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Religion In Varanasi
Varanasi, also known as Kashi, is considered as the religious capital of Hinduism. In the Hindu faith, it is the holiest of all of its cities; the four dhams (abode of gods) in the four cardinal directions of the country – Badrinath in the north, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and Rameshwaram in the south – are all represented in the city in "archetypal forms" as the presiding deities at Badrinath Ghat, Assi's Jagannath Temple area, Shankudhara ''Pokhra'', and Mir Ghat respectively. Other Hindu holy places, such as the Kedarnath at Kedar Ghat, Mathura at Bakaruia Kund or Nakhi Ghat, Prayagraj (Allahadbad) at Dashahvamedha Ghat, Kamakhya (Assam) at Kamachha, Kurukshetra at Kurkukshetra Kund near Asi, and Lake Manasarovar at Mansarovar near Shyameshvara are a part of the city's religious and cultural heritage. In the sacred geography of India Varanasi is known as the "microcosm of India". In addition to its 3,300 Hindu religious places, Varanasi has 12 churches, three Ja ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varanasi
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of Islamic artisanship that underpins its religious tourism.* * * * * Located in the middle-Ganges valley in the southeastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi lies on the left bank of the river. It is to the southeast of India's capital New Delhi and to the southeast of the state capital, Lucknow. It lies downstream of Prayagraj, where the confluence with the Yamuna river is another major Hindu pilgrimage site. Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities. Kashi, its ancient name, was associated with a kingdom of the same name of 2,500 years ago. The Lion capital of Ashoka at nearby Sarnath has been interpreted to be a commemoration of the Buddha's first sermon there in the fifth century BCE. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapta Puri
The Sapta Puri (Sanskrit language, Sanskrit सप्त-पुरी, , "seven cities") are a group of seven Hinduism, Hindu ''tirtha (Hinduism), tirtha'', or holy pilgrimage sites, located in India. Pilgrimage to these sites is said to bless the pilgrim with moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). History The Sapta Puri include the birthplaces of religious and spiritual masters (such as Ayodhya (Ramayana), Ayodhya, birthplace of Rama), as well as ''nitya tirthas'', places naturally endowed with spiritual powers, such as Varanasi and Haridwar. Kanchipuram is known for its Kamakshi Amman Temple dedicated to the mother goddess. According to the Mahabharata, Krishna spent his childhood in Mathura; then spent 100 years in Dwarka before leaving for his divine abode. Haridwar, with its shrines to Shiva and Vishnu, represents the gateway to Uttarakhand, as the sacred river Ganges emerges from the hills into the plains at this place. Varanasi is the place of salvation a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in his "iconic representation of Hinduism, Hindu religion and Hindu culture, culture," despite the fact that most Hindus do not adhere to Advaita Vedanta. Tradition also portrays him as the one who reconciled the various Hindu denominations, sects (Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism) with the introduction of the form of Puja (Hinduism), worship, the simultaneous worship of five deities – Ganesha, Surya, Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, arguing that all deities were but different forms of the one Brahman, the invisible Supreme Being.Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism, Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , p. 40 While he is often revered as the most important Indian philosophy, Indian philosoph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refers to the personified energy or power of a Deva (Hinduism), male deity, often personified as the female consort of the given Hindu god. In Tantric Shaktism, Shakti is the foremost deity, akin to Brahman. In Puranic Hinduism, Shiva and Shakti are the masculine and feminine principles that are complementary to each other. The male deity is ''purusha'', pure consciousness, which creates the universe through the female creative energy of Shakti, which is ''Prakṛti, prakriti'', 'nature'. The term ''Shakta'' is used for the description of people associated with Shakti worship. The Shakta pithas are shrines, which are believed to be the sacred seats of Shakti. Etymology and overview According to the Monier Monier-Williams, Monier-Williams dict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sati (goddess)
Sati (, , , ), also known as Dakshayani (Sanskrit: , IAST: ''Dākṣāyaṇī'', lit. 'daughter of Daksha'), is the Hindu goddess of marital felicity and longevity, and is worshipped as an aspect of the mother goddess Adi Parashakti, Shakti. Sati was the first wife of Shiva, the other being Parvati, who was Sati's reincarnation after her death. The earliest mentions of Sati are found in the time of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, but details of her story appear in the Puranas. Legends describe Sati as the favourite child of Daksha, who marries Shiva against her father's wishes. Later, when Daksha organises a yajna (fire-sacrifice) in which he doesn't invite her and her husband, Sati goes to attend it, only to be humiliated by her father. She then immolates herself to protest against him, and uphold the honour of her husband. In Hinduism, both Sati and Parvati, successively play the role of bringing Shiva away from ascetic isolation into creative participation with the world. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishalakshi
The Vishalakshi Temple, also known as Vishalakshi Gauri Mandir and Vishalakshi Amman Kovil. It is one of the famous Hindu temple at Varanasi. Dedicated to the goddess Vishalakshi (an aspect of the goddess Parvati). It was Built and Maintained by Nattukottai Nagarathar a mercantile community from Tamil Nadu It is generally regarded as a Shakti Pitha, the most sacred temples dedicated to the Hindu Divine Mother. The earrings of the goddess Sati were said to have fallen on this holy spot of Varanasi. Vishalakshi Temple is known for its temple festival on Kajali Tij, held on the third day during waning fortnight in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada (August). Location Vishalakshi Temple is situated near Mir Ghat, Varanasi. It is situated north west of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple and of Annapurna Temple. Religious significance The name ''Vishalakshi'' (''Viśālākshī'', , "she who has large eyes")Bangala Bhasar Abhidhaan ( Dictioanary of the Bengali Language), Shishu Sahity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakta Pithas
The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , ''seats of Shakti''), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakta pithas of which 18 are named as Astadasha ''Maha'' (major) in medieval Hindu texts. Legends abound about how the Shakta pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of Sati, a deity according to Hinduism. Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu cut her body into 51 body parts, using his Sudarshana Chakra, which fell on earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the goddess. To complete this task, Shiva took the form of Bhairava. Most of these historic places of goddess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaivism
Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million Hindus, found widely across South Asia (predominantly in South India, Southern India), Sri Lanka, and Nepal.Keay, p.xxvii. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Shaivites. According to Chakravarti, Shaivism developed as an amalgam of pre-Aryan religions and traditions, Vedic Rudra, and post-Vedic traditions, accommodating local traditions and Yoga, puja and bhakti. According to Bisschop, early shaivism is rooted in the worship of vedic deity Rudra. The earliest evidence for sectarian Rudra-Shiva worship appears with the Pasupata (early CE), possibly owing to the Origins of Hinduism, Hindu synthesis, when many local traditions were aligned with the Brahmanism, Vedic-Brahmanical fold. The Pāśupata movement rapidly expanded through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jyotirlinga
A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' shrines in India. Hinduism Legend According to a Shiva legend from the Shiva Purana, once, Brahma (the god of creation) and Vishnu (the god of preservation) had an argument over their supremacy. To settle the debate, Shiva pierced the three worlds, appearing as a huge, infinite pillar of light, the ''jyotirlinga.'' Brahma and Vishnu decided to ascend and descend across a pillar of light respectively, to find the end of the light in either direction. According to some iterations, Vishnu assumed his Varaha avatar to achieve this task, while Brahma rode a hamsa (swan). Brahma lied that he had discovered the end of the light, producing a ketakī flower as proof, while Vishnu admitted that he could not find the end of the light from his j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varanasi District
Varanasi district is a district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, with the holy city of Varanasi as the district headquarters. It is also the headquarters of the Varanasi division which contains 4 districts (including Varanasi). It is surrounded by Mirzapur district, Jaunpur district, Ghazipur district, Chandauli district, and Bhadohi district. The Ganga (Ganges) river flows through the district. Part of the Varanasi division, the district occupies an area of and Census of India, it had a population of 3,676,841. Demographics According to the 2011 census, Varanasi district has a population of 3,676,841, This gives it a ranking of 75th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 17.32%. Varanasi has a sex ratio of 909 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 77.05%. 43.44% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (other), lifespan in a different physical form or physical body, body after biological death. In most beliefs involving reincarnation, the soul of a human being is immortality, immortal and does not disperse after the physical body has perished. Upon death, the soul merely becomes transmigrated into a newborn baby or into an animal to continue its immortality. (The term "transmigration" means the passing of a soul from one body to another after death.) Reincarnation (''punarjanman'') is a central tenet of Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. In various forms, it occurs as an esoteric belief in many streams of Judaism, in certain Paganism, pagan religions (including Wicca), and in some beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and of Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
