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Maharajikas
The maharajikas () refers to a class of minor deities in Hinduism, numbering 220 or 236 members. Description The Puranas feature the maharajikas among the nine classes (''gaṇas'') of deities, among the adityas, rudras, vasus, visvedevas The Visvedevas () ( ' "all-gods") are the various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. In the Rigveda a number of hymns are addressed to them, including (according to Griffith) 1.3,1.89, 3.54-56, 4.55, 5.41-51, 6.49-52, 7.34-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, ..., Tushita, tushitas, abhasvaras, anilas, and the sadhyas. They are sometimes referred to as a class of the Deva (Hinduism), devas, or the gaṇadevas. According to the Shiva Purana, the maharajikas serve as the attendants of Shiva, under the command of Ganesha. They are regarded to reside on the Gaṇaparvata mountain, situated on Mount Kailash, Kailasha. References Rigvedic deities Hindu deities [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sadhyas
The sadhyas () refers to a class of minor deities in Hinduism. According to the Puranas, they are the sons of Dharma and Sadhya, a daughter of Daksha. Numbering either twelve or seventeen according to various texts, the sadhyas are described to be the embodiments of the rituals and hymns of the Vedas. They are stated to reside with the devas, or dwell in the region between heaven and earth. Description The Puranas feature the sadhyas among the nine classes (''gaṇas'') of deities, among the adityas, rudras, vasus, visvedevas, tushitas, abhasvaras, anilas, and the maharajikas. They are sometimes referred to as a class of the devas, or the gaṇadevas. The Agni Purana offers a list of the twelve sadhyas: * Manas * Mantā * Prāṇa * Nara * Apāna * Vīrayān * Vibhu * Haya * Naya * Haṁsa * Nārāyaṇa * Prabhu Literature Upanishads The Mundaka Upanishad describes the origin of the sadhyas from Brahman, the Ultimate Reality. Shiva Purana According to the Shiva Pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visvedevas
The Visvedevas () ( ' "all-gods") are the various Vedic gods taken together as a whole. In the Rigveda a number of hymns are addressed to them, including (according to Griffith) 1.3,1.89, 3.54-56, 4.55, 5.41-51, 6.49-52, 7.34-37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 8.27-30, 58, 83 10.31, 35, 36, 56, 57, 61-66, 92, 93, 100, 101, 109, 114, 126, 128, 137, 141, 157, 165, 181. RV 3.54.17 addresses them as headed by Indra, :''This is, ye Wise, your great and glorious title, that all ye Deities abide in Indra.'' (trans. Griffith) The dichotomy between Devas is not evident in these hymns, and Devas are invoked together such as Mitra god and Varuna god. Though many devas are named in the Rig Veda only 33 devas are counted, eleven each of earth, space and heaven. In later Hinduism, they form one of the nine ganadevatas (along with the Adityas, Vasus, Tushitas, Abhasvaras, Anilas, Maharajikas, Sadhyas, and Rudras). According to the Vishnu Purana and Padma Purana, they were the sons of Vishvā, a daughter of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gana
The word (; Sanskrit: गण) in Sanskrit and Pali means "flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, category, series, or class". It can also be used to refer to a "body of attendants" and can refer to "a company, any assemblage or association of men formed for the attainment of the same aims". The word "gana" can also refer to councils or assemblies convened to discuss matters of religion or other topics. In Hinduism, the s are attendants of Shiva and live on Mount Kailash. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title or , "lord or leader of the ". Legends There was once a competition between the Devas and Devis that on who should be the leader of the ganas. The objective was to circle once around the Earth and return to Devi Parvati. They traveled in quick pace on their Vahanas (Vehicle), including Ganesha. However, as he was heavy and was riding on a small mouse, his pace was remarkably slow which gave him a disadvantage in winning the race. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of . It lies in the Gangdise Shan, Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. Mount Kailash is less than 100 km towards the north from the western trijunction of the borders of China, India, and Nepal. Mount Kailash is located close to Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal. The sources of four major Asian rivers lie close to this mountain and the two lakes. These rivers are the Indus River, Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra, and the Karnali River, Karnali (a tributary of the Ganges). Mount Kailash is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon. Etymology The mountain is known as “'” (; var. ' ) in Sanskrit. The nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and includes Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, and Bangladesh and in countries with large ethnic Indian populations including Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago. Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as a patron of letters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess ( Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his three children, Ganesha, Kartikeya and A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva Purana
The ''Shiva Purana'' is one of eighteen major texts of the ''Purana'' genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part of the Shaivism literature corpus. It primarily revolves around the Hindu god Shiva and goddess Parvati, but references and reveres all gods. The ''Shiva Purana'' asserts that it once consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve Samhitas (Books), however the Purana adds that it was abridged by Sage Vyasa before being taught to Romaharshana. The surviving manuscripts exist in many different versions and content, with one major version with seven books (traced to South India), another with six books, while the third version traced to the medieval Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent with no books but two large sections called ''Purva-Khanda'' (Previous Section) and ''Uttara-Khanda'' (Later Section). The two versions that include books, title some of the books same and others differently. The Shiva Purana, like other Puranas in Hindu literature, was likely a liv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deva (Hinduism)
''Deva'' (; Sanskrit: , ) means "shiny", "exalted", "heavenly being", "divine being", "anything of excellence", and is also one of the Sanskrit terms used to indicate a deity in Hinduism.Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 492 ''Deva'' is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is '' Devi''. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called ''Devas''George Williams (2008), A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , pages 90, 112 and ''Asuras''. The concepts and legends evolved in ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, benevolent supernatural beings are referred to as ''Deva-Asuras''. In post-Vedic Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the ''Devas'' represent the good, and the ''Asuras'' the bad. In some medieval works of Indian literature, ''Devas'' are also referred to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tushita
Tuṣita (Sanskrit) or Tusita (Pāli) is one of the six deva-worlds of the Kāmadhātu, located between the Yāma heaven and the heaven. Like the other heavens, is said to be reachable through meditation. It is the heaven where the Bodhisattva Śvetaketu (Pāli: Setaketu, "White Banner") resided before being reborn on Earth as Gautama, the historical Buddha; it is, likewise, the heaven where the Bodhisattva Nātha ("Protector") currently resides, who will later be born as the next Buddha, Maitreya. Most Buddhist literature holds that Queen Maya died seven days after the birth of her son the Buddha, and was then reborn in the Tushita Heaven. Seven years after the Buddha's enlightenment, she came down to visit Tavatimsa Heaven, where the Buddha later preached the Abhidharma to her. Descriptions Like all heaven realms in Buddhism, the Heaven is the residence of divine beings or ''devas''. According to the ''Visakhuposatha Sutta'' of the Pali Canon, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhasvaras
Abhasvaras () is a term used in Buddhism to refer to a heaven and in Hinduism to refer to a class of Devata, deities. Buddhism In Buddhism, Abhasvaras is the name of a heaven. The words roots are Sanskrit (from "a" near to, towards + the verbal root "bhas" to shine upon, illuminate). Hinduism In Hinduism, abhasvaras refers to a class of deities featured in the Puranas. They are 64 in number, and described to be personifications of mental qualities, serving as the sovereigns of all varieties of spiritual and physical enlightenment. The twelve primary abhasvaras are: * Ātmā * Jñātā * Dama * Dānta * Śānti * Jñāna * Sama * Tapas * Kāma * Krodha * Mada * Moha The abhasvaras are referred to as one of the nine gana deities: adityas, visvedevas, vasus, Tushita, tushitas, abhasvaras, anilas, maharajikas, sadhyas, and the rudras. They are stated to be the attendants of deities such as Shiva, Ganesha, and Vayu, dwelling on Gaṇaparvata, located on Mount Kailash, Kailasha. Refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devata
''Devata'' (pl: ''devatas'', meaning 'the gods') (Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (''tevoda''); Thai: เทวดา (''tevada''); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay: ''dewata''; Batak languages: ''debata'' (Toba), ''dibata'' (Karo), ''naibata'' (Simalungun); '' diwata'' (Philippine languages)) are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect. Types There are many kinds of devatas: vanadevatas (forest spirits, perhaps descendants of early nature-spirit cults), gramadevata (village gods), devatas of river crossings, caves, mountains, and so on. For example, in the Konkan region of India, Hindu devatas are often divided into five categories: # Grama devatas or village deities who could be the founder deity such as Jathera or ancestral worship of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vasu
The Vasus () refers to a group of deities in Hinduism associated with fire and light. They are described to be the attendant deities of Indra, and later Vishnu. Generally numbering eight and classified as the Ashtavasu, they are described in the Ramayana as the children of Kashyapa and Aditi, and in the Mahabharata as the sons of Manu or Dharma and a daughter of Daksha named Vasu. They are eight among the thirty-three gods featured in the Vedas. Etymology The Sanskrit term ''Vasu''(s) is translated as the "bright ones". List There are varying lists of the eight Vasus in different texts, sometimes only because particular deities have varying names. The following are names and meanings according to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Manava Purana, and according to the Mahabharata, as normally equated: Though the ''Shatapatha Brahmana'' uses the '' Brhad-Aranyaka'' names, most later texts follow the ''Mahabharata'' names with the exception that Āpa 'water' usually appears in place ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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