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Ashva
Ashva () is the Sanskrit word for a horse, one of the significant animals finding references in the Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The word is cognate to Avestan (), Latin '' equus'', Ancient Greek (), Proto-Germanic *''ehwaz'', obsolete Prussian Lithuanian (from Proto-Balto-Slavic ''*éśwāˀ''), all from Proto-Indo-European '. Usage in Vedas and Hindu mythology Vedas There are repeated references to the horse the Vedas (c. 1500 - 500 BC). In particular, the Rigveda has many equestrian scenes, often associated with chariots. The Ashvins are divine twins named for their horsemanship. Although the usual assumption has been that the Indo-Aryan migration relied heavily on riders, who may have introduced the domesticated horse to the subcontinent, there are few clear references to actual horse riding in their earliest text, the Rigveda, most clearly in RV 5.61.2-3, describing the Maruts as riders: :''Where are your horses, where the reins? How came ye? how had ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in the roles of reconnaissance, screening, and skirmishing in many armies, or as heavy cavalry for decisive shock attacks in other armies. An individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations depending on era and tactics, such as cavalryman, horseman, trooper, cataphract, knight, hussar, uhlan, mamluk, cuirassier, lancer, dragoon, or horse archer. The designation of ''cavalry'' was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals for mounts, such as camels or elephants. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot, were known in the early 17th to the early 18th century as '' dragoons'', a class of mounted infantry which in most armies later evolved into standard cavalry while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandala 1
The first Mandala ("book") of the Rigveda has 191 hymns. Together with Mandala 10, it forms the latest part of the Rigveda. Its composition likely dates to the late vedic period (1000-500 BCE) or the Early Iron Age (around 1000 BCE). Contents Hymn 1.1 is addressed to Agni, arranged so that the name of this god is the first word of the ''Rigveda''. The remaining hymns are mainly addressed to Agni and Indra. Hymns 1.154 to 1.156 are addressed to Vishnu. Hymn 1.3 is dedicated to the Ashvins. Hymn 1.164.46, part of a hymn to the Vishvadevas, is often quoted as an example of emerging monism or monotheism. It forms the basis for the well-known statement "Truth is one, sages call it by various names": :' :' :"They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni / and he is heavenly nobly-winged Garutman." :"To what is One, sages give many a title / they call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan." (trans. Griffith) : – ''Rigveda 1.164.46'' Interpretation Max Muller described the character of the Vedic hym ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum. The ''Rigveda'' is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the ''Rigveda'' Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see) Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given. The text is layered, consisting of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chariot
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000 BCE. The critical invention that allowed the construction of light, horse-drawn chariots was the spoked wheel. The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more horses that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor with a waist-high guard at the front and sides. It was initially used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but after its military capabilities had been superseded by light and heavy cavalries, chariots continued to be used for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races. Etymology The word "chariot" comes from the Latin term ''carrus'', a loanword from Gaulish. In ancient Rome and some other ancient Mediterranean civilizations, a ''biga'' re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. In Sanskrit, his name can be interpreted to mean "twin". He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalasha and formerly by the Nuristani peoples, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. In Hinduism, Yama is the son of sun-god SuryaEffectuation of Shani Adoration pp. 10–15. and , the daughter of |
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire following the 4th-century-BC conquests of Alexander the Great. The region later served as the political and cultural base of the Eastern Iranian Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD). The Sasanian Empire, the last state of pre-Islamic Iran, also held the region and maintained the seven Parthian clans as part of their feudal aristocracy. Name The name "Parthia" is a continuation from Latin ', from Old Persian ', which was the Parthian language self-designator signifying "of the Parthians" who were an Iranian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iranian Peoples
