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Dhanteras
Dhanteras ( hi, धनतेरस), also known as Dhanatrayodashi ( sa, धनत्रयोदशी), is the first day that marks the festival of Diwali in most of India. It is celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day (Trayodashi) of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwayuja (according to the Hindu_calendar#amanta, amanta tradition) or Kārtika (month), Kartika (according to the Hindu_calendar#purnimanta, purnimanta tradition). Dhanvantari, who is also worshipped on the occasion of Dhanteras, is considered the God of Ayurveda who imparted the wisdom of Ayurveda for the betterment of mankind, and to help rid it of the suffering of disease. The Indian ministry of Ministry of AYUSH, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, announced its decision to observe Dhanteras, as the "National Ayurveda Day", which was first observed on 28 October 2016. Usually, Gujarati families will enjoy a meal of ''daal baath'' and ''malpua'' to ring ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is one of the most important festivals within Hinduism where it generally lasts five days (or six in some regions of India), and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar months of Ashvin (according to the amanta tradition) and Kartika (between mid-October and mid- November).''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998) – p. 540 "Diwali /dɪwɑːli/ (also Diwali) noun a Hindu festival with lights...". It is a post-harvest festival celebrating the bounty following the arrival of the monsoon in the subcontinent. Diwali symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance".Jean Mead, ''How and why Do Hindus Celebrate Divali?'', The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi,Suzanne Barche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhanvantari
Dhanvantari () is the physician of the devas in Hinduism. He is regarded to be an avatar of Vishnu. He is mentioned in the Puranas as the god of Ayurveda. During his incarnation on earth, he reigned as the King of Kashi, today locally referred to as Varanasi. Dhanvantari is also identified as the great-grandfather of Divodasa, a mythological King of Kashi in the Vishnu Purana. Iconography According to the ancient Sanskrit work ''Vishnudharamottara'', Dhanvantari is a handsome individual and is to usually be depicted with four hands, with one or two of them carrying a bowl of amrita, the elixir of immortality. Dhanvantari is depicted in a stark resemblance to Vishnu, with four hands, holding the shankha, chakra, jalauka (leech), and a pot containing amrita. He is often shown with a leech in his hand rather than the scriptures, indicating the historical practice of bloodletting. Some texts describe him as holding a conch, amrita, medicinal herbs, and a book of Ayurveda. L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krishna Paksha
Paksha (also known as ''pakṣa''; sa, पक्ष, Nepal Bhasa: ''thwa'' and ''gа̄''; ) refers to a fortnight or a lunar phase in a month of the Hindu lunar calendar. Literally meaning "side", a paksha is the period either side of the Full Moon Day (''Purnima''). A lunar month in the Hindu calendar has two fortnights, and begins with the New moon, (''Amavasya''). The lunar days are called ''tithis'' and each month has 30 tithis, which may vary from 20 – 27 hours. A paksha has 15 tithis, which are calculated by a 12 degree motion of the Moon. The first fortnight between New Moon Day and Full Moon Day is called "Gaura Paksha" or Shukla Paksha () the period of the brightening moon (waxing moon), and the second fortnight of the month is called "Vadhya Paksha" or Krishna Paksha (), the period of the fading moon (waning moon). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Along with Parvati and Saraswati, she forms the Tridevi of Hindu goddesses. Within the goddess-oriented Shaktism, Lakshmi is venerated as the prosperity aspect of the Mother goddess. Lakshmi is both the consort and the divine energy (''shakti'') of the Hindu god Vishnu, the Supreme Being of Vaishnavism; she is also the Supreme Goddess in the sect and assists Vishnu to create, protect, and transform the universe. She is an especially prominent figure in Sri Vaishnavism, in which devotion to Lakshmi is deemed to be crucial to reach Vishnu. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar, Lakshmi accompanied him as consort, for example, as Sita and Radha or Rukmini as consorts of Vishnu's avatars Rama and Krishna, respectively. The eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashwayuja
Ashvin or Ashwin or Ashwan (; bn, আশ্বিন; hi, आश्विन; or, ଆଶ୍ୱିନ; Malay/Indonesian: ''Aswin''; Thai: ''Asawin''), also known as Aswayuja, is the seventh month of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, the solar Tamil calendar, where it is known as Aipassi, and the solar Indian national calendar. It is the sixth month of the solar Bengali calendar and the seventh of the lunar Indian calendar of the Deccan Plateau. It falls in the season of ''Shôrot'' (Hindi ''Sharad''), or Autumn. In Vedic Jyotish, Ashwin begins with the Sun's enter into Virgo. It overlaps with September and October of the Gregorian calendar and is the month in which Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated according to the amanta tradition (Diwali falls in Kartika according to the purnimanta tradition). In lunar religious calendars, Ashwin begins on the new moon or the full moon around the time of the September equinox. Etymology Ashvini is the first star that appears in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kārtika (month)
