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Hindu Pilgrimage Sites In India
In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas (sacred places) has special significance for earning the punya (spiritual merit) needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing the darśana (viewing of deity), the parikrama (circumambulation), the yajna (sacrificial fire offering), the Dhyana (spiritual contemplation), the puja (worship), the prarthana (prayer, which could be in the form of mantra - sacred chants, bhajan - prayer singing, or kirtan - collective musical prayer performance), the dakshina (alms and donation for worthy cause), the seva (selfless service towards community, devotees or temple), the bhandara (running volunteer community kitchen for pilgrims), etc. These sacred places are usually located on the banks of sacred waters, such as sacred rivers or their tributaries (among the rigvedic rivers of sapta sindhu the trio ganges-yamuna-saraswati are considered most sacred), the kundas (pond or lake, among these the Lake Manasarovar is considere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as ''Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stepwell
Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. Some stepwells are multi-storeyed and can be accessed by a Persian wheel which is pulled by a bull to bring water to the first or second floor. They are most common in western India and are also found in the other more arid regions of the Indian subcontinent, extending into Pakistan. The construction of stepwells is mainly utilitarian, though they may include embellishments of architectural significance, and be temple tanks. Stepwells are examples of the many types of storage and irrigation tanks that were developed in India, mainly to cope with seasonal fluctuations in water availability. A basic difference between stepwells on the one hand, and tanks and wells on the other, is that stepwells make it easier for people to reach the groundwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghats In Varanasi
Ghats in Varanasi are riverfront steps leading to the banks of the Ganges river. The city has 88 ghats. Most of the ghats are bathing and puja ceremonial ghats, while two ghats, Manikarnika and Harishchandra, are used exclusively as cremation sites. Most of the ghats in Varanasi were rebuilt in the 18th century under the maratha patronage. The patrons of current ghats are Marathas, Shindes (Scindias), Holkars, Bhonsles, Peshwes (Peshwas), and Maharajas of Benares. Many ghats are associated with legends or mythologies while other ghats have private histories and users. A morning boat ride on the Ganges along the ghats is a popular visitor attraction. Etymology The word ghat is explained by numerous Dravidian etymons such as Kannada ''gatta'' (mountain range) Tamil ''kattu'' (side of a mountain, dam, ridge, causeway) and Telugu ''katta'' and ''gattu'' (dam, embankment). ''Ghat'', a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could either refer to a ran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghat
Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of water or wharf, such as a bathing or cremation place along the banks of a river or pond, the Ghats in Varanasi, Dhobi Ghat or the Aapravasi Ghat.Sunithi L. Narayan, Revathy Nagaswami, 1992Discover sublime India: handbook for tourists Page 5.Ghat definition Cambridge dictionary. Roads passing through ghats are called Ghat Roads. Etymology The origin of the English 'ghat' is sa, घट्ट , ' and is normally translated as ghaṭ, quay, landing or bathing place, as well as, ste ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The lake along with Mount Kailash to its north are sacred sites in four religions: Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Etymology The Sanskrit word "''Manasarovar''" (मानसरोवर) is a combination of two Sanskrit words; "''Mānas''" (मानस्) meaning "mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers), intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception, sense, conscience''" while "''sarovara''" (सरोवर) means "''a lake or a large pond deep enough for a lotus''". Geography It is located about 50 kilometers to the northwest of Nepal, about 100 kilometers east of Uttarakhand, and in the southwest region of Tibet. The lake lies at above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johad
A johad, also known as a pokhar or a percolation pond, is a community-owned traditional harvested rainwater storage wetland principally used for effectively harnessing water resources in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh of North India, that collects and stores water throughout the year, to be used for the purpose of recharging the groundwater in the nearby water wells, waby humans and cattle.Haruka Yanagisawa, 2015Community, Commons and Natural Resource Management in Asia:/ref>Video: How India's 'Water Man' first revived a river and a village in Rajasthan Scroll.in, 23 Mar 2015.Amanda Suutari and Gerry Marten [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through the modern period of Hindu traditions. She is generally shown to have four arms, holding a book, a rosary, a water pot, and a musical instrument called the veena. Each of these items have a symbolic meaning in Hinduism. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in many regions of India) in her honour, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet on that day. The goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects. Etymology Saraswati, is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Lower Himalaya in Uttarakhand, it travels a total length of and has a drainage system of , 40.2% of the entire Ganges Basin. It merges with the Ganges at Triveni Sangam, Allahabad, which is a site of the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival held every 12 years. Like the Ganges, the Yamuna is highly venerated in Hinduism and worshipped as the goddess Yamuna. In Hinduism she is the daughter of the sun god, Surya, and the sister of Yama, the god of death, and so is also known as Yami. According to popular legends, bathing in its sacred waters frees one from the torments of death. It crosses several states: Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Uttarakhand and later Delhi, and meeting its tributaries on the wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly river. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapta Sindhu
Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the ''Rigveda'', and consequently in early Vedic religion. Vedic texts have a wide geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts. The Vedic land is described as a land of the seven rivers (''sapta sindhavaḥ''; sa, सप्तसिन्धवः) flowing into the ocean. It encompasses the northwestern Indian subcontinent from Gandhara to Kurukshetra. Geography of the Rigveda Identification of Rigvedic hydronyms has engaged multiple historians; it is the single most important way of establishing the geography and chronology of the early Vedic period. Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern Afghanistan to the western Gangetic plain, clustering in the Punjab. The region's name comes from پنج, ''panj'', 'five' and آب, ''āb'', 'water' thus " five waters", a Persianized form of the Indo-Aryan ''Panchanada'' meaning "five rivers". Many have cognates in Avestan. The same names were o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigvedic Rivers
Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the ''Rigveda'', and consequently in early Vedic religion. Vedic texts have a wide geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts. The Vedic land is described as a land of the seven rivers (''sapta sindhavaḥ''; sa, सप्तसिन्धवः) flowing into the ocean. It encompasses the northwestern Indian subcontinent from Gandhara to Kurukshetra. Geography of the Rigveda Identification of Rigvedic hydronyms has engaged multiple historians; it is the single most important way of establishing the geography and chronology of the early Vedic period. Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern Afghanistan to the western Gangetic plain, clustering in the Punjab. The region's name comes from پنج, ''panj'', 'five' and آب, ''āb'', 'water' thus " five waters", a Persianized form of the Indo-Aryan ''Panchanada'' meaning "five rivers". Many have cognates in Avestan. The same names were o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_in_village_Laporiya%2C_Rajasthan.jpg "Click for more on -> Johad")
