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Hindu Eschatology
Hindu eschatology is linked to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe. The current period is believed by Hindus to be the Kali Yuga, the last of four ''Yuga'' that make up the current age. It started when Krishna left the Earth in 3102 BC or 5125 years from 2025. Each period has seen a progressive decline in morality, to the point that in Kali Yuga quarrel and hypocrisy are norm. In Hinduism, time is cyclic, consisting of cycles or " kalpas". Each '' kalpa'' lasts for 4.32 billion years and is followed by a '' pralaya'' (dissolution) of equal length, which together make a period of one full day and night of Brahma's 100 360-day year lifespan, who lives for 311 trillion, 40 billion years. The cycle of birth, growth, decay, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order, yet is affected by the vagaries of divine intervention in Vais ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalki
Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages in the cycle of existence (''Krita''). His arrival will mark the end of the Kali Yuga and herald the beginning of the Satya Yuga, the most virtuous age, before the ultimate dissolution of the universe (Pralaya, Mahapralaya). In the Puranas, Kalki is depicted as the avatar who will rejuvenate existence by ending the darkest period of adharma (unrighteousness) and restoring dharma (righteousness). He is described as riding a white horse named Devadatta and wielding a fiery sword. The portrayal of Kalki varies across different Puranas, and his narrative is also found in other traditions, including the Kalachakra-Tantra of Tibetan Buddhism and Sikhism, Sikh texts. Etymology The name Kalki is derived from ''Kal'', which means "time" (Kali Yuga) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, 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 Shakala Shakha, 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. Most scholars believe that the sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted with precision since the 2nd millennium BCE, through Indian mathematics#Styles of memorisation, methods of memorisation of exceptional complexity, rigour and fidelity, though the dates are not confirmed and remain contentious till concrete evidence surfaces. Philolog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eschatology
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Briefly: the eschaton is the all-inclusive term evoking this predicted climax of a particular theological or political worldview. The scope of expected consequence is global and not local. Eschatology denotes the theory, discussion, techniques, behaviors and orientation toward the eschaton. Theories of afterlife may also be a dimension of eschatology in certain contexts—in these contexts the afterlife of an individual is a kind of hologram or particular microcosm of the overall eschaton. The Eschaton is, furthermore, related to telos: a Greek word simultaneously denoting purpose, climax and end (ie. death, terminus etc. but also perfection, completion etc.). Eschaton is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Units Of Time
Hindu units of time are described in Hindu texts ranging from microseconds to trillions of years, including cycles of cosmic time that repeat general events in Hindu cosmology. Time ( ) is described as eternal. Various fragments of time are described in the Vedas, ''Manusmriti'', ''Bhagavata Purana'', '' Vishnu Purana'', ''Mahabharata'', '' Surya Siddhanta'' etc. Sidereal metrics Sidereal astrology maintains the alignment between signs and constellations via corrective systems of Hindu (Vedic)-origin known as ayanamsas (Sanskrit: '''ayana''' "movement" + '''aṃśa "component"), to allow for the observed precession of equinoxes, whereas tropical astrology ignores precession. This has caused the two systems, which were aligned around 2,000 years ago, to drift apart over the centuries. Ayanamsa systems used in Hindu astrology (also known as Vedic astrology) include the Lahiriayanamsa and the Raman ayanamsa. The Fagan-Bradley ayanamsa is an example of an ayanamsa system used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madeleine Biardeau
Madeleine Biardeau (16 May 1922 Niort - 1 February 2010 Cherveux) was an Indologist from France. Early life Madeleine Biardeau was born into a middle-class family of small entrepreneurs. She was educated at the Ecole normale supérieure in Sèvres, where she studied philosophy. Here, she was attracted to the Eastern spirituality and started learning Sanskrit in order to study Hindu philosophy. Indology Curious about India, Biardeau joined the University of Travancore for two years in the 1950s, and studied Sanskrit texts with pandits. She visited India almost every year until the 1990s, and worked closely with pandits at the Deccan College (Pune) and the French Institute of Pondicherry. She visited places of worship in towns and villages, surveying people from different castes and collecting information about the various cults and rituals. Meanwhile, she also taught at the École pratique des hautes études. She studied the philosophy contained in the ''Puranas'' a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potuluri Virabrahmendra Swami
