Love Divine: Studies in 'Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism 9780700702350, 9781138980082

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LOVE DIVINE

Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism

SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM DURHAM INDOLOGICAL SERIES 1. THE YOGI AND THE MYSTIC

Edited by Karel Werner 2. SYMBOLS IN ART AND RELIGION

Edited by Karel Werner

DURHAM INOOLOGICAL SERIES No.3

LOVE DIVINE Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism

Edited by

KAREL WERNER

I~ ~~o~1~;n~~:up LONDON AND NEW YORK

LOVE DIVINE DURHAM INDOLOGlCAL SERIES No. 3 First published 1993 by Curzon Press Ltd. Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, axon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA

Rout/edge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © Karel Werner 1993

All rights reserved ISBN 13: 978-0-700-70235-0 (hbk) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from the publishers. British libraI)' Cataloguing in Publication Data A ClP catalogue entl)' for this book is available from the British Library

Typeset in Palatino 10 on 11 pt. by Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi Printed in Great Britain by BPCC Wheatons Ltd, Exeter

Contents Contributors Abbreviations Editor's Preface l.

Bhakti and the ~g Veda-Does it Appear There or Not? JEANINE MILLER

vii ix xiii

1

2. Love and Devotion in Buddhism

37

3. The Dynamics of Paritta Chanting in Southern Buddhism

53

4. Psychological Analysis of Bhakti

85

5. The Pervasiveness of Bhakti in the Bhagavata PuraQ,a

95

KAREL WERNER PETER HARVEY

T.R. SHARMA

FREDA MATCHETT

6. The Place of Bhakti in Saitkara's Vedanta JACQUELINE HIRST

117

7. The Role of Bhakti in the Dasaniimi Order

147

8. The Subject, the Object, the Path and the Goal:

173

9. Violence and the Goddess

193

WADE H. DAZEY

Saiva Devotion in a Monistic Setting GAVIN FLOOD DAVID SMITH

10. Some Reflections on Hindu Bhakti Iconography CHRISTOPHER ASLET

207

Glossary

213

Note on the Papers and Acknowledgements

225

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List of Contributors CHRISTOPHER ASLET

Chester College of Higher Education

WADE H. DAZEY

College of Letters and Sciences, University of WisconsinWhitewater

GAVID FLOOD

Bath College of Higher Education

PETER HARVEY

Department of Languages and Cultures, Sunderland Polytechnic

JACQUELINE HIRST

Homerton College, Cambridge

FREDA MATCHETT

Department of Religious Studies, University of Lancaster

JEANINE MILLER

British Museum (retired)

T.R.

SHARMA

Department of Sanskrit, University of Delhi

DAVID SMITH

Department of Religious Studies, University of Lancaster

KAREL WERNER

School of Oriental Studies, University of Durham (retired)

vii:

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Abbreviations A ABORI

ASS AUB AV BhG BP BPS BSB BsnR BU BUB BynM Cbp Chin. Cp CU CUB Cv

D

DA DH Dhp DhpA DM Dv

ERE

GB GK GKB HR Hv IHQ

IIJ

IPV

IV

J

JAAR JAOS JIP Jm

Anguttara Nikaya Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Anandasrama Sanskrit Series SaIi.kara's commentary to the Aitareya Upani~ad Atharva Veda Bhagavad Gita Bhagavata Purat:la Buddhist Publication Society SaIi.kara's Commentary to the Brahma Sutras Bhaktirasamrtasindhu of Rupagosvami BrhadaraI,lyaka Upani~ad 5aIi.kara's commentary to the BrhadaraI,lyaka Upani~d Bhaktirasayana of Madhusudana CatubhaI,lavara-pali Chinese Cariya-pitaka Chandogya Upani~ad SaIi.kara's commentary to the Chandogya Upani~ad Culavamsa Digha Nikaya Commentary to the Digha Nikaya Dehasthadevatacakrastotra Dhammapadam Commentary to the Dhammapadam Devi-Mahatmya Divyavadana Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics SaIi.kara's commentary to the BhG GauQ,apada's Karikas of the MaU Sankara's commentary to the GauQ,apada's Karikas of the MaU History of Religion Harivamsa Indian Historical Quarterly Indo-Iranian Journal Isvarapratyabhijfiavimarsini Isa Upani~ad Jatakas Journal of the American Academy of Religion Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Indian Philosophy Jatakamala ix

x

JRAS JSAL KaU KaUB KhA KP LS M

MaU Mhb Mhvs Miln MP MS Mv Mvg MVT NBS PH Ps PT PTS PU PUB RV 5 SB SBS SK Skt. SN Sn SP SPS

SSV STC

STV

SU SvT TA ThagA TL TS TU TUB

Ud UP VB

LOVE DIVINE

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Journal of South Asian Literature Katl\a Upani1?ad Sankara's commentary to KaU Khuddakapatha Commentary Kalika Purar:ta LaI'lkavatara Siitra Majjhima Nikaya Mar:tQ.ukya Upani1?ad Mahabharata Mahavastu Milindapailha Marka~Q.eya Pura~a

Manusmrti Mahavarhsa Mahavagga of Vinaya Pitaka Malinivojayottaratantra Narada's Bhakti Sutra Pratyabhijftahrdaya PapsaIhbhidamagga ParatrisikavivaraI).a Pali Text Society text edition Prasna Upani1?ad Sankara's commentary to PU I,{g Veda Samyutta Nikaya Satapatha BrahmaI).a Sa~Q.ilya' s Bhakti Sutra Spandakarikas Sanskrit Spandani~aya

Suttanipata Somasambhupaddhati Saddharma P~Q.arika Sutra (Lotus Sutra) Sivasutravimarsini Stavacintamani SivastotravalI . Svetasvatara Upani1?ad Svacchandatantra Taittiriya Ara~yaka Commentary to Theragatha Tantraloka Tantrasara Taittiriya Upani1?ad Sailkara's commentary to the Taittiriya Up~d Udana Sailkara's Upadesasahasri Vijftanabhairava

ABBREVIATIONS

Yin VP

Vism VyP WZKSOA YB

Ydp Yds

YV YVR

ZDMG

xi

Vinaya Pitaka Visnu Purana ViSuddhimagga Vayu Purat:la Wiener Zeitsdvift Fur die Kunde Sud-und OstAsiens Yogabha.!?ya of Vyasa Yatidharmaprakasa by Vasudevasrama Yatidharmasangraha by Visvesvarasarasvati Yajur Veda Yogavasi!?tharamaYaJ:la Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft

Amendment to Acknowledgements 'Love and Devotion in Buddhism' was presented first at the Fifteenth Symposium in the Cherwell Centre, Oxford, on 1 April 1989 and a shorter modified version was prepared for and presented to the XVIth Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions in Rome on 6 September 1990. A revised version of the paper was prepared for and published in Buddhist Studies Review, Vol. 9, no. 1 (1992), pp. 5-29, and is published here with minor changes. 27 May '93

xii

Editor's Preface The favourable reception afforded to the first two volumes of this Series encouraged both the publishers and the editor to produce one more volume from the harvest of papers delivered in the annual 'Symposia on Indian Religions'. This possibility was already hinted at in the Preface to the first volume in which the editor gave a brief summary of the history of the Symposia during the first ten years (1975-84) under his convenership and mentioned their successful continuation, now enabled by the involvement of younger organisers, with the Thirteenth Symposium being then a particularly successful one, perhaps because of its theme, that of bhakti. The theme attracted several valuable contributions so that a third volume could be envisaged. When preparing the first volume of the Series, the editor could not resist the temptation of including one of the papers from the Thirteenth Symposium, because, in view of its comparative approach, it fitted rather well into the collection and also because of its outstanding quality. A further reason was that it suitably demonstrated the continuity of the second decade of the Symposia with the first one. In retrospect, the decision to include that particular contribution proved to be, paradoxically speaking, fortunate, because its author, Deirdre Green, was able to see it through the process of proof-reading and could enjoy seeing it in the context of the other contributions when the volume The Yogi and the Mystic appeared a few months before her tragic death in a road accident. Dr Green was a scholar young in years, but unusually erudite and hard-working. Her books and articles will remain important for a long time in the field of study of mysticism. The present volume contains a few contributions which were delivered as papers to the Symposia at some other dates than during the Thirteenth Symposium, notably the two Buddhist ones. At least one of them, that written by the editor, was prepared as a result of a direct challenge to continue with the theme of bhakti in subsequent years and explore the possibility of finding parallel phenomena to Hindu bhakti in the Buddhist tradition. Tragic events sometimes follow on the heels of one another and the editor has, sadly, to report on another demise, this time xiii

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of an institution. The 'responsible authorities' within Durham University had brooded for some time over the 'luxury' of having Indian Studies on their pay list and were looking forward to the editor's retirement from his Spalding appointment, then no longer backed by the funds of the Spalding Foundation (the regular supporter also of the annual Symposia) which had been depleted by inflation. So when the time {or the editor's full retirement from his, by then already solitary, post at last arrived in the autumn of 1990, a few months after the appearance of the second volume of the 'Durham Indological Series', Symbols in Art and Religion, Durham Indology, its name now being proudly disseminated to the attention of scholars further afield, officially ceased to exist, because the post was simply abolished. This does not necessarily mean that the Series thereby becomes defunct. Scholarly work has its gestation time which can seldom be speeded up, if it is to be a meaningful contribution to the bulk of human learning. Work on the present volume was being done over several years still within the walls of the editor's College rooms in Durham Castle and in the computer room of the Durham School of Oriental Studies, although its final editing is being carried out in his retirement in London. But there are still some rather substantial materials in hand (partly already published in the form of articles in several academic journals) which were accumulated during the Durham years, sometimes with financial assistance from the University's research fund. These may hopefully grow in due course into one or two monographs and it would be, no doubt, only appropriate to perpetuate the name of Durham Indology by preserving on them the heading of the Series. Maybe one day in the future better counsels will prevail and a renewal of Durham Indology will come about, perhaps aided by the modest contribution made by this Series towards causing the name of Durham to be permanently associated with the subject in the academic world. But again, things often get worse before they get better. A most astonishing event happened even one year before the full demise of Indian Studies in Durham: the whole School of Oriental Studies was, by a quick decision of the University authorities, abolished and most of its sixteen scholars, who were not privy to the secret dealings, were dispersed, with the exception of those engaged in Far Eastern Studies. The Oriental library building, which was virtually new and represented the first stage of a bigger complex according to an original plan, was demolished, all books were transferred to a rented warehouse several miles outside Durham, and the site, together with some other University land,

EDITOR'S PREFACE

xv

was sold off to the Japanese Tenko University for their overseas campus. Despite vicissitudes and temporary setbacks, both in the context of turbulent world history and in the face of provincial displays of narrow-mindedness, the drive of the human spirit for all-inclusive knowledge, which has been the special feature of Western civilization and its gift to mankind as a whole, cannot be stopped. It is hoped that the individual effort and dedication of those who have participated in bringing this Series into being will represent a valid contribution, however modest, to the universal pool of human learning. Although the Thirteenth Symposium on Indian religions, dedicated to the theme of bhakti, did not have a predetermined plan, the papers presented covered a reasonably wide area of interest and the editor set out to broaden the scope of the volume still further so that it would explore the greatest possible area of Indian religious tradition, and especially those parts within it in which the existence of bhakti has been doubted or even denied. This certainly applies to the very first contribution whose preparation was undertaken by its author for the Symposium itself with that specific aim already in mind. In a brilliant piece of research she has assembled truly overwhelming evidence of bhakti attitudes and practices in the ~g Veda on the part of the Vedic seers and worshippers as well as of the involvement of the Deity with man expressed in terms of motherhood, fatherhood or even brotherhood and sometimes companionship, and concern for man's temporary welfare and also for his ultimate salvific destination-as testified to, among other instances, by the song of the bard who feels elated when 'the lordly herdsman of the whole universe, the wise one (dhira), has entered me'. Similarly, the editor's paper finds enough evidence in the Buddhist tradition, ancient and modem (another neglected area in this context), for the deep devotional involvement of the Buddha's followers with their master, whether he was felt to be a perfected human being or a representative of the ultimate transcendental reality of nibbana which, despite all the impersonal overtones associated with it, does allow devout followers to conceive of him, his predecessors, his successors and a vast host of transcendental or cosmic fellow-helpers as truly compassionate and accessible beings concerned predominantly with enabling them also to reach, sooner or later, the final goal. Their devotional involvement proves to be a true aid in this aim, not to be underestimated. Perhaps a little speculative in parts, the paper

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may be looked upon as a challenge to be followed up with further research into the topic in early Buddhist sources, and with a comprehensive study of it in the context of Mahayana. The next paper, on the paritta chanting, might be regarded as, in the main, a technical piece of research not entirely attuned to the spirit of the rest of the volume, but it does have the merit of furnishing a large number of well-documented examples of bhakti-type practices in Theravada Buddhism, with occasional hints about their parallels in Mahayana schools~ thereby strengthening the above call for a comprehensive study in that area. The paper of one of the overseas contributors, attempting a psychological analysis of bhakti, is valuable by its introduction into the picture of two medieval treatises on bhakti which are typical of Indian home-grown scholarship. Their approach is highly technical and classificatory and they both manage to place bhakti into the context of Indian aesthetic theories of rasas. The reader will find it useful to refer back to some of the definitions and descriptions provided by this piece when studying the subsequent four papers. The first one of the four analyses at some length the classic text of the traditional bhakti movement, the Bhagavata Pural).a, and shows how the bhakti flavour suffuses it in all its mythical and legendary topics, and makes an important point on the theoretical level of asserting the knowledge-producing capacity of bhakti when it is single-mindedly pursued. This aspect of bhakti, namely its relation to knowledge, is excellently brought out in the following paper, on Sankara's use of the term, in which he was guided by his concern with promoting his uncompromising Advaitic ontological stance. Bhakti, despite being often just a preparatory attitude, is for him, in its full application as a discipline (yoga) or a spiritual technique, characterized by knowledge, and when applied it appears to be a method of utmost and exclusive concentration on the goal as the Lord who is at the same time the Supreme Self, and also literally the self of the devotee himself. This recognition does not allow for any other way of life than that of the full renunciation of sarhsaric entanglements. Hence the often overlooked importance, in the Advaitic tradition, of the complex Dasanami Order of saimyasIs whose attitude to bhakti is the subject of the next paper. In it we experience the paradox of a rigorous monistic conception of the entire reality which can be, strictly speaking, grasped only by a full and direct knowledge of oneself, on the one hand, and of a practical approach to that goal by a simultaneous pursuit of ritual worship and personal devotion to the Lord, on the other. The same problem is thrown

EDITOR'S PREFACE

xvii

into relief by the following paper, in the framework of the nondualist Saiva movement, which is, of course, ideologically in heavy debt to Sankara's Advaitism. Theoretically, the worshipper of Siva is, in fact, Siva himself, so his goal is to reach himself by the means of self-love which itself is the mode of his timeless existence. The subject of the devotion, its object and its goal as well as the path to it are one and the same thing and always have been so. No wonder that some bhaktas can even persuade themselves that the goal is here, that there is no other mok$a for them apart from the eternal ecstasy of bhakti amidst the eternal gamelike, sarhsaric self-disguise of the Lord, i.e. of themselves. This paradox appears unavoidable in strict monism. It already makes its appearance in this collection in the first paper when its author describes the birth of the universe as 'the sacrificial offering of the Deity to itself'. It does not disappear even if we accept the suggestion of the Sankara paper that the great Advaitin simply lived and was active in the time of the upsurge of theism and therefore quite naturally made use of its vocabulary. The thesis of the Dasanami paper that bhakti is the manifestation of the essential nature of the ultimate reality, namely of its ananda dimension, does not remove, but only underlines the duality of the manifestation and its source which does not want to go away simply by the assertion of oneness if this oneness is not allowed to be interpreted figuratively. Perhaps it all boils down to the simple and categorical statement in the short paper on the psychological analysis of bhakti: 'Ontologically, of course, bhakti presupposes a distinction between the creature and the creator, the worshipper and the worshipped.' Hardly any amount of Sankara's logical argumentation insisting on an uncompromisingly monistic interpretation of the 'Great Dicta' of the Upani~ads and excluding any possibility of ontologically admissible levels of reality can conclusively invalidate this statement. One is here reminded of Pratima Bowes' head-on attack on Sankara in the first volume of this Series. However, for the purpose of this volume, we have to rest content with the indisputable result of the research endeavours of our contributors, namely that bhakti does exist within the context of monistic systems and plays a very important part not only in their popular following, but also in the practice of their luminaries and in the theoretical basis of their systems. The contrasting paper on the Goddess draws our attention to the tremendum aspect of the divine in the original meaning of the word; most deities in Hinduism do have their violent sides and the bhakti approach may indeed be, to a large degree (or perhaps

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entirely?), a reaction to the ubiquity of violence or suffering in life and a way of coping with it, as is exemplified by Arjuna's despondency and Kr!?r:ta's message delivered Ion the battlefield of reality' (dharmak~etre). Perhaps all studies on bhakti, especially on bhakti with a monistic background, should include more than a passing reference to this darker side of life and of the whole of existence. It might make them more balanced and the brushing aside of the problem of the ontological status and origin of this darker side more difficult. The rather unpretentious and unorthodox, but imaginative and refreshingly clear paper reflecting on bhakti in Indian artistic expressions, which closes this collection, does not attempt to tackle the metaphysical problems and contradictions behind the statements about bhakti, not even those made by means of artistic depictions of divine landscapes or by iconographic symbolism. But it vividly demonstrates how the human imagination expresses these contradictions together with the yearnings and expectations of the human heart when they are projected into visible images rather than expressed in concepts which do not have colour.

1

Bhakti and the

VedaDoes it Appear There or Not? ~g

JEANINE MILLER Introduction Bhakti is a devotional element in the religious life of a people expressed as an intimate relationship between man and a personal God based on love and it also implies the idea of a God who feels intense love for man. This is the kind of bhakti that comes across from the later scriptures and religious literature of India, and it is not generally considered as playing any decisive role in the Vedas, let alone in the RV. The Vedas are usually studied for their mythological, liturgical, sacrificial, or even social and ethical content, but not for their devotional side, if it exists in them at all. The focus is usually on the ritualistic aspect of the Vedic religion, because the Vedas are seen as the composition of the sacerdotal class. Any personal devotional outpouring that the priests may have given vent to is usually either minimized or ignored altogether. Only seldom do we find an admission that the hymns to Varut:\a border on bhakti. However, as many hymns were meant to be chanted at the ritual and were even received as inspired visions and composed during the rites, the inspiration was felt by the poets to be dependent on the graciousness and benevolence of the particular visiting deity. And therein lies plenty of room for the expression of a devotional attitude: the poets refer frequently to their heart, their yearning for the deity's favour and their exaltation in their vision. I maintain that through an examination of the religious intensity of the r!Jis reflected in the hymns, their devotional traits will come to light. The Problems

The main reason why the occurrence of bhakti in the RV has not been acknowledged has its root in the widely differing atmo1

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sphere of this saIizhita as against the later bhakti literature. But there is no real incompatibility between the two. A further reason is the fact that there is often a certain lack of insight into the background of the hymns, insufficient understanding of the inner meaning of some of the words employed and the problem of what the Vedic gods really mean to their worshippers and what is the role of sacrifice in relation to bhakti. In the process of dealing with these problems one cannot avoid dealing to some extent with the question of what is the heart of the RV and what are its main values, with the problem of the song as the medium of devotion ant;! therefore the vehicle of bhakti in the RV and with the question of the ultimate purpose.

General Comments The consensus of scholarly opinion about the question of bhakti in the RV is summed up in one sentence by M. Das Gupta: 'Bhakti involves an attitude of mind hardly compatible with the Vedic and Brahmanic idea of worship and ritualism.'1 Some scholars, however, did seek the origin of the bhakti movement in India in the Vedas. The origins of bhakti as such are, of course, in the human heart, but we may certainly say that the first traces of its expression in India can be found in the ~gvedic hymns and not merely in those addressed to Varut:\a. Thus Solomon recognizes that ' ... certain elements in Vedic literature. . . are similar to the personal devotion and affectionate fellowship with the sacred which characterize Bhakti'.2 He further mentions A.B. Keith as having 'localized the origin of Bhakti in part in the Vedic hymns to Varut:\a'. This is what Keith says: The thought of India started from a religion which had in Varut:\a a god of decidedly moral character, and the simple worship of that deity with its consciousness of sin and trust in the divine forgiveness is doubtless one of the first roots of Bhakti, a conception the foreign origin of which has now been abandoned generally.3

Bhakti expresses itself in different ways and the ways of the ancient [!jis were of course quite different from the ways of medieval bhaktas who cast aside the sacrificial mould and the priestly language. But what bhakti implies remains ever the same irrespective of conditions under which it flourishes and forms through which it expresses itself: faith, trust, devotion and worship. These stem from the human heart. Narada describes bhakti as 'dedication of all acts to God and the intense anguish when one fails, or slips from one's absorption

BHAKTI AND THE

~G

VEDA

3

in God' (Bhakti Siitra 19). The sage Kapila in BP (3.29.7), the puraIJa of bhakti par excellence, says: 'The characteristic of pure devotion to the Supreme Being is that it has no motive and is incessant'. That bhakti has no motive might be experienced in its highest stages, but in practice the devotee has always the burning desire to be close to his beloved deity, or to be forgiven in order to draw closer, and his every action is motivated by such desire. This motivation is love and all that it implies. Thus the great Sufi mystic Rabia, described by Attar as the 'woman on fire with love' and 'consumed with her passion [for God]' had but one desire, one motive: '0 my Lord, if I worship thee from fear of hell, bum me in hell; and if I worship thee from hope of paradise, exclude me thence; but if I worship thee for thine own sake, then withhold not from me thine eternal beauty.'4 It is in the very essence of human weakness to ask, and the devotee is no exception, but his asking centres around the presence of the 'Beloved'. This asking from God's beneficence (whether of one or more gods) can be traced back to the r~is of the RV. Their worship is a complete dedication to their god(s). What one does not find with them is the constant stressing of love for God as the be-all and the end-all of existence as was to be prevalent among the bhaktas of later India and in love mysticism elsewhere, particularly in the Sufi movement. There is, in the RV, no god-intoxication in the later sense when only God is the sole ultimate reality and life is not worth living except in communion with God; no one-pointed search for God based on the longings of the love-intoxicated heart, the expression of love pure and simple, or love forbidden, or love in separation, or love in union, as e.g. in the poems of a Mahadeviyaka, culminating in complete self-naughting: He bartered my heart, looted my flesh, claimed as tribute my pleasure, took over all of me. 5 Nor is there in the RV any protest against established rites or customs, any defiance of social hierarchy, as with some bhakti movements, such as Virasaivism. But occasionally the bards do rise to heights of ecstatic rapture and pour out their praises on the gods in moments of enthusiasm, though not as passionately as the Alvars among the Vai!?I).avite saints of Tamil Nadu, or the Nayanmars among the Saivite saints, in later centuries. The tone

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of the RV is, by comparison, rather sober. The aspiration is, e.g. for the 'true sun' or 'the loftiest light beyond the darkness' (1.50.10) 'which mortals behold not' (1.105.16), or for the heavenly light, or for entrance in the divine realms, or for a share of the divine grace or munificence or forgiveness. But appeals to particular gods and dialogues, or simulated dialogues, betraying an intimate attitude full of devotion, are there and have to be recognized. The intimation that the Lord alone is worth aspiring for is still missing, but a strong bhakti does transpire within the song, in the offering to the gods and in the attitude of the !$is. The question of grace looms large in the bhakti tradition. It later developed into two sc1)ools illustrated by the 'cat' and 'monkey' principles, respectively. In the former the soul is saved by God's grace without effort on its own part as the kitten is carried by the scruff of its neck, in the latter some effort is needed as in the case of the monkey infant having to cling to its mother when being transported. Favour or grace implies a certain unpredictability: to all appearances it is a gift, and the devotee never knows when it will be upon him. In the RV the 'grace' of a particular deity appears as a 'favour' granted by the deity, or the favourable or auspicious attitude of the god, his benevolence (sumati, bhadra). It manifests itself as blessings bestowed upon the worshipper, for the gods are by their very nature bounteous, munificent, bestowing abundantly (sudavana/:l), bound to hear the petitioner in his need or distress. But the prayers are not for deliverance from the shackles of this life or for perpetual bliss in the bosom of the deity, though some come close to the bhakta's attitude in the oft repeated petition: 'Be gracious unto us' (6.15.9), as especially in the following: '0 companions, we beg for the divine graces that the Lord of Prayer may exalt us, that for the bounteous god-him who gives from afar as a father-we may be sinless (7.97.2; d. 8.19.4cd & 1.44.14).

Bhakti and Theism versus Henotheism Some scholars claim that the path of bhakti is a path of utter consecration to one God. Grierson claims that ' ... devotional faith implies not only a personal God but one God. It is essentially a monotheistic attitude of the religious sense.'6 This can be challenged on the ground that from the narrower point of view there is but one God, but on the wider spectrum each worshipper woos a different aspect or form of the Deity with a different name. Due to the limitation of his mind man is inc over which places those who have received the visions (dhlraJ:!) performing worship, emitted them. 21

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Here the key word is dhi, explained by Gonda as 'the materialized vision, the hymns, prayers and recitations, accompanying the ritual acts' (op. cit. p.117). On it was based the r?is philosophy of life and sacrifice. The legacy of seership came down from ancient times through generations of patriarchs and was believed to have originated with the gods (8.63.1). The inspiration and revelation given to him by his god the poet returned to the god as an offering duly fashioned into a song of praise or hymn. This vision opens for man the world of the gods and enables him to enter into realms normally hidden to the senses. He can see Indra (10.124.9) and going in his mind (manasd) to the gods' synod, he beholds the celestial beings (3.38.6) and perceives with mental eye (pasyan ... manasa cak?asd) those who of old performed the sacrificial ritual (10.130.6). The inner visions, translated into hymns and sent forward on the flames of Agni, are meant to draw the gods and men into a closer relationship. In the sacrificial ritual the hymns are translated in the imagery of the poets into ghrta, clarified butter (ghee), the fuel of Agni, or Soma, the ecstasy yielding drink leading to illumination and immortality, and the Lord of vision (patirdhyal].). This is also the way the seers pay homage to their gods (1.1.7). There is a certain reciprocity in the action of the ritual: Agni's 'flame is yoked by impulse and by song' (tuja gira, 5.17.3). 'Praising we invoke thee, praising we wish to inflame thee Agni' (5.13.1). Agni 'was made by dhi' (3.27.9), is kindled by it (3.2.1) or by songs (10.118.9). By means of the dhI Soma comes to Indra's meeting place, the altar (9.15.1). Indra is made luminously rich by vision (dhiyavasuJ:!, 1.62.13) and so is Agni sent by the gods to encompass the lofty seat [of the sacrifice] (3.3.2d). The 'promotion' or 'success' of the vision hymn, the bringing of the vision to fulfilment repeatedly asked for, seems to imply, besides the fulfilment of any wish that the seer might have, an entrance into the luminous world of the gods, an understanding of celestial matters, fuller communion between men and god, i.e. the full attainment of the sacrifice (medhasatl). It is enhanced by Soma, the catalyst. The Question of the Gods: What the Deities Meant to Their Worshippers

This is our third major problem. The Vedic gods are placed by critics in a different category from the one God of the bhakta whose attributes are completely anthropomorphic and personal. They are regarded as elemental or natural phenomena, hardly personal or intelligent, with the exception of VarUl~a who comes

BHAKTI AND THE

~G

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closest to the usual idea of God. Agni is for most critics a mere lifeless fire, useful and dangerous; Surya is for them just a luminary in the sky; Soma is just a plant whose sap yields intoxication; they are all without real life, character or intelligence. This is a sterile attitude. We have to try to see what these gods meant to their devotees. There is no doubt that in their eyes they were very personal and each one of them has his peculiar characteristics and plays a particular role in the cosmos, although they also have certain affinities which somewhat blur the picture of their nascent 'personalities'. The gods as a whole are not so distant from men, they may be considered elder brothers to whom men tum for help. They, too, once knew the curse of death, but have now won their immortality. The dialogue between god and man is therefore not difficult and the love and kinship between them is emphasized frequently: 'For of one spirit are the gods with mortal men, co-sharers all of gracious gifts' (8.27.14). Therefore 'from time of old' we men 'have set forth our brotherhood, our kinship in the Mother's womb' (8.83.8). AGNI

Agni's range is immense. He is the life and death bestowing flame, penetrates everything and his manifestations cover the triple structure of Vedic cosmology in all its intricacies. He is seven-rayed, triple-headed, seated in the moving and fixed (1.146.1), born of the waters and of the wood and of the gods (2.1), no power can stay him (1.143.5), he is seated in the secret cave (1.67.2) in the human heart, he is life of the waters, robed in radiance (3.1.5; d. 8.102.4-6). Agni is the high priest par excellence (1.1). Like Soma, he is also the 'inspired and inspirer', the kavi(poet}, established among the gods (10.150.4; 1O.122.7) and mortals from of old, shown to Matarisvan in the highest heaven (1.143.2). He was brought to the earth's centre (Le. the sacrificial altar) by the famed ancestors of seers, the Bhrgus (1.141.4; 1.143.4). Sublime, Agni is Surya in the heavens whom the gods honour (10.7.3). He rises as the sun above the races of men (3.14.4), holds himself at the summit of the world (10.88.5), is the head of the world at night and in the day 'is the ancient star, the ageless, who wanders on forever' (10.88.13). Like his counterpart Soma, Agni is, in Gonda's words, 'the great furtherer of enlightenment, rapture and inspiration'; he is the inspired guide of the poets; from him 'springs the spirited seer ... he makes his devout worshipper famous'.22 He is the celestial light finder, the truth bearer (3.26.1), deviser of the bright word (2.9.4), the first promoter of the vision (6.1.1) who rules

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every thought (6.6.1) and gives wisdom (1.18.6; d. 4.11.3). He is the mindful, immortal messenger (1.44.11) through whose ministry the gods are manifested to mortals; as the 'lord of vast immortality' (7.4.6) he daily raises man to highest immortality (1.31.7) .. He is even the guardian of the nectar of amrta, the 'undeceived keeper of immortality' (6.7.7). He is both father and mother of man (6.1.5d), his kinsman, brother and friend (10.7.3). As messenger of gods to men, envoy of men to the gods, the best of priests, he links heaven and earth and is himself the lord of prayer (Brahmal)aspati, 1.38.13), the charioteer of the Transcendent (adbhutasya rathi, 1.77.3). Thus Agni rules the ritual (7.11.4), promotes vision and releases inspiration from man's heart. The kindling of Agni, besides its ritual meaning, refers further to a process beyond the physical act: the inner process of kindling the flame of aspiration-inspiration-ecstasy. He is also the conductor to that thrice hidden abode, that mysterious seat where the Unborn (aja) holds sway (described in 8.41.9 as the 'unshakable home of Varul)a'). SoMA

For the critic Soma may be a mere plant yielding intoxicating juice and speculation is rife as to its nature. 23 But for the Vedic bard the plant merges in the god who is the Knower, the inspired and inspirer, the kavi par excellence (like Agni) who knows and understands (6.47.3), the enlightener who 'releases the mindyoked inner vision even as the thunder releases the rain' (9.100.3a). He is the king of all celestial seership (9.76.4a), the brahman of the gods (9.96.6), the lord of intuition (9.86.19) and the generator of the gods whom he 'produces' (9.42.4c; 9.110.3-4), Le. makes the divine powers manifest to men. In so awakening human inner perception he fosters the visionary insight of his devotee and 'gives man kinship with the gods' (9.10.8). Soma knows man in his consciousness (manascit, 9.11.8) and as the unfailing lord of vision (adabhya patir dhiyal}., 9.75.2; 9.99.6) he can make human insight equivalent to Siirya's gaze. (Siirya, as we shall see, is the embodiment of the gods' own omniscient vision.) Being also the' brahman of the gods' (9.96.6), the word released from the unsounded depths as sound and inspired poetry, Soma is both the power of invocation in man and the ability to express the resulting insight in eloquent words, ritual formulae and mantras. This brahman is that 'primeval milk of heaven' (9.110.8) which the seers learn to milk forth from their inspiration in their songs.

