beheads the two generals. As a memorial
of this mythic deed, one of the names
under which the Goddess is worshiped
is Chamunda, as the slayer of Chanda
and Munda.
Chandas
One of the six Vedangas. These were the
auxiliary branches of knowledge intended
to facilitate the use of the Vedas, the
oldest Hindu religious texts. Chandas
was concerned with the study of metri-
cal forms and verse, which were central
to the composition of the Vedas. One
indication of the importance of meteris
that in many sources (such as in Panini’s
grammar, the Ashtadhyayi) the word
chandasis used to designate the Vedas
themselves. Aside from chandas, the
other Vedangas are shiksha(correct pro-
nunciation), vyakarana(Sanskritgram-
mar), kalpa (ritual instructions),
nirukta(etymology), and jyotisha(aus-
picious times for sacrifices).
Chandella Dynasty
(10th–14th c. C.E.) Northern Indian
dynasty that in its heyday controlled
much of the GangesRiver valley and
northern Madhya Pradesh. The
Chandellas are famous for the magnifi-
cent temples that they built in the village
of Khajuraho, largely between the
eleventh and twelfth centuries. These
temples have survived to the present,
perhaps due to their remote and inac-
cessible location. They are excellent
examples of the developed form of the
Nagara architectural style and are
world-famous for their astounding dis-
play of eroticsculptures.
Chandi
(“fierce”) Epithet used for the fierce and
powerful goddesses Durgaand Kali. A
variant form of the name Chandi is
Chandika, and under this name Chandi
is identified as one of the Navadurgas,
the “nine [forms of the goddess] Durga”
worshiped during the nine nights of the
Navaratrifestival. Chandika is the goddess
worshiped on the festival’s ninth and
final night and is thus the most powerful
of these divine forms.Chandidas
(15th c. C.E.) Bengali poet and devotee
(bhakta) of the god Krishna. In his
poems Chandidas uses the conventions
of Sanskritlove poetry to express devo-
tion to Krishna, most often through the
figure of Radhaas Krishna’s favored
devotee and lover. His poems are still
recited in Bengal and according to tradi-
tion were admired by Chaitanya, the
Bengali devotee who was the founder of
the Gaudiya Vaishnavareligious com-
munity. Despite his poetry’s continuing
acclaim, little is known about the life of
Chandidas himself. This same name was
used by a Bengali poet of the Sahajiya
sect, who wrote several centuries later
than the original Chandidas and whose
poetry is clearly distinguished by doctri-
nal differences. For selections from the
poetry of Chandidas, see Edward C.
Dimock Jr. and Denise Levertov (trans.),
In Praise of Krishna, 1981.Chandika
A variant of the name Chandi, which
designates a powerful and terrifying
form of the Goddess. Chandika is one of
the Navadurgas, the “nine [forms of the
goddess] Durga” worshiped during the
nine nights of the Navaratri festival.
Chandika is the goddess worshiped
on the festival’s ninth and final night
and is thus the most powerful of these
divine forms.Chandiprakasha
(“effulgence of Chandi”) Name given to
the spear that is the symbolic weapon of
the Atala akhara, a particular group
within the Nagaclass of Dashanami
Sanyasis. The Dashanami Nagas are
devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva,
organized into different akharas, or reg-
iments, on the model of an army. Until
the beginning of the nineteenth century,
the Nagas’ primary occupation was asChandas