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Vaitarani (mythology)
The Vaitarani (), also called the Vaitarana, is a river in Indian religions. Described in the Garuda Purana and various other Hindu religious texts, the Vaitarani lies between the Earth and the infernal Naraka, the realm of Yama, the Hindu god of death. It is believed to be capable of purifying sins. The righteous are stated to see the river filled with nectar-like water, while the sinful see it filled with blood. The Vaitarani is similar to the Styx river in Greek mythology. It is associated with the ''Vaitarani Vrata'', observed on the eleventh day of the dark phase of the moon; the ''Krishna Paksha'' of ''Margashirsha'' in the Hindu calendar, wherein a cow is worshiped and donated, which is believed to take one across the dreaded river as mentioned in the Garuda Purana, verses 77–82. Hinduism Puranas The Garuda Purana states that the Vaitarani extends for over a hundred yojanas. It is stated to be filled with water and blood, and abounds with vultures and fish. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Court Of Yama, God Of Death, Circa 1800
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...s that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the Most common words in English, most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vamana Purana
The ''Vamana Purana'' (, IAST: ), is an ancient Sanskrit text that is at least 1,000 years old and is one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is named after one of the incarnations of Vishnu and probably was a Vaishnava text in its origin. However, the modern surviving manuscripts of ''Vamana Purana'' are more strongly centered on Shiva, while containing chapters that revere Vishnu and other Hindu gods and goddesses. It is considered a Shaiva text. Further, the text hardly has the character of a Purana, and is predominantly a collection of ''Mahatmyas'' (travel guides) to many Shiva-related places in India with legends and mythology woven in. The extant manuscripts of ''Vamana Purana'' exist in various versions, likely very different from the original, and show signs of revision over time and regions. It has been published by All India Kashiraj Trust in two rounds. The first round had 95 chapters, while the critical edition (edited by Anand Swarup Gupta, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yama In World Religions
Yama (Devanagari: यम) is the Hindu deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld. Belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities, Yama is said to have been the first mortal who died in the Vedas. By virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed. Mentioned in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism, Yama subsequently entered Buddhist mythology in East Asia, Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka as a Dharmapala. He is also recognized in Sikhism as an angel. Background Yama is the Hindu god of Death and Justice, and is responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. Yama is also one of the oldest deities in the pantheon and some of his earliest appearances are found in the Rigveda. From there, he has remained a significant deity, appearing in some of the most important texts of Hinduism which include the ''Ramayana'', the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Puranas''. Yama is also one of the Lokapalas (guardians of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gurmukhi
Gurmukhī ( , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). Commonly regarded as a Sikh script, Gurmukhi is used in Punjab, India as the official script of the Punjabi language. In the past, the script was also employed to write scientific and poetic literature from both Sanskritic and Persian traditions in the Braj language. The primary scripture of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, is written in Gurmukhī, in various dialects and languages often subsumed under the generic title '' Sant Bhasha'' or "saint language", in addition to other languages like Persian and various phases of Indo-Aryan languages. Modern Gurmukhī has thirty-five original letters, hence its common alternative term ''paintī'' or "the thirty-five", plus six additional consonants, nine vowel diacritics, two diacritics for nasal sounds, one diacritic that geminates consonants and three subscript characters. The sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vana Parva
The Vana Parva ("Book of the Forest") is the third of the eighteen ''parvas'' (books) of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata''.van Buitenen, J.A.B. (1975) ''The Mahabharata: Book 2: The Book of the Assembly Hall; Book 3: The Book of the Forest''. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press Vana Parva traditionally has 21 parts and 324 chapters.Dutt, M.N. (1896) ''The Mahabharata (Volume 3): Vana Parva''. Calcutta: Elysium Press The Textual criticism, critical edition of Vana Parva contains 16 parts and 299 chapters. The parva is a chronicle of the twelve-year journey of the Pandavas in a forest, where they learn life lessons and build character.Bibek Debroy (2011), The Mahābhārata, Volume 3, , Penguin Books Vana Parva contains discourses on virtues and ethics; myths of Arjuna, Yudhishthara, and Bhima; and the tales of "Nahusha the Snake and Yudhishthira" and "Ushinara and the Hawk". It also includes the love stories of "Nala and Damayanti" and "Savitri and Satyavan". Structure and chapt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandava, Pāṇḍavas. It also contains Hindu philosophy, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''puruṣārtha'' (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the ''Mahābhārata'' are the ''Bhagavad Gita'', the story of Damayanti, the story of Shakuntala, the story of Pururava and Urvashi, the story of Savitri and Satyavan, the story of Kacha (sage), Kacha and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an Ramopakhyana, abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyasa, Vy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vimana
Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentioned in Jain texts. Etymology The Sanskrit word ''vimāna'' (विमान) literally means "measuring out, traversing" or "having been measured out". Monier Monier-Williams defines ''vimāna'' as "a car or a chariot of the gods, any self-moving aerial car sometimes serving as a seat or throne, sometimes self-moving and carrying its occupant through the air; other descriptions make the Vimana more like a house or palace, and one kind is said to be seven stories high", and quotes the Pushpaka Vimana of Ravana as an example. It may denote any car or vehicle, especially a bier or a ship as well as a palace of an emperor, especially with seven stories. Nowadays, ''vimāna, vimān'' or ''bimān'' means "aircraft" in Indian languages, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravana
According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antagonist and is considered to be a Rakshasa (demon). In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described as the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Kaikesi, Kaikasi. He abducted Rama's wife, Sita, and took her to his kingdom of Lanka, where he held her in the Ashok Vatika, Ashoka Vatika. Rama, with the support of vanara King Sugriva and his army of vanaras, launched a rescue operation for Sita against Ravana in Lanka. Ravana was subsequently slain, and Rama rescued his beloved wife Sita. Ravana was well-versed in the six shastras and the four Vedas, including the Shiva Tandava Stotra. Ravana is also considered to be the most revered devotee of Shiva. Images of Ravana are often seen associated with Shiva at temples. He also appears in the Buddhist Mahayana t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics of Hinduism known as the ''Itihasas'', the other being the ''Mahabharata''. The epic narrates the life of Rama, the seventh ''avatar'' of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who is a prince of Ayodhya (Ramayana), Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows Exile of Lord Rama, his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama's stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across the forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in bloodbath; and Rama's eventual return to Ayodhya (Ramayana), Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned as a king amidst jubilation and celebration. Scholarly estimates for the earliest stage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devi-Bhagavata Purana
The Devi Bhagavata Purana (, '), also known as the Devi Purana or simply Devi Bhagavatam, is one of the eighteen Mahapuranas as per Shiva Purana of Hinduism. Composed in Sanskrit by Veda Vyasa, the text is considered a major purana for Devi worshippers ( Shaktas). It promotes ''bhakti'' (devotion) towards Mahadevi, integrating themes from the Shaktadvaitavada tradition (a syncretism of Samkhya and Advaita Vedanta). While this is generally regarded as a Shakta Purana, some scholars such as Dowson have also interpreted this Purana as a Shaiva Purana. The Purana consists of twelve cantos with 318 chapters. Along with the ''Devi Mahatmya'', it is one of the most important works in Shaktism, a tradition within Hinduism that reveres Devi or Shakti (Goddess) as the primordial creator of the universe, and as Brahman (ultimate truth and reality). It celebrates the divine feminine as the origin of all existence: as the creator, the preserver and the destroyer of everything, as well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agni Purana
The ''Agni Purana'', (, ) is a Sanskrit text and one of the eighteen major Puranas of Hinduism. The text is variously classified as a Purana related to Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism, but also considered as a text that covers them all impartially without leaning towards a particular theology. The text exists in numerous versions, some very different from others. The published manuscripts are divided into 382 or 383 chapters, containing between 12,000 and 15,000 verses. The chapters of the text were likely composed in different centuries, with earliest version probably after the 7th-century,Thomas Green (2001). ''Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, , page 282 but before the 11th century because the early 11th-century Persian scholar Al-Biruni acknowledged its existence in his memoir on India. The youngest layer of the text in the ''Agni Purana'' may be from the 17th century. The ''Agni Purana'' is a medieval era encyclopedia that covers a diverse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, [mɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh]) and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer'' within the Trimurti, the Hinduism, Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shaktism, Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess (Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta Tradition, Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an Omniscience, omniscient yogi who lives an Asceticism#Hinduism, ascetic life on Kailasa as well as a house ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
