TAITTIRIYA This term is applied to the Sanhita of the Black Yajur-veda.(See Veda.) It is also applied to a Brahmana, to an Aranyaka, to an Upanishad, and a Pratisakhya of the same Veda. All these are printed, or are in course of printing, in the Bibliotheca Indica,and of the last there is a translation in that serial.

TAKSHA, TAKSHAKA Son of Bharata, and nephew of Rama-chandra. The sovereign of Gandhara, who resided at and probably founded Taksha-sila or Taxila, in the Panjab.

TAKSHAKA ‘One who cuts off; a carpenter.’ A name of Viswa-karma. A serpent, son of Kadru, and chief of snakes. 

TAKSHA-SILA A city of the Gandharas, situated in the Panjab. It was the residence of Taksha, son of Bharata and nephew of Rama-chandra, and perhaps took its name from him. It is the Taxila of Ptolemy and other classical writers. Arrian describes it as “a large and wealthy city, and the most populous between the Indus and Hydaspes.” It was three days' journey east of the Indus, and General Cunningham has found its remains at Sahh-dhari, one mile north-east of Kala-kisarai. 

TALAJANGHA Son of Jaya-dhwaja, king of Avanti, of the Haihaya race, and founder of the Tala-jangha tribe of Haihayas. See Haihaya. 

TALA-KETU ‘Palm-banner.’ An appellation of Bhishma; also of an enemy killed by Krishna. Bala-rama had the synonymous appellation Tala-dhwaja.  

TALAM The throne of Durga.  

TALA VAKARA A name of the Kena Upanishad.

TAMASA The fourth Manu. SeeManu.

TAMASA The river “Tonse,” rising in the Riksha mountains, and falling into the Ganges.  

TAMRA-LIPTA The country immediately West of the Bhagirathi; Tamlook, Hijjali, and Midnapore. Its inhabitants are called Tamra-liptakas.  

TAMRA-PARNA, TAMRA-PARNl Ceylon, the ancient Taprobane. There was a town in the island called Tamra-parni, from which the whole island has been called by that name.  

TANDU One of Siva's attendants. He was skilled in music, and invented the dance called Tandava. SeeSiva.  

TANDYA, TANDAKA The most important of the eight Brahmanas of the Sama-veda. It has been published in the B ibliotheca Indica.  

TANTRA ‘Rule, ritual.’ The title of a numerous class of religious and magical works, generally of later date than the Puranas, and representing a later development of religion, although the worship of the female energy had its origin at an earlier period. The chief peculiarity of the Tantras is the prominence they give to the female energy of the deity, his active nature being personified in the person of his Sakti, or wife. There are a few Tantras which make Vishnu's wife or Radha the object of devotion, but the great majority of them are devoted to one of the manifold forms of Dev!, the Sakti of Siva, and they are commonly written in the form of a dialogue between these two deities Devi, as the Sakti of Siva, is the especial energy concerned with sexual intercourse and magical powers, and these are the leading topics of the Tantras. There are five requisites for Tantra worship, the five Makaras or five m's-(1.) Madya, wine; (2.) Mansa,flesh; (3.) Matsya, fish; (4) Mudra, parched grain and mystic gesticulations; (5. ) Maithuna, sexual intercourse. Each Sakti has a twofold nature, white and black, gentle and ferocious. Thus Uma and Gauri are gentle forms of the Sakti of Siva, while Durga and Kali are fierce forms. The Saktas or worshippers of the Saktis are divided into two classes, Dakshinacharis and Vamanacharis, the right-handed and the left- handed. The worship of the right-hand Saktas is comparatively decent, but that of the left hand is addressed to the fierce forms of the Saktis, and is most licentious. The female principle is worshipped, not only symbolically, but in the actual woman, and promiscuous intercourse forms part of the orgies. Tantra worship prevails chiefly in Bengal and the Eastern provinces.  

