APENDICE 2 - Dictionary Illustrative of the Mythology, Philosophy
Contenido - Contents
Full text of "Supplement to a Classical dictionary of India: illustrative of the mythology, philosophy, literature, antiquities, arts, manners, customs &c. of the Hindus"
Abhinayagupta:(sáns. hindú). A celebrated teacher of Alankara, under whom Kshemendra states that he studied. Abhinayagupta is supposed to have Hved at the beginning of the tenth century, a. d., and is cited by various writers as an authority on Alankara.
Adoption:(sáns. hindú). The Brahman who is destitute of male issue looks out amongst his nearest relations, such as his brothers or uncles, for a youth whom he may adopt. If he cannot find one in that class of relatives, he goes to his wife's kindred. He may even adopt the children of his own daughter. Those who have several male children, very willingly part with one of them to a relation who has none, particularly if he be rich ; by which means the property is retained in the family. But if he does not find a suitable youth, among his own relations or those of his wife, he has recourse to some poor Brahman with a large family ; and if he be in tolerable affluence himself he is not likely to be unsuccessful.
The ceremonies connected with the act of adoption differ in various parts of India, though essentially of the same character everywhere. They generally commence with a sacrifice or offering to the patron god of the house or to Qanesa ; followed by the sprinkling of holy water by the Pnrohita. The sacrificial offerings terminated, the adopting father and mother sit down in a place prepared for the occasion ; the natural mother of the child, after receiving presents in money and clothes, as her wages for nursing, approaches the adopter, who in the presence of all the assembly, inquires whether she delivers him her child to be brought up ; to which she replies 1 do deliver him to you to bring up. This phrase is held distinctly to import, that she gives up her son, not as a slaye who is sold, but to be reared as a child of the family.
A dish is then brought in, filled with saflPron water, consecrated with mantras by the Purohita; and the mother, taking the dish, delivers it to the adopter, and at the same time invoking the fire to bear witness, she thrice repeats the words, " I give thee this child; I have a right to him no more." The adopter, taking the child, says, ** This child has been given to me, and the fire adjured as a witness of it j and I, having drank of the safiron water, promise to rear him as my own son. He enters into all that belongs to me; my property and my debts."
Then he and his wife, pouring saffron water into the hollow of their hands, and dropping some into the hands of the child, say before the assembly, *'' we have acquired this child to our stem, and we incorporate him with it." Then drinking the water from their hands, they make a profound obeisance to the assembly, and the officiating Brahmans reply Asirvddam (Blessing). The ceremony is terminated as all their festivals are, by a repast to the Brahmans and the distribution of betel and pieces of money.
Amongst the Sudras the adopting parents pour on the feet of the child water from the pitcher which they hold in one hand; and catching it with the other hand, drink it.
In some cases the child is simply surrendered and accepted in the presence of fire, which is appealed to as witness of the adoption j and this suffices to render it valid and legal.
On the banks of the Ganges the act is performed by taking the river to witness the mutual agreement j and this stands in the place of other ceremonies.
In whatever way adoption is consummated, the adopted child loses all right to the property of his natural parents, and is not answerable for the debts they may leave behind them. The adoption of girls is rare, though not without example. See Dubois, D. P. I.
Agastya:(sáns. hindú). (Page 13.) In a note of Professor Wilson's to the Uttara Râma Charitra (vol. xi, p. 322), there is a legend of Agastya sirmilar to that related of Astika, q. v. " Agastya having seen his ancestors suspended by their heels in a pit, was told by them that they could only be extricated from their position by his begetting a son. In order to obtain a wife for this purpose he made a girl of the most graceful parts of the animals of the forest, and gave her without his privacy to the king of Vidarbha, to be his daughter. She was named Lopamudra from the distinctive beauties {mudra) of animals, as the eyes of deer, &c., being subjected to loss (Jopa) in her superior charms. When marriageable Agastya demanded her of her father, and although sorely against his will, the king was obliged to consent to her becoming the wife of the sage."--WiLSON, XI, 322.
Agneyastram:(sáns. hindú). ( at page 14.) Fiery arms or rockets, were possibly employed by the Hindus in remote antiquity, as well as in recent times; whence came the notion of certain mysterious weapons framed of the elements, and to be wielded only by deities and demi-gods. These make a great figure in the battle scenes of the Râmâyaòa and Mahabharata.
Agni:(sáns. hindú). {dd at page 16.) " Agni, who in the Vedas is the type of the sacrifice, and with it of civilization and social virtue, takes an entirely difierent character in his capacity of * kravyad,' or flesh-eater. He is represented under a form as hideous as the beings he is invoked to devour. He sharpens his two iron tusks, puts his enemies into his mouth and swallows them. (R. V., x, 87, 2 ff*.) He heats the edges of his shafts, and sends them into the hearts of the Rakshasas. He tears their skin, minces their members, and throws them before the wolves to be eaten by them, or by the shrieking vultures." - Muir, II, 391.
Agnivesa:(sáns. hindú). A sage named in the Mahabharata, the son of Agni, the deity of tire. He was one of the early teachers of medicine.
Ahavaniya:(sáns. hindú). The consecrated fire for oblations. This, with the Grhapatya and Dakshina form the Tretagni, or triad of sacred fires, in opposition to the Laukika or merely temporal ones. See Fire, Sacrificial.
Aindrajalika:(sáns. hindú). Conjuring; from Indra a deity, and jdla- a net. The art of magic or necromancy has always been prevalent in India, and attained a degree of perfection that has perhaps not been surpassed in any other country. Even to this day feats are performed which it is difficult for the most acute observers to explain. The apparent production and growth of a mango tree is a performance so cleverly executed as to excite the astonishment of those who have been most determined to discover how the illusion is efiected. In the Hindu dramas magicians are described as having a bunch of peacock's feathers in their hands, and this bunch still forms the implement of conjuring, and is carried by mendicants in India who pretend to skill in magic; it is especially used by Jaina-vagrants.
Aindri:(sáns. hindú). The son of Indra; a name of Arjuna, the third of the Pandava princes.
Akampan:(sáns. hindú). One of the giant-leaders of Ravana's army; it was Akampan who told his king of the strength and invincibility of Râma.
" No power can check, no might can tame, Râma, a chief of noblest fame."
He then counselled Ravana to try stratagem to efiect his purpose.
'* That hero in the wood beguile And steal his lovely spouse the while."
Aksha:(sáns. hindú). {Pcige 23.) Aksha was heir to the throne, a youth merely, but who had already made himself a name in the battle field. He entreated his father to allow him to try his strength with Hanuman. When the noble son of the wind saw this new opponent, his heart was filled with compassion. ' This hero is still but a child,' he thought; it were against my will to slay him in an hour when life seems filled with beauty. Accord ingly, the gallant monkey, wishing to spare Aksha, sprang to the ground, overturned the chariot with a blow and killed the horses. But nothing daunted, the brave youth sprang up, and bounded through the air to meet Hanuman, * well done, valiant Simian !' he shouted, ' but thou hast not yet triumphed.' When he saw that Aksha's daring only augmented with the combat, " There is no help for it said the' magnanimous ape regretfully, ' A fire that increases cannot be despised; I cannot let pity for this hot headed boy imperil my mission !' Thereupon he seized the young warrior by the feet and threw him down head foremost.
So Aksha, the lion-hearted, the joy of the city of Lanka, lay cold and dead on the breast of the one mother-earth.- /, E., 233.
Alankara:(sáns. hindú). Ornament, decoration. Alankara is frequently mentioned as one of the daily ceremonies to be observed, and means then the putting on of ornaments. Alankara Sastri means Rhetoric, a subject on which various treatises exist, but none of any intrinsic value.
Amavasu:(sáns. hindú). The third of the six sons of Pururavas and Urvasf, and one of the progenitors of the lunar race of kings.
Anagundi:(sáns. hindú). Part of the Dekhin, the maps of which are disgracefully defective. The mountain Rishyamuka, and the scenes in its vicinity, alluded to in the Râmâyaòa, are said to be now known by the same appellations in the neighbourhood of Anagundi. - Wilson.
Anala:(sáns. hindú). One of the daughters of Daksha, who was married to Kasyapa, and became the mother of all fruit trees.
Anargha-Raghava:(sáns. hindú). A drama in seven acts; better known under the appellation of Murari-Nataka, which it derives from its author. The story is similar to that of the Vira Charitra. It has no dramatic merit, being deficient in character, action, situation, and interest. As a poem it presents occasionally poetic thoughts, but they are very few, and are lost amid pages of flat common place, quaint conceit, hyperbolical extravagance, and obscure mythology. Yet this drama bears in general, a much higher character with the pandits of the present day, than the truly poetical compositions of JBhavabhuti and Kalidasa.- Wilson, Works Xll 377.
Angada:(sáns. hindú). The son of Balin and one of the principal monkey chiefs in the army that assisted Râma at the siege of Lanka. He was distinguished for his bravery, and when the sight of Kumbhakarna produced a panic in the monkey host, it was Angada who prevented a flight and recalled the few who had fled.
Anguliya-mudra:(sáns. hindú). A finger ring-seal. The use of this seal amongst the Hindus at the present day, as amongst the ancients, is not, as with us, to secure an envelope, but to verify letters and documents, in place of a written signature. Amongst the natives of Hindustan, both JMahommedan and Hindu, the seal is engraved with the name of the wearer; and the surface being smeared superficially only with ink, the application of the seal to the paper, leaves the letters which are cut in the stone, white on a black ground. Such also was the manner in which the seals of the Greeks and Romans were applied. Seals or signets of this kind were from the earliest periods commonly used in the East. Ahaseurus takes his signet off his hand, and gives it first to Haman, and again to Mordecai: and Herodotus notices that each of the Babylonians wore a seal-ring. The Greeks and Romans had their rings curiously engraved with devices, and that cast by Polycrates into the sea was the work of an engraver whose name the historian has not thought unworthy of commemoration. - Wilson, Works, XII, 163, Animisha - One whose eyes do not twinkle; a term applied to a deity. The gods are supposed to be exempt from the momentary elevation and depression of the upper eyelid, to which mortals are subject, and to look with a firm, unintermitted gaze. Various allusions to this attribute occur in poetry. When Indra visits Sita to encourage her, he assumes at her request the marks of divinity - he treads the air, and suspends the motion of the eyelids {Edmayana). When Agni, Varuòa, and Indra, all assume the form of Nala at the marriage of Damayanti, she distinguishes her mortal lover by the twinkling of his eyes, whilst the gods are stabdha-lochan of fixed-eyed, (Mahahharata, N alopdkhyana) . And when the Aswini- Kumar as practise the same trick upon the bride of Chyavana, she recognizes her husband by this amongst other indications (Padma-Purâòa). The notion is the more deserving of attention, as it is one of those coincidences with classical mythology which can scarcely be accidental. Heliodorus says: " The gods may be known by the eyes looking with a fixed regard, and never closing the eyelids ;" and he cites Homer in proof of it.
An instance from the Iliad which he has not noticed, may be cited perhaps as an additional confirmation, and the marble eyes of Venus, by which Helen knew the goddess, and which the commentators and translators seem to be much perplexed with, are probably the stabdha-lochana, the fixed eyes, of the Hindus, full, and unveiled even for an instant, like the eyes of a marble statue.
Wilson, XI p. 237. There are other marks which distinguish divine from mortal bodies. They cast no shadow: they are exempt from perspiration; they remain unsoiled by dust; they float on the earth without touching it; and the garlands they wear stand erect, the flowers remaining unwithered.
Anjali:(sáns. hindú). The cavity formed by putting the hands together and hollowing the palms; being in this form carried to the forehead it is an appropriate salutation to a superior. - Wilson.
Ankalamma:(sáns. hindú). A gramadevata extensively worshipped in the south. Her ofiice is to ward off evil, and to expel demons. Like the other goddesses she enjoys a yearly moveable festival lasting about a week, when her image is carried about, morning and evening, with music and dancing, Annapurna - The supplier of food; a goddess of great repute in Benares, inasmuch as, under the express orders of Bisheswar, she is supposed to feed all its inhabitants, and to take care that none sufter from hunger.* Notes: * Shebeing, S. C. H., p. 57.
Arbuda:(sáns. hindú). A powerful Dasyu, mentioned in the Rig- Veda, as having been overcome and trodden under foot by Indra.
Note to page 44, line 9 from the top.
Arjuna:(sáns. hindú).
Note. - The Mahabharata seems to intend stating that a moveable mark was suspended in the air and whirled rapidly round upon a pivot; that upon a level with the plane of the circle which it described was fixed, upon one side of it, a hoop or ring; and that five arrows were to be simultaneously shot through the ring as the mark came opposite to it. This feat was worthy of Arjuna, It might have baffled Robin Hood, None of the competitors, however, have any chance; for like the suitors of Penelope, they cannot even bend the bow - ovB edfivavTo 'Evravaat, noWov fie irjs cVt devees rjcrav.
It is still a favourite exercise with the Hindus to bend a bow made of a very stubborn bambu, and strung with an iron chain, or cord loaded with iron plates; and it requires no ordinary muscularity to effect the object," F: Johnson, S. if,, p, 39.
