sacred to the Goddess that spreads
throughout the subcontinent. Each
Shakti Pitha marks the site where a body
part of the dismembered goddess, Sati,
fell to earth, taking form there as a dif-
ferent goddess; Manasarovar was the
palm of Sati’s right hand. See also pitha.
Manava Dharma Shastra
Another name for the text on religious
duty (dharma) and social order
ascribed to the mythical sage Manu. See
Manu Smrti.
Mandakini River
Himalayan tributary of the Ganges
River, which joins with the Alakananda
Riverat the hill town of Rudraprayag
in the state ofUttar Pradesh. As with
all the Himalayan tributaries of the
Ganges, the Mandakiniis considered
sacred. Important pilgrimage places
(tirtha) along it include Kedarnath,
which is at its headwaters, Guptakashi,
and Rudraprayag.
Mandala
(“circle”) As with many Sanskritterms, a
word with different meanings in differ-
ent contexts. In the context of geogra-
phy it can imply a region, as in the case
of the Brajregion, known as the Braj
Mandala. In the context of the ras lila,
the circle dance between the god
Krishna and his devotees (bhakta),
mandala refers to the group of devotees
as well as to the shape of the dance itself.
By extension, mandala can refer to any
group of people, although it carries the
connotation of people who have gath-
ered for some serious religious purpose.
In the context of the secret ritually-
based religious practice known as
tantra, mandala refers to a symbolic
diagram used as an aid to meditation, as
a ritual accessory, or as a symbolic road
map of the spiritual quest. In this con-
text, mandala is more characteristic of
Buddhist tantra, with Hindu tantrikas
more frequently using the terms yantra
and chakra.Manava Dharma Shastra
Mandalas can be depicted as complex concentric designs.