sectarian views as to its
early date, it seems to be influenced by the views and language of
Ramanuja.]

CHAPTER XXVIII

SANKARA. SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR. LINGAYATS

1

About the sixth century A.D. the decadence of Buddhism and the
invigoration of Brahmanism were both well advanced. The Mahabharata
existed as a great collection of epic and religious poetry and the
older Puranas were already composed. Even at the present day
authorities differ as to whether Siva or Vishnu commands the
allegiance of the majority and naturally it is hard to describe the
distribution of sects in earlier times. The monuments of the Guptas
(for instance the ruins at Eran) suggest that they were Vishnuites but
a little later the cult of Siva becomes more prominent. The Emperor
Harsha (612-648) and his family were eclectic, honouring Siva, the Sun
and the Buddha, but it is not recorded that they worshipped Vishnu.
Bana who lived at his court indicates[511] that Sivaism was the
predominant form of worship, but also mentions Buddhists and
Bhagavatas. Hsuean Chuang on the other hand holds him up as a devout
Buddhist. Great Sivaite shrines in different parts of India such as
the temple of Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa and the Kailas at Ellora were
probably constructed in the seventh century and it is likely that in
the defeat of Buddhism the worshippers of Siva played an active part.

This conflict is connected with the names of Kumarila Bhatta (c.
725 A.D.) and Sankara Acarya (c. 800 A.D.). It clearly represents
forces which cannot be restricted to the character of individuals or
the span of human lives. The elements which compose Hinduism had been
vigorous long before the eighth century and Buddhism, though decadent,
continued to exist in India later. But probably the careers of these
two men are the best record of the decisive turn of the tide. It is
often said that they revived Hinduism, but however much they insisted
on the authority of ancient tradition, the real result of their
labours was not to re-establish the order of things which prevailed
before the rise of Buddhism, but to give authority and solidity to the
mixture of Brahmanism, Buddhism and popular beliefs which had grown
up. Kumarila is said to have been a Brahman of Bihar who was a
Buddhist monk but became a worshipper of Siva and so zealous a
persecutor of his former faith that he persuaded a king of his time
named Sudhanvan to exterminate it from the Himalay