Centre for Traditional Education

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Bhakti Yoga and Cows





A) SAMBANDHA JNANA & cow protection:
gov a‰ga yavas€din€ (SB 11.11.43)
I can be worshiped within the cows by offerings of grass and other suitable grains and paraphernalia for the pleasure and health of the cows,

(How can this be called as being related to Sambandha-jnana? Because, "Bhakti-yoga that is performed for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord VAsudeva brings about detachment from all things unrelated to Him and gives rise to pure knowledge that is free from any motive for liberation and directed exclusively towards the attainment of Him" Srimad Bhagavatam, 1.2.7)

B) ABHIDHEYA & cow protection
**** (I) Gomata - a partner in Vaidhi sadhana bhakti:

(a) 10th principle of vaidhi sadhana bhakti (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu,1.2.110_:
aSvattha tulasI dhAtri go bhUmis sura vaiSNavAH
pUjitAH praNatAH dhyAtAH kSapayanti nRNAm agham
In the Skanda Pur€Ša it is directed that a devotee should offer water to the tulas… plant and €malaka trees. He should offer respect to the cows and to the br€hmaŠas and should serve the VaiŠavas by offering them respectful obeisances and meditating upon them. All of these processes will help the devotee to diminish the reactions to his past sinful activities.

(b) Srimad bhagavatam, Go-seva:
uktam bhAgavatam nityam kRtam ca hari chintanam
tulasI poSaNam caiva dhenunAm sevanam samam
Reciting Srimad Bhagavatam daily, remembering Lord Hari constantly, nourishing the Tulasi plant, protecting and caring for the cows, are all equally beneficial (because these acts are pleasing to Krsna) (Bhagavata mahatmya, verse 40).

(c) Daivi sampat qualitites imbibed due to association of mother cow

dhairyaM dhRtiSca SAntiSca puSTirvRddhiH tathaiva ca
smrtirmedhA tathA lajjA vapuH kIrtistathaiva ca
vidyA SAntirmatiScaiva santatiH paramA tathA
yatra gAvastatra lakSMIH sAnkhyAdharmASca SASvataH
(VarAha PurANa, 206.34-35)

By associating with the cows, by serving the cows and by consuming milk and milk products, it is said that one will be endowed with fearlessness, tolerance, peacefulness, strength, sharp memory, intelligence, shyness to act irreligiously, humility, health, fame, knowledge and progeny. Wherever there are cows, there is all prosperity and eternal spiritual knowledge.

(d) DAsyam (of sadhana bhakti) and cow protection:
karma svAbhAvikam bhadram (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 1.2.185)
To follow svabhava karma (daiva varnasrama dharma) for pleasure of Krsna. Varna samanya dharma (common dharma for all is 'cow protection' and 'growing food' (meaning, not for trade but for self-sufficiency. Trade is exclusive domain of mercantile class)
kRSistu sarva varNAnAM sAmAnyo dharma ucyate
kRSrbhRtiH pASupAlyam sarveSAM na niSidhyate
Agriculture and cow protection are common duty for all the varNAs and they are not prohibited for anyone (VRddha HArita SmRti)

**** (II) Gomata - a partner in Raganuga sadhana bhakti

++ tat-prApty-utkaNTAyAm ekAdaSI-janmASTmI-kArttika-vrata-bhoga-tyAgAdIni tapo-rUpANi tathASvattha-tulasy-Adi-sammAnanAdIni tad-bhAvAnukUlAny eva
The observance of Ekadasi, Janmastami, Kartikka vrata as well as the renunciation of sense pleasures and other austerities, offering respect to Tulasi, the banyan tree, cows etc.; all of these activities executed with eagerness for attaining one's most cherishable relationship with the Desired Object, because they are helpful and favourably disposed towards the attainment of this bhava are called BhAvAnukUla sAdhana (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu Bindu, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarthi Thakura)

++ A devotee may be desiring to associate with the Personality of Godhead as His cowherd friend. He will want to serve the Lord by assisting Him in controlling the cows in the pasturing ground. This may appear to be a desire to enjoy the company of the Lord, but actually it is spontaneous love, serving Him by assisting in managing the transcendental cows (Srila Prabhupada, Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 15)


**** (III) Gomata - a partner in Bhava bhakti

++ Impetus (Uddipana) - "Uddipana-vibhava to bhava bhakti
ye kRSNas smArayanti te uddIpana vibhAva
Refers to all those things which stimulate remembrance of Sri Krsna such as His dress and ornaments, the spring season, the bank of the Yamuna, forest groves, cows, peacocks, and so on." (Srila Visvanatha Cakravarthi Thakura, Bhakti Rasarmta Sindhu Bindu)


C) PRAYOJANA & cow protection:

**** (IV) Gomata - a partner in Prema Bhakti

++ Santa-rasa and cows:
(a)Impetus for santa-rasa and cows:
parvata-Saila-kAnanAdi-vAsi-jana-saNga-siddha-kSetrAdayaH uddIpana-vibhAvAH
To live in pure and natural atmosphere devoid of crowded congestion of cities. Such places are known as vivikta deSa full of trees and natural surroundings (just like forests of Vrindavan).
(Of with course cows in such peaceful living. After all, that is how great rsis lived in the past).

