asking for anything in return. At the
same time, the status difference
between the bride’s family (as wife
“givers”) and the groom’s (as wife “tak-
ers”) can make this “gift” an extremely
expensive proposition for the bride’s
family. See Dowry.
Kanyakubja
(“[city of ] humpbacked maidens”)
Ancient name for the site now known as
Kanauj, which was the capital for several
northern Indian dynasties in the latter
half of the first millennium. The name
Kanyakubjacomes from a tale about a
king who has a hundred daughters. One
day the daughters’ games disturb the
meditation of a local sage who is filled
with desire for them. The king worries
about angering the sage and promises
him one of his daughters in marriage.
Ninety-nine of his daughters flatly
refuse to marry the sage because of his
advanced age and gruff demeanor, but
the youngest agrees to do so in obedi-
ence to her father. The sage accepts the
youngest daughter and curses the others
to become humpbacked so they will
never be able to marry.
Kanyakumari
(“virgin girl”) City and sacred site
(tirtha) at the extreme southern edge of
the state of Tamil Nadu, at the conflu-
ence of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea,
and Bay of Bengal. Kanyakumari is
important as a bathing (snana) place.
Kanyakumari is also the name of the
site’s major deity, a local goddesswho
has been assimilated into the pantheon
as a manifestation of the goddess
Parvati. According to local tradition,
Kanyakumari set her heart on marrying
Shiva; when this was prevented she
vowed to remain a perpetual virgin
(kanya). Her manifestation here is clearly
different from all the other forms of
Parvati, who are invariably married to
Shiva, yet Kanyakumari’s unmarried sta-
tus also gives her independent power.Kapala
A human skull. In Hindu art, a skull is
often carried by the god Shiva, who uses
it as a vessel to hold his food and drink.
As with many of Shiva’s attributes, such
as the snakes he wears as jewelry and
the ash from the cremation groundwith
which he smears his body, the skull-
bowl is a sign of Shiva’s untamed natureKanyakubja
The city of Kanyakumari, at the confluence of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal.