Religion in India

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Philosophical systems

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Shaivism and Vishnuism

All the abundance of cults of Hinduism is generalized to the two main currents of Vishnuism and Shaivism. The concept of Shaivism also encompasses the closely related cults of mother goddesses, or Shaktian and Tantric beliefs.

The cult practice of Shaivism largely dates back to the oldest cults of fertility and carries a significant number of archaic features directly dating back to the era of family relations. It retains many typological features that allow you to reconstruct a number of religious-worldview models that were developed in the process of life practice of ethnic groups that were part of the oldest population of India.

Vishnuism developed in India after the arrival of the Vedic Arias, that is, by the beginning of the І millennium BC. e. To a certain extent, their progress through the country went under the banner of Vishnuism, since the doctrine of the avatars of Vishnu, which can be considered a clear example of the techniques used by the Brahmans for the ideological assimilation of non-Aryan ethnic groups, contributed to the introduction of local cults to Vedic forms of religion.

Vishnuism initially developed in an environment where the descendants of the Vedic aryas ethnically prevailed, and, becoming one of the essential components of their religion, reflected in itself the socio-legal relations that reigned in their society. Dominated and continued to develop intensively in this society system according to the "varna" model - caste "found in Vishnuism its ideological banner in the monuments of Vedic literature in the epic and Puranas widely reflected ideas about the god Vishnu, who planted and asserted the strictness of the Varna borders and, at the same time, which is very important - equally caring for the members of all four varnas, unless they violated their dharma (In "Ramayana," for example, the book "Uttarakanda" tells how Rama - one of the avatars of Vishnu - cut off the head of a certain shudra, who dared to practice strict austerity, allowed only to Brahmins).

But before the heyday of the Guptas empire, that is, before the beginning of the 5th century. e., Vishnuism nevertheless continued to be limited to the three first varnas. Vishnuite texts dating from the Gupta period often emphasize that Shudras can also practice Vishnuism and that artisans from their varna are allowed to make images of Vishnu that are to be recognized as iconographic. The gradual introduction of Vishnuism into the masses of low castes was facilitated both by the doctrine that the poor and suffering will find a favorable subsequent revival through their love for the deity and the meticulous fulfillment of the dharma of their caste, and by the opportunities inherent in Vishnuism to assimilate various folk cults and superstitions.

The widest absorption of the cult of Vishnu by the masses of East and South Indian ethnic groups is associated with the medieval bhakti movement. Being inherently anti-feudal and anti-caste, this movement took place under the motto of love for this god and universal equality in his face. Vishnuism, which was originally a doctrine spread by the Vedic Brahmins, that is, those higher social groups against which the bhakti movement was directed, became the banner of this movement. Such a visible paradoxical is explained precisely by the high degree of adaptability given to Vishnuism by the doctrine of avatars.

In the Middle Ages, the cult of Krishna, "the shepherd god of the most democratic avatar Vishnu, reached its peak, which combined a number of features that stimulate fanatical manifestations of boundless love and absolute worship. These manifestations found their expression in a variety of forms and were widely reflected in folk art.

Long established among the non-Aryan ethnic groups, the Shakti cults of mother goddesses, dating back to the oldest era of the formation of agricultural cults, agricultural magic and the assertion of maternal law (and at the same time a number of ritual devices related to the veneration of the female principle), entered Vishnuism, as well as Hinduism in its broad aspect, in the form of worship of goddesses to spouses or beloved gods. In Vishnuism, this took on the character of veneration of Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, and Radha, whose constant desire for it became a symbol of the continuously growing love of bhakta for the deity (Vishnuite theologians interpreted this love as not ceasing for a moment the desire of the human soul to merge with the divine beginning).

The teachings of Vishnuism have long made religion alien to non-Aryan ethnic groups not only acceptable, but also easily digestible, and mutual adaptation in the field of religious worldview proceeded most painlessly under its auspices.

Due to such a historical coloring, such a flexible character, Vishnuism has become as significant a doctrine in Hinduism as pre-Aryan Shaivism. Moreover, in a number of features of Vishnuism, not only influence is traced, but also a direct assimilation of Shaivism in its different forms. So, among the Bengalis, where Vishnuism did not penetrate before the 10th century. e. and where only in the KhІІ century. acquired the form of theological teaching formulated in the sermons of the believers (for example, Ramanuji, who created a group of 74 preaching students in 1130-1140) and in literary monuments (for example, in the poem "Gitagovinda," written in the KhІІ century. in Sanskrit by the poet Jayadeva), this current of Hinduism was literally saturated with tantrism in a wide range of its erotic manifestations. Some researchers believe that Jayadeva was a Shaivite and only used the Hare Krishna plot to present his erotic-tantric worldview.

