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Swayamvara
Svayamvara ( sa, स्वयंवर, svayaṃvara, translit-std=IAST), in ancient India, was a method of marriage in which a woman chose a man as her husband from a group of suitors. In this context, in Sanskrit means 'self' and means 'groom'. The bride wishing to marry would select an auspicious time and venue and then broadcast her intentions. Kings typically sent messengers to outside lands, while commoners simply spread the news within the local community. On the appointed day, suitors would gather at the venue and declare their qualifications. The bride would place a garland on the man of her choice and a marriage ceremony was held immediately. Indian literature Sīta In the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', King Janaka proclaimed that Sita would be wed to the man who could lift and string the Shiva Dhanush (Shiva's bow), calling this feat , meaning the cost to be paid by a suitor. Sita married Rama, the only man strong enough to lift and string the bow. Kunti King Kuntibho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, '' Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She is also the chief goddess of Rama-centric Hindu traditions. Sita is known for her dedication, self-sacrifice, courage, and purity. She is one of the seventeen national heroes (r''astriya bibhuti'') of Nepal. 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 as her husband in a swayamvara. After the swayamvara, she accompanies her husband to his kingdom, but later chooses to accompany her husband, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunti
Kunti ( sa, कुन्ती, ), named at birth as Pritha ( sa, पृथा, ), is one of the prominent characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is best known as the mother of the Pandavas and Karna, the main protagonists of the epic. She is described to be beautiful, intelligent, and shrewd. Born to the Yadava chief Shurasena, Pritha was adopted by her childless uncle, Kuntibhoja, and was renamed Kunti. During her teenage years, she impressed sage Durvasa and was blessed with the knowledge of a divine ''mantra''. Out of curiosity, she used the mantra to invoke the sun god Surya, and was blessed with a son named Karna. As he had been born out of wedlock, Kunti had to abandon him to save herself from dishonor. After reaching adulthood, she chose Pandu, the king of Kuru, as her husband, but her married life was disturbed when Madri, princess of Madra, became Pandu's second wife. One day, Pandu was cursed that he would perish instantly if he tried to touch any of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damayanti Prays To Gods To Recognize Nala
''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of the Nishadha Kingdom. The character is also found in other Hindu texts by many authors in numerous Indian languages. She, along with Nala, are the central characters in the 12th century text Nishadha Charita, one of the five ''mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature, written by Sriharsha. Story Damayanti was the Yadava princess of Vidarbha Kingdom. One day, a beautiful swan came to her and told her about Nala, king of Nishadha. The swan was sent by Nala after hearing about her from it. After hearing about Nala, she was impressed with him and wanted to marry him. A swayamvara was organized by Damayanti's father and Nala was also invited. Damayanti chose Nala out of the kings and princes and married. After a few y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kuntibhoja
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 Subhadra. He was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nala
Nala (Sanskrit: नल) is a character in the '' Vana Parva'' book of the ''Mahabharata''. He was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and the son of Veerasena. Nala was known for his skill with horses and for his culinary expertise. He married princess Damayanti, of the Vidarbha Kingdom. He was blessed by goddess Kali. He was also a great cook and wrote the first-ever book on cookery, Pakadarpanam (Sanskrit: पाकदर्पण). Even today, a consistently good chef/cook is credited as someone with Nala-Bhagam to mean that their dish tastes as if Nala has prepared it. He is said to have been able to cook a full meal without lighting fire. Story Nala's story is told in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata and was adapted into various versions. According to the 12th century text Nishadha Charita, one of the five '' mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature, written by Sriharsha, Nala, King of Nishadha, found a beautiful swan in a forest. The swan tol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damayanti
