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Dasha Shloki
The ''Dasha Shloki'' () is a Sanskrit hymn by the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Comprising ten verses, the ''Dasha Shloki'' explores the Brahman-Atman relationship and the author's interpretation of the nature of the self. Etymology ''Dasha Shloki'' is Sanskrit for "ten verses". Description According to legend, Adi Shankara chanted this hymn in response to his disciples's final request for him, which was to explain the essence of the teachings of Vedanta. He is believed to have first sung the hymn when he met his ''guru'', Govindapada. In the hymn, Adi Shankara states that the nature of the self is identical to Brahman, which is not identical to the finite and unreal not-self. He also describes the self as that which is one, auspicious, free of attributes and assimilation, and eternal. Hymn The first stanza of the hymn describes the author's interpretation of his self as identical to Brahman: {{Blockquote, text=Neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor ether, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as '' Sanātana Dharma'' ( sa, सनातन धर्म, lit='the Eternal Dharma'), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym is ''Vaidika dharma'', the dharma related to the Vedas. Hinduism is a diverse system of thought marked by a range of philosophies and shared concepts, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, and shared textual sources that discuss theology, metaphysics, mythology, Vedic yajna, yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shankaracharya, ), was an Indian people, Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar and teacher (''acharya''), whose works present a harmonizing reading of the ''sastras'', with liberating knowledge of the self at its core, synthesizing the Advaita Vedanta teachings of his time. The title of Shankaracharya, Shankracharya, used by heads of the amnaya monasteries is derived from his name. Due to his later fame, over 300 texts are attributed to his name, including commentaries (''Bhāṣya''), introductory topical expositions (''Prakaraṇa grantha'') and poetry (''Stotra''). However most of these are likely to be by admirers or pretenders or scholars with an eponymous name.W Halbfass (1983), Studies in Kumarila and Sankara, Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan lang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atman-Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part XII In major schools of Hindu philosophy, it is the material, efficient, formal and final cause of all that exists.For dualism school of Hinduism, see: Francis X. Clooney (2010), ''Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Break Down the Boundaries between Religions'', Oxford University Press, , pages 51–58, 111–115;For monist school of Hinduism, see: B. Martinez-Bedard (2006), ''Types of Causes in Aristotle and Sankara'', Thesis – Department of Religious Studies (Advisors: Kathryn McClymond and Sandra Dwyer), Georgia State University, pages 18–35 It is the pervasive, infinite, eternal truth, consciousness and bliss which does not change, yet is the cause of all changes. ''Brahman'' as a metaphysical concept refers to the single bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stanza; a proverb, saying"; but in particular it refers to the 32-line verse, derived from the Vedic '' anuṣṭubh'' metre, used in the '' Bhagavad Gita'' and many other works of classical Sanskrit literature. In its usual form it consists of four ''pādas'' or quarter-verses, of 8 syllables each, or (according to an alternative analysis) of two half-verses of 16 syllables each. The metre is similar to the Vedic '' anuṣṭubh'' metre, but with stricter rules. The ''śloka'' is the basis for Indian epic poetry, and may be considered the Indian verse form ''par excellence'', occurring as it does far more frequently than any other metre in classical Sanskrit poetry. The ''śloka'' is the verse-form generally used in the ''M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, the speculations and philosophies contained in the Upanishads, specifically, knowledge and liberation. Vedanta contains many sub-traditions, all of which are based on a common group of texts called the "Three Sources" (''prasthānatrayī''): '' the Upanishads'', the '' Brahma Sutras'' and the ''Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic '' Mahabharata'' (c ...''. All Vedanta traditions contain extensive discussions on ontology, soteriology and epistemology, though there is much disagreement among the various schools. The main traditions of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential figure to the disciple (or '' shisya'' in Sanskrit, literally ''seeker f knowledge or truth'' or student, with the guru serving as a "counselor, who helps mold values, shares experiential knowledge as much as literal knowledge, an 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 explains that a 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 same potentialities that the ''guru'' has already realized. The oldest references to the concep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Govindapada
