MAHA-BHASHYA A commentary by Patanjali on the Grammar of Panini, in answer to the criticisms of Katyayana. A fine photo-lithographed edition has been produced, under the superintendence of Professor Goldstucker, at the expense of the Indian Government. The work has received a long notice in Weber’s Indische Studien, vol. xai., and has been the subject of much discussion in the Indian Antiquary. Other editions have appeared in India.

MAHA-BHOJA See Bhoja.

MAHA-DEVA ‘The great god.’ A name of Siva. One of the Rudras.

MAHA-DEVI ‘The great goddess.’ A name of Devi, the wife of Siva, See Devi.

MAHA-KALA  ‘Great Time.’ 1. A name of Siva in his destructive character. (See Siva.) 2. One of the twelve great Lingas. (See Linga). 3. In the caves of Elephanta this form of Siva is represented with eight arms. In one hand he holds a human figure; in another, a sword or sacrificial axe; in a third, a basin of blood; in a fourth, the sacrificial bell; with two he is drawing behind him the veil, which extinguishes the sun; and two are broken off. 4. Chief of the Ganas or attendants on Siva.

MAHA-KAVYAS ‘Great poems.’ Six are classified under this title: - (1.) Raghu-vansa; (2.) Kumara-sambhava; (3.) Megha-duta; (4.) Kiratarjuniya; (5.) Sisupala-badha; (6.) Naishadha-charitra.

MAHA-MAYA See Maya.

MAHA-NATAKA ‘The great drama.’ The Hanuman-nataka (q.v.).

MAHA-PADMA NANDA The last of the Nanda dynasty. See Chandra-gupta.

MAHA-PRALAYA A total dissolution of the universe at the end of a kalpa, when the seven lokas and their inhabitants, men, saints, gods, and Brahma himself, are annihilated. Called also Jahanaka, Kshiti, and Sanhara.

MAHA-PURANAS ‘The great Puranas.’ The Vishnu and the Bhagavata, the two great Puranas of the Vaishnavas.

MAHA-PURUSHA ‘The great or supreme male;’ the supreme spirit. A name of Vishnu.

MAHARAJIKAS A Gana or class of inferior deities, 236 or 220 in number.

MAHAR See Vyahriti.

MAHA-RASHTRA The land of the Mahrattas.

Mahar-loka See Loka.

Maharshis (maha-rishis). ‘Great Rishis.’ The great Rishis or Prajapatis. See Rishi.

MAHA-SENA ‘The great captain.’ A name of Kastikeya, god of war.

MAHAT The great intellect produced at the creation. See Vishnu Purana, i. 29.

MAHATMYA ‘Magnanimity.’ A legend of a shrine or other holy place.

MAHA-VIRA CHARITA ‘The exploits of the great hero (Rama).’ A drama by Bhava-bhuti, translated into English by Pickford. There are several editions of the text. “The situations and sentiments of this drama are of a stirring and martial description, and the language is adapted with singular felicity to the subject from which it springs.” – Wilson.

MAHA-YOGI ‘The great ascetic.’ A name of Siva.

MAHA-YUGA A great Yuga or age, consisting of 4,320,000 years. See Yuga.

MAHENDRA A name of Indra. One of the seven mountain ranges of India; the hills, which run from Gondwans to Orissa and the Northern Circars. See Kula-parvatas.

MAHESWARA A name of Siva.

MAHESWARA PURANA See Purana

MAHISHA, MAHISHASURA 1. The great Asura or demon killed by Skanda in the Maha-bharata. (See Krauncha) 2. Also a demon killed by Chanda or Durga.

MAHISHMATI, MAHISHMATI The capital of Karta-virya, king of the Talajanghas, who had a thousand arms. It has been identified by Colonel Tod with the village of Chuli Mahesar, which, according to him, is still called “the village of the thousand armed.”

MAHODAYA A name of the city of Kanauj.

MAHORAGA (Maha + uraga). ‘Great serpent.’ The serpent Sesha, or any other great serpent.

