Elements of Hindu Iconography v2.c16.21

v2.c16.21

imprecation pronounced by Nandīśvara, a devout follower of the Śiva cult. He tells us that the revilers of Śiva are sunk, out of the love of carnal pleasures, in domestic life, in which bad morals are not infrequent; they practise a number of ceremonies without understanding their real import and are degraded by the rules of the Vēdas. They smell strongly of liquor. Nandīśvara heaps up on the heads of the followers of the Vēdic religion the curse that these be ever sunk, deluded by the words of the Vēdas, in the mire of ceremonial ignorance. The complaint of the Śaiva against the vaidika is that the latter pays greater regard to the life of a house-holder and that he performs a number of ceremonies without understanding their meaning. It is in fact a rebellion against the ignorance of Vēdic rites and a denunciation of family life.