the major differences between the two
was in matters of inheritance. The
Mitakshara stresses inheritance by
survivorship, in which only living males
can inherit property, whereas the
Dayabhagastresses inheritance by suc-
cession, in which a dead man’s heirs can
inherit in his name.
Vikramaditya
(“Sunof Prowess”) Title taken by King
Chandra Gupta II(r. 376–415) as a symbol
of his royal mastery. This monarch is tradi-
tionally identified as the Vikramaditya
who established the Vikram era, but
because the Vikram era was established a
little less than sixty years before the com-
mon era, this claim is clearly untenable.
Vikram Era
One of the most common dating systems,
particularly in northern India. It is general-
ly believed that the Vikram era takes its
name from King Vikramadityaof Ujjain,
who is supposed to have ruled over much
of India. The Vikram era date is fifty-six or
fifty-seven years later than that of the com-
mon era; the discrepancy stems from the
differing first days of the yearin the two
systems. In the common era the year
begins on January 1, but in the Vikram era
the year begins with the sun’stransition
into Aries, considered in India as occurring
on April 14. Hence, to convert a Vikram era
date to a common era date, one subtracts
fifty-six years for dates between January 1
and April 14, and fifty-seven years for dates
between April 15 and December 31.
Vikramorvashiya
(“Urvashiwon by valor”) Drama written
by the poet Kalidasa, generally consid-
ered the greatest classical Sanskritpoet.
The Vikramorvashiyais a musical play in
five acts, whose mythic theme is the liai-
son of King Pururavasand the celestial
nymph Urvashi, a story mentioned both
in Rg Veda1.95 and in the Shatapatha
Brahmana. In both these earlier sources
the story ends unhappily, with the separa-
tion of Urvashi and Pururavas, but in
Kalidasa’s version the estranged lovers are
finally happily reunited. This change may
have been prompted solely from the
desire for a happy ending, which is one of
the most characteristic features of
Sanskrit drama.Village Deities
According to popular Hindu tradition,
the universe has 330 million gods. The
richness of this mythic imagination can
be seen in the composition of the Hindu
pantheon, in which hundreds of major
and minor deitieshave been given form,
identity, and mythic history. Yet aside
from these deities, who have been given
an identifiable form, there are also a
host of village deities found throughout
India. In most cases, the village deity is
exactly that—the deity who protects,
watches over, and acts as a divine over-
seer for a particular village or locale.
One of their most common functions is
to protect the village from disease, either
of people or livestock, and to provide
remedies when disease strikes. They are
also the guardians of the village, defend-
ing it from ghostsand unseen powers,
as well as protecting the villagers from
danger and misfortune.
The authority of these deities is gener-
ally quite limited—in most cases, it does
not extend beyond the village itself. In
most cases, village deities have no well-
defined mythic history, form, or person-
ality. At times they will have a temple
dedicated to them, but in other cases the
village deity is believed to be associated
with a particular tree or is represented by
a post in the village square. Village deities
are usually nonvegetarian, demanding
animal sacrifices and offerings of
blood in exchange for their services.
Relationships with these deities are highly
pragmatic—the villagers make offerings,
and the deities protect, but beyond
these offerings there is usually little
organized worship. If these deities have
any organized priesthood, it is almost
always non-brahminbecause the impu-
rity (ashaucha) generated by animal sac-
rifices would be unacceptable toVikramaditya