all three humors, each of these is com-
posed of different elements whose vary-
ing proportions are used to explain
individual body types, metabolic dispo-
sitions, and personalities. Diseases
result from an imbalance of these
humors—caused by one’s environment
or personal habits—whereas equilibri-
um is the state of health. The Charaka
Samhitahas been edited and translated
into various languages and has served as
a source for secondary studies, such as
Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Science
and Society in Ancient India, 1977.
Charanadas
(“slave of [God’s] feet”; 1733–1782 C.E.)
Founder of the Charanadasis, an ascetic
religious community. Charanadas was
born in the town of Dehra in the prince-
ly state of Alwar (in the modern state of
Rajasthan). The Charanadasis are also
known as the Shuka Sampraday because,
according to tradition, Charanadas
received initiationfrom the puranic
sage Shuka. Charanadas formed his
community in protest against the cor-
ruption and worldliness of the Pushti
Marg, the religious community founded
by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531 C.E.),
whose members are devotees (bhakta)
of the god Krishna. Like the Pushti
Marg, the Charanadasis are Vaishnavas,
but their patron deityis not Krishna
alone but also his consort, Radha.
Charanadas countered the Pushti Marg
by stressing upright and appropriate
behavior and an insistence on learning.
His disciples translated and wrote com-
mentaries on the Bhagavad Gitaand the
Bhagavata Purana, both important
Vaishnavatexts.
Charanadasi
Vaishnava asceticsect founded by the
reformer-saint Charanadas(1733–1782
C.E.). Charanadas formed his own com-
munity as a protest against the corrup-
tion of the Pushti Marg, the religious
community founded by Vallabhacharya
(1479–1531 C.E.) whose members are
devotees (bhakta) of the god Krishna.
Like the Pushti Marg, the Charanadasis
are Vaishnavas, but their patron deityis
not Krishna alone, but also his consort,
Radha. The Charanadasis have stressed
both learning and an upright way of
life. Their main center is in Delhi, as is
the samadhi shrine of Charanadas,
their founder.Charanamrta
(“foot nectar”) Literally, the water (or
other liquid) in which the feet of one’s
guruor images of a deityare bathed.
The disciple or devotee (bhakta) con-
sumes it as a sign of subordinate status
and as a way to receive graceand bless-
ings. By extension, the word can refer to
any liquid for devotees to consume as a
symbol of the deity’s grace, whether or
not it has been used for bathing (snana).Charas
Name for hashish. This is usually mixed
with tobacco and smoked in a straight
pipe called a chillum. Smoking hashish
is typical in certain segments of the
asceticcommunity. For many ascetics,
smoking is a social activity and a rite of
hospitality as well as a religious act that
emulates the god Shiva, whose love for
the drugis well known. In their travels
many ascetics process the marijuana
that grows wild throughout the
Himalayasinto hashish to use and sell.
Drug use is forbidden for most people,
but among ascetics—who are deliber-
ately marginal members of society—it is
a fairly common and tolerated behavior.Charity
See dana.Charvaka
One of the traditional names given to
the materialist philosophical school.
Its primary assertion was that a person
is identical to his or her physical body
and is destroyed with the body’s
demise. See materialist.Charvaka