1.
Hindu mythology
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As such, it is a subset of mainstream Indian and Nepali culture. The roots of mythology that evolved from classical Hinduism come from the times of the Vedic civilization, the four Vedas, notably the hymns of the Rigveda, contain allusions to many themes. The characters, philosophy and stories make up ancient Vedic myths are indelibly linked with Hindu beliefs. The Vedas are four in number, namely RigVeda, YajurVeda, SamaVeda, in the period of Classical Sanskrit, much material is preserved in the Sanskrit epics. Besides mythology proper, the voluminous epics also provide a range of information about ancient Nepali and Indian society, philosophy, culture, religion. The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two incarnations of Vishnu. These two works are known as Itihasa, the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality. The most famous of these chapters is the Bhagavad Gita in the Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna explains the concepts of duty and these stories are deeply embedded in Hindu philosophy and serve as parables and sources of devotion for Hindus. The Mahabharata is the worlds longest epic in verse, running to more than 2,000,000 lines, the epics themselves are set in different Yugas, or periods of time. The Ramayana, written by the Maharshi Valmiki, describes the life and times of Lord Rama, the Mahabharata, describing the life and times of the Pandavas, occurs in the Dvapara Yuga, a period associated with Lord Krishna. In total, there are 4 Yugas and these are the Satya or Krita Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and the Kali Yuga. The avatara concept, however, belongs to the Puranic times, the Puranas deal with stories that are old and do not appear in the epics. They contain legends and stories about the origins of the world, and the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. They contain traditions related to ancient kings, seers, incarnations of God and legends about holy places, the Bhagavata Purana is probably the most read and popular of the Puranas. It chronicles the legends of the god Vishnu and his avatars on earth, the act of creation was thought of in more than one manner. One of the oldest cosmogonic myth in the Rigveda had come into existence as a cosmic egg, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods. In the Puranas, Vishnu, in the shape of a boar, plunged into the cosmic waters, the Shatapatha Brahmana says that in the beginning, Prajapati, the first creator or father of all, was alone in the world. He differentiated himself into two beings, husband and wife, the wife, regarding union with her producer as incest, fled from his embraces assuming various animal disguises
2.
Yajna
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Yajna literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering, and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda, the tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire. Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the Karma-kanda portion of the Vedic literature, the proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. Yajna have continued to play a role in a Hindus rites of passage. Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Yajna vedic rites, the word yajna appears in the early Vedic literature, composed in 2nd millennium BCE. In Rigveda, Yajurveda and others, it means worship, devotion to anything, prayer and praise, an act of worship or devotion, a form of offering or oblation, and sacrifice. In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, a Yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events. It is derived, states Nigal, from the Sanskrit verb yaj, the Sanskrit word is related to the Avestan term yasna of Zoroastrianism. Unlike the Vedic yajna, the Yasna is the name of a religious service, not a class of rituals. Yajna has been a part of an individual or social ritual since the Vedic times, when the ritual fire – the divine Agni, the god of fire and the messenger of gods – were deployed in a Yajna, mantras were chanted. The hymns and songs sung and oblations offered into the fire were a form of hospitality for the Vedic gods, the Vedangas, or auxiliary sciences attached to the Vedic literature, define Yajna as follows, Definition of a Vedic sacrifice — Apastamba Yajna Paribhasa-sutras 1. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad in verse 1.5.14, for example, uses the analogy of Yajna materials to explain the means to see ones soul and God, with inner rituals and without external rituals. Vedic yajnas are performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar. The functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations, the Adhvaryu is the priests assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin is the superintendent of the performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses. There were usually one, or three, fires lit in the center of the offering ground, oblations are offered into the fire. Among the ingredients offered as oblations in the yajna are ghee, milk, grains, cakes, the duration of a yajna depends on its type, some last only a few minutes whereas, others are performed over a period of hours, days or even months
3.
Daksha
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Besides his noble birth, Daksa was a great king. Pictures show him as a rotund and obese man with a body, protruding belly. According to the Puranas, Daksha had 89 daughters from his wife Prasuti, according to Vishnu Purana and Padma Purana, Daksha and his wife Prasuti had 24 daughters. Of these, the 13 married to Dharma are, Sraddha, Srilakshmi, Dhriti, Tushti, Pushti, Medha, Kriya, Buddhi, Lajja, Vapu, Santi, Siddhi, Kirtti. According to Matsya Purana, Daksha and his wife Panchajani had 62 daughters, not one of whom resembled their father. 10 of those daughters were married to Dharma,13 to sage Kashyapa,27 to Chandra,4 to Arishtanemi,1 to Kama,1 to lord Shiva,2 to sons of sage Bhrigu,2 to sage Angiras,2 to Krisasva. According to Padma Purana, when Daksha felt the number of women are not sufficient. Sati was the married to Shiva. The 10 daughters married to Dharma are Maruvati, Vasu, Jami Lamba, Bhanu, Urjja, Sankalp, Mahurath, Sadhya, and Vishva. The 13 daughters married to sage Kashyapa are Aditi, Diti, Danu Arishta, Sursa, Surabhi, Vinata, Tamra, Krodhvasha, Ira, Kadru, Vishva, the 1 daughter married to Kamadeva was Rati. These 27 wives of Chandra are 27 Nakshatras which are on the moons orbit, Daksha found that Soma overly favored one daughter over the others, thus neglecting their needs and flouting his responsibilities. For this, Daksha cursed him to wither and die, Chandra Dev approached and worshipped Lord Shiva in order to be relieved of the curse, at Somnath. He gave Chandra the boon that in a month, he would grow for fifteen days in one half and in the half he would keep losing one Kala per day. The place where Chandra Dev worshipped Lord Shiva came to be known as Somnath, Somnath means the Protector of the Moon God. Legend has it that the first temple at Somnath was built by Chandra Dev himself, Daksha is a Sanskrit word said to be a Prajapati or one of the Brahmas sons. The equivalent meaning in English is competent, one of the daughters of Prajapati was Sati or Dakshayani, who had always wished to marry Shiva. Daksha forbade it, but Sati disobeyed him and did so anyway, Daksha disliked Shiva intensely, calling him a dirty, roaming ascetic and reviling the great yogis cohort of goblins and ghouls. Daksha Yagna was an important turning point in the creation and development of sects in Hinduism like Shaktism and Shaivism and it is the story behind the Stala Purana of Shakti Peethas
4.
Sati (Hindu goddess)
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Satī, is also known as Dakshayani. In the Tamil tradition, Sati is called Tamil, தாட்சாயிணி Tāṭcāyiṇi, Sati is the goddess of marital felicity and longevity in Hinduism. An aspect of Adi Parashakti, Dakshayani is the first consort of Shiva, in Hindu legend, both Sati and Parvati successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation with the world. Queen Prasuti desired a daughter, Lord Brahma advised her and her husband Daksha to meditate upon the Goddess Adi-Parashakti and they gave up their royal robes, put on the guises of saints, and sat in a forest and meditated upon Goddess Adi-Parashakti. After a long time, Goddess Adi-Parashakti appeared awakening Daksha and Prasuti from their penance, Adi Parashakti invited them to request the desired boon from her, Daksha asked the Goddess to take birth again as their daughter. The Goddess gave them their consent but also gave them a warning that if ever she should be insulted, she would take up her Celestial form, Daksha and Prasuti agreed to take care of her. Back in their palace, Adi parashakti again took human birth at the bidding of Lord Brahma, Daksha and Prasuti named their daughter Sati. Daksha was a son of Brahma and a king in his own right. As the daughter of King Daksha, Sati is also known as Dakshayani, Sati was a newborn to Daksha and Prasutis 23 daughters. In bidding of Adi-Parashakti to take birth, Brahmas design was that she would please Shiva with humble devotions. It was natural that Sati, even as a child, adored the tales and legends associated with Shiva told by sage Narada, as she grew to womanhood, the idea of marrying anyone else, as intended by her father, became unfair to her. Her prayers finally bore fruit when, after testing her resolve, Shiva finally acceded to her wishes, an ecstatic Sati returned to her fathers home to await her bridegroom, but found her father less than elated by the turn of events. The wedding was held in due course, and Sati made her home with Shiva in Kailash. Daksha, depicted in legend as an arrogant king, did not get on with his renunciative son-in-law, Daksha organized a yagna ritual and invited all the Gods, Goddesses and princes. But he did not invite Shiva or Sati because he was unhappy that his daughter had married Shiva, Sati learnt about the yagna and asked Shiva to go with her. When Shiva refused, Sati insisted upon going and was escorted by Shivas troops to her fathers kingdom, upon reaching, Daksha got angry on seeing her and yelled at her telling her she was not welcome. Sati tried to make him understand but it was no use and it is said that when Daksha did not stop yelling, the angered Sati took the form of the goddess, Adi Parashakti. Lightning and thunder threatened to destroy the Earth, all sorts of calamities arose as Mother Earth couldnt bear her strong radiance and power
5.