The Shaivite-Tantric influence on Vishnuism can be traced back to an earlier period in the wide range of the creation of Puranas. Thus, the Padmapuran, Brahmavai-Vartapuran and Bhagavatapuran contain many such descriptions of Krishna's love encounters with Gopi shepherds and with Radha, which are almost naturalistic in nature. A noticeable influence of "Brahmavaivartapurana" can be traced in the work of the Vishnunt poet Vidyapati Thakur, who lived in Mithil in the 15th century and wrote in two languages ​ ​ Vrajabuli and Sanskrit, and "Bhagavatapurana" was translated into Bengali in the 15th century and influenced the oral work of local Bhakta poets and the content of Krishna chants ^[1].

Of all the preachers of Vishnuism in East India, Chaitanya enjoyed the greatest influence (late XV - early XVI centuries). He lived in Bengal, but at the end of his life he left for Odisha, where he also gained wide popularity. He established a special mystical-sensual cult of Krishna, synthesizing Vishnuite philosophy with the orgiastic practice of Tantrism in his teachings, thus actively promoting the spread of Vishnuism in an ethnic environment that kept the ancient traditions of Shaivism.

Mithila, which, judging by the numerous instructions contained in the "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata," since ancient times has become a stronghold of Vedic Brahmins, has long served them as a kind of ideological stronghold in their attack on the unknown cults of the peoples of East India. And only in the XII-XV centuries. the cult of Vishnu penetrated into these areas up to Assam and Manipur, covering the wide masses. Krishna also became the most popular avatar of Vishnu here, and this form of Vishnuism, along with Shaivism, persists in these areas of the country at the end of the 20th century.

In South India, Vishnuism also began to spread in the post-Kuptov era. Based on the Vishnuit Puranas, created for the most part in the ІІІ-VI centuries. ("Vishnupurana," "Bhagavatapurana," "Matsya- Purana," etc.), the genre of glorifying songs flourished here.

Vishnuism gained here, as in other areas of India, patrons in the person of the kings of local states, which is explained by the presence in the Puranas of the statement about the presence of a particle of Vishnu itself in each ruler. The images of such rulers, revered in Vishnuism, were the legendary avatar kings Rama and Krishna.

In different ethnic environments, these avatars enjoyed varying degrees of recognition. Thus, the Tamils, perceiving Vishnuism, began to read first of all Vishnu himself, and then Krishna, while Rama did not gain popularity here and at the end of the 20th century was more likely known there as the "Aryan expansionist," who conquered local peoples with fire and sword. Among the Malayali people, Vishnuism is most rooted in the form of Ramaism, which does not exclude the veneration of Krishna. The other two large Dravid-speaking Kannara and Andhra peoples venerate both these avatars in equal measure, but like the Tamils, Vishnu is preferred.

Вишну, Империя Виджаянагар, XV век, Южная India, granite. National Museum of India, Delhi, photo TAdviser, 2025

Among the Andhra people, Vishnuism became the religion of some local rulers as early as the 5th century. e., and later approved here by the means of kings from non-ethnic dynasties who annexed certain parts of the territory of this people to their states; a similar situation developed in the life of the Kannara people in their lands, Vishnuism was associated with the era of the rule of the dynasties of the Western Ganges and Chalukya.

Spreading throughout the country, Vishnuism came into continuous contact with Shaivism. There was a process of either mutual adaptation and syncretic connection of various cult elements (for example, the emergence of the deity Hari-Hara, depicted as a figure, one half of whose body is Shiva and the other Vishnu), or partial displacement of pre-Vishnuit beliefs. Shaivite-Shaktian cults in many groups of the population here during the study practically cannot be completely separated from the Vishnuit cult practice. But there are also groups (usually castes or associations of related castes) that clearly adhere to either Vishnuism or Shaivism and fulfill both in ritual and in everyday and cultural life only the instructions of this religious direction.

