The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set)

Kalivarjya, or “forbidden in the Kali
[Age].” Kalivarjya, which first appeared in
the twelfth century, was a legal strategy
used to forbid certain religious practices
that were prescribed in the sacred litera-
ture, but were no longer acceptable in
contemporary times.

Nrtya

In classical Indian dance, the word nrtya
refers to the genre of “pure” dance, in
which the dance conveys nothing more
than the dancer’s skill. Nrtya is one of
the two most basic dance genres. The
other genre, natya, is an acting dance, in
which the dancer’s expressions, move-
ments, and gestures convey a story to
the audience.

Nryajana

(“sacrificeto human beings”) One of the
Five Great Sacrifices (panchamahayajna)
that is prescribed in the dharma litera-
ture, which describes religious duty.
These Five Great Sacrifices are daily reli-
gious observances prescribed for a
twice-bornhouseholder. This is a per-
son who has been born into one of the
three twice-born groups in Indian soci-
ety—brahmin, kshatriya, or vaishya—

and who has received the adolescent

religious initiationknown as the “sec-

ond birth.” Each of the five sacrifices

(yajna) is directed toward a different

class of beings—from the Ultimate

Reality of Brahmandown to animals—

and is satisfied by different actions. The

nryajana is directed toward fellow

human beings, and is satisfied by show-

ing hospitality to one’s guests. Although

Hindu religious life has undergone sig-

nificant changes and some of the other

rites have fallen into oblivion, this rite is

still widely practiced; the ethos of hospi-

tality is still very strong in Hindu society.

Nudity

Nudity is often seen as both inauspi-

ciousand forbidden, and is subject to

numerous taboos: according to some

authorities, one should not bathe

(snana) naked (a more understandable

taboo in times when people would

bathe outdoors) and one should not be

naked during sexual intercourse. In

some cases there are also taboos on a

husband seeing his wife naked, since it

is widely believed that this will cause

Lakshmi, thegoddess, to forsake her,

taking away her auspiciousnessas a

Nudity

The two most basic genres of Indian classical dance are natya and nrtya. This dancer, performing in the

natya genre, uses dance to tell a story. In the nrtya genre the dance conveys only the dancer's skill.