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Maithali
Maithils (Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan cultural and ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the Mithila region, which comprises Northern and Eastern Bihar and Northeastern Jharkhand in India & in Nepal constituting Madhesh Province in addition to some terai districts of Bagmati and Koshi Provinces. The Mithila region forms an important part of Hinduism as it is said to be the birthplace of Sita, the wife of Ram and incarnation of Lakshmi. History Vedic period Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan speaking peoples who established the Videha kingdom. During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Videha Kingdom were called Janakas. The Videha Kingdom later became incorporated into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jhijhiya
Jhijhiya (also called Jhijhari) is a cultural folk dance of Mithila (region), Mithila region of India and Nepal. It is performed during the Vijayadashami, Dusshera festival, in the Hindu month of Ashvin (month), Ashwin (September/October). The dance is performed to offer devotion towards goddess Durga—the goddess of victory as well as to protect one's family, children and society from witches and dark magic. It is performed for ten consecutive evenings, from the day of Dashain#Day 1: Ghatasthapana, Ghatasthapana to Vijayadashami, Bijaya Dashami, by women and girls, in a group of five to fifteen, by placing earthen pitcher on their head and dancing in a rotation manner. Inside the pitcher a fire lamp is place and multiple holes are made on the pitcher. It is believed that if a witch is successful in counting the holes on the pitcher, the dancer dies immediately. Origin myth Since the culture is passed in oral forms from generation to generation, there is no exact authority ab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by area, 12th largest by area, and the List of Indian states and union territories by GDP, 14th largest by GDP in 2024. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, and Jharkhand to the south. Bihar is split by the river Ganges, which flows from west to east. On 15 November 2000, a large chunk of southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Around 11.27% of Bihar's population live in urban areas as per a 2020 report. Additionally, almost 58% of Bihari people, Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state. The official language is Hindi, which shares official status alongside that of Urdu. The main native languag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaishali (ancient City)
Vaishali, Vesali or Vaiśālī was an ancient city located north of Patna in present-day Bihar, India. It is now a Buddhist pilgrimage site that also contains two important stupas of the Buddha,Robert Beer, ''The Encyclopaedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs''. Boston: Shambhala, 1991. the '' Relic Stupa of Vaishali'' and the ''Stupa of Complete Victory''. As an archaeological site it forms part of the Vaishali District in Tirhut Division. It was the capital city of the Vajjika League of Vrijji mahajanapada, considered one of the first examples of a republic that dates from c.6th century BCE. Gautama Buddha preached his last sermon before his mahaparinirvana in , and Vaishali is also home to two important stupas directly related to the Buddha, the Relic Stupa of Vaishali, which is said to contain the ashes of the Buddha, and the ''Stupa of Complete Victory'' that represents the prolongation of the Buddha's life by three months when he was eighty years old. In 383 BCE the Secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vajjika League
The Vajjika (Pāli: ) or Vrijika () League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (Pāli: ) or Vriji (), was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent. Name The Vajjika League was named after one of its constituent tribes, the Vajjikas proper, who had once been the most powerful tribe in the region of the league's capital of Vesālī. According to Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, the name , meaning "united Vajjis," was given by the peoples of northern South Asia to the Vajjika League. The larger region of the former Mahā-Videha kingdom in which the Vajjika League was located was in turn named after the confederacy. Constituent tribes The Vajjika League was a league of republican tribal states under the leadership of the Licchavikas centred around the city of Vesālī. The other members of the league were the Vaidehas in the Mithila region, the Nāyikas (Skt. *Jñātrika) of Kuṇḍapura, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Witzel
Michael Witzel (born July 18, 1943) is a German-American philologist, comparative mythologist and Indologist. Witzel is the Wales Professor of Sanskrit at Harvard University and the editor of the Harvard Oriental Series (volumes 50–100). He has researched a number of Indian sacred texts, particularly the Vedas. Biography Michael Witzel was born July 18, 1943, in Schwiebus, Germany (modern Świebodzin, Poland). He studied indology in West Germany from 1965 to 1971 under Paul Thieme, H.-P. Schmidt, K. Hoffmann, and J. Narten, as well as in Nepal (1972 to 1973) under Mīmāmsaka Jununath Pandit.Michael Witzel's curriculum vitae accessed September 13, 2007. From 1972 to 1978, he led the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project and the Nepal Research Centre in |
Janaka
