The Illustrated Encyclopedia
of
The Illustrated Encyclopedia
of
Hinduism
James G. Lochtefeld, Ph.D.
The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.
New York
To teachers whose gift of learning I can never fully repay.
To students whose learning has taught me, and whose friendship has enriched me. To Fiona, Vera, and Gavin, who put life back into perspective every day,
although they have yet to know this. To Rachel, who has made all of this possible.
Published in 2002 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © 2002 by James G. Lochtefeld
First Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lochtefeld, James G., 1957–
The illustrated encyclopedia of Hinduism/James G. Lochtefeld. p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8239-2287-1 (set)
ISBN 0-8239-3179-X (volume 1) ISBN 0-8239-3180-3 (volume 2) 1. Hinduism Encyclopedias. I. Title. BL1105.L63 2002
294.5'03—dc21 99-27747
CIP
Manufactured in the United States of America
Staff Credits
Editors: Margaret Haerens, Michael Isaac, Christine Slovey Editorial Assistant: Rob Kirkpatrick
Book Design: Olga M. Vega
Cover Design: MaryJane Wojciechowski
Production Design: Erica Clendening, Beverly Fraser, Christine Innamorato, MaryJane Wojciechowski
Volume One
Introduction vi How to Use This Book xiii Contents by Subject xiv Entries A–M 1–450
Volume Two
Entries N–Z 451–786 Note on Transliteration 787 Pronunciation Guide 788 Bibliography 795 Index 807 Photo Credits 875 About the Author 876Table of Contents
As you drive through the cornfields of northern Illinois, just north of the town of Aurora, you may see a massive brick building that seems out of place. It stands three or four stories high with an elaborate facade depicting pillars and cornices. Topped by towering spires with flapping banners, it looks as if it belongs to another world. In a sense it does—the architectural style comes from southern India, and the building itself is a Hindu temple.
I was there late on a Sunday morning, and the parking lot was about half full. There were cars from as far away as Michigan. The building’s main entrance was a little below ground level, and as is common with Hindu temples outside of India, the low-est level had a lobby, a kitchen, and a large meeting room that was comparable to the “church basements” of its Christian counterparts. The lobby was furnished austerely, with folding tables and chairs. There were a few people sitting near the kitchen, drink-ing tea and chattdrink-ing informally.
By the staircases leading upstairs to the temple room were rows of simple shelves, fronted by low benches. I removed my shoes, as is customary before entering a temple, both to preserve the temple and to signify that one is walking on holy ground. The staircase marked the threshold between two regions, the outer and the inner world. Upstairs, the temple was richly decorated. The presiding deity was Venkateshvara, a form of the god Vishnu, whose image was placed in the center of the temple, the most important space. Yet, as in most Hindu temples, there were images of deities from throughout the pantheon: Ganesh, Shiva, Subrahmanya, other forms of Vishnu, dif-ferent forms of the Goddess, and various subsidiary deities. Most of the images were carved from black South Indian granite and polished to a mirrorlike finish. Many were housed in small shrines built out of white marble. The primary function of a Hindu temple is to serve as the home for the deities it contains, and it was clear that the people who had commissioned the temple had spared no efforts. The temple had been lovingly built and has been carefully maintained.
The worshipers in the temple took little notice of me, and I was allowed to roam as I wished. Even though Venkateshvara was the temple’s presiding deity, the primary activity while I was there took place in front of one of the subsidiary shrines, an image of the Goddess in the form of Kumari (“virgin”). Seated around the image were about twenty members of an extended family. The young girls, who were clearly the focus of the rite, sat directly in front of the shrine. Brahmin priests took various offerings from the older women: plastic gallon jugs of milk, Ziploc bags of sugar, and Tupperware containers of yogurt and honey. Each offering was poured over the image in turn. A pitcher of water was poured over the image between each offering to wash it clean. The temple priests performing the rite were dressed traditionally, with white dhotis (garments worn around the waist, extending below the knees), bare chests, and the sacred thread over their left shoulders. They bore crisp red tilaks (sectarian identifying marks) on their foreheads, and intoned the rite in rapid-fire Sanskrit.
Although a Christian visitor might find the languages, deities, and rites completely alien, many of the other elements of the day would be soothingly familiar: a group of families coming for worship on a Sunday morning, dressed in their “Sunday best,” with others chatting over coffee and sweets in the “church basement.” Except for a few sari-clad older women, the people there were dressed no differently than anyone one might encounter on the street—the men in suits and jackets, the girls and women in long, flowing dresses.
Just as the Hindu temple in rural Illinois had introduced Indian customs to the local community, it was clear that the influence of American culture had set this temple apart from its traditional counterparts in India. Unlike in India, where temples serve mainly as places of worship, Hindu temples in America often serve as cultural centers for the Hindu community, sponsoring events such as dance, music, and drama performances, along with language study programs and festival celebrations.
Introduction
In many cases, the membership of Hindu temples in America cuts across the tradi-tional barriers that divide Indian society—social status, regional background, sectar-ian loyalty—giving these Hindu temples far more inclusive constituencies.
The cultural landscape of the United States has changed dramatically in recent years. Today it possesses a plurality of cultures that my grandparents and their gener-ation probably would have found inconceivable. The Hindu temple outside of Aurora, Illinois, is but one small sign of the increasing visibility of Asian cultures in American society. Another sign of this pluralism is the growing number of ways that Americans are coming into contact with traditional Hindu culture—whether through practicing yoga, through alternative medical systems such as ayurvedic medicine, or through the piquant delights of Indian cuisine.
Despite the growing interchange between Indian and American cultures, Hinduism is still often stereotyped and misunderstood. On one hand are the remnants of an antiquated point of view that refuses to see the United States as anything but a Christian nation. Those holding this view either dismiss Hinduism as an alien or exotic set of rituals and beliefs or actively condemn it as idolatrous. On the other hand are people searching for an alternative spirituality who idealize Asian cultures as founts of ancient wisdom. At the very least, such an uncritical embrace ignores these cultures’ genuine tensions, problems, and inequities; at the extreme it can result in a “designer religion,” in which beliefs and practices from various religious traditions are selec-tively adopted, wrenching each of these elements from its roots in a living culture.
Outright condemnation and idealized acceptance overlook the richness and com-plexity of India’s religious and cultural traditions. To gain a genuine understanding, it is important that we discern the cultural context behind Hindu beliefs, practices, and history. In learning about this context, one quickly encounters familiar ideas: hard work, thrift, education, and the importance of the family. Along with these general similarities to American cultural values, one finds equally profound differences. To examine the nuances of Hindu culture is to enter into a rich and complex world with its own inner logic and consistency. Encountering and understanding a different world view can throw one’s own into sharper perspective, enriching it with new depth and understanding.
What Is Hinduism?
The very word Hinduism is misleading. The word was coined by the British as an umbrella term, referring to any and all forms of religion in India, many of which share few if any common features. It was used to describe all sorts of beliefs and practices, from simple nature worship to the most highly sophisticated ritual and philosophical systems.
Hinduism is a vast religious tradition, encompassing various and contradictory strands and ideas. It has usually defied all the usual strategies for categorization and classification. There is no founder, no definitive scripture, no centralized authority, no single supreme god, no creed of essential beliefs, and no heresy. Thus, it would be more accurate to think of the religion as Hinduisms rather than Hinduism, since this would reflect the rich diversity one encounters.
India is a land of contrasts and cultural variety. The subcontinent contains almost every type of environmental ecosystem, the inhabitants of each possessing their own local and regional culture. There are over a dozen distinct languages, each of which establishes and nourishes a regional identity that many Indians maintain with great care wherever they live. The combinations of language, regional identity, sectarian affiliation, and social status have given rise to overwhelming variation. For Hindus, diversity is a basic trait of Hindu life, and thus one person’s practice may be very dif-ferent from another’s. This has given Hinduism little in the way of centralized doctrine or dogma, but its grounding in everyday life has made it extraordinarily resilient and adaptable.
Basic Beliefs
Hinduism is first and foremost a way of life. This means that Hinduism has tended to be orthoprax (stressing correct behavior) rather than orthodox (stressing correct belief ). It tends to be woven through the differing elements of everyday life, rather than only performed as practices or rituals for certain days and times. Hindu religious expression is conveyed through every facet of society: music, dance, art and architec-ture, philosophy, politics, literaarchitec-ture, and social life.
Some of the most important aspects of everyday life in the Hindu tradition are a person’s family and social affiliations. Despite the incredible variety of Hindu belief and practice, each family and local community is tightly and carefully organized. Every individual, as a member of a particular family, has a well-defined role and an obligation to fulfill specific duties. As in any culture, one’s individual identity is strongly shaped by the linguistic, regional, or sectarian characteristics of his or her family. This familial influence persists whether the family lives in its ancestral home or moves to a different region of India or a foreign country.
