(Note: I'll update this post as and when I get time to do so. This post can be considered as an abstract for now. Almost all the quotes have been given from memory. I will give more references in the near future.)
Recently, I was going through ‘Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol III’ (Inscriptions of the Early Guptas) by Sri. D.B. Bhandarkar.
In the section ‘Religious History’, Sri.Bhandarkar makes some statements about Vishnu, Siva etc as they were worshipped during the Gupta period. He has claimed that Vishnu was a mere minor deity in the Vedic period and that Siva was neither identified with Rudra nor very popular until Svetashvatara Upanishad. He goes on to claim that the unique combination of Vedic Vishnu, Purusha-Narayana, Krishna Vasudeva and Gopala Krishna occurred during the Gupta age. He even claims that Vaishnavism was a ‘non-Aryan’ (non-Vedic?) religion. Let us examine the validity of these statements.
The importance/status of the Vedic deities cannot be measured by the number of verses. The Rg Veda has numerous verses dedicated to Maruts while only a few verses are dedicated to Rudra. But Rudra is superior to Maruts in that Rudra is called as the father of Maruts. Similarly, the importance of Vishnu was pretty high even in the Rg Veda itself and continued to rise in the later Vedas. Vishnu is lauded with creating the space/universe by His three steps in the Rg Veda. He is lauded as the deity with no one equal to Him. Yes, He is overshadowed by Indra but even that changes in the later Vedas.
The Taittiriya Samhita (1-7-5) mentions that the Devas were headed by Vishnu in a war to win the worlds. Similarly, TS (2-4-12) says that Vritra was destroyed by Indra with the help of Vishnu. Vishnu is identified with Yagna itself many a time in the TS (e.g. 3-1-10). Most importantly, TS (5-5-1) clearly states that Agni is the lowest of the Gods while Vishnu is the highest. Thus, Vishnu had attained the most prominent position among the Vedic deities at least as early as the Yajurveda period.
Bhandarkar claims that RV says about Vishnu deriving strength from Indra for the three steps. Perhaps, he is speaking about the verse ‘yada te vishnur ojasa..’ (RV 8-12-27). Such an interpretation is not the only one possible in this case. Sayana translates the verse as ‘When your (younger brother) Vishnu by (his) strength’ instead of ‘when Vishnu by your strength’. The question is: which is the better one? A look at the other verses of RV shows that the three steps are a sole achievement of Vishnu and is considered as one of the greatest acts of Vishnu. The RV also calls Vishnu as Indra’s close ally/friend. Therefore, while one can ignore Sayana’s rendition of ‘younger brother’ (according to the Puranas), there is a huge possibility for the mantra to mean ‘your (friend) Vishnu)’. Throughout the Vedic literature, Vishnu and Rudra are given a high status among the Gods even though the number of verses dedicated to them is less. The ‘Rudram’ portion of Taittiriya Samhita is a very good example. As such, we can see that the foundation for the great deities – Shiva and Vishnu – were laid in the Vedic age itself. There was no need for a new ‘discovery/invention’ during the Gupta period. After all, even as early as the TS, Vishnu was identified as the Supreme deity while Rudra was identified as a powerful annihilator and a deity of strength feared and respected by everyone.
Finally, a look at Paripadal (of Tamil Sangam literature) shows that Vishnu was considered as the most prominent Brahminical deity even as south as the Tamil land. Paripadal shows the knowledge of the Puranic legends of Vishnu, identifies Vishnu with Krishna Vasudeva & Purusha-Narayana, hails Him as the Antaryami and shows knowledge of Bhagavata doctrine (the Pancaratra Agama). As such, the Gupta era’s Vishnu was neither a new discovery nor a synthesis of various existing deities. It was simply the traditional method of portraying Vishnu and was popular throughout India even as early the first century CE which is the latest possible date for Sangam work Paripadal. So, the claim of Vaishnavism being non-Aryan or non-Vedic is completely nullified in the given circumstances.
