Maha-Shivagupta Balarjuna
Maha-Shivagupta Balarjuna alias Shivagupta was the greatest and most powerful king of the Panduvamshi dynasty of Dakshina Kosala. Under him, Sirpur witnessed incredible growth in cultural and political activities. Name His own copper-plate inscriptions call him Maha-Shivagupta, and the seals of these inscriptions call him Shivagupta; the other inscriptions issued during his reign generally call him either Shivagupta or Balarjuna, except one inscription that calls him Maha-Shivagupta. Balarjuna was probably his personal name, and Mahashivagupta was probably his coronation name. Personal life Maha-Shivagupta Balarjuna was the son of Harshagupta and his queen Vasata. He succeeded his father after his death in 595 CE. He had a younger brother named Ranakesarin and a son named Shivanandin. Reign His younger brother Ranakesarin supported him in his military conquests. Under his reign, Sirpur, the capital of the Panduvamshis, witnessed its golden age. The town witnessed incredible g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, and Chandragupta Maurya. 'Title inflation' soon led to most being rather mediocre or even petty in real power, which led to compound titles (among other efforts) being used in an attempt to distinguish some among their ranks. The female equivalent, Maharani (or Maharanee, Mahārājñī, Maharajin), denotes either the wife of a Maharaja (or Maharana etc.) or also, in states where it was customary, a woman ruling without a husband. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajmata, "queen mother". Maharajakumar generally denotes a son of a Maharaja, but more specific titulatures are often used at each court, including Yuvaraja for the heir (the crown prince). The form "Maharaj" (without "-a") indicates a separation of noble and religious office ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Li (unit)
''Li'' (, ''lǐ'', or , ''shìlǐ''), also known as the Chinese mile, is a traditional Chinese unit of distance. The li has varied considerably over time but was usually about one third of an English mile and now has a standardized length of a half-kilometer (). This is then divided into 1,500 chi or "Chinese feet". The character 里 combines the characters for "field" ( 田, ''tián'') and "earth" ( 土, ''tǔ''), since it was considered to be about the length of a single village. As late as the 1940s, a "li" did not represent a fixed measure but could be longer or shorter depending on the ''effort'' required to cover the distance. There is also another ''li'' (Traditional: 釐, Simplified: 厘, ''lí'') that indicates a unit of length of a ''chi'', but it is used much less commonly. This ''li'' is used in the People's Republic of China as the equivalent of the ''centi-'' prefix in metric units, thus ''limi'' ( 厘米, límǐ) for centimeter. The tonal difference makes i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nala Dynasty
The Nalas were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Chhattisgarh and Odisha during the 6th century CE. Their core territory included the areas around Bastar and Koraput districts. Their capital was probably Pushkari (IAST: Puṣkarī), identified with the modern Garhdhanora in Bastar district. At one point, they seem to have conquered the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana in the Vidarbha region, but suffered reverses against the Vakatakas as well as the Chalukyas. Sharabhapuriyas, their northern neighbours, also seem to have played a part in their downfall. They were probably supplanted by the Panduvamshi dynasty, although one branch of the dynasty seems to have ruled a small territory until the 7th or 8th century CE. History Inscriptions of three kings mention them as members of the Nala family: Arthapati, Bhavadatta and Skandavarman. Some gold coins suggest the existence of three other Nala rulers – Varaharaja, Nandanaraja, and Stambha. Although these coins do no ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nandi (bull)
Nandi ( sa, नन्दि), also known as Nandikeshwara or Nandideva, is the bull vahana of the Hindu god Shiva. He is also the guardian deity of Kailash, the abode of Shiva. Almost all Shiva temples display stone-images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. According to Saivite siddhantic tradition, he is considered as the chief guru of eight disciples of Nandinatha Sampradaya, namely, Sanaka, Sanatana, Sanandana, Sanatkumara, Tirumular, Vyagrapada, Patanjali, and Sivayoga Muni, who were sent in eight different directions, to spread the wisdom. The Cham Hindus of Vietnam believes that when they die, the Nandi will come and take their soul to the holy land of India from Vietnam. The Sanskrit word nandi ( sa, नन्दि) has the meaning of happy, joy, and satisfaction, the properties of divine guardian of Shiva- Nandi. It is recently documented, that the application of the name Nandi to the bull (Sanskrit: ''Vṛṣabha''), is in fact a development of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumambulation or ''pradakhshina'' has been an important ritual and devotional practice since the earliest times, and stupas always have a ''pradakhshina'' path around them. The original South Asian form is a large solid dome above a tholobate or drum with vertical sides, which usually sits on a square base. There is no access to the inside of the structure. In large stupas there may be walkways for circumambulation on top of the base as well as on the ground below it. Large stupas have or had ''vedikā'' railings outside the path around the