(b)Cows gave pleasure to Krsna in SAnta-rasa (Hence worthy of our service):
The land, the grass, the trees, the plants, fruits, or the cows in the transcendental world are supposed to be situated in the santa rasa. As spiritual beings, they are all conscious of Krsna, but they prefer to appreciate Krsna greatness remaining as they are (Srila Prabhupada, Letter to Rupanuga, 12 Mar, 1968).

++ Impetus for Dasya-rasa and cows:
(a)Reverential affection to see Krsna as a cowherd boy:
"When will that glorious day in my life come when it will be possible for me to go to the bank of the Yamun€ and see Lord ®r… KŠa playing there as a cowherd boy?"

++ Impetus (Vibhava) and Anubhava in Sakhya-rasa and cows:
(a)"Krsna going into the forest to tend the cows" is an impetus for sakhya-rasa.
vrndAraNye samastAt surabhiNi surabhIvrndarakSAvihAri (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 3.3.66)

(b)Anubhava symptom in sakhya rasa and cows:
puras tairyatrikaM tasya gavAM sambhAlanakriyAH
"Helping Krsna herd His cows" (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 3.3.95)


++ vatsalya rasa and cows
According to ®r…la Vivan€tha Cakravart… µh€kura the cows loved Lord KŠa in v€tsalya-rasa, or the love of parents for a child, because the cows were always supplying milk to KŠa.

Impetus for vatsalya rasa and cows/calves:
vatsarakSA vrajArbhyeNa (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 3.4.32)
Krsna protecting and herding calves in the forests, is an impetus for Vatsalya rasa.


++ Impetus for Madhurya rasa and cows:
The impetuses of conjugal love are KŠa and His very dear consorts, such as R€dh€r€Š… and Her immediate associates (who are all gopis, or cowherd women)

Dear KŠa, what woman in all the three worlds wouldn't deviate from religious behavior when bewildered by the sweet, drawn-out melody of Your flute? Your beauty makes all three worlds auspicious. Indeed, even the cows, birds, trees and deer manifest the ecstatic symptom of bodily hair standing on end when they see Your beautiful form (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.29.40)

When one gop… perfectly imitated how KŠa would call the cows who had wandered far away, how He would play His flute and how He would engage in various sports, the others congratulated her with exclamations of "Well done! Well done!" (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.30.18)

Your lotus feet destroy the past sins of all embodied souls who surrender to them. Those feet follow after the cows in the pastures and are the eternal abode of the goddess of fortune. Since You once put those feet on the hoods of the great serpent K€liya, please place them upon our breasts and tear away the lust in our hearts (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.31.7)

Dear master, dear lover, when You leave the cowherd village to herd the cows, our minds are disturbed with the thought that Your feet, more beautiful than a lotus, will be pricked by the spiked husks of grain and the rough grass and plants (Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.31.11)

**** Tending cows - natural occupation of Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana

cintamani-prakara-sadmasu kalpavriksha-
lakshavrteshu surabhir abhipaalayantam
lakshmi-sahasra-sata-sambhrama-sevyamanam
govindam aadi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“Lord Krishna is situated in a spiritual abode made of transcendental gems. In that abode he is surrounded by millions of desire fulfilling trees (kalpa-vriksha), and he takes pleasure in tending the divine cows. He is always being served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of devotees. To that Supreme Lord, who is always trying to satisfy the senses of the cows, and who is the original person, I offer my worship.”

[Brahma-samhita]


Ofcourse not touching about Karma-kanda, Jnana-kanda and cows.

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Mahabharata

Mahabharata


The Mahabharata is the longest, and one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana. Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kauravas and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains much philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). The latter are enumerated as dharma (right action), artha (purpose), kama (pleasure), and moksha (liberation). Among the principal works and stories that are a part of the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.
Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata to world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.



The Mahabharata and Ancient Alien Theory

The Mahabharata is a mythological tale that combines facts and fancy - legends and soap operas - replete with metaphoric content which can easily be interpreted in today's world where the reality and truth are seeping into present day consciousness.
The images below reflect the same iconology found in all other ancient civilizations in the physical journey of humanity on planet Earth in this and other timelines. The myths and metaphors are all here if you can understand them.

    Gods in mythology wore animal masks to conceal their identities yet the masks reflect messages about the programs they created here in which we all experience in the simulation we focus on as our reality.Chariots of fire representing UFOs of one kind or another
    Spoked wheels - wheels within wheels - gears of time and synchronicity - wheel of time or alchemy.
    Snakes or human DNA in a biogenetic experiment set in physical space and linear time
    Gods mating with human women to create the human race in their image
    Blue star gods - blue bloods or royal bloodlines descended directly from the gods
    The mythical battles of Heaven and Earth - Physical Reality vs. Higher Frequency - Duality
    Mythical wars between the gods witnessed and depicted by humans since the beginning of time
    Extraterrestrials



Krishna in blue riding in a chariot



The snake sacrifice of Janamejaya



Depiction at Angkor Wat of Vyasa narrating
the Mahabharata to Ganesha, his scribe.
Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are not thought to be appreciably older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the story probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (ca. fourth century CE). The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bharata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bharata.