Ashtavakra:(sáns. hindú). (Page 53.) Ashtavakra is the hero of a curious legend in the Mahabharata. Kahoda, his father, was the pupil of Udddlalca and married his preceptor's daughter. He was so much addicted to study that he rather neglected his bride when far advanced in her pregnancy, and was rebuked for his conduct by his son yet unborn. The father indignantly pronounced that he should be born crooked, in punishment of his impertinence, and hence his name Ashta, eight limbs), and Vakray curved. Kahoda went to the great sacrifice of Janaka, king of Mithila, soon after the birth of his son. To that festival came a seeming Bauddha sage, who, overcoming all his competitors in argument, had them thrown into the river.
Kahoda venturing to encounter him suffered this fate. When Ashtavakra was in his twelfth year he first heard of his father's mischance, and to revenge it, set off for the yet unfinished sacrifice, it being one of those already noticed as of twelve years* duration. Although young in age, the saint was mature in wisdom, and overcame his father's conqueror. When he insisted on his being thrown into the river, the supposed disputant declared himself to be the son of Varuòa, the god of the same waters, who had commenced a similar sacrifice with that of Janaka, at the same time, and to secure the attendance of learned Brahmans, had adopted the expedient of sending his son to defeat them in disputation, and give them a subsequent ducking. The object being effected, they were dismissed with honour, and the parties separated mutually content. Ashtavakra, by his father's instructions, bathed in the Samangd river, and by so doing was rendered perfectly straight. (Mahabharata, Vana-Parvan) - He was married to the daughter of the sage Vaddnya, Bana-Dharma.) Wilson, XI, p. 293'
Asita:(sáns. hindú). The Indian Simeon.
There exists a legendary history in prose and verse of the life of Buddha, the founder of the religion which bears his name, in which it is related that an inspired sage named Asita, who dwelt on the skirts of the Himalaya mountains, having become informed, by a variety of portents, of the birth of the future lawgiver or Saviour, Buddha, as the son of king Suddhodanda in the city of Kapilavasta, in Northern India, went to pay his homage to the infant. Dr. Muir has published a metrical translation of this remarkable legend, from which we make a few extracts.
The word Buddha, we may observe, means " the enlightened," or " the intelligent," and various Buddhas are mentioned in the Buddhist books. The founder of the existing system was also known as Gautama, as Sakyasinha, as Sakyamuni, i. e., the lion, and the devotee, of the tribe of the Sakas to which he belonged.
Buddha was charged by a Brahmanical opponent with having said " Let all the evils (or sins) of the Kali age fall upon me; but let the world be redeemed." This passage is thought by some to give the character of a vicarious redeemer to Buddha. Others interpret it to mean that Buddha voluntarily underwent great sufferings and privations during a long course of probation, in order that he might attain the truth and teach it to men, and so redeem them from worldly existence. Professor Co well does not understand the passage as implying any theological notion of vicarious atonement, but rather the enthusiastic utterance of highly strong moral sympathy and charity; and would compare it with St. Paul's words in Romans ix, 3, and explain it in just the same way as, he thinks, Chrysostom does that verse.
We now proceed to the metrical translation of the legend we have thus introduced, and quote a few stanzas.
On Himalaya's lonely steep There lived of old a holy sage.
Of shrivelled form, and bent with age, Inured to meditation deep.
He - when great Buddha had been born, The glory of the Sakya race, Endowed with every holy grace, To save the suffering world forlorn - Beheld strange portents, signs which taught The wise that that auspicious time Had witnessed some event sublime, With universal blessing fraught.
The cause exploring, far and wide The sage's vision ranged; with awe Within a cradle laid he saw Far off the babe, the Sakya's pride.
With longing seized this child to view At hand, and clasp, and homage pay, Athwart the sky he took his way By magic art, and swan-like flew; And came to king Suddhodan's gates, And entrance craved - " Go, royal page, And tell thy lord an ancient sage.
To see the king permission waits.'* -jf With all due forms, and meet respect, The king received the holy man, And bade him sit; and then began - ** Great sage, I do not recollect " That I thy venerable face Have ever seen before; allow That I inquire what brings thee now From thy far distant dwelling place."
" To see thy babe," the saint replies, " I come from Himalaya's steeps."
The king rejoined - " My infant sleeps; A moment wait until he rise."
" In every grace complete, thy son Of truth shall perfect insight gain, And far sublimer fame attain Than ever law-giver has won.
" He such a Wheel* of sacred lore Shall speed on earth, to roll, as yet Hath never been in motion set By priest, or sage, or god of yore. *' The world of men and gods to bless, The way of rest and peace to teach, A holy law thy son shall preach - A law of stainless righteousness.
** By him shall suffering men be freed From weakness, sickness, pain and grief; From all the ills shall find relief Which hatred, love, illusion, breed.
" His hand shall loose the chains of all Who groan in fleshly bonds confined, With healing touch the wounds shall bind Of those whom pain's sharp arrows gall.
" His words of powers shall put to flight The dull array of leaden clouds Which helpless mortals* vision shrouds, And clear their intellectual sight.
* " The term thus rendered, dharmachakra, expresses a somewhat singular figure. It denotes the " wheel of the law," or the " wheel of righteousness," or the "wheel of religion."- Muir.
" By him shall men who, now untaught, In devious paths of error stray, Be led to find a perfect way - The final calm* at last be brought.
" But onde, O King, in many years, The fig tree somewhere flowers perhaps; So after countless ages lapse, A Buddha once on earth appears.
" And now, at length, this blessed time Has come: for he who cradled lies.
An infant there before thine eyes Shall be a Buddha in his prime.
" Full, perfect, insight gaining, he Shall rescue endless myriads tost On life's rough ocean waves, and lost.
And grant them immortality.
*' Thee, child, th* immortals worship all.
The great Physician, born to cure All ills that hapless men endure; I, too, before thee prostrate fall."
We may observe that while some of the incidents in the legend are similar to portions of the narrative in the Gospel of St. Luke (Chapter II, 25, &c.), Dr. Muir assures us that he has not at all exaggerated the expressions in the text which speak of Buddha as a deliverer, or redeemer, and that he has not assimilated his character more than was justifiable to the Christian conception of a Saviour, and confidently appeals to any one qualified to examine the original for himself.
Asoka:(sáns. hindú). The name of one of the most beautiful of Indian trees. Sir W. Jones observes ' the vegetable world scarcely exhibits a * " The word in the original is nirvdna a term of which the sense is disputed - some scholars esteeming it to mean absolute annihilation; others explaining it as the extinction of passion, the attainment of perfect dis. passion. "-Muir.
richer sight than an Asoka tree in full bloom. It is about as high as an ordinary cherry tree. The flowers are very large and beautifully diversified with tints of orange scarlet, of pale yellow, and of bright orange, which form a variety of shades according to the age of the blossom.' The Asoka is sacred to Äiva, and is planted near his temples. It grows abundantly in Ceylon, In Hindu poetry despairing lovers very commonly address objects of nature, clouds, elephants, and birds, on the subject of their lost or absent mistresses.
Asvatthama:(sáns. hindú). (Asvatthama), the son of Drona; an active combatant in the great war; who conceived and carried out the terrible revenge which ended in the treacherous slaughter at midnight of the Pandava forces. As the son of a Brahman he is made to express a regret that his " ill luck" caused him to follow the pursuits of a Kshattriya. But the only attempt at an excuse for his conduct which the compilers of the Mahabharata put into his mouth is contained in the words " as I have now at will taken upon myself the duties of a soldier, I shall enter upon the path of a king, and that of my high-minded father." - Goldstucker, Atithigva - A name of Divodasa (q. v.) who is said in the KigVeda to have slain Karanja and Parnaya with his glittering spear.
Atreya:(sáns. hindú). A descendant of Atri, one of the seven Rishis, and a writer on medicine of some celebrity. The period at which he lived has not been satisfactorily determined.
Avanti:(sáns. hindú). The name of a city, the modern Oujein; also called TJjjayini, Visala, and Pushpakarandini. This city is noticed in the story of Nala, and in the Megha-duta, verses 28 and 31.
Behold the city whose immortal fame Glows in Avanti's or Visala's name.
Ayanar:(sáns. hindú). (Lord). The chief male deity among the Gramade vatas. His temples are so numerous that there is one near every village. They are generally small, and have at their entrance two terrible looking stone door-keepers. In the interior Ayanar is represented in a human form in a sitting posture, with his two wives Purâòai and Pudkalai, on his right and left, and round about them seven figures of stone, representing virgins, which however are not worshipped. Ayanar is daily besought to protect his worshippers from evil spirits. The inhabitants of the villages have an annual festival in his honour, usually after the harvest.
Ayomukhi:(sáns. hindú). Iron-faced; a huge misshapen giantess who was wounded by Lakshmana in the forest of Krauncha.
Ayouija:(sáns. hindú). * Not of woman born/ a name of Drona, in allusion to the legend of his having been born in a bucket.
B
Babhravya:(sáns. hindú). An envoy from Vatsa, king of Kausambi, to the king of Simhala or Ceylon, in the drama of the Ratnavali.
Badagas:(sáns. hindú). The most numerous of the hill tribes on the Nilgiris.
To the eye of the European there is nothing to distinguish one Badaga from another, but among themselves they recognize eighteen different classes, each of which has its own peculiar characteristics. The Badagas are worshippers of Äiva, and many of their temples contain a Mahalinga, a long rude stone in the shape of a lingam. The fane of this deity is nearly always built in a conical form, outside the village, with a Basava placed at the entrance.
Baheliya or Badhak:(sáns. hindú). A tribe of hunters, game-keepers, and bird-catchers. They are exceedingly expert in the art of catching birds, and great practice has given them wonderful powers of manipulation. The birds are caught by means of a long pole, which sometimes has a sharp spike attached to one end, and sometimes bird-lime from the Madddr tree. The pole is introduced among a number of birds while they are hopping about picking up grain, and moved slowly with a snake-like motion, then suddenly jerked when near one of the birds which is caught either by the spike or lime as the case may be. - Sheering, T. C. I., p. 352.
Bahlika:(sáns. hindú). The son of Pratipa, brother of Santanu and granduncle of Dhritarashtra. He governed an independent kingdom, which bore the same appellation, and is identifiable with the modern Balkh.
Baibhar:(sáns. hindú). The modern name of the mountain called in the Mahabharata Vaihara, q. v.
Baidyanatha:(sáns. hindú). A celebrated place of pilgrimage situated on the north-western confines of Bengal, about 200 miles from Calcutta, and marked in the maps as Deogurh. It is said that the shriue of 'Baidyanatha traces its origin to a San thai. The legend is that in the olden time a tribe of Brahmans settled on the banks of the highland lake near the temple. There was then nothing but forest and mountains amongst which dwelt the black races.
The Brahmans placed the symbol of Äiva near the lake, and made sacrifices; the black tribes would not worship the new god, but came as before to the three great stones which their fathers worshipped.
In process of time the Brahmans became indolent and neglected the worship of Äiva. This excited the wonder of the black tribes, till at last one of them named Byju, a man of great strength and rich in cattle, vowed he would beat the symbol of the Brahman's god Äiva every day before touching food. This he did; but one day his cows strayed into the forest, and after seeking them all day he came home hungry and weary, bathed in the lake and sat down to supper. Before eating, he remembered his vow, and tired as he was set off and beat the idol with his club. Suddenly a splendid form rose from the waters and said *' Behold the man who forgets his hunger and weariness to beat me, while my priests sleep at home and give me neither to eat nor to drink. Let him ask of me what he will and it shall be given." Byju answered I am strong of arm and rich in cattle; I am a leader of my people; what want I more. Thou art called Nath (lord). Let me to be called Lord, and let thy temple go by my name." Amen ! replied the deity; henceforth thou art not Byju but Byjunath, and my temple shall be called by thy name.* In Mookerja's Magazine there is a description of the temple in which it is said that in the right of the doorway in the verandah lie couchant the figures of four bulls, representing Nandi, the vahana or vehicle of Äiva.
They are of different sizes, but none so large as a calf. In the inmost sanctum it is dark amid the blaze of noon, where the emblem is fixed. Before it burns a lamp day and night, fed with ghee. This helps to make visible a little stone - a phallus, cropping out of the ground, not higher than a span. It is Baidyanatha himself that stands manifest and greets the eye.f
* Hunter's Annals of E. B. f Friend of India.
Bairagi:(sáns. hindú). A mendicant of the Vaishnava sect. - Wilson. The word Bah-agi is commonly applied as a generic term to many sects of devotees. Pure Bairagi devotees, says Mr. Sherring, are professedly followers of Ramanand, the founder of a famous Hindu sect, and his celebrated disciple Râmânuj. They are mostly taken from the Sudra castes.
Bala-Chakravarti:(sáns. hindú). A celebrated daitya or giant, who along with Narakasura was slain by Vishnu, after a terrific combat.
The conflict ended as the sun went down, and Vishnu was thus unable to perform his diurnal ablutions in the day-time, and had to make them at night. In consequence of this the Brahmans once a year at the Dipavali hahha bathe at night, a nocturnal ceremony of great merit, conducted with solemnity.
Balavatsa:(sáns. hindú). The * beloved faithful wife of king Dyuraatsena,' and mother of Satyavan, (q. v.)
Bali:(sáns. hindú). An oblation; the last portion of the offering of rice, &c., thrown into the air for the spirits of ill, the genii locorum. At the end of the daily ceremony the householder is enjoined by Manu " to throw up his hali in the open air to all the gods, to those who walk by day and those who walk by night."
Bari:(sáns. hindú). A caste whose special occupation is to stitch together large leaves by the insertion of small wooden pegs - makers in fact of Hindu crockery. These leaf-plates and dishes form a considerable item in the daily expenses of respectable families - being used to hold the food. On festive occasions broad platters of leaves are used in great quantity.
