civil service in other parts of the British
Empire, such as Singapore or Hong
Kong. Finally, the liberalization of immi-
gration and nationalization laws since
the end of World War II has led to the for-
mation of a substantial Hindu commu-
nity in North America, both in Canada
and the United States.
Didarganj Yakshi
Statue found in 1919 in Didarganj, a vil-
lage near Patna in the state of Bihar. The
image is believed to date from the third
century B.C.E. and is thus a product of
the Maurya dynasty. The statue is of a
voluptuous female figure, bare to the
waist, wearing abundant jewelry and
bearing a yak-tail whisk (chauri), which
was a contemporary sign of authority. It
is believed to be a statue of a yakshi, a
class of nature-spirits connected with
fertility and prosperity. It is notable as
one of the earliest known stone statues,
and there is speculation that this may
have come through contact with the
Greeks. The figure itself is masterfully
rendered in highly polished Chunar
sandstone from the sandstone quarries
near Benares; the sharply detailed ren-
dering of her clothing and jewelry con-
veys the illusion of softness and swelling
of the bare flesh.
Digambara
(“space-clad,” i.e., naked) In a general
asceticcontext, this can refer to any
ascetic who is completely naked, which
is a sign of having renounced all posses-
sions and all worldly conventions.
Among the Bairagi Nagas, or renunciant
ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of
Vishnuand who formerly made their
living as traders and mercenary soldiers,
the Digambaras are one of the three
Naga anis(“armies”), the others being
the Nirmohisand Nirvanis. In earlier
times these anis were actual fighting
units, but in modern times are mainly
important for determining bathing
(snana) order in the bathing proces-
sions at the Kumbha Mela(“Festival of
the Pot”). Of the three, the Digambaras
are by far the most important, and at the
time of the Kumbha Mela take prece-
dence over the others.Diksha
(“initiation”) A religious initiation
involving the reception of secret reli-
gious teachings; the term is said to be
derived from the verb dis, “to point out.”
The word diksha carries a different
sense from the life-cycle rite known as
upanayana, the adolescent religious ini-
tiation that is the ritualized “second
birth” conferred on young men from the
three “twice-born” groups—that is,
brahmin(priestly), kshatriya(martial),
or vaishya (mercantile). Both are
religious initiations, and both involve
the creation of new capacities and
entitlements. Yet diksha is not a rite
usually seen as a transition point in the
life cycle, but a religious initiation in
which the initiate gains secret knowl-
edge from a religious teacher (guru),
usually given in the form of the verbal
formulas known as mantras. Whereas
upanayana takes place while a boy is
an adolescent, the time for diksha
is based not on physical age, but
on a person’s willingness and
readiness. Diksha is a particularly
important concept in the ritual
tradition known as tantra, in which
such personalized initiations are the
way of transmitting the tradition from
master to student.Dikshanama
(“diksha name”) Name given to a
person after receiving initiation
(diksha), as a way of acknowledging and
reinforcing the new identity created by
the act of initiation. Sometimes, as in
the case of ascetic initiation, the
initiate’s former name will be replaced
with the dikshanama. In other cases the
name will be kept secret, as a source of
hidden power.Dikshanama