Hinduism - Who Are The Digambaras?


 (“space-clad,” i.e., unclothed) This may apply to any ascetic who is fully nude, which is a symbol of having rejected all possessions and worldly traditions in a broad ascetic setting. 

The Digambaras are one of the three Naga anis ("armies") among the Bairagi Nagas, or renunciant ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of Vishnu and who historically earned their livelihood as merchants and mercenary warriors. 

These anis were formerly genuine military units, but nowadays they are only used to determine bathing (snana) order in the bathing procession during the Kumbha Mela (“Festival of the Pot”). 

The Digambaras are by far the most significant of the three, and they take precedence over the others at the Kumbha Mela. 




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Hinduism - Where Is Dwaraka?

 


Sacred city (tirtha) on Gujarat's western coast, on the Arabian Sea's beach. 

Dwaraka is well known in mythology as the capital city of Krishna's empire, where he is said to have resided in the years after the Mahabharata war. 

The Dwarakanath Temple, dedicated to Krishna in his incarnation as the "Lord of Dwaraka," is the most prominent shrine in Dwaraka. 

Dwaraka is also one of India's four dhams ("divine abodes"), holy locations that roughly define the country's physical borders; the other three are Badrinath, Puri, and Rameshvaram. 

The Sharada math, one of the four Dashanami Sanyasi maths (monastic institutions) supposedly founded by the philosopher Shankaracharya, is also located in Dwaraka. 

The Kitawara group of the Dashanami Sanyasis is headquartered at the Sharada math, one of the four primary organizational groups, each of which is located at one of the mathematics. 

Dwaraka is sanctified by a network of legendary and theological ties, as are many other Hindu holy locations. 



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Hinduism - Who Is Dyaus?


 In the Vedas, the oldest and most authoritative Hindu religious books, a minor god. 

Dyaus is a deity of the sky, although his persona is underdeveloped since he was mainly overwhelmed by other gods even at the time of the Vedas. 

The Greek version of Dyaus' name, Zeus, indicates that he belongs to the earliest stratum of Indo-Aryan gods.



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Hinduism - What Is Dwara?



("gateway" or "door") The term dwara is used to refer to a branch or subsect of a certain order among the Bairagis, renunciant ascetics who are devotees (bhakta) of the deity Vishnu. 

Each dwara bears the name of its monastic founder, who was generally a well-known follower of the greater order's founder. 

For example, the Nimbarki ascetics, together with the Ramanandis, Vishnuswamis, and Madhva Gaudiya (Brahma sampraday) ascetics, are one of the four established orders among the militant Vaishnava ascetics known as the chatuh-sampradayi Nagas. 

The Nimbarkis are organized into nine dwaras, or subsects, each of which is named after its founder. 

Dwaras are another way to subdivide ascetic orders and create even more well defined ascetic identities and allegiance. 

It's hardly unexpected that the deities, like their human counterparts, would have some "servants" guarding their doors and barring access to them. 



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Hinduism - What Is Dvija?


 ("twice-born") is a word that means "twice-born." A brahmin (highest in rank), kshatriya (second in status to brahmins), or vaishya (third in status to brahmins) is a member of the three “twice-born” divisions in Indian civilization (third in status to brahmins). 

Because these groups are ritually qualified to acquire the teenage religious initiation known as upanayana, which is sometimes referred to as the "second birth," they have been given this term. 

Look up twice-born. 



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Hinduism - Who Is A Dvarapala?



(“door-protector”) Images of guardians placed on each side of a Hindu temple's entryway. 

These creatures are often shown as small heavenly beings that serve as guardians of the holy sanctuary inside. 

Because any Hindu temple is first and foremost a home for the deity within, and because both kings and gods frequently used the same symbols to display and reinforce their status, it's not surprising that the deities, like their human counterparts, would have some "servants" guarding their doors and restricting access to them. 

~Kiran Atma


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Hinduism - What Is Dvipas?


 The visible globe, according to mythological geography, is made up of seven concentric dvipas, which literally means "islands" but may also be rendered as "landmasses." Except for one, they're all named after plants. 

Jambu ("Roseapple") dvipa is in the center, followed by Plaksha ("figtree") dvipa, Salmala ("silk-cotton tree") dvipa, Kusha ("kusha grass") dvipa, Krauncha ("curlew") dvipa, Shaka ("Teak") dvipa, and Pushkara ("blue lotus") dvipa on One of the seven seas (the saptasindhu) separates each of these regions from its neighbors, with each ocean made out of a different component. 

As experience has shown, the innermost ocean is made up of salt water, while the ones outside it are made up of sugar cane juice, wine, ghee, yogurt, milk, and sweet water, respectively. 

Mount Meru, which is likened to the central calyx of a lotus and is encircled by the dvipas as its petals, is in the heart of Jambudvipa (and hence the globe). 

The physical universe is therefore seen as a symmetrical totality, with India (located in Jambudvipa's southern region) in its symbolic center. 



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Hinduism - What Is Vedanta Dvaitadvaita?

  

  

 One of the divisions of Vedanta, the philosophical school that claims to have discovered the ultimate (anta) message of the Vedas, the ancient holy books. 

Nimbarka, a sixteenth-century philosopher, was the originator and most prominent person of Dvaitadvaita Vedanta. 

