Among his critics were B. R. Ambedkar,
who felt that Gandhi had used the
untouchables as pawns in negotiations
with the British because he opposed
letting the untouchables separate from
the larger body politic. His critics also
included Subhash Chandra Bose, who
advocated an armed struggle against
the British, and Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar, a Hindu nationalist who was
Godse’s inspiration. For further infor-
mation see Mohandas K. Gandhi, An
Autobiography, 1993; Louis Fischer,
Gandhi, 1954; Mark Juergensmeyer,
“Saint Gandhi,” in John Stratton Hawley
(ed.), Saints and Virtues, 1987; and
Sudhir Kakar, “Gandhi and Women,” in
Intimate Relations, 1990.
Gandhi Jayanti
Indian national holiday falling on
October 2, celebrating the birth of
Mohandas Gandhi. Perhaps because
Gandhi is a relatively recent figure, or
because the event is a national holiday,
this celebration is one of the few that is
marked according to the common
era calendar, rather than the lunar
calendar that is used to determine most
Hindu festivals.Gandiva
In the Mahabharata, the later of the
two great Hindu epics, Gandiva is the
name of the bow carried by Arjuna.
Arjuna is the world’s greatest archer
and the third of the five Pandavabroth-
ers, the Mahabharata’s protagonists.
Gandiva was originally fashioned by
the god Brahmaand is given to Arjuna
by the god Varuna(identified with the
ocean) at the request of another deity,
Agni(“fire”). Agni makes this request
because he wants to “eat” (burn) the
Khandava forest, but is afraid of inter-
ference in the form of rain from the god
Indra, ruler of the storm. Arjuna uses
the bow to create a canopy of arrows
that shields the forest from Indra’s
storms, thus allowing Agni to consume
the forest in peace. Arjuna uses this
bow for many years. At the end of his
life he returns it to Varuna by throwing
it into the sea.Ganesh
(“Lord of [Shiva’s] Host”) Elephant-
headed god who leads Shiva’s horde of
divine followers; another name for
Ganesh is Ganapati. Ganesh is usually
portrayed as short and fat, with a bowl of
sweets and his animalvehicle, the rat,
close by. Among the items most often
portrayed in his hands are a lotus
(padma) and his own broken tusk. He
also often holds a noose and an
elephant goad (ankusha), which sym-
bolize his power to restrain or move
obstructing forces.
Although Ganesh is worshiped as a
primary deityby a small sectarian com-
munity, the Ganpatyas, most Hindus
worshiphim as a subsidiary deity along
with their principal divinities. Ganesh’s
importance in Hindu life, however, is far
greater than his relatively minor place in
the pantheon. Hindus consider GaneshGandhi Jayanti
A sculpture of the god Ganesh from the village of
Khajuraho. As “Lord of Obstacles,” Ganesh has the
power to remove or bestow difficulties.