Primary rivals of Shaivites were not Vaishnavites, but tantric Buddhists in medieval era

In the early medieval period, the primary rivals of Shaivites were not Vaishnavites but tantric Buddhists, who had their own rival set of magical rituals. Lacking anything like social media, tantric Buddhists turned to the production and circulation of religious texts to try and subsume Shaivites. Anirudh Kanisetti shows how this rivalry was expressed in the legends of a fierce god, Trailokyavijaya.
Sources:
Snellgrove, David, and Lokesh Chandra. Sarva-tathagatha-sangraha. New Delhi: Jayyed Press, 1981.
Gauvain, Michel. "The Cult of Trailokyavijaya in Java Studied Through the Lens of Epigraphical and Sculptural Remains." in Andrea Acri and Peter Sharrock (eds.) The Creative South, vol 2. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2022.
Hall, Kenneth R. A history of early Southeast Asia: Maritime trade and societal development, 100-1500. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010.
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