History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c17.s8.2

c17.s8.2

The eclectic tendencies of the times were remarkably reflected in the religious ideals of the royal family, for although the Pratīhāra kings were all officially Brahmanical Hindus, they did not confine their spiritual allegiance to one and the same deity. Nāgabhaṭa, the founder of the Kanauj dynasty, along with Mihira Bhoja and Mahendrapāla I, are described in inscriptions as “devotees of Bhagavatī”, whereas Rāmabhadra and Mahīpāla are said to have been “devotees of the sun-god”. Bhoja II and Mahendrapāla II, on the other hand, are respectively represented as “Vaiṣṇava” and “Māheśvara”. Of these, Bhoja I appears to have been devoted to a special manifestation of Viṣṇu also, as is clear from his Ādivarāha type of coins, and Mahīpāla had predilections for the worship of Bhagavatī as well as of the sun, the image of the former occurring on her seal. Thus three facts reveal themselves clearly; firstly, Buddhism had now distinctly declined in the Madhyadeśa, and the veneration of the Brahmanical gods was firmly re-established. This is further confirmed by land-grants, which are invariably in favour of Brahmans. Secondly, the worship of Bhagavatī is prominent. Thirdly, this frank divergence in beliefs must have engendered a great spirit of toleration. We must not, however, mistake it for its modern conception, as between these rival sects there was no such gulf as yawns between Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, and their votaries hardly differed from one another in actual life and practice. The Brahmans on the whole allowed people to select the object of their faith from among the gods and goddesses of their extensive pantheon, but this latitude was not extended beyond the pale of Brahmanism; and as an instance of Brahmanical bigotry we may cite the notorious declaration of Puṣyamitra setting a price of one hundred gold pieces on the head of every Buddhist monk (Yo me Śramaṇaśiro dāsyati tasyāhaṃ dīnāraśataṃ dāsyāmi)¹.