ive Brahman, while the
original asceticism of Civa undoubtedly appealed much more to
Brahmanic feeling than did the sentimentalism of the Vishnuite. In the
extreme North, in the ninth century, philosophy and Civaism are
nominally allied, but really sectarian Civaism was the cult of the
lowest, not of the highest classes. Many of the professed Civaites are
to-day tending to Vedantism, which is the proper philosophy of the
Vishnuite; and the Civaite sects are waning before the Vishnuite
power, not only in the middle North, where the mass of the population
is devoted to Vishnu, but even in Civa's later provinces in the
extreme South. The social distribution of the sectaries in the Middle
Ages was such that one may assign older Vishnuism to the middle
classes, and Civaism to the highest on its philosophical and decently
ascetic side, but to the lowest on its phallic and magical side.

But none of the Civaite sects we have mentioned, imbecile as appear to
be the impostors that represent them, are equal in despicable traits
to the C[=a]ktas. These worshippers of the androgynous Civa (or of
Cakti, the female principle alone), do, indeed, include some
Vishnuites among themselves, but they are originally and prevailingly
Civaite.[43] Blood-offerings and human sacrifices are a modern and an
ancient Trait of Civa-worship;[44] and the hill-tribes of the Vindhya
and the classical drama show that the cult of Aghor[=i] is a Civaite
manifestation which is at once old and derived from un-Aryan sources.
Aghor[=i] and all female monsters naturally associate with Civa, who
is their intellectual and moral counterpart. The older Aghoris exacted
human sacrifice in honor of Devi, P[=a]rvat[=i], the wife of Civa.[2]
The adoration of the female side of a god is as old as the Rig Veda,
but Civaism has combined this cult with features probably derived from
other independent local cults, such as that of P[=a]rvat[=i], the
'mountain goddess.' They are all united in the person of Civa's wife
of many names, the 'great goddess,' Mah[=a]dev[=i], the 'hard'
Durg[=a], K[=a]l[=i], Um[=a], etc.[45] And it is to this ferocious
she-monster that the most abject homage of the Civaites is paid. So
great is the terror inspired by Durg[=a] that they that are not
Civaites at all yet join in her festival; for which purpose,
apparently, she is dubbed Vishnu's 'sister.' But it is not
blood-guiltiness alone which is laid at the door of this cult. The
sectarian religio