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Bhasmajabala Upanishad
''Bhasmajabala Upanishad'' ( sa, भस्मजाबाल उपनिषत्) is one of the minor Shaiva Upanishads of Hinduism written in Sanskrit language. It is associated with the '' Atharvaveda''. The ''Bhasmajabala Upanishad'', in a manner similar to Brihajjabala Upanishad and Akshamalika Upanishad describes Vibhuti (Bhasma) or sacred ash, and Rudraksha beads as symbols and for body art. The text describes how the ash and beads are to be produced, its application on the body. The importance of holy city of Varanasi and its Shiva temple are mentioned in the text. Klaus Klostermaier classifies the text along with the ''Brihajjabala Upanishad'', the '' Rudrakshajabala Upanishad'', the ''Kalagni Rudra Upanishad'' and the '' Akshamalika Upanishad'' as Shaiva texts that explain symbolism of rites and objects of worship in Shaivism. History The date of composition and the author of this text are unknown. Like most sectarian Upanishads, the text is likely a late medieval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby), Routledge, , page 38 The text is the fourth Vedas, Veda, and is a late addition to the Vedic scriptures of Hinduism.Laurie Patton (1994), Authority, Anxiety, and Canon: ys in Vedic Interpretation, State University of New York Press, , page 57 The language of the Atharvaveda is different from Vedic Sanskrit, preserving pre-Vedic Indo-European archaisms. It is a collection of 730 Music of India#History, hymns with about 6,000 mantras, divided into 20 books.Maurice BloomfieldThe Atharvaveda Harvard University Press, pages 1-2 About a sixth of the Atharvaveda texts adapts verses from the Rigveda, and except for Books 15 and 16, the text is mainly in verse deploying a diversity of Vedic meters. Two different recensions of the text ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosopis Cineraria
''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Its leaves are shattered and stripy along its branch. It can survive extreme drought. It is an established introduced species in parts of Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. The ʿGhaf is the national tree of the United Arab Emirates. Through the ''Give a Ghaf campaign'' its citizens are urged to plant it in their gardens to combat desertification and to preserve their country's heritage. The desert village of Nazwa in the UAE is home to the Al Ghaf Conservation Reserve. ''Prosopis cineraria'' is also the state tree of Rajasthan (where it is known as Khejri), Western Uttar Pradesh (where it is known as Chhonkara) and Telangana (where it is known as ''Jammi'' ) in India. A large and well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from cream (traditionally made by churning the topmost layer of curd, which is also called the ''Bilona'' method), skimming any impurities from the surface, then pouring and retaining the clear liquid fat while discarding the solid residue that has settled to the bottom. Spices can be added for flavor. The texture, color, and taste of ghee depend on the quality of the butter, the milk source used in the process, and the duration of boiling time. Etymology The word ''ghee'' comes from sa, घृत (', ) 'clarified butter', from ''ghṛ-'' 'to sprinkle'. In Dravidian languages, it is also known as te, నెయ్యి '('neyyi''), ta, நெய் or துப்பகம் (''tuppakam''), ml, നെയ്യ് (''ney'') and kn, � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra
A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers. Feuerstein, Georg (2003), ''The Deeper Dimension of Yoga''. Shambala Publications, Boston, MA Some mantras have a syntactic structure and literal meaning, while others do not. The earliest mantras were composed in Vedic Sanskrit in India. At its simplest, the word ॐ (Aum, Om) serves as a mantra, it is believed to be the first sound which was originated on earth. Aum sound when produced creates a reverberation in the body which helps the body and mind to be calm. In more sophisticated forms, mantras are melodic phrases with spiritual interpretations such as a human longing for truth, reality, light, immortality, peace, love, knowledge, and action. Some mantras without literal meaning are musically uplifting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aswattha Tree
