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Pratipa
Pratipa ( sa, प्रतीप, translit=Pratīpa) is a legendary king in Hinduism. He is the king of Hastinapura and a member of the Lunar dynasty. He is the father of Shantanu and the grandfather of Bhishma, Chitrangada, and Vichitravirya. The king is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Legend Origin According to the Puranas, Pratipa was the great-grandson of Bhimasena and son of Dilipa. However, according to the Mahabharata, he was the son of king Bhimasena and princess Sukumari of the Kaikeyas. He married Sunanda of the Shibis, on whom he begot Devapi, Bahlika and Shantanu. Meeting with Ganga Once, when King Pratipa was meditating on the banks of the river Ganges and chanting prayers to Surya, the goddess Ganga appeared after receiving a curse from Brahma at Satyaloka Brahmaloka (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मालोक, IAST: Brahmāloka) or Satyaloka (Sanskrit: सत्यलोक) is the abode of Brahma, the creator god, a member of the Trimurti along ...
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Shantanu
Shantanu (Sanskrit: शंतनु) is a character in the Mahabharata, described as the ruler of the Kuru Kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Lunar dynasty, and the great-grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The ruler was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura and had been born during the latter's latter years. His eldest brother, Devapi, had leprosy, and had given up his inheritance to become a hermit. The middle son, Bahlika, (or Vahlika) abandoned his paternal kingdom, and had started living with his maternal uncle in Balkh, subsequently inheriting his kingdom. Shantanu, thus, ascended the throne of Hastinapura. He is best known for being the father of Bhishma (also known as Devavrata), among the mightiest warriors of the epic. Etymology The meaning of the name can be explained by nirukti available in Adi Parva, through which Sri Nityānanda Miśra elaborates its meanin ...
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Bahlika (Mahabharata)
Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक), also spelled as Vahlika, was the king of Bahlika kingdom. He was the elder brother of Shantanu, who was a king of Hastinapur and the uncle of Bhishma. He was the oldest warrior to fight in the Kurukshetra War. He had a son, Somadatta and a daughter Pauravi, and grandsons, Bhurishravas, Bhuri and Shala by his son and Avagaha and Nandaka were the grandsons by his daughter, Somadatta had a daughter who married the Kashi king Abhibhu , who along with him fought on the side of the Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra War. He was slain by Bhima on the 14th day of the war when it continued after sunset. According to Yudhishthira, Bahlika's only wish was that there should be peace among the Bhāratas.Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Kuru Prince and accession to the throne Bahlika was the second of the three son ...
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Characters In The Mahabharata
The '' Mahabharata'' is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India; it was composed by the sage Vyasa. The most important characters of '' Mahabharata'' can be said to include: Krishna; the Pandavas Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, along with their wife Draupadi; and the Kauravas (who were a hundred brothers), led by the eldest brother, Duryodhana. The most important other characters include Bhishma, Karna, Dronacharya, Shakuni, Dhritrashtra, Gandhari and Kunti. Some pivotal additional characters include Balarama, Subhadra, Vidura, Abhimanyu, Kripacharya, Pandu, Satyavati, Ashwatthama, and Amba. Deities who play a significant role in the epic include Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, Ganga, Indra, Surya and Yama. This list mentions notable characters and may also contain characters appearing in regional stories and folklores related to ''Mahabharata''. A Abhimanyu Abhimanyu was the son of third Pandava prince Arjuna and Yadava princess ...
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Bhishma
Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the only character who witnessed the entirety of the Mahabharata, beginning from the reign of his father, King Shantanu of the Kuru kingdom. Bhishma was the step-brother of Vyasa, the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prominent statesman of the Kuru Kingdom. He was born as the elder son of the illustrious King Shantanu and Ganga. Originally named Devavrata, he was made the heir-apparent of his kingdom. However, he ceded his throne for his father's happiness and took the vow of lifelong celibacy. Owing to this selfless decision, he came to be known as Bhishma and was blessed to live as long as he wanted, by his father, Shantanu. He played a major role in the political affairs of the Kuru k ...
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Brahmaloka
Brahmaloka (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मालोक, IAST: Brahmāloka) or Satyaloka (Sanskrit: सत्यलोक) is the abode of Brahma, the creator god, a member of the Trimurti along with Vishnu and Shiva, along with his consort Saraswati. It is also referred to as Brahmapura, in the Puranas. Brahmaloka, described to be 60,000,000 miles above the Prajapati loka, is considered to be of great soteriological significance, the sphere where its inhabitants never again know death, dwelling perpetually in the company of yogins, and drinking the excellent nectar of yoga. Location In the center of Brahmaloka is Brahmapura, a huge palace where Brahma resides. Description Brahmaloka is a realm composed entirely of Brahman, considered superior to the Svarga loka and is full of immortal energy, knowledge and bliss. It is also known as the planet of the Bhagavān. The above statement shows that Brahmaloka is an eternal Vaikuntha that is neither created nor located within th ...
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Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212–226. He is associated with creation, knowledge, and the '' Vedas''. Brahma is prominently mentioned in creation legends. In some '' Puranas'', he created himself in a golden embryo known as the Hiranyagarbha. Brahma is frequently identified with the Vedic god Prajapati.;David Leeming (2005), The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford University Press, , page 54, Quote: "Especially in the Vedanta Hindu Philosophy, Brahman is the Absolute. In the Upanishads, Brahman becomes the eternal first cause, present everywhere and nowhere, always and never. Brahman can be incarnated in Brahma, in Vishnu, in Shiva. To put it another way, everything that is, owes its existence to Brahman. In this sense, Hinduism is ultimately monotheisti ...
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Ganga (goddess)
Ganga ( sa, गङ्गा or गंगा, Gaṅgā) is the personification of the river Ganges, who is worshipped by Hindus as the goddess of purification and forgiveness. Known by many names, Ganga is often depicted as a fair, beautiful woman, riding a divine crocodile-like creature called the makara. Some of the earliest mentions of Ganga are found in the Rigveda, where she is mentioned as the holiest of the rivers. Her stories mainly appear in post-Vedic texts such as the ''Ramayana'', ''Mahabharata,'' and the ''Puranas''. The Ramayana describes her to be the firstborn of Himavat, the personification of the Himalayas, and the sister of the mother goddess Parvati. However, other texts mention her origin from the preserver deity, Vishnu. Legends focus on her descent to earth, which occurred because of a royal-sage Bhagiratha, aided by the god Shiva. In the epic Mahabharata, Ganga is the mother of the warrior Bhishma in a union with the Kuru Kingdom, Kuru king Shantanu. In ...
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Surya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman. Other names of Surya in ancient Indian literature include Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Ravi, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, and Vivasvan. The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week. During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening. In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others. Surya as a deity is also found in the arts and literature of Buddhism and Jainism. In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, Surya is represented as t ...
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Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain, Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly river. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma River, Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna River (Bangladesh), ...
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Chandravamsha
The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna in Hinduism, varna, or warrior–ruling caste mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related deities (''Soma (deity), Soma'' or ''Moon, Lunar''). The Hindu deity Krishna is believed to have been born in the Yaduvansh, Yaduvamsha branch of the Lunar dynasty. According to the ''Shatapatha Brahmana'', Pururavas was the son of Budha (himself often described as the son of Soma) and the gender-switching deity Ila (Hinduism), Ila (born as the daughter of Shraddhadeva Manu, Manu). Pururavas's great-grandson was Yayati, who had five sons named Yadus, Yadu, Turvashas, Turvasu, Druhyus, Druhyu, Anu (tribe), Anu, and Puru (Vedic tribe), Puru. These seem to be the names of five Vedic tribes as described in the Vedas. According to the ''Mahabharata'', the dynasty's progenitor Ila (Hinduism), Ila ruled from Prayaga, and had a son Shashabi ...
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Kekaya
Kekaya (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-western South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Kekaya tribe were called the Kaikayas. Location The Kekayas were located between the Gāndhāra kingdom and the Vipāśā river, more precisely on a tributary of the Irāvatī river named the Saranges by ancient Greek authors. The capital of Kekaya was a city named Rājagṛha or Girivraja, identified with the modern-day Girjak or Jalalpur in the Pakistani Punjab. History The Kekeyas, as well as the neighbouring Madraka and Uśīnara tribes, were descended from the Ṛgvedic Anu tribe which lived near the Paruṣṇī river in the central Punjab region, in the same area where the Kekayas were later located. A famous king of Kekaya during the late Vedic period was Aśvapati, who is mentioned in the and the as a patron of s, and was an elder contemporary of the Vaideha king Janaka. During the 6th century BCE, the Kekaya ...
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Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pāṇḍava princes and their successors. It also contains 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 and Devayani, the story of Rishyasringa and an abbreviated version of the '' Rāmāyaṇa'', often considered as works in their own right. Traditionally, the authorship of the ''Mahābhārata'' is attributed to Vyāsa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth ...
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