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Burmese Mythology
Burmese mythology ( my, ရှေးမြန်မာ့ဒဏ္ဍာရီ) is a collection of myths, folklore, legends, and beliefs traditionally told by the Burmese people of Myanmar. These stories have been passed down orally and have only rarely appeared in written form. Burmese mythology is largely associated with and influenced by Buddhist mythology, Hinduism, and several other ethnic traditions. Most myths and legends concern the ancient Pyu era; the lives and activities of gods, Bodhisattvas, heroes, kings, mystics, and mythological creatures. Burmese mythology is the cornerstone of modern Burmese culture and explains the origins and significance of Burmese rituals. Overview of mythic history Cosmogony The most influential account for Burmese cosmogony is the Book of Adikalpa (Burmese: အာဒိကပ္ပကျမ်း၊ ) which is apocryphal in Buddhism but supported by the canonical statement in Aggañña Sutta. In the beginning, there was apparent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mythical Creatures
A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accounts before modernity. In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and were believed to be real creatures, for example dragons, griffins, and unicorns. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of travellers' tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, which supposedly grew tethered to the earth. Creatures A variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the classical era. For example, in the ''Odyssey'', monstrous creatures in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aggañña Sutta
Aggañña Sutta is the 27th Sutta of the Digha Nikaya collection (Pāli version). The sutta describes a discourse imparted by the Lord Buddha to two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, who left their family and vanna to become monks. The two brahmans are insulted and maligned by their own caste for their intention to become members of the Sangha. The Buddha explains that vanna(class) and lineage cannot be compared to the achievement of morality practice and the Dhamma, as anyone from the four vannas can become a monk and reach the state of Arahant. Then, he explains about the beginning of the Earth and the birth of social order and its structure, including the vannas. The Buddha emphasizes the message of universality in the Dhamma and how the Dhamma is the best of all things. The Beginning The Sutta begins when the Buddha is staying in Savitri, in the temple donated by Visakha, the mother of Migara. At that time, two brahmins, Bharadvaja and Vasettha, are training with the monks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manu (Hinduism)
Manu ( sa, मनु) is a term found as various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the archetypal man, or to the first man (Protoplast (religion), progenitor of humanity). The Sanskrit term for 'human', मानव (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of fourteen rulers of earth, or alternatively as the head of dynasties that begin with each cyclic ''kalpa (aeon), kalpa'' (aeon) when the universe is born anew. The title of the text ''Manusmriti'' uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma. In the earliest mention of Manu, in the Rigveda, Manu is only the ancestor of the "Five Peoples", or "Páñca Jánāḥ" (the five tribes being the Anu (tribe), Anu, Druhyus, Yadus, Turvashas, and Puru (Vedic tribe), Purus). The Aryans considered all other peoples to be a-manuṣa. Later, in the Hindu cosm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. * Quote: "caste ort., casta=basket ranked groups based on heredity within rigid systems of social stratification, especially those that constitute Hindu India. Some scholars, in fact, deny that true caste systems are found outside India. The caste is a closed group whose members are severely restricted in their choice of occupation and degree of social participation. Marriage outside the caste is prohibited. Social status is determined by the caste of one's birth and may only rarely be transcended." * Quote: "caste, any of the ranked, hereditary, endogamous social groups, often linked with occupation, that together constitute traditional societies in South Asia, particularly among Hindus in India. Althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, and language. Humans are highly social and tend to live in complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families and kinship networks to political states. Social interactions between humans have established a wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which bolster human society. Its intelligence and its desire to understand and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena have motivated humanity's development of science, philosophy, mythology, religion, and other fields of study. Although some scientists equate the term ''humans'' with all members of the genus ''Homo'', in common usage, it generally refers to ''Homo sapiens'', the only extant member. Anatomically moder ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tara (given Name)
