The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

unusual in Krishna devotion, as is the form of these images, which clearly come from a folk or tribal tradition. All three deiti ...

Jahnavi (“daughter of Jahnu”) Epithet of the GangesRiver, which Hindus consider to be the physical form of the goddess Ganga. Th ...

Jajman Common form of the Sanskritword yajamana, “patron of the sacrifice.” From the time of the earliest Vedic sacri- fices, th ...

Meru, the center of the entire universe. Mount Meru is surrounded by mountain ranges, and the part of Jambudvipa south of Mount ...

Janaki Navami Festival falling on the ninth day (navami) of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalgun (February–March ...

Janardana (“exciting his devotees”) Epithet of the god Krishna. See Krishna. Jana Sangh Modern Indian political party, founded i ...

holidays connected with Krishna, this festival is particularly observed in the Braj region, where Krishna is sup- posed to have ...

also named Jaratkaru is found and given to him as alms, he will marry her. His conditions eventually reaches the Naga (snake) ki ...

Jatayu A virtuous vulture in the Ramayana, the earlier of the two great Indian epics. When Rama’swife Sitais kidnapped by the de ...

Jauhar A mass suicide in which womenand children threw themselves on a bonfire to protect the family from dishonor when the men ...

faithfully observing the “jaya,” or “victory,” festival is said to ensure that one’s desired goal will be attained. Jayapala (d. ...

Jiva (“life”) In philosophical and Vaishnava (devotees of the god Vishnu) discussion, jiva is the name used for the embodied sou ...

along with karmamarga and the bhaktimarga, the jnanamargais one of the paths to liberation of the soul mentioned in the Bhagavad ...

recite the sacred text known as the Ve d a in order to humble the pride of the local brahminpriests. Jnaneshvar’s greatest work ...

translation was intended to give the British some idea of classical Hindu law, but they failed to realize that this text was com ...

Up until the middle of the present cen- tury, the Juna Akhara marched with the Niranjani Akharain the bathing (snana) procession ...

Jyotirlinga Jyeshth According to the lunar calendar, by which most Hindu religious festivals are determined, Jyeshth is the thir ...

pillar of fire, which stretches above the heavensand below the earth. The gods Brahmaand Vishnutry to find this pil- lar’s top a ...

have a different method for determining each sign’s starting point, causing some discrepancies between the two systems. Aside fr ...

K Kabandha (“headless trunk”) A demon in the Ramayana(the earlier of the two great Hindu epics) who attacks the god-king Rama, t ...