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Bali (Chandravanshi)
Bali () is a king featured in Hindu literature. He is described to be the son of Sutapas and his wife Prishni. He rules a region named Anava, an eastern country as a member of the Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty). Legend Bali marries Sudeshna. The Harivamsha states that he performs a penance to appease Brahma, who promises him that he would become a great sage and will live till the end of the age. The deity also blesses him with great knowledge, the love of his subjects, invincibility in battle, and tells him that he would reestablish the varna system in his land. One day, Bali saw the blind sage Dirghatamas clinging to a raft, and floating on the river Ganges. After his rescue, the sage told him that his own wife and sons had performed the deed due to the fact that he had been unable to support them. The king summoned his wife Sudeshna, and asked her to produce sons from him. Sudeshna, detesting the idea, decided to send her maid Dhatreyi, a Shudra woman, to lay with the sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandravamsha
The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities ('' Soma'' or ''Chandra''). According to the '' Shatapatha Brahmana'', Pururavas was the son of Budha (himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity Ila (born as the daughter of Manu). Pururavas's great-grandson was Yayati, who had five sons named Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu, and Puru. These seem to be the names of five Vedic tribes as described in the Vedas. According to the ''Mahabharata'', Lunar dynasty's progenitor Ila ruled from Prayaga, and had a son Shashabindu who ruled in the country of Bahli. The son of Ila and Budha was Pururavas, who became the first Chandravamsha, emperor of all of the earth. Ila's descendants were also known as the Ailas. In Mahabharata In Hindu texts, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anga Kingdom
Anga was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Aṅga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti's list of ancient janapadas. Location Aṅga proper was located between the Champā river to the west and the Rajmahal hills to the east. However, at times, its territories did extend to the sea in the south, or included Magadha in the west. The capital of Aṅga, named Campā, was located at the confluence of the Campā and Gaṅgā rivers, and corresponds to the modern-day area of Campāpurī and Champanagar in Bhagalpur the eastern part of the Indian state of Bihār. According to the s, Campā was also called Kāla-Campā, while Puranic texts claim its ancient name was Mālinī. The other important cities within the Aṅga kingdom included (Sanskrit: ) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yayati
Yayati () is an emperor in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas. According to the Harivamsa, Yayati is the son of King Nahusha, and his wife, Virajas, the daughter of Pitris, and have five brothers: Yati, Samyati, Ayati, Viyati, and Kriti. Yayati had conquered the whole world and was the '' Chakravarti'' ("Universal Monarch" or "World Emperor"). He married Devayani, the daughter of Shukra, and also took Sharmishtha, daughter of king Vrishaparvan, and the maid of Devayani, as his mistress. Upon hearing of his relationship with Sharmishtha, Devayani complained to her father, who in turn cursed Yayati to old age in the prime of life, but later allowed him to exchange it with his son, Puru. His story finds mention in the ''Mahabharata's'' Adi Parva, as well as in the ''Bhagavata Purana'' and the Matsya Purana. Genealogy and early life Brahma's son was Atri, a ''Bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratardana
Pratardana () is a king of the Chandravamsha (Lunar dynasty) featured in Hindu literature. He is also called Dyuman, Shatrujit, Vatsa, Rithadhvaja, and Kuvalayashva. He is the son of King Divodasa of Kashi and Madhavi, the daughter of King Yayati. He is the father of Ashtaka. Legend Ramayana Pratardana is depicted as an ally of Rama in the Ramayana, and is described to have been praised by the avatara of Vishnu for assisting Bharata in the arrangements of his coronation ceremony. A tale based in the narrative of the Ramayana states that once, Pratardana made preparations to travel to Ayodhya to pay his respects to King Rama. He encountered Sage Narada during this journey. Narada made the king promise that he would not offer obeisance to Sage Vishvamitra at Rama's court. Pratardana acted accordingly when he arrived at the court. Vishvamitra grew furious at the lack of respect shown to him, and complained to Rama. Angered, Rama removed three arrows from his quiver and vowed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suhma Kingdom
Suhma kingdom was an ancient kingdom during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. The kingdom included present day districts of undivided Midnapore and parts of Hoogly and Howrah of West Bengal. This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with its neighbouring kingdom ''Prasuhma''. References in Mahabharata The founders of Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras and Suhmas shared a common ancestry. They were all adopted sons of a king named Vali, born by a sage named Gautama Dirghatamas, who lived in Magadha close to the city of Girivraja. Military expeditions to Suhma Pandu (the father of Pandavas) after defeating the Magadhas and the Videhas of Mithila, led his army against Kashi, Suhma, and Pundra, as well as by the strength and prowess of his arms spread the fame of the Kurus. Arjuna, that bull amongst the son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pundra Kingdom
