Vibhishana Vibhishana (Devanagari: विभीषण IAST: Vibhīṣaṇa or Bibhishan) was a king of Lanka in the legendary epic Ramayana. He was younger brother of the Rakshasa king Ravana of Lanka. Though a Rakshasa himself, Vibhishana was of a noble character and advised Ravana, who kidnapped and abducted Sita, to return her to her husband Rama in an orderly fashion and promptly which Ravana refused sternly. When Ravana did…
Agastya Agastya was a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism. In the Indian traditions, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He and his wife Lopamudra are the celebrated authors of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 in the Sanskrit text Rigveda and other Vedic literature. Agastya appears in numerous itihasas and Puranas (roughly,…
Anasuya Anasuya (IAST: Anusūyā, अनसूया “free from envy and jealousy”), was wife of Rishi Atri. In Ramayana, she appears living with her husband in a small hermitage in the southern periphery of the forest of Chitrakuta. She was very pious and always practiced austerities and devotion. This allowed her to attain miraculous powers. When Sita and Rama visited her during their exile,…
Atri Atri (Sanskrit: अत्रि) is a Vedic sage, who is credited with composing a large number of hymns to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities. Atri is one of the Saptarishis (seven great Vedic sages) in the Hindu tradition, and the one most mentioned in its scripture Rigveda. The fifth Mandala (Book 5) of Rigveda is called the…
Tirtha Tirtha (तीर्थ, IAST: Tīrtha) is a Sanskrit word that means “crossing place, ford”, and refers to any place, text or person that is holy. It particularly refers to pilgrimage sites and holy places in Hinduism as well as Jainism. The process or journey associated with Tirtha is called Tirtha-yatra, while alternate terms such as Kshetra, Gopitha and Mahalaya are used in some Hindu traditions to…
Gomati River The Gomati or Gomti river is a tributary of the Ganges. According to Hindu mythology, the river is the daughter of the Hindu sage Vasishta; bathing in the Gomati on Ekadashi (the eleventh day of the two lunar phases of the Hindu calendar month) can wash away sins. According to Bhagavata Purana, the Gomati is one of India’s transcendental rivers. The rare Gomti Chakra is found there. The…
Punnaga Tree Punnaga or Calophyllum inophyllum is a large evergreen plant, commonly called Alexandrian laurel, ball tree, beach calophyllum, beach touriga, beauty leaf, Borneo-mahogany, Indian doomba oil tree, Indian-laurel, laurelwood, red poon, satin touriga, and tacamahac-tree. It is native from East Africa, southern coastal India and Australia. Calophyllum inophyllum is a low-branching and slow-growing tree with a broad and irregular crown. It usually reaches 8 to 20 m (26 to 66 ft) in height.…
Bakula Tree Bakula or Mimusops elengi is a medium-sized evergreen tree found in tropical forests in South Asia, Southeast Asia and northern Australia. English common names include Spanish cherry, medlar, and bullet wood. Its timber is valuable, the fruit is edible, and it is used in traditional medicine. As the trees give thick shade and flowers…
Ashoka tree The Ashoka tree, literally, “sorrow-less” or Saraca asoca is a plant belonging to the Caesalpinioideae subfamily of the legume family. It is an important tree in the cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent and adjacent areas. It is sometimes incorrectly known as Saraca indica. The Ashoka is a rain-forest tree. Its original distribution…
Ashvattha Tree According to Hindu mythology, asvattha (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थ, IAST: aśvattha) that is, the Sacred Fig, is a sacred tree for the Hindus and has been extensively mentioned in texts pertaining to Hinduism, mentioned as ‘Peepul’ (Ficus religiosa) in Rig Veda mantra I.164.20 . Buddhist texts term the tree as Bodhi tree, a tree under which Gautam Buddha meditated and gained enlightenment. Ashvattha is…