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Jambudvīpa
Jambudvīpa (Pali; Jambudīpa) is a name often used to describe the territory of Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent in ancient Indian sources. The term is based on the concept of ''dvīpa'', meaning "island" or "continent" in ancient Indian cosmogony. The term ''Jambudvipa'' was used by Ashoka to represent his realm in the third century BCE. The same terminology was used in subsequent texts, for instance Kannada inscriptions from the tenth century CE which also described the region, presumably Outline of ancient India, Ancient India, as ''Jambudvipa''. The word Jambudvīpa literally refers to "the land of jambu trees", where jambu is Sanskrit for ''Syzygium cumini''. Puranic description According to Puranic cosmography, the world is divided into seven concentric island continents (''sapta-dvipa vasumati'') separated by the seven encircling oceans, each double the size of the preceding one (going out from within). The seven continents of the Puranas are stated as Jambu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhist cosmology is the description of the shape and evolution of the Universe according to Buddhist Tripitaka, scriptures and Atthakatha, commentaries. It consists of a temporal and a spatial cosmology. The temporal cosmology describes the timespan of the creation and dissolvement of alternate universes in different aeons. The spatial cosmology consists of a vertical cosmology, the various planes of beings, into which beings are reborn due to their merits and development; and a horizontal cosmology, the distribution of these world-systems into an infinite sheet of existential dimensions included in the cycle of samsara. The entire universe is said to be made up of five basic elements of Earth (classical element), Earth, Water (classical element), Water, Fire (classical element), Fire, Air (classical element), Air and Aether (classical element), Space. Buddhist cosmology is also intwined with the belief of Karma in Buddhism, Karma. As a result, some ages are filled with pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dvīpa
Dvipa (, ) is a term in Hindu cosmography. The Puranas describe a dvipa to be one of the seven islands or continents that are present on earth, each of them surrounded by an ocean. The same terminology is also used to refer to the seven regions of the cosmos. In the geocentric model of Hinduism, the seven dvipas are present around Mount Meru, which is present at the centre of Jambudvipa, the term employed for the Indian subcontinent. Dvipa is also sometimes used to refer to the abodes of deities, such as Manidvipa. Etymology The word dvipa is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit words ''dvī'' (two) and ''apa'' (water), meaning "having water on two sides". It is cognate with the Young Avestan 'duuaēpa', which means the same. Description According to the Matsya Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, the world is divided into seven dvipas, termed as the ''sapta-dvīpa'' (the seven islands). The Mahabharata names the following as the seven islands of the world: The British author Benj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Meru
Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु)—also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru—is a sacred, five-peaked mountain present within Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmologies, revered as the centre of all physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. It is professed to be located at the junction of the four great cosmic continents—Pubbavideha Dīpa, Uttarakuru Dīpa, Amaragoyāna Dīpa and Jambu Dīpa. Despite not having a clearly identified or known geophysical location, Mount Meru is, nevertheless, always thought of as being either in the Himalayan Mountains or the Aravalli Range (in western India). Mount Meru is also mentioned in scriptures of other, external religions to India, such as Taoism—which was influenced, itself, by the arrival of Buddhism in China. Many Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples have been built as symbolic representations of Mount Meru. The "Sumeru Throne" ( :zh:须弥座; ''xūmízuò'') style is a common feature of Chinese pagodas. The highe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsya Purana
The ''Matsya Purana'' (IAST: Matsya Purāṇa) is one of the eighteen major Puranas (Mahapurana), and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the half-human and half-fish avatar of Vishnu. However, the text has been called by the 19th-century Sanskrit scholar Horace Hayman Wilson, "although a Shaivism (Shiva-related) work, it is not exclusively so"; the text has also been referred to one that simultaneously praises various Hindu gods and goddesses. The ''Matsya Purana'' has survived into the modern era in many versions, varying in the details but almost all of the published versions have 291 chapters, except the Tamil language version, written in Grantha script, which has 172 chapters. The text is notable for providing one of earliest known definition of a Purana genre of literature. A history written with five characteristics is called a Purana, states ''Matsya Purana'', otherwise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vayu Purana
