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But when we look more closely, we become aware that a subtle change has passed over Hindu faith and practice. Ill Modern Hinduism has been born. The ancient Vedic sacrifices have fallen almost altogether into disuse. It is the worship of the temples and the annual festivals celebrated at home that hold the affections of the people. Where 25. TEMPLE OF SIVA AT TANJORE This fine stor.e edifice is Dravidian in style : see section 73- It was built by Kajaraja the Great, a Chola king, about A. I). 1000. (Photograph by Wiele & Klein, Madras.) philosophic influence is strong, animal sacrifices are pro hibited in the temples ; but in many places the practice has come in once more, along with many new divinities, from the aboriginal peoples. Processions and shows and ii2 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY dramatic representations are common. Prostitutes are kept in most temples as servants of the god. Another conception seems to have taken shape in our period, the idea that each goddess is the sakti or energy of her husband. The god is conceived as retired, absolute, inconceivable : the goddess is a sort of emanation from him, bringing his power down to man, and is a much more approachable being than her lord. The two great sects, the Vishnuite and the Sivaite, still continue to hold the supreme place in the religion through out our period. Their systems of worship are now com pletely developed. The chief difference between S*aiva and Vaishnava worship is this, that Siva is usually represented by the phallic symbol, the linga and the yoni, while Vishnu is always represented by an image. The ritual differs in details, but only in details. Vaishnavas never sacrifice animals, and the same is true of all S"aivas in South India. The usual offerings are grain, fruit, flowers, and milk. Both sects give tirtha and prasada to their worshippers, i. e. a portion of the water and of the food which have been offered to the idol. Both use sect-marks on the forehead and other parts of the body ; but the Vaishnavas, in addition, brand on the body the symbols of Vishnu. Both sects pay worship to their teachers, gurus, and lay great stress on their ministra tions. Both use a mantra or watchword, to which they attribute great supernatural power. Both appeal to men of all castes ; yet both uphold the laws of caste with great rigidness. During this period a third sect of great importance arose, chiefly in Bengal, the Saktas or worshippers of Kd/i, the wife of S* iva, as his sakti. They fall into two groups, the right-hand and the left-hand Saktas. Both groups show many signs of aboriginal influence, notably animal sacrifice and magic RECONSTRUCTION 113 rites ; and the basis of the whole cult in both is phallic ; but, while the right-hand group are respectable in their worship, the left-hand S"aktas are most immoral. Their cult is based on the five M's, or elements of worship the Sanskrit names of which begin with M, flesh, wine, 26. LINGA SHRINE This shrine is within the cave temple hollowed out of the solid rock in the island of Elephanta, in Bombay Harbour. See fig. 18. The figures are dvarapalas, door-wardens, keeping the entrance of Siva's residence. (From a postcard.) women, fish, and finger-signs. In other points Saktas are like Sivaites. 76. These sects naturally required manuals describing their worship and sectarian practices. The earliest of these books, which take the place occupied in Vedic worship by the Srauta-sutras, appeared early in this period. Vaishnava manuals are called Pdhchardtra Samhitas, £aiva manuals Saiva Agamas, and S*akta manuals Tantras. This literature PP 83 H ii4 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY is in Sanskrit, and most of it is in verse. In many respects these books are like the Puranas. About the same time Buddhism in Bengal and Bihar yielded to the attractions of &z£//-worship and magic, and developed Tantric thought and practice. A University filled with this spirit arose at Vikramasila on the Ganges. Tibet accepted this form of the faith and still remains true to it. 77. The twelve Alyars (often called Azhvdrs : they were wandering teachers and poets of various castes) preached in South India a popular Vishnuism, which drew its inspiration from the Puranic stories of Krishna. They offered salvation through Vishnu to men of any caste. They caught the ear of the people with their beautiful Tamil hymns. These were finally gathered in a collection, the name of which is the Ndlayira Prabandham^ but which is often referred to as the Tamil Veda. These popular lyrics are still used in the daily worship of most of the Vishnuite temples of the south. 78. Contemporaneously the Adiyjrs did a similar service for the religion of Siva. The three greatest of them were Appar, N ana Sambandhar, and Sundarar. Their Tamil hymns form the DevHram, or ' Divine Garland ', and have exercised a great influence on Saivism. Like the Vishnuites, they offered salvation to all. In the tenth century a still greater man, known as Mdnikka Vachakar, consecrated his poetic gifts to Siva. He wrote a collection of exquisite Tamil lyrics which form the Tiruvdchakam, or Sacred Utter ance. Both these collections of hymns are used in the worship of £iva in the temples. 79- In North India the Bhdgavata Purana or Purana of the Adorable, a rhapsody on Krishna, and by far the most influential of the Puranas, appeared somewhere about the tenth century. Nimbarka, whose followers worship Radha, Krishna's cowherd mistress, as well as Krishna himself, came RECONSTRUCTION 1 1 5 a little later. Jayadeva, the author of the Glta Govinda, or Cowherd Song, which celebrates Krishna in the richest 27. SIVA THE DANCER, NATAR.\JA Siva's activity in the world and in the soul is spoken of as sport, and is symbolized in his dance. (V. Smith, Indian Art, fig. 174.) erotic strain, flourished about A. D. noo. The Bhakti-sutra of £andilya is a non-sectarian philosophic work, defining the Bhagavata doctrine. All these books are in Sanskrit. H 2 n6 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY At Kalyan in the Maratha country in the twelfth century, Basava, the prime minister of the state, founded the Vlra Saiva sect. The movement seems to have been essentially a revolt against Brahman domination. The ancient worship 28. TEMPLE OF JAGANNATH AT PUHI, ORISSA A Vishntiite shrine of Indo-Aryan style. Note that there are three porches, each with a pyramidal roof. The curvilinear tower, marking the situation of the shrine, stands out behind. The date is about A. D. 1100. (Photograph by Wiele & Klein, Madras.) of Siva is retained, only the lihga and Siva's bull, Nandi, are very prominent. Members of the sect are distinguished from ordinary Hindus by the wearing of a small lihga some where about the person. Hence they are commonly called Lingayats. Their priests are called Jarigamas. At first RECONSTRUCTION 117 they renounced caste completely ; but the old poison has crept in amongst them again, and they demand recognition for their caste distinctions in the census papers. Caste had been denounced earlier by Kapilar and Vemana, the first a Tamil, the second a Telugu poet ; but the Vlra S"aiva sect 29. CHAI.UKYAN TEMPLE At Somnathpnr, in Mysore. The star-shaped tower may be distinctly seen. Part of the porch with its pierced slabs of stone is visible also. (See p. 104.) The date is about A. n. 1050. seems to have been the earliest organized movement that opposed the ancient basis of Hindu society. Similar attempts followed in North India. (See section 91.) 80. Bhakti is one of the most important elements of the teaching of all these sects. Bhakti means 'adoration ' directed towards Bhagavan, ' the adorable,' by the Bhakta, n8 OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY 'the adoring devotee.' Bhagavan is used of Vishnu, Krishna, Rama, S*iva, or any other god the worshipper adores. All the modern bhakti schools of Vishnuism are called by the common name of Bhagavatas, worshippers of Bhagavan. This, as we saw in section 56, was the name of a very early Vishnuite school. 8l. This is also the period of the great acharyas or systematic teachers. Each was a sannyasi, and was either the head of a school or the chief priest of a sect. They distinguished themselves by writing, teaching, preaching, and public disputation.