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Ardhanari
The Ardhanarishvara ( sa, अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara, the half-female Lord, translit-std=IAST), is a form of the Hindu deity Shiva combined with his consort Parvati. Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half-male and half-female, equally split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes. The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE. Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era. The Puranas and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, though very few temples are dedicated to this deity. Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parvati
Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in her complete form. She is also revered in her appearances as Durga and Kali.Suresh Chandra (1998), Encyclopedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, , pp 245–246 She is one of the central deities of the goddess-oriented sect called Shaktism, and the chief goddess in Shaivism. Along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the Tridevi. Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva. She is the reincarnation of Sati, the first wife of Shiva who immolated herself during a yajna (fire-sacrifice).Edward Balfour, , The Encyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, pp 153 Parvati is the daughter of the mountain-king Himavan and queen Mena.H.V. Dehejia, Parvati: Goddess of Love, Mapin, , pp 11 Parvati is the mother of the Hindu deities Gane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess ( Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his three children, Ganesha, Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samkhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (nature or matter, including the human mind and emotions). ''Puruṣa'' is the witness-consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free, beyond perception, above any experience by mind or senses, and impossible to describe in words. Unmanifest ''prakriti'' is matter or nature. It is inactive, unconscious, and is a balance of the three ''guṇas'' (qualities or innate tendencies), namely ''sattva'' , ''rajas'', and '' tamas''. When prakṛti comes into contact with Purusha this balance is disturbed, and Prakriti becomes manifest, evolving twenty-three tattvas, namely intellect (buddhi, mahat), ego (ahamkara) mind ( manas); the five sensory capacities; the five action capacities; and the five "subtle elements" or "modes of sensory content" (''tanma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudra
Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Rudra means "who eradicates problems from their roots". Depending upon the periodic situation, Rudra can mean 'the most severe roarer/howler' (could be a hurricane or tempest) or 'the most frightening one'. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages. The '' Shri Rudram'' hymn from the Yajurveda is dedicated to Rudra and is important in the Shaivism sect.For an overview of the Śatarudriya see: . In Prathama Anuvaka of Namakam ( Taittiriya Samhita 4.5), Sri Rudram the 'mightiest of the mighty' Rudra, is revered as '' Sadasiva (meaning 'mighty Shiva')'' and Mahadeva. Sadashiva is the Supreme Being, Lord Paramashiva in the Mantra marga Siddhanta sect of Shai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shvetashvatara Upanishad
The ''Shvetashvatara Upanishad'' ( sa, श्वेताश्वतरोपनिषद् or or , IAST: ' or ') is an ancient Sanskrit text embedded in the Yajurveda. It is listed as number 14 in the Muktika canon of 108 Upanishads. The Upanishad contains 113 mantras or verses in six chapters.Robert Hume (1921)Shvetashvatara Upanishad The Thirteen Principal Upanishads, Oxford University Press, pages 394–411 with footnotes The Upanishad is one of the 33 Upanishads from Taittiriyas, and associated with the ''Shvetashvatara'' tradition within ''Karakas sakha'' of the Yajurveda. It is a part of the "black" "krishna" Yajurveda, with the term "black" implying "the un-arranged, motley collection" of content in Yajurveda, in contrast to the "white" (well arranged) Yajurveda where Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and Isha Upanishad are embedded. The chronology of Shvetashvatara Upanishad is contested, but generally accepted to be a late period Upanishadic composition.Stephen Phillips (200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agdistis
Agdistis ( grc, Ἄγδιστις) is a deity of Greek, Roman, and Anatolian mythology who possesses both male and female sexual organs. They were closely associated with the Phrygian goddess Cybele. Their androgyny was seen as a symbol of wild and uncontrollable nature. This trait was considered threatening by the gods and ultimately led to their destruction. Mythology There are at least two origin stories for Agdistis. According to Pausanias, Zeus unknowingly fathered Agdistis, a superhuman being who was both man and woman, with Gaia. In other versions, there was a rock called Agdo, which Gaia slept upon. Zeus impregnated Gaia there, and she later gave birth to Agdistis. The gods were afraid of the androgynous Agdistis. Depending on the telling, one god, Dionysus or Liber, put a sleeping draught in Agdistis' drinking well. After Agdistis had fallen asleep, Dionysus tied their foot to their penis with a rope. When Agdistis awoke and stood up, they ripped their penis off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phrygians
