People Of The Book People of the Book or People of the Scripture (أهل الكتاب ′Ahl al-Kitāb) is an Islamic term which refers to Jews, Christians and Sabians and is sometimes applied to members of other religions such as Zoroastrians. It is also used in Judaism to refer to the Jewish people and by members...
Varna In Hinduism Varṇa (वर्ण, varṇa), a Sanskrit word with several meanings including type, order, colour or class, was used to refer to social classes in Hindu texts like the Manusmriti. These and other Hindu texts classified the society in principle into four varnas: Brahmins: priests, scholars and teachers. Kshatriyas: rulers,...
Hindus Hindus are persons who regard themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subcontinent. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time. Starting with the Persian...
Animal Sacrifice In Hinduism This article covers animal sacrifice in Hinduism. The modern practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local popular or tribal traditions. Animal sacrifices were part of the ancient Vedic religion in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such...
History Of Hinduism The History of Hinduism denotes a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the Indian subcontinent. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development of religion in Indian subcontinent since the Iron Age, with some of its traditions tracing back to prehistoric religions such as those of the Bronze...
Upanishads – The Secret Wisdom This article covers Upanishads (The Secret Wisdom). A history of pantheism and scientific pantheism by Paul Harrison. Thou art the dark-blue bird and the green parrot with red eyes, Thou hast the lightning as thy child. Thou art the seasons and the seas. [Svetasvatara 4.2.4]...
Upanishads And Yoga This article covers the relationship between Upanishads and Yoga, written by By Sanderson Beck. The wise soul is not born nor does it die. This one has not come from anywhere nor has it become anyone. Unborn, eternal, constant, primal, this one is not killed when the...
Bhagavad Gita Passages Here are some Bhagavad Gita Passages. The undisciplined person eats too much, or doesn’t eat enough. The undisciplined person sleeps too much, or doesn’t sleep enough… The spiritual discipline that destroys suffering goes to the person who eats the proper amount of food, does the proper amount...
What is Sutra? Sutra (sūtra सूत्र “string” or “thread”. sutta) in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a condensed manual or text. Sutras are a genre of ancient and medieval Indian texts found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism....
What Is Mahabharata? The Mahabharata or Mahābhārata (महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa. The title may be translated as “the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty”. The Mahābhārata is an epic legendary narrative of the Kurukṣetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the...
List Of Hindu Texts Hinduism is an ancient religion with diverse traditions such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism and others. Each tradition has a long list of Hindu texts, with subgenre based on syncretization of ideas from Samkhya, Nyaya, Yoga, Vedanta and other schools of Hindu philosophy. Of these some called Sruti are broadly considered...
What Is Kama Sutra? The Kama sutra (कामसूत्र, Kāmasūtra) is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the Kama Sutra is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions, but written as a guide to the “art-of-living” well, the nature of love, finding...
Puja In Hinduism Puja or Pooja (pūjā; पूजा) is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus of devotional worship to one or more deities, or to host and honor a guest, or one to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guest(s), or their memories after they...
What Is Shastra? Shastra (शास्त्र) is a Sanskrit word that means “precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise” in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the Indian literature context, for technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice. Shastra has a similar meaning to English -logy, e.g. ecology, psychology,...
Indian Epic Poetry Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called Kavya (or Kāvya; काव्य, kāvyá). The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which were originally composed in Sanskrit and later translated into many other Indian languages, and The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature and Sangam literature are...
Vedas The Vedas (वेद veda, “knowledge”) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means “not of a man, superhuman” and “impersonal,...
Upanishads The Upanishads (उपनिषद् , Upaniṣad), a part of the Vedas, are ancient Sanskrit texts that contain some of the central philosophical concepts and ideas of Hinduism, some of which are shared with religious traditions like Buddhism and Jainism. Among the most important literature in the history of Indian religions and...
Puranas The word Puranas (पुराण, purāṇa) literally means “ancient, old”, and it is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly myths, legends and other traditional lore. Composed primarily in Sanskrit, but also in regional languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as...
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita “The Song of God”, often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of the 6th book of Mahabharata). The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At...
Brahmanas The Brahmanas (ब्राह्मणम्, Brāhmaṇam) are a collection of ancient Indian texts with commentaries on the hymns of the four Vedas. They are a layer or category of Vedic Sanskrit texts embedded within each Veda, and form a part of the Hindu śruti literature. They are primarily a digest incorporating myths, legends,...