The Great Brahminical Diaspora--2

Govind Chandra , the Gahadwal king who ruled the Kashi Janpad wanted to encourage Sanskrit and make Kashi the intellectual capital of the northern plains. One small problem was that Vedic learning had been allowed into this Nagari only after Videgh Madhav, the priest bringing it to eastern side of the Ganges, had agreed to accept Kashi as the Avimukt Kshetra ( a non abandonable area ) of Shiva,  and Lord Shiva as the Chief among the pantheon of all gods. Even after that many of the Shaivaite--Maheshwar sects had been stubbornly opposed to Vedic learning, Jainism and Islam in that order. And the Nath branch of Shaivism had also firml;y denounced the caste system.
Inclusivity comes naturally to the Indian mind .
The Smart tradition of the Vedas, developed by canny minds who could sense the need to change with the changing times, now came to the rescue . The proponents of the liberal non sectarian Smart doctrine propounded the ritualistic pattern of worship for the laity, of a group of five major gods : Shiv ( as Ardha Nareeshwar , who automatically embraces his consort Shakti) , Vishnu, Lakshmi, Ganesh and Surya ( the Chief among the Grahas). The inclusive Smart tradition became so popular that many Shaivite Maheshwars who frequented only the Shiva temples , also began following the well crafted Smart Paddhati (way) of worshipping all the 5 gods within their homes.
The doctrine of live and let live peacefully negotiated what could otherwise have been a bloody and headlong sectarian clash between hard core Vedic wisdom oriented groups and Shiva's sworn acolytes. Inclusive Kashi now happily became a Sanskrit and dialect loving Maheshwar cum Smart city and variety won over sectarianism.
Next: The 5 northern and 5 southern Brahminical sects according to Kalhan.