rites, they offer to the
Goddess wine, meat, fish and corn. After that they take their meal, which
consists these four elements; the idea being that they unite themselves with
Shakti in these products and fruits. The highest presentment of the Goddess
for the Shakta is the women who is sitting by his side. By uniting with her-according to the Maithuna rites--he experiences the bliss of the great union of
Shiva and Shakti.
 Nothing is wrong or forbidden according to Sakthism,
if it is done with a pure heart and spiritual feeling.
 Daniel S. Ingalls- The basic impulse behind the
worship is - Non-sanskrit, non- Aryan,
indigenous
origin of the Goddess.
 Movement of motif from non-sanskrit to sansikritized.
B.D. Chattopadhyay refers to this phenomenon as
the reappearance “ of the Goddess”.
 Goddess as the mythic model for
Indian women
 O’ Flaherty , Wendy Doniger and
Wadley, Susan S.
‘ Todays women should reinterpret
goddess myth to redefine their position
in Indian society.’
 Susan S. Wadley wants to associate
these principles with feminine
power. This reflects upon the
expectations of the social behavior
from women.