Shiva
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Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
6.
Shakti Peetha
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The Shakti Peetha are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition. There are 51 or 108 Shakti peethas by various accounts, of which between 4 to 18 are named as Maha in medieval Hindu texts. Most of these places of goddess worship are in India, but some are in Nepal, Bangladesh. Various legends explain how the Shakti peetha came into existence, the sites where these portions of Sati goddess fell, are the Shakti peetha. Lord Brahma performed a yajna to please Shakti and Shiva, Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva, therefore, his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva. However, due to Lord Shivas curse to Brahma that his head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and this marriage only increased Dakshas hatred towards Lord Shiva. Daksha performed a yagna with a desire to revenge on Lord Shiva near Munimandala present Muramalla Andhra Pradesh. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva, the fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going, Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna, Sati was unable to bear her fathers insults toward her husband, so she immolated herself. He came there and started fighting him, still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Satis body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, the various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today. At all the Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Shakti is an aspect of the Supreme Being Adi parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu religion & scriptures. The history of Daksha yagna and Shaktis self immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and it led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas and there by strengthening Shaktism. Enormous stories in Puranas & other Hindu religious books took the Daksha yagna as the reason for its origin
7.
Parvati
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Parvati, also known as Urvi/Renu, is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion, as well as of divine strength and power. She is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess Shakti and she is the mother goddess in Hinduism, and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses. Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva - the protector and regenerator of universe and she is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and mother Mena. Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya, some communities also believe her to be the sister of the god Vishnu and the river-goddess Ganga. With Shiva, Parvati is a deity in the Shaiva sect. In Hindu belief, she is the energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings. In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is represented as the argha or yoni. She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace Hindu temples all over South Asia, parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for mountain, Parvati derives her name from being the daughter of king Himavan and mother Mena. King Parvat is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas, Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja, Adrija or Nagajaa or Shailaputri, Haimavathi, the Lalita sahasranama contains a listing of 1,000 names of Parvati. Two of Parvatis most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna, the name Uma is used for Sati in earlier texts, but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna and then addressed as Uma and she is also Ambika, Shakti, Mataji, Maheshwari, Durga, Bhairavi, Bhavani, Shivaradni, and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi, regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauris name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauris skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest, some scholars hold that Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature, though the Kena Upanishad contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati. She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu, and Indra, Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period, as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shivas wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa and the Puranas that the stories of Sati-Parvati, Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains
8.
Skanda Purana
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The Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts. The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature, titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan. While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas, the text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda. The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE and it is considered by scholars, in a historic sense, as among the shiftiest, living texts which was widely edited, over many centuries, creating numerous variants. This Mahāpurāṇa, like others, is attributed to the sage Vyasa, haraprasad Shastri and Cecil Bendall, in about 1898, discovered an old palm-leaf manuscript of Skanda Purana in a Kathmandu library in Nepal, written in Gupta script. They dated the manuscript to 7th century CE, on paleographic grounds and this suggests that the original text existed before this time. Hans Bakker states that the text specifies holy places and details about the 4th and 5th-century Citraratha of Andhra Pradesh, the oldest versions of the Skandapurana texts have been discovered in the Himalayan region of South Asia such as Nepal, and the northeastern states of India such as Assam. The critical editions of the text, for scholarly studied, rely on the Nepalese manuscripts, additional texts style themselves as khandas of Skandapurana, but these came into existed after the 12th-century. It is unclear if their root texts did belong to the Skandapurana, there are a number of texts and manuscripts that bear the title Skanda Purana. Some of these texts, except for the title, have little in common with the well known Skandapurana traced to the 1st-millennium CE, the original text has accrued several additions, resulting in several different versions. It is, therefore, very difficult to establish a date of composition for the Skanda Purana. Stylistically, the Skanda Purana is related to the Mahabharata, the two texts employ similar stock phrases and compounds that are not found in the Ramayana. Some of the mentioned in the present version of the Skanda Purana is undoubtedly post-Gupta period. This indicates that several additions were made to the text over the centuries. The Kashi Khanda, for example, acquired its present form around the mid-13th century CE, the latest part of the text might have been composed in as late as 15th century CE. The whole corpus of texts which are considered as part of the Skanda Purana is grouped in two ways, according to one tradition, these are grouped in six saṁhitās, each of which consists of several khaṇḍas. According to another tradition, these are grouped in seven khaṇḍas, the chapters are Mahatmyas, or travel guides for pilgrimage tourists. A manuscript of a commentary on the Sūta Saṁhitā by Madhavācārya is also available and these texts discuss cosmogony, theology, philosophical questions on virtues and vice, questions such as what is evil, the origin of evil, how to deal with and cure evil
9.
Harivamsa
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The Harivamsha is an important work of Sanskrit literature, containing 16,374 shloka, mostly in Anustubh metre. The text is known as the Harivamsha Purana. This text is believed to be a khila to the Mahabharata and is ascribed to Veda Vyasa. The most celebrated commentary of the Mahabharata by Neelakantha Chaturdhara, the Bharata Bhava Deepa also covers the Harivamsha, according to Adi Parva, the Harivamsha is divided into two parvas or books and had 12,000 verses. The manuscripts found in the 19th century in different parts of India included three portions known as parvas - the Adi Parva, the Vishnu Parva and the Bhavishya Parva and these are included with the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata. The Adi Parva of Harivamsa describes the creation of the cosmos, Vishnu Parva recounts the history of Krishna up to the events prior to the Mahabharata. Bhavishya Parva, the book, includes two alternate creation theories, hymns to Shiva and Vishnu and provides a description of Kaliyuga. The text is complex, containing layers that goes back to the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE, hopkins considers Harivaṃśa the latest parva of Mahabharata. Hazra has dated the Purana to the 4th century CE on the basis of the description of Rasa lila in it, according to him, the Visnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana belong to the 5th century CE and 6th century CE respectively. According to Dikshit, the date of Matsya Purana is 3rd century CE, when we compare the biography of Krishna, the account of Raji and some other episodes as depicted in the Harivaṃśa, it appears to be anterior to the former. Therefore, the Viṣṇu parva and the Bhaviṣya parva can be dated to at least the 3rd century CE, by its style and contents, the Harivaṃśa parva appears to be anterior to the Viṣṇu parva and Bhaviṣya parva. The verses quoted by Asvaghosa belong to this parva, on this basis, we can safely assume the Harivaṃśa parva to be at least as old as the 1st century CE. The Hariva śa is available in two editions, the vulgate text of the Hariva śa has total 271 adhyāyas, divided into three parvas, Harivaṃśa parva, Viṣṇu parva and Bhaviṣya parva. The Critical Edition or CE is around a third of this vulgate edition, like the vulgate, the chapters in the CE are divided into three parvas, Harivaṃśa parva, Viṣṇu parva and Bhaviṣya parva. Vaidya suggests that even the CE represents a text and proposes that the oldest form of Hariva śa probably began with chapter 20. The last chapter of the text gives a description of the subjects narrated in it as follows. Bhaviṣya parva † This suggests that at point of time this chapter used to close the text. There have been translations of the Harivamsa in many Indian vernacular languages, English, French and other languages
10.
Shiva Purana
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The Shiva Purana is one of eighteen Purana genre of Sanskrit texts in Hinduism, and part of the Shaivism literature corpus. It primarily centers around the Hindu god Shiva and goddess Parvati, the Shiva Purana asserts that it once consisted of 100,000 verses set out in twelve samhitas, however the Purana adds that it was abridged by sage Vyasa before being taught to Romaharshana. The two versions that include books, title some of the same and others differently. The Shiva Purana, like other Puranas in Hindu literature, was likely a living text, the oldest manuscript of surviving texts was likely composed, estimates Klaus Klostermaier, around 10th- to 11th-century CE. Some chapters of currently surviving Shiva Purana manuscripts were composed after the 14th-century. The Shiva Purana contains chapters with Shiva-centered cosmology, mythology, relationship between gods, ethics, Yoga, Tirtha sites, bhakti, rivers and geography, the text is an important source of historic information on different types and theology behind Shaivism in early 2nd-millennium CE. The oldest surviving chapters of the Shiva Purana have significant Advaita Vedanta philosophy, in the 19th- and 20th-century, the Vayu Purana was sometimes titled as Shiva Purana, and sometimes proposed as a part of the complete Shiva Purana. With the discovery of more manuscripts, modern scholarship considers the two text as different, with Vayu Purana as the older text composed sometime before 2nd-century CE. Some scholars list it as a Mahapurana, while some state it is an Upapurana, the date and authors of Shiva Purana are unknown. Certain books and chapters in currently surviving Shiva Purana manuscripts were composed later. The Shiva Purana, like other Puranas in Hindu literature, were edited, recast. Hazra states that the Bombay manuscript published in the 19th-century is rarer, several recensions of this text exist. These are the Īśāna Saṁhitā, the Īśvara Saṁhitā, the Sūrya Saṁhitā, the Tirthakṣetramāhātmya Saṁhitā, the Pūrvakhaṇḍa consists 3270 ślokas in 51 chapters written in Nagari script and the Uttarakhaṇḍa has 45 chapters written in Oriya script. It was preserved in Mahimprakash Brahmachari Matha in Puri, the Pūrvakhaṇḍa of this manuscript is same as the Sanatkumara Saṁhitā of the Vangavasi Press edition. The Jnanasamhita in one manuscript shares content with Rudrasamhita of the manuscript, presents cosmology and mythology. The text discusses goddesses and gods, dedicates parts of chapters praising Vishnu and Brahma, the text emphasizes bhakti and yoga, rather than bookish learning of the Vedas. The Shiva Purana dedicates chapters to Shaiva-Advaita philosophy, like Linga Purana and other Shaivism-related Puranas, the text also presents the Brahman as satcitananda theme, with masculine and feminine Shiva-Shakti as a unity, and perception of plurality-discrimination as a form of nescience. These ideas, states Klaus Klostermaier, similar to found in Devi-related Puranas
11.