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Soma also furthers the vision of the Cosmic Order (rta, 9.102.8) and 'resplendent through {fa, declares {fa, speaks the truth, acts the truth, proclaims faith'. All that is reflected also in the ritual which the word rta also implies. The rite of pressing Soma should be carried out with the inner incandescence born of contemplation (tapas, 9.113.2). In that state of heightened awareness, the poet would behold the 'golden one' with the very eyes of Soma (1.139.2) and enters the divine domains: 'We have drunk Soma, we have become immortal, we have gone to the light, we have found the gods' (8.48.3). It is evident from various prayers for purification that the true Soma, i.e. the state of enlightenment or ecstasy would not be experienced unless the seer was in a state of purity. Only then he can discover the prayer or the 'word of power' (brahman) and obtain the all illuminating vision. This takes place during the rite of purifying Soma (9.96.1Od), but Soma is also said to be purified by thoughts (somo matibhilJ punano, 9.96.15). So here we have a procedure in which the purification of the mind leads to the exaltation represented by Soma which opens the path for prayer or that power of invocation which brings the gods into communion with the devotees. The result is the hymn which is then offered to the gods as an expression of devotion and of yearning to please them. SDRYA-SAVIT~

The action of Soma and Agni in stirring up and bestowing illumined insight has a further counterpart in the sun which, embodying the very essence of light, grants also enlightenment. This is an example of a complex of interblending patterns of activities and affinities among the luminous gods which makes them into different personalities where we would expect a single deity. The blending is sometimes expressed in dual gods, e.g. Surya-Savitr, Savitr-Pusan, Pusan-Soma. Suiya ~nd Savitr are occasionally intermingled (7.63; 5.81.4) or merged as though one (4.14.2). At the phenomenal level, Savitr vivifies and prepares the atmosphere of Surya's manifestation. He is the impelling, all stimulating power behind and within the sun. He represents the invigorating capacity of the sun, while Surya represents its illuminating power. Surya is the herdsman or guardian of all (7.60.2), the all-seeing one who surveys mortals' deeds. He is further the 'eye' of the gods who themselves created it and also the atman or 'soul' of all things (1.50.6-7; 1.115.1; 6.51.1; 7.77.3; 10.37.1). Through that eye the gods discriminate truth from falsehood, so Surya is the very essence of their vision

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and omniscience achieved by them. Mitra and VarUl).a behold the infinite and the finite (aditim-ditim ca, 5.62.8) from the seat of Surya. In the AV (13.1.45) Surya is described as 'the one eye of what exists, that looks beyond the sky, the earth, the waters'. It makes the wise ones who foster truth (rtavrdhaiJ) 'sun-eyed', i.e. illumined (RV 1.89.7). In the past scholars missed or ignored the subtle meanings of Surya. For Muir 'the grand luminary becomes little more than a part of nature' and for Keith 'the chief feat of Surya is his shining for the world, for gods, and men: he smites away the darkness and triumphs over the powers of darkness and witches; he prolongs the lives of men and drives away sickness, disease and evil dreams ... '24 But part of a verse which has never been analyzed tells us that beyond Surya's misty realm 'there is another glory' (10.27.21), a knowledge that can be apprehended only by the inner eye. So the bard claims: 'Having received the vision of truth (rta) from my father, I was born like a sun' (8.6.10). From the realm of rta shines forth the inner vision (10.111.2), the truth which the sun is said to diffuse (satyam tatana surya, 1.105.12). Seeing, perception, insigh~, enlightenment and illumination are facets of that all comprehensive activity with its many levels which we call understanding, enlightenment being its culmination. This whole idea is embodied in Surya. It is noteworthy that all the luminous gods are asked to shower or shine forth their riches or blessings on humans; seldom Surya. His role remains that of the knower and the spreader of truth. He is asked to declare us sinless (6.50.2). Whatever his activity on the phenomenallevel (in nature) signifies, it is obvious that he is also and preeminently that inner illuminating eye which enables the seer to 'look into' all things and to know. PO$AN

This deity, more than any other, is an example of overlaps. Stella Kramrisch explains it thus: [The seer-poet] sees the sun's radiant face and glowing orb move on the vault of the sky, and understands its radiance, glow and movement as manifestations of a power to which he gives three names: SORYA, the sun in manifestation; POSAN, the glowing innermost essence of this manifestation; and SAVIT~, the 'Impeller', the cause of its being and movement. 25 Saviq, the great vivifier, becomes Pu!?an in all his out-goings (5.81.5b). Pu!?an is born on the downward and upward paths of Saviq. Therefore he becomes the lord of paths (pathas pati, 6.53.1).

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He has glowing power expressed in his exclusive epithet (agrhm) which is like a beacon on the path on which he leads the seeker. This power is akin to Agni, the flame divine (2.1.6), which seeks and finds a hiding place in Pu~an's own secret resort (10.5.5). He is also Soma (9.101.7) who is himself compared to 'intuitioninspiring Pu~an' (pii~eva dhijavanaJ:!, 9.89.3d) and whom Pu~an discovered 'doubly hidden' (1.23.14) in the depths of his orbital journey and sprinkles with his nectar the pastures of men. The two of them, together with Agni, are the world's guardians and centres of immortality (2.40.1; 3.17.4). Kramrisch (p.109) comments: The division of functions of these great gods is as intangible as it is transparent. They manifest in light and flame. It is a division in degrees, of one proceeding power. Each progression, each intensity of the proceeding power from Saviq to Pu~an to Surya-or in its diversification as Agni and Pu~an, has its own name and place in the perpetual creation around which Pu~an leads the way. Pu~an, the glowing essence of Surya, is the herdsman of all worlds and all beings, the good shepherd, who guides his human flock unerringly along the path and the crossroads, through the darkness where the two-faced evil, the wolf of greed and the way layer of temptations, lurks and obstructs our progress. These having been conquered, he leads us right to the heights of the luminous riches (vasu raJ), to Soma the giver of ecstasy and illumination. He removes all obstacles preventing our progress (1.42.1 & 4) and hence is called the son of liberation (vimuco napat) and the liberator (vimocana, 1.42.1; 6.55.1; 8.4.15-16). There is more than a hint of his internal functions (which all the luminous gods possess) when he is said to be 'inserted in every creature' (bhuvane visve arpital), 6.58.2). As the 'divine torturer' he urges human beings with his 'prayer stimulating goad' (brahma codanim aram, 6.53.8) onwards in his unrelenting pursuit of the goal and it is his awl that tears the heart: 'Thou glowing Pu~an carriest an awl that urges men to prayer. Therewith thou tearest up and rendest to shreds the heart of everyone' (6.53.8). One can hardly find a more typical cry of a bhakta whose heart, in the pursuit of his god, feels tortured by the very action of his beloved. Kramrisch (p.llO) interprets it thus:

He tests whom he chooses, probes his heart, and sharpens his mind. With his pointed weapon he tears and rends the heart, opens it and stimulates the spirit so that it arises in an upsurge of creative fervour (brahman; 6.53.8).

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Pu~n is asked: 'Sharpen us like a razor' (8.4.16), for only sharp insight can find the right track that leads to the right road, a wish reminiscent of that later warning concerning the path that has to be trodden by every seeker of the ultimate truth: 'The path is narrow and difficult to tread, narrow as the edge of a razor' (KaU 1.3.14).

.. .. .. .. ..

The background to the ~gvedic hymns concerned with this handful of luminous deities is thus averred to be one of lively communication, communion and welcome guidance. How much more obvious would it be if we examined the role of Indra, the most cherished of the gods, and Varut:la, the great Lord of Cosmic Order. But they will be assessed in their role of Father and Lord and Lover. The interblending of the gods' many aspects, activities and influences shows an intimate relationship with the human psyche's weaving of its own destiny step by step through its actions and reactions. The gods are the outer reflections of inner activities taking place in the deeper self of man and therefore essential for him to relate to. Agni the kindler to ever greater exertion, Soma the catalyst and giver of ecstasy, Saviq the impeller and invigorator, Surya the eye of illumination, and Pu~an the guardian of the paths, remover of obstacles and shepherd of human folks-they are all glowing aspects of man's conception of deity, each mirroring and conferring on the deity something of himself: the flame of desire and aspiration, the ecstasy of life in both its inner and outer sense, the never tiring urge to seek for more-more experience, more achievement, more meaning-and to obtain the eye of knowledge, wisdom, illumination, the completion of fulfilment. The celestial vision, resplendent, of pure form (3.34.5; 8.66.8 & 44), which these gods bestow on man is often compared to a cow that yields a thousand streams of milk and is therefore in man's eyes the harbinger of plenty. Far from being lifeless these gods vibrate with light and are so close to man that from our modem psychological viewpoint they appear as variations on the one theme of the pilgrim's perpetual search for light, knowledge, achievement and enlightenment; the traveller ascends and descends, struggles, questions and weaves the pattern of godly processes as he proceeds to invoke supernal powers and purify and exalt himself: 'I saw the herdsman, the untiring one, by the pathways approaching and withdrawing; he, robed in converg-

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ing and diverging [forces], continuously revolves within the worlds' (1.164.31). Who is that untiring herdsman, Agni, Surya, Pu~an? Or the eternal traveller, man the seeker? What the seers expressed as 'finding the gods' or 'celestial light' or even 'immortality' was their achievement of rising to greater heights of aspiration and creativity; their 'toiling for the vision' while 'circling for days' like vultures around their prey means nothing else than the vision-inspired thought (1.88.4) which enables the making of brahman, i.e. the offering of prayers in the form of hymns. Their toil to release the brahman led them up and down, through exertion and exaltation, to gaining of light and wisdom and to the conquest of the sacrifice (arkasati and medhasatl). It means drawing nearer to the gods, light, heaven. Soma, the ecstasy, is found in the darkness or in the highest heaven. The search for light in the very heart of darkness is like Indra's seeking out the cattle (3.39.5) whose release will lead to the setting up of the hidden sun on high; Pu~an, 'sprinkling Soma's drops on pasturelands', gives thereby inklings to the seeker, through glimpses of the state of exaltation, of what bliss the future holds for him. So he prays that he may bring his vision to fulfilment (6.49.8) and ex~laims: 'My ears [open], my eyes speed after the light lodged here within my heart; my mind wanders, its thoughts far away; pray what shall I say, what then shall I intuit?' (6.9.6) The properties and activities of the luminous gods express facets of a pilgrimage process reflected in the human psyche which is that ever forward marching spirit of enlightenment which impels man to carryon his endless quest.

Bhakti and the Sacrifice Are they Compatible? There is a reluctance on the part of scholars to accept the notion that bhakti is compatible with the framework of the sacrificial ritual. They did not recognize what one may call a spilling over of the devotional side of human nature into the structure of the sacrifice which is evident in the RV where this structure was not yet rigid and the performance of the sacrifice not yet mechanical as in later times. The intrinsic significance of the sacrificial ritual was not recognized by early scholars and even now we find this attitude perpetuated. Solomon sums it up thus:

... bhakti in the sense of exclusive adoration to personal dei-

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ties is not a prominent feature of the Vedas, for the Vedic gods are always subordinate, if not incidental, to the principle of sacrifice. 26 He means that the sacrifice performed by man was calculated to coerce the gods to do what he wished. This idea is highly questionable as far as the RV is concerned. There the gods are not subordinate to the sacrificial ritual, but rather to a higher Order, the Supreme ~ta which itself represents the primordial sacrifice that brought the world into being, a point well brought out by Aguilar. 27 The view that gods are dependent on man's sacrificial rituals is a misapprehension. It is truer to say that in the Vedic view the gods need man's participation in the Vast Cosmic Order of which the sacrifice is the dramatic, symbolic re-enactment. In creating an orderly society which mirrors the divine Order where truth and justice prevail man contributes to that Order and thereby collaborates with the gods. This mutual participation is summarized in the sacrificial ritua1. 28 The birth of the universe is a sacrificial offering of Deity to Itself (10.90; 10.81.5) and the gods' participation in it is mirrored on earth by the human ritual which is itself an epitome of the law of life, of taking and giving, the eternal exchange. In the cosmic hierarchy the gods, although brothers from the same womb (Aditi) are higher than humans, for they have won their immortality in past ages (cf. 2.40.1; 4.54.2; 6.7.4; 7.4.6; 7.13.2; 9.106.8) and securely aligned themselves on the side of Cosmic Order (1.147.1d). This enables the relationship of trust, devotion, faith and dependence between men and the gods which is evident in the prayers. The Vedic ritual is a dramatic, symbolic and miniature representation of the process of becoming, or evolution, whereby the one divine life-puru~, the archetypal man in his essential divinity-is offered up in sacrifice, his oneness is transformed into multiplicity and the whole process is expressed in the law of exchange, of give and take, of birth, growth and death, creation and destruction, the replacement of the old by the new. 'This is the law ... the offspring on being born consumes his generators' (10.79.4ab; cf. 1O.82.7ab). This is the process of evolution and growth. This universal process is symbolized in the ritual in which the sacrificial victim (the plant, the animal, the poet's materialized vision, i.e. the hymn) is the puru$a imprisoned in the shackles of matter. As expressed in the post-hymnic period, 'that which is sacrificed is the soul of all beings and of all gods' (SB 14.3.2.1) and the

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sacrificer who consecrates himself is the food of the gods (SB 3.6.3.19; d. also 3.3.4.21). The meaning of it is that the inner being is sacrificing its inherent freedom through incarnation in matter. Hence material life means death to the spirit, but the death of the body is only symbolic of the spiritual imprisonment and actually gives impetus to further manifestation. The universe evolves by means of the eternal sacrificial offering of the puru$a which implies the immolation and also the release of life with its eternal cycle of birth and death. But death always means also the freeing of life, as is again hinted in the SB: 'For when the gods in the beginning seized a victim, then as it was drawn upwards, its sacrificial essence flowed downwards, and from it sprang the tree' (3.8.2.17), i.e. the tree of life. This is a vision of the circuit of life moving up and down and forming the image of the tree of existence. The ritual re-enacts the drama of creation, but it also establishes such a close relationship and bond between man and his God or gods as to bring man into direct contact with the numinous from which spring the theophanies of the Vedas. In this human approach to the gods we find the yearning and loving expressions typical of the bhakta. The sacrifice enables the mind to yoke itself to a god through the visionary power originally bestowed by the god and to direct it to the transcendental realms. The rite is the framework for this process. Thus the ~bhus are asked to prepare the path for the worshippers so that they may cross to all regions of heaven (4.37.7). Elsewhere the poet refers to that persistent vision which comes to him at dawn, yet is ancestral, 'born of old', hence archetypal, but each time it comes to him, he fashions it into a new expression, a hymn of praise, his own offering (3.39.2), to be sent back to the god through the agency of Agni, the 'immortal guest in mortal houses', and Soma, the ecstasy granter, and Indra the light finder. The worshipper who thus tries to attract his god to the altar (6.13.4) by means of songs and praises is acting in a similar way to the bhakta who does the same through prayers, songs and lamentations. The sacrificial rite is not a mechanical affair, it requires toiling after the vision (1.88.4; 6.2.4), purification, recitation with the 'efficacy of true speech (rtavakena satyena), with tapas and faith. Its association with vision (dhi, dhlti) is of paramount importance. Agni grants it to the seer and performs by means of it the complex sacrifice, moving between men and the gods like a charioteer (3.3.6). The vision is, in fact, 'the seed of the sacrifice' (garbho yajifasya, 8.12.11) and through his role in it Agni is asked

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to gain 'for us in heaven the grace of Mitra, VaruI)a and the Waters' (8.9.4). Thus it appears that the aim of the sacrificial ritual is the same as the aim of prayer or the recitation of litanies in later and other religious traditions. Prayer belongs to the rite. Thus Indra does not accept a prayerless rite, a rite without the brahman; no juices pressed without a prayer ever pleased him (7.26.1; 10.105.8). Prayer, vision, insights-these are closely connected with devotion: 'Companion Brahmans assemble together to worship with flashes of insight shaped within the heart' (10.71.8ab). Deep reverence bordering on bhakti comes through in the following examples addressed to Agni: 'Reverencing with oblation in our spirit Agni-common-to-all-men, the truth-bearer, the light finder' (3.26.1ab). 'With homage rich in oblation, let us arouse that performer of the sacrifice by the path of [ta' (1.128.2ab). 'Upon our knees let us approach thee with adoration as thou shinest forth in thine own domain' (6.1.6cd). What clinches the matter in favour of a bhakti trend within the framework of the sacrificial worship is the question of the heart and its values as it appears in the RV itself. The offer of the vision or hymn and the elements of the sacrifice are gifts of the heart in order to touch the god's heart-whether the motive be for worldly or spiritual riches does not alter the fact of the gift of the heart as the touchstone of the sacrifice. How many devotees pray, sometimes desperately, for the welfarer, cure or safety of their beloved ones? The Values of the Heart

The question of the aspiration of the heart looms large in any evaluation of the place of bhakti in a scripture. Besides being the seat of feeling, the heart is the secret spot whence emerge the inner vision and light (6.9.6) released by Agni or Soma, or, in Gonda's words, 'the place where inspiration is received and from which sacred speech originates', 'the place in which the visions, or more generally, supernormal and praetersensual contacts arise and are converted into poems'.29 It is the 'hidden cave' (guha nihitam) or cavity (kham) where Agni crouches (1.67.2) and releases the high inspiration which he proclaims as the hidden footprint of the Cow (4.5.3; 4.11.2; d. 7.87.4). This esoteric reference is probably to Aditi, the mother of all and matrix of manifestation. The inspired poet looks eagerly from within his heart (10.123.6); or, watching over the ageless god (Agni) in his heart (1.146.4), makes his offering from his heart and hopes it will touch his god's

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heart; he also states that his thought rises from within his heart wherein he reflects with perceptive insight on the thousandbranched mystery of life (7.33.9) and discovers the link between the Created and the Uncreate (10.129.4). The heart (hrd) is often coupled with manas which, in the RV, implies more than the cogitative function; it is conscious awareness plus feeling and will, or 'spirit'.30 Agni thus 'seeks out the gods on behalf of mortal man' and 'worships in spirit' (manasa yajati, 1.77.2). 'The inspired sages behold the bird (=the sun, i.e. the light of illumination) by means of their heart and spirit' (10.177.1).31 Ignored by those who deny the presence of bhakti in the Veda, the role of the heart in the seers' vision has been amply demonstrated by Gonda and Dandekar. The heart is the seat of divine knowledge, wisdom, intuitive perception, insight and inspiration and contains the treasures of celestial vision. 'The gods know in their hearts mortal man' (8.18.15). 'Agni. .. beholds our hearts' (10.5.1). 'Varut:\a has placed will-power in the hearts [of men]' and reveals, or 'opens out his thought by means of the heart' (1.105.15; 5.85.2). The mantras used in the rituals are 'fashioned in the heart' (1.67.2; d. 2.35.2) and well up from it, taking shape as rhythmic words in the mouth of the singer and are addressed to the god. Dandekar (p.140) recognized this point, although he still understated it: The Vedic poet ... represents the origin of the song in terms of the stream of Soma (ghrta-dhiiraJ:!) flowing out of the ocean of the heart (RV 4.58.5; 4.11; 10.5.1; 10.89.4). This conception of Vedic poetry originating from the heart of the poet and having a direct appeal to the heart of the divinity would clear up a common misunderstanding about its nature, namely, that Vedic poetry is often purely conventional in form and content.

Sri Aurobindo expressed this link much more openly: It is ... by the power of the heart that the mantra takes form.

But it has to be received and held in the thought of the intelligence as well as in the perception of the heart; for not till the intelligence has accepted and even brooded upon it, can that truth of thought which the truth of the word expresses be firmly possessed or normally effective. Fashioned by the heart, it is confirmed by the mind. 32

To reach out to the heart of the god (hrdisprg) is the whole purpose of the composing of the songs (d. 1.16.7; 7.101.5; 10.47.7). And the worshipper offers it as his supreme celebratory gift,

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fashioned and offered from the heart (cf. 6.16.47ab). 'May our fairy hymn, heart-born, reach him' (1.60.3). 'To Agni, with my heart, I bring forth a pleasing thought' (10.91.14d; cf. 5.4.10; 8.43.31; AV 12.2.33). 'Agni, to thee we bring with our sacred word this offering shaped in our heart. Let it be oxen, bulls, cattle to thee' (6.16.47). The true offering fashioned in the heart is worth all the cattle that could be sacrificed. This is truly a bhakta's offering of his love, his whole heart, to the god from whom similar heart's response is expected: 'Today, 0 Agni, we thrive with our approaches ... offering with our praises that which touches thy heart (hrdisprsam), auspicious will-power' (4.10.1). Similar verses are directed to all other gods too: to Maruts (1.171.2ab), Asvins (10.40.12), Indra ('May this song of praise, most blessed, be foremost in touching thy heart', 1.16.7ab; 'To Indra, the Lord, from my heart my thought, pouring forth, goes out, fashioned into praise', 3.39.1ab; cf. 1.61.2; 8.76.8), Varul).a (8.86.8) and even Rudra (1.43.1). The singers explain how all their thinking powers exert themselves within their hearts (10.64.2). For them there is no other comforter than the gods in whom they place their desires. When the poet says 'I long for Indra with my heart and mind' (icchami id hrdii manasii cid indram, 6.28.5b) it may not sound as the burning language and ardour of the later bhaktas, but this simple phrase is very expressive of the state of soul-eta d'ame, to use a characteristic French expression. To desire with one's heart and mind/spirit is to desire with one's whole being and such a desire for deity is the very pith of the bhakta's being. The devotee embraces the feet of his god (6.29.3a), the saviour from sin (7.20.1d), and wishes that the Soma drops that touch the heart (10.25.2) be bestowed on the heart of Indra (3.42.8) and would touch his heart as a loving wife her lord (10.91.13).

Song as the Medium of Love Expression Besides sacrifice, it is the song which is the true expression of the Vedic worship and love of deity. It shows the powerful urge, the poets' yearning (tvam kama, 8.11.7; 10.133.6) to enter into the deity's grace, favour or realm. Mystic literature of the world abounds in love songs or poems. The RV, with its peculiarities of archaic expression, still waits for further extensive study which will enable its full appreciation. It is important to realize that the Vedic seership brought together seeing and hearing into a higher union; sound and vision were simultaneous processes or blended into one process. (We

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have a trace of this in the expression 'chromatic scale'.) This is the condition of the celestial dimension (svar), the realm of gods, of luminosity. The Vedic song is the audible expression of the seer's vision which comes from the celestial dimension and has the quality of bright light; as the poets utter their words they see them shining. The flashing hymn shines brightly (citra arka).33 The vision that leads to the song is resplendent (1.144.1), glows with bright colour (1.143.7; 3.34.5) and shines with ghee (1.2.7). The songs appear even like flames or lightning shafts (8.6.7). In Dandekar's words (p.140): 'The Vedic song, indeed, forms the bridge between the heart of the poet and the heart of the divinity and thus brings about the true communion between the two.' 'With devoted minds and offerings' (7.67.1) the poets sing their songs which are offered up as refreshment to the gods (7.36.2) who feed on them and are magnified by them (cf. 5.73.10; 8.44.2. & 19) which may imply that the ecstasy became greater as the song was intensified. As stated before, it has been suggested that the songs do not overflow with exuberant emotions, burning ardour or wild raving self-abandonment or self-depreciation in love for the deity which is typical of bhakti movements of later India. Yet the terminology used in the songs shows the opposite, if it is only sufficiently analyzed to reveal its meaning. The flame of the seers' ardour which implies intensive feeling is shown in the poet's offering of his sweat in his service to Agni (5.7.5), of his devotion (1.173.2) and toil (1.121.6), and particularly in the seer's tapas, the flame of inner intensity, which opens to him the high vision (10.177), permits him to find the brahman, the right word, prayers, song, and enables him thus to draw close to the deity. The relationship of devoted love between god and man can be found in the worship of all Vedic gods. It has been recognized, to some extent, with respect to VarUl~a. I shall now concentrate on showing its full validity in the case of Agni, Indra and VarUl),a. AGNI

'How shall we honour Agni,' asks one poet, 'what song agreeable to the god should be uttered for refulgent Agni', who, immortal amidst mortals, is most worthy of worship and makes the gods manifest, wakes them and worships them 'in spirit' (1.77.1-2). 'For thee, Agni, this most honied speech, for thee let this inspiration be a balm to thy heart. These songs fill thee with power as great rivers [fill] the ocean and exalt thee' (5.11.5). 'To Agni, the steer of Cosmic Order, mighty asura, worthy of worship, I turn

26

LOVE DIVINE

my thoughts, I bring my song, like pure ghee in his mouth at sacrifice' (S.12.1). 'Like ghee on thy tongue and in thy thought, Agni, these prayers are for thee; among the gods pay heed to them' (8.38.3). The offering of the song made sweet to please the god is a peculiar trait of this kind of hymn. Agni receives the epithet 'much beloved' (purupriya, 8.74.2), 'dearest guest', 'beloved as a friend' (8.84.1; d. 8.3.1cd), 'like a brother', 'father and mother of men forever' (6.1.S). He is the lover of maidens and the lord of wives (1.66.4) and a 'fountain in the desert' (10.4.1), a peculiar metaphor when applied to fire, but the point is that the inspiration quenches the yearnings of the singer and gives him fulfilment. Agni is a 'guest in every home' (8.74.2) amongst all men (4.1.20), a 'cherished house friend' and 'guest loved in the dwelling' (S.4.5)-descriptions reminiscent of Kabir's verse: 'Today is dear to me above all other days, for today the Beloved Lord is guest in my house.'34 The image of the guest in the house is archetypal. It may take form as the flame of ardour inspired by the household fire that transforms the house into a home and the human being into a 'burning candle', or as the Beloved Lord waiting at the door to enter; the resulting upliftment leads to ecstasy. Peculiar to this aspect of Agni is that the fire is said to sparkle in 'the imperishable syllable', and 'the mother's womb', and Agni is asked to bring us 'the prolific sacred word (brahma prajavad) that shines in heaven' (6.16.3,5-6). The kinship of the sacred fire with the sacred word is also emphasized as their coming together in a sacred work that opens out a thousand paths (7.1.14). This is obviously the flame of aspiration, inspiration and rapture, to which the poet turns and from which he receives the grace of seership and eloquence. Hence it is most precious to him and hence all the endearing epithets lavished on Agni, the immortal friend. INDRA

The bhakti trend is perhaps even more evident in many of the songs addressed to Indra. He is often called the 'lover': '0 singer, awake Indra the lover' (jara, 10.42.2). This aspect of Indra has been more or less ignored in favour of his warrior image. But he is also the friendly lord of friends (mitranam mitra patil), 1.170.S) and the king of prayer (7.97.3). He is the 'lover of songs' (girvanal:z) par excellence (8.3.18; 8.98.7; d. 1.S7.4; 10.111.1). The panegyric and the sacred word are generated for him: 'To him I sing a

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27

prayer, new, unrelenting, unequalled, alike to Heaven and Earth (10.89.3; cf. 7.31.11). It is the poet's wisdom which, 'freshly aroused as song', is offered up to his mighty protector Indra (5.42.13). Like the floods rushing to the sea, so Indra takes his delight in the eulogies (8.16.2). Prayers sent to him he heeds in his heart; his spirit consults his heart as he hears the appeals of his devotees (3.41.3; 8.100.5). The oft used metaphor of rushing water suggests the flowing out of the feelings and the urge to reach out to the god by means of the inspired song: '1 will send out my songs in flow unceasing, like water from the ocean's depths, to Indra' (1O.89.4ab). 'Let my songs attract thee hitherward like waters gathering to the vale' (8.32.23; Griffith's translation). Like billows flowing down a mountain slope, so to thee, 0 Indra, speed my songs and prayers' (6.47.14). 'As rivers reaching ocean so our songs strengthened with praise drive forward to him, the far penetrating one' (6.36.3; cf. 1.52.7; 1.190.7; 5.57.1; 8.16.2). This can be favourably compared with Kabir's verse:' As the river reconciles with the sea, so does my heart reach out towards yoU.'35 Basavanna, the Tamil devotee, uses a similar image, though he adds a very personal emotional touch such as is lacking among the Vedic bards who place their emphasis strictly on the offering of the song, its reaching the god and touching his heart: 'The waters of joy broke the banks and ran out of my eyes.'36 The devotion of the seer is in the framing and offering of the best prayer possible, the prayer that moves the heart. There is very seldom any expression of a tortured soul such as one finds among the Tamil devotees, or emphasis on love itself, pure and simple. On the whole, life is considered good, and in spite of a few doubts that come up to the surface occasionally only to be quickly suppressed (cf. 8.100.3), the gods are believed to be close to humans on whom they pour out their blessings. Occasionally a touch of humour comes across from the verses: ,As rats eat weavers' threads, so cares are consuming me, thy praiser, 0 Powerful One! Show thy mercy on us at once, 0 Gracious Lord. Be thou father unto us' (10.33.3). Other touches are surprisingly delicate and some bear undoubted passionate love for Indra who, apart from Agni, is the greatest and the most beautiful of friends. These do build up a picture of bhakti which is there and must be recognized: 'To him, the Ancient One, who longs for it, this new praise shall I voice. May it rest inside his heart, may it touch it as a fragrant loving wife touches her lord' (10.91.13).

