her, in which his major contribution is
combat with Ravana’sson Meghanada
(an epithet of Indrajit).
After the conquest of Lanka, Rama
appoints Angada as the crown prince
of Kishkindha, a forest in southern
India. Many of the characters in the
Ramayana are paradigms for Indian
cultural values. Angada exhibits
bravery, loyalty, and sincere devotion
to Rama, all of which bring their
eventual rewards.
Angiras
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 Marichi,
Atri, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu.
Angkor
Temple complex built in northwestern
Cambodia by the Khmer ruler
Suryavarman II(1112–1153 C.E.). The
Khmer people were indigenous to
Kampuchea, but the temples at Angkor
were dedicated to Hindu gods. This
reflects the prodigious influence of
Hindu culture, which by the end of the
first millennium C.E. had been spread
throughout Southeast Asia by Indian
(primarily southern Indian) merchants
and traders.
Ani
(according to tradition, a shortened form
of the Sanskrit word anika, meaning
“army”) A major organizational division
of the Bairagi Nagas, ascetictraders and
mercenary soldiers who were devotees
(bhakta) of the god Vishnu. At present
there are three Bairagi anis: the
Digambara, Nirmohi, and Nirvani. In
earlier times these anis were actual
fighting units, but in modern times these
distinctions are mainly important
to determine bathing (snana) order
in the bathing processions at the
Kumbha Mela. Of the three anis,
the Digambaras are by far the most
important and at the time of the Kumbha
Mela take precedence over the others.Ani
(2) In the region of Tamil, which lies at
the southern tip of the subcontinent on
the Bay of Bengal, the month of Ani is
the third month of the solar year. It cor-
responds to the northern Indian solar
month of Mithuna(the zodiacal sign of
Gemini), which usually falls within June
and July. The existence of several differ-
ent calendars is one clear sign of the
continuing importance of regional cul-
tural patterns. One way that the Tamils
retain their culture is by preserving their
traditional calendar. Tamil is one of the
few regional languages in India with an
ancient, well-established literary tradi-
tion. See also Tamil months, Tamil
Nadu, and Tamil language.Aniconic Image
A symbol that is meant to represent a
deity. Although it is more common for
human or animallikenesses to stand for
deities, some deities are represented by
symbols or non-pictorial images.
Examples of this would be the lingaor
the shalagram, both of which are well-
known symbolic forms of particular
deities—Shivaand Vishnu, respectively.Anima
(“minuteness”) One of the eight super-
human powers (siddhi) traditionally
believed to be conferred as a result of
high spiritual attainment. This particu-
lar power gives one the ability to
become as small as an atom.Animals
In the Hindu religion, it is believed
that some human beings can be
reincarnated as animals. According to
generally held notions about karma,
being born as an animal is an
unfavorable rebirth in punishment for a
previous grave sin. One is born as an
animal to expiate, or atone for, one’s evilAngiras