Matsya Purana
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The Matsya Purana is one of the eighteen major Puranas, and among the oldest and better preserved in the Puranic genre of Sanskrit literature in Hinduism. The text is a Vaishnavism text named after the half-human and half-fish avatar of Vishnu, the text is notable for providing one of earliest known definition of a Purana genre of literature. A history written with five characteristics is called a Purana, states Matsya Purana, the Matsya Purana is also notable for being encyclopedic in the topics it covers. The Matsya Purana, like all Puranas, was revised and updated continuously, other scholars, such as Pandurang Vaman Kane, place the earliest version of the text to between c. The Matsya Purana, in chapter 53, includes a note stating that as a Purana, wendy Doniger dates the Matsya Purana to have been composed between 250 to 500 CE. The Matsya Purana, like all Puranas, has a complicated chronology, each titled work consists of material that has grown by numerous accretions in successive historical eras. Thus no Purana has a date of composition. It is as if they were libraries to which new volumes have been added, not necessarily at the end of the shelf. The text is named after the half-human, half-fish incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu called Matsya, the Tamil version of the Matsya Purana has two sections, Purva and Uttara, and it consists of 172 chapters. Other versions of the published Matsya Purana manuscripts have 291 chapters, the text and tradition asserts that Matsya Purana had 20,000 verses. However, extant manuscripts contain between 13,000 to 15,000 verses, the Padma Purana categorizes Matsya Purana as a Tamas Purana, or one that glorifies Shiva or Agni. Scholars consider the Sattva-Rajas-Tamas classification as entirely fanciful and there is nothing in this text that actually justifies this classification and it narrates the story of Matsya, the first of ten major Avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu. The text includes a similar coverage on legends of god Shiva and god Vishnu, chapters 54-102 of the text discuss the significance and celebration of Hindu festivals and family celebrations such as those related to the Sanskara. The Matsya Purana, along with the such as Brihat Samhita, are among the oldest surviving texts with numerous sections on temple, sculpture. The Purana describes 20 styles of Hindu temples, such as Meru, Mandara, the text lays out guidelines on foundation, spaces within the core temple where people visit, and then the spire. The text, though named after an avatar of Vishnu, has sections on the installation of Shiva Linga, while other chapters mention Vishnu murti, goddesses. The design guidebooks embedded inside the Matsya Purana were likely suggestions, the Matsya Purana contains, like all Puranas, a collection of chapters called the Mahatmya. These, states Ariel Glucklich, were ancient or medieval Indian promotional works aimed at tourists from that era
12.
Prajapati
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In Hinduism, Prajapati lord of people is a group of Hindu deities presiding over procreation and protection of life, and thereby a King of Kings. Prajapati is a Vedic deity presiding over procreation, and the protection of life and he was mentioned as Daksha in Hiranyagharbhasuktham as the creator deity emerging from supreme god vishvakarman above the other Vedic deities in RV10 and in Brahmana literature. According to later beliefs in the post-Vedic Era, the Prajapatis were elected democratically, at first Lord Bràhma was elected as Prajapati, Lord Vishnu was then elected democratically/unanimously as Prajapati by all the Rishis and subjects of that era and sat on the throne of Prajapati. Thereafter, Lord Shankar or Rudras were elected as Prajapatis, the throne of Prajapati succeeded further and there were about 26 Prajapatis, as mentioned in later puranas In later times, he is identified with the personifications of Time, Fire, the Sun, etc. In classical Puranic Hinduism, Hiranyagarbha is a name of Brahma, so called because he was born from a golden egg, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.8.16 cites Vishvakarman as the leader of the prajāpatis, the sons of Lord Brahmā who generate progeny. The Prajapati community come brahmana warriors are seen as the descendants of Prajapati, Lord Brahmā, Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Prajapati also means protector & preserver. The Mahabharata translated by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, Book 2, Sabha Parva, Lokapala Sabhakhayana Parva, section, a possible connection between Prajapati and the Prōtogonos of the Greek Orphic tradition has been made by several scholars. It has been argued that the name of /PRA-JĀ-pati/ is etymologically equivalent to that of the god at Kolophōn
13.
Brahma
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Brahma is the creator god in the Trimurti of Hinduism. Brahma is also known as Svayambhu, Vāgīśa, and the creator of the four Vedas, Brahma is identified with the Vedic god Prajapati, as well as linked to Kama and Hiranyagarbha, he is more prominently mentioned in the post-Vedic Hindu epics and the mythologies in the Puranas. In the epics, he is conflated with Purusha, Brahma, along with Vishnu and Shiva, is part of a Hindu Trinity, however, ancient Hindu texts mention other trinities of gods or goddesses which do not include Brahma. While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, other Puranas suggest that he is born from Shiva or his aspects, or he is a supreme god in diverse versions of Hindu mythology. Brahma, along with all deities, is viewed as a form of the otherwise formless Brahman. Brahma does not enjoy popular worship in present-age Hinduism and has lesser importance than the members of the Trimurti, Vishnu. Brahma is revered in ancient texts, yet rarely worshipped as a deity in India. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India, the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Brahma temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in part because related words such as one for Ultimate Reality. The existence of a deity named Brahma is evidenced in late Vedic text. The spiritual concept of Brahman is far older, and some scholars suggest deity Brahma may have emerged as a personal conception and visible icon of the impersonal universal principle called Brahman. In Sanskrit grammar, the noun stem brahman forms two distinct nouns, one is a neuter noun bráhman, whose singular form is brahma. Contrasted to the noun is the masculine noun brahmán, whose nominative singular form is Brahma. This noun is used to refer to a person, and as the name of a deity Brahma it is the subject matter of the present article. One of the earliest mentions of Brahma with Vishnu and Shiva is in the fifth Prapathaka of the Maitrayaniya Upanishad, Brahma is discussed in verse 5,1 also called the Kutsayana Hymn first, and expounded in verse 5,2. In the pantheistic Kutsayana Hymn, the Upanishad asserts that ones Soul is Brahman, and this Ultimate Reality, Cosmic Universal or God is within each living being. In verse 5,2 Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are mapped into the theory of Guṇa, the post-Vedic texts of Hinduism offer multiple theories of cosmogony, many involving Brahma. Brahma is a creator as described in the Mahabharata and Puranas
14.
Manu (Hinduism)
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Manu is a term found with various meanings in different mythologies of Hinduism. In early texts, it refers to the man, or to the first man. The Sanskrit term for human. In later texts, Manu is the title or name of mystical sage-rulers of earth, the title of the text Manusmriti uses this term as a prefix, but refers to the first Manu – Svayambhuva, the spiritual son of Brahma. In some Puranic mythology, each consists of fourteen Manvantaras. The current universe, in mythology, is asserted to be ruled by the 7th Manu named Vaivasvata. In Vishnu Purana, Vaivasvata, also known as Sraddhadeva or Satyavrata, was the king of Dravida before the great flood. He was warned of the flood by the Matsya avatar of Vishnu, and built a boat carried the Vedas, Manus family. The myth is repeated with variations in other texts, including the Mahabharata and it is similar to other flood myths such as that of Gilgamesh and Noah. The texts ascribed to the Svayambhuva Manu include Manava Grihyasutra, Manava Sulbasutra, Jain mythology mentions the 14th patriarch named Nabhiraja, mentioning him also as Manu. This, state scholars, links ancient Jain tradition to Hindu mythologies, the Manu of Jainism is the father of 1st Tirthankara Rishabhanatha. This ancient story is significant as it one of earliest mentions of ikshu processing. In the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, proto-Indo-European religion, §Brothers Minos, king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Manes, king of Lydia Nuu, Hawaiian mythological character who built an ark, nüwa, goddess in Chinese mythology best known for creating mankind. Noah Ziusudra, hero of the Sumerian flood epic Atra-Hasis Shah, Natubhai, Jainism, The World of Conquerors, I, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-1938-1 Manu in Vedic scripture
15.
Mount Kailash
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Mount Kailash (also Mount Kailas, Kangrinboqê or Gang Rinpoche is a peak in the Kailash Range, which forms part of the Transhimalaya in Tibet. It lies near the source of some of the longest rivers in Asia, the Indus River, the Sutlej River, the Brahmaputra River, and it is considered a sacred place in four religions, Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The mountain lies near Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal in Tibet Autonomous Region, the mountain is known as either Kailāśa or Kailāsa in Sanskrit. The name may be derived from the word kelāsa, which means crystal, in his Tibetan-English dictionary, Chandra identifies the entry for kai la sha which is a loan word from Sanskrit kailāśa. The Tibetan name for the mountain is Gangs Rin-po-che, Gangs or Kang is the Tibetan word for snow peak analogous to alp or himal, rinpoche is an honorific meaning precious one so the combined term can be translated precious jewel of snows. Tibetan Buddhists call it Kangri Rinpoche, Precious Snow Mountain, bon texts have many names, Waters Flower, Mountain of Sea Water, Nine Stacked Swastika Mountain. According to Hinduism, Lord Shiva, the Destroyer, resides at the summit of a mountain named Kailāśa. He is at once the Lord of Yoga and therefore the ultimate renunciate ascetic, according to Charles Allen, one description in the Vishnu Purana of the mountain states that its four faces are made of crystal, ruby, gold, and lapis lazuli. It is a pillar of the world and is located at the heart of six mountain ranges symbolizing a lotus, in Jainism, Kailash is also known as Meru Parvat or Sumeru. Ashtapada, the next to Mt. Kailash, is the site where the first Jain Tirthankara, Rishabhadeva. Tantric Buddhists believe that Mount Kailash is the home of the Buddha Demchok and it is said that Milarepa, champion of Tantric Buddhism, arrived in Tibet to challenge Naro Bön-chung, champion of the Bön religion of Tibet. The two magicians engaged in a terrifying sorcerers battle, but neither was able to gain a decisive advantage, finally, it was agreed that whoever could reach the summit of Kailash most rapidly would be the victor. While Naro Bön-chung sat on a drum and soared up the slope, Milarepas followers were dumbfounded to see him sitting still. Yet when Naro Bön-chung was nearly at the top, Milarepa suddenly moved into action and overtook him by riding on the rays of the Sun, thus winning the contest. He did, however, fling a handful of snow on to the top of a mountain, since known as Bönri, bequeathing it to the Bönpo. The Bön, a native to Tibet, maintain that the entire mystical region. Every year, thousands make a pilgrimage to Kailash, following a tradition going back thousands of years, pilgrims of several religions believe that circumambulating Mount Kailash on foot is a holy ritual that will bring good fortune. The peregrination is made in a direction by Hindus and Buddhists
16.
Himalayas
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The Himalayas, or Himalaya, form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The Himalayan range has the Earths highest peaks, including the highest, the Himalayas include over a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 metres in elevation. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – Aconcagua, in the Andes – is 6,961 metres tall. The Himalayas are spread across five countries, Bhutan, India, Nepal, China, the Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, on the north by the Tibetan Plateau, and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Some of the major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, rise in the Himalayas. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia, many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism. Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate and its western anchor, Nanga Parbat, lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river. Its eastern anchor, Namcha Barwa, is just west of the bend of the Tsangpo river. The range varies in width from 400 kilometres in the west to 150 kilometres in the east, the name of the range derives from the Sanskrit Himā-laya, from himá and ā-laya. They are now known as the Himalaya Mountains, usually shortened to the Himalayas, formerly, they were described in the singular as the Himalaya. This was also previously transcribed Himmaleh, as in Emily Dickinsons poetry and Henry David Thoreaus essays. The mountains are known as the Himālaya in Nepali and Hindi, the Himalaya or The Land of Snow in Tibetan, the Hamaleh Mountain Range in Urdu, the flora and fauna of the Himalayas vary with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice, the amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range. This diversity of altitude, rainfall and soil conditions combined with the high snow line supports a variety of distinct plant. The extremes of high altitude combined with extreme cold favor extremophile organisms, the unique floral and faunal wealth of the Himalayas is undergoing structural and compositional changes due to climate change. The increase in temperature is shifting various species to higher elevations, the oak forest is being invaded by pine forests in the Garhwal Himalayan region. There are reports of early flowering and fruiting in some species, especially rhododendron, apple. The highest known tree species in the Himalayas is Juniperus tibetica located at 4,900 metres in Southeastern Tibet, the Himalayan range is one of the youngest mountain ranges on the planet and consists mostly of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock
17.
Gana
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The word gaṇa in Sanskrit and Pali means flock, troop, multitude, number, tribe, series or class. It can also be used to refer to a body of attendants, the word gana can also refer to councils or assemblies convened to discuss matters of religion or other topics. In Hinduism, the Gaṇas are attendants of Shiva and live on Mount Kailash, Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganeshas title gaṇeśa or gaṇapati, lord or leader of the ganas. In Hinduism, the gana are attendants who reside in chthonic and liminal locations such as cemeteries, the gana also attend Shiva on Mount Kailash. The story of creation of Virabhadra from the Shivas lock and destruction of Daksha by Virabhadra, many books of Sanskrit literature used ganas and sanghas. Bhishmas answers to these questions were recorded in the form of shlokas from 16 –32 in Shanti Parva, the representative members of clans were known as ganas and their assembly as sanghas, there chief as ganadhipati or Ganesha and Ganapati. Sangam literature of Tamil describes the offerings for Ganas, Buddhist books like ‘Pali-pitaka’, Majjhamnikaya, mahabagga, Avadana shataka mentioned ganas and sanghas. During Buddhas period India had 116 republics or ganasanghas, in Buddhist times, Gaṇas were assemblies of the Sanghas, early democratic republics known as Gaṇa-rājyas, literally rule of the assembly, a term paralleling demo-kratia or soviet republic. The term was revived in Bhārata Gaṇarājya, the name of the Republic of India. Ganachakra Ganesha Genos The Ganas, Hooligans of Heaven
18.
Tapas (Indian religions)
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Tapas is a Sanskrit word that means to heat. It also connotes certain spiritual practices in Indian religions, the Tapas practice often involves solitude, and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha. In certain contexts, the term means penance, pious activity, Tapas is based on the root Tap meaning to heat, to give out warmth, to shine, to burn. The term evolves to mean to suffer, to mortify the body, undergo penance in order to burn away past karma. The term Tapas means warmth, heat, fire, the meaning of the word evolves in ancient Indian literature. The earliest discussions of tapas, and compound words from the root tap relate to the necessary for biological birth. Some of the earliest reference of tapas, and compound words from the tap is found in many ancient Hindu scriptures, including the Ŗg Veda, Satapatha Brahmana. In these texts, tapas is described as the process led to the spiritual birth of ṛṣis - sages of spiritual insights. The Atharva Veda suggests all the gods were tapas-born, and all life was created from the suns tapas. In the Jāiminiya-Upanisad Brāhmaņa, life itself and creates progeny by tapas. Sanskrit tapasyā, literally produced by heat, refers to a personal endeavor of discipline, one who undertakes tapas is a Tapasvin. The fire deity of Hinduism, Agni, is central to many Hindu rituals such as yajna, Agni is considered an agent of heat, of sexual energy, of incubation, Agni is considered a great tapasvin. The word tapasvi refers to an ascetic or meditator, while tapasvinī to a female. Before he reached his enlightenment, the Buddha tried asceticism of the found in other Śramaṇa religions. Post-enlightenment, the Buddhist doctrines of the Middle Way and Noble Eightfold Path did not include ascetic practices, for this reason, the elimination of previous deeds through penance and the non-performaning of new deeds is tantamount to non-inflow in the future. From the non flow in the future, there is destruction of deeds, from the destruction of deeds, there is destruction of pain. From the destruction of pain, there is destruction of feeling, from the destruction of feeling, thus say, o monks, those free of bonds. These ascetic Tapas practices is also confirmed by Jainism texts such as Uttarajjhyayana, in the Mahayana tradition, asceticism with esoteric and mystical meanings became an accepted practice, such as in the Tendai and Shingon schools of Japanese Buddhism
19.
