While the majority of the Brahmans still profess to recognize the equal divinity of Brahma, Vischnu, and Siva, the mass of the people worship Krishna, Rama, the Lingam, and many other gods and idols.

There are Hindoo atheists who revile the Vedas; there are the Kabirs, who are a sort of Hindoo Quakers, and oppose all worship; the _Ramanujas_, an ancient sect of Vischnu worshippers; the _Ramavats_, living in monasteries; the _Panthis_, who oppose all austerities; the _Maharajas_, whose religion consists with great licentiousness.

Most of these are worshippers of Vischnu or of Siva, for Brahma-worship has wholly disappeared.
Sec.8.The Epics, the Puranas, and modern Hindoo Worship.
The Hindoos have two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, each of immense length, and very popular with the people.

Mr.Talboys Wheeler has recently incorporated both epics (of course much abridged) into his History of India, and we must refer our readers to his work for a knowledge of these remarkable poems.

The whole life of ancient India appears in them, and certainly they are not unworthy products of the genius of that great nation.
According to Lassen,[81] the period to which the great Indian epics refer follows directly on the Vedic age.