Ganesha writing the Mahabharata



A scene from the Mahabharata war, Angkor Wat - A black stone relief depicting a number of men wearing a crown and a dhoti, fighting with spears, swords and bows. A chariot with half the horse out of the frame - is seen in the middle. Note the spoked wheel ....




Krishna as portrayed in Yakshagana from Karnataka
which is based largely on stories of Mahabharata



The core story of the Mahabharata is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava and the Pandava. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and Yudhisthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.
The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.
The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali (Kali Yuga - see 2012reference), the fourth and final age of mankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading toward the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.
Arshia Sattar states that the central theme of the Mahabharata, as well as the Ramayana, is respectively Krishna's and Rama's hidden divinity and its progressive revelation.



Shantanu woos Satyavati, the fisherwoman
Painting by Raja Ravi Varma
As the myth (story) goes ...
Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura, has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma, a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King Shantanu goes hunting, he sees Satyavati, the daughter of the chief of fisherman, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honouring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise.
Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. Vichitravirya, the younger son, rules Hastinapura. Meanwhile, the King of Kasi arranges a swayamvara for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapur. In order to arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya.
The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. Later she is reborn to King Drupada as Shikhandi (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of Arjuna, in the battle of Kurukshetra.
When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son Vyasa to father children with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son Dhritarashtra is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, Vidura, by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest characters in the Mahabharata. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.
When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and Madri.
Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However the arrow hits the sage Kindama, who curses him that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness.
Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage Durvasa that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma the god of justice, Vayu the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen Madri, who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in sex, and Pandu dies. Madri dies on his funeral pyre out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the Pandava brothers.
Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons through Gandhari, all born after the birth of Yudhishtira. These are the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and the second Dushasana. Other Kaurava brothers were Vikarna and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the Kurukshetra war.

Read more .

Sports and Games in Ancient India

Sports and Games in Ancient India

Games such as Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Playing Cards, Polo, the martial arts of Judo and Karate had originated in India and it was from here that these games were transmitted to foreign countries, where they were further developed.
Several games now familiar across the world owe their origins in India, particularly, the games of chess, ludo (including ladders and snake), and playing cards. The famous epic Mahabharata narrates an incidence where a game called Chaturang was played between two groups of warring cousins.
The age when epic Mahabharata was written is variously dated around 800 BC to 1000 BC. In some form or the other, the game continued till it evolved into chess. H. J. R. Murry, in his work titled A History of Chess,has concluded that chess is a descendant of an Indian game played in the 7th century AD.
The game of cards also developed in ancient India. Abul Fazal was a scholar in the court of Mughal emperor Akbar. In his book, Ain-e-Akbari, which is a mirror of life of that time, records game of cards is of Indian origins.Martial arts by the name of Kalaripayattu were a native of Kerala, a state of India. Kalaripayattu consists of a series of intricate movements that train the body and mind.



Chess
Chess originated in ancient India and was known as Chatur-Anga - Meaning 4 bodied, as it was played by 4 players. From this name we have its current name Shatranj. One such instance is in the Mahabharata when Pandavas and Kauravas play this game. Yudhistira the eldest of the Pandavas places his bets on his kingdom, his wife Draupadi and all other material possessions. And by a malevolent trick he loses to the Kauravas everything that he had placed his bets on. Consequently to humiliate the Pandavas, Dushasana one of the evil Kaurava brothers takes hold of Draupadi whom Yudhisthira has lost to the Kauravas, and tries to disrobe her in front of the assembled court. The Pandavas though powerful are helpless as they have lost Draupadi and according to the rules of the game they have no claim on her anymore.
In distress, Draupadi invokes Lord Srikrishna to come to her rescue. And in answer to her prayers the lord appears and in a miracle sends a continuous stream of apparel to clothe Draupadi's body. The evil Dushasana tires himself out trying to tear away Draupadi's clothes but he is powerless against the divine strength of Lord Srikrishna. After hours of struggling to achieve his evil intention he falls unconscious to the floor. Draupadi's honor is saved. In deference to Lord Srikrishna's wishes, the Kauravas relinquish their claim to Draupadi. But in return the Pandavas are obliged to relinquish their kingdom for fourteen years and go into exile in forests, after which they return and regain their from the Kauravas, but not before a devastating war is fought between the two clans on the battlefield of Kurutshetra.
The Mahabharata story throws light on the fact that a game similar to Chess was played in ancient India. The Mahabharata is variously dated around 800 and 1100 B.C. Thus this game was known in India nearly 3000 years ago. It is the view of some historians that this game was also used in the allocation of land among different members of a clan when a new settlement was being established.
The Indian origin of the game of chess is supported even by the Encyclopedia Britannica according to which, "About 1783-89 Sir. William Jones, in an essay published in the 2nd Vol. of Asiatic Researches, argued that Hindustan was the cradle of chess, the game having been known there from time immemorial by the name Chaturanga, that is, the four angas, or members of an army, which are said in the Amarakosha (an ancient Indian Dictionary - S.B.) to be elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers.
As applicable to real armies, the term Chaturanga is frequently used by the epic poets of India. Sir William Jones' essay is substantially a translation of the Bhawishya Purana, in which is given a description of a four-handed game of chess played with dice.
Sir William, however, grounds his opinions as to the Hindu origin of chess upon the testimony of the Persians and not upon the above manuscript. He lays it down that chess, under the Sanskrit name Chaturanga was exported from India into Persia in the 6th century of our era; that by a natural corruption, the old Persians changed the name into chatrang; but when their country was soon afterwards taken possession of by the Arabs, who had neither the initial nor the final letter of the word in their alphabet, they altered it further into Shatranj, which name found its way presently into modern Persian and ultimately into the dialects of India.
The further says that Wander Linde, in his exhaustive work, Geschichte and Litteraturdes Schachspiels (1874), has much to say of the origin-theories, nearly all of which he treats as so many myths. He agrees with those who consider that the Persians received the game from the Hindus.
The outcome of his studies appears to be that chess certainly existed in Hindustan in the 8th century, and that probably that country is the land of its birth. He inclines to the idea that the game originated among the Buddhists, whose religion was prevalent in India from the 3rd to the 9th century.
According to their ideas, war and slaying of one's own fellow-men, for any purpose whatever, is criminal, and the punishment of the warrior in the next world will be much worse than that of the simple murderer, hence chess was invented as a substitute for war.
H.J.R. Murry in his monumental work A History of Chess, concludes that chess is a descendant of an Indian game played in the 7th century.
According to the Encylopedia - altogether, therefore, we find the best authorities agreeing that chess existed in India before it is known to have been played anywhere else. In this supposition they are strengthened by the names of the game and some of its pieces. Shatranj as Forbes has pointed out, is a foreign word among the Persians and the Arabians, whereas its natural derivation from the term Chaturanga is obvious. Again affix the Arabic name for the bishop, means the elephant, derived from alephhind, the Indian elephant.
Even the word checkmate is derived from the Persian term Shah Mat which means 'the king is dead!'. The Sanskrit translation of this term would be Kshatra Mruta. Another term viz. 'the rooks' which is the name for one set of the counters used in chess, originated from the Persian term Roth which means a soldier. The Persian term according to the Encyclopedia is derived from the Indian term Rukh, which obviously seems to have originated in the Sanskrit word Rakshak which means a soldier from Raksha which means 'to protect'.
About the introduction of this game into Persia, the Encylopedia says that the Persian poet Firdousi, in his historical poem, the Shahnama, gives an account of the introduction of Shatranj into Persia in the reign of Chosroes I Anushirwan, to whom came ambassadors from the sovereign of Hind (India), with a chess-board and men asking him to solve the secrets of the game, if he could or pay tribute. The king asked for seven days grace, during which time the wise men vainly tried to discover the secret. Finally, the king's minister took the pieces home and discovered the secret in a day and a night.
The concludes that "Other Persian and Arabian writers state that Shatranj came into Persia from India and there appears to be a consensus of opinion that may be considered to settle the question. Thus we have the game passing from the Hindus to the Persians and then to the Arabians, after the capture V of Persia by the Caliphs in the 7th century, and from them, directly or indirectly, to various parts of Europe, at a time which cannot be definitely fixed, but either in or before the 10th century. That the source of the European game is Arabic is clear enough, nor merely from the words "check" and "mate", which are evidently from Shah mat ("the king is dead"), but also from the names of some of the pieces.
Thus it was from India that the ancient Persians are said to have learnt this game, and from them it was transmitted to the Greco Roman world. The evidence of the Persians having borrowed this game from India is seen in the name the Persians gave to it. The Persian word for chess is Chatrang, which was later changed by the Arabs to Shatranj. As said in , this word is obviously a corruption of the Sanskrit original Chaturanga.
The other term Astapada meaning eight steps, which was also used to describe this game in ancient India, perhaps was a description for the eight steps (Squares) which the modern Chessboard, has. The modern Chessboard is checkered with 64 (8 x 8) squares in all, with eight squares on each side. The old English word for chess which is Esches, possibly stems from this eight squared aspect of the game as did the Sanskrit wordAstapada.



Cards

Ancient India was the birthplace of the game of playing cards and has since spawned a plethora of card based games which are played the world over. Some of the most popular games such as blackjack, baccarat and poker. For reference Casino.org has a list of strategies for these card games.
The game of playing cards was also one of the favorite pastimes of Indians in ancient times. This game was patronized especially by the royalty and nobility. This game was known in ancient times as Kridapatram, in the middle ages, it was known as Ganjifa.
In medieval India Ganjifa cards were played in practically all royal courts. This game is recorded to have been played in Rajputana, Kashyapa Meru (Kashmir), Utkala (Orissa) the Deccan and even in Nepal. The Mughals also patronized this game, but the Mughal card-sets differ from those of the ancient Indian royal courts.
Some scholars are of the opinion that this game was in fact introduced into India by the Mughals. But according to Abul Fazal author of the Ain-e-Akbari, the game of cards was of Indian origin and that it was a very popular pastime in the Indian (Hindu) courts when the Muslims came into India.
According to Abul Fazal's description of the game, the following cards were used. The first was Ashvapati which means 'lord of horses'. The Ashvapati which was the highest card in, the pack represented the picture of the king on horseback. The second highest card represented a General (Senapati) on horseback. After this card come ten other with pictures of horses from one to ten.
Another set of cards had the Gajapati (lord of elephants) which represented the king whose power lay in the number of elephants. The other eleven cards in this pack represented the Senapati and ten others with a soldier astride an elephant. Another pack has the Narpati, a king whose power lies in his infantry. We also had other cards known as the Dhanpati, the lord of treasures, Dalpati the lord of the squadron, Navapati, the lord of the navy, Surapati, the lord of divinities, Asrapati, lord of genii, Vanapati, the king of the forest and Ahipati, lord of snakes, etc.
On the authority of Abul Fazal we can say that the game of playing cards had been invented by sages in ancient times who took the number 12 as the basis and made a set of 12 cards. Every king had 11 followers, thus a pack had 144 cards. The Mughals retained 12 sets having 96 cards. These Mughal Ganjifa sets have representations of diverse trades like Nakkash painter, Mujallid book binder, Rangrez, dyer, etc., In addition there were also the Padishah-i-Qimash, king of the manufacturers and Padishah-izar-i-Safid, king of silver, etc.

