Ancient Indian religious tradition
The
Bhagavata
(
Sanskrit
: ?????,
romanised
:
Bh?gavata
) tradition, also called
Bhagavatism
, refers to an ancient religious sect that traced its origin to the region of
Mathura
.
[5]
After its syncretism with the
Brahmanical tradition
of
Vishnu
, Bhagavatism became a pan-Indian tradition by the second century BCE, according to
R.C. Majumdar
.
[6]
Historically, Bhagavatism corresponds to the development of a popular theistic movement in India, departing from the elitist sacrificial rites of
Vedism
,
[7]
and initially focusing on the worship of the
Vrishni hero
V?sudeva
in the region of
Mathura
.
[1]
It later assimilated into the concept of
Narayana
[8]
where Krishna is conceived as
svayam bhagavan
. According to some historical scholars, worship of Krishna emerged in the 1st century BCE. However,
Vaishnava
traditionalists place it in the 4th century BCE.
[9]
Despite the relative silence of the earlier
Vedic
sources, the features of Bhagavatism and the principles of monotheism of Bhagavata school, as described in the
Bhagavad Gita
, are viewed as an example of the belief that
V?sudeva-Krishna
is not an
avatar
of the Vedic
Vishnu
, but is the Supreme Being Himself.
[10]
[11]
Definition of Krishnaism
[
edit
]
In the ninth century
CE
Bhagavatism
was already at least a millennium old and many disparate groups, all following the
Bhagavata Purana
could be found. Various lineages of
Gopala
worshipers developed into identifiable denominations. However, the unity that exists among these groups in belief and practice has given rise to the general term
Krishnaism
. Today the faith has a significant following outside of India as well.
[13]
Many places associated with
Krishna
such as
Vrindavan
attract millions of pilgrims each year who participate in religious festivals that recreate scenes from
Krishna's
life on Earth. Some believe that early Bhagavatism was enriched and transformed with powerful and popular Krishna tradition with a strong "human" element to it.
[14]
Initial History of Bhagavata tradition
[
edit
]
It is believed that Bhagavatas borrowed or shared the attribute or title
Purusa
of their monotheistic deity from the philosophy of
Sankhya
. The philosophy was formulated by the end of the 4th century BCE and as time went other names such as
Narayana
were applied to the main deity of Krishna-
V?sudeva
.
[15]
Second early stage
[
edit
]
The association of the Sun-bird
Garuda
with the "Devadeva" ("God of Gods")
V?sudeva
in the
Heliodorus pillar
(113 BCE) suggests that the Bhagavat cult of human deities had already absorbed the Sun-god
Vishnu
, an ancient Vedic deity.
[16]
Slightly later, the
Nagari inscription
also shows the incorporation of the Brahmanical deity
Narayana
into the hero-cult of Bhagavatism.
[16]
Vishnu would much later become prominent in this construct, so that by the middle of the 5th century CE, during the
Gupta period
, the term
Vaishnava
would replace the term
Bhagavata
to describe the followers of this cult, and Vishnu would now be more popular than V?sudeva.
[16]
Bhagavatism would introduce the concept of the
chatur-vyuhas
, in which the four earthly emanations of Narayana were considered to be Vasudeva (Krishna) as the creator,
Sankarsana
(
Balarama
) as the preserver,
Pradyumna
as the destroyer, and
Aniruddha
as the aspect of intellect. The concept of vyuhas would later be supplanted by the concept of
avataras
, indicating the transformation of Bhagavatism into Vaishnavism.
[17]
Some relate absorption by
Brahmanism
to be the characteristic of the second stage of the development of the Bhagavata tradition. It is believed that at this stage Krishna-
V?sudeva
was identified with the deity of Vishnu, that according to some belonged to the pantheon of Brahmanism.
[18]
Rulers onwards from
Chandragupta II
, Vikramaditya were known as parama Bhagavatas, or Bhagavata
Vaishnavas
. The
Bhagavata Purana
entails the fully developed tenets and philosophy of the Bhagavata cult where Krishna gets fused with
Vasudeva
and transcends Vedic
Vishnu
and cosmic
Hari
to be turned into the ultimate object of
bhakti
.