Families, of course, are members of a larger community. These communities share certain beliefs about a person’s proper role in society based on status, age, and gender. Traditional Indian society was sharply hierarchical. According to the traditional social groupings, there should be four status groups: the brahmins, who are scholars and religious technicians; the kshatriyas, who are warriors and rulers; the vaishyas, who are artisans and farmers; and the shudras, who serve the others. Each person is born as a permanent member of a particular group. Society is seen as an organic whole, in which some parts have higher status than others, but every part is necessary for the whole to function smoothly. A common metaphor for social organization is the human body, which has many different parts performing many different functions, all of which are necessary for the body’s maintenance and well-being. In actual practice, the picture was far more complex. Each of these four groups was split into hundreds of subgroups known as jatis. Jatis were most often identified with a certain hereditary occupation, and a jati’s status in a particular place was subject to all kinds of local vari-ables. These variables could include whether or not members of a jati owned land or the degree to which a jati’s occupation was economically vital to its community.
These beliefs about social status are becoming less important in modern India, and have even less importance for Hindus who live abroad. In modern India, society is still functionally divided into four groups: brahmins; “forward castes,” which tend to control land, money, or power; “backward castes,” which have historically had very little influence, although the situation is changing rapidly; and Dalits (“oppressed”). Once called “untouchables,” many Dalits live in poverty and oppressive social condi-tions. Except for the brahmins, these social divisions bear little relationship to the four groups in the earlier model.
Reincarnation is still a pervasive belief within Hinduism, as it is in other Indian religions such as Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Almost all Hindus have generally accepted that although our bodies are transient, our souls are immortal. After the death of a particular body, the soul will inhabit a different body. The nature of one’s incarnation in a future life is determined by the quantity and quality of one’s karma. Karma literally means “action,” but it also can be generated by words or even thoughts. It is not produced only by the things one does or says, but also by one’s underlying motives. An individual’s good karma will bring a favorable rebirth in heaven as a god or on earth as a wealthy or high-caste human being. Bad karma will bring an unfavor-able rebirth. A person’s current social status reveals how properly he or she lived in the previous life. The notion of karmic rewards and punishments is a central justification for the traditional social hierarchy in India.
Karma is thought of as a purely physical process, like gravity, operating without any need for a divine overseer. An action one performs, for good or for ill, is seen as
the cause, with the future reward or punishment as the effect. Some of these con-sequences occur in this life, while others occur in future lives. Since karma reflects the overall tone of one’s life, it is comparable to the notion of a person’s “character”: Both are formed over a long period of time, both are measures of the whole person, and both reflect how our habitual ways of feeling, thinking, and acting tend to shape who we are.
It is tempting to envision reincarnation as an opportunity to rectify past mistakes or to learn lessons still unlearned. For Hindus, as for Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains, noth-ing could be further from the truth; reincarnation is never seen as an opportunity, but invariably as a burden. This is because all states of being, both good and bad, are ulti-mately impermanent and thus provide no sure refuge. Even the gods, who are enjoy-ing the rewards of their past actions, will be born elsewhere when their stored merit is exhausted. Others are enduring punishment for their sins, but when this is done they will be reborn elsewhere.
Although most Hindus would grant that liberation from reincarnation (moksha) is the ultimate goal, traditional Hindu culture has sanctioned three other goals, all of which are more compatible with a normal life in society: the search for pleasure (kama); the quest for wealth, fame, and power (artha); and, above all, the search for a righteous, balanced life (dharma). This stress on multiple goals reflects the flexibility of Hindu religious life. Each person can pursue different goals according to his or her inclinations, although certain goals are considered to be more appropriate for partic-ular stages of life. In this way a person is free to express his or her individual religious identity, although that identity is inevitably shaped by forces arising from a larger familial, social, and cultural context.
The Roots of Hinduism
The influences and developments of Hinduism are as expansive as the roots and branches of a banyan tree. A banyan tree is unusual in that in addition to the tree’s upward spreading branches, it also has branches that grow down, take root, and become trunks in their own right. An old banyan tree can be hundreds of feet in diam-eter, and it is often difficult to discern which is the original trunk. In the same way, the religion that we call Hinduism is constantly evolving. New religious forms arise from the older ones, while many of the older ones continue to exist. Despite Hinduism’s complex origins, its religious history can be roughly divided into six periods, corre-sponding to the development of varying religious tendencies and ideas.
The earliest and most mysterious of these is the period of the Indus Valley Civilization, named for the large ruined cities found throughout the Indus Valley and beyond. The ruins of prominently placed storage granaries indicate that the civiliza-tion’s economic base was agricultural, and the striking uniformity of the ruins of these cities leads one to believe that the people were bound by some strong central author-ity. Archaeologists have recovered a wealth of physical artifacts, revealing a great deal about the layout of the cities, what the inhabitants ate and wore, and the animals they domesticated. At the same time, nothing is certain about the religious life of these people, although certain artifacts have raised intriguing speculations. It is not even known whether the religion and culture of the Indus Valley Civilization have contin-ued to affect Indian culture, although some scholars have been more inclined to infer this than others.
This culture seemed to lose its vitality sometime around 2000 B.C.E. Within a few
centuries it had largely disappeared from the Indus Valley, although it remained vital for much longer in outlying regions, particularly Gujarat. According to some theories, its decline was the result of a prolonged drought. The latter part of its decline was marked by the arrival of the Aryans. This brought Hinduism into its second period of religious history. The Aryans were a nomadic cattle-herding people whose earliest reli-gious text, the Rg Veda, is believed to have been preserved unchanged for almost four
thousand years. The later strata of the Vedas were composed as the Aryans moved through the Punjab into the Ganges basin. These later parts of the Vedas included the Brahmana literature, which stressed the importance of sacrifice, and the later Aranyakas and Upanishads, which tended to focus on more speculative and philo-sophical questions. During the period in which the Aranyakas and Upanishads were composed, asceticism became an increasingly important element of Hinduism. Asceticism denotes the use of physical discipline and deprivation as a way to attain religious insight and liberate the soul from the cycle of reincarnation. Part of the rea-son for asceticism’s prominence was the growth of competing groups, such as the Jains and the Buddhists, whose monks lived an ascetic life. Asceticism has had an important place in Indian religious life since that time.
The period after the composition of the Vedic literature is sometimes called the Epic period. Between roughly 300 B.C.E. and 500 C.E., many of the ideas most
impor-tant to classical Hinduism were developed and codified. This time was marked by the initial composition of the two great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, although their final revisions came centuries later. The early part of this period also saw the composition of the religious literature known as the Kalpa Sutras. In theory, each Kalpa Sutra had three parts: a shrauta sutra, a grhya sutra, and a dharma sutra, but this neat ordering is belied by the scarcity of complete three-part collections, and the abundance of one or another of these sections without its corre-sponding parts. Shrauta sutras are manuals for Vedic sacrifice, which had become so complex that additional reference material was needed. The shrauta sutra is the only element of the three that has not retained great importance in modern Hindu life. The grhya sutras are manuals for domestic sacrifices, which include the life-cycle rites known as samskaras. Some elements of the grhya sutras still remain vital and vibrant parts of modern Hindu religious life, probably because of their connection with the central transitions in human life: birth, marriage, and death. The dharma sutras provide prescriptions for an organized and stable society by means of a rigid social hierarchy. The prescriptions in the dharma sutras were later expanded in the dharma shastras, which are the theoretical basis of the Hindu social structure.
Aside from the epics and the Kalpa Sutras, this period was also notable for the development of the six classical philosophical schools: the Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta (although the defining figure in the Vedanta school, Shankaracharya, is generally dated in the early ninth century). The philo-sophical system developed by each of these six schools had a common goal: liberat-ing the soul from the bondage of reincarnation. Each of the schools believed that the soul could be liberated by avoiding conceptual errors and apprehending universal truths, although there was considerable disagreement about the nature of these uni-versal truths. The foundational texts for each of these schools laid out their basic philosophical position; in some cases, these texts buttressed their position by appealing to authoritative religious texts such as the Vedas. Over the following cen-turies these foundational texts received further elaboration through multiple layers of commentaries, which in some cases have continued to be written almost up until contemporary times.
This period is also marked by the rise in importance of the deities Shiva, Vishnu, and the Goddess, who are still the primary deities worshiped in modern Hinduism. These deities had a central place in the sectarian literature known as the puranas, another of the important types of text composed in this period. The puranas’ most notable feature is their sectarian character, as they often exalt one particular deity over the others. They also include information on many other aspects of religious life, including sacred places, sacred times, instructions for various religious rites, and even descriptions of the heavens and hells. The final type of religious text first composed in this period were the tantras, which laid out esoteric and often hidden ritual traditions.
In later times, both the puranas and the tantras have been the subject of extensive commentaries. In addition, this period saw the development of new artistic and archi-tectural styles. Many of the forces manifested or formed in this period remain integral parts of contemporary Hindu life.
The period following this was marked by the growth and flowering of the devo-tional (bhakti) tradition, which for more than a millennium has been one of the most powerful religious forces in Hindu culture. Bhakti stresses the necessity of a direct and personal relationship with God, in whatever form that deity is conceived. Its propo-nents tended to be contemptuous of the neatly constructed social order detailed in the dharma shastras, which stressed birth rather than devotional capacity as the most important criterion. Much of medieval Hindu thought was formed out of the tension between these two competing ideals, dharma and bhakti, and there was often no easy resolution of the conflict between their differing perspectives.