Dadhichi
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Dadhichi, also known as Dadhyancha or Dadhyanga, is a central character in Hindu mythology. Dadhichi is primarily known for sacrificing his life so the Devas, or benevolent Gods, after being driven out from Svarga, or heaven, by the serpent king Vritra, the Deva needed a powerful weapon to aid their fight. By making use of the vajra, made from the sage Dadhichis bones, Dadhyancha or Dadhyanga in Sanskrit is a conjunction of two words Dadhya + anch, which means body parts taking strength from Curd. The name Dadhichi is a form of Dadhyanga or Dadhyancha. By defeating Vritra, the personification of drought, the Deva also released water to the beings who were innocent victims of the evil Asura. By helping the Deva defeat the Asura through his sacrifice, Dadhichi became revered among the Rishi, or Hindu sages, Dadhichi symbolizes the notion that no sacrifice is too great in order to help defend the defenseless from evil. This symbolization has inspired the Param Vir Chakra, Indias highest military award for gallantry, Dadhichi is also known as a devotee of Lord Shiva. After Shiva was separated from Shakti, a goddess personifying the sacred feminine, the annual festival of Maha Shivratri marks the first time Lord Shiva appeared as a Rishi to his devotees, including Dadhichi and his disciples, who had been offering prayers to Shiva. In the Bhagavata Purana, Dadhichi was the son of the sage Atharvan, Atharvan is said to be the author of Atharvaveda, which is one of the four Vedas. Chitti was the daughter of the sage Kardam, the Dadheech Brahmins, a Brahmin clan primarily found in Rajasthan, later migrating to other parts of the world, are his descendants. The names of Dadhichis wife and son were Swarcha and Pippalada, Pippalada was a rishi associated with the Pippalada school of thought in Hinduism, he is known for creating the Praśna Upanishad. Dadhichi had established his ashram in Misrikh, in Naimisharanya near Lucknow, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Naimisharanya is cited in all of the puranas as the location of his ashram, which is still in existence. The current place of the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahemdabad is also one of the ancient sites of his ashram, in Ancient India, sages often traveled long distances. It may be that he stayed near Sabarmati River for some time and his name is found in the 1st mandala of the Rigveda. Dadhichi is mentioned also in the hymns of Rigveda. Dadhichi is believed to have written the Narayana Kavacham, a hymn in southern India, sung for power. Dadhichi is associated with many Hindu legends and is portrayed as having a horses head. Dadhichi is said to have been a master of a Vedic art known as Brahmavidya that would enable one to attain immortality
20.
Nandi (bull)
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Nandi is the name of the gate- guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull which serves as the mount to the god Shiva. The word nandi has come from Tamil root word Nandhu means to grow to flourish or to appear which was used to indicate growing fluorished white bulls as well as divine bull nandi. The Sanskrit word nandi (Sanskrit, नन्दि has the meaning of happy, joy and satisfaction, almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. However, it is documented that the application of the name Nandi to the bull is infact a development of recent syncretism of different regional beliefs within Saivism. The oldest Saivite texts in Sanskrit, Tamil and other Indian languages, the worship of Shiva and Nandi can be trace to even Indus Valley Civilization time period. Nandi is described as the son of the sage Shilada, Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon — a child with immortality towards Lord Shiva and got Nandi as his son. It is said that Nandi was born from a Yajna performed by the Shilada, Nandi grew as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and he did penance to become the gate-keeper of the Lord Shiva as well as his mount. Nandi got the knowledge of Agamic and Tantric wisdom taught by Lord Shiva from goddess Parvati. These eight disciples are directed to eight directions of the world by Nandinatha to spread the wisdom he taught them, there are so many other puranic tales are available about nandi. One describes his conflict with Ravana, the anti-hero of Ramayana. andi who cursed Ravana that his kingdom would be burnt by a monkey, and later Hanuman burnt Lanka when he went in search of Sita, who was kept prisoner by Ravana in Ashok Vatika. Tamil Thiruvilaiyadal puranam mentions another story in which nandi ] as a whale and it tells that Parvati lost her concentration while Shiva was explaining the meaning of Vedas to her. Parvati incarnated as a fisherwoman for the atone, to unite his master and his beloved wife, Nandi took the form of a whale and started to trouble the people. Fisherwoman Parvatis father told that anyone who killed the whale will marry his daughter, later Lord Shiva took the form of a fisherman, killed the whale and got Parvati in her previous form. Agamas describe him in a form with the head of bull and four hands with antelope, axe, mace. In his mount form, nandi is depicted as a bull in all Shiva temples. This nandi form has been even in Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia. The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice, symbolically, the seated Nandi towards sanctum in Siva temples, represents an individual ] and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Parameshwara
21.
Virabhadra
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Virabhadra or Veerabhadra is a fearsome form of the Hindu god Shiva. He was created by the wrath of Shiva and destroyed the Yagna of Daksha, after Dakshas daughter and he is described as a warrior who eventually blinded Bhaga, subdued Indra and broke, among many other countless gods, Pushans teeth. Other gods fled the battlefield unable to sustain his power, Sati was the youngest daughter of Daksha. When Sati grew up she set her heart on Shiva, worshipping him, in the Swayamvara of Sati, Daksha invited all gods and princes except Shiva. Sati cast her garland into air, calling upon Shiva to receive the garland, Daksha had no choice but to get Sati married with Shiva. One day Daksha made arrangements for a horse sacrifice called the Daksha Yaga. Satis urge to go to her due to the affection towards her parents overpowered the social etiquette for not going to an uninvited ceremony. Then Shiva came to know about this and with deep sorrow and anger, plucked a lock of hair, Lord Veerabhadra, and Rudrakali were born. To provide him the power, arrived Bhadrakali, an incarnation of Devi. Maheshwara replied, Spoil the sacrifice of Daksha and she too in her wrath, as the fearful goddess Rudrakali, accompanied him, with all her train, to witness his deeds. Shiva directed Virabhadra, Lead my army against Daksha and destroy his sacrifice, Lord Vishnu could not let his devotee - Daksha be mortified by Virabhadra. He therefore got astride his Garuda, armed as he was with Conch, Discus and Bow and Arrows and he immediately rained powerful arrows at his foe from all directions. Angered all the more by this unexpected attack, Veerabhadra also climbed a chariot. Both used celestial weapons - one upon the other, but none of them was affected in the least though they struck awe into the hearts of the onlookers, both were equally matched and both were adept and quick with their hands and weapons in offensive and defensive. Keenly watching the duel and thinking that Veerabhadra might come out victorious. Continuing the duel, Veerabhadra showered multiple weapons of tremendous power at Vishnu who retaliated with equal might, the firmament reverberated with thunder and lightning. Seeing Vishnus Discus approaching him thus, Veerabhadra coolly opened his vast mouth and swallowed it at one gulp, Lord Vishnu was astonished at this miracle and was filled with admiration for Veerabhadra. Instantly he flew to his side in great ecstasy and praised his erstwhile opponent thus,0 Veerabhadra Mahavira, there is none to equal you here nor in the seven worlds
22.
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
23.
Bhadrakali
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Bhadrakālī is a Hindu goddess popular in Southern India. She is one of the forms of the Great Goddess mentioned in the Devi Mahatmyam. Bhadrakali is the form of Devi worshipped in Kerala as Sri Bhadrakali. In Kerala she is seen as the auspicious and fortunate form of Kali who protects the good and this goddess is represented with three eyes, and four, twelve, or eighteen hands. She carries a number of weapons, with flames flowing from her head, and her worship is also associated with the Tantric tradition of the Matrikas as well as the tradition of the ten Mahavidyas and falls under the broader umbrella of Shaktism. The Sanskrit word Bhadra Kali therefore can be translated to Hindi as Mahamaya Kali, there are at least three traditional versions regarding the origin-incarnations or avatar of Bhadrakali. The first version is from Devi Mahatmyam and basically a part of Shaktism, the second is associated with the Daksha and Dakshayaga, from the more Shaivism related tradition, and glimpses of this version can be seen in some Puranas. The third and the equally most famous one is her birth as the daughter of Shiva to liberate the world from demon Daruka. According to the Vayu Purana and the Mahabharata, Bhadrakali came into being by Devis wrath, according to Tantra Rahasya, she arose from the North face of Shiva, which is blue in color and with three eyes. The demon Darika, after intense ascetic penances and practices, secured a boon from Lord Brahma that he would be invincible, soon afterwards he began to harass the world and commit numerous crimes. When Lord Shiva came to know about the misdeeds of demon Darika and he opened his fiery third eye and the massive flaming form of Bhadrakali emerged. She was huge, wore a look and had countless hands. Shiva ordered Bhadra Kali to destroy Darika and she went through the forest, when Darika saw Bhadrakali, he laughed and dismissed her, forgetting that his boon of invincibility did not prevent him from being killed by a woman. After a fierce battle, Bhadrakali and her assistants finally finished him off, according to the Kerala traditions, the events described in the Markandeya Purana associated with Bhadrakali took place in Kerala, near Madayi in the Kannur District. Bhadrakali temples in Kerala commemorate this event during festivals and Bhadrakali is worshipped as the daughter of Lord Shiva. According to the Markandeya Purana, her worship purifies the devotee and she is seen to protect the honour of women and to bestow all spiritual knowledge. In Kerala, she called Virabhadra her brother and refused to be treated by him when she was attacked by the deity Vasoorimala and she said that a brother must not touch the face of his sister. Thus, mild pockmarks are sometimes visible on her face in some Keralan depictions of her
24.
