As in any society, the introduction of
solid food marks a major transition in
the infant’s young life, even though the
infant may not wean for some time after
that. Unlike many of the traditional
samskaras, this is still an important
childhood ritein modern India.
Anrta
In the Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures
that are still the most authoritative reli-
gious texts, anrta is characterized as the
opposite of rta, the cosmic order. Anrta is
particularly associated with falsehood and
untruth, and it involves acts of deliberate
perversions of speech. Hindus believe that
these mistruths undermine the estab-
lished order of the cosmos.
Anshavatar
A “partial” (amsha) incarnation of a divin-
ity, which is believed to have only part of
the divine power. See also avatar.
Anshuman
In Hindu mythology, the grandson of King
Sagar. After the death of his sixty thou-
sand uncles, who because of their disre-
spect were killed by the sage Kapila,
Anshuman was the sole surviving mem-
ber of the royal line. Anshuman and Dilip,
his son, labored mightily to bring the
Ganges(the earthly embodiment of the
goddess Ganga) from heavendown to
earth, so that by her touch the souls of
their relatives might find peace. Their
efforts were unsuccessful, but Dilip’s son
Bhagirathwas finally able to bring the
Ganges to earth.
Antahpura
(“inner city”) In classical times, the name
for the women’squarters of the palace, so
designated because they were the most
stringently protected. Although most
Hindus had only one wife, in earlier times
it was not uncommon for kings to have a
number of wives and concubines, who
would be housed in the antahpura. In
such cases the king’s first wife would gen-
erally have higher status, since this mar-
riage would often be used to cement a
political alliance.Antarala
(“intermediate space”) The antarala
was a transitional space between a
temple’s main hall and the inner sanc-
tum (garbhagrha), where the image of
the temple’s primary deity would be
housed. The antarala is characteristic
of Nagara architecture, which is one
of three primary styles of Hindu tem-
ples. This space was found only in the
largest temples and in many smaller
ones was omitted entirely.Antariksha
In the cosmologyfound in the Vedas,
the earliest Hindu scripture, the antarik-
sha is the middle region of the sky
between the earthand fixed stars; it cor-
responds to what might now be called
the atmosphere. This region is consid-
ered the theater of activity for Indra, god
of the storm and the most important
Vedic deity; it is also home to one mani-
festation of the Vedic god Agni(fire), in
his form as lightning.Antaryaga
(“internal sacrifice”) In Hindu worship,
but especially in the secret ritual tradi-
tion known as tantra, antaryaga refers
to the internalization of worship. In this
process, worship involving external
actions is replaced by worship based on
mental acts.
This is a later phase of the initiate’s
spiritual path, and is attempted only
after the initiate has mastered the exter-
nal forms of worship. The process of
internalization becomes progressively
more subtle and sophisticated. This step
also demonstrates that the initiate has
achieved more highly developed reli-
gious capacities, in which external
objects are no longer needed.Anrta