The eleventh day (ekadashi) of the dark (waning) half of the lunar month of Phalgun (February–March) is a religious celebration. Thi...

  Mithila , a Hindu kingdom in northern Bihar , had a Brahmin   courtpoet called Vidyapati(ca. 1400). Despite the fact that Vidyapati w...

    Vedarambha (“beginning of Veda [study]”) Samskara.   T raditionally, the twelfth of the life cycle ceremonies (samskaras). In this...

  All "twice-born" males, defined as men born into one of the three "twice-born" categories in Indian society—brahmin,...

    A modern-day ascetic who is known for his stringent ascetic habits. His name stems from the fact that he used his hands (kara) as a rece...

  In general, an initiation is a ceremony in which a person is bestowed with new powers, abilities, and responsibilities. There are two main...

Traditional Indian society was built around a collection of endogamous subgroups called jatis ("birth").  The group's heredita...

  The brahmins are the highest rank group in the ancient Hindu idea of the four main social groupings (varnas), based on the assumption that...