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Kumari (goddess)
Kumari, Kumari Devi, or the Living Goddess is the tradition of worshipping a chosen virgin as manifestations of the divine female energy or Shakti in Dharmic Nepali religious traditions. It is believed that the girl is possessed by the goddess Taleju or Durga. The word '' Kumari'' is derived from Sanskrit meaning princess. The procession is akin to Indra or Sakra, taking Indrani to his celestial abode as his bride. The festival is celebrated during Kumari Jatra, which follows the Indra Jatra religious ceremony. In Nepal, a Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya clan of the Nepali Newari Buddhist community. The Kumari is also revered and worshipped by some of the country's Hindus. While there are several Kumaris throughout Nepal, with some cities having several, the best known is the Royal Kumari of Kathmandu, and she lives in the Kumari Ghar, a palace in the center of the city. The selection process for her is especially rigorous. As of 2023, the Royal Ku ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nepal Bhasa
Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, a name that has been historically used for the language. The term "Newari" is also used to refer to the language, although the Indic ''-i'' suffix is considered inappropriate by some Newar speakers. The language served as the official language of Nepal during the Malla dynasty since the 14th century till the end of dynasty in 1769 during which the language was referred as "Nepal Bhasa", a term which literally means "Nepalese Language". However, the language is not the same as Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language and the current official language of Nepal, which only got the name Nepali in the 1930s. Literature in Newar is one of the oldest in Nepal, dating back to at least 600 years ago. From the start of the Rana dynasty in the 1840s un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 million people in the surrounding metropolitan area. The city stands at an elevation of 4,344 feet (1,324 metres) above sea level. Recognized as one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, Kathmandu's history dates back to the 2nd century AD. Historically known as the ''Nepal Mandala'', the valley has been the cultural and political hub for the Newar people, a significant Civilization, urban civilization in the Himalayas, Himalayan region. Kathmandu served as the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and is home to numerous palaces, temples, and gardens reflecting its rich heritage. Since 1985, it has hosted the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Today, Kathmandu remains the epice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held as the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy. The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, the term ''Kali'' refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in the Sanskrit literature was in the sixth-century CE text '' Devi Mahatmya''. Kali appears in many stories, with the most popular one bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saraswati
Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati, she forms the trinity of chief goddesses, known as the Tridevi. Sarasvati is a pan-Indian deity, venerated not only in Hinduism but also in Jainism and Buddhism.Ludvik (2007), pp. 1, 11. She is one of the prominent goddesses in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic tradition (1500 to 500 BCE) who retains her significance in later Hinduism. In the Vedas, her characteristics and attributes are closely connected with the Sarasvati River, making her one of the earliest examples of a Rivers in Hinduism, river goddess in Indian tradition. As a deity associated with a river, Sarasvati is revered for her dual abilities to purify and to nurture fertility. In later Vedic literature, particularly the Brahmanas, Sarasvati is i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saranyu
Sanjna (, , also spelled as Samjna and Sangya), also known as Saranyu (, ), is a Hindu goddess associated with clouds and the chief consort of Surya, the Sun god. She is mentioned in the ''Rigveda'', the '' Harivamsa'' and the '' Puranas''. In Hindu mythology, Sanjna is the daughter of the craftsman god Tvashtr, often equated with Vishvakarma. Renowned for her beauty, virtue, and ascetic powers, Sanjna married Vivasvant (Surya); however, she could not endure his intense form and energy. To escape, she substituted herself with her shadow or maid, Chhaya, and ran away by transforming into a mare. Upon discovering her absence, Surya had his radiance diminished and brought her back. Sanjna is recognized as the mother of several notable deities, including Yama, the god of death; Yamuna, the river goddess; Vaivasvata Manu, the current patriarch of humans; the twin divine physicians known as the Ashvins; and the god Revanta. Etymology Saranyu (or Saraṇyū) is the first nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tantra
Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras, and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Tantras (Buddhism), Buddhist Tantras. They include Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism, Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism. Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Bud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devi Mahatmyam