The growing presence of Europeans in India marked the next period in Hinduism’s history. Although there had been a European presence in India since the mid-1500s, when the Portuguese colonized Goa, the introduction of British colonists presented the greatest challenge to Indian society. In the early 1600s, the British East India Company gained its first foothold with a trading station at Surat in modern Gujarat and gradually put down additional roots in Bombay, Madras, and the Bengal region. With the effective collapse of the Moghul empire in the mid-1700s, the nobil-ity that ruled peripheral regions such as Bengal began to function independently. This allowed the British to displace the indigenous rulers as the political authorities and the recipients of land revenue. The East India Company was a commercial venture, and its primary goal was to make money for its shareholders. Yet the Indian body politic was so fragmented that the company encountered little effective resistance and aggressively expanded its sphere of influence from Bengal up the Ganges River valley and into central India. In some cases the company would simply absorb small kingdoms under the pretense of protecting law and order, especially when the leader-ship had no clear line of succession. In other cases it would make agreements with local nobility to create small princely states, some of which survived until Indian inde-pendence in 1947. General discontent with the company’s aggressive expansion finally exploded in the rebellion of 1857–58, after which India was governed as part of the British Empire.
The company was primarily driven by economic motives, but it justified its pater-nal presence by portraying the Indians as unable to govern themselves effectively. Although the company’s policy was not to interfere with its subjects’ religious lives, since any such tensions would be bad for business, the company’s board of directors in England was under strong domestic pressure to open up their dominions to Christian missionary activity. Contemporary missionary polemics against Hinduism usually stressed repugnant practices such as sati (the burning of a widow on her hus-band’s funeral pyre), child marriage, the pitiable plight of many widows, or Hindu “idolatry.” Such political and religious critiques assumed the implicit superiority of European Christian culture and provided the moral sanction for colonialism that Rudyard Kipling described as the “white man’s burden.”
Hindus responded to these critiques in several ways. The most violent response came in the rebellion of 1857–58, in which popular discontent led various groups to try to drive the British out of India. Although there was widespread opposition to British rule, it was never unified, allowing the British to defeat their adversaries one by one. A far more effective response came in religious terms, as progressive Hindus attempted to respond to the missionary critiques. One result of this was the formation of various societies, such as the Brahmo Samaj, Prarthana Samaj, and Arya Samaj. The first two of these attempted to reform Hindu religious life by removing certain offen-sive practices in response to criticism from outsiders. These practices included the
caste system, child marriage, and the ban on widow remarriage. The Arya Samaj was formed to regenerate and revitalize Hinduism, with the explicit position that Hinduism was far superior to Christianity and Islam.
The end of the nineteenth century was also marked by the gradual establishment of Hinduism as a viable religious tradition in the West, as Hindu teachers arrived in Europe and America. Some of the early figures were Swami Vivekananda and Paramahamsa Yogananda, and the more recent ones are Prabhupada, Muktananda, Yogi Bhajan, Guru Maharaj Ji, Krishnamurti, and Shri Chinmoy. This recent group of teachers had an explicit missionary goal, aiming to gain followers among native-born Europeans and Americans.
The most recent period in the development of Hindu religious traditions is marked by the emigration of Indians to America. Many Indians have settled abroad seeking education or to pursue specialized careers. They have established centers of Hindu worship, like the temple Aurora, to serve the needs of the Indian community, including the need to pass on a sense of Hindu identity to their children. Yet despite their efforts to preserve their traditions and culture, their very presence in a different society is causing changes in their religious lives. American society has made certain traditions more difficult to preserve. For example, the community often celebrates religious festivals on the weekend following the traditional festival day, since this is when people have more spare time. Life in American society and the influence of American values have also made it difficult to conform to certain traditional patterns. The traditional requirement that Hindus marry within their jati has been assailed both by the American emphasis on the importance of a “love marriage” and by the poten-tial shortage of suitable partners. In the same way, certain dietary restrictions become harder to maintain but have greater complexity. A Hindu in America must decide not only if he or she should simply avoid eating beef but also whether to avoid any place where beef is served.
In India, the twentieth century has been marked by the development of an assertive and militant Hindu nationalism. Hindu nationalism’s “founding father” was V. D. Savarkar, but the most important body promoting this idea in the recent past has been the Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSSis the mother organization for
many different affiliates, ranging from labor unions to student organizations to social relief bodies. Its two most important affiliates for promoting Hindu nationalism are the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a religious organization, and the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), a mass-based political party. In the early 1990s, both organizations were
instrumental in radical Hindu politics, particularly in the destruction of a mosque alleged to have been built on the site of the god Rama’s birthplace in the North Indian city of Ayodhya. Since that time, the VHPhas retained its radical edge, but the BJPhas
not. The BJP has put greater distance between itself and the VHP, seeking to move
toward the political center and thus expand its reach in electoral politics. It has begun stressing issues that are vital to a broader spectrum of Hindu voters, such as corrup-tion and the rising cost of living.
This encyclopedia offers the student of religion a place to begin exploring the key elements of Hindu religious culture and practice. I hope that the entries will be a springboard for further study of this great, living religious tradition.
In many cases, determining dates for the lives of Indian figures is problematic because there are not good records for many figures, even in comparatively modern times. The most definite dates tend to be from inscriptions, and thus this evidence is best for kings and others who were able to commission inscriptions. Philosophers, devotional poets, and writers often could not. In this book, a question mark follows dates that scholars have determined by inference (for example, based on internal evidence in texts, such as references to historical events) but are not backed up by documentary evidence.
Note on Dates
How to Use This Book
This encyclopedia includes the following features:The Contents by Subject lists related entries in the following categories: Art, Architecture, and Iconography; Astrology and Cosmology; Biographical Entries; Calendar and Time; Ceremonies, Practices, and Rituals; Communities, Groups, and Organizations; Dance; Dynasties; Geography; Literature, Language, and Drama; Medicine, Physiology, and Alchemy; Music, Hymns, and Prayers; Mythology and Beliefs; Philosophy and Logic; and Yoga and Tantra.
Cross-referenced terms within entries are indicated in boldface type.
Parenthetical citations are used to refer to selections from primary Hindu texts. For sources from the Vedas, the first number refers to the book and the second to the hymn. For later sources, including the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and all of the dharma literature, the first number refers to the chapter and the second to the verse.
Lineage charts for characters in the Hindu epics the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana appear on pages 401 and 556, respectively.
Words with distinctive pronunciations are listed in the back of the book with diacritical marks—symbols above or below the letters to indicate their proper pronunciation.
Abbreviated bibliographic citations appear at the end of some entries. The full citations are grouped together in the bibliography.