Cards were known as Krida-patram in ancient India. These cards were made of cloth and depicted motifs from the Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc. A tradition carried on today with floral motifs and natural scenery.
The pre-Mughal origin of the game of cards is evident if we examine the pattern of painting the cards. We also find that despite the observation of Abul Fazal that Akbar introduced the pack with 8 sets, we find that even earlier, in Indian (Hindu) courts we have packs with 8, 9 and 10 sets apart from the usual 12. The numbers were derived from the eight cardinal directions Ashtadikpala, for the pack with 8 set, from the nine planets Navagraha for the one with 9 sets and from ten incarnations Dashavatara of Vishnu for the pack with 10 sets.
Themes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata are painted on these cards. The largest number of such cards are to be found in Orrisa. The largest number of such cards are to be found in Orissa. The painters from Orissa have represented various illustrations like the Navagunjara, a mythical birdhuman animal which was the form assumed by Sri Krishna to test Arjuna's fidelity, il lustrations from the Dashavatata of Vishnu are also portrayed.
All these cards were hand-made and were painted in the traditional style. This required considerable patience and hard meticulous work. The kings usually commissioned painters to make cards as per their preference. The commoners got their cards made by local artists who were to be ; found in urban and rural areas. In order to -obtain the required thickness a number of sheets of pieces of cloth were glued together. The outlines of the rim were painted in black and then the figures were filled with colors.
As cards were played by members all strata of society we find different types of cards. Some cards were also made of ivory, tortoise shell, mother of pearl, inlaid or enameled with precious metals. The cards were of different shapes; they were circular, oval rectangular, but the circular cards were more common. The cards were usually kept in a wooden box with a lid painted with mythological figures. This art of handmade, hand painted cards which had survived for hundreds of years. gradually feel into decay and became extinct with the introduction of printed paper cards by the Europeans in the 17-18th centuries. With the extinction of the art of making and painting cards also was erased the memory that Indians ever had played the game of cards with their own specific representations of the Narapati, Gajapati and Ashvapati.



