deity that some viewers have sought to
identify as a “proto-Shiva.”
Utpanna Ekadashi
Religious observance falling on the
eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark
(waning) half of the lunar monthof
Margashirsha (November–December).
As for all of the eleventh-day obser-
vances, this is dedicated to the worship
of Vishnu, and on this day especially, in
his form as Krishna. Most Hindu festi-
vals have certain prescribed rites, which
usually involve fasting (upavasa) and
worship and often promise specific ben-
efits for faithful performance. Those
observing this vow should fast com-
pletely on the tenth and perform full
worship during the brahma muhurtaof
the eleventh. On this ekadashi, only
fruits should be offered as food for the
deity. Faithfully keeping this festival is
believed to bring liberation of the soul
(moksha). The name Utpannameans
“born,” and the charter myth for this
celebration is that of Anasuya, wife of
the sage Atri. Anasuya is famous for her
devotion to her husband, and the wives
of the gods become jealous of her.
Lakshmi, Parvati, and Saraswatisend
their husbands (Vishnu, Shiva, and
Brahma) to try to compromise her
fidelity; the gods come beggingfor food,
but they refuse to accept it unless
Anasuya gives it to them naked. Through
the power she has gained from her devo-
tion to her husband, Anasuya turns the
three gods into infants and then nurses
them until they are satisfied; these three
gods are later “born” into her household:
Vishnu as Dattatreya, Shiva as Durvasas,
and Brahma as Chandra.
Utsava Murti
(“festival image”) Image of a deitythat is
able (and intended) to be moved. These
are used mainly during festivals, when
the image of the deity is paraded around
the town or city on the model of a kingly
procession, symbolically surveying his
or her realm. The other general class of
Hindu images is the sthala murti,
which is fixed in one place and never
moves from it.Uttara (“Later”) Mimamsa
Another name for the philosophical
school also known as Vedanta, which
was called Uttara Mimamsa to distin-
guish it from Purva Mimamsa, another
philosophical school. SeeVedanta.Uttararamacharita
(“Later Acts of Rama”) Drama written by
the Sanskrit playwright Bhavabhuti
(8th c.), which retells the story of the
Ramayana, the earlier of the two
Sanskrit epics. Bhavabhuti’s play largely
follows the plot of the original Valmiki
Ramayana, with one important differ-
ence. Valmiki’s text ends with Rama’s
banishing Sita because of suspicions
about her virtue and Sita’s being swal-
lowed up by the earth, which is her
mother and witness to her chastity. The
Uttararamacharita, on the other hand,
ends with a complete reconciliation
between Rama and Sita. This change
may have been prompted solely by the
desire for a happy ending, which is one
of the characteristic features of Sanskrit
drama. It may also indicate that some
people were not comfortable with the
moral ambiguities of the original text, in
which Rama, although claimed to be
divine, sometimes acts in unscrupulous
and disturbing ways.Uttarayana
Term denoting the six months of the
solar yearin which the sunis believed to
be moving northward. In the common
era, this would be the period between
the winter solstice and the summer sol-
stice (roughly December 20 to June 20)
and would be based on the actual
motion of the sun with respect to the
earth. The Indian solar year is based on
the motion of the sun through the zodiac,
which is calculated differently than in
Western astrology. The uttarayana
begins on Makara Sankranti (the dayUtpanna Ekadashi