• • • • • •
Abhaya Hasta 1 Adhishthana 7 Akshamala 24 Alidhasana 28 Amalaka 30 Aniconic Image 40 Anjali Hasta 42 Ankusha 42 Antahpura 44 Antarala 44 Architecture 51 Ardhamandapa 52 Atranji Khera 70 Babri Masjid 76 Bana 85 Bath, Mohenjo-Daro 88 Begram 89 Bhairavaprakasha 96 Bhogamandapa 111 Brhadeshvar 126 Bronzes 127 Caves, Artificial 134 Chaitya 136 Chandiprakasha 140 Chatti 144 Chauri 146 Chin Mudra 149 Corbelling 154 Damaru 168 Dampati 169 Danda 171 Danda Hasta 171 Deul 183 Dhanus 188 Didarganj Yakshi 197 Dravida 204 Dvarapala 214 Ellora 221 Gada 231 Gaja Hasta 231 Garbhagrha 241 Gesture 246
Gobind Deo Mandir 259
Gopuram 256 Gyan Vapi 267 Hala 269 Harappa 273 Hasta 277 Hastinapur 277 Hoysaleshvar Temple 289 Iconic Image 293
Indus Valley Art 298
Indus Valley Seals 301
Inscriptions 304 Jagamohan 308 Jatamakuta 316 Jhanki 319 Jnana Mudra 321 Kailasanatha 331 Kalasha 332 Kalibangan 335 Kalighat 336 Kalika Devi 336 Kalpeshvar 340 Kalyanamandapam 340 Kandariya Mahadev 346 Kapala 348 Karandamakuta 351 Karni Mata 354 Kataka Hasta 357 Katyavalambita Hasta 359 Khadga 365 Khatvanga 366 Khetaka 367 Kiritamakuta 367 Kirtimukha 368 Lakshmi-Narayan Temple 386 Linga 390 Lingaraja Temple 390
Lost Wax Casting 392
Lothal 393 Mahakaleshvar 402 Mahamandapa 404 Makarasana 411 Mallikarjuna 413 Mandala 416 Mandapa 417 Mandir 418 Mandu 418 Martand 429 Miniature Painting 439 Mithuna 440 Mudra 445 Mukhalinga 447 Murals 449 Murti 450 Musala 450 Nagara 452 Natamandira 464 Natyashastra 467 Pahari 488 Parashu 500 Parashurameshvar Temple 501 Pasha 505 Phallic Emblem 509 Pillar Edicts 510 Pitha 511 Pustaka 540 Rajasthani 547 Rajrajeshvar Temple 549 Ramgarh 560 Rock Edicts 575 Sandarshana Mudra 593 Sankat Mochan 595 Sculpture 612 Shakti 620 Shikhara 629 Shilpa Shastra 630 Shrinathji 641 Shrivatsa 645 Shula 648 Sthala Murti 664 Suchi Hasta 667 Svastika 678 Svayambhu Images 679 Tanka 687 Tarjini Hasta 690 Tribhanga 707 Trishul 710 Urushringa 725 Varada Hasta 739 Venu 747 Veshara 747 Vihara 750 Vimana 753 Vismaya Hasta 764 Vyakhyana Mudra 769 Yoga Mudra 782
Art, Architecture, and Iconography
Akasha 22 Antariksha 44 Cosmic Egg 155 Cosmic Time 155 Cosmology 156 Day of Brahma 180 Dvapara Yuga 214 Dvipas 215 Earth 217 Elements 220 Fire 228 Gemstones 246 Golden Embryo 254 Heavens 278 Hells 279 Jambudvipa 311 Jupiter 324 Jyotisha 326 Kali Yuga 338 Kalpa 338 Ketu 365 Krta Yuga 375 Kushadvipa 383 Mahayuga 409 Manvantara 424 Mars 429 Mercury 436 Moon 445 Nakshatra 456 Natal Horoscope 464 Pacification of Planets 486 Panchak Nakshatra 491 Panchang 492 Plakshadvipa 513 Planets 513 Pushkaradvipa 539 Rahu 545 Salmaladvipa 585 Sankranti 595 Saptasindhu 601 Saturn 608 Shakadvipa 619 Space 662 Sun 669 Surya 674 Treta Yuga 707 Venus 747 Water 771 Wind 773 Yantra 778 Yuga 785 Zodiac 786
Astrology and Cosmology
Advani, Lal Krishna 13Ajatashatru (1) 21 Ajatashatru (2) 21 Ajita Keshakambalin 22 Akbar 23 Akkadevi 24 Alberuni 28 Allama Prabhu 29 Amaru 31 Ambedkar, Dr. B.R. 33 Amritanandamayi 34 Anandamayi Ma 36 Anandapala 36 Anantadas 36 Andal 37 Apastamba 48 Appar 48 Appaya Dikshita 49 Aryabhatta 56 Ashoka 63 Ashvalayana 66 Aurangzeb 70 Aurobindo Ghose 70 Avalon, Arthur 72 Avvaiyar 74 Badarayana 77 Bahina Bai 79 Bana 85 Basavanna 87 Baudhayana 88 Bhagabhadra 93 Bhaktavijaya 99 Bhandarkar, R.G. 101 Bharadvaja 102 Bharavi 106 Bhartrhari 106 Bhartrprapancha 106 Bhaskara 107 Bhavabhuti 108 Bhave, Vinobha 108 Bhoja 112 Bijak 116 Bimbisara 117 Bindusara 117 Birla, Ghanshyamdas 117 Bose, Subhash Chandra 119 Cekkilar 134 Chaitanya 135 Chanakya 139 Chandidas 140 Chandra Gupta I 141 Chandra Gupta II 141 Chandragupta Maurya141 Charaka 142 Charanadas 143 Chatterjee, Bankim Chandra 144 Chaturbhujdas 145 Chidvilasananda 147 Chinmayanand, Swami 149 Chinmoy, Shri 149 Chitswami 151 Chokamela 151 Coomaraswamy, Ananda 154 Coryat, Thomas 155 Cunningham, Sir Alexander 162 Dadu 163 Dayanand Saraswati, Swami 179 Deoras, Balasaheb 182 Devara Dasimayya 185 Dhanga 188 Di Nobili, Roberto 198 Eknath 219 Fani, Muhsin 226 Gadge Maharaj 231 Gandhi, Mohandas K. 234 Garibdas 242 Gaudapada (1) 242 Gaudapada (2) 243 Gautama 244 Godse, Nathuram 253 Gokhale, Gopal Krishna 254 Gokulnath 254 Golwalkar, Madhav Sadashiv 254 Gora 256 Gorakhnath 257 Gosala Maskariputra 258 Goswami, Jiva 258 Goswami, Rupa 258 Goswami, Sanatana 259 Govindswami 260 Guru Maharaj Ji 266 Haridasa 273 Harihara 274 Hariray 275 Harivamsh 276 Harsha 276 Hedgewar, Dr. K.B. 278 Hiranyakeshin 284
Holkar, Ahalya Bai 287
Hsuan Tsang 290
Ilangovadigal 293
Ishvarakrishna 306
Ishvara Puri 306
Jaimini 310 Jallianwala Bagh 311 Janabai 312 Jayadeva 318 Jayapala 319 Jayarashi 319 Jimutavahana 319 Jnaneshvar 321
Jones, Sir William 322
Kabir 328 Kalhana 333 Kalidasa 335 Kamalakanta 342 Kamban 343 Kanada 344 Kapila 350 Karpatri Maharaj, Swami 354 Kautilya 360 Kavikarnapura 361 Krishnadas 372 Krishnadas Kaviraj 373
Krishna Deva Raya 373
Krishnamishra 373 Krishnamurti, Jiddu 374 Kshemaraja 376 Kulashekhara 377 Kumara Gupta I 377 Kumarapala 377 Kumarila 378 Kumbhadas 379
Lajpat Rai, Lala 384
Lakshmibai 386 Lakshmidhara 386 Lakulisha 387 Lalitaditya 387 Lalleshvari 387 Lokacharya 392 Madhava 395 Madhusudana Saraswati 396 Madhva 396 Magha 398 Mahadeviyakka 402 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 407 Mahendravarman 409 Mahipati 409 Mahmud of Ghazni 410 Mallinatha 414 Malviya, Madan Mohan 414 Mandana Mishra 417 Manikkavachakar 420
Marshall, Sir John 429
Mathurakavi 431 Matsyendranath 432 Medhatithi 434 Megasthenes 434 Meher Baba 435 Mirabai 439 Mitra Mishra 440 Morari Bapu 445 Mueller, F. Max 446 Muktananda 447 Muktibai 447 Murari Gupta 449 Nabhadas 451 Namdev 459 Nammalvar 459 Nanddas 460 Narasimhavarman I 462 Narasimhavarman II 462 Narayana Bhatta 462 Narsi Mehta 463 Nathamuni 466 Nayachandra Suri 470 Nayanar 470 Nigantha Nataputta 472 Nimbarka 473 Nirmala Devi 475 Nivedita, Sister 478 Nivrttinath 478 Padmapada 486 Pakudha Kacchayana 489 Panini 497 Parmananddas 502 Patanjali 506 Periyalvar 508 Pey 509 Pipa 511 Poygai 515 Prabhakara 515 Prabhupada 516 Prakashatman 519 Pramukh Swami 521 Prashastapada 523 Prinsep, James 527 Priyadas 528 Pulakeshin II 530 Purandaradas 533 Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli 542 Raja Raja 546 Rajashekhara 547 Rajasimhavarman 547 Rajendra I 548 Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shri 548 Ramakrishna 552 Ramana Maharshi 553 Ramananda 553 Ramanand Sagar 554 Ramanuja 554 Ramdev 559 Ramprasad 562 Ranade, Mahadev Govind 564 Raskhan 566 Ravidas 569 Rishabha 573
