1.
Devi
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Devī is the Sanskrit word for goddess, the masculine form is Deva. Devi – the feminine form, and Deva – the masculine form, mean heavenly, divine, anything of excellence, and are also gender specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept and reverence for goddesses appears in the Vedas, which were composed in the 2nd millennium BC, however, goddesses such as Saraswati and Usha have continued to be revered into the modern era. The divine feminine has the strongest presence as Devi in Hinduism, among major world religions, the goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Saiva Hindu traditions. Devi and Deva are Sanskrit terms found in Vedic literature of the 2nd millennium BC, Deva is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi. Monier Williams translates it as heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of excellence, exalted. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, when capitalized, Devi or Mata refers to goddess as divine mother in Hinduism. Deva is also referred to as Devatā, while Devi as Devika, according to Douglas Harper, the etymological root Dev- means a shining one, from *div- to shine, and it is a cognate with Greek dios divine and Zeus, and Latin deus. The Devi Sukta of the Rigveda 10.125.1 through 10.125, however, the goddesses are not discussed as frequently as gods. Sri, also called Lakshmi, appears in late Vedic texts dated to be pre-Buddhist, Devi is the supreme being in the Shakta tradition of Hinduism, while in the Smarta Tradition, she is one of the five primary forms of Brahman revered. She is the power of Shiva, and this theme is also found in the Tripura Upanishad, Bahvricha Upanishad. Devi asserts that she is creator of earth and heaven and resides there and her creation of sky as father, seas as mother is reflected as the Inner Supreme Self. Her creations are not prompted by any Higher being and she resides in all her creations and she is, states Devi, the eternal and infinite consciousness engulfing earth and heaven, and all forms of bliss and non-bliss, knowledge and ignorance, Brahman and Non-Brahman. The tantric aspect in Devi Upanishad, states June McDaniel is the usage of the yantra, bindu, bija, mantra, shakti. Among the major religions, the concept of goddess in Hinduism as the divine feminine, has had the strongest presence since the ancient times. Parvati is the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion and she is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess. She is the goddess in Hinduism and has many attributes. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu mythologies of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses
2.
Mahavidya
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Mahavidyas or Dasha-Mahavidyas are a group of ten aspects of Adi Parashakti in Hinduism. After the decline of Buddhism in India, Sakta and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form this list of ten. The development of Mahavidyas represents an important turning point in the history of Shaktism as it marks the rise of Bhakti aspect in Shaktism, which reached its zenith in 1700 CE. First sprung forth in the age, around 6th century C. E. it was a new theistic movement in which the supreme being was envisioned as female. A fact epitomized by texts like Devi-Bhagavata Purana, especially its last nine chapters of the seventh skandha, which are known as the Devi Gita, and soon became central texts of Shaktism. The name Mahavidyas comes from the Sanskrit roots, with maha meaning great and vidya meaning, revelation, manifestation, knowledge, shaktas believe, the one Truth is sensed in ten different facets, the Divine Mother is adored and approached as ten cosmic personalities, the Dasa-Mahavidya. The Mahavidyas are considered Tantric in nature, and are identified as, Kali – The ultimate form of Brahman, Devourer of Time Tara – The Goddess as Guide. Who offers the ultimate knowledge which gives salvation, Tripura Sundari – The Goddess Who is Beautiful in the Three Worlds, the Tantric Parvati or the Moksha Mukta. The Guhyatiguyha-tantra associates the Mahavidyas with the ten Avatars of Vishnu, all ten forms of the Goddess, whether gentle or terrifying, are worshiped as the universal Mother. All ten forms of the Goddess is concluded and worshipped in the Sri Chakra and Tripura Sundari is considered as the Adi Para Sakthi
3.
Parvati
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Parvati, also known as Urvi/Renu, is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion, as well as of divine strength and power. She is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess Shakti and she is the mother goddess in Hinduism, and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses. Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva - the protector and regenerator of universe and she is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and mother Mena. Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya, some communities also believe her to be the sister of the god Vishnu and the river-goddess Ganga. With Shiva, Parvati is a deity in the Shaiva sect. In Hindu belief, she is the energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings. In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is represented as the argha or yoni. She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace Hindu temples all over South Asia, parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for mountain, Parvati derives her name from being the daughter of king Himavan and mother Mena. King Parvat is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas, Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja, Adrija or Nagajaa or Shailaputri, Haimavathi, the Lalita sahasranama contains a listing of 1,000 names of Parvati. Two of Parvatis most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna, the name Uma is used for Sati in earlier texts, but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna and then addressed as Uma and she is also Ambika, Shakti, Mataji, Maheshwari, Durga, Bhairavi, Bhavani, Shivaradni, and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi, regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauris name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauris skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest, some scholars hold that Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature, though the Kena Upanishad contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati. She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu, and Indra, Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period, as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shivas wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa and the Puranas that the stories of Sati-Parvati, Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains
4.
Mantra
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A Mantra is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers. A mantra may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning, the earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit by Hindus in India, and are at least 3000 years old. Mantras now exist in various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, in Japanese Shingon tradition, the word Shingon means mantra. Similar hymns, chants, compositions and concepts are found in Zoroastrianism, Taoism, Christianity, the use, structure, function, importance, and types of mantras vary according to the school and philosophy of Hinduism and of Buddhism. Mantras serve a role in tantra. In this school, mantras are considered to be a sacred formula, in other schools of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism or Sikhism, initiation is not a requirement. Mantras come in forms, including ṛc and sāman. They are typically melodic, mathematically structured meters, believed to be resonant with numinous qualities, at its simplest, the word ॐ serves as a mantra. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge. Some mantras have no meaning, yet are musically uplifting. The Sanskrit word mantra- consists of the root man- to think, scholars consider mantras to be older than 1000 BC. By the middle Vedic period—1000 BC to 500 BC—claims Frits Staal, mantras in Hinduism had developed into a blend of art, the Chinese translation is zhenyan 眞言, 真言, literally true words, the Japanese onyomi reading of the Chinese being shingon. Mantras are neither unique to Hinduism, nor to other Indian religions such as Buddhism, similar creative constructs developed in Asian, mantras, suggests Frits Staal, may be older than language. There is no accepted definition of mantra. Renou has defined mantra as thought, mantras are structured formulae of thoughts, claims Silburn. Farquhar concludes that mantras are a religious thought, prayer, sacred utterance, zimmer defines mantra as a verbal instrument to produce something in one’s mind. There is no universally applicable uniform definition of mantra because mantras are used in different religions, in some schools of Hinduism for example, suggests Gonda, mantra is sakti to the devotee in the form of formulated and expressed thought. Staal clarifies that mantras are not rituals, they are what is recited or chanted during a ritual, There is a long history of scholarly disagreement on the meaning of mantras and whether they are really instruments of mind, as implied by the etymological origin of the word mantra
5.
Vahana
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Vahana denotes the being, typically an animal or mythical entity, a particular Hindu deity is said to use as a vehicle. In this capacity, the vahana is often called the deitys mount, upon the partnership between the deity and his vahana is woven much iconography and mythology. Deities are often depicted riding the vahana, other times, the vahana is depicted at the deitys side or symbolically represented as a divine attribute. The vahana may be considered an accoutrement of the deity, though the vahana may act independently, the deity may be seen sitting or on, or standing on, the vahana. They may be sitting on a platform called a howdah. Vah in Sanskrit means to carry or to transport, in Hindu iconography, positive aspects of the vehicle are often emblematic of the deity that it carries. Nandi the bull, vehicle of Shiva, represents strength and virility, Parvani the peacock, vehicle of Skanda, represents splendor and majesty. The hamsa, vehicle of Saraswati, represents wisdom, grace, however, the vehicle animal also symbolizes the evil forces over which the deity dominates. Mounted on Parvani, Skanda reins in the peacocks vanity, seated on Mushika, Ganesh crushes useless thoughts, which multiply like rats in the dark. Shani, protector of property, has a vulture, raven or crow in which he represses thieving tendencies, under Shanis influence, the vahana can make even malevolent events bring hope. The vehicle of a deity can vary according to the source, the time, in popular tradition, the origin of each vehicle is told in thousands of different ways. Three examples, While the god Ganesha was still a child, Ganesha trapped him with his lasso and made him his mount. Mushika was originally a gandharva, or celestial musician, after absent mindedly walking over the feet of a rishi named Vamadeva, Mushika was cursed and transformed into a mouse. However, after the rishi recovered his temper, he promised Mushika that one day, the prophecy was fulfilled when the mouse became the vahana of Ganesha. Before becoming the vehicle of Shiva, Nandi was a deity called Nandikeshvara, lord of joy and master of music, then, without warning, his name and his functions were transferred to the aspect of Shiva known as the deity Nataraja. From half-man, half-bull, he simply a bull. Since that time, he has watched over each of Shivas temples, kartikeya, the war-god known as Murugan in Southern India, is also mounted on a peacock. This peacock was originally a demon called Surapadma, while the rooster was called the angel, after provoking Murugan in combat, the demon repented at the moment his lance descended upon him
6.
Shiva
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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
7.
Rudra
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Rudra is a Rigvedic deity, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as the roarer, in the Rigveda, Rudra has been praised as the mightiest of the mighty. The Shri Rudram hymn from the Yajurveda is dedicated to Rudra, usage of the epithet came to exceed the original theonym by the post-Vedic period, and the name Rudra has been taken as a synonym for the god Shiva and the two names are used interchangeably. The etymology of the theonym Rudra is somewhat uncertain and it is usually derived from the root rud- which means to cry, howl. According to this etymology, the name Rudra has been translated as the roarer. An alternative etymology suggested by Prof. Pischel derives Rudra as the red one, the brilliant one from a lost root rud-, to be red or to be ruddy or respectively, according to Grassman, to shine. Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means wild, i. e. of rudra nature, R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as the terrible in his glossary for the Shiva Sahasranama. The commentator Sāyaṇa suggests six possible derivations for rudra, however, another reference states that Sayana suggested ten derivations. The adjective shivam in the sense of propitious or kind is applied to the name Rudra in RV10.92.9, Rudra is called the archer and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages, the names Dhanvin and Bāṇahasta also refer to archery. In other contexts the word rudra can simply mean the number eleven, the word rudraksha, or eye of Rudra, is used as a name both for the berry of the Rudraksha tree, and a name for a string of the prayer beads made from those seeds. The earliest mentions of Rudra occur in the Rigveda, where three entire hymns are devoted to him, there are about seventy-five references to Rudra in the Rigveda overall. In the Rigveda Rudras role as a god is apparent in references to him as ghora. He is fierce like a wild beast. Chakravarti sums up the perception of Rudra by saying, Rudra is thus regarded with a kind of cringing fear, as a deity whose wrath is to be deprecated and whose favor curried. RV1.114 is an appeal to Rudra for mercy, where he is referred to as mighty Rudra, in RV7.46, Rudra is described as armed with a bow and fast-flying arrows. As quoted by R. G. Bhandarkar, the hymn says Rudra discharges brilliant shafts which run about the heaven and the earth, which may be a reference to lightning. Rudra was believed to cure diseases, and when people recovered from them or were free of them and he is asked not to afflict children with disease and to keep villages free of illness
8.