Martial Arts

Ancient India claims to have been the origin of Judo and Karate. Something similar to karate, it was called Kalaripayate.
This art from seems to have traveled from India to the countries of the far-east along with the Buddhist religion. Buddhists monks who traveled barefoot and unarmed to spread the gospel of Buddha seem to have accepted this art with alterations suitable to the philosophy of nonviolence. Such a technique of defense would have been necessary for them as they traveled individually or in small groups in foreign lands during which they were exposed to dangers from bandits and fanatics from other religions. Buddhist monks seem to have tempered the originally violent character of this art. The violent and exterminative nature of Kalaripayate is evident from the daggers and knives that are used. Unlike Kalaripayate, Judo and Karate do not allow the use of lethal weapons.
The aim of a Karate practitioner is mainly to disarm and disable his opponent without mortally wounding him. This can be looked upon as a reflection of the Buddhist attitude towards life. Further both Judo and Karate are deeply interwoven with meditation unlike other martial arts like boxing, wrestling, fencing, etc. The concentration aspect in Judo and Karate perhaps stems from this. Both Judo and Karate are sought to be kept as arts to be used for just purposes for protection of the weak, etc.,
The oath that every student of these disciplines has to take is evidence of this. A teacher of Judo or Karate traditionally commands deep respect of students and a lesson always starts with a bow of the students to the teacher. The teacher here is not looked upon only as a coach as in western martial arts like boxing and fencing. This relationship between a teacher and student in Judo and Karate could have its roots in the Guru-Shishya tradition of India. Thus it is quite possible that these martial art forms originated in southern India and were transmitted to China, Korea and Japan by Buddhist monks. But it has to be conceded that they were neglected in India where like Buddhism they atrophied and today the world considers them to be a legacy bequeathed by the countries of the far-east.
Physical perfection has been an integral part of Hinduism. One of the means to fully realize one's Self is defined as the body - way or dehvada.
Salvation was to be gained through physical perfection or kaya sadhana, possible only through perfect understanding of the body and its functions. The capstone of Hatha Yoga is strength, stamina and supreme control of the body functions. The zenith of the whole experience is the fusion of meditation and physical movement.
The ' eight - fold method ' encompasses techniques associated with breathing control or pranayama, body posture or asanas, and withdrawal of the senses or pratyahara.
Religious rites provided the needed impetus to physical culture in ancient India. Many of the present day Olympic disciplines are sophisticated versions of the games involving strength and speed that were common in ancient India and Greece.
During the era of the Rigveda, Ramayana and Mahabharata, men of a certain stature were expected to be well - versed in chariot - racing, archery, military stratagems, swimming, wrestling and hunting. Excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro confirm that during the Indus valley civilization ( 2500 - 1550 B.C ) the weapons involved in war and hunting exercises included the bow and arrow, the dagger, the axe and the mace.
These weapons of war, for instance, the javelin (toran) and the discus (chakra), were also, frequently used in the sports arena. Lord Krishna wielded an impressive discus or Sudarshan chakra. Arjuna and Bhima, two of the mighty Pandavas, excelled in archery and weightlifting respectively. Bhimsen, Hanuman, Jamvant, Jarasandha were some of the great champion wrestlers of yore.
Women also excelled in sport and the art of self - defence, and were active participants in games like cock fighting, quail fighting, and ram fighting.
With the flowering of Buddhism in the country, Indian sport reached the very peak of excellence. Gautam Buddha himself, is said to have been an ace at archery, chariot - racing, equitation and hammer - throwing.
In Villas Mani Manjri, Tiruvedacharya describes many of these games in detail.
In Manas Olhas - 1135 AD. - Someshwar writes at length about bharashram (weight lifting), bharamanshram (walking), both of which are established Olympic disciplines at present, and Mall - Stambha, a peculiar form of wrestling, wherein both contestants sit on the shoulders of their 'seconds', who stand in waist - deep water throughout the game.
The renowned Chinese travelers Hieun Tsang and Fa Hien wrote of a plethora of sporting activities. Swimming, sword - fighting ( fencing, as we know it today ), running, wrestling and ball games were immensely popular among the students of Nalanda and Taxila.
In the 16th century, a Portuguese ambassador who visited Krishnanagar was impressed by the range of sports activity, and the many sports venues, in the city. The king, Raja Krishnadev was an ace wrestler and horseman, himself.
The Mughal emperors were keen hunters of wild game, and avid patrons of sports, especially wrestling.
The Agra fort and the Red Fort were the popular venues of many a wrestling bout, in the times of Emperor Shahjahan.
Chattrapati Shivaji's guru, Ramdas, built several Hanuman temples all over Maharashtra, for the promotion of physical culture among the youth.
Kerala's martial art form, Kalari Payattu, is very similar to Karate. Those who practice it have to develop acrobatic capabilities, when using swords or knives to attack their adversaries, and even an unarmed exponent can be a force to reckon with. With the advent of Buddhism, this art form spread to the Far East countries.
Buddhist monks who travelled far and wide, mostly unarmed, to spread the teachings of the Buddha, accepted this form of self-defense, against religious fanatics, with alternatives that were suitable to their philosophy of non - violence.
The relationship between a student and teacher in the disciplines of Judo and Karate could trace its roots to the guru - shishya tradition, India was, and continues to be famous for. It is quite possible that some of our martial art forms travelled to China, Korea and Japan, but as in the case of Buddhism, atrophied in India.

The technique of Pranayama or breathing control, which is a prominent feature of Tae - kwan - do, Karate, Judo and Sumo wrestling was one of the many techniques spread in the Far East by Buddhist pilgrims from India. The idea that man enters into harmony with the five elements, through the science of breathing, is to be found in the most ancient records of Indian history.
If mind and body are one, the possibilities of development of one's physical and mental capabilities are limitless, provided they are united and controlled. Using this as the foundation, Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk started a new trend in the Shaolin temple in China, from which probably stemmed most of the rules and precepts which govern all martial art forms.
Festivals and local fairs are the natural venues of indigenous games and martial arts. Post - Independence the government made special efforts to preserve and nurture the awesome cultural heritage, by setting up a number of new incentives, and by heightening media exposure at the national level, to propagate and popularize indigenous games.

Now you can purchase Board games, Card games, Wooden toys, Special toys, Puzzle games and much more