Roy, Ram Mohan 575
Sai Baba 583 Sambandar 586 Samudra Gupta 591 Sanjaya Belatthiputa 594 Sarmanochegas 603 Sashanka 604
Sathya Sai Baba 605
Sattan 608
Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar 610
Sayana 612
Sen 614
Sen, Keshub Chander 614 Shabara 616
Shankaracharya 623
Shirdi Sai Baba 631
Shivaji 636 Shivananda, Swami 636 Shraddhanand, Swami 639 Shrichandra 641 Shudraka 647 Simuka 651
Singh, Ishvara Prasad Narayan 651
Singh, Udit Narayan 651
Someshvara I 659 Sundaramurtti 670 Sureshvara 673 Suryavarman II 675 Sushruta 675 Tagore, Rabindranath 682 Thoreau, Henry David 695 Tilak, Bal Gangadhar 697
Tirumalai Nayak 701 Tirumalisai 702 Tirumangai 702 Tirunavukkarashu 702 Tiruppan 703 Tiruvalluvar 704 Tondaradippodi 705 Tota Puri 706 Trilochan 708 Tukaram 712 Tulsidas 713 Vachaspati Mishra 728 Vallabhacharya 735 Vamakhepa 737 Vatsyayana (1) 743 Vatsyayana (2) 744 Vedanta Deshika 745 Vedanta Society 746 Vidyapati 750 Vijnaneshvara 751 Vikramaditya 752
Achala Ekadashi 4 Adi 8 Aippasi 19 Aja Ekadashi 21 Akshaya Trtiya 25 Amalaki Ekadashi 30 Anant Chaturdashi 37 Ani 40 Annakut 42
Ardha Kumbha Mela 52
Ashadh 61 Ashvin 67 Avani 72 Ayana 74 Bahula Chauth 79 Baisakh 81 Baisakhi 81 Baruthani Ekadashi 87 Bhadrapada 93 Bhairava Jayanti 96 Bhaiya Duj 97 Bhishma Ashtami 111 Brahma Muhurta 122 Buddha Purnima 128 Calendar 130 Chaitra 136 Chaturmas Vrat 145 Chittirai (1) 151 Chittirai (2) 151 Dakshinayana 167 Day 178 Day of Brahma 180 Devotthayan Ekadashi 187 Devshayani Ekadashi 187 Diwali 200 Dussehra 212 Ekadashi 218 Festival Calendar 226 Float Festival 229 Friday 230 Full Moon 230 Gandhi Jayanti 236 Ganesh Chaturthi 237 Ganga Dashahara 238 Gaura 243 Ghatika 246 Govardhan Puja 260 Guru Purnima 267 Hanuman Jayanti 272 Holi 285 Independence Day 294 Indira Ekadashi 295 Intercalary Month 304 Janaki Navami 313 Janmashtami 314 Jaya Ekadashi 318 Jyeshth 325 Kamada Ekadashi 341 Kamika Ekadashi 343 Karka Sankranti 351 Kartigai 355 Kartik 355 Kartik Purnima 355 Karva Chauth 356 Krishna Paksha 374 Kumbha Mela 381 Lohari 392 Lunar Month 393 Magh 398 Magh Mela 398 Makara Sankranti 411 Malamasa 412 Margali 425 Margashirsha 425 Masi 430 Mauni Amavasya 432 Mela 435 Mohini Ekadashi 443 Mokshada Ekadashi 444 Monday 444 Muhurta 447 Nag Panchami 454 Nanak Jayanti 459 Narak Chaturdashi 461 Narasimha Jayanti 462 Nasik Mela 463 Navaratri 468 New Moon 471 Nirjala Ekadashi 475 Onam 483 Panguni 497 Papamochani Ekadashi 498 Papankusha Ekadashi 498 Parashuram Jayanti 501 Parivartini Ekadashi 502 Paush 508 Phalgun 509 Pitrpaksha 512 Pongal 514 Purattasi 533 Purushottama Mas 536 Putrada Ekadashi 540 Radhashtami 544 Raksha Bandhan 549 Rambha Ekadashi 558 Ram Navami 562 Rath Yatra 567 Ravidas Jayanti 569 Republic Day 571 Rishi Panchami 574 Sakata Chauth 583 Sandhya 594 Santoshi Ma Vrat 598 Saphala Ekadashi 599 Saturday 608 Satyanarayan Vrat 609 Savitri Puja 612 Seasons 612 Shaka Era 619 Shattila Ekadashi 627 Shitalashtami 632 Shivaratri 637 Shravan 640 Shukla Paksha 647 Sinhastha Mela 651 Somavati Amavasya 659 Sunday 670 Tagore Jayanti 682 Tai 682 Tamil Months 685 Teej 692 Thursday 696 Tithi 705 Tuesday 712 Tulsi Vivah 713 Tulsidas Jayanti 713 Utpanna Ekadashi 726 Utsava Murti 726 Uttarayana 726 Vaikasi 729 Valmiki Jayanti 736 Vasant Panchami 741 Vijaya Ekadashi 751 Vikram Era 752 Wednesday 771 Week 771 Year 780 Yogini Ekadashi 783
Calendar and Time
Viramamunivar 757 Vishakhadatta 758 Vishnuswami 760 Vitthalnath 766 Vivekananda, Swami 767 Vyasa 770Woodroffe, Sir John 773
Yajnavalkya 775 Yaksha 776 Yamunacharya 777 Yogananda, Paramahamsa 782 Yogi Bhajan 783
Abhaya Hasta 1 Abhisheka 3 Abortion 3 Achamana 4 Achamaniya 4 Act of Truth 5 Adhikara 6 Adoption 11 Adultery 11 Agnihotra 16 Agnipradakshinam 16 Agnipravesha 16 Agnishtoma 16 Ahimsa 18 Akhand Path 23 Akhara 23 Ammonite 33 Animal Sacrifice 41 Annaprashana Samskara 43 Antyeshthi Samskara 45 Anulepana 46 Apaddharma 48 Aprashasta Marriage 49 Apurva 49 Arati 51 Archana 51 Arghya 53 Arranged Marriage 54 Arsha Marriage 54 Ashaucha 62 Ashirvad 63 Ashvamedha 66 Ashvattha 66 Asthi-Sanchayana 68 Asthi-Visarjana 68 Asura Marriage 68 Avahana 71 Bahi 78 Baksheesh 82 Bana Linga 85 Banking 86 Barat 87 Begging 88 Bhakti 98 Bhandara 101 Bhang 101 Bhutalingas 115 Bhutayajna 115 Bidhai Samaroh 115 Bilva 117 Birth 117 Brahmahatya 120 Brahma Marriage 121 Brahmayajna 124 Brideprice 127 Burial 129 Castration 132 Celibacy 135 Chakora 137 Chandrayana 142 Charanamrta 143 Charas 143 Childhood Rites 147 Child Marriages 148 Chillum 148 Chudakarana Samskara 152 Cinnabar 153 Collyrium 153 Commensality 153 Consecration 154 Corpses 154 Cow 157 Cow Dung 158 Cow Slaughter 159 Cremation 160 Cremation Ground 161 Daiva Marriage 165 Dakshina 166 Dakshinachara 166 Dana 169 Danda Hasta 171 Dandavat Pranam 172 Darshan 173 Dasa Bhava 173 Datura 176 Death Rites 180 Deathbed Rites 180 Deer 180 Devapratishtha 184 Devayajna 186 Dharna 192 Dhuni 195 Dhupa 196 Digambara 197 Diksha 197 Dipa 198 Divorce 200 Dog 201 Dowry 203 Dowry Death 203 Dropsy 207 Eating 217 Eclipse 217 Ekoddishta 220 Endogamy 221 Eroticism 221 Family Custom 225 Feticide 227 Gambling 232 Gandharva Marriage 233 Garbhadhana Samskara 241 Gauna 243 Ghanta 246 Ghat 246 Godana 250 Gotra 259 Hair 269 Hemp 279 Hijra 280 Homa 288 Homosexuality 288 Hookswinging 288 Human Sacrifice 290 Hundi 291 Hygiene 291 Hypergamous Marriage 291 Hypogamous Marriage 291 Impalement 293 Infanticide 302 Inheritance 303 Initiation 303 Installation 304 Intoxicants 305 Ishtadevata 306 Jajman 311 Japa 315 Jata 316 Jatakarma Samskara 316 Jauhar 318 Jivacchraddha 320 Joking Relationships 322 Jutha 324 Kalivarjya 337 Kalpavas 339 Kamandalu 342 Kamya Karma 344 Kanvar 347 Kanyadan 347 Karnavedha Samskara 354 Kavadi 360 Keshanta Samskara 364 Kulachara 377 Leather 388 Liquor 391 Lota 392 Love Marriage 393 Madhurya Bhava 395 Magic 399 Maithuna 411 Mala 411 Mangal Sutra 419 Marriage Ceremonies 427 Marriage, 8 Classical Forms 427 Marriage Prohibitions 429 Matrilinear Succession 431 Meat 434 Menstruation 436 Modes of Devotion 441 Moneylending 444
