Arya Samaj reform movement, 170n12
Ascetics. See Sadhus; Sannyasis
Ash, sacred (vibhuti), 37
Ashvaghosha, Buddhacarita, 298
Ashvin, month of, 125
Aframas(stages of life), 79
Aurangzeb (Mughal emperor), 6, 55
Aurora (Ill.), temple at, 247n5. See also
Hindus, American
Auvaiyar (poet), 231
Avataras(divine incarnations), 174–75,
252–53; of Devi, 179; of Vishnu, 174,
233, 252
Ayodhya: destruction of mosque at,
257–65; graffiti at, 264; pilgrimage to,
257, 258, 264; symbolism of, 258–59,
265; in televised Ramayana, 264–65;
“temple-chariot journey” to, 258–59
BabaBalak Nath, possession by, 164,
166
Babar (Mughal emperor): construction of
Ayodhya mosque, 257
Babri Mosque (Ayodhya), 25; destruction
of, 257–65; fatalities at, 260; Hanu-
man’s miracle at, 260; nationalist
Hindu parties and, 258, 259; Rama’s
image in, 258, 263–64; rubble from,
259–60, 262–63; symbolism of, 261;
and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, 258
Bahadur, Om Lata, 18, 19
Bahus(daughters-in-law), 69, 75
Balarama (brother of Krishna), 108
Banaras: AnnapurnaTemple, 86; Brah-
mins of, 205; death at, 17–18; deities
in, 44; Guru Bagh, 202; Hindu Uni-
versity, 199; Maharajas of, 115, 117,
124, 125, 126; ManikarnikaGhat, 82,
83, 83 , 86; Ramakrishna Monastery,
76, 77; ramlilasof, 19, 115; Ravidas
temples of, 23; televised Ramayanain,
148; Untouchables of, 199–200
Bangalore: Christian community of, 1;
“Hare Krishna Hill” temple, 2, 4; In-
fant Jesus shrine, 6; New Year’s cele-
brations at, 1–2, 4, 5, 8, 23
BAPS, 4, 27n2
Bapu, Morari, 150–51
Basilica of the Holy Mother of Health
(Velankanni), 6–7
Bathing: following menstruation, 63–64;
ritual, 36–37, 72
Bells, in worship, 38
Benares. SeeBanaras
Benfey, T., 272
Besant, Annie, 10
Bhagavad Gita, 174
Bhagavata Purana: adaptations of, 106;
Krishna’s dances in, 102; Prahlada in,
100; readings of, 56, 59
Bhakti(devotion), 15–16; and caste sys-
tem, 201; in goddess possession, 163;
in ramlilas, 118; of Ramnagar, 115; of
Ravidas, 206
BhaktiHinduism: among families, 203;
Brahmins and, 203–4; expansion of,
202; saints, 201–5, 210; and social
protest, 205–7; in South India, 203;
transcendence in, 203; of Untouch-
ables, 212
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute,
6, 27n3
Bhang(cannabis), 102; at Ramlilasof
Ramnagar, 120
Bharat (son of Kaikeyi), 91; in Ramlilas
of Ramnagar, 119, 121; in televised
Ramayana, 151, 153
Bharati, Agehananda, 17–18
Bharati, Vifvananda, 79–87
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 5, 6; and
Babri Mosque controversy, 259; elec-
toral strength of, 264; nationalism of,
258; rhetoric of, 264
Bharat Milap (festival), 128
Bharat Natyam, conventions of, 153
Bhargava, Simran, 152