Puranas

Puranas

The Puranas (Sanskrit 'ancient', since they focus on ancient history of the universe) are part of Hindu Smriti. These religious scriptures discuss varied topics like devotion to God in his various aspects, traditional sciences like Ayurveda, Jyotish, cosmology, concepts like dharma, karma, reincarnation and many others.Sage Vyasa is credited with compilation of Puranas from age Yuga to age, and for the current age, he has been identified and named Krishna Dvaipayana, the son of sage Parashara. According to tradition they were written by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga, while modern scholarship dates them to the latter half of the first millennium AD.
Sage Vyasa is credited with compilation of Puranas from age Yuga to age, and for the current age, he has been identified and named Krishna Dvaipayana, the son of sage Parashara. According to tradition they were written by Vyasa at the end of Dvapara Yuga, while modern scholarship dates them to the latter half of the first millennium AD.
One of the main objectives of the Puranas was to make available the essence of the Vedas to the common man, and the Vedas were basically meant not for the scholars but for the ordinary man. They bring forth the Vedic knowledge and teachings by way of myths; parables, allegories and stories; legends; life stories of kings and other prominent persons; and chronologies of historical events. The Puranas unfolds the principles of Hinduism in a very simple way.
In all these Puranas the goddess Lakshmi is given a laudable place without any sectarian dispute. In the Vaishnavite Puranas, Shiva starts telling the efficacy of Vishnu to the Goddess Parvati. While Shaiva mythology places goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva, as one half of His body (ardha naareeshvara tattva), Vaishnavites place the Goddess Lakshmi in the heart of Vishnu itself, as if it were a lotus (hridaya kamala). This is to depict the inseparable union of Universal purusha and prakriti, seed and field, or male and female.
Puranas (aka Puranams) usually refer to the Mahapuranas. There are also smaller Puranas known as Upapurananas. It is agreed that there are a total of 18 Mahapuranas. However, there is inconsistency in the actual Mahapuranas list. 17 Mahapuranas are consistently mentioned. However, the 18th one is sometimes given as the Shiva Purana, while some refer to the Vayu Purana.
According to the Matsya Purana (a Tamasika Purana itself), the eighteen Puranas are divided into three groups of six according to gunas of people they are primarily meant for. It is erroneously believed by some people that Rajasika Puranas eulogize Brahma of Hindu Trinity, Sattvika Puranas Vishnu and Tamasika Puranas Shiva and Shakti, God's Power personified. In reality, all Puranas extol the virtues of mainly Vishnu and Shiva, and there are few references to Brahma. Some Shaiva Puranas extol the virtues of Shiva over Vishnu and some Vaishnava Puranas extol the virtues of Vishnu over Shiva.
Puranas are named after the three main forms of Brahman: Brahma, the Creator; Vishnu, the Protector of Life and Humanity; and Shiva, the Destroyer. Search those with the bar on the left to learn more.
Among all the Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana is the best known Purna.
Apart from the above mentioned eighteen major Puranas, there are an equal number of subsidiary Puranas, called Upapuranas. Then are: Sanatkumara, Narasimha, Brihannaradiya, Sivarahasya, Durvasa, Kapila, Vamana, Bhargava, Varuna, Kalika, Samba, Nandi, Surya, Parasara, Vasishtha, Devi-Bhagavata, Ganesa and Hamsa.
Puranic cosmology describes numerous worlds, planets and planes of existence (loka). Of the multitude of worlds, heaven (Svarga) and hell (Naraka) stand out as nearest and most relevant to our own planet, the Earth. Svarga, or heaven, is the planet of the demigods, or devas, ruled by King Indra. On Svarga, the ability to enjoy physical senses is enhanced while life in Naraka, the netherworld ruled by the King of Justice, Dharmaraj (Yama) is subjected to pain and misery. The Puranas talk about seven levels of the Netherworld. It should be noted that both heaven and hell are temporary abodes for life and once the Karma that is responsible for birth in heaven and hell is exhausted, the soul transmigrates to other forms and worlds of existence.
There are many variations and different levels of the temporal planets as seen by different Puranas and often describe the nature of the phenomenal universe in various ways which may look conflicting.
Three of the other most important worlds in Puranic Cosmology are the Satyaloka, the realm of Brahma, the highest plane of existence where souls of extraordinary karma reside before attaining moksha, the Vaikuntha, the realm of Vishnu, from where there is no return to material worlds and Shivaloka, where worshippers of Shiva enjoy eternal bliss.
Purana Wikipedia

Hindu Scriptures

Hindu Scriptures


The Literature regarded as central to the Vedic and Hindu literary tradition was originally predominantly composed in Sanskrit. Indeed, much of the morphology inherent in the learning of Sanskrit is inextricably linked to study of the Vedas and other early texts.
Vedic literature is divided by tradition into two categories: Shruti Ð that which is heard (traditionally understood as revelation) and Smriti - that which is remembered (stemming from human authors, not revelation). The Vedas constituting the former category are considered sacred texts or scripture by many followers of Hindu religion. The post-Vedic scriptures form the latter category: the various shastras and the itihaasas, or histories in epic Sanskrit verse. Holding an ambiguous position between the Upanishads of the Vedas and the epics, the Bhagavad Gita is considered to be revered scripture by most Hindus today.
Hindu texts are typically seen to revolve around many levels of reading, namely the gross or physical, the subtle, and the supramental. This allows for many levels of understanding as well, implying that the truth of the texts can only be realized with the spiritual advancement of the reader.



1. Vedas
2. Upanishads
3. Post-Vedic Hindu scriptures
4. The Bhagavad Gita
5. The Puranas
6. The Tevaram Saivite hymns
7. Divya Prabandha Vaishnavite hymns



The Vedas
The Vedas are referred to as the Shruti. Scholars who have made a study of world scriptures maintain that the Vedas are the oldest extant texts. The ideas expressed in the Vedas were traditionally handed down orally from father to son and from teacher to disciple. Therefore, these ideas had been in circulation for a long time before their codification and compilation, which are attributed to a Rishi named Veda Vyasa (literally, "the splitter of the Vedas," ). He was named that way as it was he who was accredited with forming the large mass of knowledge and hymns of the Vedas and 'splitting' them into comprehensible sections for the rest of humanity. On the basis of both internal and external evidence, scholars have suggested various dates for the origin of the Vedas, ranging from approximately 1000 BC to as far back as 5000 BC, with most scholarship accepting a range between 1200 and 1400 BC.



