[spacer height=”20px”] [spacer height=”20px”] 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…
[spacer height=”20px”] [spacer height=”20px”] Ashoka trees 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…
[spacer height=”20px”] [spacer height=”20px”] 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…
Ashwatthama Ashwathama (Sanskrit:Aśvatthāmā) or Drauni is the son of guru Drona and the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Ashwatthama is a mighty Maharathi who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War. Ashwatthama is considered as avatar of one of the eleven Rudras and one of the seven Chiranjivis. Along with his maternal uncle Kripa, Ashwatthama is believed to be a…
[spacer height=”80px”] Ashvins The Ashvins, in Hindu mythology, are divine twin horsemen in the Rigveda, sons of Saranya, a goddess of the clouds and wife of Surya in his form as Vivasvat. The Ashvins are Vedic gods symbolising the shining of sunrise and sunset, appearing in the sky before the…
AstikaAstika was an ancient Rishi, and both his parents had the same name – Jaratkaru. The father was Rishi Jaratkaru and the mother was Naga Jaratkaru, (also known as the serpent goddess Manasa), a sister of a great Naga Vasuki. Astika was born to release the virtuous snakes from extinction due to the curse…
AsuraAsuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are lord beings in the Hindu scriptures who compete for power with the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras). Asuras are described as powerful superhuman demigods or demons with good or bad qualities. Monier-Williams traces the etymological roots of Asura (असुर) to Asu (असु), which means life of the spiritual world or departed spirits. In the…
[spacer height=”20px”] 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…
Bahlika Bahlika (Sanskrit: बाह्लिक) was the elder brother of Shantanu and became the king of Bahlika. Being Bhishma’s uncle, Bahlika was the oldest warrior to fight in the Mahabharata war. His son Somadatta and grandson Bhurishravas joined him to fight against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. He was slain by Bhima on the 14th day of…