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Vrata
Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage ( Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking health and happiness for their loved ones. Etymology Vrata (Sanskrit: व्रत) means "vow, resolve, devotion",Monier Monier-Williams (1899), Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, page 1042, Article on ''Vrata'' and refers to the practice of austerity, particularly in matters related to foods and drinks by people in Hindu and Jaina culture, as part of a pious observance or prayers seeking health, fertility, long life or happiness for her loved ones. Derived from the root ''‘vr’'' ("will, rule, restrain, conduct, choose, select"), the word is found over 200 times in the Rigveda. It is also found in other Vedic literature including the Upanishads, but the context suggests that the meaning of the word in the Vedic era wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prāyaścitta
''Prāyaścitta'' ( sa, प्रायश्चित्त) is the Sanskrit word which means "atonement, penance, expiation". In Hinduism, it is a ''dharma''-related term and refers to voluntarily accepting one's errors and misdeeds, confession, repentance, means of penance and expiation to undo or reduce the karmic consequences. It includes atonement for intentional and unintentional misdeeds. The ancient Hindu literature on repentance, expiation and atonement is extensive, with earliest mentions found in the Vedic literature. Illustrative means to repent for intentional and unintentional misdeeds include admitting one's misdeeds, austerities, fasting, pilgrimage and bathing in sacred waters, ascetic lifestyle, yajna (fire sacrifice, homa), praying, yoga, giving gifts to the poor and needy, and others. Those texts that discuss Prāyaścitta, states Robert Lingat, debate the intent and thought behind the improper act, and consider penance appropriate when the "effect" had to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth ''tirthankara'' Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal '' dharma'' with the ''tirthankaras'' guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are ''ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), ''anekāntavāda'' (non-absolutism), and '' aparigraha'' (asceticism). Jain monks, after positioning themselves in the sublime state of soul consciousness, take five main vows: ''ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), '' satya'' (truth), '' asteya'' (not stealing), '' brahmacharya'' (chastity), and '' aparigraha'' (non-possessiveness) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskara (rite Of Passage)
Samskara ( IAST: , sometimes spelled ''samskara'') are sacraments in Hinduism and other Indian religions, described in ancient Sanskrit texts, as well as a concept in the karma theory of Indian philosophies. The word literally means "putting together, making perfect, getting ready, to prepare", or "a sacred or sanctifying ceremony" in ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts of India. In the context of karma theory, samskaras are dispositions, character or behavioural traits, that exist as default from birth or prepared and perfected by a person over one's lifetime, that exist as imprints on the subconscious according to various schools of Hindu philosophy such as the Yoga school. These perfected or default imprints of karma within a person, influences that person's nature, response and states of mind.Stephen H. Phillips (2009), Yoga, Karma, and Rebirth: A Brief History and Philosophy, Columbia University Press, , Chapter 3 In another context, Samskara refers to the diverse sacraments ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava, Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains Hindu philosophy, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''purusharthas, 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 abbreviated version of the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Shakha of the many survive today, namely the Śakalya Shakha. Much of the contents contained in the remaining Shakhas are now lost or are not available in the public forum. The ''Rigveda'' is the oldest known Vedic Sanskrit text. Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. The sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the ''Rigveda'' Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see) Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given. The text is layered, consisting of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Navratri
Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere. Theoretically, there are four seasonal ''Navaratri''. However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri. The festival is celebrated in the bright half of the Hindu calendar month Ashvin, which typically falls in the Gregorian months of September and October. Etymology and nomenclature The word ''Navaratri'' means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit, ''nava'' meaning nine and ''ratri'' meaning nights. Dates and celebrations In the eastern and northeastern states of India, the Durga Puja is synonymous with ''Navaratri'', wherein goddess Durga battles and emerges victorious over the buffalo demon Mahis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmacharya
''Brahmacharya'' (; sa, ब्रह्मचर्य ) is a concept within Indian religions that literally means to stay in conduct within one's own Self. In Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism it generally refers to a lifestyle characterized by sexual continence or complete abstinence. In the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist monastic traditions, ''brahmacharya'' implies, among other things, the mandatory renunciation of sex and marriage. It is considered necessary for a monk's spiritual practice. Western notions of the religious life as practiced in monastic settings mirror these characteristics. Etymology The word ''brahmacharya'' stems from two Sanskrit roots: #''Brahma'' (Devanagari: ब्रह्म) meaning one's own Self, ultimate unchanging reality, absolute consciousness, much discussed in the Upanishads. Brahma is also the Vedic God of creation, no different from the Self or Atman. (''Ayam Ātmā Brahma (अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म) The Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by the mind ('' Chitta'') and mundane suffering (''Duḥkha''). There is a wide variety of schools of yoga, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism,Stuart Ray Sarbacker, ''Samādhi: The Numinous and Cessative in Indo-Tibetan Yoga''. SUNY Press, 2005, pp. 1–2.Tattvarthasutra .1 see Manu Doshi (2007) Translation of Tattvarthasutra, Ahmedabad: Shrut Ratnakar p. 102. and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide. Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period, as reflected in the Vedic textual corpus, and influenced Buddhism; according to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. Accordi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the Tandava, heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu calendar, there is a ''Shivaratri'' – "night of Shiva" – on the day before new moon. But once a year, in late winter and before the arrival of Summer (February/March), this night is called "Maha Shivaratri" – "the Great Night of Shiva". This day falls in the month of Phalguna as per the North Indian Hindu calendar and in Magha (month), Magha as per the South Indian Hindu calendar (see Hindu calendar#Amanta and Purnimanta systems, Amanta and Purnimanta systems). It is a notable festival in Hinduism, and this festival is solemn and marks a remembrance of "overcoming darkness and ignorance" in life and the world. It is observed by remembering Shiva and chanting prayers, vrata, fasting, and meditating on ethics and virtues such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; sa, मोक्ष, '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'' and ''mukti'', is a term in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from '' saṃsāra'', the cycle of death and rebirth. In its epistemological and psychological senses, ''moksha'' is freedom from ignorance: self-realization, self-actualization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, ''moksha'' is a central concept and the utmost aim of human life; the other three aims being '' dharma'' (virtuous, proper, moral life), '' artha'' (material prosperity, income security, means of life), and '' kama'' (pleasure, sensuality, emotional fulfillment). Together, these four concepts are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, ''moksha'' is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with other terms such as ''vimoksha'', ''vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kolam
Kolam (,, ), also known as Muggu () or Tharai Aalangaram () Rangoli () is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using rice flour as per age-old conventions. It is also drawn using white stone powder, chalk or chalk powder, often along with natural or synthetic color powders. Its origin belongs to the ancient Tamil Nadu known as Tamilakam and has since spread to the other southern Indian states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. It can be found in some parts of Goa and Maharashtra. Since the Tamil diaspora is worldwide, the practice of kolam is found around the world, including in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. A kolam or muggu is a geometrical line drawing composed of straight lines, curves and loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. It is widely practised by female family members in front of their house entrance .Although,Men and boys too practice this tradition. The similar regional ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ekadashi
Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an Vedic calendar month - the '' Shukla Pakṣa'' (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the ''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa'' (the period of the fading moon also known as the waning phase) It is according to the Vedic medical texts of Ayurveda and is mentioned in detail in many original treatises such as Charaka Samhita and Susruta Samhita. In Sanatana Dharma, Ekadashi holds great importance. Ekadashi is favourite tithi of Krishna and devotees observe "upvas" to be closer to Krishna. In Nepal and India, Ekadashi is considered a day to cleanse the body, aid repair and rejuvenation and is usually observed by partial or complete fast. High protein and carbohydrate-containing foods such as beans and grains are not consumed by observant people during the fast as it is a day to cleanse the body. Instead, only fruit, vegetables, and milk products are eaten. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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