The Reign of the Vedic Gods

The Reign of the Vedic Gods

Author: Swami Achuthananda

Publisher: Relianz Communications Pty Ltd

Published: 2018-06-06

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0975788310

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Home to one of the ancient civilizations of the world, India is also the birthplace of a dizzying array of gods worshipped by millions of Hindus living in India and across the globe. Over the centuries many of these gods rose to power and became the object of utmost devotion, only to fall from grace and lose their standing. These deities shared a peculiar trait: they were never perfect. In this multivolume series entitled, The Galaxy of Hindu Gods, Sach takes you on an extended journey to meet with the gods and share their tales with you. Among the multitude of deities, the most ancient are the Vedic gods, which include luminaries like Indra, Surya, Varuna, Agni, and others. Today a minor deity, the Vedic Indra was once the ruler of the three worlds who, under the influence of a mysterious power drink, fought with the demons and vanquished them. His reign did not last long. His comrades Surya and Varuna also had their glory days but were overthrown by other gods of the pantheon. Yet, after thousands of years, gods like Indra, Surya, and Varuna are still household names and honored in Hindu rituals and traditions. If you know little or nothing about Hindu mythology, this is your ideal starting point where you will meet the overwhelming array of Hindu gods and learn about their wonderful stories.


Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Encyclopedia of Hinduism

Author: Denise Cush

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-08-21

Total Pages: 1130

ISBN-13: 1135189781

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The Encyclopedia of Hinduism contains over 900 entries reflecting recent advances in scholarship which have raised new theoretical and methodological issues as well as identifying new areas of study which have not been addressed previously. The debate over the term 'Hinduism' in the light of post-Orientalist critiques is just one example of how once standard academic frameworks have been called into question. Entries range from 150-word definitions of terms and concepts to 5,000-word in-depth investigations of major topics. The Encyclopedia covers all aspects of Hinduism but departs from other works in including more ethnographic and contemporary material in contrast to an exclusively textual and historical approach. It includes a broad range of subject matter such as: historical developments (among them nineteenth and twentieth century reform and revival); geographical distribution (especially the diaspora); major and minor movements; philosophies and theologies; scriptures; deities; temples and sacred sites; pilgrimages; festivals; rites of passage; worship; religious arts (sculpture, architecture, music, dance, etc.); religious sciences (e.g. astrology); biographies of leading figures; local and regional traditions; caste and untouchability; feminism and women's religion; nationalism and the Hindu radical right; and new religious movements. The history of study and the role of important scholars past and present are also discussed. Accessibility to all levels of reader has been a priority and no previous knowledge is assumed. However, the in-depth larger entries and the design of the work in line with the latest scholarly advances means that the volume will be of considerable interest to specialists. The whole is cross-referenced and bibliographies attach to the larger entries. There is a full index.


Images of Mithra

Images of Mithra

Author: Philippa Adrych

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0198792530

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This work presents six case-studies of objects from different periods and regions of antiquity that are labelled by variations of the name Mithra, including the Roman Mithras, Persian Mihr, and Bactrian Miiro. Each chapter places each object in its original context, before questioning its role in religious ritual, tradition, and belief


Mitra-Varuna

Mitra-Varuna

Author: Georges. Dumézil

Publisher: Hau

Published: 2024-07-06

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781912808977

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A classic text that develops one prong of Dumézil's tripartite hypothesis of Indo-European tribes: the sacred sovereign. Georges Dumézil's fascination with the myths and histories of India, Rome, Scandinavia, and the Celts yielded an idea that became his most influential scholarly legacy: the tripartite hypothesis, which divides Indo-European societal functions into three classes: the sacred sovereign, the warrior, and the producer. Mitra-Varuna, originally published in 1940, concentrates on the first function, that of sovereignty. Dumézil identifies two types of rulers, the first judicial and worldly, the second divine and supernatural. These figures, both priestly, are oppositional but complementary. The title nods to these roles, referring to the gods Mitra, a rational mediator, and Varuna, an awesome religious figure. Stuart Elden's critical edition, based on the 1988 English translation by Derek Coltman, identifies variations between the first and second French editions and completes--and in places corrects--Dumézil's references. The editor's detailed introduction situates Mitra-Varuna within Dumézil's career, outlines how his treatment of its themes developed over time, and relates the book to the political controversy around his ideas. Two new appendices contain passages that did not appear in the second French edition.


Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras

Mushrooms, Myth and Mithras

Author: Carl Ruck

Publisher: City Lights Books

Published: 2021-02-24

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0872868524

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This illustrated book traces the history of an unlikely force in the shaping of Western civilization: the use of psychedelic mushrooms, namely by a secret society called the cult of Mithras. Nero was the first emperor to be initiated by the group’s “magical dinners,” and most of his successors embraced the ritual as a source of spiritual transcendence. The cult was officially banned after the Conversion, but aspects of their rituals were assimilated or co-opted by Christianity, and the brotherhoods persist today as secret societies such as the Freemasons. This is a fascinating exploration of a powerful force kept behind the scenes for thousands of years.


Historicity of God Indra

Historicity of God Indra

Author: Sukumar Das

Publisher:

Published: 2021-03-10

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13:

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This is a product of my life-long reseach to unearth the facts that Lord Indra, the King of the Gods o Hindu Gods Pantheon was a human being only, and was a proven historical person of the 15th Cenrury BC, which so far remained covered under the imposed Indian Mythology of millennium after millennium. This is the first-time unearthing of the top-most Vedic Hindu God, Indra, from the Myth of Celescial figure to the real facts of proven and recorded history of Mesopotamia, and duly corroborated by the TEXT OF RIG-VEDA, the most ancient Holy Book, written in a language of Pre-Sanskrit Indo-Aryan Language, an written in the Cunneiform Scripts, and later on shited in Sanskrit Devanagari Scripts. This Research Publicaton of the present author is a Flagship-Book, on the other revelations, that [1] Rig-Veda was a sudden and forced creation to give birth to a totally NEW RELIGION, now called " Vedic Hinduism" just started in 1432 BC: [2] and all the major Gods of Rig-Veda, except Agni, Vayu etc, were all living humans of the 15th Cenrury BC, two of them, namely Varuna, the Emperor of Babylon, whose Emperial Title in Mesopotamia History was" Burna Buriash" and other God, Mitra, [ alternative name of Sun] was King of Mitanni Kingdom, having official title, Paratarrna Parashastra, and all the 13 New Gods, rarrated in the 62% Hymns of 1028 Hymns of Rig-Veda were used to make them king, [ Vide, the next book of this Series, written by this Aouthor, titled as " All Indo-Aryan Vedic Hindu Gods were of Mesopotamina Origin", followed by the " Life and Career of Indra as per Rig-Veda" re-created with the help of recovered and well-preserved historcal records, and ancient archaelogical evidences, including Indra's own Inscription, statue, Royal Seal, Indra's Clay tablets, and traced out locations of his lifes [the Mesopotamian Part] and Indra life and Career in the-then Greater India, including Afghanisthan and Eastern Iran, has been re-constructed by the well-preserved oldest Text of Rig-Vedic Hymns, wriiten in the life-time of Lord Indra as trustable tesimonies as good as wriiten Inscriptions on the stones. The last 10-years of labors of the author on studies of the Oldest Religious Text of Rig-Veda and contemporary historical and archaeological records, brough a fresh new revealations on the begining of the Hinduism in it's first phase, and threw new lights of Indilogy of India and it's polical history and kingdoms of that relevant times, massive destructions of Pre-Arryan people and their civilisation and culture, and fisrt big-bang of the Arryanisation of India, that controlled the remaining history of Indian political, religious, cultural, social life in the mainstream of Indian till today.


Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees

Criminal Gods and Demon Devotees

Author: Alf Hiltebeitel

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1989-09-21

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 9780887069826

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The Hindu sacred order is guarded by the very gods who violate it and the demons who oppose it. This book is a who's who of such transgressive figures, both familiar and unfamiliar, showing their place within the Hindu order that they violate. It is also a reflection of the serious scholarly debate over the nature and composition of this Hindu order. The chapters range from pan-Hindu deities such as Bhairava and Virabhadra to guardian gods of specific regions and lineages and of different goddess cults. Chapters cover violent themes in SAaivite hagiography, the position of Brahmans in relation to cultic carnivorism, guardian heroes in folk epic, the deified dead, the royal mythology of a "criminal caste," and a wide-ranging overview of transgressive sacrality.