Basusi:(sáns. hindú). The serpent who vomited forth poison at the churning of the milk-sea.
Bawarya:(sáns. hindú). A very rude tribe residing in the jungles to the south of the Mirzapur district. They are of primitive habits and lead a precarious life. Their practice in raising crops is peculiar.
Before the rainy season commences timber is cut down in the forest, burnt, and reduced to ashes. When the seed is sown the ashes are scattered over the ground together with it. The harvest of grain which is reaped maintains the tribe only for a few months. For the rest of the time they are dependent on the flesh of animals and the roots of trees. - Sheuring, T. C. I.
Ben Bans:(sáns. hindú). An appellation of a tribe of hillraen in the neighbourhood of Allahabad. The present Raja of Singranli, to the south of the Mirzapur district, who is a Kharwar, yet styles himself Ben Bans.
Bhadramada:(sáns. hindú). One of the daughters of Krodhavasa, and mother of " fair Ira vat i."
Bhaganetra:(sáns. hindú). A Daitya or Titan slain by Äiva.
Bhagiratha:(sáns. hindú). (-c?fl? at page 84). *' The saintly king Bhagiratha, in his chariot of gold and ivory, put himself at the head of the Ganga to direct and guide her footsteps. Singing, and dancing, and laughing, and scattering jewels on all sides, the obedient Ganga followed, kissing the trace of his chariot, and babbling words of endearment. Bhagiratha directing his steps to the sea, the docile Ganga followed. From thence he led her into the bowels of the earth, into the gloomy regions of Tartarus. There having performed the ceremony of lustrous waters in honour of his sixty thousand ancestors, he beheld the illustrious Sagarides, clothed in ethereal purity, ascend with rapturous joy to the home of the deathless gods."
Bhakti:(sáns. hindú). Faith; this is regarded by a sect of the Vaishnava, that founded by Chaitanya, as infinitely more efficacious than abstraction; than knowledge of the divine nature - as enjoined by the philosophical systems - than the subjugation of the passions, than the practice of the Yoga, than charity, virtue, or anything deemed most meritorious, A consequence resulting from this doctrine is, that all castes become by such faith equally pure, and therefore that all castes are admissible into the sect; that all are at liberty to sink their social differences in the condition of ascetics, in which character they may live with each other without regard to former distinctions, and that all members of the sect are equally entitled to the food which has been previously presented to the deity. The Bhakti, or faith, comprehends five stages: quietism, as that of sages; servitude, which every votary takes upon himself; friendship for the deity, such as is felt by Bhima and others honoured with his acquaintance; tender affection for the deity, of the same nature as love of parents for their children; and the highest degree of affection, such passionate attachment as the Gopis felt for their beloved Krishna. - Wilson.
Bhamaha:(sáns. hindú). The commentator on the oldest extant grammarian Vararuchi. His commentary is called Manorama.
Bhana:(sáns. hindú). In dramatic compositions a monologue in one act, in which the performer narrates dramatically a variety of occurrences as happening either to himself or others. Love, war, fraud, intrigue, and imposition, are appropriate topics, and the narrator may enliven his recitation by a suppositious dialogue with an imaginary interlocutor. The language must be polished, and music and singing should precede and close the performance. It; is not improbable that ventriloquism assisted to give effect to the imaginary dialogue, as the art is not unknown in India. - Wilson, Works, XI, p. 2S, Bhanumati- (Bhanumati), the wife of Duryodhana. During the great war she is said to have had a dream in which she saw a Nakula or mungoose destroy a hundred snakes. This was considered ominous, Nakula being the name of one of the Pandava princes, and the sons of Kuru amounting to a hundred. Duryodhana was at first disposed to be alarmed by it, but afterwards determined to disregard it.
Bhar:(sáns. hindú). A very numerous tribe of aborigines known by the terms Rajbhar, Bharat. Bharpatwa, and Bhar, who once inhabited a wide tract of country extending from Gorakhpur in Northern India, to Saugor in Central India. Their forts on the Ganges and Jumna, called Bhar-dih, some of which are of vast size, are very numerous; and they have the credit of having excavated all the deep tanks. Some sculptures have been found in a Hindu monastery near Mirzapur, which are remarkable for their peculiar head-dress, and long pointed beards. These have been shown to be Bhar figures, and their position and attitude indicate that they were a people of importance, if not the dominant race at one time. That the Bhars were partially civilized is sufficiently proved by the numerous works of skill which they have left.
Their massive forts testify to their warlike propensities. The same energy and talent which they exhibited in defending themselves against their enemies, they also displayed in more peaceful pursuits. Whence they obtained their civilization, which placed them much above the condition of many other aboriginal tribes, it is hard to say, unless we suppose it had its origin in themselves.
- Sherbing, T. C. I.
Bhasakarna:(sáns. hindú). A distinguished warrior of Ravana's, who attacked Hanuman armed with a lance, after several of his companions had perished by the superhuman strength of the indomitable Ape. Bhasakarna rushed on bim uttering cries for vengeance; accompanied by Praghasa armed with an axe; Hanuman though severely v/ounded himself waited for them to come near, when he seized a huge rock and hurled it at his adversaries with such force that they were both crushed beneath its weight.
Bhasi:(sáns. hindú). One of the five daughters of Tamra, and mother of water-fowl.
Bhat:(sáns. hindú). A tribe of bards who at a remote period were distinguished for their cultivation of the art of making poetry on the spur of the moment, at marriage festivals, and on other great occasions. They are still in request for the exercise of their talents and skill in the recitation of poetry. In Rajpootana the Bhats exercise a great influence over the people. They rank, says Malcolm, as the genealogists of proud and ignorant chiefs; and favoured individuals often combine with that office the station of counsellors, and establish an ascendancy over the minds of their superior, which is stronger from being grounded on a mysterious feeling of awe. It is to them that the proudest Rajpoot looks for solace in adversity, and for increased joy and exultation in prosperity.
Bhatti Kavya:(sáns. hindú). An epic poem composed in the Silver age of Sanskrit literature, for the purpose of illustrating, by every variety of example, the rules of grammar, poesy, and its sister rhetoric.
Valuable as the work is to a student of the language in which it is written, for its copious illustration of the grammatical treatises of Panini and Vopadeva, and curious as a portion of it is as an ' Art of Poetry/ teaching by example only- it has additional claims upon our consideration, in its comparative antiquity of composition, and its classic purity and eloquence of style; nor is the poem without passages of great descriptive power and general poetical merit. It narrates the oft-told adventures of ' the subject of all verse,' the beloved Man-God Kama; his birth and life, his sufferings and triumphs, are celebrated at full length, and in language and style not unworthy of the inspiring theme. - Griffith.*
Bhurisravas:(sáns. hindú). A name of Vishnu, with reference to his becoming incarnate to relieve the earth of her burthen.
Bhutavidya:(sáns. hindú). That branch of medicine which treats of the restoration of the faculties from a disorganised state induced by demoniacal possession. This art has vanished before the diffusion of knowledge, but it formed a very important part of medical practice, through all the schools, Greek, Arabic and European, and descended to days very near to our own, as a reference to Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy may prove to general readers. - Wilson.
Birappa:(sáns. hindú). The demon god of the Kurubaru, or shepherd caste in Mysore. At the annual festival of this god it is the custom for the priest to sit on his hands and knees before the idol, with his eyes shut, holding out his shaven head, his body being naked except a cloth round the waist. Four men stand near the priest, to whom the elders hand the cocoanuts which the people have brought, and these are broken on the bare head of the priest who sits without uttering a sound until great heaps of cocoanut fragments are piled upon both sides of him.
Bisheswar:(sáns. hindú). A name of Äiva, whose image is the linga, a plain conical stone set on end. Bisheswar is the reigning deity of Benares, and, in the opinion of the people, holds the position of king over all the other deities, as well as over all the inhabitants.
Bodhi-sattwa:(sáns. hindú). A technical term in Buddhist theology, denoting a potential Buddha, or one who has only one more birth * Specimens of Old Indian Poetry.
remaining before he becomes a perfect Buddha, and meanwhile waits in heaven until his period comes round, Brahma- (/'e 105.) The name of one of the principal Bhiltas, worshipped by the hill tribes, especially in Nagara Malnad.
Brahma Marriage:(sáns. hindú). The first of the eight modes of marriage enumerated by Manu; the procedure is as follows: the parents having voluntarily invited a man versed in the Vedas, and of good character, give their daughter to him, after clothing both of them, and honouring them with ornaments, etc.
Brahmans:(sáns. hindú). {Page 108.) The Brahmans of all tribes, according to Hindu writings and traditions, are originally descended from seven Rishis, or sages, held by Hindus universally in profound veneration as semi-deities of great sanctity and wisdom. These, as given by the Nirni Sindhu, and also by the Dharma Sindhu, are as follows: -
Each of these Rishis stands at the head of a great division, the various members of which are further sub-divided into sections, termed gotras or classes. These gotras are found more or less in all the Brahmanical tribes.
In their ceremonies the Brahmans follow the rituals or instructions of one or other of the four Vedas. Five of the principal gotras observe the Sama Veda; five others, the Rig Veda; five others, the Yajur Veda; and five, the Atharva Veda. The rest of the Brahmans of all gotras follow the Yajur Veda.
Great and important distinctions subsist between the various tribes of Brahmans. Some are given to learning; some to agriculture 'j some to politics; some to trade.
But all are classed under two great divisions, named Gaur and Dravira, each of which consists of five tribes. These are mostly separated by geographical boundaries. Speaking somewhat generally, the Gaur tribes are found in Northern India, and the Dravira tribes in the Deccan or Southern India. The river Nirbudha in Central India is commonly regarded as a rough geographical line of demarcation between the Gaurs and Draviras.
Yet there is an important distinction between them which ought to be always borne in mind, that the former are of greater antiquity than the latter, the Southern Brahmans having in fact originally migrated from the tribes in the North. In addition to the ten well-known principal tribes, there are several supplementary tribes, which, although not usually reckoned amongst them, are doubtless of Brahmanical origin.
Divisions of Brahmans.
The Gaur, or Northern Division, consisting of Five Tribes.
I. Kanyakubja or Kanoujiya. II. Saraswat. III. Gaur. IV. Maithila. V. Utkala.
The Dravira, or Southern Division, consisting of Five Tribes.
I. Maharashtra. II. Tailanga. III. Dravira. IV. Karnata. V. Gurjar.
Besides these there are twenty-five supplementary tribes.
The Kanyakubja Brahmans belong to the old kingdom of Kanouj, and are found dispersed over a large portion of the Northwestern Provinces, as far as Benares, where they are very numerous, especially that branch of them known as Sarwaria or Sarjupari, which is scattered over the country from the northern bank of the Sarju, on the confines of Oudh, its original home, to Benares, and beyond. The Saraswat Brahmans are in the North-west of India; the Gaurs are found in the vicinity of Delhi, and in Bengal; the Maithilas inhabit the northern part of Behar j and the Utkalas have their home in Orissa. The five Dravira tribes may be separated, like the five Gaurs, by geographical boundaries.
The Maharashtras belong to the Mahratta country; the Tailangas, to Telingana; the Draviras, to the Tamil-speaking districts; the Karnatas, to the Karnatic; and the Gurjars, to Gujerat. Of the subordinate or supplementary tribes, the Mathurs are found in the city of M athura and its neighbourhood; the Sakadwipis, in the old Magadh country; the Malwa Brahmans, in Malwa; the Kurmachalis, in Kumaon; the Naipalis, in Nepal; the Kishmiris, in Cashmere; the Sapt-Shati Brahmans, in Bengal; the Shenevi Brahmans, in the Mahratta country; the Palashe Brahmans in Southern India. The remainder are found in various places, chiefly in Northern India, and are of little weight or importance.
It is important to observe, as a distinguishing caste characteristic of all these tribes, that, although some of them may partake of cooked food together, yet they do not intermarry. The iSve Gaur tribes are entirely distinct from one another, both in regard to marriage and eating food; and are likewise, in these respects, distinct from the five tribes of Southern Brahmans. Yet the five Draviras are not quite so exclusive in their relations to one another. None of them intermarry; nevertheless, four out of the five can eat together. These are the Mahirishtra, the Tailanga, the Dravira, and the Karnata. None of them, however, eats with the Gurjar tribe, owing to certain peculiarities in this tribe not found in the rest. The supplementary tribes keep themselves aloof from one another and from all other tribes - Sheering, T. C, I.
Brahmi:(sáns. hindú). One of the eight Saktis, or hideous goddesses, who attend upon Äiva as Bhairava, the terrific and destructive deity, who is propitiated by offerings of wine and flesh.
Brinjaries:(sáns. hindú). A tribe of vagrants who correspond in many of their habits with the Gipsies of Europe. They do not live entirely by feats of dexterity, sleight-of-hand, fortune-telling, and the like, but are dealers in grain, which they convey on the backs of the cattle in districts where, for want of roads, carts cannot be employed. Sir Arthur Wellesley in his Dispatches refers to their value as carriers of grain; but they were also addicted to plundering villages or travellers whenever an opportunity occurred.
