History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c13.s3.36

c13.s3.36

Such unseemly controversies among the various sects must have weakened the cause of Buddhism and reacted in favour of Brahmanism, which had been showing signs of revival and vigour since the glorious epoch of the Guptas. Indeed, at the time of Yuan Chwang its influence was so potent and marked that India itself had come to be known as "the country of the Brahmans (Po-lo-men-kuo)." The main strongholds of Brahmanism in the kingdom of Kanauj were Prayāga and Vārāṇasī. Like Jainism and Buddhism, which in its Mahāyāna form encouraged the worship of the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas, Brahmanism was frankly given to idolatry. The most popular Brahmanical deities then were Āditya, Śiva, and Viṣṇu, and their idols were installed in what Yuan Chwang calls "Deva-Temples," existing almost in abundance. The Harṣa-carita gives us an idea of how images were worshipped. We learn, for instance, that on the day fixed for his departure Bāṇa washed the image with milk and then "offered worship to Śiva, with lighted lamps, ointments, oblations, banners, perfumes, incense, and sweet flowers."² It may be pertinent to add here that this passage further informs us that the Brahmans were wont to kindle the sacrificial fire (Agni) and offer oblations by a profuse pouring of ghee "on certain auspicious occasions, if not daily. They also held the cow sacred, and believed in the efficacy of performing superstitious rites in order to bring good luck."³ Another feature of Brahmanism was the multiplicity of philosophical schools and ascetic orders. Bāṇa mentions the followers of Kapila, Kaṇāda, Upaniṣads (i.e., Vedān-