According to Hindu scriptures, Aśvattha, ( sa, अश्वत्थ) or ''Sacred fig'' (''Ficus religiosa''), is a sacred tree for the Hindus and has been extensively mentioned in texts pertaining to Hinduism, for example as ''peepul'' in Rig Veda mantra I.164.20. In Buddhism, the Bodhi Tree under which Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment is also of the same species. Adi Shankara derives it from shva (tomorrow) and stha (that which remains). Ashva (horse) and stha (situated), meaning where horses are tied, is another derivation. Yama, while instructing Naciketa describes the eternal Asvattha tree with its root upwards, and branches downwards, which is the pure immortal Brahman, in which all these worlds are situated, and beyond which there is nothing else (Katha Upanishad Verse II.iii.1). Meanwhile, Krishna tells us that the Asvattha tree having neither end nor beginning nor stationariness whatsoever has its roots upwards and branches downwards whose branches are nourished by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aegle Marmelos
''Aegle marmelos'', commonly known as bael (or ''bili'' or ''bhel''), also Bengal quince, golden apple, Japanese bitter orange, stone apple or wood apple, is a rare species of tree native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is present in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal as a introduced species, naturalized species. The tree is considered to be sacred by Hinduism, Hindus. Description ''Aegle marmelos'' is a deciduous shrub or small to medium-sized tree, up to tall with slender drooping branches and rather open, irregular crown. The Bark (botany), bark is pale brown or grayish, smooth or finely fissured and flaking, armed with long straight spines, singly or in pairs, often with slimy sap oozing out from cut parts. The gum is also described as a clear, gummy sap, resembling gum arabic, which exudes from wounded branches and hangs down in long strands, becoming gradually solid. It is sweet at first taste and then irritating to the throat. The leaf is tri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva. Gavin Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism' (1996), p. 17. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. Tridevi is stated to be the energy and creative power ( Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi being the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. According to Vaishnavism, the highest form of Ishvara is with qualities ( Saguna), and have certain form, but is limit ... [...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 monotheisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tripundra
''Tripundra'' ( sa, त्रिपुण्ड्र ''tripuṇḍra'' "three marks") is a Hindu Shaivism, Shaivite tilaka, and a form of body art with origins in Ancient India. It is also one of the Tilaka, tilakas worn by Smarta tradition, Smarta Hindus. It consists of three horizontal lines on the forehead, usually with a dot made from sacred ash, and has spiritual meaning in Shiva tradition within Hinduism. The Vaishnava counterpart of this tilaka consisting of vertical lines is called the Urdhva Pundra. History The practice is discussed in Hindu texts such as Bhasmajabala Upanishad, Brihajjabala Upanishad and Kalagni Rudra Upanishad. The allegorical significance of the "three ash lines", states Deussen, is that the tradition sees them as streaks of three Vedic fires, three audible syllables of ''Om, AUM'', three Guṇas, three worlds, three Atman (Hinduism), Atmans, trayi Vedas, and three aspects of Shiva. Usage and significance The Tripuṇḍra, three horizontal lines, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of . It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part of the Tibetan Plateau. Mount Kailash is less than 100 km towards the north from the western trijunction of the borders of China, India, and Nepal. Mount Kailash is located close to Lake Manasarovar and Lake Rakshastal. The sources of four major Asian rivers lie close to this mountain and the two lakes. These rivers are the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra, and the Karnali (a tributary of the Ganges). Mount Kailash is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Bon. Etymology The mountain is known as “'” (; var. ' ) in Sanskrit. The name also could have been derived from the word “'” (), which mea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vidya (Knowledge)
''Vidya'' ( sa, विद्या, ) figures prominently in all texts pertaining to Indian philosophy Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Veda ... – meaning science, learning, knowledge, and scholarship. Most importantly, it refers to valid knowledge, which cannot be contradicted, and true knowledge, which is the Intuition#Eastern philosophy, intuitively-gained knowledge of the Paramatman, self. ''Vidya'' is not mere intellectual knowledge, for the Vedas demand understanding. Meaning ''Vidya'' primarily means "correct knowledge" in any field of science, learning, philosophy, or any factual knowledge that cannot be disputed or refuted. Its root is ''vid'' (Sanskrit: विद्), which means "to reason upon", knower, finding, knowing, acquiring or understanding. Hindui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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