Hindu faith of the time had traversed a long journey from the early Rig Vedic age, when people still lived an agrarian life and offered sacrifices in colonies, which often had to struggle from invasions. Time had led to a synthesis of various thoughts all of which had led to the formation of an accommodative way of life which would gradually emerge as what we know today as Hinduism.

The rise of the Gupta rulers towards the 4th century marked a dominant revival of Hinduism, after almost 700 years of struggle with the challenging alternatives of Buddhism, Jainism and others. There had been a brief interregnum when the heart of the country in the Gangetic belt was being ruled by foreign rulers under the Kushanas, who had later embraced and vigorously promoted Buddhism.

Although some elements of this new revivalist Hindu religion were still in common with the early Vedic religion, there were some major fundamental differences in way of rituals and worshipped deities. In particular, the primary sacrificial deities such as Indra and Agni were replaced by two main deities, Shiva and Vishnu each of whom had a multitude of forms or incarnations as well as consorts. This change probably allowed several local deities and cults to be appropriated into the Hindu pantheon. The preferred method of worship also changed from open-air sacrificial altars to viewing the physical representation of the deity (darshana) in a confined sanctum.

To be continued....