the 1800s the area around her shrine
had become completely dominated by
Muslims and thus well outside the
Hindu culture area. To travel outside of
this area is to risk loss of one’s Hindu
identity. To counter the danger of travel-
ing outside this area, it became tradi-
tional for asceticswho had gone there
on pilgrimage to be branded with her
symbol on their return to India, as a way
to purify them and remake them as
Hindus. The political tensions between
India and Pakistan since their indepen-
dence in 1947 have made it almost
impossible for Hindu pilgrims to visit
the shrine. For further information see
George Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath and
the Kanphata Yogis, 1973. See also pitha.
Hiranyagarbha
One of the earliest Hindu cosmological
myths. See Golden Embryo.
Hiranyakashipu
In Hindu mythology, Hiranyakashipu
is a demonking who is killed by the
god Vishnu, in his avataror incarna-
tion as a Man-Lion. As a result of his
harsh physical asceticism, Hiranyakashipu
gains a series of divine powers, which
render him virtually invulnerable:
notable of these powers is that he
cannot be killed by man or beast, by
day or by night, and neither inside
nor outdoors.
Protected by these powers,
Hiranyakashipu first conquers the
entire earthand then drives the gods
from heaven, growing prouder and
more oppressive as his power increas-
es. He particularly oppresses his son
Prahlada, who despite his father’s
power remains a sincere devotee
(bhakta) of Vishnu. Incensed at the
thought that someone refuses to wor-
shiphim, Hiranyakashipu finally gives
Prahlada the ultimatum to worship
him or die.
Prahlada calls on Vishnu for help,
and Vishnu appears in the form of a
Man-Lion—a man from the torso down,
with the head and shoulders of a lion—
which is neither man nor beast. The
Man-Lion seizes Hiranyakashipu in the
palace doorway, which is neither
inside nor out, at twilight, which is nei-
ther day nor night, and uses his sharp
claws to tear out the demon’s entrails,
killing him. The story of Hiranyakashipu
is meant to illustrate the danger of
pride, and the mythic reality that no
power, however powerful, can keep
one from the consequences of one’s
evil deeds.Hiranyakeshin
(4th c. B.C.E.?) Sage, writer, and commen-
tator, also considered a disciple of the
writer Apastamba. Apastamba is the
author of a type of text known as a Kalpa
Sutra. He is only one of three authors,
along with Baudhayana and
Hiranyakeshin, whose surviving works
contain all three elements prescribed for
a Kalpa Sutra: prescriptions for Vedic rit-
uals (Shrauta Sutras), for domestic rites
(Grhya Sutras), and for appropriate
human behavior (Dharma Sutras).
All three of these men belonged to
the same school, the Taittiriya school of
the Black Yajur Veda. According to tradi-
tion, Baudhayana was the oldest,
Apastamba his disciple, and
Hiranyakeshin Apastamba’s disciple.
This chronology is supported by the
texts themselves, since Baudhayana’s
text is much less organized than the oth-
ers, and more archaic in its language.Hiranyaksha
In Hindu mythology, Hiranyaksha is a
demonking who is killed by the god
Vishnu, in the latter’s avataror incarna-
tion as a Boar. Hiranyaksha has per-
formed harsh physical asceticpractice
(tapas) and as result, gained various
divine powers. He eventually grows so
powerful and proud that he spirits away
the earthherself, hiding her at the bot-
tom of the cosmic ocean. It is at such
times of cosmic crisis that Vishnu takes
form on earth, to restore the equilibriumHiranyagarbha