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Description:
The article starts with the annual cycle of religious festivals which are celebrated by pilgrims and devotees of the Vaisnavite cult in Janakpurdham, including Sri Ram navmi, Sri Janki navmi, Jhula, Vijaya Dashmi, Diwali, Hanuman jayanti, Vivaha Panchami, and Janakpur Madhya Parikrama, Guru purnima and several other occasions. The article studies the role of kinship in the formation of groups of Maithili pilgrims who come to Janakpurdham to celebrate a mela. It is through kinship that the devotee creates a relationship to his deity, Lord Ram, and in re-enacting the lila of his deity, it is by means of these relationships that the devotee is transformed by the image of his beloved and thus becomes part of the divine. (Rajeev Ranjan Singh 2007-01-01)
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