The Gupta period is often considered the climax of the revival of Brahmanism. Some of the Gupta emperors were Vaishnavas, some Shaivas and some Buddhists. Most of the Gupta emperors adopted various rituals and procedures of Vedic religion and performed Ashwamedha Yagyas as well as Agnishtom, Vajapeya, Vajasaneya etc. according to Vedic traditions and systems. Idol worship became a common feature of Vedic religion at this time. The practice of offering sacrifices to idols also continued. The balance of Dharma, Artha and Kama was emphasized for salvation. The prestige of the Vedic gods declined and Vaishnavas and Shaivas developed into two important sects. The coordination of these two religions is the main feature of the Gupta period. Not only did Buddhism and Jainism survive, but they also underwent significant changes. The principle of devotion was given importance and devotion to God became a personal thing. Vaishnava, Shaiva and to a lesser extent Buddhism emphasized the principle of bhakti because in the feudal system the subordinate was considered to be the servant of his master's feet, in which the doctrine of bhakti could prove more useful. Thus the present form of Hinduism is largely based on the Gupta religion.
Vaishnavism (Vaishnavism)
The popularity of Vaishnavism reached a climax during the Gupta period. Most of the Gupta rulers were personally worshipers of Vaishnavism. The Gupta kings 'Param Bhagwat He assumed the title of ' and got his edicts inscribed on the Garudadhwaj. The figure of Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, is found on the coins issued by Chandragupta II and Samudragupta. Garuda-Mudra from Bhitri (Ghazipur) example has been found. Apart from this marking of many signs and symbols of Vaishnavism like conch, chakra, mace, padma, Lakshmi on Gupta coins Also available.
Many Vishnu temples were built during this time. The inscriptions describe Vishnu-temples and Vishnu-flags. Vishnu is named 'Madhusudan in Gangadhar inscription. ' Having said. Skandagupta's Junagadh and Budhgupta's Eran inscription Vishnu-Stuti start from. According to the Junagadh inscription, a Gupta worker named Chakrapalit had built a temple of Vishnu. Chandragupta Vikramaditya had established Vishnudhwaj on the summit of Vishnupad mountain (pranshurvishnupade girou Bhagavatha Bhaktaya Dhwaja:established: ).
The Bhitari pillar inscription of Skandagupta mentions the idol of Vasudeva Krishna and says that a village was donated for his worship. The Dashavatar temple of Deogarh is an important evidence of the development of Vaishnavism during the Gupta period. The mention of worshiper Bhagwat Govind on a pillar of this temple of Panchayatan category Is. In this temple, Vishnu is shown resting on the bed of Sheshnag along with some incidents of Krishna's life.
Vaishnavism in fact spread to every province of India during the Gupta period and spread to Southeast Asia, Indochina, Cambodia, Malaya and Indonesia. Inscriptions, coins and literature give evidence of the spread of this religion in different provinces of India. Thus the Bhagavata religion was at the zenith of its development during the Gupta period. Vishnu is depicted in various forms, both in architecture and in literature.
Vaishnavism not only spread but also developed in various forms during this period.
Avatarism ( Anthropomorphism)
The idea of Avatarism, which was prevalent at this time, was particularly developed and Avatarism became a staple of Vaishnavism. Vaishnavism and to some extent Shaivism incarnations could have proved more useful in the feudal social structure of the time. Incarnation is also found in Buddhism and Bodhisattva. Forty-nine incarnations of Vishnu are considered in Brahmin texts, but ten incarnations are generally accepted – Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. Avatarism believed that there would be an incarnation to free the devotees from worldly sufferings and this idea was bound to affect the lower classes.
It seems that the religious beliefs and beliefs of the followers of different religions, tribal and tribal people were also absorbed in Vaishnavism. This is the reason that deities like Narayan, Sankarshan, Lakshmi were made a part of Vaishnavism and this is a wonderful gift of Gupta period.
Shaivism (Shaivism)
Shaivism also flourished during the Gupta period. The commander of Chandragupta Vikramaditya was Veerasena Shaiva, who built a cave in the Udayagiri hill for the residence of the Shaivas. In the time of the Guptas, there was a Shaivite sect named Maheshwar in Mathura. It is known from Kalidasa's Meghdoot that there was a temple of Mahakal in Ujjayini, where aarti was performed during the evening. The commander of Kumaragupta I, Prithvisen was a follower of Shaivism, who got an idol of Shiva installed at a place called Karamdanda. In the Damodarpur article, there is a description of Agrahara donation for Shiva worship. Skandagupta's bull-shaped coins are evidence of his faith in Shaivism. Samant Maharaj Hastin's lair inscription 'Namo Mahadev' The word is engraved, from which it seems that Lord Shiva was worshiped before any auspicious work.
Many Shiva temples were built during the Gupta period and texts related to the glory of Shiva were also composed. Kalidas was a worshiper of Shiva and his works describe various forms, beliefs and principles of Shiva. He begins the Radhuvansh epic with the veneration of Parvati-Parameshwaru and describes the lives of Kumara and Skanda in Kumarasambhava. Bharavi has given a description of the battle between Arjuna and Kirat Veshadhari Shiva in Kiratarjuniya. Many names of Shiva are found in the Puranas and he is called 'dev of gods' Having said. The coins of Kumaragupta I bear the inscription of Kartikeya mounted on a peacock, which suggests that he was a worshiper of Kartikeya. He named his son Skanda, which is a testament to his deep faith in Shaivism.