Yama (Hinduism)
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In Hindu Religion, Yama, is the lord of death. In the Rigveda, he is mentioned as one who helped find a place to dwell. In Vedic tradition, Yama was considered to be the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes, thus, as a result, Yamas name can be interpreted to mean twin, and in some myths he is paired with a twin sister Yami. Yama is associated with roles in Hinduism that are not always consistent throughout the stories. Sometimes, he is the lord of justice and is associated with Dharma, such as in the Brahma Purana, in other Puranas, Yama is also found in Buddhist texts. The Buddhist Yama, however, has developed different myths, Yama is the deity of death in Hinduism. In Hindu Puranic scriptures, those who assist him in his work are Kala, Jwara, Vyadhi, Krodha and he is one of the Lokapāla and represents the south cardinal direction. In different texts, Yama can be referred to as the god of justice, as the deity Dharma, or a completely different figure altogether. In the Katha Upanishad, Yama is portrayed as a teacher to Nachiketa, the little boy. In the Epic Mahabharata, he is the father of Yudhishthira, in other texts, Yama is called Kāla, but so are other gods in Hindu pantheon, such as Shiva. The latter is also called Mahākāla in his form as the destroyer of the world, among the Nuristanis, the deity is known as Imra. In the Rig Veda he is mentioned as the son of Vivasvat and of Saranya, only three hymns in the Rig Veda are addressed to him. There is one consisting of a dialogue between Yama and his sister Yami. Yamas name is mentioned roughly fifty times in the Rig Veda, Agni, who is a conductor of the dead, has close relations with Yama. In RV10.21.5 Agni is said to be the friend of Yama, and in RV10.52 Agni is Yamas priest, serving as the burner of the dead. Agni, Yama, and Mātariśvan are mentioned together as the names of one being, along with forms of the divine, in RV1.164.46. In art, some Sanskrit sources say that he should be of color, resembling the rain-cloud. He is depicted with red clothes, and seated either on a throne or a he-buffalo
25.
Indra
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Indra is a Vedic deity in Hinduism, a guardian deity in Buddhism, and the king of first heaven called Saudharmakalpa in Jainism. His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical to those of the Indo-European deities such as Zeus, Jupiter, Perun, Thor, in the Vedas, Indra is the king of Svarga and the Devas. He is the god of lightning, thunder, storms, rains, Indra is the most referred to deity in the Rigveda. He is celebrated for his powers, and the one who kills the great symbolic evil named Vritra who obstructs human prosperity, Indra destroys Vritra and his deceiving forces, and thereby brings rains and the sunshine as the friend of mankind. In Buddhism, Indra has been a popular deity, referred by many names and he is featured in Buddhism somewhat differently than Hinduism, such as being shown as less war oriented and one paying homage to the Buddha. Indra rules over the much sought Devas realm of rebirth within the Samsara doctrine of Buddhist traditions, however, like the Hindu texts, Indra also is a subject of ridicule and reduced to a figurehead status in Buddhist texts, shown as a god that suffers rebirth and redeath. In the Jainism traditions, like Buddhism and Hinduism, Indra is the king of gods, Indras iconography shows him wielding a lightning thunderbolt known as Vajra, riding on a white elephant known as Airavata. In Buddhist iconography the elephant sometimes features three heads, while Jaina icons sometimes show the elephant with five heads, sometimes a single elephant is shown with four symbolic tusks. Indras heavenly home is on or near Mount Meru, the etymological roots of Indra are unclear, has been a contested topic among scholars since the 19th-century, one with many proposals. The significant proposals have been, root ind-u, or rain drop, based on the Vedic mythology that he conquered rain, root ind, or equipped with great power. Root idh or kindle, and ina or strong, root indha, or igniter, for his ability to bring light and power that ignites the vital forces of life. This is based on Shatapatha Brahmana, root idam-dra, or It seeing which is a reference to the one who first perceived the self-sufficient metaphysical Brahman. This is based on Aitareya Upanishad, roots in ancient Indo-European, Indo-Aryan deities. Later scholarship has linked Vedic Indra to the European Aynar, Abaza, Ubykh, colarusso suggests a Pontic origin and that both the phonology and the context of Indra in Indian religions is best explained from Indo-Aryan roots and a Circassian etymology. Indra is also called Śakra frequently in the Vedas and in Buddhism, Indra has many epithets in the Indian religions, notably Śakra, Vṛṣan, Vṛtrahan, Meghavāhana, Devarāja, Devendra, Surendra, Svargapati, Vajrapāṇī and Vāsava. Indra is of ancient but unclear origin, the similarities between Indra of Hindu mythologies and of Thor of Nordic and Germanic mythologies are significant states Max Muller. Michael Janda suggests that Indra has origins in the Indo-European *trigw-welumos smasher of the enclosure, brave and heroic Innara or Inra, which sounds like Indra, is mentioned among the gods of the Mitanni, a Hurrian-speaking people of Hittite region. Indra as a deity had a presence in northeastern Asia minor and this tablet mentions a treaty, but its significance is in four names it includes reverentially as Mi-it-ra, U-ru-w-na, In-da-ra and Na-sa-at-ti-ia
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Chandra
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In Hinduism, Chandra is a lunar god and a Graha. The Chandra is the lord of plants and vegetation, Chandra is described as young, beautiful, two-armed and having in his hands a club and a lotus. He rides his chariot across the sky night, pulled by ten white horses or an antelope. In Hindu mythology, Chandra is the father of Budha and he is married to 27 daughters of Daksha, after whom the Nakshatras in Hindu astrology are named. In Hindu mythology, there are versions of legends around Chandras family. In one, he meets Tara, the wife of Brihaspati, from their union, Tara became pregnant giving birth to Budha. Brihaspati becomes upset and declares a war, the Devas intervene, and Tara returns to Brihaspati. In another, Chandra marries the twenty-seven daughters of Daksha, the Moon favors Rohini – one of his wives, the others become upset and complain to Daksha. One popular story to account for the spot on the Moon is that Ganesha, once filled with food, fell from his mouse. Chandra laughed at this, for which Ganesha injured him by breaking off and throwing one of his tusks. Chandra is also the word in Sanskrit, Hindi and other Indian languages for the Moon and it is also a common Indian name, both male and female and exists as a name in many South East Asian languages that originate from Sanskrit. Indu, one of the names for Chandra, is also the name of the first chakra of Melakarta ragas in Carnatic music. The names of chakras are based on the associated with each name. In this case, there is one, the Moon and hence the first chakra is Indu, Chandra plays an important role in one of the first novel-length mystery stories in English, The Moonstone. The Sanskrit word Chandrayāna is used to refer to Indias lunar orbiters, navagraha Soma Media related to Chandra at Wikimedia Commons
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Yajna (avatar)
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Yajna or Yajneshwara is mentioned as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Bhagavata Purana. As Yajna, Vishnu is the embodiment of the Hindu sacrifice ritual or Yajna and he was also the Indra of the Svayambhuva Manvantara, era of Svayambhuva Manu. The Bhagavata Purana, Devi Bhagavata Purana, and Garuda Purana list Yajna or Syavambhuva as an avatar of Vishnu or Adi-Narayana, Yajna is classified as one of the 14 main Manvantara-avatars called vaibhava-avatars. Yajna is also categorized as a Kalpa-avatar of Vishnu, Yajna is the son of Prajapati Ruci and Akuti, the daughter of Svayambhuva Manu - the first Manu. During the period of Svayambhuva Manu, there was no qualified Indra, so, Vishnu incarnated as Yajna and held the post of Indra. Vishnu Purana tells that Yajna had a sister named Dakshina. Later, Yajna married Dakshina and had twelve sons and these twelve Devas are collectively called the Yāmas. The Bhagavata Purana identifies Yajna with Vishnu and Dakshina with goddess Lakshmi, after Yajnas birth, he lived at the house of his grandfather Svayambhuva Manu. The sons to Yajna and Dakshina are named as Tosha, Pratosha, Santosha, Bhadra, Sânti, Idaspati, Idhma, Kavi, Vibhu, Svahna, Sudeva and they are collectively called as the Tushita gods. Later Yajna is described to become the Indra, Garuda Purana says that he performed many sacrifices. Another tale from the Vishnu Purana tells at the time of destruction of Dakshas sacrifice, Yajna, Yajnas head was severed by Virabhadra, a fierce incarnation of Shiva. Latter accounts in the Harivamsa and Linga Purana relate this to the origin of the constellation Mrigashīrsha, the creator god Brahma elevated the deer-headed Yajna to the planetary sphere as Mrigashīrsha. Vishnu has been equated to Yajna as early as in the Vedas, the commenter on the Vedas - Sayana describes Vishnu as the lord of Yajna or the sacrificer himself. Even the Bhagvad Gita associates Vishnu to Yajna, performing sacrifices is considered to equivalent to pleasing Vishnu. The Vishnu Sahasranama also relates Yajna as a name of Vishnu, Puranic Encyclopaedia, A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature
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Bhagavata Purana
