1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Veraval
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Veraval is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India, the city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in, the old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state. The Nawabi Palace with Gothic features which is one of the main attractions and it is popularly known as Somnath College. At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university, the town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park, before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a port, one of the largest in India. Seafaring dhows and wooden fishing boats are built by the fishermen without the use of any modern technology. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son, about 25 km from Veraval is the historic Savani village. Veraval is located at 20. 9°N70. 37°E /20.9,70.37 and it has an average elevation of 0 metres. As of the 2011 India census, Veraval had a population of 153,696, males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 71%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age, Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the monsoon season from June to September. Hospitals, I G Memorial Hospital, Opp, Rayon factory, near woodland hotel, Veraval. Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population, amongst Gujaratis, Jains, the sonis, the Kharwa, Ahir brahma smaj and the Kolis Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis, Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town
5.
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
6.
Krishna
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Krishna is a major Hindu deity. He is one of the most widely revered and popular Indian divinities, worshipped as the incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Krishnas birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, Krishna is also known by numerous names, such as Govinda, Mukunda, Madhusudhana, Vasudeva and Makhan chor in affection. The anecdotes and narratives of Krishnas life are generally titled as Krishna Leela and he is a central character in the Bhagavata Purana, the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives, a god-child, a prankster, a lover, a divine hero. The synonyms of Krishna have been traced to 1st millennium BCE literature, worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, sometimes referred to as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. Krishna-related literature has inspired performance arts such as Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Odissi. Since the 1960s, the worship of Krishna has also spread to the Western world, the name originates from the Sanskrit word Kṛṣṇa, which is primarily an adjective meaning black, dark or dark blue. The waning moon is called Krishna Paksha, relating to the adjective meaning darkening, the name is also interpreted sometimes as all attractive. As a name of Vishnu, Krishna is listed as the 57th name in the Vishnu Sahasranama, based on his name, Krishna is often depicted in idols as black or blue-skinned. Krishna is also known by other names, epithets and titles. Among the most common names are Mohan enchanter, Govinda meaning chief herdsman, Gopala, some of the distinct names may be regionally important—for instance, Jagannatha, a popular incarnation of Puri, Odisha in eastern India. Krishna is represented in the Indian traditions in many ways, with common features. His iconography typically depicts him as black or dark reflecting his name, however ancient and medieval reliefs and stone-based arts depict him in the natural color of the material he is made from, both in India and in southeast Asia. In some texts, his skin is described as the color of Jambul. Krishna is often depicted wearing a peacock feather wreathe or crown, in this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other in the Tribhanga posture. He is sometimes accompanied by cows or a calf, symbolism for the divine herdsman Govinda, alternatively, he is shown as an amorous man with the gopis, often making music or playing pranks. In other icons, he is a part of the scene on the battlefield of the epic Mahabharata
7.
Prabhas Patan
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Prabhas Patan, known popularly as Somnath Patan, historically named Dev Patan, is situated in Gujarat,7 km. from Veraval. This is a place of pilgrimage, or Tirtha, of the most popular Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva, the above action of the hunter in Krishna avatar is supposed to be in compliance to the boon of Rama i. e. Krishna in his earlier Avatar. The adjacent photo of 1957 shows the place there is a board mentioning Krishna Deha Visarjana. This is also confirmed by the people there at that time as per the pilgrim. This pilgrim also remembers the place as Prabhas Patan near Veraval, there is also another board on the tree which as far as the memory of the said pilgrim goes, indicates that the sapling was planted by C. Junagadh Gate - is the gateway to Somnath. One enters the town from the nearest city Veraval through this gate. This is a gate with historical significance and is an ancient structure which was built centuries back. This gate has many intricate carvings on the walls and it is through this gate that the foreign invader Mahmud Gazni broke in to enter the holy city and destroyed the temples in the town and looted the great wealth. Daityasudan or Daityusudan temple - is an ancient one with an image of Lord Vishnu from the 7th century AD and it is located close to Somanath Mahadev temple, Northerly. Chandraprabh Swami Jain temple lays adjacent to this temple, mahakali temple - lies close Somnath Mahadev temple. It was built by Queen Ahalyabai Holkar of Indore in 1783 AD, other spots in the temple are Shri Kapardi Vinayak and Shri Hanuman Temple in addition to Vallabhghat. Vallabhghat is a sunset point. Archaeological museum - Down the lane to the north of the temple is a museum with important archaeological remains from the former Somnath Temple, to some, the museum is even more interesting than the modern temple, for it preserves stone sculptures, inscriptions and pottery from several periods. Beach offers an escape into the silence of nature, yet swimming here is not recommended. One can enjoy little snacks here, and explore beach side on a camel ride, Lord Parshuram, the son of Goddess Renuka and a pious sage Jamadagni is believed to be the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and one of the seven immortals as stated in Hindu mythology. This locale is believed to be the place where Lord Parshuram had performed a severe penance in the honor of Lord Somnath in order to get rid of the sin committing Kshatriya Vadh. The Parshuram Temple of Triveni Tirtha happens to be one of the temples dedicated to Lord Parshuram
8.
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
9.
Puranas
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The word Puranas literally means ancient, old, and it is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore. Composed primarily in Sanskrit, but also in languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva. The Puranas genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism, the content is highly inconsistent across the Puranas, and each Purana has survived in numerous manuscripts which are themselves inconsistent. The Hindu Puranas are anonymous texts and likely the work of authors over the centuries, in contrast, most Jaina Puranas can be dated. There are 18 Maha Puranas and 18 Upa Puranas, with over 400,000 verses, the first versions of the various Puranas were likely composed between the 3rd- and 10th-century CE. The Puranas do not enjoy the authority of a scripture in Hinduism and they have been influential in the Hindu culture, inspiring major national and regional annual festivals of Hinduism. The religious practices included in them are considered Vaidika, because they do not preach initiation into Tantra, the Bhagavata Purana has been among the most celebrated and popular text in the Puranic genre, and is of non-dualistic tenor. The Puranic literature wove with the Bhakti movement in India, vyasa, the narrator of the Mahabharata, is hagiographically credited as the compiler of the Puranas. The date of the production of the written texts does not define the date of origin of the Puranas and they existed in an oral form before being written down, and were incrementally modified well into the 16th century. An early occurrence of the term purana is found in the Chandogya Upanishad, translated by Patrick Olivelle as the corpus of histories, importantly, the most famous form of itihāsapurāṇaṃ is the Mahabharata. The term also appears in the Atharvaveda 11.7.24, the extant Puranas, states Coburn, are not identical to the original Puranas. In the 19th century, F. E. Pargiter believed the original Purana may date to the time of the redaction of the Vedas. Wendy Doniger, based on her study of indologists, assigns approximate dates to the various Puranas and she dates Markandeya Purana to c.250 CE, Matsya Purana to c. 250–500 CE, Vayu Purana to c.350 CE, Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana to c.450 CE, 350–950 CE, Vamana Purana to c. 450–900 CE, Kurma Purana to c, 550–850 CE, and Linga Purana to c. Of the many texts designated Puranas the most important are the Mahāpurāṇas or the major Puranas and these are said to be eighteen in number, divided into three groups of six, though they are not always counted in the same way. The difference between Upapuranas and Mahapuranas has been explained by Rajendra Hazra as, a Mahapurana is well known, the Upapuranas are eighteen in number, with disagreement as to which canonical titles belong in that list of eighteen. The Ganesha and Mudgala Puranas are devoted to Ganesha, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which extols the goddess Durga, has become a basic text for Devi worshipers
10.
