Kartikeya has been an important deity in the
Indian subcontinent since
ancient times. It has been postulated that the
Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretized with the
Vedic deity of Skanda following the
Sangam era. He is regarded as the "God of the
Tamil people" and is hailed as the lord of
Palani hills, the tutelary deity of the
Kurinji region whose cult gained immense popularity.
TamilSangam literature has several works attributed to Murugan such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai by
Nakkīraṉãr and Tiruppukal by
Arunagirinathar. Archaeological evidence from the 1st-century CE and earlier indicate his iconography associated with
Agni, the Hindu god of fire, suggesting he was a significant deity in early Hinduism. (Full article...)
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Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar is located in the town of
Pushkar near
Ajmer city in
Ajmer district of the
Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake of the
Hindus. The
Hindu scriptures describe it as "
Tirtha-
Guru" [Thirtha Raj]– the perceptor of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of the creator-god
Brahma, whose
most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.
Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing
ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around
Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the
Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500
Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts. (Full article...)
A matha (/mʌt/;
Sanskrit: मठ, maṭha), also written as math, muth, mutth, mutt, or mut, is a
Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a
monastery in
Hinduism. An alternative term for such a monastery is adheenam. The earliest epigraphical evidence for mathas related to Hindu-temples comes from the 7th to 10th century CE.
Karma (/ˈkɑːrmə/, from
Sanskrit: कर्म, IPA:[ˈkɐɾmɐ]ⓘ;
Pali: kamma) is a concept of action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In
Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of
cause and effect, often descriptively called the principle of karma, wherein individuals' intent and actions (cause) influence their future (effect): Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier
rebirths, while bad intent and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and bad rebirths. In some scriptures, however, there is no link between rebirth and karma. Karma is often misunderstood as fate, destiny, or predetermination.
The concept of karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in many schools of Indian religions (particularly
in Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Jainism, and
Sikhism), as well as
Taoism. In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life as well as the nature and quality of future lives—one's saṃsāra. This concept has also been adopted in Western popular culture, in which the events that happen after a person's actions may be considered natural consequences of those actions. (Full article...)
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Raghunath Temple complex
Raghunath Temple is a
Hindu temple located in
Jammu in the Indian
union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir. It consists of a complex of seven
Hindu shrines. Raghunath Temple was constructed by the first Dogra ruler
Maharaja Gulab Singh in the year 1835 and later his son
Maharaja Ranbir Singh got it completed in the year 1860 During Dogra rule. The temple has many gods in its complex of shrines, but the presiding deity is
Rama – also known as Raghunath, an
Avatar of
Vishnu. All the spiral-shaped towers have gold plated spires. The niches in the walls of the shrines are decorated with 300 well-crafted icons of gods and goddesses including those of
Surya and
Shiva, but most are particularly related to the life stories of Rama and
Krishna. The paintings in the 15 panels of the main shrine are based on themes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavad Gita. The temple premises include a school and a library that preserves over 6,000 manuscripts in many
Indian languages, with a notable collection of Sarada script Sanskrit manuscripts.
The temple witnessed two terrorist attacks in the year 2002, when militants attacked it in March and November, with grenades and indulged in indiscriminate firing which resulted in the death of 20 devotees and also in injuries to over 40 people. (Full article...)
Iravan also known as Iravat and Iravant, is a minor character from the
HinduepicMahabharata. The son of
Pandava prince
Arjuna (one of the main heroes of the Mahabharata) and the
Naga princess
Ulupi, Iravan is the central deity of the
cult of Kuttantavar (Kuttandavar) which is also the name commonly given to him in that tradition—and plays a major role in the sect of
Draupadi. Both these sects are of Tamil origin, from a region of the country where he is worshipped as a
village deity and is known as Aravan. He is also a patron god of well-known
transgender communities called Alis (also Aravani in Tamil, and Hijra throughout South Asia).
The Mahabharata portrays Iravan as dying a heroic death on the 8th day of the 18-day
Kurukshetra War (Mahabharata war), the epic's main subject. However, the South Indian traditions have a supplementary practice of honouring Aravan's self-sacrifice to the goddess
Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war. The Kuttantavar tradition focuses on one of the three boons granted to Aravan by the god
Krishna in honour of this self-sacrifice. Aravan requested that he be married before his death. Krishna satisfied this boon in his female form,
Mohini. In
Koovagam,
Tamil Nadu, this incident is re-enacted in an 18-day festival, first by a ceremonial marriage of Aravan to Alis and male villagers (who have taken vows to Aravan) and then by their widowhood after ritual re-enactment of Aravan's sacrifice. (Full article...)
Vithoba (
IAST: Viṭhobā), also known as Vitthala (
IAST: Viṭṭhala), and Panduranga (
IAST: Pāṇḍuraṅga), is a
Hindu god predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of
Maharashtra and
Karnataka. He is a form of the god
Vishnu in his
avatar:
Krishna. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his consort
Rakhumai.
Vithoba is the focus of an essentially
monotheistic, non-ritualistic
bhakti-driven
Varkari faith in Maharashtra and the
BrahminicalHaridasa sect established in
Dvaita Vedanta in Karnataka.
Vithoba Temple, Pandharpur is his main temple. Vithoba legends revolve around his devotee
Pundalik who is credited for bringing the deity to Pandharpur, and around Vithoba's role as a saviour to the poet-saints of the Varkari faith. The Varkari poet-saints are known for their unique genre of devotional lyric, the
abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in
Marathi. Other devotional literature dedicated to Vithoba includes the
Kannada hymns of the Haridasa and the Marathi versions of the generic
aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on
Shayani Ekadashi in the month of
Ashadha, and
Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of
Kartika. (Full article...)
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The Devi Mahatmya or Devi Mahatmyam (
Sanskrit: देवीमाहात्म्यम्,
romanized: devīmāhātmyam,
lit. 'Glory of the
Goddess') is a
Hindu philosophical text describing the Goddess, known as
Mahadevi or Adishakti, as the supreme power and creator of the universe. It is part of the
Markandeya Purana.Devi Mahatmyam is also known as the Durgā Saptashatī (दुर्गासप्तशती) or Śata Chandī (शत् चण्डी) and Chandi Path (चंडी पाठ). The text contains 700 verses arranged into 13 chapters. It is one of the most important texts in
Shaktism, along with Devi-Bhagavata Purana,
MahaBhagawat and
Devi Upanishad. The text is one of the earliest extant complete manuscripts from the Hindu traditions which describes reverence and worship of the feminine aspect of God.
The Devi Mahatmyam describes a storied battle between good and evil, where the Devi manifesting as goddess Durga leads the forces of good against the demon
Mahishasura—the goddess is very angry and ruthless, and the forces of good win. The verses of this story also outline a philosophical foundation wherein the ultimate reality (
Brahman in Hinduism) can also be female. (Full article...)
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Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be
gurus of
modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old
guru-shishya tradition, the modern guru-follower relationship is not secretive, not exclusive, and does not necessarily involve a tradition. Many such gurus, but not all, teach a form of
yoga as exercise; others teach forms which are more devotional or meditational; many teach a combination. Some have been
affected by scandals of various kinds. (Full article...)
The following are images from various Hinduism-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1A new born's Namakarana ceremony. The grandmother is whispering the name into the baby's ear, while friends and family watch. (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 2Six Hinduism deities. Surya, Parvati, Hanuman, Lakshmi, Vishnu, and Indra. All of these statues came from India, except Vishnu (from the Thai-Cambodian border). Various eras. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (from Hindu deities)
Image 3Ishvara is, along with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, one of the 17 deities commonly found in Indonesian
Surya Majapahit Hindu arts and records. However, Ishvara represents different concepts in various Hindu philosophies. (from Hindu deities)
Image 4Annaprashanam is the rite of passage where the baby is fed solid food for the first time. The ritual has regional names, such as Choroonu in
Kerala. (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 6Vaishnavism focuses on Vishnu or one of his avatars, such as Krishna above (from Hindu denominations)
Image 7Samskaras are, in one context, the diverse rites of passage of a human being from conception to cremation, signifying milestones in an individual's journey of life in Hinduism. Above is annaprashana samskara celebrating a baby's first taste of solid food. (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 8Shiva (left), Vishnu (middle), and Brahma (right) (from Hindu deities)
Image 9A Hindu cremation rite in
Nepal. The samskara above shows the body wrapped in saffron on a pyre. (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 14Upanayana samskara ceremony in progress. Typically, this ritual was for eight-year-olds in ancient India, but in the 1st millennium CE it became open to all ages. (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 15The ten avatars of
Vishnu, (Clockwise, from top left) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama and Narasimha, (in centre) Radha and Krishna. Painting currently in
Victoria and Albert Museum. (from Hindu deities)
Image 16A Hindu girl after her Karnavedha rite of passage (ear piercing) (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 17A Tamil Hindu girl (center) in 1870 wearing a half-saree, flowers and jewelry from her Ritu Kala samskara rite of passage (from Samskara (rite of passage))
Image 18Indra is a Vedic era deity, found in south and southeast Asia. Above Indra is part of the seal of a
Thailand state. (from Hindu deities)
Selected quote
The
Hindu religion is the only one of the world's great faiths dedicated to the idea that the
Cosmos itself undergoes an immense, indeed an infinite, number of deaths and rebirths. It is the only religion in which the time scales correspond, to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of
Brahma, 8.64 billion years long. Longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the
Big Bang. And there are much longer time scales still.
Modi was born and raised in
Vadnagar in northeastern
Gujarat, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight. His account of helping his father sell tea at the Vadnagar railway station has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, he was married to
Jashodaben Modi, whom he abandoned soon after, only publicly acknowledging her four decades later when legally required to do so. Modi became a full-time worker for the RSS in Gujarat in 1971. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary. (Full article...)
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Neem Karoli Baba (
Hindi: नीम करौली बाबा,
romanized: nīm karaulī bābā) or Neeb Karori Baba (
Hindi: नीब करौरी बाबा,
romanized: nīb karaurī bābā) (
c. 1900 – 11 September 1973), also known to his followers as 'Maharaj-ji', was a
Hinduguru and a devotee of the
Hindu deityHanuman. He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 1970s, the most well-known being the spiritual teachers
Ram Dass and
Bhagavan Das, and the musicians
Krishna Das and
Jai Uttal. (Full article...)
The publication in 1973 of I Am That, an English translation of his talks in
Marathi by
Maurice Frydman, brought him worldwide recognition and followers, especially from North America and Europe. (Full article...)
The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as Krishna Līlā. He is a central figure in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many
Hindu philosophical,
theological, and
mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being. His iconography reflects these legends and shows him in different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a
flute, a young boy with
Radha or surrounded by female devotees, or a friendly charioteer giving counsel to
Arjuna. (Full article...)
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Advaita Vedanta (/ʌdˈvaɪtəvɛˈdɑːntə/;
Sanskrit: अद्वैत वेदान्त,
IAST: Advaita Vedānta) is a
Hindu-tradition of textual exegesis and
philosophy and a
Hindusādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience. In a narrow sense it refers to the scholarly tradition belonging to the
orthodox Hindu
Vedānta tradition, with works written in Sanskrit, as exemplified by the
Vedic scholar and teacher (acharya)
Adi Shankara (9th cent. CE); in a broader sense it refers to a popular medieval and modern syncretic tradition, blending Vedānta with
Yoga and other traditions and producing works in vernacular.
The term Advaita (literally "non-secondness", but usually rendered as "
nondualism", and often equated with
monism) refers to vivartavada, the idea that "the world is merely an unreal manifestation (vivarta) of Brahman," as proposed by the 13th century scholar
Prakasatman. In this view, Brahman alone is ultimately
real, while the transient
phenomenal world is an illusory appearance (maya) of Brahman. In this view, jivatman, the experiencing self, is ultimately non-different ("na aparah") from Ātman-
Brahman, the highest Self or
Reality. The jivatman or individual self is a mere reflection or limitation of singular Ātman in a multitude of apparent individual bodies. (Full article...)
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (
Sanskrit: श्री चैतन्य महाप्रभु,
romanized: Caitanya Mahāprabhu), born Vishvambhar Mishra (Viśvambhara Miśra), was a 15th-century Indian Hindu saint from
Bengal who was the founder of
Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which considers him to be an incarnation of
Krishna.