by Nabhadas are quite brief, whereas
Anantadas gives extended information
about his subjects. Anantadas’s works
are by far the earliest detailed accounts
of these literary figures, although the
marvelous events included in the
introductions render them suspect as
historical sources. Because his collect-
ed works have never been published,
he remains virtually unknown. For fur-
ther information see David Lorenzen,
Kabir Legends and Ananta-Das’s Kabir
Parachai, 1991; and Winand Callewaert
and Peter G. Friedlander (trans.), The
Life and Works of Raidas, 1992.
Anant Chaturdashi
Festival falling on the fourteenth day
(chaturdashi) of the bright (waxing) half of
the lunar month of Bhadrapada
(August–September). This festival falls
during the four-month period when the
deity Vishnuis believed to be sleeping
on Shesha, his serpent couch, while his
wife Lakshmimassages his feet. The
festival itself is named after Shesha, one
of whose epithets is Anant (“endless”).
On this day, devotees (bhakta) of Vishnu
should worshipand meditate on this
particular image of Vishnu, with Shesha
and Lakshmi.
Before beginning worship, devotees tie
onto their forearm a string dipped in
turmeric, an eastern Indian spice, in
which fourteen knots have been made.
Each of these elements is symbolic: The
string is a symbol of Shesha, the color yel-
low is associated with Vishnu, and the
fourteen knots signify the fourteenth day.
Aside from worshiping Vishnu,
devotees should also fast (upavasa)
on this day. Carefully observing the
requirements for this festival is believed to
ensure prosperity and freedom from exile.
According to mythic tradition, keeping
this vow enables the five Pandava
brothers, the heroes of the epic
Mahabharata, to escape from exile and
regain their kingdom.
Anasuya
In Hindu mythology Anasuya is the wife
of the sage Atri. On one occasion
Anasuya is begged by the gods Brahma,
Vishnu, and Shiva to help them. A
woman named Silavati has cursed the
sunnot to rise, and the creatures on
earthare very distressed. Anasuya suc-
ceeds in persuading Silavati to recall her
curse, and in their gratitude the three
gods tell her she can ask for whatever she
wants. Anasuya requests that each be
born as one of her sons, and this is granted:
Vishnu is born as Dattatreya, Shiva as
Durvasas, and Brahma as Chandra.Ancestral Spirit
(pitr) This term is a translation of the
word that literally means “fathers”;
these ancestral spirits are seen as a col-
lective group to whom every man has
duties. One of these duties is to perform
certain memorial rites for them, such as
the rite of sapindikarana. Like most
funerary rites (antyeshthi samskara),
the major objective is to transform the
recently deceased and potentially
malevolent spirit into a benign and
helpful ancestor. Another duty is to pro-
create sons, so that the rites may be
performed without interruption. Both
of these are weighty responsibilities,
and Hindu mythology is replete with
tales of lifelong ascetics, such as
Jaratkaru, who are rebuked by their
ancestral spirits for shirking their duty
to procreate. By virtue of their stable
ancestral status, these spirits are also
well-defined and generally benevolent.Andal
(9th c.) The only woman among the
Alvars, a group of twelve poet-saints
who lived in southern India between
the seventh and tenth centuries. All the
Alvars were devotees (bhakta) of the
god Vishnu, and their stress on pas-
sionate devotion (bhakti) to a personal
god, conveyed through hymns sung in
the Tamil language, transformed and
revitalized Hindu religious life.Andal