chieftain's hut or tent, imitated or reproduced in Vedic funeral rites as a temporary abode for the spirit of the deceased, until the due performance of the shrāddhas by his relatives helped him to pass from the earthly sphere.
Vedic rites may be divided into two main classes, in which the germ of the two main divisions of modern Hinduism, the Vaishnava and Saiva sects, may be discovered. The first were addressed to the spirits of the day—Sūrya, the Sun; Ushas, the Dawn; Indra, the wielder of the Thunderbolt, brother of the Fire-god, Agni, and others. They were joyful rites accompanied by songs, and were performed in the daytime by the Kshatriya householder or the chieftain of the tribe to secure the prosperity of the living. The chieftains who presided at the tribal sacrifices were the Sūrya-vamsa, the ministrants of the Sun-god, and from these patriarchal rites sprang the idea of the bhakti-marga, the path of devotion, and karma-marga, the path of service, which became the leading motives of Vaishnava religious teaching. The second class included all the rites performed for the benefit of the dead, which were addressed to Chandra, the Moon, Varuna, the God of the night sky, and to Yama or Siva, the Lord of Death.
These were associated with the pessimistic school of thought, mainly Brahmanical, of which both Saivism and Buddhism were branches, looking for moksha, or liberation by following the jnāna-marga, the way of knowledge, whether it was that indicated by the Vedic seers, or the Eightfold Path pointed out by Sākhya-Muni.
The rites of both classes were often intermingled, but those of the Chandra cult were naturally centred round the stūpa and the cremation ground, while the