[19]
Adoption in Tamilakam
[
edit
]
With the fall of the
Guptas
, Bhagavatism had lost its pre-eminence in the north, with
Vardhana
sovereigns such as
Harsha
adhering to non-Bhagavata creeds.
[20]
Though the Bhagavata religion still flourished in the north, its stronghold was now not the valley of the Ganges or Central India, but the Tamil country. There, the faith flourished under the strong impetus given by the
Alvars
, "who by their Tamil songs inculcated Bhakti and Krishna-worship mainly". Bhagavatism had penetrated into the Deccan at least as early as the first century BCE. The
Silappadikaram
and the other ancient Tamil poems refer to temples dedicated to Krishna and his brother at Madura, Kaviripaddinam, and other cities. The wide prevalence of Bhagavatism in the far south is also testified to by the
Bhagavata Purana
which says that in the Kali Age, devoted worshippers of Narayana, though rare in some places, are to be found in large numbers in the Dravida country watered by the rivers Tamraparnl, Kritamala, the sacred Kaveri, and the great stream (Periyar) flowing to the west.
[21]
Yamunacharya, who laid the tenets of the
Vishishtadvaita
philosophy, has his works described as "a somewhat modified and methodical form of the ancient Bhagavata, Pancharatra, or Satvata religion".
[22]
The Alvars would be among the first catalysts of the
Bhakti movement
, a Hindu revivalist movement that would reintroduce Bhagavata philosophy back to its place of origin.
[23]
Literary references
[
edit
]
References to
V?sudeva
also occur in early Sanskrit literature.
Taittiriya Aranyaka
(X, i,6) identifies him with
Narayana
and
Vishnu
.
P??ini
, ca. 4th century BCE, in his
Ashtadhyayi
explains the word "V?sudevaka" as a
Bhakta
(devotee) of V?sudeva. At some stage during the Vedic period, V?sudeva and Krishna became one deity or three distinct deities V?sudeva-Krishna, Krishna-Gopala and Narayana, all become identified with Vishnu,
[24]
and by the time of composition of the redaction of
Mahabharata
that survives till today.
A
Gupta period
research makes a "clear mention of V?sudeva as the exclusive object of worship of a group of people", who are referred to as
Bhagavatas
.
[25]
According to an opinion of some scholars, in Patanjali's time identification of Krishna with V?sudeva is an established fact as is surmised from a passage of the Mahabhasya ? (
jaghana kamsam kila vasudevah
).
[26]
This "supposed earliest phase is thought to have been established from the sixth to the fifth centuries BCE at the time of P??ini, who in his Astadhyayi explained the word
v?sudevaka
as a bhakta, devotee, of V?sudeva and it is believed that Bhagavata religion with the worship od V?sudeva Krishna was at the root of the Vaishnavism in Indian history."
[27]
[28]
Other meanings
[
edit
]
In the recent times, this often refer to a particular sect of
Vaishnavas
in West India, referring to themselves as 'Bhagavata-sampradaya'.
[29]
[30]
It is also a common greeting among the followers of
Ramanujacharya
and other yoga sects.
It can also refer to a
Buddhist
concept.
[31]
[32]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"A cult of V?sudeva, known as Bhagavatism, was already in existence by the second century BC." in
Srinivasan, Doris (1981).
Kal?dar?ana: American Studies in the Art of India
. BRILL.
ISBN
978-90-04-06498-0
.
- ^
Subburaj, V.V.K. (2004).
Basic Facts of General Knowledge
. Sura Books. pp. 67?68.
ISBN
978-81-7254-234-4
.
- ^
Singh, Upinder (2008).
A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century
. Pearson Education India. p. 437.
ISBN
978-81-317-1120-0
.
- ^
Joshi, Nilakanth Purushottam (1979).
Iconography of Balar?ma
. Abhinav Publications. p. 22.
ISBN
978-81-7017-107-2
.
- ^
Patel, Sushil Kumar (1992).
Hinduism in India: A Study of Vi??u Worship
. Amar Prakashan. p. 18.
ISBN
978-81-85420-35-6
.
- ^
Majumdar, R. C. (1 January 2016).
Ancient India
. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 172.
ISBN
978-81-208-0435-7
.
