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Aruṇa
Aruna ( sa, अरुण ) is the charioteer of Surya (Sun god) in Hinduism. He is the elder brother of Garuda. Aruna and Garuda are the sons of Vedic sage Kashyapa and his wife Vinata, daughter of Prajapati Daksha. His children were Sampati and Jatayu. He is also found in Buddhism and Jainism literature and arts. Mythology Birth Aruna is found in different, inconsistent Indian legends. In the epic ''Mahabharata'',Mani p. 55 he was born prematurely and partially developed from an egg. According to this version, Kashyapa Prajapati's two wives Vinata and Kadru wanted to have children. Kashyapa granted them a boon. Kadru asked for one thousand 'Dirghadeha' (meaning long bodied) Nāga (serpent) sons, while Vinata wanted only two yet extremely strong 'Divyadeha' (meaning emitting golden aura from body). Kashyapa blessed them, and then went away to a forest. Later, Kadru gave birth to one thousand eggs, while Vinata gave birth to two eggs. These incubated for five hundred years, ...
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Vinata
In Hinduism, Vinata is the mother of Aruna and Garuda. She is one of the daughters of Prajapati Daksha. She is married to Kashyapa, along with several of her sisters. She bears him two sons, the elder being Aruna and the younger being Garuda. Legend Vinata is a daughter of Daksha. Kadru is her elder sister, and when they both lived with Kashyapa as his wives, and attended to all his comforts, he blessed them by granting each of them a boon. Kadru asked for a thousand naga sons who should be valiant. Prompted by her sister's demand for sons, Vinata asked for only two sons, who should be more powerful and brighter than Kadru's children. Kashyapa granted them their wishes. After his wives became pregnant, he advised them to look after the children, and then left for his penance in the forest. Birth of Aruna According to the Mahabharata, Kadru went on to lay a thousand eggs, and Vinata, two eggs. Both of them kept their eggs in hot pots. In their five-hundredth year, the eggs of ...
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Kadru
Kadru () is usually regarded as the daughter of Daksha and the consort of the sage Kashyapa in Hindu scriptures. Kashyapa is the son of Marichi, who is a manasaputra, a mind-born son of Brahma. Kadru is best known as the mother of the nagas, the race of serpents. Legends of Kadru detail her relationship with her elder sister Vinata, who was also one of Kashyapa's many wives. In one story, Kadru and Vinata vie to bear the children of Kashyapa who are more powerful than the other. While Kadru gives birth to a thousand nagas, Vinata bears two sons, Aruṇa and Garuda. Kadru is also portrayed as more scheming and wily than Vinata. She challenges Vinata to guess the colour of the tail of Uchchaihshravas, the divine white horse. After Vinata says the tail is white, Kadru tricks Vinata by directing her sons to coil around the horse's tail, causing it to appear black. As a result, Vinata loses the bet and she and her sons are forced to become the slaves of Kadru and her sons. Anoth ...
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Garuda
Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is also the half-brother of the Devas, Daityas, Danavas and Yakshas. He is the son of the sage Kashyapa and Vinata. He is the younger brother of Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun. Garuda is mentioned in several other texts such as the Puranas and the Vedas. Garuda is described as the king of the birds and a kite-like figure. He is shown either in a zoomorphic form (a giant bird with partially open wings) or an anthropomorphic form (a man with wings and some ornithic features). Garuda is generally portrayed as a protector with the power to swiftly travel anywhere, ever vigilant and an enemy of every serpent. He is also known as Tarkshya and Vainateya. Garuda is a part of state insignia of India, Indonesia and Thailand. The Indonesian official ...
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Surya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman. Other names of Surya in ancient Indian literature include Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Ravi, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, and Vivasvan. The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week. During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening. In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others. Surya as a deity is also found in the arts and literature of Buddhism and Jainism. In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Surya is represented as the ...
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Sampati
Sampati ( sa, सम्पाति; IAST: ') is a demigod in Hinduism. He is the elder son of Aruṇa and Shyeni. He is the elder brother of Jatayu. He has the form of either a vulture or an eagle. According to the Brahma Purana, Sampati is said to have a son named Babhru, who is swift and very well-known. Sampati loses his wings when he is a child. Legend Flight towards the sun During their youth, Samapati and his younger brother, Jatayu, in order to test their powers, flew towards Surya, the solar deity. Jatayu, careless due to his youthfulness, outflew his brother, and entered the Sūryamaṇḍala, the orbit of the sun, during noon. Due to the blazing heat of Surya, his wings started to get scorched. In a desperate bid to rescue his brother, Sampati flew ahead of him, spreading his wings wide open to shield him. As a consequence, it was Sampati who had his wings burnt, descending towards the Vindhya mountains. Incapacitated, he spent the rest of his life under the pro ...
