A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c20.31

c20.31

Hinduism has always been a house of many mansions, and the following description of the Arab geographer al-Idirisi, who wrote at the beginning of the twelfth century basing himself on earlier writers, may well be taken to apply to the whole of the Deccan from the tenth to the twelfth centuries. ‘Among the principal nations of India there are forty-two sects. Some recognize the existence of a Creator, but not of Prophets; while others deny the existence of both; some acknowledge the intercessory powers of graves and stones and others worship holy stones on which butter and oil is poured. Some pay adoration to fire and cast themselves into the flames. Others adore the sun and consider it the Creator and Director of the world. Some worship trees, others pay adoration to serpents which they keep in stables and feed as well as they can, believing this to be a meritorious work. Lastly there are some who give themselves no trouble about any kind of devotion, and deny everything.’