Questions tagged [history]
For questions about the history of Hinduism.
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At which point in time did Hinduism begin to embrace vegetarianism exactly?
I was watching a BBC documentary where they claimed that early Rig Vedic writers (early Brahmins) practiced "horse sacrifice" and were indeed non vegetarians. So at what point did they decide to ...
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Guarding of women's quarter in the later Vedic and Puranic eras
We come to learn from the Mahabharata and various puranas that Krishna had 16,000 or 16,100 wives besides his 8 principal consorts. Is there any direct or indirect reference in any of the major/minor ...
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Is Neo-Vedanta a modern modification of Hinduism?
According to this article, Neo-Vedanta is a modern interpretation of Hinduism that incorporates Western values. The author says this:
During this short span of time in the 19th century, the ancient
...
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28 views
Why do Vedas have śākhās? Are all of them apauruṣeyā?
This table lists the Vedas and their extant śākhās under the Saṃhitā column. My question has to do with the śākhās.
Note that the bracketed terms in the Saṃhitā column are names of the
...
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0answers
154 views
Who was the guru of Chanakya? [closed]
We all know Chanakya a.k.a Kautilya, the author of Arthashastra.
I would like to know that, who was his Guru and which school of thought did he follow?
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4answers
249 views
When were the Vedas classified into four?
It is said that Veda was one and later Vyasa arranged it into four ( rig sama yaju atharva) and then propagated through his pupil and hence we got shakhaas etc.
What was time when vedas were ...
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What are the different sampradayas under the “shanmatha” branches?
Like the various Vaishanava sampradayas, what are the major disciplic lines for the other 5 sects... Shaiva, Shakta, Ganapatya, Kaumara and Saura?
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1answer
116 views
Reference to China in Manusmṛti?
In his column What exactly is the Manusmriti?, Devdutt Pattanaik says the Manu mentions China. Which verse(s) is he referring to?
Manusmriti was composed roughly around 200 CE (Common Era). We know ...
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When did Shaivism start?
In terms of history of India, when did Shaivism appear? I don't mean references to Lord Shiva, I mean Shaivism as a religious entity.
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137 views
How did lord Rama perform penance for Ravana after killing him?
In this video, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudeva says that Shri Rama performed 1 year penance in Himalayas for killing Ravana, who was a great devotee of lord Shiva.
Is it true?
If yes, then how did he do ...
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1answer
99 views
Why Kumarila Bhatta sacrificed his life?
Kumarila Bhatta burnt his body in front of the whole villagers. What was the reason behind this act of his?
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Age of sanatan dharma till today [duplicate]
What's the exact age of sanatan dharma ? And when it started. whats the date it started.?
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Was Kumārila Bhaṭṭa the first to argue that the Vedas were apauruṣeya (authorless)?
Wikipedia says:
2. Every extant school held some scripture to be correct. To show that the Veda was the only correct scripture, Bhaṭṭa ingeniously said that "the absence of an author would ...
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38 views
What was the dialogue (debate) between YajnaMurti and Ramanujacharya?
While reading the biography of Sri Ramanujacharya, I've read one story of YajnaMurti (यज्ञमूर्ति), (You can read it from Internet Archive pg. 107) who was the believer of Advaita. He was pundit of ...
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Why is Garba performed?
I came to know that in many parts of India Garba is performed.
Is there any secret behind that?
When did the practice of Garba start?
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Difference between old and new temple of Yadagiri gutta
I recently visited Yadagiri gutta sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple with my parents and siblings.
While going back I came to know that we don't visit the old temple. I did search on the wiki about ...
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2answers
137 views
Didn't the Sati practice exist in India? [duplicate]
There's a YouTube channel called FMF, which makes videos on Indian culture and Hinduism. Recently one of its videos focused on the Sati practice.
here's the link to that video. It will also be ...
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1answer
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What is the story behind the legendary temple of the virgin Goddess, Kanya Kumari?
As the question title says I would like to read references from some authentic resources (scriptures, if possible) about the story behind the legendary temple of the virgin Goddess, Kanya Kumari, like ...
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Before taking Samadhi Dnyaneshwar did follow Ashtangyoga?
Ashtangyoga contains 8 parts in yoga. Ashta means 8.