The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people, who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. They were related to the Greeks. Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term to describe a vast ethno-cultural complex located mainly in the central areas of Anatolia rather than a name of a single "tribe" or "people", and its ethno-linguistic homogeneity is debatable. Phrygians were initially dwelling in the southern Balkans – according to Herodotus – under the name of Bryges (Briges), changing it to Phryges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont. However, the Balkan origins of the Phrygians are debated by modern scholars. Phrygia developed an advanced Bronze Age culture. The earliest traditions of Greek music are in part connected to Phrygian music, transmitted through the Greek colonies in Anatolia, especially the Phrygian mode, which was conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermaphroditus
In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus or Hermaphroditos (; grc, Ἑρμαφρόδιτος, Hermaphróditos, ) was a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably handsome boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed him into a hermaphrodite, he being considered the origin of the name. Their name is compounded of his parents' names, Hermes and Aphrodite. He was one of the Erotes. Because Hermaphroditus was a child of Hermes, and consequently a great-grandchild of Atlas (Hermes's mother Maia was the daughter of Atlas), sometimes he is called Atlantiades ( el, Ατλαντιάδης). Symbolism Hermaphroditus, the two-sexed child of Aphrodite and Hermes (Venus and Mercury) had long been a symbol of androgyny or effeminacy, and was portrayed in Greco-Roman art as a female figure with male genitals. Theophrastus's account also suggests a l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically related city-states and other territories. Most of these regions were officially unified only once, for 13 years, under Alexander the Great's empire from 336 to 323 BC (though this excludes a number of Greek city-states free from Alexander's jurisdiction in the western Mediterranean, around the Black Sea, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica). In Western history, the era of classical antiquity was immediately followed by the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine period. Roughly three centuries after the Late Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece, Greek urban poleis began to form in the 8th century BC, ushering in the Archaic period and the colonization of the Mediterranean Basin. This was followed by the age of Classica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ātman (Hinduism)
''Ātman'' (; sa, आत्मन्) is a Sanskrit word that refers to the (universal) Self or self-existent essence of individuals, as distinct from ego (''Ahamkara''), mind (''Citta'') and embodied existence ('' Prakṛti''). The term is often translated as soul, but is better translated as "Self," as it solely refers to pure consciousness or witness-consciousness, beyond identification with phenomena. In order to attain moksha (liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge ('' Atma Gyaan or Brahmajnana''). ''Atman'' is a central concept in the various schools of Indian philosophy, which have different views on the relation between ''Atman'', individual Self ('' Jīvātman''), supreme Self (''Paramātmā'') and, the Ultimate Reality ('' Brahman''), stating that they are: completely identical (Advaita, Non-Dualist), completely different (Dvaita, Dualist), or simultaneously non-different and different ( Bhedabheda, Non-Dualist + Dualist). The six orthodox schoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' ( sa, बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद्, ) is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanisad'' is tenth in the Muktikā or "canon of 108 Upanishads". The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' is estimated to have been composed about 7th-6th century BCE, excluding some parts estimated to have been composed after the '' Chandogya Upanishad''. The Sanskrit language text is contained within the ''Shatapatha Brahmana'', which is itself a part of the Shukla Yajur Veda. The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' is a treatise on Ātman (Self), includes passages on metaphysics, ethics and a yearning for knowledge that influenced various Indian religions, ancient and medieval scholars, and attracted secondary works such as those by Adi Shankara and Madhvacharya. Chronology The chronology of ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'', like other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements ('' pañcabhūtá'') along with space (''ākāśa''), water (''ap''), air (''vāyu'') and earth (''pṛthvī''), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (''Prakṛti''). In Vedic literature, Agni is a major and oft-invoked god along with Indra and Soma. Agni is considered the mouth of the gods and goddesses and the medium that conveys offerings to them in a '' homa'' (votive ritual). He is conceptualized in ancient Hindu texts to exist at three levels, on earth as fire, in the atmosphere as lightning, and in the sky as the sun. This triple presence accords him as the messenger between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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