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85-443: Furthermore, when specifying the masa, one of two traditions are applicable, viz. amānta / pūrṇimānta . If a festival falls in the waning phase of the moon, these two traditions identify the same lunar day as falling in two different (but successive) masa. Traditional Pitri Paksha ( Sanskrit : पितृ पक्ष , lit.   '"fortnight of the paternal ancestors"', IAST : Pitṛ pakṣa ), also spelt Pitru Paksha ,

170-424: A banana leaf or cups made of dried leaves. The food must include Kheer (a type of sweet rice and milk), lapsi (a sweet porridge made of wheat grains), rice, dal (lentils), spring bean ( guar ) and a yellow gourd (pumpkin). The male who performs the shraddha should take a purifying bath beforehand and is expected to wear a dhoti . He wears a ring of darbha grass . Then the ancestors are invoked to reside in

255-492: A collection of songs and mantras known as Mahisasuramardini that recounts goddess Durga ’s birth and eventual triumph over the demon king Mahishasura . Offerings to the ancestors are made in homes and at puja mandap s (temporary shrines). The shraddha is performed on the specific lunar day during the Pitri Paksha, when the ancestor—usually a parent or paternal grandparent—died. There are exceptions to

340-522: A highly diverse collection of topics, including cosmology , mythology , the relationship between gods, ethics, good versus evil, various schools of Hindu philosophies , the theory of yoga , heaven and hell , karma and rebirth , ancestral rites and other soteriological topics; rivers and geography, types of minerals and stones, the testing of gems for their quality, lists of plants and herbs, various diseases and their symptoms, various medicines, aphrodisiacs, and prophylactics; astronomy, astrology,

425-446: A long period of time. Gietz et al. place the first version of the text only between the fourth and eleventh centuries CE. Leadbeater states that the text is likely from about 900 CE, given that it includes chapters on Yoga and Tantra techniques that likely developed later. Other scholars suggest that the earliest core of the text may be from the first centuries of the common era, and additional chapters were added thereafter through

510-522: A lunar system. The Buddhist calendar and the traditional lunisolar calendars of Cambodia , Laos , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and Thailand are also based on an older version of the Hindu calendar. Similarly, the ancient Jain traditions have followed the same lunisolar system as the Hindu calendar for festivals, texts and inscriptions. However, the Buddhist and Jain timekeeping systems have attempted to use

595-457: A number of systems of which intercalary months became most used, that is adding another month every 32.5 months on average. As their calendar keeping and astronomical observations became more sophisticated, the Hindu calendar became more sophisticated with complex rules and greater accuracy. According to Scott Montgomery, the Siddhanta tradition at the foundation of Hindu calendars predate

680-700: A person. . In one version of the Garuda Purana , these chapters on laws of virtue are borrowed from and duplicates of nearly 500 verses found in the Yajnavalkya Smriti . The various versions of Garuda Purana show significant variations. The Garuda Purana asserts that the highest and most imperative religious duty is to introspect into one's own soul, seeking self-communion. The chapter 108 and thereafter, present Garuda Purana 's theories on Nityaachaara (नित्याचार, lit.   ' ethics and right conduct ' ) towards others. Quit

765-446: A plot of ground should be divided into a grid of 8×8 (64) squares, with the four innermost squares forming the chatuskon ( adytum ). The core of the temple, states the text, should be reachable through 12 entrances, and the walls of the temple raised touching the 48 of the squares. The height of the temple plinth should be based on the length of the platform, the vault in the inner sanctum should be co-extensive with adytum's length with

850-597: A rudimentary level. Later medieval era texts such as the Yavana-jataka and the Siddhanta texts are more astrology-related. Hinduism and Buddhism were the prominent religions of southeast Asia in the 1st millennium CE, prior to the Islamic conquest that started in the 14th century. The Hindus prevailed in Bali, Indonesia, and they have two types of Hindu calendar. One is a 210-day based Pawukon calendar which likely

935-475: A significant role. In Pitri Paksha, prayers are offered to bring upon moksha , both for the ancestors and for those performing the rituals. According to Swami Sivananda , Pitri Paksha increases the enjoyment of souls remaining in heaven before undergoing samsara or rebirth, or mitigates the suffering of those in other worlds; in the case those souls took another birth immediately after their deaths, Shraddha adds to their happiness in their new birth. According to