Mundan 449 Naimittika Karma 455 Naivedya 456 Namakarana 457 Namaskara 458 Nazar 470 Nishkramana 477 Nitya Karma 477 Niyoga 478 Nryajana 479 Nudity 479 Obscenity 482 Offerings 482 Ordeal, Trial by 483 Paduka 487 Padya 488 Paishacha Marriage 488 Palanquin 490 Panchagavya 491 Panchagni-Tapa 491 Panchakroshi Yatra 491 Panchamahayajna 492 Panchayatana Puja 494 Panda 494 Panigrahana 497 Parakiya 498 Parampara 499 Parvana 503 Patita 507 Pinda 510 Pindadan 510 Pitryajna 513 Polyandry 514 Polygamy 514 Pradakshina 517 Pradosh Vrat 518 Prajapatya Marriage 519 Pranapratishtha 522 Prasad 523 Prashasta Marriage 523 Pravara 525 Prayashchitta 526 Prayoga 526 Pregnancy 526 Prenatal Rites 527 Prohibition 528 Prostitution 528 Puja 529 Pumsavana Samskara 531 Purity 534 Pushpa 539 Rajabhiseka 546 Rajasuya 548 Rakshasa Marriage 550 Religious Persecution 571 Reservations 571 Rites of Protection 574 Rtvij 576 Sacred Thread 578 Sacrifice 579 Sadhana 580 Safai 581 Sakha Bhava 584 Samadhi Shrine 585 Samavartana Samskara 585 Samharakrama 587 Samkalpa 587 Samskara 590 Sandarshana Mudra 593 Sangam 594 Sankalpa 595 Sapinda 599 Sapindikarana 599 Saptapadi 601 Sarvasvara 604 Satsang 607 Satyagraha 609 Shalagram 622 Shanta Bhava 625 Shaving 627 Shishtachara 631 Shraddhas 638 Shravan Vrat 640 Shuddhi 646 Simantonnayana Samskara 650 Smarana 656 Snana 657 Snataka 658
Solah Somvar Vrat 658
Sons 661 Stages of Life 663 Steya 664 Stridhan 664 Stridharma 664 Suicide 668 Surapana 671 Sutakashaucha 676 Svadharma 676 Svakiya 677 Svayamvara 680 Tantra 688 Tapas 689 Tarpana 691 Temple Cars 693 Thandai 694 Three Debts 695 Tika 697 Tirthas 698 Tirtha Shraddha 699 Tirthayatra 699 Toddy Palm 705 Transcendental Meditation 707 Tripundra 709 Tumari 714 Tyag 716 Upachara 720 Upanayana Samskara 721 Upasana 723 Upavasa 723 Urdhvabahu 723 Urdhvapundra 724 Urdhvaretas 724 Vajapeya 734 Varnashrama Dharma 741 Vastra 742 Vatsalya Bhava 743 Vedarambha Samskara 746 Vegetarianism 746 Vibhuti 748 Vidhi 749 Vidyarambha Samskara 750 Viragal 756 Visarjana 757 Vivaha Samskara 766 Vrat 768 Widows 772 Witchcraft 773 Women 773 Worship 774 Worship of Tools 774 Worship of Weapons 774 Yajna 775 Yatra 779 Yoni 784
Achara 4 Acharya 5 Adhvaryum 7 Adivasi 10 Aghori 14 Agni Akhara 15 Agnikula 16 Agrahara 17 Ahir 19 Akshar Purushottam Samstha 25 Alakhiya Akhara 26 Alvar 29 Ananda Akhara 35
Ananda Marga Yoga Society 35 Anandawara 36 Andhra 38 Ani 40 Aranya Dashanami 49 Aryan 56 Arya Samaj 57 Ascetic 59 Ashram 64 Ashrama Dashanami 64 Ashtachap 64 Atala Akhara 69 Atita 69 Aughar 70 Avadhuta 71 Avahana Akhara 71 Baba 76 Bahudaka 79 Bairagi Naga 81 Baithak 81 Bajrang Dal 82 Bania 85 Banjara 86 Belur Math 90
Benares Hindu University 91 Bhagavata 94 Bhairava Akhara 96 Bhakta 97 Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 101 Bharati Dashanami 104
Bharatiya Janata Party 104 Bhil 109 Bhogawara 111 Bhuriwara 113 Bhutam 115 Brahmacharin 120 Brahmacharya 120 Brahma Kumaris 121 Brahma Sampraday 123 Brahmins 125 Brahmo Samaj 125 Caste 131 Chamar 138 Charanadasi 143 Chatuh-Sampradayi Nagas 145 Child Widows 148 Chitpavan 150 Cow Protection Movement 158 Dadupanthi Naga 164 Dadupanth 164 Daita 164 Dalit 168 Dandi Sanyasis 172 Dashanami 173 Dasyus 176 Daughters 177 Deshastha Brahmins 182 Devadasi 183 Devar 184 Dhangar 188 Dharmashastra 191 Dhobi 193 Diaspora Populations 196 Dikshanama 197 Dikshitar 198 Dindi 198
Divine Life Society 199
Dom 202 Dravida Brahmins 205 Dwara 215 Family Relationships 225 Faqir 226 Ganpatya 241 Garibdasi Community 242 Gauda Brahmins 242 Gaudiya Vaishnava 243 Gayawal 245 Giri Dashanami 247 Godman 253 Gond 255 Gosain 257 Gotra 259 Govardhan Math 260 Gujarati 264 Gujjar 264 Guru 266 Hamsa 270 Harijan 275 Hindu Mahasabha 282 Hindutva 283 Hotr 288 Indus Valley Civilization 298 ISKCON 306 Jana Sangh 314 Jangama 314 Jat 316 Jatis 317 Juna Akhara 323 Jyotir Math 326 Kabirpanth 329 Kalamukha 332 Kamakotipith 341 Kanaujia 345 Kanphata 347 Kapalikas 349 Kapalin 349 Kapu 350 Karnata 353 Kayasth 363 Kitawara 368 Kshatriya 375 Kumhar 381 Kunbi 381 Kutichaka 383 Lingayat 390 Lohar 391 Mahabrahman 402 Mahamandaleshvar 403 Mahamantra 405 Mahanirvani Akhara 405 Mahant 405 Mahanubhav 405 Mahapataka 406 Mahapatra 406 Mahar 407 Maharashtri 407 Maithila 410 Mali 413 Mandala 416 Mandaleshvar 416 Maratha 424 Marwari 430 Math 430 Mauni 432 Minorities 439 Mleccha 441 Muni 449 Naga 452 Nai 455 Naisthika 456 Nambudiri 458 Nathpanthi 466 Nayars 470 Niranjani Akhara 474 Nirikari 474 Nirmala 475 Nirmohi Ani 476 Nirvani Ani 476 Nityasamsarin 477 Oraon 483 Pancha Dravida 490 Pancha Gauda 491
Pancharatra 493 Panchayat 493 Pani 497 Panth 497 Paramahamsa 498 Parivrajaka 502 Parvata Dashanami 503 Pashupata 505 Peshwa 509 Pracharak 516 Prarthana Samaj 522 Pravara 525 Pujari 530 Pundit 531 Puri Dashanami 534 Purohit 535 Pushti Marg 539 Radha Soami 544 Radhavallabh Sampraday 545 Rajput 549 Ramakrishna Mission 552 Ramanandi 553 Ram Rajya Parishad 563 Ram Rasik Sampraday 563 Ramsnehi 564 Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh 565 Rasik 566 Ravidasis 569 Rawal 570 Rawat 570 Rishi 573 Rudra Sampraday 577 Sadhu 580 Sagara Dashanami 581 Sahajiya 582 Sampraday 589 Sanaka Sampraday 592 Sanatana Sampraday 593 Sant 596 Santal 597 Sanyasi 598 Sanyasi Rebellion 598 Saraswat 601 Saraswati Dashanami 603 Shaiva 618 Shaiva Nagas 618 Shaiva Siddhanta 618 Shakhas 619 Shakta 620 Shankaracharyas 623 Sharada Math 625 Shiksha 629 Shishya 632 Shiv Sena 633 Shramana 639 Shringeri Math 643 Shri Sampraday 643 Shrivaishnava 644 Shudras 647 Siddha 650 Smarta 656 Sonar 660 Surdas 672 Suryapraksha 675 Svarup 678 Svayamsevak 679 Swaminarayan Sect 680 SYDA 681 Teli 692 Tengalai 693 Thakur 694 Thief Castes 695 Three HO 695 Thugs 696 Tirtha Dashanami 699 Tirupati/Tirumalai Devasthanam 702 Trika Shaivism 708 Twice-Born 715 Udasi 717 Udgatr 718 Untouchables 720 Upasaka 723 Utkala 725 Vadagalai 728 Vaishnava 731 Vaishya 733 Vallabhite 735 Vana Dashanami 737 Varkari Panth 739 Varna 740 Vastradhari 742 Vellala 746 Vidyadhara 749 Vishva Hindu Parishad 761 Vishva Nirmala Dharam 764 Vratya 768 World Parliament of Religions 774 Yajamana 775 Yati 779 Yatri 780
Dance
Abhaya Hasta 1 Bharatanatyam 103 Chau 146 Danda Hasta 171 Gaja Hasta 231 Gesture 246 Hasta 277 Jnana Mudra 321 Kataka Hasta 357 Kathak 358 Kathakali 359 Katyavalambita Hasta 360 Kuchipudi 376 Lasya 388 Manipuri 420 Mohini Attam 443 Mudra 445 Natya 467 Nrtya 479 Orissi 484 Sandarshana Mudra 593 Suchi Hasta 667 Tala 683 Tandava 687 Tarjini Hasta 690 Tribhanga 707 Varada Hasta 739 Vismaya Hasta 764 Vyakhyana Mudra 769 Yoga Mudra 782Dynasties