TAPAR-LOKA, TAPO-LOKA SeeLoka.

TAPATI The river Tapti personified as a daughter of the Sun by Chhaya. She was mother of Kuru by Samvarana. 

TARA Wife of the monkey king Balin, and mother of Angada. After the death of Balin in battle she was taken to wife by his brother, Su-griva.  

TARA, TARAKA Wife of Brihaspati. According to the Puranas, Soma, the moon, carried her off, which led to a great war between the gods and the Asuras. Brahma put an end to the war and restored Tara, but she was delivered of a child which she declared to be the son of Soma, and it was named Budha. SeeBrihaspati.  

TARAKA Son of Vajranaka. A Daitya whoso austerities made him formidable to the gods, and for whose destruction Skanda, the god of war, was miraculously born.  

TARAKA A female Daitya, daughter off the Yaksha Su-ketu or of the demon Sunda, and mother of Maricha. She was changed into a Rakshasi by Agastya, and lived in a forest called by her name on the Ganges, opposite the confluence of the Sarju, and she ravaged all the country round. Viswamitra desired Rama-chandra to kill her, but he was reluctant to kill a woman. He resolved to deprive her of the power of doing harm, and cut off her two arms. Lakshmana cut off her nose and ears. She, by the power of, sorcery, assailed Rama and Lakshmana with a fearful shower of stones, and at the earnest command of Viswamitra, the former killed her with an arrow.-Ramayana. 

TARAKA-MAYA The war which arose in consequence of Soma, the moon, having carried off Tara, the wife of Brihaspati. 

TARKSHYA An ancient mythological personification of the sun in the form of a horse or bird. In later times the name is applied to Garuda. 

TATWA SAMASA A text book of the Sankhya philosophy, attributed to Kapila himself. 

TELINGA The Telugu country, stretching along the coast from Orissa to Madras. 

TILOTTAMA Name of an Apsaras. She was originally a Brahman female, but for the offence of bathing at an improper season she was condemned to be born as an Apsaras, for the purpose of bringing about the mutual destruction of the two demons Sunda and Upasunda. 

TIMIN, TIMIN-GILA The Timin is a large fabulous fish. The Timin-gila, ‘swallower of the Timin,’ is a still larger one; and there is one yet larger, the Timin-gila-gila or Timi-timin-gila, ‘swallower of the Timin-gila.’ Cf. the Arabic Tinnin, sea-serpent. It is also called Samudraru. 

TISHYA The Kali Yuga or fourth age. 

TITTIRI ‘A partridge.’ An ancient sage who was the pupil of Yaska, and is an authority referred to by Panini Some attribute the Taittiriya Sanhita of the Yajur-veda to him. See Veda. 

TOSALAKA An athelete and boxer who was killed by Krishna in the public arena in the presence of Kansa. 

TRAIGARTTAS The people of Tri-gartta (q. v.). 

TRASADASYU A royal sage and author of hymns. According to Sayana, he was son of Purukutsa. When Purukutsa was a prisoner, “his queen propitiated the seven Rishis to obtain a son who might take his father's place. They advised her to worship Indra and Varuna, in consequence of which Trasadasyu was born.” He was renowned for his generosity. According to the Bhagavata Purana he was father of Purukutsa. 

TRETA YUGA The second age of the world, a period of 1,296,000 years. See Yuga. 

TRI-BHUVANA, TRI-LOKA The three worlds, Swarga, Bhumi, Patala-heaven, earth, and hell. 

TRI-DASA ‘Three times ten, thirty.’ In round numbers, the thirty-three deities – twelve Adityas, eight Vasus. eleven Rudras, and two Aswins. 

TRI-GARTTA ‘The country of the three strongholds,’ lately identified with the northern hill state of Kotoch, which is still called by the people “the country of Traigart.” -Wilson. General Cunningham, however, clearly identifies it with the Jalandhar Doab and Kangra. 