Brahmen

Brahmadeya - endowment of Brahmins with land and people for ideological support of rulers

Historical evidence of the practice of Brahmadeya - giving lands to Brahmins in exchange for spiritual mercy - goes back to the 3rd-4th centuries CE in South India. The earliest royal land grant inscription mentioning the word "brahmadeya" was discovered in the 3rd century CE during the reign of King Brihatphalayana Jayavarman.

Brahmadeya soon developed into a systematic attempt to provide Brahmin sustenance and common practice, beginning in the 4th century AD. The registration of donated land, which included cultivated land, a garden, a residential plot, was recommended by the Smriti and Puranas of the post-Gupta period and was recorded on copper tablets. The tradition of granting plots of land throughout the history of the practice has taken the form of a legal form regulated by a code of laws called Dharmashastra.

The rulers and their feudal lords lost their rights to the donated lands and could not return them even in the absence of heirs from the Brahmins. In the absence of an heir, the Brahamdeya was passed on to some other suitable person from the same caste.

The Brahmadees helped cultivate virgin lands and integrate the existing rural settlement into a new economic order dominated by Brahmin owners. They were exempt from various land taxes and fees in whole or in part.

The Brahamdees also assisted the ruling families as they gained ideological support for their political power. This is one of the main characteristics of Indian feudalism.

In many cases, human resources, such as peasants, artisans and others, were also transferred to recipients of donations, along with income and economic resources.

Gods

Shiva

Gangadhara - Receiving Ganges River

Once King Sagar, ruler of Ayodhya and ancestor of Rama, successfully performed Ashwamedha yagya 99 times. His army followed the horse running of its own free will and conquered all the lands encountered in the way. God Indra became jealous of Sagar's success. And when the king performed the sacrifice for the 100th time, Indra kidnapped and hid a horse for yagya in the cabin of the hermit Kapil Mooney.

In search of the horse, 60,000 princes from Ayodhya reached the sage's hut and attacked him. Kapila Mooney burned everyone to the ground in a rage. Upon hearing of this, King Bhagirath, one of King Sagar's grandchildren, asked the hermit to say how the curse could be lifted from the souls of his ancestors and allowed to free themselves. Kapila Mooney replied that only the waters of the Ganga River could clear them.

King Bhagirath left his domain and venerated Brahma for a thousand years, asking the Ganges to fall to the earth from heaven and wash away the ashes of his ancestors. Brahma was pleased with the austerity, and to mitigate Ganga's fall to the ground, Shiva set his thick matted hair under her torrents. So the Ganges became a sign of Shiva. This manifestation of Maheshwara is known as Gangadhara.

In a metaphysical sense, the Ganges symbolizes the descent of the river of divine consciousness and grace. If the thick tangled hair of Shiva did not soften the fall of the river, its full strength would crush the earth. Shiva was the first Guru to become a vessel for the descent of divine grace, and therefore he is called the Adi Guru.

Yogmaya is the personification of the power of illusion

Yogmaya (Jogmaya, Vindhyavasini) is a goddess who serves as the personification of the power of illusion in Shaktism and Vaishnavism. It is understood as the Highest Reality in its entirety.

In the Bhagavad-gita, when Arjuna asks why the games and true form of Krishna are not visible to mortals, he replies that its manifestations are not visible to all people, since he is hidden by his illusory power.

In the Krishna narratives, he uses the Yogamaya phenomenon to engage with female shepherds from Gokulam. During his blessed meetings with them, it is Yogamaya who creates spiritual counterparts of each of them in the gopi houses so that they can look like the chaste wives of their husbands.

Temples:

• Yogmaya temple in Mehrauli district of Delhi.
• Jogmaya Temple, Barmer Rajasthan
• Jogmaya Temple, Multan (now in Pakistan)
• Yogmaya Temple, Jodhpur, Rajasthan
• Yogmaya Temple, Vrindavan
• Yogmaya Temple, Naya Bance, Khari Baoli, Old Delhi
• Yogmaya Temple, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
• Jogmaya Tripura Sundari Iringole Kavu Temple, Ernakulam, Kerala. In Kerala, goddess Durga in her incarnation Yoga-Nidra or Yogamaya is worshipped at the sacred forest temple Iringole Kavu located in Ernakulam district of the state. This temple is one of Kerala's famous kavu, or sacred grove. It is also considered one of 108 Durga temples in the state consecrated by Lord Parashurama.
• Yogamaya Temple in Vindhyachal, 8 km from Mirzapur on the banks of the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh.
• Another temple is located in Bandla, Himachal Pradesh, and is called Bandla Mata. Huge crowds visit the temple, especially during Navratri during the Hindu months of Chaitra and Ashwin. In the month of Jyeshtha, kajali competitions are held here. The temple is one of the most revered Shakti Pith in India. Vindhyavasini Devi is also known by the name of Kajala Devi. Goddess Kali is depicted as Vindhyavasini Devi. 3 km from it, on a hill, there is a Sarasvati temple called Ashtbhuja, and in the cave there is a temple of the goddess Kali called Kali-khoh. Pilgrims prefer to visit these three temples, part of a rite called Trilokan Parikrama.
• In central India, the goddess is known as "Bijasani-devi," and the Bijasani-Mata temple is on the border of the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
• Pokhara, Nepal, also has a temple dedicated to this goddess called the Bindubasini Temple.