The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate branch of the Indo-Iranians in Central Asia around the mid-2nd millennium BC. At their peak of expansion in the mid-1st millennium BC, the territory of the Iranian peoples stretched across the entire Eurasian Steppe, from the Great Hungarian Plain in the west to the Ordos Plateau in the east and the Iranian Plateau in the south.: "From the first millennium b.c., we have abundant historical, archaeological and linguistic sources for the location of the territory inhabited by the Iranian peoples. In this period the territory of the northern Iranians, they being equestrian nomads, extended over the whole zone of the steppes and the wooded steppes and even the semi-deserts from the Great Hungarian Plain to the Ordos in northern China." The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly applied to Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East, but also, by analogy, to other parts of the Old World. The duration of the Iron Age varies depending on the region under consideration. It is defined by archaeological convention. The "Iron Age" begins locally when the production of iron or steel has advanced to the point where iron tools and weapons replace their bronze equivalents in common use. In the Ancient Near East, this transition took place in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, in the 12th century BC. The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia (Iron Age in India) between the 12th and 11th century BC. Its further spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe is somewhat dela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasyu
''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and ''Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or "one who has surrendered to God". Dasa may be a suffix of a given name to indicate a "servant" of a revered person or a particular deity. ''Dasa'', in some contexts, is also related to ''dasyu'' and ''asura'', which have been translated by some scholars as "demon", "harmful supernatural forces", "slave", "servant" or "barbarian", depending on the context in which the word is used.Wash Edward Hale (1999), Ásura- in Early Vedic Religion, Motilal Barnarsidass, , pages 159-169 Etymology ''Dāsa'' first appears in Vedic texts from the second millennium BCE. There is no consensus on its origins. Karl Heinrich Tzschucke in 1806, in his translations of the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela, noted etymological and phonological parallels between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RV 7
The seventh Mandala of the Rigveda ("book 7", "RV 7") has 104 hymns. In the Rigveda Anukramani, all hymns in this book are attributed to ''Vashista''. Hymn 32 is additionally credited to Sakti Vashista, and hymns 101-102 (to Parjanya) are additionally credited to Kumara Agneya. It is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2-7), the oldest core of the Rigveda, which were composed in early vedic period(1500-1000 BCE). The hymns are dedicated to Agni, Indra, the Visvadevas, the Maruts, Mitra-Varuna, the Asvins, Ushas (Dawn), Indra-Varuna, Varuna, Vayu (Wind), two each to Sarasvati, Rudra, the Waters, the Adityas, Vishnu, Vastospati, Brhaspati, one each to the Apris, to Vashista, Savitar, Bhaga, the Dadhikras, the Rbhus, Dyaus and Prthivi (Heaven and Earth), Parjanya (Rain) and Indra-Soma. 7.103 is dedicated to the frogs. The rivers mentioned in the 7th Mandala are the Sarasvati, Asikni, Parusni and possibly the Yamuna (in 7.18.19 the name of a helper of Indra, maybe also the na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maruts
In Hinduism, the Maruts (; sa, मरुत), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni. The number of Maruts varies from 27 to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8). They are very violent and aggressive, described as armed with golden weapons i.e. lightning and thunderbolts, as having iron teeth and roaring like lions, as residing in the northwest, as riding in golden chariots drawn by ruddy horses. In the Vedic mythology, the Maruts act as Indra's companions as a troop of young warriors. According to French comparative mythologist Georges Dumézil, they are cognate to the Einherjar and the Wild hunt. In mythology Hymn 66 of Mandala VI of the Rig Veda, the ancient collection of sacred hymns, is an eloquent account of how a natural phenomenon of a rain-storm metamorphoses into storm deities. According to the Rig Veda they wore golden helmets and breastplates, and used their axes to split the clouds so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandala 5
The fifth Mandala of the Rigveda has 87 hymns. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the Atri family. The mandala is one of the "family books" (mandalas 2-7), the oldest core of the Rigveda, which were composed in early vedic period(1500-1000 BCE). The hymns are dedicated mainly to Agni and Indra, the Visvadevas, the Maruts, the twin-deity Mitra-Varuna and the Asvins. Two hymns each are dedicated to Ushas (the dawn) and to Savitar, one each to the Apris, Parjanya (rain), Prthivi (the Earth) and Varuna. 5.40 addresses Surya and Atri besides Indra. List of incipits The dedication as given by Griffith is in square brackets 5.1 (355) gni. 5.2 (356) gni. 5.3 (357) gni. 5.4 (358) gni. 5.5 (359) pris. 5.6 (360) gni. 5.7 (361) gni. 5.8 (362) gni. 5.9 (363) gni. 5.10 (364) gni. 5.11 (365) gni. 5.12 (366) gni. 5.13 (367) gni. 5.14 (368) gni. 5.15 (369) gni. 5.16 (370) gni. 5.17 (371) gni. 5.18 (372) gni. 5.19 (373) gni. 5.20 (374) gni. 5.21 (375) gni. 5.22 (376) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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