History · Ch 6 — Bhakti–Sufi Traditions — Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts
Difference and conflict
Difference and conflict
The Vedic tradition, with its elaborate sacrificial rituals and precisely chanted mantras, was not the only stream of religious life in the subcontinent. Alongside it, and often in tension with it, existed a wide range of other beliefs and practices. The most significant of these were the Tantric traditions.
Tantric practices were widespread across several parts of the subcontinent. They were associated with the worship of the goddess and were notable for being open to both women and men. Within the ritual context, practitioners often ignored differences of caste and class. These ideas did not remain confined to goddess worship; they deeply influenced Shaivism and also Buddhism, especially in the eastern, northern and southern parts of the subcontinent.
Over the next millennium, all of these somewhat divergent and even disparate beliefs and practices would gradually come to be classified under the broad umbrella of "Hindu". The divergence between different traditions is perhaps most stark when we compare the Vedic and Puranic traditions.
- The principal deities of the Vedic pantheon — Agni (fire), Indra (war and rain), and Soma (the sacred drink) — became marginal figures, rarely visible in textual or visual representations.
- While we can catch a glimpse of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess in Vedic mantras, these have little in common with the elaborate mythologies found in the Puranas.
Despite these obvious discrepancies, the Vedas continued to be revered as authoritative. This reverence, however, did not prevent conflict. Those who valued the Vedic tradition often condemned practices that went beyond the closely regulated contact with the divine through sacrifices or precisely chanted mantras. On the other hand, those engaged in Tantric practices frequently ignored the authority of the Vedas altogether.
Conflict also arose from within the devotional traditions themselves. Devotees often tended to project their chosen deity — either Vishnu or Shiva — as supreme. Relations with other traditions, such as Buddhism or Jainism, were also often fraught with tension, if not open conflict. …
The sculpture of Marichi from tenth-century Bihar is a striking visual example of how different religious traditions borrowed from and influenced each other. Marichi is a Buddhist goddess, but the textbook places her image directly in a discussion about Tantric practices—practices that were not exclusive to Buddhism but were also widespread in Shaivism and other traditions.
What the figure shows is a multi-armed female deity, seated or standing in a dynamic pose, often surrounded by attendants or animals. Her iconography is complex: she may hold a needle and thread (symbolising her role as a goddess of light and the dawn who "sews" darkness away), a bow and arrow, a vajra (thunderbolt), or a severed head. She is sometimes shown riding a chariot pulled by seven pigs or boars, or standing on a corpse. These elements are not typical of earlier, simpler Buddhist imagery; they come directly from Tantric ritual traditions that emphasised visualisation, mantras, and the use of seemingly fierce or impure symbols to transcend worldly attachments.
The key lesson the figure teaches is about integration and syncretism. Marichi is a Buddhist goddess, yet her form incorporates motifs and ideas that were also central to Hindu Tantric worship of goddesses like Durga or Kali. The same period saw Shaiva and Shakta Tantric traditions flourishing in the same regions of eastern India. The sculpture thus embodies the blurring of boundaries: a Buddhist deity worshipped with methods (Tantra) that were shared across sectarian lines. The textbook uses this image to show that religious traditions were not isolated boxes; they constantly exchanged practices, symbols, and even deities. …