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The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of Hinduisms eighteen great Puranas. Composed in Sanskrit and available in almost all Indian languages, it promotes bhakti to Krishna integrating themes from the Advaita philosophy of Adi Shankara. The Bhagavata Purana, like other puranas, discusses a range of topics including cosmology, genealogy, geography, mythology, legend, music, dance, yoga. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas and evil asuras and now rule the universe, the Bhagavata Purana is a revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu. The text presents a form of religion that competes with that of the Vedas, wherein bhakti ultimately leads to self-knowledge, liberation and bliss. However the Bhagavata Purana asserts that the nature and outer form of Krishna is identical to the Vedas. An oft-quoted verse is used by some Krishna sects to assert that the text itself is Krishna in literary form, the date of composition is probably between the eighth and the tenth century CE, but may be as early as the 6th century CE. Manuscripts survive in numerous inconsistent versions revised through the 18th century creating various recensions both in the languages and across different Indian languages. The text consists of twelve books totalling 332 chapters and between 16,000 and 18,000 verses depending on the recension, the tenth book, with about 4,000 verses, has been the most popular and widely studied. Bhagavata means devoted to, follower of Bhagavat – the sacred, an alternative interpretation of Bhagavata is devotees of the Adorable One. Bhagavata Purana therefore means Ancient Tales of Followers of the Lord, the Bhagavata is widely recognized as the best-known and most influential of the Puranas and, along with the Itihasa and other puranas, is sometimes referred to as the Fifth Veda. It is the source of popular stories of Krishnas childhood told for centuries on the Indian subcontinent. The Bhagavata declares itself the essence of all the Upanishads and derivative Smritis, One who has enjoyed the nectar of its rasa never has any desire for anything else. In northern and western India the Bhagavata Purana has influenced the Hari Bhakti Vilasa, the text complements the Pancharatra Agama texts of Vaishnavism. While the text focuses on Krishna Lord Narayana himself appears and explains how Brahma, the Bhagavata Purana is also significant in asserting that Yoga practice is a form of Bhakti. The Bhagavata Purana, in verse 2.9.32, modern scholarship dates its composition to between 500 CE to 1000 CE, but most likely between 800 and 1000 CE. A version of the text existed no later than 1030 CE, within this range, scholars such as R. C. Postmodern scholars have suggested alternate theories, the Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier material and undergoing later interpolations
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Vishnu
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Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, and the Supreme Being in its Vaishnavism tradition. Along with Brahma and Shiva, Vishnu forms a Hindu trinity, however and his avatars most notably include Krishna in the Mahabharata and Rama in the Ramayana. He is also known as Narayana, Jagannath, Vasudeva, Vithoba and he is one of the five equivalent deities worshipped in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu inconography, Vishnu is usually depicted as having a dark, or pale blue complexion and having four arms. He holds a padma in his left hand, Kaumodaki gada in his lower right hand, Panchajanya shankha in his upper left hand. A traditional depiction is Lord Vishnu reclining on the coils of Ananta, accompanied by his consort devi Lakshmi, yaska, the mid 1st-millennium BCE Vedanga scholar, in his Nirukta, defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, one who enters everywhere. He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, that which is free from fetters, the medieval Indian scholar Medhātithi suggested that the word Vishnu has etymological roots in viś, meaning to pervade, thereby connoting that Vishnu is one who is everything and inside everything. Vishnu is a Vedic deity, but not a prominent one when compared to Indra, Agni, just 5 out of 1028 hymns of the Rigveda, a 2nd millennium BCE Hindu text, are dedicated to Vishnu, and he finds minor mention in the other hymns. Though a minor mention and with overlapping attributes in the Vedas, he has important characteristics in various hymns of Rig Veda and he is also described in the Vedic literature as the one who supports heaven and earth. In the Vedic hymns, Vishnu is invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra and his distinguishing characteristic in Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 refer to Vishnu, in section 7.99 of the Rgveda, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra. In the Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is Surya or Savitr, in hymn 7.99 of Rigveda, Indra-Vishnu are equivalent and produce the sun, with the verses asserting that this sun is the source of all energy and light for all. In other hymns of the Rigveda, Vishnu is a friend of Indra. In the Yajurveda, Taittiriya Aranyaka, Narayana sukta, Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being, the first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words paramam padam, which literally mean highest post and may be understood as the supreme abode for all souls. This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam or Vaikuntha, Rig Veda 1.22.20 a also mentions the same paramam padam. In the Atharvaveda, the mythology of a boar who raises goddess earth from the depths of cosmic ocean appears, in post-Vedic mythology, this legend becomes one of the basis of many cosmogonic myth called the Varaha legend, with Varaha as an avatar of Vishnu. Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the Trivikrama and it is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu. Trivikrama refers to the three steps or three strides of Vishnu
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Sanskrit
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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
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Devi
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Devī is the Sanskrit word for goddess, the masculine form is Deva. Devi – the feminine form, and Deva – the masculine form, mean heavenly, divine, anything of excellence, and are also gender specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The concept and reverence for goddesses appears in the Vedas, which were composed in the 2nd millennium BC, however, goddesses such as Saraswati and Usha have continued to be revered into the modern era. The divine feminine has the strongest presence as Devi in Hinduism, among major world religions, the goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Saiva Hindu traditions. Devi and Deva are Sanskrit terms found in Vedic literature of the 2nd millennium BC, Deva is masculine, and the related feminine equivalent is devi. Monier Williams translates it as heavenly, divine, terrestrial things of excellence, exalted. Etymologically, the cognates of Devi are Latin dea and Greek thea, when capitalized, Devi or Mata refers to goddess as divine mother in Hinduism. Deva is also referred to as Devatā, while Devi as Devika, according to Douglas Harper, the etymological root Dev- means a shining one, from *div- to shine, and it is a cognate with Greek dios divine and Zeus, and Latin deus. The Devi Sukta of the Rigveda 10.125.1 through 10.125, however, the goddesses are not discussed as frequently as gods. Sri, also called Lakshmi, appears in late Vedic texts dated to be pre-Buddhist, Devi is the supreme being in the Shakta tradition of Hinduism, while in the Smarta Tradition, she is one of the five primary forms of Brahman revered. She is the power of Shiva, and this theme is also found in the Tripura Upanishad, Bahvricha Upanishad. Devi asserts that she is creator of earth and heaven and resides there and her creation of sky as father, seas as mother is reflected as the Inner Supreme Self. Her creations are not prompted by any Higher being and she resides in all her creations and she is, states Devi, the eternal and infinite consciousness engulfing earth and heaven, and all forms of bliss and non-bliss, knowledge and ignorance, Brahman and Non-Brahman. The tantric aspect in Devi Upanishad, states June McDaniel is the usage of the yantra, bindu, bija, mantra, shakti. Among the major religions, the concept of goddess in Hinduism as the divine feminine, has had the strongest presence since the ancient times. Parvati is the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion and she is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess. She is the goddess in Hinduism and has many attributes. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu mythologies of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses
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India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
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Bangladesh
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Bangladesh, officially the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It shares land borders with India and Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and China are located near Bangladesh but do not share a border with it. The countrys maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area, Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country. Dhaka is its capital and largest city, followed by Chittagong which has the countrys largest port, Bangladesh forms the largest and eastern part of the Bengal region. Bangladeshis include people of different ethnic groups and religions, Bengalis, who speak the official Bengali, make up 98% of the population. The politically dominant Bengali Muslims make the nation the worlds third largest Muslim-majority country, most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km of inland waterways, highlands with evergreen forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef and it is home to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The countrys biodiversity includes a vast array of plant and wildlife, including critically endangered Bengal tigers, the Greeks and Romans identified the region as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom of the historical subcontinent, in the 3rd century BCE. Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh, which had trade links for millennia. The Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Bengal transformed the region into a cosmopolitan Islamic imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries, the region was home to many principalities which had inland naval prowess. It was also a center of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. As part of British India, the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance, the Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan, and was renamed as East Pakistan. The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after independence, a parliamentary republic was established. A presidential government was in place between 1975 and 1990, followed by a return to parliamentary democracy, the country has also been affected by poverty, natural disasters, hunger, dominant party systems and military coups. Bangladesh is a power and a major developing nation. Listed as one of the Next Eleven, it has the 46th largest economy and it is one of the largest textile exporters in the world. Its major trading partners are the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, with its strategically vital location between Southern, Eastern and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation
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Pakistan
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is also a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
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Nepal