The ''Devi Mahatmya'' or ''Devi Mahatmyam'' () is a Hindu philosophical text describing the Goddess, known as Adi Parashakti or Durga, as the supreme divine ultimate reality and creator of the universe. It is part of the Mārkandeya Purāna (chapters 81 to 93). ''Devi Mahatmyam'' is also known as the ''Durgā Saptashatī'' () or Śata Chandī (शत् चंडी) and ''Chandi Path'' (). The text contains 700 verses arranged into 13 chapters. It is one of the most important texts in Shaktism, along with ''Devi-Bhagavata Purana'' and Devi Upanishad. The text is one of the earliest extant complete manuscripts from the Hindu traditions which describes reverence and worship of the feminine aspect of God. The ''Devi Mahatmyam'' describes a storied battle between good and evil, where the Devi manifesting as goddess Durga leads the forces of good against the demon Mahishasura—the goddess is very angry and ruthless, and the forces of good win. The verses of this story also ou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personifications of the divine feminine energy called ''Shakti''. It includes various modes of worship, ranging from those focused on the most worshipped Durga, to gracious Parvati, and the fierce Kali. After the decline of Buddhism in India, various Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, a Pantheon (religion), pantheon of ten goddesses. The most common forms of the Mahadevi worshipped in Shaktism include: Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Tripura Sundari. Also worshipped are the various Gramadevatas across the Indian villages. Shaktism also encompasses various Tantra#Śaiva and Śākta tantra, tantric sub-traditions, including Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. Shaktism emphasizes that intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cosmos
The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering scientific, religious or philosophical aspects of the cosmos and its nature. Religious and philosophical approaches may include the cosmos among spiritual entities or other matters deemed to exist outside the physical universe. Etymology The verb wikt:κοσμέω, κοσμεῖν (''kosmein'') meant generally "to dispose, prepare", but especially "to order and arrange (troops for battle), to set (an army) in array"; also "to establish (a government or regime)", "to adorn, dress" (especially of women). Thus ''kosmos'' meant "ornaments, decoration" (compare ''kosmokomes'' "dressing the hair," and cosmetic). The philosopher Pythagoras used the term ''kosmos'' for the order of the universe. Anaxagoras further introduced the concept of a C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bungamati
Bungamati (), is a settlement in Lalitpur, Nepal, Lalitpur Metropolitan Region, Ward No. 22 in Lalitpur District, Nepal. Bungamati is a Newar people, Newar town on a spur of land overlooking the Bagmati River The first stele of the Licchavi (kingdom), Licchavi king Amshuverma was found in Bungamati and dated to 605. It contains the earliest mention of the Kailashkut Bhawan palace. Names and history During the Licchavi Kingdom, the town was called Bugayumigrama. The word 'Bugayumi' is a Kiratian dialect so it is proof that the settlement had come into existence since the Kirati period before the Christian Era. During the Malla period, it was called Bungapattan. Bungamati is also called Amarapur or Amaravatipur. The original settlement of Bungamati was located uphill around the recent 'Chunikhel' area; recent 'Bungamati' being the place of cremation surrounded by huge forest, the original place is still called 'Bugal'. It is said that when Red Machhindranath was brought into the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sankhu
Sankhu (Nepal Bhasa: साँखु, alternative name: Sakwa (Nepal Bhasa: /सक्व)) is the ancient Newari town located in the north-eastern corner of Kathmandu Valley, about 17 km from the city center of Kathmandu. Mani-Yogini, one of the four Vajra Yoginis of Kathmandu Valley, resides here, and it is located along the historic trade route between Kathmandu and Lhasa. It is believed that the name ''Sakwa'' has two parts - Samdesh (Meaning Tibet) and Kvay (Meaning Below), together meaning a town below Tibet. Sankhu was formerly divided into three Village Development Committee, namely, Pukhulachhi, Suntol and Bajrayogini. Recently the town of Sankhu has been declared as Shankharapur Municipality merging three above-mentioned VDCs and other neighbouring VDCs. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 4333 living in 928 individual households. Sankhu lies between river Salinakhu (also Salinadi) in east and Asakhu in the west. History According to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located about from the capital city, Kathmandu. Bhaktapur is the List of cities in Nepal, smallest city of Nepal as well as the most densely populated. Along with Kathmandu and Lalitpur, Nepal, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur is one of the three main cities of the Kathmandu Valley and is a major Newar people, Newar settlement of the country. The city is also known for its Newar tradition, Newa cuisine, cuisine and artisans. Bhaktapur suffered heavy damage in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, April 2015 earthquake. As part of the Kathmandu Valley, it shares its History of Kathmandu, history, Culture of Kathmandu, culture and Newar language, language with the other cities of the Kathmandu Valley, valley. Although chronicles like the Gopal Raj Vamshavali put the fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
