History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s1.28

v7.c96.s1.28

1. The most striking conception even as early as the Rgveda is that there is only one Reality or Essence, in spite of the fact that people speak of it or worship it as Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni &c (Rg I. 164 46, VIII. 58. 1, X. 129. 2, q. above on p. 1487). In the Mahābhārata, Purāṇas, in classical Sanskrit Poetry and even in medieval times, when there were various cults and schisms, such as the worship of Viṣṇu or Śiva or Śakti, almost all Hindus had an inner consciousness that God is one though called by various names; vide p 118 note 306, p 973 and note 1593 above, and Harivaṁśa (Viṣṇuparva 25. 31), Kumārasaṁbhava VII. 44.