New Religious Traditions

The Rise of New Religious Traditions

By the first century CE, Buddhism was undergoing a profound transformation. The early teachings had placed enormous emphasis on individual effort — each person had to walk the path to nibbana (liberation) through their own discipline and meditation. The Buddha himself was seen as a human being who had achieved enlightenment through his own striving, not as a god or a saviour.

But a new idea began to take hold: the notion of a saviour figure who could intercede on behalf of ordinary people and ensure their salvation. This shift in thinking gave rise to what came to be called Mahayana — literally, the "great vehicle."

The Bodhisatta Ideal

Central to Mahayana was the concept of the Bodhisatta (Bodhisattva in Sanskrit). These were beings who had accumulated immense merit through their efforts over many lifetimes. But instead of using that merit to attain nibbana and leave the world behind, they deliberately postponed their own liberation. Why? Because they were seen as deeply compassionate beings who wanted to help others achieve salvation first.

This was a radical departure from earlier Buddhist ideals. The Bodhisatta remained in the world, accessible to devotees who needed assistance. The worship of images of both the Buddha and Bodhisattas became an important part of this new tradition.

Mahayana vs. Hinayana

Those who adopted these new beliefs described their own path as Mahayana — the "great vehicle" — and referred to the older tradition as Hinayana, or the "lesser vehicle." But the followers of the older tradition did not accept this label. They called themselves Theravadins, meaning those who followed the path of the old, respected teachers — the theras.

The Growth of Puranic Hinduism

The idea of a saviour was not confined to Buddhism. Similar developments were taking place within traditions that we now consider part of Hinduism.

Two major traditions emerged:

• Vaishnavism — a form of Hinduism in which Vishnu was worshipped as the principal deity
• Shaivism — a tradition in which Shiva was regarded as the chief god

Both placed growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity, and the bond between devotee and god was visualised as one of love and devotion — bhakti.

Avatars and Incarnations

In Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars (incarnations) of Vishnu. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition. These were forms that Vishnu was believed to have assumed in order to save the world whenever it was threatened by disorder and destruction caused by the dominance of evil forces.

Different avatars were popular in different parts of the country. Recognising each of these local deities as a form of Vishnu was one way of creating a more unified religious tradition. Some of these forms were represented in sculptures, as were other deities.

Shiva, for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too.

Understanding Sculptural Symbols

All such representations depicted a complex set of ideas about the deities and their attributes through symbols:

• Head-dresses and ornaments
• Ayudhas — weapons or auspicious objects the deities hold in their hands
• How they are seated

To understand the meanings of these sculptures, historians must be familiar with the stories behind them. Many of these stories are contained in the Puranas, which were compiled by Brahmanas by about the middle of the first millennium CE.

The Puranas contained much that had been composed and circulated for centuries, including stories about gods and goddesses. Much of what is in the Puranas evolved through interaction among people — priests, merchants, and ordinary men and women who travelled from place to place sharing ideas and beliefs.

For example, Vasudeva-Krishna was an important deity in the Mathura region. Over centuries, his worship spread to other parts of the country as well.

Building Temples

Around the time that the stupas at sites such as Sanchi were acquiring their present form, the first temples to house images of gods and goddesses were also being built.

The Early Temple

The early temple was a small square room called the garbhagriha (literally, "womb-house"). It had a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image. Gradually, a tall structure known as the shikhara was built over the central shrine. Temple walls were often decorated with sculpture.

Later temples became far more elaborate, with:

• Assembly halls
• Huge walls and gateways
• Arrangements for supplying water

Rock-Cut Temples

One of the unique features of early temples was that some were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves. The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one. Some of the earliest were constructed in the third century BCE on the orders of Asoka for renouncers who belonged to the Ajivika sect.

This tradition evolved through various stages and culminated much later — in the eighth century — in the carving out of an entire temple, that of Kailashnatha (a name of Shiva) at Ellora. A copperplate inscription records the amazement of the chief sculptor after he completed the temple: "Oh how did I make it!"

Can We "See" Everything?

The rich visual traditions of the past — expressed in brick and stone architecture, sculpture and painting — convey a sense of the vision of the artists, sculptors, masons and architects who created them. Yet we cannot always automatically understand what they wanted to convey.

The Problem of the Unfamiliar

When nineteenth-century European scholars first saw some of the sculptures of gods and goddesses, they could not understand what these were about. Sometimes they were horrified by what seemed to them grotesque figures with multiple arms and heads, or combinations of human and animal forms.

These early scholars tried to make sense of what appeared to be strange images by comparing them with sculpture from ancient Greece — the only tradition they were familiar with. They often found early Indian sculpture inferior to Greek works. But they were very excited when they discovered images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas that were evidently based on Greek models. These were found mostly in the northwest, in cities such as Taxila and Peshawar, where Indo-Greek rulers had established kingdoms in the second century BCE.

Because these images were closest to Greek statues, they were considered the best examples of early Indian art. In effect, these scholars adopted a strategy we all frequently use — devising yardsticks derived from the familiar to make sense of the unfamiliar.

When Text and Image Do Not Match …