sacred texts such as the Upanishads,
and this problem may account for the
school’s relatively short life.
Bhasmasur
In Hindu mythology, a demonwith great
power but limited intelligence.
According to tradition, the god Shiva
has given Bhasmasur the power to
change anyone to ash (bhasma) simply
by placing his hand on that person’s
head. Bhasmasur falls in love with
Shiva’s wife Parvatiand attempts to
place his hand on Shiva’s head, and the
god has to flee. Bhasmasur is destroyed
when the god Vishnutricks him into
putting his hand on top of his own head,
which instantly transforms him into ash.
In metaphorical usage, the term
Bhasmasurdenotes any problem that
has grown out of hand through lack
of foresight.
Bhava
(“being”) Epithet of the god Shiva.
See Shiva.
Bhavabhuti
(early 8th c. C.E.) Sanskritdramatist and
playwright noted for his ability to
express and transmit emotions through
language. His best-known play, the
romance Malatimadhava, is famous
not only in its own right, but because the
primary villain is an evil asceticbelieved
to be a member of the defunct ascetic
group known as Kapalikas. The
Kapalikas were devotees (bhakta) of
Shiva, and their reputed practices emu-
lated Shiva in his wrathful form as
Bhairava. They wore their hair long and
matted, smeared their bodies with ash
(preferably from the cremation
ground), and carried a club and a skull
bowl (kapala). According to some
sources, they also indulged in forbidden
behavior—drinking wine, eatingmeat,
using cannabis and other drugs, per-
forming human sacrifice, and orgiastic
sexuality—which caused them to be
avoided and feared. Bhavabhuti’s
description of this evil ascetic and his
disciples is one of the earliest datable
references to the Shaivaform of asceti-
cism, and therefore important from a
historical perspective.Bhavani
(feminine form of Bhava) Epithet of the
god Shiva’swife, Parvati. See Parvati.Bhavas
(“states”) In Indian aesthetics the
bhavas are a set of nine states consid-
ered the most basic unadulterated emo-
tions: sexual excitement, laughter, grief,
anger, energy, fear, loathing, wonder,
and peace. To these nine bhavas corre-
spond the nine rasas (“tastes”), or
moods transmitted by various types of
artistic expression: the erotic, comic,
compassionate, cruel, heroic, terrifying,
loathsome, marvelous, and peaceful.
Although these bhavas and rasas clearly
correspond to one another, there is an
important difference between them. A
person’s emotive states come and go in
response to circumstances that are often
beyond one’s control. Because such nat-
urally occurring emotions usually can-
not be sustained, they are generally not
objects of aesthetic satisfaction. This is
not true in the case of rasa, since mood
can be artificially generated by an artis-
tic endeavor. Any particular rasa can
thus be sustained and satisfying. The
single most dominant aim in all the
Indian arts, therefore, is to create such a
mood or moods for the audience.Bhave, Vinobha
(1895–1982) Social and religious
reformer whose basic principles reflected
his long association with Mohandas K.
Gandhi, to whom Bhave came as a disci-
ple in 1916. Bhave was one of Gandhi’s
close associates in the struggle for inde-
pendence and was particularly
absorbed with Gandhi’s idea of village
self-sufficiency. In the years after inde-
pendence, he traveled around India on
foot to meet the people. It was on oneBhasmasur