unconscious prakrti. According to
Samkhya metaphysics, confusion
between these two eternally distinct
principles triggers the evolutionof sub-
jective consciousness and the exterior
world, in which the eternal Self becomes
the witness to repeated rebirths. Of the
two schools, Samkhya provides the the-
oretical explanation for bondage and
liberation of the soul, whereas Yoga pro-
vides the method to liberation. The pur-
pose in performing yogais to help the
person distinguish between these two
principles, removing obstructions to
understanding, particularly the karmic
tendencies rooted in egoism. According
to the Yoga Sutras, the foundational text
for the Yoga school, those who can dis-
tinguish between these two principles
and discern the soul’s identity with the
purusha attain independence from all
external causes, mastery over all states
of being, and omniscience. For further
information see Gerald Larson and Ram
Shankar Bhattacharya (eds.), Samkhya:
A Dualist Tradition in Indian
Philosophy, 1987; and Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore
(eds.), A Sourcebook in Indian
Philosophy, 1957.
Kajari Teej
One of two festivals called Teej. See Teej.
Kala
In Sanskritand its daughter languages,
a word that can mean both “time” and
“death.” Kala is used as one of the alter-
nate names for the god Yama, the lord of
death and the master of all living beings.
Kalahasti
Temple and sacred site (tirtha) in the
southern state of Andhra Pradesh,
about fifty miles east of the town of
Tirupatiand 125 miles northwest of the
city of Madras. Kalahasti is famous as
one of the bhutalingas(“elemental lin-
gas”), a network of five southern Indian
sites sacred to the god Shiva. At each of
these sites Shiva is worshiped as a linga,
the pillar-shaped object that is his
symbolic form, and at each site the
linga is believed to be formed from one
of the five primordial elements
(bhuta)—earth, wind, fire, water, and
space (akasha). Kalahasti’s linga is
associated with the element of wind,
and the manifestation of Shiva there is
Kalahasteshvar, the “Lord of Kalahasti.”
Kalahasti is also one of the Shakti
Pithas, a network of sites throughout
the subcontinent that are sacred to the
Goddess. Each Shakti Pitha marks the
site where a body part of the dismem-
bered goddess Satifell to earth, taking
form there as a different goddess; in the
case of Kalahasti the body part was Sati’s
left shoulder. Kalahasti’s sanctity is thus
reinforced by having two highly power-
ful and sacred sites to two different
deities. See also pitha.Kalamukha
(“black face”) Extinct monastic sect
whose members were devotees (bhakta)
of the god Shivaand whose name may
refer to their practice of marking their
heads with a black streak. Little is
known about their doctrines or prac-
tices. While there are contemporary lit-
erary references to the Kapalikas,
another extinct Shaivite asceticcom-
munity, the only sources for the
Kalamukhas are a series of inscriptions.
From these inscriptions we know that
the Kalamukhas were strongest in the
Karnatakaregion, although they were
also present in other southern Indian
regions. They flourished between the
ninth and thirteenth centuries.Kalasha
(“pitcher”) In the Nagarastyle of temple
architecturepredominantly found in
northern India, the kalasha is an inverted
vase-shaped piece that crowns the tem-
ple towers (shikharas). In many cases,
kalashas were made of gold to provide a
decorative contrast above the stone. The
kalasha on the highest tower typically
has a banner fluttering from it. TheKajari Teej