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Nidhi
Nidhi () is a Sanskrit term meaning, "treasure". It is generally used to indicate the nine treasures called navanidhi () belonging to Kubera, the god of wealth. According to tradition, each nidhi is personified as having a guardian spirit, with some Tantrikas worshipping them. The nature and characteristics of nidhis have remained largely unexplained and have not been fully understood. Description According to the ''Amarakosha'' and the ''Padma Purana'', the nine nidhis are: References Sources * ''A Dictionary of Hindu Mythology & Religion'' by John Dowson John Dowson M.R.A.S.(1820–1881) was a British indologist. A noted scholar of Hinduism, he taught in India for much of his life. His book ''Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology'' remains one of the most comprehensive and authoritative works ... * A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature, by John Dawson, page 221 * Amarakosha, ed. W. L. Shastri Pansikar, v. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kubera
Kubera (, ) also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as Guardians of the directions, the regent of the north (''Dikpala''), and a protector of the world (''Lokapala''). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species, and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, and carrying a money-pot and a club. Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Veda, Vedic-era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a ''Deva (Hinduism), deva'' (god) only in the Puranas, ''Purana''s and the Hindu epics. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his half-brother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendour" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures. Kubera has also been assimilated into the Buddhist and Jain pa ... [...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] |
Amarakosha
The Amarakosha (Devanagari: अमरकोशः, IAST: ''Amarakośaḥ'', ISO 15919, ISO: ''Amarakōśaḥ'') is the popular name for ''Namalinganushasanam'' (Devanagari: नामलिङ्गानुशासनम्, IAST: ''Nāmaliṅgānuśāsanam'', ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāmaliṅgānuśāsanam'', which means "instruction concerning nouns and gender") a thesaurus in Sanskrit written by the ancient Indian scholar Amarasimha. The name Amarakosha derives from the Sanskrit words ''amara'' ("immortal") and ''kosha'' ("treasure, casket, pail, collection, dictionary"). According to Arthur Berriedale Keith, this is one of the oldest extant Sanskrit lexicons (kosha). According to Keith, Amarasiṃha, who possibly flourished in the 6th century, " knew the Mahayana, Mahāyāna and used Kalidasa, Kālidāsa." The author himself mentions 18 prior works, but they have all been lost. There have been more than 40 commentaries on the ''Amarakosha''. Author Amarasimha is said to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Padma Purana
The ''Padma Purana'' (, or ) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Major Puranas, a genre of texts in Hinduism. It is an encyclopedic text, named after the lotus in which creator god Brahma appeared, and includes large sections dedicated to Vishnu, as well as significant sections on Shiva and Shakti. The manuscripts of Padma Purana have survived into the modern era in numerous versions, of which two are major and significantly different, one traced to eastern and the other to western regions of India. It is one of the voluminous text, claiming to have 55,000 verses, with the actual surviving manuscripts showing about 50,000. The style of composition and textual arrangement suggest that it is likely a compilation of different parts written in different era by different authors. The text includes sections on cosmology, mythology, genealogy, geography, rivers and seasons, temples and pilgrimage to numerous sites in India – notably to the Brahma Temple, Pushkar, Brahma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nelumbo Nucifera
''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae. The lotus belongs in the order Proteales. Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony. It is cultivated in nutrient-rich, loamy, and often flooded soils, requiring warm temperatures and specific planting depths, with propagat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shankha
A Turbinella pyrum, shankha () has religious ritual importance in Hinduism. In Hinduism, the shankha called panchajanya is a sacred emblem of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu. It is still used as a trumpet in Hindu ritual, and in the past was used as a war trumpet. According to Arunava Bose, "The shankha is praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame, longevity and prosperity, the cleanser of sin and the abode of goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of prosperity and consort of Vishnu". The shankha is displayed in Hindu art in association with Vishnu. As a symbol of water, it is associated with female fertility and serpents (nāgas). The shankha is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism, the Ashtamangala, and represents the pervasive sound of Buddhism. Characteristics This gastropod shell, shell is from a sea snail species ''Turbinella pyrum'' in the family Turbinellidae. This species is found living in the Indian Ocean and surrounding seas. The shell is porcelaneou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makara
Makara () is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, and of the god of the ocean, Varuna. Makara are considered guardians of gateways and thresholds, protecting throne rooms as well as entryways to temples; it is the most commonly recurring creature in Hindu and Buddhist temple iconography, and also frequently appears as a gargoyle or as a spout attached to a natural spring. Makara-shaped earrings called ''Makarakundalas'' are sometimes worn by Hindu deities, for example Shiva, Vishnu, Surya, and Chandi. Makara is also the insignia of the love god Kamadeva, who has no dedicated temples and is also known as ''Makaradhvaja'', "one whose flag depicts a makara". Etymology ''Makara'' is a Sanskrit word which means "sea-animal, crocodile". Several German scientists argued that makara is based on the dugong instead, based on rea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jasmine
Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultivated for the characteristic fragrance of their flowers. The village of Shubra Beloula in Egypt grows most of the jasmine used by the global perfume industry. Description Jasmine can be either deciduous or evergreen, and can be erect, spreading, or climbing shrubs and vines. The leaves are borne in opposing or alternating arrangement and can be of simple, trifoliate, or pinnate formation. The flowers are typically around in diameter. They are white or yellow, although in rare instances they can be slightly reddish. The flowers are borne in cymose clusters with a minimum of three flowers, though they can also be solitary on the ends of branchlets. Each flower has about four to nine petals, two locules, and one to four ovu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire'' is derived from the Latin word ', itself from the Greek language, Greek word (), which referred to lapis lazuli. It is typically blue, but natural "fancy" sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, and green colors; "parti sapphires" show two or more colors. Red corundum stones also occur, but are called ruby, rubies rather than sapphires. Pink-colored corundum may be classified either as ruby or sapphire depending on the locale. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewellery, jewelry. They also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large boule (crystal), crystal boules. Because of the remarkable hardness of sapphires 9 on the Mohs scale of miner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dowson
John Dowson M.R.A.S.(1820–1881) was a British indologist. A noted scholar of Hinduism, he taught in India for much of his life. His book ''Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology'' remains one of the most comprehensive and authoritative works on the topic. Life He was born at Uxbridge, and studied Eastern languages under his uncle Edwin Norris, whom he assisted for some years at the Royal Asiatic Society. He subsequently became a tutor at the East India Company College. In 1855, he was made professor of Hindustani both at University College, London, and at the Staff College, Sandhurst, a post he held till 1877. He died 23 August 1881. Works Dowson's duties as professor suggested his ''Grammar of the Urdu or Hindustani Language'' (1862), and he also translated one of the tracts of the ''Ikhwānu-s-Safa'', or Brotherhood of Purity. His major work was '' The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period'', which he edited from the papers of Henry Mier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Objects In Hindu Mythology
Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an aim, target, or objective * Object (grammar), a sentence element, such as a direct object or an indirect object Science, technology, and mathematics Computing * 3D model, a representation of a physical object * Object (computer science), a language mechanism for binding data with methods that operate on that data ** Object-orientation (other), in which concepts are represented as objects *** Object-oriented programming (OOP), in which an object is an instance of a class or array ** Object (IBM i), the fundamental unit of data storage in the IBM i operating system * Object file, the output of a compiler or other translator program (also known as "object code") * HTML object element Mathematics * Object (mathematics), an abstrac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