Janaka (, IAST: ''Janaka'') is the King of Videha who ruled from Mithila (region), Mithila, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Janaka was married to Sunayana (Ramayana), Sunayana. He is the father of Sita and Urmila in the epic. The term Janaka was also the title adopted by all the kings of Videha, who were the descendants of the Nimi (king), King Nimi and his son King Mithi. The King Mithi is considered as the first King of Videha who was titled with the term ''Janaka''. Janaka is revered as being an ideal example of non-attachment to material possessions. He was intensely interested in spiritual discourse and considered himself free from worldly illusions. His interactions with sages and seekers such as Ashtavakra and Sulabha are recorded in the ancient texts. Legend Birth and ancestry Janaka, originally named Sīradhvaja, was born to King Hrasvaroman of Mithila and his wife Keikasi. The Videha kingdom was situated historically between the Gandaki River to the east ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Videha
Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern Indian subcontinent whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later became a (an aristocratic republic), presently referred to as the Videha Republic, which was part of the larger Vajjika League. Location The borders of the Videha kingdom were the Sadānirā river in the west, the Kauśikī river in the east, the Gaṅgā river in the south, and the Himālaya mountains in the north. To the west of the Sadānirā river, the neighbour of the Vaidehas was the kingdom of Kosala. The Sadānirā and Kauśikī rivers remained the respective western and eastern boundaries of the later Videha republic, although its territory covered only the northern part of that of the former Videha kingdom, with the latter hence being called Mahā-Videha ("greater Videha"). The Videha republic was located along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvati and Sarasvati, form the trinity of goddesses called the Tridevi. Lakshmi has been a central figure in Hindu tradition since pre-Buddhist times (1500 to 500 BCE) and remains one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Although she does not appear in the earliest Vedic literature, the personification of the term '' shri''—auspiciousness, glory, and high rank, often associated with kingship—eventually led to the development of Sri-Lakshmi as a goddess in later Vedic texts, particularly the ''Shri Suktam''. Her importance grew significantly during the late epic period (around 400 CE), when she became particularly associated with the preserver god Vishnu as his consort. In this role, Lakshmi is seen as the ide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rama
Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda'' ''puruṣottama''), Rama is the male protagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana''. His birth is celebrated every year on Rama Navami, which falls on the ninth day of the bright half ( Shukla Paksha) of the lunar cycle of Chaitra (March–April), the first month in the Hindu calendar. According to the ''Ramayana'', Rama was born to Dasaratha and his first wife Kausalya in Ayodhya, the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala. His siblings included Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. He married Sita. Born in a royal family, Rama's life is described in the Hindu texts as one challenged by unexpected changes, such as an exile into impoverished and difficult circumstances, and challenges of ethical questions and moral dilemmas. The most not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sita
Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is the chief goddess of the Ramanandi Sampradaya and is the goddess of beauty and devotion. Sita's birthday is celebrated every year on the occasion of Sita Navami. Described as the daughter of Bhūmi (the earth), Sita is brought up as the adopted daughter of King Janaka of Videha. Sita, in her youth, chooses Rama, the prince of Ayodhya (Ramayana), Ayodhya as her husband in a swayamvara. After the Sita Swayamvara, swayamvara, she accompanies her husband to his kingdom but later chooses to accompany him along with her brother-in-law Lakshmana, in his exile. While in exile, the trio settles in the Dandaka forest from where she is abducted by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka. She is imprisoned in the garden of Ashoka Vatika, in Lanka, until she ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithila (region)
Mithila (), also known as Tirhut, Tirabhukti and Mithilanchal, is a geographical and cultural region of the Indian subcontinent bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the foothills of the Himalayas in the north. It comprises certain parts of Bihar and Jharkhand states of India and adjoining districts of the Koshi Province, Bagmati Pradesh and Madhesh Province of Nepal. The native language in Mithila is Maithili language, Maithili, and its speakers are referred to as Maithils. Mithila is commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha. Until the 20th century, Mithila was still ruled in part by the Raj Darbhanga. History In Jainism Mithilā is one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in Jainism. Apart from its association with ''Mahavira'', the 24th Tirthankara, it is also known for its association with ''Mallinatha'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koshi Province
Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its capital, the province includes the towns of Birtamod, Sundar Haraincha, Damak, Dharan, Itahari, Triyuga Municipality and Mechinagar, and Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Ama Dablam. Koshi River, the largest river of the nation, forms the province's western boundary. Under the First-past-the-post voting system issued by the Constituency Delimitation Commission, Nepal, the province hosts 28 parliamentary seats and 56 provincial assembly seats. The province is bordered by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal to the east, Bihar to the south, and Bagmati Province and Madhesh Province to the west. According to the 2021 Nepal census, there are around five million people in the province, with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
