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Brihaddharma Purana
The Brihaddharma Purana ( sa, बृहद्धर्म पुराण, ) is a Hindu religious text, which classified itself (I.25.26) as the last of the 18 Upapuranas. The extant text comprises three ''khaņḑa''s (parts): ''pūrvakhaņḑa'', ''madhyakhaņḑa'' and ''uttarakhaņḑa''. On the basis of its usage of Sanskrit words with unusual meaning and Sanskrit proverbs popular in Bengal, a number of modern scholars believe that this text was written in Bengal. According to R. C. Hazra, a modern scholar, this text was composed in the second half of the 13th century. He classified it as a non-sectarian ''Upapurana''. Content The ''pūrvakhaņḑa'' and ''madhyakhaņḑa'' of both the Asiatic Society and the Vangavasi edition have 30 chapters. While the ''uttarakhaņḑa'' of the Asiatic Society edition comprises 14 chapters, the Vangavasi edition comprises 21 chapters and R. C. Hazra considers these additional 7 chapters (15-21) as the essential part of the text. ''Pūr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The term ''"Hindu"'' traces back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name ''Sindhu'' (सिन्धु ), referring to the river Indus. The Greek cognates of the same terms are "''Indus''" (for the river) and "''India''" (for the land of the river). The term "''Hindu''" also implied a geographic, ethnic or cultural identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent around or beyond the Sindhu (Indus) River. By the 16th century CE, the term began to refer to residents of the subcontinent who were not Turkic or Muslims. Hindoo is an archaic spelling variant, whose use today is considered derogatory. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the local In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheistic or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago. Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manvantara
A ''manvantara'', in Hindu cosmology, is a cyclic period of time identifying the duration, reign, or age of a Manu (Hinduism), Manu, the progenitor of mankind. In each ''manvantara'', seven Rishis, certain deities, an Indra, a Manu (Hinduism), Manu, and kings (sons of Manu) are created and perish. Each ''manvantara'' is distinguished by the Manu who rules/reigns over it, of which we are currently in the seventh ''manvantara'' of fourteen, which is ruled by Shraddhadeva Manu, Vaivasvata Manu.Account of the several Manus and Manwantaras Vishnu Purana, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, 1840, Book III: Chapter I. p. 259, The first Manu was Swáyambhuva, then came Swárochisha, then Auttami, then Támasa, then Raivata, then Chakshusha, Chákshusha: these six Manus have passed away. The Manu who presides over the seventh ... [...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] |
Narada
Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata, regaling Yudhishthira with the story of Prahalada and the Ramayana as well as tales in the Puranas. A common theme in Vaishnavism is the accompaniment of a number of lesser deities such as Narada to offer aid to Vishnu upon his descent to earth to combat the forces of evil, or enjoy a close view of epochal events. He is also referred to as ''Rishiraja'', meaning the king of all sages. He was gifted with the boon of knowledge regarding the past, present, and the future. Hinduism In Indian texts, Narada travels to distant worlds and realms (Sanskrit: ''lokas''). He is depicted carrying a khartal (musical instrument) and the veena, and is generally regarded as one of the great ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narayana
Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is considered the Supreme Being in Vaishnavism. Etymology L. B. Keny proposes that Narayana was associated with the Dravidian, and ultimately, the Indus Valley Civilisation, prior to his syncretism with Vishnu. To this end, he states that the etymology of the deity is associated with the Dravidian ''nara'', meaning water, ''ay'', which in Tamil means "to lie in a place", and ''an'', which is the masculine termination in Dravidian languages. He asserts that this is also the reason why Narayana is represented as lying on a serpent in the sea. He quotes, "This Nārāyana of the Āryan pantheon seems to be the supreme being of the Mohenjo-Darians, a god who was probably styled Ān, a name still kept in Tamil literature as Āndivanam, the prototype ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uma (goddess)
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 Ganesha an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoni
''Yoni'' (; sometimes also ), sometimes called ''pindika'', is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu goddess Shakti. It is usually shown with ''linga'' – its masculine counterpart. Together, they symbolize the merging of microcosmos and macrocosmos, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration, and the union of the feminine and the masculine that recreates all of existence. The ''yoni'' is conceptualized as nature's gateway of all births, particularly in the esoteric Kaula and Tantra practices, as well as the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism. ''Yoni'' is a Sanskrit word that has been interpreted to literally mean the "womb", the "source", and the female organs of generation., Quote: "Yoni- 'womb, vulva', Yoni- "way, abode' is from a second PIE root ..; It also connotes the female sexual organs such as "vagina", "vulva", and "uterus", or alternatively to "origin, abode, or source" of anything in other contexts. For example, the Vedanta tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kamarupa
Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 1140 CE, Davaka was absorbed by Kamarupa in the 5th century CE."As regards the eastern limits of the kingdom, Davaka was absorbed within Kamarupa under Kalyanavarman and the outlying regions were brought under subjugation by Mahendravarman." Ruled by three dynasties from their capitals in present-day Guwahati, North Guwahati and Tezpur, Kamarupa at its height covered the entire Brahmaputra Valley, North Bengal, Bhutan and northern part of Bangladesh, and at times portions of what is now West Bengal, Bihar and Sylhet. Though the historical kingdom disappeared by the 12th century to be replaced by smaller political entities, the notion of Kamarupa persisted and ancient and medieval chroniclers continued to call a part of this kingdom Kamrup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dakshayani
Sati (, sa, सती, , ), also known as Dakshayani (Sanskrit: दाक्षायणी, IAST: ''Dākṣāyaṇī'', lit. 'daughter of Daksha'), is the Hindu goddess of marital felicity and longevity, and is worshipped as an aspect of the mother goddess Shakti. She is generally considered the first wife of Shiva, the other being Parvati, who was Sati's reincarnation after her death. The earliest mentions of Sati are found in the time of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but details of her story appear in the Puranas. Legends describe Sati as the favourite child of Daksha, who marries Shiva against her father's wishes. After Daksha humiliates her and her husband, Sati kills herself in the yajna (Fire-Sacrifice) to protest against him, and uphold the honour of her husband. In Hinduism, both Sati and Parvati, successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation with the world. Sati's story plays an important part in shaping the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daksha
In Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, IAST: , lit. "able, dexterous, or honest one") is one of the '' Prajapati'', the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat. In the ''Rigveda'', Daksha is an ''Aditya'' and is associated with priestly skills. In the epics and ''Puranic'' scriptures, he is a ''son'' of the creator god Brahma and the father of many children, who became the progenitors of various creatures. According to one legend, an egoistic Daksha conducted a yajna (fire sacrifice) and didn't invite his youngest daughter Sati and her husband Shiva. He was beheaded by Virabhadra for insulting Sati and Shiva but was later resurrected with the head of a goat. Many ''Puranas'' state that Daksha was reborn to Prachetas in another ''Manvantara'' (age). Etymology and textual history The meaning of the word "Daksha" (दक्ष) is "able", "expert", "skillful" or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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