normal social life. Although all four
purusharthas are legitimate and sanc-
tioned, liberation is usually seen as the
ultimate goal, the last goal to be pursued
after fulfilling the pleasures and pains
stemming from the other three. Moksha
is also unchanging, bringing one com-
plete and absolute freedom, whereas
the other three are ultimately tran-
sient, for they are pursued within the
ever-changing world of desires.
Mokshada Ekadashi
Festival falling on the eleventh day
(ekadashi) of the bright half of
Margashirsha (November–December).
As for all the eleventh-day observances,
this is dedicated to Vishnu. Most Hindu
festivals have certain prescribed rites
usually involving fasting (upavasa) and
worship, and often promising specific
benefits for faithful performance.
Faithfully observing this festival is
believed to bestow final liberation
(moksha) of the soul.
Monday
(Somavar) The second dayof the Hindu
week, whose presiding planetis the
moon. The moon is associated with
coolness, healing power, and Soma,
the Vedic deity. The Hindu god Shiva
is manifested as Somnath, the Lord of
the Moon. Monday is considered one
of the most powerful and auspicious
days of the week. Worship on certain
Mondays is believed to bring even
greater religious benefits, such as
on a Somavati Amavasya, (a new
moonfalling on a Monday), and on
the Mondays in Shravan (a lunar
month specially dedicated to Shiva).
The Sixteen Mondays Vow (Solah
Somvar Vrat) is performed on sixteen
consecutive Mondays. Like other
such vows, the Solah Somvar Vrat
entails reading the vow’s charter myth
in a ritual setting, combined with
worship and a regulated diet.
Moneylending
An important element in the economic
activity of the traditional and modern
Indian merchant families. Since farmers
have profits only after the harvest, they
must be able to borrow during the other
times of the year. In modern times many
farmers borrow from banks, but in
earlier times their only resource was
these merchant families. Their interest
rates usually reflected the borrower’s
credit worthiness: unsecured loans
might have interest rates as high as 30 to
50 percent per year because there was a
good chance for default, whereas the
interest on loans secured by collateral
might be as low as seven percent. To
some extent, these moneylending mer-
chants were economically bound to
their farmer-creditors, with one provid-
ing the capital and the other providing
the labor. Moneylenders could not
refuse credit to farmers after a bad year,
since this would have removed any hope
of future repayment. For further infor-
mation see Christopher Alan Bayly,
Rulers,Townsmen and Bazaars, 1983.Monsoon
A season of torrential rains, whose name
comes from an Arabic word meaning
“season” (mausam). The monsoon is
preceded by a period of intense heat;
daily temperatures go over one hundred
degrees Fahrenheit. As the hot air rises,
it draws in a vast current of moisture-
laden air from the coastal regions of
southern India. The monsoon is one of
the year’s three major seasonsand is a
vital part of people’s daily lives. Because
much of India’s farmland is not irrigated,
the monsoon rains are vital to agricul-
ture. The coming of the monsoon is
much awaited in real life; it also has a
prominent place in Indian culture. One
image of the monsoon comes from love
poetry, in which a woman is anxiously
scanning the sky, watching the clouds
roll up as she awaits her returning
beloved. In earlier times the rains made
travel almost impossible, making it a
bitter time for separated lovers but aMokshada Ekadashi