Mohini is the female reincarnation of Vishnu

According to the legend described in the Mahabharata, the god Vishnu took the form of Mohini in order to take away the amrita from the Asurs, which appeared during the plowing of the milk ocean. The seduced Asuras were captivated by Mohini's beauty and gave her the Amrit themselves. As a result, the gods received immortality, and the Asuras lost it.

The image of Mohini is popular in Indian culture, however, as a religious cult, it became widespread mainly in Western India.

Stone statue of Mohini (the only female avatar of Vishnu), Empire of Western Chalukyas, 12th century, Gadak, Karnataka. National Museum of India in Delhi, photo by TAdviser

Islam

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Christianity

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Buddhism

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Jainism

10th century: Jainism in South India

Тиртханкар. Паллавы-Чола, около X века, гранит. Национальный музей India, Delhi, photo by TAdviser, 2025

1st century BC: Evidence of Rishabhanath worship

According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, professor of comparative religious studies and philosophy at Oxford, who later became the second president, India there is evidence that Rishabhanath was worshipped in the first century BC.

In Yajurveda, the names of three tirthankars are mentioned

Yajurveda mentions the names of three Tirthankars - Rishabha, Ajitanatha and Arishtanemi, and "the Bhagavata Purana supports the view that Rishabha was the founder of Jainism," states Radhakrishnan, professor of comparative religious studies and philosophy at Oxford.

Ayodhya is birthplace of five tirthankars

Jain texts describe the city of Ayodhya as the birthplace of five Tirthankars (supreme preachers), namely, Rishabhanathi, Ajitanathi, Abhinandananathi, Sumatinathi and Anantanathi.

Rishabhanath (Adinath, Ikshvaku) - father of Bharata

Rishabhanatha (Adinath, Adishwara, Ikshvaku, Yugadideva or first deva yugi, Nabheya or son of Nabha) is the first tirthankar of Jainism. Legends portray him as living millions of years ago. Jain texts describe his height as 500 elbows or 1,500 metres. Such descriptions of non-human growth in Jain texts are also found in relation to the following 21 tirthankars.

Rishabhanatha was the spiritual successor of Sampratti Bhagwan, the last tirthankar of the previous time cycle.

According to Jain cosmology, the universe has no temporal beginning or end. The "universal history" of the doctrine divides the cycle of time into two halves (avasarpini and utsarpini) with six aras (spokes) in each half, and the cycles are repeated constantly. Twenty-four tirthankaras appear in each half, the first tirthankara founding Jainism appears each time after the destruction of the dharma at the end of each half-period of time. This seems, but does not fully coincide with the idea of the destruction of dharma at the end of Kali Yuga in Hindu mythology. In the present time cycle, it is believed that Rishabhanatha was the first tirthankara. Usually all tirthankars are born in the fourth spoke of the half-period. However, Rishabhanatha is an exception as he was born at the end of the third spoke.

Traditional sources state that Rishabhanatha was the first king to establish his capital at Vinitanagar (Ayodhya).

He is said to have established a triple varn system based on professions consisting of kshatriyas (warriors), vaishyas (traders) and shudras (artisans). His son Bharata is said to have added a fourth varna, Brahmins, to the system.

Rishabhanath had two wives, 100 sons and 2 daughters.

Rishabhanatha was born in bhoga-bhumi, or the age of pervasive happiness. It is also assumed that no one needed to work because of the wonderful wish-fulfilling trees called kalpavriksha. It is claimed that people turned to the king for help due to the fact that over time the trees became less effective.