2H

LOVE DIVINE

The poet begs his god to take pleasure in his praise as a bridegroom in his bride (3.62.8). Such images of human love of the most intimate kind are reminiscent of later Sufi poetry. In some hymns it is said that they caress (rih, which may also mean 'to kiss') the gods. With regard to Indra, a poet says 'Our thoughts caress the lord of strength. . . Indra, even as cows lick their calves' (3.41.5). This image is again similar to Kablr's: 'I have received the unending caress of my Beloved.'37 The mutual feeling is unmistakable. 'Longing for thee, Indra, we sing thee hymns, bearing oblations; thou bountiful god, lovest us' (3.41.3). 'With heart and mind I long for Indra' (6.28.5). One poet asks 'What ardent lover of the god has today enjoyed the friendship of Indra?' (4.25.1), obviously implying himself. Another one sings: 'All my yearning thoughts desirous of heaven converge in praising thee, Indra. As wives embrace their husband, bright bridegroom, so they encompass the Bounteous One for grace' (10.43.1). The idea of comparing prayers or songs to wives caressing, or cleaving to , their husband, or as brides to be accepted by their lord, occurs often in verses dedicated to Indra (d. 1.62.11; 1.82.56; 1.186.7; 3.52.3; 4.32.16). Indeed, songs are the spouses of Indra, and they rush to Indra, the bull, their lord (d. 1.9.4; 3.39.1). Of course, Indra is not only the lover, but also the great protector and saviour, the valiant one who readily 'listens to every invocation' (6.47.11), the 'one lord of people' (8.25.16) who leads his worshipper to happiness, security and sunlight (Le. enlightenment), to wide space (Le. freedom) and heaven; whose arms act like a shelter for those who love him (6.47.8). 'He is our great providence' (6.45.4); he and Agni are, in fact,the seers' only providence (1.109.1). And they assert their loyalty, faith and trust in him: 'We are thine, indeed, Indra. We, inspired seers, depend on thee. There certainly is none other than thee, 0 much invoked one. Who else is there, 0 bounteous one, to be compassionate to us?' (8.66.13). 'We, Indra, yearn for thee, cling to thy friendship. Take us along the path of righteousness beyond all evils' (10.133.6). More than being father and brother, Indra even appears to have the graceful, loving and self-oblivious qualities associated with motherhood when addressed as the poet's mother (8.1.6). This is a truly moving touch in connection with a masculine, selfassertive, warlike god. Despite this status he nevertheless does tum out to have also all the characteristics of a bhakta's god. '0 gracious, powerful one, thou hast ever been a mother and father to us. So we pray for thy grace' (8.98.11). When the poet compares himself to a child, he shows his

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complete dependence of himself as devotee on his god which is so characteristic of bhaktas: 'Thy garment's hem, 0 mighty Indra, I grasp with sweetest song, as a child [grasps] his father's' (3.53.2cd). The intimate love the singer feels for Indra and his fear lest it might be broken come out clearly in the following: 'Never may this bond of friendship be severed between the seer Vimada and thee, 0 Indra. We know thou carest for us; as a brother with us, so be thy blessed friendship' (10.23.7). All these appeals and professions of love and trust to Indra can be favourably compared with Arjuna's appeal to Kn;J).a: 'As a father to his son, as a friend to his friend, as a lover to his beloved be pleased to show mercy, 0 God' (BhG 11.44b). VARUNA

As mentioned before, the intimate, devotional relationship between god and worshipper peculiar to the bhakta is acknowledged by most scholars, if at all, to be evident in the hymns of Vasi~tha to VaruJ)a. The reason for it may be the fact that here we have the majestic figure of a lofty, yet personal god who is closest to the concept of god current in theistic thought. The feeling of inadequacy when facing god is shown in verses where human nature is laid bare in all its weakness and begs for forgiveness of sins committed in ignorance or in knowledge. Here the intimacy between man and god, so dear to the heart of the later bhaktas, is quite obvious. '0 that we be found guiltless in the presence of VarUJ)a who is merciful even to him who commits sin, as we accomplish Aditi's laws' (7.87.7abc). '0 VaruJ)a, keep dread far away from me; 0 Sovereign holy Lord, be favourable to me. Like cords from a calf, release this distress from me. Without thee I am not even lord of my eye's winking' (2.28.6; d. also AV 4.16.5c). VarUJ)a's wrath aroused by man's misdeeds can be appeased through righteous conduct, following the right path, repentance and being his 'slave': 'Like a slave will I render service, sinless, to the bounteous angry god. This noble god made the thoughtless think. .. ' (7.86.7). The attitude of surrender, conveyed by the expression 'slave', which is apparent in Vasi~tha's relationship to VaruJ).a and indicates a state of deep despair, is not typical for the seers. The Vedic devotion as aptly described by Guru Dutt, was 'characterized by virility (virya), energy (tejas) and intelligence (medhas) or in one word: sakti. 38 That is why so many scholars refused to see the bhakti trends in the hymns except in those to VaruJ).a.

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LOVE DIVINE

Varuna, as the Lord of Cosmic Order, chastises the sinner, but he is also the Lord who shows mercy to the repentant, stands nearby in times of stress and is the friend to whom one may tum when in difficulties (6.68.3d). The many pleas to Varu1).a to be gracious, or to show mercy (mrJika), imply first that the repentant could expect forgiveness and, secondly, that the kind of intimate dialogue where the devotee is dependent upon the good will, understanding and compassion of the god, was common. Other gods are, of course, often included in the pleas for forgiveness: 'Whatever sin we have committed, that forgive us, Aditi, Mitra, Varu1).a' (2.27.14ab). 'Forgive whatever sin we have committed; may Aryaman and Aditi remove it' (7.93.7cd). 'Be thou not displeased, 0 VarU1).a; attend thou here, 0 thou praised-by-many; do not steal away from us our span of life' (1.24.l1cd). Vasi!?tha's relationship with Varu1).a was a very intimate one since he had sailed with him in the same boat on the waters of the infinite (8.88.3) and Varu1).a had made him a seer. When later the entrance into the divine domain of Varu1).a is refused to him, he demands to know the reason for such estrangement: 'And now what has become of our friendship of old when we two kept unhindered company? 0 Varu1).a, law-abiding I went into thy mighty mansion, thy thousand-gated home' (7.88.5). '0 Varut:\a, I am asking about that sin, desirous of finding out ... The wise ones say one and the same thing to me: this Varut:\a is angry with thee. What has been the chief sin, 0 Varut:\a, that thou desirest to slay thy praiser, a friend ... I would, free from sin, eagerly appease thee with adoration' (7.86.3-4). As a forgiving god, Varut:\a is somewhat similar to Ramanuja's God whose power overrides karma. Varu1).a forgives the repentant sinner, i.e. one who has taken at least the first step to set himself right towards rta, the Cosmic Law, of which Varu1).a is the overlord. Those who infringe the statutes of Mitra and Varu1).a 'injure. .. a friend' (10.89.8c), for gods and men are brothers 'born in the same mother's womb' (8.83.8; d. 8.27.14). One of the differences between them is that the gods have totally aligned themselves on the side of rta and through this harmonizing themselves with the Cosmic Order have achieved immortality.39 Man, on the other hand, is still struggling on the path where he may and often does choose the wrong direction, setting himself against the Order of which he is, in fact, an essential part. He has, of course, to pay the penalty for his wrong doing. This penalty takes the form of suffering and it arises from the friction

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brought about through being in disharmony with the Cosmic Order. Knowing that the gods, and particularly VarUI:ta, are the keepers of this Order, the sinner turns to them for forgiveness.

***** The deity is the supreme refuge (sarman) to the bhakta. The need for an unshakeable refuge is inherent to human nature. Various deities are invoked for protection: '0 bounteous Adityas, vouchsafe us the refuge that releases even the sinner from his sin' (8.18.12; d. 1.107.2; 2.27.16d; 4.56.6d; 7.60.8; 8.27.4cd; 1O.66.3b). 'May Aditi protect us, may Aditi grant us shelter' (8.47.9; d. 4.25.5). To Sarasvati: 'Be pleased with each of our prayers; and placing us under thy protection, thou most beloved (priyata), may we approach thee [as one does] a tree for shelter' (7.95.5). Bose to whom we are indebted for this example, comments on this verse: As birds seek the shelter of the tree so we, men, seek the shelter of the Divine Mother, Sarasvati. The worship of the Divinity as Mother is a special feature of the religion of love. The word (priyatam), 'most beloved', which carries so much sweetness in the text quoted ... is still used in Indian languages and has the same sweet association about it. 40 Shelter, dependence, friendship, graciousness, fatherliness, motherliness, are all expressions of the relationship between god and man, characteristic of bhakti. As the examples brought forward show, their existence cannot be denied in the RV. There can be no doubt of the existence of the attitude of deep devotion of the (!lis to their gods.

The Ultimate Purpose What is the goal the Vedic (!lis aspire for? The bards pray to Indra for that bright wealth which is 'heaven finding' or 'light bestowing' and is his to give (rayim nas citram a bhara svarvidam; 8.13.5). That kind of prayer has usually been interpreted in a materialistic sense. Gonda, however, pointed out the real meaning by translating the verse as 'bring us wealth consisting in light (to live in)'.41 The frequent use of the word svar gives us the clue to the nature of the wealth desired: it is celestial. Those who sing of Indra's power attain the heavenly light (8.3.13). The riches of Indra, so often prayed for, are described as 'nourishment plenteous, virile, fit for men, profuse, ageless, celestial' (6.22.3). The

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words svarvat, heaven finding, and ajara, ageless, give us the hint as to the kind of sustenance the riches of Indra represent. The path to spiritual realities is fraught with obstacles put up by man's lower nature-grasping, greed and selfishness. To overcome them requires courage, virility and determination. The coveted ecstasy which shatters every kind of constriction demands those fearless, manly qualities (8.46.7) which win heaven as though through heroic deeds. Indra, whose tapas won him celestial light (10.167.1), leads his devotee to that wide world (urum lokam) full of splendour, to the fearless light (2.27.lld) which means freedom from the shackles of mortality. 'Lead us ... to heavenly light, the fearless light, to well-being that we may find protection in the shelter of thine ample arms' (6.47.8). 'May I obtain freedom and light free from fear, 0 Indra, may the spreading darkness not reach us' 2.27.14). Tilak interpreted this spreading darkness in a physical sense as the long night of the Arctic to support his thesis of the original home of the AryansY But there is a far more likely way of understanding these passages. They do show yearning for the light and dread of the dark night. But of what kind of night? When the sinner requests that Varut~a should not strike him with his dread weapon and pleads 'let us not go as exiles from the light' (2.28.7), he surely refers to the loss of the light of the inner vision, of divine grace, as a result of having transgressed against the law. Light which the singers yearn for is the heavenly light (slTarvaj jyotiiJ., 10.36.3), the sun of enlightenment, which is 'the loftiest light beyond the darkness' (1.50.10) and which 'mortals do not behold' (1.105.16). It is the light that radiates from their inmost being described later as 'the eternal light within all beings without which nothing can be made that is made' (YV 34.3). The vigour of spirit required to attain this light is even identified with brahman: 'I implore of thee that blessed heroic power (suvlrya) that brahman' (8.3.9). The juxtaposition of these two words is quite revealing. The heroic power here asked for is not meant to be employed in physical combat, but in that inner struggle which leads to the conquest of self, to a different realm of being. This different realm of being may be different to different supplicants. There may be a complete acceptance of life as it is: 'Knowingly I have yoked myself horse-like to the pole ... I desire no release, no turning back again from that. May he, the leader, who knows the way, guide me rightly' (5.46.1). On the other hand, there may be a total yearning for immortality: 'Like a cucumber from its stem, even so may I be released from death,

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not from immortality' (7.59.12). This may well be a request to be released from punar mrtyu, the repeated death, and thereby from repeated rebirth. Ecstasy of illumined life in immortality is a recurring theme: 'We have drunk Soma; we have become immortal; we have gone to the light; we have found the gods' (8.48.3). 'Like kindled fire inflame me; illumine us, make us more radiant; in thy exaltation I consider myself rich' (8.48.6). The poet even wonders at the god's favour for having filled him, the simple one, with the divine presence; or for having given him a secret knowledge (4.5.3; 6.9). His communion with his deity reaches its pinnacle when he can say: 'The lordly herdsman of the whole universe, the enlightened one, has entered me, the simple' (1.164.21). To him, then, the etemallight beyond all darkness shines as the sun or as the puru~a. To the latter expression the Yajur Veda gives a beautiful rendering: I have known this mighty puru~a, refulgent as the sun beyond the darkness; only by knowing him does one overcome death. No other way is there to go. (YV 31.18)

NOTES 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

Mrnal Das Gupta, 'Sraddha and Bhakti in Vedic Literature', IHQ vol. 6 (1930), p.322. For a contrasting view see V. Raghavan, The Indian Heritage, Bangalore, 1956, p.xXXI: 'The Rigvedic hymns constitute not only the profoundest expressions of the feeling of devotion to a personal deity, but the wealth of devotional mood and attitude here, as well as their literary expression, far outshines anything in the examples of later devotional poetry: 'Early Vai~l)ava bhakti and its autochtonous heritage', HR vol. 10, no. 1 (1970), p.33. See his review of Nicol MacNicol's Indian Theism, JRAS 1915, p.834. M. Smith, Rabia, the Mystic, A.D. 717-801, and her Fellow Saints in Islam, repro San Francisco, 1977, p.30 (1st ed. Cambridge UP, 1928). Speaking of Siva, tr. A.K. Ramanujan, Harmondsworth, 1973, p.l25. Cf. Abu 'Abd Allah al-Qurashi for whom love 'means to give all that thou hast to [Him] whom thou lovest, so that nothing remains to thee of thine own', and another Sufi for whom love is 'called love because it obliterates from the heart all save the Beloved'. M. Smith, op. cit., p.94 Cf. further the passionate outpourings of a Basavanna. ERE, article on Bhakti-marga, p.539. Therein is mentioned that bhaktiin the sense of 'love directed to God ... is fully established as a religious technical term in the older parts of the BhG which belong to the two centuries immediately preceding our era .. : One Hundred Poems ofKabir, tr. R. Tagore, Macmillan pocket Tagore edition, 1973, p.28 (no. 11.37). Nicol MacNicol, lndian Theism, London, 1915, p.20. Abinash Chandra Bose, The CalJ of the Vedas, Bombay 1970, p.25.

34 10. 11. 12. 13.

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

29. 30.

31.

32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

LOVE DIVINE M. Winternitz, History of Indian Literature, Calcutta, 1927, vol. 1, p.248. Max-Muller, The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, London, 1899, p.70. Wendy O'Flaherty, The Rig Veda: An Anthology, Harmondsworth, 1981, p.229. See J. Gonda, Notes on Brahman, Utrecht, 1950; and L. Renou, 'Sur la notion de Brahman', Journal Asiatic, vol. 237 (1949), p.7-49. Cf. also the ERE article on Brahman (1909) referred to in note 6. My earlier assessment is given in J. Miller, The Vedas: Harmony, Peace and Fulfilment, London, 1974, pp. 46ff. The Six Systems . .. , p.71. 'Sur la notion .. .', p.9. L. Renou, Religions of Ancient lndia, London, 1953, p.lO. Aurobindo Ghosh, On the Veda, Pondicherri, 1964, p.33l. The Vedas . .. p.49. David M. Knipe, In the Image of Fire. Vedic Experience of Heat, Delhi, 1975, p.95. I myself have argued for the understanding of tapas on the human level as contemplative exertion leading to vision in my book The Vision of the Cosmic Order, London, 1985, p.209-1O. Lama A. Govinda, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, London, 1969, p.160. Jan Gonda, The Vision of the Vedic Poets, The Hague, 1963, p. 211. The Vision of the Vedic Poets, p.37. For further relevant descriptions of Agni see pp. 273-74. Cf. R. Gordon Wasson, Soma-Divine Mushroom of Immortality, New York, 1968. J. Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, London 1858-70, vol. 5 (1868), p.159. A.B. Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and the Upanishads, Cambridge, Mass., 1925, p.105. Stella Kramrisch, 'Pii~an', JAOS, vol. 81 (1961), p.104. Ted Solomon, 'Early Vaisnava bhaktiand its Autochthonous Heritage', HR 10 (August 1970), p.33. H. Aguilar, The Sacrifice in the Rgveda, 1976, p.35. This mutual dependence between gods and men has its counterpart in later bhakti movements as illustrated by Basham's observation that 'Ramanuja's God needed man as man needed God'. This invalidates Solomon's argument. See A.L. Basham, The Wonder that was India, London, 1974, p.335. The Vision of the Vedic Poets, pp. 281 & 345. According to Gonda manasis 'the seat of thought, feeling, will (op. cit. p.277). R.N. Dandekar regards manas as being responsible for positive thinking and hrd for feeling and faith (as in 6.28.5): ' Hrdin the Veda', Siddha Bharati, vol. 1, ser. 1, pp. 137-42 (Hoshiarpur, 1950), p.141. He also brings to our attention how in the AV 19.4.5 hrd is the abode of manas and other indriyas which foreshadows the later meaning of manas as just one of the indriyas (senses), albeit the most important one (ibid., p.142). It is interesting to note that this same 'bird' in the next stanza 'bears the word in the manas ere the gandharva pronounces it in the womb' (10.177.2). This probably refers to the quickening of the seed by the spirit. On the Veda, p.286. Cf. L. Renou, Etude Wdique Panineennes, vol. 1, fsc. 1, Paris, 1955, pp. 6-7: 'Le mot arka . .. est ambigu entre les valeurs de "lumiere" et de "chant".' One Hundred poems of Kabir, p.78 (no. III.118). Cf. also some poems in Tagore's Gitanjali, London, 1959, e.g. songs 44-48. Love: the First Syllable. The Mystic Songs of Kabir, Sahibabad (U.P.: Tarang Paperbacks), 1983, p.22. Speaking of Siva, p.89. One Hundred Poems . .. , p.77 (no. IIl.96).

BHAKTI AND THE 38. 39.

40. 41. 42.

~G

VEDA

35

K. Guru Dutt, 'The Bhakti movement in India', Aryan Path, vol. 40, no. 6 (1969), p.286. The fact that the gods were not originally immortal is well known. The granting of immortality was the concern of three gods in the RV: Savitr 'generates the highest share, immortality' (4.54.2); Agni makes the gods immortal through kratu (6.7.4); and Soma is drunk by the gods for the same reason (9.106.8). A.c. Bose, The Call of the Vedas, Bombay, 1970, p.91. Jan Gonda, Loka: World and Heaven in the Veda, Amsterdam, 1966, p.79. B.G. Tilak, The Arctic Home in the Vedas, Poona, 1903.

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Love and Devotion in Buddhism KAREL WERNER When referring to bhakti we normally have in mind a religious phenomenon which is peculiar to certain theistic movements within the Hindu tradition. In the highest form of bhakti the personal relationship between the devotee and the divine personage he worships becomes so intense that its experience amounts to the total obliteration of his personal identity. He becomes one with the deity in a blissful union which may sometimes be temporary in this life, but is expected to become absolute in eternity. This experience of unification is often referred to, in the literature of mysticism, in terms of a perfect sexual union between lovers who may achieve, in their ecstatic embrace, a kind of temporary obliteration of their separate individualities and thus, in a brief moment, get a foretaste of the ultimate oneness. The ontological nature of this union is, of course, another matter. The obvious similarity between the mythological and poetical expressions of this phenomenon in religious writings of different theistic traditions has made it possible to compare Hindu bhakti movements with certain trends in Christian mysticism and even in Islamic Sufism. But can one find them in Buddhism as well? Is there such a thing as bhakti in Buddhism? Much has been written and heard about Buddhism as being a non-theistic, if not an atheisti~, religion. It would therefore seem that in the absence of the concept or the image of the highest deity there cannot be a relationship of love in Buddhism as an aid or means to the goal of salvation. Yet the concepts of love and devotion are certainly most important in Buddhism both in the doctrinal context and in Buddhist practice-in the system of mind training or meditation and in the layman's outlook and observance. The most frequently used expression for love in the context of Buddhist theory and practice is the Pali term metta which is usually translated as loving-kindness, but as we shall see it designates only one particular aspect of a more complex mental 37

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conglomerate of higher feelings or spiritual emotions. For devotion there is the same expression in Pali Buddhism as in Sanskritbased Hindu sources, namely bhatti, but it has never acquired as high a prominence as bhakti did in Hinduism. And it can also mean belief or attachment and there are other expressions which can be translated as devotion and are used in that sense. I will deal with the concept of devotion first. At the time when the Buddha started his teaching mission the Brahminic system had not yet developed the bhaktiphenomenon into a specific religious path as found in later Hinduism. But there are some indications of a certain kind of bhakti approach in the Upani!?ads, particularly in Svetasvatara, while the attitude of bhakti in the sense of close emotional ties between the devotee and the deity was clearly already present, at least in the context of worship, in the early Vedic system-as is skilfully argued in Miller's paper. The Buddha, clearly, did not set himself up, on reaching enlightenment, as a deity, although it would not have been impossible for him to do so. When he was once approached by the brahmin DOI:t.a who had seen unusual signs in his footprints, he was asked by him whether he was a god (deva), a ghost (gandhabba) or a lower deity (yakkha), since he obviously could not be a mere man, and he answered that he, indeed, was not a man, but a buddha, a being far above all those beings mentioned, because he had overcome all asavas, even those by which one would be born as a god (A IV, 36; PTS II, pp. 37-39). We may have here, in this episode, an indication of the then existing belief that gods appeared among people. That could happen either in a direct encounter, a view attested from the Vedas, or in the form of an incarnation, a doctrine fully elaborated in later times which was possibly already in the making around the time of the Buddha or soon after. The evidence for the incarnation teaching are the epics, particularly the fully spelledout doctrine on periodic divine incarnations in the Bhagavad Gita proclaimed there by Kr!?Da, 'who thereafter became the main centre of the Hindu bhakti cult. In the long run the Buddha did not escape this process of inclusion among the deities of the Hindu tradition and came to be regarded as the ninth incarnation of Vi!?DU in some PuraDas, although he was not made into an object of bhakti-type worship. In the incident referred to above he, of course, gave a negative answer to the brahmin's question as to whether he was a god and revealed himself to be a buddha, and therefore to belong to an entirely different category of being not specifically known from

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Vedic-Brahminic sources, although not quite unheard of outside the mainstream of the Vedic tradition.! However, when he joined, as a mature man, the hosts of ascetic renunciates and homeless wanderers then living in the forests and roaming the plains of India, he followed a trend or tradition of independent truth-seekers which went back to early Vedic times and is testified to, in the Vedas themselves, by a portrait of a long-haired wanderer, probably an outsider to the mainstream Vedic tradition, who claimed to have joined the ranks of the immortals. 2 The slightly older Vardhamana Mahavira, the originator of Jainism, came from the same background tradition which had also many other branches, schools of thought and groupings of which we know much less than about Buddhism and Jainism. An important early component, if not the main body and source, of the later non-orthodox philosophical and religious or spiritual movements, was the Vratya tradition centred in Magadha from where most of the later non-orthodox movements emerged.' When the mainstream Vedic tradition spread from its 5aptasindhu home territory to the East into Magadha, the Vratya tradition was absorbed by it and its lore was codified in a brahmanized form as the fourth or Atharva Veda, influencing much of the posthymnic Vedic and Upani!?adic thought. The point is, however, that the phenomenon of renunciates, holy wanderers and ascetics was, at the time when the Buddha was beginning his mission, well established and respected and due reverence was shown to those who impressed people with their teachings, behaviour or just their appearance. This attitude was based on the generally accepted theory or widespread belief that support and reverence extended towards ascetics and homeless wanderers engaged in the pursuit of truth and salvation enhanced the supporter's own chances of reaching favourable conditions for embarking on a path towards his own salvation or at least of gaining merit which would secure for him a better future life. In some cases a belief in vicarious salvation, that means in the possibility of being saved by an accomplished master to whom one has gone for refuge, may also have been present. 50 the Buddha, or rather the former prince 5iddhattha, would have found himself to be an object of a certain degree of respect the moment he joined the ranks of the wandering fraternity and became 'the ascetic Gotama'. This respect would tum into a deeper form of reverence once he became the Buddha and displayed whatever signs of his achievement may have been noticeable on him and were actually in some way perceived by others. It did not work always and with everybody, though, especially

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in encounters with his fellow renunciates, because they often had definite preconceived ideas about the final achievement and how it shaped the behaviour and appearance of the one who strove for it or even the one who had actually achieved it. Even his first encounter with a wandering ascetic named Upaka, when the newly enlightened Buddha was on his way to 5arnath, ended with Upaka's failure to recognize the Buddha's status. He said to him: 'Your faculties are serene, friend; the colour of your skin is clear and bright. Under whom have you gone forth? Who is your teacher? Whose teaching do you confess?' The Buddha proclaimed to him his status, adding that he himself was an accomplished teacher about to start his mission, but Upaka shook his head in disbelief, politely saying 'May it be so, friend,' and departed.-l This is also well illustrated by what followed afterwards, as narrated in the same sources, when he reached 5arnath. There he approached the five ascetics who had been his companions when, prior to his enlightenment, he was practising extreme austerities which they regarded as the main or essential part of the practice aimed at the final solution; when he found, however, that severe austerities did not enhance the chances of his reaching the goal and gave them up as unprofitable, the five ascetics turned away from him disappointed. It now took considerable effort on his part to make them listen to him as he was trying to expound to them his newly found teaching in order to help them on their way to the goal by delivering to them his very first discourse about the method of the 'middle way' between the extremes of thoughtless practice of severe austerities and thoughtless overindulgence in sensory enjoyments, namely the well known Dhammacakkapavattana 5utta (5 V, XII, [LVI], 2; Mvg I). An early example of how it worked is the reverence which the sight of the Buddha inspired in two merchant travellers, Tapussa and Balluka, who happened to be passing nearby as the Buddha was sitting under a tree, still in the vicinity of the place where he had reached enlightenment a week or two before. They offered him a meal of rice and honey and asked to be accepted as his followers for life. s No doubt they hoped, as the text suggests, for great benefit in their present and future lives as a result of their offering and possibly also for enhancement in their prospect of salvation at some future date. This episode is also highly significant as scriptural evidence of great importance which testifies from within the early Buddhist tradition that the Buddha had established the lay community of his followers (upasakas) even before he caused the community of his mendicant followers or monks (bhikkhus) to come into being

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in the wake of his first discourse delivered to the five ascetics at Sarnath. Two important developments followed from the encounter of the two merchants with the Buddha. According to the tradition recorded in later non-canonical texts, the merchants were presented by the Buddha with a few hairs from his head. The Burmese tradition has it that the merchants were from a place later to become the city of Rangoon to which they brought their treasure. Believed to have been enshrined in what is, after several embellishments over the centuries, now known as the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, the hairs became a focus of devotional observance and have remained so till the present day, although their worship has become somewhat mixed up with the wider phenomenon of the Buddhist worship of the stiipa as the symbol of the Buddha's parinibbana. It is, of course, difficult to establish whether the ordinary Buddhist worshipper appreciates such a subtle distinction. It can be argued that the object of his veneration in the stiipa worship is the person of the Buddha anyway. There is scriptural evidence (0 16) for the belief that the original eight sh1pas contained relics of the burnt body of the Buddha. In Asoka's time some of them were further divided and distributed in India and even sent abroad with Buddhist missions. This practice of donating minute portions of the relics of the Buddha to be enshrined in newly erected stiipas for worship in places where Buddhism has established itself still goes on. And even if it is obvious that many stiipas cannot and do not contain authentic relics, they still represent, to the mind of the ordinary worshipper, the visible presence of the person of the Buddha whose actual nibbanic nature is beyond his grasp. This is well illustrated by the Nepalese practice to paint the eyes of the Buddha at the top of the stiipa. Thus the devotional link of the Buddhist follower to the person of the Buddha is well established. The second development from the encounter of the Buddha with his first followers concerns the refuge formula and its place in Buddhist observance. The Vinaya account of this' encounter puts into the mouth of the merchants the traditional Buddhist refuge formula in a shorter form: 'We go for refuge to the Buddha and to the Dhamma ... ' The text adds that since they were the first followers in the world, they took only two refuges. This was soon to be remedied. When the five ascetics in Sarnath were converted by the Buddha's first discourse and became his first renunciate followers, the visible community or the order of monks (bhikkhusangha) was thereby

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established. This was then very soon followed by the establishment of the true, though invisible, community of saints or noble disciples (ariya savakas) as they either became arahats or gained at least one of the three lower stages of sanctity, beginning with stream-entry (sotapati). The Sangha which is represented in the third member of the refuge formula is not, to be precise, the visible, yellow-robed order of monks, that is the bhikkhusangha, but the savakasangha or the invisible community of noble disciples of the Buddha, a savaka being by definition always an ariya savaka or a saint (M 7; PTS I, p. 37). He mayor may not be a monk or a member of the visible sangha, as in the course of time some lay followers of the Buddha reached sanctity, while many monks did not and thus remained, strictly speaking, in the ranks of mere 'worldlings' (puthujjanas) despite the paraphernalia of the yellow robe. Of course, as renunciate followers of the Buddha they do deserve reverence, but they are not the true spiritual refuge for the laity, even if in practice it is sometimes, inconsistently, the visible community of monks (bhikkhusangha) which is thought of as the third member in the refuge formula. 6 The impression one gets from the Pali texts is that going for refuge to a being of a higher order was an established religious practice at the time of the Buddha and therefore not of Buddhist making. But it seems to have been assimilated into Buddhism from the very start. In Hinduism it is still common to regard deities, and particularly one's chosen deity (i?ta devata), as a refuge, although it does not appear to have such a formalized function as in Buddhism. In Buddhism the taking of refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, the 'triple refuge' (tisaralJa), besides being a proclamation of a follower's religious allegiance, developed further into a fully-fledged act of worship of what soon became known as the Three Jewels or the Triple Gem (ratanattaya). Thus we have already in Pali Buddhism a veritable Buddhist trinity of supramundane character worthy of all the devotion a follower is capable of mustering. The importance of this phenomenon of a supramundane trinity as a focus of worship and hope in Buddhist belief and practice is not diminished by the fact that most monks and those lay followers who are sufficiently aim-conscious in the sense of being genuinely involved in the individual pursuit of nibbana, as well as those who stress the rationality of Buddhist doctrine and practice, tend to play down or explain away this feature of devotional Buddhist practice. Thus the well-known Buddhist scholar-monk of German origin who lives near Kandy in Sri

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Lanka, Nyanaponika Thera, virtually denies any existential status to the trinity of refuges and interprets it as if it were only a psychological device which helps the follower in his effort to realize the goal or make progress on the path to it: The Triple Gem has objective existence as an impersonal idea or ideal as long as it is known and cherished. Even in that mode it is doubtlessly a persisting and active source of benefit for the world. But it is transformed from an impersonal idea to a personal refuge only to the extent that it is realized in one's own mind and manifested in one's own life. Therefore, the existence of the Triple Gem in its characteristic nature as a refuge cannot be proved to others. Each must find this refuge in himself by his own efforts. The refuge becomes and grows by the process of going to it,? This is hardly the understanding of the average Buddhist pilgrim who prostrates himself and lays lotus flowers at the feet of the statue of the Buddha in Polonnaruwa or circumambulates a stiipa in Anuradhapura, while reciting the praises of the Triple Gem in the extended form. Rather he has a strong sense of the presence of the supramundane reality of the Triple Gem or a full belief in its hidden existence and expects definite results from his act of worship and devotion, either in terms of a future possibility of reaching nibbana or of karmic rewards in this and subsequent lives, or both. Of the Three Jewels it is the person of the Buddha which inspires the deepest devotion and has done so from the very start of the Buddha's mission even among his monks. The Buddha himself did not encourage ostentatious acts of devotion towards his own person, but he did insist on certain external forms of reverence towards himself, for example when being addressed. This happened already at the very start of his mission when he approached the five ascetics, his former companions from the time before his enlightenment when he practised severe austerities. They addressed him as avusoGotama, avusomeaning 'friend' or 'brother'. It was a polite way of address used by wandering ascetics to each other and that is how the Buddha was addressed also by the wanderer Upaka referred to above even after he had revealed his newly acquired ·status to him, because Upaka did not, at the time, give his credence to the Buddha's claim. But now, in the case of the five ascetics, the Buddha, anticipating their conversion and the founding of the order of his followers, rebuked them, saying 'Bhikkhus, do not address a Perfect One by name and as "friend": a Perfect one is accomplished and fully enlightened.' Later on when they became more impressed

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by the way in which the Buddha insisted that he was bringing them a liberating message, they resorted to the reverential address 'Bhante', meaning 'venerable' or 'reverend', often translated as 'Lord'.M But despite his general attitude of discouraging ostentatious reverence towards himself, the Buddha did, on occasions, allow some of his followers or visitors to go even as far as prostrating themselves before him and did not restrain them. When he was once approached by king Pasenadi, he even allowed him to kiss and stroke his feet and only asked him for the reason of his display of such affection, whereupon the king started enumerating the excellent qualities of the Buddha (M 89; PTS II, pp. 120f.). On another occasion the one hundred and twenty years old brahmin Brahmayu, famous for his Vedic learning, was so overwhelmed by the Buddha's answer to his questions that he stood up and also kissed and stroked his feet. The Buddha asked him to sit down again, 'as your heart (dtta) has been gladdened by me', and instructed him in his full teaching. Brahmayu then became his follower and when he passed away not long after, the Buddha said that he had died a non-returner (anagami-M 91; PTS II, pp. 144-46).9 The Buddha always gave his best instructions on his teaching and about the way to liberation when he saw that his listener's dtta was uplifted and gladdened and thereby made receptive. He tolerated displays of high reverence towards himself when they were an outpouring from the uplifted dtta, because the tendencies and inclinations and other contents harboured by dtta determine the future course of action, the volition or decision-making (cetana> of the individual. That can then go in two directions: either it can enhance his resolve for and thereby his chances of reaching the goal of liberation or it could have wholesome karmic consequences for him in his future lives, or both. And that is precisely what the Buddhist worshippers at the feet of a statue of the Buddha expect even today, even if the thought of reaching liberation may be only very vaguely present in their minds and although they may often have a rather worldly notion of what would constitute wholesome karmic consequences for them. Ordinary worshippers today may, of course, expect to obtain their reward as a direct result of their reverential action, while in the specific instances when the Buddha allowed such acts it was because he saw that it would help to concentrate the mind of the particular person on the task at hand, namely to follow, by his own resolve, the specific instructions he had just given him or was about to give him.

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Yet there is also, in some pronouncements of the Buddha, a certain element of identification of his person with the goal or the way to it as expressed in the famous proclamation 'Who sees me sees the dhamma and who sees the dhamma sees me' (S XXII, 87, 13; PTS III, p. 120). Therefore total concentration of the heart on the Buddha, which is what devotion and reverence directed towards him is about, may indeed be seen as having the effect of being drawn nearer the goal. lO The outward expression of that devotion in the act of prostration would then be naturally replaced at other times by following his admonitions and instructions, in other words by the imitation of the Buddha in order to become like him in achievement. This effect of concentrating on the Buddha found its full practical application also in the systematized methodology of Buddhist meditation as one of the forty objects for concentration. It is known as the Recollection of the Buddha (buddhanussatl) and since the Buddha is one of the Three Jewels, there is further the meditational Recollection of the Dhamma and also, of course, of the Sangha (Vism, ch. VII). Thus there can be no doubt that deep devotion or bhaktil bhatti does exist in Buddhism and that it had its beginnings in the earliest days. It has not taken the form of an overwhelming passionate obsession with erotic or even sexual overtones, whether present overtly or symbolically, as it did in some medieval Hindu bhakti sects or movements. But it nevertheless represents a total devotional involvement which fully engages the emotional resources of the follower's heart, albeit in a refined form. It certainly cannot be described as a rational or intellectual mental process; rather it probably should be looked upon as a kind of sublimation or raising of the emotion onto a higher plane, in a word its spiritualization in accordance with its supra rational and supramundane goal. This goal is its ultimate object just as the union of the bhakta with his beloved chosen deity represents also for him the ultimate goal of salvation. . There seems to be, however, a substantial difference between the Hindu bhakti and the Buddhist bhatti in that the former, besides involving total devotion, includes also love. And not only love of the devotee for his deity, but also the deity's love for the devotee. Does the Buddhist experience of bhatti include this element of love, too? It would be rather presumptuous to assume that the intense personal devotion which some followers of the Buddha, both among the monks and within the laity, sometimes displayed towards him would be totally devoid of the feeling of love to-

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wards the Buddha as a person despite the obvious impersonality of his teaching and the supposed impersonality of the nibbanic goal. This feeling found a particularly strong expression at the time of the Buddha's death, as described in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (D 16) and related texts, when some monks, including the Buddha's personal attendant Ananda, wept and lamented, although the reason given by them was not fully explicit of that feeling, but referred to the fact that they had not yet r~ached the final goal towards which they were guided by him. Ananda is reported to have given vent to his feelings thus: 'Alas! I am still a pupil with yet much to be done, and my Master will be passing utterly away, He who was kind to me!'l1 There were, however, many arahats and accomplished teachers of the doctrine and practice in the retinue of the Buddha at the time of his death who were fully able to help those among the flock who still needed assistance in order to attain arahatship. Therefore the reason given cannot be regarded as adequately reflecting their frame of mind. Besides, in the case of Ananda, it was reported soon after the Buddha's death that he managed to accomplish the task and became one of the arahats. And so it may well be that the very absence of his beloved master spurred him on to increase his efforts in order to overcome the lamented separation and reach the nibbanic plane of experience which all the enlightened ones share. Can this not be construed as the equivalent of a bhakta's effort to reach union with i!?{a devata? Of course, the early Buddhist sources, and particularly all the Theravada ones, carefully avoid any reference to the nibbanic conditions of a departed arahat and the impression given by the latter, first implicitly and in later commentaries explicitly, is that there are no persons left when parinibbana is reached and so there is no companionship of the enlightened and liberated ones in the ultimate context. But this point is highly debatable even on the basis of the early Pali sources, while some later Buddhist sources, especially the Mahayana ones, present us with quite a different picture. 12 The same can be said also about contemporary Buddhism in the Theravada countries, even though the monks will not usually discuss the matter. But although to the ordinary worshipper the Buddha may be inaccessible i~ his parinibbanic state-except by proxy, as it were, through his images-he certainly is not nonexistent to them; that means that they believe that he still does persist in some mysterious way which is, of course, beyond their comprehension.

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I do not think that there can be any doubt even with respect to the direct disciples of the Buddha that there was a strong element of personal love felt by them for him as their teacher. The feeling of love, in addition to reverence, for one's teacher on the path towards liberation is not uncommon even in the most soberminded Theravada circles, whether in the past or now-a-days. In fact, it is even a factor in the systematic cultivation of wholesome or divine states of mind (brahmaviharas) which starts with developing love or meffa. They are directed first towards oneself and such other persons for whom one already has feelings of love or a loving attitude and are then gradually extended in the range of beings included until they become universal. True, the notion of metta does not appear to carry within it so strong an emotional content as to actually merit the rendering 'love'. Therefore it is sometimes translated as 'friendliness' or, on some occasions, 'benevolence'. The Buddhist writers usually prefer'loving-kindness'. But meffa, as already mentioned, represents only one member out of four in the Buddhist scheme of higher or spiritualized emotions. The second one is karuIJa or compassion, the third one mudita, i.e. sympathetic joy which signifies the capacity to feel joy over the other person's achievement just as one can feel compassionate towards him in his misfortune, and last is upekkha or equanimity. The fact that equanimity comes last and is regarded as the highest achievement in the process of the development of the 'divine states of mind' underlines the basic Buddhist attitude to emotions, even when they are refined or spiritualized. One must not get lost in them, otherwise one can be led astray. A sense of proportion has to be preserved so that room is left for knowledge and eventually wisdom. A balanced state of mind or equanimity as a background feeling, even while one is fully involved in loving, compassionate or sympathetically joyous acts or participation, is the prerequisite of further progress and a necessity with respect to the achievement of the final goal. The cultivation of these four divine states of mind is an integral part of Buddhist practice aimed at the final goal of liberation and is therefore included in some form and to some degree, which may differ considerably from case to case, in the regular efforts of every follower with the objective of making them into a permanent framework of the mind and thereby into an ever-present platform for ~me's actions. But apart from that, the meditative development of the four divine states represents also a meditational technique leading to the attainment of the four concrete absorptions or rupa jhanas as

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a form of the highest unification of the mind called samadhi. The standard way of describing this meditational technique in the Pali Canon (e.g. in D 13) goes like this: Here, monks, a disciple dwells pervading one direction with his heart filled with loving-kindness, likewise the second, the third, and the fourth direction; so above, below and around; he dwells pervading the entire world everywhere and equally with his heart filled with loving-kindness, abundant, grown great, measureless, free from enmity and free from distress. B Then follow identical passages on the three other states of mind. Later commentarialliterature and Vism elaborate at great length the methodology of this spatial diffusion of love and the other three feelings. After permeating with it the whole earth, one should go on also to other worlds and planes of existence, both superhuman and subhuman, according to Buddhist cosmology which includes thirty-one dimensions of existence in three main subdivisions. When the fourth feeling, equanimity, is thus perfected and made universal so that the fourth jhana is reached, the mind has a firm platform to take the final step towards the nibbanic liberation. This method of meditational diffusion already presupposes a considerable degree of experience and ability to call into one's mind and send out even the first feeling, that of metta, let alone the subsequent ones. So there is the device of gradual development of metta, referred to above, by first making oneself into its object and proceeding next to one's nearest relatives and then friends. A monk who has given up family ties and involvements in worldly friendships would quite naturally tum first to his teacher or preceptor. Of course, lay Buddhists also often have personal teachers for whom they feel special affection. But as the principle of having a personal guru on the path has never become as strong in Buddhism, especially of the Theravada variety, as it is in the Hindu tradition, many earnestly practising Buddhists regard the Buddha himself as their teacher, as if they were his direct diSciples as were those who lived during his life-time, and they develop a strong affection for him. This feature of the presence of affection for the Buddha in the mind of the meditator then permeates also his universal radiation of the brahmaviharas or divine states of mind. Since the Buddha is, in Buddhist understanding, a transcendental being who far exceeds by his status even the highest deities of Hinduism, the effect of a follower's meditationally developed affection for him may not be very different from that experienced by a bhakta

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towards his god. In either case, it is important to bear in mind, the true aim is the enhancement and accomplishment of salvation or liberation. The main difference is that, unlike in most of the Hindu bhakti movements, there is, in the Buddhist context, no trace in this practice of the erotic, let alone sexual, element, at least in the earlier schools; in Tantric Buddhism, the story is, of course, rather different and complicated. However, there is one more point to be considered. In bhakti relationships in Hinduism, as in all theistic mystical traditions, there is a two-way traffic of love. How does Buddhism stand up to this point? The answer is: very well. Again we can start with the story soon after the Buddha's enlightenment when he was still lingering in the vicinity of the tree under which it took place. The story, somewhat mythologically embellished, goes as follows: Now while the Blessed One was alone in retreat this thought arose in him: 'This truth that I have attained to is profound and hard to see, hard to discover ... beyond the sphere of thinking, subtle, only for the wise to penetrate. But this world of men relies on attachment, takes pleasure and relishes in attachment ... It is a hard task for them to grasp the truth ... And if I were to teach the truth, others would not understand me, and that would be wearing and troublesome for me.' ... Considering thus, his mind favoured inaction ... Then it occurred to Brahma Sahampati, who became aware in his mind of the thought in the Blessed One's mind, 'The world will be lost ... for the mind of the Perfect One, accomplished and fully enlightened, favours inaction and not teaching the truth'. Then ... Brahma Sahampati ... appeared before the Blessed One ... [and after greeting him] said: Lord, let the Blessed One teach the truth ... There are beings with little dust on their eyes who are wasting through not hearing the truth. Some of them will gain final knowledge of the truth ... The Blessed One listened to Brahma Sahampati's pleading. Out of compassion for beings he surveyed the world with the eye of an Enlightened One ... [And] he saw beings with little dust on their eyes and with much dust on their eyes, with keen faculties and dull faculties, with good qualities and bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach ... 1~ And so he decided to start his mission which was to last for fortyfive years. The key words, underlined by me in the quotation, are: out of compassion. What reason could a buddha possibly have to carry

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around his mortal body for so long and, indeed, be in any way active in this transitory world? The only reason could have been his recognition that others needed help in order to overcome their mortality and the transitoriness of their limited, imperfect form of existence. And the only conceivable motivation, on the part of a perfected being, for doing so can only be love of a special kind which must have transcendental nature and cannot be exclusive. This means that it cannot be the same kind of love as that of the follower, since a buddha is no longer concerned with his own needs and has nothing to gain from any such loving relationship. So the term which appeared best for expressing, in human context, this feeling of perfect love was compassion, karulJa. However, when we as ordinary humans feel compassion for someone who suffers, we participate in his suffering by feeling a certain degree of distress. A buddha, on the other hand, being fully liberated, cannot feel distress, but he participates in the suffering of unliberated beings by his perfect knowledge of their suffering and of suffering as such which is an integral constituent of the limited, sarilsaric form of existence. His knowledge stems from his experience of enlightenment which brought him the retrocognition of his own suffering in the whole of his past sarilsaric wanderings, the direct vision of the totality of the suffering represented by the samsara in which all other beings are caught and the certainty of his own liberation from it. And so his compassion is perfect and superior to ordinary human compassion, precisely because it is not a result of feeling distress at other beings' suffering, but is derived from fullest possible knowledge, i.e. from the perfect wisdom of an enlightened one. That is also why later, in the Mahayana context, wisdom and compassion (prajiia and karulJa) appear as the two most emphasized perfections (paramitas) characterizing buddhahood. But the other three components of the Buddhist conglomerate of higher emotions are, of course, present as well. A buddha no doubt does have metta for all living beings and it is in this context that often the term 'benevolence' is preferred in translations. The Buddha next in line is actually named Metteya by the sources. Of course, with respect to mudita, it would not be possible to ascribe to the Buddha a sympathetic feeling of joy over some worldly achievements in the lives of people, however important they may seem to them, but there is a clear air of appreciation in his pronouncements when he refers to their achievements in virtue or on the path. At the same time his mind is, of course, unshakably established in the calm of equanimity. Yet the concern for the final liberation is always there and so

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a buddha's compassion for other beings no less than the love of god for his devotees is conclusive evidence that in Buddhism as in theistic religions there is mutuality in the relationship between the transcendent and the phenomenal, the contemplated and the contemplator, the worshipped and the worshipper. Love and devotion are a means or an aid to salvation in Buddhism as in any other tradition which explicitly emphasizes the path of bhakti. An account of later developments in the Mahayana and Buddhist Tantric schools would furnish further and even more vivid evidence for it.

NOTES 1.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9.

10. 11. 12.

The Pali Buddhist sources themselves, however, do also ascribe the knowledge of the phenomenon of buddhas appearing from time to the representatives of the main-stream Brahminic establishment, like in the case of the brahmin Sela in M 92 who having learned from the ascetic Kel)iya that he had invited the Buddha and his disciples to have a meal with him, asks three times: 'Buddha did you say?' And pondering by himself 'Seldom is the word buddha heard in the world', proceeds to visit the Buddha. After a conversation with him, he becomes his disciple. See my article 'The Longhaired Sage of RV 10, 136: a Shaman, a Mystic or a Yogi?', The Yogi and the Mystic. Studies in Indian and Comparative Mysticism (Durham Indological Series 1), Curzon Press, London 1989, pp. 33-53. Cf. J.W. Hauer, Das Vratya. Untersuchungen iiber die nicht-brahmanische Religion Alt-Indiens, Stuttgart, 1927. Mvg I; See Nal)amoli, The Life of the Buddha, BPS Kandy, 1972, p. 40. Mvg 1; d. Nal)amoli, op. cit., p. 34. Cf. the article by Walpola Rahula, 'The Problem of the Prospect of the Sangha in the West' in his book Zen and the Taming of the Bull, London 1978, pp. 5567. The Vision ofDhamma, Buddhist WritingsofNyanaponika Thera,ed. Bhikkhu Bodhi, London, 1986, article 'The Threefold Refuge', p. 171. A wider version of this piece was originally published as 'The Wheel' Publication No. 76 by the BPS in Kandy in 1965. See Nal)amoli, op. cit., p. 41. Cf. other stories in which visitors of the Buddha, overcome by his willingness to answer questions and by the wisdom of his replies, place their heads at his feet, e.g. about the wanderer Sabhiya, Sn III, 6; PTS p. 101, who later became an arhat. Cf. further the story ofSela and his 300 followers, Sn III, 7; PTSp. 112; and also of the brahmin Ajita, Sn V, Prologue; PTS p. 196. This can be compared with Sankara's understanding of bhakti as full and exclusive concentration on the goal as brought out by Hirst. F.L. Woodward, Some Sayings of the Buddha, London, repro 1960, p. 349. I have dealt with this question in my paper presented at the IAHR conference in Sydney 1985 published as 'Personal Identity in the Upani~ads and Buddhism', Identity Issues and World Religions. Selected Proceedings of the Fifteenth Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, ed. Victor C. Hayes, Sturt.Campus, Bedford Park (Australia), 1986, pp. 24-33.

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13. 14.

LOVE DIVINE A revised and enlarged version of this paper was published as 'Indian Concepts of Human Personality in Relation to the Doctrine of the Soul', JRAS 1988, no. 1, pp. 73-97. Bhikkhu Sodhi, op. cit., pp. 188-89. See Nal)amoli, op. cit., pp. 37-39, and F.L. Woodward, op.cit., pp. 4-5. I have substantially shortened and slightly changed the translations. The scriptural references are: Mvg: I; M 26 & 85; S VI, 1.

3

The Dynamics of Paritta Chanting in Southern Buddhism PETER HARVEY The ritual chanting of paritta (Sinhalese pirit) is an important part of Theravada practice, which, as Lily de Silva says, 'satisfies all the psychological and social functions that prayer and ritual achieve in other religions'.! It is for this reason that it seems relevant to include this article in a volume on bhakti. Parittas are selected suttas, portions of them, or sets of later verses. There are various textual collections of them (see Appendix), and these are among the first things new monks learn. While paritta can be and is chanted by lay people, it is seen as most powerful when chanted by monks at the request and for the protection of the laity. Paritta in fact means 'protection' or 'safeguard'; indeed Miln 152 describes it as a 'medicine' (bhesajja). Parittas may be recited in groups or individually, and are used for a variety of protective and blessing purposes: for the benefit of the chanter(s), those who listen to the chanting, and others. My aim is to uncover the rationale which the tradition explicitly and implicitly gives for the appropriateness and efficacy of such a ritual: to show how the tradition views its functioning and dynamics. I. The Paritta Ceremony

Elements which are typically used in paritta-cermonies are a paritta-thread, and water. A piece of thread, held by all the monks, is passed round the laity, who may also clasp it (or a thread attached to it), taking care lest it should touch the ground. In Thailand, it may also be attached to a Buddha image (or go around it too), a pirit-book and a water-pot. After the parittachanting, the thread will be cut up to be worn by the laity around the wrist or in a small amulet-container around the neck. The thread both reminds the laity of the good states of mind aroused by the listening to the chan~ing, and is clearly envisaged as 53

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'storing' some of the protective power of the paritta. Terweil explains that such paritta-thread is one of several kinds of protective amulets that a Thai may wear, others including small medallions portraying the Buddha or the head of a famous monk, or ash from burnt old handwritten manuscripts of scriptures. 2 Such amulets are sacralized by a monk muttering a short PJli formula over them, or by including them in the circle of thread at a parittaceremony. In Burma, Spiro reports that after a paritta-ceremony to avert danger to a village, indicated by a bad omen, the monks suggested that villagers should tie the paritta-thread round their houses, and also throw sand against the walls. 3 While the paritta is being chanted in Sri Lanka, a pot of water is being kept on or under the table where the manuscript of the chanted text is put, and the paritta-thread is wound round the pot. In SE Asia, the leading monk lets a burning candle drip into a bowl of water, so that the 'earth' and 'fire' of the candle mix with air and water (the four elements) to form 'holy' water which has been sacralized by the power of the paritta. The thread may also be wound around the bowl. The climax is when the candle is dipped in the water and it goes out. This is done when chanting a line affirming that wise men whose desire does not increase 'go out like this lamp'.~ At the end of the ceremony, the leading monk sprinkles those present with the water, a branch being used for this in SE Asia. In Sri Lanka, a monk pours water into the hands of the laity, who then drink some and wet their faces with it (de Silva, p. 34). While the use of parittas is allowed (i.e. is not an offence) in the Yin (IV, 305), the use of thread and water, according to Gombrich, are features of the ritual 'to which no reference is made in the texts recited and for which no rationale is given'.' The Mv ch. 7 (6th century AD) gives an anachronistic tale to the effect that, on his deathbed, the Buddha asked Sakka to protect Lanka. Sakka appoints as guardian 'the god who is in colour like the lotus' (v. 5), that is Vi!?DU, who then goes to the island, appearing in the form of an ascetic. Meeting some of the king's men, he sprinkles them with water from a bowl, and winds thread round their hands, before vanishing (v. 8). The thread is later referred to as a paritta-thread (v. 14). The Cv (37, 189-98) says that water was used by king Upatissa (4th century AD), this being a time of famine and disease, which ended when a paritta was used to bring rain. The precedent was said to be the use of water in the chanting of the Ratana Sutta at Vesali, to overcome a similar problem (KhA 164). It is also of note that water plays a part in two examples of Jataka commentary 'asseverations of truth' discussed below (at

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V, g, i). Gombrich seems correct, then, in saying (p. 204) that there is no canonical authority for the use of water. In support of the thread being used by commentarial times (5th century AD), he cites a Jataka story (I, 396) in which a prince 'had a paritta done by Paccekabuddhas, and took the paritta-sand and paritta-thread'. II. Paritta uses

When paritta is chanted by monks, it may be done for one hour, all night (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.), for 36 hours, or a week. On Radio Ceylon, it is chanted for 15 minutes at start of each day (Gombrich, p. 203). Parittas may be recited by lay people in ordinary devotion, or when they meet danger or wish to attain some problematic end; alternatively, they may get lay specialists or monks to chant. All parittas are seen as offering protection, but some are used for specific ends, such as to protect against death from snake-bite, or ease a difficult childbirth. Used to benefit oneself and others, the purposes for which they are recited are either 'prophylactic' or 'benedictive' (de Silva, p. 139): (1) Prophylactic-to ward off or overcome dangers and problems: to help someone recover from an illness, to ward off sickness in times of epidemics, to allay fear, to bring a safe childbirth, to ward off wild animals, and offer protection from them when they are met, to protect oneself in battle, to keep away the malign influence of ghosts, evil spirits and planets, to exorcize a spirit who is possessing someone, to save oneself and/or others in shipwrecks or aircrashes, to protect from natural disasters such as floods, droughts or famine, or bring them to an end, to avert world troubles predicted by astrology. (2) Benedictive-to assure success in an undertaking and attain positive good: to begin a ceremony for making pUMa, the auspicious purifying power generally translated as 'merit', to begin Vassa, to begin a festival, including that of the New Year, to mark the start of a journey, to prepare for a wedding or celebrate a birthday, to bless a new building, car or railway engine,

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to mark the opening of parliament, to mark Republic Day (in Sri Lanka), to ensure a righteous government, to aid world peace, to attain good grades in an exam, to bring the rains on time, to attain a good harvest, to give long life, to make puiiiia for oneself or a dead relative. As Tambiah (p. 201) points out, the words of parittas are generally ethical rather than specifically exorcistic, and there is a paradox in that benefits of a life-affirming nature are seen as being attained by words referring to great acts of renunciation (pp. 195 & 208). Miln 152-53 describes a list of powers of paritta which is very similar to the powers which the SPS (ch. 24 Skt., 25 Chin.) attributes to wholeheartedly calling on the compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara who then instantly delivers beings 'by virtue of the supernatural power of the Bodhisattva's majesty'.6 The Miln list, with SPS parallels, is as follows: i) A snake ready to bite a man does not do so, but closes its open mouth (cf. Khandha Paritta). SPS: Snakes flee. ii) A club held aloft by robbers is of no avail-letting it drop they show regard instead. SPS: The sword of an attacker will snap; an executioner's sword breaks; merchants will be saved from robbers. iii) An enraged bull-elephant rushing up (to a man) quietens down (d. the Buddha's calming a charging elephant, Yin II, 194-95). SPS: Wild beasts flee. iv) A great blazing mass of fire is extinguished as it approaches (d. Vattaka Paritta; Cp III, 9; J I, 212-15). SPS: Fire will not burn. v) A deadly poison a man has eaten turns into an antidote, or serves as food (d. Miln 120-21 on the power of 'asseveration of truth'). SPS: Incantations and poisons revert to their originators. vi) The murderers approaching a man with an intention of killing him turn into servitors (d. failure of armed assailants to kill the Buddha, Yin 11,191-92). SPS: The hearts of attackers will turn to kindness. vii) The trap on which a man has trodden does not hold him (d. Mora Paritta, J II, 33-35). SPS: Prisoners, guilty or innocent, will have their chains snapped.

