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Vararuchi
Vararuci (also transliterated as Vararuchi) () is a name associated with several literary and scientific texts in Sanskrit and also with various legends in several parts of India. This Vararuci is often identified with Kātyāyana. Kātyāyana is the author of Vārtikās which is an elaboration of certain sūtrās (rules or aphorisms) in Pāṇini's much revered treatise on Sanskrit grammar titled Aṣṭādhyāyī. Kātyāyana is believed to have flourished in the 3rd century BCE. However, this identification of Vararuci with Kātyāyana has not been fully accepted by scholars. Vararuci is believed to be the author of ''Prākrita Prakāśa'', the oldest treatise on the grammar of '' Prākrit'' language. Vararuci's name appears in a verse listing the 'nine gems' (navaratnas) in the court of one Samrat Vikramaditya. Vararuci appears as a prominent character in Kathasaritsagara ("ocean of the streams of stories"), a famous 11th century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales an ...
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Candravakyas
Chandravākyas () are a collection of numbers, arranged in the form of a list, related to the motion of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth. These numbers are couched in the katapayadi system of representation of numbers and so apparently appear like a list of words, or phrases or short sentences written in Sanskrit and hence the terminology ''Chandravākyas''. In Sanskrit, ''Chandra'' is the Moon and ''vākya'' means a sentence. The term ''Chandravākyas'' could thus be translated as Moon-sentences. (p.522) Vararuchi (c. 4th century CE), a legendary figure in the astronomical traditions of Kerala, is credited with the authorship of the collection of ''Chandravākyas''. These were routinely made use of for computations of native almanacs and for predicting the position of the Moon. The work ascribed to Vararuchi is also known as ''Chandravākyāni'', or ''Vararucivākyāni'', or ''Pañcāṅgavākyāni''. Madhava of Sangamagrama (c. 1350 – c. 1425), the founder ...
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Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and the later Pali. ''Prākṛta'' literally means "natural", as opposed to '' saṃskṛta'', which literally means "constructed" or "refined". Prakrits were considered the regional spoken (informal) languages of people, and Sanskrit was considered the standardized (formal) language used for literary, official and religious purposes across Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent. Literary registers of Prakrits were also used contemporaneously (predominantly by śramaṇa traditions) alongside Classical Sanskrit of higher social classes. Etymology The dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), and other modern authors however, interpr ...
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Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and '' Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratishthana in a few stories). The term ''Vikramaditya'' is also used as a title by several Hindu monarchs. According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE. "Vikramaditya" was a common title adopted by several Indian kings, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings (particularly Chandragupta II). Nevertheless, many scriptures from the Shaka era mentions the mighty ruler. Early legends Malava king Rajbali Pandey, Kailash Chand Jain and others believe that Vikram ...
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Navaratnas
Navaratnas (Sanskrit dvigu ''nava-ratna'', ) () or Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in an emperor's court in India. The well-known Nauratnas include the ones in the courts of the Hindu emperor Vikramaditya, the Mughal emperor Akbar, and the feudal lord Raja Krishnachandra. Vikramaditya's(Chandragupta II) Navaratnas Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor, who ruled from Ujjain; he is generally identified with the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II. According to folk tradition, his court had 9 famous scholars. The earliest source that mentions this legend is ''Jyotirvidabharana'' (22.10), a treatise attributed to Kalidasa. According to this text, the following 9 scholars (including Kalidasa himself) attended Vikramaditya's court: Another popular tradition mentions the astronomer Brahmagupta and the magician Vaitalik instead of Ghatkharpar and Vetala-Bhatta. Multiple scholars consider ''Jyotirvidabharana'' a literary forgery of a date later th ...
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Kathasaritsagara
The ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' ("Ocean of the Streams of Stories") (Devanagari: कथासरित्सागर) is a famous 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold in Sanskrit by the Shaivite Somadeva. ''Kathāsaritsāgara'' contains multiple layers of story within a story and is said to have been adopted from Guṇāḍhya's '' Bṛhatkathā'' ("the Great Narrative"), which was written in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśāchī. The ''Bṛhatkathā'' is no longer extant but several later adaptations still exist — the ''Kathāsaritsāgara'', '' Bṛhatkathamanjari'' and '' Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha''. However, none of these recensions necessarily derives directly from Gunadhya, and each may have intermediate versions. Scholars compare Guṇāḍhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long-lost '' Bṛhatkathā'' in Sanskrit. Presently available are its two Sanskrit recensions, the '' Bṛhatkatha ...
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Aithihyamala
Aithihyamala or Ithihyamala ( ml, ഐതിഹ്യമാല) (''Garland of Legends'') is a collection of century-old stories from Kerala that cover a vast spectrum of life, famous persons and events. It is a collection of legends numbering over a hundred, about magicians and ''yakshis'', feudal rulers and conceited poets, '' kalari'' or ''Kalaripayattu'' experts, practitioners of Ayurveda and courtiers; elephants and their mahouts, tantric experts. Kottarathil Sankunni (23 March 1855 – 22 July 1937), a Sanskrit-Malayalam scholar who was born in Kottayam in present-day Kerala, started documenting these stories in 1909. They were published in the Malayalam literary magazine, the ''Bhashaposhini'', and were collected in eight volumes and published in the early 20th century. It includes popular tales such as about the twelve children of Vararuchi and Parayi (a woman of ''Paraiyar'' caste), ''Kayamkulam Kochunni'', '' Kadamattathu Kathanar'' among many others. The story of 12 chi ...
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South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges – the Western and Eastern Ghats – bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Pamba, Thamirabarani, Palar, and Vaigai rivers are important perennial rivers. The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada (all 4 of which are among ...
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Father Figure
A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal term "father figure", the role of a father figure is not limited to the biological parent of a person (especially a child), but may be played by uncles, grandfathers, elder brothers, family friends, or others. The similar term mother figure refers to an older woman. Several studies have suggested that positive father figures and mother figures (whether biological or not) are generally associated with healthy child development, both in boys and in girls. Definition The ''International Dictionary of Psychology'' defines "father figure" as "A man to whom a person looks up and whom he treats like a father." The ''APA Concise Dictionary of Psychology'' offers a more extensive definition: "a substitute for a person's biological father, who perfor ...
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Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the original Anno Domini (AD) and Before Christ (BC) notations used for the same calendar era. The two notation systems are numerically equivalent: " CE" and "AD " each describe the current year; "400 BCE" and "400 BC" are the same year. The expression traces back to 1615, when it first appeared in a book by Johannes Kepler as the la, annus aerae nostrae vulgaris (), and to 1635 in English as " Vulgar Era". The term "Common Era" can be found in English as early as 1708, and became more widely used in the mid-19th century by Jewish religious scholars. Since the later 20th century, BCE and CE have become popular in academic and scientific publications because BCE and CE are religiously neutral terms. They are used by others who wish to be sensi ...
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Manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has come to be understood to further include ''any'' written, typed, or word-processed copy of an author's work, as distinguished from the rendition as a printed version of the same. Before the arrival of printing, all documents and books were manuscripts. Manuscripts are not defined by their contents, which may combine writing with mathematical calculations, maps, music notation, explanatory figures, or illustrations. Terminology The study of the writing in surviving manuscripts, the "hand", is termed palaeography (or paleography). The traditional abbreviations are MS for manuscript and MSS for manuscripts, while the forms MS., ms or ms. for singular, and MSS., mss or mss. fo ...
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Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observational (by analyzing the data) or theoretical astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers study include planetary science, solar astronomy, the origin or evolution of stars, or the formation of galaxies. A related but distinct subject is physical cosmology, which studies the Universe as a whole. Types Astronomers usually fall under either of two main types: observational and theoretical. Observational astronomers make direct observations of celestial objects and analyze the data. In contrast, theoretical astronomers create and investigate models of things that cannot be observed. Because it takes millions to billions of years for a system of stars or a galaxy to complete a life cycle, astronomers must observe sna ...
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Astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational astronomy, and the making of calend ...
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