Ayappan
Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion to Ayyappan has been prevalent earlier in South India, his popularity rose only in the late 20th century. According to Hindu theology, he is the son of Harihara (Vishnu in the form of Mohini, and Shiva).Constance Jones and Ryan James (2014), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase Publishing, , page 58 Ayyappan is also referred to as Ayyappa, Sastavu, Hariharasudhan, Manikandan, Shasta or Dharma Shasta and Sabarinath. The iconography of Ayyappan depicts him as a handsome celibate (Brahmacharya, Brahmachari) deity doing yoga and as an epitome of Dharma, who wears a bell around his neck. In the Hindu tradition popular in the Western Ghats of India, he was born with the powers of Shiva and Vishnu to confront and defeat the shape-shifting evil Buffa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sabarimala
The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 10 to 15 million devotees visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to a Hindu ''Brahmachari'' (Celibate) deity Ayyappan also known as ''Dharma Shasta'', who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions. The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m (4,134 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ayyanar With Poorna Pushkala IMG 20170813 170522 1
Ayyanar (IAST: Aiyaṉār, ta, ஐயனார்) is a Hindu deity venerated in South India and Sri Lanka. His worship is prevalent among the Dravidian peoples, Dravidian peoples. Some studies suggest that Ayyanar may have also been worshipped in Southeast Asian countries in the past. He is primarily worshipped as one of the Village deities of Tamil Nadu, guardian folk deities of Tamil Nadu. The temples of Ayyanar in the countryside are usually flanked by gigantic and colourful statues of him and his companions riding horses or elephants. Etymology The Tamil language, Tamil word ''Ayyanār'' is derived from the root word ''Ayya'', a honorific used in a Tamil language to designate respected one.Indrapala, K., ''The evolution of an ethnic identity: The Tamils in Sri Lanka C. 300 BCE to C. 1200 CE'', p.# Some people propose that ''Aryan'' could be the Sanskrit version of Tamil word ''Aiyyan'' which means the same. There is a well known Aryankavu Sastha Temple, temple dedicated ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Makar Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (''dhanu'') to Capricorn (''makara''). Since the Sun is regarded to have moved from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere on this day in the Hindu calendar, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, and is observed to mark a new beginning. Many native multi-day festivals are organised on this occasion all over India. The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names ''Magh Bihu'' in Assam, ''Maghi'' in Punjab, ''Maghi Saaji'' in Himachal Pradesh, ''Maghi Sangrand'' or ''Uttarain'' (Uttarayana) in Jammu, ''Sakrat'' in Haryana, Sakraat in Rajasthan, ''Sukarat'' in central India, ''Pongal'' in Tamil Nadu, ''Uttarayana'' in Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, ''Ghughuti'' in Uttarakhand, ''Da ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Springer Publishing
Springer Publishing Company is an American publishing company of academic journals and books, focusing on the fields of nursing, gerontology, psychology, social work, counseling, public health, and rehabilitation (neuropsychology). It was established in 1951 by Bernhard Springer, a great-grandson of Julius Springer, and is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. History Springer Publishing Company was founded in 1950 by Bernhard Springer, the Berlin-born great-grandson of Julius Springer, who founded Springer-Verlag (now Springer Science+Business Media). Springer Publishing's first landmark publications included ''Livestock Health Encyclopedia'' by R. Seiden and the 1952 ''Handbook of Cardiology for Nurses''. The company's books soon branched into other fields, including medicine and psychology. Nursing publications grew rapidly in number, as Modell's ''Drugs in Current Use'', a small annual paperback, sold over 150,000 copies over several editions. Solomon Garb's ''Labor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dravidian People
The Dravidian peoples, or Dravidians, are an ethnolinguistic and cultural group living in South Asia who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Dravidian speakers form the majority of the population of South India and are natively found in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Dravidian peoples are also present in Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Myanmar, East Africa, the Caribbean, and the United Arab Emirates through recent migration. Proto-Dravidian may have been spoken in the Indus civilization, suggesting a "tentative date of Proto-Dravidian around the early part of the third millennium", after which it branched into various Dravidian languages. with whom they intensively interacted. Genetically, the ancient Indus Valley people were composed of an Iranian hunter gatherers-related and an Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI) component, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, it promotes ''bhakti'' (devotion) towards Krishna, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages. The ''Bhagavata Purana'', like other puranas, discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent ''Deva (Hinduism), devas'' (deities) and evil ''asuras'' (demons) and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as Krishna, (called "Hari#Usage in Indian religion and mythology, Hari" and "Vāsudeva" in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in Languages of India, other Indian languages,John Cort (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts (Editor: Wendy Doniger), State University of New York Press, , pages 185-204 several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Adi Shakti. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism. The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".[aFour Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encyclopaedia Britannica, Quote: "Although the term Four Noble Truths is well known in English, it is a misleading translation of the Pali term Chattari-ariya-saccani (Sanskrit: Chatvari-arya-satyani), because noble (Pali: ariya; Sanskrit: arya) refers not to the truths themselves but to those who recognize and understand them. A more accurate rendering, therefore, might be “four truths for the [spiritually] noble” [...]";[''Arhat (Buddhism)'' Encyclopædia Britannica The truths are: * '' dukkha'' (literally "suffering"; here "unsatisfactoriness") is an innate characteristic of existence in the realm of '' samsara''; [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lord Ayyappa Old Painting
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are entitled to courtesy titles. The collective "Lords" can refer to a group or body of peers. Etymology According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, the etymology of the word can be traced back to the Old English word ''hlāford'' which originated from ''hlāfweard'' meaning "loaf-ward" or "bread-keeper", reflecting the Germanic tribal custom of a chieftain providing food for his followers. The appellation "lord" is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation "lady" is used. This is no longer universal: the Lord of Mann, a title previously held by the Queen of the United Kingdom, and female Lords Mayor are examples of women who are styled as "Lord". Historical usage Feudalism Under the feudal system, "lord" had a wide ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Makara Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankranti (), also referred to as Uttarayana, Maghi, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 14 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the Sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (''dhanu'') to Capricorn (''makara''). Since the Sun is regarded to have moved from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere on this day in the Hindu calendar, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, and is observed to mark a new beginning. Many native multi-day festivals are organised on this occasion all over India. The festivities associated with Makar Sankranti are known by various names ''Magh Bihu'' in Assam, ''Maghi'' in Punjab, ''Maghi Saaji'' in Himachal Pradesh, ''Maghi Sangrand'' or ''Uttarain'' (Uttarayana) in Jammu, ''Sakrat'' in Haryana, Sakraat in Rajasthan, ''Sukarat'' in central India, ''Pongal'' in Tamil Nadu, ''Uttarayana'' in Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, ''Ghughuti'' in Uttarakhand, ''Da ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |