– Through the Pāurāṇic & Vaiṣṇava Lens
India has always been a land of rich spiritual movements. Alongside the eternal Vedic tradition, other paths like Buddhism and Jainism arose more than 2,500 years ago. They offered their own philosophies of liberation and spread widely.
Yet, from the point of view of the Purāṇas and Vaiṣṇava ācāryas, these paths – though sincere in intent – were ultimately seen as deviations from Vedic truth. From the perspective of Puranic literature and orthodox Vaiṣṇava schools, these “heterodox” traditions posed a complex challenge –
- Doctrinally: denial or re-interpretation of Vedic authority and the eternal ātman.
- Socially: competing for royal and popular patronage.
- Soteriologically: offering alternative paths to mokṣa that could divert people from bhakti and Vedic duties.
Origins
- Buddha (Śākyamuni) – Born in Magadha (6th–5th century BCE). He rejected Vedic sacrifices and taught liberation by eliminating desire through meditation and discipline.
- Mahāvīra – Jain teacher (6th century BCE, Bihar). He emphasized strict non-violence (ahiṁsā), asceticism, and purification of the soul through austerity.
Both arose as part of the Śramaṇa movements, which challenged Vedic authority.
Core Teachings
Original Teachings of Buddha (5th–6th century BCE)
Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha) preached:
- Śūnyavāda / Anātman (no eternal self).
- Four Noble Truths: life = suffering, suffering arises from desire, cessation possible, path is the Eightfold Way.
- Rejection of Vedic yajñas, varṇāśrama, devas, and soul theory (ātmā).
- Strong emphasis on ahimsā and renunciation.
Jainism: Original Teachings of Mahāvīra (599–527 BCE)
- Tīrthaṅkara (24th Jina), systematized earlier śramaṇa tradition.
- Strict ahimsā (to the extreme – no root vegetables, sweeping ground, mask over mouth).
- Ātman is real, but liberation is by stripping away karma through austerity.
- Denied a supreme creator God. Universe is beginningless.
- Five vows: non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celibacy, non-possession.
Buddhism: Categories & Sub-Categories
| Level | Number / Names | Notes / Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Major branches today | 3 | Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna |
| Early Buddhist schools (historical, mostly extinct) | ~18 traditional schools (some lists say ~20) | Examples: Sthaviravāda, Mahāsāṃghika, Sarvāstivāda, Dharmaguptaka, etc. |
| Sub-schools / lineages within Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna Many | different by region & practice | For example: Zen, Pure Land, Nichiren under Mahāyāna; the four major schools in Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug, Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma). |
Summary count for Buddhism:
- Major surviving branches: 3
- Historical early schools: about 18 (some say ~20)
- Many sub-sects / lineages beyond that (count depends on how fine-grained you go).
Jainism: Categories & Sub-Categories
| Level | Number / Names | Notes / Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Major sects | 2 | Digambara and Śvetāmbara |
| Sub-sects / sub-traditions | Several major and minor ones under each major sect | Examples: Śvetāmbara – Murtipujaka, Sthanakvasi, Terapanthi. Digambara – Mula Sangh, Bisapantha, Terapantha, Taranpantha (Samaiyapantha), plus smaller ones like Gumanapantha, Totapantha. |
Summary count for Jainism:
- Major sects: 2
- Major sub-sects: about 3 under Śvetāmbara; about 4 under Digambara; plus minor ones.
How They Changed Today
1. Buddhism
Within 300 years, schisms arose. By the time of King Aśoka (3rd c. BCE), Buddhism already had multiple sects.
Two main streams:
- Theravāda (Hinayāna) – conservative, Pali canon, Sri Lanka, SE Asia.
- Mahāyāna – more devotional, introduced Bodhisattvas, cosmic Buddhas, mantras.
Later Vajrayāna (Tantric Buddhism) absorbed elements of Śākta and Tāntrika practices.
👉 Today, many Buddhists worship Buddha as a deity, do elaborate rituals, and even pray for material benefits – directly contradicting Buddha’s original atheistic, ritual-free path.
👉 From a Vaiṣṇava lens: even Buddha himself is a śaktyāveśa-avatāra of Viṣṇu (Bhāg. 1.3.24, 11.4.22), meant to delude atheists and stop animal sacrifice. But present Buddhism has mutated far from that avatāric purpose.
2. Jainism
- Split into Digambara (“sky-clad” monks, no clothes, no women can achieve liberation) and Śvetāmbara (white-clad, allow women monks).
- Later proliferation of sects: Terapanthis, Sthanakvasis, Gacchas, etc.
- Today, most Jains are urban householders – engaged in business, rituals, temple worship of Tīrthaṅkaras with ārati, pūjā, prasad, sometimes even invoking wealth and health blessings.
👉 This is quite distant from Mahāvīra’s strict ascetic ideal.
👉 From Vaiṣṇava view: The rejection of Īśvara and bhakti is a great distortion of dharma, since śāstra says without devotion to Bhagavān, no amount of austerity or ahiṁsā can liberate (Bhāg. 11.20.31–32).
