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Medha Sūktam
Medha Suktam ( ( IAST ', Devanāgarī मेधा सूक्त) ) is a suktam (set of mantras contained in the Vedas) addressed to Medha (i.e., intelligence, wisdom, memory), visualized as a goddess. Because goddess Medha is considered as a form of Saraswathi, Medha Suktam is quite popular as a hymn to goddess Saraswathi; as a prayer seeking intelligence and capability to learn. There are at least two popular versions of Medha Suktam. One version is a set of six verses from Mahanarayana Upanishad, which forms part of Taittiriya Aranyaka in Krishna Yajurveda. There is one more version comprising nine mantras, which appears as a khila sukta (khilani) to the Rig Veda. There is one more set of five verses in the Atharva Veda, which too reads like a hymn to goddess Medha, but this is not popularly recognized or chanted as such. In essence, Medha Suktam relates to the worship of knowledge visualized as a goddess, and has been commonly chanted as a prayer to Saraswati.The meaning of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Alphabet Of Sanskrit Transliteration
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the nineteenth century from suggestions by Charles Trevelyan, William Jones, Monier Monier-Williams and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva Oriental Congress, in September 1894. IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script. It is this faithfulness to the original scripts that accounts for its continuing popularity amongst scholars. Usage Scholars commonly use IAST in publications that cite textual material in Sanskrit, Pāḷi and other classical Indian languages. IAST is also used for major e-text repositories such as SARIT, Muktabodha, GRETIL, and sanskritdocuments.org. The IAST scheme represents more than ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashvins
The Ashvins ( sa, अश्विन्, Aśvin, horse possessors), also known as Ashwini Kumara and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn and sciences. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthful divine twin horsemen, travelling in a chariot drawn by horses that are never weary, and portrayed as guardian deities that safeguard and rescue people by aiding them in various situations. There are varying accounts, but Ashvins are generally mentioned as the sons of the sun god Surya and his wife Sanjna. In the epic ''Mahabharata,'' the Pandava twins Nakula and Sahadeva were the children of the Ashvins. Etymology and epithets The Sanskrit name ' (अश्विन्) derives from the Indo-Iranian stem ''*Haćwa-'' (cf. Avestan ''aspā''), itself from the Indo-European word for the horse, ''*H1éḱwos'', from which also descends the Lithuanian name ''Ašvieniai''. Lubotsky, Alexander. "Indo-Aryan Inherited Lexicon". ''Indo-European Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caste System In India
The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in Outline of ancient India, ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern India, especially the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. It is today the basis of Reservation in India, affirmative action programmes in India as enforced through constitution of India, its constitution. The caste system consists of two different concepts, ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' and ''Jāti, jati'', which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system. Based on DNA analysis, endogamous i.e. non-intermarrying Jatis originated during the Gupta Empire. Our modern understanding of caste as an institution in India has been influenced by the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British Raj, British colonial government in India. The collapse of the Mughal era saw the rise of powerful men who associated themselves w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varna (Hinduism)
''Varṇa'' ( sa, वर्ण, varṇa), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical caste system. The ideology is epitomized in texts like '' Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or ''Dharma''. *Brahmins: Vedic scholars, priests or teachers. * Kshatriyas: Rulers, administrators or warriors. *Vaishyas: Agriculturalists, farmers or merchants. *Shudras: Artisans, laborers or servants. Communities which belong to one of the four varnas or classes are called savarna Hindus. The Dalits and tribals who do not belong to any varna were called avarna. This quadruple division is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system '' Jātis'' which correspond to the European term "caste". The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The concept is generally traced to the '' Purusha Sukta'' verse of the Rig V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymn Of Creation
