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Harishchandra
Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these stories is the one mentioned in the ''Markandeya Purana''. According to this legend, Harishchandra gave away his kingdom, sold his family, and agreed to be a slave – all to fulfill a promise he had made to the sage Vishvamitra. Legend Aitareya Brahmana According to a legend mentioned in '' Aitareya Brahamana'', Harishchandra had one hundred wives, but no son. On advice of the sage Narada, he prayed to the deity Varuna for a son. Varuna granted the boon, in exchange for an assurance that Harishchandra would make a sacrifice to Varuna in the future. As a result of this boon, a son named Rohita (or Rohitashva) was born to the king. After his birth, Varuna came to Harishchandra and demanded that the child be sacrificed to him. The king postp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sunahshepa
Shunahshepa () is a legendary sage mentioned in Hindu mythology. A number of passages in ''Rigveda'' are attributed to him. He was adopted by the sage Vishvamitra, and given the new name Devarata. His name is also transliterated as Cunahcepa, Cunahçepa, Sunahsephas, Sunahshepa, and Shunashepa. He was first mentioned in Mandala 1, Hymn 24 of the Rigveda as a devotee of the god Varuna. According to a legend, Shunahshepa was chosen to be sacrificed in a ritual, but was saved after praying to the Rigvedic deities. The earliest extant text to mention this legend is ''Aitareya Brahmana'' (7.13-18) of ''Rigveda''. The story is repeated in the ''Balakanda'' (1.61) of Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' with some variations. Several other texts borrow the story: these include ''Sankhyana Srauta Sutra'', ''Baudhayana Shrauta Sutra'', the Puranas, and the works of Chandrakirti among others. Legend Aitareya Brahmana King Harishchandra of the Ikshvaku dynasty had 100 wives, but no son. On adv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishwamitra
Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra. The Puranas mention that only 24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of —and thus wielded the whole power of — the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to have been the first, and Yajnavalkya the last. Before renouncing his kingdom and royal status, Brahmarishi Vishvamitra was a king, and thus he retained the title of Rajarshi, or 'royal sage'. Textual background Historically, Viśvāmitra Gāthina was a Rigvedic rishi who was the chief author of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda. Viśvāmitra was taught by Jamadagni Bhārgava. He was the purohita of the Bharata tribal king Sudās, until he was replaced by Vasiṣṭha. He aided the Bharatas in crossing the Vipāś and Śutudrī rivers (modern Beas and Sutl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishvamitra
Vishvamitra ( sa, विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra. The Puranas mention that only 24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of —and thus wielded the whole power of — the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to have been the first, and Yajnavalkya the last. Before renouncing his kingdom and royal status, Brahmarishi Vishvamitra was a king, and thus he retained the title of Rajarshi, or 'royal sage'. Textual background Historically, Viśvāmitra Gāthina was a Rigvedic rishi who was the chief author of Mandala 3 of the Rigveda. Viśvāmitra was taught by Jamadagni Bhārgava. He was the purohita of the Bharata tribal king Sudās, until he was replaced by Vasiṣṭha. He aided the Bharatas in crossing the Vipāś and Śutudrī rivers (modern Beas and Sutlej ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambarisha
In Hindu mythology, Ambarisha ( sa, अम्बरीषः, ) is an Ikshvaku king, and the son of Mandhata.Pargiter, F.E. (1972) 922 ''Ancient Indian Historical Tradition'', Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, p.92. He is believed to have conquered the whole world in a week. He lived during the Treta Yuga. Legend ''Ramayana'' The Ramayana contains a variation of an ''Aitareya Brahmana'' legend about the king Harishchandra. In the Ramayana version, the king is named Ambarisha, instead of Harishchandra. According to this legend, Ambarisha was once engaged in a Ashvamedha Yagna at his capital Ayodhya. During this ceremony, the horse of Ashvamedha was stolen by Indra. The priest conducting the ceremony told the king that he needed to find the animal, or perform a human sacrifice to avert the misfortune resulting from the situation. After being unable to find the animal, the king bought Shunahshepa, the son of a sage, for the sacrifice. Shunahshepa survived the sacrifice by reciting tw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rohitashva
Rohitashva or Lohithashva is a mythologicalHenk W Wagenaar and S S Parikh. "Rohitashva" in ''Allied Chambers Transliterated Hindi-Hindi-English Dictionary''. Allied Publishers. 1993Page 1018/ref> prince in Hinduism. His father was Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these storie .... References *The Ananda-Vana of Indian mythology Art: Dr. Anand Krishna Felicitation Volume. Indica Books. 2004. Pages 345 and 346Google Books Characters in Hindu mythology {{Hinduism-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suryavamsha
