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Digambara Acharyas
''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing nor wearing any clothes. Nakedness was the ideal practice of lord Mahavira and his immediate followers. Mahavira emphasized the importance of nakedness for monks. It symbolizes complete detachment and is an ideal form of conduct. Mahavira believed that renouncing clothes made the body immune to external influences like heat and cold, increasing resilience. Without clothes, a monk would avoid the distractions of acquiring, maintaining, and washing garments, allowing him to focus on spiritual growth and self-discipline. Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions have had historical differences ranging from their dress code, their temples and iconography, attitude towards female monastics, their legends, and the texts they consider as important. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahavir
Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his life are uncertain and varies by Jain schools and branches, sect, historians generally consider that he lived during the 6th or 5th century BCE, reviving and reforming a proto-Jain community (which had possibly been founded by Pārśvanātha), and that he was an older contemporary of The Buddha, Gautama Buddha. Jains regard him as the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''Tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. According to traditional legends and hagiography, hagiographies, Mahavira was born in the early 6th century BCE to a royal Kshatriya Jain family of ancient India. His mother's name was Trishala and his father's name was Siddhartha of Kundagrama, Siddhartha. According to the second chapter of the Śvētāmbara Ācārāṅga Sūtra, Siddhartha and his f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, the third most populous country subdivision in South Asia and the fourth-most populous in the world. The state is divided into 6 divisions and 36 districts. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra due to its historical significance as a major trading port and its status as India's financial hub, housing key institutions and a diverse economy. Additionally, Mumbai's well-developed infrastructure and cultural diversity make it a suitable administrative center for the state, and the most populous urban are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gymnosophists
Gymnosophists (, ''gymnosophistaí'', i.e. "naked philosophers" or "naked wise men" (from Greek γυμνός ''gymnós'' "naked" and σοφία ''sophía'' "wisdom")) were ancient Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism to the point of regarding food and clothing as detrimental to purity of thought. mentioned several times in Ancient Greek literature. They are mentioned in association with the Persian magi, the Chaldaeans of the Assyrians or the Babylonians, the druids of the Celts, and the priests of Egypt. Some sources claim that famous figures such as Lycurgus, Pythagoras, and Democritus may have met them. They are mentioned by authors such as Philo, Lucian, Clement of Alexandria, Philostratus, and Heliodorus of Emesa. These reports are thought to have served as models to Cynics as well as Christian ascetics. Many authors have discussed the purported questions by Alexander the Great and answers by the Gymnosophists. There were also gymnosophists in Upper Egypt who w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Virtual University
Tamil Virtual Academy, formerly known as the Tamil Virtual University, is a distance education institution based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ..., India. The Government of Tamil Nadu established the Tamil Virtual University on 17 February 2001 as a society. The announcement was made at the closing ceremony of the Second Tamil Internet Conference in 1999 by M. Karunanidhi. The university provides internet-based educational resources and opportunities for the Tamil diaspora as well as for others interested in learning the Tamil language and acquiring knowledge of the history, art, literature and culture of the Tamils. Tamil Virtual Academy offers certificate courses at three levels (Basic, Intermediate and Advance) and B.A. programme in T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandyan
The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing since at least the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE, the dynasty passed through two periods of imperial dominance, the 6th to 10th centuries CE, and under the 'Later Pandyas' (13th to 14th centuries CE). Under Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyas ruled extensive territories including regions of present-day South India and northern Sri Lanka through vassal states subject to Madurai. The Pandya dynasty is the longest ruling dynasty in the world. The rulers of the three Tamil dynasties were referred to as the " three crowned rulers (the mu-ventar) of the Tamil Region" in the southern part of India. The origin and the timeline of the Pandya dynasty are difficult to establish. The early Pandya chieftains ruled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nedunjeliyan I
