ies in the history of this
church.

Our first sidelight glimmers in the famous grammar of Panini, who
probably lived in the fifth century B.C., or perhaps early in the
fourth century. Panini informs us (IV. iii. 98) that from the names of
Vasudeva and Arjuna the derivative nouns _Vasudevaka_ and _Arjunaka_
are formed to denote persons who worship respectively Vasudeva and
Arjuna. Plainly then in the fifth century Krishna Vasudeva and Arjuna
were worshipped by some, probably in the same connection as is shown
in the Mahabharata. Perhaps Vasudeva had not yet been raised to the
rank of the Almighty; it is more likely that he was still a deified
hero and teacher, and Arjuna his noblest disciple. But both of them
were receiving divine honours; they had been men, and were now gods,
with bands of adorers.

Our next evidence is an inscription found not long ago on the base of
a stone column at Besnagar near Bhilsa, in the south of Gwalior
State,[24] and must have been engraved soon after 200 B.C. It reads as
follows: "This Garuda-column of Vasudeva the god of gods was erected
here by Heliodorus, a worshipper of the Lord [_bhagavata_], the son of
Diya [Greek _Dion_] and an inhabitant of Taxila, who came as
ambassador of the Greeks from the Great King Amtalikita [Greek
_Antialcidas_] to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra the Saviour, who was
flourishing in the fourteenth year of his reign"; and below this are
two lines in some kind of verse, which announce that "three immortal
steps ... when practised lead to heaven--self-control, charity, and
diligence." Here, then, in the centre of a thriving kingdom probably
forming part of the Sunga empire, Vasudeva is worshipped not as a
minor hero or teacher, but as the god of gods, _deva-deva_; and he is
worshipped by the Greek Heliodorus, visiting the place as an
ambassador from Antialcidas, a Hellenic king of the lineage of
Eucratides, who was reigning in the North-West of India. Doubtless the
act of Heliodorus was a diplomatic courtesy, in order to please King
Kasiputra Bhagabhadra. But observe the nature of his act. He caused to
be erected a Garuda-column, that is, a pillar engraved with the figure
of Garuda, the sacred bird of Vishnu; and he added a verse about
"three immortal steps" (_trini amutapadani_), as leading to heaven,
which sounds suspiciously like an attempt to moralise the old mythical
feature of the three Steps of Vishnu. Plainly Vasudeva had now risen
in this part of the coun