Saivas

Saivas, the general name given to those among the Hindus who worship Siva the Destroyer, one of the members of the Trimurti. The only form under which this deity is worshipped is that of the Linga, which they adore either in temples, in their houses, or on the side of a sacred stream. "The worship of Siva seems to have been, from a remote period, rather that of the learned and speculative classes than that of the masses of the people. In a renowned work called the Sankaradig-vijaya, or the victory of Sankara over the world, composed by Anandagiri, one of the disciples of Sankara, several subdivisions of the Saivas are named- — viz. the Saivas, properly so called, who wore the impression of the Linga on both arms; the Raudras, who had a trident stamped on the forehead; the Ugras, who had the drum of Siva on their arms; the Bhaktas, with an impression of the Linga on their foreheads; the Jangamas, who carried a figure of the Linga on their heads; and the Pasupatas, who imprinted the same symbol on the forehead, breast, navel, and arms. The present divisions of the Saivas, however, are the following: the Dandins and Dasnami-Dandins; the Yogins; the Jangamas; the Paramahansas; the Aghorins; the Urdhabahus; the Akasmukhins and Nakhins; the Gudaras; the Rukharas, Sukharas, and Ukharas; the Karalingins; the Bramacharins; and the Nagas." Each division is characterized by some peculiarities of dress, self-torture, tenets, etc. (see Wilson, Religious Sects of the Hindus [Lond. 1862], 1, 188 sq.).