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The two principal gods of Modern Hinduism are Vishnu, the Preserver, and Siva, the Destroyer and Recreator; but they are worshipped under many different attributes. These two gods came into prominence after the Vedic Age, and their cults have passed through many phases; but a large number of Hindus still belong to sects which are called by their names. The sect to which a Hindu belongs is indicated by a coloured mark, erroneously described as a caste mark, made on the forehead. Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva are sometimes regarded as three persons of a Trinity.

Animals are still sacrificed in certain parts of India, and in honour of certain gods, but the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and the teaching of various religious reformers, of whom Buddha is best known, has tended in the direction of humanity to all creatures; and the great majority of Hindus are unwilling to take life, and abstain from animal food. The cow is to all Hindus an object of veneration.

An elaborate mythology is connected with the Hindu religion, and the incidents of this mythology form the basis of Hindu sacred art, especially of the rich sculpture of the temples. Siva rides Nandi the Bull, and Vishnu rides Garuda the Eagle. Vishnu in some of his avatars, or incarnations, takes the form of a fish or of a man-lion, or for vast numbers of his followers he becomes Rama, the hero of the epic poem the Ramayana, or he is Krishna—another hero-God. Siva has a wife Kali, who is terrible, though at other times she is Parvati, the goddess of beauty; and Siva has sons, of whom one is Ganesh, with a fat human body and an elephant’s head.