The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism
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The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism James G. Lochtefeld, Ph.D. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. New York Published in 2001 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010 Copyright © 2001 by James G. Lochtefeld First Edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lochtefeld, James G., 1957– The illustrated encyclopedia of Hinduism/James G. Lochtefeld. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8239-2287-1 (set) ISBN 0-8239-3180-3 (volume 2) 1. Hinduism Encyclopedias. I. Title BL1105.L63 2000 294.5'03—dc21 99-27747 CIP Manufactured in the United States of America Nachiketas poetry are dedicated to Krishna, a dif- ferent form of Vishnu. This seeming divergence may reflect her conviction that all manifestations of Vishnu are ultimately the same or indicate the dif- N ference between personal devotion and literary expression. The thirty poems in the Nacciyar Tirumoli are told by a group of unmar- ried girls, who have taken a vow to bathe Nabhadas in the river at dawn during the coldest (c. 1600) Author of the Bhaktamal month of the year. This vow has a long (“Garland of Devotees”). In this hagio- history in southern India, where young graphic text, he gives short (six line) girls would take the oath to gain a good accounts of the lives of more than two husband and a happy married life. In the hundred contemporary bhakti (devo- poem, the girls have taken the vow to tional) figures, some from personal gain Krishna as their husband. The experience. Although Nabhadas identi- poems in the cycle describe various fea- fies himself as a Ramanandi—a devotee tures of the natural world at dawn, the (bhakta) of the god Rama—his work girls’ hopes in performing the vow, and includes devotees of all sectarian per- their return to Krishna’s house to awaken suasions. The text is notably free of mar- him and beg for his grace. The final velous and miraculous events, and poem in the series describes the benefits Nabhadas emphasizes the devotee’s gained by one who chants the text. personal qualities, to serve as a model of devotion for others. In many cases the Bhaktamal gives the earliest reliable Nachiketas account for these figures, making it an A primary character in the Kathka important source for northern Indian Upanishad, a speculative philosophical literary and religious history. Despite its text considered one of the later upan- importance the text cannot be defini- ishads. In the text, the boy Nachiketas is tively dated, although internal evidence the seeker of ultimate wisdom. In a fit of suggests that it was completed early in anger his father curses him to be given the seventeenth century. to Death; Nachiketas obediently goes to the house of Death to give himself up. He waits for three days at Death’s door, Nacciyar Tirumoli but receives none of the hospitality due One of two collections of poetry com- to a brahmin guest. When Death returns posed by the poet-saint Andal (9th c.), he is disturbed to discover that his guest the other being the Tirruppavai. Andal has been neglected. To atone for the was the only woman among the Alvars, lapse, Death offers Nachiketas three a group of twelve poet-saints who lived boons. With his first two, Nachiketas in southern India between the seventh wishes to return to his father and to and tenth centuries. All the Alvars were understand the meaning of a particular devotees (bhakta) of the god Vishnu. sacrificial ritual. With the final boon he Their emphasis on passionate devotion asks what happens to a person after the (bhakti) to a personal god, conveyed death of the body. Death first tries to through hymns sung in the Tamil lan- evade the question, then tries to bribe guage, transformed and revitalized Nachiketas with other gifts. When the Hindu religious life. Andal’s chosen boy holds firm in his resolve, Death deity was Ranganatha, the form of begins to reveal his secrets. This dis- Vishnu presiding at the temple of course makes up the bulk of the text. Shrirangam. Yet both collections of her Death’s secrets focus mainly on the 451 Nadi reality of the Self (atman), its eternal bodies and flying matted hair presented and indestructible nature, and the diffi- a fearsome sight. As Indian social and culties in truly knowing it. The Self is political circumstances have changed, portrayed as the ultimate truth, and to their military importance has faded. know it is to know the only thing that However, these organizations (akhara) really matters. of Naga ascetics still exist, although they are most important now in determining the order for bathing (snana) at the Nadi Kumbha Mela. The accounts of the (“tube”) In