base, often highly decorated with sculpture, especially at the torana gateways, of which there are usually four. At the top of the dome is a thin vertical element, with one of more horizontal discs spreadin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism (the other being ''Theravāda'' and Vajrayana).Harvey (2013), p. 189. Mahāyāna accepts the main scriptures and teachings of early Buddhism but also recognizes various doctrines and texts that are not accepted by Theravada Buddhism as original. These include the Mahāyāna Sūtras and their emphasis on the ''bodhisattva'' path and ''Prajñāpāramitā''. ''Vajrayāna'' or Mantra traditions are a subset of Mahāyāna, which make use of numerous tantric methods considered to be faster and more powerful at achieving Buddhahood by Vajrayānists. "Mahāyāna" also refers to the path of the bodhisattva striving to become a fully awakened Buddha (''samyaksaṃbuddha'') for the benefit of all sentient beings, and is thus als ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sangharama
Sangharama (Sanskrit: संघराम ''Saṃgharāma'') refers to a "temple" or "monastery." It is the place, including its garden or grove, where the Sangha, the Buddhist monastic community dwells. A famous sangharāma was that of Kukkutarama in Pataliputra. The Kukkutura sangharāma was later destroyed and its monks killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, according to the second century ''Ashokavadana''. "Then King Pushyamitra equipped a fourfold army, and intending to destroy the Buddhist religion Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ..., he went to the Kukkutarama. (...) Pushyamitra therefore destroyed the sangharāma, killed the monks there, and departed."Ashokavadana, 133, trans. John Strong. Notes Buddhist temples {{Buddhism-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kshatriya
Kshatriya ( hi, क्षत्रिय) (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority") is one of the four varna (social orders) of Hindu society, associated with warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the context of later Vedic society wherein members were organised into four classes: ''brahmin'', kshatriya, ''vaishya'' and ''shudra''. History Early Rigvedic tribal monarchy The administrative machinery in the Vedic India was headed by a tribal king called Rajan whose position may or may not have been hereditary. The king may have been elected in a tribal assembly (called Samiti), which included women. The Rajan protected the tribe and cattle; was assisted by a priest; and did not maintain a standing army, though in the later period the rulership appears to have risen as a social class. The concept of the fourfold varna system is not yet recorded. Later Vedic period The hymn ''Purusha Sukta'' to the ''Rigveda'' describes the symbolic creation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dakshina Kosala
Dakshina Kosala (IAST: Dakṣiṇa Kosala, "southern Kosala") is a historical region of central India. It was located in what is now Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh along with some parts of Western Odisha. At its greatest extent, it may have also included a part of the Vidarbha region in present-day Maharashtra. Its capitals at various times included Bhadravati, Sirpur (ancient Shripura), Tuman (ancient Tummana), and Ratanpur (ancient Ratnapura). Extent Dakshina Kosala ("South Kosala"), sometimes simply called Kosala, is so-called to distinguish it from Uttara Kosala ("North Kosala") in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Epigraphic evidence suggests that the area bounded by the Shahdol, Raipur, Bilaspur, Anuppur Sambalpur districts was definitely a part of the Dakshina Kosala region. The inscriptions found in these districts record grants of villages located in the Kosala country, and the rulers mentioned in these inscriptions are given the titles indicating their lordship ove ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Panduvamshis Of Dakshina Kosala
The Panduvamshis (IAST: Pāṇḍuvaṁśī) or Pandavas (IAST: Pāṇḍava) were an Indian dynasty that ruled the historical Dakshina Kosala region in present-day Chhattisgarh state of India, during the 7th and the 8th centuries. They may have been related to the earlier Panduvamshis of Mekala: both dynasties claimed lunar lineage and descent from the legendary Pandavas. After the fall of the Sharabhapuriyas in the late 6th century, Dakshina Kosala appears to have been controlled by petty chiefs until the Panduvamshis gained control of the region. The Panduvamshis may have captured a part of the neighbouring Utkala and Vidarbha regions at different times, but their control of these regions did not last long. Their capital was probably located at Shripura (modern Sirpur). The later Somavamshi dynasty, which claimed lunar lineage, appears to have been related to them, but this cannot be said with certainty. Origin Legendary descent claims Several records of the famil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from his Brahmi edicts, which are among the earliest long inscriptions of ancient India, and the Buddhist legends written centuries after his death. Ashoka was son of Bindusara, and a grandson of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta. During his father's reign, he served as the governor of Ujjain in central India. According to some Buddhist legends, he also suppressed a revolt in Takshashila as a prince, and after his father's death, killed his brothers to ascend ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |