NON-AR YAN ELEMENTS IN HIND UISM 2 5 3

the same symbol as the footmark of Buddha ; and theMuhammadans venerate it as a relic of Adam, the Semiticfather of mankind.

Many common shrines of a similar character exist in India . SakhiThe famous place of pilgrimage at Sakhi Sarwar crowns the Sarwar 'high bank of a hill stream at the foot of the Sulaiman range,in the midst of desert scenery, well adapted to penitents whowould mortify the flesh. To this remote spot the Muham-madans come in honour of a Musalman saint; the Sikhs , tovenerate a memorial of their theistic founder , Nanak ; andthe Hindus , to perform their own ablutions and rites. Themount near Madras, associated in Catholic legend with themartyrdom of St. Thomas, was originally a common hill-shrine for Muhammadans, Christians, and Hindus . Suchhill-shrines for joint worship are usually either rock-fortresses,like Kilinjar in the North-Western Provinces and Chunaroverhanging the Ganges , or river-islands, like the beautifulislet on the Indus just below the new railway bridge at Sukkur .

The object of common adoration is frequently a footmark instone. This the Hindus venerate as the footprint of Vishnu or Siva ( Vishnupad or Sivapad) ; the Buddhists regard it as thefootprint of Buddha ; the Jains , of Mahdvira or Parasnath;while the Musalmans revere it as the footprint of Muhammad {Kadam-rasul). The mingled architecture of some of thesepilgrim-sites attests the various races and creeds that combinedto give them sanctity. Buddhism , which in some respectswas at first a revolt against Brahman supremacy, has thusdone much to maintain the continuity between the ancientand the modern religions of India .

Hinduism , however, derived its elements not merely from Non-the two ancient Aryan faiths, the Brahmanical and theBuddhist . In its popular aspects, it drew much of its in Hindu -strength, and many of its rites, from the Naga and other lsm -non - Aryan peoples of India . Buddhists and Brahmansalike endeavoured, during their long struggle, to enlist themasses on their side. The Naga kingdoms were divided, aswe have seen, by the Chinese geographers into those whichhad accepted Buddhism , and those which had not. A chieffeature in Naga-worship was the reverence for dragons Naga rites,or tailed monsters. This reverence found its way intomediaeval Buddhism , and became an important elementin Buddhist mythology. The historian of Tree and Serpent Serpent-,worship goes so far as to say that ‘ Buddhism was little more Hinduism .