26.02.

2018 February | 2015 | Ithihas

Ithihas
Kaleidoscope of Indian civilization

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Monthly Archives: February 2015
Writeups on Indian historical
themes and Biographies of
rulers and statesmen.
Are the Vedas incompatible with the ideals of Bhagavatism and
Bhagavad Gita?
Blogroll February 3, 2015 – 11:05 am
facetsofindianhistory The Vasudeva cult also known as Bhagavatism was one of the reform movements
Sanatana Parishad started against the domination of the Brahmins and the sacrifices performed by
Thinkerspad them. Dr. Bhandarkar holds the opinion that the cult of Vasudeva was formed from
the same intellectual ferment which produced Buddhism and Jainism, but it was a
religious reform. It repudiated slaughter of animals and the inefficiency of the
Archives sacrificial ritual and advocated the path of devotion as the way of salvation. Like
February 2018
Buddhism and Jainism, it was the natural reaction against the barren excesses of
the Vedas. This cult which was flourishing in the fourth B.C. was essentially a
January 2018
October 2017
Kshatriya movement and was not much favoured by the Brahmins.1
August 2017 The Vedic Brahmins had contempt towards the Bhagavatas (who were also
June 2017
referred as Satvatas2 and Pancaratris3) as they worshiped images and lived upon
May 2017 the offerings for initiation and those made to temple gods. They did not perform the
March 2017 Vedic duties and had no relationship with the Brahmins and so they (Bhagavatas)
October 2016 were not regarded as Brahmins by the Vedic Brahmins. It was considered that
June 2016 even by the sight of a man who takes to worship as a means to livelihood is
January 2016 polluted and should be purified by proper purificatory ceremonies. The Vedic
November 2015
Brahmins also regarded the Pancharatra texts adopted by the Bhagavatas as
August 2015 invalid and non-Vedic.4
June 2015
Even dharma as interpreted by the Vedas and the Bhagavatas differed. Dharma
February 2015
according to Bhagavata Purana (the devotional literature of the Bhagavatas)
January 2015 consists in the worship of God without any ulterior motive- a worship performed
September 2014 with a perfect sincerity of heart by men who are kindly disposed towards all and
June 2014 who have freed themselves from all feeling of jealousy. This interpretation of
May 2014 dharma by the Bhagavatas was superior to the Vedic definition of dharma which
April 2014 could produce only sense gratification of various kinds.5
March 2014
December 2013
Hence Medhatithi, the commentator on Manu Smriti discards not only Buddhism
and Jainism as being outside the true Vedic dharma but also the followers of
November 2013
Pancaratra (Bhagavatas) and the Pasupatas as well. He held that their
October 2013 (Bhagavatas) teachings are directly contrary to the mandates of the Vedas and as
September 2013 an illustration he points out that the Bhagavatas considered all kinds of injury to
August 2013 living beings to be sinful, which directly contradicts the Vedic sanctions to sacrifice
May 2013 animals at particular sacrifices. According to him injury to living beings is not itself
April 2013 sinful but only such injury is sinful as is prohibited by the Vedic injunctions. So the
February 2013 customs and practices of all systems of religion which are not based on the
January 2013 teaching of the Vedas are to be discarded as not conforming to dharma.6
July 2012
For the Bhagavatas devotion and divine favour played an important role, with caste
January 2010
and gender becoming insignificant. A loving God is all merciful and cannot show
July 2009 discrimination among his devotees. In Bhagavata Purana (3:32:2-7) Kapila says
June 2009 that while a person engaged in pravritti dharma, that is worshipping gods and
May 2009 forefathers with sacrificial ceremonies will be born again and again; whereas one
April 2009 who is engaged in nivritti dharma, that is worshipping Hari with devotion and
March 2009 surrendering all his action to Him will merge with the Universal Consciousness.
February 2009 This concept was incompatible to the religious concept professed by the Vedas
October 2008
where through the intercession of the Brahmin priest people used to invoke the
blessings of Gods by performing yagas. The worship of images was a result of the
September 2008
growth of the doctrine of devotion. But the practice of image worship is manifestly

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August 2008 non-Vedic and hence resulted in the conflict between the Vedic people and the
July 2008 image worshippers (Bhagavatas).7 Another reason for the Vedic Brahmins to
June 2008 denounce the Bhagavatas was due to the latter initiating and admitting within their
May 2008 sect even women and sudras.8
April 2008
March 2008
The fact that image worship was a non-Vedic concept is further testified by Manu’s
injunction against non-Brahmins to read the Vedas but not against image
February 2008
worshipping. Hence while we find non-Brahmin priest performing pujas in temples,
we do not find non-Brahmins performing Vedic yagas and homas.

The above facts show that the Bhagavata sect was not only inclusive and
egalitarian but had ahimsa and devotion as its core theosophical concepts. The
catholicity of this sect is testified by the Besnagar column inscription (Vidisha in
Madhya Pradesh) which shows how even the Greeks were converted to the
Bhagavata religion.