Sanskrit language
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Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages
11.
Mausala Parva
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Mausala Parva, or the Book of Clubs, is the sixteenth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. It is one of three shortest books in the Mahabharata, Mausala Parva is significant for serving as a basis of archaeological studies for the Mahabharata, as well as being one of the eight Parvas found in Hindu culture of Java and Bali, Indonesia. Mausala Parva has 9 adhyayas and has no secondary sub-parvas, of the 80,000 verses in the critical edition of the Mahabharata - Mausala parva represents about 0. 25% of all verses of the Epic. This makes it one of the smallest books of the Epic, in days after the 18-day Kurukshetra war, Lord Krishna meets Gandhari, a meeting described in Stri Parva. In anger and grief over the death of her sons and the Kaurava soldiers and she blames Krishna for his inaction and believes that he could have prevented the war and the slaughter of hundreds of millions people who died in the war. Krishna accepts the curse, explains how he had tried many times to mediate peace and he also explained how Duryodhana and the Kauravas had tried many times to kill the Pandavas. The chapter begins with the announcement at the court of Pandavas that all Yadavas men were exterminated in a war fought with clubs made of eraká grass. Mausala parva then recites the details, the events start near the city of Dwarka 35 years after the end of Kurukshetra war. The empire is peaceful and prosperous, the youth of Yadavas have become frivolous, Krishnas son Samba dresses up as a woman and his friends meet Rishi Vishwamitra, Durvasa, Vashista, Narada and other rishis, who were visiting Dwaraka for an audience with Krishna. The young man playfully pretending to be a woman claims he is pregnant, one Rishi sees through the prank. In a fit of rage, he curses Samba will give birth to a bolt that will destroy his entire race. The youth inform King Ugrasena what has happened, who asks Samba to powder the iron bolt, the king also issues an order that no intoxicating spirits shall be produced or distributed in the Yadavas kingdom. The town then witnesses several dark omens, including the disappearance of the Sudarshana Chakra, the Panchajanya, Krishnas chariot, sinful acts multiply, yet no one feels any shame. Wives deceive their husbands, and husbands deceive their wives, everyone has the same terrifying dreams. People insult and humiliate their seniors and teachers, Krishna gets concerned, asks everyone to go on a pilgrimage to the sacred waters of the Prabhas sea. When they arrive, the Yadavas revel in merry making, dance, Satyaki, inebriated with wine, goes over to Kritavarma, criticizes him for scheming with Ashwatthama and killing the remaining Pandavas army while they were sleeping. They begin to argue who did wrong during the war. In the ensuing fracas, Satyaki kills Kritavarma, other Yadavas kill Satyaki for killing Kritavarma
12.
Mahabharata
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The Mahābhārata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The Mahābhārata is a narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava. It also contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four goals of life or puruṣārtha, traditionally, the authorship of the Mahābhārata is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, the text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period. The title may be translated as the tale of the Bhārata dynasty. According to the Mahābhārata itself, the tale is extended from a version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata. The Mahābhārata is the longest known epic poem and has described as the longest poem ever written. Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines, and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare. The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyāsa, who is also a character in the epic. Vyāsa described it as being itihāsa and he also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times. The first section of the Mahābhārata states that it was Gaṇeśa who wrote down the text to Vyasas dictation, the epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaiśampāyana, a disciple of Vyāsa, the text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the poem must once have carried an immense tragic force. Moritz Winternitz considered that only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole, Research on the Mahābhārata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahābhārata can be traced back to Vedic times, the background to the Mahābhārata suggests the origin of the epic occurs after the very early Vedic period and before the first Indian empire was to rise in the third century B. C
13.
Kurukshetra War
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The Kurukshetra War, also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Indian epic Mahabharata. The conflict arose from a succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura in an Indian kingdom called Kuru. It involved a number of ancient kingdoms participating as allies of the rival groups, the location of the battle is described as having occurred in Kurukshetra in the modern state of Haryana. The narrative describes individual battles and deaths of heroes of both sides, military formations, war diplomacy, meetings and discussions among the characters. The chapters dealing with the war are considered amongst the oldest in the entire Mahabharata, the historicity of the war remains subject to scholarly discussions. Attempts have been made to assign a date to the Kurukshetra War. Popular tradition holds that the war marks the transition to Kaliyuga, Mahabharata, one of the most important Hindu epics, is an account of the life and deeds of several generations of a ruling dynasty called the Kuru clan. Central to the epic is an account of a war took place between two rival families belonging to this clan. Kurukshetra, was the battleground on which war, known as the Kurukshetra War, was fought. Kurukshetra was also known as Dharmakshetra, or field of righteousness, Mahabharata tells that this site was chosen because a sin committed on this land was forgiven on account of the sanctity of this land. The Kuru territories were divided into two and were ruled by Dhritarashtra and Yudhishthira of the Pandavas, ramachandran state that the Divergence of views regarding the Mahabharata war is due to the absence of reliable history of the ancient period. This is also true of the period, where also there is no unanimity of opinion on innumerable issues. The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is subject to scholarly discussion, the existing text of the Mahabharata went through many layers of development, and mostly belongs to the period between c.500 BCE and 400 CE. According to Professor Alf Hiltebeitel, the Mahabharata is essentially mythological, Indian historian Upinder Singh has written that, Whether a bitter war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas ever happened cannot be proved or disproved. It is possible there was a small-scale conflict, transformed into a gigantic epic war by bards. Some historians and archaeologists have argued that conflict may have occurred in about 1000 BCE. Despite the inconclusiveness of the data, attempts have been made to assign a date to the Kurukshetra War. Popular tradition holds that the war marks the transition to Kaliyuga, a number of other proposals have been put forward, P. V. Vartak calculates a date of October 16,5561 BCE using planetary positions
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Gandhari (character)
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Gandhari is a prominent character in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. She was the wife of Dhritrashtra, the king of Hastinapura, and the mother of a hundred sons. As a pativratha without parallel, Gandhari is regarded as an epitome of virtue, for the rest of her life, she kept a cloth tied to her eyes and thus deprived herself of the power of sight. At certain critical junctures, she gave advice to her husband which was impeccable from a standpoint, she never wavered in her adherence to dharma. As a maiden, Gandhari was noted for her piety and virtuous nature, Gandhari is regarded as an incarnation of Mati, the goddess of wisdom. She was born on earth as the daughter of Subala, king of Gandhara and she is also referred to in various places in the epic as Gandhara-raja-duhita, Saubaleyi, Saubali, Subalaja, Subala-putri and Subalatmaja. Gandharis marriage was arranged to Dhritarashtra, the eldest prince of the Kuru kingdom, the Mahabharata depicted her as a beautiful and virtuous woman and a very dedicated wife. Gandhari was married with Dhritarashtra, king of Hastinapur and their marriage was arranged by Bhishma. When she found it out that her husband was born blind. What was going through the girls mind when she found it out that she was going to marry a blind man is not depicted in the epic. Popular narration said that the act of blindfolding herself was a sign of dedication, some folkfore and many mordern version of Mahabharata depict her marriage as a major reason for the storys central conflict. Her brother, Shakuni, was enraged that Hastinapur, already having humiliated Gandhar in a war of conquest where all of Shakunis brothers were killed, Shakuni swore to destroy the Kuru dynasty and played an instrumental role in fueling the flames of conflict between the cousins. Veda Vyasa is impressed with Gandharis devotion to her husband and gives her a boon to have a hundred sons and she gets pregnant but carries the child for an unusually long period. Later she hears that Kunti has given birth to Pandavas, a small grey mass comes out of her. Veda Vyasa divides this into 101 parts and keeps them in cool earthen pots to incubate, first Duryodhana comes out, followed by 99 brothers and one sister, Dushala. During the birth of her first son Duryodhana, many ill omens occur, worrying Vyasa, Bhishma and they foresee that this child might cause the great destruction to their kingdom, and advise to kill him. But Dhritarashtra and Gandhari outrightly reject that idea, and in life they both turn blind to his misdoings. Some folk fore narrate that Gandhari made an exception to her blindfolded state
15.
