The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c10.20

v1.c10.20

From the nature of the sources it follows that for the period up to 500 B. C. there is a continuous stream of trustworthy literary evidence, and that after that date the sources are of less value. The care taken to compose and preserve Sūtras for centuries after that period shows the vitality of the Vedic religion : indeed in much later times the great sacrifices of antiquity, such as the horse sacrifice, were performed by kings desirous of asserting their high prowess, and in families of priests ² many of the other rites prevailed down to at least the nineteenth century. But the old order of things was greatly affected by the rise of Buddhism, which was indeed but one of many conflicting sects, but which attained under the patronage of Açoka in the third century B. C. a leading place among religions in India. The inroads of foreigners from the north-west, which, commenced by Alexander, repelled for a time by Candragupta and his successors, became constant and effective from the second century B. C., aided in the disintegration of the religion, and materially promoted the development of that popular religion centred in the worship of Çiva and Viṣṇu respectively, which was noted by Megasthenes as the leading feature of Indian religion when he stayed at Pāṭaliputra as the Ambassador of Seleukos to Candragupta.³ Moreover, it must be remembered that throughout this period the Hinduization of the people was proceeding : the process in question can still be observed at the present day in operation amongst the wild tribes, and in the period B. C. it may confidently be assumed that it was being carried on upon even a greater scale, nor is it wonderful that thus the Vedic religion should gradually lose its distinctive features and assume new forms.