F

Fables

See Panchatantra.

Fallacies

In defining the parameters for what is
and is not a valid argument, certain
types of arguments have been dismissed
outright by Indian logicians, since these
arguments are held to be based on
invalid premises. The key flaw shared by
these objectionable arguments is the
fallacy known as self-residence, in
which the cause and its effect are the
same thing. Varieties of this fallacy
include reciprocal dependence, a
vicious circle, and an infinite regress.
The presence of any of these fallacies is
sufficient grounds to dismiss an argu-
ment as invalid.

Fallacies of Inference

See Hetvabhasa.

Family Custom

(kulachara) Hindu religion is fluid
enough that a family’s customary prac-
tices can heavily influence a person’s
individual religious life. For example,
family custom plays an important role
in worship. The Hindu pantheon con-
tains many different gods, and the one
that an individual worships as “God” is
often strongly influenced by the family’s
practice, although other factors such as
personal inclination can also play a role.
Family custom also plays an important
role in setting parameters for religious
practice, both in everyday religious life,
and in setting rules for performing the
rituals of the life cycle. For example,

many families have a customary age for

performing the chudakarana samskara,

the “tonsure” or head-shaving rite of

passage that marks the definitive end of

infancy. Some families perform this in

the first year, others in the third, or the

fifth, or even the seventh. Religious

practice varies widely among families,

although it tends to be very stable with-

in families, since this is one of the ways

in which families create a distinctive

identity for themselves.

Family Deity

See kuladevata.

Family Relationships

Hindus consider the family the basis of

society. The idealized Hindu family is a

multigenerational joint family, com-

posed of elderly parents, their adult

sons, and their sons’ families. The sons

are considered the core of the family,

since the daughterswill live with their

husbands’ families after marriage and

are considered to belong to them. When

the families become too large, or ten-

sions between brothers develop to an

unbearable level, these joint families

divide into smaller households, upon

which the general pattern continues.

Hindu families have different names for

all possible family relationships. These

differing names reveal the exact nature

of the relationship and the person’s pre-

cise relationship in the family—as one

example, although in English the word

“aunt” can designate the sister of either

one’s father or one’s mother, there are

different names for both in northern

Indian languages. Some of this is related

to the higher status connected with the

father’s or the husband’s side of the fam-

ily, and some of it has to do with prox-

imity, since these relatives are more

likely to be living with one another in a

joint family or close by. These differ-

ences mark the lines of importance in

Indian families, which give greater

emphasis to the father’s side. One note-

worthy term is the word for the wife’s

Family Relationships