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Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked central Himalayan country in South Asia. Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 75 districts and 744 local units including 4 metropolises,13 sub-metropolises,246 municipal councils and 481 village and it has a population of 26.4 million and is the 93rd largest country by area. Bordering China in the north and India in the south, east, Nepal does not border Bangladesh, which is located within only 27 km of its southeastern tip. It neither borders Bhutan due to the Indian state of Sikkim being located in between, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the worlds ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. It is a nation with Nepali as the official language. The territory of Nepal has a history since the Neolithic age. The name Nepal is first recorded in texts from the Vedic Age, the era which founded Hinduism, in the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal became known as Nepal proper because of its complex urban civilization. It was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala, the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valleys traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture, by the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, the country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and Colonial India. In the 20th century, Nepal ended its isolation and forged ties with regional powers. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was suspended by Nepalese monarchs in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War resulted in the proclamation of a republic in 2008, modern Nepal is a federal secular parliamentary republic. Nepal is a nation, ranking 144th on the Human Development Index in 2016. The country struggles with the transition from a monarchy to a republic and it also suffers from high levels of hunger and poverty. Despite these challenges, Nepal is making progress, with the government declaring its commitment to elevate the nation from least developed country status by 2022
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Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
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Shaktism
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Shaktism is a major tradition of Hinduism, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered feminine and the Devi is supreme. It includes a variety of goddesses, all considered aspects of the supreme goddess. Shaktism has different sub-traditions, ranging from those focussed on gracious Lakshmi to fierce Kali, the Sruti and Smriti texts of Hinduism are an important historical framework of the Shaktism tradition. In addition, it reveres the texts Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Bhagavata Purana, the Devi Mahatmya in particular, is considered in Shaktism to be as important as the Bhagavad Gita. Shaktism is known for its various sub-traditions of Tantra, as well as a galaxy of goddesses with respective systems and it consists of the Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. The pantheon of goddesses in Shaktism grew after the decline of Buddhism in India, wherein Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, the most common aspects of Devi found in Shaktism include Durga, Kali, Amba, Lakshmi, Parvati and Tripurasundari. The goddess-focussed tradition is popular in West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Nepal and the neighboring regions. Yet, they are declared equivalent aspects of gender neutral Brahman, of Prajapati, the goddesses often mentioned in the Vedic layers of text include the Ushas, Vac, Sarasvati, Prithivi, Nirriti, Shraddha. Goddesses such as Uma appear in the Upanishads as another aspect of Brahman, hymns to goddesses are in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata, particularly in the later added Harivamsa section of it. The archaeological and textual evidence implies, states Thomas Coburn, that the Goddess had become as much a part of the Hindu tradition, as God, by about the third or fourth century. The literature on Shakti theology grew in ancient India, climaxing in one of the most important texts of Shaktism called the Devi Mahatmya, the Devi-Mahatmya is not the earliest literary fragment attesting to the existence of devotion to a goddess figure, states Thomas B. Coburn – a professor of Religious Studies, but it is surely the earliest in which the object of worship is conceptualized as Goddess, with a capital G. Other important texts of Shaktism include the Shakta Upanishads, as well as Shakta-oriented Upa Puranic literature such as the Devi Purana and Kalika Purana, the Lalita Sahasranama. The Tripura Upanishad is historically the most complete introduction to Shakta Tantrism, along with the Tripura Upanishad, the Tripuratapini Upanishad has attracted scholarly bhasya in the second half of 2nd-millennium, such as by Bhaskararaya, and by Ramanand. These texts link the Shakti Tantra tradition as a Vedic attribute, Shaktas conceive the Goddess as the supreme, ultimate, eternal reality of all existence, or same as the Brahman concept of Hinduism. She is considered to be simultaneously the source of all creation, its embodiment and the energy that animates and governs it, according to V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar – a professor of Indian history, in Shaktism theology Brahman is static Shakti and Shakti is dynamic Brahman. Shaktism views the Devi as the source, essence and substance of everything in creation and its texts such as the Devi-Bhagavata Purana states, I am Manifest Divinity, Unmanifest Divinity, and Transcendent Divinity. I am Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, as well as Saraswati, Lakshmi, I am the Sun and I am the Stars, and I am also the Moon
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Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
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Sharada Peeth
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Sharada Peeth, located in the village of Sharda in Azad Kashmir. It is situated near the Line of Control which divides Pakistan administered Kashmir from Indian administered Kashmir, the temple dedicated to the goddess Sarasvatī is on the banks of Neelum River in Azad Kashmir. Kashmir was once centre of learning of Hindu Vedic works until the people dwelling in that region converted to Islam, prior to this, Kashmir was sometimes called Sharada Desh because of this temple and Sharada was called Kashmira Puravasini. Kashmiri Hindus remain highly devoted towards this deity, and by extension, as part of their daily worship, Kashmiri Hindus utter the phrase Namastey Sharada Devi Kashmir Pur Vasini Tvam Ham Prartheye Nityam Vidya Danam Che De hi mey. The temple had fallen into disrepair by the 14th century. Following the brief 1948 war in the region between Pakistan and India, the site came under control of Pashtun tribesmen who invaded the region, Control was then passed to the newly formed government of Pakistan administered Kashmir. The site was damaged in the 2005 earthquake which struck the region. Pakistani Hindus rarely visit the temple, preferring to visit sites farther south in Sindh, Balochistan, as such, restoration of the temple is not considered a priority in the manner that Katasraj Temple was regarded by the Pakistani government. Shakti Peethas are shrines or divine places of Shakti formed due to the falling of body parts of the corpse of Sati Devi, there are 51 Shakti Peeth linking to the 51 alphabets in Sanskrit. Each temple has shrines for Shakti and Kalabhairava, Sharada Peeth is one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peetha. Devis Right hand is said to have fallen here, the Shakti worshiped here is the goddess of knowledge and education, Saraswathi otherwise known as Sarada. The mythology of Daksha yaga and Satis self immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and it led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas and there by strengthening Shaktism. Enormous mythological stories in puranas took the Daksha yaga as the reason for its origin and it is an important incident in Shaivism and Shaktism. The temple is located in the village of Sharda, in Neelam Valley. It lies 16 miles to the northwest of the Line of Control in a sensitive area. The place was once a centre of learning in the subcontinent. It was a centre of great Sanskrit scholars and Kashmiri Pandits and was a centre of Hinduism and Buddhism. Near Sree Sharada Devi temple, there used to be famous Sanskrit university, the Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang visited this learning centre in 632 CE
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Saraswati
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Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning worshipped throughout Nepal and India. She is a part of the trinity of Saraswati, Lakshmi, all the three forms help the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to create, maintain and regenerate-recycle the Universe respectively. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a goddess is in the Rigveda and she has remained significant as a goddess from the Vedic period through modern times of Hindu traditions. Some Hindus celebrate the festival of Vasant Panchami in her honour, the Goddess is also revered by believers of the Jain religion of west and central India, as well as some Buddhist sects. Saraswati who is revered as a goddess of knowledge, music and arts is found outside Nepal and India, such as in Japan, Vietnam, Bali. It is also a Sanskrit composite word of surasa-vati which means one with plenty of water, the word Saraswati appears both as a reference to a river and as a significant deity in the Rigveda. In initial passages, the word refers to Sarasvati River and mentioned with other northwestern Indian rivers such as Drishadvati, Saraswati then connotes a river deity. In Book 2, Rigveda calls Saraswati as the best of mothers, of rivers, –Translated by John Muir In Vedic literature, Saraswati acquires the same significance for early Indians as that accredited to the river Ganges by their modern descendants. In hymns of Book 10 of Rigveda, she is declared to be the possessor of knowledge. In Upanishads and Dharma Sastras, Saraswati is invoked to remind the reader to meditate on virtue, virtuous emoluments, the meaning, Saraswati is known by many names in ancient Hindu literature. Some examples of synonyms for Saraswati include Brahmani, Brahmi, Bharadi, Vani and Vachi, Varnesvari, in Nepali language, her name is written Nepali, सरस्वती. In the Telugu, Sarasvati is also known as Chaduvula Thalli, in Konkani, she is referred to as Shārada, Veenapani, Pustaka dharini, Vidyadāyini. In Kannada, variants of her name include Sharade, Sharadamba, in Tamil, she is also known as Kalaimagal, Kalaivāni, Vāni, Bharathi. She is also addressed as Shāradā, Veenā pustaka dharani, Vākadevi, Vāni, Varadhanāyaki, in India she is locally spelled as Bengali, সরস্বতী, Saraswati. Malayalam, സരസ്വതി, Saraswati. and Tamil, சரஸ்வதி, Sarasvatī, outside Nepal and India, she is known in Burmese as Thurathadi or Tipitaka Medaw, in Chinese as Biàncáitiān, in Japanese as Benzaiten and in Thai as Suratsawadi or Saratsawadi. Saraswati is found in almost every major ancient and medieval Indian literature between 1000 BC to 1500 AD, in Hindu tradition, she has retained her significance as a goddess from the Vedic age up to the present day. In Shanti Parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Saraswati is called the mother of the Vedas, in Book 2 of Taittiriya Brahmana, she is called the mother of eloquent speech and melodious music. Saraswati is the energy and power of Brahma
