A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism Klaus K Klostermaie

183 time
Mahäbhärata and the Rämäyaæa and
entered into polemics with Western
Indologists on several issues. He translated
the Bhagavadgïtä for the Sacred
Books of the East (1880).
temples
(maæõira)
While the Vedas do not mention temples
(yajñas (sacrifices) were performed
on temporarily established sites) these
have been a hallmark of Hinduism since
the fifth century CE. Hindu temples are
not primarily places of meeting for a
congregation to worship as community,
but palaces for the god who is present in
an IMAGE (mürti) and who is worshipped
individually by an appointed
priest. In the course of centuries Hindus
have developed a great variety of architectural
styles for temples, the chief ones
being the nägara or North Indian, and
the dräviõa, or South Indian styles. All
details of temple construction are laid
down in the texts on västuÿästra. A village
or a town was not deemed complete
and habitable unless it had a
temple. Some of the major temples are
veritable temple cities and attract millions
of worshippers every year. The
major temples have Sthäla Puräæas
which record their histories and major
events that took place at the site. To
have a temple built has been a timehonoured
activity among Hindus, still
much in evidence in modern India and
also among Hindus in the diaspora. (See
also ARCHITECTURE.)
Teögalai
Southern school of ŸRÏ VAIÆŒAVISM, giving
equal weight to Sanskrit and Tamil
scriptures (Ubhäya Vedänta) with its
seat in Ÿrïraægam. It is also known as
the cat school, because it believes that
God’s grace saves without human
effort, as a cat carries its kitten from fire
without the kitten’s active co-operation
(märjaranyäya). The Teögalais were
also more tolerant with regard to CASTE
affiliation of teachers. (See also PILLAI
LOKÄCÄRYA.)
Thibaut, Georg (1848–1914)
Prominent German Indologist. After
studying Indology in Heidelberg and
Berlin, concentrating on Vedic studies,
he became assistant to Max MÜLLER in
Oxford in editing the Øgveda. In 1875
he moved to India, first as Anglo-
Sanskrit professor and principal at the
Benares Hindu College, then as professor
and principal of Muir Central
College. His work on Indian mathematics
and astronomy was pathbreaking.
He was co-editor of the Benares
Sanskrit Series and translated a number
of important works into English, e.g.
ŸA¢KARA’s (2) and RÄMÄNUJA’s commentaries
on the Brahmasütras, which
appeared in the Sacred Books of the East.
Tilak, Bal Gangadhar
(1856–1920)
Poona-based lawyer, revolutionary,
educator, founder of Fergusson College,
editor of newspapers and author of several
important, if controversial works:
Orion or Researches into the Antiquity
of the Vedas (1893), and The Arctic
Home in the Vedas (1903), in which he
postulated prehistoric origins of the
Vedas. He wrote a Mahratti commentary
on the Bhagavadgïtä, Gïtä Rahasya
(1915), subtitled The Gïtä as a Gospel
of Action, which became very popular.
Forbidden by the British authorities to
organize political mass rallies, he used
the local GAŒEŸA festival as an occasion
for huge protest demonstrations. Since
then GAŒEŸA CATÜRTHI has become a
major religious festival in Mahärä•flra.
time
Most Hindu systems distinguish
between divisible and indivisible time:
the first is identified with empirical time