Becoming Vishnu Doris Meth Srinivasan
I
t used to be presumed that Vishnu is the placid god while Shiva is the terrific one. Though Vishnu does not have the fearful edge that Shiva does, he is by no means passive. Vishnu is a god of energy even in the early period. He and the divinities that come together to comprise his nature are characterized by energetic motion. Their action is beneficial and foretells the later hallmark of Vishnu’s divine power. His capacity to accomplish universal creation, to transform and preserve, and to achieve heroic feats for the sake of humanity explain, in part, the fervent devotion which prevails to this day among Vaishnavas, that is, those who give worship to Vishnu.
The study of Vaishnavism demonstrates that these characteristics of the god were slow to cluster around Vishnu. Probably by the fourth century CE, especially in northern and central India, a theological evolution had achieved foundational stability, and Gupta art reflects the Vaishnava synthesis. Earlier, from about the second century BCE through the second to third centuries CE, the above-named beneficial characteristics defined three different deities who would slowly merge to become the Supreme God. These deities are Vedic Vishnu; Narayana, a deified ancient Brahmanic sage; and a group of deified clan heroes known as the Vrishni Viras. Each arose out of a different religious group; some may have been a different sect. This essay describes the imagery pertaining to Vedic Vishnu, Narayana, and the Vrishni Viras in order to show how their depictions merged and contributed to the subsequent splendid visions of Vishnu in Gupta art and beyond. It should come as no surprise that various beliefs held by different groups would coalesce to establish the Vaishnava tradition. Surely the incorporation of the Buddha as a descent (avatar) of Vishnu in the established Vaishnava tradition implies that numbers of Buddhists adopted Vaishnavism, which, accordingly, accommodated them. This followed the earlier assimilation of devotees of Vedic Vishnu, the ascetic Narayana, and the Vrishnis with one another to establish the greatness of Hindu Vishnu. Distinctive imagery for each was formed during a time when separate teachings were merging into the doctrines of an all-inclusive Vaishnavism that is the focus here. Vedic Vishnu epitomizes motion. In the Rig Veda, the earliest Brahmanic collection of hymns, hymn number 6.49.13 extols Vishnu who takes three strides in three earthly regions (earth, atmosphere, heaven). The reason for his action is to aid “man in distress.” The Rig Veda, dated about 1300–1000 BCE, contains hymns to Vishnu who, far from
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