Chalukya Dynasty 138 Chandella Dynasty 140 Chera Dynasty 147 Chola Dynasty 152 Gahadavala Dynasty 231 Ganga Dynasty 238 Gupta Dynasty 265 Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty 266 Hoysala Dynasty 289 Maratha Dynasty 425 Maurya Dynasty 433 Moghul Dynasty 442 Nayak Dynasty 470 Pala Dynasty 489 Pallava Dynasty 490 Pandya Dynasty 496 Pushyabhuti Dynasty 540 Rashtrakuta Dynasty 565 Satavahana Dynasty 604 Sena Dynasty 615 Vakataka Dynasty 735 Vijayanagar Dynasty 751Aihole 19 Alakananda River 26 Alandi 27 Allahabad 29 Amarkantak 30 Amarnath 30 Andhra Pradesh 38 Anga 39 Angkor 40 Aravalli Hills 51 Assam 67 Avimukta 73 Ayodhya 74 Badrinath 77 Baijnath 80 Barsana 87 Basohli 88 Belagave 90 Belur 90 Benares 90 Bhagirathi 95 Bhima River 109 Bhimashankar 110 Bhubaneshvar 113 Bhujangavalaya 113 Bihar 115 Braj 126 Brindavan 127 Bundi 129 Busti 129 Cauvery 133 Champaran 138 Chidambaram 147 Chir Ghat 150 Chitrakut 151 Chunar 152 Coromandel 154 Dakshineshwar 167 Deccan 180 Dehu 181 Deogarh 182 Deoghar 182 Deshnok 183 Devaprayag 184 Dorasamudra 202 Dwaraka 216 Elephanta Temple 220 Fiji 228 Four Dhams 229 Galta 232 Gandaki River 233 Ganga Sagar 239 Gangaikondacholapuran 239 Ganges 239 Gangotri 241 Garhmukteshvar 241 Garhwal 241 Gaumukh 243 Gaurikund 244 Gaya 245 Ghrneshvar 247 Girnar 249 Goa 250 Godavari 250 Gokarna 254 Govardhan 259 Grand Bassin 262 Gujarat 263 Guler 264 Guptakashi 265 Guruvayur 267 Halebid 269 Hampi 270 Haridwar 273 Haryana 277 Himachal Pradesh 281 Himalayas 281 Hinglaj 283 Indraprastha 297 Indus 297 Jageshvar 309 Jambukeshvar 312 Jammu 312 Janakpur 313 Jejuri 319 Joshimath 323 Jwalamukhi 324 Kailas 330 Kalahasti 332 Kalimath 336 Kalka 338 Kanauj 344 Kanchipuram 345 Kangra 346 Kankhal 347 Kanyakubja 348 Kanyakumari 348 Kapalamochana 349 Kapilavastu 350 Karnaprayag 353 Karnataka 353 Kashi 356 Kashmir 356 Kataragama 357 Kedarnath 363 Kerala 364 Khajuraho 365 Konarak 369 Kota 369 Krishna Janam Bhumi 370 Krishna River 374 Kulu 377 Kumbhakonam 379 Kurukshetra 383 Lakshman Jhula 385 Lothal 393 Madhya Pradesh 396 Madmaheshvar 396 Madurai 397 Mahabalipuram 399 Maharashtra 407 Mahishmati 410 Malabar 412 Malwa 414 Manasarovar 415 Mandakini 416 Manikarnika 419 Martand 429 Mathura 431 Mauritius 433 Mayapur 434 Mehndipur 435 Mewar 437 Muktinath 447 Nageshvar 454 Nagpur 454 Naimisha 455 Nanda Devi 459 Narmada River 463 Nasik 463 Nathdwara 466 Navadvip 468 Nepal 471 Nilachal Hill 473 Nilgiri Hills 473 Omkareshvar 482 Orissa 484 Paithan 488 Palani 489 Panchala 491 Panchkedar 494 Pandharpur 495 Pandrenthan 496 Pashupatinath 506 Pataliputra 506 Pattadakal 507 Pindara River 510 Punjab 531 Puri 533 Pushkar 539 Puttaparthi 541 Rajagrha 546 Rajasthan 547 Ramdevra 559 Ram Janam Bhumi 560 Rameshvaram 560 Ramnagar 562 Rishikesh 573 Rudranath 576 Rudraprayag 577 Sabarmati 578
Geography
Abhang 1 Abhijnanashakuntala 1 Abhimanyu 2 Abhinavagupta 3 Abhinaya 3 Adhiratha 6 Adigranth 8 Aditya 10 Agama 13 Aiteraya Brahmana 20 Akshakumara 24 Alamkara 27 Amarushatakam 31 Amba 32 Ambalika 32 Ambika 33 Anandamath 35 Angada 39 Anjana 42 Anushtubh 47 Apabhramsha 48 Aranyaka Literature 50 Arjuna 53 Arthashastra 55 Ashoka Tree 63 Ashtadhyayi 64 Ashtavakra 66 Ashvatthama 67 Atharva Veda 69 Atikaya 69 Avadhi 71 Bakasur 82 Bali 84 Bana 85 Barahmasa 86 Begampura 88 Bengali 91 Betel 91 Bhagavad Gita 93 Bhagavata Purana 94 Bhaktamal 98 Bhaktililamrta 99 Bhaktirasabodhini 100 Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute 101 Bhanita 102 Bharadvaja 102 Bharata 102 Bharatmilap 105 Bharud 107 Bhashya 107 Bhima 109 Bhishma 110 Bhramargit 112 Bhushundi 113 Black Yajur Veda 118 Brahma Sutras 124 Brahmana 123 Brahmi 125 Braj Bhasha 126 Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 126 Brhannala 127 Chaitanya-Charitramrta 136 Chakravyuha 138 Chandas 139 Chandogya Upanishad 141 Chataka 144 Chaupai 146 Chaurasi Vaishnavan Ki Varta 146 Chayagrahi 146 Creation Hymn 159 Dabistan-I-Mazahib 163 Dandakaranya 171 Dandaniti 171 Dan Lila 172 Dantavaktra 172 Dashamukha 173 Dasharatha 174 Dashavatara Stotra 175 Dayabhaga 178 Devanagari 184 Devaram 185 Devimahatmya 186 Dharma Literature 190 Dharmaputra 190 Dharmashastra 191 Dharma Shastras 191 Dharma Sutras 191 Dhrshtadyumna 194 Dhrtarashtra 194 Dhvani 196 Dhyanashloka 196 Divya Prabandham 200 Doha 202 Draupadi 204 Dravidian 205 Dreams 205 Drona 206 Drupada 207 Duhshasana 208 Duryodhana 210 Dushana 211 Dushyanta 211 Eighteen Minor Works 218 Ekalavya 219 Erotics, Texts on 222 Four Great Crimes 229 Four States of Consciousness 229 Sadhubela 580 Sangam 594 Saptasindhu 601 Saraswati River 603 Sevagram 615 Seven Sacred Cities 616 Shabari Malai 617 Shakadvipa 619 Shakti Pithas 620 Shantiniketan 625 Shipra River 631 Shirdi 631 Shiwalik Hills 638 Shringeri 642 Shrirangam 643 Shrirangapatnam 643 Shrishaila 644 Sitamarhi 654 Somnath 660 South Africa 662 Sri Lanka 662 Sun Temple 671 Swami Malai 680 Talikota 684 Tamil Nadu 685 Tanjore 687 Tarakeshvar 690 Tarapith 690 Thanesar 694 Thiruvaiyaru 695 Tiruchendur 700 Tiruchirappalli 701 Tirupparankunram 703 Tiruttani 703 Tiruvannamalai 704 Tiruvayur 704 Trimbak 708 Triveni 711 Triyuginarayan 711 Tryambakeshvar 711 Tungabhadra River 714 Tungnath 714 Udayagiri 717 Udupi 718 Ujjain 718 Ukhimath 719 Uttarkashi 727 Uttar Pradesh 727 Vaishali 729 Varanasi 739 Velur 746 Vindhya Mountains 754 West Bengal 771 West Indies 771 Yamuna River 778 Yamunotri 778
