20 RELIGIOUS SECTS 



all concerned in it. He ascribes its occurrence to the same source, the insti- 

 gation of a Bhatta, from the north, or, in fact, of Cumaril Bhatta, a Bengali, 

 or Maithili Brahman, 



A long series of sectaries then ensues, of a more orthodox description, 

 and who only err in claiming primeval and pre-eminent honors for the objects 

 of their adoration — none of these are to be found ; and, although, to a certain 

 extent, the places of some of them may be supplied by the local deities of the 

 villagers, and by the admission of others to a participation in the worship paid 

 to the presiding deities of each sect, yet there can be little doubt, that a large 

 portion of the Hindu Pantheon formerly enjoyed honours, which have for some 

 centuries past been withheld. In this predicament are Indra, Kuvera, Yama, 

 Varuna, Gar^da, Sesha, and Soma, all of whom, in the golden age of Hindu 

 idolatry, had, no doubt, temples and adorers : the light and attractive service of 

 the god of love, indeed, appears to have been formerly very popular, as his tem- 

 ples and groves make a distinguished figure in the* tales, poems, and dramas 

 of antiquity : it is a feature that singularly characterises the present state of 

 the Hindu religion, that if in some instances it is less ferocious, in others, 

 it has ceased to address itself to the amiable propensities of the human 

 character, or the spontaneous and comparatively innocent feelings of youthful 

 natures. The buffoonery of the Holif and barbarity of the Cherak Puja, but 

 ill express the sympathies which man, in all countries, feels with the vernal 

 season, and which formerly gave rise to the festive Vasanotsava of the Hindus, 

 and the licentious homage paid to Sakti and Bhairava, has little, in common 

 with the worship, that might be supposed acceptable to Kama and his lovely 

 bride, and which it would appear they formerly enjoyed. 



Besides the adorers of the secondary divinities, we have a variety of 



* In the Vrihat Katha—'Dasa Kumdra, Mdlati Mddkava, Mricfich'/iakati, Sfe^ 