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Caste:(sáns. hindú). {Page 12Z) "There is one peculiarity observable in all the castes in modern days, not to be found in any one of them in primitive ages. The facility for intermarriages has given place to rigid exclusiveness, so that it is now absolutely impossible for the pure castes to intermarry with the mixed, or for the mixed to intermarry with one another. Yet all such intermarriages were permitted in early Hindu times It is common to speak of the castes of India in their relation to the Hindu religion; and in that light they may very properly be regarded. Yet they sustain another highly important relation. Ethnologically they are so many tribes and clans, with separate histories and customs.
The members of a caste are, doubtless, united together by peculiar sacred and social ties. In addition they bear a tribal relation to one another of great significance. Each caste, in virtue of its distinctiveness, and of its holding no marriage connection with other castes, either in its neighbourhood or elsewhere, is in fact a tribe governed by laws of the most imperious character. The races of men, whether in ancient or modern times, have seldom, in any country, been divided into separate tribes and clans by such sharply defined boundaries, over which it is impossible for one to pass to another, as we find separating the various castes of India.
Indeed so absolute and tyrannical is this spirit of exclusiveness that the castes are taught to believe that there is a natural distinction subsisting between them, which utterly forbids their union." - Sheering. T. C. I.
Chai:(sáns. hindú). (Chai.) A class of jugglers, thimble-riggers, and adventurers, who attend fairs and other festivals like men of the same profession in England. They are notorious for all kinds of artifices for making money. They are very numerous in Oudh and the districts to the east.~SHERBiNG.
Chaityaka:(sáns. hindú). The modern Mount Sonar; the fifth and largest of the five mountains of Rajgir j forming a portion of a rocky mounfcam chain stretching nearly thirty miles from the neighbourhood of Gaya, north-west as far as Giryak in Bihar. Their sides are rugged and precipitous, and are mostly covered with an impenetrable jungle, broken only by irregular pathways overgrown with brushwood, which are yearly trodden by hundreds of Jaina pilgrims from Murshidabad, Benares and even Bombay, who throng to Rajgir during the cold and dry seasons to do homage to the sacred charanas or * foot-prints* of their saints, enshrined in the temples which crown the mountain tops. - 7. A.
Chakravaka:(sáns. hindú). The ruddy goose, (Anas Casarca) commonly called the Brahmany duck or goose. These birds are always observed to fly in pairs during the day, but are supposed to remain separate during the night. " The Chakravaki," in the poetry of the Hindus, is their turtle-dove for constancy and connubial affection; with the singular circumstance of the pair being doomed for ever to nocturnal separation, for having offended one of the Hindu' Munis, or sages. If we believe popular tradition and assertions, the cause is so far confirmed by the effect observable in the conduct of these birds to the present day, who are said to occupy the opposite banks of a water or stream regularly every evening, and exclaim the live-long night to each other, thus: " Say shall I come my love to thee ? Ah no, indeed, that cannot be, - But may I wing my love to you ? Nay, chuck, alas ! this will not do."- Wilson.
Chamar:(sáns. hindú). The caste of workers in leather; one of the most numerous of the inferior castes. Many of its members are menial servants. From their appearance, &c., it is considered that they are descended from aboriginal tribes. Yet that there has been a great intermingling of races in India is indisputable. This is manifest from the countenance alone of many members of the lower castes, and is often strikingly exemplified amongst the Chamars.
The word Chamar comes from Cham leather, and the members of the caste are tanners, leather sellers, dyers, shoe-makers, curriers, and harness-makers. In regard to the origin of the Chamar casto we are not left to mere assumption. Manii states it authoritatively. The Karuvera, or worker in leather, he says, is descended from a Nishada father and Vaidiha mother, and the Nishada, on the same authority, is the offspring of a Brahman husband and Sudra wife; and the Vaidiha of a Vaisya husband and Brahman wife. If the workers in leather of the present day arc lineal descendants of the workers in leather in Manu's time, the Chamars may fairly consider themselves of no mean degree, as they may hold up their heads boldly in the presence of the superior castes. - Sherbing.
Chamunda:(sáns. hindú). Was an emanation of the goddess Durga or Uma, springing from her forehead to encounter the demons Charida and Murida.
Chandi or Chandika:(sáns. hindú). A form of Parvati. Human sacrifices arc believed to have been formerly made to this goddess. Blood drawn from the offerer's own body is looked upon as a proper oblation to the goddess Chandika. * By human flesh Chandika is pleased one thousand years. An oblation of blood, which has been rendered pure by holy texts, is equal to ambrosia; the head and flesh also aflford much delight to the goddess Chandika." - A siatie Researches, Vol. F, Art. XXI 21.
Chandi:(sáns. hindú). One of the principal female Bhutas, worshipped by the hill trioes of Nagara Malnad.
Chandra:(sáns. hindú). The moon; who is fabled to have been married to the twenty-seven daughters of the patriarch Dakskat who are in fact personifications of the lunar asterisms. His favourite amongst them was Rohini, to wliom he so wholly devoted himself as to neglect the rest. They complained to their father, and Daksha repeatedly interposed, till, finding his remonstrances vain, he denounced a curse upon his son-in-law, in consequence of which ho remained childless and became affected by consumption. The wives of Chandra having interceded on his behalf with their father, Daksha modified an imprecation which he could not recall, and pronounced that the decay should be periodical only, not permanent, and that it should alternate with periods of recovery. Hence the successive wane and increase of the moon. (Padma-Purâòa , Swarga Khanda, Sec. II.) JRohini in astronomy is the fourth lunar mansion, containing five stars, the principal of which is Aldebaran.
Chandrakanta:(sáns. hindú). (Chandrakanta), the moon -gem, which is supposed to absorb the rays of the moon, and to emit them again in the form of pure and cool moisture.
Charanas:(sáns. hindú). Inferior demi-gods, or heavenly spirits, who are often introduced into Hindu dramas, and represented as mingling freely with human beings, to the extent of intermarrying with mortals, and even electing earthly princes and heroes to be their leaders and rulers. It is difficult to describe accurately the persons, character, and offices, of the various inferior races of divinities, being as Wilson says " very ill-defined in the heavenly polity of the Hindus.''
Cheru:(sáns. hindú). One of the aboriginal tribes. The tradition of the Chertis is that they belong to the great Serpent Race whose traces and descendants are found in various parts of India. They are probably related to the Naga tribes in the Assam hills, and to the aborigines of Nagpur. The Cherti has distinctive features, but this is true likewise of most of the aboriginal tribes. - Sherring.
Chitra-javanika:(sáns. hindú). A painted cloth; a screen or veil suspended in a temple before the adytum: the term is sometimes applied to arras or tapestry, or cloth covering the walls of a temple.
Chyavana:(sáns. hindú). (Add at page 139), is the son of Bhrigu, the sou of Brahma, by his wife Puloma. A Rakshasa, or fiend, attempting to carry off Pulom^ the child was prematurely born, whence his name from Chyu, to fall from. Upon his birth his splendour was such as to reduce the insulter of his mother to ashes.
Comedy:(sáns. hindú). See Rupaka, Nataka, Prakarana, &c.
Cural:(sáns. hindú). ec Kural.
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Dadicha:(sáns. hindú). (Add) He was a votary of Äiva, who had not been invited to the sacrifice. There is a legend in the Mahabharata in which it is stated that the thunderbolt of Indra was formed of Dadicha's bones to destroy the Danavas or Titans.
Daiva Marriage:(sáns. hindú). The second of the eight modes of marriage enumerated by Manu. It consists in the giving away of a daughter after having decked her with ornaments, to the priest officiating at a properly conducted sacrifice.
Dakshina:(sáns. hindú). A fire for sacrifices placed to the south of the household fire and fire for oblations. The sacred fire of the Hindus, which was originally one, is said to have been made threefold by Purtiravas. See Fire-Sacrificial.
Dama:(sáns. hindú). The eldest son of Bhima, king of Vidarbha; and brother of Damayanti.
Damana:(sáns. hindú). One of the three sons of king Bhima, of Vidarbha; and brother of Damayanti.
Damana:(sáns. hindú). A great sage who visited the court of king Bhima at Vidarbha, where he was so kindly and hospitably received by the childless king and his royal consort, that he bestowed on them a boon - that they should have children - as he knew it was for children they had long pined. In due course the promise was fulfilled j and there were born to the happy parents: -
" One sweet girl, the pearl of maidens, - and three fair and noble sons, Damayanti, Dama, Danta - and illustrious Damana; Richly gifted with all virtues- mighty, fearful in their might.
Damayanti with her beauty - with her brilliance, brightness, grace, Through the worlds, unrivalled glory - won' the slender-waisted maid."*
The four children being all named in honour of the sage who had conferred the boon.
* Milman's Translation of the Story of Nala and Damayanti.
Danta:(sáns. hindú). The youngest of the three sons of Bhima, raja of Vidarbha; and brother of Damayanti.
Danu:(sáns. hindú). A fallen demi-god who was restored by Râma. Danu was the son of Lakshmi; but was brought by a curse to the state of a demon, and reduced to a headless trunk by the weapons of Indra; but on meeting with Râma his miraculous recovery is said to have been instantaneous. Danu then counselled Râma and his brother to go to Rishyamuka; for said he there dwells an eminent monkey named Sugriva who will give you tidings of your lovely Sita. Danu had previously been employed by Milyavan to mar the forest in order to ruin Râma.
Dasakhandara:(sáns. hindú). A name of Ravana, the ten-headed sovereign of Lanka.
Dasa-Rupaka:(sáns. hindú). An ancient and valuable treatise on dramatic literature. It is a description of the ten kinds of theatrical composition of which the term BupaJca, (that which has a form) is the proper designation. The work consists of a Text and a Gloss, with examples. The text is the composition of Dhananjaya the son of Vishnu, who styles Munja, his patron, and who consequently wrote in the eleventh century. The Gloss might be thought to be by the same hand as the Text, the author being Dhanika the son of Vishnu; agreeing in the patronymic and differing little in the name. But the date of the Gloss remains undetermined, though it is no doubt of some antiquity. - Wilson.
Dasyus:(sáns. hindú). {Add) There is no doubt that in many passages of the Rig-Veda, the words Dasyu and Dasa are applied to demons of different orders, or goblins, (Asuras, Rakshasas, &c.) but it is tolerably evident from the nature of the case, that in all, or at least most of the texts, we are to understand the barbarous aboriginal tribes of India as intended by these terms. This is yet more clearly established by the sense in which the word Dasyu is used {i. e., for men and not for demons) in the Aitareya Brahmana, in Manu, and in the Mahabharata." - Mum, II, 68.
Professor Roth, in his Lexicon, defines Dasyu as denoting 1, " a class of superhuman beings, who are maliciously disposed both to gods and men, and are overcome by Indra and Agni in particular. 2, the word is an approbrious designation of hostile, wicked, or barbarous men." Professor Mtiller remarks, '* Dasyu simply means enemy; for instance when Indra is praised because he destroyed the Dasyus and protected the Arian colour." Dr. Muir quotes some passages in which the Dasyus are spoken of as monsters. * '
Demons:(sáns. hindú). A belief in demons is found to prevail all over India.
Every Hindu work containing allusions to native life, and the Dictionaries of all the Hindu dialects, prove the general prevalence of a belief in the existence of malicious or mischievous demons, in demoniacal inflictions and possessions, and in the power of exorcisms. The majority of the demons are supposed to have been originally human beings; and the class of persons most frequently supposed to have been transformed into demons are those who had met with a sudden or violent death, especially if they had made themselves dreaded in their life-time. Demons may in consequence be either male or female, of low or high caste, of Hindu or foreign lineage. Their character and mode of life seem to be little if at all modified by differences of this nature. All are powerful, malicious, and interfering; and all are desirous of bloody sacrifices and frantic dances.
In every part of India innumerable legends respecting goblins and their malice are current; but scarcely any trace of their worship in the proper sense of the term, much less of their exclusive worship, can be discovered beyond the districts in which the Shanars, or other primitive illiterate tribes, are found. This superstition respecting demons, in whatever form and under whatever modifications it may appear, is found to be productive of evil; but it was reserved for the Shanars and a few other illiterate tribes to exemplify the debasing effect of it in its fullest extent by their worship of demons, a degradation beneath which the human mind cannot descend.
In all Brahmanical myths the demons are represented as being the ancient enemies of the gods, as warring against the gods, and sometimes gaining the upper hand; and as the inventors and special patrons of bloody sacrifices. Every new deity gains prodigious victories over the demons, and yet somehow they never are thoroughly conquered.
In all Brahmanical books and legends in which the state of the original inhabitants of Peninsular India is described, we are referred to a period when demons ruled in the primeval jungles, and wheff those jungles were inhabited solely by vile sinners who ate flesh and offered bloody sacrifices. In like manner the Buddhists represent Ceylon, prior to the advent of Buddhism, as having been overrun with serpent gods and demons.*
Mr. Caldwell shows conclusively that a high antiquity must be assigned to demon -worship, that it was established in the arid plains of Tinnevelly and amongst the Travancore jungles, long anterior to the influx of the Brahmans and their civilization of the primitive Tamil tribes.
Dhananjaya-Vijaya:(sáns. hindú). A drama in one act, the subject of which is taken from the Virata Parvan of the Mahabharata, and describes the recovery of the cattle of the Raja Virata by Arjuna, after they had been carried off by Kama and the Kuru princes.
The different chiefs appear and threaten each other, and praise themselves very much in the strain of Homer's heroes. The battle is thrown into narrative, being described in a conversation between Indra and some of his attendants as they contemplate it from the clouds. The drama belongs to the class termed Vyayoga.
