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Avantisundarīkathā
''Dashakumaracharita'' (''The narrative of ten young men'', IAST: ''Daśa-kumāra-Carita'', Devanagari: दशकुमारचरित) is a prose romance in Sanskrit, attributed to Dandin (दण्डी), believed to have flourished in the seventh to eighth centuries CE. However, there is some obscurity surrounding its textual tradition, the identity of the author and the date of composition. It describes the adventures of ten young men, the ''Kumaras'', all of whom are either princes or sons of royal ministers, as narrated by the men themselves (however, there are irregularities in the text). These narratives are replete with accounts of demigods, ghosts, prostitutes, gamblers, intrigues with voluptuous women, astonishing coincidences, cockfights, anthropophagy, sorcery, robberies, murders and wars. The reader is treated to some very striking passages; for instance, a seductive young girl (all of whose anatomical features are very frankly described) deftly prepares a fragra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daṇḍin
Daṇḍi or Daṇḍin (Sanskrit: दण्डिन्) () was an Indian Sanskrit grammarian and author of prose romances. He is one of the best-known writers in Indian history. Life Daṇḍin's account of his life in ''Avantisundari-katha-sara'' states that he was a great-grandson of Dāmodara, a court poet from Achalapura who served, among others, the Pallava king Siṃhaviṣṇu of Tamil Nadu and the Ganga king Durvinīta of Karnataka. ''Avanti-sundari-katha-sara'' is the verse version of ''Avanti-sundari-katha'', a prose text attributed to Daṇḍin: it is mostly faithful to the original text, but the original text states that Damodara was a distinct poet, whom Bharavi introduced to prince Vishnuvardhana. Yigal Bronner, a scholar of Sanskrit poetry, concludes that 'These details all suggest that Daṇḍin’s active career took place around 680–720 CE under the auspices of Narasiṃhavarman II. Daṇḍin was widely praised as a poet by Sanskrit commentato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muslim Invasion Of India
The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place between the 13th and the 18th centuries, establishing the Indo-Muslim period. Earlier Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent include the invasions which started in the northwestern Indian subcontinent (modern-day Pakistan), especially the Umayyad campaigns during the 8th century. Mahmud of Ghazni, sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, preserved an ideological link to the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate and invaded vast parts of Punjab and Gujarat during the 11th century. After the capture of Lahore and the end of the Ghaznavids, the Ghurid ruler Muhammad of Ghor laid the foundation of Muslim rule in India in 1192. In 1202, Bakhtiyar Khalji led the Muslim conquest of Bengal, marking the easternmost expansion of Islam at the time. The Ghurid Empire soon evolved into the Delhi Sultanate in 1206, ruled by Qutb ud-Din Aibak, the founder of the Mamluk dynasty. With the Delhi Sultanate established, Islam was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or writers use to inform, persuade, and motivate their audiences. Rhetoric also provides heuristics for understanding, discovering, and developing arguments for particular situations. Aristotle defined rhetoric as "the faculty of observing in any given case the available means of persuasion", and since mastery of the art was necessary for victory in a case at law, for passage of proposals in the assembly, or for fame as a speaker in civic ceremonies, he called it "a combination of the science of logic and of the ethical branch of politics". Aristotle also identified three persuasive audience appeals: logos, pathos, and ethos. The five canons of rhetoric, or phases of developing a persuasive speech, were first codified in classical Rome: i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kavyadarsha
The Kavyadarsha (, ) by Dandin is the earliest surviving systematic treatment of poetics in Sanskrit. Contents This work is divided into 3 ''pariccheda''s (chapters) in most of the printed editions, except one, where the third chapter of the other editions is further divided into two. Most of the printed editions have 660 verses, except one, which has 663. In ''Kāvyādarśa'', Daṇḍin argued that a poem's beauty derived from its use of rhetorical devices – of which he distinguished thirty-six types. He was the main proponent of ''gunaprasthana'', the view that poetry needed qualities or virtues such as ''shleshha'' (punning), ''prasaada'' (favour), ''samataa'' (sameness), ''maadhurya'' (beauty), ''arthavyakti'' (interpretation), and ''ojah'' (vigour). Poetry consisted in the presence of one of these qualities or a combination of them. Influence The ''Kavyadarsha'' was in ancient times translated into Kannada, Sinhala, Pali, Tamil and Tibetan, and perhaps even influenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalinga (historical Kingdom)
Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Ganges and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses all of Odisha and some part of northern Andhra Pradesh. At its widest extent, the Kalinga region also included parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, extending up to Amarkantak in the west. In the ancient period it extended until the bank of the Ganges river. The Kalingas have been mentioned as a major tribe in the legendary text '' Mahabharata''. In the 3rd century BCE, the region came under Mauryan control as a result of the Kalinga War. It was subsequently ruled by several regional dynasties whose rulers bore the title ''Kalingādhipati'' ("Lord of Kalinga"); these dynasties included Mahameghavahana, Vasishtha, Mathara, Pitrbhakta, Shailodbhava, Bhaumkara, Somavamshi, and Eastern Ganga. The medieval era ruler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siddha
''Siddha'' (Sanskrit: '; "perfected one") is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means "one who is accomplished." It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of perfection of the intellect as well as moksha, liberation or Enlightenment in Buddhism, enlightenment. In Jainism, the term is used to refer to the liberated souls. ''Siddha'' may also refer to one who has attained a siddhi, paranormal capabilities. Siddhas may broadly refer to siddhars, naths, asceticism, ascetics, sadhus, or yogis because they all practice sādhanā. Jainism In Jainism, the term ''siddha'' is used to refer the liberated souls who have destroyed all Karma in Jainism, karmas and have obtained Moksha (Jainism), moksha.They are free from the transmigratory cycle of birth and death (''Saṃsāra (Jainism), saṃsāra'') and are above ''Arihant (Jainism), Arihantas'' (omniscient beings). Siddhas do not have a body; they are soul in its purest form. They r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rakshasa
Rākshasa (, , ; ; "preservers") are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as disrupting Vedic sacrifices or eating humans. The term is also used to describe asuras, a class of power-seeking beings that oppose the benevolent devas. They are often depicted as antagonists in Hindu scriptures, as well as in Buddhism and Jainism. The female form of rakshasa is rakshasi (). Hinduism In Puranas Brahmā, in a form composed of the quality of foulness, produced hunger, of whom anger was born: and the god put forth in darkness beings emaciate with hunger, of hideous aspects, and with long beards. Those beings hastened to the deity. Such of them as exclaimed, “Oh preserve us!” were thence called Rākṣasas. Those created beings, overwhelmed by hunger, attempted to seize the waters. Those among them who said, “ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yavana
The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit, were used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" (), who were probably the first Greeks to be known in India. Both terms appear in ancient Sanskrit literature. ''Yavana'' appears, for instance, in the ''Mahabharata'', while ''Yona'' appears in texts such as the Sri Lankan chronicle '' Mahavamsa''. The Yona are mentioned in the Ashoka inscriptions, along with the Kambojas, as two societies where there are only nobles and slaves. Examples of direct association of these terms with the Greeks include: * The mention of the "Yauna" in the Persepolis Administrative Archives (550–333 BC). * The mention of the "Yona king Aṃtiyoka" in the Edicts of Ashoka (280 BCE) * The mention of the "Yona king Aṃtalikitasa" in the Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha (110 BCE) * King Milinda and his bodyguard of "500 Yonas" in the Milinda Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durga
Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and dharma, representing the power of good over evil. Durga is believed to unleash her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation. Durga is seen as a motherly figure and often depicted as a beautiful woman, riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon and often defeating demons. She is widely worshipped by the followers of the goddess-centric sect, Shaktism, and has importance in other denominations like Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The most important texts of Shaktism, Devi Mahatmya and Devi Bhagavata Purana, revere Devi (the Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe and the Brahman (ultimate truth and reali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suhma
Suhma kingdom was an ancient kingdom during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. The kingdom included present day districts of undivided Midnapore and parts of Hoogly and Howrah of West Bengal. This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with its neighbouring kingdom ''Prasuhma''. References in Mahabharata The founders of Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras and Suhmas shared a common ancestry. They were all adopted sons of a king named Vali, born by a sage named Gautama Dirghatamas, who lived in Magadha close to the city of Girivraja. Military expeditions to Suhma Pandu (the father of Pandavas) after defeating the Magadhas and the Videhas of Mithila, led his army against Kashi, Suhma, and Pundra, as well as by the strength and prowess of his arms spread the fame of the Kurus. Arjuna, that bull amongst the son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked the regio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