- ^
Sastri, K. a Nilakanta (1952).
Age of the Nandas And Mauryas
. pp. 304?305.
- ^
Beck, G. (2005).
"Krishna as Loving Husband of God"
.
Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity
.
ISBN
978-0-7914-6415-1
. Retrieved
28 April
2008
.
Vishnu was by then assimilated with Narayana
- ^
Hastings 2003
, pp. 540?42
- ^
Srinivasan, Doris (1997).
Many heads, arms, and eyes: origin, meaning, and form of multiplicity in Indian art
. Leiden: Brill. p. 134.
ISBN
90-04-10758-4
.
- ^
Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.).
India through the ages
. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p.
76
.
- ^
Osmund Bopearachchi
, 2016,
Emergence of Vi??u and ?iva Images in India: Numismatic and Sculptural Evidence
- ^
Schweig, Graham M. (2005).
Dance of Divine Love: The R?asa L?il?a of Krishna from the Bh?agavata Pur?a. na, India's classic sacred love story
. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. Front Matter.
ISBN
0-691-11446-3
.
- ^
KLOSTERMAIER, Klaus K.
(2007).
A Survey of Hinduism
. State University of New York Press; 3 edition. p. 204.
ISBN
978-0-7914-7081-7
.
Not only was Krsnaism influenced by the identification of Krsna with Vishnu, but also Vaishnavism as a whole was partly transformed and reinvented in the light of the popular and powerful Krishna religion. Bhagavatism may have brought an element of cosmic religion into Krishna worship; Krishna has certainly brought a strongly human element into Bhagavatism. ... The center of Krishna-worship has been for a long time Brajbhumi, the district of Mathura that embraces also Vrindavana, Govardhana, and Gokula, associated with Krishna from the time immemorial. Many millions of Krishna
bhaktas
visit these places ever year and participate in the numerous festivals that reenact scenes from Krshnas life on Earth
- ^
Hastings 2003
, p. 540
- ^
a
b
c
Indian History
. Allied Publishers. 1988. p. A-224.
ISBN
978-81-8424-568-4
.
- ^
Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1975).
Materials for the Study of the Early History of the Vaishnava Sect
. Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. pp. 175?176.
- ^
Hastings 2003
, p. 541, Bhakti Marga
- ^
Kalyan Kumar Ganguli (1988).
Sraddh njali, Studies in Ancient Indian History: D.C. Sircar Commemoration: Puranic tradition of Krishna
. Sundeep Prakashan.
ISBN
81-85067-10-4
.
p.36
- ^
Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1936).
Early History of the Vaishnava Sect Ed. 2nd
. p. 178.
- ^
Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1936).
Early History of the Vaishnava Sect Ed. 2nd
. p. 181.
- ^
Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1936).
Early History of the Vaishnava Sect Ed. 2nd
. pp. 191?192.
- ^
Pillai, P. Govinda (4 October 2022).
The Bhakti Movement: Renaissance or Revivalism?
. Taylor & Francis.
ISBN
978-1-000-78039-0
.
- ^
Flood, Gavin D. (1996).
An introduction to Hinduism
. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 341.
ISBN
0-521-43878-0
. Retrieved
21 April
2008
.
"Early Vaishnava worship focuses on three deities who become fused together, namely V?sudeva-Krishna, Krishna-Gopala and Narayana, who in turn all become identified with Vishnu. Put simply, V?sudeva-Krishna and Krishna-Gopala were worshiped by groups generally referred to as Bhagavatas, while Narayana was worshipped by the Pancaratra sect"
- ^
Banerjea, 1966, page 20
- ^
A Corpus of Indian Studies: Essays in Honour of Professor Gaurinath Sastri, Page 150, 1980 ? 416 pages.
- ^
Page 76 of 386 pages: The Bhagavata religion with the worship of Vasudeva Krishna as the ... of Vasudeva Krishna and they are the direct forerunners of Vaisnavism in India.
Ehrenfels, U.R. (1953). "The University of Gauhati".
Dr. B. Kakati Commemoration Volume
.
- ^
Page 98: In the Mahabharata, Vasudeva-Krishna is identified with the highest God.
Mishra, Y.K. (1977).
Socio-economic and Political History of Eastern India
. Distributed by DK Publishers' Distributors.
- ^
General, A. (1920). "I. The Bhagavata Sampradaya".
An Outline of the Religious Literature of India
.
- ^
Singhal, G.D. (1978). "The Cultural Evolution of Hindu Gaya, the Vishnu Dham".
The Heritage of India: LN Mishra Commemoration Volume
.
- ^
"The Newly Discovered Three Sets of Svetaka Gangacopper Plates"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 4 March 2009
. Retrieved
20 April
2008
.
- ^
Kielhorn, F. (1908).
"Bhagavats, Tatrabhavat, and Devanampriya"
.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
: 502?505. Archived from
the original
on 20 May 2011
. Retrieved
20 April
2008
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Dahmen-Dallapiccola, Anna Libera; Dallapiccola, Anna L. (2002).
Dictionary of Hindu lore and legend
. London: Thames & Hudson.
ISBN
0-500-51088-1
.
- Hastings, James Rodney
(2003) [1908?26].
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics
. Vol. 4 of 24 ( Behistun (continued) to Bunyan.). John A Selbie (2nd edition 1925?1940, reprint 1955 ed.). Edinburgh: Kessinger Publishing, LLC. p. 476.
ISBN
0-7661-3673-6
. Retrieved
3 May
2008
.
The encyclopaedia will contain articles on all the religions of the world and on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral practice.
- Thompson, Richard (December 1994).
"Reflections on the Relation Between Religion and Modern Rationalism"
. Archived from
the original
on 4 January 2011
. Retrieved
12 April
2008
.
- Gupta, Ravi M. (2004).
Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta: Acintyabhedabheda in Jiva Gosvami's Catursutri tika
. University of Oxford.
- Gupta, Ravi M. (2007).
Caitanya Vaisnava Vedanta of
Jiva Gosvami
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-0-415-40548-5
.
- Ganguli, K.M. (1883?1896).
The
Mahabharata
of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa
. Kessinger Publishing.
- Ganguli, K.M. (1896).
Bhagavad-gita
(Chapter V). The Mahabharata, Book 6
. Calcutta: Bharata Press.
- Wilson, H.H. (1840).
The Vishnu Purana, a System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition: Translated from the Original Sanscrit and Illustrated by Notes Derived Chiefly from Other Puranas
. Printed for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Prabhupada, A.C.
(1988).
Srimad Bhagavatam
. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
- Kaviraja, K.;
Prabhupada, A.C.B.S.
; Bhaktivedanta, A.C. (1974).
Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta of Krsnadasa Kaviraja
. Imprint unknown.
- Goswami, S.D.
(1998).
The Qualities of Sri Krsna
. GNPress. pp. 152 pages.
ISBN
0-911233-64-4
.
- Garuda Pillar of Besnagar
, Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (1908?1909). Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing, 1912, 129.
- Rowland, B. Jr. (1935). "Notes on Ionic Architecture in the East".
American Journal of Archaeology
.
39
(4): 489?496.
doi
:
10.2307/498156
.
JSTOR
498156
.
S2CID
193092935
.
- Delmonico, N. (2004).
"The History of Indic Monotheism And Modern Chaitanya Vaishnavism"
.
The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant
.
ISBN
978-0-231-12256-6
. Retrieved
12 April
2008
.
- Mahony, W.K. (1987). "Perspectives on Krsna's Various Personalities".
History of Religions
.
26
(3): 333?335.
doi
:
10.1086/463085
.
JSTOR
1062381
.
S2CID
164194548
.
- Beck, Guy L.
, ed. (2005).
Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity
. SUNY Press.
ISBN
0-7914-6415-6
.
- Vyasanakere, Prabhanjanacharya
.
Download and Listen to Bhagavata in Kannada
. Vyasamadhwa Samshodhana Pratishtana. Archived from
the original
on 6 June 2023
. Retrieved
24 April
2016
.
- Vyasanakere, Prabhanjanacharya
.
Download and Listen Shloka by Shloka of Bhagavata and translation in Kannada
. Vyasamadhwa Samshodhana Pratishtana. Archived from
the original
on 6 June 2023
. Retrieved
24 April
2016
.