Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c15.9

v2.c15.9

ONE of the oldest as also the most widely spread cult in India is that of Śiva. It consisted once of several sects, of which only a few have survived to the present day. Some of them had the sanction of the Vēdas while others were classed as outside the Vēdas or as opposed to them; again, some of them had milder forms of worship, while others practised horrible and shocking rites. The ideas about life, action and liberation differed from sect to sect. It will not be without interest to examine in some detail the history, the main tenets and the ceremonies of a few of the leading sects of Śiva in the following paragraphs.