Gandhari 233 Gandiva 236 Gayatri Mantra 245 Ghatotkacha 247 Gitagovinda 249 Gopichand 255 Gorakhshatakam 257 Grhastha 262 Grhya Sutras 262 Guha 263 Gurutalpaga 267 Hanuman Chalisa 272 Harivamsha 276 Harshacharita 276 Hindi 282 Hitopadesha 285 House of Lac 289 Ikshvaku 293 Indrajit 297 Intentional Language 304 Isha Upanishad 305 Jambhavan 311 Jaratkarava Artabhaga 315 Jaratkaru 315 Jatayu 317 Jayadratha 318 Jnaneshvari 322 Kabandha 328 Kadambari 329 Kaikeyi 329 Kalpa Sutras 339 Kalpataru 342 Kama Sutra 342 Kamba Ramayana 343 Kannada 347 Karna 352 Katha 358 Katha Upanishad 359 Katyayana Smrti 360 Kaurava 360 Kausalya 360 Kavi 361 Kavitavali 361 Kavitt 361 Kavya 362 Kena Upanishad 364 Khandava Forest 366 Khara 366 Kharoshthi 366 Kichaka 367 Kindama 367 Kishkindha 368 Koshala 369 Krpacharya 374 Kumarasambhava 377 Kumbhakarna 378 Kunti 382 Kusha 383 Lakshmana 384 Lallavakyani 387 Lanka 387 Lankalakshmi 388 Lava 388 Lila 389 Madri 397 Mahabharata 399 Mahabhashya 401 Mahakavya 403 Malatimadhava 413 Mandodari 418 Mandukya Upanishad 419 Manimegalai 420 Man Lila 421 Manthara 422 Manu Smrti 423 Maricha 425 Markandeya Purana 426 Meghaduta 435 Meghanada 435 Meter 437 Mimamsa Sutras 438 Mitakshara 440 Mithila 440 Mnemonics 441 Mrcchakatika 445 Mudrarakshasa 446 Munda 449 Nacciyar Tirumoli 451 Nachiketas 451 Nakula 456 Naladiyar 457 Nalayira Divyaprabandham 457 Nandigrama 460 Narada Smrti 461 Natyashastra 467 Nibandha 471 Niti Shastra 477 Palm Leaves 490 Panchatantra 493 Panchavati 493 Panchvani 494 Pandava 495 Pandu 496 Parampara 499 Parashara Smrti 499 Parikshit 501 Pattuppattu 507 Periya Puranam 508 Prabodhachandrodaya 516 Prakrit 520 Prashna Upanishad 523 Pravahana Jaivali 525 Purana 532 Purana Kassapa 533 Purochana 535 Purusha Sukta 536 Raghuvamsha 545 Rajatarangini 548 Ramavali 555 Ramayana 555 Ram Lila 561 Ramcharitmanas 558 Ras Lila 567 Ravana 568 Rg Veda 572 Rishyashringa 574 Sadachara 579 Sahadeva 582 Sama Veda 586 Samvad 591 Sandhabhasha 593 Sandhi 593 Sangam Literature 594 Sanjaya 594 Sanskrit 595 Sarama 601 Satyakama 609 Saundaryalahari 610 Savaiya 610 Setubandha 615 Shabari 616 Shakuni 621 Shamvuka 624 Shankaradigvijaya 624 Shantanu 625 Shastra 626 Shatakatrayam 626 Shatapatha Brahmana 626 Shatrughna 627 Shikhandi 628 Shilappadigaram 630 Shishupala 632 Shishupala-Vadha 632 Shiva Purana 637 Shivaga-Sindamani 635 Shrauta Sutras 639 Shrikrishnavali 641 Shrutashravas 645 Shruti 645 Shurpanakha 649 Shvetaketu 649 Shvetashvatara Upanishad 649 Sita 653 Smrti 656 Song of Manik Chandra 661 Soratha 662 Sphota 662 Sthunakarna 664 Subodhini 665 Sugriva 668 Sulva Sutras 669 Sumantra 669 Sumitra 669 Surasa 671 Sursagar 673 Sushruta Samhita 675 Sutra 676 Svadhyaya 677 Svarup 678 Tamil Epics 684 Tamil Language 684
Alchemy 28 Apana 48 Ayurveda 75 Baiga 80 Blood 118 Charaka Samhita 142 Dhatuvada 192 Drugs 207 Kapha 307 Mercury 436 Nadi 452 Pitta 513 Prana 514 Rasayana 564 Samana 585 Semen 614 Sulphur 668 Sushruta Samhita 675 Tanmatras 687 Tridosha 708 Udana 717 Vata 743 Vital Winds 765 Vyana 769
Medicine, Physiology, and Alchemy
Music, Hymns, and Prayers
Bhajan 97 Dvadashakshara Mantra 213 Kirtan 367 Mantra 422 Mantraraja 423 Mantrashastra 423 Mulamantra 449 Om 482 Pranava 522 Raga 545 Samhita 587 Shabdabrahman 617 Tad Ekam 682 Tala 683
Mythology and Beliefs
Aditi 9 Aerial Cars 13 Agastya 13 Agni 14 Ahalya 17 Airavata 19 Aiyanar 20 Aiyappa 20 Ajamila 21 Akrura 24 Akshaya Vata 25 Alambhusha 27 Ambarisha 32 Ambika 33 Amrta 34 Ananda 35 Anasuya 37 Ancestral Spirits 37 Andhaka 38 Angiras 40 Animals 40 Aniruddha 41 Anshavatar 44 Anshuman 44 Apsara 49 Ardhanarishvara 52 Arundhati 56 Asamanjasa 58 Ashtalakshmi 65 Ashvins 67 Atri 70 Avatar 72 Ayudhapurusha 75 Baka 82 Balabhadra 82 Balaji (2) 83 Balakrishna 83 Balarama 83 Bali (1) 84 Bali (2) 84 Bhadrakali 92 Bhagavan 94 Bhagirath 95 Bhagirathi 95 Bhairava 96 Bharata 102 Bharat Mata 105 Bhairavi 106 Bhasmasur 108 Bhavani 108 Bholanath 112 Bhramari 112 Bhrgu 112 Bhut 114 Boar Avatar 119 Brahma 119 Brahman 122 Brhaspati 127 Buddha Avatar 128 Bull 129 Chamunda 139 Chanda 139 Chandi 140 Chandika 140 Chandramati 142 Chinnamasta 149 Chintapurni 149 Churail 152 Cuckoo 161 Curses 162 Dadhichi 163 Dadhikra 163 Daksha 165 Damayanti 168 Damodara 169 Tika 697 Tirruppavai 698 Tirukkural 701 Tiruvachakam 704 Tiruvaymoli 704 Trishiras 710 Tristhalisetu 710 Uddalaka Aruni 717 Upanishad 722 Uttararamacharita 726 Vaijayanti Shakti 729 Valmiki 735 Veda 744 Vedanga 745 Vedanta Sutras 745 Vibhishana 748 Vikramorvashiya 752 Vinaya Patrika 754 Viraha 756 Viramitrodaya 757 Virata 757 Vishnu Purana 760 Vyakarana 769 Vyas 769 Vyasa 770 White Yajur Veda 771 Yajnavalkya Smrti 775 Yajur Veda 776 Yoga Sutras 782 Yudhishthira 784
Danava 169 Dashavatar 175 Dattatreya 176 Datura 176 Deities 181 Demons 181 Deva 183 Devaki 184 Devasena 185 Dhanvantari 188 Dharma 189 Dharmaraja 191 Dhenuka 193 Dhruva 195 Dilip 198 Divine Powers 199 Dog 201 Dreams 205 Durga 208 Durvasas 209 Dyaus 210 Earth 217 Ekmukhi 219 Elephant 220 Fathers, World of the 226 Fish Avatar 228 Gada 231 Gajendramoksha 231 Gana 233 Gandharva 233 Ganesh 236 Ganga 238 Ganika 241 Garuda 242 Gauri 244 Gauri-Shankar 244 Gautama 244 Gayasura 245 Ghora 247 Ghosts 247 Giridhara 248 Gods, World of the 253 Goddess 251 Golden Embryo 254 Gopi 255 Goshala 258 Grace 260 Guardians of the Directions 262 Gudimallam Linga 263 Haladhara 269 Halahala 269 Hanuman 271 Hari 273 Harihara 274 Harishchandra 275 Himalaya 281 Hiranyakashipu 284 Hiranyaksha 284 Holika 287 House of Clay 289 Huhu 290 Indra 295 Indradyumna 296 Indrani 296 Ishtadevata 306 Ishvara 306 Jabali 308 Jagadisha 308 Jagannath 308 Jahnavi 310 Jahnu 310 Jamadagni 311 Janaka 312 Janamjeya 313 Jaya 318 Juggernaut 323 Jyotirlinga 325 Kadru 329 Kaitabha 331 Kala 332 Kali 333 Kalika Devi 336 Kaliya 337 Kalki Avatar 338 Kama 340 Kamadhenu 341 Kamakhya 341 Kamsa 344 Kapila 350 Karttikeya 355 Kashyapa 357 Kaustubha 360 Keshi 364 Keshimanthana 365 Keshini 365 Khandoba 366 Kinnara 367 Korravai 369 Kratu 370 Krishna 370 Krittikas 374 Kshanika Linga 375 Kubera 376 Kubja 376 Kuladevata 377 Lakshmi 385 Lion 391 Lopamudra 392 Lunar Line 393 Madhu 395 Mahakali 403 Mahalakshmi 403 Mahasaraswati 408 Mahavidyas 409 Mahishasura 410 Mahishi 410 Man-Lion Avatar 421 Manasa 415 Mandara 418 Mangalam 419 Mansa Devi 422 Manu 423 Maranashaucha 424 Marichi 426 Mariyammai 426 Markandeya 426 Marut 430 Matsyagandhi 432 Maya 433 Maya Devi 433 Mayashiva 434 Mena 436 Menaka 436 Meru 436 Minakshi 438 Mohini 443 Monsoon 444 Mrtyunjaya 445 Murali 449 Murugan 450 Naga 452 Nahusha 454 Naina Devi 455 Nala 456 Nanda 459 Nandi 460 Narada 461 Nara-Narayana 461 Narayana 462 Nataraja 464 Nath 466 Navadurga 467 Night, Goddess of 472 Nilakanth 473 Nirakara 474 Nirguna 474 Nirriti 476 Nishumbha 477 Ocean, Churning of the 482 Omens 482 Owl 485 Pap 498 Parashara 499 Parashuram Avatar 500 Parikshit 501 Parvati 503 Patala 506 Peacock 508 Pinaka 510 Pippalada 511 Pole Star 514 Possession 514 Pradyumna 518 Prahlada 518 Prajapati 518 Pralaya 520