Nimbarka emphasized the adoration of the deity Krishna and his consort Radha as a holy pair, but he was also striving to create a philosophical middle ground between the Advaita Vedanta school's monism and the Dvaita Vedanta school's dualism. 

The former maintained that all things were essentially different manifestations of a single Ultimate Reality called Brahman, which was at the root of everything. 

The latter highlighted the clear separation between God as Ultimate Reality and the world and human souls on the one hand, and God as Ultimate Reality on the other. 

The earth and souls, according to Nimbarka, are reliant on God, in whom they exist and with whom they have a profound link. 

As a result, Nimbarka supported the philosophical philosophy known as parinamavada, which emphasized the divine's true change and human beings' ability to return to their divine state. 

Dvaita ("dual") Vedanta is a kind of Vedanta.

One of the divisions of Vedanta, the philosophical school that claims to have discovered the ultimate (anta) message of the Vedas, the ancient holy books. 

The philosopher Madhva, who lived in southern India in the thirteenth century, was the originator and most prominent figure of Dvaita Vedanta. 

Madhva's primary thesis is that God is completely transcendent, and this belief leads him to propose dualism as a philosophical perspective. 

Dualism maintains a qualitative distinction between God's transcendence and material things' corruptions. 

Even though both derive from God and rely on Him for their continued existence, Madhva believes that God is completely separate from human selves and the material universe. 

Madhva differs significantly from Advaita Vedanta, the largest school of Vedanta, in this dualism. 

The Advaita school believes in monism, or the notion that there is a single Ultimate Reality, termed Brahman, that lies underlying all things, and that all things are only different expressions of this same reality. 

Whereas Advaita combines all things into one, Madhva focuses on keeping the distinctions. 

Madhva's emphasis on dualism led him to elucidate the "fivefold difference": the distinction between God and the Self, God and the universe, individual Selves, Selves and matter, and particular material objects. 

Despite the fact that each Self is thought to possess a portion of God, this fundamental diversity limits the Self's religious ability. 

Because of this restricted strength, complete soul liberation is only possible via the grace of God, who alone has the ability to do so. 

Final emancipation is defined as both the independence from reincarnation and the possibility for the soul to abide in the divine presence eternally. 

Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta has been linked to John Calvin's theology because of its focus on God's absolute transcendence and on grace as the single avenue for redemption. 

Madhva also said that there were three types of creatures in the world: those who were destined for liberation (muktiyogas), those who were destined for endless rebirth (nityasamsarins), and those who were destined for perpetual damnation (nityasamsarins) (tamoyogas). 

Madhva, like Calvin, did not believe that these categories promoted fatalism, but rather that the threat of never obtaining freedom may compel one to have the faith required to live an active religious life. 


See Karl H. Potter's Presuppositions of India's Philosophies, 1972, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore's A Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy, 1957, for further information. 



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Hinduism - What Is Dvapara Yuga?


 is the fourth epoch of the Hindu calendar.

One of the cosmic time reckonings assigns a certain age to the Earth. 

Traditional thinking is that time has no origin or conclusion, but rather rotates between cycles of creation and activity, followed by halt and silence. 

Each of these cycles lasts 4.32 billion years, with the Day of Brahma being the active period and the Night of Brahma being the tranquil phase. 

The Day of Brahma is split into one thousand mahayugas ("great cosmic eras"), each lasting 4.32 million years, according to one accounting of cosmic chronology. 

The Krta Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga are the four component yugas (units of cosmic time) that make up each mahayuga. 

Each of these four yugas is shorter than the one before it, ushering in a period of greater degeneration and depravity. 

Things have grown so horrible towards the conclusion of the Kali Yuga that the only remedy is to destroy and recreate the world, at which point the new Krta period starts. 

The Dvapara Yuga, which lasts 864,000 years, is the third of four yugas that make up a mahayuga. 

Bronze is the metal linked with the Dvapara yuga, which is less valued than gold and silver from previous eras but superior than the Kali yuga's iron. 

This is widely thought to be the cosmic era when the deity Krishna first came on Earth. 



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Hinduism - What Is Dussehra Or Dushera?


("10 days") 

One of the most significant celebrations of the year, held on the tenth day of the bright (waxing) half of the lunar month of Ashvin (September–October). 

The holiday, also known as Vijaya Dashami ("Victory Tenth"), commemorates the triumph of virtue over evil. 

Both of the festival's founding tales depict the final victory of virtue over evil. 

One charter is based on Goddess mythology, and it commemorates the day when Durga (the Hindu Mother Goddess) slays the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. 

This tale is from the Devimahatmya, and it represents the text's core theme—the goddess is created to defeat Mahishasura when the gods are unable, and the text's climax is the battle between the two. 

Given that the nine days leading up to Dussehra are the autumn Navaratri, or "nine nights" dedicated in Goddess worship, it seems reasonable that the tenth and final day be celebrated by the climax event in the Devimahatmya, the Goddess's most significant source of mythology. 

The second founding tale for this festival comes from a completely different source: Rama (Vishnu's seventeenth avatar). 

This is the day when Rama kills Ravana (the demon king of Lanka) and reclaims Sita (Rama's bride) from captivity. 

On the night of Dussehra, gigantic effigies of Ravana and his son Meghanada (an epithet of Indrajit) are burned, and these effigies are sometimes accompanied by pyrotechnics to boost their pyrotechnic capability. 

