DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.636#0082
jo Hinduism. General Observations.
consecration. Offerings made to these pebbles—such for in-
stance as Bilva leaves laid on the white stone of Vishnu—are
believed to confer extraordinary merit.
A second form of idol is wholly artificial. This is carved
by masons or sculptors and not held sacred until the Brah-
mans have consecrated it by long ceremonies and the repe-
tition of Vedic texts. When such idols have been placed in
shrines they can be looked at by an unbeliever, even though
the consecration they have received is supposed to have filled
them with the essence of the god they represent. Artificial
idols and symbols of this kind are manufactured in large
numbers in holy cities, not so much for general worship as
for votive offerings to be set up with the customary form
of dedication (pratishtha) in the galleries or vestibules of
temples or under sacred trees, or to be kept as objects of
adoration in the private rooms of houses.
Pious persons reckon it a work of great religious merit to
cause such idols and symbols to be made, or to purchase them
for dedication. I noticed thousands for sale in the streets of
Benares.
Some of the Lingas were carved out of stone, and some
made of glass. Serpents are occasionally carved round them,
just as the images of Siva in human form are often ornamented
with serpents.
One other difference between Saivism and Vaishnavism
remains to be noted. Each system has a heaven of its own,
that of Siva being called Kailasa; that of Vishnu being
known as Vaikuntha. The former is supposed to be located
in the Himalaya mountains; the position of the latter is not so
distinctly fixed, but is believed by some to be in the mythical
northern peak of Mount Meru1. To these heavens the
1 The temple of Srirangam at Trichinopoly is supposed to be a
counterpart of Vaikuntha, and the excavated temple at Ellora is a
counterpart of Kailasa.
consecration. Offerings made to these pebbles—such for in-
stance as Bilva leaves laid on the white stone of Vishnu—are
believed to confer extraordinary merit.
A second form of idol is wholly artificial. This is carved
by masons or sculptors and not held sacred until the Brah-
mans have consecrated it by long ceremonies and the repe-
tition of Vedic texts. When such idols have been placed in
shrines they can be looked at by an unbeliever, even though
the consecration they have received is supposed to have filled
them with the essence of the god they represent. Artificial
idols and symbols of this kind are manufactured in large
numbers in holy cities, not so much for general worship as
for votive offerings to be set up with the customary form
of dedication (pratishtha) in the galleries or vestibules of
temples or under sacred trees, or to be kept as objects of
adoration in the private rooms of houses.
Pious persons reckon it a work of great religious merit to
cause such idols and symbols to be made, or to purchase them
for dedication. I noticed thousands for sale in the streets of
Benares.
Some of the Lingas were carved out of stone, and some
made of glass. Serpents are occasionally carved round them,
just as the images of Siva in human form are often ornamented
with serpents.
One other difference between Saivism and Vaishnavism
remains to be noted. Each system has a heaven of its own,
that of Siva being called Kailasa; that of Vishnu being
known as Vaikuntha. The former is supposed to be located
in the Himalaya mountains; the position of the latter is not so
distinctly fixed, but is believed by some to be in the mythical
northern peak of Mount Meru1. To these heavens the
1 The temple of Srirangam at Trichinopoly is supposed to be a
counterpart of Vaikuntha, and the excavated temple at Ellora is a
counterpart of Kailasa.