1.
Rama
–
Ram or Srī Rāmachandra is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals. Rama is one of the deities in Hinduism and especially of the various sects of Vaishnavism. Religious texts and scriptures based on his life have been a component in numerous cultures of South Asia. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu, in Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi, Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna were the chaturvyuha expansions of Vishnu. Ramas life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life, for the sake of his fathers honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhyas throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together, while in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravanas armies, in a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry, and huge battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, He rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity, and justice, a period known as Rama Rajya. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent, Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage, and devotion to religious values and duty. The deity Hanuman declared Rama to be a supreme being, and said that, by constant remembrance of Lord Rama, the name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu scriptures. Besides the name of the protagonist of the Ramayana, the name is given to other heroes including Parashurama and Balarama. In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu, in Sanskrit, the word Rama means charming. It is commonly given as a name to male children in India, additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the Mahabharata. The earliest documentation of Rama in Buddhism is in the Buddhist text of Dasharatha Jataka, the epic had many versions across Indias regions. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit also reflect the life of Ramayana, the followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed. They consider it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki, another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana
2.
Lakshmana
–
In the Hindu sacred text Ramayana, Lakshmana also known as Soumitri, Bharatanuja Laxman, Lakhan is the younger brother and close companion of God Rama, hero of the epic and avatar of God Vishnu. Lakshmana is twin brother of Shatrughna, Lakshmana and his brother Shatrughna, were born in Ayodhya to Sumitra and King Dasharatha. In the Puranas, Lakshmana is described as an incarnation of Sesha, when sage Vishwamitra takes Rama for killing the demons, Lakshmana accompanies them and goes to Mithila with them. Lakshmana is specially attached to Rama and when Rama marries Sita, later, when Rama goes on exile for fourteen years on the insistence of Kaikeyi, Lakshmana leaves his wife Urmila and joins Rama. He serves Rama and Sita reverently during the exile, Lakshmana also built hut for Rama and Sita to live in Panchvati. Lakshmana cuts off Ravanas sister Surpanakhas nose in anger when she tries to covet Rama and he plays an important role in the war with Ravana and slays Ravanas son Indrajit. When Sita asks Rama to fetch a magical golden deer for her, Rama asks Lakshmana to stand guard as he sensed danger, the golden deer is in fact the demon Maricha, who distracts Rama. When Rama kills Maricha, he cries out in Ramas own voice for help, although Lakshmana knows that Rama is invincible and beyond any danger, Sita panics and frantically orders Lakshmana to go to Ramas aid immediately. Unable to disobey Sita, Lakshmana draws a line, which Sita must not cross. Sita however, out of compulsion of religious duty and compassion for Ravana disguised as a poor brahmin crosses the line to give him alms following which she is abducted. Lakshmana Rekha has become a metaphor in situations where a certain limit must not be transgressed by human beings in any circumstance whatsoever, during the war between Rama and Ravana, he killed Indrajit and Atikaya, who were the sons of Ravana. Before he killed Indrajit, Lakhshmana and Rama were twice defeated by Indrajit, after the war, when Rama asked Sita to give test of her purity, Lakshmana for the first time got angry on Rama and opposed him. After the war in Lanka, Rama was crowned king of Ayodhya, Rama had offered Lakshmana become the crown prince he refused saying Bharata is greater than him and is more deserving of the title. Lakshmana is the one who leaves Sita in the forests near sage Valmikis ashram after Rama banishes her from the kingdom, Lakshmana remains loyal to his brother and fights against Ramas sons Lava and Kusha later. Sage Durvasa appears at Ramas doorstep and seeing Lakshmana guarding the door, at the time, Rama was having a private conversation with Yama. Before the conversation began, Yama gave Rama strict instructions that their dialogue was to remain confidential, Rama agreed and entrusted Lakshmana with the duty of guarding his door. When Durvasa made his demand, Lakshmana politely refused, the sage grew angry and threatened to curse all of Ayodhya if Lakshmana did not immediately inform Rama of his arrival. Lakshmana, in a dilemma, decided it would be better that he alone die to all of Ayodhya from falling under Durvasas curse
3.
Sita
–
Sita, also known as Siya, Vaidehi, Janaki, Maithili, or Bhoomija, is the central female character of the Hindu epic Ramayana and daughter of King Janaka of Videha and his wife queen Sunaina. She was the sister of Urmila and cousins Mandavi and Shrutakirti. She is consort of Hindu god Rama and is an avatar of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and she is esteemed as a paragon of spousal and feminine virtues for all Hindu women. Sita is known for her dedication, self-sacrifice, courage and purity, Sita is described as the daughter of the earth goddess Bhūmi and the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Mithila and Queen Sunaina. In her youth, she marries Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, after marriage, she goes to exile with her husband and brother-in-law Lakshmana. While in exile, the settle in the Dandaka forest, from where she is abducted by Ravana. She is imprisoned in the Ashoka Vatika of Lanka by Ravana, until she is rescued by Rama, who slays her captor. After the war, Rama asks Sita to undergo Agni Pariksha by which she proves her purity before she is accepted by Rama, which for the first time made his brother Lakshmana get angry at him. In some versions of the epic, the fire-god Agni creates Maya Sita, at Agni Pariksha, Maya Sita and the real Sita exchange places again. While some texts mention that Maya Sita is destroyed in the flames of Agni Pariksha, others narrate how she is blessed, Some scriptures also mention her previous birth being Vedavati, a woman Ravana tries to molest. After proving her purity, Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya, after few months, Sita becomes pregnant which brought doubt to the Kingdom. Rama then sends Sita away on exile, Lakshmana is the one who leaves Sita in the forests near sage Valmikis ashrama after Rama banishes her from the kingdom. Years later, Sita returns to her mother, the Earths womb, the goddess is best known by the name Sita, derived from the Sanskrit word sīta, furrow. According to Ramayana, Janaka found her while ploughing as a part of a yagna, the word Sīta was a poetic term, its imagery redolent of fecundity and the many blessings coming from settled agriculture. The Sita of the Ramayana may have named after a more ancient Vedic goddess Sita. In the Vedic period, she was one of the associated with fertility. A Vedic hymn recites, In Harivamsa, Sita has been invoked as one of the names of goddess Arya, The Kausik-sutra, Sita is known by many epithets. She is called Jānaki as the daughter of Janaka and Maithili as the princess of Mithila, as the wife of Rama, she is called Ramā
4.
Atri
–
Atri or Attri is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing a large number of hymns to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities of Hinduism. Atri is one of the Saptarishi in the Hindu tradition, the fifth Mandala of Rigveda is called the Atri Mandala in his honour, and the eighty seven hymns in it are attributed to him and his descendants. Atri is also mentioned in the Puranas and the Hindu Epics such as the Ramayana, Atri is one of the seven great Rishi or saptarshi along with Marichi, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya and Vashistha. According to the legends of the Vedic era, sage Atri was married to Anasuya Devi and they had three sons, Dattatreya, Durvasas and Soma. As per divine account, he is the last among the seven saptharishis and is believed to have originated from the tongue, the wife of Atri was Anusuya, who is considered one of the seven female pathivrathas. When instructed by divine voice to do penance, Atri readily agreed, pleased by his devotion and prayers, the Hindu trinity, namely, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva appeared before him and offered him boons. He sought all the three to be born to him, another version of the legend states that Anusuya, by the powers of her chastity, rescued the three gods and in return, they were born as children to her. Brahma was born to her as Chandra, Vishnu as Dattatreya, the mention about Atri is found in various scriptures, with the notable being in Rig Veda. He is also associated with various ages, the notable being in Dvapara Yuga during Ramayana, the pair is also attributed to bringing river Ganga down to earth, the mention of which is found in Shiva Purana. He is the seer of the fifth Mandala of the Rigveda, Atri had many sons and disciples who have also contributed in the compilation of the Rig Veda and other Vedic texts. Mandala 5 comprises 87 hymns, mainly to Agni and Indra, but also to the Visvedevas, the Maruts, the twin-deity Mitra-Varuna, two hymns each are dedicated to Ushas and to Savitr. Most hymns in this book are attributed to the Atri clan composers and these hymns of Rigveda was composed in the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent, most likely between c. The Atri hymns of the Rigveda are significant for their structure as well as for featuring spiritual ideas in the form of riddles. These hymns include lexical, syntactic, morphological and verb play utilizing the flexibility of the Sanskrit language, the hymn 5.44 of the Rigveda in Atri Mandala is considered by scholars such as Geldner to be the most difficult riddle hymn in all of the Rigveda. The verses are known for their elegant presentation of natural phenomenon through metaphors. While the fifth mandala is attributed to Atri and his associates, sage Atri is mentioned or credited with other verses of the Rigveda in other Mandalas. In the Ramayana, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana visit Atri, a number of sages named Atri are mentioned in the various medieval era Puranas. The mythical legends therein about Atri are diverse and inconsistent and it is unclear if these refer to the same person, or to different Rishis who had the same name
5.
