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Nalakhyan
''Nalakhyan'' (; English: ''The Tale of Nala'') is a medieval Gujarati ''akhyana'' (long narrative poem), written by 17th-century Gujarati poet Premanand Bhatt (1649–1714). One of Premanand's most popular works, it retells the story of the mythical Hindu king Nala and his queen Damayanti. Through the machinations of Kali, an embodiment of the forces of evil, Nala and Damayanti are sent into exile, separated, and each subjected to a series of trials and reversals. Finally, when with Kali departs, they are reunited and restored to their former happiness. Although the plot is largely based on the ''Nalopakhyana'' in the ''Mahabharata'', Premanand adds several episodes of his own invention. The main theme of ''Nalakhyan'' is pathos, and the work reflects the Hindu ideal of married life. Background Premanand Bhatt was a professional reciter of mythical stories. He selected events from the old texts and reconstructed them, adding new incidents. ''Nalakhyan'' recreates and adapts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akhyana
Akhyana was a traditional musical theatre as well as medieval genre of Gujarati poetry and Rajasthani poetry. It was primarily practiced in Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. Etymology and definition ''Akhyana'' literally means ''to tell'' or ''narrate'' in Sanskrit. The 12th century polymath Hemchandra defined Akhyana in his ''Kavyanusashana'' as a side story from religious texts narrated by Granthika (professional storyteller) to instruct audience accompanied by singing and acting. This definition does not include the narration of other non-mythological stories like that of Narsinh Mehta. In general, Akhyana can be defined as the stories narrated by story teller for religious instructions to audience accompanied by singing and acting. Dolarrai Mankad defined it as a form of poetry with musical components and scope of acting. Akhyana Performers The narrator or professional storytellers who recited Akhyanas were called Manabhatt or Gagaria-bhatt. They set poetry to musical tune ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premanand Bhatt
Premanand Krushanram Bhatt (Gujarati: પ્રેમાનંદ કૃષ્ણંરામ ભટ્ટ) (1636–1714), also known as Premanand, was a medieval Gujarati poet and ''Maanbhatt'' (professional story teller) known for his Akhyana compositions. Life He was born in 1636 at Vadodara in the caste of the Nandora Chaturvanshi Brahmins. In colophons of his Akhyanas, he remarked such as, "Place of braves called Vadodara, Situated in the middle of Gujarat, caste Chaturvanshi Bramins, Bhatt Premanand is the name". In those times, Gujarat was ruled by Mughal governor Aurangzeb. At that time it was openly said: "Marwari language is valued at 16 aanas (equiv. to 1 Rupee), Kachhi language is valued at 12 aanas; Marathi language is valued at 8 aanas, while Gujarati language is valued at 4 paise (equiv. to 1 aana)". Born at the time when Gujarati language was devalued in such a manner, Premanand vowed that: "I shall not put on a Turban on my head till the time I earn a resp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rituparna
Rutuparna (IAST): Rutuparṇa ( hi, ऋतुपर्ण) was a king of Ayodhya, and son of Sarvakama, into whose service king Nala entered after he had lost his kingdom. Rutuparna was a master mathematician and profoundly skilled in dice Kali (Demon). Nala, as Bahuk (one with a hump) became a minister and later the charioteer in King Rituparna's court on the advice of the King of Snakes (Nagas) to learn from him the skills of dice. According to the story of Nala-Damayanti of Mahabharata, after the disappearance of King Nala, his queen, Damayanti and her father's (the father-in-law of King Nala, the king of Vidarbha Kingdom) courtiers sent out a search party to find him. One of the courtiers reported a person "resembling in behaviour, but not in features" with Nala in King Rutuparna's court in Ayodhya. To test this fact it was proclaimed that Queen Damayanti (known for her beauty) had assented to remarry, and consequently an invitation to a swayamvara for the same was sent to R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, the Gruidae, of large, long-legged, and long-necked birds in the group Gruiformes. The 15 species of cranes are placed in three genera, ''Antigone'', ''Balearica'', and '' Grus''. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Cranes live on most continents, with the exception of Antarctica and South America. They are opportunistic feeders that change their diets according to the season and their own nutrient requirements. They eat a range of items from small rodents, eggs of birds, fish, amphibians, and insects to grain and berries. Cranes construct platform nests in shallow water, and typically lay two eggs at a time. Both parents help to rear the young, which remain with them until the next breeding season. Some species and populations of cranes migrate over long distances; others do not migrate at all. Cranes are solitary during the breeding season, occurring in pairs, but during the nonbreeding se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raja Ravi Varma - Mahabharata - NalaDamayanti
