|
Shakti
Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refers to the personified energy or power of a Deva (Hinduism), male deity, often personified as the female consort of the given Hindu god. In Tantric Shaktism, Shakti is the foremost deity, akin to Brahman. In Puranic Hinduism, Shiva and Shakti are the masculine and feminine principles that are complementary to each other. The male deity is ''purusha'', pure consciousness, which creates the universe through the female creative energy of Shakti, which is ''Prakṛti, prakriti'', 'nature'. The term ''Shakta'' is used for the description of people associated with Shakti worship. The Shakta pithas are shrines, which are believed to be the sacred seats of Shakti. Etymology and overview According to the Monier Monier-Williams, Monier-Williams dict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iccha-shakti
''Iccha-shakti'' () is a Sanskrit term translating to free will, desire, creative urge. It functions as the impulse towards manifestation within the principle of ''shakti,'' the concept of divine feminine energy. Along with '' kriya-shakti'' (action power) and '' jnana-shakti'' (knowledge power), ''iccha-shakti'' is described to constitute the three aspects of ''shakti'' in Hinduism, regarded to be responsible for the evolution of the universe in Tantra. In Shaivism, i''ccha-shakti'' represents one of the five ''shakti''s of Shiva, alongside ''adi-shakti'', ''parama-shakti'', ''kriya-shakti'', and ''jnana-shakti''. Description Many goddesses and consorts of male Hindu deities are described to act as their respective ''shakti'', sometimes specified as ''kriya''-''shakti'', such as Lakshmi for Vishnu, or their ''iccha-shakti'', such as Parvati for Shiva. For deities with multiple consorts, a divine and earthly consort each is designated as the deity's ''kriya-shakti'' and ''iccha- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shakta Pithas
The Shakta pithas, also called Shakti pithas or Sati pithas (, , ''seats of Shakti''), are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the mother goddess denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various forms of Adi Shakti. Various Puranas such as Srimad Devi Bhagavatam state the existence of a varying number of 51, 52, 64 and 108 Shakta pithas of which 18 are named as Astadasha ''Maha'' (major) in medieval Hindu texts. Legends abound about how the Shakta pithas came into existence. The most popular is based on the story of the death of Sati, a deity according to Hinduism. Shiva carried Sati's body, reminiscing about their moments as a couple, and roamed around the universe with it. Vishnu cut her body into 51 body parts, using his Sudarshana Chakra, which fell on earth to become sacred sites where all the people can pay homage to the goddess. To complete this task, Shiva took the form of Bhairava. Most of these historic places of goddess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Hindu Deities
Hinduism is the largest religion in the Indian subcontinent, and the third largest religion in the world. It has been called the " oldest religion" in the world, and many practitioners refer to Hinduism as "the eternal law" ('). Within this faith, there are four major traditions or denominations, namely, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. There also exist a number of minor traditions, such as Ganapatism and Saurism. The religion is a diverse system of thought with a wide variety of beliefs, and hence the concept of God, and the number of deities, rests upon the philosophy and the tradition that make up a devotee's adherence. The faith is described by some to be monotheistic, where all deities are believed to be forms of Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, as popularised by the Advaita philosophy. It is also widely regarded to be polytheistic and henotheistic, though this is also considered to be a form of overgeneralisation. Deities Trimurti The Trimurti are the mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaktism
Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, manifestations, or personifications of the divine feminine energy called ''Shakti''. It includes various modes of worship, ranging from those focused on the most worshipped Durga, to gracious Parvati, and the fierce Kali. After the decline of Buddhism in India, various Hindu and Buddhist goddesses were combined to form the Mahavidya, a Pantheon (religion), pantheon of ten goddesses. The most common forms of the Mahadevi worshipped in Shaktism include: Durga, Kali, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Parvati, and Tripura Sundari. Also worshipped are the various Gramadevatas across the Indian villages. Shaktism also encompasses various Tantra#Śaiva and Śākta tantra, tantric sub-traditions, including Vidyapitha and Kulamārga. Shaktism emphasizes that intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaula (Hinduism)
Kaula, also known as Kula, ("the Kula path") and ("the Kaula tradition"), is a Tantra, Tantric tradition which is characterised by distinctive rituals and symbolism connected with the worship of Shakti and Shiva that is associated with cremation-ground or charnel ground asceticism, found in Shaktism and Shaivism. Different types of Kulacharam were practiced in Assam, Kashmir, Bengal, Tripura and Kerala as it's primary worships. Kaula preserves some of the distinctive features of the ''Kapalika, Kāpālika'' tradition, from which it is derived. It is subdivided into four subcategories of texts based on the goddesses Kuleśvarī, Kubjikā, Kālī, and Tripura Sundari, Tripurasundarī respectively. The Trika texts are closely related to the Kuleśvarī texts and can be considered as a 'domesticized' part of the Kulamārga. These subcategories emerged as cults with a wide range of practices—some with mild practices involving worship of Siva or Sadasiva as a householder deity wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goddess Shakti
A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all reality, is Mahadevi (Supreme Goddess) and in some forms of Tantric Shaivism, the pair of Shiva and Shakti are the ultimate principle (with the goddess representing the active, creative power of God). Meanwhile, in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism, ultimate reality is often seen as being composed of two principles depicted as two deities in union (Yab-Yum, yab yum, "father-mother") symbolising the non-duality of the two principles of perfect wisdom (female) and skillful compassion (male). A single figure in a monotheistic faith that is female may be identified simply as god because of no need to differentiate by gender or with a diminutive. An experiment to determine the effect of psychedelics on subjects composed of leaders from diverse religio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehistoric technology. It extends from the earliest known use of stone tools by Hominini, hominins, 3.3 million years ago, to the end of the Pleistocene, 11,650 Before Present#Radiocarbon calibration, cal Before Present, BP. The Paleolithic Age in Europe preceded the Mesolithic Age, although the date of the transition varies geographically by several thousand years. During the Paleolithic Age, hominins grouped together in small societies such as band society, bands and subsisted by gathering plants, fishing, and hunting or scavenging wild animals. The Paleolithic Age is characterized by the use of Knapping, knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vedic Period
The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the end of the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain BCE. The Vedas are liturgical texts which formed the basis of the influential Brahmanical ideology, which developed in the Kuru Kingdom, a tribal union of several Indo-Aryan tribes. The Vedas contain details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the Indo-Aryan and Vedic culture to be traced and inferred. The Vedas were composed and orally transmitted with precision by speakers of an Old Indo-Aryan language who had migrated into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ānanda (Hindu Philosophy)
''Ānanda'' (Sanskrit: आनन्द) literally means wikt:bliss, bliss or happiness. In the Hinduism, Hindu Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad gita, ānanda signifies eternal bliss which accompanies the ending of the Saṃsāra, rebirth cycle. Those who renounce the fruits of their actions and submit themselves completely to the divine will, arrive at the final termination of the cyclical life process (''saṃsāra'') to enjoy eternal bliss (''ānanda'') in perfect union with the godhead. The tradition of seeking union with God through loving commitment is referred to as ''bhakti'', or devotion. Etymology ''Ānanda'' is a Sanskrit word regarded as a verbal noun ''nanda'' prefixed with ''ā''. ''ā'' indicates the place where the verbal action occurs; for example, ''āsrama'', where one toils, ''ārama'', where one enjoys oneself, ''ākara'', where things are scattered, etc. The word ''ānanda'' thus implies a locus, that in which one finds bliss, be it a son, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son River
Sone River, also spelt Son River, is a perennial river located in central India. It originates near Amarkantak Hill in Pendra (Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi district), Chhattisgarh and finally merges with the Ganges river near Maner in Patna, Bihar. The Sone River is the second-largest southern tributary of the Ganges after the Yamuna River. India's oldest river bridge Koilwar Bridge over Sone River connects Arrah with Patna. Sone river is famous for its sand across country. Multiple dams and hydro-electric projects run on its course towards the Ganges.The river is also mentioned in Valmiki Ramayans's Balkand where Ram. Laxman along with Vishvamitra is crossing the river to further go north towards Ganga. Course Sone River is called 'सोन / सोने' in Hindi, but called 'शोण' in Sanskrit, a rare instance of an Indian river having masculine name. Damodara and Brahmaputra also have masculine name. This river is mentioned as SoNai in Sangam literature, Sangam Tamil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Philosophy
Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśana, ānvīkṣikī was used to refer to Indian philosophies by classical Indian philosophers, such as Chanakya in the Arthashastra, Arthaśāstra. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the premises of Brahman and Atman (Hinduism), Atman; and whether the school believes in afterlife and Deva (Hinduism), Devas. (though there are exceptions to the latter two: Mimamsa and Samkhya respectively). There are six major (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy, Vedic philosophy—Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga (philosophy), Yoga, Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta—and five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Religions
Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of religions: Geographical"(), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010. are also classified as Eastern religions. Although Indian religions are connected through the history of India, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent. Evidence attesting to prehistoric religion in the Indian subcontinent derives from scattered Mesolithic rock paintings. The Harappan people of the Indus Valley civilisation, which lasted from 3300 to 1300 BCE (mature period 2600–1900 BCE), had an early urbanized culture which predates the Vedic religion. The documented history of Indian religions begins with the historical Vedic religion, the religious practices of the early Indo- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
