Question
Explain the growth of Puranic Hinduism from 600 BCE to 600 CE.
Solution
The growth of Puranic Hinduism:
(i) It included Vaishavism and Shaivism in which there was growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity.
(ii) In such worship the bond between the devotee and the god was visualised as one of love and devotion, or bhakti.
(iii) In the case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars of incarnations of the diety. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition.
(iv) Some of these forms were represented in sculptures, as were other deities. Shiva, for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too.