The Ramayana (the Sanskrit epic), also known as the Ram Lila, is often performed at this time of year. 

In some situations, this lasts ten days, finishing on Dussehra; in others (such as the Ram Lila in Benares, the holy city on the Ganges River's banks), it lasts a month, with Dussehra commemorating Ravana's death. 

Dussehra is a very auspicious day, and it is widely believed that whatever started on this day would prosper. 

Dussehra is therefore a popular time to start big initiatives, start new pursuits, or create organizations, even if it is merely a token start. 

Dussehra also symbolizes the start of the cold season, when the scorching heat has passed and the monsoon rains have arrived, bringing better weather for military activity. 

Both founding stories are linked to battles and conquests, and the regal and martial classes used to celebrate Dussehra in especially. 

Soldiers were expected to worship their guns during Dussehra. 

Because of the festival's martial connections and the certainty that whatever started on that day would succeed, it was also the day of choice for monarchs to send forth soldiers to attack adjacent lands. 

Even though the emperor no longer reigns, one of the most spectacular festivities takes place in Mysore, where the sovereign preside over the event in his customary role as king. 

The other major celebration is at Kulu, when all of the region's deities go to Kulu to participate in the event (along with hordes of their human retainers). 



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Hinduism - What Is A Dvadashakshara Mantra?



("the mantra of twelve syllables") In certain sectors of the Vaishnava society, a twelve-syllable mantra (holy sound) is employed. 

"Om namo bhagavate narayanaya" ("Om, Homage to the Blessed Narayana") is the mantra. 



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Hinduism - Who Was Dushyanta?



Dushyanta is a monarch of the Lunar Line and the spouse of Shakuntala in the Mahabharata, the second of the two major Hindu epics. 

In Kalidasa's play Abhijnanashakuntala, their relationship is also shown. 

While hunting in the jungle, Dushyanta encounters Shakuntala, who lives in a forest ashram (ascetic's home). 

They fall in love and marry with each other's permission. 

Dushyanta must return to his realm after a short period, and Shakuntala will follow shortly after. 

Meanwhile, the sage Durvasas has cursed Shakuntala, saying that her lover would forget her totally, however Durvasas subsequently changes the curse, saying that if Shakuntala can show him any evidence of their marriage, Dushyanta will recall everything. 

Shakuntala's difficulties and tribulations as she seeks to reclaim her rightful status as queen take up the majority of the plot in both episodes. 

Dushyanta is a minor role in all versions, but he is definitely important. 




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Hinduism - Who Is Durvasas?

 



A sage who is a partial embodiment of the deity Shiva in Hindu mythology. 

Durvasas is the son of Anasuya, who was granted boons by the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva for her power in convincing another women to remove a curse. 

Vishnu is born as Dattatreya, Shiva is born as Durvasas, and Brahma is born as Chandra, according to Anasuya's desire. 

Durvasas is known for his magical abilities as a fabled character, which is not unexpected considering his origins. 

He's also renowned for his nasty temper and his proclivity to curse anyone who irritate him. 

One of the maidens who suffers from his fury is Shakuntala, who, engrossed in her newfound love for King Dushyanta, fails to see and pay tribute to Durvasas. 

She is cursed by the fact that her love would forget about her. 

In another instance, Durvasas curses all gods with old age and death. 

An "insult" from Indra's elephant Airavata, who had thrown a garland provided by Durvasas on the ground, causes this. 

These curses, like others in Hindu mythology, cannot be reversed, although their intensity may be decreased by mitigating circumstances. 

Shakuntala is advised that if she gives King Dushyanta some evidence of their connection, he would remember her, which she does. 

By acquiring and ingesting the nectar of immortality, the gods may avert old age and death (amrta). 

Durvasas, like all the sages, may bestow amazing blessings on those who satisfy him. 

Kunti, one of the Mahabharata's heroines, was one of these beneficiaries. 

Durvasas provides Kunti a strong mantra (holy sound) that allows her to conceive a child with any deity by merely thinking about him. 

As soon as Kunti gets this mantra, she puts it to the test by staring at the sun, and the golden infant Karna is born. 

She puts the kid in a box and abandons him in the Ganges in her fear at becoming a mother unexpectedly—she is still unmarried and reasonably worried about what others may think. 

This mantra is the only way she may have children after her marriage to Pandu (son of the sage Vyasa and queen Ambalika), since Pandu has been cursed to die the instant he sleeps with one of his wives. 

She teaches this mantra to her co-wife Madri, who carries Nakula and Sahadeva, after using it to carry Yudhishthira, Arjuna, and Bhima. 

As a result of Durvasas' gift, all of the Pandava brothers—the epic's protagonists—are gods' offspring. 



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Hinduism - Who Is Duryodhana?



Duryodhana is the oldest son of King Dhrtarashtra and hence the head of the Kauravas, one of the two royal factions whose battle for dominance lies at the core of the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics. 

Duryodhana and his ninety-nine brothers had an unusual birth. 

Gandhari, their mother, gives birth to a large lump of meat that is divided and placed in one hundred pots of clarified butter. 

The lumps grow into babies in these pots. 