''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of the Nishadha Kingdom. The character is also found in other Hindu texts by many authors in numerous Indian languages. She, along with Nala, are the central characters in the 12th century text Nishadha Charita, one of the five ''mahakavyas'' (great epic poems) in the canon of Sanskrit literature, written by Sriharsha. Story Damayanti was the Yadava princess of Vidarbha Kingdom. One day, a beautiful swan came to her and told her about Nala, king of Nishadha. The swan was sent by Nala after hearing about her from it. After hearing about Nala, she was impressed with him and wanted to marry him. A swayamvara was organized by Damayanti's father and Nala was also invited. Damayanti chose Nala out of the kings and princes and married. After a f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Draupadi
Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. She is noted for her beauty, courage, and a rare polyandrous marriage. In Mahabharata, Draupadi and her brother, Dhrishtadyumna, were born from a ''yajna'' (fire sacrifice) organized by King Drupada of Panchala. Arjuna won her hand in marriage, but she had to marry the five brothers because of her mother-in-law's misunderstanding. Later, she became an empress, as Yudhishthira performed the Rajasuya ritual and achieved the status of the emperor. She had five sons, one from each Pandava, who were collectively addressed as the Upapandavas. The most notable incident in Draupadi's life is the game of dice at Hastinapura where Yudhishthira loses his possessions and wife, and she is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dhanushadham
Dhanushadham is a municipality in Dhanusha District in Province No. 2 of south-eastern Nepal. The municipality was established on 18 May 2014 by merging the existing Govindapur, Umprempur, Yagyabhumi, Dhanushadham village development committees (VDCs). It is a religious place of Hindu worship in Nepal. It is believed that a part of Shiva Dhanusha (Bow of God Shiva) that was broken by Rama during Sita's swayamvara, is housed. Now there is temple around the remaining of bow and visited by Hindu devotees from all over the world. That's why it is named Dhanushadham. Every year there is a festival on the occasion of Makar Sakranti and devotee offers prayer to the Dhanusha temple. The place is 18 km from Janakpur and there is concrete road connecting Dhanushadham to Janakpur. It can be reached by car, motorbike, bus and so on. The travel by bus takes 45 minutes from Janakpur. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiva Dhanush
The Pinaka ( sa, पिनाक, pínāka) is the celestial bow of the Hindu destroyer deity, Shiva. In popular legend, he is believed to have employed this bow in his avatar as Tripurantaka to annihilate the three cities of Mayasura, known as Tripura. The weapon is the origin of one of Shiva's epithets, ''Pinakapani'', literally meaning, 'the wielder of the Pinaka'. In Literature In the Shiva Purana, Shiva employed the Pinaka in his duel against Ganesha, who had been appointed to stand guard while his mother Parvati bathed. In the Harivamsa Purana, when the Prajapati Daksha performed a yajna for the gods, his ceremony was obstructed by Shiva and a human incarnation of Nandi, who wielded the Pinaka. Hari (Vishnu) stood to confront him, accompanied by the adityas and the vasus. Shiva struck Hari on his breast, who countered by grabbing his assailant's throat. When he strung his own bow Sharanga, the mountain Meru trembled. Infuriated, Nandi raised the Pinaka and struck Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roshani Chokshi
Roshani Chokshi (born February 14, 1991) is an American children's book author and a New York Times bestselling author. Personal life Chokshi's mother is Filipino and her father is Indian, both immigrants to the United States. She grew up speaking English, rather than her parents' native languages, Tagalog and Gujarati. Chokshi was raised on Hindu mythology, which she often draws on in her novels. Her first novel sold while she attended law school at University of Georgia, and she ultimately dropped out to pursue writing. She cites Neil Gaiman as one of her influences to pursue a writing career. Chokshi lives in Georgia, US. Career Chokshi's first young adult novel, novel ''The Star-Touched Queen'', was published by St. Martin's Press in 2016. Her second young adult novel, ''A Crown of Wishes'', is set in the same world and was published in 2017. All of Chokshi's first novels in her series debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. Her middle grade debut, '' Aru Sha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Eastern
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European part of Turkey), Egypt, Iran, the Levant (including Ash-Shām and Cyprus), Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and the Socotra Archipelago (a part of Yemen). The term came into widespread usage as a replacement of the term Near East (as opposed to the Far East) beginning in the early 20th century. The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions, and has been viewed by some to be discriminatory or too Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of Western Asia (including Iran), but without the South Caucasus, and additionally includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai Region) and all of Turkey (not just the part barring East Thrace). Most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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