Ashtangyoga - Yam Niyam Aasan Pranayam Pratyahar Dharana Dhyan Samadhi
These are eight parts of Ashtangyoga. The saint Dnyaneshwar has taken ...
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1answer
137 views
Did Vedanta Desikan debate Tuvarapati Kavalar?
The Sri Vaishnava sect has two sub-sects, Thenkalai and Vadakalai. Vadakalais follow the teachings of Vedanta Desikan, whereas Thenkalais follow the teachings of Pillai Lokacharya. Now the Vedanta ...
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0answers
84 views
Did Vedanta Desikan perform Samashrayanam for Vidyaranya?
The famous 13th century Sri Vaishnava Acharya Vedanta Desikan was childhood friends with the Advaita philosopher Vidyaranya, who served as the Shankaracharya of Sringeri and chief advisor of the ...
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5answers
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Why Gayatri mantra is widely recited by non-bramhins nowadays which was once the stronghold of only the brahmins?
Is there any reason for release of Gayatri mantra to non brahmins and even to women? I think such practice is irregular. Who is responsible for deviation from very ancient practice and making it ...
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Are there any curse associated with Padmanabhaswamy temple & Sabrimala of Kerala, India?
Padmanabhaswamy kshetra and Sabrimala area are 2 of the most sacred places in the state of Kerala, India.
In recent years, there have been certain controversies associated with them, where the ...
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Was there any Rishi/Sant/Saint by the name of Maadan?
I was reading an article about Shukracharya here, which says:
There lived Saint Maadan in ancient India, once he visits an
Ashram (residential area for saints in jungle) and see beautiful
...
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0answers
131 views
Is Agathyar (Agastya) from Ramayana same as the one who lived in Tamil Nadu 5000 years back?
We all know Agathyar (Agastya) had a part to play in Ramayana. But was it the same Agathyar who lived in Tamil Nadu 5000 years back as 1st Siddhar? His famous writing is Agathyar 12000 songs & his ...
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4answers
647 views
Who is the goddess depicted as “Bharat Mata” & why is she having Indian tricolor flag?
What is the story of Bharat Mata?
What's her connection with the Indian national flag?
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1answer
159 views
Norse mythology and hindu scriptures
I don't have a question but I was reading about J.R.R. Tolkien and it's books, and I found many similarities with our scriptures. I am not even sure that is it debatable or not.
Now like, most of the ...
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0answers
223 views
Is Velukkudi Krishnan from a Swayamacharya lineage?
As I discuss in this question, the Sri Vaishnava sect (of which I'm a member) is divided into two sub-sects, Thenkalai and Vadakalai. Both Thenkalais and Vadakalais have Mathams, similar to the ...
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How has been the religious exchange among India and the West after Vivekananda's Chicago speech?
Swami Vivekananda in his time had stated that spiritualism grew at a faster rate in India contrasting to the West, where materialism developed faster.
In his later life he had in fact been ...
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Thrivikrama Avatar
When God Narayana incarnated Thrivikrama avatar he kept his feet on Mahabali and showed his finger upwards. Thirumangai alwar composed a lyric on this and Thirugnanasambandar after hearing the ...
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At what point of time the SanAtana Dharma was started to be known as “SanAtana Dharma”? [duplicate]
"Hinduism" is typically known as a religion or set of religions . In broader sense, it's also called a "way of life". See:
Do any Hindu scriptures say that Hinduism is not a religion but simply a way ...
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1answer
248 views
Which is the oldest of all Purāṇas?
I was trying to answer Which scripture was first to identify Buddha as an avatar of Lord Vishnu? but then I don't know which is the oldest of the Purāṇas.
I'm not looking for references from Purāṇas ...
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0answers
68 views
Was Buddha a Hindu? [duplicate]
I was wondering where to post such a question. I chose Hinduism because it is the most liberal religion.
My question is: Was Buddha a Hindu? Was he a Kshatriya?
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What is the oldest scripture which explains how a temple should be built?
What is the oldest (surviving) Hindu scripture which explains how a temple should be built, maintained, and what should be its day-to-day affairs?
Is an English translation of the same available?
Is ...
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3answers
151 views
Which characters of Mahābhārata are also mentioned in the Vedas?
By characters, I mean people (kings, queens and sages) like Kṛṣṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Duryodhana, Draupadī, Vyāsa, etc. and not gods/mythological beings like Indra, Agni, Śiva and Viṣṇu....