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1020-428: A similar idea—that Pitri Paksha emphasises the fact that the ancestors and the current generation and their next unborn generation are connected by blood ties. The current generation repays their debt to the ancestors in the Pitri Paksha. This debt is considered of utmost importance along with a person's debt to his gurus and his parents. In Bengal , Mahalaya (Bengali: মহালয়া) (Mahalaya Amavasya) usually marks

1105-525: A similar manner to the Christian era . There are several samvat found in historic Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts and epigraphy, of which three are most significant: Vikrama era, Old Shaka era and Shaka era of 78 CE. The Hindu calendar divides the zodiac into twelve division called rāśi ("group"). The Sun appears to move around the Earth through different divisions/constellations in the sky throughout

1190-414: A son during Pitri Paksha is considered compulsory by Hindus, to ensure that the soul of the ancestor goes to heaven. In this context, the scripture Garuda Purana says, "there is no salvation for a man without a son". The scriptures preach that a householder should propitiate ancestors ( Pitris ), along with the gods ( devas ), elements ( bhutas ) and guests. The scripture Markandeya Purana says that if

1275-470: A true spirit of compassionate sympathy, carries the merit of all sorts of pious acts. The text similarly discusses the following virtues—right conduct, damah (self-restraint), ahimsa (non-killing, non-violence in actions, words, and thoughts), studying the Vedas , and performing rites of passage . The text presents different set of diet and rites of passage rules based on the class and stage of life of

1360-401: Is Pretakhanda, which deals primarily with rituals associated with death and cremation. The cosmology presented in Garuda Purana revolves around Vishnu and Lakshmi , and it is their union that created the universe. Vishnu is the unchanging reality called Brahman , while Lakshmi is the changing reality called Maya . The goddess is the material cause of the universe, the god acts to begin

1445-480: Is a 16-lunar day period in the Hindu calendar when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors ( Pitri ), especially through food offerings. The period is also known as Pitarpas, Pitri Paksha / Pitr-Paksha , Pitri Pokkho , Sorah Shraddha ("sixteen shraddhas"), Kanagat , Jitiya , Mahalaya , Apara Paksha and akhadpak . Pitri Paksha is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death rite performed during

1530-597: Is a pre-Hindu system, and another is similar to lunisolar calendar system found in South India and it is called the Balinese saka calendar which uses Hindu methodology. The names of month and festivals of Balinese Hindus, for the most part, are different, though the significance and legends have some overlap. The Hindu calendar is based on a geocentric model of the Solar System . A large part of this calendar

1615-672: Is also found in the Hebrew calendar , the Chinese calendar , and the Babylonian calendar , but different from the Gregorian calendar. Unlike the Gregorian calendar which adds additional days to the month to adjust for the mismatch between twelve lunar cycles (354 lunar days) and approximately 365 solar days, the Hindu calendar maintains the integrity of the lunar month, but inserts an extra full month, once every 32–33 months, to ensure that

1700-504: Is also held on the death anniversary of the ancestor. The shraddha is performed only at noon, usually on the bank of a river or lake or at one's own house. Families may also make a pilgrimage to places like Varanasi and Gaya to perform Shraddha. An annual Pitri Paksha Mela at Gaya on the banks of River Falgu . Pilgrims from all corners of the country visit Gaya for offering Pinda to their Ancestors. According to Bihar Tourism Department estimates, some 5,00,000 to 75,00,000 pilgrims arrive in

1785-466: Is condensed in the Vedas , in texts of different schools of philosophy such as Nyaya and Mimamsa , in the Shastras on dharma , on making money and temporal sciences written by 14 holy sages. Thereafter, through Yajnavalkya, the text presents its laws of virtue. The first one it lists is dāna (charity), which it defines as: A gift, made at a proper time and place, to a deserving person, in

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1870-453: Is consecrated to the ancestors (Pitri). Hence, the moment when the Sun transits from the north to the south celestial sphere is considered to begin a day of the ancestors . This moment is considered sacred, necessitating the performance of special religious rites. Most years, this transit occurs during Bhadrapada masa Krishna paksha (as per the amanta tradition) / Ashvina masa Krishna paksha (as per

1955-411: Is considered as fruitful as one conducted in the holy city of Gaya , which is seen as a special place to perform the rite, and hosts a fair during the Pitri Paksha period. Matamaha ("Mother's father") or Dauhitra ("Daughter's son") also marks the first day of the month of Ashvin and beginning of the bright fortnight. It is assigned for the grandson of the deceased maternal grandfather. The ritual

