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Nandaka
Nandaka () or Nandaki, is the sword of the Hindu god Vishnu. Nandaka is generally depicted in images where Vishnu is represented with more than his usual four arms. The sword is compared to knowledge in Hindu scriptures. In Sri Vaishnavism (a major Vaishnava tradition), the saints Annamacharya and Peyalvar are considered to be the avatars of Nandaka. Legend According to the ''Agni Purana'', the creator-god Brahma was performing a sacrifice on Mount Meru. The hundred-armed asura Loha obstructed the same. Vishnu manifested before Brahma from the sacrificial fire. Vishnu seized the sword called Nandaka from the asura and unsheathed it. The sword is described as blue-hued with a gem-studded handle. Wielding his mace, the asura drove several heavenly beings from the mountain. Vishnu slew the asura with the sword; the severed parts of the asura's body fell on earth and turned into iron due to their contact with Nandaka. Vishnu blessed the asura that his fallen body-parts will be emplo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nandaka
Nandaka () or Nandaki, is the sword of the Hindu god Vishnu. Nandaka is generally depicted in images where Vishnu is represented with more than his usual four arms. The sword is compared to knowledge in Hindu scriptures. In Sri Vaishnavism (a major Vaishnava tradition), the saints Annamacharya and Peyalvar are considered to be the avatars of Nandaka. Legend According to the ''Agni Purana'', the creator-god Brahma was performing a sacrifice on Mount Meru. The hundred-armed asura Loha obstructed the same. Vishnu manifested before Brahma from the sacrificial fire. Vishnu seized the sword called Nandaka from the asura and unsheathed it. The sword is described as blue-hued with a gem-studded handle. Wielding his mace, the asura drove several heavenly beings from the mountain. Vishnu slew the asura with the sword; the severed parts of the asura's body fell on earth and turned into iron due to their contact with Nandaka. Vishnu blessed the asura that his fallen body-parts will be emplo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayudhapurusha
Ayudhapurusha is the anthropomorphic depiction of a divine weapon in Hindu art. Ayudhapurushas are sometimes considered as partial incarnates of their divine owners.Anna L. Dallapiccolaayudhapurusha or shastradevata (2002). In ''Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, Thames & Hudson''. The sex of the personified weapon is determined by the gender of the weapon in the Sanskrit language.Rao p. 288 The suffix "purusha" (man) is added to masculine weapons and "devi" (goddess) to female ones. The weapons Shakti, Heti (a Hatchet-like weapon) and Gada (mace), especially Kaumodaki (the mace of Vishnu), Dhanus/Dhanushya ("bow") are women. Chakra, especially Vishnu's Sudarshana Chakra (discus of Vishnu), Shankha ("conch"), Padma (lotus), Ankusha (elephant goad), Pasha (noose), Trisula (trident), vajra (thunderbolt), Khadga (sword), Danda (a sceptre or club), Bana/Shara ("arrow") and Bhindi (sling) are depicted male. While weapons are personified in ancient Hindu epics like the ''Ramayana'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities (Saguna), and have certain form, but is limitless, transcend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pey Azhwar
Pey Alvar (also spelt Peyalvar, Peialvar, Pey Azhwar, or Pei Azhwar) is one of the twelve ''Alvar'' saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of ''Alvars'' are compiled as ''Nalayira Divya Prabandham'' and the 108 temples revered are classified as ''Divya Desams''. Pey Alvar is considered third in the list of the three principal ''Alvars'', with the other two being Poigai Alvar and Bhoothath Alvar, collectively called ''Mutalamalvargal'' who are known to be born out of divinity. Pey Alvar composed hundred verses that are classified as ''Munram Tiruvantati'' and his composition is set in the ''antati'' style in which the ending syllable is the starting one for the next verse. As per Hindu legend, Pey Alvar was found in the lily flower in the pond of the Adi Kesava Perumal Temple in Mylapore. The site can be found in Arundale Street, Mylapore, Chennai. In Tamil, ''pey'' refers to one who is possessed and since the sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Annamacharya
Tallapaka Annamacharya (Telugu : తాళ్ళపాక అన్నమాచార్య) ( IAST: taḷḷapāka annamācārya; 22 May 1408 – 4 April 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a 15th-century Hindu saint and the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called ''sankirtanas'' in praise of the Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu. The musical form of the keertana songs that he composed, which are still popular among Carnatic music concert artists, have strongly influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions. Jackson (1999), p. 216. Annamacharya is remembered for his saintly life, and is honoured as a great devotee of Vishnu by devotees and saintly singers. Jackson (1999), p. 265. He is believed to have been the avatar of Nandaka, the sword of Vishnu. He is widely regarded as the Andhra Pada kavitā Pitāmaha (Grandfather of Telugu song-writing). Personal life Tallapaka Annamacharya was born on Vaishakha Shuddha Pournami in the year Sarwadh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. ''Mahavishnu''. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively. According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a History of Hinduism, fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with Vishnu. A merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva, Vāsudeva-krishna and ''Gopala-Krishna, Gopala-Krishna'', and Narayana, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sattvata Samhita
The Sattvata Samhita or Satvata Samhita is a Pancharatra, Pancaratra text dealing with the Vyuha, Vyuha Manifestation. Together with the Pauskara-Samhita and the Jayakhya-Samhita, it is considered one of the "Three Gems", the most important samhitas. It was supposedly written around 500 CE, making it one of the oldest Pancaratras. Notes {{reflist External links *https://archive.org/stream/pancaratra-agamas/Sattvata%20Samhita%20-%20Alasinga%20Bhatta%5BSkt%5D#page/n0/mode/1up [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Epic
Mahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as ''sargabandha'', is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description. Typical examples of ''mahākāvya'' are the ''Kumarasambhava'' and the '' Kiratarjuniya.'' It is considered the most prestigious form in the Sanskrit literature. The genre evolved from the earlier epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Despite the length of ''mahākāvya''s (15-30 cantos, a total of about 1500-3000 verses), they are still much shorter than the Ramayana (500 cantos, 24000 verses) and the Mahabharata (about 100000 verses). Classical examples The Buddhist poet and philosopher Aśvaghoṣa (c. 80 – c. 150 CE) is one of the earliest Sanskrit poets with surviving Kāvya literature. His ''Buddhacarita'' (''Acts of the Buddha'') calls itself a ''mahākāvya'' and wa ... [...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] |
Harivamsa
The ''Harivamsa'' ( , literally "the genealogy of Hari") is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shlokas, mostly in the '' anustubh'' metre. The text is also known as the ''Harivamsa Purana.'' This text is believed to be a ''khila'' (appendix or supplement) to the MahabharataThe Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book I: Chapter 2 in sacred-texts.com website and is traditionally ascribed to . The most celebrated commentary of the ''Mahabharata'' by , the ''Bharata Bhava Deepa'' also covers the ''Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vamana
Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. Originating in the Vedas, Vamana is most commonly associated in the Hindu epics and Puranas with the legend of taking back the three worlds (collectively referred to as the ''Trailokya'') from the daitya-king Bali by taking three steps to restore the cosmic order. He is the youngest among the adityas, the sons of Aditi and the sage Kashyapa. Nomenclature and etymology 'Vāmana' (Sanskrit वामन) means 'dwarf', 'small' or 'small or short in stature'. It also means 'dwarfish bull', which is notable as Vishnu is directly associated with dwarfish animals (including bulls) in the Vedas (see below). Stated in Puranic literature to be born of the great sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, other names or epithets referring to Vamana include: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
