Vastu-shastra (Vol. I: Hindu Science of Architecture; Vol. II: Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting) v2.c75.s1.69

v2.c75.s1.69

There are clear cut references in the later Vedic literature which provide sufficient background as germs of the growth of later Vaiṣṇavism, the cult which was not only a mere religious movement of the Ekāntikadharma so splendidly propounded in the Bhagavadgītā itself, but also a grand philosophy and metaphysics revolving round Vāsudeva, the Adhīśvara Lord, all pervading Almighty. The 'Paramam Padam' propounded in the Ṛgvedic hymns referred above was expounded in the Upaniṣads like Mait (6.13). and Kaṭha. (3-9) as Brahmapada which in its turn, turned into the Goloka, the Vaikuṇṭha in the later religious literature, the Purāṇas etc. Thus out of the three major developments in the history of Viṣṇu, Viṣṇu as Vāsudeva, Viṣṇu as Nārāyaṇa and Viṣṇu as Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa (cf. also writer's P.V.ch.5), the evidence of Vedic literature provides sufficient material to reconstruct his Vāsudevism itself. Weber had truly remarked, while establishing his hypothesis of Vedic Trinity of Agni, Vāyu and Sūrya : "By the side of Vāyu, the wind stands his companion Indra, the lord of the light, clear heaven; and with him again Viṣṇu the lord of the solar orb, stands in a fraternal relationship. This close relation of Viṣṇu to Indra is far from being estimated by the author in its full significance Viṣṇu owes to Indra his blue colour, his names. Vāsava and Vāsudeva, and his relations to the human heroes, as Arjuna, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, which have become of great importance for his entire history."