TRI-JATA An amiable Rakshasi who befriended Sita when she was the captive of Ravana in Ceylon. She is also called Dharma-jna. 

TRI-KANDA SESHA A Sanskrit vocabulary in three chapters, composed as a supplement to the Amara-kosha. It has been printed in India.

TRI-KUTA ‘Three peaks.’ 1. The mountain on which the city of Lanka was built. 2. A mountain range running south from Meru.

TRI-LOCHANA ‘Three-eyed,’ i.e., Siva. The Maha-bharata relates that the third eye burst from Siva's forehead with a great flame when his wife playfully placed her hands over his eyes after he had been engaged in austerities in the Himalaya. This eye has been very destructive. It reduced Kama, the god of love, to ashes. 

TRI-MURTI ‘Triple form.’ The Hindu triad. This was foreshadowed in the Vedic association of the three gods Agni, Vayu, and Surya. The triad consists of the gods Brahma, Siva, and Vishnu, the representatives of the creative, destructive, and preservative principles. Brahma is the embodiment “of the Rajo-guna, the quality of passion or desire, by which the world was called into being; Siva is the embodied Tamo-guna, the attribute of darkness or wrath, and the destructive fire by which the earth is annihilated; and Vishnu is the embodied Satwa-guna, or property of mercy and goodness by which the world is preserved. The three exist in one and one in three, as the Veda is divided into three and is yet but one; and they are all Asrita, or comprehended within that one being who is Parama or ‘supreme,’ Guhya or ‘secret,’ and Sarvatma, ‘the sow of all things.’ ”-Wilson.The Padma purana, which is a Vaishnava work and gives the supremacy to Vishnu, says, “In the beginning of creation, the great Vishnu, desirous of creating the whole world, became three-fold: creator, preserver, and destroyer. In order to create this world, the supreme spirit produced from the right side of his body himself as Brahma; then in order to preserve the world he produced from the left side of his body Vishnu; and in order to destroy the world he produced from the middle of his body the eternal Siva. Some worship Brahma, others Vishnu, others Siva; but Vishnu, one yet threefold, creates, preserves, and destroys, therefore let the pious make no difference between the three. " The representation of the Tri-murti is one body with three heads : in the middle Brahma, on the right Vishnu, and on the left Siva. The worship of Brahma is almost extinct, but Vishnu and Siva receive unbounded adoration from their respective followers, and each is elevated to the dignity of the supreme being. 

TRINAVARTTA A demon who assumed the form of a whirlwind and carried off the infant Krishna, but was over-powered and killed by the child. 

TRI-PADA ‘Three-footed.’ Fever personified as having three feet, symbolising the three stages of fever-heat, cold, and sweat.

TRI-PURA ‘Triple city.’ 1. According to the Hari-vansa it was aerial, and was burnt in a war with the gods. 2. A name of the demon Bana, because he received in gift three cities from Siva, Brahma and Vishnu. He was killed by Siva. His name at full length is Tripur8sura. The name is also applied to Siva.

TRI-PURI The capital city of the Chedis, now traceable an the insignificant village of Tewar, on the banks of the Narmada.

TRI-SANKU See Satya-vrata. 

TRI-SIRAS ‘Three-headed.’ 1. In the Vedas, a son of Twashtri; also called Viswa-rupa. 2. Fever personified as a demon with three heads, typical of the three stages of heat, cold, and sweating. 3. Kuvera, god of wealth. 4. An Asura killed by Vishnu. 5. A son or a friend of Ravana killed by Rama. 

TRI-SULA ‘A trident.’ The trident of Siva. 

