Kimshuka tree Kimshuka or Butea monosperma is a species of Butea native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, ranging across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and western Indonesia. Common names include flame-of-the-forest and bastard teak. It is a medium-sized dry season-deciduous tree, growing to 15 m (49 ft) tall. It is a slow growing tree, young trees have a growth rate of a…
Vibhitaka Tree Vibhitaka or Terminalia bellirica, known as bahera or beleric or bastard myrobalan, (Sanskrit: Vibhitaka विभितक, Aksha अक्ष ), is a large deciduous tree common on plains and lower hills in Southeast Asia, where it is also grown as an avenue tree. The basionym is Myrobalanus bellirica Gaertn. (Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 90, t. 97. 1791). William Roxburgh transferred M. bellirica to Terminalia as…
Chedi Chedi was an ancient Indian kingdom which fell roughly in the Bundelkhand division of the current state of Madhya Pradesh to the south of river Yamuna along the river Ken. Its capital city was called Suktimati in Sanskrit and Sotthivati-nagara in Pali. In Pali-language Buddhist texts, it is listed as one of the sixteen mahajanapadas (“great realms” of northern and central India). According to…
DraupadiDraupadi (Sanskrit: द्रौपदी) is one of the most important female characters in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. According to the epic, she is the daughter of Drupada, King of Panchala.Draupadi is considered as one of the Panch-Kanyas or Five Virgins.Like other epic characters, Draupadi is referred to by multiple names in the Mahabharata. Her names are as follows:Draupadī – (Sanskrit: द्रौपदी) –…
Vasishtha Vasishtha (Sanskrit: वसिष्ठ, IAST: vasiṣṭha) is a revered Vedic sage in Hinduism. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis) of India. Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of Rigveda. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigvedic verse 10.167.4, other Rigvedic mandalas and in many Vedic texts. His ideas have been influential and he was called as the…
SamvaranaIn the Mahabharata, it is mentioned that Samvarana is the son of Riksha, fourth in descent from Ikshvaku (Adi Parva, Sambhava Parva). He married Tapati, a daughter of Surya. (Adi Parva, Chaitraratha Parva). Samvarana was driven from Hastinapur by the Panchalas, and forced to take refuge among the thickets of…
TapatiTapati (Sanskrit: तपती, tapatī), as mentioned in Mahabharata, is a daughter of Surya (the Sun god) and Chhaya one of the wife’s of surya, sister of Savitri and the wife of Samvarana, and the mother of Kuru, the founder of Kuru dynasty. Tapati name literally means the “warming”, “the hot one”, “burning one”. It had been said that no…
Nara-NarayanaNara-Narayana (Sanskrit: नर-नारायण; nara-nārāyaṇa) is a Hindu deity pair. Nara-Narayana is the twin-brother avatar of the God Vishnu on earth, working for the preservation of dharma or righteousness. In the concept of Nara-Narayana, the human soul Nara is the eternal companion of the Divine Narayana.The Hindu epic Mahabharata identifies the God Krishna (an avatar of Vishnu) with Narayana and Arjuna – the chief hero of the epic…
NarayanaNarayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: Nārāyaṇa, also Narayan) is the supreme absolute being in Hinduism and is considered as the supreme deity in Vaishnavism. The Bhagavata Purana declares Narayana as the Para Brahman(Supreme Lord) who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of the Universe.Narayana engages in the creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma when he…
MohiniMohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, Mohinī) is the only female avatar of Vishnu. She is portrayed as an enchantress, who maddens lovers, sometimes leading them to their doom. Soon after Amrita was born of Samudra Manthana, Vishnu takes the form of Mohini, acquires the pot of Amrita from thieving Asuras, and gives it back to the Devas, helping them…