Duryodhana
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Duryodhana is a major character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata and was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of blind king Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari. His resultant animosity towards his cousins renders Duryodhana the chief antagonist of the epic, Karna was the closest friend of Duryodhana. When Gandharis pregnancy continued for a long period of time. This caused a mass of grey-coloured flesh to issue from her womb. She implored Vyasa, the sage who had blessed her with one hundred sons. Vyasa divided the ball of flesh into one hundred and one equal pieces, and put them in pots of ghee, at the end of the second year, the first pot was opened, and Duryodhana emerged. Although loved by his family, Duryodhana and most of his brothers are not seen on the level as the Pandavas in their adherence to virtue, duty. Duryodhana is mentored by his maternal uncle Shakuni, who masterminded most of Duryodhanas plots to humiliate, Duryodhanas hatred for the Pandavas stems from his sincere belief that he—being the son of the eldest brother—is the heir apparent to the throne of Hastinapura. Because of his blindness, his father had to renounce the throne in favor of the younger Pandu, Duryodhana deeply believed that what was rightfully his was being given away to his older cousin Yudhishthira. He also felt that the Pandavas were sons of Kunti and Gods and he never believed that their divine origin alone proved their superiority, on many occasions questioning their merits, and always calling them the Kaunteya. He also bore a deep hatred of Bhima, who was his age and dominated his brothers in sport and skill with his physical power. When they were young, Bhimas bullying and taunting were a constant source of pain for Duryodhana, Balarama described Duryodhanas body to be lightning made flesh. He is revered by his brothers, especially Dushasana. Learning martial skills from his gurus, Kripacharya and Dronacharya, he proved to be skilled with the mace. He then went to specialize in fighting under Balarama and went on to become his favorite pupil. During their childhood Bhima used his strength to inflict injuries on the Kaurava brothers. Duryodhana then participated in a plot by Shakuni to burn the Pandavas at Varnavat, however, when the princes come of age, Yudhishthira is named as the crown prince due to his superior merits. After the Pandavas reveal that they have survived the wax house, with a new wife to boot, Yudhishthira is given half the kingdom and made king of Khandavprastha, so as to avoid a clash with the Kaurava princes over the whole Kuru Kingdom
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Yadu
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Yadu is one of the five Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas mention Yadu as the eldest son of king Yayati, the prince of King Yayati, Yadu was a self-respecting and a very established ruler. According to the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana and the Garuda Purana, Yadu had four sons, the kings between Budha and Yayati were known as Somavanshi. According to a found in the Mahabharata, and the Vishnu Purana. So he was cursed by Yayati that none of Yadus progeny shall possess the dominion under his fathers command, thereby, he could not have carried on the same dynasty, called Somavamshi. Notably, the remaining dynasty of King Puru was entitled to be known as Somavamshi. Thereby King Yadu ordered that the generations of his would be known as Yadavas. The generations of Yadu had a growth and got divided into two branches. Sahasrajits descendants were named after his grandson, Haihaya, and were well-known as the Haihayas, King Kroshtus descendants had no special name, but were known particularly as the Yadavas. Several Chandravanshi castes and communities in modern India, such as the Sainis of Punjab Province, Yadav, Ayar Jadeja, Bhatti Rajputs, Jadaun, nandvanshi Samba Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend by Anna Dhallapiccola Frawley David, The Rig Veda and the History of India,2001
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Yadava
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The Yadavas were an ancient Indian people who believed themselves to be descended from Yadu, a mythical king. The community was formed of four clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satvatas. They are listed in ancient Indian literature as the segments of the lineage of Yadu, the Mahabharata and the Puranas mention that the Yadus or Yadavas, a confederacy comprising numerous clans were the rulers of the Mathura region. These five clans are Vitihotra, Sharyata, Bhoja, Avanti, the five Haihaya clans called themselves the Talajanghas According to the Puranas, Haihaya was the grandson of Sahasrajit, son of Yadu. Kautilya in his Arthaśāstra mentioned about the Haihayas, in the Puranas, Arjuna Kartavirya was mentioned as the most significant Haihaya king. He was called a Samrat and Chakravartin and his name is found in the Rig Veda. He conquered Mahishmati from Karkotaka Naga and made it his capital, later, the Haihayas were also known by the name of the most dominant clan amongst them — the Vitihotras. According to the Puranas, Vitihotra was the great-grandson of Arjuna Kartavirya, ripunjaya, the last Vitihotra ruler of Ujjayini was overthrown by his amatya Pulika, who placed his son, Pradyota on the throne. The Mahagovindasuttanta of the Dighanikaya mentions about an Avanti king Vessabhu, probably he was a Vitihotra ruler. In the Balakanda of the Ramayana, the Shashabindus are mentioned along with the Haihayas, the Shashabindus or Shashabindavas are believed as the descendants of Shashabindu, a Chakravartin and son of Chitraratha, great-great-grandson of Kroshtu. The Chedis or Chaidyas were an ancient Yadava clan, whose territory was conquered by a Kuru king Vasu, According to the Puranas, the Chedis were descendants of Chidi, son of Kaishika, grandson of Vidarbha, a descendant of Kroshta. The Rigveda mentions a king named Kashu Chaidya, According to the Puranas, the Vidarbhas or Vaidarbhas were descendants of Vidarbha, son of Jyamagha, a descendant of Kroshtu. Most well known Vidarbha king was Bhishmaka, father of Rukmin, in the Matsya Purana and the Vayu Purana, the Vaidarbhas are described as the inhabitants of Deccan. According to the Aitareya Brahmana, the Satvatas were a southern people held in subjection by the Bhojas, the Satapatha Brahmana mentions that Bharata seized the sacrificial horse of the Satvatas. According to a tradition, found in the Harivamsa, Satvata was a descendant of the Yadava king Madhu, Bhima recovered the city of Mathura from the Ikshvakus after the death of Rama and his brothers. Andhaka, son of Bhima Satvata was contemporary with Kusha, son of Rama and he succeeded his father to the throne of Mathura. The Andhakas, the Vrishnis, the Kukuras, the Bhojas and the Shainyas are believed to have descended from Satvata and these clans were also known as the Satvata clans. According to the Ashtadhyayi of Panini, the Andhakas were of the Kshatriya gotra, having a form of government In the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata
18.
