so that as Hinduism spread, it accommodated earlier forms of worship rather than overthrowing them. Similarly many tribes revered animals, but instead of disrespecting them, Hinduism absorbed the animals too, by making them the companions or vehicles (vahanas) of the gods. So Vedic gods found themselves riding a lion, mounting a peacock, reclining on a swan, or sitting on a bull. It was part of the agglomerative nature of Hinduism that it neither rejected nor dismissed the faiths it encountered, but sought to bring them into the fold in this way.