The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c7.s7.62

v1.c7.s7.62

The religious history of the Deccan centres round the triumph of the North Indian creeds over the local primitive forms of worship and ritual. The early inhabitants believed in tribal totems, village divinities, tree and serpent cults, and practised spirit worship. Magic and religion were inextricably intertwined in the early stages. The former included choral singing and dancing, as well as drinking intoxicating liquors in company. With the coming of the Āryans there occurred a revolutionary change. The earlier inhabitants either accepted the religion of the newcomers under certain limitations or retired to hilly regions and forests, where indeed they still practise their primitive rites at the present day. Vedic religion, the philosophy of the Upanishads, Jainism, and Buddhism, became so naturalized in the cis-Vindhyan lands that by the time of the rise of the Sātavāhanas to power they became ‘more native than the native-born’ practices. A Sātavāhana prince proclaimed his opposition to ‘the contamination of the four *varṇas*’ and insisted upon the pursuit of the triple object (of human activity).¹