In the Gupta period the idols of Shiva were made in both human and linga form. Among the sculptures of the human form Shiva, the idol obtained from Kosam is important. Among the linga idols, the Eklinga Mukhamurti obtained from Bhumra is important. The conception of the Ardhanarishvara form of Shiva and the construction of a joint idol of Shiva-Parvati also started for the first time at this time. The idols made of Shiva in the form of Harihara in the Gupta period are evidence of the coordination of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, in which the ideas of both religions were expressed through a single idol. At the same time the worship of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh started under Trimurti Puja. Polytheism was given the form of monotheism by incorporating the qualities, strength and nature of the three gods. Many sects of Shaivism flourished during this period. According to Vamana Purana Shaiva, Pashupat, Kapalik and Kalamukh Like the four Shaiva sects were more prevalent.
Some rulers of the Gupta period gave state support to Shaivism and assisted in the construction of Shiva temples and idols. Two Shiva temples of this period have been obtained from Nachna-Kuthara and Bhumra. There are beautiful statues of Ekamukh Shivling in Bhumra and Khoh places. A Chaturmukhi Shivling of Gupta period is in Ajmer Museum. A Shiva Linga has been found from Karamdanda. Many signs of Trishul and Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva have been found.
Shakti Puja ( Shakti Puja)
In this period, the worship of goddesses came to the fore in a more splendid form than the gods. With the worship of Shakti came the creation of a vast and vast mythology-literature. Various idols of the goddess have been received from eastern India and Bengal. In the form of Ardhanarishvara, the integration of both Shakti and Shiva sects also took place, in which the primacy of Shakti was accepted. Shiva and Shakti were worshiped in both compassionate and fierce forms.
Buddhism
Fahian's description shows that Buddhism was developing naturally at this time. Gaya, Mathura, Kosambi and Sarnath were the main centers of Buddhism. It is known from an inscription in Sanchi that a Buddhist cleric named Amrakardava was appointed to a high position by Chandragupta II, who donated twenty-five dinars to the Mahavihara of Kaknadbat (Kaknadbat…Srimhavihare….Pranipatya Dadati Panchvinshatisch Dinaran , The lamp was lit in the temple with its interest and five monks were fed (Ratnagrihe cha Deepko Jwaltu…Paschiva Bhikshavo Bhunjtam ).
Mankuvar's article from 448 AD shows that Buddhimitra A monk named Buddha had installed the statue. Similarly, in the Sarnath article of 476 AD, installation of Buddha by a monk named Abhaymitra is mentioned. The famous Buddhist Vihara of Nalanda was established during the Gupta period, which received revenue of two hundred villages. A later Gupta ruler named Vainyagupta, being a Shaiva, donated to a Mahayana Buddhist institution called 'Vaivartik Sangha'.
Buddhism was strongly opposed to Hinduism in principle, but in worship, action and practice it came close to Brahmanism. The Gupta period saw the emergence of many Buddhist masters like Aryadev, Vasubandhu, Asanga, Maitreyanatha and Dinnaga, who contributed to the development of Indian knowledge through their scholarship. Fahien had seen Mahayana monks in Afghanistan, Bhind, Mathura and Pataliputra. The Madhyamik and Yogachara sects developed under the Mahayana branch of Buddhism, in which the Yogachara sect was quite popular during the time of the Guptas.
Jainism
Along with Brahmanism and Buddhism, Jainism also flourished during the Gupta period. Jainism remained unchanged during the Gupta period, but the construction of idols started in it too. At this time the idols of Lord Mahavira and other Tirthankaras standing upright and sitting on their pedestals (sthanakas and asanas) were constructed. Bronze images of Jain Tirthankaras of Kushan and Gupta period have been found from Chausa (Bihar). Second (313 AD) at Mathura and third (453 AD) Jain assemblies in the time of Guptas were held. Vallabhi Sabha Chairman Famous Jain Acharya devardhi forgiveness was.
Jainism was prevalent among the middle class people and traders during the Gupta period. The Kadamba and Ganga kings also patronized this religion. The Udayagiri inscription of Kumaragupta I of 426 AD mentions the installation of idols of Lord Parshvanath by a follower of Jainism named Shankara. In the writings received from Paharpur of Buddhagupta, there is a description of giving land to Jain temples. Kahoum inscription reveals that Madra name at the time of Skandagupta The person of AD had consecrated the idols of five Jain Tirthankaras – Rishabhanatha (Adinath), Shantinath, Neminath, Parshvanath and Mahavira. According to Mathura inscription Hariswamini during the reign of Kumaragupta I A Jain believer named Jain donated to the Jain temple. Thus, the number of followers of Jainism in the Gupta period was less than the followers of Brahmanism and Buddhism, but at this time Jainism was spread from Magadha to Kalinga, Mathura, Udayagiri and Tamil Nadu.
sun worship (Sun Worship)
A sect of sun worshipers also existed in the Gupta period. Mandsaur inscription of Vikram Samvat 529 The Sun God is praised in some of the introductory verses. The Indore copper inscription of Skandagupta begins with Surya Puja. 'Madasyat of Bulandshahr district There was a Sun temple in the township called ' and a Sun temple was built by two Kshatriyas in Antravedi (the doab region of Ganga-Yamuna). From the Gwalior inscription of Mihirkul, a citizen named Matruchet had built a sun temple on the mountain-horn in Gwalior (Gopahypur)-
Nanadhatuvichitre gopahya-namni bhudhare ramye.
karitavansailmayam bhanoah prasad-varamukhyam.
Lokarka, Bhaskara, Aditya, Varunaswamy and Martanda etc. of the Sun are found in inscriptions.