What are the Different Branches of Hinduism?
Hinduism traditionally is divided into five main branches: • Vaishnava or worshippers of Vishnu • Shaiva or worshippers of Shiva • Shakta or worshippers of the Goddess (Devi or Shakti) • Ganapata or worshippers of Ganapati (Ganesha) • Saura or worshippers of the Sun (Surya) These groups generally coalesce into two, the Vaishnava and Shaiva. As Shakti is the consort of Shiva, her worship can be included with his. As Ganesha is the son of Shiva and Shakti, his worship usually goes along with his parents. As Surya, the Sun, is generally related to Vishnu, his worship usually goes along with that of Vishnu. There are many Hindus, however who accept all five of these approaches, which for most Hindus are intertwined anyway. There is in addition the Vedic or Brahmanical tradition. This is usually divided up according to which of the four Vedas one follows: • Rig Vedis or followers of the Rig Veda • Sama Vedis or followers of the Sama Veda • Atharva Vedis or followers of the Atharva Veda • Ya