Balarama
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Balarama, also known as Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha, is the elder brother of Krishna and is regarded generally as an avatar of Shesha. He is also considered as the Sankarshana form of Vishnu. He may have originated in Vedic times as a deity of agriculture, in Jainism, he is known as Baladeva. He is often depicted with a cup, pitcher, shield. The evil king Kansa, the brother of Devaki, was intent upon killing the children of his sister because of a prediction that he would die at the hands of her eighth son. Vishnu then impregnated the belly of Devaki with two strands of hair, one black, one white, to ensure their safety, their essence was transferred before birth to Rohini, who also desired a child. At birth, Krishna had a darker complexion, while Balarama was born fair, the other name of Balarama is Sankarshana, meaning a spirit transferred between two wombs. According to Bhagavata Purana, the name Sankarshana means, one who brings together two different families of King Yadus and Nanda Babas dynasties and he was named Rama, but because of his great strength he was called Balarama, Baladeva, or Balabhadra, meaning Strong Rama. He was born under Shravana nakshatra on Shraavana Purnima or Raksha Bandhan, one day, Nanda requested the presence of Sage Gargamuni, his priest, to name the newborn Krishna and Balarama. When the Garga arrived, Nanda, received him well and requested the naming ceremony, Gargamuni then reminded Nanda that Kamsa was looking for the son of Devaki and if he performed the ceremony in opulence, it would come to his attention. He attracts the Yadus to follow his instructions and therefore his name is Sankarshana, Balarama spent his childhood as a cow herder with his brother Krishna. He killed Dhenuka, an asura sent by Kansa, as well as Pralamba, after the evil king died, Balarama and Krishna went to the ashrama of sage Sandipani at Ujjain for study. He later married Revati, daughter of King Kakudmi, ruler of Kushasthali or Anarta Balarama taught both Duryodhana of the Kauravas and Bhima of the Pandavas the art of fighting with a mace. When war broke between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Balarama cared for both sides and so remained neutral, when Bhima defeated Duryodhana by striking him in the groin with his mace, Balarama threatened to kill Bhima. This was prevented when Krishna reminded Balarama of the vow of Bhima—to kill Duryodhana by crushing the thigh he had exposed to Bhimas wife Draupadi, some scriptures describe a great white snake that left the mouth of Balarama, in reference to his identity as Ananta-Sesha. The place where he departed is situated near Somnath Temple in Gujarat, the local people of Veraval believe that in the cave near the temple place, the white snake who came out of Balaramas mouth got into that cave and went back to Paatal Lok. Narratives of Balarama are found in Mahabharata, Harivamsha, Bhagavata Purana, Krishna Charit Manas and he is classified in the Vyuha avatar Sankarshana where in Adishesha and Lakshmana are part of. Vyasa Mahabharata states that after Balaramas death, he turned into a white snake, so it can be concluded that Balarama is an avatar of Adishesha in Dwaparayuga, as Lakshmana was in Tretayuga and Patanjali in Kaliyuga
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Yoga
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Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga, the chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra. Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th, in the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more physical exercise, it has a meditative. One of the six orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as an intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma. On December 1,2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage, in Sanskrit, the word yoga comes from the root yuj which means to add, to join, to unite, or to attach in its most common senses. By figurative extension from the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses, all further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as exertion, endeavour, zeal, there are very many compound words containing yoga in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on such as connection, contact, union, method, application, addition. In simpler words, Yoga also means combined, thus, bhaktiyoga means devoted attachment in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriyāyoga has a sense, meaning connection with a verb. But the same compound is given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras, designating the practical aspects of the philosophy. In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samādhau is considered by commentators as the correct etymology. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras, according to Dasgupta, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir yoga or yuj samādhau. Someone who practices yoga or follows the philosophy with a high level of commitment is called a yogi or yogini
20.
Vali (Ramayana)
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In the Hindu epic Ramayana, vanara Vali was king of Kishkindha, husband of Tara, a son of Indra, elder brother of Sugriva and father of Angada. He was killed by Lord Rama, an Avatar of Vishnu, vali(Sanskrit, वाली, nominative singular of the root वालिन् is also known as Bali in several Indian languages. His other names include Indonesian, Subali, Malay, Balya, Yuan, Bari, Thai, Phali and Lao, as one myth goes, fourteen types of gems or treasures were produced from the churning of ocean. One gem is that various Apsaras were produced and Tara was an Apsara produced from the churning of ocean, Vali who was with the devas, helping them in the churning of ocean, took Tara and married her. He adds that if the caller for the fight had been his own son Angada. Wandering in the forest with his brother Laxman in search of his wife Sita - kidnapped by the rakshasa king Ravana, Rama meets rakshasa Kabandha and kills him, the freed Kabandha advises Rama to seek the help of Sugriva to find Sita. Continuing on his journey, Rama meets Hanuman and is impressed by his intelligence and this also boosts Ramas confidence in Sugriva. Sugriva tells him the story of how Vali became his enemy, in Sugrivas version, he is entirely innocent and Rama believes him. Sugriva is very scared of Vali and he is full of doubts that Rama could kill him and he tells him many incredible stories of Valis power. As proof, he shows Rama a hole in a tree which Vali had made in one shot. When it is Ramas turn, he penetrates 7 trees of saal in a row with 1 arrow, after going through the trees, the arrow even makes a strike on a huge rock and splits it into pieces. Sugriva is happy and says, O Rama, you are great, Rama asks Sugriva to challenge Vali and bring him outside Kishkindha. As Rama explains later, for 14 years he cannot enter a city, moreover, Rama does not want any unnecessary bloodbath of Valis army with whom he wants to maintain friendly relations. Despite this, killing Vali would not be impossible for Rama as Sugriva, just a few days before, Rama had killed Khar and Dushan and their army of 14,000 rakshasas. Sugriva formed an alliance with Rama, Rama had been travelling the length of India in search of his kidnapped wife, Sita. Sugriva asked Ramas help in return for his help in defeating Ravana, the two hatched a plan to topple Vali from the throne. Sugriva challenged Vali to a fight, when Vali sallied forth to meet the challenge, Rama emerged from the forest to shoot and kill him with an arrow from the back of a tree. A dying Vali told Rama, If you are searching your wife you should have come to me for help, whoever took Sita, be it Ravana himself, I would have defeated them and would have brought them to your feet, to your mercy
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Rama
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Ram or Srī Rāmachandra is the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the figure of the Hindu epic Ramayana, which is the principal narration of the events connected to his incarnation on Earth, his ideals. Rama is one of the deities in Hinduism and especially of the various sects of Vaishnavism. Religious texts and scriptures based on his life have been a component in numerous cultures of South Asia. Along with Krishna, Rama is considered to be one of the most important avatars of Vishnu, in Rama-centric sects, he is considered the Supreme Being, rather than an avatar. His wife Sita is considered by Hindus to be an avatar of Lakshmi, Rama and his brothers Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna were the chaturvyuha expansions of Vishnu. Ramas life and journey is one of adherence to dharma despite harsh tests and obstacles and many pains of life, for the sake of his fathers honour, Rama abandons his claim to Ayodhyas throne to serve an exile of fourteen years in the forest. His wife Sita and brother Lakshmana decide to join him and all three spend the fourteen years in exile together, while in exile, Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, the king of Lanka. After a long and arduous search, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravanas armies, in a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry, and huge battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned king in Ayodhya and eventually becomes emperor, He rules with happiness, peace, duty, prosperity, and justice, a period known as Rama Rajya. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent, Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage, and devotion to religious values and duty. The deity Hanuman declared Rama to be a supreme being, and said that, by constant remembrance of Lord Rama, the name Rama appears repeatedly in Hindu scriptures. Besides the name of the protagonist of the Ramayana, the name is given to other heroes including Parashurama and Balarama. In the Vishnu sahasranama, Rama is the 394th name of Vishnu, in Sanskrit, the word Rama means charming. It is commonly given as a name to male children in India, additionally, the tales of Rama are reverently spoken of in the Mahabharata. The earliest documentation of Rama in Buddhism is in the Buddhist text of Dasharatha Jataka, the epic had many versions across Indias regions. However, other scriptures in Sanskrit also reflect the life of Ramayana, the followers of Madhvacharya believe that an older version of the Ramayana, the mula-Ramayana, previously existed. They consider it to have been more authoritative than the version by Valmiki, another important shortened version of the epic in Sanskrit is the Adhyatma Ramayana
22.
