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Vadathika Cave Inscription
__NOTOC__ The Vadathika Cave Inscription, also called the Nagarjuni Hill Cave Inscription of Anantavarman, is a 5th- or 6th-century CE Sanskrit inscriptions in Gupta script found in the Nagarjuni hill cave of the Barabar Caves group in Gaya district Bihar. The inscription is notable for including symbol for Om in Gupta era. It marks the dedication of the cave to a statue of Bhutapati (Shiva) and Devi (Parvati). The statue was likely of Ardhanarishvara that was missing when the caves came to the attention of archaeologists in the 18th-century. History The Vadathika Cave, also called ''Vadathi ka Kubha'' is one of three caves found in the Nagarjuni Hill cluster near the Barabar Caves in Bihar. The other two are Vapiyaka Cave and Gopika Cave, also called ''Vapiya ka Kubha'' and ''Gopi ka Kubha'' respectively. These are near the Lomas Rishi Cave, the earliest known cave excavated in 3rd century BCE and gifted by Ashoka to the Ajivikas monks. The Nagarjuni Caves were excavated in 214 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barabar Caves
The Barabar Hill Caves (Hindi बराबर, ''Barābar'') are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, north of Gaya. These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves); caves of the -distant Nagarjuni Hill are sometimes singled out as the Nagarjuni Caves. These rock-cut chambers bear dedicatory inscriptions in the name of "King Piyadasi" for the Barabar group, and "Devanampiya Dasaratha" for the Nagarjuni group, thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya period, and to correspond respectively to Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya. The sculptured surround to the entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped "chaitya arch" or chandrashala that was to be an important feature of Indian rock-cut arch ... [...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] |
Vasu Doorjamb Inscription
__NOTOC__ The Vasu Doorjamb Inscription is an early 1st-century CE Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script dedicated to the deity Vāsudeva, related to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. It is also one of the several dedicatory inscriptions from Mathura bearing the name of the Indo-Scythian Northern Satraps, Northern Satrap ruler Sodasa, which are useful as historic markers for the first half of the 1st century CE. The inscription was found on a red sandstone temple Jamb, doorjamb dumped in an old well in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The doorjamb is about long, wide and thick. It is intricately carved on one side while the other side is flat. On the flat side, British India era archaeologists discovered that there is a 12-line inscription, which has been named the ''Vasu Doorjamb Inscription''. The artifact is now at the Mathura Museum and a much studied item. It mentions a 1st-century Vishnu temple, a ''torana'' (temple gateway) and a ''vedika'' (railing). The Vasu Doorjamb Ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopika Cave Inscription
__NOTOC__ The Gopika Cave Inscription, also called the Nagarjuni Hill Cave Inscription II of Anantavarman or formerly the Gya inscription (referring to the nearby city of Gaya), is a 5th- or 6th-century CE Sanskrit inscription in Late Brahmi found in the Nagarjuni hill cave of the Barabar Caves group in Gaya district Bihar. The inscription is from the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. It is notable for its dedicatory verse to Durga, and including the symbol for Om in Gupta era. The inscription states that king Anantavarman is dedicating a goddess Katyayani (Durga-Mahishasuramardini) statue to the cave. The statue was missing when the caves came to the attention of archaeologists in the late 18th-century. History The Gopika Cave, also called ''Gopi ka Kubha'' is one of three caves found in the Nagarjuni Hill cluster near the Barabar Caves in Bihar. The other two are Vapiyaka Cave and Vadathika Cave, also called ''Vapiya ka Kubha'' and ''Vadathi ka Kubha'' respectively. These are nea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakulisa Mathura Pillar Inscription
The Lakulisa Mathura Pillar Inscription is a 4th-century CE Sanskrit inscription in early Gupta script related to the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism. Discovered near a Mathura well in north India, the damaged inscription is one of the earliest evidences of ''murti'' (statue) consecration in a temple made to celebrate gurus (preceptors, ''gurvayatane''). It is, according to the Indologist Michael Willis, crucial to understanding the "history of Pashupata Shaivism" and a floruit for the antiquity of its practices. The Lakulisha Mathura inscription is one of the earliest epigraphical evidence of a developed Shaiva initiation tradition. Description The inscription was found in 1928 on the central section of a pillar attached to a well in Chandul Mandul Bagichi, Mathura, not far from a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. After its discovery, an antique dealer removed it and put it in his house. The locals complained and the pillar was seized by the police, from where it arrived in the Mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devi
Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept and reverence for goddesses appears in the Vedas, which were composed around the 2nd millennium BCE. However, they do not play a vital role in that era. Goddesses such as Lakshmi, Parvati, Durga, Saraswati, Sita, Radha and Kali have continued to be revered in the modern era. The medieval era Puranas witness a major expansion in mythology and literature associated with Devi, with texts such as the Devi Mahatmya, wherein she manifests as the ultimate truth and supreme power. She has inspired the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. Further, Devi and her primary form Parvati is viewed as central in the Hindu traditions of Shaktism and Shaivism. Etymology ''Devi'' and ''deva'' are Sanskrit terms found in Vedic literature around the 3rd millenni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matras , a glass vessel
{{surname, Matras ...
Matras is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Agnieszka Matras-Clement (born 1982), Polish and Canadian chess player *Christian Matras (poet) (1900–1988), Faroese poet * Christian Matras (cinematographer) (1903–1977), French cinematographer *Fabien Matras (born 1984), French politician *Klæmint Matras (born 1981), Faroese footballer * Maria Wankijf (née Matras, died after 1705), Swedish printer and publisher * Mateusz Matras (born 1991), Polish footballer *Yaron Matras (born 1963), linguist See also * Matra (other) *, a village in Ēdole Parish, Latvia * Teitur Matras Gestsson (born 1992), Faroese footballer *Matrass A matrass (mod. Latin ''matracium'') is a glass vessel with a round or oval body and a long narrow neck, used in chemistry as a digester or distiller. The Florence flask of commerce is frequently used for this purpose. The word is possibly identical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaktism
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all considered aspects of the same supreme goddess. Shaktism has different sub-traditions, ranging from those focused on most worshipped Durga, gracious Parvati to that of fierce Kali. The Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism are an important historical framework of the Shaktism tradition. In addition, it reveres the texts '' Devi Mahatmya'', the ''Devi-Bhagavata Purana'', '' Kalika Purana'' and Shakta Upanishads such as the Devi Upanishad. The ''Devi Mahatmya'' in particular, is considered in Shaktism to be as important as the '' Bhagavad Gita''. Shaktism is known for its various sub-traditions of tantra, as well as a galaxy of goddesses with respective systems. It consists of the Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. The pantheon of goddesses in S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaivism
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions ranging from devotional dualistic theism such as Shaiva Siddhanta to yoga-orientated monistic non-theism such as Kashmiri Shaivism.Ganesh Tagare (2002), The Pratyabhijñā Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 16–19 It considers both the Vedas and the Agama texts as important sources of theology.Mariasusai Dhavamony (1999), Hindu Spirituality, Gregorian University and Biblical Press, , pages 31–34 with footnotesMark Dyczkowski (1989), The Canon of the Śaivāgama, Motilal Banarsidass, , pages 43–44 Shaivism developed as an amalgam of pre-Vedic religions and traditions derived from the southern Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta traditions and philosophies, which were assimilated in the non-Vedic Shiva-tradition. In the process of Sanskritisa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murti
In the Hindu tradition, a ''murti'' ( sa, मूर्ति, mūrti, ) is a devotional image such as a statue, or "idol" (a common and non-pejorative term in Indian English), of a deity or saint. In Hindu temples, it is a symbolic icon. Thus, not all Hindu images of gods and saints are ''murti'', for example, purely decorative sculptures in temples and on the streets. A ''murti'' is itself not a god in Hinduism, but it is a shape, embodiment, or manifestation of a deity. ''Murti'' are also found in some nontheistic Jain traditions, where they serve as symbols of revered mortals inside Jain temples, and are worshiped in ''murtipujaka'' rituals. A ''murti'' is typically made by carving stone, wood working, metal casting or through pottery. Ancient era texts describing their proper proportions, positions and gestures include the Puranas, Agamas, and Samhitas.Klaus Klostermaier (2010), ''A Survey of Hinduism'', State University of New York Press, , pages 264–267 The expressio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and with Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is split by the river Ganges, which flows from west to east. On 15 November 2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Only 20% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas as of 2021. Additionally, almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state. The official languages are Hindi and Urdu, although other languages are common, including Maithili, Magahi, Bhojpuri and other Languages of Bihar. In Ancient and Classical India, the area that is now Bihar was considered the centre of political and cultural power and as a haven of learning. From Magadha arose India's first empire, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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