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Which characters of Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa are also mentioned in the Vedas?
By characters, I mean people (kings, queens and sages) like Daśaratha, Rāma, Janaka, Sītā, Viśvāmitra, Vasiṣṭha, etc. and not gods/mythological beings like Indra, Agni, Śiva and Viṣṇu.
And by Vedas, ...
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1answer
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If some of the early Alwars used to consider Venkateswara as Shiva and Vishnu both then what's the proof of it?
Venkateswara, AFAIK, is a form of Lord Vishnu. And, Alwars a group of Tamil Vaishnavite saints.
But, the article, Sri Venkateswara on the Kamakotimandali.org, says that initially, the Alwars used to ...
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5answers
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Who coined the term 'Jambudvipa' and 'Bharat' for India as a country?
I was going through this article in which there is a mention of India or 'Bharat' not being called as a country until in the Third century BC Ashoka used 'Jambudvipa' for 16 mahajanpadas which could ...
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2answers
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Is there any God/Deity of Electricity?
For all the natural & social aspects like water, fire, animals, wind, earth, trees, engineering, sex, day/night, knowledge, maths, strength -- we have certain kind of deity.
Ancient civilization ...
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1answer
152 views
Was Śatānanda the son of Gautama or Indra?
It is generally believed that Śatānanda was the son of Gautama and Ahalyā.
But was Śatānanda born before Indra had the brief affair with Ahalyā?
How do we know Śatānanda was not the son of ...
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Where is the bridge that were built between Sri Lanka and India in the epic ,Ramayana?
I have a question about our epic ,Ramayana .It was said that Lord Srirama built a bridge between India and Sri Lanka with the help of his vanara senna ,if so where is that bridge ?
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What is the lineage of kings in Bharata after Mahabharata war until recent day? [duplicate]
Arjuna's son Abhimanyu's son Parikshit's son Janamejaya around 5000 B.C
After that, what is the lineage of monarchy of chandravamsha (to which all Kurus belong)?
In history classes, 'India' ...
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0answers
144 views
What is the story of the first Acharya of Ramanujacharya's Matham in Melkote?
When the famous Sri Vaishnava Acharya Ramanujacharya fled Sri Rangam due to the persecution of the Shaivite Chola king (which I discuss here), he went to Melkote in Karnataka. It's only after the ...
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1answer
830 views
How exactly did Swami Vivekananda die?
Wikipedia says:
On 4 July 1902 (the day of his death) Vivekananda awoke early, went to the monastery at Belur Math and meditated for three hours. He taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda, Sanskrit grammar and ...
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1answer
189 views
Is there any Hindu spiritual principle that causes many Hindus to oppose the Aryan Migration Theory?
Recently a question was asked about the reasons why many Hindus are opposed to the Aryan Migration Theory (AMT)? The question was asked in a manner that does not fit with the requirements of this site....
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1answer
97 views
Which schools prior to the Gautam Buddha gave the finite size of the atma (आत्मा )?
Gautam Buddha is said to talk about Self in his teachings later during third turning of wheel (or call it whatever). He said about the self like this which is Advaitic & in agreement with both ...
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361 views
Why was Vedanta Desikan's other uncle initiated by Pillai Lokacharya's father?
The Sri Vaishnava sect has two sub-sects, Thenkalai and Vadakalai. Vadakalais follow the teachings of Vedanta Desikan, whereas Thenkalais follow the teachings of Pillai Lokacharya. I just found an ...
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Did Sri Ramanuja convert atheists?
Sri Ramanuja, the great Vaishnava acharya and the propounder of Vishishtadvaita philosophy, is known to have converted many Buddhists and Jains back to Hinduism.
What about atheists? Did he convert ...
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1answer
94 views
Is hiding one's caste a punishable offense?
From this article:
Although the first Maratha ruler, Shivaji, freely recruited Mahars in his army, two centuries later, by the time of the Peshwas, the status of Mahars was lower than ever. The ...
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What was the debate where Ramanandi tradition defeated Ramanuja tradition in 1921 Ujjain Kumbh mela?
From wiki
The 1921 Simhastha is notable for a historic debate in which the Ramanandi Sampradaya defeated the Ramanuja sampradaya (Shri Vaishnavas). The debate was to address the question whether ...
