Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus c7.s1.2

c7.s1.2

The worship of SIVA in the districts along the Ganges, presents itself under a very different aspect from that of VISHNU, and with some singular anomalies. It appears to be the most prevalent and popular of all the modes of adoration, to judge by the number of shrines dedicated to the only form under which SIVA is reverenced, that of the *Linga*; yet it will be generally observed, that these temples are scarcely ever the resort of numerous votaries, and that they are regarded with comparatively little veneration by the Hindus. *Benares*, indeed, furnishes exception, and the temple of *Visweswara** is thronged with a never-ceasing crowd of adorers. There is, however, little solemnity or veneration in the hurried manner in which they throw their flowers or fruits before the image ;* and there are other temples, the dwellings of other divinities, that rival the abode of *Visweswara* in popular attraction.