Somnath temple
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The Somnath temple located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is believed to be the first among the twelve jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is an important pilgrimage and tourist spot of Gujarat, destroyed and reconstructed several times in the past, the present temple was reconstructed in Chalukya style of Hindu temple architecture and completed in May 1951. The reconstruction was envisioned by Vallabhbhai Patel and was completed under K. M. Munshi, the temple is considered sacred due to the various legends connected to it. Somnath means Lord of the Soma, an epithet of Shiva, the Somnath temple is known as the Shrine Eternal, following a book of K. M. Munshi by this title and his narration of the temples destruction and reconstruction many times in history. According to tradition, the Shivalinga in Somnath is one of the twelve jyotirlingas in India, the jyotirlingas are taken as the supreme, undivided reality out of which Shiva partly appears. Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of a different manifestation of Shiva, at all these sites, the primary image is a lingam representing the beginning-less and endless stambha, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. In addition to the one at Somnath, the others are at Varanasi, Rameswaram, Dwarka, the site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a Triveni sangam. Soma, the Moon god, is believed to have lost his lustre due to a curse, the result is the waxing and waning of the moon, no doubt an allusion to the waxing and waning of the tides at this sea shore location. The name of the town Prabhas, meaning lustre, as well as the alternative names Someshvar, according to popular tradition documented by J. Gordon Melton, the first Siva temple at Somanath is believed to have been built at some unknown time in the past. The second temple is said to have built at the same site by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi around 649 CE. In 725 CE, Al-Junayd, the Arab governor of Sindh is said to have destroyed the temple as part of his invasions of Gujarat. The Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II is said to have constructed the temple in 815 CE. However, there is no record of an attack on Somnath by Al-Junayd. Nagabhata II is known to have visited tirthas in Saurashtra, including Someshvara, the Chaulukya king Mularaja possibly built the first temple at the site sometime before 997 CE, even though some historians believe that he may have renovated a smaller earlier temple. In 1024, during the reign of Bhima I, the prominent Turkic ruler Mahmud of Ghazni raided Gujarat, plundering the Somnath temple and he took away a booty of 20 million dinars. Historians expect the damage to the temple to have been minimal because there are records of pilgrimages to the temple in 1038, however, powerful legends with intricate detail developed in the Turko-Persian literature regarding Mahmuds raid, which electrified the Muslim world according to scholar Meenakshi Jain. The temple at the time of Mahmuds attack appears to have been a wooden structure, kumarapala rebuilt it in excellent stone and studded it with jewels, according to an inscription in 1169. In 1299, Alauddin Khiljis army under the leadership of Ulugh Khan defeated Karandev II of the Vaghela dynasty, kanhadadeva the Raja of Jalore later defeated the Khilji army, recovered the broken pieces of the lingam and freed the prisoners
23.
Kali Yuga
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Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Sanskrit scriptures, within the present Mahayuga. The other ages are called Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali. The Kali of Kali Yuga means strife, discord, quarrel or contention, according to Puranic sources, Krishnas departure marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE. According to the Surya Siddhanta, Kali Yuga began at midnight on 18 February 3102 BCE and this is also considered the date on which Lord Krishna left the earth to return to his heavenly abode. This information is placed at the temple of Bhalka, the place of this incident, according to the astronomer and mathematician Aryabhatta the Kali Yuga started in 3102 BCE. He finished his book “Aryabhattiya” in 499 CE, in which he gives the year of the beginning of Kali Yuga. He writes that he wrote the book in the year 3600 of the Kali Age at the age of 23. As it was the 3600th year of the Kali Age when he was 23 years old, and given that Aryabhatta was born in 476 CE, according to KD Abhyankar, the starting point of Kaliyuga is an extremely rare planetary alignment, which is depicted in the Mohenjo-Daro seals. Going by this alignment the year 3102 BCE is slightly off, the actual date for this alignment is February 7 of 3104 BCE. There is also sufficient proof to believe that Vrdhha Garga knew of precession at least by 500 BCE, Garga had calculated the rate of precession to within 30% of what the modern scholars estimate. The Kali Yuga is thought by some authors to last 6480 years although other durations have been proposed, hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga, which is referred to as the Dark Age because in it people are as far away as possible from God. Hinduism often symbolically represents morality as an indian bull, in Satya Yuga, the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, but in each age morality is reduced by one quarter. By the age of Kali, morality is reduced to only a quarter of that of the golden age, the Mahabharata War and the decimation of Kauravas thus happened at the Yuga-Sandhi, the point of transition from one yuga to another. A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga, in relation to rulers, it lists, Rulers will become unreasonable, they will levy taxes unfairly. Rulers will no longer see it as their duty to promote spirituality, or to protect their subjects, people will start migrating, seeking countries where wheat and barley form the staple food source. (Srimad-Bhagavatam With regard to relationships, Markandeyas discourse says, Avarice. Humans will openly display animosity towards each other, people will have thoughts of murder with no justification and will see nothing wrong in that. Lust will be viewed as acceptable and sexual intercourse will be seen as the central requirement of life
24.
