The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

H Hair According to traditional Hindu notions regarding purityand impurity (ashaucha), head and facial hair trap and retain rit- ...

dedicated to Shivain his form as Lord of the Hoysalas. At both Belur and Halebid, the tem- ples were built from a particular typ ...

drinking for former, and discarding the latter—the hamsa is also a symbol for a discriminating person, who is able to take couns ...

Hanuman plays an even greater role in theRamcharitmanas(a vernacular version of the Ramayana written by Tulsidas), in which he i ...

most important festival of Shiva, which is celebrated on the fourteenth day of the waning half of the month Phalgun (usually in ...

particularly the Naga class of the Dashanami Sanyasis, trader-soldiers who are devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva. It also serve ...

head, in a way that one can discern the heads of both animals, but only one can be perceived at any given moment. Both the eleph ...

cheat his master of his rightful income. Chandramati has no money for the fee, and after listening to her lamenta- tions Harishc ...

historical detail. Bana was a careful observer, and the detailed descriptions in the Harshacharitagive significant information a ...

the Kauravas, a group of one hundred brothers who are the epic’s antagonists. Although the name of the site and the place named ...

The character of Dr. Hedgewar and the RSSare inextricably linked to the tur- bulent years immediately after World War I, and the ...

The use of hemp as a narcotic is illegal, except for specific places and times, including certain pilgrimage sites and festivals ...

most important social function is to sing and danceat houses in which a male child has been born, although they may also be call ...

In a Hindu religious context, the Himalayan regions in the first three states are the most significant; the mountains in these t ...

party’s image was damaged by its asso- ciation with Mohandas Gandhi’sassas- sin, Nathuram Godse. It continued to field political ...

the 1800s the area around her shrine had become completely dominated by Muslims and thus well outside the Hindu culture area. To ...

of the cosmos through his actions. Vishnu takes the form of a giant boar and dives to the bottom of the ocean, where he slays Hi ...

Holi The evening before the festival of Holi, men in Delhi arrange colored powders to prepare the site for a bonfire. ...

This and all other Holi-related antics are always described as “play” (khel), and the operating assumption is that one cannot be ...

information see Govind S. Sardesai, A New History of the Marathas, 1986. Homa In its most specific meaning, homa refers to the “ ...