The Upanishads
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 are the basis of much of Classical Hindu thought.
The Upanishads ("Sittings Near [a Teacher]") are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures primarily discuss philosophy and "cosmic reality"; they also contain transcripts of various debates or discussions. There are 123 books argued to be part of the Upanishads; however, only 13 are accepted by all Hindus as primary. They are commentaries on the Vedas and their branch of Hinduism is called Vedanta. See Upanishads for a much more detailed look at the mystic backbone of Hinduism.
The Upanishads are acknowledged by scholars and philosophers from both East and West, from Schršdinger, Thoreau and Emerson to Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Aurobindo Ghosh, to be superlatively beautiful in poetry and rich in philosophy.



Post-Vedic Hindu Scriptures
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 and the changing times. However, it must be noted that the Dharmashastras have long been discarded by many groups of Hindus, namely those following Vedanta, Bhakti, Yoga and Tantra streams of Hinduism.
The Hindu philosophy reflected in the epics is the doctrine of avatar (incarnation of God as a human being). The two main avatars of Vishnu that appear in the epics are Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, and Krishna, the chief protagonist in the Mahabharata. Unlike the gods of the Vedic Samhitas and the more meditative, mystic and ethical Upanishadic ideas regarding the all-pervading and formless Brahman, the avatars in these epics are more developed personalities, loving and righteous intermediaries between the Supreme Being and mortals.



The Bhagavad Gita
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 yogins of all Hindu streams as a seminal text. Indeed, the Bhagavad Gita refers to itself as a 'Yoga Upanishad,' thereby establishing itself as more than just a text based on Krishna, but rather one that speaks of truths through Krishna.
What holds the devotee's mind foremost is Krishna's repeated injunction to abandon the mortal self to the infinite love of the Lord. He spoke to not only to the mind and to the Hindu's innate sense of Dharma, but called for overwhelming love, that to love God was to love the immortal Self, and to find some harmony in oneself was to be at peace with the entire cosmos. It speaks of cultivating both the intellect and the body, but always to remain equal in perspectival intuition of the greater Self. The Bhagavad Gita truly sought to be a liberation scripture universal in its message.



The Puranas
The Puranas are a vast medieval literature of stories and allegory. Eighteen are considered to be Mahapuranas, or Great Puranas, and thus authoritative references on the Gods and Goddesses, religious rites and holy places (most of which are in the Indian subcontinent, known as Bharat).
Eighteen (18) are considered main purans called "Mahapuranas", and another Eighteen (18) are "Upapuranas". That means total number of Puranas in Hindu Literature are 36. Maharapuranas (18) - (1) Brahma (2) Padma (3) Vaishnav (4) Shaiva (5) Bhagvat (6) Naradiya (7) Markendeya (8) Agneya (9) Bhaibishya (10) Brhamabaibarta (11) Linga (12) Baraha (13) Skanda (14) Baman (15) Kourma (16) Matsa (17) Garud (18) Brahmanda
Upapuranas (18) - (1) Aadi (2) Nrisingha (3) Bayu (4) Shiva (5) Dharma (6) Durbasa (7) Narad (8) Nandikeshwar (9) Ushana (10) Kapil (11) Barun (12) Shamba (13) Kalika (14) Maheswar (15) Devi (16) Padma (17) Parasar (18) Marichi one Upparana also available (19) Bhaskar
Total 37 Hindu Puranas available, 18 Mahapuranas, and 19 Upapuranas



The Tevaram Saivite Hymns
The Tevaram is a body of remarkable hymns exuding Bhakti composed more than 1400Ð1200 years ago in the classical Tamil language by three Saivite composers. They are credited with igniting the Bhakti movement in the whole of India.



Divya Prabandha Vaishnavite Hymns
The Nalayira Divya Prabandha (or Nalayira (4000) Divya Prabhamdham) is a divine collection of 4,000 verses (Naalayira in Tamil means 'four thousand') composed before 8th century AD, by the 12 Alvars, and was compiled in its present form by Nathamuni during the 9th - 10th centuries. The work is the beginning of the canonization of the twelve Vaishnava poet saints, and these hymns are still sung extensively today. The works were lost before they were collected and organized in the form of an anthology by Nathamunigal. The Prabandha sings the praise of Sriman Narayana (or Vishnu) and his many forms. The Alvars sung these songs at various sacred shrines. These shrines are known as the Divya Desams.
In South India, especially in Tamil Nadu, the Divya Prabhandha is considered as equal to the Vedas, hence the epithet Dravida Veda. In many temples, Srirangam, for example, the chanting of the Divya Prabhandham forms a major part of the daily service. Prominent among the 4,000 verses are the 1,100+ verses known as the Thiru Vaaymozhi, composed by Nammalvar (Kaaril Maaran Sadagopan) of Thiruk Kurugoor.



Other Hindu Texts
Other famous texts of Hinduism include those of the bhakti yoga school (loving devotion to God) such as the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (an epic poem on the scale of Milton's Paradise Lost based on the Ramayana), the Gita Govinda of Jayadeva (a religious song of the divine love of Krishna and his consort Radha) and the Devi Mahatmya (the tales of Devi, the Hindu mother goddess, in her many forms as Shakti, Durga, Parvati, etc.).

Hindu Texts   Wikipedia