Question

in what ways were the bhagavatha and shaiva thinking different from buddhists and jainas

Answer 1

As Buddhism evolved over times, it had to face the new Puranic Brahmanism with the influence of the Vishnu, Shiva and other deities rising over time, compared to the other Vedic deities who were now often reduced to a tutelary status. Puranic Brahmanism was highly syncretic assimilating everything that came in its way. Even Buddha himself was assimilated to the Brahmanical Pantheon as one of the Avatar-s of Vishnu. At the same time, Buddhism had also attempted in assimilation of the Brahmanical Deities into its fold. However, this part is not that much widely known.


During the early days of early days of formation, Buddhism didn’t have many deities to deal with. The Predominant deities of those times were Indra and Brahma. In the Tripitaka, all these deties are shown completely subservient to the Buddha. They are potrayed as waiting and attending upon the Buddha, and as receiving many teaching from the Buddha himself.  At one instance, it is even said the Maha-Brahma himself had advised a Brahmin who had reached the heavenly Brahma-realm, to clear his doubts with the Buddha instead of him