RELIGIOUS SECTS OF THE HINDUS. 197 



eighth or ninth century, and it is therefore, to be inferred, with as much 

 certainty as any thing short of positive testimony can afford, that the worship 

 of Siva, under this type, prevailed throughout India at least as early as the 

 fifth or sixth century of the Christian era. Considered as one great branch 

 of the universal public worship, its prevalence, no doubt, dates much 

 earlier; but the particular modifications under which the several types re- 

 ceived their local designations, and became entitled to special reverence, 

 are not in every case of remote antiquity. 



One of the forms in which the Linga worship appears, is that of the 

 Lingayets, Ling aiv ants, or Jangamas, the essential characteristic of which 

 is wearing the emblem on some part of the dress or person. The type is 

 of a small size, made of copper or silver, and is commonly worn suspended 

 in a case round the neck, or sometimes tied in the turban. In common 

 with the Saivas, generally, the Jangamas smear their foreheads with Vibhuti 

 or ashes, and wear necklaces, and carry rosaries, made of the Rudrdkshaseed, 



7*~~ 



6. Vaidyandth, at Deogerh, in Bengal ; the temple is still in being, and is a celebrated place 

 of pilgrimage. 



7. Ramesa, at Setubandha, the island of Ramisseram, between Ceylon and the continent ; 

 this Lingam is fabled to have been set up by Rama. The temple is still in tolerable repair, and is 

 one of the most magnificent in India. The gateway is one hundred feet high. It has been re- 

 peatedly described, and is delineated in Daniel's Superb Plates of Indian Antiquities, from which 

 it has been copied into Langle's Monuments de L'Hindoostan. 



8. Bhimasankara, in Ddkini, which is, in, all probability, the same with Bhimeswara, a Linga 

 worshipped at Drackaram, in the Rdjainahendri district, and there venerated as one of the principal 

 twelve. 



10. Tryambaka, on the banks of the Gomati; whether the temple still exists I have no know- 

 ledge. 



11. Gautamesa is another of the twelve, whose original site and present fate are uncertain. 



12. Keddresa, or Kedarandth, in the Himalaya, has been repeatedly visited by late travellers. 

 The deity is represented by a shapeless mass of rock. 



D 1 







