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 The Illustrated Encyclopediaof 

Hinduism

James G. Lochtefeld, Ph.D.

The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.New York 

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To teachers whose gift of learning I can never fully repay.To students whose learning has taught me, and whose friendship has enriched me.

To Fiona, Vera, and Gavin, who put life back into perspective every day,although they have yet to know this.

To Rachel, who has made all of this possible.

Published in 2002 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright © 2002 by James G. Lochtefeld

First Edition

 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form withoutpermission 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 0-8239-3179-X (volume 1)ISBN 0-8239-3180-3 (volume 2)1. Hinduism Encyclopedias. I. Title.

BL1105.L63 2002294.5'03—dc21 99-27747

CIP

 Manufactured in the United States of America

Staff Credits

Editors: Margaret Haerens, Michael Isaac, Christine Slovey Editorial Assistant: Rob Kirkpatrick Book Design: Olga M. VegaCover Design: MaryJane WojciechowskiProduction Design: Erica Clendening, Beverly Fraser, Christine Innamorato,

MaryJane Wojciechowski

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congregational exercise, and also the actof emulating the god Shiva , the paradig-matic ascetic, whose love for drugs is

 well known.

Chinmayanand, Swami(b. Balakrishna  Menon, 1915–1993)Modern Hindu ascetic and teacher.Chinmayanand became an ascetic underthe influence of Swami Shivananda ,

 whose articles Chinmayanand had firstread while serving a prison sentence forhis involvement in the independencemovement. For several years he devotedhimself to the study of ancient texts andbecame one of the leading authorities of 

the  Vedas. Part of his legacy is theChinmayanand Mission, which carriedthe abstract, intellectual, and peacefulmessage of the  Vedanta  philosophicalschool to the world. Another part of hislegacy is the  Vishva Hindu Parishad, amodern militant Hindu organization.He was one of its founding members in1964, and for some years he was the only ascetic on its governing council.

Chinmoy, Shri

(b. 1931) Modern Hindu teacher andmissionary, who since 1964 has spentmuch of his life addressing Westernaudiences. His teachings are largely drawn from classical ideas on yoga andstress the importance of vegetarianism,discipline, and service to one’s guru. Hisown lifestyle is austere and largely unos-tentatious, as an example to his follow-ers. On one hand he is notable for hisattention to the arts—painting, poetry,and music, particularly the bambooflute—and on the other for performing 

prodigious feats of strength to demon-strate the power of mind over matter. Heis based in New York City, although likemany modern Hindu teachers, he trav-els throughout the world.

Chin (“consciousness”) MudraIn Indian dance, sculpture, and ritual, aparticular symbolic hand gesture(mudra ) in which the tips of the thumb

and index finger are touching, with therest of the fingers extended and thepalm facing the viewer. This is thehand gesture used to signify explana-

tion or exposition. For this reason it isalso known as the  vyakhyana  (“teach-ing”) mudra  and the sandarshana (“expository”) mudra .

Chinnamasta(“She whose head [masta] has been cutoff [chinna]”) Particular manifestationof the Goddess, one of the Mahavidyas(a group of ten powerful goddesses), andan important deity in the esoteric ritualtradition known as tantra . The image of 

Chinnamasta is one of the most striking in Hindu iconography: a naked headless

 woman often seated on a copulating couple, holding her head on a platterand gushing three streams of bloodfrom her neck—two into the mouths of Chinnamasta’s attendant deities andone into the lips of her own severedhead. The story behind this figure is thatChinnamasta severs her own head tosatisfy the demands of her attendantsbecause they have not drunk their fill of blood in battle. This image graphically 

portrays the interconnections betweennourishment, sex, and death and thepower of the Goddess over all ofthese things. Although Chinnamasta ispowerful, she does not have manytemples dedicated to her. One of themost important is the temple of thegoddess Chintapurni, identified as aform of Chinnamasta in the   Shiwalik Hills. For further information seeDavid R. Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses , 1986;and Kathleen Erndl, Victory to the 

 Mother , 1993.

Chintapurni(“She who fulfills one’s wishes”)Presiding goddess of a temple in a vil-lage by the same name in the state of Himachal Pradesh. Chintapurni is oneof the Shiwalik goddesses, a group of local deities in the Shiwalik Hills  whoare all considered to be manifestations

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Chintapurni