The noun adhikāra (and related forms derived from adhi + kṛ-, “be or place over,” “aim at,” or “superintend”) denotes a range of personal capacities and statuses, especially those conferred by religious or social convention. These may be classified in terms of whether they belong to general usage or to one of the specialized spheres of ritual, politics, or law. (For adhikāra [and compounds beginning with adhikāra], see An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles, vol. III, Poon…