A STUDY OF ANCIENT INDIAN RELIGIONS (Vaisnavism, Saivism, Solar Cult, Buddhism and Jainism in the light of Epigraphic, Numismatic and other Archaeological Evidences)

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Son of RAMAGOVINDA GOSWAMI, was born in 1905 at a village called Satak in Sylhet District (now in Bangladesh). Passed Matriculation examination in 1920 and Intermediate Arts Examination in 1922, both in First Division. A student of Srihatta Murarichand Collage, passed B.A.(Hons.) Examination in Sanskrit in 1942 in First Class and M.A. Examination in 1927 in Sanskrit standing First Class First and being awarded a gold medal by the University of Calcutta. Joining in 1930 as a research scholar of the Archeological Survey of India, took part in the Mohenjodaro and Harappa excavations with E.J. Mackay and others. Teaching for sometime in Sylhet (Srihatta)Murarichand College, served for long the Department of Sanskrit, University of Calcutta, first as a Lecturer and then as a Reader and also the Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture of the same University teaching epigraphy and paleography. While teaching in the said University, excavation was carried on under his direction at the archeological sites of Bangarh and Chandraketugarh. After retirement from the University of Calcutta he was associated for long with the Jadavpur University as U.G.C. Professor. Was associated in various capacities with the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art of the University of Calcutta; Indian Museum, Calcutta; and the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Was awarded in 1984 the R.P. Chanda Memorial Medal by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Published many research papers and the books pragaitihasik Mohenjodaro (in Bengali, 1936), Excavations of Bangarh (1984), A study of Vaisnavism (1956) , Kahidasa Suktisatakam (1980) and Pratnatirtha Parikrama (in Bengali, 1984).

We are grateful to the family members of our beloved We teacher the late Professor Kunja Govinda Goswami for giving us the opportunity of including the most illuminating book on Indian Religions in the DSA (Sanskrit) Publication Series. Professor Goswami was well versed in Sanskrit language and literature and at the same time highly trained in all fields of Indian Archaeology. Works on religion have been written by many but these are mostly derived from existing Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit literature. Prof. Goswami has left the trodden path and discussed numerous aspects of religions, such 25 Vaisnavism, Saivism, Solar Cult, Buddhism and Jainism in the light of contemporary Inscriptions, Numismatic remains and Archaeological evidences. Professor Gowami had widely traversed over large parts of Northern, Central and Eastern India to collect materials for this intensive study and because of these reasons his observations and conclusions are never covered with unnecessary emotion. As a true historian he has presented facts which are occasionally corroborated by ideas contained in our sacred texts, and thus he has helped us understanding the true spirit of Indian religions.

The manuscript of this book was prepared more than twenty years back. Before sending it to the press Prof. A. K, Bhattacharyya, Former Director, Indian Museum, Kolkata has thoroughly checked the typed script and he has also helped us in collecting the photos from different Museums. We are thankful to him for minutely editing the texts. Thanks are due to Sm. Chhaya Goswami, wife of Professor Goswami, and to his daughters Sm. Krishna Goswami, and Sm. Jaya Bhattacharya for extending their full cooperation in bringing out this book.

The most comprehensive ever, the work done by Professor T K. G. Goswami, on the history of the Ancient Indian Religions, is richly enhanced in the value by the methodology followed. Tracing the course of the religious thought in this Sub- Continent as it grew almost following history, basing its steps on archaeological evidences, principally as recorded in the a unassailable documents of epigraphy, and often numismatic issues, shows indeed a firm way of approaching the goal. A sound scholar in Sanskrit Professor Goswami has not depended on the traditional Sanskritic lore, the Puraņas in particular, to trace this history, though his sporadic references to such texts proves that he is not oblivious to these totally. On the broad matrix of the three religious faiths, namely, Brahmanic Hindu, and the two heterodox faiths of Buddhism and Jainism, he has drawn the progressing pictures of the popular acceptance of any of these as it became apparent. In these, again, he has brought to the fore the cult of the Sun-god as it took its birth in the cradle of the broader and wider faith, Brahmanism.

After introducing the subject, in broad terms, Professor Goswami's treatment of the forms of the religions takes up, as the first phase historically considered, the ethical period, in which the faiths concerned themselves more on the ethics or principles of morality. The morality that is imbued deeply in those that professed the faiths was surely not only individual but admitted more of a social character. Professor Goswami has dealt with imperceptibly these both kinds of morality through his discussion of the inculcation of the faiths by the people.

From the ethical period, history lands us to the devotional period and Prof Goswami's elaborate study of the underlying devotional strain is as thorough as of the manifestations of it by the profusion of building spree based on bhakti.

In the following pages an attempt has been made to focus our attention mainly on three aspects of dharma (religion) e.g. (1) ethical, (2) devotional and (3) amorous developed more or less in a chronological order, though there may be some sort of irregularities in exceptional cases.

Roughly speaking the ethical aspect dominated the early period of Indian history, i.e., upto about 3rd century A.D.; then the second phase or devotional aspect took the field from c. 3rd century A.D. to c. 6th century A.D. so to say; thereafter, the third phase of amorous aspect became dominant in every branch of Indian religions upto c. 1200 A.D. and beyond.

According to ancient Brahmanical scriptures practice of dharma takes different forms in different ages. They say that in the Krtayuga (or golden age) intense meditation (dhyanam param) was the main source of dharma, in the Treta yuga (or silver age?), knowledge, in the Duapara (or Copper age?) sacrifice and in the Kaliyuga (Iron age) charity, Cr. dhyanam param kṛtayuge tretayam jnanam-ucyate pravitte dvapare yajno danam kaliyuge smetam //Vayu, P. VIII. 36.

The Bhagavata Purana (c. 6th cen. A.D.) also agrees in the main with the above dictum with some variations.

yad apnoti tad-apnoti kalau samkirtya Kesavam

So we find that the above references which are supposed by some scholars to be the works of the Gupta period or even of a later date give a picture more or less of the ethical and devotional aspects of the religion of that time. In the Bhagavata Purana the divine love between the Gopis (milk-maids) and Krishna is very vividly mentioned and so it will not be improper if this work is ascribed to a period which shows a general tendency towards the amorous feeling even in religious matters. So very probably it belongs to a period which was significant for amorous or erotic feeling (preman) at the close of or even after the Gupta rule in India.

**Contents and Sample Pages**