Though the spiritual concepts of the Bhagavatas were far superior to the Vedic
people, being a minority sect they did not dare to revile the orthodox Vedic
people.9 It should be noted that theistic school of Vedanta like Vishishtadvaita and
Dwaita were much influenced by the Bhagavata theosophy, with the former
regarding the Pancaratra literature as being as authoritative as the Vedas.10

Bhagavad Gita repudiates Vedic ceremonies

In chapter 3, verse 19 of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to do

work without any expectation of the results. But all the Vedic mantras and
ceremonies are done with a purpose of pleasing demi-gods and obtaining boons
from them; which is nothing but gross materialism. In chapter 18 verse 66, Sri
Krishna says that he would absolve all sins if one dedicates all his actions to him
and surrenders to him. Does not this verse signify the irrelevance of performing
Vedic ceremonies? Repeatedly the Bhagavad-Gita says that worshipping demi-
gods and performing the ceremonies as mentioned in the Vedas bring no fruit.11

Interpolation in the Bhagavad Gita

Though we find verses in Bhagavad Gita against Vedic rites, how come there are
verses which explicitly support the Vedic concept of caste exclusiveness? For
instance in chapter four, verse 13 and in chapter 18, verses 41-44 we have
references to the establishment of the four castes and the duties allotted by God.
In the duties prescribed for the Brahmin caste includes study of Vedas and
performance of Vedic sacrifices. But in chapter eight, verse 28 it is said that
through devotional service all the benefits which one gets by studying Vedas,
performing sacrifices and giving charities is attained. If by devotion all the benefits
can be attained why there is a need to study Vedas and perform sacrifices? These
types of contradictory verses make one suspect whether verses 41-44 are being
interpolated. This type of interpolations had taken place in many Indian classical
works including Ramayana. Jnanapeeta awardee and Kannada writer Masti
Venkatesa Iyengar writes that the current versions of the Ramayana have many
portions so interpolated which even the orthodox schools of thought in India admit.
Especially so is the seventh book, called Uttara Kanda, which describes the rule of
Rama and the exile of Sita on the ground of slander by the people of Ayodhya.12 It
is in the Uttara Kanda we have the story of Rama killing Shambuka a shudra
ascetic. By adding this story Lord Rama was depicted in a bad light.

The probable reason for these interpolations was due to the fact that after a long
struggle with the Kshatriyas, the Vedic Brahmins had acquired the exclusive rights
to officiate at public ceremonies which had been their main source of income. But
the teachings of the Upanishads had reduced the Vedas to that of spiritual
childhood level.13 The high spiritual ideals and the egalitarian concepts espoused
by the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhism, Jainism and Bhagavata religion further reduced
the significance of performing Vedic ceremonies. The final blow came when
Shankaracharya established the supremacy of the Vedanta (Upanishads) by
defeating the Mimamsakaras (who were the staunch supporters of the Vedic
rites).14 Hence to preserve their dominance at the social level the Vedic Brahmins
interpolated verses in the Bhagavad Gita so as to make believe the readers that
God himself had created the four castes and allotted duties to them.

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There is an unquestioned belief that the Vedas form the philosophical basis for
Sanatana Dharma. But the various paths (knowledge, action and devotion) which
lead us to the realization of the Ultimate Truth are actually found in the ideals of
Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatism. No doubt the Vedas are of great
antiquity; nevertheless leaving sentiments apart, it is high time to critically evaluate
the objectives and relevance of the Vedas to the present times.

References

1. N.Luniya- Life and Culture in Ancient India, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, Agra,
p.213
2. “The Satvatas are counted by Manu as a low caste people born from outcast
Vaishyas and not entitled to the holy thread. The Satvatas were of course
regarded as the same as Bhagavatas, and their chief duties consisted of
worshipping in Vishnu temples by the order of the king. They also repaired or
constructed temples and images for their living and were therefore regarded
as outcast.” Surendranath Dasgupta- History of Indian Philosophy, vol- II,
Cambridge University Press, 1952, p.546
3. Followers of Pancharatra texts (the Agamic literature of the Vaishnavas)
which contain details about image building and image worship. According to
V.Ponniah the Vedic rituals are propitiatory and sacrificial, whereas the
agamic rituals consist in devout worship of and personal communion with
God. (The Saiva Siddhanta- Theory of Knowledge, p.11)
4. Surendranath Dasgupta- History of Indian Philosophy, vol- III, Cambridge
University Press, 1952, p.15
5. Surendranath Dasgupta- History of Indian Philosophy, vol- IV, Cambridge
University Press, 1961, p.10
6. Ibid, p.7
7. Surendranath Dasgupta- cit, vol- III, p.19
8. Ibid,pp:19,20
9. Ibid,p.20
10. Ibid,p.18
11. Bhagavad-Gita– chapter 2 and verses 42, 43 and 43 and chapter 9 verse 21
12. Masti Venkatesa Iyengar- The Poetry of Valmiki, Jeevana Karyalaya,
Bangalore. 1940, p. 14
13. S.Srinivas- Is Correlation of Upanishads with the Vedas justified? The
Quarterly Journal of Mythic Society, vol.105:4 (2014),pp:1-9
14. G.Narahari in his work Atman in Pre-Upanisadic Vedic Literature has
attempted to show that the seeds of the Upanishadic thoughts are contained
in the Rig-Veda. He writes (in page-231) that in many of the Upanishads we
come across liturgical matter and glorification of sacrifices and as example
says that the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad contains rituals connected with the
Ashvamedha ceremony. If the tenets of Upanishads had not been opposed
to the Vedic sacrifices, why would had Sri Shankara entered into a debate
with Mandana Misra, a champion of the karma marga for days together and
convinced him of the futility of sacrifices? If at all there are references to the
glorification of sacrifices, it must be interpolations by people with vested
interests.

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