Govinda Bhagavatpada ( IAST ) was the guru of the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Little is known of his life and works, except that he is mentioned in all the traditional accounts (Shankara Vijayams) as the teacher of Adi Shankara. He was the disciple of Gaudapada ( IAST '). He is mentioned in the first verse of Adi Shankara's prakaraṇa grantha (''treatise'') Viveka Chudamani. He is named after Gaudapada in the Guru Parampara (''lineage'') of Sringeri Sharada Peetham. He is considered to be an incarnation of Shesha. Meeting Adi Shankara :''See Life of Adi Shankara for the biography of Adi Shankara'' As per the Madhavīya Shankaravijaya, after leaving Kerala, Adi Shankara reached the banks of the river Narmada River, Narmada where he met Govinda Bhagavatpada at Omkareshwar. The Madhavīya Shankaravijaya states that Adi Shankara once calmed a flood from the Narmada River, River Narmada by placing his kamanḍalu (''water pot'') in the path of the raging water, thus saving hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chatuh Shloki
The ''Chatuh Shloki'' () is a Sanskrit hymn by the Hindu philosopher Yamunacharya Yamunacharya (IAST: Yamunāchārya), also known as Alavandar and Yamunaithuraivan, was a Vishistadvaita philosopher based in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India. He is best-known for being a preceptor of Ramanuja, one of the leaders of the Sri Vai ... of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. Comprising four verses, the ''Chatuh Shloki'' extols Lakshmi, the consort of the deity Vishnu. Etymology ''Chatuh Shloki'' is Sanskrit for "four verses". Description The four stanzas of the work describe the various attributes of the goddess Lakshmi, her greatness and mercy, the grace she offers to her devotees, and her inseparability in form from her consort Vishnu ( Lakshmi Narayana) respectively. Lakshmi is represented as an intermediary between a devotee and Vishnu; she is described to present a devotee's piety to her consort, offering her consort's grace to the devotee in turn. The work is regarded to be a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hari Stuti
The ''Hari Stuti'' (), sometimes rendered the ''Harimide Stuti'', is a Sanskrit hymn written by the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Comprising 44 verses, the work is an ode to the deity Vishnu. Etymology ''Hari'' is an epithet of Vishnu meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins), and ''stuti'' is translated as a hymn. Description The ''Hari Stuti'' is regarded to have been composed by Adi Shankara during his stay in the Himalayas. Hymn The first verse of the hymn extols the attributes of Vishnu: {{Blockquote, text=I praise, with devotion, the All-pervading (Vishnu), who, himself without origin, is the origin of the universe, in whom this wheel of samsara revolves in this wise, and, on realising whom, this wheel of samsara is destroyed— that Hari, the destroyer of the darkness of samsara, I praise. See also * ''Bhaja Govindam'' * ''Lakshmi Stuti'' * ''Dasha Shloki The ''Dasha Shloki'' () is a Sanskrit hymn by the Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara. Comprising ten verses, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashtalakshmi Stotram
The ''Ashtalakshmi Stotra'' (), also rendered the ''Ashta Lakshmi Stotram'', is a Hindu mantra. It extols the eight aspects of the goddess Lakshmi, designated as the Ashta Lakshmi, regarded to represent the eight forms of wealth. Description The ''Ashtalakshmi Stotra'' was composed and published in the early 1970s in Chennai by U.V. Srinivasa Varadachariyar, a theologian of the Sri Vaishnava tradition. The hymn was popularised through its distribution via audiocassettes in the 1980s. Devotees regard each of the Ashta Lakshmi to represent an attribute of Lakshmi, gaining the favour of the goddess with the chanting of each stanza of the prayer. The eight aspects of Lakshmi that are venerated by the mantra are: # Adi Lakshmi () # Dhanya Lakshmi () # Dhairya Lakshmi () # Gaja Lakshmi () # Santana Lakshmi () # Vijaya Lakshmi () # Vidya Lakshmi () # Dhana Lakshmi () Hymn The first hymn of the mantra venerates Adi Lakshmi: {{Blockquote, text=She who is praised by the virtuous, she w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th, 15th or 16th century, depending on country). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre. Languages Outside of Europe, medieval literature was written in Ethiopic, Syriac, Coptic, Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic, among many other languages. In Western Europe, Latin was the common language for medieval writing, since Latin was the language of the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated Western and Central Europe, and since the Church ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
