was so cryptic that it virtually presup-
posed a commentary, which Patanjali
provided. Patanjali’s Mahabhashya
is not only important for his explication
of Panini’s grammar, but also because
his examples often provide useful
historical information.
Patanjali is also the person named
as the author of the Yoga Sutras, but
since these are believed to have been
composed several centuries after
the Mahabhashya, the authors are
believed to be two different people
with the same name.
Pati
(“master”) In the philosophical school
known as Shaiva Siddhanta, the name
given to the god Shivaas the highest
being, who wields the noose (pasha) of
illusion to enthrall and bewilder unen-
lightened people (pashu). The triad of
pashu, pati and pasha are the defining
features of the Shaiva Siddhanta school.
Patita
(“fallen one”) In the dharma literature,
the term for someone who had commit-
ted one of the Four Great Crimes; mur-
dering a brahmin (brahmahatya),
stealing a brahmin’s gold (steya), drink-
ing liquor (surapana), and adultery
with one’s guru’swife (gurutalpaga).
These crimes were considered so
heinous that the performer became an
outcast from society. Another indication
of the gravity of these acts was that their
expiations (prayashchitta) were so
severe they normally ended in death,
and in some cases this outcome was
specifically prescribed. Aside from pre-
scribing such punishments for the actual
offenders, the dharma literature also
prescribed similar outcast status for
anyone who knowingly associated with
such people for more than one year.
Pattadakal
Historical site in the state of Karnataka,
about twenty miles east of the city of
Badami. During the Chalukya dynasty,
Pattadakal was an important urban cen-
ter and a sister city to the Chalukya cap-
ital at Badami. Although nearly deserted
today, the site is important for a collec-
tion of temples built in a variety of archi-
tectural styles during that era. The
Virupaksha temple, dedicated in 740 C.E.
during the reign of King Vikramaditya,
clearly shows the influence of the south-
ern Indian Dravidaarchitectural style: a
mostly low and extended profile, with a
series of terraced roofs over the main
sanctuary. It is believed to have been
modeled after the temples in the city of
Kanchipuram, which had been con-
quered by Vikramaditya, who brought
its architects and builders back to
Pattadakal with him. At the same time,
there are temples showing the early
development of the Nagara style, in
which the major architectural feature is
a series of upswept towers (shikharas),
with the tallest tower directly over the
image of the temple’s primary deity. The
best example of this is the Galaganatha
temple, dedicated to the god Shiva,
which has a tall vertical tower perched
on a larger, cube-shaped base.Pattuppattu
(“Ten Songs”) Collective name for a
group of ten Tamil poems written in
the style of the eight anthologies of
the Sangam literatureand believed to
have been composed later. The dates
for the literature are the subject of con-
troversy, but the prevalent scholarly
consensus is that it was written in the
early centuries of the common era. Like
this literature, the Pattuppattu songs
fall into two general genres, puram (“the
outer part”) and akam (“the inner part”).
Puram poetry was “public” verse,
describing the deeds of kings, war,
death, and other heroic actions, whereas
akam poetry was about an individual’s
inner experience, especially love and
sexuality. See also Tamil languageand
Tamil epics.Pattuppattu