Tempo:
MODERN REFORMS
CHAP. II
31
The heroic Rama was made the object of devotion to a^d introthis new sect of the Middle Ganges, and as the doctrine ^^^^^ ^^^°of the innate superiority of Brahmanas and Kshattriyas ^^'^^^^P;
had been rudely shaken by the Muhammadan ascen- taTns"the"
dancy, Ramanand seized upon the idea of man's equality of
equality before God. He instituted no nice distinctive true beobservances, he admitted all classes of people as his lievers bedisciples, and he declared that the true votary was ^°^^ ^°^raised above mere social forms, and became free or
liberated.^
During the same century the learned
enthusiast Gorakhnath gave popularity, especially in Gorakhthe Punjab, to the doctrine of the 'Yog', which belonged "ath estabmore properly as a theory or practice to the Buddhist ^^^^^^ ^
faith, but which was equally adopted as a philosophic
""''^
dogma by the followers of Vyasa and of Sakya. It puna^*^^
'
was, however, held that in this 'Kalyug', or iron age, and mainfallen man was unequal to so great a penance, or to the tams the
Eighteen Chronicles, merely because eulogiums on modern
families have been introduced by successive flatterers. Nevertheless, the Purans must rather be held to illustrate modes of
thought, than to describe historical events with accuracy. [Colonel Kennedy (Res. Hitld, Mythol. pp. 130, 153, &c.) regards
them as complementary to the Vedas, explaining religious and
moral doctrines, and containing disquisitions concerning the
illusive nature of the universe, and not as in any way intended
to be historical.
J.D.C.]
1 Cf. Dabistan, ii. 179, and Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 36, &c.
Professor Wilson remarks (ibid., p. 44, and also xvii. 183), that
the sects of Shankar Acharj and Ramanuj included Brahmans
only, and indeed chiefly men of learning of that race. The
followers of Ramanand, or the Vaishnavas, were long violently
opposed to the Saivic denominations; so much so, according to
tradition, that they would not, on any account, cross the Narbada river, which is held to be peculiarly sacred to Mahadev
or Mahesh, but would rather, in performing a journey, go round
by its sources.
Among the people of Central India there is a' general persuasion that the Narbada will one day take the place of the
Ganges as the most holy of streams; but the origin of the feeling is not clear, as neither is the fact of the consecration of the
river to Siva. At Maheshwar, indeed, there is a whirlpool,
which, by rounding and polishing fallen stones, rudely shapes
them into resemblances of a Lingam, and which are as fertile
a source of profit to the resident priests as are the Vaishnava
fossil ammonites of a particular part of the Himalayas. The
labours of the whirlpool likewise diffuse a sanctitude over all
the stones of the rocky channel, as expressed in the vernacular
sentence, 'Rehwa ke kunkur sub sunkur suman,' i.e. each stone
of the Narbada (Rehwa) is divine, or equal to Siva.
Maheshwar was the seat of Sahsar Babu, or of the hundredhanded Kshattriya king, who was slain by Paras Ram, of the
not very far distant town of Mmawar, opposite Hindia; a probable occurrence, which was soon made the type, or the cause, of
the destruction of the ancient warrior race by the Brahmans.
The same is declared by the Siva Puran. (Colonel Kennedy, Res.
—
Hind. Mythol., p. 309, note.)— J.D.C..1
CHAP. II
31
The heroic Rama was made the object of devotion to a^d introthis new sect of the Middle Ganges, and as the doctrine ^^^^^ ^^^°of the innate superiority of Brahmanas and Kshattriyas ^^'^^^^P;
had been rudely shaken by the Muhammadan ascen- taTns"the"
dancy, Ramanand seized upon the idea of man's equality of
equality before God. He instituted no nice distinctive true beobservances, he admitted all classes of people as his lievers bedisciples, and he declared that the true votary was ^°^^ ^°^raised above mere social forms, and became free or
liberated.^
During the same century the learned
enthusiast Gorakhnath gave popularity, especially in Gorakhthe Punjab, to the doctrine of the 'Yog', which belonged "ath estabmore properly as a theory or practice to the Buddhist ^^^^^^ ^
faith, but which was equally adopted as a philosophic
""''^
dogma by the followers of Vyasa and of Sakya. It puna^*^^
'
was, however, held that in this 'Kalyug', or iron age, and mainfallen man was unequal to so great a penance, or to the tams the
Eighteen Chronicles, merely because eulogiums on modern
families have been introduced by successive flatterers. Nevertheless, the Purans must rather be held to illustrate modes of
thought, than to describe historical events with accuracy. [Colonel Kennedy (Res. Hitld, Mythol. pp. 130, 153, &c.) regards
them as complementary to the Vedas, explaining religious and
moral doctrines, and containing disquisitions concerning the
illusive nature of the universe, and not as in any way intended
to be historical.
J.D.C.]
1 Cf. Dabistan, ii. 179, and Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 36, &c.
Professor Wilson remarks (ibid., p. 44, and also xvii. 183), that
the sects of Shankar Acharj and Ramanuj included Brahmans
only, and indeed chiefly men of learning of that race. The
followers of Ramanand, or the Vaishnavas, were long violently
opposed to the Saivic denominations; so much so, according to
tradition, that they would not, on any account, cross the Narbada river, which is held to be peculiarly sacred to Mahadev
or Mahesh, but would rather, in performing a journey, go round
by its sources.
Among the people of Central India there is a' general persuasion that the Narbada will one day take the place of the
Ganges as the most holy of streams; but the origin of the feeling is not clear, as neither is the fact of the consecration of the
river to Siva. At Maheshwar, indeed, there is a whirlpool,
which, by rounding and polishing fallen stones, rudely shapes
them into resemblances of a Lingam, and which are as fertile
a source of profit to the resident priests as are the Vaishnava
fossil ammonites of a particular part of the Himalayas. The
labours of the whirlpool likewise diffuse a sanctitude over all
the stones of the rocky channel, as expressed in the vernacular
sentence, 'Rehwa ke kunkur sub sunkur suman,' i.e. each stone
of the Narbada (Rehwa) is divine, or equal to Siva.
Maheshwar was the seat of Sahsar Babu, or of the hundredhanded Kshattriya king, who was slain by Paras Ram, of the
not very far distant town of Mmawar, opposite Hindia; a probable occurrence, which was soon made the type, or the cause, of
the destruction of the ancient warrior race by the Brahmans.
The same is declared by the Siva Puran. (Colonel Kennedy, Res.
—
Hind. Mythol., p. 309, note.)— J.D.C..1
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