|
Ilavida
Ilavida or Idavida (also known as Devavarnini) is a character in the Ramayana, as the stepmother of Ravana and the first wife of Vishrava. Vishrava was the son of Pulastya and the grandson of Brahma, the Creator. I ..., the King of Devas, to manage his treasury. Kubera is best known to Hindus, therefore, not as the erstwhile King of Lanka, but as the God of Wealth. Citations and notes {{reflist Characters in the Ramayana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishrava
Vishrava (), also called Vishravas, is the son of Pulastya, and a powerful rishi (sage), as described in the Hindu epic Ramayana. A scholar par excellence, he earned great powers through the performance of tapasya, which in turn, earned him great name and fame amongst his fellow rishis. He is best known for being the father of the primary antagonist of the Ramayana, Ravana. Legend Birth The birth of Vishrava is described in the Ramayana. Once, the great sage Pulastya was engaged in austerities in the ashrama of Trinabindu, on the slopes of Mount Meru. Even as he was engaged in a penance in solitude, he was disturbed by a number of youthful maidens, the daughters of other sages, pannagas, as well as apsaras. They played their musical instruments and danced, seeking to divert his attention. Enraged, Pulastya declared that she among them who fell under his gaze would instantly conceive. Terrified of the Brahmin's curse, the girls vanished. During this moment, Manini, the da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kubera
Kubera ( sa, कुबेर, translit=Kuberā) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as Guardians of the directions, the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protector of the world (''Lokapala''). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species, and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, and carrying a money-pot and a club. Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Veda, Vedic-era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a ''Deva (Hinduism), deva'' (god) only in the Puranas, ''Purana''s and the Hindu epics. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his half-brother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendour" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures. Kubera has also been assim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bharadwaja
Bharadvaja ( sa, भरद्वाज, IAST: ; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great sages or Maharṣis). His contributions to ancient Indian literature, specifically the ''Rigveda'', provide significant insight into ancient Indian society. He and his family of students were the authors of the sixth book of the ''Rigveda''. In the epic ''Mahabharata'', Bharadwaja was the father of the teacher (guru) Droṇācārya, the instructor to Pandava and Kaurava princes. Bharadwaja is also mentioned in ''Charaka Samhita'', an authoritative ancient Indian medical text. Etymology The word Bharadvaja is a compound Sanskrit from ''"bhara(d) and vaja(m)"'', which together mean "bringing about nourishment". the name also lends itself to more than one yoga asana called Bharadvajasana (“nourishing pose”) named after the sage. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He abducted Prince Rama's wife Sita and took her to his kingdom of Lanka, where he held her in the Ashoka Vatika. Later, Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched an invasion against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana was subsequently slain and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana is widely portrayed to be an evil character, though he also has many qualities that make him a learned scholar. He was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas. Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva. Images of Ravana are seen associated with Shiva at some temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text ''Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'', in Buddhist Ramayanas and Jatakas, as well as in Jain Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulastya
Pulastya (Sanskrit: पुलस्त्य) is one of the ten Prajapati, and one of the mind-born sons of Brahma in Hinduism. He is also one of the Saptarishi (Seven great sages) in the first age of Manu, the Manvantara.Inhabitants of the Worlds Mahanirvana Tantra, translated by Arthur Avalon, (), 1913, Introduction and Preface. The Rishi are seers who know, and by their knowledge are the makers of shastra and "see" all mantras. The word comes from the root rish Rishati-prapnoti sarvvang mantrang jnanena pashyati sangsaraparangva, etc. The seven great Rishi or saptarshi of the first manvantara are Marichi, Atri, Angira, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulatsya, and Vashishtha. In other manvantara the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaikesi
''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow. Ahalya Ahalya is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of the god Vishnu). Akampana Akampan was a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the mast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumali
''Ramayana'' is one of the two major Sanskrit ancient epics (''Itihasa''s) of Hindu literature. It was composed by sage Valmiki. This is a list of important characters that appear in the epic. A Agastya Agastya was a son of sage Pulastya and brother of sage Vishrava. He was an uncle of Ravana. Agastya and his wife Lopamudra met Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana during their exile and gave them a divine bow and arrow. Ahalya Ahalya is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra (the king of gods), cursed by her husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar of the god Vishnu). Akampana Akampan was a maternal uncle of Ravana. He was one of ten sons of Sumali and Ketumathi. He also had four sisters. He was one of the survivors of the battle between Khara and Dushana along with Shurpanakha. After escaping the deadly carnage, he instigated Ravana to kidnap Sita, thus indirectly making him one of the mas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garga (sage)
Garga was an ancient Indian sage who composed a Rigveda hymn. He is also known as Garga Bhāradvāja ("Garga, the descendant of Bharadvaja") to distinguish him from other people of same name. Ancestry Katyayana's '' Sarvanukramani'' attributes the Rig Veda hymn 6.47 to Garga. This text describes Garga as a son of Bharadvaja Barhaspatya. Katyayana was himself a descendant of Bharadvaja, but appears to have abridged the genealogy between Bharadvaja and Garga. The epic-Puranic literature suggests that Garga was a distant descendant of Bharadvaja. According to this tradition, Garga was a son of Bhumanyu and a great-grandson of Vidathin Bharadvaja (who was adopted by Bharata Daushyanti). Garga's brothers included Brhatkshatra, Mahavirya, and Nara. Descendants According to the epic-Puranic literature, Garga had a son named Shini (IAST: Śini), who was also a sage. Shini's descendants were called Shainyas. Several later ancient Indian scholars and legendary figures bore the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE. ''Ramayana'' is one of the two important epics of Hinduism, the other being the ''Mahabharata, Mahābhārata''. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Sita, the Princess of Janakpur, and Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the South Asia, Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned kin ... [...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] |
Lanka
Lanka (, ) is the name given in Hindu epics to the island fortress capital of the legendary asura king Ravana in the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The fortress was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is said to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana was killed by Rama with the help of Ravana's brother Vibhishana, the latter was crowned king of Lankapura. His descendants were said to still rule the kingdom during the period of the Pandavas. According to the ''Mahabharata'', the Pandava Sahadeva visited this kingdom during his southern military campaign for the rajasuya of Yudhishthira. Ramayana The island was situated on a plateau between three mountain peaks known as the Trikuta Mountains. The ancient city of Lankapura is thought to have been burnt down by Hanuman. After its king, Ravana was killed by Rama with the help of Ravana's brother Vibhishana, the latt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shraddhadeva Manu
Vaivasvata Manu (), also referred to as Shraddhadeva and Satyavrata, is the current Manu—the progenitor of the human race in Hindu mythology. He is the seventh of the 14 Manus of the current kalpa (aeon) of Hindu cosmology. Forewarned about the divine flood by the Matsya avatara of Vishnu, he saved mankind by building a boat that carried his family and the Saptarishi to safety. He is the son of Vivasvana. Ancestry According to the Puranas, the genealogy of Shraddhadeva is as follows: # Brahma # Marichi, one of the 10 Prajapatis created by Brahma. # Kashyapa, son of Marichi and his thirteen wives, among which Kala is prominent. Kashyapa is regarded as one of the progenitors of humanity. # Vivasvan or Surya, son of Kashyapa and Aditi. # Vaivasvata Manu, because he is the son of Vivasvan and Saranyu (Saṃjñā). He is also known as Satyavrata and Shraddhadeva. Legend Shraddhadeva is stated to be the king of the Dravida Kingdom during the epoch of the ''Matsya Purana''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
