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Nala
Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the '' Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married princess Damayanti, of the Vidarbha Kingdom. He was blessed by goddess Kali. He was also a great cook and wrote the first-ever book on cookery, Pakadarpanam (Sanskrit: पाकदर्पण). Even today, a consistently good chef/cook is credited as someone with Nala-Bhagam to mean that their dish tastes as if Nala has prepared it. He is said to have been able to cook a full meal without lighting fire. Story Nala's story is told in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata and was adapted into various versions. According to the 12th century text Nishadha Charita, one of the five '' mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature, written by Sriharsha, Nala, King of Nishadha, found a beautiful swan in a forest. The swan t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nishadha Charita
''Naishadha Charita'', also known as Naishadhiya Charita (), is a poem in Sanskrit on the life of Nala, the king of Nishadha. Written by Sriharsha, it is considered one of the five ''mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature. It was composed by Śrī Harṣa in the court of Gahaḍavāla King Jayachandra. Contents ''Naishadha Charita'' presents the story of Nala's early life; his falling in love with Damayanti, their marriage, and honeymoon. This '' mahakavya '' is divided into two parts – ''Purva'' and ''Uttara'', each of them containing eleven cantos or divisions. Its story is that of Nala and Damayanti, the daughter of Bhima, the king of Vidarbha. This story is first related in the 3rd part of ''Vanaparva'' of the Mahabharata, where the treatment is different. The language of the Naishadha Charita is highly elaborate and polished, with continual play upon words and variety of metres. Shishupala Vadha of Magha and ''Naishadha Charita'' of Srihars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damayanti
''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of the Nishadha Kingdom. The character is also found in other Hindu texts by many authors in numerous Indian languages. She, along with Nala, are the central characters in the 12th century text Nishadha Charita, one of the five '' mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature, written by Sriharsha. Story Damayanti was the Yadava princess of Vidarbha Kingdom. One day, a beautiful swan came to her and told her about Nala, king of Nishadha. The swan was sent by Nala after hearing about her from it. After hearing about Nala, she was impressed with him and wanted to marry him. A swayamvara was organized by Damayanti's father and Nala was also invited. Damayanti chose Nala out of the kings and princes and married. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali (demon)
In Hinduism, Kali ( Devanāgari: , IAST: ', with both vowels short; from a root ', 'suffer, hurt, startle, confuse') is the being who reigns during the age of the Kali Yuga and acts as the nemesis of Kalki, the tenth and final avatar of the Hindu preserver deity, Vishnu. Mahabharata According to the Mahabharata, the gandharva Kali became jealous when he was late to Princess Damayanti's marriage ceremony and discovered she had overlooked the deities Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama (and ultimately himself) to choose Nala as her husband. In anger, Kali spoke to his companion Dvapara, the personification of Dvapara Yuga: Kali traveled to Nala's kingdom of Nishadhas and waited twelve long years for the right moment to strike. Because Nala had rendered himself impure by not washing his feet before his prayers, Kali was able to bewitch his soul. Kali then appeared before Pushkara and invited him to play a game of dice with his brother, guaranteeing Nala's downfall. Dwapara took the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rituparna
Rutuparna (IAST): Rutuparṇa ( hi, ऋतुपर्ण) was a king of Ayodhya, and son of Sarvakama, into whose service king Nala entered after he had lost his kingdom. Rutuparna was a master mathematician and profoundly skilled in dice Kali (Demon). Nala, as Bahuk (one with a hump) became a minister and later the charioteer in King Rituparna's court on the advice of the King of Snakes (Nagas) to learn from him the skills of dice. According to the story of Nala-Damayanti of Mahabharata, after the disappearance of King Nala, his queen, Damayanti and her father's (the father-in-law of King Nala, the king of Vidarbha Kingdom) courtiers sent out a search party to find him. One of the courtiers reported a person "resembling in behaviour, but not in features" with Nala in King Rutuparna's court in Ayodhya. To test this fact it was proclaimed that Queen Damayanti (known for her beauty) had assented to remarry, and consequently an invitation to a swayamvara for the same was sent to R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vana Parva
The Vana Parva, also known as the "Book of the Forest", is the third of eighteen parvas in 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 critical edition of Vana Parva is the longest of the 18 books in the epic, containing 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 Sat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karkotaka
Karkotaka ( sa, कर्कोटक, translit=Karkoṭaka) is a naga king in Hinduism. One of the children of Kashyapa and Kadru, Karkotaka is regarded to have lived in a forest near the Nishadha Kingdom. According to Hindu mythology, he stings King Nala, transforming him into a twisted and ugly shape. Legend Karkotaka once deceived Narada, the divine sage, in a game of chance. Angered, Narada cursed him that he would remain stationary in the forest until he is saved by King Nala. In the Mahabharata, Karkotaka encountered King Nala when there was a wildfire in the forest where he dwelt, calling out to the king to rescue him. Reducing himself to the size of a thumb, he urged Nala to save him, and the king promptly moved the serpent to a safer spot. Thus, he was freed from Narada's curse. Karkotaka asked the king to step forward ten steps, and after he did so, stung him, causing him to turn ugly. The serpent explained that he had bit the king because the malevolent Kali ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata King
The ''Mahabharata'' is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India; it was composed by the sage Vyasa. The most important characters of ''Mahabharata'' can be said to include: Krishna; the Pandavas Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, along with their wife Draupadi; and the Kauravas (who were a hundred brothers), led by the eldest brother, Duryodhana. The most important other characters include Bhishma, Karna, Dronacharya, Shakuni, Dhritrashtra, Gandhari and Kunti. Some pivotal additional characters include Balarama, Subhadra, Vidura, Abhimanyu, Kripacharya, Pandu, Satyavati, Ashwatthama, and Amba. Deities who play a significant role in the epic include Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, Ganga, Indra, Surya and Yama. This list mentions notable characters and may also contain characters appearing in regional stories and folklores related to ''Mahabharata''. A Abhimanyu Abhimanyu was the son of third Pandava prince Arjuna and Yadava p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mudgala
Mudgala (), sometimes also rendered Maudgalya (), is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. Leading a life of poverty and piety, he is regarded to have mastered the attainment of the state of nirvana. The Maudgalya Brahmanas are said to trace their descent from this sage. Legend The Mahabharata offers an account of Mudgala, a virtuous sage who lived in Kurukshestra with his wife, Nalayani, also called Indrasena, and his son. He is said to have subsisted merely on grains of rice, and performed a rite known as ''ishtikrita''. He is described to have been so devoted that Indra and the devas themselves appeared in his abode in person to partake in his sacrifices on the full moon and the new moon. Whenever he offered grains of rice to his learned guests, they increased hundredfold, so that all the Brahmins who visited were able to be satisfied. Origin of Draupadi According to legend, pleased by the devotion of his young wife towards him, despite of his old age, he offered her a boon of her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Story Of Nal And Damayanti In Bhakti And Sufism Accounts
The story of Nal and Damayanti from the ''Mahabharata'' is a very popular and frequently told story. It has been interpreted in many languages which also includes Persian and Braj. This page describes the interpretations of the story conducted by Todar Mal, the Hindu finance minister of Mughal emperor Akbar and Abu al-Faiz, Akbar's poet laureate. Both the interpretations include the central theme of love. In Todar Mal's version, the story of Nal (or Nala) and Damayanti has themes such as love, deceit and war between Hindu deities and Nal. On the other hand, Faizi talks about three oppositions which also play a role as themes. The first opposition is love and intellect (aql), the second opposition is between love and beauty (husn) and the third opposition is between Ishq and junnun (frenzy). However, one account is related to Bhakti which includes a lot of Hindu deities and connections between the supreme power and human beings. The other account is related to Sufism which incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pushkara
In Hindu theology Pushkara was the brother of Nala to whom Nala lost his kingdom and all that he possessed in gambling. Shani got very angry when Damayanti chose Nala in the swayamvar. Shani possessed Nala Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the '' Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married prin ... and the latter was defeated by his brother Pushkara. References * Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology Characters in Hindu mythology {{Hindu-myth-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Mosley Penzer
Norman Mosley Penzer (30 September 1892 – 27 November 1960) — known as N. M. Penzer — was a British independent scholar and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society who specialised in Oriental studies. He translated the tale of Nala and Damayanti in 1926 from Sanskrit. Biography Penzer’s father, the Reverend Seymour Penzer (1857–1918), was ordained in the Established Church (Church of England) and finished his career in charge of the Chapel Royal, Brighton, Sussex. Educated at the University of Cambridge, Penzer's interests encompassed economics, geology, comparative anthropology, folklore, the history of exploration, and old silver. In Penzer’s obituary, the Royal Geographical Society lamented that his "gifts of scholarship were never as fully developed as many thought they might have been". An eminent authority on Sir Richard Francis Burton, the Society remarked that “it will always be a matter of regret that he did not write the definitive biograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swayamvara
Svayamvara ( sa, स्वयंवर, svayaṃvara, translit-std=IAST), in ancient India, was a method of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. In this context, in Sanskrit means 'self' and means 'groom'. The bride wishing to marry would select an auspicious time and venue and then broadcast her intentions. Kings typically sent messengers to outside lands, while commoners simply spread the news within the local community. On the appointed day, suitors would gather at the venue and declare their qualifications. The bride would place a garland on the man of her choice and a marriage ceremony was held immediately. Indian literature Sīta In the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', King Janaka proclaimed that Sita would be wed to the man who could lift and string the Shiva Dhanush (Shiva's bow), calling this feat , meaning the cost to be paid by a suitor. Sita married Rama, the only man strong enough to lift and string the bow. Kunti King Kuntibh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