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Jatayu
Jatayu ( sa, जटायुः, IAST: ) is a demigod in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', who has the form of either an eagle or a vulture. He is the younger son of Aruṇa and his wife Shyeni, the brother of Sampati, as well as the nephew of Garuda. He is also an old friend of King Dasharatha, Rama's father. Legend Flight towards the sun During their youth, Jatayu and his elder brother, Sampati, under a wager, flew towards Surya, the solar deity. Jatayu, careless due to his youthfulness, outflew his brother, and entered the Sūryamaṇḍala, the orbit of the sun, during noon. Due to the blazing heat of Surya, his wings started to get scorched. In a desperate bid to rescue his brother, Sampati flew ahead of him, spreading his wings wide open to shield him. As a consequence, it was Sampati who had his wings burnt, descending towards the Vindhya mountains. Incapacitated, he spent the rest of his life under the protection of a sage named Nishakara, who performed a penance in the ...
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Characters In The Ramayana
''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow. Ahalya Ahalya is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of the god Vishnu). Akampana Akampan was a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the mast ...
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Ahalya
In Hinduism, Ahalyā ( sa, अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also known as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (7th avatar of the god Vishnu). Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful woman, Ahalyā was married to the much older Gautama. In the earliest full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahalyā sees through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Later sources often absolve her of all guilt, describing how she falls prey to Indra's trickery. In all narratives, Ahalyā and Indra are cursed by Gautama. The curse varies from text to text, but almost all versions describe Rāma as the eventual agent of her liberation and redemption. Although early texts describe how Ahalyā must atone by undergoing severe penance while remaining invisible to the world and how she is pu ...
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Vali (Ramayana)
Vali ( sa, वाली, nominative singular of the stem वालिन् (''Valin'')), also known as Bali, was a king of Kishkindha in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He was the husband of Tara, the biological son of Vriksharaja, the elder brother of Sugriva, and father of Angada. He was killed by Rama, an ''avatar'' of Vishnu. Vali was invincible during the''Treta Yuga''. Vali defeated some great warriors, only because he was blessed with the ability to obtain half the strength of his opponent. Rama killed Vali by shooting him in the chest. However, during his first attempt, Rama could not recognise between Vali and Sugriva due to their resemblance. Thus, during the next attempt, Sugriva wore a garland of red flowers and went to battle with Vali. This time, Rama could recognise Vali and shot an arrow that killed him. Early life Vali was the husband of Tara. As one myth goes, fourteen types of gem or treasure were produced from the churning of the ocean during the time of Kurma ...
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Sugriva
''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kishkindha. Rumā is his wife. He is a son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun. As the king of the vanaras, Sugriva aided Rama in his quest to liberate his wife Sita from captivity at the hands of the rakshasa king Ravana. Nomenclature He is also known as jv, Sugriwa, th, Su-khrip, lo, Sugeep, km, Sukhreeb, Creole: ''Soogrim'', lo, Sangkip, ta, Cukkirivan, my, Thugyeik, Sugreeva or Sugreev. Legend The story of Sugriva is part of Ramayana and in an abbreviated version, is also present in the Mahabharata. The king of Kishkindha, Vrikshraja, was a divine creature born from Brahma’s tilaka. He had the body of a human and face and tail of a monkey. He was instructed to roam the forests and kill demons. One day, Vriksharaja entered a ...
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Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celticists and students of Irish mythology. Graves produced more than 140 works in his lifetime. His poems, his translations and innovative analysis of the Greek myths, his memoir of his early life—including his role in World War I—''Good-Bye to All That'', and his speculative study of poetic inspiration ''The White Goddess'' have never been out of print. He is also a renowned short story writer, with stories such as "The Tenement" still being popular today. He earned his living from writing, particularly popular historical novels such as ''I, Claudius''; '' King Jesus''; ''The Golden Fleece''; and ''Count Belisarius''. He also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts; his versions of ''The Twelve Caesars'' and ...
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Gautama Maharishi
Gautama Maharishi ( sa, महर्षिः गौतम, ), was a sage in Hinduism, who is also mentioned in Jainism and Buddhism. Gautama is mentioned in the Yajurveda, Ramayana, and Gaṇeśa Pūrana and is known for cursing his wife Ahalyā, after she unknowingly had sex with Indra. Another important story related to Gautama is about the creation of river Godavari, which is also known as Gautami. Children According to Valmiki Ramayana, Gautama's eldest son with Ahalyā is Satananda. But according to Adi Parva of Mahabharata, he had two sons named Saradvan and Cirakari. Saradvan was also known as Gautama, hence his children Kripa and Kripi were called Gautama and Gautami respectively. A daughter of Gautama is referred too but her name is never disclosed in the epic. In Sabha Parva, he begets many children through Aushinara (daughter of Uśīnara), amongst whom eldest in Kakshivat. Gautama and Aushinara's marriage takes place at Magadha, the kingdom of Jarasandha. Acc ...
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