A pandit or pundit (Devanagari: पन्दित) is a Hindu Brahmin who has memorized a substantial portion of the Vedas, along with the corresponding rhythms and melodies for chanting or singing them. Pandits are hired to chant Vedic verses at yagyas and other events, both public and private. The chanting is meant to be listened to with a quiet mind for the purpose of spiritual development for the listener as well as enlivening of the atmosphere at an event. A famous member of this gr ...

Including:

• Pundit India - Contemporary use

Read more here: » Pundit India: Encyclopedia - Pundit India

See also:

Tamil literature, Tamil literature - Ancient Literature, Tamil literature - Caṅkam literature, Tamil literature - Post-Sangam Period, Tamil literature - The Dark Age, Tamil literature - Medieval literature, Tamil literature - The Bhakti Cult, Tamil literature - The Epic Period, Tamil literature - The Modern Era

Read more here: » Tamil literature: Encyclopedia II - Tamil literature - Ancient Literature

By 338 BC all of the Greek city-states except Sparta had been conquered by Philip II of Macedon. Philip's son Alexander the Great extended his father's conquests greatly. In so doing he inaugurated what is called the Hellenistic Ages. Alexander's conquests were in the East, and Greek culture shifted first in that direction. Athens lost its preeminent status as the leader of Greek culture, and it was replaced temporarily by Alexandria, Egypt. After the rise of Rome, all the Mediterranean area was brought within one far-flung empire. Greek civ ...

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Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek literature - Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity, Ancient Greek literature - Epic Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Lyric Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Tragedy, Ancient Greek literature - Comedy, Ancient Greek literature - Historiography, Ancient Greek literature - Philosophy, Ancient Greek literature - Hellenistic Age, Ancient Greek literature - Hellenistic Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Roman Age, Ancient Greek literature - Historiography, Ancient Greek literature - Philosophy

Read more here: » Ancient Greek literature: Encyclopedia II - Ancient Greek literature - Hellenistic Age

The Ramayana is the story of Rama. But more significantly, the epic provides a peephole into Vedantic wisdom on the nature of existence, reality and governance.

Vasishtas sagacious discourse to prince Rama was offered at a moment of confusion and crisis in the young princes life, when he was beginning to feel a surge of vairagya at a tender age. While extolling the vairagya state of Rama, Vasishta initiates Rama into the deeper ontological questions of existence and the nature of the mind.

Read more here: » Yoga Vasishta: Vedantic Wisdom in The Yoga Vasishta

Indigo Children, Super-Psychic Children, Violet Children, Children of OZ and Chrystal Children are all refering to children born with a new level of consciousness. Kiara Windrider explains.

Read more here: » Indigo Children: Children of the New Dawn

Shruti Vedas Rig Veda Sama Veda Yajur Veda Atharva Veda Brahmanas Aranyakas Upanishads Smriti Itihāsas Mahābhārata Bhagavad Gītā Ramayana Puranas (List) Tantras Sutras (List) Stotras Ashtavakra Gita ...

Including:

• Hindu scripture - The Vedas
• Hindu scripture - The Upanishads
• Hindu scripture - Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures
• Hindu scripture - The Bhagavad Gita
• Hindu scripture - The Puranas
• Hindu scripture - Other Hindu texts

Read more here: » Hindu scripture: Encyclopedia - Hindu scripture

Sudakshina Kamboja is the third king of the Kambojas referred to in the Mahabharata. And is also the most referenced of all the Kamboja kings in the whole Mahabharata and most illustrious warrior of the Kambojas of Epic Age. Sudakshina Kamboja - Kamboj traditions and Sudakshina. According to the traditions of the Kamboj community passed on to it from its ancestors, a certain king Sodakhsh (Sudakshina) is believed to have descended from the line of god Chander Burman of remote antiquity.

Including:

• Sudakshina Kamboja - Kamboj traditions and Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Physical Characteristics of Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina at Abhisheka ceremony of Yudhisthra
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina at Draupadi’s Swayamvara
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina Kamboja in Mahabharata war
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina and his army
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina one of ten salient commanders of Kurus
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Krshna extols Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Bhishma extols Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Durodhana extols Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Sudakshina’s duels in the war
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Duryodhan at the death of Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Karna at the death of Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Vasudeva at the death of Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Gandhari at the death of Sudakshina
• Sudakshina Kamboja - Epilogue

Read more here: » Sudakshina Kamboja: Encyclopedia - Sudakshina Kamboja

Noah or Nóach ("Rest," Standard Hebrew נוֹחַ (Nóaḥ), Tiberian Hebrew נֹחַ (Nōªḥ); Arabic نوح (Nūḥ)), is a Biblical figure who, according to Genesis, built an ark to save his family and each species of the world's animals from the Deluge (an example of Divine retribution). The story of his life is told in ...

Including:

• Noah - Life of Noah
• Noah - Interpretive Differences
• Noah - Christian
• Noah - Jewish
• Noah - Islamic
• Noah - Latter-Day Saint
• Noah - Gnostic
• Noah - The Seven Noahide Laws
• Noah - Popular culture

Read more here: » Noah: Encyclopedia - Noah

In Huna, the ancient Hawaiian religion, the Kumulipo is an epic poem, over two thousand lines long, that was recited from memory by kahunas at important ceremonies and festivals. The Wharewananga of the Maori is very similar, as are poems from Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, Tuamotu and Rapa Nui. The first part of the Kumulipo is po, the age of spirit. The Earth may or may not exist, but the events described do not take place in a physical universe. The words show the development of life as it goes through similar stages as a huma ...

Read more here: » Kumulipo: Encyclopedia - Kumulipo

Akseli Gallen-Kallela (April 26, 1865 - March 7, 1931) was a Finnish painter who is most of all known for his illustrations of the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic (illustration, below). He was born Axél Waldemar Gallén in Pori (in Swedish Björneborg), Finland. His father Peter Gallén worked as police chief and lawyer. At the age of 11 he was sent to Helsinki to study at a grammar school. ...

Including:

• Akseli Gallen-Kallela - Paintings

Read more here: » Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Encyclopedia - Akseli Gallen-Kallela

The Bozrah deliverance is the climax of an extraordinary series of events that some Christian and Jewish Bible students believe will occur at the end of this age. The epic 'break out' at Bozrah is prophesied to occur when Messiah comes to judge the world and to establish His kingdom, the Millennium of Messiah. The details of this climactic deliverance can be pieced together from key passages in the Old Testament prophets of Isaiah and Micah. To understand the deliverance at Bozrah some background information is necessary. The t ...

Read more here: » Bozrah deliverance: Encyclopedia - Bozrah deliverance

Maharishi Valmiki is the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana. The story of Valmiki is steeped in legend. One version has it that Valmiki was originally a dacoit called Ratna who haunted the forests and preyed upon the unwary travellers. One day a sage called Narada passed through the forest. Ratna saw him and immediately attacked him. Narada asked him why he did his foul deeds to which Ratna replied that it was to take care of his family, which consisted of his aged parents, wife and children. The sage then wanted to know if they ...

Read more here: » Valmiki: Encyclopedia - Valmiki

The chansons de geste, Old French for "songs of heroic deeds", are the epic poetry that appears at the dawn of French literature. Chanson de geste - Subjects. Written in Old French by the earliest poets, the trouvères, they typically deal with the martial valour of paladins, heroes from the age of Charles Martel and Charlemagne, and their combats against the Moors and Saracens. To these historical legends, a stiff dose of fantasy is added; giants, magic, and monsters appear among the foes along with Muslim ...

Including:

• Chanson de geste - Subjects
• Chanson de geste - Origins
• Chanson de geste - Performance
• Chanson de geste - The poems themselves
• Chanson de geste - Legacy

Read more here: » Chanson de geste: Encyclopedia - Chanson de geste

Centuries: 2nd century BC - 3rd century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC - 200s BC - 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 207 BC 206 BC 205 BC 204 BC 203 BC - 202 BC - 201 BC 200 BC 199 BC 198 BC 197 BC Events October 19 - In an epic showdown between the two greatest generals of their age, Scipio Africanus Major defeats Hannibal in the Battle of Zama. On Hannibal's advice, Carthage sues for peace, ending the Second Punic War. Carthage is reduced to a client state.

Read more here: » 202 BC: Encyclopedia - 202 BC

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek Τιταν, plural Τιτανες) are among a series of gods, some of whom opposed Zeus and the Olympian gods in their ascent to power. Others who opposed the gods include the Gigantes, Typhon, and Ophioneus. Greeks of the Classical age knew of several poems about the war between the gods and many of the Titans. The dominant one, and the only one that has survived, was the Theogony attributed to Hesiod. A lost epic Titanomachy attributed to the blind Thracian bard Tham ...

Including:

• Titan mythology - The Titans in Hesiod
• Titan mythology - The Titans in other Greek sources
• Titan mythology - The Titans in the twentieth century
• Titan mythology - Titans in Neopaganism
• Titan mythology - Titans in Modern Literature

Read more here: » Titan mythology: Encyclopedia - Titan mythology

This period of Greek literature stretches the oldest surviving written works in the Greek language until the 4th century and the rise of Alexander the Great. Alfred North Whitehead once claimed that all of philosophy is but a footnote to Plato. To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the anc ...

See also:

Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek literature - Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity, Ancient Greek literature - Epic Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Lyric Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Tragedy, Ancient Greek literature - Comedy, Ancient Greek literature - Historiography, Ancient Greek literature - Philosophy, Ancient Greek literature - Hellenistic Age, Ancient Greek literature - Hellenistic Poetry, Ancient Greek literature - Roman Age, Ancient Greek literature - Historiography, Ancient Greek literature - Philosophy

Read more here: » Ancient Greek literature: Encyclopedia II - Ancient Greek literature - Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity

Tamil literature - Caṅkam literature. See also: Sangam, Tolkāppiyam, Kumarikkandam The earliest extant Tamil literature is a collection of eight anthologies of poems (the eṭṭutokai), a collection of ten long songs (the pattupāṭṭu), and a commentary on grammar, phonetics, rhetoric and poetics (the tolkāppiyam). Tamil legends hold that these were composed in three successive poetic assemblies (caṅkam, often transliterated sangam) that were held in anci ...

See also:

Tamil literature, Tamil literature - Ancient Literature, Tamil literature - Caṅkam literature, Tamil literature - Post-Sangam Period, Tamil literature - The Dark Age, Tamil literature - Medieval literature, Tamil literature - The Bhakti Cult, Tamil literature - The Epic Period, Tamil literature - The Modern Era, Tamil literature - Famous contemporary writers, Tamil literature - Commercial writers, Tamil literature - Major poets of recent times, Tamil literature - Modern Tamil women poets, Tamil literature - Literary Magazines or Siru Pathirikaigal

Read more here: » Tamil literature: Encyclopedia II - Tamil literature - Ancient Literature

The new books that appeared afterwards were called Smriti. Smrti literature includes Itihasas (epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata), Puranas (mythological texts), Agamas (theological treatises) and Darshanas (philosophical texts). The Dharmashastras (law books) are considered by many to form part of the smrti. From time to time great law-givers (eg Manu, Yajnavalkya and Parashara) emerged, who codified existing laws and eliminated obsolete ones to ensure that the Hindu way of life was consistent with both the Vedic spirit a ...

See also:

Hindu scripture, Hindu scripture - The Vedas, Hindu scripture - The Upanishads, Hindu scripture - Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures, Hindu scripture - The Bhagavad Gita, Hindu scripture - The Puranas, Hindu scripture - Other Hindu texts

Read more here: » Hindu scripture: Encyclopedia II - Hindu scripture - Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures

Many a Hindu has said that the most succinct and powerful abbreviation of the overwhelmingly diverse realm of Hindu thought is to be found in the Bhagavad Gita. Essentially, it is a microcosm of Vedic, Yogic, Vedantic and even Tantric thought of the Hindu fold. Composed between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC, the Bhagavad Gita (literally: Song of the Lord) is a part of the epic poem Mahabharata and is revered in Hinduism. It is not limited to Vaishnavs, as some people incorrectly assume, since it is accepted by Tantrics and non-denominational ...

See also:

Hindu scripture, Hindu scripture - The Vedas, Hindu scripture - The Upanishads, Hindu scripture - Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures, Hindu scripture - The Bhagavad Gita, Hindu scripture - The Puranas, Hindu scripture - Other Hindu texts

Read more here: » Hindu scripture: Encyclopedia II - Hindu scripture - The Bhagavad Gita

While the Upanishads are indeed classed within the fold of the "Vedas," their actual importance to Hindu thought has far exceeded that of possibly any other set of Hindu scriptures, and even resulted in the Bhagavad Gita, which is a self-proclaimed yoga upanishad. Thus, they deserve a look that is independent from the samhitas and brahamans, whose excessive ritualism the Upanishads famously rebelled against. They form Vedanta and ...

See also:

Hindu scripture, Hindu scripture - The Vedas, Hindu scripture - The Upanishads, Hindu scripture - Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures, Hindu scripture - The Bhagavad Gita, Hindu scripture - The Puranas, Hindu scripture - Other Hindu texts

Read more here: » Hindu scripture: Encyclopedia II - Hindu scripture - The Upanishads