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Gandhāra (kingdom)
Gandhāra (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan kingdom of western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The inhabitants of Gandhāra were called the Gāndhārīs. Location The Gandhāra kingdom of the late Vedic period was located on both sides of the Indus river, and it corresponded to the modern Rawalpindi District of modern-day Pakistani Punjab and Peshawar District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. By the 6th century BCE, Gandhāra had expanded to include the valley of Kaśmīra. The capital of Gandhāra was Takṣaśila (Pāli: ; Ancient Greek: ), and its other major town was Puṣkalāvatī ( Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαωτις ) or Puṣkarāvatī (Pāli: ). History Kingdom The first mention of the Gandhārīs is attested once in the as a tribe that has sheep with good wool. In the , the Gandhārīs are mentioned alongside the Mūjavants, the Āṅgeyas. and the Māgadhīs in a hymn asking fever to leave the body of the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great gained control of the city without a battle, as it was immediately surrendered to him by Omphis. Old Taxila was an important city of ancient India, situated on the eastern shore of the Indus River—the pivotal junction of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia;Raymond Allchin, Bridget Allchin''The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan''.Cambridge University Press, 1982 p.127 it was founded around 1000 BCE. Some ruins at Taxila date to the time of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, followed successively by the Maurya Empire, the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the Indo-Scythians, and the Kushan Empire. Owing to its strategic location, Taxila has cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-west, Balochistan to the south-west and Sindh to the south, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory to the north-west and Autonomous Territory of AJK to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Rajasthan and Punjab to the east and Indian-administered Kashmir to the north-east. Punjab is the most fertile province of the country as River Indus and its four major tributaries Ravi, Jhelum, Chenab and Sutlej flow through it. The province forms the bulk of the transnational Punjab region, now divided among Pakistan and India. The provincial capital is Lahore — a cultural, modern, historical, economic, and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan. Other major cit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uttaradhyayana
Uttaradhyayana or Uttaradhyayana Sutra is one of the most important sacred books of the Svetambara Jains. It consists of 36 chapters, each of which deals with aspects of Jain doctrine and discipline. It is believed by some to contain the actual words of Bhagwan Mahavira (599/540 - 527/468 BCE). See also * List of Jain texts This is a list of important texts written by Jain ascetics and those which are of important value to Jainism. Digambara texts *Ādi purāṇa *Dravyasamgraha *Ratnakaranda śrāvakācāra *Pancastikayasara * Pravachanasara *Puruşārthasidd ... References Citations Sources * * * Jain texts {{Jainism-book-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brahmana
The Brahmanas (; Sanskrit: , ''Brāhmaṇam'') are Vedic śruti works attached to the Samhitas (hymns and mantras) of the Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva Vedas. They are a secondary layer or classification of Sanskrit texts embedded within each Veda, which explain and instruct on the performance of Vedic rituals (in which the related Samhitas are recited). In addition to explaining the symbolism and meaning of the Samhitas, Brahmana literature also expounds scientific knowledge of the Vedic Period, including observational astronomy and, particularly in relation to altar construction, geometry. Divergent in nature, some Brahmanas also contain mystical and philosophical material that constitutes Aranyakas and Upanishads. Each Veda has one or more of its own Brahmanas, and each Brahmana is generally associated with a particular Shakha or Vedic school. Less than twenty Brahmanas are currently extant, as most have been lost or destroyed. Dating of the final codification of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madhyadesha