Devanagari
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Devanagari, also called Nagari, is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal. It is written left to right, has a strong preference for symmetrical rounded shapes within squared outlines. The Nagari script has roots in the ancient Brāhmī script family, the Nagari script was in regular use by the 7th century CE and it was fully developed by about the end of first millennium. Nagari has been the primus inter pares of the Indic scripts, the Devanagari script is also used for classical Sanskrit texts. The Devanagari script is closely related to the Nandinagari script commonly found in ancient manuscripts of South India. Devanagari script has forty-seven primary characters, of which fourteen are vowels, the ancient Nagari script for Sanskrit had two additional consonantal characters. The script has no distinction similar to the capital and small letters of the Latin alphabet, generally the orthography of the script reflects the pronunciation of the language. Devanagari is part of the Brahmic family of scripts of India, Nepal, Tibet and it is a descendant of the Gupta script, along with Siddham and Sharada. Medieval inscriptions suggest widespread diffusion of the Nagari-related scripts, with biscripts presenting local script along with the adoption of Nagari scripts, the 7th-century Tibetan king Srong-tsan-gambo ordered that all foreign books be transcribed into the Tibetan language. Other closely related scripts such as Siddham Matrka was in use in Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Sharada remained in parallel use in Kashmir. Nāgarī is the Sanskrit feminine of Nāgara relating or belonging to a town or city and it is a phrasing with lipi as nāgarī lipi script relating to a city, or spoken in city. The use of the name devanāgarī is relatively recent, and the older term nāgarī is still common, the rapid spread of the term devanāgarī may be related to the almost exclusive use of this script to publish Sanskrit texts in print since the 1870s. As a Brahmic abugida, the principle of Devanagari is that each letter represents a consonant. This is usually written in Latin as a, though it is represented as in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the letter क is read ka, the two letters कन are kana, the three कनय are kanaya, etc. This cancels the inherent vowel, so that from क्नय knaya is derived क्नय् knay, the halant is often used for consonant clusters when typesetting conjunct ligatures is not feasible. Consonant clusters are written with ligatures, for example, the three consonants क्, न्, and य्, when written consecutively without virāma form कनय, as shown above. Alternatively, they may be joined as clusters to form क्नय knaya, कन्य kanya and this system was originally created for use with the Middle Indo-Aryan languages, which have a very limited number of clusters. When applied to Sanskrit, however, it added a deal of complexity to the script
9.
Mahavidyas
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Mahavidyas or Dasha-Mahavidyas are a group of ten aspects of Adi Parashakti in Hinduism. After the decline of Buddhism in India, Sakta and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form this list of ten. The development of Mahavidyas represents an important turning point in the history of Shaktism as it marks the rise of Bhakti aspect in Shaktism, which reached its zenith in 1700 CE. First sprung forth in the age, around 6th century C. E. it was a new theistic movement in which the supreme being was envisioned as female. A fact epitomized by texts like Devi-Bhagavata Purana, especially its last nine chapters of the seventh skandha, which are known as the Devi Gita, and soon became central texts of Shaktism. The name Mahavidyas comes from the Sanskrit roots, with maha meaning great and vidya meaning, revelation, manifestation, knowledge, shaktas believe, the one Truth is sensed in ten different facets, the Divine Mother is adored and approached as ten cosmic personalities, the Dasa-Mahavidya. The Mahavidyas are considered Tantric in nature, and are identified as, Kali – The ultimate form of Brahman, Devourer of Time Tara – The Goddess as Guide. Who offers the ultimate knowledge which gives salvation, Tripura Sundari – The Goddess Who is Beautiful in the Three Worlds, the Tantric Parvati or the Moksha Mukta. The Guhyatiguyha-tantra associates the Mahavidyas with the ten Avatars of Vishnu, all ten forms of the Goddess, whether gentle or terrifying, are worshiped as the universal Mother. All ten forms of the Goddess is concluded and worshipped in the Sri Chakra and Tripura Sundari is considered as the Adi Para Sakthi
10.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
11.
Singlestick
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Singlestick, also known as cudgels, refers to both a martial art that uses a wooden stick as well as the weapon used in the art. It began as a way of training sailors in the use of such as the saber or the cutlass. Canne de combat, a French form of fighting, is similar to singlestick play. The singlestick itself is a slender, round wooden rod, traditionally of ash, singlesticks are typically around 36 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter and thicker at one end than the other. It bears approximately the same relationship to the backsword as the foil to the sword in being a sporting version of the weapon for safe practice. The original form of the singlestick was the waster, which appeared in the 16th century and was merely a wooden sword used in practice for the backsword, and of the same general shape. By the first quarter of the 17th century wasters had become simple clubs known as cudgels with the addition of a sword guard. When the basket hilt came into use about twenty five years later. The guards, cuts and parries in singlestick play were at first identical with those of backsword play, in 16th century England, hits below the girdle were considered unfair. In the 18th century, all parts of the person became valid targets, by the turn of the 19th century, the target area had been restricted to the upper body and the upper part of the forward leg. These rules are in use today by the Association for Historical Fencing, historically, the target area has varied, with bouts sometimes only being decided by the drawing of blood from the head of one of the contestants, in the manner of the Mensur. Towards the end of the 18th century the play became very restricted, the players were placed near together, the feet remaining immovable and all strokes being delivered with a whip-like action of the wrist from a high hanging guard, the hand being held above the head. Thomas Hughess story Tom Browns School Days contains a description of cudgel-play during the first half of the 19th century. The point was introduced and leg hits were allowed, american President Theodore Roosevelt and his friend General Leonard Wood were fond of this sport and used to emerge from a contest quite bruised from their rounds. However doubt has been raised on this theory and it is very unlikely that Theodore Roosevelt or General Wood ever practiced the British sport of Singlestick but more likely the French art of canne de combat. Singlestick was an event at the 1904 Summer Olympics, but the sport was already in decline, again recent investigation found that most likely singlestick was not present at the 1904 Olympics, but rather a form of cane fighting. With the introduction of the light Italian fencing sabre in the early 20th century, in the UK, Singlestick competition ceased in the Services in the 1950s, although the skills continue to be passed down from one generation of fencing Professor to the next. Stickplay with wooden swords as a school for the cutlass remained common in some navies, the art, occasionally practised by a few fencing veterans in the United Kingdom, was revived by the Royal Navy in the 1980s
12.
North India
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North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indus-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, other states sometimes included are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat and West Bengal. North India has been the centre of the Mughal, Delhi Sultanate. The languages that have official status in one or more of the states and union territories located in North India are Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, Punjabi, Kashmiri/Koshur, Dogri, different authorities and sources define North India differently. Rajasthan is also included in North Central Culture Zone as well as West Cultural Zone, the Northern Zonal Council is one of the advisory councils, created in 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act to foster inter-state cooperation. It differs from the North Cultural Zone in its inclusion of Delhi, in contrast, the Geological Survey of India included Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in its Northern Region, but excluded Rajasthan and Chandigarh, with a regional headquarters in Lucknow. The Hindu newspaper puts Bihar as well as Uttar Pradesh and Delhi related articles on its North pages, however according to the Government of Bihar official page as well as Indian Zonal Coucil, it is considered to be an Eastern Indian state instead. North Indian states which are entirely above the Tropic of Cancer are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The term North Indian is sometimes used to people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, often using the term bhaiya in a derogatory sense. In Punjab, people from the region are often referred to as Purabias. Some publications of the Government of Bihar place that state in the part of India. Within Uttar Pradesh itself, the divide between the east and the west is considerable, with the purabiyas often being clubbed with Biharis in the perception of the westerners. One demarcation between northern and southern nations has been the Vindhya mountain range, in centuries past this sometimes formed a border during periods of imperial expansion, such as the one ruled by the Gupta emperor Samudragupta. The Vindhyas also find mention in the narrative of Rishi Agastya as a dividing feature between North and South India, the Manusmṛti also describes the southern limit of Aryavarta as being defined by the Vindhya range. North India lies mainly on continental India, north of peninsular India, towards its north are the Himalayas which define the boundary between the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau. To its west is the Thar desert, shared between North India and Pakistan and the Aravalli Range, beyond lies the state of Gujarat. The Vindhya mountains are, in some interpretations, taken to be the boundary of North India. The state of Madhya Pradesh has large areas under forest cover, as do Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, North India lies mainly in the north temperate zone of the Earth
13.
Bridle
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A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the bridle includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear without a bit that uses a noseband to control a horse is called a hackamore, or, in some areas, a bitless bridle. The bridle consists of the elements, Crownpiece, The crownpiece, headstall or headpiece goes over the horses head just behind the animals ears. It is the strap that holds the remaining parts of the bridle in place. Cheekpieces, On most bridles, two cheekpieces attach to either side of the crownpiece and run down the side of the face, along the cheekbone. On some designs, the crownpiece is a strap that includes the right cheek and crownpiece as a single unit. Throatlatch, the throatlatch or throatlash is usually part of the piece of leather as the crownpiece. It runs from the right ear, under the horses throatlatch. Browband, The crownpiece runs through the browband, the browband runs from just under one ear of the horse, across the forehead, to just under the other ear. In certain sports, such as dressage and Saddle seat, decorative browbands are sometimes fashionable, noseband, the noseband encircles the nose of the horse. It is often used to keep the mouth closed, or to attach other pieces or equipment. Because it has a separate headstall, a cavesson can be adjusted with greater precision, in Saddle seat riding, the cavesson is often brightly colored and matches the browband. Variations on the standard English-style bridle are often named for their style of noseband, for use in polo, a gag bridle usually has a noseband plus a cavesson. Frentera, a running from the browband to the noseband. Fiador, a form of throatlatch, is used with a hackamore, reins, The reins of a bridle attach to the bit, below the attachment for the cheekpieces. The reins are the link to the horse, and are seen on every bridle. Reins are often laced, braided, have stops, or are made of rubber or some other material to provide extra grip
14.
Asura
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Asuras are mythological lord beings in Indian texts who compete for power with the more benevolent devas. Asuras are described in Indian texts as powerful superhuman demigods or demons with good or bad qualities, the good Asuras are called Adityas and are led by Varuna, while the malevolent ones are called Danavas and are led by Vritra. In the earliest layer of Vedic texts Agni, Indra and other gods are also called Asuras, in the sense of them being lords of their domains, knowledge. In later Vedic and post-Vedic texts, the benevolent gods are called Devas, Asuras are part of Indian mythology along with Devas, Yakshas and Rakshasas, and Asuras feature in one of many cosmological theories in Hinduism. Monier-Williams traces the roots of Asura to Asu, which means life of the spiritual world or departed spirits. In later verses of the Samhita layer of Vedic texts, Monier Williams states the Asuras are evil spirits, demons, Asuras connote the chaos-creating evil, in Hindu and Persian mythology about the battle between good and evil. In this, the form, asuryaa, is included twice. The word, asurya, has been used 19 times as a noun, while the abstract form asuratva occurs 24 times,22 times in each of the 22 times of one hymn. Asura is used as an adjective meaning powerful or mighty, in the Rigveda, two generous kings, as well as some priests, have been described as asuras. One hymn requests a son who is an asura, in nine hymns, Indra is described as asura. Five times, he is said to possess asurya, and once he is said to possess asuratva, Agni has total of 12 asura descriptions, Varuna has 10, Mitra has eight, and Rudra has six. Bhargava gives a count of the usage for every Vedic deity. The Book 1 of Rig Veda describes Savitr as an Asura who is a kind leader, in later texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas with the embedded Bhagavad Gita, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad. According to the Bhagavad Gita, all beings in the universe have both the qualities and the demonic qualities within each. Asko Parpola traces the etymological root of Asura to *asera- of Uralic languages, scholars have disagreed on the nature and evolution of the Asura concept in ancient Indian literature. Kuiper calls Asuras a special group of gods in one of major Vedic theories of creation of the universe and their role changes only during and after the earth, sky and living beings have been created. The sky world becomes that of Devas, the underworld becomes that of Asuras, deity Indra is the protagonist of the good and the Devas, while dragon Vrtra who is also one of asuras is the protagonist of the evil. This is the first major dualism to emerge in the nature of everything in the Universe, Hale, in his review, states that Kuiper theory on Asura is plausible but weak because the Vedas never call Vrtra an Asura as the texts describe many other powerful beings
15.
Deva (Hinduism)
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Deva means heavenly, divine, anything of excellence, and is also one of the terms for a deity in Hinduism. Deva is masculine, and the feminine equivalent is devi. In the earliest Vedic literature, all beings are called Asuras. The concepts and legends evolve in ancient Indian literature, and by the late Vedic period, in post-Vedic texts, such as the Puranas and the Itihasas of Hinduism, the Devas represent the good, and the Asuras the bad. In some medieval Indian literature, Devas are also referred to as Suras and contrasted with their powerful but malevolent half-brothers. Devas along with Asuras, Yakshas and Rakshasas are part of Indian mythology, Deva is a Sanskrit word found in Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE. Monier Williams translates it as heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of excellence, exalted. The concept also is used to refer to deity or god, the feminine form of *deiwos is *deiwih2, which descends into Indic languages as devi, in that context meaning female deity. The bode of the Devas is Dyuloka, according to Douglas Harper, the etymological roots of Deva mean a shining one, from *div- to shine, and it is a cognate with Greek dios divine and Zeus, and Latin deus god. Deva is masculine, and the feminine equivalent is devi. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, when capitalized, Devi or Mata refers to goddess as divine mother in Hinduism. Deva is also referred to as Devatā, while Devi as Devika, the word Deva is also a proper name or part of name in Indian culture, where it refers to one who wishes to excel, overcome or the seeker of, master of or a best among-. Savitr, Vishnu, Rudra, and Prajapati are gods and hence Devas, saraswati and Ushas are some Devis or goddesses. Many of the deities taken together are worshiped as the Vishvedevas, max Muller states that the Vedic hymns are remarkable in calling every single of different devas as the only one, the supreme, the greatest.163.3, Trita art thou by interior operation. All powerful beings, good or evil, are called Asuras in the oldest layer of Vedic texts, a much studied hymn of the Rigveda states Devav asura, and contrasts it with Asura adevah. They are born from the father, Prajapati, the primordial progenitor, the elder sons are envisioned as the Asuras. The oldest Upanishads mention Devas, and their struggle with the Asuras, the Kaushitaki Upanishad, for example, in Book 4 states that Indra was weaker than the Asuras when he did not know his own Atman. Chandogya Upanishad, in chapter 1.2, describes the battle between Devas and Asuras on various sensory powers, finally, the Deva-Asura battle targets the soul, where Asuras fail and Devas succeed, because soul-force is serene and inherently good, asserts Chandogya Upanishad
16.
Vishnu
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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
17.
Saurashtra (region)
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Saurashtra is a peninsular region of western India, located on the Arabian Sea coast. It covers about a third of Gujarat state, notably 11 districts of Gujarat, Saurashtra peninsula is bounded on the south and south-west by the Arabian sea, on the north-west by the Gulf of Kutch and on the east by the Gulf of Khambhat. The peninsula is referred to as Kathiawar after the Kathi Darbar who once ruled part of the region. Sorath forms the southern portion of the peninsula, the region also historically encompassed the Diu district of the Daman and Diu union territory. Prior to it, during the rule of Ashoka, the region was under Yavana Tushaspa, Vrajlal Sapovadia noted from literature and Tamil Nadu Government record that around AD1000, weaver community left Saurashtra region to South India and are known as Saurashtra people. For long period of time, the name Sorath referred to this region, from the 9th to 14th century Chudasama Rajput ruled Sorath with their capitals Vanthali and Junagadh alternatively. The Chudasama Rajputs ruled Sorath longer than any others, until the Sorath area came under Muslim-rule, Sorath, a Muslim corruption of Saurashtra, was initially one of ten prants, but by the colonial age it was one of only four surviving ones, the others being absorbed. The salute state Junagadh, founded during British rule, and its states were controlled by the Western India States Agency. In 1947, Junagadhs Muslim ruler desired to accede his territory to Pakistan, after Indias independence in 1947,217 princely states of Kathiawar, including the former Junagadh State, were merged to form the state of Saurashtra on 15 February 1948. Initially, it was named United State of Kathiawar which was renamed to Saurashtra State in November 1948, the exercise took up a lot of Shri Vallabhbhai Patels time to convince the local princes and petty subas. The capital of Saurashtra was Rajkot, uchharangray Navalshankar Dhebar, who later went on to become President of the Indian National Congress between 1955 and 59, became Saurashtras first Chief Minister. He was succeeded by Rasiklal Umedchand Parikh on 19 December 1954, on 1 November 1956, Saurashtra was merged into Bombay state. In 1960 Bombay state was divided along linguistic lines into the new states of Gujarat, the territory of Saurashtra, including Junagadh and all Sorath, became part of the state of Gujarat. Saurashtra is also the name of an Indo-Aryan language of Kathiawar-Saurashtra, the script of this language is derived from the Devanagari Script and shares similarities with modern-day Gujarati. The first postage stamps of the state were issued for Princely State of Junagadh in 1864 and they consisted of three lines of Hindi script in colourless letters on black, and were produced by hand-stamping with watercolor ink. A second issue, in 1868 used coloured letters, printed in black or red on several colours of paper. The issue of 1877 was the first to include Latin letters, the design included the inscription SORUTH POSTAGE at the top. Some of these were surcharged in 1913–14, followed by redesigned stamps in 1914, a set of eight stamps in 1929 including pictures of Junagadh, the Gir lion, and the Kathi horse in addition to the nawab
18.
Gujarat
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Gujarat is a state in Western India, sometimes referred to as the Jewel of Western India. It has an area of 196,024 km2 with a coastline of 1,600 km, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula, and a population in excess of 60 million. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the north, Maharashtra to the south, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and its capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. Gujarat is home to the Gujarati-speaking people of India, the state encompasses some sites of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, such as Lothal and Dholavira. Lothal is believed to be one of the worlds first seaports, Gujarat was known to the ancient Greeks, and was familiar in other Western centres of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages. Modern-day Gujarat is derived from Sanskrit term Gurjaradesa, the Gurjar nation, parts of modern Rajasthan and Gujarat have been known as Gurjaratra or Gurjarabhumi for centuries before the Mughal period. Gujarat was one of the centres of the Indus Valley Civilization. It contains ancient metropolitan cities from the Indus Valley such as Lothal, Dholavira, the ancient city of Lothal was where Indias first port was established. The ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, the most recent discovery was Gola Dhoro. Altogether, about 50 Indus Valley settlement ruins have been discovered in Gujarat, the ancient history of Gujarat was enriched by the commercial activities of its inhabitants. There is clear evidence of trade and commerce ties with Egypt, Bahrain. The early history of Gujarat reflects the grandeur of Chandragupta Maurya who conquered a number of earlier states in what is now Gujarat. Pushyagupta, a Vaishya, was appointed governor of Saurashtra by the Mauryan regime and he ruled Giringer and built a dam on the Sudarshan lake. Between the decline of Mauryan power and Saurashtra coming under the sway of the Samprati Mauryas of Ujjain, in the first half of the 1st century AD there is the story of a merchant of King Gondaphares landing in Gujarat with Apostle Thomas. The incident of the cup-bearer killed by a lion might indicate that the city described is in Gujarat. For nearly 300 years from the start of the 1st century AD, the weather-beaten rock at Junagadh gives a glimpse of the ruler Rudradaman I of the Saka satraps known as Western Satraps, or Kshatraps. Mahakshatrap Rudradaman I founded the Kardamaka dynasty which ruled from Anupa on the banks of the Narmada up to the Aparanta region which bordered Punjab, in Gujarat several battles were fought between the south Indian Satavahana dynasty and the Western Satraps. The greatest ruler of the Satavahana Dynasty was Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Western Satraps, the Kshatrapa dynasty was replaced by the Gupta Empire with the conquest of Gujarat by Chandragupta Vikramaditya
19.
Sind
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Sindh /sɪnd/ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, in the southeast of the country. Historically home to the Sindhi people, it is locally known as the Mehran. It was formerly known as Sind until 1956, Sindh is the third largest province of Pakistan by area, and second largest province by population after Punjab. Sindh is bordered by Balochistan province to the west, and Punjab province to the north, Sindh also borders the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east, and Arabian Sea to the south. Sindhs climate is noted for hot summers and mild winters, the provincial capital of Sindh is Pakistans largest city and financial hub, Karachi. Sindh has Pakistans second largest economy with Karachi being its capital hosts the headquarters of several multinational banks. Sindh is home to a portion of Pakistans industrial sector. The remainder of Sindh has an agriculture based economy, and produces fruit, food consumer items, Sindh is also the centre of Pakistans pharmaceutical industry. Sindh is known for its culture which is strongly influenced by Sufism. Several important Sufi shrines are located throughout the province which attract millions of annual devotees, Sindh also has Pakistans highest percentage of Hindu residents. Karachi and other centres of Sindh have seen ethnic tensions between the native Sindhis and the Muhajirs boil over into violence on several occasions. Sindh is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the Historical Monuments at Makli, and the Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro, the word Sindh is derived from the Sanskrit language and is adapted from the Sanskrit term Sindhu which literally means river hence a reference to Indus River. Spelling of its name as Sind was discontinued in 1988 by an amendment passed in Sindh Assembly. The Greeks who conquered Sindh in 325 BC under the command of Alexander the Great rendered it as Indós, the ancient Iranians referred to everything east of the river Indus as hind from the word Sindh. When the British arrived in the 17th century in India, then ruled by the Maratha Empire, they applied the Greek version of the name Sindh to all of South Asia, calling it India. The name of Pakistan is actually an acronym in which the letter s is derived from the first letter in Sindh, Sindhs first known village settlements date as far back as 7000 BCE. Permanent settlements at Mehrgarh, currently in Balochistan, to the west expanded into Sindh and this culture blossomed over several millennia and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. The primitive village communities in Balochistan were still struggling against a difficult highland environment and this was one of the most developed urban civilizations of the ancient world
20.
Madhya Pradesh
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Madhya Pradesh is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, nicknamed the heart of India due to its geographical location in India, Madhya Pradesh is the second-largest state in the country by area. With over 75 million inhabitants, it is the fifth-largest state in India by population and it borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest. Its total area is 308,252 km², subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India. By the early 18th century, the region was divided into small kingdoms which were captured by the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar. This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, in recent years, the states GDP growth has been above the national average. Rich in mineral resources, MP has the largest reserves of diamond, more than 30% of its area is under forest cover. Its tourism industry has seen growth, with the state topping the National Tourism Awards in 2010–11. Isolated remains of Homo erectus found in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley indicate that Madhya Pradesh might have been inhabited in the Middle Pleistocene era, painted pottery dated to the later mesolithic period has been found in the Bhimbetka rock shelters. Chalcolithic sites belonging to Kayatha culture and Malwa culture have been discovered in the part of the state. The city of Ujjain arose as a centre in the region. It served as the capital of the Avanti kingdom, other kingdoms mentioned in ancient epics — Malava, Karusha, Dasarna and Nishada — have also been identified with parts of Madhya Pradesh. Chandragupta Maurya united northern India around 320 BCE, establishing the Mauryan Empire, ashoka the greatest of Mauryan rulers brought the region under firmer control. After the decline of the Maurya empire, the region was contested among the Sakas, the Kushanas, the Satavahanas, Heliodorus, the Greek Ambassador to the court of the Shunga king Bhagabhadra erected the Heliodorus pillar near Vidisha. Ujjain emerged as the predominant commercial centre of western India from the first century BCE, the Satavahana dynasty of the northern Deccan and the Saka dynasty of the Western Satraps fought for the control of Madhya Pradesh during the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. The Satavahana king Gautamiputra Satakarni inflicted a defeat upon the Saka rulers and conquered parts of Malwa. Subsequently, the region came under the control of the Gupta empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, and their southern neighbours, the attacks of the Hephthalites or White Huns brought about the collapse of the Gupta empire, which broke up into smaller states. The king Yasodharman of Malwa defeated the Huns in 528, ending their expansion, later, Harsha ruled the northern parts of the state
21.
Rajasthan
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Rajasthan is Indias largest state by area. Elsewhere it is bordered by the other Indian states, Punjab to the north, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, and Gujarat to the southwest. Rajasthan is also home to two national reserves, the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur and Sariska Tiger Reserve in Alwar. The state was formed on 30 March 1949 when Rajputana – the name adopted by the British Raj for its dependencies in the region – was merged into the Dominion of India. Its capital and largest city is Jaipur, also known as Pink City, other important cities are Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Kota and Ajmer. Parts of what is now Rajasthan were partly part of the Vedic Civilisation, kalibangan, in Hanumangarh district, was a major provincial capital of the Indus Valley Civilization. Matsya Kingdom of the Vedic civilisation of India, is said to roughly corresponded to the state of Jaipur in Rajasthan. The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagar, which is said to have named after its founder king Virata. Bhargava identifies the two districts of Jhunjhunu and Sikar and parts of Jaipur district along with Haryana districts of Mahendragarh, bhargava also locates the present day Sahibi River as the Vedic Drishadwati River, which along with Saraswati River formed the borders of the Vedic state of Brahmavarta. Manu and Bhrigu narrated the Manusmriti to a congregation of seers in this area only, the Indo-Scythians invaded the area of Ujjain and established the Saka era, marking the beginning of the long-lived Saka Western Satraps state. Gurjars ruled for many dynasties in this part of the country, up to the tenth century almost the whole of North India, acknowledged the supremacy of the Gurjars with their seat of power at Kannauj. The Gurjar Pratihar Empire acted as a barrier for Arab invaders from the 8th to the 11th century, the chief accomplishment of the Gurjara Pratihara empire lies in its successful resistance to foreign invasions from the west, starting in the days of Junaid. Majumdar says that this was acknowledged by the Arab writers. He further notes that historians of India have wondered at the progress of Muslim invaders in India. Traditionally the Rajputs, Jats, Meenas, REBARI, Gurjars, Bhils, Rajpurohit, Charans, Yadavs, Bishnois, Sermals, PhulMali, all these tribes suffered great difficulties in protecting their culture and the land. Millions of them were killed trying to protect their land, a number of Gurjars had been exterminated in Bhinmal and Ajmer areas fighting with the invaders. Meenas were rulers of Bundi, Hadoti and the Dhundhar region, hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the Hindu Emperor, was born in the village of Machheri in Alwar District in 1501. Hem Chandra was killed in the battlefield at Second Battle of Panipat fighting against Mughals on 5 November 1556, maharana Pratap of Mewar resisted Akbar in the famous Battle of Haldighati and later operated from hilly areas of his kingdom
22.
Tripura Sundari
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She is the foremost and the most important in Dasha-Mahavidyas. All other Mahavidyas concludes in Her vidya i. e. Sri Vidya and her consort is Maha Kameswara Shiva. She is the highest aspect of Goddess Adi Shakti, Parvati is the complete incarnation of Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari. Tripurasundari is the goddess associated with the Shakta Tantric tradition known as Sri Vidya. As Shodashi, Tripurasundari is represented as a girl, and is believed to embody sixteen types of desire. Shodashi also refers to the sixteen syllable mantra, which consists of the fifteen syllable mantra plus a final seed syllable, the Shodashi Tantra refers to Shodashi as the Beauty of the Three Cities, or Tripurasundari. There is a popular saying among Sri Vidya tradition which is that one has to be verily Shiva himself or in ones last birth to get Sri Vidya. Since we are not Shiva, it has to be the last birth or when we get it, it becomes our last birth, Tripura means the three fortified cities, and sundarī means beautiful, specifically a beautiful female. Therefore, her name means Beautiful of the Three Cities, etymologically, Lalitha means She Who Plays. In the root form, the word Lalitha means spontaneous from which the meaning easy or easy to attain is derived and she plays with her devotees just like a mother plays with her child. Also the concept of maya is referred to here and she is also called Maha Maya. Shiva is one of the trinity of Hindu pantheons and he married Sati, the daughter of Daksha. Daksha and Shiva did not get along and consequently Daksha did not invite Shiva for one of the great fire sacrifices that he conducted, however Sati went to attend that function in spite of Shiva’s protest. Daksha insulted her husband and she jumped into the fire and ended her life, consequently, at the behest of Shiva, Daksha was killed and later resurrected with a goat’s head. This incident i. e. death of his wife upset Shiva, Sati reincarnated as Parvati, the daughter of Himavat, king of the mountains, and his wife, the apsara Mena as a result of a boon given to them by Adi Para Sakthi. Naturally, Pārvatī sought and received Shiva as her husband, the devas faced an enemy in Tarakasura who had a boon that he could be killed only by a son of Shiva and Parvati. So for the purpose of begetting a son from Shiva and Parvati, the devas deputed Manmatha, Manmatha shot his flower arrows to Shiva and Parvati in order to induce severe sexual feelings in them. Shiva in anger for being tricked, opened his third eye which reduced the God of love to ashes, the Devas and Rathi Devi, the wife of Manmatha requested Shiva to give life to Manmatha
23.
Datia
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Datia is the district headquarters of the Datia District in north central Madhya Pradesh, a state of Central India. It is an ancient town, mentioned in the Mahabharata as Daityavakra, the town is 69 km from Gwalior,325 km south of New Delhi and 320 km north of Bhopal. About 15 km from Datia is Sonagiri, a sacred Jain hill, Datia is also about 34 km from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh and 52 km from Orchha. The nearest airport is at Gwalior and it was formerly the seat of the eponymous princely state in the British Raj. Datia is situated near Gwalior and on the border with Uttar Pradesh, the old town is surrounded by a stone wall, encompassing beautiful palaces and gardens. The 17th-century palace of Vir Singh Deo is an example of the Hindu architecture of North India. The town serves as a center for grains and cotton products. Handloom weaving is an important industry, Datia has several important landmarks and is famous for the seven-story palace built by Raja Vir Singh Deo in 1614. The town is also a pilgrimage spot for religious devotees. There are many temples, including the Sidhapeeth of Peetambhara Devi, Buglamukhi Devi Temple, peetambra Peeth is a famous Shaktipitha located at the entrance of Datia. This pilgrimage spot is located about 1 km from Datia Bus Station and 3 km from Datia Railway Station on the Delhi-Chennai main line, the Dhumavati Main Temple, established by Golokwasi Swamiji Maharaj, and the Vankhandeshwar temple, a Mahabharat period temple of Shiva, are here. The state was founded in 1549, Rao Bhagwan Rao, 1st Rao of Datia and Baroni 1626/1656, received Datia and Baroni from his father, Raja Bir Singh Deo of Orchha in 1626, and established his own state. After he died in 1676, the state came under British control with other territories in Bundelkhand under the Treaty of Bassein in 1802, the treaty was formed with the Peshwa. The ancient title of the family was Maharaja Rao Raja. For the British, the Peshwa maintained a force consisting of 945 cavalry,5203 infantry. The motto of the family was Wir dalap Sharandah. In 1896–97, the state suffered from famine, and again to an extent in 1899–1900. After Indias independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Datia acceded the dominion of India, Datia, together with the rest of the Bundelkhand agency, became part of the new state of Vindhya Pradesh in 1950
24.
Himachal Pradesh
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Himachal Pradesh is a state of India located in Northern India. It is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab and Chandigarh on the west, Haryana on the south-west, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east. The name was coined from Sanskrit him snow and achal mountain, by Acharya Diwakar Datt Sharma, Himachal Pradesh is famous for its natural beauty, hill stations, and temples. Himachal Pradesh has been ranked fifteenth in the list of the highest per capita incomes of Indian states, many perennial rivers flow in the state, and numerous hydroelectric projects set up. Himachal produces surplus hydroelectricity and sells it to states such as Delhi, Punjab. Hydroelectric power projects, tourism, and agriculture form important parts of the states economy, the state has several valleys, and more than 90% of the population living in rural areas. Practically all houses have a toilet and 100% hygiene has been achieved in the state, the villages have good connectivity with roads, public health centres, and now with high-speed broadband. Shimla district has maximum urban population of 25%, according to a 2005 Transparency International survey, Himachal Pradesh was ranked the second-least corrupt state in the country, after Kerala. The history of the area that now constitutes Himachal Pradesh dates to the Indus valley civilisation that flourished between 2250 and 1750 BCE, tribes such as the Koili, Hali, Dagi, Dhaugri, Dasa, Khasa, Kinnar, and Kirat inhabited the region from the prehistoric era. During the Vedic period, several small republics known as Janapada existed which were conquered by the Gupta Empire. After a brief period of supremacy by King Harshavardhana, the region was divided into several local powers headed by chieftains and these kingdoms enjoyed a large degree of independence and were invaded by Delhi Sultanate a number of times. Mahmud Ghaznavi conquered Kangra at the beginning of the 10th century, timur and Sikander Lodi also marched through the lower hills of the state and captured a number of forts and fought many battles. Several hill states acknowledged Mughal suzerainty and paid tribute to the Mughals. The Gurkha people, a tribe, came to power in Nepal in the year 1768. They consolidated their power and began to expand their territory. Gradually, the Gorkhas annexed Sirmour and Shimla, under the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa, the Gurkha laid siege to Kangra. They managed to defeat Sansar Chand Katoch, the ruler of Kangra, however, the Gurkha could not capture Kangra fort which came under Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1809. After the defeat, the Gurkha began to expand towards the south of the state, however, Raja Ram Singh, Raja of Siba State, captured the fort of Siba from the remnants of Lahore Darbar in Samvat 1846, during the First Anglo-Sikh War
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West Bengal
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West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
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Pitambara Peeth
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Shri Peetambra Peetha is a complex of Hindu temples, located in the city of Datia, in the Madhya Pradesh state of the central India. It was, according to many legends Tapasthali of many mythological as well as real life people, the shivlingam of shree Vankhandeswar Shiva is tested and approved by the Archaeological Survey of India to be of the same age as that of the Mahabharata. It is primarily a Shakta place of worship, Shri Peetambara Peetha is one of the most famous temples of Baglamukhi which was established by Shree Swami Ji in 1920s. He also established the temple of goddess Dhumavati within the ashram, Dhumavati and Bagalamukhi are the two of the ten Mahavidyas. In addition to those, there are temples of Parshuram, Hanuman, Kal Bhairav and other god, currently the Peeth is maintained by a trust. There is a Sanskrit library which was established by the Pujyapaad, one can get the books explaining the history of the Ashram and secret mantras of various kind of sadhanas and tantras. One of the feature of the Ashram is its endeavor to spread the light of Sanskrit language to young children. Ashram conducts Sanskrit debates across the years, Pujyapaad was called Swamijior Maharaaj by the devotees. No one knows from where he came, or his name, living legend who knows about Swamiji is Pt Shri Gaya Prasad Nayak ji of Garhi Malehara. Pujya Swamiji Maharaj and Babujis Guruji were Gurubhai, Pujyapaad was a strong devotee of the Goddess Pitambara. He had a liking for the Sanskrit language. He was having good knowledge of Urdu, Persian and Arabic, English, Pali and he liked the classical music and various great classical musicians of that time used to visit the ashram. Some of the musicians who visited the ashram are Pundit Gundai Maharaj, Siyaram Tiwari, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, one of the greatest classical musician Acharaya Brhaspati was follower of Pujyapaad. The ashram is located in Datia town of Madhya Pradesh, India approx 75 km from Gwalior and it is well connected by train and the ashram is around 3 km from the Datia railway station. This shakti peeth has Vankhandeswar Shiva Temple as well which is said to be of the time of Mahabharata, people of Datia are very simple and live religious life. One should visit the ashram with very pure heart and full devotion, irrespective of your status, every one has to follow Peeths discipline for Mai Darshan. No one is allowed to carry leather items i. e. waist belt, wallet, one is treated at par with other devotees. If possible, wear yellow garments during Sadhana, Baglamukhi Mantra is one of the most powerful mantra to attain powers to control over enmity feeling of your opponents be it human or animals
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Kanchipuram
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Kānchipuram a otherwise known as Kānchi is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu,72 km from Chennai – the capital of Tamil Nadu. The city covers an area of 11.605 km2 and had a population of 164,265 in 2001 and it is the administrative headquarters of Kanchipuram District. Kanchipuram is well-connected by road and rail, Chennai International Airport is the nearest domestic and international airport to the city, which is located at Tirusulam in Kanchipuram district. The citys historical monuments include the Kailasanathar Temple and the Vaikunta Perumal Temple, historically, Kanchipuram was a centre of education and was known as the ghatikasthanam, or place of learning. The city was also a centre of advanced education for Jainism and Buddhism between the 1st and 5th centuries. In Vaishnavism Hindu theology, Kanchipuram is one of the seven Tirtha sites, the city houses Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ekambareswarar Temple, Kamakshi Amman Temple, and Kumarakottam Temple which are some of major Hindu temples in the state. Of the 108 holy temples of the Hindu god Vishnu,14 are located in Kanchipuram, the city is particularly important to Sri Vaishnavism, but is also a holy pilgrimage site in Shaivism. The city is known for its hand woven silk sarees. Kanchipuram is administered by a Special grade municipality constituted in 1947, Kanchipuram has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. Kanchipuram was known in early Tamil literature as Kachi or Kachipedu but was later Sanskritized to Kanchi or Kanchipuram, according to legend, the name Kanchi is derived from Ka referring to the Hindu god Brahma and anchi, referring to his worship of Hindu god Vishnu at this place. The earliest inscription from the Maurya period denote the city as Kanchipuram, Patanjali refers to the city in his Mahabhasya as Kanchipuraka. The city was referred to by various Tamil names like Kanchi, Kanchipedu, the Pallava inscriptions from and the inscriptions of the Chalukya dynasty refers the city as Kanchipura. Jaina Kanchi refers to the area around Tiruparutti Kundram, during the British rule, the city was known as Conjeevaram and later as Kanchipuram. The municipal administration was renamed Kancheepuram, while the district retains the name Kanchipuram, the earliest references to Kanchipuram are found in the books of the Sanskrit grammarian Patanjali, who lived between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The city is believed to have part of the mythical Dravida Kingdom of the Mahabharatha. The city was regarded as the Banaras of the South, Kanchipuram grew in importance when the Pallavas of southern Andhra Pradesh, wary of constant invasions from the north, moved their capital south to the city in the 6th century. The Pallavas fortified the city ramparts, wide moats, well-laid-out roads. During the reign of the Pallava King Mahendravarman I, the Chalukya King Pulakesin II invaded the Pallava kingdom as far as the Kaveri River, the Pallavas successfully defended Kanchipuram and foiled repeated attempts to capture the city
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Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
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Kallidaikurichi
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Kallidaikurichi is a town on the right bank of the Thamiraparani river in Ambasamudram Taluk of Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. Like any Indian rural town, this too is steeped in tradition and rich in heritage. These are of ancient temple architecture style having high-rise gopurams with intricate sculptures, muthuswami Dikshitar, the Great carnatic composer, whose songs abound with geographic and iconographic references, sings of the curative properties of the river Thamiraparani. To him, the Goddess at Tirunelveli, is Hima-saila-sutaa, adivaraha Perumal temple represents the principal deity of the present day Kallidaikurichi. This town in the south Tamil Nadu is located about 70 km north of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai are two towns nearby, about 35 km away. Indian Railways serves Kallidaikurichi and it is reachable by road from Tirunelveli. Nearby Airports are the Madurai Domestic Airport in Tamil Nadu - about 250 km away, kal + idai + kurichi meaning exactly, a village in the midst of hills. Kallidaikurichi existed as a hunting village/place of wild animals for centuries prior to the construction of its famous irrigation canal, /*One testimony to the richness of its economy, culture and traditions, with the customary Nadaswaram Music. This garnered it a new appellation, given by the Sankaracharya of Sringeri Sri Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswamigal, Kallidaikurichi is on the border between the Pandya and the Chera countries of the past. A determined and sturdy person can climb the bridle paths. The boundary between the Pandya and Chera Kings was subject to frequent changes, this way or that way, at times the Pandyas drove deep into Kerala and reaching up to Kanetti near Karunagapally. At other times the Cheras went up to Madurai and beyond, at one point the Cheras held in their hands the entire south India, for a tantalizing brief period of five years. Kallidaikurichi got accustomed to these changes to her fortune, and readily absorbed the characteristics of both streams of culture and language, rice is the main crop here. Other crops are groundnut, chilies and cotton, though these are less frequently nowadays. Kallidaikurichi and appalam are almost synonymous, appalam making is a major cottage industry here. It is nationally known for its quality and taste and is sent almost all over India, like most parts of Tamil Nadu, the climate here too is rather hot, except during the rainy season of the November/December months. During summer strong gusty winds are a frequent occurrence, kallidaikurichi-Ambasamudram-Alwarkurichi areas form the upper level of Thamirabarani irrigation system today. The irrigation canal at Kallidaikurichi, which made Kallidaikurichi very fertile, Kallidaikurichi seems to have had the following subdivisions - Madakkurichi, Velankurichi, Cherakumaran and Kallidaikurichi
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Tirunelveli
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Tirunelveli pronunciation ), also known as Nellai and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the sixth-largest municipal corporation in the state, Tirunelveli is located 700 km southwest of the state capital, Chennai and 58 km away from Thoothukudi. The city is located on the west bank of the Thamirabarani River, the Polygar War, involving Palaiyakkarars led by Veerapandiya Kattabomman and forces of the British East India Company, was waged on the citys outskirts from 1797 to 1801. Tirunelveli has a number of monuments, the Nellaiappar Temple being the most prominent. Industries in Tirunelveli include administrative services, agricultural trading, tourism, banking, agricultural machinery, Tirunelveli is administered by a municipal corporation, established in 1994 by the Municipal Corporation Act. The city covers an area of 169.9 km2, and had a population of 1,473,637 in 2011, Tirunelveli is well-connected by road and rail with the rest of Tamil Nadu. Tirunelveli was known in Sambandars seventh-century Saiva canonical work Tevaram as Thirunelveli, Nellaiappar temple inscriptions indicate that Shiva descended in the form of a hedge and roof to save the paddy crop of a devotee. In Hindu legend, the place was known as Venuvana due to the presence of bamboo in the temple under which the deity is believed to have appeared, the word Tirunelveli is derived from three Tamil words, thiru, nel and veli, meaning sacred paddy hedge. The history of Tirunelveli was researched by Robert Caldwell, a Christian missionary who visited the area, Tirunelveli was under the rule of Pandya kings as their secondary capital, Madurai was the empires primary capital. The Pandya dynasty in the dates to several centuries before the Christian era from inscriptions by Ashoka and mention in the Mahavamsa, the Brihat-Samhita. The province came under the rule of Cholas under Rajendra Chola I in 1064 CE, however, Tirunelveli remained under control of the Cholas until the early 13th century, when the second Pandyan empire was established with Madurai as its capital. The Nellaiappar temple was the shrine of the later Pandyas during the 13th and 14th centuries. After the death of Kulasekara Pandian, the region was occupied by Vijayangara rulers, the Maravars occupied the western foothills and the Telugas, and the Kannadigas settled in the black-soil-rich eastern portion. Tirunelveli was the capital of the Madurai Nayaks, under Viswanatha Nayak. Inscriptions from the Nellaiappar temple indicate generous contributions to the temple, Nayak rule ended in 1736, and the region was captured by Chanda Sahib, Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan during the mid-18th century. In 1743 Nizam-ul-mulk, lieutenant of the Deccan Plateau, displaced most of the Marathas from the region, the original power lay in the hands of the polygars, who were originally military chiefs of the Nayaks. The city was the commercial town during the Nawab and Nayak era
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
32.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
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Kangra district
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Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamshala is the headquarters of the district. It is home of Masroor Rock Cut Temple, also known as Himalayan Pyramids, Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world Katoch. Kangra became a district of British India in 1846, when it was ceded to British India at the conclusion of the First Anglo-Sikh War, the British district included the present-day districts of Kangra, Hamirpur, Kullu, and Lahul and Spiti. Kangra District was part of the British province of Punjab, the administrative headquarters of the district were initially at Kangra, but were moved to Dharamshala in 1855. The Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh is situated in the Western Himalayas between 31°2 to 32°5 N and 75° to 77°45 E, the district has a geographical area of 5,739 km. which constitutes 10. 31% of the geographical area of the State. The district has considerable diversity in its soils, physiography, land use patterns, on the basis of these, the district has further been divided into five sub-regions i. e. Pir Panjal, Dhauladhar, Kangra Shiwalik, Kangra Valley and Beas Basin. The Beas is one of the rivers of this district. The district shares a border with the states of Punjab to the west, due to the hilly terrain, not very much of the land is cultivated. The region is covered with patches of barren land, as well as small forests. Dharamshala, the headquarters, is also the headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Jwalamukhi, also known as Jwala ji, is famous for its ancient temple of the goddess of the same name, other important temples include Brajeshwari Devi temple, Chamunda Devi temple, Chintpurni temple, Bhagsunag Temple in McLeodGanj, Mahakal and Baijnaths Shiva temple in Baijnath. There are also important, major Muslim worship Place In kangra district Jama Masjid Dharamshala, Buddhist temples in Dharamshala, Sidhbari, historical villages of Pragpur and Garli are also located here. The topography of Kangra District is varied, with elevations ranging from 400m altitude at Milawan to 5500m at Bara Bhangal. Palampur and Dharamsala lie in a wet, temperate zone where the ranges from 15 to 19 °C and annual rainfall is about 2500mm. Other parts of the Kangra district lie in areas where the mean annual temperature varies from 13 to 20 °C. The winter lasts from mid-October to March, during which the ranges from 0 to 20 °C. Summers last from April until June, and are hot and dry, due to deforestation in the name of development, however, the clean and serene environment of the region may be threatened
34.
Garbhagriha
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Garbhagriha or Garbha gruha is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple. Literally the word means womb chamber, from the Sanskrit words garbha for womb, only priests are allowed to enter this chamber. Although the term is associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain. The Garbhagriha is located in a Hindu temple which is worshipped at by Hindus, in temples with a spire or vimana, this chamber is placed directly underneath it, and the two of them form the main vertical axis of the temple. These together may be understood to represent the axis of the world through Mount Meru, the garbha griham is usually also on the main horizontal axis of the temple which generally is an east–west axis. In those temples where there is also a cross-axis, the garbha gṛha is generally at their intersection, generally the garbhagriha is a windowless and sparsely lit chamber, intentionally created thus to focus the devotees mind on the tangible form of the divine within it. Entrance to the garbha grha may be restricted to priests who perform the services there, the inner garbhagriha or shrine became a separate structure, more elaborately adorned over time. More often garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium, in the centre is placed the image of the deity. But sometimes, for the temples of feminine deities, the garbagriha is rectangular, for example, in the temple of Varahi Deula in Chaurasi. The present structure of most of these temples is a vimana with a square garbhagriha and a surrounding circumambulatory path, an ardha-mandapa. George Michell, Monuments of India Temple architecture Parts of a North Indian Temple
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Nepal
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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked central Himalayan country in South Asia. Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 75 districts and 744 local units including 4 metropolises,13 sub-metropolises,246 municipal councils and 481 village and it has a population of 26.4 million and is the 93rd largest country by area. Bordering China in the north and India in the south, east, Nepal does not border Bangladesh, which is located within only 27 km of its southeastern tip. It neither borders Bhutan due to the Indian state of Sikkim being located in between, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the worlds ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. It is a nation with Nepali as the official language. The territory of Nepal has a history since the Neolithic age. The name Nepal is first recorded in texts from the Vedic Age, the era which founded Hinduism, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal became known as Nepal proper because of its complex urban civilization. It was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala, the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valleys traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture, by the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, the country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and Colonial India. In the 20th century, Nepal ended its isolation and forged ties with regional powers. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was suspended by Nepalese monarchs in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War resulted in the proclamation of a republic in 2008, modern Nepal is a federal secular parliamentary republic. Nepal is a nation, ranking 144th on the Human Development Index in 2016. The country struggles with the transition from a monarchy to a republic and it also suffers from high levels of hunger and poverty. Despite these challenges, Nepal is making progress, with the government declaring its commitment to elevate the nation from least developed country status by 2022
36.
International Standard Book Number
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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
37.
David Frawley
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He is the founder and director of the American Institute of Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico which offers educational information on Yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and Vedic astrology. His wife Yogini Shambhavi Chopra joins him in his teachings and he is a frequent contributor to the magazine Hinduism Today. He is associated with a number of Vedic and yogic organizations in several countries and he is a Vedic teacher, Vaidya, and a Jyotishi. Frawley has been recognized as a noted spiritual teacher, especially of Yoga. In 2015, he was honored by the President of India with the Padma Bhushan, in 2000, in his book How I Became a Hindu, My Discovery of Vedic Dharma, Frawley details his move from a Catholic upbringing to embracing Hinduism and Vedic knowledge. He discovered the Vedas through the work of Sri Aurobindo around 1970 as part of his examination of Yoga and his first published translations of hymns from the Rigveda occurred in 1980-1984 in various Sri Aurobindo Ashram journals, under the auspices of M. P. Pandit. His article Vedic Mysticism brought me into Hinduism occurs in the book How to Become a Hindu from the Himalayan Academy, in 1991, under the auspices of the Hindu teacher Avadhuta Shastri, he was named Vamadeva Shastri after the Vedic Rishi Vamadeva. In 1996, he was conferred the title of Pandit along with the Brahmachari Vishwanathji Award in Mumbai and he carries on the work of Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, the chief disciple of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. He is aligned with the Indian Shaivite teacher Sadguru Sivananda Murty, Vamadeva Sastri received a Doctorate in Literature from the Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana. Vamadeva Shastri has studied, written and taught extensively in the field of Ayurveda and he also previously taught Chinese herbal medicine and western herbology. Frawley was closely connected to the noted Indian astrologer Dr. B. V. Raman and he was one of the first Americans to receive the title of Jyotish Kovid from the Indian Council of Astrological Sciences in 1993, followed by “Jyotish Vachaspati” in 1996. He was a founder and first president of the American Council of Vedic Astrology from 1993-2003 and he uses astrology in his books on ancient history, following Sri Yukteswar, emphasizing a current “Harmonization with the Galactic Center”, linking human events with cosmic time cycles. In his Vedic educational work, he is associated with the Swaminarayan movement and their many temples throughout the world. In the book In Search of the Cradle of Civilization, Frawley along with Georg Feuerstein and Subhash Kak has rejected the Aryan Invasion Theory and supported the Indigenous Aryans theory. ”Earlier award recipients include several prime ministers, presidents and spiritual leaders of India. Frawley received the award along with Suresh Prabhu, Union Railway Minister of India. In its “Meet the Innovators” section, the magazine Yoga Journal speaks of David Frawley as “one of the first Americans to bring Ayurvedic Medicine and Vedic Astrology to the West. ”Swami Veda Bharati also contributed a chapter to the book agreeing with Frawleys views on the Vedic Yoga. Referring to his book Yoga and Ayurveda, Frawley is mentioned as one of the main Yoga teachers of Deepak Chopra and David Simon in their book, the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. Deepak Chopra states of Frawley/Vamadeva, relative to Frawleys book, Shiva, for anyone who is serious about the journey to higher divine consciousness, this book is yet another jewel from him
38.
Shaktism
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Shaktism is a major tradition of Hinduism, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi is supreme. It includes a variety of goddesses, all considered aspects of the supreme goddess. Shaktism has different sub-traditions, ranging from those focussed on gracious Lakshmi to fierce Kali, the Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism are an important historical framework of the Shaktism tradition. In addition, it reveres the texts Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, the Devi Mahatmya in particular, is considered in Shaktism to be as important as the Bhagavad Gita. Shaktism is known for its various sub-traditions of Tantra, as well as a galaxy of goddesses with respective systems and it consists of the Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. The pantheon of goddesses in Shaktism grew after the decline of Buddhism in India, wherein Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, the most common aspects of Devi found in Shaktism include Durga, Kali, Amba, Lakshmi, Parvati and Tripurasundari. The goddess-focussed tradition is popular in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Nepal and the neighboring regions. Yet, they are declared equivalent aspects of gender neutral Brahman, of Prajapati, the goddesses often mentioned in the Vedic layers of text include the Ushas, Vac, Sarasvati, Prithivi, Nirriti, Shraddha. Goddesses such as Uma appear in the Upanishads as another aspect of Brahman, hymns to goddesses are in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, particularly in the later added Harivamsa section of it. The archaeological and textual evidence implies, states Thomas Coburn, that the Goddess had become as much a part of the Hindu tradition, as God, by about the third or fourth century. The literature on Shakti theology grew in ancient India, climaxing in one of the most important texts of Shaktism called the Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Mahatmya is not the earliest literary fragment attesting to the existence of devotion to a goddess figure, states Thomas B. Coburn – a professor of Religious Studies, but it is surely the earliest in which the object of worship is conceptualized as Goddess, with a capital G. Other important texts of Shaktism include the Shakta Upanishads, as well as Shakta-oriented Upa Puranic literature such as the Devi Purana and Kalika Purana, the Lalita Sahasranama. The Tripura Upanishad is historically the most complete introduction to Shakta Tantrism, along with the Tripura Upanishad, the Tripuratapini Upanishad has attracted scholarly bhasya in the second half of 2nd-millennium, such as by Bhaskararaya, and by Ramanand. These texts link the Shakti Tantra tradition as a Vedic attribute, Shaktas conceive the Goddess as the supreme, ultimate, eternal reality of all existence, or same as the Brahman concept of Hinduism. She is considered to be simultaneously the source of all creation, its embodiment and the energy that animates and governs it, according to V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar – a professor of Indian history, in Shaktism theology Brahman is static Shakti and Shakti is dynamic Brahman. Shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and substance of everything in creation and its texts such as the Devi-Bhagavata Purana states, I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswati, Lakshmi, I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon
39.
Adi Parashakti
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According to Shaktism and Hindu mythology, Adi Para Shakti—the Goddess, Devi—is the Supreme Being. She is also referred to as Adi Shakti, Parama Shakti, Maha Shakti, Mahadevi. Parama means absolute, Satya means the Truth as per many shakta texts, the Devi Bhagawata Mahapurana states that Adi Parashakti is the original creator, observer and destroyer of the whole universe. As per Shaktism, Adi Parashakti appeared as Divine Pure Eternal Consciousness i. e. Shoonya Bindu, the divine feminine energy. Hence Adi Parashakti is Parama Prakriti, Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari is the original manifested form of Mother Adi-Parashakti. Goddess Parvati/Durga is Adi- Parashakti herself and is the incarnation of Lalita Tripura Sundari. Goddess Lalita Tripura Sundari, the goddess of power, is considered as her saguna svarupa and that is, Lalita Tripura Sundari is the truest material form of the Goddess, possessing the three qualities. However, the Goddess Adi Para Shakti is also considered to be truly supreme spirit without form and she is the Great Goddess, and therefore the source of all other goddesses. She is supreme and regarded as the Absolute Truth in Shaktism, Adi Parashakti means The Eternally Limitless Power. That is, she is the Power beyond this universe and she is the active energy that both creates and dissolves the entire universe. When there was nothing, suddenly a light emerged then that light took the form of adishakti and she had three eyes, carring trishul, shield, mace, bow, arrow, chakra, longsword and one hand as abhaya mudra. She looked here and there but saw nothing, after seeing nothing she took the form of kushmanda. She was seated on a lioness, when she opened her left eye mahakali was born. When she opened her third eye mahasaraswati was born and when she opened her right eye mahalakshmi was born, before she opened her eyes she smiled a bit and from the smile all universes were created. In the Devi Gita, it is suggested that before incarnating as Parvati, she appeared to King Himalaya and revealed divine and she explained herself, in the words of the Vedas, as having neither beginning nor end. She is the only, eternal truth, the whole universe is her creation. She is the victor and the manifestation of victory itself. She is a manifested, unmanifested and transcendent divinity, except for Shakta Puranas, Adi Shakti has never been mentioned with the name Adi Shakti
40.
Saraswati
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Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning worshipped throughout Nepal and India. She is a part of the trinity of Saraswati, Lakshmi, all the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to create, maintain and regenerate-recycle the Universe respectively. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda and she has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami in her honour, the Goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects. Saraswati who is revered as a goddess of knowledge, music and arts is found outside Nepal and India, such as in Japan, Vietnam, Bali. It is also a Sanskrit composite word of surasa-vati which means one with plenty of water, the word Saraswati appears both as a reference to a river and as a significant deity in the Rigveda. In initial passages, the word refers to Sarasvati River and mentioned with other northwestern Indian rivers such as Drishadvati, Saraswati then connotes a river deity. In Book 2, Rigveda calls Saraswati as the best of mothers, of rivers, –Translated by John Muir In Vedic literature, Saraswati acquires the same significance for early Indians as that accredited to the river Ganges by their modern descendants. In hymns of Book 10 of Rigveda, she is declared to be the possessor of knowledge. In Upanishads and Dharma Sastras, Saraswati is invoked to remind the reader to meditate on virtue, virtuous emoluments, the meaning, Saraswati is known by many names in ancient Hindu literature. Some examples of synonyms for Saraswati include Brahmani, Brahmi, Bharadi, Vani and Vachi, Varnesvari, in Nepali language, her name is written Nepali, सरस्वती. In the Telugu, Sarasvati is also known as Chaduvula Thalli, in Konkani, she is referred to as Shārada, Veenapani, Pustaka dharini, Vidyadāyini. In Kannada, variants of her name include Sharade, Sharadamba, in Tamil, she is also known as Kalaimagal, Kalaivāni, Vāni, Bharathi. She is also addressed as Shāradā, Veenā pustaka dharani, Vākadevi, Vāni, Varadhanāyaki, in India she is locally spelled as Bengali, সরস্বতী, Saraswati. Malayalam, സരസ്വതി, Saraswati. and Tamil, சரஸ்வதி, Sarasvatī, outside Nepal and India, she is known in Burmese as Thurathadi or Tipitaka Medaw, in Chinese as Biàncáitiān, in Japanese as Benzaiten and in Thai as Suratsawadi or Saratsawadi. Saraswati is found in almost every major ancient and medieval Indian literature between 1000 BC to 1500 AD, in Hindu tradition, she has retained her significance as a goddess from the Vedic age up to the present day. In Shanti Parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Saraswati is called the mother of the Vedas, in Book 2 of Taittiriya Brahmana, she is called the mother of eloquent speech and melodious music. Saraswati is the energy and power of Brahma
41.
Lakshmi
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Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity. She is the wife and shakti of Vishnu, a god in Hinduism. Lakshmi is also an important deity in Jainism and found in Jain temples, Lakshmi was also a goddess of abundance and fortune for Buddhists, and was represented on the oldest surviving stupas and cave temples of Buddhism. In Buddhist sects of Tibet, Nepal and southeast Asia, goddess Vasudhara mirrors the characteristics, Lakshmi is also called Sri or Thirumagal because she is endowed with six auspicious and divine qualities, or gunas, and is the divine strength of Vishnu. In Hindu religion, she was born from the churning of the primordial ocean, when Vishnu descended on the Earth as the avatars Rama and Krishna, Lakshmi descended as his respective consort Sita and Rukmini. In the ancient scriptures of India, all women are declared to be embodiments of Lakshmi, the marriage and relationship between Lakshmi and Vishnu as wife and husband is the paradigm for rituals and ceremonies for the bride and groom in Hindu weddings. Lakshmi is considered another aspect of the supreme goddess principle in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. She typically stands or sits like a yogin on a pedestal and holds lotus in her hand. Her iconography shows her with four hands, which represent the four goals of life considered important to the Hindu way of life, dharma, kāma, artha. Archaeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for Lakshmi by the 1st millennium BCE, Lakshmis iconography and statues have also been found in Hindu temples throughout southeast Asia, estimated to be from the second half of the 1st millennium CE. The festivals of Diwali and Sharad Purnima are celebrated in her honor, Lakshmi is one of many Hindu deities whose meaning and significance evolved in ancient Sanskrit texts. Lakshmi is mentioned once in Rigveda, but the context suggests that the word does not mean goddess of wealth and fortune, the good are welcomed, while the bad urged to leave. In some chapters of Atharva Veda, Lakshmi connotes the good, later, Lakshmi is referred to as the goddess of fortune, identified with Sri and regarded as wife of Viṣṇu. For example, in Shatapatha Brahmana, variously estimated to be composed between 800 BCE and 300 BCE, Sri is part of one of many theories, in ancient India, about the creation of universe. In Book 9 of Shatapatha Brahmana, Sri emerges from Prajapati, after his meditation on creation of life. Sri is described as beautiful, resplendent and trembling woman at her birth with immense energy, the gods were bewitched, desire her and immediately become covetous of her. The gods approach Prajapati and request permission to kill her and then take her powers, Prajapati refuses, tells the gods that males should not kill females and that they can seek her gifts without violence. The hymns of Shatapatha Brahmana thus describe Sri as a goddess born with and personifying a diverse range of talents, in the Epics of Hinduism, such as in Mahabharata, Lakshmi personifies wealth, riches, beauty, happiness, loveliness, grace, charm and splendour
42.