When the court astrologers are asked to analyze the omens surrounding Duryodhana's birth, they decide that Duryodhana would be the destruction of the nation and his family, and that it would be better to leave him to the elements. 

Dhrtarashtra is unable to do so due to fatherly impulses, which sets the scenario for the ultimate conflict. 

Even though the story of the epic is driven by the hostility between Duryodhana and his cousins, the Pandavas, and the Kauravas are entirely decimated as a result of this animosity, it would be wrong to portray Duryodhana as an unredeemable villain. 

He's more ill-starred than evil— arrogant, obstinate, unable to accept his faults, and, after a point, unwilling to give his cousins any benefit. 

These weaknesses are amplified by his father Dhrtarashtra's lack of strong guidance, and they ultimately spell his demise. 

Early on, a schism develops between the cousins, exacerbated in part by the fact that the Pandavas are more heroic than Duryodhana and his siblings. 

Bhima, the Pandava sibling known for his great strength, used to lash all a hundred Kauravas at once when he was a youngster. 

This, of course, does not endear him to them. 

When their archery master, Drona, asks the capture of King Drupada as a preceptor's fee later in youth, the Pandava brother Arjuna succeeds, while Drupada defeats Duryodhana in combat. 

Another schism arises when the Pandavas oppose Duryodhana's friend Karna's ability to join in an archery duel, alleging that Karna's unknown parentage disqualifies him from competing against monarchs. 

Duryodhana sidesteps the problem by crowning Karna as King of Anga, but the feud between the cousins has already begun. 

This terrible blood is seen in a variety of plots. 

Duryodhana attempts to assassinate the Pandavas by constructing a flammable lac home for them, which is subsequently set on fire. 

The Pandavas, on the other hand, manage to escape unscathed. 

Later, Duryodhana seduces Yudhishthira (a Pandava brother) into a dice game. 

Yudhishthira stakes all he has, including himself, his brothers, and their common wife Draupadi, and loses everything. 

Duryodhana and his brother Duhshasana publicly ridicule Draupadi as a result of their defeat, and Bhima takes a solemn promise to murder them both. 

Dhrtarashtra grants the Pandavas their independence, which they soon lose in yet another dice game. 

As a result of their defeat, the Pandavas agree to spend twelve years in exile in the forest and the thirteenth year living in secret, with the caveat that if they are discovered in the thirteenth year, the cycle would begin all over again. 

Despite Duryodhana's best efforts, the Pandavas manage to avoid discovery for the thirteenth year and send envoys to Duryodhana to claim their part of the kingdom at its conclusion. 

Duryodhana responds, perhaps encouraged by Yudhishthira's remark that he and his brothers would be content with a meager five villages, that he will not give them enough land to fit under the tip of a needle. 

The Pandavas prepare for battle in the face of such obstinacy and injustice in order to reclaim what is rightly theirs. 

Duryodhana battles courageously throughout the war, but his armies dissolve around him over the eighteen days of warfare. 

Duryodhana's last fight is with Bhima, who kills him by smashing his thigh with his mace in revenge for Duryodhana's previous insult to Draupadi (he had commanded her to sit on his thigh, which was a euphemism for the genitals). 



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Hinduism - Who Is Dushana?


Dushana is one of the demon-king Ravana's brothers in the Ramayana, the earlier of the two major Indian epics. 

Dushana, along with his brother Khara, seeks vengeance for their sister Shurpanakha, whose ears and nose were severed by Rama's brother Lakshmana. 

Rama smashes the army and kills Khara and Dushana in a hard fight with their demon (supernatural entity) army. 

Shurpanakha seeks revenge against Ravana after seeing her two brothers' downfall. 

Ravana understands he won't be able to kill Rama in combat, so he decides to revenge his sister by capturing Sita, Ravana's wife. 

This puts in action the narrative of the epic's second half. 



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Hinduism - Who Is Goddess Durga?



(“impassable, inaccessible”) Although the word is commonly used as a more generic title for the Hindu Mother Goddess in her ferocious and strong form, it is a specific form of the Hindu Mother Goddess. 

Durga mounts a lion and wields the weapons of all the gods in her eight hands, as represented in art and paintings. 

Both of these characteristics match the description of the great goddess in the Devimahatmya, the oldest and most significant legendary literature utilized for Goddess worship as the highest celestial force. 

The Devimahatmya's second popular name, the Durgasaptashati ("The 700 [verses] on Durga"), emphasizes Durga's widespread association with this great Goddess. 

Durga is a significant goddess in the Hindu pantheon and current Hindu culture as a manifestation of the great Goddess. 

The eighth day of the lunar month in both the waxing and waning half is considered holy to her, and her rituals are performed on those days. 

The Nine Nights (Navaratri), which take place in both the spring and autumn, are her most significant festivities. 

Durga is revered in each of these festivals in one of her nine incarnations (Navadurga), one for each night. 

Durga is viewed as the incarnation of the Goddess in all her manifestations, as shown by the many goddesses as whom she is worshipped. 



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Hinduism - What Is Durgasaptashati?



(“700 [verses in Durga's praise]”) The Devimahatmya is another name for the Durgasaptashati, the oldest and most significant legendary literature for Goddess worship as the highest celestial force. 

Because the book is 700 verses long, it was given this name, and Durga is one of the frequent titles for this formidable goddess. 

