The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

story illustrates the gradual eclipse of the older Vedic deities. The figure of Krishna as Giridhara is widely worshiped in Raja ...

love. They reconcile and make passion- ate love. The text ends by describing their love play in the afterglow, in which Radha or ...

Tryambakeshvar, and Paithan. See also ghat. Goddess India is home to a host of different god- desses. Although goddesses differ ...

Markandeya Purana. The depth and subtlety of her characterization in this text leads scholars to infer that this cult had existe ...

cultural perspectives on Indian women, particularly the belief that women’s procreative capacities should be channeled through t ...

Gokarna (“cow’sear”) Sacred site (tirtha) in the state of Karnatakaon the shore of the Arabian Sea, just south of Karnataka’s bo ...

religious or political. Golwalkar is a piv- otal figure in RSShistory. He took office in 1940 upon the death of its founder, Dr. ...

Gorakhnath. Some members of this community believed that perfecting their bodies through yogawould make them immortal. This idea ...

devotional (bhakti) conviction that birth status was less important than genuine love of God. Gora is reported to have lived mos ...

used to denote certain subgroups among the Sanyasis, the ascetic devo- tees (bhakta) of the god Shiva. The name was particular t ...

writing poetry as a vehicle for expressing devotion to Krishna, he also focused on analyzing bhaktias an emotional expe- rience. ...

Govardhan Math One of the four mathsor sacred centers traditionally believed to have been estab- lished by the great philosopher ...

Indian religious community, there was a debate whether liberation was primarily achieved through one’s faith or one’s works. The ...

relate or correspond to sacred land- scape features on the Indian subconti- nent. Grand Bassin is a remote and high lake, which ...

Hindu religious life. These eight deities protect the directions with which they are associated. Each direc- tion also carries c ...

Dwaraka, which is the site of Krishna’smythical kingdom, as well as the location of theSharada mathof the Dashanami Sanyasis rel ...

European art—and a more restrained use of color, both of which tend to give the paintings a more lyrical feel. Guna (“quality”) ...

the sacredness of one place can be appropriated by another. This is a way to claim some of the splendor of Kashi as a sacred sit ...

Guru Purnima Religious holiday falling on the full moon(purnima) in the lunar monthof Ashadh( June–July). Guru Purnima is a day ...

Aurangzebrazed the temple and built a mosque in its place. Although the tem- ple’s destruction is usually portrayed as an act of ...