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Shabari
Sabari (, sa, शबरी) is an elderly woman ascetic in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is described as an ardently devoted woman who received Rama's darshana and blessing due to her bhakti to him. Story Shabari was a woman from a village. According to Krishna Dutt, she was a seeker of knowledge and wanted to know the meaning of Dharma. After days of travel, she met Sage Matanga at the foot of Mount Rishyamukha. She accepted him as ''guru'', serving him with devotion for many years. When Matanga was about to die, Shabari, now elderly, stated that after serving him throughout her life, she now sought to reach for herself the same "abode of peace" which Matanga had reached. The sage responded that, if she offered '' seva'' (service), the god Rama would give her ''darshana''. He told her to await Rama's arrival. Then, while sitting in lotus posture, the sage attained ''Mahasamadhi''. Following her guru's advice, Shabari awaited Rama's arrival. Every day, Shabari wou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabarimala
The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 10 to 15 million devotees visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to a Hindu ''Brahmachari'' (Celibate) deity Ayyappan also known as ''Dharma Shasta'', who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions. The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m (4,134 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the northwest, Maharashtra to the southwest, Jharkhand to the northeast, Odisha to the east, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the south. Formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was granted statehood on 1 November 2000 with Raipur as the designated state capital. Chhattisgarh is one of the fastest-developing states in India. Its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is , with a per capita GSDP of . A resource-rich state, it has the third largest coal reserves in the country and provides electricity, coal, and steel to the rest of the nation. It also has the third largest forest cover in the country after Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh with over 40% of the state covered by forests. Etymology There are several theories as to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Backward-caste Hindu Saints
The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term is also used for ethnic minorities, such as Chakmas of Bangladesh, Khas of Nepal, and Vedda of Sri Lanka. The Constitution of India does not use the word ''Adivasi'', instead referring to Scheduled Tribes and Janjati. The government of India does not officially recognise tribes as indigenous people. The country ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 107 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the United Nations (1957) and refused to sign the ILO Convention 169. Most of these groups are included in the Scheduled Tribe category under constitutional provisions in India. They comprise a substantial minority population of India and Bangladesh, making up 8.6% of India's population and 1.1% of Bangladesh's, or 104.2&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shivrinarayan
Shivrinarayan also known as Sheorinarayan is a town and a nagar panchayat located at the ''Triveni Dhara'' of Mahanadi, Shivnath and Jonk River in Janjgir-Champa district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Shivrinarayan has a significant role in the life of Lord Rama. Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and his younger brother Lakshaman had started his Vanvas (exile) in the Bastar district (more precisely Dandakaranya region) of Chhattisgarh. They lived more than 10 years of their 14 years of Vanvas in different places of Chhattisgarh. One of the remarkable place is Shivrinarayan which is nearby Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. Shivrinarayan was named after an old lady Shabari. When Ram visited Shabari she said "I do not have anything to offer other than my heart, but here are some berry fruits. May it please you, my Lord." Saying so, Shabari offered the fruits she had meticulously collected to Rama. When Rama was tasting them, Lakshmana raised the concern that Shabari h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uchchhishta
Uchchhishta ( sa, उच्छिष्ट, Ucchiṣṭa), known by various regional terms, is an Indian and a Hindu concept related to food. Though the term has various meanings and has no exact parallel in English,Roy p. 107 it is generally translated in English as "leftovers"Olivelle pp. 354-5 or "leavings", but with a denigratory aspect. Uchchhishta frequently denotes food scraps after a person has eaten. In a broader sense, it refers to the contamination by food or hand that has come in contact with saliva or the inside of someone's mouth. A person or plate is also said to be Uchchhishta, when he/it comes in contact with Uchchhishta food. Uchchhishta food as well as the Uchchhishta eater/utensil are considered ritually impure. The eater is purified by washing his hand (Hindus traditionally eat with their fingers) and mouth. It is highly disrespectful to offer Uchchhishta to someone in general, however it is acceptable to eat Uchchhishta of socially superior individuals, among ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being. Rama is said to have been born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married Sita. Though born in a royal family, their life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, ethical questions and moral dilemmas. Of all their travails, the most notable is the kidnapping of Sita by demon-king Ravana, followed by the determined and epic efforts of Rama and Lakshmana to gain her freedom and destroy the evil Ravana against great odds. The entire life story of Rama, Sita and their companions allegorically discusses duties, rights and social responsibil ... [...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] |
Janjgir–Champa District
Janjgir–Champa district is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The district headquarters of the district Janjgir–Champa, Janjgir, is the city of Maharaja Jajawalya Dev of the Kalachuri dynasty. Earlier a part of the Bilaspur district, Jangir was carved out in 1998 to a separate district of its own, and ran to a political controversy about the name of the freshly minted district, which it carries to date as the name "Janjgir–Champa". Inhabitants are generally migrants from nearby villages. The present collector of Janjgir-Champa is Shri Jitendra Kumar Shukla. History The Janjgir–Champa district, which is best known as the heart of Chhattisgarh because of its central location in state, was established on 25 May 1998. The Vishnu Mandir of the district reflects its golden past. Janjgir- Champa is also a place where one can find a number of temples having very versatile history. Geography The district is located in the central area of Chhattisgarh. It is borde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and " Hollywood". The industry is a part of the larger Indian cinema, which also includes South Cinema and other smaller film industries. In 2017, Indian cinema produced 1,986 feature films, of which the largest number, 364 have been from Hindi. , Hindi cinema represented 43 percent of Indian net box-office revenue; Tamil and Telugu cinema represented 36 percent, and the remaining regional cinema constituted 21 percent. Hindi cinema has overtaken the U.S. film industry to become the largest centre for film production in the world. In 2001 ticket sales, Indian cinema (including Hindi films) reportedly sold an estimated 3.6 billion tickets worldwide, compared to Hollywood's 2.6 billion tickets sold. Earlier Hindi film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhajana
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' (Sanskrit: भज्), which means ''to revere'', as in 'Bhaja Govindam' (''Revere Govinda'')''. ''The term bhajana also means ''sharing''. The term 'bhajan' is also commonly used to refer a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing. Normally, bhajans are accompanied by percussion instruments such as ''tabla'', dholak or a tambourine. Handheld small cymbals (''kartals'') are also commonly used to maintain the beat. A bhajan may be sung in a temple, in a home, under a tree in the open, near a river bank or a place of historic significance.Anna King, John Brockington, ''The Intimate Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions'', Orient Longman 2005, p 179. Having no prescribed form, or set rules, bh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japa
''Japa'' ( sa, जप) is the meditative repetition of a mantra or a divine name. It is a practice found in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, with parallels found in other religions. ''Japa'' may be performed while sitting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, loud enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be recited silently within the practitioner's mind. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''japa'' is derived from the root ''jap-'', meaning "to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter". It can be further defined as ''ja'' to destroy birth, death, and reincarnation and ''pa'' meaning to destroy ones sins. Monier-Williams states that the term appears in Vedic literature such as in the Aitareya Brahmana (Rigveda) and the Shatapatha Brahmana (Yajurveda). The term means muttering, whispering or murmuring passages from the scripture, or charms, or name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirtana
Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. With roots in the Vedic ''anukirtana'' tradition, a kirtan is a call-and-response style song or chant, set to music, wherein multiple singers recite or describe a legend, or express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual ideas. It may include dancing or direct expression of ''bhavas'' (emotive states) by the singer. Many kirtan performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant,Sara Brown (2012), ''Every Word Is a Song, Every Step Is a Dance'', PhD Thesis, Florida State University (Advisor: Michael Bakan), pages 25-26, 87-88, 277 or reply to the call of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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