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viii) A sorcerer becomes invisible by a mantra/paritta. SPS: A person becomes invisible to yak?as and rak?asas. Whether one is talking of the power of calling on Avalokitesvara, or the power of chanting parittas, both are seen as affecting both physical processes and beings of all kinds.? III. Limitations on the Power of Parittas

In Burma, Spiro's monastic correspondents emphasized that paritta only works for those who follow the moral precepts, and have faith in the Three Refuges, and the power of paritta (op. cit., pp. 151 & 153). This is probably why the Refuges and precepts are taken at the start of a paritta-ceremony (de Silva, op. cit., pp. 3233), and paritta-collections begin with the Refuges. In discussing the working of parittas, Miln (pp. 150-54) says that a person can only be saved from death by a paritta if he has no obstruction due to karma. This being the case, all the illnesses of people hearing a paritta-recitation will abate and disappear: There are three reasons, sire, why a paritta does not protect: because of an obstruction due to karma, because of an obstruction due to the defilements, because of lack of faith. A paritta, sire, that is a protection of beings [may] lose its protective power by [something] done by oneself (Miln 153-54). The text does give the example, though, of a sorcerer who escapes punishment for adultery by becoming invisible by use of a mantra, this being by the power of a paritta. IV. How Parittas Work: Contemporary Answer

Spiro (op. cit., p. 152) reports that in Burma people offer a variety of answers to the question of how paritta 'works'-though this is not something they normally see as problematical. A quarter of the monks he asked said that it worked because it led to greater self-confidence in the chanter and listener. Likewise, in Sri Lanka, Gombrich (op. cit., p. 209) was told by a monk that 'it will only do you good if you have faith (visvasa); you are protected by your own belief'. This makes sense, as to chant or listen to paritta with an attentive mind does sooth the nerves; it leads to selfconfidence, and a calm, pure mind, due to the sound-quality of the chant, concentration on this, and any knowledge of the chant's meaning. As the mind is thus in a healthier state, this may bring about a cure of psycho-somatic illnesses, or make a person more alert so that he or she is better at avoiding the dangers of life. Listening to parittas also leads to joy, the energizing effect of

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which may then be conducive to success in some endeavour. Three-quarters of the monks Spiro asked, though, said that there was more to the working of paritta than the arousing of selfconfidence etc. s They said that the recitation of the paritta released a power inherent in the words of the Buddha; for this reason, many were also sceptical about the power of non-canonical parittas. Spiro (p. 148) reports that while educated Burmese do not see the Buddha as himself magically active, he is nevertheless seen as radiating a magical power. 'Most Burmese' believe that the efficacy of the paritta is guaranteed by the power of the Buddha, his virtues, or his words (p. 149). Tambiah (op. cit. p. 212) likewise reports that in NE Thailand, there is belief in 'the mystical power of the sacred words'. While the laity sometimes chant parittas in their own languages, such as Burmese, they are generally chanted in Pali. Tambiah (pp. 195-96) asserts that when the monks chant in Pali, most of the congregation, and some of the monks, do not understand the words (except for a few key ones and the general drift of popular parittas). Nevertheless, it is emphasized that those who listen to the chants gain great puMa, blessings and protection. Tambiah (pp. 197-98) holds that the words of the paritta, generally in the ancient Pali language, are not held to be efficacious because they are in special language set apart from ordinary speech, but because they go back to a sacred authority, the Buddha, are part of the Dhamma, a sacred teaching, and are recited by monks, religious experts whose ordination line stretches back to the Buddha. In this, they parallel the way in which sacred words in other religions gain their power. The greater efficacy of monks chanting paritta certainly seems to arise partly from the fact that this brings together the words of the Buddha, which express Dhamma, as recited by members of the monastic Sangha, who represent the ariya sangha. Thus the Three Refuges come together in this situation, which liberates the power of the paritta as a protective blessing. De Silva (op. cit., p. 40) also sees the connection to the Three Refuges as represented by relics (to which the paritta-thread is tied; these represent the Buddha), the paritta-text (Dhamma) and monks (Sangha). In Burma, chanting and listening to paritta is also seen as pleasing the gods who were Buddhist, the samma-devas, who are obliged to then offer what protection is in their power to give (Spiro, op. cit., p. 151). The chanting of certain parittas is, additionally, seen as radiating the efficacious power of lovingkindness (p. 150). Another Burmese notion is that chanting paritta is a way of

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bringing the karmic results of the dana accompanying the chanting to immediate effect: 'instant karma' (p. 151). According to the monks, the 'instant karma' effect of paritta may only save a person from dying from an illness if his karma is such that he is not destined to definitely die or recover from the illness, but the situation could go either way (p. 159). De Silva (op. cit., p. 26) points out that, in Sri Lanka, parittas may be used in cases of severe illness so as to eliminate any malign influences, be they from yakkhas, stars, physical causes, or karma, the hope being that if such a hindrance were removed, a conventional medicine could do its work. That a paritta may work even in the face of karmic causes, of course, goes against the view of Miln 153-54, cited above. 9 V. The Principles of the Functioning ofParittas in the Texts In turning to the way in which the power of parittas is conceived of in the textual tradition we see a spectrum of notions stretching from those relating to the enhanced power of the chanter /listener's mind, to those relating to the power of the chant itself. This spectrum is broadly consonant with contemporary views, and shows the ancient roots of many of these. a)

THE POWER OF A MIND CONCENTRATED ON LOVINGKINDNESS

Several parittas focus on the ideal of lovingkindness (mettd). One such is the Mettanisarhsa, an extract from a sutta which says that, among the results of a person developing the 'lovingkindness liberation of mind' (metta-cetovimutti) are: ... he is dear to human beings, he is dear to non-human beings, deities guard him, fire, poison and weapons do not affect him, his mind is easily concentrated ... (A V, 342) The Vism (p. 296) sees lovingkindness as a real influence pervading outside the body, as it says that jhana cannot be attained if the focus of lovingkindness is someone who has died. Its discussion of the power of lovingkindness cites the case of a cow suckling her calf, whose 'power of loving thought' for her calf made the spears of hunters bounce off her (p. 313). Buddhaghosa likewise cites other stories (Vism 381; DhpA III, 310; and DhpA II, 249f£.), in one of which a jealous woman pours hot ghee over the lay-disciple Uttara. The ghee feels cool to her, however, because she has attained mettajhana at that time (Vism 381), or because she made a truthful avowal of her lack of anger towards the woman (DhpA III, 310).

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Buddhaghosa holds that the cow's love was a sufficient protection even though it did not involve access or absorption concentration (Vism 313), but that in the case of Uttara, there was 'success by intervention of concentration' (Vism 381). This is explained as 'a distinction brought about by the influence of calm', which may occur before, during or after a state of meditative concentration (Vism 380). Buddhaghosa here cites a list of people in Ps (II, 211-12), which includes Uttara, who were aided by such an intervention. One case is that of Sariputta, who is described at Ud 39 as being given a huge blow on the head by a yakkha while absorbed in meditation. He feels only a trifling pain, however, and is unharmed: this was due to his absorption in a meditative attainment (Vism 380). Another case is that of SaftjIva (M I, 333). His body, and even his robe were unburnt when some people tried to cremate him, not realizing he was not dead but in the state of cessation.1O There is a story in J (I, 199-200) where lovingkindness is itself described as a paritta. The Bodhisatta and some companions are falsely accused of a crime and are sentenced to be trampled to death by an elephant. The Bodhisatta advises his companions to bear in mind the precepts, and develop lovingkindness equally to the slanderer, the sentencing king, the elephant, and their own bodies. Consequently, a number of elephants refused to go near them and fled. When asked if he had a drug or mantra to accomplish this, the Bodhisatta says that it is because he and his companions keep the precepts, develop lovingkindness, give gifts, and perform public works, these being their mantra and paritta. The story also recalls that of the Buddha, who radiates lovingkindness to an elephant who has been enraged and set charging down a road to kill him; the elephant comes to a halt and bows to the Buddha (Vin II, 194-95). The Khandha Paritta is found in several places (A II, 72; Yin II, 109-10; Yin VI, 75-77, and J II, 144). It is the only one which is referred to in the Pali Canon as a 'paritta'. The Buddha is said to have composed it after a monk died of snake-bite, as a way of making such bites innocuous (in conjunction with bleeding the wound). The Buddha explains that the monk would not have died of the bite if he had suffused snakes with lovingkindness, so that the paritta he gives expresses lovingkindness to snakes and other animals and insects. It also emphasizes that the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are infinite, while creeping things are finite, finishing 'let the creature withdraw. I, even I, honour the Blessed One, I honour the seven perfect Buddhas'. This paritta is thus enVisaged as working by a combination of the power of

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lovingkindness, and by evoking awe at the Three Jewels. Now-adays, it is used as a protection against snakes and other wild animals (Spiro, op. cit., p. 266). The Karaniya-Metta Sutta is a popular paritta (Kh IX; Sn p. 2526), one of the 'Great Parittas'. It first describes the behaviour of the ideal monk, and then expresses the thoughts of such a person as he radiates lovingkindness to all beings without exception, in all directions. The commentary says that the Buddha gave the sutta as a meditation subject and a paritta against harassing tree deities (KhA 234). It is now used for protection against evil spirits, as it is held that Brahma and other 'Buddhist' gods will regard a reciter of it with a kindly eye (Spiro p. 269, Tambiah p. 203). It is also clearly seen as working by calming down a hostile spirit, animal or person, making them more well-disposed towards the person doing or listening to the chanting. It is worth noting, here, that de Silva (pp. 24-25) contrasts Buddhist parittas with the protective spells used in the AV, where, for example, snakes are addressed with fear and submission, and a common refrain is 'Do not harm us, harm our enemy, slave or some such outsider'. b)

THE POWER OF CONTEMPLATING THE BOffHANGAS

Several parittas relate to the bojjhailgas, or 'factors of enlightenment': mindfulness, investigation of dhamma, energy, joy, tranquillity, samadhi, and equanimity. The Bojjhanga Sutta describes the bojjhangas as the kind of karma which is neither 'bright' nor 'dark', and conduces to the waning of karma (A II, 236-37). In S (V, 79-81) are three Gilana ('sick') Suttas, which deal respectively with the illnesses of Kassapa, Moggallana, and Cunda. In each case, the Buddha, on hearing that the monk is not bearing up, reminds him of seven bojjhangas, and that they lead to nibbana when cultivated. Each monk then delights at the bojjhailgas and recovers from his illness. This implies, of course, that illnesses are rooted in the mind. All four of suttas mentioned are used as parittas. c)

THE POWER OF CONTEMPLATING VIRTUE OR AUSPICIOUS WAYS OF LIVING

The popular paritta known as the Maha-mangala Sutta describes itself as having been given when a deity came to the Buddha at night and asked what were the most 'auspicious performances' (mailgaJa). In reply, the Buddha lists a variety of things, mainly pertaining to lay ethics. These range from supporting parents and

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family, on through previously acquired puiifia and present generosity, to hearing dhamma and attaining nibbana. The number of items mentioned is thirty seven, which corresponds to the number of bodhi-pakkhiya dhammas, or factors conducive to enlightenment. The final verse points out that people who carry out such auspicious acts 'are everywhere unconquered, attain well-being/ safety everywhere: This paritta is described in commentaries (KhA 231) as primarily of benefit for oneself, rather than others. In contemporary practice, it is used not only to avert dangers, but also to attain problematic ends such as good grades at school, or a good harvest (Spiro, op. cit., p. 268). The PubbaDha Paritta is from a short suffa in the Mangala Vagga (A I, 294). The verses basically express the idea that those who are of favourable conduct of body, speech and mind throughout the day will attain favourable ends and be without illness. In Burma, this paritta is chanted with the Ratana Sutta and is used as a protection from epidemics, especially from astrological causes (Spiro p. 268). Another padtta whose power seems to be seen as residing in the contemplation of virtue which it encourages, is the Vasala Sutta (Sn p. 21-25), which emphasizes that unethical conduct is what makes a person an 'outcast'. d)

THE POWER OF FAITH IN THE QUALITIES OF THE THREE JEWELS

That faith is seen as a wonder-working power, even in Theravada Buddhism, is shown by a story inJ (11,111). Here, a pious layman, going to see the Buddha, finds that a river barred his way. His mind is so ecstatically 'full of delightful thoughts of the Buddha' that he walks over the surface of the water. This seems akin to the power of joy (piti) to lead to levitation, when at a high level (Vism 144). Faith seems to be explicitly seen as the basis of the power of the Namokaratthaka, a non-canonical padtta used in Thailand. Part of this runs, 'I humbly bow to this Triune Group that is without fault. By reason of this obeisance may all misfortunes be avoided. By reason of the power resulting from this worship, may good fortune come at all time .. :11 Faith also seems to be the implied as the basis of the power of the Dhajagga ('top of the banner') Paritta. This derives from a sutta (5 I, 218-20) in which the Buddha gives some verses to monks to recite as a way of allaying fear when in the forest. He first mentions that Sakka (Vedic Indra) tells the gods to overcome fear in battle by looking up at the crest of his banner, or that of other major gods. The Buddha says that this mayor may not

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work, as Sakka, unlike the Buddha, is not free of attachment, hatred and delusion, or of fear. The monks can overcome fear, however, by calling to mind the Buddha, Dhamma or Sangha in the words which describe their virtues: Iti pi 50 ... ; 5vakhato. .. ; 5upatipanno . .. These sets of words, describing the virtues of the Three Jewels, are used in full as a paritta, and are also used separately. Their use in many devotional settings means that they are often not viewed as a paritta. In Burma, they are used in battle, by native doctors as an accompaniment to medicines, and as a way to attain release from imprisonment (Spiro, op. cit., p. 268). e) THE POWER OF THE THREE JEWELS AND CONTEMPLATION OF THEIR QUALITIES

Power is not only seen as deriving from faith in the Three Jewels, but from the Three Jewels themselves. At DhpA 120, there is another episode where someone walks across a river; this time it is a king on his way to the Buddha to ordain, who comes to a river without any boat to cross. Not wanting to delay, as life is short, he says 'Free from doubt, I have renounced the world for the sake of the Three Jewels; by their supernatural power may this water be to me unlike water'. Not only he, but also his retinue, are then able to cross three rivers, as he says Iti pi 50 . .. , 5v§kh§to . .., and 5upatipanno. .. The Mora Paritta is drawn from the J II, 33-8 (d. IV, 333-42). The story is that of the Bodhisatta as a peacock who kept himself safe by uttering two verses each dawn (and similar ones each evening). The first is a Brahma-mantra, which praises the sun and asks it to keep him safe in the coming day, and the second, actually described as a paritta, is in praise of past Buddhas, and their virtue, wisdom and freedom, asking for their aid. These verses ensure his freedom from being trapped. Consequently, they are used in Burma, for example as a protection against the danger of arrest, or to obtain freedom from arrest (Spiro, op. cit., p. 266). Tambiah (op. cit., p. 220) reports that in Thailand, the Mora Paritta is used for protection against snakes (the prey of peacocks) and snake bites, and dangerous humans, animals or birds. In the Mora Paritta, the concept of asking previous Buddhas (also referred to in the Khandha Paritta) for their aid, of course implies that their power, if not they themselves, is still available to be activated. A similar idea is found in a non-canonical version of the AtaJ.latiya Paritta used in Thailand. This begins with canonical verses in praise of the seven past Buddhas and Gotama,

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but then continues with praise of ten million Buddhas as having been fearless, omniscient and merciful, and says 'may they care for you at all times' (Tambiah p. 220; Wells, op. cit., pp. 238-40). While the number of these Buddhas suggests a Mahayana influence, the past tense used retains the Theravada concept of there only being able to be one Buddha at a time. The Jaya-mangala Gatha is a non-canonical paritta which refers to eight 'auspicious victories' of the Buddha: over Mara by generosity, over a demon by patience, over a charging elephant by lovingkindness, over Angulimala by psychic power, over a serpent by the psychic power of Moggalana, over a false accuser by serene and peaceful bearing, and over a haughty brahmin and a proud Brahma by wisdom. At the end of each verse, describing a victory, it is said 'By its glory, may auspicious victories be mine'. The final verse says that one who daily recites and earnestly remembers the verses will get rid of diverse misfortunes and gain the bliss of liberation. In effect, this paritta can be seen as 'working' by tapping into the powers of the Buddha, attained by practising the dhamma, through contemplation of these powers. The Maha-jaya-mangala Gatha is also a non-canonical paritta which invokes the power (anubhava) of 'all Buddhas', 'all Dhammas' and 'all Sanghas'. Moreover, its final verse, used in Sri Lanka when tying on paritta-thread to someone, goes: All the Buddhas have attained great powers (bala), and so have Pacceka-buddhas and Arahats. By the glory of their powers, I tie a protection valid in all respects. (De Silva, op. cit., p. 9; translation adapted.) Another non-canonical paritta which invokes the power of the Buddha and his qualities is the Mangala-cakkavala, which is used at funerals and memorial services in Thailand. This runs: By the power of the thirty-two characteristics of the great one ... who succeeded with glorious wisdom that knew power and victory, he was able to ward off dangers. By the power ... of the radiance of six colours. . . of the transcendental virtues . .. of the precepts, contemplation, wisdom. . . of the Buddha Gem. .. of the Dhamma Gem... of the Sangha Gem. . . of might. . . of the Eightfold Way. . . of the Four Noble Truths ... of omniscience ... of all parittas . .. of remembrance of the Triple Gems, may all disease ... and afflictions of yours disappear ... May you have long life ... Mayall celestial deities ... follow ard protect you at all times. (Wells, op. cit., p. 230)

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The Maha-jina-pafijara (Great Cage of the Conqueror) is a further non-canonical paritta, used in Sri Lanka, which relies .on the power of the Three Jewels, along with contemplation of these. It describes a visualization technique which seems to be of Tantric influence. In it, a protective cage is described as being built up: The Buddha is on the head, the Dhamma on the eyes, the Sangha on the chest, chief disciples in the heart and around the body, and major parittas around and above the body. The protective power of this paritta is said to derive from the 'majestic power of the Conqueror' (de Silva p. 9). While parittas emphasizing the 'power' of the Three Jewels are generally non-canonical, the notion of the Buddha's power is not absent from canonical sources. These contain many references to meditation-based psychic powers (idhis), such as flying or walking on water, of the Buddha and his chief disciples. On certain occasions, these powers are said to have been used to heal someone. At Yin I, 216-18 is told the story of the laywoman Suppiya, who promises meat-broth for a sick monk. As no meat is available, she cuts flesh from her own leg. When the Buddha heard Suppiya was ill, he asked her husband to bring her, and as soon as he saw her, her wound was healed, without even a scar. Husband and wife then praise the' great psychic power and the great potency of the Tathagata'. Similarly at Ud 15-16 (cf. J I, 407-8; DhpA III, 192-93), the woman Suppavasa is in bitter pain from a long and difficult labour. She endures the pain by thinking of the Buddha as teaching Dhamma for the abandonment of such pain, on the Sangha as practising for the abandonment of such pain, and nibbana as beyond all such pain. She then asks her husband to greet the Buddha in her name, and tell him of her plight and her three reflections. When he does this, the Buddha says 'may she in health give birth to a healthy son', which she immediately does. Her husband then praises the Buddha's great psychic power and great potency. In both these cases of healing, it is indicated that the potency derives both from the Buddha and the virtue or faith of the person who is healed. Some canonical parittas also trade on the notion of the Buddha's power. The Candima Paritta and the Suriya Paritta are drawn from two short suttas at S I, 50-1. Both relate to eclipse phenomena, where the moon and sun are seen as deities seized by the asura Rahu. Each of the deities call out to the Buddha, one who is 'wholly freed', to act as help and refuge. The Buddha then commands Rahu to liberate the moon! sun as they have gone to him, who takes compassion on the world, for refuge. The Buddha

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later comments that Rahu's head would have split into seven pieces if he had not desisted. f)

THE POWER OF GODS

Gombrich (op. citt., pp. 205-6) points out that a number of parittas are addressed to deities or yakkhas (potentially troublesome nature-gods), such that they can be seen as a form of preaching to such beings, so as to make them more benevolent, thus inducing them to remove their threat or actually offer help.12 The power of paritta to invoke the power of gods to protect against yakkhas is seen in a story at OhpA II, 236-38. Here, a brahmin who fears his son may die is told by the Buddha to have monks recite paritta for seven days round his house. The yakkha who was due to eat the boy could thus not get near him, as so many gods were gathered to hear the paritta. Some parittas particularly refer to the power of deities, as in the AtaDatiya Paritta which is contained in the AtaDatiya Sutta (0 III, 194-206). Here, it is said that the Four Great Kings, gods who rule over and guard the four quarters, come to the Buddha. King VessavaDa 13 (of the Northern quarter, where yakkhasdwell) informs the Buddha that, while some yakkhas have faith in him, most do not, as they find the five precepts distasteful; they therefore cause problems for disciples meditating in the forest. He thus asks the Buddha to learn the AtaDatiya Paritta as protection so that disciples will be guarded and unharmed, by the yakkhas finding faith. The verses which he then gives begin by praising seven past Buddhas and Gotama, he being of benefit to 'gods and humans'. They then refer to each of the Four Great Kings, and the gandhabbas, kumbhaI.ujas, nagas, and yakkhas which they respectively lead, saying that the kings and their sons revere the Buddha as the highest person, 'endowed with knowledge and conduct'. VessavaDa says that uttering the verses should keep away any non-human who has a malevolent intent, as he would lose respect among his peers and be punished if he were to harass the Buddha's disciples. To protect against any non-humans who are rebels against the Four Kings, however, a disciple should call out to yakkha leaders, of which over forty names are given, beginning with those of the Vedic gods Indra, Soma, VaruDa, Bharadvaja and Pajapati. The paritta seems to work by invoking the authority of 'Buddhist' gods. OA 969 sees it as the most powerful paritta for exorcisms, which should only be used after the Karaniya Metta, Ohajagga and Ratana Suttas have been tried. The patient should

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then take the precepts, deities should be summoned, the possessor should be told that the pufiiia of accompanying almsgiving has been transferred to him, and that he should now leave the person out of respect for the sangha. If he still refuses to leave, gods should be informed of his obstinacy, and the Atat:tatiya Paritta recited. 14 Today, this paritta is used especially for warding off dangers caused by evil spirits (Spiro p. 267), such as illnesses (Tambiah p. 203). A short chant often used after having chanted parittas consists of three verses from the Maha-jaya-mangala Gatha Paritta: May there be all blessings. Mayall gods protect [you]. By the power of all Buddhas/Dhammas/Sanghas, may well-being ever be yoursPS In these verses, it is ambiguous as to whether the gods protect 'by the power of all Buddhas ... ' or in their own right. In the Mangalacakkavala Paritta, quoted above, however, it is 'by the power' of the Three Jewels and various virtues and qualities that it is hoped that 'Mayall celestial deities ... follow and protect you at all times' (Wells p. 231). In a set of verses recited at the end of a certain paritta ceremony in Sri Lanka, the gods protect in return for the pufiiia transferred to them (de Silva pp. 43-44). This implies that they have some power of their own, even if pufiiia helps to sustain this. g)

THE POWER OF THE ASSEVERATION OF TRUTH

Parittas not only trade on the power of the Three Jewels, and of gods, a number, discussed below, also trade on the idea of the power of the affirmation of a truth concerning someone's moral or spiritual qualities. In many places in the Canon, commentaries, and other Pali literature (as well as Hindu and Jain texts) are occurrences which are each known as an 'asseveration (solemn declaration) of truth (sacca-kiriya), or a 'truth utterance' (saccavajja or sacca-vacana). Such an act is a solemn declaration of some truth pertaining to a person, with the aim of releasing a wonderworking power-for-good to magically attain the benefit of the declarer and/ or others, and occasionally the harm of others. The fact referred to in the declaration generally is:

that the agent, or the person in whose behalf the Act is performed, possesses certain good qualities or is free from certain evil qualities; that he has done certain things he ought to have done, or that he has left undone certain things he ought not to have done. 16

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Most asseverations of truth contain the phrase 'by this truth may ... '. They are always for specific ends, unlike parittas, and are often used to compel a good or evil spirit, or physical object or process, to do something. As the Miln p. 120 says: By the truth, revered Nagasena, when speakers of the truth are making an asseveration of truth, they [can] cause rain to fall, fire to go outP they can ward off poison (as e.g. atJ IV, 31), and do various other things if they want to. This seems to be based on the idea that (moral) truth is a natural force with irresistible power. Before examining parittas which involve an asseveration of truth, it is useful to examine the range and nature of such asseverations as they occur outside parittas. The sources for this examination are the canonical Jataka verses, their prose-commentarial frame-stories, the Cp (a late canonical work), the Miln, the Mv and Cv chronicles, non-Pali Jataka collections such as the Jm and Mhvs, and the Dv. All these sources, except the Miln, are in the form of stories; the relevant Miln section is a discussion of one such story. Some parittascontaining asseverations are canonical suttas. (i) Acts to aid self and others, from

one's own moral qualities J IV, 401-12 tells the story of the Bodhisatta as king Sivi, whose generosity leads to him giving away his eyes. Later, the god Sakka wishes to help him and suggests (in the verses which are canonical) that he makes an asseveration of truth. Sivi then restores his eyes by two truth-utterances (verses) referring to his general generosity, and his joy at giving his eyes (p. 410). Though the eyes are recovered by Sivi's truth-utterance, they are also described (p. 411, verse), as the 'gift of the god'. As Sakka says that he cannot restore the eyes without the truth-utterance (p. 409, prose), the idea seems to be that the utterance gives him the power to enable him to do so. Consonant with this is a story at J VI, 219-55, where a virtuous daughter wishes to get her father to change from his dedication to pleasure and wrong views. After persuasion fails, she calls on righteous sama{las and brahmins, and various gods to help, saying that if they have no power in themselves, they should come and help 'by my truth' (p. 241-42, prose). Other examples of asseveration of truth also demonstrate an interaction of such acts with the power of a god. At J IV, 314-25, the Bodhisatta is born to the previously childless Queen Sumedha, who kept the precepts and earnestly desired a son. The Bodhisatta

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was previously a deva whom Sakka asked to be reborn to the woman. Sakka appears and offers the grant of a son to a virtuous woman, and Sumedha then gives a series of truth-utterances (p. 319-20, verses) referring to her having done her husband's wishes, her non-violence, non-jealousy of co-wives, sympathetic joy, good treatment of employees, generosity, and observance of uposatha. She says Sakka may burst her hand into seven if she lies (verses), but she does not, and she conceives. IS A similar story is found at J VI, 1-30, where the queen of a barren king observes the uposatha precepts, reflects on her virtuous life, and performs an asseveration of truth referring to her never having broken the precepts, so as to conceive a son (p. I, prose). The power of her piety causes Sakka's throne to become hot, so that he then requests the Bodhisatta to be born to the woman. If asseverations of truth can have power over gods, or can empower them to do certain acts, such acts must clearly be seen as having a power of their own. This is the case in the Miln (pp. 119-20), in its discussion of the above story of Sivi. Nagasena explains that Sivi recovers his sight with truth itself as the' ground' (vatthu), just as magicians (siddha) can cause rain to fall, fire to retreat, and poison to become an antidote by reciting the truth, this having the truth as 'cause' (hetu; p. 120-21). Likewise,'people penetrate the Four Noble Truths with them as 'ground'(p. 121). He then refers to a king of Dna making the sea retreat before him by an asseveration of truth (p. 121), and a courtesan at the time of Asoka as making the Ganges flow backwards by an asseveration referring to her impartial treatment of clients of all four castes (p. 122). The Cp includes some asseverations of truth under its discussion of the perfection of truth. In one section (III, 10), it discusses the Bodhisatta as a fish king who saved himself and others, in a drying out lake, from being eaten by birds. He looks to the 'truth as support' (v. 4), recollects the true dhamma and makes an asseveration of truth (v. 5) which refers to the fact that he cannot remember, since coming to the years of discretion, that he has harmed any living being (v. 6). He thus causes the storm god Pajjunna to rain and thus 'besiege the crows with grief' (v. 7). This is then described as an act depending on 'the power and glory of truth' (v. 9). While the truth is seen, above, as having a power of its own, an added element can derive from an associated command. In a version of the Sivi story at Jm II (Burlingame, op. cit., p. 430, note 2), Sivi's eyes are said to be restored by the power of Sivi's 'truthcommand' (satyadhi$thana), and the abundant store of his pUlJ.ya.

