Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of the Three
Cities, 1990.
Bilva
The wood-apple tree (Aegle marmelos).
Although this tree is known for its deli-
cious fruit, its primary religious impor-
tance is its leaves. These are used in the
worshipof Shivaand are usually placed
as an offering on the god’s image or
linga (pillar-shaped symbol). These
leaves are believed to be dearer to him
than any other offering. In everyday lan-
guage this tree is also commonly known
as the bel.
Bimbisara
(d. 494 B.C.E.) King of Magadha, the
region corresponding to modern Bihar,
whose reign ended shortly before the
traditionally accepted date for the death
of the Buddha. Bimbisara was an ener-
getic administrator who had designs on
ruling a much larger empire. To this end,
he tried to conquer and control large
parts of the Gangesbasin. Bimbisara is
believed to have been the first king to
conceive of ruling a large empire,
although he was deposed and murdered
by his son Ajatashatrubefore he saw it
become a reality.
Bindu
(“drop”) In the Shrividyaschool, a par-
ticular branch of the esoteric ritual tra-
dition known as tantra, the bindu is the
name for the dot in the very center of the
shrichakra, which is a Shrividya sym-
bolic diagram (yantra) used in worship.
The shrichakra is composed of nine
interlocking triangles—four pointing up
and five pointing down—surrounded by
a double series of lotus petals and exte-
rior circular and angular walls. The
bindu symbolizes the ultimate unity of
the divine principles, Shivaand Shakti,
and by extension the unity of all reality.
For further information see Douglas
Renfrew Brooks, The Secret of the Three
Cities, 1990.
Bindusara
(3rd c. B.C.E.) Son of Chandragupta
Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan
empire, and father of Ashoka, the
empire’s greatest figure. At Bindusara’s
accession the Mauryans controlled the
Indus and Ganges river basins.
Bindusara not only consolidated his
father’s gains, but also expanded
Mauryan control into the Deccan
region as far south as Mysore. He was
reportedly a man of universal tastes,
since tradition holds that he asked
Antiochus I, the Seleucid ruler of Syria,
for sweet wine, dried figs, and a sophist.
Antiochus apparently sent the first two
items but declared that Greek philoso-
phers were not for export. See also
Maurya dynasty.Birla, Ghanshyamdas
(1894–1983) Patriarch of the Birla indus-
trial family. The Birlas made a fortune in
opium in the early decades of the twen-
tieth century and then diversified into a
variety of other industrial ventures.
Ghanshyamdas was a close friend of
Mohandas K. Gandhiand the major
financial supporter for Gandhi’s politi-
cal organization, the Indian National
Congress, to which Birla had given an
estimated 100 million rupees by the
time of independence. In his later years,
he devoted considerable money and
attention to building temples, sponsor-
ing religious and charitable trusts, and
performing other honorable deeds.Birth
At its most basic level, birth is a biologi-
cal event, but it becomes a cultural
event by virtue of the rites performed for
and significance given to it. Different
Hindu communities show considerable
regional and sectarian variation in the
ways that they mark a birth, but several
themes remain fairly constant. Although
the birth of a child is a highly auspicious
occasion, it is also considered impure
because of the various bodily tissues
and fluids coming with it (blood,Birth