The PURANIC period of Hinduism is the period of its decline, so far as the popular creed is concerned. Its pantheon is nominally the same as that of the epic period. Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva remain still at the head of its imaginary gods; but whereas the epic time is generally characterized by a friendly harmony between the higher occupants of the divine spheres, the Ptiranic period shows discord and destruction of the original ideas whence the epic gods arose, Brahma withdraws, in• general, from the popular adoration, and leaves Vishnu and Siva to fight their battles in the minds of their worshipers for the highest rank. The elementary principle which originally inhered in these deities is thus completely lost sight of by the followers of the Purin's. The legends of the epic poems relating to these gods become amplified and distorted, according to the sectarian tendencies of the masses:' and the divine element which still distinguishes these gods in the Ramayana and is now more and more mixed up with worldly concerns and intersected with historical events, disfigured in their turn to suit individual interests. Of the ideas implied by the Vedic rites, scarcely a trace is visible in the Puranas and Tautras, which are the text-books of this creed. In short, the unbridled imagination which pervades these works Is neither pleasing from a poetical, nor elevating from a philosophical point of view, Some Puranas, it is true —for instance, the in some sense an exception to this aberration of original Hinduism; but they are a compromise between the popular and the Vedanta creed, which henceforward remains the creed of the educated and intelligent. They do not affect the worship of the masses as practiced by the various sects; and this worship itself, whether harmless, as with the worshipers of Vishnu, or offensive, as with the adorers of Siva and his wife Durga, is but an empty ceremonial, which, here and there, may remind one of the symbolical worship of the Vedic Hindu, but, as a whole, has 310 connection whatever with the Vedic scriptures, on which it affects to rest. It is this creed which, with further deteriorations, caused by the lapse of centuries, is still the main religion of the masses in India. The opinion the-se entertain. that it is countenanced by the ritual, as well as by the theological portion of the Vedas, is the redeeming feature of their belief; for, as nothing is easier titan their mir.d
on this score, by reviving the study of their ancient and sacred language, and by enabling them to read again their oldest and most sacred books, it may be hoped that a proper education of the people in this respect, by learned and enlightened natives, will remove ninny of the existing errors, which, if they continued, must inevitably lead to a further, and, ultimately, total degeneration of the Hindu race.
The philosophical creed of this period, and the creed which is still preserved by the educated classes, is that derived from the tenets of. the Vedanta philosophy. It is based on the belief one. supreme being, which imagination and speculation endeavor to invest with all the perfections conceivable by the human mind, but the true nature of which is, nevertheless, declared to be beyond the reach of thought, and which, on this ground, is defined as not possessing any of the qualities by which the human mind is able to comprehend intellectual or material entity. See VEDANTA.
Hindu designation applies to the sects which arose during the third period of Hinduism. They suppose that their worship is countenanced by the Vedas; but its real origin is derived from the Ptercinas and Tantras. See these articles. There are three chief divisions of these sects—the adorers of Vishnu, of Siva, and of the wives or female energies of these gods. See VA1SII.NAVAS, SAIVAS, and SARTAS. Besides these great sects, there are sonic of limited extent and total insignificance, such as the worshipers of Agni, the god of fire; of Nowa, the sun-zod; of Ganesa, the god of wisdom, and the obviator of impediments. For a detailed acccunt of these and similar sects, see the first volume of the Works of the late H. H. Wilson, containing a sketch of the religious sects of the Hindus.
For an account of the various divisions of India, see articles on the various provinces referred to in the preceding article. See also INDIA, BRITISH; INDIA, NATIVE STATES OF; INDIA, FRENCH; INDIA, PORTUGUESE.
For an account of the philosophy, literature, architecture, etc., of India, see SAN SKRIT LITERATURE 31131ANS1, NYAYA, SANKIIVA, VEDANTA. For the history of India, see following article.