Dhangar:(sáns. hindú). A tribe chiefly employed in felling the jungle. They are an industrious and active people, who put their hands to any service and are able-bodied and well-conducted. In Southern India the Dhangars are shepherds and cultivators.
Dharkar:(sáns. hindú). (Dharkar), a very low caste, much lower than the Chamars, yet considerably above the Doms. They are workers in reeds and canes, and manufacture cane stools and chairs, palm leaf fans, matting for floors and the like. Some of them are employed as porters. - Sheering.
Dharmaraya habha:(sáns. hindú). An annual festival in honor of the five Pindava princes, the eldest of whom Yudhishthira, is also called Dharmardya. The festival is a very popular one amongst the * The. l'mnevelly Shandrs, by Rev. R. Caldwell.
Sudras, though Brahmans take no part in it. The pujdri or priest who officiates is a Sudra. In the morning ablutions are performed in tanks; during the day buffaloes and sheep are sacrificed; and in the evening a car is drawn through the principal streets.
Dhaumya:(sáns. hindú). 2. A great sage who is said to have had iron teeth.
Dhobi:(sáns. hindú). The washerman caste. Hindus, even the poorest, do not wash their own clothes. Although the garments worn by many are both scanty and simple, yet the thought never occurs to them that, for the sake of economy, it would be advisable for themselves or their wives to devote an hour or two occasionally to this operation. That it is contrary to custom is a sufficient reason with them to pay a DhobI for doing that which they could so easily do themselves.
Dhobis first steam the clothes by hanging them in a bundle over a cauldron of boiling water. They are then taken to a stream or pond where they are thoroughly washed with the aid of fuller's earth. The Dhobi stands in the water, and taking a quantity of clothes by one end into his two hands he raises them aloft in the air and brings them heavily down upon a huge stone slab at his feet. This operation he repeats until the clothes are perfectly clean. They are not, however, quite so strong as when he commenced. - Sheering.
Dima:(sáns. hindú). A drama of a similar but more gloomy character than the SamavaJcdra, (q. v.) and is limited to the representation of terrific events, as portents, incantations, sieges, and battles. It comprehends four acts. The hero should be a demon, demi-god or deity. - Wilson.
Dirzi:(sáns. hindú). The tailor-caste. The occupation of a tailor is held in much greater estimation in India than in England. It is common for a family to keep its own Dirzi who ranks equal to any servant of the house. They have no power of invention, but in imitative ability they are prodigies. Tailors form a separate tribe, and are divided into seven or eight sub-castes or clans, who do not intermarry. - Sheeeikg.
Dola Yatra or Dolotsava:(sáns. hindú). The swinging festival; as commemorated in Bengal, this festival begins on the fourteenth day of the light half of Phalguna (about the middle of March.) The head of the family fasts during that day. In the evening fireworship is performed; after which the officiating Brahman sprinkles v.pon an image of Krishna, consecrated for the occasion, a little red powder, and distributes a quantity of the same among the persons present. (Holi.) A bonfire is made on a spot previously prepared, and a sort of Guy-Fawkes-like effigy, termed Holikct, made of bamboo laths and straw is formally carried to it and committed to the flames. In many cases musicians and singers are in attendance. The day is then spent in merriment and feasting, with many of the sports practised during the Holi, q. v.
Dom:(sáns. hindú). An aboriginal tribe, of dark complexion and small stature, considered by Hindus to be the type and representative of all uncleanness. In their opinion humanity finds its extremest degradation in the Dom. He is loathed and avoided as scum and filth; in fact no language can properly designate the social degradation of his position. The occupation of the Dom is, in some respects, the same as that of the Dharkar caste, namely, to make cane chairs and stools, and palm leaf fans. He also manufactures various articles from the bark of the bamboo.
Doms are also employed as street-sweepers; and assist at the cremation of the dead, laying the logs of wood in order on the ground, and bringing the lighted straw; the Dom in fact is the only person who can furnish the light for the purpose. - Sheering.
Drama:(sáns. hindú). It is said by Professor Wilson that the invention of dramatic entertainments is usually ascribed by Hindu writers to a Muni or inspired sage, named Bharata. The dramatic representations originally were of three kinds, Natya Nritya, and Nritta; and were exhibited before the gods by the Gandharbas and Apsarasas, the musicians and nymphs of Indra's heaven, who were trained by Bharata to the exhibition.
Of these different modes of representation the Natya is the only one strictly dramatic, being defined to be gesticulation with language. The Nritya is merely pantomime, and the Nritta, simple dancing. The other two modes of performance termed Tandava and Lasya are merely styles of dancing.
An intimate connexion between the idea of dancing and dramatic representation may be observed, and this no doubt subsisted in the classical drama. The dances of the Chorus were no less important than their songs, and the arrangement of the ballet was as much the task of the author as the invention of the plot.
Bharata was probably one of the earliest writers by whom the art was reduced to a system. His Sutras, or aphorisms, are constantly cited by commentators on different plays, and suggest the doctrines which are taught by later authors. One of the best and earliest existing treatises on dramatic literature, as the Dasa Rupaha, or description of the ten kinds of theatrical composition, of which the term Rupaka is the most appropriate designation.
This work is exclusively devoted to dramatic criticism. An account of other works treating of poetical or rhetorical composition will be found under their respective titles. For the different kinds of dramatic entertainments consult RUPAKA, NATAKA, PRAKARANA, &c.
" The plays of the Hindus are not numerous; they were only acted on special occasions, and the subject of the plot is with predilection borrowed from the legendary literature of ancient India. Hindu dramatists have little regard for unity of time, place and action; and with the exception of Kalidasa, they must be considered as inferior in poetical worth to the renowned dramatic writers of ancient Greece and of modern Europe. Besides the reasons to be sought for in the religious, mystical and metaphysical tendencies of the Hindu mind, a free development of the Hindu drama was probably also impeded by the heavy and artificial canon which weighed upon Hindu dramaturgy, and which, ascribed to sacred sources, and looked upon as a law not to be transgressed by any dramatic poet, did not allow much scope for poetical imagination, and would keep down any free movement oupon which it might have ventured. The various kinds of dramatic performances, the number of their acts, the characters of the plays, the conduct of the plot, the sentiments to be represented; and even the modes of diction- all these were strictly regulated; so much so, that in spite of the differences which must exist between different authors and plays, there is still a kind of uniformity which pervades the whole Hindu drama and must strike any one unacquainted with this elaborate dramatical canon."- GOLDSTUCKER.
Draunayani:(sáns. hindú). The son of Drona; a patronymic of Aswatthaman.
'Drishtadyumna.:(sáns. hindú). (Seepage 171.) The son of Raja Drupada and brother of Draupadi. Their birth was remarkable and occurred under the following circumstances: King Drupada, after his disgrace and the dismemberment of his kingdom, burning with resentment, had recourse to supernatural agency to procure the birth of a son, who should one day avenge his defeat and accomplish the death of Drona. After some difficulty he prevailed on two learned Brahmans, named Ydjaand Upayaja, who performed a sacrifice for this purpose, and at the proper period summoned the Queen of Drupada to assist at the rite. Her Majesty was engaged at her toilet, and delaying her arrival with true feminine want of punctuality, the ceremony was completed without her. Two children, one male, one female, arose from out of the sacrificial fire. The former was Dhrishtadyumna, who appeared with a diadem on his head, armed in full mail, and bearing a bow and arrow in his hand. The latter was Krishna, so named from her black complexion, though of exceeding beauty. She is better known by her patronymic Draupadi, the daughter of Drupada. Dhrishtadyumna proclaimed the terms of her Swayamvara. - F. Johnson.*
Durdharsha:(sáns. hindú). One of the Ravana's five renowned warriors who were sent against Hanuman. He aimed an arrow that struck the undaunted Ape in the neck and then lashed his steeds nearer; but when he was close to the doorway, Hanuman with a sudden cry, let himself fall upon the chariot; it was shivered into fragments, and the Rakshasa hurled from it lifeless.-/. E., 232.
Dushana:(sáns. hindú). (fi?/) He was the brother of Ravana, the great giant of Lanka.
* Selections from the Mahabharata.
Dyumatsena:(sáns. hindú). A king of the Salwas, described as just and brave, but becoming blind while his son was only an infant, the kingdom fell to a kinsman, a ruthless enemy; Dyumatsena then fled to a hermit grove with his wife Balavatsa, and his only son Satyavan, (q. v.) When the son grew up he was seen by the princess Savitri, (q. v.) and by her selected as her future husband.
She afterwards obtained as a boon from Yama, the restoration of the old king's sight; and he recovered possession of his kingdom, when he was again anointed severeign 1
Notes 1: "Thus David was anointed a second time as king of Israel; and CcEur de Lion on his return from the Holy Land, caused himself to be crowned anew, - * as if he intended, says Hume, * by that ceremony, to reinstate himself in his throne, and to wipe off the ignominy of his captivity." - Griffith, S, 0. 1, p.
E
Eclipse:(sáns. hindú). The popular notiou of the cause of an Eclipse current among the Hindus is founded on the following mythological legend. When the gods had obtained Amrita, (q. v.) or ambrosia, by the churning of the ocean of milk, one of the giants stole and drank some portion of it secretly. The sun and moon however observed the theft and informed Vishnu of it, who upon this got very angry and severed the head of the giant from his trunk j but because the giant had tasted A mrita, both parts remained alive invisible in the sky; they are regarded as the eighth and ninth planets named Ketu and Rahu, and are said every now and then to take revenge on the sun and moon by swallowing them for a short time, thus causing eclipses.
Ekadasi:(sáns. hindú). {Add at page 207.) It is also observed by Saivas, and especially by the Madhiva sect.
Erannoboas:(sáns. hindú). The ancient name of the river Sone. The ancient city of Palibothra stood at the confluence of the Ganges and Erannoboas. " The capital of Chandragupta, Pataliputra, was no doubt the same as the Palibothra of Sandracottus, the modern Patna. But exception was taken on the ground that Patna was not situated near the confluence of the Ganges and Sone, or Erannoboas, where Palibothra stood. This, however, has been explained by a change in the bed of the river Sone, which is established on the best geographical evidences."*
? Max Muller, A. S. L., p. 280.
F
Festivals:(sáns. hindú). " Among all the nations of the ancient world a considerable portion of the year was devoted to the solemnization of public festivals, at which the people found in the assemblage of multitudes, in the exhibition of games, and in religious pageants and ceremonies, a compensation for the want of those more refined entertainments which are created by the necessities and the luxury of a more advanced stage of civilization. Some of these primitive celebrations have retained their hold upon national tastes and feelings long after their origin and meaning were forgotten, and become interwoven with new conditions of society, with altered manners and institutions, and with a total change of religion. In all the countries of Europe they have left at least traces of their former prevalence in the nomenclature of our calendars, and many of the holidays which are appropriated to the saints of the Christian Church have been borrowed from the public festivals of ancient paganism. In proportion also as nations, or as different classes of the same nation, retain their primitive habits, the observances of olden times enjoy their veneration and interest their affections. They are. however, fast fading in the Western world, even from the faith of tradition, before the extension of knowledge and refinement, and before the augmented demands for toil which the present artificial modes of life impose, when holidays are denounced as an unprofitable interruption of productive industry, and a festival or a fair is condemned as a wasteful expenditure of time and money. It is only therefore in regions remote from the reach of the task -master, where exemption from work is occasionally the equal right of all classes of the community, that we may expect to find the red letters of the calendar significant signs- importing what they designate, public holidays - days on which the artificer and the peasant rest from physical exertion, and spend some passing hours in a kindly communion of idleuess with their fellows j in which, if the plough stands still and the anvil is silent, the spirit of social intercourse is kept alive, and man is allowed to feel that he was born for some nobler end than to earn the scanty bread of the pauper by the unrelaxing labour of the slave.
It is in the remote East, and especially in India, that we may expect to find the living representation of ancient observances, and the still existing solemnizations which delighted the nations of antiquity; and we shall not be altogether disappointed; although even here they begin to languish under the influence of a foreign government; under the unsympathizing superiority which looks upon the enjoyments of a difierent race with disdain; under the prevalence of the doctrine which regards public holidays as deductions from public wealth, and under the principles of a system of religious faith which, although it might be indulgent to popular recreations, cannot withhold its disapprobation of them when their objects and origin are connected with falsehood and superstition.
From the operation of these causes the Hindu festivals have already diminished both in frequency and in attraction; and they may become, in course of time, as little familiar to the people of India as those of European institution are to the nations of the West."- Wilson.*1
The principal festivals are the same in the different provinces of India, though celebrated under different names: there are others that belong to peculiar localities; and even those which are universally held, enjoy various degrees of popularity in different places, and are celebrated with various local modifications. The periods also vary within certain limits, according as the lunar month is reckoned to begin from the new moon, or from, the full moon; the former mode of computation prevailing in Bengal and in Telingana, whilst in Hindustan and in the Tamil countries of the South the latter is followed. - (Prinsep's Useful Tables.)
The principal festivals are the following; an account of the observances peculiar to each will be found under the respective heads.
Bhaimyekadasi. Bhishmashtami. Shat Tila Danam. Yugadya or Yugadi Padya. Äivaratri. Dola Yatra , or swinging festival. The Holi. Varada Chaturthi, Sri Panchami. Sri Ramanavami. Janmashtami, or nativity of Krishna. Gokalashtami. Rath Yatra. Ras Yatra, Panchalapnra. Vrishaketu . * Sudhanva, Shrigiri. Râmânujacharier Punya Divasa. Tekacharier Pimya Divasa. Aksha Tadige. Ganesa chavati. Gauri habha. Sanitrayodasi. Ananta chalurdas. Dasara. Maha Navami. Vijaya Deshami. Vyasapavarnavami. Dipavali. Balissadya. Dhatri. Uttarayana, called also Sankranti, and in the South Pongal. Perumal Tirumal. Tirukalyam. Pitrapaksha Amavadasi.
