reprehensible (aprashasta) forms of mar-
riage because of the connotation that the
bride is being sold, yet like all the other
reprehensible forms, it is deemed to create
a valid marriage.
Despite this general disapproval, it is
one of the two classical forms that is still
practiced (the other being the Brahma
marriage), although because of the
stigma attached to the implication of
selling one’s child, it is only done by
people who are either very poor or of very
low social status. See also marriage, eight
classical forms.
Atala Akhara
The name of a subgroup of the Nagaclass
of the Dashanami Sanyasis, a particular
type of renunciant ascetic. The
Dashanami Nagas are devotees (bhakta)
of the god Shiva, organized into different
akharas, or regiments, based on the
model of an army. Until the beginning
of the nineteenth century, the Nagas
were known as mercenary soldiers,
although they also had substantial trading
interests; both of these occupations have
largely disappeared in contemporary
times. The Atala Akhara has traditionally
been considered a subsidiary of the
Mahanirvani akhara, at least for their
marching order in the bathing (snana)
processions for the Kumbha Mela. During
the 1998 HaridwarKumbha Mela, the
Atala akhara demanded to be separated
from the Mahanirvanis and to be allowed
to march in their own procession; when
this request was turned down, the Atala
akhara boycotted the bathing processions
in protest. The Atala akhara is one of
the seven main Dashanami Naga
akharas, although it is now the smallest
and least important. All of the akharas
have particular features that define their
organizational identity, especially specific
guardian deities; the guardian deity of the
Atala akara is the god Ganesh.
Atharva Veda
The Atharva Veda is the last of the four
Vedas, which are the oldest and most
authoritative Hindu religious texts. In
many ways the Atharva Veda is the
most unusual. Whereas the other
three—Rg Veda, Sama Veda, and Yajur
Veda—focus mainly on sacrificial ritu-
als, the Atharva Veda is largely a collec-
tion of spells and incantations that can
be used to counter or correct misfor-
tune, and also to bring about one’s
desired result. Its unusual contents
make it very different from the other
three, and since some early sources
mention only the first three Vedas, it
apparently gained authority as a Veda
sometime later.Atikaya
In the Ramayana, the earlier of the two
great Hindu epics, Atikaya is one the sons
of the great demon Ravanaby his wife
Mandodari. Like his father, Atikaya is
described as a great devotee (bhakta)
of Shivaand, because of his constant
devotion, he gains many wondrous
weapons and powers. Atikaya fights
bravely and valiantly in the war with
Rama’sarmy but is eventually killed by
Rama’s brother Lakshmana.Atita
(“gone beyond”) In its most general
usage, this term denotes an ascetic
who has completely renounced all
things and thus “gone beyond” all the
social boundaries that enmesh normal
people. It is also the name of a partic-
ular low-caste community, some of
whom are ascetics and some of whom
are householders.Atman
Reflexive pronoun in Sanskritgram-
mar, that can be used for all three per-
sons in the singular and that carries
the sense of “self” or “oneself.” From
the time of the mystical texts known as
the Upanishads, the word atmanhas
also been used to designate each
human being’s inner essence—which
is eternal, unchanging, gives oneAtman