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is also known as ("Solar dynasty" or "Descendants of the Sun") which means that this dynasty prays to the Sun as their God and their originator (the Gayatri Mantra is a prayer offered to the Sun God as the Sun is the main deity of the Solar Dynasty), and along with Lunar dynasty comprises one of the main lineages of the Kshatriya Varna. The first ''Tirthankara'' of Jainism, Rishabhdeva himself was King Ikshvaku. Further, 21 Tirthankaras of Jainism were born in this dynasty. According to Buddhist texts and tradition, Gautama Buddha descended from this dynasty. Many later kings of the Indian subcontinent claimed to be of Suryavamsha descent. The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Mandhatri, Muchukunda, Ambarisha, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solar Dynasty
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is also known as ("Solar dynasty" or "Descendants of the Sun") which means that this dynasty prays to the Sun as their God and their originator (the Gayatri Mantra is a prayer offered to the Sun God as the Sun is the main deity of the Solar Dynasty), and along with Lunar dynasty comprises one of the main lineages of the Kshatriya Varna. The first ''Tirthankara'' of Jainism, Rishabhdeva himself was King Ikshvaku. Further, 21 Tirthankaras of Jainism were born in this dynasty. According to Buddhist texts and tradition, Gautama Buddha descended from this dynasty. Many later kings of the Indian subcontinent claimed to be of Suryavamsha descent. The important personalities belonging to this royal house are Mandhatri, Muchukunda, Ambarisha, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, it promotes ''bhakti'' (devotion) towards Krishna, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages. The ''Bhagavata Purana'', like other puranas, discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent ''Deva (Hinduism), devas'' (deities) and evil ''asuras'' (demons) and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as Krishna, (called "Hari#Usage in Indian religion and mythology, Hari" and "Vāsudeva" in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajasuya
Rajasuya () is a Śrauta ritual of the Vedic religion. It is ceremony that marks a consecration of a king. According to the Puranas, it refers to a great sacrifice performed by a Chakravarti - universal monarch, in which the tributary princes may also take part, at the time of his coronation, as a mark of his undisputed sovereignty. Description The rajasuya is associated with the consecration of a king and is prescribed as a means to establish a king's sovereignty. It is described in the Taittiriya corpus, including Apastamba Srauta Sutra 18.8–25.22. It involves ''soma'' pressing, a chariot drive, the king shooting arrows from his bow, and a brief "cattle raid". The newly anointed king seizes cattle belonging to his relative, and then gives part of his property to that relative. There is a telling of the tale of Shunahshepa, a boy who was nearly sacrificed to Varuna on behalf of the sonless king Harishchandra. Also included is a game of throwing dice with the Adhvaryu priest in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treta Yuga
''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine years). ''Treta'' means 'a collection of three things' in Sanskrit, and is so called because during the ''Treta Yuga'', there were three Avatars of Vishnu that were seen, the fifth, sixth and seventh incarnations as Vamana, Parashurama and Rama, respectively. The bull of Dharma symbolizes that morality stood on three legs during this period. It had all four legs in the ''Satya Yuga'' and two in the succeeding ''Dvapara Yuga''. Currently, in the immoral age of ''Kali'', it stands on one leg. Etymology ''Yuga'' ( sa, युग), in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is ''yug'', with other forms of ''yugam'', , and ''yuge'', derived from ''yuj'' ( sa, युज्, , to join or yoke), believed derived from ' (Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapas (Sanskrit)
Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and self-discipline; and in the different traditions within Hinduism it means a spectrum of practices ranging from asceticism, inner cleansing to self-discipline by meditation practices. The ''Tapas'' practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha (liberation, salvation). In the Vedas literature of Hinduism, fusion words based on ''tapas'' are widely used to expound several spiritual concepts that develop through heat or inner energy, such as meditation, any process to reach special observations and insights, the spiritual ecstasy of a yogin or ''Tāpasa'' (a vṛddhi derivative meaning "a practitioner of austerities, an ascetic"), even warmth of sexual intimacy.Kaelber, W. O. (197 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
