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Gandiva
Gandiva (IAST: Gāṇḍīva; ) is a divine bow of Arjuna, one of the Pandavas from the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' The bow was made by Brahma. How Arjuna got the Gandiva Agni, God of fire, wanted to devour the forest of Khandavaprastha, to regain his power and splendor. He had enlisted the help of the two heroes, Krishna and Arjuna. Arjuna was the best warrior and greatest archer of the world & all time and demanded from Agni a bow that would suit his strength, skill and the power of celestial weapons. Agni then requested Varuna to bless the heroes with the desired weapons. Varuna gave the Gandiva bow to Arjuna, as well as two quivers which would provide an inexhaustible number of arrows. The weapon was dreaded by many during the Kurukshetra war, having defeated and killed many great warriors and the gods themselves. Features The Gandiva gives a wielder self confidence, self belief. The bow consisted of 108 celestial string, was endued with great energy and is believed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Pandavas, the five sons of Pandu. The family formed part of the royal line of the Kuru Kingdom. In the Mahabharata War, Arjuna was a key warrior from the Pandava side and slew many warriors including Karna and Bhisma. Before the beginning of the war, his mentor, Krishna, gave him the supreme knowledge of Bhagavad Gita to overcome his moral dilemmas. Arjuna was born when Indra, the god of rain, blessed Kunti and Pandu with a son. From childhood, Arjuna was a brilliant student and was favoured by his beloved teacher, Drona. Arjuna is depicted as a skilled archer, winning the hands of Draupadi, who married the five brothers because of Kunti's misunderstanding and Mahadeva boons. Arjuna is twice exiled, first for breaking a pact with his brothers; ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vijaya (bow)
Vijaya (), also called Vijaya Dhanusha (), is a divine bow in Hindu tradition. The bow was created by Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods, for Indra, the ruler of Svarga. Legend The bow was created by Vishvakarma, the architect of the gods, and granted to Indra. After Indra had defeated many asuras with the help of this bow, he granted it to Lord Parashurama. On 21 different occasions, when the ruling Kshatriyas began oppressing their subjects and committing sin, Parashurama, armed with the Vijaya bow, hunted them to the brink of extinction, nearly ridding the world of the varna. Each time, Parashurama donated the territory won from the Kshatriyas to the Brahmins for the re-establishment of order. Mahabharata The Mahabharata discusses how the ownership of the bow passed on to Rukmi: According to the Mahabharata, Parashurama takes on Karna as his student. Since Karna is a worthy student, Parashurama blesses Karna with the Vijaya, along with other celestial weapons. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gandiveshwar Sthan
Gandiveshwar Sthan (गांडीवेश्वर स्थान) is a mythological place recorded in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. It is a religious tourist centre for Hindu pilgrims. In the Mahabharata, when the Pandavas were exiled from their kingdom to the forest by the Kauravas, Arjuna hid his Gandiva bow and all his weapons under a shami tree, which adherents believe is at this site. Description It is believed that Arjuna got his famous weapon Pashupati Astra here by meditating to Shiva. He placed a Shivalinga here, which is believed to be at the temple called the Gandiveshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir. This place is located at Shivnagar village which is 15 kilometres distance from the sub divisional town Benipatti in Madhubani district of Mithila region in Bihar, India. It is historical, religious and cultural heritage of the district. There are many temples in the campus of the Gandiveshwar Sthan. Gandiveshwar Nath Mahadev Mandir and Gaurishankar Mandir are the two ma ... [...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] |
Pinaka (Hinduism)
The Pinaka ( sa, पिनाक, pínāka) is the celestial bow of the Hindu destroyer deity, Shiva. In popular legend, he is believed to have employed this bow in his avatar as Tripurantaka to annihilate the three cities of Mayasura, known as Tripura. The weapon is the origin of one of Shiva's epithets, ''Pinakapani'', literally meaning, 'the wielder of the Pinaka'. In Literature In the Shiva Purana, Shiva employed the Pinaka in his duel against Ganesha, who had been appointed to stand guard while his mother Parvati bathed. In the Harivamsa Purana, when the Prajapati Daksha performed a yajna for the gods, his ceremony was obstructed by Shiva and a human incarnation of Nandi, who wielded the Pinaka. Hari (Vishnu) stood to confront him, accompanied by the adityas and the vasus. Shiva struck Hari on his breast, who countered by grabbing his assailant's throat. When he strung his own bow Sharanga, the mountain Meru trembled. Infuriated, Nandi raised the Pinaka and struck Hari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharanga
Sharanga (Devanagari: शारंग) also spelt as Saranga, is the celestial bow of the Hindu god Vishnu. In South India, the Sharanga is also simply known as the Kodanda, literally meaning bow. Vishnu's avatar Rama is often praised as ''Kodandapani'', the holder of the Kodanda. The attribute of the bow is also mentioned in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Myths The Sharanga is notable for its employment by a number of the Dashavatara, the avatars of Vishnu: Parashurama, Rama, and Krishna. Rama carries the bow in his epic and is also mentioned to bear it in the Padma Purana. The bow is offered to him by Parashurama, the previous incarnation of Vishnu. In the Ramayana, Parashurama, the Brahmin warrior who is famously the scourge of Kshatriyas, regales the tale of the bow. Vishvakarma creates the bows of Pinaka and Sharanga to settle the question of the superiority of the deities Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is victorious, and Shiva presents his bow to the king of Mithila. Vishnu's bow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar. The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as ''Krishna Leela''. He is a central character in the ''Mahabharata'', the '' Bhagavata Purana'', the ''Brahma Vaivarta Purana,'' and the '' Bhagavad Gita'', and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological, and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being. Quote: "Krsna's various appearances as a di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaikuntha
Vaikuntha ( sa, वैकुण्ठ, lit=without anxiety, translit=Vaikuṇṭha), also called Vishnuloka (), and Tirunatu (Tirunāṭu) in Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism,Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996). and his consort, Lakshmi, the supreme goddess. According to Ramanuja, Vaikuntha is the ''Parama Padam'' or ''Nitya Vibhuti,'' an "eternal heavenly realm", and is the "divine imperishable world that is God's abode". In Vaishnava literature, Vaikuntha is described as the highest realm above the fourteen ''lokas'' (worlds), where the devotees of Vishnu go upon achieving liberation. It is guarded by the twin deities, Jaya and Vijaya, the gatekeepers of Vaikuntha. The army of Vishnu, stationed at Vaikuntha, is led by Vishvaksena. The planets of Vaikuntha are described to be full of golden palaces and hanging gardens that grow fragrant fruits and flowers. The planets of Vaikuntha begin 26,200,000 yojanas (209 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 peaks exceeding in elevation lie in the Himalayas. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia (Aconcagua, in the Andes) is tall. The Himalayas abut or cross five countries: Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, and Pakistan. The sovereignty of the range in the Kashmir region is disputed among India, Pakistan, and China. The Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the world's major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo–Brahmaputra, rise in the vicinity of the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basin is home to some 600 million people; 53 million people live in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheistic or m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dvapara Yuga
''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine years). According to the Puranas, this ''yuga'' ended when Krishna returned to his eternal abode of Vaikuntha. There are only two pillars of religion during the ''Dvapara Yuga'': compassion and truthfulness. Vishnu assumes the colour yellow and the Vedas are categorized into four parts: ''Rig Veda'', ''Sama Veda'', ''Yajur Veda'' and ''Atharva Veda''. During these times, the Brahmins are knowledgeable of two or three of these but rarely have studied all the four Vedas thoroughly. Accordingly, because of this categorization, different actions and activities come into existence. Etymology ''Yuga'' ( sa, युग), in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is ''yug'', with other forms of ''yugam'', , and ''yug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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