Page 158 - Hinduism

between Brahmanism and Hinduism is therefore not based on a right appraisal of the facts.
IX.5 The Epics
The period of the Epics succeeded the period of the
Upanishads. In the Ramayana and Mahabharata, philosophical doctrines were presented in the form of stories and parables. In these poems of the heroic age recounting the qualities and exploits of exalted individuals the Vedic gods are no longer supreme. Some have disappeared altogether. Indra retains a place of some dignity; but Brahma, Siva and Vishnu have risen to pre-eminence. Even of these three, the first becomes subordinate. Vishnu and Siva become the out-standing entities and are alternately elevated to supreme dignity and very often their ultimate oneness is proclaimed. Vishnu in the Vedas was the friend and companion of Indra and strode over the universe in three paces; in the Epics he often becomes the great deity of destruction as well as of renovation. Each of these two gods in his turn contends with and subdues the other; now one, now the other, receives the homage of his rival; and each in turn is lauded and honored as the greatest of gods.
IX.6 The Avatars
The Avatars, incarnations of Vishnu, assume a prominent place in the Epics, and more so in the Puranas. The first three, Matsya (fish), Kurma
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