Sati (Hindu goddess)
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Satī, is also known as Dakshayani. In the Tamil tradition, Sati is called Tamil, தாட்சாயிணி Tāṭcāyiṇi, Sati is the goddess of marital felicity and longevity in Hinduism. An aspect of Adi Parashakti, Dakshayani is the first consort of Shiva, in Hindu legend, both Sati and Parvati successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation with the world. Queen Prasuti desired a daughter, Lord Brahma advised her and her husband Daksha to meditate upon the Goddess Adi-Parashakti and they gave up their royal robes, put on the guises of saints, and sat in a forest and meditated upon Goddess Adi-Parashakti. After a long time, Goddess Adi-Parashakti appeared awakening Daksha and Prasuti from their penance, Adi Parashakti invited them to request the desired boon from her, Daksha asked the Goddess to take birth again as their daughter. The Goddess gave them their consent but also gave them a warning that if ever she should be insulted, she would take up her Celestial form, Daksha and Prasuti agreed to take care of her. Back in their palace, Adi parashakti again took human birth at the bidding of Lord Brahma, Daksha and Prasuti named their daughter Sati. Daksha was a son of Brahma and a king in his own right. As the daughter of King Daksha, Sati is also known as Dakshayani, Sati was a newborn to Daksha and Prasutis 23 daughters. In bidding of Adi-Parashakti to take birth, Brahmas design was that she would please Shiva with humble devotions. It was natural that Sati, even as a child, adored the tales and legends associated with Shiva told by sage Narada, as she grew to womanhood, the idea of marrying anyone else, as intended by her father, became unfair to her. Her prayers finally bore fruit when, after testing her resolve, Shiva finally acceded to her wishes, an ecstatic Sati returned to her fathers home to await her bridegroom, but found her father less than elated by the turn of events. The wedding was held in due course, and Sati made her home with Shiva in Kailash. Daksha, depicted in legend as an arrogant king, did not get on with his renunciative son-in-law, Daksha organized a yagna ritual and invited all the Gods, Goddesses and princes. But he did not invite Shiva or Sati because he was unhappy that his daughter had married Shiva, Sati learnt about the yagna and asked Shiva to go with her. When Shiva refused, Sati insisted upon going and was escorted by Shivas troops to her fathers kingdom, upon reaching, Daksha got angry on seeing her and yelled at her telling her she was not welcome. Sati tried to make him understand but it was no use and it is said that when Daksha did not stop yelling, the angered Sati took the form of the goddess, Adi Parashakti. Lightning and thunder threatened to destroy the Earth, all sorts of calamities arose as Mother Earth couldnt bear her strong radiance and power
43.
Shakti
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In Hinduism, Shakti, also spelled as Sakthi, meaning power or empowerment is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe. Shakti is the concept or personification of divine feminine creative power, as the mother she is known as Adi Parashakti or Adishakti. On the earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and creativity/fertility, though it is present in males in its potential. Hindus believe that Shakti is both responsible for creation and the agent of all change, Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its most significant form being the Kundalini Shakti, a mysterious psychospiritual force. In Shaktism, Shakti is worshipped as the Supreme Being, Shakti embodies the active feminine energy of Shiva and is identified as Tripura Sundari or her avatar Parvati. David Kinsley mentions the shakti of Lord Indras as Sachi, meaning power, indrani is part of a group of seven or eight mother goddesses called the Matrikas, who are considered shaktis of major Hindu gods. The Shakti goddess is known as Amma in south India, especially in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana. There are many temples devoted to various incarnations of the Shakti goddess in most of the villages in South India. The rural people believe that Shakti is the protector of the village, the punisher of evil people, the curer of diseases, and they celebrate Shakti Jataras with great interest once a year. Some examples of incarnations are Ganga, Kamakshi, Kanakadurga, Mahalakshmi, Meenakshi, Manasa, Mariamman and it is believed that the cosmic grand design is theoretically a triangular structure of equal sides. The three points of the triangle or the structure of macrocosmic system are occupied by three ultimate manifestations of the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. This ultimate indestructible gravity known as Shakti in its three transformative form is connected to the trinity separately, Brahma, by the grace of her creative force creates. Rudra, by the strength of her destructive force destroys, Vishnu, by the unbiased intellectual force sustains. One of the oldest representations of the goddess in India is in a triangular form, the Baghor stone, found in a Paleolithic context in the Son River valley and dating to 9, 000-8,000 years BCE, is considered an early example of a yantra. Kenoyer, part of the team excavated the stone, considered that it was highly probable that the stone is associated with Shakti. Shaktism regards Devi as the Supreme Brahman itself with all forms of divinity considered to be merely Her diverse manifestations. In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism resembles Shaivism, however, Shaktas, practitioners of Shaktism, focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Shiva, the aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent
44.
Durga
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Durga, also known as Devi, Shakti and by numerous other names, is a principal and popular form of Hindu goddess. She is the goddess, whose mythology centers around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity. She is the form of the protective mother goddess, willing to unleash her anger against wrong. Durga is depicted in the Hindu pantheon as a woman riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon. She appears in Indian texts as the wife of god Shiva and she is a central deity in Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, where she is equated with the concept of ultimate reality called Brahman. Estimated to have been composed between 400-600 CE, this text is considered by Shakta Hindus to be as important scripture as the Bhagavad Gita. She has a significant following all over India and in Nepal, particularly in its states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam. Durga is revered after spring and autumn harvests, specially during the festival of Navaratri, the word Durga literally means impassable, inaccessible, invincible, unassailable. It is related to the word Durg which means fortress, something difficult to access, according to Monier Monier-Williams, Durga is derived from the roots dur and gam. According to Alain Daniélou, Durga means beyond reach. The word Durga, and related terms appear in the Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28,5.34,8.27,8.47,8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda. A deity named Durgi appears in section 10.1.7 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, while the Vedic literature uses the word Durga, the description therein lacks the legendary details about her that is found in later Hindu literature. The word is found in ancient post-Vedic Sanskrit texts such as in section 2.451 of the Mahabharata. These usages are in different contexts, for example, Durg is the name of an Asura who had become invincible to gods, and Durga is the goddess who intervenes and slays him. Durga and its derivatives are found in sections 4.1.99 and 6.3.63 of the Ashtadhyayi by Pāṇini, the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, and in the commentary of Nirukta by Yaska. Durga as a goddess was likely well established by the time the classic Hindu text called Devi Mahatmya was composed. There are many epithets for Durga in Shaktism and nine appellations, Skandamata, Kushmanda, Shailaputri, Kaalratri, Brahmacharini, Kaliputri, Chandraghanta and Siddhidatri. A list of 108 names that are used to describe her is very popularly in use by eastern Hindus and is called Ashtottara Shatanamavali of Goddess Durga
45.
Navadurga
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Navadurga, which literally means Nine forms of Goddess Durga, constitute according to Hindu mythology, the manifestation of Goddess Durga, the Mother Goddess, in nine different forms. As Adi Parashakti, the Mother Goddess was pure energy and had no form and she thus appeared in the form of Siddhidatri from the left half of Shiva. Devi Kushmanda - After taking the form of Siddhidatri, the Mother Goddess started living within the Sun thereby liberating the Suns energy to the universe. Since then, this form of the Goddess has been known as Kushmanda, namely for her power, the glow and radiance of her body is as luminous as that of the Sun. Devi Brahmacharini - After the Kushmanda form, the Mother Goddess took birth at the home of Daksha Prajapati, as his daughter, Sati and this unmarried form of the Mother Goddess is worshipped as Brahmacharini. Devi Shailputri - After self-immolation in Her form as Sati, the Mother Goddess took birth as the daughter of Lord Himalaya, in Sanskrit, Shail means the mountain, due to which this form is known as Shailputri, the daughter of the mountain. Devi Mahagauri - According to Hindu mythologies, the Goddess Shailputri at the age of sixteen was extremely beautiful, due to her extremely fair complexion, she was known as Goddess Mahagauri. Devi Chandraghanta - Goddess Chandraghanta is the form of the Mother Goddess following on from Shailputri and Mahagauri. After getting married to Shiva, Goddess Mahagauri started adorning her forehead with a moon shaped like a bell due to which. Devi Skandamata - In her form as mother of the God of War, Lord Skanda, Devi Katyayani - To destroy demon Mahishasura. Devi Kalaratri - This is the fiercest and the most ferocious form of the Mother Goddess, in which she manifests to destroy the demons, Sumbha and Nisumbha. Chandraghanta Day of worship, 3rd day of Navratri Governing planet, Venus Mantra, Om Devi Chandraghantayai Namah ॐ देवी चन्द्रघण्टायै नम Iconography and she wears the semi-circular moon on her forehead. The half-moon on her looks like the bell and hence. She is depicted with ten hands, Goddess Chandraghanta carries Trishul, Gada, sword and kamandalu in Her four left hands and keeps the fifth left hand in Varadamudra. She carries a lotus flower, arrow, Dhanush and Japa Mala in Her four right hands, Kushmanda Day of worship, 4th day of Navratri Governing planet, Sun Mantra, Om Devi Kushmandayai Namah ॐ देवी कूष्माण्डायै नम Iconography, Rides on a lioness and has eight hands. She holds a kamandalu, Dhanush, Bada and Kamal in Her right hands and her left hands hold Amrit Kalash, japa mala, Gada and Chakra - in that order. Specific power, She created the universe in the flash of Her smile and is believed to bestow siddhis and niddhis to Her devotees. Skandamata Day of worship, 5th day of Navratri Governing planet, Mercury Mantra, Om Devi Skandamatayai Namah ॐ देवी स्कन्दमातायै नम Iconography and she carries baby Skanda in her lap
46.
Mahadevi
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She is often identified with a specific goddess, the most common being Durga, Parvati, Adi Parashakti, Kali or Mahakali. Adi Parashakti or Mahadevi, the Supreme power, is called Durga Shakti as per Devi-Mahatmya, Mahadevi is the supreme force that creates, preserves, and destroys the universe. She is the highest intelligence referred as Brahmavidya, Mahadevi is the soul of the universe and the universe itself. She is the source of wealth, knowledge, forgiveness, peace, faith, fortitude, fame, modesty, the purans mention her as Nirguna Maheshwari Devi Mahamaya, meaning the absolute truth, Shivas consort, and mother of all. Along with Nirguna form Mahadevi is also mentioned as Sarguna and Vagdevi, coburn In Praise of The Goddess, The Devimahatmyam and Its Meaning by Devadatta Kali The Triumph of the Goddess, The Canonical Models and Theological Visions of the Devi-Bhagavata Purana by C. MacKenzie Brown The Srimad Devi Bhagavatam translated by Swami Vijnanananda
47.
Mahakali
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Mahakali, literally translated as Great Kali, is the Hindu Goddess of time and death, considered to be the consort of Mahakala the God of consciousness, the basis of Reality and existence. Mahakali in Sanskrit is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time, Mahakali is the form of Adi parashakti, who is beyond time and space. Kali is the force of anger of Adi parashakti and therefore her color is black and she is the greatest aspect of Kali whom many Hindus hold as a Divine Mother. Mahakalis history is contained in various Puranic and Tantric Hindu Scriptures, in these She is variously portrayed as the Adi-Shakti-Goddess Durga, the Primeval Force of the Universe, identical with the Ultimate Reality or Brahman. In this interpretation Mahakali represents Tamas or the force of inertia, Mahakali is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul, a severed head and a bowl or skull-cup catching the blood of the severed head. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication and in rage, Her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of Her mouth. Her ten headed image is known as Dasa Mahavidya Mahakali, and she is depicted in this form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs but otherwise usually conforms to the four armed icon in other respects. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an ekamukhi or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept, in either one of these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or body of Shiva. The short letter i represents the power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism, the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism
