Shiva evolved from the Vedic god Rudra and the Tamil god Murugan. The worship of Shiva incorporated a number of fertility cults, such as those of the phallic emblem (lingam), the bull (nandi), etc., and was also associated with a number of fertility goddesses. The most important form of Shaivite worship, the worship of the lingam, became current about the beginning of the Christian era.

The belief in a variety of cults at the popular level continued simultaneously with the emergence of these gods. Animals, trees, mountains, and rivers were held sacred. The cow was regularly worshipped. The bull and the snake were centres of fertility rites, as were a number of commonly found trees. The two mountains, Vaikuntha and Kailasha, were sacred being the abodes of Vishnu and Shiva respectively. The waters of the Ganges, having descended from heaven, were believed to have a purifying effect. Together with these cults were included myriads of semi-gods and celestial beings of various ranks.

Another characteristic of Hinduism was a gradual shift in emphasis from ritual alone to the view that a completely personal relationship between God and the devotee was possible. The monotheistic concept of God, with either Vishnu or Shiva as its manifestation, was gaining strength. The relationship was one where God could bestow his grace (prasada) on the devotee, and the degree of devotion (bhakti) varied from person to person.

This idea of personal devotion or bhakti, as it was commonly called, was to become the dynamic force of later Hinduism. Vedic sacrifices were not entirely rejected : they still provided the ceremonial content of occasions such as the coronation of kings, but people lost touch with Vedic tradition. The brahmans appropriated the Vedic texts and in their place people accepted the Epics, the Dharmashastras, and the Puranas as their religious literature.