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Chiranjeevins
Chiranjivi ( sa, चिरञ्जीवि, ) are the eight immortals who are to remain alive on Earth until the end of the current Kali Yuga, according to Hinduism. The Sanskrit term Chiranjivi means “immortal”, even though it does not correspond with “eternal”. The term is a combination of "chiram" (long) and jivi (lived). Etymology and scriptural context The term is a combination of ''chiram'', or 'permanent', and ''jīvi'', or 'lived'. It is similar to ''amaratva'', which refers to true immortality. At the end of the last Manvantara, a demon attempted to become immortal by swallowing the sacred pages of Vedas, as they escaped from the mouth of Brahma. The scripture was retrieved by the first avatar (Matsya) of Vishnu. Incarnations of Vishnu (Narasimha and Rama) also later fought and killed two asuras, Hiranyakasipu and Ravana, who tried to become immortal through obeisance to Brahma and Shiva, respectively. In one sense immortal can mean "to live eternally until th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vibhishana
Vibhishana () is the younger brother of Ravana, the King of Lanka, in the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. Though a rakshasa himself, Vibhishana turned his back on Ravana, and defected to Rama's side, owing to his dharma. After Rama defeated Ravana, the former crowned Prince Vibhishana as the King of Lanka before returning to Ayodhya. Ramayana Prince Vibhishana is portrayed as a pious and pure of heart in the epic. After performing a penance to invoke a boon from Brahma, he begged the deity to always set his mind on the path to righteousness, and nothing more. Vibhishana was the youngest son of the rakshasi Kaikesi and the sage Vishrava, who was himself a son of the sage Pulastya, one of the Prajapati. Vibhishana was the younger brother of the King of Lanka, Ravana, and also the sibling of Kumbakarna. Even though he was born as a rakshasa, he was pious and considered himself a Brahmin, since his father was a sage. Due to Vibhishana's differences with Ravana, and because he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of People Claimed To Be Immortal In Myth And Legend
This is a list of people claimed to be immortal. This list does not reference purely spiritual entities (spirits, gods, demons, angels), non-humans (monsters, aliens, elves), or artificial life (artificial intelligence, robots). This list comprises people claimed to achieve a deathless existence on Earth. This list does not contain those people who are supposed to have attained immortality through the typical means of a religion, such as a Christian in Heaven. It also does not include people whose immortality involves living in a place not on Earth, such as Heracles on Mount Olympus or the Eight Immortals of Taoism in Mount Penglai. It also does not include people who, according to their religion, became deities or actually were deities the whole time, such as Jesus of Nazareth (who as part of the Trinity was, according to Christianity, also God) or Parashurama according to Hindu mythology. List These listings are in chronological order, though some dates are approximate. *Ziu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsya
Matsya ( sa, मत्स्य, lit. ''fish'') is the fish avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Often described as the first of Vishnu's ten primary avatars, Matsya is described to have rescued the first man, Manu, from a great deluge. Matsya may be depicted as a giant fish, often golden in color, or anthropomorphically with the torso of Vishnu connected to the rear half of a fish. The earliest account of Matsya is found in the ''Shatapatha Brahmana,'' where Matsya is not associated with any particular deity. The fish-saviour later merges with the identity of Brahma in post-Vedic era, and still later, becomes regarded with Vishnu. The legends associated with Matsya expand, evolve, and vary in Hindu texts. These legends have embedded symbolism, where a small fish with Manu's protection grows to become a big fish, and the fish saves the man who would be the progenitor of the next race of mankind. In later versions, Matsya slays a demon named Hayagriva (son of sage Kashyapa and Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages extending up to the 3rd century CE. ''Ramayana'' is one of the two important epics of Hinduism, the other being the ''Mahabharata, Mahābhārata''. The epic, traditionally ascribed to the Maharishi Valmiki, narrates the life of Sita, the Princess of Janakpur, and Rama, a legendary prince of Ayodhya city in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across forests in the South Asia, Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana – the king of Lanka, that resulted in war; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya to be crowned kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purana
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in other Indian languages,John Cort (1993), Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts (Editor: Wendy Doniger), State University of New York Press, , pages 185-204 several of these texts are named after major Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Adi Shakti. The Puranic genre of literature is found in both Hinduism and Jainism. The Puranic literature is encyclopedic, and it includes diverse topics such as cosmogony, cosmology, genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, folk tales, pilgrimages, temples, medicine, astronomy, gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhāgavata Purāṇa
