The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (2 Vol Set) (PDFDrive) - 99-102

Assam
Their unusual structure is noted in and the physicians to the gods. In the
chapter fifteen of the Bhagavad Gita, in Mahabharata, the later of the two great
which the ashvattha is described as the Hindu epics, the Ashvins are the divine
tree of life. The ashvattha is also believed fathers of the Pandava twins, Nakula
to be the type of tree under which the and Sahadeva. Nakula and Sahadeva are
Buddha attained enlightenment. born when their mother, Madri, uses a
powerful mantra enabling a woman to
have a child by any one of the gods;
Ashvatthama as the sons of the divine physicians,
In the Mahabharata, the later of the two the epic portrays these twins as having
great Hindu epics, Ashvatthama is the their fathers’ ability to heal. In the
son of Drona. When Drona becomes the Hindu lunar calendar, the month of
archery teacher to the Pandavas and the Ashvin (October–November) is devoted
Kauravas, the epic’s two central royal to them.
families, Ashvatthama also receives
instruction along with the young
princes. He absorbs his father’s teaching Assam
well and masters the use of terrifying Before Indian independence in 1947,
magical weapons. During the this name designated the entire territory
Mahabharata’s climactic civil war, he east of Bengal province in northeastern
fights on the side of the Kauravas and India; in the time since independence, it
kills many of the Pandava allies; this was divided into seven different admin-
includes Dhrshtadyumna, who has ear- istrative regions, one of which is the
lier killed his father, Drona. After the war contemporary state of Assam.
is over, Ashvatthama retires to the forest Like all other states in the northeast-
with the sage Vyasa. ern corner, much of modern Assam is
culturally distinct from the rest of India.
One marker of this cultural divide is lan-
Ashvin guage: whereas most Indians speak lan-
According to the lunar calendar, by guages from the Indo-Aryan or
which most Hindu religious festivals are Dravidian language families, many
determined, Ashvin is the seventh tribal people in Assam speak Tibeto-
month in the lunar year, usually falling Burman languages. The bulk of modern
within September and October. In Assam is in the Brahmaputra River val-
Ashvin the monsoon rains usually ley, which is where most of the Hindus
taper off, and the weather becomes a in the northeast reside.
bit cooler. Despite its remoteness from the rest
The dark (waning) half of this month of India, Assam does have one very
is the Pitrpaksha, one of the most important sacred place, the temple of
inauspicious times of the year. The the goddess Kamakhya just outside the
bright (waxing) half contains one of capital of Gauhati. This is one of the
the most important festivals of the year, Shakti Pithas, a network of sites con-
the fall Navaratri, culminating in nected with the worship of the Mother
Dussehra or Vijaya Dashami. Other Goddess that were established at places
festivals during this month are Indira where it is believed that body parts of the
Ekadashi, Papankusha Ekadashi, and dismembered goddess Sati fell to earth.
Valmiki Jayanti. Kamakhya is considered the most power-
ful of all the Shakti Pithas since it is
believed to be where Sati’s vulva (a highly
Ashvins charged female body part) fell to earth.
Twin deities named Satya and Dasya,
who are sons of the god Surya (the Sun)
67
Asthi-Sanchayana
In the asthi-visarjana funeral ceremony, after cremation

the remains of a body are gathered and immersed in sacred water.
Asthi-Sanchayana carried out immediately after death but

(“gathering the bones”) Name for a par- before the sapindikarana ceremony on
ticular ceremony performed as one of the twelfth day.
the last rites (antyeshthi samskara) con- This rite is still widely performed in
nected with death. Asthi-sanchayana is modern India and remains important for
usually performed on the second or third at least two reasons: On one hand, there is
day after cremation. In this rite, some of the symbolism of redemption for the dead
the remains of the deceased—bits of through consigning their ashes to the
bone and ash—are gathered from the sacred waters, and on the other, providing
site of the cremation pyre. These remains definitive ritual closure for the living.
are collected and kept in a safe place
until their final dispersal in the last of the
death rites, asthi-visarjana. Astrology
See jyotisha.
Asthi-Visarjana Asura
(“scattering the bones”) Name for a partic-
See demons.
ular ceremony performed as one of the last
rites (antyeshthi samskara) connected
with death. In this ritual, bits of bone and Asura Marriage
ash collected from the cremation site in One of the eight ways to perform a mar-
the rite of asthi-sanchayana are immersed riage recognized in the Dharma Shastras,
in the waters of the Ganges or some other the treatises on religious duty (dharma).
sacred river. This is the final ceremony It is named after the asuras, a class of
for the dead, since in earlier times the powerful divine beings whose interests
collected remains might be kept for years are often at odds with those of the
before a family member was able to bring gods (deva); thus, the name carries an
them to a pilgrimage place (tirtha) to per- unfavorable connotation.
form this rite. Modern transportation has An asura marriage takes place when a
changed this pattern somewhat, making it man gives money to the bride’s family and
more common for asthi-visarjana to be the bride herself. This is one of the four
68
Atman
reprehensible (aprashasta) forms of mar- authoritative Hindu religious texts. In