Durvasa
–
In Hindu Puranas, Durvasa also known as Durvasas, was an ancient Rishi, the son of Atri and Anasuya. He is known for his short temper, hence, wherever he went, he was received with great reverence from humans and devas alike. His one famous temple called Rishi Durvasa Temple is located in village-Aali Brahman, tehsil-Hodal, dist. -Palwal, according to Chapter 44 of the Brahmananda Purana, Brahma and Shiva once got into a heated quarrel. So violent was Shivas rage as a result of this quarrel and his consort, Parvati, complained that Shiva was now impossible to live with. Realising the disharmony his anger had caused, he decided to deposit this anger into Anasuya, from this portion of Shiva deposited into Anasuya, a child was born, who was named Durvasa. Because he was born of Shivas anger, he had an irascible nature, the Bhagavata Purana gives a somewhat different account of Durvasas birth. In this version, Atri performed severe penance to propitiate the Supreme Being in order to obtain a son by Anasuya who would be just like Him, pleased with him, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva blessed the sage that portions of themselves would be born as his sons. In due course, Anasuya bore Soma, Dattatreya and Durvasa, in Vishnu Purana, Vayu Purana and Padma Purana, a curse that Durvasa laid upon Indra is described as the indirect reason for the famous churning of the ocean. The Srimad Bhagavata and Agni Purana also mention Durvasas involvement in the episode in passing, the nymph respectfully gave the garland to the sage, whereupon he wore it on his brow. Resuming his wanderings, the sage came across Indra riding his elephant, Airavata, Durvasa, still in his state of frenzy, threw the garland at Indra, who caught it and placed it on Airavatas head. The elephant was irritated by the fragrance of the nectar in the flowers, Durvasa was enraged to see his gift treated so callously and cursed Indra that he would be cast down from his position of dominion over the three worlds, just as the garland was cast down. Indra immediately begged Durvasas forgiveness, but the refused to retract or even soften his curse. Because of the curse, Indra and the devas were diminished in strength, seizing this opportunity, the asuras led by Bali waged war against the gods. The gods were routed and turned to Brahma for help, Brahma directed them to seek refuge with Vishnu. Vishnu in turn, advised them to call a truce with the asuras and work together with them to churn the ocean of milk and obtain the Amrita, on the pretext of sharing it with them. Vishnu promised that he would ensure only the devas drank the Nectar, the devas took Vishnus advice and called their truce with the asuras and thus did the gods and demons begin planning their great enterprise. In the Bhagavata Purana, Ambarisha was a devotee of Vishnu who adhered firmly to the truth. He performed a yajna with such great devotional fervour that Narayana was pleased to bless him with his Sudarshana Chakra, once, Ambarisha performed a religious rite known as the Ekadashi and Dvadashi vrata, for 1 year
6.
Chandra
–
In Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar god and a Graha. The Chandra is the lord of plants and vegetation, Chandra is described as young, beautiful, two-armed and having in his hands a club and a lotus. He rides his chariot across the sky night, pulled by ten white horses or an antelope. In Hindu mythology, Chandra is the father of Budha and he is married to 27 daughters of Daksha, after whom the Nakshatras in Hindu astrology are named. In Hindu mythology, there are versions of legends around Chandras family. In one, he meets Tara, the wife of Brihaspati, from their union, Tara became pregnant giving birth to Budha. Brihaspati becomes upset and declares a war, the Devas intervene, and Tara returns to Brihaspati. In another, Chandra marries the twenty-seven daughters of Daksha, the Moon favors Rohini – one of his wives, the others become upset and complain to Daksha. One popular story to account for the spot on the Moon is that Ganesha, once filled with food, fell from his mouse. Chandra laughed at this, for which Ganesha injured him by breaking off and throwing one of his tusks. Chandra is also the word in Sanskrit, Hindi and other Indian languages for the Moon and it is also a common Indian name, both male and female and exists as a name in many South East Asian languages that originate from Sanskrit. Indu, one of the names for Chandra, is also the name of the first chakra of Melakarta ragas in Carnatic music. The names of chakras are based on the associated with each name. In this case, there is one, the Moon and hence the first chakra is Indu, Chandra plays an important role in one of the first novel-length mystery stories in English, The Moonstone. The Sanskrit word Chandrayāna is used to refer to Indias lunar orbiters, navagraha Soma Media related to Chandra at Wikimedia Commons
7.
Dattatreya
–
Dattatreya or Dattā is a paradigmatic Sannyasi and one of the lords of Yoga in Hinduism. In many regions of India and Nepal, he is considered a deity, in Maharashtra, he is a syncretistic deity, considered to be an avatar of the three Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, collectively known as Trimurti. In other regions, and some versions of such as the Garuda Purana, Brahma Purana and Sattvata Samhita. He is typically dressed as a monk or almost naked, situated in a forest or wilderness suggestive of his renunciation of worldly goods. In paintings and some carvings, he is surrounded by four dogs and a cow. In the temples of southern Maharashtra, Varanasi and in the Himalayas, his iconography shows him with one head and two hands with four dogs and a cow. According to Rigopoulos, in the Nath tradition of Shaivism, Dattatreya is revered as the Adi-Guru of the Adinath Sampradaya of the Nathas, the first Lord of Yoga with mastery of Tantra. According to Mallinson, Dattatreya is not the traditional guru of the Nath sampradaya, he was coopted by the Nath tradition in about the 18th century as a guru, several Upanishads are dedicated to him, as are texts of the Advaita Vedanta-Yoga tradition in Hinduism. One of the most important texts of Advaita Vedanta, namely Avadhuta Gita is attributed to Dattatreya, in Maharashtra, an annual festival in the Hindu calendar month of Mārgaśīrṣa reveres Dattatreya and this is called Datta Jayanti. The mythologies of Dattatreya are diverse and vary by region, in the Puranas, he was born in north Indian hermitage to Anusuya and her husband the Vedic sage Atri traditionally credited with making the largest contribution to the Rigveda. Another states his father lived in southern India, in the western Deccan region, a third claims he was born in Kashmir jungles near the sacred Amarnath. In a fifth myth, sage Atri was very old when young Anusuya married him, the trinity were pleased with them for having brought light and knowledge to the world, simultaneously granted the boon, which led Dattatreya to be born with characteristics of all three. While his origins are unclear and trace to inconsistent mythologies, stories about his life are more consistent and he is described in the Mahabharata as an exceptional Rishi with extraordinary insights and knowledge, who is adored and raised to a Guru and an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranas. Dattatreya is stated in these texts to having renounced the world, one myth claims he meditated immersed in water for a long time, another has him wandering from childhood and the young Dattatreya footprints have been preserved on a lonely peak at Girnar. The Tripura-rahasya refers to the disciple Parasurama finding Dattatreya meditating on Gandhamadana mountain and this legend has been emblematic in the Hindu belief, particularly among artists and Yogis, that ideas, teachings and practices come from all sources, that self effort is a means to learning. The 24 teachers of Dattatreya are, The appearance of Shri Dattatreya in pictures varies according to traditional beliefs, many older medieval temples of Dattatreya show him with just one head, such as the one in Mahur and another in Pandharpur, both in southern Maharashtra. Texts such as Agni Purana describe the features for building murti. In Varanasi, Nepal, north Himalayan foothill states of India, in western parts of Maharashtra, the syncretic six armed and three faced iconography is more common
8.
Indian people
–
Indian people are citizens of India, the second most populous nation containing 17. 50% of the worlds population. Indian refers to nationality, but not ethnicity or language, the Indian nationality consists of many regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of India. India hosts all major ethnic groups found in the Indian Subcontinent, population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora. The name Bhārata has been used as a name by people of the Indian subcontinent. The designation Bhārata appears in the official Sanskrit name of the country, the name is derived from the ancient Vedic and Puranas, which refer to the land that comprises India as Bhārata varṣam and uses this term to distinguish it from other varṣas or continents. The Bhāratas were a tribe mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings. India is named after legendary Emperor Bharata who was a descendant of the Bhāratas tribe, in early Vedic literature, the term Āryāvarta was in popular use before Bhārata. The Manusmṛti gives the name Āryāvarta to the tract between the Himalaya and the Vindhya ranges, from the Eastern to the Western Sea, while the word Indian and India is derived from Greek Ἰνδία, via Latin India. The name is derived ultimately from Sindhu, the Sanskrit name of the river Indus, the next great ancient Empire of the Indian people was the Gupta Empire. This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or Golden Age of India, the ancient Indian mathematicians Aryabhata, Bhāskara I and Brahmagupta invented the concept of zero and the Hindu decimal system during this period. During this period Indian cultural influence spread over parts of Southeast Asia which led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms in Southeast Asia. During the early period the great Rashtrakuta dynasty dominated the major part of the Indian subcontinent. From the 8th to 10th century and the Indian Emperor Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty was described by the Arab traveller Sulaiman as one of the four kings of the world. The greatest maritime Empire of the medieval Indians was the Chola dynasty, under the great Indian Emperors Rajaraja Chola I and his successor Rajendra Chola I the Chola dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia and South-East Asia. The Mughal Empire unified much of Indian sub-continent under one realm, under the Mughals India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. This marked a huge influence in the Indian society, the Mughal Empire balanced and pacified local societies through new administrative practices and had diverse and inclusive ruling elites, leading to more systematic, centralised, and uniform rule. The Marathas and Sikhs emerged in the 17th century and established the Maratha Empire, the Maratha Empire is credited to a large extent for ending the Mughal rule in India. The empire at its peak stretched from Tamil Nadu in the south, to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north and Bengal, India is one of the worlds oldest civilisations
9.
Rishi
–
In the Vedas the term Rishi denotes an inspired poet of Vedic hymns. Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the Rishis as seers or sages, who after intense meditation realized truths and eternal knowledge, according to Indian tradition, the word may be derived from two different meanings of the root rsh. Sanskrit grammarians derive this word from the meaning, to go. V. S. Apte gives this particular meaning and derivation, another form of this root means to flow, to move near by flowing. Monier-Williams also quotes Tārānātha who compiled the great dictionary named ṛṣati jñānena saṃsāra-pāram, more than a century ago, Monier-Williams tentatively suggested a derivation from drś to see. Monier-Wiliams also quotes the Hibernian form arsan and arrach as related to rishi, Monier-Williams also conjectures that the root drish might have given rise to an obsolete root rish meaning to see. However, the root has a close Avestan cognate ərəšiš an ecstatic, yet the Indo-European dictionary of Julius Pokorny connects the word to a PIE root *h3er-s meaning rise, protrude, in the sense of excellent and thus cognate with Ṛta and right and Asha. Some of the earliest lists of Rishi are found in Jaiminiya Brahmana verse 2.218, in the Vedas, the word denotes an inspired poet of Vedic hymns. In particular, Ṛṣi refers to the authors of the hymns of the Rigveda, post-Vedic tradition regards the Rishis as sages or saints, constituting a peculiar class of divine human beings in the early mythical system, as distinct from Asuras, Devas and mortal men. Swami Vivekananda described Rishis as Mantra-drashtas or the seers of thought, the Sama Veda adds Nodha, Akrishtabhasha, Sikatanivavari and Gaupayana. In Mahabharata 12, on the hand, there is the post-Vedic list of Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya. The Mahābhārata list explicitly refers to the saptarshis of the first manvantara, each manvantara had a unique set of saptarshi. In Harivamsha 417ff, the names of the Rishis of each manvantara are enumerated, in addition to the Saptarṣi, there are other classifications of sages. In descending order of precedence, they are Brahmarshi, Maharshi, Rajarshi, devarṣi, Paramrṣi, Shrutarṣi and Kāndarṣi are added in Manusmriti iv-94 and xi-236 and in two dramas of Kālidasa. The Chaturvarga-Chintāmani of Hemādri puts riṣi at the place in the eightfold division of Brāhmanas. Amarakosha mentions seven types of riṣis, Shrutarshi, Kāndarshi, Paramarshi, Maharshi, Rājarshi, Brahmarshi and Devarshi, amarakosha strictly distinguishes Rishi from other types of sages, such as sanyāsi, bhikṣu, parivrājaka, tapasvi, muni, brahmachāri, yati, etc. Most medieval era Hindu temples of Java, Indonesia show Rishi Agastya statues or reliefs, some examples include Candi Sambisari and the Prambanan temple near Yogyakarta. Rishi Agastya is known as Phra Reusi Akkhot in Thailand, Ruesi is a hermit sage, the equivalent of Rishi in India
10.
Hindu mythology
–
As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
11.
Ramayana
–
The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
12.
Hermitage (religious retreat)
–
A hermitage is any type of domestic dwelling in which a hermit lives. While the level of isolation can vary widely, more often than not it is associated with a nearby monastery, depending on the work of the hermit, premises such as a studio, workshop or chapel may be attached or sited in proximity. Originally, the first hermitages were located in caves, temple ruins. The piety of such hermits often attracted both laity and other ascetics, forming the first cenobitic communities called sketes, such as Nitria and Kellia. Carthusian monks typically live in a cell or building, with areas for study, sleep, prayer. In the modern era, hermitages are often abutted to monasteries, or located on their grounds, being occupied by monks who receive dispensation from their abbot or prior to live a semi-solitary life. However, hermitages can be found in a variety of settings, from isolated locations, houses in large cities. Examples of hermitages in Western Christian tradition, The Grande Chartreuse in Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, France, the word poustinia has its origin in the Russian word for desert. In Hinduism, a hermitage is called an ashram, traditionally, an ashram in ancient India was a place where sages lived in peace and tranquility amidst nature. Source, The History of Religious Seclusion, A. S, brown,1963 Poustinia, Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer ISBN 0-921440-54-5
13.
Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh
–
Chitrakoot is a town and a nagar panchayat in the Satna district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is a town of religious, cultural, historical and archaeological importance and it borders the Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh, whose headquarters Chitrakoot Dham is located nearby. The town lies in the historical Chitrakoot region, which is divided between the present-day Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and it is known for a number of temples and sites mentioned in Hindu scriptures. Many people gather here on each Amavasya, somwati Amavasyas, Deepawali, Sharad-Poornima, Makar Sankranti and Ramanavami are special occasions for such gatherings and celebrations. It attracts crowds throughout the year including above occasions and for Free Eye Hospital Camps, noted Ayurvedic and Yoga centres like Arogyadham are located in Chitrakoot. Chitrakoot means the Hill of many wonders, Chitrakoot falls in the northern Vindhya range of mountains spread over the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Chitrakuta region is included in the District Chitrakuta of Uttar Pradesh, Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh was created on 4 September 1998. Chitrakoot Parvat Mala includes Kamad Giri, Hanumaan Dhara, Janki Kund, Lakshman pahari and it is said that all the gods and goddesses came to Chitrakoot when Rama performed the Shraddha ceremony of his father to partake of the shuddhi. The first known mention of the place is in the Valmiki Ramayan, as Valmiki is said to be contemporaneous with Ram and is believed to have composed the Ramayan before the birth of Ram, the antiquity of its fame can well be gauged. Valmiki speaks of Chitrakoot as a holy place inhabited by the great sages, abounding in monkeys, bears and various other kinds of fauna. Both the sages Bharadwaj and Valmiki speak of Chitrakoot in glowing terms, Lord Ram himself admits this bewitching impact of this place. In the Ramopakhyan and descriptions of teerths at various places in the Mahabharat, in Adhyatma Ramayan and Brihat Ramayan testify to the throbbing spiritually and natural beauty of Chitrakuta. Various Sanskrit and Hindi poets also have paid similar tributes to Chitrakuta, mahakavi Kalidas has described this place beautifully in his epic Raghuvansh. He was so impressed with its charms that he made Chitrakuta the place of exile of his yaksha in Meghdoot. Tulsidas, the saint-poet of Hindi has spoken very reverently of this place in all his major works-Ramcharit Manas, Kavitawali, Dohawali, the last-mentioned work contains many verses which show a deep personal bond between Tulsidas and Chitrakoot. He spent quite some part of his life here worshipping Ram and it was here that he had what he must have considered the crowning moment of his achievements—i. e. The darshan of his beloved deity Lord Ram at the intercession of Hanumanji and his eminent friend, the noted Hindi poet Rahim also spent some time here, when he had fallen from favour with Akbars son Emperor Jahangir. When Bharat was asked by his ministers to take his seat upon the throne of Ayodhya, he refused, here at place called Bharat Milap, Bharat met Lord Ram and requested him to return to Ayodhya and rule, but Lord Ram would not
14.
Trimurti
–
When all three deities of the Trimurti incarnate into a single avatar, the avatar is known as Dattatreya. The Puranic period saw the rise of post-Vedic religion and the evolution of what R. C, one of the important traits of this period is a spirit of harmony between orthodox and sectarian forms. Regarding this spirit of reconciliation, R. C, majumdar says that, Its most notable expression is to be found in the theological conception of the Trimūrti, i. e. the manifestation of the supreme God in three forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva. Maurice Winternitz notes that there are few places in Indian literature where the Trimurti is mentioned. Historian A. L. Freda Matchett characterizes the Trimurti system as one of several frameworks into which various divine figures can be fitted at different levels. The concept of Trimurti is also present in the Maitri Upanishad, temples dedicated to various permutations of the Trimurti can be seen as early as the 8th century C. E. and there are even temples today in which the Trimurti are actively worshiped. Surya was also a member of the original Vedic Trimurti, which included Agni, some Sauras worship either Vishnu or Shiva as manifestations of Surya, others worship the Trimurti as a manifestation of Surya, and others exclusively worship Surya alone. Shaivites hold that, according to Shaiva Agama, Shiva performs five actions - creation, preservation, dissolution, concealing grace, respectively, these first three actions are associated with Shiva as Sadyojata, Vamadeva and Aghora. Thus, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra are not deities different from Shiva and this stands in contrast to the idea that Shiva is the God of destruction. To Shaivites, Shiva is God and performs all actions, of destruction is only. Ergo, the Trimurti is a form of Shiva Himself for Shaivas, Shaivites believe that Lord Shiva is the Supreme, who assumes various critical roles and assumes appropriate names and forms, and also stands transcending all these. A prominent visual example of a Shaivite version of the Trimurti is the Trimurti Sadashiva sculpture in the Elephanta Caves on Gharapuri Island and this feminine version of the Trimurti is called Tridevi. The masculine gods are then relegated as auxiliary agents of the supreme feminine Tridevi, smartism is a denomination of Hinduism that places emphasis on a group of five deities rather than just a single deity. Śankarācārya later added Kartikeya to these five, making six total and this reformed system was promoted by Śankarācārya primarily to unite the principal deities of the six major sects on an equal status. Despite the fact that the Vishnu Purana describes that Vishnu manifests as Brahma in order to create and as Rudra in order to destroy, for example, the Dvaita school holds Vishnu alone to be the supreme God, with Shiva subordinate, and interprets the Puranas differently. For example, Vijayindra Tîrtha, a Dvaita scholar interprets the 18 puranas differently and he interprets the Vaishnavite puranas as satvic and Shaivite puranas as tamasic and that only satvic puranas are considered to be authoritative. Moreover, Swaminarayan followed a Smarta approach by instructing his followers to venerate all five deities of the Panchayatana puja with equal reverence, Dattatreya Harihara Tridevi Trinity Triple deities Basham, A. L. The Wonder That Was India, A Survey of the Culture of the Indian Sub-Continent Before The Coming of the Muslims, gaṇeśa, Lord of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings
15.
Shiva
–
Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
16.
Brahma
–
Brahma is the creator god in the Trimurti of Hinduism. Brahma is also known as Svayambhu, Vāgīśa, and the creator of the four Vedas, Brahma is identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Kama and Hiranyagarbha, he is more prominently mentioned in the post-Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is conflated with Purusha, Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of a Hindu Trinity, however, ancient Hindu texts mention other trinities of gods or goddesses which do not include Brahma. While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology. Brahma, along with all deities, is viewed as a form of the otherwise formless Brahman. Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the members of the Trimurti, Vishnu. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a deity in India. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Brahma temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in part because related words such as one for Ultimate Reality. The existence of a deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic text. The spiritual concept of Brahman is far older, and some scholars suggest deity Brahma may have emerged as a personal conception and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle called Brahman. In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem brahman forms two distinct nouns, one is a neuter noun bráhman, whose singular form is brahma. Contrasted to the noun is the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is Brahma. This noun is used to refer to a person, and as the name of a deity Brahma it is the subject matter of the present article. One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, Brahma is discussed in verse 5,1 also called the Kutsayana Hymn first, and expounded in verse 5,2. In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn, the Upanishad asserts that ones Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living being. In verse 5,2 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇa, the post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. Brahma is a creator as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas
17.
Moon
–
The Moon is an astronomical body that orbits planet Earth, being Earths only permanent natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System, following Jupiters satellite Io, the Moon is second-densest satellite among those whose densities are known. The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 384,400 km, the Moon is thought to have formed about 4.51 billion years ago, not long after Earth. It is the second-brightest regularly visible celestial object in Earths sky, after the Sun and its surface is actually dark, although compared to the night sky it appears very bright, with a reflectance just slightly higher than that of worn asphalt. Its prominence in the sky and its cycle of phases have made the Moon an important cultural influence since ancient times on language, calendars, art. The Moons gravitational influence produces the ocean tides, body tides, and this matching of apparent visual size will not continue in the far future. The Moons linear distance from Earth is currently increasing at a rate of 3.82 ±0.07 centimetres per year, since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only by uncrewed spacecraft. The usual English proper name for Earths natural satellite is the Moon, the noun moon is derived from moone, which developed from mone, which is derived from Old English mōna, which ultimately stems from Proto-Germanic *mǣnōn, like all Germanic language cognates. Occasionally, the name Luna is used, in literature, especially science fiction, Luna is used to distinguish it from other moons, while in poetry, the name has been used to denote personification of our moon. The principal modern English adjective pertaining to the Moon is lunar, a less common adjective is selenic, derived from the Ancient Greek Selene, from which is derived the prefix seleno-. Both the Greek Selene and the Roman goddess Diana were alternatively called Cynthia, the names Luna, Cynthia, and Selene are reflected in terminology for lunar orbits in words such as apolune, pericynthion, and selenocentric. The name Diana is connected to dies meaning day, several mechanisms have been proposed for the Moons formation 4.51 billion years ago, and some 60 million years after the origin of the Solar System. These hypotheses also cannot account for the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. This hypothesis, although not perfect, perhaps best explains the evidence, eighteen months prior to an October 1984 conference on lunar origins, Bill Hartmann, Roger Phillips, and Jeff Taylor challenged fellow lunar scientists, You have eighteen months. Go back to your Apollo data, go back to computer, do whatever you have to. Dont come to our conference unless you have something to say about the Moons birth, at the 1984 conference at Kona, Hawaii, the giant impact hypothesis emerged as the most popular. Afterward there were only two groups, the giant impact camp and the agnostics. Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System, computer simulations of a giant impact have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the present angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system
18.
Kapila
–
Kapila is a given name of different individuals in ancient and medieval Indian texts, of which the most well-known is the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. Kapila of Samkhya fame is considered a Vedic sage, estimated to have lived in the 6th-century BCE, rishi Kapila is credited with authoring the influential Samkhya-sutra, in which aphoristic sutras present the dualistic philosophy of Samkhya. Kapilas influence on Buddha and Buddhism have long been the subject of scholarly studies, many historic personalities in Hinduism and Jainism, mythical figures, pilgrimage sites in Indian religion, as well as an ancient variety of cow went by the name Kapila. The name Kapila appears in texts, and it is likely that these names refer to different people. The most famous reference is to the sage Kapila with his student Āsuri, while he pre-dates Buddha, it is unclear which century he lived in, with some suggesting 6th-century BCE. Others place him in the 7th century BCE and this places him in the late Vedic period, and he has been called a Vedic sage. Kapila is credited with authoring an influential sutra, called Samkhya-sutra and these sutras were explained in another well studied text of Hinduism called the Samkhyakarika. Beyond the Samkhya theories, he appears in many dialogues of Hindu texts, the name Kapila is used for many individuals in Hinduism, few of which may refer to the same person. The term Kapileya, meaning clans of Kapila, occurs in the Aitareya Brahmana VII.17, the pariśiṣṭa of the Atharvaveda mentions Kapila, Āsuri and Pañcaśikha in connection with a libation ritual for whom tarpana is to be offered. In verse 5.2 of Shvetashvatara Upanishad, states Larson, tam agre. which when compared to other verses of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad Kapila likely construes to Rudra and Hiranyagarbha. Kapila, states George Williams, lived long before the composition of the Epics and the Puranas, Kapila and hermits then went to Kapilasangama, a holy place where rivers meet. The Brahma Purana also mentions Kapila in the context of Sagaras 60,000 sons who looking for their Ashvamedha horse and he woke up, the brilliance in his eyes burnt all but four of Sagaras sons to ashes, leaving few survivors carrying on the family lineage. As Vishnus incarnation, The Narada Purana enumerates two Kapilas, one as the incarnation of Brahma and another as the incarnation of Vishnu, the Puranas Bhagavata, Brahmanda, Vishnu, Padma, Skanda, Narada Purana, and the Valmiki Ramayana mentions Kapila is an incarnation of Vishnu. The Padma Purana and Skanda Purana conclusively call him Vishnu himself who descended on earth to disseminate true knowledge, Bhagavata Purana calls him Vedagarbha Vishnu. The Vishnusahasranama mentions Kapila as a name of Vishnu, in his commentary on the Sankyasutra, Vijnanabhikshu mentions Kapila, the founder of Sankya system, is Vishnu. As son of Kardama muni, The Book 3 of the Bhagavata Purana, states Kapila was the son of Kardama Prajapati, Kardama was born from Chaya, the reflection of Brahma. Vishnu advises Kardama to marry Devahuti, and blesses Kardama that he himself will be born as his son. H. H. Wilson notes the Bhagavatha adds a third daughter Devahuti to introduce the long legend of Kardama, and of their son Kapila, in the Bhagavata Purana, Kapila presents to his mother Devahuti, the philosophy of yoga and theistic dualism
19.
Bhagavata Purana
–
The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of Hinduisms eighteen great Puranas. Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti to Krishna integrating themes from the Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankara. The Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses a range of topics including cosmology, genealogy, geography, mythology, legend, music, dance, yoga. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas and evil asuras and now rule the universe, the Bhagavata Purana is a revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu. The text presents a form of religion that competes with that of the Vedas, wherein bhakti ultimately leads to self-knowledge, liberation and bliss. However the Bhagavata Purana asserts that the nature and outer form of Krishna is identical to the Vedas. An oft-quoted verse is used by some Krishna sects to assert that the text itself is Krishna in literary form, the date of composition is probably between the eighth and the tenth century CE, but may be as early as the 6th century CE. Manuscripts survive in numerous inconsistent versions revised through the 18th century creating various recensions both in the languages and across different Indian languages. The text consists of twelve books totalling 332 chapters and between 16,000 and 18,000 verses depending on the recension, the tenth book, with about 4,000 verses, has been the most popular and widely studied. Bhagavata means devoted to, follower of Bhagavat – the sacred, an alternative interpretation of Bhagavata is devotees of the Adorable One. Bhagavata Purana therefore means Ancient Tales of Followers of the Lord, the Bhagavata is widely recognized as the best-known and most influential of the Puranas and, along with the Itihasa and other puranas, is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Veda. It is the source of popular stories of Krishnas childhood told for centuries on the Indian subcontinent. The Bhagavata declares itself the essence of all the Upanishads and derivative Smritis, One who has enjoyed the nectar of its rasa never has any desire for anything else. In northern and western India the Bhagavata Purana has influenced the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, the text complements the Pancharatra Agama texts of Vaishnavism. While the text focuses on Krishna Lord Narayana himself appears and explains how Brahma, the Bhagavata Purana is also significant in asserting that Yoga practice is a form of Bhakti. The Bhagavata Purana, in verse 2.9.32, modern scholarship dates its composition to between 500 CE to 1000 CE, but most likely between 800 and 1000 CE. A version of the text existed no later than 1030 CE, within this range, scholars such as R. C. Postmodern scholars have suggested alternate theories, the Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier material and undergoing later interpolations
20.
Narada
–
Narada is a Vedic sage, famous in Hindu traditions as a traveling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata, in Indian texts, Narada travels to distant worlds and realms. He is depicted carrying a khartal and Veena with the name Mahathi and is regarded as one of the great masters of the ancient musical instrument. This instrument is known by the name mahathi which he uses to accompany his singing of hymns, prayers, in the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism, he is presented as a sage with devotion to Lord Vishnu. Narada is described as wise and mischievous, in humorous tales. Vaishnav enthusiasts depict him as a pure, elevated soul who glorifies Vishnu through his songs, singing the names Hari and Narayana. The Narada Bhakti Sutra is attributed to him, in the Mahabharata, Narada was conversant with the Vedas and the Upanishads and was acquainted with history and Puranas. He had mastery of the six Angas, pronunciation, grammar, prosody, terms, religious rites and he was a perfect master in re-conciliatory texts and differentiating in applying general principles to particular cases. He could swiftly interpret contraries by references to differences in situation and he was eloquent, resolute, intelligent and possessor of powerful memory. He knew the science of morals, politics, skilled in drawing inference from evidence and he was competent in judging the correctness and incorrectness of complex syllogistic statements consisting of 5 proponents. He was capable of arriving at definite conclusions about religion, wealth, pleasure and he possessed knowledge of this whole universe, above it, below it and everything surrounding it. He was capable of answering successively at Vrihaspati himself, while arguing and he was the master of the Sankhya and Yoga systems of philosophy, conversant with sciences of war and treaty and proficient in drawing conclusions of judging things not within a direct knowledge. He knew about the six sciences of treaty, war, military campaigns, maintenance of posts against the enemy and he was a thorough master of every branch of learning. He was fond of war and music and was incapable of being repulsed by any science or any course of action. The Bhagavata Purana describes the story of Naradas spiritual enlightenment, He was the source of information among Gods. He claimed to have 60 wives, in his previous birth Narada was a Gandharva who had been cursed to be born on an earthly planet as a sudra for singing glories to the demigods instead of the Supreme Lord. He was born as the son of a maid-servant of some particularly saintly priests, the priests, being pleased with both his and his mothers service, blessed him by allowing him to eat some of their food, previously offered to their lord, Vishnu. Gradually he received blessings from these sages and heard them discussing many spiritual topics
21.
Jaipur
–
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan in Northern India. It was founded on 18 November 1726 by Maharaja Jai Singh II, as of 2011, the city has a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City of India, Jaipur is located 260 km from the Indian capital New Delhi. Jaipur forms a part of the west Golden Triangle tourist circuit along with Agra, Jaipur is a popular tourist destination in India and serves as a gateway to other tourist destinations in Rajasthan such as Jodhpur, Jaisalmer Udaipur. and Mount Abu. The city of Jaipur was founded in 1726 by Jai Singh II and he planned to shift his capital from Amer,11 km from Jaipur to accommodate the growing population and increasing scarcity of water. Jai Singh consulted several books on architecture and architects while planning the layout of Jaipur, under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, Jaipur was planned based on the principles of Vastu shastra and Shilpa Shastra. The construction of the city began in 1726 and took four years to complete the major roads, the city was divided into nine blocks, two of which contained the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge ramparts were built, pierced by seven fortified gates, during the rule of Sawai Ram Singh, the city was painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, in 1876. Many of the avenues remained painted in pink, giving Jaipur a distinctive appearance, in the 19th century, the city grew rapidly and by 1900 it had a population of 160,000. The wide boulevards were paved and its industries were the working of metals and marble. The city had three colleges, including a Sanskrit college and a school opened during the reign of the Maharaja Ram Singh II. Temperatures remain relatively high during summer from April to early July having average daily temperatures of around 30 °C, during the monsoon there are frequent, heavy rains and thunderstorms, but flooding is not common. The winter months of November to February are mild and pleasant, with temperatures ranging from 10–15 °C and with little or no humidity. The city was planned according to Indian Vastu shastra by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya in 1727, there are three gates facing east, west, and north. The eastern gate is called Suraj pol, the gate is called Chand pol. The city is unusual among pre-modern Indian cities in the regularity of its streets, the urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, the Palace quarter encloses the Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, according to provisional report of 2011 census, Jaipur city had a population of 3,073,350
22.
Mandavya
–
Mandavya was a sage, who according to Hinduism, was wrongly punished by the king by being impaled. This occurred as the chief of a band of robbers had hidden their stolen goods in a corner of his hermitage when he was in deep contemplation, lord Yama gave him this punishment for having tortured birds and bees in his childhood. In response, Mandavya cursed the Dharma, as his punishment exceeded the sins committed as an ignorant child, therefore, he cursed him to be born in the mortal world. He was born as Vidura, the wise, to the servant maid of Ambalika, wife of King Vichitravirya, Mandavya is a bhargava gotrakar rishi. It is written in Matsy purana verses १९५. २१
23.
Sun
–
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a perfect sphere of hot plasma, with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process. It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth. Its diameter is about 109 times that of Earth, and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth, accounting for about 99. 86% of the total mass of the Solar System. About three quarters of the Suns mass consists of hydrogen, the rest is mostly helium, with smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon. The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star based on its spectral class and it formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center, whereas the rest flattened into a disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core and it is thought that almost all stars form by this process. The Sun is roughly middle-aged, it has not changed dramatically for more than four billion years and it is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large enough to engulf the current orbits of Mercury, Venus, and probably Earth. The enormous effect of the Sun on Earth has been recognized since prehistoric times, the synodic rotation of Earth and its orbit around the Sun are the basis of the solar calendar, which is the predominant calendar in use today. The English proper name Sun developed from Old English sunne and may be related to south, all Germanic terms for the Sun stem from Proto-Germanic *sunnōn. The English weekday name Sunday stems from Old English and is ultimately a result of a Germanic interpretation of Latin dies solis, the Latin name for the Sun, Sol, is not common in general English language use, the adjectival form is the related word solar. The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on another planet. A mean Earth solar day is approximately 24 hours, whereas a mean Martian sol is 24 hours,39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. From at least the 4th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the Sun was worshipped as the god Ra, portrayed as a falcon-headed divinity surmounted by the solar disk, and surrounded by a serpent. In the New Empire period, the Sun became identified with the dung beetle, in the form of the Sun disc Aten, the Sun had a brief resurgence during the Amarna Period when it again became the preeminent, if not only, divinity for the Pharaoh Akhenaton. The Sun is viewed as a goddess in Germanic paganism, Sól/Sunna, in ancient Roman culture, Sunday was the day of the Sun god. It was adopted as the Sabbath day by Christians who did not have a Jewish background, the symbol of light was a pagan device adopted by Christians, and perhaps the most important one that did not come from Jewish traditions
24.
Vishnu
–
Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being in its Vaishnavism tradition. Along with Brahma and Shiva, Vishnu forms a Hindu trinity, however and his avatars most notably include Krishna in the Mahabharata and Rama in the Ramayana. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasudeva, Vithoba and he is one of the five equivalent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu inconography, Vishnu is usually depicted as having a dark, or pale blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma in his left hand, Kaumodaki gada in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha in his upper left hand. A traditional depiction is Lord Vishnu reclining on the coils of Ananta, accompanied by his consort devi Lakshmi, yaska, the mid 1st-millennium BCE Vedanga scholar, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, one who enters everywhere. He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, that which is free from fetters, the medieval Indian scholar Medhātithi suggested that the word Vishnu has etymological roots in viś, meaning to pervade, thereby connoting that Vishnu is one who is everything and inside everything. Vishnu is a Vedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni, just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda, a 2nd millennium BCE Hindu text, are dedicated to Vishnu, and he finds minor mention in the other hymns. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of Rig Veda and he is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra and his distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu, in section 7.99 of the Rgveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In the Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr, in hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu are equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a friend of Indra. In the Yajurveda, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Narayana sukta, Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being, the first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words paramam padam, which literally mean highest post and may be understood as the supreme abode for all souls. This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam or Vaikuntha, Rig Veda 1.22.20 a also mentions the same paramam padam. In the Atharvaveda, the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, in post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the Trivikrama and it is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the three steps or three strides of Vishnu
25.
Brahma Purana
–
The Brahma Purana is one of the eighteen major Puranas genre of Hindu texts in Sanskrit language. It is listed as the first Maha-Purana in all the anthologies, another title for this text is Saura Purana, because it includes many chapters related to Surya or the Sun god. The extant text is not the ancient Brahma Purana. The surviving manuscripts comprise 245 chapters and it is divided into two parts, the Purvabhaga and the Uttarabhaga. The text exists in versions, with significant differences. Further, the Brahma Purana likely borrowed numerous passages from other Hindu texts such as the Mahabharata and Puranas such as the Vishnu, Vayu, Samba and this travel guide-like sections are non-sectarian, and celebrates sites and temples related to Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Surya. The coverage of Jagannatha temples, however, is larger than the three, leading scholars to the hypothesis that the authors of extant manuscripts may have been authors belonging to Vaishnavism. Its presentation of the Konark Sun Temple is notable, out of 245 chapters,18 chapters of the Brahma Purana cover the cosmology, mythology, genealogy, manvantara and topics that are required to make a text belong to the Puranic genre of literature. Other chapters cover Sanskara, summary of Dharmasastra, its theories on the geography of earth, summary of Samkhya and Yoga theories of Hindu philosophy, and other topics. The Padma Purana categorizes Brahma Purana as a Rajas Purana, implying the text is related to Brahma, scholars consider the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas classification as entirely fanciful and there is nothing in this text that actually justifies this classification. Sohnen and Schreiner published a summary of the Brahma Purana in 1989, bhagavata Purana Vishnu Purana Shiva Purana Markandeya Purana Gudhi Padwa Gregory Bailey. Epic and Puranic Bibliography Annoted and with Indexes, Part I, A - R, Part II, S - Z, the Strides of Vishnu, Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective, Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective. Studies in the Puranic Records on Hindu Rites and Customs, the Vishnu Purana, A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition. History of Indian Literature Vol 1, brahmapurana, Sanskrit Manuscript, Archived by SanskritDocuments. Org Brahmapurāṇa – Tübingen Purâna Project Version, University of Tübingen, 1982–1988)
26.
Ashram
–
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. The word ashram comes from the Sanskrit root śram- which means to toil, according to S. S. Chandra, the term means a step in the journey of life. In contrast, according to George Weckman, the term ashram connotes a place where one strives towards a goal in a disciplined manner, such a goal could be ascetic, spiritual, yogic or any other. The residents of an ashram regularly performed spiritual and physical exercises, other sacrifices and penances, such as yajnas were also performed. Many ashrams also served as gurukulas, residential schools for children under the guru-shishya tradition, sometimes, the goal of a pilgrimage to the ashram was not tranquility, but instruction in some art, especially warfare. In the Ramayana, the protagonist princes of ancient Ayodhya, Rama and Lakshmana, after they prove their mettle, the princes receive martial instruction from the sage, especially in the use of divine weapons. In the Mahabharata, Krishna, in his youth, goes to the ashram of Sandipani to gain knowledge of intellectual and spiritual matters. Residential schools, especially in the areas of Maharashtra and elsewhere in India, are called ashram shala or ashram schools. One such school is the Lok Biradari Prakalp Ashram Shala, in recent years, a number of ashrams have been established outside of India. Typically, these ashrams are connected to Indian lineages, focus on imparting Yoga-related teachings and are headed by spiritual teachers
27.
Mandakini River
–
Mandakini is a tributary of the Alaknanda River. Mandakini originates from the Chorabari Glacier near Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, India, Mandakini is fed by Vasukiganga River at Sonprayag. Alaknanda then proceeds towards Devaprayag where it joins with Bhagirathi River to form the Ganges River, Mandakini river flows along NH-109 in Rudraprayag district and turns violent during monsoon, often destroying parts of highway and adjoining villages. The prefix mand means calm and unhurried, and Mandakini thus signifies she who flows calmly, the Mandakini is mentioned as one of the transcendental rivers in the holy religious work Srimad Bhagavatam. John Leydens 1810 Malay Annals mention that, Parameswara, the founder of the Sultanate of Malacca, the sword is now a part of the Sultan of Peraks official regalia. The sword is believed to be of Indian origin and between 800 and 1,000 years old, the Mandakini is a runnable low volume river from October to April and can be unpredictable in the Monsoon months when all rivers in the area become swollen torrents. The Mandakini is a river with a lot of class 3 rapids and some class 4. The upper mandakini and the lower mandakini are considered to be class 4+ sections while there is a stretch of water in the part of the river that is largely class 2-class 3. Ganges Kedarnath Documentary by Mandakini Mathur The River Goddess by Vijay Singh
28.
Valmiki
–
Valmiki is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic Ramayana, dated variously from 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him and he is revered as Ādi Kavi, writer of Ramayana. Ramayana, originally written by Valmiki, consists of 24,000 shlokas and 7 cantos including Uttara Kanda, Ramayana is composed of about 480,002 words, being a quarter of the length of the full text of Mahabharata or about four times the length of Iliad. Ramayana tells the story of a prince, Rama of Ayodhya, whose wife Sita is abducted by the demon-king of Lanka, the Valmiki Ramayana is dated variously from 500 BC to 100 BC or about co-eval with early versions of Mahabharata. As with many traditional epics, it has gone through a process of interpolations and redactions, Valmiki is also quoted to be the contemporary of Rama. Rama met Valmiki during his period of exile and interacted with him, Valmiki gave shelter to Sita in his hermitage when Rama banished her. Kusha and Lava, the sons of Shri Rama were born to Sita in this hermitage. Later, he summoned them to his royal palace, kusha and Lava sang the story of Rama there and Rama confirmed that whatever had been sung by these two children was entirely true. Valmiki was born as Ratnakkardah, One day, he met the great sage Narada who questioned him of his duty, moved by Naradas words, Ratnakara began to perform penance and chanted the word Mara which meant kill. As he performed his penance for years, the word became Rama. Huge anthills formed around Ratnakara and this earned him the name of Valmiki, Narada declared Ratnakara to be a great Sage and Brahmin, a member of the high caste. Ratnakara, rechristened as Valmiki, learnt the scriptures from Narada and became the foremost of ascetics, Valmiki was going to the river Ganges for his daily ablutions. A disciple by the name Bharadwaja was carrying his clothes, on the way, they came across the Tamasa Stream. Looking at the stream, Valmiki said to his disciple, Look, how clear is this water, when he was looking for a suitable place to step into the stream, he saw a crane couple mating. Valmiki felt very pleased on seeing the happy birds, suddenly, hit by an arrow, the male bird died on the spot. Filled by sorrow, its mate screamed in agony and died of shock, valmikis heart melted at this pitiful sight. He looked around to find out who had shot the bird and he saw a hunter with a bow and arrows, nearby. Later Valmiki composed entire Ramayana with the blessings of Lord Brahma in the meter that issued forth from him as the shloka
29.
Ravana
–
Ravana is the primary antagonist in the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana where he is depicted as Rakshasa king of Lanka. Ramayana is considered by the Indian traditions to be the itihasa or the history along with Mahabharata, Ravana is the son of Vishrava and Kaikesi and grandson of Pulastya. Ravana, a devotee of Lord Shiva, is depicted and described as a scholar, a capable ruler. He is also described as powerful and has ten heads. His paramount ambition was to overpower and dominate the devas and his ten heads represent his knowledge of the six shastras and the four Vedas. In the Ramayana, Ravana kidnaps Ramas wife Sita to exact vengeance on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the ears and nose of his sister Shurpanakha. Ravana, as a practitioner of Buddhism, is a character in Buddhist texts such as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Gathering of Intentions. Ravana is worshipped by Hindus in some parts of India, Sri Lanka, images of Ravana are seen associated with Shiva at some places. The word Rāvaṇa means roaring opposite of Vaiśravaṇa meaning hear distinctly, both Ravana and Vaiśravaṇa, who is popularly known as Kubera, are considered to be patronymics derived as sons of Vishrava. According to F. E. Pargiter, the word may originally have been a Sanskritisation of Iraivan, Ravana has many other popular names such as Dasis Ravana, Dasis Sakvithi Maha Ravana, Dashaanan, Ravula, Lankeshwar, Lankeshwaran, Ravanaeshwaran, Eela Vendhar. However, in stories in Java told that every year, Ravana cuts one of his heads every year. Each head was reflecting his desire, by cutting it and presenting it, he was sacrificing one of his many desires to appease Shiva. He kept doing it every year until the last one, turned out the last head was considered as the true head of Ravana and Shiva considered his devoutness is a worthy one and his sacrifices were accepted. He is described as a follower of Shiva, a great scholar, a capable ruler. Ravana is also depicted as the author of the Ravana Samhita, a book on Hindu astrology, and of the Arka Prakasham, Ravana possessed a thorough knowledge of Siddha and political science. He is said to have possessed the nectar of immortality, which was stored inside his belly, Ravana was born to a great sage, Vishrava and his wife, the daitya princess Kaikesi. People of Bisrakh village in Uttar Pradesh claim that their village was named after Vishrava, Ravana, as a practitioner of Buddhism, is a major character in Buddhist texts such as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Gathering of Intentions, a text of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Uttara Kanda section of Ramayana, the Rakshasa clan were the inhabitants of Lanka who were said to have lived among the Naga, Yaksha
30.
