Editing Exorcism (section)

==Hinduism==
{{Main|Exorcism in Hinduism}}
[[File:Kashtbhanjan.jpg|thumb|The image of Lord [[Hanuman]] at the [[Shri Hanuman Mandir, Sarangpur|Hanuman temple in Sarangpur]] is said to be so powerful that its gaze drives evil spirits out of victims.<ref name="isbn0391024809">{{cite book | author=Rajaram Narayan Saletore | title=Indian witchcraft | publisher=Abhinav Publications | year=1981 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ETz3_bv8t0cC&q=hanuman+sarangpur&pg=PA40 | access-date=14 May 2009 | page=40 | isbn=9780391024809 | archive-date=28 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628001210/https://books.google.com/books?id=ETz3_bv8t0cC&q=hanuman+sarangpur&pg=PA40 | url-status=live }}</ref>]]

In many Hindu traditions, people can be possessed by bhootas, pretas or pisachas'','' restless and often malignant beings roughly analogous to ghosts,<ref>{{Cite web|title=bhut {{!}} Hinduism {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/bhut|access-date=2021-12-12|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> and to a lesser extent, demons.<ref name="Iwanek">{{Cite web|last=Iwanek|first=Krzysztof|title=Gods Against Ghosts: The Exorcisms of India's Mehandipur Balaji|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/gods-against-ghosts-the-exorcisms-of-indias-mehandipur-balaji/|access-date=2021-12-12|website=thediplomat.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

Of four ''[[Vedas]]'', or holy books, of Hinduism, the [[Atharva Veda]] is most focused on knowledge such as exorcism,<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Medicines (3 Volume Set)|pages=5–6|author=Usha Srivastava|year=2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8A-knAJQEwYC|publisher=Pinnacle Technology|isbn=9781618202772}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> magic, and alchemy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Monier-Williams |first=Monier |author-link=Monier Monier-Williams |title=Brahmanism and Hinduism: Or, Religious Thought and Life in India, as Based on the Veda and Other Sacred Books of the Hindus |publisher=Adamant Media Corporation |year=1974 |isbn=978-1-4212-6531-5 |series=Elibron Classics |pages=25–41}}</ref> The basic means of exorcism are the ''[[mantra]]'' (a sacred utterance of certain [[phoneme]]s or phrases that is often connected to a particular deity) and the ''[[yajna]]'' (a sacrifice, offering, or ritual done before a sacred fire). These are performed in accordance with Vedic traditions as well as the [[Tantra]], the later esoteric teachings and practices within Hinduism.

Within the dominant Hindu sect of [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]], which reveres [[Vishnu]] as the supreme being, exorcisms are performed by reciting the names of [[Narasimha]], a fierce avatar of Vishnu that seeks to destroy evil and restore [[Dharma]], or by reading the ''[[Bhagavata Purana]],'' a highly revered text that tells the story of good vanquishing evil. Another resource for exorcisms is the [[Garuda Purana]], a vast corpus of literature mostly centered on Vishnu, deals heavily with topics related to death, disease, good versus evil, and spiritual health.<ref>{{cite book|author=Holly A. Hunt|title=Emotional Exorcism: Expelling the Four Psychological Demons That Make Us Backslide|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=6}}</ref>

The devotional hymn known as [[Hanuman Chalisa]] advises conducting exorcisms by praying to Lord [[Hanuman]], the most devoted follower of [[Rama]], a major Hindu deity. As according to a chaupai (couplet) (भूत पिशाच निकट नहिं आवै।
महावीर जब नाम सुनावै॥) of this hymn, merely uttering [[Hanuman|Hanuman's]] name terrifies evil spirits into leaving the possessed. Some Hindu temples, most notably the [[Mehandipur Balaji Temple]] in Rajasthan, host exorcism rituals that invoke incarnations of Hanuman.<ref name="Iwanek"/>