riage because of the connotation that the many ways the Atharva Veda is the
bride is being sold, yet like all the other most unusual. Whereas the other
reprehensible forms, it is deemed to create three—Rg Veda, Sama Veda, and Yajur
a valid marriage. Veda—focus mainly on sacrificial ritu-
Despite this general disapproval, it is als, the Atharva Veda is largely a collec-
one of the two classical forms that is still tion of spells and incantations that can
practiced (the other being the Brahma be used to counter or correct misfor-
marriage), although because of the tune, and also to bring about one’s
stigma attached to the implication of desired result. Its unusual contents
selling one’s child, it is only done by make it very different from the other
people who are either very poor or of very three, and since some early sources
low social status. See also marriage, eight mention only the first three Vedas, it
classical forms. apparently gained authority as a Veda
sometime later.
Atala Akhara
The name of a subgroup of the Naga class Atikaya
of the Dashanami Sanyasis, a particular In the Ramayana, the earlier of the two
type of renunciant ascetic. The great Hindu epics, Atikaya is one the sons
Dashanami Nagas are devotees (bhakta) of the great demon Ravana by his wife
of the god Shiva, organized into different Mandodari. Like his father, Atikaya is
akharas, or regiments, based on the described as a great devotee (bhakta)
model of an army. Until the beginning of Shiva and, because of his constant
of the nineteenth century, the Nagas devotion, he gains many wondrous
were known as mercenary soldiers, weapons and powers. Atikaya fights
although they also had substantial trading bravely and valiantly in the war with
interests; both of these occupations have Rama’s army but is eventually killed by
largely disappeared in contemporary Rama’s brother Lakshmana.
times. The Atala Akhara has traditionally
been considered a subsidiary of the
Mahanirvani akhara, at least for their Atita
marching order in the bathing (snana) (“gone beyond”) In its most general
processions for the Kumbha Mela. During usage, this term denotes an ascetic
the 1998 Haridwar Kumbha Mela, the who has completely renounced all
Atala akhara demanded to be separated things and thus “gone beyond” all the
from the Mahanirvanis and to be allowed social boundaries that enmesh normal
to march in their own procession; when people. It is also the name of a partic-
this request was turned down, the Atala ular low-caste community, some of
whom are ascetics and some of whom
akhara boycotted the bathing processions
are householders.
in protest. The Atala akhara is one of
the seven main Dashanami Naga
akharas, although it is now the smallest Atman
and least important. All of the akharas Reflexive pronoun in Sanskrit gram-
have particular features that define their mar, that can be used for all three per-
organizational identity, especially specific sons in the singular and that carries
guardian deities; the guardian deity of the the sense of “self” or “oneself.” From
Atala akara is the god Ganesh. the time of the mystical texts known as
the Upanishads, the word atman has
also been used to designate each
Atharva Veda human being’s inner essence—which
The Atharva Veda is the last of the four is eternal, unchanging, gives one
Vedas, which are the oldest and most
69
Atranji Khera
continuing identity in one’s different ritual, the cartilage in the novice’s ears is
incarnations, and is ultimately identi- pierced in order to insert the large ear-
cal to Brahman, the single source of rings that are one of the Nath communi-
all things in the universe. ty’s defining characteristics.
Atranji Khera Aurangzeb

Architectural site near the city of (r. 1658–1707) The last of the great
Aligarh that is located in the modern emperors in the Moghul dynasty, after
state of Uttar Pradesh. Excavations at whose reign the empire, which at its
Atranji Khera have revealed an ancient zenith stretched over most of the Indian
urban center dating back to the sec- subcontinent, was fragmented into
ond millennium B.C.E. The settlements smaller kingdoms. Aurangzeb was a very
here were not as developed as those in strict and pious Muslim who is generally
the Indus Valley civilization, although painted as an enemy of Hinduism. He is
they are believed to be distinct from it the “bad” Moghul emperor, as opposed
and thus another potential source for to his great-grandfather Akbar, the
ancient Indian culture. “good” Moghul emperor. Aurangzeb
unquestionably ordered several notable
acts of iconoclasm, the most renowned
Atri being the destruction of the Vishvanath
In Hindu mythology, Atri is one of the temple in the city of Benares; however,
six sons of Brahma, all of whom the records from his reign also include
become great sages. All are “mind- orders that the Hindus of that city
born,” meaning that Brahma’s should not be hindered from practicing
thoughts are enough to bring them their religion.
into being. The others are Marichi, One possible theory that reconciles
Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, and Kratu. these contradictions is that the destruc-
Atri is also cited as one of the seven tion of the Vishvanath temple and other
sages; the others are Kashyapa, acts of iconoclasm were done for politi-
Bhrgu, Vasishtha, Gautama, cal rather than religious reasons, to pun-
Bharadvaja, and Vishvamitra. All ish local populations for rebellion and
brahmins are believed to be descended noncooperation. One piece of evidence
from these seven sages, with each for this theory is that the year before the
family taking the name of its progeni- destruction of the Vishvanath temple,
tor as its gotra name. the Mahanirvani akhara in Benares took
In modern times, these gotra part in a battle with Aurangzeb’s soldiers.
divisions are still important, since
marriage within the gotra is forbidden.
After her marriage the new bride Aurobindo Ghose
adopts her husband’s gotra as part (1872–1950) Freedom fighter, philoso-
of her new identity. See also pher, and ascetic yogi. He is perceived
marriage prohibitions. as a modern example of the concern for
ultimate truth that always runs beneath
the surface of Hindu life.
Aughar Until he was twenty, Aurobindo
Name given to a novice in the ascetic
lived much of his life in England, to
community known as the Naths, who
fulfill his father’s desire to see his son
are devotees (bhakta) of the god Shiva.
get a “proper” English education.
An aughar has been initiated as a mem-
Upon his return to India, Aurobindo
ber of the Naths and has taken up their
was more interested in politics than in
ascetic way of life, but he has not yet
working, and after a few years quit his
received his final initiation. In this final
job to take part in the political struggle
70

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Assam

In the asthi-visarjana funeral ceremony, after cremation

Asthi-Sanchayana carried out immediately after death but

reprehensible (aprashasta) forms of mar- authoritative Hindu religious texts. In

Atranji Khera Aurangzeb

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