Shloka Shloka (meaning “song”, from the root śru, “hear”) is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh poetic meter. The traditional view is that this form of verse was involuntarily composed by Valmiki in grief, the author of the Ramayana, on seeing a hunter shoot down one of two birds in love. The Shloka and…
Shri Shri (Devanagari: श्री, ISO: Śrī, also transliterated as Shree, Sri, or Sree, is an Indian word denoting wealth and prosperity, primarily used as a honorific. Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, is also known as Shree. In Devanagari script for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi and other languages, the word ⟨श्री⟩ is combination of three sounds: श् (ś), र् (r) and ई (ī, long…
Shrutakarma Shrutakarma (IAST: Śrutakarmā, Sanskrit: श्रुतकर्मा, lit. he whose deeds are famous) or Shrutakirti (lit. he whose fame is heard about) was the son born to Arjuna and Draupadi, the third of the Upapandavas. The Upapandavas were the five sons born to Draupadi from each of the five Pandavas. They are: Prativindhya from Yudhishthira, Sutasoma from Bhimasena, Shrutakarma from…
Shrutasena Shrutsena was born to Sahadeva and Draupadi and the fifth of the Upapandavas. The Upapandavas were the five sons born to Draupadi from each of the five Pandavas. They are: Prativindhya from Yudhishthira, Sutasoma from Bhimasena, Shrutakarma from Arjuna, Shatanika from Nakula and Shrutasena from Sahadeva. They fought the battle on…
Shuka Shuka (also Shukadeva, Shuka deva, Suka, Sukadev, Śukadeva Gosvāmī) was the son of the sage Vyasa (credited as the organizer of the Vedas and Puranas) and the main narrator of the Bhagavata Purana. Most of the Bhagavata Purana consists of Shuka reciting the story to the dying king Parikshit. Shuka is depicted as a sannyasi, renouncing the world in pursuit of moksha (liberation), which most…
Shukra Shukra, the Sanskrit for “clear, pure” or “brightness, clearness”, is the name of the son of Bhrigu, and preceptor of the Daityas, and the guru of the Asuras, identified with the planet Venus, one of the Navagrahas. He presides over Shukravar or Friday. He is of white complexion, middle-aged and of agreeable countenance. He is described variously as mounted on…
Siddhas Siddha (Sanskrit: सिद्ध siddha; “perfected one”) is a term that is used widely in Indian religions and culture. It means “one who is accomplished”. It refers to perfected masters who have achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment.
Somadatta Somadatta, son of Bahlika, was an ally of the Kauravas. He was a suitor to Devaki, mother of Krishna. He fought with Sini, who was seeking the hand of Devaki for his friend Vasudeva. The battle was hard fought and in the end Sini emerged victorious. Devaki married Vasudeva. This incident began a bitter feud between the clan of Somadatta and…
The concept of Srishti described in Mahabharata Srishti (Creation) In Vedic cosmology, the universe is cyclically created and destroyed. The Hindu timeline is considered by some to be the closest to modern scientific timelines. It suggests that the Big Bang is not the beginning of everything, but is just the…
Subahu In Mahabharata Subahu was one of the Samshaptaka/Trigarta warriors. He fought with Arjuna on the 12th day of war. The son of Pandu then, in that battle, with a broad-headed arrow, cut off the leathern fence of Subahu, and covered Sudharman and Sudhanwan, and Subahu pierced Partha with ten…