Sun and to the god Ganesh, and
then given to friends. On the final day,
Pongal of Cows (Mattu Pongal),
worshipers walk in a circle around cows
while the cows are decorated, garlanded,
and worshiped.
Possession
Possession by gods, ghosts, and spirits is
an accepted element in the traditional
Hindu worldview, although whether this
is good or bad depends on the nature of
the being responsible. Possession is the
most common means for village deities
and certain forms of the Goddess to
communicate with human beings,
although the highest gods in the pan-
theon virtually never use this medium.
Possession by a deity can bring a person
high religious status but is generally said
to be physically exhausting; through
the medium the deities can interact
with human beings, both to make their
wishes known and to give their help and
advice to those who need it. One of the
more unusual cases of this occurs at the
annual pilgrimage at Kataragamain Sri
Lanka. Devotees (bhakta) suspend
themselves from trees by hooks stuck
into the flesh of their backs and, while
suspended, are believed to be speaking
for the god Murugan.
Possession by departed spirits (bhut
or pret) or by witches and other malefic
beings is always seen as an inopportune
event and a dangerous imposition on
the sufferer that must be remedied as
soon as possible through healing or
exorcism. As Sudhir Kakar masterfully
shows, the language of possession and
exorcism can be interpreted as an
“idiom,” using traditional Indian cultural
categories, for what modern psychia-
trists might call the diagnosis and treat-
ment of mental illness. For further
information see Sudhir Kakar, Shamans,
Mystics,and Doctors, 1991.
Poygai
(7th c.) With Peyand Bhutam, one of the
first three Alvars, a group of twelve poet-
saints who lived in southern India
between the seventh and tenth cen-
turies. All the Alvars were devotees
(bhakta) of the god Vishnu, and their
passionate devotion (bhakti) to a per-
sonal god, conveyed through hymns
sung in the Tamil language, trans-
formed and revitalized Hindu religious
life. According to tradition, the three
men were caught in a torrential storm
and, one by one, took shelter in a small
dry spot, with each making room for the
next. As they stood next to one another,
they felt a fourth presence, who was
Vishnu. The alvars were such great
devotees that their combined energy
was sufficient to provoke Vishnu’s mani-
festation. Overwhelmed with ecstasy,
each burst into song, which formed the
first of each of their compositions. For
further information see Kamil Zvelebil,
Tamil Literature, 1975.Prabhakara
In Indian philosophy, one of the two
great seventh-century commentators in
the Purva Mimamsaschool, one of the
six schoolsof traditional Hindu philoso-
phy; the other great commentator was
Kumarila. The Mimamsa school was
most concerned with the examination
and pursuit of dharma (“righteous
action”), the Mimamsa school believed
all necessary instructions were con-
tained in the Vedas, the oldest Hindu
religious texts. Much of Mimamsa
thought is concerned with principles
and methods for textual interpretation
seeking to uncover and interpret these
instructions. Although both Kumarila
and Prabhakara were committed to dis-
covering the boundaries of dharma by
interpreting the Vedas, there are signifi-
cant differences in their philosophical
positions, seen most clearly in their
theories of error.
Prabhakara believes in a concept
similar to the Nyayaconcept of inher-
ence (samavaya), a weak relational
force that is assumed to connect objects
and their attributes—for example, con-
necting the color red with a particularPrabhakara