Notes 1: Works, vol. I, pp, 151-3.
G
Gajasura:(sáns. hindú). A Tifcan or Asura in the form of an elephant, who was killed by Äiva. Part of the scanty raiment worn by Äiva consists of the skin of the above elephant.
Galava:(sáns. hindú). A saint of some note, the hero of a long legend in the Mahabharata. He there appears as the pupil of Viswamitra. At the expiration of his studies he importuned his master to tell him what present he should make him. Viswamitra being out of humour, at last desired him to bring him eight hundred horses, each of a white colour, with one black ear. Galava in his distress applied to Garuda, who was his particular friend, and with him repaired to Yayati, king of Pratishthana. Yayati, being unable to comply with the sage's wish, presented him his daughter Madhavi, whom Galava gave in marriage successively to Haryaswa, king of Ayodhya, Dkodasa, king of Kasi, Usinara, king of Bhoja, and received from each, upon the birth of a son by her, two hundred of the steeds he was in quest of. These horses were originally a thousand in number. The saint Richika, having demanded the daughter of Gadhi, sovereign of Kanyakubja, as his wife, that prince, to evade the match, being afraid to decline it, required the steeds in question as a present in return. Richika obtained them from the god of ocean, Varuòa, and transferred them to his father-in-law, by whose descendants six hundred were sold to different princes, and the rest given away to the Brahmans.
Galava, having procured the liorses which were in possession of the kings, took them and the damsel, still by virtue of a boon a virgin, and presented them together to Viswamitra. The sage received them and begot a son by her, Ashtaka, to whom he resigned his hermitage and his steeds, and retired to the woods: the place was thence called Ashtakapura, The lady after this was re-conducted by Galava to her father, and he, in imitation of his preceptor, spent the rest of his days in solitary devotion. - Wilson, XI, 225.
Ganapati:(sáns. hindú). The master of attendants. A name of the god Ganesa, who resembles the Janus of the Romans.
Gandhari:(sáns. hindú). (P"5 e 219.) The wife of Maharaja Dhritarashtra, the daughter of Gandhara, king of the province so named; the country of the Gandhara of Herodotus; that bordering on thelndus, westward as far as to Candahar, in which the ancient name probably is traceable. As her husband was blind she always wore a handkerchief over her eyes which made it necessary for her to be told what was going on.
Ganga-dwara:(sáns. hindú). The portal of Ganga, is tlio opening in the Himalaya mountains by which the Ganges descends into the plain of Hindustan. It is celebrated as the scene of Daksha's great sacrifice. It is now more usually known by the name of Hardwar; properly Ilaridwdra, the gate of Vishnu, or Äiva; appellations bestowed upon it probably in times more recent than the composition of the Mahubharata, when the Hindus were first ranged under the difierent and sometimes contending sects of Vaishnavas and Saivas.
Gandhakali:(sáns. hindú). An Apsara, who had been condemned by a sage, whose reflections had been disturbed by her beauty, to wear the form of a crocodile, and was released by Hanumuu who slew the crocodile in the lake of Gaudhamadana.
Gandharva marriage:(sáns. hindú). The sixth of the eight modes of marriage enumerated by Manu. It is described as the reciprocal connexion of a damsel and her lover from mutual desire; unattended with any of the forms or ceremonies ordinarily connected with weddings.
Gangamma:(sáns. hindú). A river goddess among the hill tribes; she is supposed to be present at every stream. On the Nilagiris it was formerly the practice for every owner of cattle to throw a quarter of a rupee into the rivers before crossing them, as the cattle were sometimes carried away by the torrent. It is enumerated amongst the great sins of the hill tribes at their funerals that they had crossed a stream without paying due adoration to Gangamma.
Garhapatya:(sáns. hindú). Perpetual household fire, which is to be always burning 3 and, in the event of becoming extinct, can be renewed only by igniting certain consecrated sticks by attrition. The household fire is never to be used for domestic or culinary purposes. It is the pure vestal flame, the emblem of eternal light, and is maintained solely for religious offices. See Fire-sacrificial, Gaunharin:(sáns. hindú). Natch girls or dancing women. They form a numerous class in all towns and cities in India. They are not a distinct caste, but are more or less attached to all castes. Although notoriously immoral, yet they are sent for by all classes of the community, even the most respectable and virtuous, on occasion of a great family festivity. The Gaunharins, not only dance and sing but play on the Saringi and TabK
Gavaksha:(sáns. hindú). One of the monkey chiefs of Sugriva's army, who at the first sight of the giant Kumbhakarna threw down his weapons and fled, but was recalled to his post by Angada.
Gethu:(sáns. hindú). The associate of Raghu in the theft of the nectar, and also one of the constellations.
Girija:(sáns. hindú). The mountain-bom; a name of Parvati. She was originally Sati, the daughter of Daksha j was born again as the daughter of the mountain Himalaya, and was again married to Äiva. From this, her second birth, she is called Parvati the mountaineer, or Girija the mountain-born.
Gita Govinda:(sáns. hindú). The Song of theDivine Herdsman, a beautiful little pastoral drama, furnishing a specimen of that mystical or emblematical theology, " that figurative mode of expressing the fervour of devotion, or the ardent love of created spirits towards their beneficent Creator, which has prevailed from time immemorial in Asia."*
Under the figure of the love, quarrels, and reconciliation of the incarnate Deity, dwelling like the Grecian A polio, amongst the flocks
* Sir W. Jones. ' Ou the Mystical Poetry of the Hindus."
un(lher()s,un(lerthe name of Krishna, with the beautiful shepherdess IJadha, it shadows forth the reciprocal attachment which exists between the human soul and Divine Beauty, goodness, and knowledge. As Krishna, faithless for a time, discovers the vanity of all other loves, and returns with sorrow and longing to his own darling Radha, so the human soul, after a brief and frantic attachment to objects of sense, burns to return to the God from whence it came - " from its original instinct it vergeth towards him as its centre, and can have no rest till it be fixed on him He doth cherish and encourage our love by sweetest influences and most consoling embraces ;" and "in that mysterious union of spirit whereby we do closely adhere to, and are, as it were inserted in him, we cannot but feel very pleasant transports."*
With respect to the date of the composition nothing certain is known, but it seems now to be generally believed that the author, Jayadena, flourished at least as late as the twelfth century of our era." Mr. Griffith, from whose Specimens of old Indian Poetry tho above has been taken, has translated a few stanzas, but says " tho exquisite melody of the verse can only be appreciated by those who can enjoy the original."
Gokalashtami:(sáns. hindú). A festival to celebrate the birth-day of Krishna. It is customary in the South of India for all Brahmans to fast until midnight, and then, after worship, to partake of food.
Gopichandana:(sáns. hindú). A magnesian or calcareous clay, forming the white earth used by the Vaishnavaa to make the sectarial streaks on their faces, breasts, and arms. The purest description is brought from Dwaraka, being said to be the soil of a pool at that place in which the Gopis drowned themselves when they heard of Krishna's death. The Râmânujas mark two perpendicular white lines, drawn from the root of the hair to the commencement of each eyebrow, and a transverse-streak connecting them across the root of the nose; they have also patches of Gopichandana, with a central red streak, on the breast and each upper arm.
* These passages are extracted from one of Barrow's Sermons, quoted by Sir W. Jones, in his Essay on the Mystical Poetry of the Hindus, -
S. 0. 1. P.
Gosain:(sáns. hindú). Any devotee is called a Gosain, whether he lives a life of celibacy or not, whether he roams about the country collecting almsj or resides in a house like the rest of the people, whether he leads an idle existence, or employs himself in trade.
The mark however, that distinguishes all who bear this name is, that they are devoted to a religious life. Some besmear their bodies with ashes, wear their hair dishevelled and uncombed, and, in some instances, coiled round the head like a snake or rope.
These formerly went naked, but being prohibited by the British Government to appear in this fashion in public, bid defiance to decency nevertheless by the scantiness of their apparel. They roam about the country in every direction, visiting especially spots of reputed sanctity, and as a class are the pests of society and incorrigible rogues. They mutter sacred texts or mantras and are notably fond of uttering the names of certain favourite deities.
Some of them can read and a few may be learned; but for the most part they are stolidly ignorant. Others, of a much higher grade, reside in maths, or monasteries, where they lead a life of contemplation and asceticism. Yet they quit their homes occasionally, and, like the first named, undertake tours for the purpose of begging, and also proceed on pilgrimage to remote places. Most of them wear a yellowish cloth, by which they make themselves conspicuous.
Fakirs or devotees of both of these classes, usually wear several garlands of beads suspended from their necks and hanging low down in front; and carry a short one in the hand which by the action of a thumb and finger, they revolve perpetually, but slowly, keeping time with the low utterances proceeding from their lips.
They also bear upon their foreheads, and frequently on other parts of their bodies, particularly the arms and chest, sacred marks or symbols, in honour of their gods.
In addition there is a considerable number of Gosains, nofi however separated from the rest by any caste distinctions, who although by profession belonging to this religious class, apply themselves, nevertheless to commerce and trade. As merchants, bankers, tradesmen, they hold a very respectable position. Some carry on their transactions on a large scale.
One of the chief peculiarities of this caste is, that besides its natural increase from within, it is constantly adding to its numbers from without. Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras, the two former especially, may if they choose, become Gosains; but if they do so, they are cut off for ever from their own tribes. It is this circumstance which constitutes the Gosains a distinct and legitimate caste, and not merely a religious order. - Sueruing, p. 256.
Griha-devata:(sáns. hindú). Household gods. No house is supposed to be "without its tutelary divinity, but the notion attached to this character is now rather vague. The Kuladevata is always one of the leading personages of the Hindu mythology ', but the Grihadevata rarely bears any distinct appellation. In Bengal the domestic god is sometimes the Salagrama stone; sometimes the tulasi plant; sometimes a basket with a little rice on it, sometimes a water-jar to cither of which a brief adoration is addressed, most usually by the females of the family. Occasionally small images of Lakshmi or Chandi fulfil the office, or should a snake appear, he is venerated as the guardian of the dwelling. In general, however, in former times, the household deities were regarded as the unseen spirits of ill, the ghosts and goblins who hovered about every spot, and claimed some particular sites as their own.
Offerings were made to them in the open air, by scattering a little rice with a short formula, at the close of all ceremonies, to keep them in good humour. In this light the household gods correspond better with the genii locoruma than with the lares or penates of antiquity.- Wilson, Work XI, p. 21.
H
Halabhrita:(sáns. hindú). A name of Balarama, implying his use of a ploughshare us a weapon. He is represented of a white colour, clothed in a dark blue vest.
Hanuman:(sáns. hindú). (See Page 239) is called Hanuman of the broken jaw. When he was a child in his mother's arms, the ruddy sun laughed down into his face j and he, thinking it was some splendid blossom, sprang from his mother's arms five yojanas into the air in his eagerness to clutch the radiant thing. In the fall that happened to him then he broke his jaw. (At page 240 after the Poetry)
The dangers to which Hanuman was exposed in crossing the ocean to Lanka may be seen by referring to the articles SURASA, and SINHIKA. See also MAINAKA, for the supernatural help he received on the same journey. Arriving at Lanka he reduced his size to that of a cat; and when night had let down shadow on the town, he sprang into the ramparts, and crouching down surveyed the position from thence. As the sky is adorned by its constellations so was Lanka embellished by its glorious palaces. Hanuman examined every dwelling and saw some strange and memorable sights.
After he had discovered Sita in the Asoka grove and received her message to Râma about the red tilaka*1 that he might know that Hanuman had really seen his beloved; the brave monkey said to himself, * shall I quit this isle of Lanka' and do no damage to this Kavana, who has dared to menace the peerless bride of Kama ?
So he set about tearing up the trees in the grove, and to defacing the monuments and grottoes it contained. Eight thousand warriors rushed forth, by command of Ravana, against the noble Simian. The agile son of the wind sprang out of them, and bounding on to the roof of a lofty palace, he uprooted a huge column of marble, exclaiming, I am Hanuman, the messenger of Râma; death to Ravana; then hurling the pillar amongst them ho crushed the whole army of Rakshasas. Other heroes and warriors were then sent against the valiant Ape, who though wounded several times, succeeded in killing all who came against him. (See JAMBUMALIN, DURDHARSHA, PRAGHASA, AKSHA, &c.) At last Indrajit was sent by Ravana to capture or slay the monkey hero, Indrajit, with a miraculous arrow he had received from the gods, wounded the intrepid Hanuman, who with his strength paralysed fell crushing down to the earth incapable of motion. The gigantic ape was thus fettered with iron chains by officious Rakshasas.
But Indrajit drew forth the miraculous arrow and motioned Hanuman to follow him into the presence of Ravana. The incensed king ordered his execution but Vibhishana, Ravana's brother, reminded him that the life of an ambassador was always sacred.
