relate or correspond to sacred land-
scape features on the Indian subconti-
nent. Grand Bassin is a remote and
high lake, which the Hindus on
Mauritius call the GangesRiver. In the
days before the festival of Shivaratri
(February–March), great crowds of peo-
ple come to Grand Bassin. They bathe
(snana) in the lake, worshipat the tem-
ples surrounding it, and then draw pots
of waterfrom the lake and carry them
on foot back to their homes. The pil-
grims time their departures to arrive at
their homes on the evening of
Shivaratri, and the water is offered to
the god Shivain their local temple. This
sort of rite can be found in several
places in India, most notably at
Vaidyanathin Bihar.
Grhastha
(“householder”) In the dharma litera-
ture, which gives instruction on reli-
gious practice and duties, a grhastha is
a “householder.” According to the
dharma literature, the grhastha is the
second of the four stages of life
(ashramas) in the life of a man born
into one of the three twice-born
groups—brahmin, kshatriya, or
vaishya—which have the highest reli-
gious and social status in Indian soci-
ety. The householder stage is preceded
by that of the brahmacharinor celi-
bate student, and succeeded by the
vanaprasthaor forest-dweller, and the
sanyasior wandering ascetic. In prac-
tical terms, for most men the house-
holder stage is the final stage of life,
since most men do not choose to move
beyond it. The householder stage
begins with marriage, and leads to
raising and supporting a family. This
stage is an active and fruitful time of
life, and the householder is indispens-
able to society since his labors and
resources support those in the other
three stages of life. This is also the only
stage of life in which sexual inter-
course is not explicitly forbidden,
since the general fruitfulness of this
stage of life is expressed through pro-
creation. A householder is permitted
to pursue three of the traditional aims
of life(purushartha): wealth (artha),
desire (kama), and religious duty
(dharma). Given the depth and rich-
ness of the householder’s life, it is not
surprising that many men have little
inclination to move on to the two
other stages.Grhya Sutras
(“aphorisms on domestic [rites]”) The
name given to texts that outline correct
procedures for domestic religious cere-
monies, in particular the daily rites
connected with the domestic sacred
fire, and the life-cycle rites known as
the samskaras. The latter rites span
the time before birthto the memorial
offerings after death and are still
observed by many pious Hindus,
although the rites have been modified
over time. In theory, a Grhya Sutra
should be one part of a Kalpa Sutra,
which should also contain prescrip-
tions for Vedic rituals (Shrauta Sutras)
and for appropriate human behavior
(Dharma Sutras). In reality this doesn’t
always seem to be the case, since aside
from the three complete surviving
Kalpa Sutras, there are at least six
other Grhya Sutras, indicating that
these texts were composed indepen-
dently. See also Veda.Guardians of the Directions
A collection of eight deities, each
associated with one of the four cardi-
nal and intermediate directions. In
their traditional order, the deities are
as follows: Indrafor the east; Agnifor
the southeast; Yama for the south;
Nirritifor the southwest; Varunafor
the west; Vayu for the northwest;
Kuberafor the north; and Shivafor
the northeast. Most of these are
deities who were important in the
Vedas, the earliest Hindu religious
texts. Except for Shiva, they were
replaced as traditions changed and
have become minor deities in modernGrhastha