The Mahabharata is the longest, and one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four “goals of life” or purusharthas (12.161). The latter are...
The History of India can be traced in fragments to as far back as 700,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. According to the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, the Aryans, a nomadic people, possibly from Central Asia or northern Iran migrated into the north-west regions of the Indian subcontinent between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE...
Within Hinduism a large number of personal gods are worshipped as murtis. These beings are either aspects of the supreme Brahman, avatars of the supreme being, or significantly powerful entities known as devas. The exact nature of belief in regards to each deity varies between differing Hindu denominations and philosophies. Often these beings are depicted in humanoid, or partially humanoid forms...
In Hinduism, Ganesha refers to the “lord of the hosts,” also spelled as Ganesa and Ganesh, often also referred to as Ganapati) – and is one of the most well-known and venerated representations of God (Brahman). He is the first born son of Shiva and Parvati, and the husband of Bharati, Riddhi and Siddhi. He is also called Vinayaka in Marathi, Malayalam and Kannada, Vinayagar and...
The Gulf of Khambhat (formerly known as the Gulf of Cambay) is an inlet of the Arabian Sea along the west coast of India, in the state of Gujarat. It is about 80 miles in length, and divides the Kathiawar peninsula to the west from the eastern part of Gujarat state on the east. The Narmada and Tapti rivers empty into the Gulf. Marine archeology in the Gulf of Cambay – now known as the Gulf...
A dakini (Sanskrit: “sky dancer”) is a Tantric priestess of ancient India who “carried the souls of the dead to the sky”. This Buddhist figure is particularly upheld in Tibetan Buddhism. The dakini is a female being of generally volatile temperament, who acts as a muse for spiritual practice. Dakinis can be likened to elves, angels, or other such supernatural beings, and...
In Hindu philosophy, the existence of the universe is governed by the Trimurti of Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Sustainer) and Shiva (the Destroyer). The sequence of Avatars of Vishnu- the Dasavatara (Sanskrit: Dasa-ten, Avatara-incarnation) is generally accepted by most Hindus today as correlating well with Darwin’s theory of evolution, the first Avatar generating from the environment...
The hindu calendar used in ancient times has undergone many changes in the process of regionalization, and today there are several regional Indian calendars, as well as an Indian national calendar. Nepali calendar, Bengali calendar, Malayalam calendar, Tamil calendar, Telugu calendar, Kannada calendar etc. are some prominent regional Hindu calendars. Most of these calendars are inherited from a...
In the physical body, vata–composed of Space and Air–is the subtle energy associated with movement. It governs breathing, blinking, muscle and tissue movement, pulsation of the heart, and all movements in the cytoplasm and cell membranes. In balance, vata promotes creativity and flexibility. Out of balance, vata produces fear and anxiety. A person with vata predominant is blessed with...
The word is used, in a technical sense, in the Hindu re!igion to denote the descent upon earth of a portion of the essence of a god, which then assumes some coarser material form, be it animal, monster, or man. Such descents are ascribed in the mythology of Hinduism to various gods, but those ascribed to Vishnu are by far the most important. They are believed to have taken place at different ages...