Pauranika Sects and Cults

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The present monograph deals with the various sects and cults of Pauranika Hinduism. After the Vedic age, Hinduism came to be dominated by the Smrtis, Epics and Puraņas, and became divided into various sects, sub-sects and cults, each dominated by a major god or goddess. The major sects of the Pauranika Hinduism were Vaishnava, Saiva, Sakta, Saura and Gaņapatya. In many cases the sects worshipping the various avataras, and their associates (such as Hanumana) also acquired prominence and sub- sects grew around them as well. Most of these sects and sub-sects devloped their own philosophy, rules and mode of worship, social outlook and also literature. The present work by an eminent authority studies the rise and growth of these Pauraņika sects and sub-sects which are still the heart and soul of the Hindu religion.

Dr. S.R. Goyal was former Professor and Head, Department of History, J.N.V. University, Jodhpur. Described as 'one of the five best recent historians of ancient India' by Professor David N. Lorenzen, the great Mexican Orientalist, Professor Goyal combined all the qualities associated with scientific scholarship. He published more than 45 voluminous works and over 175 research papers which covered so diverse fields as political history, religious history, literature, biographies, numismatics and epigraphy. He was honoured with the General Presidentship of the Silver Jubilee Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India held at Udupi in April, 1999, and was Elected the Honorary Fellow of the Society. In 2006 he became the General President of the 90th Annual Conference of the Numismatic Society of India held at Santiniketan, West Bengal. He was also invited to be the General President of the 2006 Annual Conference of the Indian History and Culture Society held at Gwalior which he could not accept because of the clash of dates.

His doctoral thesis, A History of the Imperial Guptas (1967), was acclaimed as 'the best analysis of the Gupta period which I have ever read' by Professor A. L. Basham (National Professor of Australia) and as 'imaginative', 'well-written' and 'a model of historiography' by Professor Eleanor Zelliot (Minnesota, U.S.A.). The various theories propounded in it were described by Professor R.C. Majumdar as 'deserving very careful consideration'.

Among his other major works are included three corpus-like volumes on ancient Indian inscriptions, two volumes respectively on Kautilya and Megasthenes, a three-volume study of ancient Indian history in about two thousand pages, a three-volume study of ancient Indian numismatics and four volumes of Great Rulers of Ancient India Series. He also edited several works including Indian Art of the Gupta Age.

Professor Goyal was deeply involved with the study of the history of Indian religions. He authored two volumes entitled A Religious History of Ancient India (Vol. 1, 1984; Vol. II, 1986), Harsha and Buddhism (1986), A History of Indian Buddhism (1987), Sramanism in Early Indian Religions and Religious Life (2007), Pre-Pauraņika Hinduism (2008) and Fundamentals of Pauranika Hinduism (2009).

Professor Goyal was also honoured with several festschrifts, including Reappraising Gupta History for S.R. Goyal (1992), S.R. Goyal: His Multidimensional Historiography (1992), a four-volume festschrift in about two thousand pages entitled Srīramabhinandanam: Reconstructing Indian History for S.R. Goyal (2003), a two-volume festschrift Investigating Indian Society and Indian Society: The Regional Contours (2013), and, more recently, Early India: Historical Probings (2015), the last one was published in his honour on his 85th birthday just before his unfortunate demise on November 9, 2015.

Despite the basic unity of its aim and purpose, Hinduism is probably the greatest disorganized religion in the world. It has never based itself on a fixed dogma, teachings of a human founder and specific beliefs. There is no Hindu Church, no Hindu Rome, Jerusalem or Mecca, no Hindu messiah or prophet and no Hindu Bible which all Hindus must read. Our Sankaracharyas (who are four and even more in number) do not enjoy the same status which is enjoyed by the Pope in Christianity and our Vedas and the Gita enjoy a status which is entirely different from the status of the Bible in Christianity and of the Quran in Islam. Hinduism has no prescribed day of the week for worship. The different sects of Hinduism have their different asramas, temples, leaders, holy places, holy days and holy books, but there is no one set of these meant for and acceptable to all the Hindus. That is why it appeals to all those who are looking for a religious tradition with a diversity of teachings that does not claim or require exclusive loyalty. Hinduism is mainly the religion of the individual and allows each individual to choose his or her own

approach to Divinity. There is perhaps a greater diversity of religious beliefs and sects inside of Hinduism than outside of it. The different religions of the world-Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism-do not have any greater variety of forms and practices than do the different forms and sects of Hinduism-Buddhist and Jaina, and Vaishnava, Saiva, Sakta, Saura and Gaņapatya. That is why though Hinduism has been regarded by some as a collection of sects, not as a singularly formulated religion, yet it is more than a collection of religions. The different religions within Hinduism are integrated into a universal Truth; they are not haphazardly thrown together. Each of the main sects of Hinduism can be seen as a religion in its own right. Several forms of Hinduism, like Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, as well as Saivism, Vaishnavism and Saktism have had a longer tradition and possess more extensive literature than many other religions of the world. That is why many of them have claimed from time to time with varying degree of justification and success the status of a separate religion.

The publication of this work entitled Pauranika Sects and Cults of Professor S.R.Goyal, my esteemed papa, which it has been my good luck to bring out after his unfortunate demise on November 9, 2015, and fulfilling my promise made to him only a couple of days before his death that I shall publish all his incomplete books soon and his efforts will not go in vain, gives me consummate satisfaction. In the past six months or so I have read the entire manuscript of this work again and again with utmost care making necessary changes here and there and saw to it that the footnote numbers are mentioned at proper places in the text and full references to them are given. In some chapters I found that the references given in them were incomplete which made my task more difficult. I also noticed a few repetitions in a couple of chapers which error I have rectified. I have also prepared an exhaustive Bibliography and Index for the book. The jacket cover of this monograph was printed some time back when papa was alive. Still, the credit for the successful completion of this project, whatever the degree of success, goes not to me but to His grace.

Professor Goyal was indeed a literary genius, an institution by himself. More than 45 voluminous works and over 175 research papers that he published in his lifespan made such a great impact on the world of ancient Indian history that during the last five decades or so there has been hardly any important work which does not take note of his views and suggestions.