Rishabhanatha is then said to have taught people six major professions:

• Asi (possession of a sword for protection),
• Masi (writing skills),
• Krishi (agriculture),
• Vidya (knowledge),
• Vanijya (trade and commerce) and
• Shilp (crafts).

In other words, he is credited with introducing karma bhumi (era of action), the foundation of arts and professions to allow homeowners to feed themselves.

In Jainism, it is believed that Rishabhanatha invented fire and taught people to cook, as well as all the skills necessary for life. It is said that Rishabhanatha taught men seventy-two sciences, and women sixty-four. The institution of marriage is believed to have emerged after he married Sunanda. According to Paul Dundas, he is portrayed as the cultural hero of the current cosmological cycle.

The sudden death of Nilanjana, one of the celestial dancers sent by Indra in his courtroom, reminded him of the transient nature of the world, and he developed a desire to renounce.

It is said that Rishabhanatha spent a thousand years in an ascetic before reaching Kevala-jnana (omniscience) under a banyan tree.

He reached liberation (moksha) at Mount Kailash.

The distinguishing features of Rishabhanatha are his long strands of hair falling over his shoulders and the depiction of a bull in his sculptures.

Rama, Mahavira and Buddha belonged to the Suryavamsha dynasty or Ikshvaku (Rishabhanatha).

Chronicle

2023: Hindu lynching of two Christian women in Manipur state

Members of the Kuki tribe who profess Christianity in July 2023 protested due to regular oppression by local authorities, the destruction of Christian shrines and churches by adherents of Hindutva ideology.

In response, backed by the military-run nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, sponsored by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Manipur, members of the Hindu Meitei tribe began setting fire to the cookie areas, forcing them to flee their homes.

After that, terrifying personnel appeared on the Web: a crowd of men from the Meitei tribe leads two naked women from the cookie clan.

Meitei and Kuki are two tribes living in the state of Manipur. There have been riots for more than two months. Members of an ethno-religious majority backed by the paramilitary nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh burn houses, expel and kill members of the cookie.

This video again recalls the chaos that is happening there. The personnel breaks off at the moment when people reach the field. But, knowing the customs of meitei, women will only face gang rape, limb cutting and burning alive, wrote the Rybar channel.

2022: Islamists execute Hindu for publicly supporting remarks about prophet Muhammad

On June 28, 2022, two Muslims - residents of Udaipur in Rajasthan - Riyaz Attari and Gous Muhammad brutally cracked down on local tailor Kanhaya Lal for his public support for statements about Prophet Muhammad made by the ex-press secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Nipur Sharma.

Reprisals in the tradition of radical extremist organizations like the Islamic State (head cut off) and subsequent threats to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, filmed on video, caused a wide resonance within Indian society.

Despite the fact that the killers were detained a few hours after the brutal murder, more than 7 thousand people protested. Hindus organized processions in Udaipur, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, New Delhi. They demanded swift and decisive action by the authorities in the form of the death penalty for the two Muslims.

The ruling party urged citizens to wait for an official trial and not destabilize the situation in the country on confessional grounds. However, tensions remain in India. Representatives of the "right" want an immediate solution to the issue of the spread of radical Islamism.

In the state of Rajasthan bordering Pakistan, an increased regime of readiness of law enforcement agencies has been introduced. And to prevent the dissemination of extremist video materials with the public execution of an Indian citizen and calls for the fight against Muslims, the Internet is completely disconnected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political agenda since 2014 has been built on Hindutva, a movement preaching the superiority of Hindus over other ethnic groups in the country. It is they who make up the majority in the election campaign of the current government.

Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party are in an extremely difficult position. In the event of a death sentence, the Indian leadership may face the wrath of not only Islamic radicals, but also ordinary Muslims because of the privileged, in their opinion, position of Hindus in all spheres of life.

Since the beginning of 2021, demonstrations of the Muslim population have been periodically held in the northern and northwestern states of the country due to oppression by the authorities on religious grounds.

However, if the Indian leadership is in principle accustomed to this situation, since they have been emerging for several years, then while preserving the lives of the detainees, the ruling party may face much greater problems in the form of dissatisfaction with Indian nationalists.

5th century: Spread of Vishnuism, Shaivism, and Mahayana Buddhism in the rule of the Gupta dynasty

Under the Guptas, both Hinduism in the forms of Vishnuism and Shaivism and Mahayana Buddhism became widespread.

Notes