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested from the Rigveda, where a ' is a ruler, see for example the ', the "Battle of Ten Kings". Raja-ruled Indian states While most of the Indian salute states (those granted a gun salute by the British Crown) were ruled by a Maharaja (or variation; some promoted from an earlier Raja- or equivalent style), even exclusively from 13 guns up, a number had Rajas: ; Hereditary salutes of 11-guns : * the Raja of Pindrawal * the Raja of Morni * the Raja of Rajouri * the Raja of Ali Rajpur * the Raja of Bilaspur * the Raja of Chamba * the Raja of Faridkot * the Raja of Jhabua * the Raja of Mandi * the Raja of Manipur * the Raja of Narsinghgarh * the Raja of Pudukkottai * the Raja of Rajgarh * the Raja of Sangli * the Raja of Sailana * the Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pushkara
In Hindu theology Pushkara was the brother of Nala to whom Nala lost his kingdom and all that he possessed in gambling. Shani got very angry when Damayanti chose Nala in the swayamvar. Shani possessed Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the ''Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prince ... and the latter was defeated by his brother Pushkara. References * Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology Characters in Hindu mythology {{Hindu-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru or acharya). The other three varnas are the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The traditional occupation of Brahmins is that of priesthood at the Hindu temples or at socio-religious ceremonies, and rite of passage rituals such as solemnising a wedding with hymns and prayers.James Lochtefeld (2002), Brahmin, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , page 125 Traditionally, the Brahmins are accorded the highest ritual status of the four social classes. Their livelihood is prescribed to be one of strict austerity and voluntary poverty ("A Brahmin should acquire what just suffices for the time, what he earns he should spend all that the same day"). In practice, Indian texts suggest that some Brahmins historicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. In Sanskrit, his name can be interpreted to mean "twin". He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalasha and formerly by the Nuristani peoples, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. In Hinduism, Yama is the son of sun-god SuryaEffectuation of Shani Adoration pp. 10–15. and , the daughter of |
Agni
Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements ('' pañcabhūtá'') along with space (''ākāśa''), water (''ap''), air (''vāyu'') and earth (''pṛthvī''), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (''Prakṛti''). In Vedic literature, Agni is a major and oft-invoked god along with Indra and Soma. Agni is considered the mouth of the gods and goddesses and the medium that conveys offerings to them in a ''homa'' (votive ritual). He is conceptualized in ancient Hindu texts to exist at three levels, on earth as fire, in the atmosphere as lightning, and in the sky as the sun. This triple presence accords him as the messenger between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varuna
Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such as hymn 7.86 of the ''Rigveda''. He is also mentioned in the Tamil grammar work '' Tolkāppiyam'', as Kadalon the god of sea and rain. He is said to be the son of Kashyapa (one of the seven ancient sages). In the Hindu Puranas, Varuna is the god of oceans, his vehicle is a Makara (crocodile) and his weapon is a Pasha (noose, rope loop). He is the guardian deity of the western direction. In some texts, he is the father of the Vedic sage Vasishtha. Varuna is found in Japanese Buddhist mythology as Suiten. He is also found in Jainism. Etymology In Hindu tradition, the theonym ''Váruṇa'' (Devanagari: वरुण) is described as a derivation from the verbal root ''vṛ'' ("to surround, to cover" or "to restrain, bind") by means ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> Indra's myths and powers are similar to other Indo-European deities such as Jupiter, Perun, Perkūnas, Zalmoxis, Taranis, Zeus, and Thor, part of the greater Proto-Indo-European mythology. Indra is the most referred deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers, and as the one who killed the great evil (a malevolent type of asura) named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rains and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalash people, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in various m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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