Ramayana
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The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic poem which narrates the struggle of the divine prince Rama to rescue his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Along with the Mahabharata, it forms the Sanskrit Itihasa, the Ramayana is one of the largest ancient epics in world literature. It consists of nearly 24,000 verses, divided into seven Kandas, in Hindu tradition, it is considered to be the adi-kavya. It depicts the duties of relationships, portraying characters like the ideal father, the ideal servant, the ideal brother, the ideal wife. The Ramayana was an important influence on later Sanskrit poetry and Hindu life, like the Mahabharata, the Ramayana is not just a story, it presents the teachings of ancient Hindu sages in narrative allegory, interspersing philosophical and ethical elements. The name Ramayana is a compound of the name Rāma and ayana. According to Hindu tradition—and according to the Ramayana itself—the epic belongs to the genre of itihasa like Mahabharata, the definition of itihāsa is a narrative of past events which includes teachings on the goals of human life. According to Hindu tradition, Ramayana takes place during a period of known as Treta Yuga. In its extant form, Valmikis Ramayana is a poem of some 24,000 verses. The text survives in several thousand partial and complete manuscripts, the oldest of which is a manuscript found in Nepal. A Times of India report dated 18 December 2015 informs about discovery of a 6th-century manuscript of the Ramayana at the Asiatic Society library, the Ramayana text has several regional renderings, recensions and subrecensions. Goldman differentiates two major regional recensions, the northern and the southern, scholar Romesh Chunder Dutt writes that the Ramayana, like the Mahabharata, is a growth of centuries, but the main story is more distinctly the creation of one mind. There has been discussion as to whether the first and the last chapters of Valmikis Ramayana were composed by the original author. Most Hindus still believe they are parts of the book, in spite of some style differences. Some cultural evidence, such as the presence of sati in Mahabharata but not in the body of Ramayana. By tradition, the text belongs to the Treta Yuga, second of the four eons of Hindu chronology, Rama is said to have been born in the Treta yuga to king Dasharatha in the Ikshvaku dynasty. The names of the characters are all known in late Vedic literature, however, nowhere in the surviving Vedic poetry is there a story similar to the Ramayana of Valmiki. Also, in the epic Mahabharata, there is a version of Ramayana known as Ramopakhyana and this version is depicted as a narration to Yudhishthira
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Avatar
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An avatar is a concept in Hinduism and it means descent, and refers to the appearance or incarnation of a deity on earth. The term also refers to alight, to make ones appearance. The word avatar does not appear in the Vedic literature, but appears in verb forms in post-Vedic literature, the Rigveda describes Indra as endowed with a mysterious power of assuming any form at will. The Bhagavad Gita expounds the doctrine of Avatara but with other than avatar. Theologically, the term is most often associated with the Hindu god Vishnu, the avatars of Vishnu are important in Vaishnavism theology. In the goddess-based Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, avatars of the Devi in different appearances such as Tripura Sundari, Durga, while avatars of other deities such as Ganesha and Shiva are also mentioned in medieval Hindu texts, this is minor and occasional. The incarnation doctrine is one of the important differences between Vaishnavism and Shaivism traditions of Hinduism, Incarnation concepts similar to avatar are also found in Buddhism, Christianity and others. The Sanskrit noun is derived from the Sanskrit roots ava and tṛī and these roots trace back, states Monier-Williams, to -taritum, -tarati, -rītum. Avatar literally means descent, alight, to ones appearance. The word also implies to overcome, to remove, to bring down, an avatar, states Justin Edwards Abbott, is a saguna embodiment of the nirguna Brahman or Atman. Neither the Vedas nor the Principal Upanishads ever mention the word avatar as a noun, the verb roots and form, such as avatarana, do appear in ancient post-Vedic Hindu texts, but as action of descending, but not as an incarnated person. The related verb avatarana is, states Paul Hacker, used with double meaning, one as action of the divine descending, the term is most commonly found in the context of the Hindu god Vishnu. It is in medieval era texts, those composed after the sixth century CE, that the version of avatar appears. The idea proliferates thereafter, in the Puranic stories for many deities, the term avatar, in colloquial use, is also an epithet or a word of reverence for any extraordinary human being who is revered for his or her ideas. In some contexts, the term avatara just means a place, site of sacred pilgrimage, or just achieve ones goals after effort. The term avatar is not unique to Hinduism and it is found in the Trikaya doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism, in descriptions for the Dalai Lama in Tibetan Buddhism, and many ancient cultures. The manifest embodiment is sometimes referred to as an incarnation, the translation of avatar as incarnation has been questioned by Christian theologists, who state that an incarnation is in flesh and imperfect, while avatar is mythical and perfect. The theological concept of Christ as an incarnation, as found in Christology, according to Oduyoye and Vroom, this is different from the Hindu concept of avatar because avatars in Hinduism are unreal and is similar to Docetism
26.
Ahmedabad
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Ahmedabad is the largest city and former capital of Gujarat, which is a state in India. It is the headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. With a population of more than 6.3 million and a population of 7.8 million, it is the sixth largest city. Ahmedabad is located on the banks of the Sabarmati River,30 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. It is the second largest producer of cotton in India, Cricket is a popular sport in Ahmedabad, which houses the 54, 000-seat Sardar Patel Stadium. The effects of liberalisation of the Indian economy have energised the citys economy towards tertiary sector such as commerce. Ahmedabads increasing population has resulted in an increase in the construction, in 2010, it was ranked third in Forbess list of fastest growing cities of the decade. In 2012, The Times of India chose Ahmedabad as Indias best city to live in, as of 2014, Ahmedabads estimated gross domestic product was $119 billion. Ahmedabad has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a city under PM Narendra Modis flagship Smart Cities Mission. The area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 15th century, at that time, Karna, the Chaulukya ruler of Anhilwara, waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval, and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati. Solanki rule lasted until the 13th century, when Gujarat came under the control of the Vaghela dynasty of Dholka, Gujarat subsequently came under the control of the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century. This area finally came under the control of his grandson Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 A. D, according to other sources, he named it after himself. Ahmed Shah I laid the foundation of the city on 26 February 1411 at Manek Burj and he chose it as the new capital on 4 March 1411. In 1487, Mahmud Begada, the grandson of Ahmed Shah, fortified the city with an outer wall 10 km in circumference and consisting of twelve gates,189 bastions and over 6,000 battlements. In 1535 Humayun briefly occupied Ahmedabad after capturing Champaner when the ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah, Ahmedabad was then reoccupied by the Muzaffarid dynasty until 1573 when Gujarat was conquered by the Mughal emperor Akbar. During the Mughal reign, Ahmedabad became one of the Empires thriving centres of trade, mainly in textiles, the Mughal ruler Shahjahan spent the prime of his life in the city, sponsoring the construction of the Moti Shahi Mahal in Shahibaug. The Deccan Famine of 1630–32 affected the city, as did famines in 1650 and 1686, Ahmedabad remained the provincial headquarters of the Mughals until 1758, when they surrendered the city to the Marathas. During the period of Maratha Empire governance, the city became the centre of a conflict between two Maratha clans, the Peshwa of Poona and the Gaekwad of Baroda
27.
Vadodara
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Vadodara, the Cultural Capital of Gujarat, is the third largest city in the Western Indian State of Gujarat, after Ahmedabad and Surat. It is the headquarters of Vadodara District and is located on the banks of the Vishwamitri river. The railway line and NH8 that connect Delhi and Mumbai pass through Vadodara, as of 2011, Vadodara had a population of almost 2.2 million+ people. The city is known for the Lakshmi Vilas Palace, the residence of Baroda States Maratha royal family and it is also the home of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, the largest university in Gujarat. The first recorded history of the city is that of the early settlers who settled in the region in 812 AD. The province was mainly Hindu-dominated with Hindu kings ruling until 1297, the Gupta Empire was the first power in the region in the early years of the CE. Later, the region was taken over by the Chaulukya dynasty, by this time Muslim rule had spread across India, and the reins of power were then snatched by the Delhi Sultans. The city was ruled for a time by these Sultans. The city used to be called Chandanavati after its ruler Raja Chandan of the Dor tribe of Rajputs, the capital was also known as Virakshetra or Viravati. Later on it was known as Vadpatraka or Vadodará, which according to tradition is a form of the Sanskrit word vatodar meaning in the belly of the Banyan tree. In 1974, the name of the city was changed to Vadodara. In 1907, a village and township in Michigan, United States, were named after Baroda. It is believed that early man lived on the banks of the Mahi River, there is evidence of the existence of early man in the Mahi River valley at a number of sites within 10 to 20 kilometres to the north-east of Vadodara. However, no evidence of the existence of people is found in. This may be because of the absence of gravels and cobbles on the banks of the Vishwamitri rivulet, Baroda State was a former Indian State in Western India. Vadodaras more recent history began when the Maratha general Pilaji Gaekwad conquered Songadh from the Mughals in 1726, before the Gaekwads captured Baroda, it was ruled by the Babi Nawabs, who were the officers of the Mughal rulers. Most notably, from 1705–1716, Sardar Senapati Khanderao Dabhade led the Maratha Empire forces in Baroda, except for a short period, Baroda continued to be in the reign of the Gaekwads from 1734 to 1948. Initially detailed to collect revenue on behalf of the Peshwa in Gujarat, damajirao, son and successor of Pilaji Gaekwad, defeated the Mughal armies and conquered Baroda in 1734
28.