The Devimahatmya is famous for asserting that God is a woman. 

This is an idea that has no obvious origins in the older tradition, which regarded female deities as minor. 

The work opens with a framing tale, but the most of it is made up of three stories about the Goddess's salvific activities, in which she is shown as vastly superior than the pantheon's male gods. 




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Hinduism - Who Is Drona?


Drona steals part of Drupada's kingdom when Drupada is vanquished, and Drupada vows vengeance. 

He makes a significant sacrifice in order to give birth to a son who would assassinate Drona. 

Dhrshtadyumna, who finally kills Drona, and Draupadi, who becomes the wife of all five Pandavas, are the two offspring that emerge from the sacrifice fire. 

During the Mahabharata battle, Drupada fights with his sons-in-law, the Pandavas. 

Drona finally kills him in combat, but his son Dhrshtadyumna avenges him by killing Drona. 



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Hinduism - Who Is Duhshasana?



Duhshasana is one of Dhrtarashtra's hundred sons, known collectively as the Kauravas, in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics. 

The fight for dominance between the Kauravas and their cousins, the Pandavas, is at the core of the Mahabharata, and the Pandavas are the epic's heroes. 

After the oldest Pandava, Yudhishthira, loses everything—including Draupadi—in a game of dice, Duhshasana becomes renowned for his disobedience against the Pandavas' common wife Draupadi. 

Duhshasana takes Draupadi into the gaming hall by her hair and her clothing, which are soiled by her monthly blood; he also tries to disrobe Draupadi by ripping off her sari, but is thwarted by the deity Krishna, who magically extends Draupadi's sari indefinitely. 

Duhshasana's actions in this incident only serve to exacerbate the animosity between the two families. 

Bhima, Draupadi's husband and a Pandava brother known for his physical prowess, pledges to revenge the insult by tearing open Duhshasana's chest and consuming his blood, while Draupadi vows to keep her hair unbound until she may bathe it in Duhshasana's blood. 

During the Mahabharata battle, Duhshasana fights his brother Duryodhana and is finally murdered by Bhima, who thus fulfills both Bhima and Draupadi's awful promises. 

Before murdering Duhshasana, Bhima cuts off the hand that had been holding Draupadi's hair and beats Duhshasana with his own severed limb as an added measure of vengeance. 



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Hinduism - Who Was Duhshasana, And The Kauravas?


 Duhshasana is one of Dhrtarashtra's hundred sons, known collectively as the Kauravas, in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics. 

The fight for dominance between the Kauravas and their cousins, the Pandavas, is at the core of the Mahabharata, and the Pandavas are the epic's heroes. 

After the oldest Pandava, Yudhishthira, loses everything—including Draupadi—in a game of dice, Duhshasana becomes renowned for his disobedience against the Pandavas' common wife Draupadi. 

Duhshasana takes Draupadi into the gaming hall by her hair and her clothing, which are soiled by her monthly blood; he also tries to disrobe Draupadi by ripping off her sari, but is thwarted by the deity Krishna, who magically extends Draupadi's sari indefinitely. 

Duhshasana's actions in this incident only serve to exacerbate the animosity between the two families. 

Bhima, Draupadi's husband and a Pandava brother known for his physical prowess, pledges to revenge the insult by tearing open Duhshasana's chest and consuming his blood, while Draupadi vows to keep her hair unbound until she may bathe it in Duhshasana's blood. 

During the Mahabharata battle, Duhshasana fights his brother Duryodhana and is finally murdered by Bhima, who thus fulfills both Bhima and Draupadi's awful promises. 

Before murdering Duhshasana, Bhima cuts off the hand that had been holding Draupadi's hair and beats Duhshasana with his own severed limb as an added measure of vengeance. 



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Hinduism - Who Was Drupada In The Mahabharata?




Drupada is the ruler of the Panchala area and the father of Dhrshtadyumna and Draupadi in the Mahabharata, the second of the two major Hindu epics. 

Drupada's conflict with Drona, who was one of Drupada's fellow pupils, consumes most of his life. 

After their studies are completed, Drupada ascends to the throne and lives lavishly, whilst Drona is so destitute that he cannot even feed his family. 

Drona approaches Drupada for assistance, reminding him of their previous relationship. 

Drupada rejects him arrogantly, informing him that such relationships are irrelevant. 

Drona vows vengeance and demands Drupada's kingdom as his preceptor's fee after imparting the techniques of combat to the Pandavas and Kauravas, the two royal factions whose struggle for supremacy lies at the core of the Mahabharata (dakshina). 

Drona steals part of Drupada's kingdom when Drupada is vanquished, and Drupada vows vengeance. 

He makes a significant sacrifice in order to give birth to a son who would assassinate Drona. 

Dhrshtadyumna, who finally kills Drona, and Draupadi, who becomes the wife of all five Pandavas, are the two offspring that emerge from the sacrifice fire. 

During the Mahabharata battle, Drupada fights with his sons-in-law, the Pandavas. 

Drona finally kills him in combat, but his son Dhrshtadyumna avenges him by killing Drona. 



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Hinduism - Who Is The Mother Goddess?


Durga ("impassable, inaccessible") - Although the word is commonly used as a more generic title for the Hindu Mother Goddess in her ferocious and strong form, it is a specific form of the Hindu Mother Goddess. 

