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Re: DRAVIDIAN RELIGION
In article <31mkvq$s4u@ucunix.san.uc.edu> you wrote:
: Does anyone know whether the ancient pre-Aryan Dravidian religion of
: Sivaism is practiced anywhere in India?
The theory that there were seperate "Aryan" and "Dravidian" races has long
been considered obsolete by most scholars. Arya in Sanskrt means "noble"
and is usually used as a title for members of the castes entitled to
Vaidik study synonymous to "Mr." Dravid is simply a geographic term
refering to the south of India. Therefore it is quite possible to be a
Dravid Arya. (If you are a South Indian Brahman for instance.)
As for Shaivism, it simply refers to those religions (there are more than
one) that consider Shiva to be God. Shiva is quite extensively mentioned
in the Vedas and is worshipped all over India today. In the cities of
the Indus Valley civilization (which so the theory goes, predated the
"Aryan invasions" and was made up of "Dravidians"), seals were discovered
depicting a horned man sitting in the lotus position which some conjectured
was Shiva in the form of Pashupati ("Lord of Beasts") However, like most
Indology, it was just a guess. Certainly no trace of that religion survives
today. The dominant form of Shaivism practised in Southern India today,
Shaiva Siddhanta is an import from Kashmir.
-- Jaldhar
