II. Deities. — It has been stated above that the original worship of the Hindus appears to have been adtlressed to the elements. The heavens, the sun, the moon, fire, the air, the earth, and spirits are the objects most fre- quently addressed. In fact, the deities invoked appear to be as numerous as the prayers addressed to them.
" It would be impossible to give any account of the numerous inferior deities, whose number is said to amount to 330,000,000. The most important are the Lokapalas, that is, 'guardians of the world,' who are the eight gods next in rank to the Triad : 1. Indra, the god of the heavens; 2. Agni, the god of fire; 3. Yama, the god of hell ; 4. Suri/a, the god of the sun ; 5. Varit- na, the god of water; G. Purana, the god of the wind; 7. Kuvera, the god of wealth ; 8. Soma, or Chandra, the god of the moon. IMany other deities were afterwards included in the list ;" among them, Ganem, god of wis- dom and science ; Kamas, god of love ; Gawja, goddess of the river Ganges ; Naradas, messenger of the gods, etc. Each of the gods besides has his legal spouse. The most important among these goddesses are Suras- UHiii, wife of Brahma, goddess of eloipience, the protect- or of arts and sciences, and particidarly of music, where-
fore the vina, or lute, is her attribute; Sri, Lakschmi, etc., wife of Vishnu, dispenser of blessings. But the most important of all is Siva's female partner, l)iir<ja. Kali, or Cake, goddess of evil and destruction, whose worship is by far the most extensive. Aside from these, there is yet a multitude of inferior gods, demigods, etc., the principal of which are the seven or ten Brahmudi- kas or Rishis (seers), the most important of whom is Dakshas, with Diti and A diti for wives ; from Diti come the Baitijus or A suras, the dasmons (of destruction), but from Aditi the Suras or Devus (i. e. gods). The Gandharvas are the musicians and dancers of heaven ; the Apsarasas, the heavenly nymphs; the Yaks/ias, the keepers of treasures in the mountains; the Raks/ia- sas, the enemies of mankind and of all good. The earth is, besides, inhabited by a multitude of evil spirits. The existence of the three worlds (of the gods, the earth, and the lower world) is not considered eternal ; it is to be destroyed by Kala, the god of time, who, in regard to this act, is called Mahajiralaya, or the great end. Some animals also are the objects of religious adoration or fear, particularly the bull ; also the snakes, whose connection with the demigods brought forth tlie mon- keys, which are the objects of superstitious dread. Among the birds the Canada is the most honored, and the Banian among trees.
III. Later Sects. — The worship of these gods, as well as of numerous others, which was once very popular in Hindustan, has almost disappeared in consequence of I the exclusive worship Avliich is jiaid to Vishnu, Siva, Kali, or Sakti, and a few other deities, by the religious sects of the present day. Each sect maintains that the god it worships unites in his person all the attributes of the deity. Few Brahmins of learning, however, will acknowledge themselves to belong to any of the popu- lar divisions of the Hindu faith ; they acknowledge the Vedas, Puranas, and Tantras as the only orthodox rit- ual, and regard all practices not derived from these sources as irregular and profane. The followii^g is a list of the principal sects :
(1.) Vaishnavas, -^vho worship Vishnu, or, rather, Ra- ma, Krishna, and other heroes connected with the in- carnation of that deity. This sect is distinguished generally by an abstinence from animal food, and by a worship less cruel than that of the Saivas (2). They are divided into numerous sects, which often agree only in maintaining that Vishnu is Brahma, that is. Deity. One of the most important of the Vaishnava sects is the Kabir Pant his, founded by Kabir in the loth centurj". Kabir assailed the whole system of idolatrous worship, and ridiculed the learning of the Pundits and the doc- trines of the Shastra. His doctrines have had great in- fluence. His followers are included among the Vaish- navas because they pay more respect to Vishnu tlian to any other deity; but it is no part of their faith to wor- ship any Hindu deit}-, or to observe any of the rites of the Hindu religion.
(2.) &;u-os, who worship Siva, and are more numer- ous than any other sect. The mark by which they are distinguished is three horizontal lines on the forehead, drawn in ashes, obtained from the hearth on which a sacred fire is kept ; while that of the Vaishnavas con- sists in perpendicular lines, of which the number differs according to the sect to which the individual belongs. "Sivaism recalls the ancient religion of nature, and the gross dualism of Phoenicia" (Pressense, Reliffio}is before Christ, p. 58).
(3.) Saktas. The Hindu mythology has personified the abstract and active powers of the divinity, and has ascribed sexes to these personages. The Sakti. or ac- tive power of God, is female, and is considered the con- sort of the abstract attribute. The Saktas, who may perhaps be regarded as only a subdivision of the Saivas, worship the Sakti of Siva.and are not very numerous.