Part 7

However the new dogma may have answered the purposes of speculative minds, it was not one in which the people generally were likely to have been much concerned; an abstract, colourless deity like Brahma could awake no sympathies in the hearts of those accustomed to worship gods of flesh and blood. Indeed, ever since the primitive symbolical worship of nature had undergone a process of disintegration under the influence of metaphysical speculation, the real belief of the great body of the people had probably become more and more distinct from that of the priesthood. In different localities the principal share of their affection may have been bestowed on one or another of the old gods who was thereby raised to the dignity of chief deity; or new forms and objects of belief may have sprung up with the intellectual growth of the people. In some cases even the worship of the indigenous population could hardly have remained without exercising some influence in modifying the belief of the Aryan race. In this way a number of local deities would grow up, more or less distinct in name and characteristics from the gods of the Vedic pantheon. There is, indeed, sufficient evidence to show that, at a time when, after centuries of theological speculations, some little insight into the life and thought of the people is afforded by the literature handed down to us, such a diversity of worship did exist. Under these circumstances the policy which seems to have suggested itself to the priesthood, anxious to retain a firm hold on the minds of the people, was to recognize and incorporate into their system some of the most prominent objects of popular devotion, and thereby to establish a kind of catholic creed for the whole community subject to the Brahmanical law. At the time of the original composition of the great epics two such deities, _Siva_ or _Mahadeva_ ("the great god") and _Vishnu_, seem to have been already admitted into the Brahmanical system, where they have ever since retained their place; and from the manner in which they are represented in those works, it would, indeed, appear that both, and especially the former, enjoyed an extensive worship. As several synonyms are attributed to each of them, it is not improbable that in some of these we have to recognize special names under which the people in different localities worshipped these gods, or deities of a similar nature which, by the agency of popular poetry, or in some other way, came to be combined with them. The places assigned to them in the pantheistic system were coordinate with that of Brahma; the three deities, _Brahma, Vishnu_ and _Siva_, were to represent a triple impersonation of the divinity, as manifesting itself respectively in the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe. Siva does not occur in the Vedic hymns as the name of a god, but only as an adjective in the sense of "kind, auspicious." One of his synonyms, however, is the name of a Vedic deity, the attributes and nature of which show a good deal of similarity to the post-Vedic god. This is _Rudra_, the god of the roaring storm, usually portrayed, in accordance with the element he represents, as a fierce, destructive deity, "terrible as a wild beast," whose fearful arrows cause death and disease to men and cattle. He is also called _kapardin_ ("wearing his hair spirally braided like a shell"), a word which in later times became one of the synonyms of Siva. The _Atharvaveda_ mentions several other names of the same god, some of which appear even placed together, as in one passage _Bhava, Sarva, Rudra_ and _Pasupati_. Possibly some of them were the names under which one and the same deity was already worshipped in different parts of northern India. This was certainly the case in later times, since it is expressly stated in one of the later works of the Brahmana period, that Sarva was used by the Eastern people and Bhava by a Western tribe. It is also worthy of note that in the same work (the _Satapatha-brahmana_), composed at a time when the Vedic triad of Agni, Indra-Vayu and Surya was still recognized, attempts are made to identify this god of many names with Agni; and that in one passage in the _Mahabharata_ it is stated that the Brahmans said that Agni was Siva. Although such attempts at an identification of the two gods remained isolated, they would at least seem to point to the fact that, in adapting their speculations to the actual state of popular worship, the Brahmans kept the older triad distinctly in view, and by means of it endeavoured to bring their new structure into harmony with the ancient Vedic belief. It is in his character as destroyer that Siva holds his place in the triad, and that he must, no doubt, be identified with the Vedic Rudra. Another very important function appears, however, to have been early assigned to him, on which much more stress is laid in his modern worship--that of destroyer being more especially exhibited in his consort--viz. the character of a generative power, symbolized in the phallic emblem (_linga_) and in the sacred bull (_Nandi_), the favourite attendant of the god. This feature being entirely alien from the nature of the Vedic god, it has been conjectured with some plausibility, that the _linga_-worship was originally prevalent among the non-Aryan population, and was thence introduced into the worship of Siva. On the other hand, there can, we think, be little doubt that Siva, in his generative faculty, is the representative of another Vedic god whose nature and attributes go far to account for this particular feature of the modern deity, viz. _Pushan_. This god, originally, no doubt, a solar deity, is frequently invoked, as the lord of nourishment, to bestow food, wealth and other blessings. He is once, jointly with Soma, called the progenitor of heaven and earth, and is connected with the marriage ceremony, where he is asked to lead the bride to the bridegroom and make her prosperous (_Sivatama_). Moreover, he has the epithet _kapardin_ (spirally braided), as have Rudra and the later Siva, and is called _Pasupa_, or guardian of cattle, whence the latter derives his name _Pasupati_. But he is also a strong, powerful, and even fierce and destructive god, who, with his goad or golden spear, smites the foes of his worshipper, and thus in this respect offers at least some points of similarity to Rudra, which may have favoured the fusion of the two gods. As regards _Vishnu_, this god occupies already a place in the Vedic mythology, though by no means one of such prominence as would entitle him to that degree of exaltation implied in his character as one of the three hypostases of the divinity. Moreover, although in his general nature, as a benevolent, genial being, the Vedic god corresponds on the whole to the later Vishnu, the preserver of the world, the latter exhibits many important features for which we look in vain in his prototype, and which most likely resulted from sectarian worship or from an amalgamation with local deities. In one or two of them, such as his names Vasudeva and Vaikuntha, an attempt may again be traced to identify Vishnu with Indra, who, as we have seen, was one of the Vedic triad of gods. The characteristic feature of the elder Vishnu is his measuring the world with his three strides, which are explained as denoting either the three stations of the sun at the time of rising, culminating and setting, or the triple manifestation of the luminous element, as the fire on earth, the lightning in the atmosphere and the sun in the heavens.

