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Dakṣiṇā
or Dakshina () is a Sanskrit word found in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Sikh and Jainism, Jain literature where it may mean any donation, fees or honorarium given to a cause, monastery, temple, spiritual guide or after a ritual. It may be expected, or a tradition or voluntary form of ''dāna''. The term is found in this context in the Vedic literature. It may mean honorarium to a guru for education, training or guidance. Etymology and description According to Monier Williams, the term is found in many Vedic texts, in the context of "a fee or present to the officiating priest (consisting originally of a cow, Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra 15, Lāṭyāyana Śrautasūtra 8.1.2)", a 'donation to the priest', a 'reward', an 'offering to a guru', a 'gift, donation'.Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionar Quote: f. Donation to the priest (personified along with Brahman2as-pati ब्रह्मणस्-पति, Indra इन्द्र, and Soma सोम, i, 18, 5; x, 103, 8; auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dakṣiṇācāra
''Dakṣiṇācāra'' is a Tantra, tantric term meaning 'right-hand path'. It is used to describe Tantra, tantric sects that do not engage in heterodox practices. In contrast, ''vamachara'' ('left-hand path') is used to describe particular tantric practices that are considered heterodox. Etymology N. N. Bhattacharyya explains the Sanskrit technical term ''Ācāra, '' as follows: The means of spiritual attainment which varies from person to person according to competence.... ''Ācāras'' are generally of seven kinds – Veda, Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva, Dakṣiṇa, Vāma, Siddhāṇta, and Kaula, falling into two broad categories – Dakṣiṇa and Vāma. Interpretations vary regarding the nature and grouping of the ''ācāras''. ''Dakshina, '' means 'right'. For this reason, the term ''dakṣiṇāra'' is often translated "right-hand path". Practices The ''Brahma Yamala'', a tantric text, says there are three currents of tradition (''dakshina'', ''vama'', and ''madhyama'') chara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...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] |
Sikhism
Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religions and among the largest in the world with about 25–30million adherents, known as Sikhs. Sikhism developed from the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the faith's first guru, and the nine Sikh gurus who succeeded him. The tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh (1666–1708), named the Guru Granth Sahib, which is the central religious scripture in Sikhism, was their successor. This brought the line of human gurus to a close. Sikhs regard the Guru Granth Sahib as the 11th and eternally living guru. The core beliefs and practices of Sikhism, articulated in the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh scriptures, include faith and meditation in the name of the one creator (''Ik Onkar''), the divine unity and equality of all humankind, engaging ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four , supreme preachers of ''dharma''. The first in the current time cycle is Rishabhadeva, who tradition holds lived millions of years ago; the 23rd is Parshvanatha, traditionally dated to the 9th century Common Era, BCE; and the 24th is Mahāvīra, Mahavira, who lived . Jainism is considered an eternal ''dharma'' with the guiding every time cycle of the Jain cosmology, cosmology. Central to understanding Jain philosophy is the concept of ''bhedavijñāna'', or the clear distinction in the nature of the soul and non-soul entities. This principle underscores the innate purity and potential for liberation within every Jīva (Jainism), soul, distinct from the physical and menta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dāna
(Devanagari: , IAST: ) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity or giving of alms, in Indian religions and philosophies. In Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, is the practice of cultivating generosity. It can take the form of giving to an individual in distress or need, or of philanthropic public projects that empower and help many. is an ancient practice in Indian traditions, tracing back to Vedic traditions. Hinduism (Sanskrit: ) means giving, often in the context of donation and charity. In other contexts, such as rituals, it can simply refer to the act of giving something. is related to and mentioned in ancient texts along with concepts of () which means benevolent deed, helping others; () which means fee one can afford; and (), which means alms. is defined in traditional texts as any action of relinquishing the ownership of what one considered or identified as one's own, and investing the same in a recipient without ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or ''wikt:शिष्य, shisya'' in Sanskrit, literally ''seeker [of knowledge or truth'']) or student, with the guru serving as a "counsellor, who helps mould values, shares experiential knowledge as much as Knowledge#Hinduism, literal knowledge, an Role model, exemplar in life, an inspirational source and who helps in the spiritual evolution of a student". Whatever language it is written in, Judith Simmer-Brown says that a tantra, tantric spiritual text is often codified in an obscure twilight language so that it cannot be understood by anyone without the verbal explanation of a qualified teacher, the guru. A guru is also one's spiritual guide, who helps one to discover the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kātyāyana Śrautasūtra
Kalpa () means "proper, fit" and is one of the six disciplines of the Vedānga, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. This field of study is focused on the procedures and ceremonies associated with Vedic ritual practice.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Kalpa" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A–M, Rosen Publishing, , p. 339. The major texts of Kalpa Vedanga are called ''Kalpa Sutras'' in Hinduism. The scope of these texts includes Vedic rituals, rites of passage rituals associated with major life events such as birth, wedding and death in family, as well as personal conduct and proper duties in the life of an individual. Most Kalpasutras texts have experienced interpolation, changes and consequent corruption over their history, and Apasthamba Kalpasutra ancillary to the Yajurveda may be the best preserved text in this genre. Kalpa Sutras are also found in other Indian traditions, such as Jainism. Etymology Kalpa is a Sanskri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deccan
The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats on the sides, which separate the region from the Western and Eastern Coastal Plains respectively. It covers most of the Indian States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh excluding the coastal regions, and minor portions of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The plateau is marked by rocky terrain with an average elevation of about . It is subdivided into Maharashtra Plateau, Karnataka Plateau, and Rayalaseema & Telangana Plateau. The Deccan Traps in the north west were formed by multiple layers of igneous rocks laid down by basaltic lava flows following a massive volcanic eruption that occurred during the end of the Cretaceous period (66 mya). The underlying bed consists of g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandava, Pāṇḍavas. It also contains Hindu philosophy, philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or ''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 Ramopakhyana, abbreviated version of the ''Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyasa, Vy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ekalavya
Ekalavya (, also spelt as Eklavya) is a character from the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is described as a young prince of the Nishadas, a confederation of forest and hill tribes in ancient India. The son of Hiranyadhanus, a king of the Nishada tribe, Ekalavya seeks to learn archery from Dronacharya, the royal teacher of the Kuru princes, including the epic's main protagonist Arjuna. However, Dronacharya refuses to accept him as a disciple due to his Nishada background as well as the potential to surpass the Kuru princes. Ekalavya trains himself in the forest using a clay statue of the teacher as his guide. His exceptional skill attracts the attention of Arjuna, who, feeling threatened, complains to Dronacharya. In response, Dronacharya demands Ekalavya’s right-hand thumb as '' gurudakshina'' (teacher’s fee), which Ekalavya willingly gives, diminishing his abilities. Ekalavya is known for his dedication to archery and devotion to Dronacharya, and has become a symbol o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
