INTRODUCTION: MESOCOS 501 ETERNAL HINDUISM? 502 MODERN BHAKTAPUR AND THE TEXTUAL TRADITION 504 RITUAL EXCHANGE 509 Food, the universal medium of exchange 509 Ritual structures 511 Guest worship and pūjā 512 Historical Transformation 514 Festivals 516 MEDIATORS, SPACE, AND TIME 516 Mediators 517 Time 518 Space 518 THE DANCE OF SYMBOLS IN INDRA JĀTRĀ 520 Indra Jātrā and Bisket Jātrā 520 Indradhva 520 Bisket Jātrā and the Veda 521 Kathmandu and Bhaktapur 526 Indra as rain god 526 The elephant in Bhaktapur symbolism 527 The role of Kumārī 528 Indra Jātrā and the Vedic Indradhvaja ritual 531 CONCLUSION 532 Notes 533 Abbreviation 536 References cited 537
