The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c30.60

c30.60

The religious eclecticism of the royal family was the reflection and result of the state of popular religion at the time. Buddhism, although it had certainly lost the dominant position in the Gangetic plain which it had once held, was still a powerful force, and largely influenced the public mind. The Jain system, which had never been very widely spread or aggressive in the North, while retaining its hold on certain localities, especially at Vaisāli and in Eastern Bengal, could not pretend to rival the general popularity of either Buddhism or Purānic Hinduism. The last-named modification of the Hindu system was now firmly established, and the earlier Purānas were already revered as ancient and sacred writings. The bulk of the population in most provinces was then, as now, devoted to the service of the Purānic gods; each man and woman being, of course, free to select a particular deity, Siva, the Sun, Vishnu, or another, for special adoration according to personal predilection. As a rule, the followers of the various religions lived peaceably together; and no doubt many people besides the king sought to make certain of some divine support by doing honour to all the principal objects of popular worship in turn.