History Of Religion - Hinduism

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Indus River Valley Civilization

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Was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) extending from what today is northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. It is also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated in the 1920s, in what was then the Punjab province of British India, and is now in Pakistan.

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Sruti

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A Sanskrit term used in several contexts throughout the history of Indian music. It is considered the smallest interval of pitch that the human ear can detect.

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Vedas

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the most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in early Sanskrit and containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of Vedic religion. Believed to have been directly revealed to seers among the early Aryans in India, and preserved by oral tradition, the four chief collections are the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda.

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Brahmanas

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Any of the lengthy commentaries on the Vedas, composed in Sanskrit circa 900–700 BC and containing expository material relating to Vedic sacrificial ritual.

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Shakti

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The female principle of divine energy, especially when personified as the supreme deity.

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Upanisads

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Each of a series of Hindu sacred treatises written in Sanskrit circa 800–200 BC, expounding the Vedas in predominantly mystical and monistic terms.

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Smrti

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A class of Hindu sacred literature derived from the Vedas, containing social, domestic, and religious teaching.

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Dharma Sutras

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“righteousness thread” any of several manuals of human conduct that form the earliest source of Hindu law. They consist chiefly of sutras (“threads” or “strings”) of terse rules containing the essentials of law concerning interpersonal relations and the relationship between people and the state.

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Epics

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The two great Hindu Epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata tell the story of two specific incarnations of Vishnu (Rama and Krishna). These two works are known as Itihasa. The epics Mahabharata and Ramayana serve as both religious scriptures and a rich source of philosophy and morality.

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Mahabharata

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One of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.

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Brahmins

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Priest or member of the priestly caste.

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Samsara

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The worldly cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

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Moksha

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Liberation.

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Rta

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The universal truth that gives effective strength to Vedic ritual practices, that serves as the foundation for proper social organization, and that preexists even the Vedic gods themselves, who find in it the very source and essence of their power.

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Agni

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A Hindu deity, one of the most important of the Vedic gods. He is the god of fire and the acceptor of sacrifices. The sacrifices made to Agni go to the deities because Agni is a messenger from and to the other gods.

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Prajapati

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"lord of creatures" is a group Hindu deity presiding over procreation, and protection of life. Vedic commentators also identify him with the creator referred to in the Nasadiya Sukta.

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Soma

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A great deity, cosmic power and spiritual principle in Vedic thought.

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Vishnu

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The second god in the Hindu triumvirate (orTrimurti). The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Shiva. Brahma is the creator of the universe and Shiva is the destroyer.

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Avatar

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An incarnation of a deity.

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Siva

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The third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma is the creator of the universe while Vishnu is the preserver of it.

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Karman/Karma

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Our actions and their effects on this life and lives to come.

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Puranas

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any of a class of Sanskrit sacred writings containing Hindu legends and folklore of varying date and origin, the most ancient of which dates from the 4th century AD.

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Durga

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Meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible", is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the Hindu pantheon.

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Parusha Sukta (Purusha?)

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Is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the "Cosmic Being". One version of the suktam has 16 verses, 15 in the anuṣṭubh meter, and the final one in the triṣṭubh meter.

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Siva

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The third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu. Brahma is the creator of the universe while Vishnu is the preserver of it.

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Jatis

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A Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members (such as barber or potter).

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Bhagavad Gita

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Literally meaning The Song of the Bhagavan, often referred to as simply the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

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Dharma

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Moral order, righteousness, religion.

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Bhakti

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Intense devotion to a personal manifestation of Supreme Reality.

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Vedanta

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A Hindu philosophy based on the doctrine of the Upanishads, especially in its monistic form.

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Jnana

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A Sanskrit word that means knowledge.

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Yoga

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Practices for union with the true Self.

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Asvamedha

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(“horse sacrifice”), grandest of the Vedic religious rites of ancient India, performed by a king to celebrate his paramountcy. The ceremony is described in detail in various Vedic writings, particularly the Shatapatha Brahmana. An especially fine stallion was selected and was allowed to roam freely for a year under the protection of a royal guard. If the horse entered a foreign country, its ruler had either to fight or to submit. If the horse was not captured during the year, it was victoriously brought back to the capital accompanied by the rulers of the lands it entered, and then sacrificed at a great public ceremony, which was accompanied by much feasting and celebration. The wandering horse was said to symbolize the Sun in its journey over the world and, consequently, the power of the king over the whole Earth. On successfully carrying out a horse sacrifice, the king could assume the title of chakravartin (universal monarch). The rite served not only to glorify the king but also to ensure the prosperity and fertility of the entire kingdom.

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Atman

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The individual soul.

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Kali

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“She Who Is Black” or “She Who is Death” in Hinduism, goddess of time, doomsday, and death, or the black goddess (the feminine form of Sanskrit kala, “time-doomsday-death,” or “black”). Kali's iconography, cult, and mythology commonly associate her with death, sexuality, violence,

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Darsan

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Visual contact with the divine.

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Krishna

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One of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities, worshipped as the eighth incarnation (avatar, or avatara) of the Hindu god Vishnu and also as a supreme god in his own right.

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Brahman

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The Supreme Reality.