Kārtika bn, কার্তিক ''Kartik'', ''Kārtika'', ''Kārttika'', ''Kārtak'', , Maithili: कातिक, , ne, कार्त्तिक, , , ta, கார்த்திகை is the eighth month of the Hindu calendar, which falls in October and November of the Gregorian calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Kartika is the eighth month of the year, beginning on 23 October and ending on 21 November. In most Hindu calendars, Kartika begins with the transit of the Sun into Libra, beginning on 18 October and lasting until 15 November. In the Nepali calendar, which is also the country's official calendar, Kartika is the seventh month of the year, similar to the Maithili and Bengali calendars. In Bengal, Kartika marks the start of the dry season ( ''Hemôntô''). In the solar Tamil calendar, ''Kārttikai'' (கார்த்திகை, ) is the eighth month, corresponding to November/December in the Gregorian calendar. It begins when the sun en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayurveda
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population report using it. Ayurveda therapies have varied and evolved over more than two millennia. Therapies include herbal medicines, special diets, meditation, yoga, massage, laxatives, enemas, and medical oils. Ayurvedic preparations are typically based on complex herbal compounds, minerals, and metal substances (perhaps under the influence of early Indian alchemy or ''rasashastra''). Ancient Ayurveda texts also taught surgical techniques, including rhinoplasty, kidney stone extractions, sutures, and the extraction of foreign objects. The main classical Ayurveda texts begin with accounts of the transmission of medical knowledge from the gods to sages, and then to human physicians. Printed editions of the '' Sushruta Samhita'' (''Sushruta's Compen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Calendar
The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or the sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of the various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka (Based on the King Shalivahana, also the Indian national calendar) found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize the lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the solar cycle is emphasized and this is calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rangoli
Rangoli is an art form that originates from in the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered lime stone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, flower petals, and coloured rocks. It is an everyday practice in many Hindu households, however the colours are preferred during festivals and other important celebrations as it is time consuming. Rangolis are usually made during Diwali or Tihar, Onam, Pongal, and other Hindu festivals in the Indian subcontinent, and are most often made during Diwali. Designs are passed from one generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Rangoli have different names based on the state and culture. Rangoli hold a significant role in the everyday life of a Hindu household especially historically when the flooring of houses were untiled. They are usually made outside the threshold of the main entrance, in the early mornings after cleaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaggery
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugar cane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree. Etymology Jaggery comes from Portuguese terms , , derived from Malayalam (), Kannada (), Hindi () from Sanskrit () or also in Hindi, (gur). It is a doublet of sugar. Origins and production Jaggery is made of the products of sugarcane and the toddy palm tree. The sugar made f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motif (visual Arts)
In art and iconography, a motif () is an element of an image. The term can be used both of figurative and narrative art, and ornament and geometrical art. A motif may be repeated in a pattern or design, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works, or may form the main subject, as the Master of Animals motif in ancient art typically does. The related motif of confronted animals is often seen alone, but may also be repeated, for example in Byzantine silk and other ancient textiles. Where the main subject of an artistic work such as a painting is a specific person, group, or moment in a narrative, that should be referred to as the "subject" of the work, not a motif, though the same thing may be a "motif" when part of another subject, or part of a work of decorative art such as a painting on a vase. Ornamental or decorative art can usually be analysed i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama (Hinduism)
Yama ( sa, यम), also known as Kala, and Dharmaraja is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Yamapuri. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharma'', though the two deities have different origins and myths. In Vedic tradition, Yama was considered to be the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes; thus, as a result, he became the ruler of the departed. His role, characteristics, and abode have been expanded in texts such as the ''Upanishads'', the ''Ramayana'', the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Puranas''. Yama is described as the twin of Yami, and the son of the sun god Surya (in earlier traditions Vivasvat) and Sanjna. He judges the souls of the dead and depending on their deeds, he assigns them to the realm of the Pitris (forefathers), Naraka (hell), or be reborn on the earth. Yama is aided by the god Chitragupta, who keeps a record of every deed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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