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, it promotes ''bhakti'' (devotion) towards Krishna, integrating themes from the Advaita (monism) philosophy of Adi Shankara, the Vishishtadvaita (qualified monism) of Ramanujacharya and the Dvaita (dualism) of Madhvacharya. It is widely available in almost all Indian languages. The ''Bhagavata Purana'', like other puranas, discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture. As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent ''devas'' (deities) and evil ''asuras'' (demons) and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as Krishna, (called "Hari" and "Vāsudeva" in the text) – first makes peace with the demons, understands them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pralaya
Pralaya ( sa, प्रलय, , Apocalypse or the Annihilation of the Universe, translit=Pralaya) is a concept in Hindu eschatology. Generally referring to four different phenomena, it is most commonly used to indicate the event of the dissolution of the entire universe that follows a ''kalpa'' (a period of 4.32 billion years) called the ''Brahmapralaya''. Pralaya also refers to ''Nityapralaya'', the continuous destruction of all animate and inanimate beings that occurs on a daily basis, ''Prakritapralaya'', the great flood produced by Prakriti (Nature) that ends all of creation after the completion of the Chaturyuga (four-age) cycle, and ''Atyantikapralaya'', the dissolution of one's Atman (Self) due to its union with Brahman (Ultimate Reality). A concept that has been referenced in literature since the Upanishads, the concept of pralaya has been widely discussed in Hindu cosmology as well as philosophy. Description Hindu cosmology posits an endless cycle of the perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Eschatology
Hindu eschatology is linked in the Hindu tradition to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu names of the Supreme Being in Hinduism and before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe. The current period is believed by Hindus to be the Kali Yuga, the last of four ''Yuga'' that make up the current age. It started when Krishna left the Earth in 3102 BC or 5123 years from 2022. Each period has seen a progressive decline in morality, to the point that in Kali Yuga quarrel and hypocrisy are norm. In Hinduism, time is cyclic, consisting of cycles or " kalpas". Each ''kalpa'' lasts for 4.32 billion years and is followed by a ''pralaya'' (dissolution) of equal length, which together make a period of one full day and night of Brahma's 100 360-day year lifespan, who lives for 311 trillion, 40 billion years. The cycle of birth, growth, decay, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order, yet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eternity
Eternity, in common parlance, means infinite time that never ends or the quality, condition, or fact of being everlasting or eternal. Classical philosophy, however, defines eternity as what is timeless or exists outside time, whereas sempiternity corresponds to infinite duration. Philosophy Classical philosophy defines eternity as what exists outside time, as in describing timeless supernatural beings and forces, distinguished from sempiternity which corresponds to infinite time, as described in requiem prayers for the dead. Some thinkers, such as Aristotle, suggest the eternity of the natural cosmos in regard to both past and future eternal duration. Boethius defined eternity as "simultaneously full and perfect possession of interminable life". Thomas Aquinas believed that God's eternity does not cease, as it is without either a beginning or an end; the concept of eternity is of divine simplicity, thus incapable of being defined or fully understood by humankind. Tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the '' Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some '' Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheistic or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravana
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He abducted Prince Rama's wife Sita and took her to his kingdom of Lanka, where he held her in the Ashoka Vatika. Later, Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched an invasion against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana was subsequently slain and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana is widely portrayed to be an evil character, though he also has many qualities that make him a learned scholar. He was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas. Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva. Images of Ravana are seen associated with Shiva at some temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana text '' Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra'', in Buddhist Ramayanas and Jatakas, as well as in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiranyakasipu
Hiranyakashipu (; also known as Hiranyakashyap) was an Asura king of the ''daityas'' from the Puranic scriptures of Hinduism. His name literally translates to "clothed in gold" (''hiranya'' "gold" ''kashipu'' "soft cushion"), and is often interpreted as depicting one who is fond of wealth and sensual comforts. In the Puranas, however, it is also stated the name was derived from a golden throne called 'Hiranyakashipu' the asura sat in or nearby during the ''Atiratra'' (Soma) sacrifice. Hiranyakashipu's younger brother, Hiranyaksha was slain by Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu. Angered by this, Hiranyakashipu decided to gain magical powers by performing a penance for Lord Brahma. He is subsequently killed by the Narasimha avatar of Lord Vishnu. His tale depicts the futility of desiring power over others and the strength of God's protection over his fully surrendered devotees (in the case of his son Prahlada). Hiranyakashipu, according to legend, earned a boon from Lord Brahma th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