Rajkot
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Rajkot is the fourth-largest city in the state of Gujarat, India, after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. Rajkot is the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Rajkot is the 35th-largest urban agglomeration in India, with a population more than 1.2 million as of 2015. Rajkot is the seventh-cleanest city of India, and is the 22nd-fastest-growing city in the world, the city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District,245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State from 1 May 1960. Rajkot has been under different rulers since it was founded, Rajkot has a long history and had a significant part in the Indian independence movement. Rajkot was home to many personalities like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Rajkot is in a transition period of growing cultural, industrial and economical activities. Rajkot is the 26th largest city of India and the 22nd fastest growing area of the world. Rajkot was the capital of the then Saurashtra state from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956 before merging in bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956, Rajkot was merged into Gujarat State from bilingual Bombay state on 1 May 1960. Thakur Saheb Pradyumansinhji died in 1973 and his son, Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji, who has carved out a political career at the provincial level, succeeded him. He served as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for several years and as the state Minister for Health, monoharsinhjis son, Mandattasinh Jadeja has embarked on a business career. On 26 January 2001 an earthquake centred near Bhuj, measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, Rajkot is located at 22. 3°N70. 78°E /22.3,70.78. It has an elevation of 128 metres. The city is located on the bank of Aji River and Nyari River which remains dry except the monsoon months of July to September, the city is spread in the area of 170.00 km². Rajkot is situated in the region called Saurashtra in the Gujarat state of India, the significance of Rajkots location is owing to the fact that it is one of the prime industrial centres of Gujarat. Rajkot has a location in the area called the Kathiawar peninsula. The city is located within the Rajkot district in Gujarat, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district of Rajkot. The district is surrounded by Bhavnagar and Surendranagar in the east, Junagadh and Amreli in the south, Morbi in the north and Jamnagar in the west. Rajkot has a climate, with hot, dry summers from mid-March to mid-June and the wet monsoon season from mid-June to October
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Dwarka
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Dwarka is a municipality of Devbhoomi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in northwestern India. It is located on the shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti River. In 2011, it had a population of 38,873, Dwarka is one of the foremost Chardhams, four sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites, and is one of the Sapta Puri, the seven most ancient religious cities in the country. Dwarka is often identified with the Dwarka Kingdom, the ancient kingdom of Krishna, the citys Dwarkadhish Temple dedicated to Krishna was originally built around 2,500 years ago, but was destroyed by Mahmud Begada rulers and subsequently rebuilt in the 16th century. The temple is also the location of Dwaraka maţha, also called Sharada Matha/Peeth and western peeth, as an important pilgrimage center for Hindus, Dwarka has several notable temples, including Rukmini Devi Temple, Gomti Ghat, and Bet Dwarka. There is also a lighthouse at the end point of Dwarka. Dwarkas economy relies heavily on pilgrims and tourism but is supplemented by the production of millets, ghee, oilseeds, and salt, Janmashtami is the main festival that is celebrated during August and September. Sharda Peeth Vidya Sabha is an educational society sponsored by the Sharda Peeth, Dwarka was selected as a heritage city by the Indian governments Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana initiative. Dwarka is believed to have been the first capital of Gujarat, the citys name literally means the gateway to heaven in Sanskrit, as Dwar means gate and ka references Brahma. Dwarka has also referred to throughout its history as Mokshapuri, Dwarkamati. It is mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata, according to legend, Krishna settled here after he defeated and killed his uncle Kansa at Mathura. This mythological account of Krishnas migration to Dwarka from Mathura is closely associated with the culture of Gujarat, Krishna is also said to have reclaimed 12 yojanas or 96 square kilometres of land from the sea to create Dwarka. It has been argued that Dwarka was established as the capital in Saurashtra by the Aryans during the Puranaic period, the Yadavas, who had migrated from Mathura, established their kingdom here when the city was known as Kaushathali. It was during this period that the city underwent rebuilding and was named Dwarka, a friendly population of Ahirs also prompted Krishna to settle at Dwarka when he decided, after fighting Jarasandha, the King of Magadh, to retreat from Mathura. The kingdom, also known as the Ahir or Yadav Empire, was established by Krishna and it is said that Krishna conducted the administration of his kingdom from Dwarka while residing with his family in Bet Dwarka. Archaeological investigations at Dwarka, both on shore and offshore in the Arabian Sea, have performed by the Archaeological Survey of India. The first investigations carried out on land in 1963 revealed many artifacts, excavations done at two sites on the seaward side of Dwarka brought to light submerged settlements, a large stone-built jetty, and triangular stone anchors with three holes. The settlements are in the form of exterior and interior walls, from the typological classification of the anchors it is inferred that Dwarka had flourished as a port during the period of the Middle kingdoms of India
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Burial places of founders of world religions
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This article lists the burial places of founders of world religions. The Shrine of the Báb, the location of the Báb. Located in Bahji near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of Baháulláh is the most holy place for Baháís and their Qiblih and it contains the remains of Baháulláh, founder of the Baháí Faith and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahji. The Buddhas body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, for example, the Temple of the Tooth or Dalada Maligawa in Sri Lanka is the place where the right tooth relic of Buddha is kept at present. Bodhidharma is generally regarded as the founder of Zen Buddhism, according to a 7th-century account by Dàoxuān, Bodhidharma died at Luo River Beach, where he was interred by his disciple Huike, possibly in a cave. Soon after his death, someone supposedly witnessed Bodhidharma walking back towards India barefoot with a shoe in hand. His grave was exhumed, and according to legend, the only thing found in it was the shoe he left behind. Because of uncertainty about the physical location as well as ambiguity about what might be left of Bodhidharma at his burial site. According to early Christian sources the Church of the Holy Sepulchre occupies the location where Jesus is said to have been entombed between his Crucifixion and Resurrection and it is located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Ahmadiyya movement in Islam claims that the tomb of Jesus is in Srinagar Kashmir, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed that Jesus lived until the age of 120 years and is buried there. Mary Baker Eddy is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, the grave of Confucius, founder of Confucianism, is in his home town of Qufu, Shandong Province, China. The grave of Confucius is located in a cemetery where more than 100,000 of his descendants are also buried. The Vedas and subsequent commentaries were written by early sages but transcribed and organized by Maharshi Vyasa, popular epics in Hinduism - the Ramayana and the Mahābhārata were composed respectively by Valmiki and Vyasa. Muhammad is buried in the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in the city of Medina in Saudi Arabia, the tomb of Muhammad lies within the confines of what used to be his wife Aishas and his house. During his lifetime it adjoined the mosque, which was expanded during the reign of Caliph al-Walid I to include his tomb, the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar, are buried next to Muhammad. Umar was gifted a spot next to Muhammad by his wife Aisha, the tomb of Muhammad itself cannot be seen as the area is cordoned off by a gold mesh and black curtains. As per Islamic tradition, the tomb itself is not embellished or decorated and is two cubits high, the tomb is marked by an austere green dome above it, built by the Ottoman Turks, which was once white in color. This dome has become emblematic of both Muhammad himself, as well as the city of Medina
31.
