Mythology

Vedas To Puranas: Transitions And Transformation Of Hinduism

enrouteI
May 12, 2023

Article Written By EIH Researcher And Writer

Vedika Singhvi

“Well-established in the world, he was a skillful artist.

he who formed these twins, heaven and earth.

Skilled in visionary imagination, with his power he joined together both realms,

spacious and deep, well-formed, and unsupported.”

– Rigveda 4.56.3

Image Source: By

Devdutt Pattanaik, ET CONTRIBUTORS, Yagna performed by the sages

Introduction

The term Vedic religion refers to a multi-faceted yet structured set of religious ideals, concepts, and practices from ancient India, many of which became fundamental if unacknowledged components of classical Hinduism. Although, historians believe that the beginnings of Vedic religion can be linked directly to the religious sensibilities of slowly migrating Indo-European pastoralists who arrived in Punjab from the northwest around 1500 BCE. By the sixth century BCE, the Vedic presence had spread eastward onto the Ganges River Plain, assimilating and responding to various other religious worldviews while maintaining its distinct quality; within two or three centuries, it had moved across the Deccan Plateau expanding to the Southern regions of the subcontinent (Mahony The artful universe). By the third century BCE, Vedic ideas had spread across most of what is now known as India (Mahony The artful universe). Because of the importance of Vedic beliefs in Indian civilization at the time, historians generally refer to this period as the Vedic Period. Because the origin of the word is vid, which means “to know,” the term Veda refers to knowledge; and because these texts were not originally recorded, it refers to knowledge that is received orally (Wilkins Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic ). The Vedas are not thought to be the creation of a single person, but rather of oral traditions passed down to Rishis or saints, who in turn passed them down to their pupils. Furthermore, the Vedic teachings can be found on temple walls in the form of carvings and scriptures.

Vedic Religion to Puranic Religion

Vedic religion was a polytheistic sacrificial ideology that worshipped a plethora of male and female divinities, the majority of whom were associated with the sky and other eco-centric events (Vedic religion). The elaborate Vedic ceremonies for which the Rigveda hymns were written revolved around the ritual sacrifice of animals and the consumption of a sacred, mind-altering wine squeezed from a plant called Soma. Furthermore, the priest and sages in the Vedic period worshiped the natural elements of the universe such as Water, Air, Fire, Earth, and Space. According to the expounders of the Vedas, there are three principal deities of the Vedic period: Agni, who lives on the earth; Vayu or Indra, who lives in the air; and Surya, who lives in the sky (Vedic religion). The basic Vedic ceremony was to present offerings to a sacred fire, which was deified as Agni and transported the oblations to the gods of the Vedic pantheon (Vedic religion). Agni and Soma were both material parts of the ritual offering: Agni represented the sun’s fire, lightning, and burning wood, while Soma represented the deified aspect of the liquid poured in the oblation(Vedic religion). The most powerful deity, however, was Indra, a warlike god who defeated countless humans and demons (Vedic religion). Varuna, another powerful deity, was the upholder of cosmic and moral norms. These Gods of the Vedic religion were considered to as the cosmic guardians of primitive society in the Ancient period. Furthermore, with the passage of time, the Vedic-Brahmanical ideology transformed into the Puranic ideology.

Image source: Devi Mahatmyam, Markandeya Purana, depicting the Goddess Durga leading the Eight Matrikas in the battle against the Demon Raktabija.

The Vedic gods swiftly diminished their deep original significance; they were even overshadowed by the mighty Trinity, Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, and ultimately faded in the Puranical age (Joshi Veda in the light of Sri Aurobindo ). A new pantheon emerged, which, in its outward symbolic element, reflected a deeper reality and a broader variety of religious experiences, as well as powerful passion and a bigger idea. To some extent, the Vedic sacrifice survived, but only in shattered and diminishing fragments. The temple replaced the House of Fire, and the karmic ritual of sacrifice was turned into the devotional temple ritual (Joshi Veda in the light of Sri Aurobindo). Vedic gods appeared in mantras communicating mental shifting pictures in the Veda; in the Puranas, they gave birth to more specific conceptual forms of the two principal deities, Vishnu and Shiva, Brahma and Shakti (Joshi Veda in the light of Sri Aurobindo). It has been suggested that the Trinity, which became so prominent in the Puranas, played a minor part in the Vedas. While it is true that there were fewer songs dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva than to gods such as Agni and Indra, it must be highlighted that they were no less significant (Joshi Veda in the light of Sri Aurobindo). The Vedic functions attributed to them were far greater, more cosmic, and much more overarching, and further, these functions came to be underlined with sweeping importance in the Puranas.

Puranic understandings of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are inextricably linked to and dependent on Vedic understandings of Brahmanaspati, Rudra, and Vishnu. Brahmanaspati is described as the Creator by the Word in the Veda (Joshi Gods in the Vedas and Puranas). Brahmanaspati extracts light and physical cosmos from the ocean and accelerates the forms of conscious beings upward to their ultimate objective (Joshi Gods in the Vedas and Puranas). The subsequent conception of Brahma, the Creator, appears to have evolved from this creative component of Brahmanaspati (Joshi Gods in the Vedas and Puranas). It can be observed that the shift from Vedic ideologies to Puranic theology led to the shift from eco-centrism to anthropocentrism.

The Vedic notion of the divine became widely accepted to an exceptional degree in the Puranas; this resulted in the concept of the Divine’s occasional manifestations in humanity, which founded the worship of the Avataras; eventually, further developed the idea of the Divine’s Presence in the heart of every creature, which can be discovered through the Yoga process (Joshi Gods in the Vedas and Puranas).

Bibliography