Pundravardhana or Pundra kingdom (), was an ancient kingdom of Iron Age India located in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and parts of Rangpur Division of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India. The capital of the kingdom, then known as ''Pundranagara'' (Pundra city), was located at Mahasthangarh in Bogra District of northern Bangladesh. Geography Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana is located 11 km (7 mi) north of Bogra on the Bogra- Rangpur highway, with a feeder road (running along the eastern side of the ramparts of the citadel for 1.5 km) leading to Jahajghata and site museum.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, pp. 14–15. Mention in ''Mahabharata'' and ''puranic'' literature According to the epic ''Mahabharata'' (I.104.53–54) and puranic Puranas ( [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalinga (Mahabharata)
Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text ''Mahabharata''. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. p. 78. Kalinga clan warriors sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War due to matrimonial and harmony alliances between both kingdoms of Kalinga & Kuru existing even before the Great War of Mahabharata was to happen. Kalinga is the founders of five eastern kingdoms, which included: Angas (east, central Bihar), Vangas (southern West Bengal and Bangladesh), Udra (Odisha, East Madhya Pradesh and South Jharkhand), Pundras (western Bangladesh and West Bengal, India), Suhmas (north-western Bangladesh and West Bengal) shared common ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanga Kingdom
Vaṅga was an ancient kingdom and geopolitical division within the Ganges delta in the Indian subcontinent. The kingdom is one of the namesakes of the Bengal region. It was located in eastern and southern Bengal. Vanga features prominently in the epics and tales of ancient India as well as in the history of Sri Lanka. Vanga was probably the centre of the Gangaridai Empire mentioned by numerous Greco-Roman writers. The exact capital of ancient Vanga kingdom could not be identified. After the rule of the Gupta Empire, ancient Bengal was divided into two independent kingdoms – Gauda kingdom, Gauda and Vanga. Kotalipara Upazila, Kotalipara, an ancient fortified city of independent Vanga kingdom, present-day in Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, Gopalganj district of Dhaka division, emerged as the centre of administration of Vanga kings after Gupta kingdom, Gupta period. Vanga was probably the centre of the Gangaridai Empire mentioned by numerous Greco-Roman writers.Indian and Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shudra
Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like workers. According to Richard Gombrich's study of Buddhist texts, particularly relating to castes in Sri Lankan Buddhist and Tamil Hindu society, The word ''Shudra'' appears in the ''Rigveda'' and it is found in other Hindu texts such as the ''Manusmriti'', ''Arthashastra'', dharmaśāstras and jyotiḥśāstras. In some cases, Shudras participated in the coronation of kings, or were amatya "ministers" and rajas "kings" according to early Indian texts. History Vedas The term ''śūdra'' appears only once in the ''Rigveda''. This mention is found in the mythical story of creation embodied in the '' Puruṣasuktam''. It describes the formation of the four varnas from the body of a primeval man. It states that the brahmin emerged from hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Texts
Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindus, Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of Hinduism,Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, , p. ix–xliii but many list the Āgama (Hinduism), Agamas as Hindu scriptures,Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , pp. 46–52, 76–77 and Dominic Goodall includes Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti in the list of Hindu scriptures as well. History There are two historic classifications of Hindu texts: ''Śruti, Shruti'' (Sanskrit: श्रुति, ) – that which is heard, and ''Smriti'' (Sanskrit: स्मृति, IAST: ''Smṛti'') – that which is remembered. The ''Shruti'' texts refer to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ganges
The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain, Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly River. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma River, Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna River (Bangladesh), Jamuna, the lower str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirghatamas
Dirghatamas () was an ancient Indian sage well known for his philosophical verses in the Rigveda. He was the author of Suktas (hymns) 140 to 164 in the first mandala (section) of the Rigveda. Background Dirghatamas was one of the Angirasa rishis, the oldest of the rishi families, and regarded as brother to the rishi Bharadvaja, who is the seer of the sixth Mandala of the Rigveda. Dirghatamas is also the chief predecessor of the Gotama family of rishis that includes Kakshivan, Gautama Maharishi, Nodhas and Vamadeva (seer of the fourth Mandala of the Rigveda), who along with Dirghatamas account for almost 150 of the 1000 hymns of the Rigveda. Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Pundra and Suhma, Ondra were also the sons of Dirghatamas through Bali’s wife Sudhesana. His own verses occur frequently in many Vedic texts, a few even in the Upanishads. He was the reputed purohita or chief priest of King Bharata (Aitareya Brahmana VIII.23), one of the earliest kings of the land, after whom Indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
