SAIVA, a sectarian IIindu, follower of Siva. 3fany Saiva Hindus believe in the three Hindu gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, as triune, and many Saiva are essentially polytheists ; but Vaish nava llindus are rarely in accord in this, and the bulk of the Hindu religionists regard Siva, Vishnu, and Brahma as distinct deities. The Saiva sect far outnumber tho Vaislinava. The essential element in the Saiva faith is a reverence for, or deification of, the reproductive power with the emblems of the lingam and the yoni and their philosophy seems to be a simple physiol'ogical idea of creation, made to assume a religious form. It has also, however been supposed to represent the Buddhist doet'rine of gradual perfectability (raising man almost to the rank of a god). The Vaishnas-a creed is one of a separate creation of a god and his occasional incarnation in the form of man and animals.
The Saiva are worshippers of Siva, in one of his many forms.
The Ganapatya worship Ganesa.
The Sakta exclusively worship the sakti or female energy.
The Ganapatya and the Sakta are subdivisions or ramifications of the Saiva, of which may be traced these distinctions,-1. Saiva proper, mean ing the worshippers of Siva and Parvati con jointly ; 2. Lingi or Langaet, the adorers of Siva, or his phallic type, separately, and these are a very strict and rigid sect ; 3. Sakta, the adorers
of the yoni of Bhavani, or her symbol, separately ; 4. the Ganapatya, the exclusive worshipperts of Ganesa, the tirst-born of Maltadeva and Parvati. The Ganapatya adore Ganesa as uniting in his person all the attributes of the deity. The Vim Saiva are very numerous in all the Canarese speaking countries, and are distinguishable by their svearing the lingam in a silver or gold casket fastened round their arm or suspended from the neck.
The Avadhuta or Abd'hut of the south of India, is a religious mendicant of the Saiva Hindus, who, similarly to the Virakta Vairagi, has subdued the passions and estranged himself from the interests and emotions of mankind, abandoning religious observances and worldly restraints. The Sakta have two classes of these,—one theVyakta-vadhuta, or professedly free ; the other, Gupta-vadhuta, who privately throw off the ustud restrictions of caste..
The Akas-innkhi is a &siva devotee, who retains his head AO long in the position of looking to the sky, that he cannot restore the neck to its proper position.
Saiva sectarians of S. India worship 63 deified heroes, designated Adiyars.