MAINAKA A mountain stated in the Maha-bharata to be north of Kailasa; so called as being the son of Himavat and Menaka. When, as the poets sing, Indra clipped the wings of the mountains, this is said to have been the only one, which escaped. This mountain, according to some, stands in Central India, and, according to others, near the extremity of the Peninsula.

MAITREYA A Rishi, son of Kusarava, and disciple of Parasara. He is one of the interlocutors in the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas.

MAITREYI WIFE OF THE Rishi Yajnawalkya, who was indoctrinated by her husband in the mysteries of religion and philosophy.

MAITRI, MAITRAYANI An Upanishad of the Black Yajur-veda. It has been edited and translated by Professor Cowell for the Bibliotheca Indica.

MAKANDI A city of the Ganges, the capital of Southern Panchala.

MAKARA A huge sea animal, which has been taken to be the crocodile, the shark, the dolphin, &c., but is probably a fabulous animal. It represents the sign Capricornus in the Hindu zodiac, and is depicted with the head and forelegs of an antelope and the body and tail of a fish. It is the vehicle of Varuna, the god of the ocean, and its figure is borne on the banner of Kama-deva, god of love. It is also called Kantaka, Asita-danshtra, ‘black teeth,’ and Jala-rupa, ‘water form.’

MAKARAS The five m’s. See Tantra.

MAKHAVAT A name of Indra.

MALATI-MADHAVA (Malati and Madhava). A drama by Bhava-bhuti, translated by Wilson. “This drama,” says the translator, “offers nothing to offend the most fastidious delicacy, and may be compared in this respect advantageously with many of the dramas of modern Europe which treat of the passion (of love) that constitutes its subject.”

MALAVA The country of Malwa.

MALAVIKAGNIMITRA (Malavika and Agnimitra). A drama ascribed to Kali-dasa, and although inferior to his other productions, it is probably his work. The text, with a translation, has been published by Tullberg. There is a German translation by Weber, an English one by Tawney, and a French one by Foucaux. The text has been printed at Bombay and Calcutta.

MALAYA The country of Malabar proper; the mountains bordering Malabar. See Kula-parvatas.

MALINA-MUKHA ‘Black faced.’ Rakshasas and other demons, represented as having black faces.

MALINI ‘Surrounded with a garland (mala)’ of Champa trees. A name of the city of Champa.

MALLIKARJUNA A name of Siva. One of the twelve great Lingas. See Linga.

MALLINATHA A poet, and author of commentaries of great repute on several of the great poems, as the Raghu-vansa, Megha-duta, Sisupala-budha, &c.

MANASA ‘The intellectual.’ A name of the Supreme Being Thus defined in the Maha-bharata: “The primeval god, without beginning or dissolution, indivisible, undecaying, and immortal, who is known and called by great Rishis Manasa.”

MANASA, MANASA-SAROVARA The lake Manasa in the Himalayas. In the Vayu Purana it is stated that when the ocean fell from heaven upon Mount Meru, it ran four times round the mountain, then it divided into four rivers which ran down the mountain and formed four great lakes, Arunoda on the east, Sitoda on the west, Maha-bhadra on the north, and Manasa on the south. According to the mythological account, the river Ganges flows out of it, but in reality no river issues from this lake, though the river Satlej flows from another and larger lake called Ravana-hrada, which lies close to the west of Manasa.

MANASA, MANASA-DEVI Sister of the serpent king Sesha, and wife of the sage Jarat-karu. She is also called Jagad-gauri, Nitya (eternal), and Padmavati. She had special power in counteracting the venom of serpents, and was hence called Visha-hara.

MANASA-PUTRAS ‘Mind (born) sons.’ The seven or ten mind-born sons of Brahma. See Prajapati.

MANAS-TALA The lion on which Devi rides.

MANAVA DHARMA-SASTRA The code of Manu. See Manu Sanhita.

MANAVA KALPA-SUTRA Manu’s work on Vaidik rites. Part of it has been published in facsimile by Goldstucker. 

MANAVA PURANA See Purana. 

MANAVI The wife of Manu. Also called Manayi.