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
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Hindu temple
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A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. It is typically used for such buildings belonging to all faiths where a specific term such as church. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism among religions with many modern followers, the form and function of temples is thus very variable, though they are often considered by believers to be in some sense the house of one or more deities. Typically offerings of some sort are made to the deity, and other rituals enacted, the degree to which the whole population of believers can access the building varies significantly, often parts or even the whole main building can only be accessed by the clergy. Temples typically have a building and a larger precinct, which may contain many other buildings. The word comes from Ancient Rome, where a templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest and it has the same root as the word template, a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also became associated with the places of a god or gods. Hindu temples are large and magnificent with a rich history, there is evidence of use of sacred ground as far back as the Bronze Age and later the Indus Valley Civilization. Hindu temples have been built in countries around the world, including Cambodia, Nepal, Mauritius, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Great Britain. They include the structures called stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions, Temples in Buddhism represent the pure land or pure environment of a Buddha. Traditional Buddhist temples are designed to inspire inner and outer peace, a Jain temple is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Some famous Jain temples are Shikharji, Palitana Jain Temples, Ranakpur Jain Temple, Shravan Belgola, Dilwara Temples, Jain temples are built with various architectural designs. Jain temples in North India are completely different from the Jain temples in South India, additionally, a Manastambha is a pillar that is often constructed in front of Jain temples. The temple of Mesopotamia derived from the cult of gods and deities in the Mesopotamian religion and it spanned several civilizations, from Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian. Ancient Egyptian temples were meant as places for the deities to reside on earth, indeed, the term the Egyptians most commonly used to describe the temple building, ḥwt-nṯr, means mansion of a god. A gods presence in the temple linked the human and divine realms and these rituals, it was believed, sustained the god and allowed it to continue to play its proper role in nature. They were therefore a key part of the maintenance of maat, maintaining maat was the entire purpose of Egyptian religion, and thus it was the purpose of a temple as well. Ancient Egyptian temples were also of significance to Egyptian society
33.
Dwarkadhish Temple
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The main shrine of the 5-storied building, supported by 72 pillars, is known as Jagat Mandir or Nija Mandir, archaeological findings suggest it to be 2,200 -2,000 years old. Temple was enlarged in the 15th- 16th century, the Dwarkadhish Temple is a Pushtimarg temple, hence it follows the guidelines and rituals created by Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji. According to tradition, the temple was believed to have been built by Krishnas grandson, Vajranabha. The temple became part of the Char Dham pilgrimage considered sacred by Hindus in India, after Adi Shankaracharya, the other three being comprising Shringeri, Badrkashram and Puri. Even today a memorial within the temple is dedicated to his visit, dwarakadheesh is the 108th Divya Desam of Vishnu on the subcontinent, glorified in the Divya Prabandha sacred texts. As per Hindu legend, Dwarka was built on a piece of land by Krishna that was reclaimed from the sea, sage Dhurvasa once visited Krishna and his wife Rukmini. The sage wished that the pair took him to their palace, the pair readily agreed and started walking with the sage to their palace. After some distance, Rukmini got tired and she requested some water from Krishna, Krishna dug a mythical hole that brought in river Ganga to the place. Sage Dhurvasa was furious and cursed Rukmini to remain in the place, the temple where Rukminis shrine is found, is believed to the place where she stood. The town of Dwarka in Gujarat has a history that dates back centuries, situated on the banks of river Gomti, the town is described in legend as the capital of Lord Krishna. Coastal erosion was probably the cause of the destruction of what was an ancient port, Hindus believe that the original temple was constructed by Vajranabh, the great grand son of Krishna, over the residential palace of Krishna. The current temple in Chalukya style is constructed in 15-16th century, the temple covers area of 27 metre by 21 metre with east-west length of 29 metre and north-south width of 23 metres. The tallest peak of the temple is 51.8 m high, the flag atop the temple shows the sun and moon, which is believed to indicate that Krishna would be there till Sun and moon exist on earth. The flag is changed from 5 times a day, but the remains the same. The temple has a structure built on seventy-two pillars. The temple spire is 78. 3m high, *The temple is constructed of limestone which is still in pristine condition. The temple shows intricate sculptural detailing done by successions of dynasties that ruled the region, the structure was not expanded much by these works. There are two entrances to the temple, the main entrance is called Moksha Dwara
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Shamlaji
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Shamlaji, also spelled Shamalaji, is a major Hindu pilgrimage centre in Aravalli district of Gujarat state of India. The Shamlaji temple is dedicated to Vishnu or Krishna, several other Hindu temples are located nearby. A microlith site known as Dhek-Vadlo locally was found near Shamlaji, a Buddhist stupa known as Devni Mori is located near it which dates to Mauryan period. Several ruins of temples, scattered idols and old brick-works surrounding the place establishes antiquity of the place. The present temple dedicated to Shamlaji, a form of Vishnu or a name of Krishna, is probably in 11th century in Chaulukya style. The temple was claimed by Jains in the past, years ago the Idar State rulers gave the fiefdom of Shamlaji temple to the Modhari Rao Saheb with other villages like Revdar, Devdar, Napada, Khalsa, Sunsar, Modhari, etc. The Rao of Modhari still holds trusteeship of Shamlaji Temple, Shamlaji temple is located on the banks of the Meshvo river in the valley surrounded by well wooded hills. It is also referred to as Dholi Dhajawala due to white silk flag fluttering on top of the temple, built of white sandstone and brick it is surrounded by a wall with a gateway. It is of two stories, supported on pillars, and a canopy with arches on each side, the lower courses of richly carved stone are of great age. Above them runs a frieze with a pattern, and, above this, running right round the building. Above this is a very ranch worn frieze full of figures in bass-relief, men on horseback with bows, the elephant is a very frequent emblem. Above the shrine, a tower rises into a spire like a high-shouldered cone with flattened sides. The forepart of the consists of a number of small domes springing from a flat roof, or rather of a flat trabeate roof, with domes here and there. Outside at all the angles of the roof are figures of animals, on walls, there are some scenes from the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Of the two inscriptions, one is to the left in the story and bears date 94 AD and 102 AD. This writing, cut in stone, is not very archaic and it may be a transcript of an older inscription or the record of an old tradition. The other, on copper at the entrance of the temple, from these two inscriptions, name of the deity seems to be Gadadharji, the holder of the club, a well known title of Vishnu, Krishna, or Shamlaji. The cow idols are also worshiped depictiong childhood of Krishna as cowherd and it is one of the 154 important pilgrimage sites of Vaishnavism
India
