LibGuides: Religion & Philosophy: Hinduism

Topic Pages - Deities

Shiva: Topic Page
In Hinduism, the third chief god (with Brahma and Vishnu) making up the Trimurti.
Ganesh: Topic Page
Hindu god of prophecy, son of Shiva and Parvati; he is represented as elephant-headed.
Krishna: Topic Page
Eighth avatar (incarnation) of the Hindu god Vishnu. The devotion of the bhakti movement is usually directed towards Krishna.
Vishnu
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Also called Narayana, Vishnu is regarded as the supreme God, of whom other gods are secondary manifestations.
Kali
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Hindu mythology, the goddess of destruction and creation, and the wife of Shiva.

Bhagavad Gita: Topic Page
[Skt.,=song of the Lord], Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism.
Mahabharata: Topic Page
Classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200.
Ramayana: Topic Page
classical Sanskrit epic of India: "The Story of Rama"
Veda
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the most ancient religious texts in an Indo-European language.

Hinduism: Topic Page
Hindu culture began about 4000 bce on the Indian subcontinent; today some 900 million followers worldwide practice Hindu traditions, or the “Vedic dispensation.”
Yoga: Topic Page
General term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness.
Vedanta: Topic Page
One of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy.
Reincarnation: Topic Page
Belief that after death the human soul or the spirit of a plant or animal may live again.
Tantra (Topic Page)
Tantric practices use both ritual and meditation to unify the devotee with the chosen deity.
Kumbh Mela: Topic Page
Hindu festival that commemorates a 12-year celestial battle between gods and demons, over a pitcher (kumbh) containing the sacred nectar of immortality (amrit).
Diwali
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Hinduism, festival in October/November celebrating Lakshmi, goddess of light and wealth, as well as the New Year and the story of the Rāmāyana.
Puja: Topic Page
An act of worship in which the deity is invited to descend into its image and is treated as a guest.

Jainism: Topic Page
A religious system of India which rejects the Hindu tradition of sacrifice, among other Hindu rituals.
Ajivika
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
The Ajivikas were an ascetic, atheistic, anti-Brahmanical community whose pessimistic doctrines are related to those of Jainism.