over one’s body, or for any other uses
for which holding and pouring water
are necessary.
Lothal
Ancient city and archeological site located
near the Gulf of Cambay in the modern
state of Gujarat. Lothal was one of the
cities of the Indus Valley civilization, a
highly developed urban culture that
flourished in the Indus Valley region
between the fourth and third millennia
B.C.E. Lothal was a port city, although
because of silting, the present site is now
well inland. The size of the harbor indi-
cates that it was a prominent port.
Archaeological evidence suggests that
Lothal continued to flourish for nearly
500 years after the decline of Harappa
and Mohenjo-Daro, the two largest
cities of the Indus Valley civilization.
Lotus
Flower with significant symbolism in
Hindu culture. See Padma.
Lotus Position
See padmasana.
Love Marriage
In modern India, the name given to a
marriage fixed by the bride and groom
themselves, rather than an arranged
marriagefixed by parents or guardians.
Although Western romantic notions
consider a love marriage the preferred
method, many Hindus consider love
marriages suspect. Love marriages carry
the stigma of rebellion—children usurp-
ing the role traditionally played by their
parents. It is sometimes thought to pre-
sent the danger of inter-castemarriage
and the likelihood that the marriage will
be rooted in lust or infatuation, thus
rendering it potentially unstable. The
family is considered the foundation of
society; anything undermining its sta-
bility is viewed quite dimly. Love mar-
riages are becoming more common
and accepted among modern Hindus,
especially in the larger urban areas.
Arranged marriages, however, remain
far more common.Lunar Line
One of the two great mythic lineages in
Hindu mythology, the other being the
Solar Line. Kings in the Lunar Line
traced their descent from Soma, the
moon, who married the daughter of
King Ikshvakuof the Solar Line. Soma
and his wife begat an illustrious group of
progeny, including most of the principal
characters in the Mahabharata, the
later of the two great Hindu epics.Lunar Month, Structure of
Hindu festivals are determined accord-
ing to a lunar calendar, in which a year
is made of twelve lunar months. The
lunar month is divided into two halves,
each of which has fifteen days. In north-
ern India the lunar month begins with
the dark (krishna) half—when the moon
is waning. This phase lasts fifteen days,
ending with the new moon. This is fol-
lowed by the light (shukla) half of the
month—when the moon is waxing. This
phase lasts fifteen days, ending with the
full moon. The day after the full moon is
the first day of the next lunar month,
and so on. Any given lunar day is desig-
nated by the name of the month, the
half (light or dark), and the lunar day (1
to 15). In southern India the pattern is
reversed, with the lunar month starting
with the light half and ending on the
new moon.
The lunar month, as with all Hindu
conceptions of time, represents chang-
ing times of auspiciousnessand inaus-
piciousness, peaks and valleys marking
times that are more or less propitious.
The full moon, with its associations of
fullness, abundance, and light, is always
auspicious. It is believed that religious
rites performed on this day generate as
much merit as those performed for an
entire month. The new moon, with its
associations of darkness and emptiness,
is a more ambiguous time. At times theLunar Month, Structure of