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The concept of a 'truth-command' is also found at J I, 170-72, which concerns the Bodhisatta as a monkey king. He and his subjects are thirsty, but a water-ogre threatens all who approach a lake. He therefore performs an asseveration of truth to hollow out some canes to use as long straws. This he does by calling to mind ten perfections (p. 171, prose). A comment is given (p. 172, prose): 'Now due to the greatness of the beneficial conduct of Bodhisattas, their commands (adhit!Mna) are always fulfilled'. Again, in the Jataka version of the fish-king story 0 I, 329-32), the prose refers to him as calling on Pajjunna devaraja' as a master might to a servant'. In the Jm XV, the rain is said to come from his store of pUIJya, the power of the truth-command, and the power of devas, nagas and yak~as who are favourably disposed to him. In some asseverations of truth, there is also a ritual involving water, as in paritta-ceremonies. In J IV, 136-43, the Bodhisatta is a blind captain whose ship is threatened by a storm. He therefore ritually prepares himself for a truth-utterance by bathing, putting on new clothes, and holding a bowl of water (p. 142, prose). He than saves the ship by a truth-utterance which is the same as that of the fish-king (Cp II, 10 v. 6; also at Jm XIV). At J V, 88-98, a woman's faithfulness is doubted by her husband, who suffers from leprosy. She therefore cures him by an asseveration of truth, while pouring water on him from a pot (p. 94, prose), using a truth-utterance referring to her love for him alone (p. 95, verse). In all the above stories, the asseverations of truth are used to benefit the utterer and/or someone else, and the asseveration concerns the virtue of the utterer. Another such story is at J VI, 30-31 (prose), where the Bodhisatta is a prince who breaks his imprisoning chains by an asseveration of truth referring to his innocence. More ambiguous is J 1,134-35 (prose), where a woman uses a truth-utterance to prove that her son (the Bodhisatta) is the child of a king. The utterance makes the child stay in the air when he is thrown up, simply by its reference to the facts of the child's paternity. In the above instances, it is worth noting that asseverations of truth are generally performed by the Bodhisatta (five times), but are also performed by a virtuous woman (three times), a loving wife (once), a mother (once), and even a courtesan (once). There is also reference to sorcerers' powers as based on the truth. W.N. Brown has argued that, 'in every case the Act of Truth is effective because it is based on the rare phenomenon of personal duty completely fulfilled'.19 Though he refers to Buddhist cases in arguing for this view, it is more rooted in Vedic understanding

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of such acts. Bodhisattas are not generous or non-violent out of 'duty', and a queen has no special 'duty' to observe the uposatha precepts. What each case has in common is that it is done on the basis of a deeply-rooted virtue or set of virtues, even the impartiality of a courtesan, or of innocence or rightness (the truth of a child's paternity). (ii) Acts to prove one's own good motives or help

oneself and others by reference to them

Just as asseverations of truth may be based on the virtues of the utterer, so they may be based on his motives. In the Mv (Ch. 25, vv. 16-17), king DutthagamaI).i, after defeating the Tamils, makes an asseveration of truth, where he says that his soldiers' armour will shine if his martial actions have not been for the joy of sovereignty, but 'to ever establish the doctrine of the Sambuddha'. Similarly, in the Cv (ch. 70, vv. 209-10), someone planning a military campaign, so as to become king, stops the rain which is drenching his army by an asseveration of truth. This refers to his motive for seeking to become king as being only to aid the welfare of the people and the Sangha. The twentieth century Buddhist reformer Anagarika Dharmapala is also said to have performed an asseveration of truth to gain help in his work to restore Bodh Gaya to Buddhist hands. In this, he said, 'if the work that I am doing is good, then let help come to me'.20 Gombrich (op. cit., p. 225) is thus wrong in saying that the last recorded asseveration of truth was by DutthagamaI).i. (iii) Acts to help oneself and others by reference to

one's future virtues and future events

The virtue referred to in an asseveration can sometimes be still in the future. In the Mv (ch. 18, vv. 39-41), it is said that Asoka performed an asseveration of truth to get a branch of the Bodhitree to detach itself after he had drawn round it with a red arsenic pencil. He does so by referring to the fact that the branch shall go to Lanka, and that he himself shall stand firm in dhamma. (iv) Acts to tell the future Another kind of future-orientated asseveration is one which is performed specifically to tell the future. At Mv (ch. 33, vv. 1067), a king determines whether some relics will in future be undisturbed, as an abiding refuge for the people, by saying that they should form the shape of the Buddha if this will be so. Likewise, at Cv (ch. 82, vv. 16-40), a king performs an asseveration of truth

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to get the tooth relic to rise into the air if his military campaign is to be followed by success in his help for the laity and the Sangha. In the asseveration, he refers to the Buddha as having visited Lanka three times, so that it was to come under the power of Buddhist kings, and to past kings as having defeated the Tamils. In the last three types of asseveration (ii, iii and iv), it is notable that, except for the case of Anagarika Dharmapala, kings are the utterers. In these cases the kings are seen as working for the benefit of Buddhism and their people, and in three cases, items infused with the power of the Buddha, whether relics or a Bodhitree, are involved. A link between all six cases is that Dharmapala was seen as a bodhisatta, and Buddhist kings have often been regarded in the same way: all such people are seen as strong in virtue, the basis of asseveration of truth. (v) Acts to help another person by reference to their virtue Another type of asseveration is one uttered to help someone else, by referring to that person's virtue. In all examples of this, the benefited person is the Bodhisatta. At J VI, 70-95, the Bodhisatta, who cares for his blind parents, is accidentally shot by a poisoned arrow. To save him, his mother performs an asseveration of truth to make the poison harmless, referring to his past virtue, truth, and care for his parents, and also brings into play the puiiiia of herself and her husband (p. 91, verse). Her husband then makes the same asseveration, and then a goddess performs an asseveration, referring to the Bodhisatta (Sarna) as the dearest person in the world to her (p. 92, verse). Sarna recovers, and his parents recover their sight, this being by the 'supernatural power' of the goddess (p. 93, prose). In the version of the story in the Mhvs (II, 218-19), on Syamaka, there is no mention of a goddess, and the Bodhisatta recovers by the power of his parents and their 'incantation', and from his own virtue. At Dv 472, the Bodhisattva is a woman who cuts off her breast to feed a starving woman about to eat her own child. The Bodhisattva's husband then makes her whole again by a truthutterance referring to the fact that such a wonderful act has never been done before. She later (p. 478) changes into a male by a truthutterance to the effect that she did not regret her giving her breast, and did it solely for the sake of attaining Buddhahood. At J V, 21-36, the Bodhisatta is kept safe from a yakkha by asseveration of truth performed by his mother, sister and wife, referring to his virtue, which charms the gods to protect him (p. 29, verse).

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(vi) Acts to help other persons and oneself by reference to virtue of the Three Jewels Of particular relevance to the use of asseverations of truth in parittas are examples of them which refer to virtues of the Three Jewels. One such is in the Dv (p. 153-55), where an innocent person is punished by having his hands cut off. When he appeals to the Buddha for help, the latter tells Ananda to do an asseveration of truth after putting the hands back in place. The asseveration refers to the unequalledness of the Three Jewels. At Cv (ch. 51, vv. 56-57), the brother of a king gets the branch of a Bodhi-tree to move, so that he can build a temple round it, by reference to the Buddha as being born 'for the salvation of all living beings'. (vii) Acts to help another person by reference to one's own failings In asseverations of truth, not only virtues are referred to: sometimes the truthful admission of personal failings also has power over circumstances. In such cases, the admission itself becomes a potent act of virtue. At Cp III, 11, under the perfection of truth, the Bodhisatta is said to have been an ascetic who has for fifty years been unwilling in his 'holy life'. To cure a friend's son of snake bite, he makes an asseveration of truth referring to this uncomplimentary truth (vv. 11-12). At J IV, 27-36, the story also occurs. Here the boy's parents ask him to cure the body, as ascetics know 'medicine or paritta' (p. 31, prose). As he says he knows no medicine, he is asked to perform an asseveration of truth, which he does (as at Cp) while laying his hands on the boy's head (p. 31, prose). The poison starts to leave the boy, but the cure is finished by asseverations of truth from the father and mother: the father refers to his unwillingness in giving, and his mother to her hate for her husband (p. 32-33, verse). (viii) Acts to help other person by reference to a third person's evil In one example, an asseveration is done to benefit another person by reference to the evil intent of a person influencing him. At J VI, 129-57, a king is told by his brahmin minister that killing all his sons will lead to heaven. As he is about to kill the first, his wife resolves to save her husband from doing the act by her 'power of truth' (p. 154, prose). This she then does by an asseveration of truth referring to the vile purpose of the brahmin, calling on spirits and gods to 'do my commission' (p. 154-55, verse). Sakka then frightens off the king. While this case depends on non-virtue

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rather than virtue, it is done under the rubric of the defence of what is right and true. (ix) An act to entrap others by referring to their name Occasionally, there are examples of asseverations which seem almost morally neutral. At Mhvs II, 97, a hunter traps a kinnari (a type of female deity), preventing her from disappearing, by saying who she is. This is because a sage has explained that 'they are bound by truth-speaking'. (x) Acts to harm others by reference to their evil Occasionally again, an asseveration is used to bring harm to someone, even if it is by reference to some evil that he has done. At J V, 75-88, a fake ascetic asks a Naga-king the secret of nagas' defence from garw:jas. In saying that he will keep it a secret, he is lying, for he goes to tell a Garuqa-king. When the Naga-king is then captured by the Garuqa-king, he eventually becomes friendly with him. Later they go to the fake ascetic, and the Naga-king performs an asseveration of truth to make his head split into seven, by reference to his being a traitor to a guileless friend (p.87, verse). While this may not uphold the virtue of nonviolence, it certainly reinforces the virtue of truthfulness! (xi) Parittas depending on the power of truth Piyadassi reports that, at the end of the recital of each paritta (in Sri Lanka), the recitators say, 'By this truth-utterance may you ever be well'.21 That is, the efficacy of all parittas partly derives from an asseveration of truth. Moreover, some parittas are themselves based on an asseveration, referring to a truth about the Three Jewels or the Bodhisatta (see vi, above). Gombrich (op. cit., p. 225) is thus incorrect in saying that such asseverations are today 'a matter of theory rather than practice; perhaps no one alive is holy enough to bring it off'. The truth need not relate to someone who is alive. The Angulimala Paritta (M II, 103) is said to have been originally uttered by the ex-murderer arahat Angulimala, who wished to help a woman through a difficult and dangerous childbirth. The Buddha suggested that he go to her and say: I, sister, am not aware of having intentionally deprived any living being of life since I was born of the ariyan birth. By this truth, may there be well-being for you, well-being for your unborn child. 22 As this paritta is still used to aid difficult childbirths (Gombrich

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p. 224), it clearly has a conceptual link to its use. Of course, when people other than Angulimala use this paritta, they are performing an 'asseveration of truth' which depends on the virtue of another person, to aid yet another. The Vattaka Paritta is taken from the Cp (III, 9), as an illustration of the 'perfection of truth', and from J I, 212-15. The story relates to the Bodhisatta as a young quail who is unable to flee an approaching fire. As described in the commentarial part of the Jataka story, he reflects that there exist the qualities of virtue and truth, and reflects on the spiritual perfections of the past Buddhas. He then takes hold of the 'state of sincerity and truth' (sacca-sabhava-dhammo) in himself, and resolves to make an 'act of truth' to save himself and other young quails. As expressed in the canonical verses, also in Cp: In the world is the quality of morality, there is truth, purity, mercy. By this truth I will make a supreme asseveration of truth. Reflecting on the power of dhamma, remembering the former Conquerors, relying on the power of truth, I made an asseveration of truth. 'Wings there are that fly not, feet there are that walk not. Mother and father are gone away, Jataveda [Agni] recede.' This makes it quite clear that an asseveration of truth is seen as deriving its power from the 'power of truth' and the 'power of dhamma', whether these are exemplified in personal qualities of virtue, truth and sincerity, or such qualities in the Buddhas. (h) Parittas drawing on several sources of power One of the most popular parittas is the Ratana Sutta (Sn vv. 22238; Kh VI), which is among the oldest. It trades on the power of asseveration of truth, but also on other sources of power. It begins by wishing peace of mind to any assembled deities of earth or sky, and asking them to have lovingkindness for, and protect, humans who bring them offerings. Twelve verses describing the excellence of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha then follow, each one ending 'by this truth, may there be well-being'. Finally, three verses, ascribed by the commentary (KhA 195) to Sakka, request the assembled deities to praise the Three Jewels. The main efficacious ingredient here is clearly a series of truth-utterances which draw on the truth-power of ascribing excellences to the Three Jewels, and then use this power to influence deities into offering protection. A commentary on the sutta says that the 'well-being' brought by the paritta is from the 'truth-utterances' of the Bud-

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dha and Sakka, both of these being 'supported by the special qualities of the Three Jewels' (KhA 195). It also refers to such 'truth-utterances' as commands which were 'obeyed by nonhumans in a hundred thousand myriad world-systems' (KhA 179). The Vism (414) explains this area as being one of three kinds of 'Buddha-fields', this being the 'field of authority' (a{lakkhefa), where five specified parittas are efficacious. Besides invoking the power of truth, the suffa begins by expressing goodwill to deities and referring to what humans do for them. One commentary (KhA 169) explains the 'offerings' that humans give to deities as including transferring the pu:iiiia of auspicious deeds to them. KhA 160-65, 196-201, and DhpA 436-49 contain an account of the context in which the Ratana Sutta was said to have been delivered by the Buddha. In VesalI, drought had led to famine and death; the stench of rotting bodies then attracted non-human beings, who brought more deaths, which were also brought on by a sickness. A message was sent to the Buddha, requesting his help. The Buddha came by boat, and as soon as he was met by representatives of the city, outside its boundary, rain began to fall, sweeping away the dead bodies. When he arrived in the city, Sakka and other gods arrived too, s}lch that most of the nonhumans fled. The Buddha then told Ananda to learn the Ratana Sutta, and that he and the princes of the city should recite it as a paritta as they walked around the city. This he did, after meditating on the merits and perfections of the Buddha. He carried the Buddha's bowl, aspersing water from it as he chanted, and as soon as he began the verses containing 'truth-utterances', the water drove away the remaining non-humans and started to cure the sick. The sutta was then recited for seven days until the plague was ended. In this story, the power of the Buddha's presence brings rain, the power of the presence of gods and of truth-utterances drives away evil spirits, and the power of truthutterances cures the sickness. KhA 231 describes this sutta as a 'protection of others', while Mangala Sutta is a 'self-protection'. Today, it is used to ward off evil and misfortune, especially dangers seen as due to supernatural causes (Spiro, op. cit., p. 270). Another important multi-powered paritta is the Maha-jayamangala Catha. This refers to the perfections and other qualities of the Three Jewels and seeks to bring about 'auspicious victory' by a number of means. In verses 1 and 9-11, it uses a 'truthutterance': 'by this truth-utterance, may auspicious victory be mine'. In verse 2, it refers to the Buddha's victory under the Bodhi-tree, and says 'likewise may there be victory for me'. In

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verses 3-5, it honours each of the Three Jewels as 'highest balm and the best', and says that 'by the glory' of each, may any obstacles and sufferings/fears/diseases cease. In vv. 13-15, it says 'may all gods protect me', and 'by the power of all the Buddhas/Dhammas/Disciples may well-being ever be mine'. The final verse (18) is, 'By the power of all mighty Buddhas, Pacceka-buddhas and all Arahats, I secure my /your protection in every way'. Vv. 16-17 aspire that the verse should bring protection from dangers, and positive goods such as a rich harvest. VI. Conclusion We have seen that parittas are used for a variety of protective and benedictive purposes and that their prayer-like power is seen to derive from a variety of sources, both in contemporary practice and in the textual tradition. While some of these sources of power might seem somewhat unexpected within Theravada tradition, none violates any of its principles. Contemporary Theravadins refer to the power of parittas as residing in: the calm self-confidence and self-composure of chanters and listeners, their faith, the power of the Buddha's words, Buddhist gods pleased by the chanting, lovingkindness expressed by certain parittas, and the ability of parittas to bring puiifia to immediate fruition. The textual tradition sees their power as residing in: lovingkindness, contemplation of the factors of enlightenment, contemplating virtue or auspicious ways of living, faith in the qualities of the Three Jewels, the Three Jewels and the contemplation of their qualities, the authority and power of Buddhist gods whose attention is drawn by the chanting, and the power of asseverations of truth on the qualities of the Three Jewels, which may act as influences on, commands to, or empowerers of gods. We have also noted that the same range of effects is ascribed to parittas as Mahayana Buddhism ascribes to calling on the compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Thus, while 'other power', or reliance on another being for salvific aid, is mostly associated with the Mahayana tradition, an analogue of it exists in the mainly Theravadin Southern tradition, even excluding certain Mahayana and Mantrayana influences on this. The key difference is that, in the Southern tradition, reliance is not placed on heavenly Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, but on: living chanters (especially the Sangha), one's own faith and contemplation, gods, the power left over in the world by the Buddha, past Buddhas, Pacceka-buddhas, and Arahats, the power of the Dhamma and Ariya Sangha (the second and third Jewels), and the very power . of truth itself.

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The power of another is also, of course, seen in the power-forgoodness given off by relics and Bodhi-trees, and in the good that one can do to others by sharing puMa with them. Within the world-view of Southern Buddhism, benefit for self and other can be derived by appropriate interaction in a web of powers which include relics, Bodhi-trees, past Buddhas and arahats, and present saints, monks and gods. To plug into this network, faith, freedom from past obstructing karma, and moral purity are needed. This being the case, beneficial power can be attained by devotion, making puiifia and transferring it to gods, and by drawing on the power and glory of the Three Jewels, past Buddhas, and of moral excellence and truth, wherever they are found. Such beneficial power is seen as being transmitted and stored by the parittathread and water, and is seen as able to lead to psychological uplift and empowerment, to directly affect physical processes, or influence, empower or command gods to bring about desired effects. This web of benefit is seen as extending to a 'hundred thousand myriad world-systems', which is the Buddha-field encompassed by the Buddha's authority. Within this nexus, one with sufficient faith may walk on water, or be immediately cured of an illness. As to whether parittas can do all that is claimed of them, perhaps one needs deep faith to believe this. As the Miln says, one certainly needs faith to actually carry it off! Regarding the 'asseveration of truth', a key ingredient of a number of parittas, it is important to note that liberation is seen as attained by insight into the four 'truths', and that the Miln sees truth as the 'ground' of both this insight and of the power of asseverations (p. 120-21). Moreover, the whole system of karma and its fruits is predicated on the idea that certain (moral) actions naturally lead to pleasant results while others (immoral) naturally lead to unpleasant ones. The connection between act and result is not arbitrary: an act is not good because it leads to pleasant results, but it leads to pleasant results because it is good. A good, moral action is one that is to some degree unselfish; it is less ego-based, helps diminish ego-attachment, and the agent of it is sympathetically aware of the suffering of others. It is thereby in tune with the true nature of reality: impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self. The good act is thus an act informed (consciously or unconsciously) by truth; its power to bring pleasant results derives from this conformity to truth. The opposite pertains to bad, selfish actions: their power to bring unpleasant results derives from their distortion/ ignoring of truth. The karmic outlook of Buddhism thus assumes the potency of truth: asseverations of truth, and parittaswhich trade on them, are thus another

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expression of this important notion. Prior to Buddhism, of course, the Vedic tradition believed in its own version of the power of truth, in the form of the Vedic mantras. Participation in a beneficial network of powers, as described above, also has certain parallels to the manipulation of powers found in the Vedas, although in Buddhism this operates in a fully ethicized context. While a modernist Buddhist might agree with the apparently pejorative tone of Burlingame, when he refers to the asseveration of truth as a 'magic art of the most primitive sort' (op. cit., p. 434), a more traditional Buddhist might feel that certain kinds of 'magic' (of the 'white' variety) are acceptable, and point out that 'primitive' can simply mean' ancient'. Indeed Burlingame himself goes on to say that the concept underlying the asseveration informs not only 'cruder folk practices', but also 'the more highly refined and civilized forms of prayer, oath and curse'. He also sees it as a symbolic expression 'of the deep-seated conviction of all men everywhere that the truth is of supreme importance and irresistible power' (p. 435). Indeed, Mahatma Gandhi's method of satyagraha or 'holding onto truth' can be seen as a recent example of confidence in the power of moral truth to change the world. Appendix: Parittas and their sources

According to the tradition of Sri Lanka, the compilation of parittas known as CatubhaDavara-pali (Cbp: 'Text on Four Sections of Sermon') was put together in the fourth century AD, though it may have been compiled by as late as the tenth century. It contains twenty-two texts, though its modem Sinhalese form, known as the Pirit-pota or 'Paritta text', contains another seven. A recent appendix to this compiled by Ven. Kirivattua~a in his Prameya Ratnfivali, Calcutta, 1927: 'the exclusive adherence dependent on the sentiment of rasa becoming manifest in the sportive acts of the Lord' (vicitralilfi rasasrayatfinusandhistu bhakti1,l). Baladevavidyabhu\>a~a in his commentary on the BhG: 'the natural potency of the Lord' (sfi ca bhaktirbhagvatsvarilpasakti1,l vrtibhiltfi). K.T. Strongman, The Psychology of Emotions, London, 1973, p.l. William McDougall, An Outline of Psychology, London, 11th ed., repr. 1969 (first ed. 1923), p.127-28. Cf. Carroll E. Izard, Human Emotions, London, 1977, p.18.

7.

anayfibhilfisitfinusilnyam jiifinakarmfidyanfivrttam/ finukillyena kr~l)finusilanam bhaktiruttamfi/ /

8.

suddhasattvaviSe~fitmfi prema

9.

drutasya bhagavaddharmfidhfirfivfihikatfim gatfi/ sarvese manaso rttirbhaktirityabhidhfiyate/ / See Madhusildana, Bhaktirasfiyana (BynM) 1.3, p.30 (ed. Varanasl, Sarhvat

(BsnR, Pilrvavibhaga, 1.11; p.lO).

silryfimsusfimfinyabhfik/ rilcibhiscittamfisroyakrdasau bhvfiva ucyate/ /

(Pilrvavibhaga 3.1; p.91).

2033).

10.

cittadravyam hi jatuvat svfibhfivfit ka,thinfitmakam/ tfipakairvi~ayairyoge dravyatvam pratipadyate/ /

Ibid. 1.4, p.32.

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5

The Pervasiveness of Bhakti in the Bhagavata PuraDa FREDA MATCHETT In the introduction to his recent study of BP, Daniel P. Sheridan states that 'in modern times the Bhagavata has been either neglected or misunderstood by scholars of religion in the West'.1 The charge of neglect is not easy to sustain as far as the past twenty years are concerned, since several books on BP by both Western and Indian scholars have appeared in this time. In 1968 A.S. Biswas published his linguistic study of BP, the subsequent year saw the publication in Germany of Gail's book on bhakti in the BP and, in India, of Tripathi's cultural study.2 In 1970 appeared Rukmani's critical study. She says in her introduction that it was 'the absence of a comprehensive book ... on the Bhagavata PuraDa' which partly determined her choice of subject. 3 Her book is comprehensive in that she touches upon a wide range of topics: bhakti, the development of Vai~Davism in different parts of India, image worship and various social customs. During the 1980s three other books have been published, besides Sheridan's, which deal, to a greater or lesser extent, with BP: FriedheIm Hardy's book not only substantiates beyond doubt the often-made claim for the southern provenance of BP, but gives many examples from carikam and Alvar literature of the poetry which inspired its emotional bhakti which he distinguishes from the intellectual bhakti of the BhG and VP.~ He focuses his attention on the gopfs love for Kr~Da, giving both a phenomenological description of it and an analysis of its philosophical interpretation. A year later two other studies of Kr~Da were published: that of Benjamin Preciado-Solis and that of Noel Sheth.' The former lays no special emphasis upon BP, treating it simply as one source among several as he explores the various themes and motifs which characterize Krsna as a divine hero. The latter seeks to show how 'the undersi:~nding of Krishna's divinity, while a mere glimmer in the Harivamsa, shines more brightly in the Vi~DU 95

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Purat:la and attains full brilliance in the Bhagavata' (p. xiv). BP is for him the culmination of this 'progressively more divine image of Krishna' (p. 155). Sheridan, whose study of the Advaitic theism in the BP is the latest one, says that he has adopted a method taken from New Testament scholarship: redaction criticism. He describes it as being 'concerned with the interaction between an inherited tradition and a later interpretive point of view'.6 But although he says (p. 10) that 'the Bhagavata reveals a literary dependence upon the Mahabharata, the Harivarhsa, the Brahma Siitras ... the Vil?t:lu Purat:la, and the poems of the A.lvars', he makes no attempt to show how BP has arranged or modified this earlier material in order to express its own interpretation. His real interest, as both his title and his concluding chapter show, lies in examining BP's blending of Advaita and bhakti. Most of these works are concerned with bhakti to a greater or lesser extent. For Gail and Hardy it is the chief concern. Rukmani's study is 'with special reference to Bhakti', while Sheridan's deals with it extensively. Almost a quarter of Sheth's book is concerned with bhakti in BP 10 and 11. lt might seem superfluous for the present writer to add yet another study of BP's teaching on bhakti, particularly when it is bound to be brief and somewhat superficial. My interest, however, lies not so much in what BP has to say on the subject as in how it arranges its teaching on bhakti in order to produce three effects: (1) To centre bhakti upon Krl?t:la, not simply in Book 10, but throughout the whole Purat:la. (2) To present bhakti teaching as an ancient and venerable tradition, proclaimed in the world long before Krl?t:la's appearance upon the human stage. (3) To present the life of Krl?t:la as the culmination and focus of bhakti. With these three aims in mind I shall put aside BP 10 until the other eleven books have been considered. While acknowledging that Book 10 is indeed the heart of BP, I wish to show how the theme of bhakti is present throughout the whole text, and how each book makes its contribution to the total picture. BP's unity of composition and its literary qualities have long been recognised,' but few writers have explored 'the ways in which this puralJa achieves its effects as a literary work'.s I hope that the present study will at least carry such exploration a little further.

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1. Bhakti in the frame narrative of BP For BP Kn'Da does not simply come on to the stage at the beginning of Book 10. He is present in the framework which holds it together just as much as in the scenes which first catch the eye in the foreground of the picture. After the introductory verses BP opens, like Mhb, with Saunaka and his companion-r~is assembled for their sacrificial session in the Naimi!?a forest. They have three main requests which they make to the Bard (Sma): i) There are many religious rites involving many oblations which deserve to be heard about in detail. By your intelligence, holy man, draw out what is essential, and tell it to us so that the minds of us believers may be completely set at rest (1.1.11). ii) Tell us believers the noble acts of him who assumes forms in play, acts which are celebrated by the wise (1.1.17). iii) Tell us to whom dharma has gone for refuge, now that its pious defender, Kr!?Da, the Lord of Yoga, has run his race [on earth] (1.1.23). The immediate answers to these questions are soon given. Sma tells Saunaka and the others: i) Sages, you have done well to ask me about what is auspicious for the world. The question you have asked is about Kr!?Da, by whom the mind is set at rest. That is the highest dharma for men whence [springs] devotion to Adho~aja, disinterested and irresistible, which sets the mind completely at rest (1.2.5b-6). ii) His noble acts have been perfromed in twenty forms already, and there are two more which he will assume in the future (1.3.6-25). iii) The replacement for Kr!?Da in the Kali-yuga is 'this purMJa called Bhagavata which is equal to the spiritual essence of the Vedas' (idam bhagavatam nama purMJam brahma-sammitam, 1.3.40; d. 2.1.8, 2.8.28; 12.4.42). 'Kr!?Da having returned to his own abode, together with dharma, knowledge and the rest, this sun in puraIJa form has now arisen for the benefit of those who have lost their sight in the Kali age' (1.3.43b-44a). But in a sense it is the entire Purana which is the answer to all three questions. Book 1 sets the stag~ for the recital of BP, explaining in careful detail its origin and the chain of circumstances which led to its first recital in the human world. First of all, in 1.4.14 Sma introduces the figure of Vyasa, its composer. He is sitting despondently by the sacred river Sarasvatl and wondering

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why he should feel so dissatisfied with his own spiritual progress. He has done what he could to make divine knowledge available to the human race. He has divided the Veda into four to make it more accessible, and composed Mhb so that those who were not eligible to recite the Vedas might learn from that. Yet he still feels that something is lacking (1.4.30). What is lacking is revealed by Narada, who suddenly appears in Vyasa's hermitage. It is now customary to regard Narada simply as a great exponent of bhakti, but it has to be remembered that this is only one role which he plays in early Vai!?Dava literature. He has also the role of intermediary between gods and men, and a trouble-making intermediary at that. In Hv 44 he is described as 'the discloser in the world of secret discords, like Rahu' (bhetta jagati guhyanam vigrahanam grahopamaJ:!, lOa), as 'finding pleasure in strife' and 'like another Kali' (vairikelikiJo ... kalir ivaparaJ:!, 11a). It is in accordance with this reputation that in Hv 46.15 he should tell Karhsa of the threat from Devakl's eighth child, and in VP 5.15.3 inform him of the young Kr!?Da's asuraslaying exploits. In BP this role of intermediary persists, but it is combined with the other role of bhakta which BP may have taken from the ~arayaDiya-parvan (Mhb 12.321-339).9 There Narada visits Svetavlpa to see the Supreme Narayat;la (Mhb 12.321.6-12), is taught by him, and is granted a sight of his universal form (12.326.1-10), a form which Brahma had never seen and which was disclosed to Narada because of his devotion (12.326.96f.).10 In BP for the first time Narada becomes a bhakta of Krsna rather than of NarayaDa. It is in this role that Narada explains ·to Vyasa that he has not yet sung the glories of Kr!?Da (1.5.3-22). He tells Vyasa of how he himself came to be a bhakta in a former life (1.5.23-6.31) and describes his present way of life; 'I go about singing the story of Hari' (1.6.33b)Y As a result of this conversation with Narada, Vyasa purifies his mind by the diScipline of bhakti (bhakti-yogena, 1.7.4), visualizes the primal Being and his maya and composes BP, by means of which' bhakti toward Kr!?Da, the Supreme Being, arises' (kr$IJ.e parama-puru$e/bhaktir utpadyate, 1.7.7). After relating the reasons for BP's composition, Suta turns his attention to the circumstances of its first recital, by Vyasa's son Suka to King Parik!?it. The latter is under a curse because of disrespectful behaviour towards a r$i, and is fasting by the Ganges as he waits for the snake-bite which he knows will end his life. The two interlocutors and the circumstances in which Suka's recital takes place are again calculated to bring out the impor-

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tance of bhakti. Unlike his father, Suka has no cause for dissatisfaction or sense of lack: he is one of those sages of whom it may be said that they 'show disinterested devotion' to the Lord (l.7.lOb). Pari~it owes his entire life to Kr~Da, since but for him he would have remained dead in his mother's womb when struck by the missile with which Asvatthaman hoped to annihilate the PaDQava dynasty. With his death the world will lose its last immediate link with Kr~Da, and the Kali Yuga will be fully inaugurated (so far Pari~it has been able to keep it at bay by confining it to certain environments, 1.17.38-45). Thus Parlk~it's situation mirrors that of any listener to this PuraDa: deprived of Kr~Da's physical presence, in a world threatened by the Kali-yuga, he turns eagerly for comfort and strength to Suka and to the narrative which he brings. At first sight it may seem as though the chapters which relate Parlk~it's story are something of a detour from the main narrative. They include several episodes already related in Mhb: Asvatthaman's massacre (BP 1.7), the death of Bhl~ma (1.9), Kr~Da's departure from Hastinapura to Dvaraka, the withdrawal from the world of Dhrtara~tra, Gandhari and Vidura (1.13), the death of Kr~Da, and the PaDQavas' ascent to heaven (1.15). But there is a purpose in all this. Kr~Da himself is brought upon the stage, not only as Parik~it's saviour but also as one who inspires bhakti in all who meet him. When he leaves Hastinapura, for instance, both men and women are stupefied by the pain of parting from him (1.10.9f.) and on his arrival in Dvaraka his subjects address him, 'their faces blooming with affection and their voices stuttering with delight' (1.11.5). The death of Kr~Da is described again in 3.1-4, and yet again, this time more fully and circumstantially, in 11.30-31. Between these last two accounts of his death is contained the whole history of the universe so that the whole PuraDa, not just Book 10, is presented as being in a sense Kr~Da's story. It is moreover revealed when Suka embarks upon his recital to Parl~it in Book 2, that this story is bound to begin with creation because its ultimate author is the Lord himself, who gave it to Brahma, who passed it on in tum to Narada, who used it to inspire Vyasa (2.9.43f.; d. 12.4.41). Just as Kr~Da's story begins with the creation of the Varaha Kalpa,12 so Suka describes its dissolution (d. 12.4.38) before delivering his final message to the king in 12.5. Although he ends with the conventional 'What more do you want?' (12.5.13), this is clearly designed to draw from Parik~it a statement of complete satisfaction with what he has heard (12.6.2-7): his purpose in life has been accomplished and he no longer fears death. He is bitten

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by the snake Tak~aka and dies (12.6.12-15). These events are reported to Saunaka and the other r~isby Suta who heard Suka's narrative and witnessed Pariksit's death. That the whole Purat:la is the story of the cosmic Kr~t:la is emphasized at various points, not least in connection with the avatara idea. Although his name appears in some avatara lists, there is obviously no idea that Kr~t:la is simply one a va tara among many. The first list in the work announces this. When all twentytwo names have been enumerated, BP's own view is made plain: Whereas these parts and fractions of the Cosmic Man, from age to age bring happiness to the world which is troubled by Indra's enemies, Kr~t:la is Bhagavan himself (ete camsa-kalai) pumsai) kr~r:zas tu bhagavan svayaml indrari-vyakulamlokam mrdayanti yuge yuge, 1.3.28}. It is Bhagavan who creates the world and, according to 2.6.41-45 (d. 1.3.1-5), bring into being Puru~a as his 'primal avatara' (adyo 'vatarai), 2.6.41), the first revelation of God in the cosmos, who serves as the ground-plan and material source of all creation and from whom spring all other beings. Thus Kr~t:la is the true origin of the avatara figures who appear in Books 3-9, so that their stories are part of his story. Even the exploits of the Vedic Vi~t:lu are ascribed to Krsna: when Pariksit asks Suka in 10.1.2 to tell him about 'the heroic ~ieeds of Visnu,'he means, not the three strides to which this phrase chiefly refers in RV 1.154.1, but the deeds of Kr~t:la.

2. The Mahabhagavatas of BP

In Bp twenty-one individuals are designated as 'great devotees of the Lord' (mahabhagava tas): Parlk~it (1.12.17); Narada (2.9.41); Maitreya (3.4.9); Vidura (3.20.2); Uddhava (3.4.24); Prahlada (3.14.7); Dhruva (4.12.8); Priyavrata (5.1.6); the nine sonsof~abha (5.4.12); Bharata (5.7.1); Suka (5.13.26); Ambari~a (9.4.13); Bhi~ma (9.22.9).13 In many respects this is a varied list: there are brahmins and k~atriyas, sar:znyasis and grhasthas, divine r~is, mortals and asuras. But there are no women, and no vaiSyas or siidras in the list (although Narada, it is true, tells Vyasa of his former life as the son of a servant-woman, see 1.5.23). Several mahabhagavatas are described as having been devoted to Kr~t:la from an early age. Suka made his act of renunciation before he had reached the age of initiation (1.2.2; he is described as having renounced the world as a child, rather than as having become a bhakta of Kr~t:la-his bhakti, as will be seen later, is of a very Advaitic type). Parik~it, who is described in

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1.12.77 as 'a great mahabhagavata', was not only restored to life in his mother's womb by Kr!?I)a, but modelled himself upon Kr!?I)a in his childhood play (2.3.15). Uddhava likewise worshipped Kr!?I)a in his play at the age of five (3.2.2). Five is said to be the age of Narada (1.6.8, 17) and of Dhruva also (4.12.42) when they have visions of the Lord, and Prahlada too is five when his story begins. 14 All the chief interlocutors of BP are described as mahabhagavatas. Parlk!?it and Uddhava express the greatness of their devotion chiefly by the ~tentness and enthusiasm with which they receive instruction. Suka and Maitreya spend their time telling the Lord's stories to those who need to hear them (1.2.3; 3.5.3). Narada is a teacher and adviser at many points in the PuraI)a. After his conversation with Vyasa in 1.5-6 he re-appears in 2.5.18 in conversation with his father Brahma about the ultimate reality which lies behind creation, and in 2.9.40-44 he is said to be a link in the chain of BP's transmission from Brahma to Vyasa. He is the teacher of Dhruva in 4.8 and of the Pracetas brothers and their father Pracinabarhis in 4.25-29 & 31. In 5.1 he is the adviser of Manu's son Priyavrata and appears again in 5.19.9-1515 praising Nara-NarayaI)a and Sankar!?aI)a/Se!?a in 5.25, 8. Book 7 is narrated almost entirely by Narada. Apart from 10 and 11, this is the book which gives the greatest prominence to bhakti. It is mostly concerned with the story of Prahlada, the son of the Daitya king Hiranyaksipu, a story which arises because Parik!?it has raised with Suka the question of why Vi!?I)u appears to favour Indra and the gods, when he is said to be the friend of all beings and should therefore be impartial. Suka replies by offering to repeat the conversation between Narada and Yudhi!?thira, when the latter raised the same question. This change of narrator and questioner means that the narrative is linked more closely with Kr!?I)a (cf. 7.10.48f.), since what prompts Yudhi!?thira's question is seeing the death of Sisupala at the hand of Kr!?I)a and his subsequent merging with the Lord who has just killed him (7.1.12-14).16 What makes Prahlada particularly interesting as a mahabhagavata is that he is presented as both teacher and model devotee (bhaktanam pratiriipadhrk, as Narasirhha calls him in 7.10.21). He is introduced as 'pious, virtuous, a keeper of promises, self-controlled, the dearest friend of all beings, whom he regarded as himself' (7.4.31). He is 'an asura devoid of asuric qualities' (rahitasuro'sural), 7.4.33). He has an 'innate love (naisargiki raUl) for the Lord Vasudeva' (7.4.36), which shows itself from childhood in ecstatic behaviour-he is so engrossed

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with Govinda that he is unaware of what he is saying; he shouts and sings aloud, dances, imitates his Lord, sits silent or weeping, according to his inner experiences (7.4.37-41). Prahlada explains how his devotion to the Lord came about. During his mother's pregnancy she was carried off by Indra, who intended to kill her child at birth as the son of Hirat:lyakasipu, the gods' enemy (7.7.2-9). Narada recognized the embryonic Prahlada as a mahabhagavata, too powerful for Indra to harm (7.7.10), and took the woman for safety into his hermitage (7.7.12). Here she served him 'with utmost devotion', and he taught her 'the essence (tattvam) of dharma and knowledge' (7.7.14-15). This teaching was not for her own benefit-'because of the long lapse of time and because she was a woman it disappeared from my mother's mind' (7.7.16). It was for the benefit of Prahlada, who through Narada's grace remembered everything. This explanation of Prahlada's behaviour suggests that there is something remarkable about an asura being a bhakta of the Lord, something which requires extraordinary circumstances to account for it. Yet elsewhere in BP Uddhava, commenting on the death of Piitana,17 declares that he regards asuras as bhaktas because their minds are fixed on the Lord as their enemy (3.2.24) and Bali says that the salvific property of deep-seated enmity is well known (8.22.6). In his conversation with Yudhi~thira in 7.1, Narada speaks of five emotions which can draw one to the Lord if one concentrated them intensely upon him; in each case he gives an example which Yudhi~thira will recognize. They are desire (kama) as examplified by the gopis, hostility (dve~a) as exemplified by Sisupala, fear (bhaya) by Karilsa, affection (sneha) by the Pat:l9avaS, and bhakti embodied by Narada and his fellowr~is. In repeating this list, Narada refers also to kingship (sambandha) which is exemplified by the Vr~t:lis (7.1.29f.). Here bhakti appears to be just one emotion among several which may draw someone to the Lord. Yet apart from this passage, such differentiations are rarely made. Pari~it, who is Arjuna's grandson and therefore a Pat:l9aVa, is never characterised by sneha, any more than the Vr~t:li Uddhava is characterised by sambandha: both are mahabhagava tas whose chief characteristic is bhakti. It would seem therefore as though bhakti is sometimes used in a narrower sense to denote the 'disinterested devotion' (ahaituki bhakb) mentioned in 1.7.10, which is simply a response to the Lord's glory, and sometimes in a wider sense for any powerful emotion which is focused intensely and constantly upon him. It appears to be the intense concentration which is the key element in bhakti.

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Those who are described as mahabhagavatas are frequently those for whom bhakti is an overwhelming emotion of love, which manifests itself in physical signs, e.g. Narada (1.6.17f.); Uddhava (3.2.5); Vidura (3.4.35; 4.31.28); Dhruva (4.12.18; 5.17.2); Bharata (5.7.12); Prahlada (7.9.6). Throughout the Pura:t:ta this intense physical reaction tends to be produced in response to contact with the Lord, whether through a vision or inner visualization of his form as Vi!?:t:tu, through meeting him as Kr!?:t:ta, or through hearing his stories (d. 1.10.9f.; 1.11.5; 2.9.17; 6.4.41; 8.1.23). Even so there are some notable exceptions to this. Neither Suka nor Parik!?it is ever described as being overwhelmed by physical signs of emotion (although the latter expresses a very lively delight in hearing Kr!?:t:ta's stories, e.g. 8.5.13; 10.1.13; 10.7.1£.; 10.52.20). In Suka's case it is probably because he represents the type of bhakti which has a very large admixture of Advaita. As for Parik!?it, it must be remembered that throughout Suka's recital he is facing imminent death. Indeed the whole purpose of the recital, from his point of view, is to prepare him for this. Since bhakti is not simply emotionalism, but an appropriate response to the true nature of reality, it is not surprising that he remains calm. Another important characteristic of several mahabhagavatasis what can only be called missionary zeal-a desire to share their beliefs and feelings with others. Narada wanders about the worlds singing the story of Hari (1.6.33); Maitreya is there when needed to teach others (3.5.3); Prahlada teaches his fellow Daityas (7.6.). Bhakti in BP is not privately cultivated by reclusive mystics, neither is it regarded as an inexpressible mystery. It is spread publicly by gregarious enthusiasts, who are eager to communicate therir experiences to others. Indeed communication-telling and listening to the stories of the Lord-is a major feature of the life of Kr!?:t:ta's mahabhagavatas. 3. BF's Teaching about bhakti: Bhakti Yoga and Bhagavata-dharma It would be wrong to make too strong a distinction between

narrative and teaching in BP. The fact that BP's over-all structure, like that of all puraIJas, is a narrative one, might suggest that the didactic passages are in a sense insertions, occasional interludes when the action is brought to a standstill while someone delivers a monologue. However, the narrative itself is didactic in intention. The stories of the Lord lead to molc$a (e.g. 1.2.15; 4.19.38) and are to be received and reflected upon. Therefore much of BP/s teaching is contained in the narrative itself. In addition to this,

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however, from time to time some authoritative figure teaches about bhakti. It may be some legendary figure from the past who is presented as an avatara, e.g. Kapila or ~~abhha. It may be one of mahabhagavatas, e.g. Narada (who is also presented as an avatara-in 1.3.8-but this role is not stressed anywhere in the BP), Suka or Prahlada. The climax of all this is, of course, Kr~t:ta's last message to his mahabhagavata Uddhava, but there is another high point in Book 7, where Prahlada is not only taught by Narada and by the Lord in the form of Narasirilha, but also acts as a teacher himself. They often describe their teaching as bhagavata-dharma, a term which is not easy to translate. 'The beliefs and practices of the devotees of the Lord' comes somewhere near its meaning. It the course of the story of Ajamila related by Suka in Book 6, Yama declares that he is one of the twelve who know the bhagavata-dharma (6.3.20). The others are Brahma, Narada, Siva, ~anatkumara, Kapila, Manu, Prahlada, Janaka, Bhl~ma, Bali and Sika. Five of these-the mahabhagavatas Narada, Prahlada, Bhl~ma and Suka, and the a va tara Kapila-are presented as teachers in BP, together with another group whom Yama does not mention in his list: ~~abha and his sons. Each of these seven examples of teaching will be examined in turn presently, but first a few general remarks are necessary. Although bhakti is often depicted in BP as an overpowering emotion, it is also regarded as a way of life which can be rationally and deliberately cultivated. There is a 'discipline of devotion', Bhakti Yoga, just as there is a 'discipline of knowledge', Jftana Yoga, or a 'discipline of religious acts', Karma or Kriya Yoga. What is more, devotion goes hand in hand with knowledge and renunciation (e.g. 3.25.18). The frequent use of the expression bhagavata-dharma (sometimes in the plural) in BP indicates that this Purat:ta is offering a total view of how life should be lived by the Lord's devotees. To use Hardy's terminology, BP contains both intellectual and emotional bhakti and commends both to its hearers I readers. IS Now to the seven teachers: (i)

NARADA

He has already been noted as Prahlada's first teacher and the narrator of his story. He also presents to Vasudeva the teaching of nine sons of ~~abha (11.2.11-27). His own teaching is given to Dhruva in 4.8.40-61, Pradnabarhis and his sons the Pracetas brothers in 4.25-29, 4.31.9-22, and Yudhisthira in 7.11.5-15.11. Not all these passages feature bhakti p~ominently. In 3.25-29

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Narada sets out to dissuade king PracInabarhis from following the householder's life with its sacrificial rituals by telling and explaining to him an allegorical story which shows the vanity of worldly life (4.25.10-29.51) and contains little reference to bhakti in either the narrative or the explanation. Much of it would not be out of place in a manual for Advaitins-except that it is 'the discipline of devotion to Lord Vasudeva' (vasudeve bhagalrati bhaktiyoga) which brings about renunciation and knowledge (4.29.37) and this in turn is based upon the stories of Acyuta (4.29.38). And the effect of this teaching upon the king is that he becomes like Govinda through his devotion to him (4.29.82). In the story of Dhruva, Narada plays the part which in VP 1.12 is played by the seven r~is.19 He meets the young prince who has left his father's house after a rebuff from his stepmother, and guides him into the practice of Bhakti Yoga for the realization of Vi~Du. This consists mainly of visualization of the divine form, and from the way in which Dhruva's behaviour is described in 4.8.70-80 it seems to be very much in line with the eightfold Yoga path of Patafijali. To the Pracetas brother in 4.31.4-22 Narada suggests that Yoga, Sankhya, renunciation and Vedic rituals are all alike useless in themselves for the attainment of mok~a. All that matters is to adore Hari (4.31.10.18). In Book 7 he expounds the dharma of the renouncer and the householder, and begins by praising Lord Hari as the root of all dharma (7.11.6). His 'highest dharma . .. consisting of thirty characteristics (7.11.12)', ends with the 'hearing' (sravaIJam), 'proclaiming' (kirtaIJam) and 'remembering' (smaraIJam) which in BP are always associated with bhakti. In 7.11.5-15.77, particularly in relation to the householder's life, Narada weaves in the occasional thread of devotion along with the traditional material of asramadharma: e.g. the grhastha is encouraged to be 'repeatedly listening to the nectar-like stories of the Lord's avataras' (7.14.3). The amount of reference to bhakti in Narada's teaching is surprisingly small in view of the role which he plays in the frame narrative of BP and his subsequent reputation as the great exponent of bhakti. On the whole the bhakti of which he speaks is restrained and of the intellec~ual type, and he associates it closely with Advaita and Dharma Sastra material. (ii)

SUKA

In a sense the bulk of BP is Suka's teaching. It is what he offers to Parlk~it to help him to prepare for death and to assure him of mok~a (2.1). Occasionally, however, he speaks about bhaktiin his

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own voice, particularly at the beginning and end of his narrative. He begins his instruction of Parik!?it by telling him how to meditate upon the Lord's cosmic form. Together with items of traditional Vaisnava meditation are also elements which have a central place i~· the bhagavata-dharma, e.g. 'the repetition of Hari's name' (harer namanuklrta.{1am-2.1.11). He recommends Bhakti Yoga to all those who desire mok~a (2.3.10-12; d. 2.1.21, 2.2.14). In his final teaching to Parik!?it (12.5), Suka urges the king to identify himself with brahman in impersonal Advaitic fashion. Yet in 6.1-3 he himself, rather than some subsidiary narrator, tells Parik!?it the story of Ajamila who finds a more personal style of deliverance by uttering the name 'NarayalJ.a' (even though he is using it as the name of his dearly loved youngest son and not as that of the Supreme God). On the whole then Suka's direct teaching (as distinct from what he conveys through the total narrative of BP) is in line with the manner in which he himself is presented as a mahabhagavata. He is aware of the power and importance of bhakti but prefers to emphasise Advaitic ideas. (iii) BHISMA He does not figure prominently in BP as a bhakti teacher, but it is worth drawing attention to the summary in 1.9.26-28 of his death-bed teaching to Yudhi!?thira. Along with 'the laws concerning giving, kingship, liberation and women', he is said to have expounded 'the laws of the Lord' (bhagavad-dharman-1.9.27). This could possibly refer back to the Narayat:liya-parvan (Mhb 12.321-39), with its 'religion of the One' (ekanta-dharm~12.336.4, 69; this 'religion of the One' is also referred to in the NarayalJ.iya Parvan as 'Paftcaratra' and 'Satvata'). Or it could be a less precise suggestion that BP's bhagavata dharma is already present in Mhb 12 generally. (iv) KAPILA The story of Kapila, the son of Prajapati Kardama and Svayambhuva Manu's daughter Devadhiiti20 is told in Book 3. The last nine chapters of the book (3.25-33) consist of a conversation between Devahiiti and Kapila, who is an avatara of Vi!?lJ.u (3.33.5) and appears to have been born as the full-grown founder of the Sankhya system. He tells his mother that in order to obtain liberation she needs bhakti, jiiana and vairagya (3.25.18), with bhakti as the most important of the three. He advises his mother to dissociate herself from all attachments and to associate herself instead with his devotees. They are described as 'forbearing (titik~ava), compassionate (karu.{1ika), friendly to all embodied

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beings, without enemies, calm and holy, adorned with goodness' (3.25.22). Their minds are continually fixed upon the Lord-here Kapila speaks, as he does throughout, of himself in the first person-and they spend their time in hearing and telling his stories (3.25.23 & 25; d. 3.27.6 & 22). Thus for Devahuti herself 'faith (sraddha), love (rati) and devotion (bhaktl) will follow' (3.25.25) and these will lead to liberation. When she asks her son to describe this liberating bhakti (3.25.28), he teaches her the basic outline of the Sankhya system modified somewhat by elements of bhakti (d. 3.27.21 & 28 & 33f.). One does not need to remember much about the Sankhya Karika to become aware that this strong element of bhaktihas no place in classical Sankhya. At the same time Pataftjali's Yoga Sutra does contain the idea that reliance upon the Lord (Isvara, 1.23) may be a means towards liberation, and there are theistic forms of Sankhya in some of the later parts of Mhb. This combination of Sankhya and bhakti language does not therefore seem too strange, particularly as bhakti is treated here as a means to liberation, as are Yoga and jiiana (29.35; 32.32}-although occasionally it is suggested that bhakti is for some devotees an end in itself, even preferable to mok~a (e.g. 3.25.33f.; 3.29.13}.21 Book 3 ends with Devahuti's enlightenment: through her son's teaching 'she attained the supreme atman, brahman, nirva~a, the Lord',22 (v)

~ABHA

He is the other teacher-a va tara who appears in BP. Not only is he a teacher himself, but he has ten sons whose teaching is also related: Bharata (5.10-13), whose message contains no reference to bhakti, and nine others whose teaching as a group will be considered later (vii). In 5.5.1-27 Suka recounts the teaching which ~abha gives to his sons. He recommends to them that they put aside the householder life and take the way to liberation (although 5.4.19 suggests that they have no need of such a recommendation). This involves devotion and service towards himself as Vasudeva (5.4.6 & 10) 'through actions done for my sake, [telling and hearing] my story, through continually associating with those who regard me as God, and proclaiming my qualities' (5.5.lla). As with Kapila and Sankhya, this bears little relation to the Jain teaching which one might expect to be associated with ~~abha as tlrthankara. BP offers an explanation of the connection between ~~abha and the Jains of its own time: they are the followers of a certain 'foolish king called Arhat' (rajarhan namopasik$ya) of the

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Kali Yuga who heard about ~!?abha's severe asceticism (5.5.28-35) and decided to adopt his way of life. This, however, is seen as an act of mindless imitation which went against his own svadharma and led others 'to disgrace the Vedas, the brahmins, the Lord of sacrifice and the world' (5.6.10). (vi)

PRAHLAoA

His teaching is given first to his father and then to his fellowschoolboys. In reply to his father's request for a recitation of some passage which his teachers have taught him, Prahlada answers: Listening, praising, remembering Vi!?DU, serving him, worshipping, honouring him, being his slave, being his friend, dedicating oneself to him: these are the nine distinguishing marks of devotion to Vi!?DU observed by men (7.5.23-24a). HiraDyakasipu is so horrified by this answer that he makes several attempts to kill his son, but Prahlada's teachers regard him as over-reacting against the views of one who is only a child, and offer to teach their pupil sounder ideas (7.5.48-52). Prahlada goes back to the schoolroom and apparently submits to their teaching. One day the teachers' absence gives Prahlada the chance to speak to his fellow-pupils, the sons of the other Daityas. He begins to teach them 'the religious practices of the Bhagavatas' (7.6.1). Much of this appears to be an expansion of the teaching attributed to Prahlada in VP 1.17, and may have been stock material from what could be called 'Vai!?Dava missionary sermons' in the period spanning the centuries between VP and BP. It emphasizes the transience of human life: how short a part of anyone life-time is left when the time for sleep, childish ignorance and senility have been subtracted (7.6.6f.). Therefore, it is important that these Daitya boys should turn away from the path of sensual pleasures and preoccupations and turn to NarayaDa (7.6.18). The path which Prahlada recommends is one in which jiiana, Yoga and bhakti all play their part. Bhakti consists of the following elements: obedience to one's teacher, devotion, giving [him] what one has gained, association with good devotees, propitiating the Lord (Isvara), faith in his story and praising his deeds, meditating upon his lotus-feet, seeing and honouring his images (7.7.31£.). Hearing of the Lord's qualities and exploits produces rapture in the devotee: his hair stands on end, he weeps, shouts, sings and dances-in short, he behaves very much as Prahlada himself in 7.4.37-41. This ecstatic state leads to 'the joy of absorption in brahman' (brahmanirvaflasukha, 7.37). Prahlada ends by

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commending devotion to Govinda as the highest goal for human beings in this world (7.7.55). The immediate results of this message are well known and hardly need telling. When Prahlada's teachers report the episode to Hirat:tyakasipu, hostility between father and son reaches crisis point. Vi~t:tu in his man-lion form appears and kills the Daitya king. All the gods praise Narasirilha, but only Prahlada can approach him and sing his praise at length, concluding with another enumeration of the components of bhakti, this time described as 'six-limbed'. It involves honouring, praising, offering all one's actions as worship, meditating upon the Lord's feet, listening to his story and serving him (7.9.50). (vii)

THE NINE SONS OF ~$ABHA

Book 11 of BP is inseparable from Book 10, since it includes the story of Kr~t:ta's death and the teaching which he gave to Uddhava shortly before. By beginning a new book with Kr~t:ta's death the composers of BP are taking the hearers' minds back to the beginning of their work. Just as his death appears as part of the prologue to the work as a whole, so it appears here as part of the epilogue. The teaching also belongs to the epilogue, because it is what his followers have with them today: a way of life and a point of view which enable them to see Kr~t:ta's story in its true light, not as a series of past events but as the Lord's eternal nature manifested in his actions and his relationships with human beings. But before Kr~t:ta's teaching to Uddhava, there is another exposition of bhagavata-dharma. Vasudeva asks Narada to expound this to him, and Narada in reply repeats for him the teaching which the nine sons of ~~abha gave long ago to king Nimi of Videha. At first sight it may seem as though this is an insertion into a book which originally had to do only with the last days of Kr~t:ta's life on earth. A closer look suggests that it may be part of BP's intention for Book 11, reminding the hearer that Kr~t:ta's teaching has ancient roots and holds good for all time. The nine sons speak in tum. The eldest Kavi recommends the service of Acyuta's lotus feet as the best protection against all fears (11.2.33), as well as listening to his stories and singing his praise (11.2.39). He describes the typical bhakta: laughing, crying, screaming, bursting into song and dancing (11.2.40). The second son Hari describes the highest type of bhakta: one whose devotion to the Lord is so total that he is unattached to anything or anyone else and sees everything as identical with himself and with the Lord (11.2.45-55). Antarik~a describes the Lord's maya

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(11.3.13-16). Prabuddha explains how even the householder can attain liberation if he finds an expert teacher and follows the bhagavata-dharma (11.3.22f.). This will mean detachment, virtuous living, self-control-then after these somewhat general qualities come those which are specific to the Bhagavatas: listening to the Lord's deeds and dedicating oneself to him, entering into friendly relations with other devotees, talking about the Lord and praising him, behaving in an ecstatic manner (11.3.27-32). The fifth son Pippalayana speaks of the nature of brahman, and ends by emphasizing the importance of bhakti for self-reaalization (11.3.40). The next, Avirhotra, describes Karma Yoga, the method of ritual action (11.3.43-55), and his brother Drumila tells of some of the Lord's most important avataras (11.4). The eighth son Camasa describes those who have no concern for either dharma or the Lord (11.5.2-18), and recommends compassion for women and siidras who may not have the opportunity to hear the Lord in story and song (11.5.4). Finally the youngest son Karabhajana describes the appearance of the Lord in the Krta, Treta and Dvapara ages and the ways in which each age worships him. He goes on to say that in the Kali Yuga simply singing the Lord's praises will be as effective as the most complicated rituals of the past (11.5.36). (viii) ~NA The teaching of ~abha's sons is followed by a chapter in which Kr!?Da announces his intention of leaving this earthly life after causing the Yadava clan to destroy itself. His faithful follower Uddhava asks Kr!?Da to take him with him, and this leads into twenty-three chapters of teaching (11.7-29). It is probably intended to be a new Bhagavad GIta,23 and like the GIta brings together a wide range of ideas. The discourse fluctuates between Jftana, Karma (or Kriya, 11.27.1) and Bhakti Yoga. Although all the ways are praised, the way of bhakti appears to have priority over the others. Chapter 11 is particularly concerned with bhakti. Like the earlier teachers, Kr!?Da recommends listening to and singing his stories (11.11.23), and associating with good people (11.11.25). He describes to Uddhava the ideal bhakta, who worships his images, serves fellow devotees, sings his praises and listens to his stories, meditates upon him, dedicates himself to his service, participates in his festivals, goes on pilgrimage, is initiated into both Vedic and Tantric ways of worshipping him, cares for his temple and with all this seeks no reward, either in material terms or in terms of becoming famous for his good works (11.11.34-41). Such a

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bhakta is aware of Kp?Q.a's presence wherever he may be, and can worship him in a variety of forms. In 11.12.1-15 Krsna tells Uddhava that devotion to him and association with each other (satsailga) are more effective ways to union with him, the supreme brahman, than any other. This message is repeated in other words in 11.14.20 and leads into another description of the true bhakta, this time in the familiar terms of the ecstatic whose emotion may render him speechless or make him laugh, sing or shout, who alternates between lamentation and joy, and is indifferent to the norms of conventional behaviour (l1.14.23f). The next exposition of Bhakti Yoga comes in 11.19. Kr!?Q.a enumerates once again the characteristics and activities of his devotees: sincere faith in his nectar-like stories; continual repetition of his praise; complete knowledge of his worhip; praising him in hymns; respectful service; prostrating themselves in reverence; paying great honour to his devotees; perceiving him in all beings; performing all bodily activities for his sake; declaring his noble qualities; entrusting the mind to him; renouncing all desires; giving up for his sake wealth, enjoyment and pleasure; dedication to him of sacrifices, donations, oblations, repeated mantras, vows and ascetic acts (11.19.20-23). Bhaktiis often said to lead to liberation in the form of self-realization or knowledge of one's identity with brahman rather than to some eternal relationship with a personal God. As in Kapila's teaching, bhakti appears to be a means rather than an end in itself. 4. The Mahabhagavatas and the Bhaktas of Book 10 Throughout BP one of the most important elements in bhakti is said to be telling or listening to the Lord's story/stories. It is the stories themselves which awaken bhakti in the individual. It is the bhakta's response to the stories which ensures liberation (or that eternal relationship to the Lord which bhaktas may prefer to liberation). Although BP makes it clear that 'the Lord's story' is on a cosmic scale, the phrase points particularly to Book 10, 'the Lord's story' par excellence. Yet it will be obvious by now that if Book 10 were missing, the world would still know a good deal about what it means to be Kr!?Q.a's bhakta. In one sense there is less about bhaktiin Book 10 than anywhere else in the whole work. There are no discourses about Bhakti Yoga-in fact the expression never appears there. There are no precise lists of the bhakta's characteristic qualities and activities to compare with the nine and the six enumerated by Prahlada in Book 7. There is no mention of bhagavata-dharma,