general, the word nadi may ascetics themselves are full of tales of be applied to any pipe or tube, strife along sectarian lines (Shaivas ver- whether in plumbing or the human sus Vaishnavas); a good indication that circulatory system. A nadi has a more the Shaivas gained superiority is that specialized meaning with regard to they have priority in the bathing at the the Hindu conception of the subtle Kumbha Melas. For further information body. The subtle body is an alternate see Jadunath Sarkar, A History of the physiological system, existing on a Dasanami Naga Sanyasis, 1958; David different plane than gross matter, but Lorenzen, “Warrior Ascetics in Indian corresponding to the material body. It History,” in Journal of the American consists of six psychic centers Oriental Society, Vol. 98, No. 1, 1978; (chakras), visualized as multipetaled and James G. Lochtefeld, “The Vishva lotus flowers running roughly along Hindu Parishad and the Roots of the spine, connected by three vertical Hindu Militancy,” in Journal of the channels known as nadis. Of these, American Academy of Religion, Vol. LXII, the ida nadi is on the left side, the No. 2, 1994. pingala nadi on the right, and the sushumna in the center. Naga (2) In Hindu mythology, the Nagas are a Naga class of minor divinities who have the (“naked”) The general term for any fight- form of serpents. Their king is Vasuki. In ing or militant ascetic. Ascetic orders popular Hinduism, Nagas are often con- traditionally chartered companies of sidered to be the gods of a specific place. fighting ascetics to protect the members Often associated with fertility and and their resources. The Naga orders of fecundity, Nagas are usually believed to the Dashanami Sanyasis were devotees live in springs, ponds, and other small (bhakta) of the god Shiva, whereas the bodies of water. In Buddhist and Jain Bairagi orders were devotees of the god iconography the Nagas often play the Vishnu. In northern India during the role of minor protective deities. It is eighteenth century these Naga ascetics common to see a seated figure shad- developed into dynamic military and owed by an “umbrella” of Nagas. mercantile powerhouses. In several Although this is unusual in Hindu instances, Naga ascetics managed to iconography, there may be remnants carve out petty kingdoms of their own. of this in the iconography of the god In many other instances, they had sig- Shiva, who is often depicted wearing nificant influence in the northern snakes for both his ornaments and his Indian economy and politics, whether in sacred thread. their own right or as mercenary soldiers in the service of a reigning monarch. Their name was a literal description of Nagara their practices, since many of these One of the three developed styles in ascetics would go into battle bearing medieval Hindu temple architecture, only their weapons. Their ash-smeared along with the Dravida and the Veshara. 452 Nagara Built in the Nagara style, the Triloknath Temple in Mandi consists of a series of towers, the largest of which contains an image of the presiding deity. The Nagara style is found throughout upward, similar to a series of hills northern and eastern India. One of its leading to a distant peak. This vertical- prominent features is a shikhara or ity is accentuated through the use of tower. The shikhara is often surrounded turrets (urushringas) on the sides of by smaller towers that lead the eye up to the towers, which replicate the shape the highest point, which is directly over of the final peak. The entire temple is the image of the temple’s primary deity. set on a raised base (adhishthana). Within this general pattern there are two Within the temple there are usually variants, exemplified by the temples at several different zones: an entrance Khajuraho and Orissa. porch (ardhamandapa), a hall (man- In Khajuraho the series of shikha- dapa), an intermediate area (antarala), ras are connected, forming a continu- and a central shrine (garbhagrha) sur- ous rising swell that draws the eye rounded by a processional path 453 Nageshvar (pradakshina). Despite their different connected with the god Krishna, some parts, temples built in the Khajuraho scholars believe the Nageshvar linga style convey the artistic impression of may have been promoted to maintain a an integrated, unified whole. Shaivite presence in an important The Orissan style emphasizes the Vaishnava area. contrast between the temple’s con- stituent parts. The two central compo- nents are the entrance hall (jagamohan) Nag Panchami and the beehive-shaped temple tower Festival falling on the fifth day (pan- (deul). The tower is often three or four chami) of the bright, waxing half of the times taller than the entrance hall, a dif- lunar month of Shravan (July–August).