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Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान्, ), also called Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and one of the chiranjivis. Hanuman is regarded to be the spiritual son of the wind-god Vayu, who in several stories played a direct role in Hanuman's birth. Hanuman is mentioned in several other texts, such as the epic ''Mahabharata'' and the various Puranas. Evidence of devotional worship to Hanuman is largely absent in these texts, as well as in most archeological sites. The theological significance of Hanuman and devotional dedication to him emerged about 1,000 years after the composition of the ''Ramayana'', in the 2nd millennium CE, after the arrival of Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent.Paula Richman (2010), ''Review: Lutgendorf, Philip's Hanuman's Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey'', The Journal of As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saturday
Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the planet Saturn, which controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's name was introduced into West Germanic languages and is recorded in the Low German languages such as Middle Low German , ''saterdach'', Middle Dutch (Modern Dutch ) and Old English , ''Sæterndæġ'' or . Origins Between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, the Roman Empire gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. The astrological order of the days was explained by Vettius Valens and Dio Cassius (and Chaucer gave the same explanation in his ''Treatise on the Astrolabe''). According to these authors, it was a principle of astrology that the heavenly bodies presided, in succession, over the hours of the day. The association of the weekdays with the respective deities is thus indirect, the days are named for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanuman Chalisa
The ''Hanuman Chalisa'' (; '' Forty chaupais on Hanuman'') is a Hindu devotional hymn (''stotra'') in praise of Hanuman.Rambhadradas 1984pp. 1–8./ref> It was authored by Tulsidas in the Awadhi language, and is his best known text apart from the ''Ramcharitmanas''. Apart from Awadhi, the ''Hanuman Chalisa'' is also available in various languages including Sanskrit, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali. The word "chālīsā" is derived from "chālīs", which means the number forty in Hindi, as the ''Hanuman Chalisa'' has 40 verses (excluding the couplets at the beginning and at the end). Hanuman is a devotee of Rama and one of the central characters of the ''Ramayana''. According to the Shaivite tradition, God Hanuman is also an incarnation of God Shiva. Folk tales acclaim the powers of Hanuman.Peebles 1986, p. 100 The qualities of lord Hanuman – his strength, courage, wisdom, celibacy, devotion to Lord Rama and the many names by which he is known – are detail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaishnava
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. ''Mahavishnu''. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with Vishnu. A merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-krishna and ''Gopala-Krishna'', and Narayana, developed in the 7th to 4th century BCE. It was integrated w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samarth Ramdas
Samarth Ramdas (c. 1608 - c. 1681), also known as Sant Ramdas or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman. Early life Ramdas or previously Narayan was born at Jamb, a village in present-day Jalna district, Maharashtra on the occasion of Rama Navami, probably in 1608. He was born into a Marathi Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin family to Suryajipanta and Ranubai Thosar. His father was a devotee of Surya, the Vedic solar deity. Ramdas had an elder brother named Gangadhar. His father died when Narayan was around seven years of age. Narayan turned into an introvert after the demise of his father and was often noticed to be engrossed in thoughts about the divine. According to legend, Narayan fled his wedding ceremony upon hearing a pundit chant the word 'Saavdhan' (Beware!) during a customary Hindu wedding ritual. Then at the age of twelve, he is believed to have walked to Panchavati, a H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhakti Movement
The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th century CE, it gained prominence through the poems and teachings of the Vaishnava Alvars and Shaiva Nayanars before spreading northwards. It swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE. The Bhakti movement regionally developed around different gods and goddesses, and some sub-sects were Shaivism (Shiva), Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaktism (Shakti goddesses), and Smartism.Wendy Doniger (2009)"Bhakti" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Bhakti movement preached using the local languages so that the message reached the masses. The movement was inspired by many poet-saints, who championed a wide range of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism of Dvaita to absolute moni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka."Indian subcontinent". ''Oxford Dictionary of English, New Oxford Dictionary of English'' () New York: Oxford University Press, 2001; p. 929: "the part of Asia south of the Himalayas which forms a peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean, between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Historically forming the whole territory of Greater India, the region is now divided into three countries named Bangladesh, India and Pakistan." The terms ''Indian subcontinent'' and ''South Asia'' are often used interchangeably to denote the region, although the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: " CE" and "AD " each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression traces back to 1615, when it first appeared in a book by Johannes Kepler as the la, annus aerae nostrae vulgaris (), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since the later 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications because BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They are used by others who wish to be sensit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purana
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] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the '' Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiranjivi
Chiranjivi ( sa, चिरञ्जीवि, ) are the eight immortals who are to remain alive on Earth until the end of the current Kali Yuga, according to Hinduism. The Sanskrit term Chiranjivi means “immortal”, even though it does not correspond with “eternal”. The term is a combination of "chiram" (long) and jivi (lived). Etymology and scriptural context The term is a combination of ''chiram'', or 'permanent', and ''jīvi'', or 'lived'. It is similar to ''amaratva'', which refers to true immortality. At the end of the last Manvantara, a demon attempted to become immortal by swallowing the sacred pages of Vedas, as they escaped from the mouth of Brahma. The scripture was retrieved by the first avatar (Matsya) of Vishnu. Incarnations of Vishnu (Narasimha and Rama) also later fought and killed two asuras, Hiranyakasipu and Ravana, who tried to become immortal through obeisance to Brahma and Shiva, respectively. In one sense immortal can mean "to live eternally until the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Epic
Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description. Typical examples of ''mahākāvya'' are the ''Kumarasambhava'' and the '' Kiratarjuniya.'' It is considered the most prestigious form in the Sanskrit literature. The genre evolved from the earlier epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Despite the length of ''mahākāvya''s (15-30 cantos, a total of about 1500-3000 verses), they are still much shorter than the Ramayana (500 cantos, 24000 verses) and the Mahabharata (about 100000 verses). Classical examples The Buddhist poet and philosopher Aśvaghoṣa (c. 80 – c. 150 CE) is one of the earliest Sanskrit poets with surviving Kāvya literature. His ''Buddhacarita'' (''Acts of the Buddha'') calls itself a ''mahākāvya'' and wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanara
In Hindu, Vanara ( sa, वानर, , forest-dwellers) are either monkeys, apes, or a race of forest-dwelling people. In the epic the ''Ramayana'', the Vanaras help Rama defeat Ravana. They are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-like beings. Etymology There are three main theories about the etymology of the word "Vanara": * Aiyanar suggests that ''vanara'' means "monkey" derived from the word ''vana'' ("forest"), Literally meaning "belonging to the forest" Monier-Williams says it is probably derived from ''vanar'' (lit. "wandering in the forest") and means "forest-animal" or monkey. * Devdutt Pattanaik suggests that it derives from the words ''vana'' ("forest"), and ''nara'' ("man"), thus meaning "forest man" and suggests that they may not be monkeys, which is the general meaning. * It may be derived from the words ''vav'' and ''nara'', meaning "is it a man?" (meaning "monkey") or "perhaps he is man". Identification Although the word Vanara has come to mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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