progressive: he rejected casteism, pro-
moted the equality of women and men,
and insisted on social service and altru-
ism as expressions of true DHARMA.death
A major preoccupation of Hinduism, as
of all religions. Hindus generally believe
in life after death and most believe in
rebirth (and re-death) of those who
have not found emancipation. It is
surrounded by many rituals, and many
scriptures describe the fate of persons
after death. Since physical death is not
considered final, the Bhagavadgïtä com-
pares it with the changing of worn-out
clothing and exhorts not to grieve for
those who have died, because they are
bound to return in a new body. (See
also AFTERLIFE; MØTYU-SA§SKÄRA.)demons
Hinduism knows many kinds of
demons, or antagonists of the gods. Not
all of them are wicked; some are
described as righteous rulers and good
kings. (See also ASURA; BALI; DAITYAS;
DÄNAVAS; RÄKÆASA.)Deussen, Paul (1845–1919)
‘Devasena’, as his Indian friends called
him, an expert in Sanskrit and in philoso-
phy. He held university appointments in
Berlin and Kiel. In his six-volume General
History of Philosophyhe devoted the first
three volumes to India, including transla-
tions of hitherto unknown texts. He trans-
lated sixty Upani•ads from Sanskrit into
German, Ÿaökara’s complete commentary
on the Brahmasütras, as well as major
portions from the Mahäbhärata (includ-
ing the Bhagavadgïtä) and wrote a mono-
graph on The Philosophy of the
Upani•ads(1899).deva, alsodevatä (‘shiny’)
Generic name of higher beings, usually
translated as ‘god’ (etymologicallyrelated to Latin deus, Greek theos, from
which French dieu, Italian dio, Spanish
dios, English divine). Their number is
given in the Vedas as thirty-three, in
later Hinduism as virtually infinite.
(See alsoGOD AND GODS.)deva-däsï
(‘female servant of the deity’)
A woman who was dedicated to temple
service, professional dancer, often kept
as temple prostitute.Devakï
Wife of VASUDEVA, mother of Kø•æa.Devï (‘goddess’)
Used generically as well as more specif-
ically for the wife of Ÿiva, or the highest
principle, imagined as female. She has
many names, expressing her many func-
tions. Goddess worship is almost uni-
versal in Hinduism.57 DevïDevï Mahj•amärdiæï: The goddess who
slays the buffalo demon; an object of
devotion at the time of Dürgä Püjä.Encyclo - Letter D 10/2/03 9:39 am Page 57