Tara is a given name with multiple meanings in different cultures. The name is popular in Ireland, the United States and Australia It is also a common name in parts of South Asia. In Ireland, it is derived from The Hill of Tara which is an archaeological site located near the River Boyne in County Meath, and which according to tradition, was the seat of the High King of Ireland. The name was popular in the United States during the 1970s, probably due to Tara being the name of the O'Hara's plantation in the 1939 film ''Gone with the Wind'', and the characters Tara King in the 1960s British television series ''The Avengers'' and Tara Martin on the American soap opera ''All My Children'' in the early 1970s. In Ireland, from 2000–2005 it ranked between the 30th and 40th most popular girl's name. Tara is also linked to the biblical name Terah and is popular in both Christianity and Judaism. In South Asia, such as India and Nepal, Tara is a word originating from Sanskrit, meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nakshatra
Nakshatra ( sa, नक्षत्रम्, translit=Nakṣatram) is the term for lunar mansion in Hindu astrology and Indian Astronomy. A nakshatra is one of 27 (sometimes also 28) sectors along the ecliptic. Their names are related to a prominent star or asterisms in or near the respective sectors. The starting point for the nakshatras according to Vedas is "Krittika" (it has been argued because the Pleiades may have started the year at the time the Vedas were compiled, presumably at the vernal equinox), but, in more recent compilations, the start of the nakshatras list is the point on the ecliptic directly opposite to the star Spica called ''Chitrā'' in Sanskrit, which would be Ashwinī, a part of the modern constellation Aries, and these compilations therefore may have been compiled during the centuries when the sun was passing through the area of the constellation Aries at the time of the vernal equinox. This version may have been called ''Meshādi'' or the " start ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandra
Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) and Dikpala (guardians of the directions). Etymology and other names The word "Chandra" literally means "bright, shining or glittering" and is used for the "Moon" in Sanskrit and other Indian languages.''Graha Sutras'' by Ernst Wilhelm, published by Kala Occult Publishers p. 51 It is also the name of various other figures in Hindu mythology, including an asura and a Suryavanshi king. It is also a common Indian name and surname. Both male and female name variations exists in many South Asian languages that originate from Sanskrit. Some of the synonyms of Chandra include ''Soma'' (distill), ''Indu'' (bright drop), ''Atrisuta'' (son of Atri), ''Shashin'' or ''Shachin'' (marked by hare), ''Taradhipa'' (lord of stars) and ''Nishakara'' (the ni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darkness
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance. This is because the hue sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are inactive when light levels are insufficient, in the range of visual perception referred to as scotopic vision. The emotional response to darkness has generated metaphorical usages of the term in many cultures, often used to describe an unhappy or foreboding feeling. Referring to a time of day, complete darkness occurs when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon, without the effects of twilight on the night sky. Scientific Perception The perception of darkness differs from the mere absence of light due to the effects of after images on perception. In perceiving, the eye is active, and the part of the retina that is unstimulated produces a complementar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmic Ocean
A cosmic ocean or celestial river is a mythological motif found in the mythology of many cultures and civilizations, representing the world or cosmos as enveloped by primordial waters. In ancient creation texts, the primordial waters are often represented as originally having filled the entire universe, being the first source of the gods cosmos with the act of creation corresponding to the establishment of an inhabitable space separate from the enveloping waters. Fraxkard ( pal, plʾhwklt, Avestan: ''Vourukaša''; also called ''Warkaš'' in Middle Persian) is the cosmic ocean in Iranian mythology. In the first creation story in the Bible the world is also created as a space inside of the water, and is hence surrounded of it, "And God saith, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.'" (). See also * Abzu * Ap (water) * Arche * Chaos (cosmogony) * Danava (Hinduism) * Danu (Asura) * Erlik * Firmament * Heh (god) * He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhist cosmology describes the planes and realms in which beings can be reborn. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an "apparently" infinite sheet of "worlds." The temporal cosmology describes the timespan of the creation and dissolvement of universes in aeons. Buddhist cosmology is also intwined with the belief of karma, and explains that the world around us is the product of past actions. As a result, some ages are filled with prosperity and peace due to common goodness, whereas other eras are filled with suffering, dishonesty and short lifespans. Meaning and origin Course of rebirth and liberation The Buddhist cosmology is not a literal description of the shape of the universe; rather, it is the universe as seen through the (Pāli: dibbacakkhu दिब्बचक्खु), the "div ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
