in the Pallava dynasty, from Jainism
to Shaivism.
The collected hymns of the three most
important Nayanars—Appar, Sambandar,
and Sundaramurtti—comprise the
Devaram, the most sacred of the Tamil
Shaivite texts.
Appaya Dikshita
Sixteenth-century writer and commenta-
tor in the Bhamatibranch of the Advaita
Vedantaphilosophical school.
Aprashasta
(“reprehensible”) Marriages
According to the texts on religious duty
(dharma) known as the Dharma
Shastras, these are the four forms of
marriage subject to disapproval: the
asura marriage, gandharva marriage,
rakshasa marriage, and paishacha
marriage. Although all of these are
considered reprehensible, this disap-
proval comes in differing measures:
the asura (paying money for a bride)
and gandharva (betrothal by mutual
consent) marriages are tolerated,
while the rakshasa (forcible abduction)
and paishacha (taking advantage
of an insentient woman) forms
are forbidden.
Despite such harsh condemnation,
all of these marriages are held to be
legally valid. It is generally agreed that
this position was intended not to legiti-
matize unconscionable actions but to
give the woman the legal rights of a wife,
whatever the circumstances of her mar-
riage. The asura marriage is the only one
of these forms still practiced in modern
times, although it is done only by people
who are either very poor or of very low
social status.
Apsara
In Hindu mythology, a class of celestial
nymphs renowned for their beauty,
grace, and irresistible attractiveness.
One of their main mythic functions is
to seduce asceticsand sages when they
become too powerful. Because ascetics
practice celibacy, and it is assumed
that celibacy builds spiritual power,
successful ascetics can become rivals
to the gods themselves. Sexual activity
will quickly exhaust the ascetic’s power,
although it can often bring other bene-
fits to the world, including the birthof
children, which always results from
such intimate encounters.
The apsaras are sent on their mis-
sions by Indra, the king of heaven,
since any ascetic who gains too much
power will be able to claim Indra’s
divine throne. One famous apsara is
Menaka, whose seduction of the
sage Vishvamitra results in the birth
of Shakuntala. Another is Urvashi,
who is renowned for her dalliance with
King Pururavas.Apurva
According to the Purva Mimamsa
philosophical school, apurva is an
unseen force created by action—par-
ticularly ritual action. This unseen
force exists from the beginning of the
action to the result of that action, and
it invariably brings the intended result
into being. This doctrine was devel-
oped to connect actions with their
results, particularly when the result
came some time after the initial action,
and is especially relevant to karma.
The Mimamsas developed the concept
of the apurva because they wanted to sup-
port information found in the Vedas,
which in many cases specifies that certain
actions will eventually produce specific
results. For further information see
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A.
Moore (eds.), A Sourcebook in Indian
Philosophy, 1957.Aranya Dashanami
One of the ten divisions of the
Dashanami Sanyasis, ascetics who
are devotees (bhakta) of Shiva. The
Dashanamis were supposedly estab-
lished by the ninth-century philoso-
pher Shankaracharyain an effort toAranya Dashanami