History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c41.s8.16

v3.c41.s8.16

Thus during this sub-period, Jainism spread in the west and Śaivism in the south and Vaishṇavism in the east and even in the north as far as Kashmir. These two again were divided into several sects which developed different philosophical systems with their different concepts and different terminologies, so that the intellegentia of the country was torn by conflicting views on metaphysical questions. These schisms not only adopted different gods as the supreme deity but further represented other deities as subordinate to their highest God. Along with the two dominant schisms Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism, the worship of Durgā and Gaṇapati also developed their philosophies and Āgamas and separate modes of worship in which these gods were represented as the highest. These schisms probably also belong to this sub-period though we have no definite grounds to hold this. The social changes effected by these different schisms were also various and the lay followers who could not fight on high philosophic questions fought on minor points such as the supremacy of this god or that god or such questions as the sacred character of Brahmins, the necessity of nudity for monks or the fitness of women to attain salvation. The Hindu world was thus divided into different and differing sections which often warred with one another; and thus lost national strength for which unity of religious beliefs is an essential qualification. And the one point on which these differing schisms were unanimous was the Ahimsā, doctrine; they all discountenanced, if not actually prohibited, animal slaughter and animal food and thus added to the weakness of the Hindus for national defence. Even the new Śaivism of Kashmir propounded by Abhinavagupta and Kallata* appears to countenance Ahimsā for otherwise it could not have prospered in the reign of the thoroughly Vaiṣṇava king Avantivarman mentioned in the beginning. It may, however, be admitted that the generality of people in Northern India and in Mahārāṣtra were followers of the old Smārta religion in which all the five gods of Hinduism were treated as equally great. But in the south and the east Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism which had together supplanted Jainism fought with each other with great animosity and kings used their political power for the suppression of worships other than their own. We have seen how a Chola king called upon Rāmānuja to declare that Śiva was the highest God. Even to this day this animosity between even the lay followers of Śaivism and Vaishṇavism continues in Karnatak, Andhra and the Tamil land, the religion and philosophy of Madhva-a religious philosopher of the 14th century-adding a third party to the contest.