Samhitas

Rigveda manuscript page, Mandala 1, Hymn 1 (Sukta 1), lines 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 (Sanskrit, Devanagari script)

Shruti

Shruti Shruti or Shruthi (श्रुति, Śruti) in Sanskrit means “that which is heard” and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the early Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas. Śrutis have been variously described as a revelation through anubhava (direct...

Matrika – mother goddesses

Tantra

What Is Tantra? Tantra (तन्त्र, literally “loom, weave, system”) denotes the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that co-developed most likely about the middle of the 1st millennium AD. The term tantra, in the Indian religions, also means any systematic broadly applicable “text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice”....

9 Devas

Deva In Hinduism

Deva In Hinduism Deva (देव, Deva) means “heavenly, divine, anything of excellence”, and is also one of the terms for a deity in Hinduism. Deva is a masculine term; the feminine equivalent is Devi. In the earliest Vedic literature, all supernatural beings are called Devas and Asuras. The concepts and legends evolve in ancient Indian...