Potuluri Veerabrahmam (, also known as Brahmamgaru), was a Hindu saint who lived in Andhra Pradesh. He is known for the '' Kalagnanam'', a book of predictions written in Telugu around the 16th century. Legendary account According to a legend, Veerabrahmam was born to a religious couple, Paripurnayacharya and Prakruthamba, near the river Sarasvati River in Brahmandapuram. The couple abandoned him at birth and Veerambrahmam was brought up at Atri Mahamuni ashram near Varanasi. Later Veerabhojayacharya, Head of the Papagni Mutt, Chikballapur, Karnataka, was on a pilgrimage with his wife. The couple visited the Sage Atri ashram, and sage Atri gave the child to the couple. They received the child as a divine gift and returned to Papagni Mutt. The child was named 'Veeram Bhotlaiah'. Veerabrahmendra Swamy, then known as the Veeram Bhotlaiah at Papagni Mutt authored the Kalikamba Sapthashathi (the manuscript written in praise of goddess Kali) at the age of 11. A few days later, Vee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, including the Vedic concept of ''dharma'' (duty, rightful action); samkhya-based ''yoga'' and ''jnana'' (knowledge); and ''bhakti'' (devotion). Among the Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, the text holds a unique pan-Hindu influence as the most prominent sacred text and is a central text in Vedanta and the Vaishnava, Vaishnava Hindu tradition. While traditionally attributed to the sage Veda Vyasa, the Gita is historiographically regarded as a composite work by multiple authors. Incorporating teachings from the Upanishads and the samkhya Yoga (philosophy), yoga philosophy, the Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support'', thus referring to law that sustains things—from one's life to society, and to the Universe at large. In its most commonly used sense, dharma refers to an individual's moral responsibilities or duties; the dharma of a farmer differs from the dharma of a soldier, thus making the concept of dharma a varying dynamic. As with the other components of the Puruṣārtha, the concept of ''dharma'' is pan-Indian. The antonym of dharma is ''adharma''. In Hinduism, ''dharma'' denotes behaviour that is considered to be in accord with ''Ṛta''—the "order and custom" that makes life and universe possible. This includes duties, rights, laws, conduct, virtues and "right way of living" according to the stage of life or social posi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali (demon)
Kali ( Devanāgari: , IAST: ', with both vowels short; from a root ', 'suffer, hurt, startle, confuse') is the personification of sin which presides over the Kaliyuga, the present era characterized by moral decline and disorder in Hinduism. His origins and role in the cosmic cycle are detailed in various ancient texts, including the ''Mahābhārata'' and '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa''. According to the ''Mahābhārata'', Kali is a sinister deva-gandharva, born as the fifteenth son of the proginator sage Kashyapa and Muni. As the lord of the Kaliyuga, Kali exerts his influence by promoting sinful acts, confined by King Parikshit to five domains: gambling, drinking, prostitution, murder, and gold. His narrative intertwines with figures like Nala, whom he possessed and tormented, and Duryodhana, considered his incarnation in the ''Mahābhārata''. Later Puranic texts reinterpret his origins, making him more fearsome and powerful, as well as associating him with personifications of m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puranas
Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on "Puranas", , page 915) are a vast genre of Indian literature that include a wide range of topics, especially legends and other traditional lore. The Puranas are known for the intricate layers of symbolism depicted within their stories. Composed originally in Sanskrit and in Languages of India, other Indian languages,John Cort (1993), "An Overview of the Jaina Puranas" in ''Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts,'' (Editor: Wendy Doniger), State University of New York Press, , pages 185-204 several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, and Mahadevi, Devi. The Puranic genre of literat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the cycle of birth and rebirth ('' saṃsāra''). In Indian religions, nirvana is synonymous with ''moksha'' and ''mukti''. All Indian religions assert it to be a state of perfect quietude, freedom, and highest happiness; liberation from attachment and worldly suffering; and the ending of ''samsara'', the cycle of existence.Gavin Flood, ''Nirvana''. In: John Bowker (ed.), '' Oxford Dictionary of World Religions'' However, non-Buddhist and Buddhist traditions describe these terms for liberation differently. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union of or the realization of the identity of Atman with Brahman, depending on the Hindu tradition. In Jainism, nirvana is also the soteriological goal, representing the release of a soul from karmic bondage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moksha
''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or 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 are ''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'', ''vimukti'', '' kaivalya'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
