sonswould retain family status through
her children, while even a child widow
in a wealthy family could have a fairly
comfortable life, although subject to
numerous restrictions. Where one or
another of these factors was lacking,
then a widow’s position would be much
more precarious, and there is no doubt
that in earlier times many widows led
very difficult lives. Even in modern
times a woman whose husband dies at a
young age is often considered to be
inauspicious, and thus a source of bad
fortune. Ameliorating the condition of
widows was one of the major goals of
nineteenth-century Hindu reformers,
and it has become more common for
widows to remarry, although some of
the most traditionally minded people do
not accept this.
Wind
One of the five elements in traditional
Indian cosmology, the others being
earth, fire, water, and akasha. In some
philosophical schools, each of the ele-
ments is paired with one of the five senses;
here wind is associated with touch. The
various “vital winds” (prana) inside the
body are also associated with a number
of bodily functions, including respira-
tion and circulation.
Witchcraft
The existence of witchcraft is generally
accepted in many segments of contem-
porary Hindu culture, even by many
“modern” urban Hindus. The root forces
behind witchcraft are malevolence,
envy, and greed, through which some
people try to harm others or to ruin
what they have gained. Witches may
work through spells, through the evil eye
(nazar), or through pronouncing curses
on others. Pregnant womenand young
children are thought to be particularly
susceptible to their powers, and these
parties are also deemed particularly
likely to be cursed, because the envy
over their good fortune is said to excite
a witch’s passion. The appropriate
counteraction is to perform various
rites of protection, which will safeguard
the person from being affected. Those
afflicted by witchcraft may exhibit this
as an unusually persistent illness or as
strange behavior; for these people,
stronger remedies are needed. As Sudhir
Kakar masterfully shows, the language
of possession and exorcism can be
interpreted as an “idiom” (using tradi-
tional Indian cultural categories) for
what modern psychiatrists might call
the diagnosis and treatment of mental
illness. For further information see
Sudhir Kakar, Shamans,Mystics,and
Doctors, 1991; and David F. Pocock, “The
Evil Eye,” in T. N. Madan (ed.), Religion
in India, 1991.Women
In the dharma literature, women from
all social groups were considered at the
same ritual level as shudras—they could
not undergo a second birth, were forbid-
den to hear the Vedas, were forbidden to
perform certain religious rites, and in
many places could not own property or
resources, except by extension through
their husbands. At the same time,
women played (and play) an immensely
important part in Hindu religious life, as
daughters, mothers, wives, and patrons.
According to the traditional dharma lit-
erature women had their own special
role to play, based on their status as
women. See also stridharma.Woodroffe, Sir John
(1865–1936) Calcutta High Court Justice
who also, under the pseudonym of
Arthur Avalon, translated and published
works on tantra, a secret, ritually based
religious practice. Woodroffe was one of
the earliest European exponents of
tantra as a coherent religious path and
served as an apologist for the seemingly
“impure” or “immoral” ritual acts
described in the texts. In his expositions
of the tantras, Woodroffe was trying to
convince a dual audience, both of whom
were horrified at the licentiousnessWoodroffe, Sir John