distinct Sivaite spirit and in the
parts where Krishna is treated as a mere hero, the principal god
appears to be not Vishnu but Siva.

The Mahabharata and Puranas contain legends which, though obscure,
refer to conflicts of the worshippers of Siva with those who offered
Vedic sacrifices as well as with the votaries of Vishnu, and to a
subsequent reconciliation and blending of the various cults. Among
these is the well-known story of Daksha's sacrifice to which Siva was
not invited. Enraged at the omission he violently breaks up the
sacrifice either in person or through a being whom he creates for the
purpose, assaults the officiants and the gods who are present, and is
pacified by receiving a share. Similarly we hear[458] that he once
seized a victim at a sacrifice and that the gods in fear allotted to
him the choicest portion of the offerings. These stories indicate that
at one time Brahmans did not countenance his worship and he is even
represented as saying to his wife that according to rule (dharmatah)
he has no share in the sacrifice.[459] Possibly human victims were
immolated in his honour, as they were in Kali's until recently, for in
the Mahabharata[460] it is related how Krishna expostulated with
Jarasandha who proposed to offer to Siva a sacrifice of captive kings.
In the Vishnu-Purana, Krishna fights with Siva and burns Benares.
But by the time that the Mahabharata was put together these quarrels
were not in an acute stage. In several passages[461] Krishna is made
to worship Siva as the Supreme Spirit and in others[462] vice versa
Siva celebrates the glory of Krishna. Vishnuites do not disbelieve
in Siva but they regard him as a god of this world, whereas their own
deity is cosmic and universal. Many Vishnuite works[463] are said to
be revealed by Siva who acts as an intermediary between us and higher
spheres.

3

In the following sections I shall endeavour to relate the beginnings
of sectarianism. The sects which are now most important are relatively
modern and arose in the twelfth century or later, but the sectarian
spirit can be traced back several centuries before our era. By
sectarians I mean worshippers of Siva or Vishnu who were neither in
complete sympathy with the ancient Brahmanism nor yet excommunicated
by it and who had new texts and rites to replace or at least
supplement the Vedas and the Vedic sacrifices. It is probable that the
different types of early Indian religion had originally d