another, and although each was strong
enough to defeat its opponent at various
points in this conflict, neither was capa-
ble of keeping the other under subjuga-
tion. See also Pushyabhuti dynasty.
Pulastya
In Hindu mythology, one of the six sons
of Brahma, all of whom become great
sages. All are “mind-born,” meaning that
Brahma’s thoughts are enough to bring
them into being. The others are Kratu,
Angiras,Pulaha, Marichi, and Atri.
Pumsavana (“engendering a
male”) Samskara
In traditional calculation, the second of
the life-cycle ceremonies (samskaras).
The Pumsavana samskara was one of
the prenatal samskaras performed
before birth, done to ensure that a
newly conceived child would be a boy.
Various writers give differing prescrip-
tions as to the correct time during
the pregnancyto perform this rite, but
they generally specify that it be
performed when the moonis in a male
constellation, at which time the woman
should have several drops of the juice
from the banyan tree inserted into her
right nostril (a common practice in
traditional medicine). This samskara is
seldom performed in modern times.Pundit
Term still used in modern times to
denote a scholar or learned man. In tra-
ditional usage, the word punditdenoted
a person proficient in Sanskritand
Sanskrit learning.Punjab
Modern Indian state that lies south of
the state of Jammu andKashmiron the
border of Pakistan. Modern Punjab is
one of the so-called linguistic states, cre-
ated to unite people with a common
language and culture (in this case,
Punjabi) under one state government.
The present state of Punjab was created
in 1966, when the former state (also
called Punjab) was divided into three
areas: Punjab (the Punjabi-speaking
region), the state of Haryana (from thePunjabFarmers harvesting wheat in a field in Punjab.