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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] |
Hindu Deities
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved from the Vedic era (2nd millennium BCE) through the medieval era (1st millennium CE), regionally within Nepal, Pakistan, India and in Southeast Asia, and across Hinduism's diverse traditions.Nicholas Gier (2000), Spiritual Titanism: Indian, Chinese, and Western Perspectives, State University of New York Press, , pp. 59-76Jeaneane D. Fowler (2012), The Bhagavad Gita, Sussex Academic Press, , pp. 253-262 The Hindu deity concept varies from a personal god as in Yoga school of Hindu philosophy, to thirty-three major deities in the Vedas, to hundreds of deities mentioned in the Puranas of Hinduism. Illustrations of major deities include Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva, Parvati, Brahma and Saraswati. These deities have distinct and complex personalities, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agama (Hinduism)
The Agamas (Devanagari: , IAST: ) are a collection of several Tantric literature and scriptures of Hindu schools.Julius Lipner (2004), Hinduism: the way of the banyan, in The Hindu World (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, , pages 27–28 The term literally means tradition or "that which has come down", and the Agama texts describe cosmology, epistemology, philosophical doctrines, precepts on meditation and practices, four kinds of yoga, mantras, temple construction, deity worship and ways to attain sixfold desires. These canonical texts are in Tamil and Sanskrit. Agamas were predominant in South India but Sanskritized later. The three main branches of Agama texts are Shaiva, Vaishnava, and Shakta. The Agamic traditions are sometimes called Tantrism, although the term "Tantra" is usually used specifically to refer to Shakta Agamas.Mariasusai Dhavamony (1999), Hindu Spirituality, Gregorian University and Biblical Press, , pages 31–34 with footnotes The Agama li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murtipujaka
Mūrtipūjaka (lit. "image-worshipper"), also known as Derāvāsī ("temple-dweller") or Mandir Mārgī ("follower of the temple path"), is the largest sect of Śvētāmbara, Śvetāmbara Jainism. Mūrtipūjaka Jains differ from both Śvetāmbara Sthānakavāsī and Śvetāmbara Terāpanthī Jains in that they worship images of the Tirthankara, Tīrthaṅkaras. Mūrtipūjaka may also generally describe members of both the Śvetāmbara and Digambara traditions who use idols (''Murti, mūrti'') in their worship (''pūjā''). Agreements and disagreements According to Nalini Balbir, all Śvetāmbara sects agree upon "the authority of the Śvetāmbara canonical scriptures, with slight differences; claims of monastic descent from Sudharmaswami, Sudharman, except for the Upakeśa-gaccha; [and] white monastic robes [for] monks and nuns." However, despite these commonalities, a central division exists between each of the sects as related to the use of images in worship. Indeed, the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth ''tirthankara'' Mahāvīra, Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal ''dharma'' with the ''tirthankaras'' guiding every time cycle of the Jain cosmology, cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are ''Ahimsa in Jainism, ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), ''anekāntavāda'' (non-absolutism), and ''aparigraha'' (asceticism). Jain monks, after positioning themselves in the sublime state of soul consciousness, take five main vows: ''ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), ''satya'' (truth), ''Achourya, asteya'' (not stealing), ''b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shankaracharya, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar and teacher (''acharya''), whose works present a harmonizing reading of the ''sastras'', with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time. The title of Shankracharya, used by heads of the amnaya monasteries is derived from his name. Due to his later fame, over 300 texts are attributed to his name, including commentaries (''Bhāṣya''), introductory topical expositions (''Prakaraṇa grantha'') and poetry (''Stotra''). However most of these are likely to be by admirers or pretenders or scholars with an eponymous name.W Halbfass (1983), Studies in Kumarila and Sankara, Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, Monographic 9, Reinbeck Works known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murthy
Murthy/Murthi/Murty is a surname from the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana. It is found commonly amongst Brahmins as a personal name or surname. Notable people Notable people with the surname Murthy include: * Bayya Suryanarayana Murthy (1906–1979), Parliamentarian and leader of Dalit movement in India * Dipika Murthy (born 1980), Indian hockey player * H. R. Keshava Murthy, Indian Gamaka exponent * H. S. Venkateshamurthy (born 1944), poet, playwright in Kannada Language. * Karanam Balaram Krishna Murthy (born 1946), Indian politician * Krishnan Guru-Murthy (born 1970), British television presenter and journalist * M. Chidananda Murthy (1931–2020), Indian scholar * M. R. N. Murthy, Indian scientist and academic * M. Rajasekara Murthy (1922–2010), Indian politician * Mahesh Murthy (born 1965), founder of Pinstorm * Mano Murthy, Indian musician and composer * N. R. Narayana Murthy (born 1946), founder of Infosys * R. Narayana Murthy ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hindu temple is designed to bring about contact between man and the gods" (...) "The architecture of the Hindu temple symbolically represents this quest by setting out to dissolve the boundaries between man and the divine". The symbolism and structure of a Hindu temple are rooted in Vedic traditions, deploying circles and squares. It also represents recursion and the representation of the equivalence of the macrocosm and the microcosm by astronomical numbers, and by "specific alignments related to the geography of the place and the presumed linkages of the deity and the patron". A temple incorporates all elements of the Hindu cosmos — presenting the good, the evil and the human, as well as the elements of the Hindu sense of cyclic time and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda. She has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through the modern period of Hindu traditions. She is generally shown to have four arms, holding a book, a rosary, a water pot, and a musical instrument called the veena. Each of these items have a symbolic meaning in Hinduism. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of spring, and also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti in many regions of India) in her honour, and mark the day by helping young children learn how to write the letters of the alphabet on that day. The goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects. Etymology Saraswati, is a Sans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devotional Image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome, and modern Hinduism, cult images in a temple may undergo a daily routine of being washed, dressed, and having food left for them. Processions outside the temple on special feast days are often a feature. Religious images cover a wider range of all types of images made with a religious purpose, subject, or connection. In many contexts "cult image" specifically means the most important image in a temple, kept in an inner space, as opposed to what may be many other images decorating the temple. The term idol is a pejorative term for a cult image, except in Indian English, where it is widely accepted as a neutral English term for a murti or cult image. Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship or excessive veneration of (mainly) cult ima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venkateswara
Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Etymology Venkateswara literally means, "Lord of Venkata (hill), Venkata". The word is a combination of the words ''Venkata'' (the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh) and ''isvara'' ("Lord"). According to the ''Brahmanda Purana, Brahmanda'' and ''Bhavishya Purana, Bhavishyottara'' Puranas, the word "Venkata" means "destroyer of sins", deriving from the Sanskrit words ''vem'' (sins) and ''kata'' (power of immunity). It is also said that 'Venkata' is a combination of two words: '''ven''' (keeps away) and kata''' (troubles). Venkata means he 'who keeps away troubles' or 'who takes away problems' or such terms in a similar context. Legend Every year, hundreds of thousands of devotees donate a large amount of wealth at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tradition, she is considered as a ferocious form of goddess Mahadevi, the supreme of all powers, or the ultimate reality. She is the first of the ten Mahavidyas in the Hindu Tantras (Hinduism), tantric tradition. Kali's earliest appearance is when she emerged from Shiva. She is regarded as the ultimate manifestation of Shakti, and the mother of all living beings. The goddess is stated to destroy evil in order to protect the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and Tàntric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Principal energy Adi Shakti. Shaktism, Shakta Hindu and Tantra, Tantric sects additionally worship her as the ultimate reality or ''Brahman''. She is also seen as the divi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