Durga mounts a lion and wields the weapons of all the gods in her eight hands, as represented in art and paintings. 

Both of these characteristics match the description of the great goddess in the Devimahatmya, the oldest and most significant legendary literature utilized for Goddess worship as the highest celestial force. 

The Devimahatmya's second popular name, the Durgasaptashati ("The 700 [verses] on Durga"), emphasizes Durga's widespread association with this great Goddess. 

Durga is a significant goddess in the Hindu pantheon and current Hindu culture as a manifestation of the great Goddess. 

The eighth day of the lunar month in both the waxing and waning half is considered holy to her, and her rituals are performed on those days. 

The Nine Nights (Navaratri), which take place in both the spring and autumn, are her most significant festivities. 

Durga is revered in each of these festivals in one of her nine incarnations (Navadurga), one for each night. 

Durga is viewed as the incarnation of the Goddess in all her manifestations, as shown by the many goddesses as whom she is worshipped. 



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Hinduism - What Is Drshtanta?

 


(“example”) The instances that are one of the needed factors in the recognized form of an inference in Indian philosophy (anumana). 

These instances were supplied as further evidence to support the hypothesis's rationale (hetu). 

There have to be two such cases as a rule. 

The first was a positive example (sapaksha) to demonstrate that similar events occurred in similar circumstances, and the second was a negative example (vipaksha) to demonstrate that this did not occur in other instances. 

The sapaksha might be "like kitchen" (a location with both fire and smoke) and the vipaksha could be "unlike lake" in the most common example of an inference, "There is fire on the mountain because there is smoke on the mountain" (a place without fire or smoke). 

The goal of both cases is to support the stated reason by demonstrating that it provides adequate evidence to support the hypothesis. 



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Hinduism - What Is The Attitude Towards Drugs In Hindu Culture?

 



The attitude toward drugs in Hindu culture exemplifies the Hindu religion's enormous diversity. 

In general, drug usage, as well as everything that may lead to a loss of control, is vehemently criticized by “respectable” individuals. 

However, in Hindu mythology, the deity Shiva is depicted as habitually consuming intoxicants, notably bhang, a marijuana-based compound, and datura, a genus of plants containing dangerous alkaloids. 

Some Shiva's worshippers (bhakta) follow this mythological example in a variety of religious practices. 

Many ascetics smoke hashish (charas) combined with tobacco throughout the day, however this is not necessarily considered standard ascetic practice. 

Even among "regular" individuals, there are some times and locations where drug use is more acceptable. 

Bhang consumption is a popular part of various festival celebrations, such as Shivaratri ("Night of Shiva") and Holi (the festival of reversal). 

It is also sometimes drunk by pilgrims, and government-regulated bhang stalls can be found at many prominent pilgrimage sites (tirtha), including Benares, Puri, and Haridwar. 

Despite the fact that drugs are increasingly widely used in certain specialized situations, many individuals refuse to consume drugs under any conditions and would never contemplate doing so. 

Such adamant denial is merely one facet of the "orthodox" image, which encompasses a wide range of viewpoints. 



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Hinduism - What Is The Symbolism Of Dreams In Hindu Philosophy?

 


Dreams is a phrase that may be used to describe a state of mind. 

In Hindu philosophy, dreams serve as both a symbol and a reality. 

Dreams are often employed in philosophy to highlight the unreal character of the world as it is experienced. 

The everyday concept of the universe vanishes when one perceives the ultimate reality, just as a dream vanishes when one wakes up and realizes it was unreal the whole time. 

The dream state is the second of the states of consciousness stated in the Mandukya Upanishad, or one of the religious writings known as the Upanishads, according to a different interpretation. 

The dream state is the first stage in turning one's focus away from the outside world and into one's Self, when all feeling of ego is gone, according to the Upanishads. 

The waking state is more removed from one's Self than the dream state. 

This upanishad, like others, follows a four-step cycle from waking consciousness through dreams, profound sleep, and finally awareness of the everlasting Self. 

On a different level, dreams constitute an essential component of mainstream Hinduism's religious life. 

They are often thought to provide omens for the future, which may be interpreted positively or negatively depending on the content and context of the dream. 

Dreams are also thought to be a conduit for communicating with spirits, ghosts, village deities, and other nonhuman spiritual entities. 

In dreams, uneasy souls of the departed will frequently come to family members, revealing what they need to find peace. 

Community deities, for example, often manifest themselves to particular persons in the village, either to provide warnings or to make requests. 



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Hinduism - Who Is Drona In The Mahabharata?



Drona is a renowned instructor of all the skills of battle, but especially archery, in the Mahabharata, the second of the two major Hindu epics. 

He is the martial instructor of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the two royal factions at the center of the Mahabharata's power struggle. 

Drona is the son of the sage Bharadvaja, who was born when the sage saw a heavenly nymph and had an involuntary seminal discharge (apsara). 

Drona's weapon talents come from the deity Vishnu's incarnation, Parashuram, who bestows both his weapons and abilities to Drona as a blessing. 

Drona's archery proficiency is legendary, as is his ability to teach archery. 

He has a special liking for Arjuna (a Pandava sibling), who demonstrates such dedication and focus that Drona tells Arjuna that he will become the world's best archer. 

The tale of Ekalavya, a tribal kid whom Drona refuses to educate because of his low position, but who becomes Arjuna's equal as an archer by worshiping a clay figure of Drona, exemplifies this support for Arjuna. 

When Drona learns of this, he insists that Ekalavya hand up his right thumb as a preceptor's fee, ensuring that no one would be able to compete with Arjuna. 

Drona battles heroically on the side of Duryodhana (Dhrtarashtra's oldest son) during the Mahabharata war, but is eventually murdered by King Drupada's son Dhrshtadyumna. 

Drupada and Drona have a lengthy history of feuding throughout the epic. 

They lived together as students, but after their studies are through, Drupada ascends to the throne of Panchala, whilst Drona is so destitute that he cannot support his family. 

When Drona begs Drupada for charity, Drupada upbraids him in the most offensive way possible. 

Drona swears vengeance, and after teaching the Pandavas and Kauravas the skills of battle, he demands Drupada's kingdom as a teacher's fee (dakshina) from his pupils. 

Drona steals part of Drupada's kingdom after he defeats him, and Drupada swears to avenge him. 

Drupada then undertakes a massive fire sacrifice in order to have a son who would slay Drona. 

Two radiant children emerge from the flames, one of them is Dhrshtadyumna and the other his sister, Draupadi. 



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Hinduism - What Is Dropsy In Relation To The Hindu Deity Varuna?

 

 

 

Swelling is a bodily condition in which the body holds extra water and expands as a result. 

Dropsy is depicted as the penalty meted out by the deity Varuna for telling lies in various hymns in the Vedas, the earliest Hindu holy literature. 

Varuna was envisioned as the keeper of cosmic order (rta), and purposely misleading speech was seen as the model of anrta, the destructive energy opposing rta's organizing force. 

The penalty was considered as suiting the offense in this instance, as if one had been figuratively inflated by the falsehoods made. 



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Hinduism - What Is The Dravida Style Of Architecture?

 

 


The Nagara and the Veshara are the other two evolved styles in medieval Hindu temple construction. 

Southern India, notably the contemporary state of Tamil Nadu, is home to the Dravida style. 

Unlike the Nagara style, which emphasizes an uninterrupted verticality culminating in a single high peak, the Dravida style emphasizes consecutive strata via a sequence of horizontal tiers. 

Although older southern Indian temples, such as the Rajrajeshvar Temple in Tanjore, had one central tower, the emphasis moved in the twelfth century to the construction of walls surrounding the temple's complicated perimeters. 

At the cardinal points of these walls were massive gopurams or central gates, which were generally the temple's largest constructions by a long shot. 

The enclosed space within the temple complex was frequently huge, such as the estimated 500 acres of Shrirangam's temple, yet the majority of the architecture was just one level. 

(However, the temple's major images would be surrounded by higher towers.) This diminished focus on soaring height was compensated in evolved specimens of the Dravida style by its great horizontal spread. 

The Ranganathaswamy temple at Shrirangam and the Minakshi temple in Madurai are the outstanding specimens of this later form. 

~Kiran Atma


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Hinduism - Who Are The Dravida?


Brahmin (priestly) community that is one of the five brahmin communities in the south (Pancha Dravida). 

The Dravida brahmins' primary location is deep southern India, in the present states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as their name suggests. 

The Nambudiris are the most distinguished of the Dravida subcommunities, and it is among them that the great philosopher Shankaracharya is said to have been born. 



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Hinduism - What Is Dravidian? What Are Dravidian Languages? Who Is Considered A Dravidian?

 


In the strictest linguistic sense, the term Dravidian refers to a language family whose core members are the four southern Indian languages of Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, and Malayalam. 

Aside from these four Dravidian languages, which are all spoken in the southernmost section of the subcontinent, Brahui is another Dravidian language. 

This language is spoken by a tiny and rather isolated group in contemporary Pakistan, distant from any other Dravidian language speakers and surrounded by Indo-Aryan language speakers. 

The Dravidian languages were initially spoken all throughout the subcontinent, but when Indo-Aryan language speakers—better known as the Aryans—came into India, they were progressively moved toward the south, according to one idea. 

According to this belief, the Brahui-speaking community is a lone relic from a previous era that has somehow managed to survive. 

This belief has an impact on how southern Indians define themselves. 

A southern Indian or someone whose native tongue is one of the four basic Dravidian languages is referred to as a Dravidian. 

It is a method for southern Indians with a strong regional identity to separate themselves from northern Indians and northern Indian culture's "imperialism." It's also said with a sense of pride that they're Dravidians, ancestors of the subcontinent's original occupants



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Hinduism - Who Is Draupadi In The Mahabharata?



Draupadi is the daughter of King Drupada and the bride of the five Pandava brothers, the epic's heroes, in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics. 

This literary reference to polyandry (the marriage of one woman to several brothers) is intriguing since it seems to have been highly uncommon in Indian history, and the epic must explain how it occurred. 

Draupadi's father swears that he will only marry his daughter to a man who can raise a massive bow and then strike a target dangling in mid-air. 

For Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers and the world's greatest archer, this is a piece of cake, and he marries Draupadi. 

While the wedding party is still outside, their mother Kunti declares that anything they have earned must be split among them. 

Each of the brothers marries Draupadi in order to please their mother. 

