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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
MAY, 1882.
exaltation forms a larger element in the worship his proof texts of henotheism : "Among you, O of Indra, as, in fact, Indra comes nearest to the gods, there is none that is small, none that is character of chief god, and in the later development young; you all are great indeed." That is to of the religion actually attains in a certain subor. say there are an indefinite number of indivi. dinate way that character: but still, only as primus dual (Müller prefers to call them "single") gods, inter pares. These are typical cases. There is independent, equal in godhood; and hence, each never a denial, never even an ignoring, of other in turn capable of being exalted without stint. and many other gods, but only a lifting up of No one of them even arrives at supremacy in the the one actually in hand. And a plenty of evi. later development of Indian religion; for that the dence beside to the same effect is to be found. name Vishnu is Vedic appears to be a circumstance Such spurning of all limits in exalting the subject of no moment. But, also according to the general of glorification, such neglect of proportion and tendencies of developing polytheism, there come consistency, is throughout characteristic of the to be supreme gods in the more modern period : Hindu mind. The Atharva-Veda praises (XI. 6) even Vishņu, to a part of the nation ; Siva, to another the uchchhishta 'the remnant of the offering,' in a part; Brahman, to the eclectics and harmonizers. manner to make it almost supreme divinity: all The whole people is divided into sects, each sacrifices are in and through it, all gods and demi. setting at the head of the universe and specially gods are born of it, and so on; and its extollation worshipping one of these, or even one of their of kala, 'time' (XIX. 53, 54), is hardly inferior. minor forms, as Krishna, Jagannatha, Durga, And later, in epic story, every hero is smothered Råma. in laudatory epithets and ascriptions of attributes, Now it is to these later forms of Hindu religion, till all individuality is lost; every king is master and to their correspondents elsewhere, that Müller of the earth; every sage does penance by thou. would fain restrict the name of polytheism. To sands of years, acquires unlimited power, makes believe in many gods and in no one as of essentially the gods tremble, and threatens the equilibrium of superior rank to the rest is, according to him, to be the universe.
a henotheist; to believe in one supreme god, with But this is exceptional only in its degree. No many others that are more or less clearly his polytheist anywhere ever made an exact distri. underlings and ministers, is to be a polytheist! It bution of his worship to all the divinities ac- seems sufficiently evident that, if the division and knowledged by him. Circumstances of every kind nomenclature were to be retained at all, the names give his devotion special direction: as locality, would have to be exchanged. A pure and normal occupation, family tradition, chance, preference. polytheism is that which is presented to us in the Conspicuous among "henotheists" is that as Veda; it is the primitive condition of polytheism, sembly which "with one voice about the space of as yet comparatively undisturbed by theosophio two hours cried out Great is Diana of the reflection; when the necessity of order and gra. Ephesians !""-all other gods "disappeared for a dation and a central governing authority makes moment from its vision." The devout Catholic, itself felt, there has been taken a step in the even, to no small extent, has his patron saint, his direction of monotheism ; a step that must be image or apparition of the Virgin, as recipient of taken before monotheism is possible, although his principal homage. If thus neither monotheism it may, and generally does, fail to lead to such a nor a monocratically ordered polytheism can result. repress this tendency, what exaggeration of it are It may be claimed, then, that henotheism, as we not justified in expecting where such restraints defined and named by its inventor, is a blunder, are wanting? And most of all, among a people so being founded on an erroneous apprehension of little submissive to checks upon a soaring imagina. facts, and really implying the reverse of what it is tion as the Indians P
used to designate. To say of the Vedic religion The exaggeration of the Vedic poets never tends
that it is not polytheistic but henotheistic, is to to the denial of multiple divinity, to the distinct
mislead the unlearned public with a juggle of enthronement of one god above the rest, or to a
words. The name and the idea cannot be too division of the people into Indra-worshippers and
rigorously excluded from all discussions of the Agni-worshippers and Varuna-worshippers, and
history of religions. It is believed that they are so on. The Vedic cultus includes and soknowledges
in fact ignored by the best authorities. all the gods together. Its spirit is absolutely that of the verge, curiously quoted by Müller among
W. D. WHITNEY. From a paper road before the American Oriental Society, at New Haven, Oct, 26th, 1881.
