panthis more closely associated with
movements in the santreligious tradi-
tion, which tended toward rebellion
against the prevailing religious estab-
lishment, whereas sampraday is more
commonly applied to groups that
evolved within these established reli-
gious communities.
Pap
(“evil”) A word sometimes used as an
adjective to describe people and
actions, but most often used as a noun,
either to denote a particular deed as evil
or to refer to the collective evil one has
accumulated through the bad deeds in
one’s karmic career. Since, according to
karmatheory, all one’s deeds will even-
tually come to fruition, the evil that one
has done is seen as already existing,
even if only in a potential state. The
opposite of pap is punya, the most gen-
eral term denoting religious merit.
Papamochani Ekadashi
Religious observance falling on the
eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark
(waning) half of the lunar monthof
Chaitra (March–April). The name
Papamochani means “freeing from
evil,” and the faithful observance of
this festival is believed to do exactly
that. As with all the eleventh-day
observances, it is dedicated to the
worshipof Vishnu. Most Hindu festivals
have certain prescribed rites, which
usually involve fasting (upavasa) and
worship (puja), and often promise spe-
cific benefits for faithful performance.
On this day one should worship Vishnu
with the full complement of the sixteen
upacharas(“offerings”).
Papankusha Ekadashi
Religious observance falling on the
eleventh day(ekadashi) of the bright
(waxing) half of the lunar month of
Ashvin (September–October). As with
all the eleventh-day observances, it is
dedicated to the worship of Vishnu.
Most Hindu festivals have certain
prescribed rites, which usually involve
fasting (upavasa) and worship (puja),
and often promise specific benefits for
faithful performance. This ekadashi’s
name indicates that it is the goad
(ankusha) to drive away all evil (pap),
here fancifully conceived as an elephant.
Thus, faithfully observing this festival is
believed to cleanse one of all one’s sins.Parakiya
(“belonging to another”) Particular type
of relationship between lover and
beloved, in which the woman is seen as
married to another person. Parakiya is
said to generate the most intense pas-
sion, since the people pursuing it have
nothing to gain but love itself—if
caught, they risk ridicule and shame,
and in any case their liaison has no real
future. This is not the conventional, safe
love with one’s own spouse (svakiya)
that is sanctioned by marriage, carries
social approval, and usually entails pro-
creation, but rather a dangerous love
pursued solely for pleasure. This type of
relationship is a standard image in
Sanskritpoetry, and is also the domi-
nant theme for describing the relation-
ship between the god Krishnaand his
human consort Radha, which is seen as
symbolizing the relationship between
god and the human soul.Paramahamsa
(“supreme Hamsa”) One of four types of
Hindu ascetic. The four types were
based on their supposed means of liveli-
hood, which in practice has been much
less important for ascetic identity than
sectarian or organizational affiliation.
The Paramahamsa is the most presti-
gious of the four, the others being (in
order of increasing status) Kutichaka,
Bahudaka, and Hamsa. Paramahamsas
have no fixed abode and always live in
an uninhabited place. They are said to
have transcended all questions of reli-
gious duty (dharma), purity, and impu-
rity (ashaucha), to have broken all
attachments to the world, and to bePap