They agree to live with her for a year, during which time the others are forbidden from seeing her. 

In the epic, Draupadi's most famous incident occurs after her husband Yudhishthira has risked and lost her in a dice game. 

Yudhishthira has been playing with his cousins Duryodhana and Duhshasana, who see Yudhishthira's gaming ineptness as a chance to take over the kingdom. 

Duhshasana returns to Draupadi's room after the defeat and takes her back to the gaming hall by her hair. 

The fact that she is in the midst of her monthly cycle and is unable to change her ruined robe adds to her anguish and embarrassment. 

Draupadi is paraded and humiliated in front of the public like an animal at sale in the gambling hall, and her property status is highlighted when Duryodhana offers her his thigh (a metaphor for the genitals) as a seat. 

Duhshasana's ultimate insult is when she attempts to undress Draupadi by unraveling her sari. 

The deity Krishna performs a miracle here: Draupadi stays completely dressed no matter how much fabric Duhshasana takes away. 

He ultimately gives up, stunned and perplexed. 

Duryodhana's father, Dhrtarashtra, is shocked by her humiliation and begs Draupadi to pick a boon. 

She opts for freedom for her husbands, but they finally agree to go into exile. 

There had been friction between the Pandavas and their relatives even before this episode. 

However, the seeds of discord are sowed even deeper with these insults to Draupadi. 

Draupadi pledges to keep her hair unbound until she may wash it in Duhshasana's blood, while her husband Bhima swears to revenge Duryodhana's insult by shattering Duryodhana's "thigh." Draupadi's desire for vengeance and unwavering loathing for these two is a primary driving factor throughout the epic, propelling all sides into the final fratricidal conflict. 



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Hinduism - Where Are The Hoyasala Temples Of Dorasamudra located?

 


Capital city of the Hoysala dynasty, who dominated the area in southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, and where the ashes may be deposited in the river to ritually "cool" them. 

Dorasamudra is today known as Halebid, and it is a hamlet located sixty miles north and west of the city of Mysore. 

The location is recognized for a remarkable collection of temples, including the Hoysaleshvar Temple, which is devoted to the deity Shiva in his incarnation as Lord of the Hoysalas. 

The Hoysala temples were constructed of a specific kind of stone known as chlorite schist, steatite, or soapstone, which was soft when first mined but hardened with exposure to air. 

This early brittleness made the stone easier to cut, allowing for the rich detail that distinguishes these temples. 




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Hinduism - What Is A Doha?


 A metrical form used in northern Indian bhakti (devotional) poetry that consists of two lines of twenty-four metric beats that are split irregularly after the thirteenth beat. 

The first line's metric pattern is 6 + 4 + 3, whereas the second line's is 6 + 4 + 1. 

The metric beats are counted using a system that distinguishes between "heavy" and "light" syllables. 

Any syllable with a long vowel or a consonant cluster is considered heavy, and is counted at two metric beats; all other syllables are considered light, and are counted as one. 

Aside from the metric pattern, there are rules about how each half line should end—for example, the three metric beats ending the first line cannot be a heavy syllable (two beats) followed by a light one (one beat)—which means it must either be a light syllable followed by a heavy one, or three light ones—and the line's final syllable must be light. 

These norms provide a lot of room for creativity, and the doha is one of the most significant poetry forms for poets working in Braj Bhasha (Krishna devotional language) and Avadhi (a dialect of medieval Hindi). 

As in the epigrams of the poet-saint Kabir, which have become customary sayings in most of contemporary India, the doha may stand alone at times. 

In the Ramcharitmanas, the doha was frequently utilized in conjunction with verses in various meters. 

The doha normally follows after four lines in the chaupai (four-line) meter in this vernacular rendering of the epic Ramayana, composed by the poet-saint Tulsidas, and helps to summarize what has happened in the previous verses. 



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Hinduism - Who Are The Doms(Jati) Of Northern India?



Traditional Indian society was built around a collection of endogamous groupings called jatis ("birth"). 

The group's ancestral occupation, over which each group had a monopoly, was used to arrange (and establish their social rank) these jatis. 

The Doms are a jati whose ancestral employment was cremating corpses in old northern Indian culture. 

They have a poor social position due to their frequent interaction with dead corpses, which are considered the most brutally filthy of all items. 

Despite their low rank, some Doms are quite rich, notably those who oversee the cremation ghats in Benares, since a corpse cannot be burnt without their participation. 

Any flat region on a river's bank is referred to as a ghat. 

The majority of the time, ghats are used for bathing (snana), but in certain situations, they are also used to burn corpses so that the ashes may be thrown into the river to "cool" them ritually. 



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Hinduism - Where Is Dorasamudra?


From the eleventh to the thirteenth century, the Hoysala dynasty dominated the area in the southern section of the state of Karnataka. 

Dorasamudra is today known as Halebid, and it is a hamlet located sixty miles north and west of the city of Mysore. 

The location is recognized for a remarkable collection of temples, including the Hoysaleshvar Temple, which is devoted to the deity Shiva in his incarnation as Lord of the Hoysalas. 

The Hoysala temples were constructed of a specific kind of stone known as chlorite schist, steatite, or soapstone, which was soft when first mined but hardened with exposure to air. 

This early brittleness made the stone easier to cut, allowing for the rich detail that distinguishes these temples. 



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