TRITA, TRITA APTYA A minor deity mentioned occasionally in the Rig-veda, and generally in some relation to Indra. Thus “Indra broke through the defences of Vala, as did Trita through the coverings (of the well).” In explanation of this and similar allusions, a legend is told by the commentator to the effect, that Ekata, Dwita, and Trita (first, second, and third), were three men produced in water by Agni, for the purpose of rubbing off the remains of an oblation of clarified butter. Agni threw the cinders of the offerings into water, and from them sprang the three brothers, who, from their origin in water (ap), were called Aptyas. Trita went one day to draw water from a well and fell into it. The Asuras than heaped coverings over the mouth of it to prevent his getting out, but he broke through them with ease. The Niti-manjari tells the story differently. Ekata, Dwita, and Trita were travelling in a desert and suffered from thirst. They came to a well from which Trita drew water and gave it to his brothers. In order to appropriate his property the two brothers threw him into the well, placed a cart-wheel over it, and there left him. Trita prayed earnestly to the gods, and with their help he escaped. 

TRITSUS A people frequently mentioned in the Veda. Sayana says they were “priests who were Vasishtha's disciples.” Vasishtha himself is said to have belonged to the tribe. 

TRI-VENI ‘The triple braid.’ A name of Prayaga. It is so called because the Ganges and Jumna here unite, and the Saraswati is supposed to join them by an underground channel.

TRI-VIKRAMA A name of Vishnu used in the Rig-veda, and referring to three steps or paces which he is represented as taking. These steps, according to the opinion of a commentator, are “the three periods of the sun's course, his rising, culminating, and setting.” An old commentator says, “Vishnu stepped by separate strides over the whole universe. In three places he planted his step, one step on the earth, a second in the atmosphere, and a third in the sky, in the successive forms of Agni, Vayu, and Surya.” The great commentator Sayana, a comparatively modern writer, understands these steps as being the three steps of Vishnu in the Vamana or dwarf incarnation, and no doubt they were the origin of this fiction.

TRYAMBAKA ‘Three-eyed,’ or ‘Having three wives or sisters.’ 1. A name of Siva. 2. One of the Rudras. 3. Name of one of the twelve great Lingas. See Linga. 

TRYARUNA A king, son of Trivrishan, of the race of Ikshwaku. He was riding in a chariot which Vrisa, his purohita or family priest, was driving. The vehicle passed over and killed a Brahman boy, and a question arose as to who was responsible for the death. The question was referred to an assembly of the Ikshwakus, and they decided it against Vrita. The purohit by his prayers then restored the boy to life, and being very angry with them for what he deemed partiality, “fire henceforth ceased to perform its functions in their dwellings, and the cooking of their food and other offices ceased.” The Ikshwakus appeased him, and upon his prayers the use of fire was restored to them. This story is told by Sayana in elucidation of a Vedic allusion, and he quotes the Satyayana Brahmana as the authority. 

TUKHARAS A northern tribe from whom Tukharistan obtained its name. They are probably the tribe of Sakas, by whom Bactria was taken from the Greeks. They are also called Tusharas. 

TULADHARA A trading Vaisya mentioned in the Maha-bharata as very virtuous and learned, to whom Jajali, an arrogant Brahman, was sent by a voice from the sky to learn wisdom. 

TULUNGA Tuluva, or the country where the Tulu language is spoken, on the western coast below Goa. 

TUMBURU Name of a Gandharva. See Viradha. 

TUNDA A demon slain by Nahusha, the son of Ayus. He had a son named Vitunda, who was killed by Bhagavati (Durga).

TURANGA-VAKTRA ‘Horse-faced people.’ See Kinnaras.

TURUSHKAS Turks; the people of Turkistan. The Indo-Scythians, who, under Kanishka and other kings of the race, held Northern India.

TURVASA, TURVASU Son of Yayati by Devayani. He refused to bear the curse of premature decrepitude passed upon his father, and so his father cursed him that his posterity should “not possess dominion.” His father gave him a part of his kingdom, but after some generations, his line merged into that of his brother Puru, who bore for a time the curse passed upon his father.

TUSHARA See Tukhara.

TUSHITAS A gana or class of subordinate deities, thirty-six in number, but sometimes reduced to twelve, and identified with the Adityas.