97–98; gambling at, 93; of Gobard-
han, 105, 111n3, 112n16; Hanuman in,
92; Krishna in, 93; narrative of, 94–97;
pujasof, 93–94, 97–98; in United
States, 242; wives in, 105
Diyas. See Deepas
Doordarshan (television network): com-
mercials on, 143, 145–46; program-
ming of, 143; Ramayanaon, 140–53;
serials on, 143–44
Dowries, 68, 75n4; Muslim, 70
Durga (goddess), 161; multiple arms of,
51; possession by, 20; silver mask of,
- See alsoDevi
Durkheim, Emile, 101, 102
Duryodhana (Mahabharata), 297
Dvivedi, Ramgulam, 154n24
Eck, Diana, 16
Eknath (bhaktisaint), 203
Electricity, availability of, 146
Epics, telling of, 149
Families: bhaktiHinduism among, 203;
extended, 48; in Hindu festivals, 105
Fanon, Franz, 276
Fasting, ritual, 33
Fatimah (shrine elephant), 269
Festivals, Hindu: and American secular
calendar, 235–36; Bharat Milap, 128;
caste in, 105, 106; dafahra, 125; of
Krishna, 107; Navaratras, 165; Pongal,
8; power relations in, 106; ritual per-
formance in, 104; sexual license in,
108; spring, 108–9; Tiruvadira, 219.
See alsoDivali (Festival of Lights);
Holi festival
Fire: in Holi festival, 100; masculine as-
pect of, 40; in pujas, 39–40; purifica-
tion with, 41; at Ramlilasof Ramna-
gar, 127, 128; ritual use of, 84, 85;
symbolism of, 40. See also Arati
Fireworks: in Divali festival, 97; in
Ramlilasof Ramnagar, 123, 127, 128,
135
Fitch, Ralph, 44
Florida, Srivaisnava community in, 232
Flowers: for deities, 38, 39
Food: for ascetics, 79; for deities, 38–39;
for Divali festival, 92, 94, 97–98; sym-
bolic consumption of, 39. See also
Prasada
Footprints, veneration of, 267
Forster, E. M., 47
Fort Worth-Dallas (Texas), Hindu com-
munity at, 238
Frankfurt School, 286n14
Frankl, Victor, 250
Freud, Sigmund: on regression, 21Gaja (elephant), 240
Ganapati. SeeGanesha
Gandhi, Indira, 21, 176
Gandhi, Mahatma: film attendance by,
142; nonviolence of, 253, 285; on
satyagraha, 26, 283–85; social reforms
of, 14; and Untouchables, 251
Ganesha: as dispeller of obstacles, 252; in
Divali festival, 92, 93, 94, 97; images
of, 42, 44, 92; misrepresentation of,
272; mudrasof, 51; statue at Sri
Venkateswara temple, 234
Ganga, bathing in, 93
Ganges (goddess), 204
Garlands: ritual, 219, 221
Garuda (bird), 240; in Ramlilasof Ram-
nagar, 129
Gauna(consummation ceremony),
64–65, 72–73, 74
Gender: transcendence of, 181; Western
conception of, 278
Ghat of the Ten Horse Sacrifices (Ba-
naras), 76
Ghee: in offerings, 40
Ghera, B. R., 205, 208–9
Ghosh, Balakrishna, 272