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either in the singular or the plural. Book 10 is all the more effective for being free of such things. By the time the hearer / reader has reached it he knows enough about bhakti to recognize it simply by seeing it in action, and has no need for that action to be held up by explanations. He knows also that bhakti is not just an emotional response to the human Kr~D-a, but an ancient dharma handed down through the ages. In other books the company of the Lord's devotees is frequently mentioned, but rarely encountered. Bhakti is always associated with outstanding individuals, the mahabhagavatas who seek to share their beliefs and feelings with others but often operate in isolation. Book 10 describes a community of bhaktas. Here the Lord is at home among his own people, as the young Kr~D-a grows up among the cowherds of Vrndavana 'whose minds and lives are completely his' (10.16.14). It is not yet explicitly stated that Nanda's settlement is the heavenly world of Goloka come down to earth, but it is not surprising that later interpreters see it in this light. This picture of the ideal community is unique in the whole PuraD-a and yet is consonant with the main outlines of bhakti which emerge from the PuraD-a as a whole. Unique also is the relation of women to Kr~D-a. The mahabhagavatas of the other books are all male, as has been noted. Even Devahiiti, who learns bhakti from Kapila, is a passive figure whose role is simply to receive her son's teaching. In Book 10, however, women occupy the centre of the stage. There are few times when Kr~D-a is not surrounded by an admiring female circle. To begin with, there are Yasoda and the other mothers of the cowherd children who gaze in delighted and sometimes exasperated fascination at the mischievous behaviour of the small boy (e.g. 1O.8.23f.). When, as an older boy, he defeats Kaliya, he is surrounded by the Naga's wives who plead with him for their husband's life (10.16.32-53). A little later, a group of brahmin women put their husbands to shame by displaying 'unusual devotion' (bhaktim alaukikfm, 10.23.38) towards Kr~D-a, whereas the brahmins themselves have refused his request for food. When Kr~D-a has killed Karilsa and become a powerful leader among the Yadavas, he acquires a multitude of wives and is able to give to each one the same attention as if she were his only consort (10.69). Above all there are the gopfs who adore Kr~D-a with a love which is at the same time sensuous and spiritual. In them the emotional bhakti of the other books is transposed into a new and erotic key, which has resounded through the religion of Kr~D-a ever since. The emphasis upon the child Kr~D-a in Book 10 is also both new and consonant with BP as a whole. It has already been remarked

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how many of the mahabhagavatas are presented as children. Suka adopts the way of life of a sarinyasI before he has even arrived at the stage of initiation (1.2.2) and is said to wander about in the company of children. Kapila becomes his mother's teacher-an inversion of the conventional relationship between youth and age. Parik~it, Uddhava, Narada, Dhruva and Prahlada are all shown as five-year olds. Yet until Book 10 the Lord of the mahabhagavatas has appeared in BP only as a mature statesman and warrior. Only in Book 10 is this perception of childhood as the time of the bhakta's vision and dedication fulfilled in the portrayal of Bhagavan himself as a child. As a mischievous toddler with his brother (10.8.6-31), as the leader of the cowherd boys in their games (10.12.1-11), he is already inspiring devotion in those around him. And just as BP presents its cosmic history as being Kr~t:la's story, so it presents the child Kr~t:la as containing within himself the whole of the universe (1O.7.18f; 10.7.35-37; 10.8.36-38). The term mahabhagavata never occurs in Book 10. Various other ways of expressing the idea 'great devotee of the Lord' are found (e.g. bhagavata-pradhana, 10.1.14; bhagavatottama, 10.13.1; bhagavata-pravara, 10.37.24). However, these terms are not used of characters who aEpear only in Book 10, but of those from the frame narrative, i.e. Suka, Parik~it and Narada. It may be that this title was thought to be too formal and remote for those who had the privilege of being Kr~t:la's relations, foster parents and intimate friends. It belongs more fittingly to those who have expounded bhagavata-dharma in the past. Book 10 is without a doubt the heart and focus of BP. Although the whole Purat:la is Kr~t:la's story, it is here that it is presented in the most intimate and attractively human terms. But the importance of Book 10 is enhanced and its meaning deepened when it is seen as the centre of a work which proclaims Kr~t:la as the cosmic Lord and the way of bhakti as a long-established dharma, practised and taught by great devotees of the Lord throughout the ages.

NOTES 1. 2.

Daniel P. Sheridan: The Adl'aitic Theism of the Bhagal'dta Pural)d, Delhi, 1987, p.2. Ashutosh Sarma Biswas, Bhagavata Pural)a: A Linguistic Study, Dibrugarh, 1968. Adalbert Gail, Bhakti in Bhagal'ata Pural)a, Wiesbaden, 1969. Kisori Saral).a Tripathi, A Cuitur,l/ Study of the Srimad-Bhagavata, Varanasi, 1969.

114 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

16.

LOVE DIVINE T. S. Rukmani, A Critical Study of the Bhagavata PuraIJa, with special reference to Bhakti, Varanasi, 1970, p. xiii. Friedheim Hardy, Vihara-bhakti: The early history of ~IJa devotion in Southern India, Delhi, 1983, p. 488. Benjamin Preciado-Solis, The K.~IJa-Cycle in the PuraIJas: Themes and Motifs in a Heroic Saga, Delhi, 1984. Noel Sheth, The Divinity of Kr~IJa, Delhi, 1984. Op. cit. p. 15 He borrows it from Norman Perrin, What is Redaction Criticism?, Philadelphia, 1969, p. VIff. (Dan O. Via's Foreword). E.g. Wintemitz describes it as 'the one PuraI).a which, more than any of the others, bears the stamp of a unified composition and deserves to be appreciated as a literary production on account of its language, style and metre', History ofIndian Literature, tr. S. Ketkar, 2nd ed. Ca1cu!ta, 1972, vol. I, p. 556. D. F. Pocock,' Art and theology in the Bhagavata PuraI).a', p. 9, in The Word and the World: Fantasy, Symbol and Record, ed. Veena Das, Delhi. 1986, pp. 9-40. Pocock's exercise in 'literary criticism conducted by an anthropologist' shows a keen awareness of BP's qualities as a work of art. All Mhb references (including Hv) are to: The Mahabharata, critically edited by V.S. Sukthankar, S.K. Belvalkar and P.L. Vaidya, Poona, 1933-71 (1st ed.). This similarity in Narada's role is one of several affinities between the Mo~adharma section of Mhb 12 and BP (e.g. Vrtra is a devotee ofVi~I).u in Mhb 12.271 and BP 6.11); there are similar traditions about Suka in Mhb 12.319 and BP 1.2.2, in Mhb 12.320 and BP 1.3.5; BP 8.4.18 refers to Hari's 'beloved dwelling Svetadvipa'. In 6.5.43 Suka relates how Daksa caused Narada to lead a life of continual wandering because the latter h~d persuaded the Prajapati's sons to forsake their duty of procreation and seek mo~a instead. Cf. also 11.2.1. A kalpa is a unit of PuraI).ic time-reckoning, comprising a historical period in our world and one day in the life of Brahma. In each case the reference is to the first verse in which the respective mahabhagavata occurs. According to Rukmani, even Mirabai 'started worshipping and loving Kr~I).a as her husband at the early age of five', op. cit., p. 243. In the cosmographic passages of the puraIJas the earth is said to consist of seven dVipas (island-continents) arranged in concentric circles with Jambudvipa in the centre. Jambudvipa has nine var~s (countries): Ilavrta, Bhadrasva, Harivar~a, Ketumala, Ramyaka, HiraI).maya, Uttara Kuru, Kirilpuru~ and Bharata. Except for Bharata, the va~as are said to be earthly paradises, whose inhabitants spend their days in happiness (cf. BP 5.17.11-13). Bharata, however, is regarded as the best var~a in which to be born, since only there can human beings acquire merit through their actions (cf. BP 5.19.19-28). In other puraIJas (e.g. VP 2.2.50f.; Markandeya P 54.31) Vi~I).u is said to be present in animal form in four of the var~as (Harasiras in Bhadrasva; Varaha in Ketumala; Kurma in Bharata, Matsya in Uttara Kuru). In BP 5.16-19, however, a form of Vi~I).u is given for everyone of the nine var~s, and a bhakti emphasis is introduced in that in each va~a the praises of the Lord NarayaI).a are led by a prominent bhakta, often one who is particularly appropriate to the form in which the Lord manifests himself in that varsa. Thus in Harivarsa Prahlada praises Narasirilha (5.18.7); in Kirilpuru~a Hanuman, who is described as parama-bhagavata, praises Rama (5.19.1); in Bharatavar~a Narada praises Nara-NarayaI).a (5.9.1O). HiraI).yakasipu, RavaI).a and Sisupala are successive rebirths of one of Vi~I).u's attendants cursed to pass through three lives as his lord's enemy before being reinstated.

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17. 18. 19.

20. 21.

22. 23.

115

Piitana was the child-killing rak~sjwho tried to destroy the infant KniI).a with poisoned milk from her breasts. Instead KniI).a sucked the life out of her-but through this contact with him 'she attained heaven' (svarga-BP 10.6.38). Hardy, op. cit. pp. 25-9 & 36-8. According to the pura{lasthereare seven chief seers (r~is) for every man van tara (period ruled by a progenitor and lawgiver of the human race whose title is Manu). There is no general agreement as to their names. In its story of Dhruva VP (1.11.43-9) gives the seven for the present manvantara as Marlci, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Kratu, Pulaha and Vasi~tha, but in its account of the man van taras they are said to be Vasi~tha, Kasyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Visvamitra and Bharadvaja (VP 3.1.32). The seven seers are identified with the seven stars of the constellation of Ursa Major. Devahutiis found only in BP. In other pura{las Manu has two daughters, Akuti and Prasuti. The idea of bhakti as an end in itself is more prominent in BP as a whole than in these teaching passages, because throughout the narrative there are bhaktas who declare to the Lord that they prefer loving and serving him to the bliss of liberation (e.g. Prthu, 4.20.24; Pracetas brothers, 4.30.34; the seven ~is, 5.17.3; Vrtra, 6.11.25). . .. param/ atmanam brahma nirva{lam bhagavantam avapa ha ... (3.33.30). It may be of interest to note that kaivalya (Sankhya Karin 68) is not among the various expressions used for the supreme goal attained by Devahuti. There are many other similar themes inserted (e.g. exposition of 5ailkhya principles, exposition of Kriya, Jfiana and Bhakti Yogas) and 11.16 is clearly modelled on BhG 10. It is also possible that this teaching once consisted, like the BhG, of eighteen adhyayas, i.e. the present 7-29 without 7-9 (the teaching of Avadhiita), 23 (the Bhik~u Gita) and 26 (the song of Pururavas).

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6

The Place of Bhakti " in Sankara's Vedanta JACQUELINE GAYNOR SUTHREN HIRST 1.0. Introduction: Some Questions of Method The aim of this paper is to consider whether there is any significant place for bhakti in the writings of the great Advaitin Sankara and if so, what that place might be. To this end, the second part of the paper analyses Sankara's treatment of bhaktiin the GB and then focuses on the nature of the Supreme Lord (paramesvara) in that and other works. In order to justify this approach, I shall first consider certain issues of method, taking as my starting-point the book of A. Misra to which my own title alludes.! Misra's book surveys the development of bhakti from the RV to Madhusudana Sarasvati and Naraya1).a TIrtha (sixteenth to seventeenth centuries AD). The author recognizes that there have been different historical phases in this development, with changing influences such as those of Navya-Nyaya or the Bhagavatas. Nevertheless, he is basically interested in demonstrating the existence of 'an unbroken tradition of bhakti inherited from the Upanii?ads' (p. 256). In his conclusion he asserts that the common idea which all writers share is the view that bhakti is essentially . 'the sentiment of love' and, as such, is open to all. While Misra's expositions are more sensitive to variety and change than his conclusions suggest, his book does exemElify one of two common approaches to the question of bhakti in Sankara. The first implies that bhakti is of minimal interest to Sankara because his overriding concern is with jiiana. Such a view assumes that bhakti and jiiana, at least in Sankara's view, are mutually exclusive. The second, of which Misra is an advocate, identifies bhakti as 'the sentiment of love' or some such notion and contends that this is fully present in Sankara's writings. This approach has to face the charge of initial implausibility and often defends itself by reference to hymns attributed to Sankara. 117

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Before outlining the approach I shall adopt myself, I wish to indicate some important problems of method which can arise when dealing with this topic. The first one revolves around the assumption that we already know what bhakti is-the sentiment of love, for example. All we then need to do is to look for this idea in Sankara's writings. The outcome is either to discover that bhakti, as defined a priori, does not exist in Sankara's works, or, using forced evidence which distorts the sense of Sankara's words, to prove that it does. This is, of course, not a problem peculiar to interpreting Sankara. An instance of this type of distorting interpretation may be found in Zaehner's translation of bhaktiin the BhG as 'love-and-devotion'. A quick look at, for example, the Proceedings of a recent conference2 should make us guard against any view that bhakti is monolithic. Sanskrit scholars as well as vernacular experts have long drawn attention to different types of bhakti. Hardy, for example, distinguishes broadly between intellectual and emotional bhakti, while conceding that this distinction itself needs to be refined. 3 In a seminal article in Dutch, referred to by Hardy (pp. 37-38), Gonda had warned against assuming that bhaktihas remained the same through the centuries. Hacker's study of the figure of Prahlada in the VP and BP is precisely directed to showing the difference between these two texts in their understanding of bhakti. 4 So the first danger to avoid is that of assuming that we know precisely what we are looking for. This leads swiftly to the second problem of method. To focus the search for the meaning of bhakti it is tempting to play the word-spotting game. A quick glance down the Mayeda's Index of Words in his translation of the Upadesasahasri or a rapid check of the few occurrences in Mahadevan's Word Index will confirm the view that there is little to be said on the subject of bhaktiin Sankara. 5 This hunt for a term in isolation, which Misra himself adopts, is by its nature unsatisfactory. It may cause us to ignore conceptual complexes relevant to our subject, simply because the word bhaktiis not itself used. Thus 'fundamentalism' of terms has long been noted as a danger by scholars in Old Testament studies. This is not to dismiss concordances and such like out of hand. But they need judicious use. While the first two problems apply to studies of bhakti in general, the next two arise specially from the nature of Sankara's material. The third problem of method, then, is to do with authenticity. Should the voluminous material, attributed to Sankara, such as hymns and prakaralJas (treatises) be taken into account?

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This question is fundamental, for the hymns are rich in devotional language and will greatly colour the picture if they are admitted as evidence. Most authors, though, think that at least some of the material is inauthentic, perhaps the writings of later Sankaracaryas, heads of the mathas supposedly founded by SaIi.kara. Again, perhaps Sankara's name was added to other hymns to lend them his authority. There is, however, no agreement on which hymns are genuine. What criteria, then, could be used to establish which of the hymns it is valid to consult? Misra recognized the difficulty and treated the stotras and prakaraIJas in a chapter separate from the one on the Sankara's commentaries. However, he felt that Sankara studies had not yet reached the point of being able to discriminate the genuine from the inauthentic. He therefore used any hymn he found amenable, content that, if not original, it nonetheless fell within the auspices of 'Sankara Vedanta'. If we are restricting our investigation to Sankara himself, such an easy option is not available. Moreover, it should be noted that though Misra initially made the distinction indicated above, his assessment of Sankara was, in the end, heavily influenced by ideas from the hymns. I will indicate how I shall deal with the problem shortly. Turning first, though, to the material commonly accepted as authentic-the commentaries to the Upani~ads, the BSB and the GB-we encounter the fourth problem of method. This is the tendency of writers to ignore the nature of these works as commentaries (though Halbfass and Clooney are notable exceptions6). This can result in statements being lifted from, say, the GB without consideration of their exegetical context. This, in tum, can lead to overemphasis on views drawn from the GB. They may be presented as central to Sankara, but actually only occur in this one work, because of the nature of the BhG itself. An examp'le of this is found in Y. Savai's treatment of bhaktiin his article on Sankara's theory of saimyasa. 7 Critics, scenting this concentration, may then argue, with apparent justification, that Sankara himself has liJtle interest in bhakti, for it is treated in the GB simply because Sankara cannot ignore the text of what was to become part of the 'triple foundation' (prasthanatraya), the sources on which a Vedantin had to comment to establish his authority. In the following, I have tried to avoid the pitfalls I have indicated above. Whether or not I have been successful, I am not sure. I have certainly not eschewed all use of available word indexes, though I hope I have used them with circumspection to locate contexts of interest. I have dealt with the issue of the hymns

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and prakaralJas somewhat ruthlessly-and simply ignored them. Although I have occupied myself with the problems of establishing criteria of authenticity before,8 I refer now only to the work of R. Gussner.9 He identifies key ideas in the treatises and hymns which are not found in the known commentaries of Sankara: for example, an apparently growing emphasis on the nature of the final experience as ananda (bliss), the emerging authority of the vivekin (the wise or discriminating person) and a stress on anubhava (experience) as a means of knowledge superior even to scripture. Since emphasis on the authority of the vivekin and experience contrasts sharply with Sankara's own stress on the authority of scripture (and the teacher), this seems a strong criterion for distinguishing inauthentic works. My reason for ignoring this material is not simply the difficulty of establishing its authenticity. On the standard view of Sankara as the Advaitin really only interested in jiiana, the hymns have to be seen as in some way 'set up', whether to help those with less acuity or to demonstrate a lofty non-sectarianism. On either view, they are ruled out as the genuine outpourings of devotion, which seems to deprive them of their power. On the 'sentiment of love' view, on the other hand, the issue of the place of bhakti is effectively prejudged by appealing to this corpus of, often, highly devotional material. It seems better to concentrate on the main works of Sankara and to revise our view of the hymnic material subsequently if necessary. By contrast, the question of GB's significance must be tackled head-on. It contains much of the material available for our study. To try to avoid giving undue prominence to gleanings from this work, I shall concentrate on the way Sankara handles ideas of bhakti in the BhG text. This has the added benefit that his glosses and exegetical strategies may enable us tentatively to establish Sankara's own conception of bhakti and so to identify areas of interest in his other works which will broaden our understanding. 1.1

THE PROBLEM OF THE SUPREME LORD

Un9-erlying this topic of bhakti is another problem fundamental to Sankara studies. It has been voiced with varying degrees of unease and 'solved' with varying degrees of neatness, at least since G.A. Jacob's 1894 edition of Sadananda's Vedantasara, if we refer only to modern critical work. That problem is, of course, the nature of the Supreme Lord (paramesvara) in Sankara's writings. For Sankara slips between the terms pararil brahma, paramatman, paramesvara and iSvara with a nonchalance that unnerves those

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who want a neat distinction between the qualityless brahman and the Lord qualified by maya. I will suggest that a fresh approach to this question would take cognizance of the two following points, whose relevance to the study of bhakti will quickly become clear. Firstly, there is the apparently growing importance of 'the Lord' in contemporary classical darsa1J.as. Before Sankara's time, the Yoga school proclaimed allegiance to a Supreme Lord, whom it believed to be the author of scripture. The YB (1.25) describes this Lord as omniscient and eternally free, a special kind of person (puru~a).l0 In the Nyaya school, Chemparathy has pointed out a developing view of Isvara which may also indicate increasing theistic pressureY In the foundational Nyaya Siitras, Isvara is thought to belong to the class of souls. The early fifth century commentary still accepts this, but holds him to be a soul of superior standing, free from adharma and error, possessing dharma and knowledge in abundance. The culmination of this gradual promotion comes with the sixth century Uddyotakara who asserts that Isvara does not belong to any class, but surpasses all. Glasenapp had noted (1948) the general trend of introducing the Supreme world-ruler into philosophy, but had given no details. 12 The above may suggest that the intellectual climate of Sankara's day had a powerful influence on him in this respect. Indeed, Sankara often engages in disputes with members of different schools in which the nature of Brahman, of the Supreme Lord or of the Supreme Self's identity with the individual self is the subject under discussion. Secondly, though, this intellectual interest in the nature of the Lord may in turn be set in the context of the rise of 'theism' centring around the figures of Vi:?I).u and Siva. This devotionalism may indeed emerge from 'the textual void' surrounding the IU and SU and the BhG. Its infancy may be shrouded in the 'chronological haze' of the early PuraI).as, to use Hardy's characterization (op. cit. 17). But the rise of belief in a personal absolute is central to any consideration of bhakti and is not unconnected with the intellectual trend adverted to above. For Uddyotakara worshipped the Supreme Lord as Siva, in accordance with the practices of the pasupatas. And the slightly earlier Pra:?astapada, a member of the sister Vaise:?ika school of philosophy, was by faith a Mahesvara Saiva. J3 This interest in Siva was not confined to the school of the logicians. Kumarila, Saitkara's Piirvamimamsaka contemporary, opens his Slokavarttika with a salutation 'to him whose body is

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pure consciousness, whose divine eyes are the three Vedas, to him who causes the attainment of highest bliss and wears the crescent moon'.14 , WhilemailgaiacaralJashadvariousfunctions.this greeting to Siva may hint at a contemporary ethos which made such an acknowledgement desirable. IS If so, it is unlikely that Saitkara, in turn, remained uninfluenced by a religious environment so pervaded by a sense of a personal absolute, that was increasingly worshipped in temples under one of the many forms of Vi!?DU or Siva. Nor was this influence limited to those who were initiated into particular Vai!?Dava or Sa iva sects. It extendec! to all those smartas whose istadevata was a form of Visnu or Siva. Note: I do not' ~ish to suggest that the de~elopment of bhakti was limited to or concentrated in what has been called the 'normative ideology' of the brahmins-though Biardeau argues for a brahminical 'universe of bhakt! encircling the triple world, Vedic sacrifice and the sailnyasi's renunciation of that world of ends and means. 16 Nor am I equipped to discuss the contribution of the early South Indian Alvars and Nayanmars drawing both on themes from Tamil poetry and on Sanskritic stories. I am simply trying to indicate that it seems unlikely that Saitkara, a South Indian brahmin of the seventh century AD, would have remained unaffected by belief in a personal absolute, which existed within the orbit of normative Vedanta. 2.0 Bhakti in Sailkara's Work With this background in mind, we turn to Saitkara's works. As indicated above, I shall start by analysing Saitkara's treatment of bhaktiin,his GB. Next, I shall consider the place of the Supreme Lord in Saitkara's other major works. Thirdly, I will discuss the various allusions which Saitkara makes to the worship of Vi!?DU. Finally, this will lead to an investigation of the figure of NarayaDa, in whose yogic form various disparate elements of our investigation may possibly be integrated. 2.1

BHAKTI IN THE

GB

Pick up any standard introduction to Hinduism and the chances are that it will mention the three paths of the BhG: the margas or yogas of karma, jiiana and bhakti. 17 This may seem very reasonable. To take just one example, does not Madhusudana explain the structure of the BhG in similar terms? Chapters 1-6 deal with karma, 7-12 with bhakti and 13-18 with jiiana, he says in his introduction. Now Saitkara in his introduction nowhere mentions this threefold structure nor does he refer to bhakti. However, it

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would be dangerous to infer from this that Sankara is trying to suppress one-third of the BhG because bhakti is unimportant in his Advaitin scheme. For it can plausibly be argued that, despite the prevalence of ideas akin to Madhusudana's explanation and despite the added chapter headings given in the BhG itself, no such simple triple distinction exists in the BhG. Rather, in a more complex way, it aims to set forth how liberating knowledge (jiiana) may be obtained through bhakti with implications for the seeker's attitude to actions (karma) and their results. This is not the place for detailed analysis of the BhG itself, but I would like to make three brief comments on bhakti in it. Firstly, bhakti is often linked with the idea of being ananya......!to none other' or 'exclusive'. Thus the Supreme Person is said to be attainable bhaktya . .. ananyaya-'by exclusive bhakti (8.22). Similarly, the Blessed Lord can be known in his universal form by exclusive bhakti (11.54).18 Saitkara explains that such bhakti is not separate from the Lord in any way, so that Vasudeva alone is perceived with all the senses (GB 11.54). At least in this emphasis on bhakti as total concentration on Kr!?:t:la, Sankara seems to be true to the BhG's view. Sankara, of course, exploits the sense of ananya by going beyond the BhG and speaking of non-difference. There is a hint of this double meaning above-concentration of all senses on Vasudeva is achieved through bhakti which is not separate from the Lord in any way. In 9.22, where the BhG seems simply to be speaking of those who contemplate Kr!?:t:la, exclusively thinking of him, SaI'tkara explains that these are men with perfect insight (samyagdarsinaJ:z) who are not separate, realizing that the Supreme Naraya:t:la is their self (GB 9.22). While Sankara thus gives Advaitin content to this exclusive contemplation, the method of total concentration seems accurately to reflect what the BhG means by bhakti. Considering the technical meanings of the root bhaj in similar contexts in the BhG, Hardy concludes: I suggest that bhaj is quite closely related to ananya, stressing . . . the exclusivity of yoga with reference to Kr!?:t:la, an exclusivity which expresses itself in a voluntary 'belonging to, liking for, being loyal to, and concentrating all one's mental faculties on him' (op. cit., p.27). He warns against overloading the term as Lacombe does in his 'participation a Dieu par la connaissance d'amour' and as Esnoul does in speaking of 'participation de 1'ame a Dieu'. Nonetheless, Hardy accepts the legitimacy of acknowledging the personal

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orientation of such exclusive concentration. Such an approach seems conducive to the thought of the GB as well as to the BhG itself. Secondly, the BhG links this exclusive concentration with knowledge-as in the example above where it yields knowledge of Kr!?D-a as he really is (tattvena: 11.54) and when it is said that the one who knows Kr!?D-a as the Highest Person contemplates/ worships (bhajati) him with his whole being (15.19). In the second part of this section, it will be shown how Sankara also often links jiiana and bhakti in a manner faithful to the structure if not the content of the original. Thirdly, such verses in the BhG often seem to point towards or actually come at the end of a chapter (8.22 on, 11.54, 15.19-and d. 5.26-29, 6.46-47 etc.), intimating perhaps that various earlier approaches to truth culminate in this personally orientated concentration on Kr!?D-a which yields liberating knowledge. Again, this is a view to which Sankara would appear to subscribe. Having suggested that Sankara is basically in tune with the BhG's view of bhakti as exclusive concentration, intimately linked with realization of the truth as the culmination of the spiritual life, I shall now examine five key aspects of the GB which bear upon the theme of bhakti. Firstly, it is worth noting the incidental glosses which Sankara uses for different forms of bhaj. They range from forms of up-as (meditate on), through a-radh (worship), sev (serve-this most frequently) and piij(serve, officiate, make offerings to}. The latter three in particular suggest that personal orientation and indeed popular devotion may be at least initially important. Secondly, although Sankara does not force a threefold structure on the BhG text, he does perceive in it a twofold scheme of pravrtti-and nivrtti-dharma (way of action and way of renunciation-in the introduction to his GB). From the above it should be clear that this is not a mechanism for suppressing bhakti. Rather, for Sankara, it is an expression of the twofold dharma, known from the Vedas and the Smrtis, which sustains order in the universe. Through the rituals of pravrttidharma, a person may achieve worldly success (abhyudaya). Through knowing renunciation (nivrttidharma), a person 'attains' liberation (nil)sreyasa), the highest bliss. For Sankara, then, the real division in the BhG is that between karma and jiiana. The same division is wellknown from his discussions on sruti's Karmakanda and ]ftanakaD-Qa and is sharpened by his disagreements with the Pfirvamlmamsakas, concerning a person's highest end. Sankara, of course, affirms the supremacy of jiiana and nilJ.sreyasa over

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and against the pravrttidharma and abhyudaya of the Piirvamlmamsaka view. 19 This distinction is very important for it sometimes drives Sankara to alter the sense of the BhG text in circumstances where, at first sight, he appears to be down-playing bhakti. The most obvious case of this is in reorganisation of the structure of Chapter 12 which is discussing who the better yogis are: Kp?l).a's devotees or those who aim for the Unmanifest. The BhG (12.20) declares: 'Those who are devoted to me as the Supreme are the most dear to me (matparama bhaktas te 'ova me priyal))', whereas Sankara wants to come to a different conclusion. For him, meditation (upasana) on the Imperishable (ak$ara) without adjuncts (upadhis) must surpass upasana of the Lord of the universe. He has to get over the fact that the BhG itself in 12.2 actually stipulates that the bhaktas are the 'best yogis' because of their constant thought of Kn;l).a. He handles this by remarking on 12.3 that there is no need to say that those who contemplate the Imperishable are the best, because they are one with the Lord. By contrast, those who contemplate the Universal Form, though their samadhi is steadfast, assume that Isvara and atman are separate and are engaged in karmayoga (GB 12.13). Where the BhG seems to be talking about different types of bhaktas (verses 13-20), the best of whom think I