A Popilar Dictionary of Hinduism Karel Werner

34 A POPULAR DICTIONARY OF HINDUISM
caitya individual consciousness or ‘soul’; a shrine or place of worship; a pile of
stones as a landmark; monument; a burial mound; a Buddhist stūpa.
cakra wheel; discus; centre of spiritual faculties in the subtle body distributed
along the central duct parallel to the spine, as taught in the system of
Yoga: there are six of them in number: mūlādhāra (root-holding) cakra at the
base of the spine; (self-based) cakra opposite the generative organs; (gem-filled)
cakra opposite the navel; anāhata (unstuck or ‘silent sound’) cakra opposite the
central point of the chest; viśuddha (purified) cakra opposite the throat; and ājñā
(command) cakra between the eyebrows. The seventh and highest spiritual
centre is called sahasrāra padma (thousand-petalled lotus) and is on top of or
just above the skull. For symbolical meanings see Wheel.
cakravartin (‘wheel-turner’) world-governing righteous monarch; Emperor;
spiritual world-teacher; a Buddha. Cf. Wheel.
Calendar had never quite been unified throughout India before the adoption of
the European system. The basis of the Hindu year is a lunar month (which begins
with the full moon in the North and with the new moon in the South), divided
into the bright half , starting with the new moon, and the dark half , starting with
the full moon. There are twelve lunar months divided into six seasons :
Vasanta (spring): Caitra (March/April), Vaiśākha (April/ May);
(hot season): (May/June), (June/July);
(rainy season): (July/August), Bhādrapada (August/September);
Śarad (autumn): Aśvinā, Aśvayuja (September/October), Kārttika
(October/November);
Hemanta (winter): (November/December), (December/January);
Śiśira (frosty season): Māgha (January/February), Phālguna (February/
March).
A thirteenth month is added every two or three years to make up for the
difference between the lunar and the solar year. In some parts of India the year
starts with Kārttika or even some other month. The Western solar calendar had
been known since Gupta times and was sometimes used alongside the lunar one
for accuracy. Since colonial times the Hindu calendar has been used only for
religious purposes and in astrology.
Cālukya (Chalukya) a dynasty in the Deccan (cca 550–753 A.D.) whose capital
was Badāmi and whose fame reached as far as Persia. They were great builders
and erected some of the earliest known Hindu temples at Aihole and in Badāmi.
In Badāmi they also dedicated rock-carved shrines to Śiva and . One of
them contains a highly artistic image of sitting on the coils of the cosmic
serpent Ananta. They had originally expanded by defeating the Pallavas and in
the end were themselves overthrown by the .
a terrifying emanation of Durgā from her forehead for the
purpose of killing the demons and .