Madhyadesha or the "middle country" was one of the five sub-divisions of ancient India that extended from the upper reaches of the Ganga and the Yamuna to the confluence of the two rivers at Prayaga. The territory of middle region constitutes a cogent entity''—''geographically as well as culturally. Inside northern India (ancient Aryavarta) this region has been instrumental in guiding main currents of history and spread of civilization from a very early age. From sixth century BC, the history of this region can be properly recovered. The entire region is considered sacred in the Hindu mythology as gods and heroes mentioned in the two epics''—Ramayana and Mahabharata—''lived here''.'' Its subsequent history got mingled with the Puranas and other Hindu scriptures. The region saw the rise and fall of several Mahajanapadas such as Kurus, Panchalas, Kosala and dynasties of Kushans and Guptas. After the fall of Gupta Dynasty in the 6th century AD, this region was ruled by regio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled by Brihadratha dynasty, Pradyota dynasty (682–544 BCE), Haryanka dynasty (544–413 BCE), the Shaishunaga dynasty (413–345 BCE) and the Mauryan dynasty by the end of it. Villages had their own assemblies under their local chiefs called ''Gramakas''. Their administrations were divided into executive, judicial, and military functions. Magadha played an important role in the development of Jainism and Buddhism. It was succeeded by four of northern India's greatest empires, the Nanda Empire (c. 345–322 BCE), Maurya Empire (c. 322–185 BCE), Shunga Empire (c. 185–78 BCE) and Gupta Empire (c. 319–550 CE). The Pala Empire also ruled over Magadha and maintained a royal camp in Pataliputra. The Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya referre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anga
Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts like the Anguttara Nikaya, Aṅga also finds mention in the Jain Vyakhyaprajnapti's list of ancient janapadas. Location Aṅga proper was located between the Champā river to the west and the Rajmahal hills to the east. However, at times, its territories did extend to the sea in the south, or included Magadha in the west. The capital of Aṅga, named Campā, was located at the confluence of the Campā and Gaṅgā rivers, and corresponds to the modern-day villages of Campāpurī and Champanagar in the eastern part of the Indian state of Bihār. According to the s, Campā was also called Kāla-Campā, while Puranic texts claim its ancient name was Mālinī. The other important cities within the Aṅga kingdom included (Sanskrit ... [...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 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 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 – the and the – have s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian 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 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. The sounds and texts of the ''Rigveda'' have been orally transmitted since the 2nd millennium BCE. Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the bulk of the ''Rigveda'' Samhita was composed in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent (see) Rigvedic rivers), most likely between 1500 and 1000 BCE, although a wider approximation of 19001200 BCE has also been given. The text is layered, consisting of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pushkalavati
Pushkalavati ( ps, پشکلاوتي; Urdu: ; Sanskrit: ; Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαῶτις ) or Pushkaravati ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ), and later Shaikhan Dheri ( ps, شېخان ډېرۍ; ur, ), was the capital of the Gandhara kingdom, situated in what is now Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda, in Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 kilometres (17 miles) northeast of Peshawar. Its ruins are located on the banks of Swat River, near its junction with Kabul River, with the earliest archaeological remains from 1400 to 800 BCE in Bala Hisar mound. Pushkalavati became an Achaemenid regional capital around 600 BCE, and it remained an important city through to the 2nd century CE. Etymology Pushkalavati ( Sanskrit: पुष्कलावती, ) means "Lotus City" in Sanskrit. According to Hindu mythology as per the ''Ramayana'', it was named Pushkalavati because it was founded by Pushkala, the son of Bhar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic period (), and the Classical period (). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language. From the Hellenistic period (), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek, which is regarded as a separate historical stage, although its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek. There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek, of which Attic Greek developed into Koi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and on the northeast by the main Himalayas range. It is approximately long and wide, and drained by the Jhelum River. Geography The Kashmir Valley lies between latitude 33° and 35°N, and longitude 73° and 76°E. The valley is wide and covers in area. It is bounded by sub-ranges of the Western Himalayas: the Great Himalayas bound it in the northeast and separate it from the Tibetan plateau, whereas the Pir Panjal Range in the Lesser Himalayas bounds it on the west and the south, and separates it from the Punjab Plain. The valley has an average elevation of above sea-level, but the surrounding Pir Panjal range has an average elevation of . The Jhelum River is the main river of the Valley. It originates at Verinag; its most im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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