| One
of the cults of the last named goddess has its counterpart which favoured the mysteries of
ancient Rome and Greece. Shiva is inseparable
from Ganga which, flowing from His matted locks, represents purity and gives India
its belt of plenty and high intellectual aspirations; from His consort Uma, the
benign Mother; from His son Kartikeya, the God of War, worshipped by the Gupta emperors,
and worshipped today in the south as Subrahmanya; from the highly lovable Ganapati, the
elephant headed god of auspiciousness, intellect, wealth and valour, today the
presiding deity of every home where purity and happiness reign; from Nandi, the beloved
father of the bovine race, which, from time immemorial, is linked with Indians in
every aspect of life and unites them in sympathy with the animal world and secures them
economic stability. |
