Fundamentals of Indian Culture: Ancient Traditions Explained

Avatara literally means descent, especially of a deity from the heaven and its appearance on the earth, but generally it indicates incarnation of Vishnu to protest the righteous and punish the wicked. The origin of the concept of avatara has been traced in the Vedic literature. The Shatapatha Brahmana refers to the deified form of fish(Matsya), tortoise(Kurma) and dwarf (Vamana). It is said that having assumed the form of Tortoise Prajapati created offspring and in the form of a boar he lifted the earth from the waters. The Taittiriya Brahmana repeats the story relating to boar lifting earth from water. It also alludes to Narsimha or Man-lion, Reference to deified fish is found in the Shatapatha Brahmana which relates to the legend of the great deluge. In the Shatapatha and Taittiriya Brahmins the Avataras of fish, tortoise and boar are represented as the manifestations of Prajapati Brahma. However in later mythologies these Avataras have been specifically related to Vishnu. The great ...

Churning of the ocean is a popular motif, a recurring theme in Indian literature. Plying of large number of ships moving both ways on the waves of the sea in ancient India gave rise to the metaphor of churning of ocean which became a part of Indian mythology. The legend of ocean churning is found in the Ramayana of Valmiki, the Mahabharata and the Puranas with some variations. It is said that devas gods were emaciated under the curse of Rishis Durvasa and they wanted to obtain amrit ‘nectar” of immortality from the milky ocean. Unable to churn the ocean alone, they sought the help of asuras, the demons and both of them jointly churned the ocean making Vasuki, the serpent King the rope and mountain Mandara the stick. In the course of churning many treasures-ratnas came up from the ocean . They obtained halahala, the deadly poison in the form of a plant whose seed is said to resemble the cows teat. In order to save the world from destruction Lord Shiv swallowed the poison and r...

HINDU SAMSKAR Ceremony and sacrament are two words in the English language which are used for the Sanskrit word samskar. As regards ceremony it is mere formal observance on some solemn occasion an outward rite religious or sacred. A sacrament, as defined in the Christian theology, is a visible sign of an invisible grace. It is very near to the Hindu concept of samskar which has been defined as a peculiar excellence accruing from the performance of rites ordained by the shastras as an excellence residing in the soul or in the body. Samskar in Hindu religion is like the grammar by which the colloquial speech, raw and fluctuating, is shaped and systematized for rendering it fit to play a universal and higher role. The concept of Samskar has been meaningfully brought out by Kalidas, the poet par excellence, in Raghuvamsh (III, 18) “ The body as it is born is like the raw stone (mani) from the mine and the samskaras are like the grinding and polishing by the gems-cutter. As in the cas...

Indian Society has been theoretically divided in four classes – Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. The basis of this division was personal qualities and functions of members of each class. The first of these included those who were intellectuals, poets and thinkers and devoted to conservation and preservation of ancient ideals and cultural heritage and probing mysteries of the universe, investigating relationship between Brahma, the supreme spirit and the individual soul. The second class comprising Kshatriyas was charged with the task of protecting the people, defending them against foreign invasions and controlling crimes and revolts. The third class constituting of Vaishyas represented the productive and commercial wings of the society. In the entire social set up the Vaishyas were in charge of agriculture, industry and commerce. The Shudra class consisted of men physically strong and capable of doing good physical work, but intellectually dull and incapable of comprehending a...