The Nāsadīya Sūkta (after the incipit ', or "not the non-existent"), also known as the Hymn of Creation, is the 129th hymn of the 10th mandala of the Rigveda (10:129). It is concerned with cosmology and the origin of the universe. Nasadiya Sukta begins with the statement: "Then, there was neither existence, nor non-existence." It ponders when, why, and through whom the universe came into being in a contemplative tone, and provides no definite answers. Rather, it concludes that the gods too may not know, as they came after creation, and that even the surveyor of that which has been created, in the highest heaven may or may not know. To this extent, the conventional English title ''Hymn of Creation'' is perhaps misleading, since the poem does not itself present a cosmogony or creation myth akin to those found in other religious texts, instead provoking the listener to question whether one can ever know the origins of the universe. Interpretations The hymn has attracted a larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Suktas And Stutis
This article contains a list of Hindu hymns, known as suktas, stotras or stutis. Sūktas Main Sūktas * Agni Sūktam * Ā no Bhadrāh Sūktam * Oshadhi Sūktam * Kumāra Sūktam * Ganapati Sūktam / Ganesha Sūktam * Gostha Sūktam * Gosamūha Sūktam * Trisuparna Sūktam * Durga Sūktam * Tantroktadevi Sūktam * Devī Sūktam * Dhruva Sūktam * Navagraha Sūktam * Nashta Dravya Prapti Sūktam * Nakshatra Suktam * Nārāyaṇa Sūktam * Narasimha Nakha Stuti * Nasadiya Sūktam * Pavamana Sūktam * Pitru Sūktam * Puruṣa Sūktam * Krityapaharana Sūktam / Bagalamukhi Sūktam * Brahmanaspati Sūktam * Bhagya Sūktam / Pratah Sūktam * Pṛithvī Sūktam / Bhumi Sūktam * Manyu Sūktam * Medha Sūktam * Rakshoghna Sūktam * Ratri Sūktam * Rashtra Sūktam * Lakshmi Sūktam * Varuna Sūktam * Vastu Sūktam * Vishwakarma Sūktam * Vishnu Sūktam * Śrī Sūktam * Shraddha Sūktam * Samvada Sūktam / Akhyana Sūktam * Samjnana Sūktam * Sarasvatī Sūktam * Sarpa Sūk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Vedic Religion
The historical Vedic religion (also known as Vedicism, Vedism or ancient Hinduism and subsequently Brahmanism (also spelled as Brahminism)), constituted the religious ideas and practices among some Indo-Aryan peoples of northwest Indian Subcontinent (Punjab and the western Ganges plain) during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). These ideas and practices are found in the Vedic texts, and some Vedic rituals are still practiced today. It is one of the major traditions which shaped Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is markedly different from the historical Vedic religion. The Vedic religion developed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent during the early Vedic period (1500–1100 BCE), but has roots in the Eurasian Steppe Sintashta culture (2200–1800 BCE), the subsequent Central Asian Andronovo culture (2000–900 BCE), and the Indus Valley civilization (2600–1900 BCE). It was a composite of the religion of the Central Asian Indo-Aryans, itself "a syncr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vayu
Vayu (, sa, वायु, ), also known as Vata and Pavana, is the Hindu god of the winds as well as the divine massenger of the gods. In the '' Vedic scriptures'', Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of gods. He is mentioned to be born from the breath of Supreme Being Vishvapurusha and also the first one to drink Soma. The ''Upanishads'' praise him as ''Prana'' or 'life breath of the world'. In the later Hindu scriptures, he is described as a Dikpala (guardians of the direction), who looks over the North-west direction. The Hindu epics describe him as the father of the god Hanuman and Bhima.https://books.google.co.in/books?id=1HMXN9h6WX0C&q=Indra+wife&pg=RA1-PA260&redir_esc=y#v=snippet&q=Vayu&f=false The followers of the 13th-century saint Madhva believe their guru as an incarnation of Vayu. They worship the wind deity as Mukhyaprana and consider him as the son of the god Vishnu. Connotations The word for air (''vāyu'') or wind ... [...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 mean ... [...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 monotheisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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