21

THE GODS, GODDESSES, DEMONS AND
DEVILS OF UTTARAKHAND

Besides the Holy dhams of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath
•and Badrinath, the Uttarakhand is credited with a number of
other religious temples located at different places. "There are
250 Saiva temples in Kumaon and 350 in Garhwal, and 35 Vaish-
nava temples in Kumaon and 61 in Garhwal. To the latter class,
however, may be added 65 temples in Nagraja, the Serpent king,
in Garhwal, which are by common report affiliated to the Vaishnava
sects, but in which Shiva also has a place, under the form of
Bhairava of the Shiva temples, 130 in Garhwal and 64 in Kumaon
,are dedicated to the Sakti or female form alone, but of the
Vaisnava temples in both districts only eight. The Sakti form of
both Shiva and Vishnu, however, occurs also in the temples dedi-
•cated to Nagraja and Bhairava, or rather these deities and their
Saktis are popularly held to be forms of Vishnu and Shiva and their
Saktis. Of the Saiva Sakti temples, 42 in Garhwal and 18 in
Kumaon are dedicated to Kali, whilst the Sakti forms of the
Bhairava temples are also known as emanations of Kali. Nanda
*conies next in popularity, and then Chandiga and Durga (all are
names of Siva's wife), the son Ganesh and the minor deities and
-deified mortals and the pre-Brahmanical village Gods. Tlie out-
come of this examination is, therefore, that Siva and Vishnu and