The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

reprehensible (aprashasta) forms of mar- riage because of the connotation that the bride is being sold, yet like all the other r ...

continuing identity in one’s different incarnations, and is ultimately identi- cal to Brahman, the single source of all things i ...

against the British government. His political career lasted only four years, but his intellect and energy soon made him a leader ...

ascetics. The Dashanami Nagas are devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva, organized into akharas, or regiments, on the model of an a ...

world has fallen out of equilibrium. The root cause of such disequilibrium is usu- ally a demon(asura) who has grown too strong ...

Avvaiyar Poet whose compositions appear in the Sangam literature, which are col- lections of Tamil poems written and compiled in ...

Ayudhapurusha An ayudhapurusha is the personified form of a divine weapon or emblem, which is conceived as either mascu- line, f ...

B Baba In its literal meaning, an affectionate term of address meaning “father.” Although this can be used to address any older ...

including traditional religious leaders such as the Shankaracharyas, have been calling for the construction of the Ram Janam Bhu ...

October, after which it is closed for the winter months; this pattern is echoed at Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Kedarnath, the three ...

proof that a particular priest is their hereditary panda. This usually happens when many years have elapsed between visits, and ...

Such motherly concern for their sons reflects not only normal maternal instincts but the importance of male children in traditio ...

five miles north and west of the town of Almora. Baijnath contains a temple complex believed to date from the thir- teenth centu ...

places and imbue each one with additional significance for the Pushti Marg. Bajrang Dal (“Hanuman’sHost”) The Bajrang Dal is a m ...

form of Vishnu but the Ultimate Reality from whom all the avatars spring. Balaji Popular epithet of the god Venkateshvara, the p ...

circumstances surrounding his develop- ment in utero, Balarama is also known as Sankarshana (“dragging away”). Balarama is raise ...

god’s brother Lakshmana, and they agree that Rama will help Sugriva regain his wife and kingdom if Sugriva and his monkey-subjec ...

traditional lore, banias are invariably painted as greedy and avaricious people who care about nothing but money. Although they ...

Barat One of the common elements in a modern northern Indian marriage ceremony, in which the groom is brought in a procession to ...

a violent head when the fledgling Lingayat community apparently arranged a marriage between an untouchableboy and a brahmin girl ...