Ravana, however, ordered his servants to set lire to the tail of Hanuman; but Sita prayed to the Fire, and the fire, leaping up in a bright golden flame played around the tail as though it were performing a pradakshina, and did not burn it. And thus it; answered the gentle princess: I am good to Hanuman. The marutide then reduced his size to that of a grasshopper and stepped out of his bonds; swiftly resuming his gigantic proportions, he sprang to the roof of the nearest dwelling, and lashing his tail, round which the fire still played, from side to side, soon set the palace in a blaze. - I. E., p 240. Notes 1: * Tilaka, a mark on the forehead and between the brows, cither as an ornament or a sectarial distinction.-* Wilson.
Hanuman Nataka:(sáns. hindú). A play, the subject of which is the story of the Râmâyaòa; it is often emphatically termed the Maha, or great, Nataka. It is said to be originally the work of Hanuman who engraved or wrote it on the rocks. Valmiki saw it and anticipated that the greater beauty of its style would throw his Râmâyaòa into the shade. When he complained to the monkey the latter had so littlp of the author about him, that he told the bard to cast the verses into the sea. Valmiki obeyed the injunction and the Maha Nataka remained for ages under the waves. At last portions were discovered and brought to Raja Bhoja, by whose command Damodara Misra arranged the fragments, filled up the chasms, and formed the whole mto an entire work. There is no reason to doubt so much of this story as is credible, or that the fragments of an ancient drama were connected in the manner described. Some of the ideas are poetical and the sentiments just and forcible j the language is in general very harmonious; but the work itself is after all a most disjointed and nondescript composition, and the patchwork is very clumsily put together.
The date of the play is established by the mention of Bhoja, to be a work of the tenth or eleventh century; and it is in part corroborative of the correctness of the assertion, that the drama was the work of Damodara Misra, that the poet is named in the IBhoja Prabandhu as one of the many writers patronised by that monarch. That work also records the anecdote of some verses attributed to Hanuman being discovered by a merchant in Bhoja's reign, engraved upon some rocks on the sea shore; the merchant brings a copy of the first two stanzas of one verse, and Bhoja travels to the spot to obtain the other two. - Wilson.
Hasti-siksha:(sáns. hindú). The management of elephants; an accomplishment curiously characteristic of national manners. The proficiency of the Indians in this art early attracted the attention of Alexander's successors; and natives of India were so long exclusively employed in this service, that the term Indian was applied to every elephant driver, to whatever country he might belong.- SCHLEQEL.
Hayamukhi:(sáns. hindú). The horses head; one of the Rakshasi guardians of Sfta when a captive in Lanka. She told Sf ta that youth and beauty were capricious gifts, and recommended her to respond to Ravana before grief and fasting had impaired her charms.
Himapandura:(sáns. hindú). One of the four elephants by whom the earth is believed to be supported. The sublime Himapandura has the eastern quarter assigned to him. See Virupaksha.
Holi:(sáns. hindú). A vernal festival originally designed to typify the genial influence of Spring upon both the inanimate and animated creation, and to express the passionate feelings inspired by the season, and the delight which the revival of nature diffused. The primitive institution was the adoration of the personified Spring as the friend and associate of the deity of Love. In the South of India the festival is in honour of Kamadeva, whose effigy is committed to the flames*;1 though, as Professor Wilson remarks, the buffoonery of the Holi and barbarity of the Charak puja, but ill express the sympathy which man, in all countries, feels with the vernal season, and has little in common with the worship that might be supposed acceptable to Kama and his lovely bride, and which it would appear they formerly enjoyed. The time for the celebration of the Holi (15th day of Phalguna) is the season of Spring, when the foliation of trees, the budding of the grass, and the pairing of birds are observed. The festival is considered to bo especially promotive of the multiplication of offspring, and preservative of the health and life of children. But though traces of the original purport of the festival are palpable enough, yet Love and Spring have been almost universally deposed from the rites over which they once presided, and have been superseded by new and less agreeable mythological creations j new legends have also been invented to account for the origin and object of the celebration, having little or no obvious relation to the practices which are pursued. - Wilson.
The festival in Bengal is observed by the worship of the juvenile Krishna, whilst in Hindustan the personified Holi is a female hobgoblin, a devourer of little children. But in every part of India it is customary for the lower orders to sally forth into the streets and throw a red powder2 over passers by, or a red liquid is squirted over them through a syringe, the operators often using abusive or obscene language. " In the villages the men generally take part in the mischief, and persons of respectability and females are encountered with gross expressions, or sometimes with rough usage, and rarely, therefore, trust themselves out of their houses whilst the license continues." Where there is no police to interfere an opBn spot in the vicinity of the village is selected, and the materials of a bonfire brought together; useful articles, if not vigilantly guarded, being often appropriated for this purpose, and if once added to the pile the owner cannot retain them. '* During the whole period the people go about scattering the powder and red liquid over each other, singing and dancing, and annoying passengers by mischievous tricks, practical jokes, coarse witticisms, and vulgar abuse." The bonfire is consecrated and lighted up by a Brahman, and when the flames break forth, the spectators crowd round it to warm themselves, an act that is supposed to avert illluck for the rest of the year; they engage also in rough gambols, and as the blaze declines jump over and toss about the burning embers.
According to Colonel Tod the utmost license prevails amongst the Rajputs; the lower classes regale in stimulating confections and intoxicating liquors, and even respectable persons roam about the streets like bacchanals, vociferating songs in praise of the powers of nature. A characteristic mode of keeping the festival is playing the Holi on horseback, when the riders pelt each other with balls of the red powder inclosed in thin plates of talc which break when they strike.
Of the songs which are sung at this season the character is generally said to be highly exceptionable. Professor Wilson states that all he had an opportunity of seeing were characterized by little else than insipidity. They were either praises of the mouth, or allusions to the juvenile Krishna in connexion with the festival, and supposed to be uttered by the female companions of his boyish frolics at Vrinddvana.
The practices of the carnival as now observed in Italy have been trimmed of their excesses, but even in them there remain vestiges which denote their community of origin with the Holi of the Hindus. The time properly embraces the whole period from the beginning of the year, but as in the festival of Phalguna, the last few days arc those in which the principal demonstrations take place, and in the license which is permitted both in speech and conduct, the wearing of masks and disguises, the reciprocal peltino* with real or with mock comfits, and in some places sprinkling with water or throwing powder over each other, obvious analogies exist. There is another practice which presents also a parallel, the extinguishing of the carnival. This in Italy is refined into frolicsome attempts to blow out each others lighted candles; but the notion appears to be the same as the burning of the Holi, the lighting and extinction of the bonfire, and scattering of the ashes.
There is another of the usages of the Holi which finds a parallel in modern times, although at a somewhat later period. One subject of diversion during the Holi, is to send people on errands and expeditions that are to end in disappointment, and raise a laugh at the expense of the person sent. The identity of this practice with making April Fools is noticed by Maurice, who remarks ' that the boundless hilarity and jocund sports, prevalent on the first of April in England and during the Holi festival in India, have their origin in the ancient practice of celebrating, with festival rites, the period of the vernal equinox, when the new year of Persia anciently began.'
There was a Festum Stultorum about this period amongst the Romans; some antiquaries have supposed that it constituted the originals of the festivals of the Roman Church, the extravagances of the Abbot of Unreason, and the sleeveless errands of All Fools, or April Fool Day. The identity of designation and similarity of practice, render it not unlikely that the day of All Fools had originally something in common with the Festum Stultorum and with the Holi.*3
Notes 1: * This is supposed to commemorato the legend of Kama's having been consumed by the flames which flashed indignant from the eye of Äiva, when the archer-god presumed to direct his shaft against the stern deity, and inflame his breast with passion for Parvati. - Wilson. Notes 2: This powder termed Phalgu, or Abira is made chiefly of the dried and pounded root of the Curcuma Zerumbet, or of the wood of the Ca3salpinia Sappan, which are of a red colour, or in soma places the yellow powder of turmeric is substituted. - Wilson . Notes 3: * Wilson, Works, 11, 243. Reference is made to Brand's Popular antiquitics and various other works for still more striking coincidences between the Holi and the other above-mentioned festivals.
Htee :(sáns. hindú). A Buddhist symbol; an umbrella-shaped ornament which surmounts most of the pagodas in Burmah; just as the weather-cock still surmounts many of the churches in England. But the Htee has a significance unknown to the weather-cock. Gautama Buddha was a Kshatriya, the son of a Maharaja; and amongst the Kshatriyas the Htee or Umbrella has been the insignia of sovereignty from time immemorial. Many of the Htees are elaborate ornaments of gold and jewels. Some are set upon an ornamental frame work of a similar character, and are surmounted by rich metal flags, whilst the giver of the Htee and every one who has contributed to its ornamentation, derives a certain amount of religious merit from the act, which ensures him a higher scale of being in the next life, and smooths his path to Nirvana.
Huhu and Haha:(sáns. hindú). (Huhu and Haha), two kings of the Gandharvas, mentioned in the Ramayana.
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Ihamriga:(sáns. hindú). A class of comedy, a piece of intrigue in four acts, in which the hero is a god or illustrious mortal, and the heroine a goddess. Love and mirth are the prevailing sentiments. The heroine may be the subject of war or stratagem, and the devices of the hero may end in disappointment but not in death - Wilson.
Ilwala:(sáns. hindú). (Add at Page 261). One legend of Ilwala is that he was accustomed to assume the form of a Brahman, and in conjunction with his brother Vatapi, lure many of them to destruction, as related in the account of Agastya, (q, v.) the sage by whom Ilwala was destroyed.
Iravati:(sáns. hindú). The mother of Airavata the elephant of Indra, which is elsewhere said to have been produced at the churning of the milk sea,
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Jambumalin:(sáns. hindú). A formidable Rakshasa the son of Prahasta, who was sent by Ravana against Hanuman, with orders not to return until he had slain the boasting monkey. After a severe contest in which Hanuman was wounded on the cheek and breast, he seized a marble pillar and dashing it down on Jambumalin, the tiger amongst warriors, he crushed the gigantic Rakshasa into a formless mass. - I. E"., 230.
Janamejaya:(sáns. hindú). {Substitute this for that in the text.) 1, The king of Vaisali, whose father Somadatta celebrated ten times the sacrifice of a horse; 2, A son of Puranjaya, a descendant of Ana; 3, A son of Parikshit, the sonof Kuru; 4, The son ofParikshit who was grandson of Arjuna, and with whose reign the Kaliyuga commenced just after the death of Krishna. There is a copper grant still in existence belonging to the Gowja Agrahar, Anantapura Taluq, Mysore, which was executed in the reign of this king.
The language is a mixture of Sanskrit and Canarese. It begins as follows: " Emperor Janamejaya, the refuge of the whole universe; the master of the earth; the king of kings; the Parameswara of rulers; the great Maharaja; the sovereign of Hastinipura, the flower of cities; the bestower of widowhood on the wives of the hostile kings of Aroha, and Bhagadatta; the son of the lotus of the Pandava race j most skilled in warfare; whose bow resembled the Kalinga serpent; the unassisted hero; the dauntless in battle; the slayer of Asvapatiraya, Disapafca and Gajapatiraya; the smiter on the head of Narapatiraya; the most accomplished equestrian; the terror of the 14 States of Konkana, llekha Revanta, Samanta, Mrigachamara, &c.; the ever brilliant; the son of other's wives; the bearer of the flag with the emblem of the golden boar; the most glorious of Rajas; the adorned; the descendant of the great lunar race; the son of Emperor Parikshit; was reigning at Hastinapura, (diverted) by happy historic amusements."
Janasthan:(sáns. hindú). An extensive forest inhabited by Rakshasas,
Of Janasthan I need not tell, Where Surpanakha, Khara, dwell And Dushan with the arm of might And Trisiras, the fierce in fight, Who feeds on human flesh and gore And many noble giants more; Who roam in dark of midnight through The forest, brave and strong and true. By my command they live at ease. And slaughter saints and devotees.*1
Notes 1: * Griffith's Ramayan, vol. iii, p. 165.
Janiwara:(sáns. hindú). (Janiwara). The Brahmanical cord or thread with which children of Brahmans are invested when they attain the age of seven or nine years. It costs something considerable, and Brahmans who are poor are, in order to acquire it, obliged to ask contributions from their friends; and Hindus of all castes believe they perform a meritorious act in contributing to the charges of the ceremony. The cord has to be made with much care, and with many observances. The cotton with which it is formed ought to be gathered from the plant by the hands of Brahmans only, in order to avoid pollution. For the same reason it should be corded, spun, and twisted, by persons of the tribe, and be always kept exceedingly pure. The ceremony of investiture with the cord is termed Upanayana, and to the article under that head the reader is referred for a description of the procedure adopted on the occasion.
Jaya:(sáns. hindú). 2. A name of Arjuna; a bold metonymy: not merely Victor, but Victory.
Jayadratha:(sáns. hindú). 1. A raja of Sindhu chiefly known in connection with the following incident: When the Pandava princes accepted the terms proposed by their cousins, and entered upon their exile, twelve years of which were spent in the forests of India; one day they were out hunting, and their wife was left at home with their domestic priest, king Jayadratha passed through the forest with a large retinue on his way to the South, whither he went to obtain in marriage a princess of Chedi. But seeing Draupadi he was so much struck with her beauty, that he at once entertained the desire of possessing her. He sent in consequence a messenger to her hermitage to ascertain her name and lineage, and to get himself introduced to her as a guest. Draupadi, unaware of the danger which threatened her, received him hospitably, according to the laws of her religion, and the more so as she recognised in him a distant kinsman. Jayadratha however soon disclosed his disloyal intentions, and when Draupadi indignantly repelled them, he carried her off forcibly. Soon after the Pandu princes returned home from their hunting excursion, and learned the outrage that had been committed on them, off they started in pursuit of Jayadratha. He was soon overtaken and his army routed. Draupadi was released, and after an unsuccessful fight Jayadratha himself made a prisoner. In the end, however, Draupadi, out of regard for their relationship, interposed in his favour with her husbands, and he was allowed to depart to his own country. He was ultimately killed by Arjuna. in the great war, for aiding and abetting the death of Abhimanyu.
Jayadratha:(sáns. hindú). 2. The Raja of the Sindhu-Sauviras, sometimes termed the Raja of the Sindhus, or Saindhavas; whether the same as the dwellers on the Indus, or a kindred tribe, must have occupied much the same territory - the western and southern portion of the Panjab. Jayadratha, accompanied by six brothers and many followers, joined the Pandavas before the great war. In the Mahabharata it is stated that they had on some occasion five hundred deer, &e., for breakfast! "Whence was Draupadi to procure all this good cheer ? The mystery is explained by reference to a passage in the beginning of the Vana Parva. When the Pandavas repaired to the forest they were followed by a number of Brahmans who adhered to their party. Yudhishthira endeavoured to persuade them to return, alleging the impossibility of his feeding them, and the sin he should incur if they were starved. As they persisted in their purpose Yudhishthira was advised by Dhaumya to have recourse to the Sun as the source of all sustenance. He accordingly worshipped Surya, who appeared to him, and gave him a copper cauldron, which he told the prince should be filled with fruits, roots, potherbs, and even flesh, ready dressed, whenever food was wanted, until the exile of the Panda vas should terminate. With such an inexhaustible larder, Draupadi was able to entertain the followers of Jayadratha. - Wilson.
Jimala:(sáns. hindú). A notorious thief, of whom the following legend is told. He was one day surprised by a tiger, and in his fright ejaculated the words. Oh, Hari ! Hari ! The god immediately sent help, and relieved Jimala from his danger. The robber was so grateful for tho divine interposition that he erected a shrine on the spot, and became an ascetic.
Jimutaketu:(sáns. hindú). In Buddhist mythology the king of the Vidyadharas, or celestial choristers, corresponding to the Gandharbas of Hinduism.
Jimutavahana:(sáns. hindú). The son of Jimutaketu, and prince of the Vidyadharas; he is the hero of the Nigananda, q. v.
Jogi:(sáns. hindú). A class of devotees of which there are many kinds. Some are prognosticators of future events; others lead about animals of monstrous formation in order to excite religious wonder and curiosity; others have their ears split and wear in them a kind of ear-ring for sacred purposes. Persons of all castes can now enter the order j but this was not the rule originally. Jogis are not particular on the subject of marriage, and some of them take to themselves wives. At death their bodies are buried; and their tombs, termed Samadhy are held in sacred estimation and arc often visited by pilgrims for idolatrous purposes.
The term Jogi or Yogi is properly applicable, says Mr. Wilson, to the followers of the Yoga or Patanjala school of philosophy, which, amongst other tenets, maintained tho practicability of acquiring, even in life, entire command over elementary matter by means of certain ascetic practices. - Sherring.
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Kabir Panthis:(sáns. hindú). (P e 296). The designation of the sect founded by Kabir, who is supposed to have lived towards the close of the 14th century. The circumstances connected with his life are all related as miraculous, and nothing certain is known of his history. According to the doctrine of this sect, there is but one God, the creator of the world; but, in opposition to the Vedanta (q. v.), they assert that he has a body formed of the five elements of matter, and a mind endowed with the three gunas or qualities: he is of inefiable purity and irresistible power, eternal, and free from the defects of human nature, but in other respects does not differ from man. The pure man is his living resemblance; and after death, becomes his equal and associate. God and man are therefore not only the same, but both in the same manner everything that exists. For 72 ages, God was alone; he then felt the desire to renew the world, which desire assumed the shape of a female form 3 and this form is Maya, (q. v.), or illusion, with whom he begot the triad, Brahma, Vishnu, and Äiva. He then disappeared, and Maya approached her offspring, in order to frame the universe. Vishnu hesitated to associate with her, and is therefore more respected by the Kabir Panthis than the other two gods of the triad; but the latter were frightened by her, and the result of their submission was the birth of Saraswatf, Lakshmf and Uma, -whom she wedded to the three deities to produce the world.
To understand the falsehood of Mayi is, therefore, the chief aim of man ', and so long only as he is ignorant of the source of life, ho is doomed to Transmigration (q. v.), which, according to the belief of this sect, is also extended to the planetary bodies - a falling star or meteor being a proof, for instance, that it undergoes a fresh change. The moral code of the Kabir Panthis is, in many respects, creditable to them. Life, they teach, being the gift of God, must not be violated by his creatures. Humanity and truth aro two of their cardinal virtues; retirement from the world is deemed desirable; and implicit devotion, in word, act, and thought, to the Guru, or spiritual teacher, a supreme duty. But, as regards the latter point, it is characteristic that the pupil is enjoined first to scrutinize the teacher's doctrine and acts, and to be satisfied that he is the sage he pretends to be, before he resigns himself to his control. It is no part of their faith to worship any deity, or to observe any ceremonies and rites of the Hindus; but they are recommended outwardly to conform to all the usages of tribe and caste, and some even pretend to worship the usual divinities, though this is not considered justifiable.*1
Notes 1:* Wilson, Works, I, 68 ff.
Kalinga:(sáns. hindú). Is usually described, says Wilson, as extending from Orissa to Dravida, or below Madras, the coast of the Southern Sircars. It appears, however, to be the Delta of the Ganges. It is familiar to the natives of the Eastern Archipelago by the name of Kling, and was known to the ancients as the Regio Calingarum.
" Under the name of Kalinga it appears in the list of countries so frequently re-produced in Sanskrit writings, and generally in one stereotyped order, coming immediately after Lower Bengal, as if adjoining it, in the same way as the Lower Provinces of Bengal are invariably placed after the northern ones. It formed one of the five outlying kingdoms of ancient India,1 with its capital situated about half-way down the coast, and still surviving in the present city of Kalingapatnam."
Notes 1: Anga, Banga, Kalinga, Simha, and Pundra.
Kanakhalu:(sáns. hindú). ( Add at Page 312.) The name is still retained, as appears from the testimony of an impartial witness. Lieutenant Webb, in his survey of the source of the Ganges; a survey which has essentially improved the geography of those regions; - "Tho party arrived at Haridwara, and encamped at the village of Kanakhala, on the west bank of the Ganges, at the distance of about two miles from the fair." - As, Res. XI, 449. The Ganges does not now descend at Kankhal; and it is a question for geologists to solve, whether the Ganges has, in the course of nineteen centuries, so corroded the skirts of the mountain, as to have thrown back the gorge through which she passes, a distance of two miles." -Wilson, IV, 359.
Kandarpa:(sáns. hindú). A name of Kama-deva, the Hindu Cupid, or god of love.
Kanjar:(sáns. hindú). The Kanjar and Nat tribes are supposed to be the same as the Gipsy tribes of Spain, England, and other parts of Europe. The Kanjars make ropes, matting, and kaskas tatties. They also twist cotton and hemp into threads, and manufacture large brushes for the cleaning of cotton yarn.
Kanta or Santa:(sáns. hindú). (Kanta or Santa), the lovely daughter of king Lomapada, who became the wife of Rishya-sringa, (q. v.)
Kaparddin:(sáns. hindú). An epithet applied in the Rig- Veda to Rudra, who is described as the father of the winds, and is evidently a form of either Agni or Indra. Kaparddin may intimate his head being surrounded by radiating flame, or the word may be an interpolation. The same epithet Kaparddin is also applied to Pushan. It is sometimes translated simply ' braided hair.'- Mum.
Karane:(sáns. hindú). An immense horn, quite straight, about five feet long, so heavy that a man can barely raise it at intervals, to bellow forth a thundering blast, when he is forced to drop it again.
It is an appanage of some of the principal temples in Mysore, and brought into use to meet distinguished visitors.
Karkotaka:(sáns. hindú). One of the principal Nagas, or semi-divine beings with a human face and the tail of a serpent, inhabiting the regions under the earth. This Naga was rescued by Nala from a flaming bush, and in return for the service Karkotaka promised to deliver Nala from the power of Kali. He accordingly metamorphosed Nala into a dwarfish charioteer, but gave him a magic garment by assuming which he could at any time regain his proper form.
Nala, thus transformed to the short-armed Vahuka entered the service of Rituparna king of Ayodhya.
Kathak:(sáns. hindú). The Kathaks are professional musicians. They are * to the manner born,' and form a distinct tribe and caste. The gift or inspiration of music is hereditary in this tribe; though they are only one of several tribes of Hindus devoted to music, dancing, and singing: their women are not usually seen ill public, but live in the retirement of the Zenana. The Kathaks instruct dancing girls in singing, &c., and receive one-half of the earnings of these women in payment for the instruction they have given. They are frequently hired together, the Kathaks to play on instruments, the women to dance and sing. Sherring.
Kathasaritsagara:(sáns. hindú). "The ocean of fabled streams," the largest collection of fables in India, made by Somadeva about the beginning of the 12th century. He declares that its 24,000 stanzas contain the essence of the Vrihat katha, written by one Gunadhya in the Paisachi Prakrit - the dialect of the goblins,- and that it differs from its original only in the langiiage and by a condensation of the too prolix narrative. Professor Wilson and others doubted this assertion, and were of opinion that Somadeva had collected various works of fiction and digested them into a harmonious whole. But recent researches and discoveries have made the statement of Somadeva that he remodelled a Prakrit original perfectly credible.*1
Notes 1: * Dr. BUHLER, Indian Antiquary, September 1872"
Kattan:(sáns. hindú). (Kattan), one of the Gramya-devatas; he was the illegitimate son of a Brahman's wife; being exposed by his mother he was found and brought up by a pariah. When grown up he obtained reputation as a necromancer. He died by his own hand, and was then deified as having been received into the service of Mariamma, that he might convey to her all suicides. He is an object of dread, and many goats and cocks are sacrificed to him.
Kaumari:(sáns. hindú). (Kaumari), one of the eight hideous goddesses termed Saktis, who attend upon Äiva when he assumes his terrific and destructive form of Bhairava.
Kavya-darsa:(sáns. hindú). (Kavya-darsa), a treatise on poetical composition, by Dandin, the author of the Dasa Kumara and supposed to be contemporary with Bhoja.
Kavya Prakasa:(sáns. hindú). (Kavya Prakasa), a work on rhetorical composition in general, and an authority of great repute. The author was Mammata Bharra, a Cashmirian. It contains such details relating to dramatic writings as are common to them and other poems, illustrated by extracts from celebrated poems, which however are never named, either in this or in many other works of the same class. - Wilson.
Kayasth:(sáns. hindú). The Writer caste; it stands at the head of the Sudras, or between them and the Vaisyas. Nothing is known decisively respecting its origin. The Kayasth themselves affirm that their common ancestor, on the father's side, was a Brahman.
"Wilson states that they sprang from a Kshatriya father and a Vaisya mother. In point of education, intelligence, and enterprise, this caste occupies deservedly a high position. Yet they are notorious for their drinking and gambling prospensities, and for the very large sums expended on occasions of marriage. 1
Notes 1: Sheering, T. C. I.
Kharwar or Kairwar:(sáns. hindú). An aboriginal tribe inhabiting the pargannahs of Barhar, Agori Bijaigarh, Singrauli and other places to the south of the Mirzapur district. There are several temples at Gothani and in the fort of Agori. Euins are also found en most of the neighbouring hills. The fort was for ages the abode of the Baland Kajas of this tribe, whose memory still lingers among the hills and villages. All the great architectural works found in those tracts are ascribed to the Balands, who are believed to have ruled over an enterprising and industrious people. It is remarkable that they are said to have erected their buildings by the labours of Asurya architects, whom they retained in their employ. - Sheering.
Kiratas:(sáns. hindú). {Add at Page 336). Kiratas, or mountaineers may come from any part of India. They are known in classical geography as the Cirrhadae, or the Cirrodes; the latter in Sogdiana, near the Oxus.
Klesas:(sáns. hindú). In Buddhist theology the Klesas are the ten vices, thus divided: - Three of the body, murder, theft, adultery; four of speech, lying, slander, abuse, unprofitable conversation; three of the mind, covetousness, malice, scepticism. In the Yoga philosophy there are five; ignorance, egotism, desire, hatred, tenacity of existence. - BOYD1
Notes 1: Nagananda, or the Joy of the Snake World; a Buddhist Drama. By Palmer Boyd, b. a., IVJ2,
Kol:(sáns. hindú). A low caste or tribe employed in cutting down jungle from year to year, and in conveying the wood to Benares and other places for sale. The Kols are also water-carriers and fishermen.
The word Kuli, anglicized cooly, is derived from these people.- Sherring.
Kotikasya:(sáns. hindú). A prince of whom nothing is known beyond the brief statement in the Mahabharata. He was the son of Suratha, Raja of the Saiva tribe, and friend and follower of Jayadratha.
When Draupadi entered into amicable conversation with him, she laid aside the branch of the Kadamba tree which she held in her hand, from which it is inferred that such a branch was used as a signal to warn off trespassers. Kotikasya is termed the chief of the Sivis, a tribe mentioned by the historians of Alexander's Indian conquests.
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