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Sandhyavandana
Sandhyavandanam (Sanskrit: , ', lit. 'salutation to (Goddess) Twilight' or 'salutation during the twilight') is a mandatory religious ritual centring around the recitation of the Gayatri mantra, traditionally supposed to be performed three times a day by ''Dvija'' communities of Hindus,Dvija Encyclopedia Britannica (2014) particularly those initiated through the sacred thread ceremony referred to as the and instructed in its execution by a '''', in this case one qualified to teach Vedic ritual. Sandhyopasana is considered as a path to attain salvation (moks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Achamanam
Āchamanam (Sanskrit: , ') is part of any ritual in the Hindu tradition and is done in the starting. It is a purification ritual that is believed to cure all physical and mental impurities. Types of Āchamanam There are three types of Āchamanam, namely, Śrautācamanam (Sanskrit: ), Smṛtyācamanam (Sanskrit: ) and Purāṇācamanam (Sanskrit: ). However, in Sandhyavandana, there exists fourth version of āchamana, known as mantrācamana. Śrautācamanam In śrautācamanam, water is sipped thrice accompanied by the recitation of the three padas of Gayatri in succession. Then, 21 parts of the body are touched while the 21 mantras are recited the nine Abliṅgas and the seven Vyahritis i.e. names of the seven worlds preceded by pranava ''Om'' (or ''Aum'') (; sa, ॐ, ओम्, Ōṃ, translit-std=IAST) is a sacred sound, syllable, mantra, or an invocation in Hinduism. ''Om'' is the prime symbol of Hinduism.Krishna Sivaraman (2008), ''Hindu Spirituality Vedas Throu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upanayanam
''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' or ''acharya'', and an individual's initiation into a school in Hinduism. Some traditions consider the ceremony as a spiritual rebirth for the child or future ''dvija'', twice born. It signifies the acquisition of the knowledge of God and the start of a new and disciplined life as a brahmachari. According to the given community and region, it is also known by numerous terms such as ''janai'' or ''janea'', ''poita/paita'', ''logun/nagun'', y''agnopavita'', ''bratabandha'', ''bratopanayan.'' The ''Upanayanam'' ceremony is arguably the most important rite for the Brahmin male, ensuring his rights and responsibilities as a Brahmin and signifying his advent into adulthood. The tradition is widely discussed in ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Twilight
Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this illumination occurs. The lower the Sun is beneath the horizon, the dimmer the twilight (other factors such as atmospheric conditions being equal). When the Sun reaches 18° below the horizon, the twilight's brightness is nearly zero, and evening twilight becomes nighttime. When the Sun again reaches 18° below the horizon, nighttime becomes morning twilight. Owing to its distinctive quality, primarily the absence of shadows and the appearance of objects silhouetted against the lit sky, twilight has long been popular with photographers and painters, who often refer to it as the blue hour, after the French expression ''l'heure bleue''. By analogy with evening twilight, the word ''twilight'' is also sometimes used metaphorically, to imply tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Veda Pathashala Students Doing Sandhya Vandanam
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest Hindu texts, scriptures of Hinduism. There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has four subdivisions – the Samhitas (mantras and benedictions), the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices), the Brahmanas (commentaries on rituals, ceremonies and sacrifices), and the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).Gavin Flood (1996), ''An Introduction to Hinduism'', Cambridge University Press, , pp. 35–39A Bhattacharya (2006), ''Hindu Dharma: Introduction to Scriptures and Theology'', , pp. 8–14; George M. Williams (2003) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nyasa (ritual)
Nyasa (English: placing; literally, "deposit" or "setting down") is a concept in Hinduism. It involves touching various parts of the body while chanting specific portions of a mantra. This imposition of mantras upon the body is considered as the assigning or locating of divinity inside one's own body. For example, nyasa is part of the equipment of a sculptor as a sādhaka and yogi. Each mantra is associated with a specific nyasa. There are various types of nyasas, the most important of them being kara nyasa and anga nyasa. The number seven is commonly written before nyasa mantras in ritual handbooks, indicating that the seven bijaksaras (sacred letters) should be recited before the mantra. Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ... followers practise matruka nyasa. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarpana
( sa, तर्पण, bn, তর্পণ, kn, ತರ್ಪಣ, ta, தர்ப்பணம்) is a term in the Vedic practice that refers to an offering made to divine entities. It refers to the act of offering as well as the substance used in the offering. ''Tilatarpana'' (, , , ) is a specific form of ''tarpana'' involving libations offered to the ''pitri'' (deceased ancestors) using water and sesame seeds during '' Pitru Paksha'' or as a death rite. ''Tarpana'' is a form of ''arghya'' (an offering). It is offered to all devas as well as the Navagrahas whenever mulamantra is recited as japa. Instances of welcome ''tarpana'' * For ''devi''s: ** for Lakshmi, “” (Śrī Sūkta 4), "One who is satisfied and who satisfies those who offer Her Tarpana" ** for Tripura Sundari, “” ('' Lalita Sahasranama'' 178, 974), "One who is satisfied by just a single drop of Tarpana" * Cow's milk (raw, unheated, and unpasteurized), water, sugar, saffron, cardamom, borneo-camphor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu, Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Sri-Vidya, the Kaula, and Kashmir Shaivism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pravaras
In Hindu culture, a ''Pravara'' (Sanskrit for "most excellent") is a system of identity, particularly a family line. Pravaras is a particular Brahmin's descent from a ''rishi'' (sage) who belonged to their ''gotra'' (clan). Importance in Hindu Dharma The Pravara has been extensively used in identifying one's ancestry and thus giving salutations to the listener. In vedic ritual, the importance of the pravara appears to be in its use by the ritualist for extolling his ancestry and proclaiming, "as a descendant of worthy ancestors, I am a fit and proper person to do the act I am performing." Generally, there are three, five or seven pravaras. The sacred thread yajnopavita worn on upanayana has close and essential connection with the concept of pravaras related to Brahmin gotra system. While tying the knots of sacred thread, an oath is taken in the name of each one of these three, five or seven of the most excellent rishis belonging to one's gotra. The full affiliation consists o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotra
In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra forms an exogamous unit, with marriage within the same gotra being regarded as incest and prohibited by custom. The name of the gotra can be used as a surname, but it is different from a surname and is strictly maintained because of its importance in marriages among Hindus, especially among castes. Pāṇini defines ''gotra'' as ''apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram'' (IV. 1. 162), which means "the word ''gotra'' denotes the descendance (or descendants), ''apatya'', of a couple consisting of a ''pautra'', a son and a ''bharti'', a mother, i.e. a daughter-in-law." (Based on Monier Williams Dictionary definitions.) When a person says "I am Vipparla-gotra", he means that he traces his descent to the ancient sage Vipparla by an unbroken male descent. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dyaus Pitṛ
Dyaus ( ), or Dyauspitar (Devanagari द्यौष्पितृ, ), is the Rigvedic deities, Ṛigvedic sky deity. His consort is Prithvi, the earth goddess, and together they are the archetypal parents in the Rigveda. Nomenclature stems from Proto-Indo-Iranian language, Proto-Indo-Iranian wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-Iranian/dyā́wš, ''*dyā́wš'', from the Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European (PIE) daylight-sky god , and is cognate with the Greek Zeus, ''Zeus Patēr'', Illyrian ''Deipaturos, Dei-pátrous'', or Latin Jupiter (mythology), ''Jupiter'' (from an earlier *''Djous patēr''), stemming from the PIE ''Dyḗus ph₂tḗr'' ("Daylight-sky Father").' The noun (when used without the 'father') refers to the daylight sky, and occurs frequently in the Rigveda, as an entity. The sky in Vedic writing was described as rising in three tiers, , , and or . Literature Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́ appears in hymns with Prithvi, Prithvi Mata 'Mother Earth' in the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cardinal Direction
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at 90 degree intervals in the clockwise direction. The ordinal directions (also called the intercardinal directions) are northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). The intermediate direction of every set of intercardinal and cardinal direction is called a secondary intercardinal direction. These eight shortest points in the compass rose shown to the right are: # West-northwest (WNW) # North-northwest (NNW) # North-northeast (NNE) # East-northeast (ENE) # East-southeast (ESE) # South-southeast (SSE) # South-southwest (SSW) # West-southwest (WSW) Points between the cardinal directions form the points of the compass. Arbitrary horizontal directions may be indicated by their azimuth angle value. Determination Addi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manu (Hinduism)
Manu ( sa, मनु) is a term found as various meanings in Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the archetypal man, or to the first man (Protoplast (religion), progenitor of humanity). The Sanskrit term for 'human', मानव (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of fourteen rulers of earth, or alternatively as the head of dynasties that begin with each cyclic ''kalpa (aeon), kalpa'' (aeon) when the universe is born anew. The title of the text ''Manusmriti'' uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma. In the earliest mention of Manu, in the Rigveda, Manu is only the ancestor of the "Five Peoples", or "Páñca Jánāḥ" (the five tribes being the Anu (tribe), Anu, Druhyus, Yadus, Turvashas, and Puru (Vedic tribe), Purus). The Aryans considered all other peoples to be a-manuṣa. Later, in the Hindu cosm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