The male nature of the triad was supposed to require to be supplemented by each of the three gods being associated with a female energy (_Sakti_). Thus _Vach_ or _Sarasvati_, the goddess of speech and learning, came to be regarded as the _sakti_, or consort of Brahma; _Sri_ or _Lakshmi_, "beauty, fortune," as that of Vishnu; and _Uma_ or _Parvati_, the daughter of _Himavat_, the god of the Himalaya mountain, as that of Siva. On the other hand, it is not improbable that _Parvati_--who has a variety of other names, such as _Kali_ ("the black one"), _Durga_ ("the inaccessible, terrible one"), _Maha-devi_ ("the great goddess")--enjoyed already a somewhat extensive worship of her own, and that there may thus have been good reason for assigning to her a prominent place in the Brahmanical system.

A compromise was thus effected between the esoteric doctrine of the metaphysician and some of the most prevalent forms of popular worship, resulting in what was henceforth to constitute the orthodox system of belief of the Brahmanical community. Yet the Vedic pantheon could not be altogether discarded, forming part and parcel, as it did, of that sacred revelation (_sruti_), which was looked upon as the divine source of all religious and social law (_smriti_, "tradition"), and being, moreover, the foundation of the sacrificial ceremonial on which the priestly authority so largely depended. The existence of the old gods is, therefore, likewise recognized, but recognized in a very different way from that of the triple divinity. For while the triad represents the immediate manifestation of the eternal, infinite soul--while it constitutes, in fact, the Brahma itself in its active relation to mundane and seemingly material occurrences, the old traditional gods are of this world, are individual spirits or portions of the Brahma like men and other creatures, only higher in degree. To them an intermediate sphere, the heaven of Indra (the _svarloka_ or _svarga_), is assigned to which man may raise himself by fulfilling the holy ordinances; but they are subject to the same laws of being; they, like men, are liable to be born again in some lower state, and, therefore, like them, yearn for emancipation from the necessity of future individual existence. It is a sacred duty of man to worship these superior beings by invocations and sacrificial observances, as it is to honour the _pitris_ ("the fathers"), the spirits of the departed ancestors. The spirits of the dead, on being judged by _Yama_, the Pluto of Hindu mythology, are supposed to be either passing through a term of enjoyment in a region midway between the earth and the heaven of the gods, or undergoing their measure of punishment in the nether world, situated somewhere in the southern region, before they return to the earth to animate new bodies. In Vedic mythology Yama was considered to have been the first mortal who died, and "espied the way to" the celestial abodes, and in virtue of precedence to have become the ruler of the departed; in some passages, however, he is already regarded as the god of death. Although the pantheistic system allowed only a subordinate rank to the old gods, and the actual religious belief of the people was probably but little affected by their existence, they continued to occupy an important place in the affections of the poet, and were still represented as exercising considerable influence on the destinies of man. The most prominent of them were regarded as the appointed _Lokapalas_, or guardians of the world; and as such they were made to preside over the four cardinal and (according to some authorities) the intermediate points of the compass. Thus _Indra_, the chief of the gods, was regarded as the regent of the east; _Agni_, the fire (_ignis_), was in the same way associated with the south-east; _Yama_ with the south; _Surya_, the sun ([Greek: Haelios]), with the south-west; _Varuna_, originally the representative of the all-embracing heaven ([Greek: Ouranos]) or atmosphere, now the god of the ocean, with the west; _Vayu_ (or _Pavana_), the wind, with the north-west; _Kubera_, the god of wealth, with the north; and _Soma_ (or _Chandra_) with the north-east. In the institutes of Manu the _Lokapalas_ are represented as standing in close relation to the ruling king, who is said to be composed of particles of these his tutelary deities. The retinue of Indra consists chiefly of the _Gandharvas_ (probably etym. connected with [Greek: kentauros]), a class of genii, considered in the epics as the celestial musicians; and their wives, the _Apsaras_, lovely nymphs, who are frequently employed by the gods to make the pious devotee desist from carrying his austere practices to an extent that might render him dangerous to their power. _Narada_, an ancient sage (probably a personification of the cloud, the "water-giver"), is considered as the messenger between the gods and men, and as having sprung from the forehead of Brahma. The interesting office of the god of love is held by _Kamadeva_, also called _Ananga_, the bodyless, because, as the myth relates, having once tried by the power of his mischievous arrow to make Siva fall in love with Parvati, whilst he was engaged in devotional practices, the urchin was reduced to ashes by a glance of the angry god. Two other mythological figures of some importance are considered as sons of Siva and Parvati, viz. _Karttikeya_ or _Skanda_, the leader of the heavenly armies, who was supposed to have been fostered by the six _Krittikas_ or Pleiades; and _Ganesa_ ("lord of troops"), the elephant-headed god of wisdom, and at the same time the leader of the _dii minorum gentium_.

Orthodox Brahmanical scholasticism makes the attainment of final emancipation (_mukti_, _moksha_) dependent on perfect knowledge of the divine essence. This knowledge can only be obtained by complete abstraction of the mind from external objects and intense meditation on the divinity, which again presupposes the total extinction of all sensual instincts by means of austere practices (_tapas_). The chosen few who succeed in gaining complete mastery over their senses and a full knowledge of the divine nature become absorbed into the universal soul immediately on the dissolution of the body. Those devotees, on the other hand, who have still a residuum, however slight, of ignorance and worldliness left in them at the time of their death, pass to the world of Brahma, where their souls, invested with subtile corporeal frames, await their reunion with the Eternal Being.

The pantheistic doctrine which thus forms the foundation of the Brahmanical system of belief found its most complete exposition in one of the six orthodox _darsanas_, or philosophical systems, the _Vedanta_ philosophy. These systems are considered as orthodox inasmuch as they recognize the Veda as the revealed source of religious belief, and never fail to claim the authority of the ancient seers for their own teachings, even though--as in the case of Kapila, the founder of the materialistic Sankhya system--they involve the denial of so essential a dogmatic point as the existence of a personal creator of the world. So much, indeed, had freedom of speculative thought become a matter of established habit and intellectual necessity, that no attempt seems ever to have been made by the leading theological party to put down such heretical doctrines, so long as the sacred character of the privileges of their caste was not openly called in question. Yet internal dissensions on such cardinal points of belief could not but weaken the authority of the hierarchical body; and as they spread beyond the narrow bounds of the Brahmanical schools, it wanted but a man of moral and intellectual powers, and untrammelled by class prejudices, to render them fatal to priestly pretensions. Such a man arose in the person of a Sakya prince of Kapilavastu, Gotama, the founder of Buddhism (about the 6th century B.C.). Had it only been for the philosophical tenets of Buddha, they need scarcely have caused, and probably did not cause, any great uneasiness to the orthodox theologians. He did, indeed, go one step beyond Kapila, by altogether denying the existence of the soul as a substance, and admitting only certain intellectual faculties as attributes of the body, perishable with it. Yet the conception which Buddha substituted for the transmigratory soul, viz. that of _karma_ ("work"), as the sum total of the individual's good and bad actions, being the determinative element of the form of his future existence, might have been treated like any other speculative theory, but for the practical conclusions he drew from it. Buddha recognized the institution of caste, and accounted for the social inequalities attendant thereon as being the effects of _karma_ in former existences. But, on the other hand, he altogether denied the revealed character of the Veda and the efficacy of the Brahmanical ceremonies deduced from it, and rejected the claims of the sacerdotal class to be the repositaries and divinely appointed teachers of sacred knowledge. That Buddha never questioned the truth of the Brahmanical theory of transmigration shows that this early product of speculative thought had become firmly rooted in the Hindu mind as a tenet of belief amounting to moral conviction. To the Hindu philosopher this doctrine seemed alone to account satisfactorily for the apparent essential similarity of the vital element in all animate beings, no less than for what elsewhere has led honest and logical thinkers to the stern dogma of predestination. The belief in eternal bliss or punishment, as the just recompense of man's actions during this brief term of human life, which their less reflective forefathers had at one time held, appeared to them to involve a moral impossibility. The equality of all men, which Buddha preached with regard to the final goal, the _nirvana_, or extinction of _karma_ and thereby of all future existence and pain, and that goal to be reached, not by the performance of penance and sacrificial worship, but by practising virtue, could not fail to be acceptable to many people. It would be out of place here to dwell on the rapid progress and internal development of the new doctrine. Suffice it to say that, owing no doubt greatly to the sympathizing patronage of ruling princes, Buddhism appears to have been the state religion in most parts of India during the early centuries of our era. To what extent it became the actual creed of the body of the people it will probably be impossible ever to ascertain. One of the chief effects it produced on the worship of the old gods was the rapid decline of the authority of the orthodox Brahmanical dogma, and a considerable development of sectarianism. (See HINDUISM.)

See H.H. Wilson, _Essays on the Religion of the Hindus_; J. Muir, _Original Sanskrit Texts_; M. Muller, _History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature_; C. Lassen, _Indische Alterthumskunde_; Elphinstone, _History of India_, ed. by E.B. Cowell. (J. E.)

BRAHMAPUTRA, a great river of India, with a total length of 1800 m. Its main source is in a great glacier-mass of the northernmost chain of the Himalayas, called Kubigangri, about 82 deg. N., and receives various tributaries including one formerly regarded as the true source from the pass of Mariam La (15,500 ft.), which separates its basin from the eastern affluents of the Mansarowar lakes, at least 100 m. south-east of those of the Indus. It flows in a south-easterly direction for 170 m., and then adheres closely to a nearly easterly course for 500 m. more, being at the end of that distance in 29 deg. 10' N. lat. It then bends north-east for 150 m. before finally shaping itself southwards towards the plains of Assam. Roughly speaking, the river may be said so far to run parallel to the main chain of the Himalaya at a distance of 100 m. therefrom. Its early beginnings take their rise amidst a mighty mass of glaciers which cover the northern slopes of the watershed, separating them from the sources of the Gogra on the south; and there is evidence that two of its great southern tributaries, the Shorta Tsanpo (which joins about 150 m. from its source), and the Nyang Chu (the river of Shigatse and Gyantse), are both also of glacial origin. From the north it receives five great tributaries, namely, the Chu Nago, the Chachu Tsanpo and the Charta Tsanpo (all within the first 200 m. of its course), and the Raka Tsanpo and Kyi-chu (or river of Lhasa) below. The Chachu and the Charta are large clear streams, evidently draining from the great central lake district. Both of them measure more than 100 yds. in width at the point of junction, and they are clearly non-glacial. The Raka Tsanpo is a lateral affluent, flowing for 200 m. parallel to the main river course and some 20 to 30 m. north of it, draining the southern slopes of a high snowy range. It is an important feature as affording foothold for the Janglam (the great high road of southern Tibet connecting Ladakh with China), which is denied by the actual valley of the Brahmaputra. The great river itself is known in Tibet by many names, being generally called the Nari Chu, Maghang Tsanpo or Yaro Tsanpo, above Lhasa; the word "tsanpo" (tsang-po) meaning (according to Waddell) the "pure one," and applying to all great rivers. Fifty miles from its source the river and the Janglam route touch each other, and from that point past Tadum (the first important place on its banks) for another 130 m., the road follows more or less closely the left bank of the river. Then it diverges northwards into the lateral valley of the Raka, until the Raka joins the Brahmaputra below Janglache. The upper reaches are nowhere fordable between Tadum and Lhasa, but there is a ferry at Likche (opposite Tadum on the southern bank), where wooden boats covered with hide effect the necessary connexion between the two banks and ensure the passage of the Nepal trade. From Janglache (13,800 ft.) to Shigatse the river is navigable, the channel being open and wide and the course straight. This is probably the most elevated system of navigation in the world. From Shigatse, which stands near the mouth of the Nyang Chu, to the Kyi-chu, or Lhasa river, there is no direct route, the river being unnavigable below Shigatse. The Janglam takes a circuitous course southwards to Gyantse and the Yamdok Cho before dropping again over the Khambala pass to the ferry at Khamba barje near Chushul. Thence the valley of the Kyi-chu (itself navigable for small boats for about 30 m.) leads to Lhasa northwards. At Chushul there is an iron chain-and-rope suspension bridge over the deepest part of the river, but it does not completely span the river, and it is too insecure for use. The remains of a similar bridge exist at Janglache; but there are no wooden or twig suspension bridges over the Tsanpo. At Tadum the river is about one half as wide again as the Ganges at Hardwar in December, i.e. about 250 to 300 yds. At Shigatse it flows in a wide extended bed with many channels, but contracts again at Chushul, where it is no wider than it is at Janglache, i.e. from 600 to 700 yds. At Chushul (below the Kyi-chu) the discharge of the river is computed to be about 35,000 cub. ft. per second, or seven times that of the Ganges at Hardwar.