📝 Vaiṣṇava / Purāṇic Verdict
- Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (11.5.3, 11.5.31) – Buddha is an avatāra, but his teaching was temporary, to stop violence. Not the eternal path.
- Padma Purāṇa II.37-38 – condemns Jain faith as leading to adharma in Kali-yuga.
- Ācāryas (Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, Madhva, Caitanya) – refuted Buddhist and Jain doctrines vigorously, since they deny Veda, Īśvara, and bhakti.
Thus, from a Vaiṣṇava lens:
- Today’s Buddhists & Jains are largely not following even their founders properly.
- Even if they did, their founders’ paths were temporary arrangements (Buddha) or incomplete philosophies (Jina).
- Only bhakti to Bhagavān is eternal dharma (sanātana-dharma).
✨ Modern Buddhism and Jainism are double layers of distortion:
- They rejected the eternal Vedic path.
- Their own later followers drifted away from the original message.
The ācāryas opposed them not due to “intolerance,” but to protect society from deviation and restore bhakti-based dharma, the only path to liberation in Kali-yuga.
Why the Purāṇas Saw Them as Threats
- Rejection of the Vedas – Both were classified as nāstika (non-Vedic) traditions.
- Challenge to social dharma – Their teachings weakened the varṇa-āśrama system.
- Diversion from bhakti – They denied or ignored devotion to the Supreme Lord, Viṣṇu.
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (1.3.24) explains that Lord Buddha Himself appeared as an avatāra to bewilder atheists and protect true theists:
“In the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Buddha, just to delude those envious of the faithful theist.”
Core Philosophical Contrasts (Comparative Table)
| Topic | Buddhism | Jainism | Vedic / Vaiṣṇava (Puranic) critique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate reality | No eternal ātman; skandha bundle, emptiness (śūnyatā) | Eternal jīva but liberation via purity; pluralist ontology | Affirms eternal ātman and paramātman (Viṣṇu). Buddhism’s denial of ātman = core breach. |
| Authority | Rejects the Vedas; Buddha’s authority | Rejects Vedic ritual; follows own āgamas | Vedic authority normative; rejection = heterodox. |
| Karma & mokṣa | Karma = mental formations; cessation via nirvāṇa | Karmic particles attach to soul; shed through austerity | Mokṣa via bhakti and grace of God; ascetic/nihilistic paths threaten dharma. |
| Ethics & practice | Middle path, meditation, monastic sangha | Rigorous asceticism, ahiṃsā | Asceticism respected but must integrate with bhakti; extremes destabilizing. |
| Soteriological emphasis | Liberation via insight and discipline | Liberation via vows and purification | Liberation via devotion to Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa; bhakti surpasses self-effort. |
Academic Citations + Primary-text Quotes
Pāurāṇic References
- Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.18.2–4 – Buddha as avatāra born in Magadha to delude enemies of the gods.
- Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.3.24 – Lord Buddha will appear in Gayā to delude the envious.
- Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-khaṇḍa 236.7–11 – condemns Buddhists and Jains (Arhatas) as nāstikas.
Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas’ Refutations
- Śrī Rāmānuja (Vedārthasaṅgraha, §94–95) – Anātman is self-contradictory.
- Śrī Madhvācārya (Tattvodyota, 26–27) – Denial of self and God makes scripture useless.
- Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī (Sarva-saṁvādinī) – Buddhism and Jainism reject Vedic testimony; only bhakti is true.
Summary: Through debates, commentaries, and devotional preaching, the ācāryas defeated heterodox philosophies and revived devotion to the Supreme Lord.
Historical Outcome
- Buddhism – Spread across Asia, but declined in India after centuries, partly due to Vaiṣṇava and Vedic teachers’ efforts.
- Jainism – Continued in smaller communities but never regained pan-Indian dominance.
Navayāna Buddhism
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar did not accept Theravāda or Mahāyāna.
- Redefined Buddhism as a social philosophy:
- No karma-rebirth cycle.
- No nirvāṇa as transcendence.
- No devas, rituals, or monastic dominance.
- Instead: democracy, equality, morality, upliftment of the oppressed.
- Called Navayāna (New Vehicle) – very different from Buddha’s historical teachings.
Political Dimension
- Mass conversion (1956, Nagpur): Ambedkar and ~500,000 followers embraced Buddhism.
- Purpose: To unite Dalits under a new identity free from caste stigma.
- Dalit movement: Buddhism became a rallying point for equality.
- Electoral politics: Many parties courted Ambedkarite Buddhists, making Buddhism also a political identity.
Takeaway
While Buddhism and Jainism added their own voices to India’s spiritual conversation, the Purāṇic and Vaiṣṇava vision sees them as temporary deviations meant to test humanity.
Ultimately, only devotion to the Supreme Lord provides true liberation – a message boldly upheld by all great ācāryas.
“By devotion one comes to know Me. By devotion one attains Me.” – Bhagavad-gītā 18.55
✨ Conclusion
The Pāurāṇic view is clear – bhakti to Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the eternal path. Other ways may appear attractive, but they cannot lead the soul to its real destination.