The second grand sect, or Vaishnava, is variously divided and subdivided. First, or division of Gocalast'ha, or worshippers of Gocal or Krishna, is subdivided into three :— 1. Exclusively worship Krishna as Vishnu himself : this is generally deemed the true and orthodox Vaishnava.
2. Exclusively worship Radha, as the sakti of Krishna or Vishnu : this sect is called Radha Valabhi.
3. Worship Krishna and Radha conjointly.
Second, or division of Ramanuj, or worshippers of Ramachandra, is in like manner subdivided into three :— 1. Worship Rama only.
2. Worship Sita only as his sakti.
3. Worship both Rama and Sita conjointly.
The Vaishnava of the present day, though nominally worshippers of Vishnu, are thus in fact votaries of deified heroes. The Gocalast'ha (one branch of the sect) adore Krishna, while the followers of Ramanuja worship Ramachandra. Both have again branched into three sects ; one consists in the exclusive worshippers of Krishna, and those only are deemed true and orthodox Vaishnava ; another joins Krishna's favourite, Radha, with the hero ; a third, called Radha valabhi; adores Radha only, considering her as the sakti or active power of Vishnu. The fol lowers of these last-mentioned sects are said to have adopted the singular practice of presenting to their own wives the oblations intended for the goddess ; and those among them who follow the left-handed path are said to require their wives to be naked when attending them at their devotions.
Among the Ramanuj some worship Rama only, and others both Rama and Sita ; none of them practise any indecent mode of worship. And they all, like the Gocalast'ha, as well as the fol lowers of the Bhagavata, delineate on their fore heads a double upright line with chalk, or with sandal-wood, and a red circlet with red sanders wood, or with turmeric and lime ; but the Ramanuj add an upright red line in the middle of the double white one.
The Saiva sect are all worshippers of Siva and Bhawani conjointly ; and they adore the linga or compound type of this god and goddess, as the Vaishnava do the image of Lakshmi-Narayana. The exclusive adorers of the goddess Bhawani are the Sakta sect. In this last-mentioned sect there is said to be a right-handed and decent path, and left-handed and indecent mode of worship ; and both Major Moor and Professor Wilson allude to the licentious character of the latter form, a feature certainly quite unknown in the Southern India of the present day. The left-handed form of worship of the several sects, especially that of the Sakta, is founded on the Tantras, which are for this reason held in disesteem.
Sectarian Differences,—The great point of differ ence amongst the sectaries is as to the claims of respective deities to be regarded as the first cause. Few Brahmans of learning, if they have any religion at all, will acknowledge themselves to belong to any of the popular divisions of the IIindu faith, although, as a matter of simple preference, they more especially worship some individual deity as their chosen or ishta Devata. They refer also to
the Vedas, the books of law, the Puranas, and Tantras, as containing the only ritual which they recognise, and regard all practices not derived from those sources as irregular and profane. These deities have their different avatars or incar nations, in all of which, except that of the sakti themselves, they have their sakti (wives) or energies of their attributes. These have again ramified into numerous names and forms. The following is an enumeration of the several sectaries of each class, and to them we refer for separate notices of their origin and tenets :— Miscellaneous Sects. 1. Canapatya. 4. JaMa.
2, Saurapatya or Saura. a. Digambara.
3. Nanik Skald, of seven G. Swetambara.
classes, viz.: r. Yati, nlasi. d. Sravaka. ' b. Canjbakshi. Ii. Baba Lan.
c. ltamrnyi. G. l'ran Nat'l d. Sunni Simla. 7. Sadli.
r. Ciovind Sinhi. 6. Satnami.
f. Nirinala. 9, Siva Narayani.
y. Naga. 10. Sunyavalli.
Most of these comprise a number of sub divisions, and, besides acknowledged classifica tions, many individual ascetics are to be found all over India, who can scarcely be included within the limits of any of them, exercising a sort of independence both in thought and act, and attached very loosely if at all to any of the popular schismatical sects. Some of the popular works of the Hindus adopt a different classifica tion, and allude to 96 prashada or heresies, which are thus arranged, viz. :—Amongst the Brahmans, 24 ; Sanyasi, 12 ; Viragi, 12 ; Saura, 18; Jangama, 18; Jogi, 12. Also, new gods or objects of worship are in constant formation, and are believed in by great masses of the people, though only a bit of paper, a cart-wheel, and other oddities. There is a temple of the goddess Mamma about a mile distant from the town of Jat, in the Jat jaghir. An annual fair is held in honour of this idol, at which about 10,000 people assemble. About the year 1860, a Mali or gar dener set up the idol, stating that it had appeared there of its own accord. Both men and women visit the temple and worship the idol. The wor shippers, before commencing the worship, strip naked, apply powdered sandal-wood to their whole bodies, put on the ornaments they may have, hold a small branch of the nim tree in their folded hands, and leave their places of re sidence to visit the idol. After visiting the idol, they go round the temple for a certain number of times. They then leave the temple to bathe in a neighbouring tank. After bathing, they return to the temple, worship the idol, and return home. When Mr. Chapman was collector of Satara, he punished some of the naked worshippers.