Netunceliyan I (, was an early Pandyan king. He was titled the ''Āriyappaṭai-kaṭanta Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ'', signifying his defeat of the "northern Aryans". Archaeological evidence According to Mahadevan, the Mangulam inscription possibly mentions the names of workers of Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ I, a Pandyan king of the Sangam era, who made stone beds for Jain monks. In popular culture Neṭuñceḻiyaṉ was also the king of the '' Cilappatikaram'', the epic authored by the poet Ilango Adigal, who later died of a broken heart along with his queen-consort Kopperundevi. He is portrayed by O. A. K. Thevar in the film Poompuhar (1964). See also * List of Sangam poets Sangam refers to the assembly of the highly learned people of the ancient Tamilakam, Tamil land, with the primary aim of advancing the literature. There is no historical evidence to suggest that there were three Sangams. It is a medieval myth p ... Notes References Further reading * P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Institute Of Indian Studies
The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS), founded in 1961, is a consortium of 90 universities and colleges in the United States that promotes the advancement of knowledge about India in the U.S. It carries out this purpose by: awarding fellowships to scholars and artists to carry out their research and artistic projects in India; by operating intensive programs in a variety of Indian languages in India; by sponsoring conferences, workshops and outreach activities; by supporting U.S. study abroad and service learning programs in India; by assisting and facilitating the research of all U.S. scholars in India; and by operating two research archives, the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology and the Center for Art and Archaeology. The AIIS is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. Activities The U.S. headquarter of the AIIS is at the University of Chicago. The main center in India is at Gurugram with an additional center in Defence Colony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jinabhadra
Jinabhadra or Vācanācārya Jinabhadragaṇī Kṣamāśramaṇa was Jain ascetic author of Prakrit and Sanskrit texts. Life Jinabhadra (520-623 AD) was a Śvetāmbara Jain monk during sixth-seventh century CE. Not much is known about his life but it seems that he traveled in western parts of India. He belonged to ''Nirvṛttikula'' branch of Jainism and was head of several monks. He was at Vallabhi during the reign of Maitraka king Shiladitya I in 609 CE (Saka Samvat 531). He had knowledge of Jain canonical texts as well as the other philosophical systems prevalent in India. Works He restored ''Mahāniśītha'', a canonical text, in Mathura. He wrote several Prakrit texts; ''Bṛhatsaṅgrahiṇī'', ''Bṛhatkṣetrasamāsa'', ''Viśeṣaṇavatī'', ''Viśeṣāvaśyaka'', ''Dhyānaśataka'', ''Jītakalpa'' and its Bhashya. Sanskrit commentary on ''Visheshavashyaka'' remained unfinished. Jinabhadra elaborated the ''Debate with the Ganadharas'', a work associated with the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sivabhuti
Sivabhuti was a Jain monk of the 1st century CE who is regarded as the founder of the Digambara tradition in 82 AD, according to the 5th-century Śvetāmbara text ''Avashyak Bhashya'', authored by Jinabhadra. Very little is known about him, apart from a single story mentioned in this ancient Śvetāmbara work. Among several modern works on Jainism, '' The Jains'', by Paul Dundas, also refers to Sivabhuti and recounts the story. Background Śvetāmbara texts accuse Sivabhuti of initiating the Digambara tradition through "eight concealments", which involved the rejection of Jain scriptures upheld and preserved by the Śvetāmbaras. These texts openly and directly charge him with a serious misinterpretation of the scriptures and traditional Jain doctrines, particularly concerning the wearing of clothes and ''strī nirvāṇa'' (the attainment of liberation by women). Scholarly views Although some scholars differ on the interpretation of the term ''Botika'', the majority agree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit Language
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of India''. He was the most important German scholar in Indian philology after Max Müller (1823–1900). Early life and education He was born in Greifswald, Germany. Zimmer began studying Sanskrit and linguistics at the University of Berlin in 1909. He earned his doctorate in 1914 with a thesis entitled ''Studien zur Geschichte der Gotras'' and directed by Heinrich Lüders. He completed his Ph.D. in philology and comparative linguistics in 1914 at the University of Berlin. Career Between 1920 and 1924, he lectured at the University of Greifswald, moving to Heidelberg University to fill the Chair of Indian Philology (1924–1938). [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