The ''Vayu Purana'' (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. ''Vayu Purana'' is mentioned in the manuscripts of the Mahabharata and other Hindu texts, which has led scholars to propose that the text is among the oldest in the Puranic genre. Vayu and Vayaviya Puranas do share a very large overlap in their structure and contents, possibly because they once were the same, but with continuous revisions over the centuries, the original text became two different texts, and the Vayaviya text came also to be known as the ''Brahmanda Purana''. The ''Vayu Purana'', according to the tradition and verses in other Puranas, contains 24,000 verses (shlokas). However, the surviving manuscripts have about 12,000 verses. The text was continuously revised over the centuries, and its extant manuscripts are very different. Some manuscripts have four ''padas'' (parts) with 112 chapters, and some two ''khandas'' with 111 chapters. Comparisons of the diverse manuscripts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vishnu is known as ''The Preserver'' within the Trimurti, the triple deity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' () (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme Lord who creates, protects, and transforms the Hindu cosmology, universe. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the supreme being is with qualities (Saguna Brahman, Saguna), and has definite form, but is limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, and the primal Atma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pericarp
Fruits are the mature ovary or ovaries of one or more flowers. They are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Fruitlike structures may develop directly from the seed itself rather than the ovary, such as a fleshy aril or sarcotesta. The grains of grasses are single-seed simple fruits wherein the pericarp and seed coat are fused into one layer. This type of fruit is called a caryopsis. Examples include cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, oats and rice. Categories of fruits Fruits are found in three main anatomical categories: aggregate fruits, multiple fruits, and simple fruits. Aggregate fruits are formed from a single compound flower and contain many ovaries or fruitlets. Examples include raspberries and blackberries. Multiple fruits are formed from the fused ovaries of multiple flowers or inflorescence. An example of multiple fruits are the fig, mulberry, and the pineapple. Simple fruits are formed from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Lotus
''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae. The lotus belongs in the order Proteales. Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony. It is cultivated in nutrient-rich, loamy, and often flooded soils, requiring warm temperatures and specific planting depths, with propagation via rhizomes, seeds, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmanda Purana
The ''Brahmanda Purana'' () is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas, a genre of Hindu texts. It is listed as the eighteenth Maha-Purana in almost all the anthologies. The text is also referred in medieval Indian literature as the Vayaviya Purana or Vayaviya Brahmanda, and it may have been same as the Vayu Purana before these texts developed into two overlapping compositions. The text is named after one of the cosmological theories of Hinduism, namely the "Cosmic Egg" ( Brahma-Anda). It is among the oldest Puranas, the earliest core of text maybe from 4th century CE, continuously edited thereafter over time and it exist in numerous versions. The Brahmanda Purana manuscripts are encyclopedic in their coverage, covering topics such as Cosmogony, Sanskara (Rite Of Passage), Genealogy, chapters on ethics and duties (Dharma), Yoga, geography, rivers, good government, administration, diplomacy, trade, festivals, a travel guide to places such as Kashmir, Cuttack, Kanchi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deva (Hinduism)
''Deva'' (, ) means 'shiny', 'exalted', 'heavenly being', 'divine being', 'anything of excellence', and is also one of the Sanskrit terms used to indicate a deity in Hinduism.Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary” Etymologically and Philologically Arranged to cognate Indo-European Languages, Motilal Banarsidass, page 492 ''Deva'' is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is ''Devi (Hinduism), Devi''. The word is a cognate with Latin ''deus'' ('god') and Greek Zeus. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called ''Devas''George Williams (2008), A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, Oxford University Press, , pages 90, 112 and ''Asuras''. The concepts and legends evolved in Indian literature#In archaic Indian languages, ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, benevolent supernatural beings are referred to as ''Deva-Asuras''. In post-Vedic Hindu texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the ''Devas'' represent the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra
Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. [3 volumes] Indra is the most frequently mentioned deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers based on his status as a god of order, and as the one who killed the great evil, an Asura (Hinduism), asura named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rain and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in various mythological events. He is depicted as a powerful hero. According to the ''Vishnu Purana'', Indra is the title borne by the king of the gods, which changes every Manvantara – a cyclic period of time in Hindu cosmology. Each Manvantara has its own Indra and the In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 218–219. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the ''Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in Creation myth, creation legends. In some ''Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Rigvedic deities, 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, eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