Rakshasa
–
A Rakshasa is a mythological being in Hindu mythology. As this mythology influenced other religions, the rakshasa was later incorporated into Buddhism, a female rakshasa is known as a Rakshasi. A female Rakshasa in human form is a Manushya-Rakshasi, the terms Asura and Rakshasa are sometimes used interchangeably. Rakshasas were believed to have created from the breath of Brahma when he was asleep at the end of the Satya Yuga. As soon as they were created, they were so filled with bloodlust that they started eating Brahma himself, Brahma shouted Rakshama. and Vishnu came to his aid, banishing to Earth all Rakshasas. Their literary origins can be traced to Vedic sources through Hymn 87 of the mandala of the Rig Veda. They are classified amongst the Yatudhanas, mythological beings that consume raw flesh, some sources credit Kashyapa with the origin of the rakshasa. For artistic reasons, the Hymns of the Vedas do not do so and this might explain why the Puranans and Hindu epics elaborate on their lineage, but the Vedas do not. Kashyapa was married to the thirteen daughters of Daksha, among them were Aditi, Diti and Danu. His sons with Danu are the Danavas, while those with Diti are the Daityas and his sons with Aditi are the Adityas, who are considered Devas and are also called Suras. Rakshasas were most often depicted as ugly, fierce-looking and enormous creatures and they are shown as being mean, growling like beasts, and as insatiable cannibals that could smell the scent of human flesh. Some of the more ferocious ones were shown with flaming red eyes and hair, generally they could fly, vanish, and had Maya, which enabled them to change size at will and assume the form of any creature. The female equivalent of rakshasa is rakshasi, in the world of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rakshasas were a populous race. There were both good and evil rakshasas, and as warriors they fought alongside the armies of good and evil. They were powerful warriors, expert magicians and illusionists, as shape-changers, they could assume different physical forms. It was not always clear whether they had a true or natural form, as illusionists, they were capable of creating appearances which were real to those who believed in them or who failed to dispel them. Some of the rakshasas were said to be man-eaters, and made their appearance when the slaughter on a battlefield was at its worst. Occasionally they served as soldiers in the service of one or another warlord
31.
Khara (Ramayana)
–
Khara was a man-eating rakshasa in the Indian Ramayana epic. He was a cousin brother of Ravana, and, the son of Kaikesis sister Raka. After Lakshmana cut off Surpanakas nose, breasts and ears, Khara fought against Lakshmana and he was the ruler of the Danda Kingdom, roughly equivalent to the Nashik district, with Janasthana as its capital. He protected the kingdom of Lanka in the mainland and his kingdom bordered with the Kosala Kingdom. He was well known for his skills in warfare. A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion by John Dowson
32.
Viradha
–
Virādha is minor character from the Aranya Kanda of the Ramayana. Rama and Lakshmana begin to battle the monster, but though they shoot it with many arrows, the monster reveals that he has a boon from Brahma which makes him invincible to weapons. So the brothers kill the rakshasa by first breaking his arms, the brothers bury him, and he apparently goes back to his former celestial abode
33.
Telugu language
–
Telugu is a Dravidian language native to India. It is also spoken by significant minorities in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and it is one of six languages designated a classical language of India by the Government of India. Telugu ranks third by the number of speakers in India. It is one of the scheduled languages of the Republic of India. Approximately 10,000 inscriptions exist in the Telugu language, the speakers of the language call it Telugu or Tenugu. The older forms of the name include Teluṅgu, Tenuṅgu and Teliṅga, the etymology of Telugu is not certain. Some historical scholars have suggested a derivation from Sanskrit triliṅgam, as in Trilinga Desa, tradition holds that Shiva descended as a lingam on three mountains, Kaleshwaram, Srisailam, and Bhimeswaram, which are said to have marked the boundaries of the Trilinga Desa. Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga. Scholar Charles P. Brown comments that it was a strange notion as all the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation. George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term, another view holds that tenugu is derived from the proto-Dravidian word ten– south to mean the people who lived in the south/southern direction. The name telugu then, is a result of n -> l alternation established in Telugu, according to the natve tradition Telugu grammar has a hoary past. Sage Kanva was said to be the first grammarian of Telugu, a Rajeswara Sarma discussed the hisoricity and content of Kanvas grammar written in Sanskrit. He cited twenty grammatical aphorisms ascribed to Kanva, and concluded that Kanva wrote an ancient Telugu Grammar which was lost, according to the Russian linguist M. S. Andronov, Telugu split from the Proto-Dravidian languages between 1500 and 1000 BC. According to linguist Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region around the lower Godavari river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the associated with the Neolithic societies of South India. A legend gives the Lepakshi town a significant place in the Ramayana — this was where the bird Jatayu fell, when Sri Rama reached the spot, he saw the bird and said compassionately, “Le Pakshi” — ‘rise, bird’ in Telugu. This indicates the presence of Telugu Language during Ramayana period, there is a mention of Telugu people or Telugu country in ancient Tamil literature as Telunka Nadu. Telugu words were found in Hebrew literature, inscriptions with Telugu words dating back to 400 BC to 100 BC have been discovered in Bhattiprolu in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh
34.
Anjali Devi
–
Anjali Devi was an Indian actress, former model and producer in Telugu and Tamil. She was well known for her role as the mythological Sita in Lava Kusha as well as for the roles in movies like Suvarna Sundari. Anjali Devi was born in Peddapuram, East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, India and she changed her name to Anjani Kumari when acting in dramas. Pullaiah changed her name to Anjali Devi and she was a theatre artiste before venturing into movies. Her debut film role was as Lohitasya in Raja Harishchandra in 1936 and her first movie as a heroine was Kashtajeevi by L. V. Prasad in 1940, but that movie was abandoned after three reels shooting. Later, C. Pullayya discovered her and gave her the opportunity to star as Mohini in Gollabhama, based on her acting ability and looks, she became a star overnight in 1947. She eventually acted in more than 350 Telugu films and a few Tamil and she acted in Lava Kusha, a milestone film and the first color film in the Telugu film industry in 1963. She is well known for playing Sita in Lava Kusha and her performances in films like Suvarna Sundari and she has acted in nearly 500 films. Brundavanam, Anna Vadina and Police Alludu were the last few films of her career, in Balaiahs Police Alludu and Anna Vadina she appeared alongside Brahmanandam. She acted in roles, such as a damsel, an angel, a dancer, a demon, a goddess. In 1955 she produced the film Anarkali, in which she played the titular role. Then she produced V. Madhusudan Raos Bhakta Tukaram and Chandipriya, bollywood and Tollywood actress Jayapradha played the lead role in the latter alongside Shobhan Babu and Chiranjeevi. As a producer she has produced 27 films and she was an ardent devotee of Sathyasai Baba and produced a tele-serial on Sathyasai. She married P. Adinarayana Rao, a director, in 1940. Together, they produced many Telugu films under the banner, Anjali Pictures and their granddaughter, Saila Rao, is also an actress. She died at the age of 86 on 13 January 2014 at Vijaya Hospital, in Chennai and she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 1994 for her lifetime service to the Telugu film industry. She was conferred the Ramineni Award in 2006 in the arts category. She received the prestigious ANR National Award in 2008, paradesi Suvarna Sundari Swarnamanjari Chandi Priya Sati Sakkubai Shirdi Sai Sathya Sai Divya Katha Krishnaveni Bhanumathi Raghupathi Venkaiah Award Anjali Devi at the Internet Movie Database
35.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
