A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Klaus K. Klostermaier

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781780746722
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Hinduism

From the classical to the contemporary, this is a comprehensive, systematic and accessible encyclopedia of the phenomenon known as 'Hinduism'. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the religion and its texts, Klostermaier presents the theoretical and practical aspects of Hinduism that render this most ancient of religions a living faith. The encyclopedia features the major systems of Hindu thought, covers figures from Manu to Gandhi and includes locations from Ramesvaram, on the southernmost tip of India, to the Himalayas in the north. Written with assurance, learning, sympathy and insight, this is an invaluable reference for students, adherents of the religion and those unfamiliar with this diverse world faith.

abhāva (‘non-being’)

Absence of reality, a category in NYĀYA.

Abhinav Bhārat Society

‘Young India Society’, founded by Vinayak Damodar SAVARKAR and his brother Ganesh Savarkar in the 1930s ‘to take up the sword and destroy the Government because it is foreign and oppressive’.

Abhinavagupta (12th century CE) Representative of KASHMIR ŚAIVISM and one of the most prolific thinkers and writers of Hinduism. Author of the multi-volume Tantrālokā.

abhiniveśa

(‘attachment’ [to bodily life])

A form of AVIDYĀ (ignorance) and a cause for suffering and rebirth according to PATAÑJALA YOGA.

Ābhiras

Ancient and populous clan of semi- nomadic cattlebreeders in northern India often mentioned in ancient Indian literature in connection with KṚṢṆA.

abhiṣekha (‘aspersion’)

Anointment, consecration of either a king or an image.

ācamanīya

The offering of water to a deity during worship for rinsing the mouth.

ācāra (‘behaviour’)

Rules of life for specific castes, orders or religions, laid down in texts such as Ācāra-dīpa.

ācārya (‘master’)

Honorific title of recognized teachers.

ācāryā

A female teacher.

acyuta (‘the unfallen’)

Name of VIṢṆU (and KṚṢṆA), either indicating that he did not fall down from heaven (as other minor deities did) or that he is imperishable.

adbhuta (‘wonderment’)

One of the eight RASAS (sentiments, emotional experiences) of Indian aesthetics.

adharma (‘unrighteousness’)

The opposite of DHARMA and the cause of the breakdown of law and order. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavadgītā that whenever adharma threatens to eclipse dharma he will appear as an AVAṬĀRA to save the righteous and destroy the wicked.

adhidaivata

(‘relating to the gods [devas]’)

A mode of interpretation of Vedic HYMNS (alternatives: adhiyajña, ADHYĀTMA).

adhikāra (‘qualification’)

Requirements for commencing study or for becoming a member of a particular school or sect.

adhvaryu

Class of Vedic priests whose task it was to construct the ALTARS and recite the HYMNS at SACRIFICES.

adhyāsa (‘superimposition’)

A central concept in ŚAṄKARA’S ADVAITA VEDĀNTA explaining the congenital and universal illusion that makes one confuse REALITY with UNREALITY.

adhyātma

(‘relating to the self [ātman]’, ‘spiritual’) A recognized mode of interpreting sacred texts.

Adhyātma Rāmāyana

(‘Spiritual Rāmāyana’)

A 12th-century re-rendering of the RĀMA story in which Rāma from the very beginning appears as divinity incarnate.

Ādi Samāj (‘First Association’)

Branch of the BRAHMO SAMĀJ led by Debendranath TAGORE after its breakup due to innovations introduced by Keshub Chandra SEN in the 1880s.

Ādiśaṅkarā(cārya) (788-820 CE)

‘First, or Original, Śaṅkara’, title of the founder of ADVAITA VEDĀNTA to distinguish him from his successors, who also carry the title Śaṅkarācārya.

Aditi

Vedic goddess, mother of the ĀDITYAS.

Ādityas

A group of Vedic deities, sons of Aditi. Initially there were eight of them, but Aditi abandoned Mārttāṇḍa, the sun. Thus the Vedas speak of the ‘seven Ādityas’, among whom VARUṆA was the foremost, and he is often called ‘the Āditya’. In post-Vedic times there were 12 Ādityas, personifying the 12 months. They are the eternal sustainers of light and life.

ādivāsis

(‘First or Original Inhabitants’)

Epithet given to members of indigenous (Indian) tribes.

adṛṣṭa (‘unseen’)

An important category in MĪMĀṀSĀ and VAIŚEṢIKA: the invisible (but real) fruit of a religious act that adheres to a person and which becomes actualized after death.

Advaita Vedānta

A school of VEDĀNTA, founded by ŚAṄKARA, which teaches ‘non-duality’, i.e. ultimate identity of BRAHMAN and ĀTMAN.

ādya-prakṛti (‘primeval matter’)

A title of ŚAKTI, expressing her fundamental importance for everything.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism
• Chronology
• Appendices
• Thematic Bibliography
• Thematic Index