2040-552: Is defined based on the movement of the Sun and the Moon around the Earth (saura māna and cāndra māna respectively). Furthermore, it includes synodic , sidereal , and tropical elements. Many variants of the Hindu calendar have been created by including and excluding these elements (solar, lunar, lunisolar etc.) and are in use in different parts of India. Samvat refers to era of the several Hindu calendar systems in Nepal and India , in

2125-516: Is for children and ascetics who had renounced the worldly pleasures. The fourteenth day is known as Ghata chaturdashi or Ghayala chaturdashi , and is reserved for those people killed by arms, in war or suffering a violent death. Sarvapitri amavasya (all ancestors' new moon day) is intended for all ancestors, irrespective of the lunar day they died. It is the most important day of the Pitri Paksha. Those who have forgotten to perform shraddha can do so on this day. A shraddha ritual performed on this day

2210-555: Is one of 18 Mahapuranas in Hinduism . The Garuda Purana was likely composed in the first millennium CE, with significant expansions and revisions occurring over several centuries. Scholars estimate that the earliest core might date back to between the 4th and 11th centuries CE, with substantial additions and modifications continuing into the 2nd millennium CE. The Garuda Purana text, known in many versions, contains more than 15,000 verses. Its chapters deal encyclopedically with

2295-471: Is one whose kingdom is prosperous, whose treasury is full, and who never chastises his ministers or servants. He secures services from the qualified, honest and virtuous, rejects the incapable, wicked and malicious, states chapter 113. A good government collects taxes like a bee collecting honey from all the flowers when ready and without draining any flower. Chapters 146–218 of the Purvakhanda present

2380-425: Is prudent to sacrifice oneself to save a family, and it is prudent to sacrifice one family to save a village. It is prudent to save a country if left with a choice to save the country or a village. Yet, in verses that follow, it says a man should renounce that country whose inhabitants champion prejudice, and forgo the friend who he discovers to be deceitful. The text cautions against application of knowledge which

2465-420: Is the substance of Purusha, the soul and the constant. Pintchman states that the masculine and the feminine are presented by the Garuda Purana as inseparable aspects of the same divine, metaphysical truth Brahman . Madan states that the Garuda Purana elaborates the repeatedly found theme in Hindu religious thought that the living body is a microcosm of the universe, governed by the same laws and made out of

2550-507: Is wedded to meanness, against pursuit of physical beauty without ennobling mind, and against making friends with those who abandon their dear ones in adversity. It is the nature of all living beings to pursue one's own self-interest. Yet, do not acquire wealth through vicious means or by bowing down to your enemies. The text also asserts that: men of excellence live with honest means, are true to their wives, pass their time in intellectual pursuits and are hospitable to newcomers. Eternal are

2635-572: The Chinese language in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, and the Rigvedic passages on astronomy are found in the works of Zhu Jiangyan and Zhi Qian . According to Subhash Kak , the beginning of the Hindu calendar was much earlier. He cites Greek historians describing Maurya kings referring to a calendar which originated in 6676 BCE known as Saptarsi calendar. The Vikrami calendar is named after king Vikramaditya and starts in 57 BCE. Hindu scholars kept precise time by observing and calculating

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2720-589: The Dhanvantari Samhita , its treatise on medicine. The opening verses assert that the text describes the pathology, pathogeny, and symptoms of all diseases studied by ancient sages, in terms of its causes, incubation stage, manifestation in full form, amelioration, location, diagnosis, and treatment. Parts of the pathology and medicine-related chapters of Garuda Purana , states Ludo Rocher, are similar to Nidanasthana of Vagbhata's Astangahridaya , and these two may be different manuscript recensions of

2805-478: The Garuda Purana also includes significant sections with reverence for Shaiva , Shakti , and Smarta traditions, including the Panchayatana puja of Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Surya (Sun), and Ganesha. The Garuda Purana includes chapters on the architecture and design of a temple. It describes recommended layouts and dimensional ratios for design and construction. In the first design, it recommends that

2890-524: The Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia , with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or the sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of

2975-400: The autumnal equinox falls within this period, i.e. the Sun transitions from the northern to the southern hemisphere during this period. In North India and Nepal, and cultures following the purnimanta calendar or the solar calendar, this period may correspond to the waning fortnight of the luni-solar month Ashvina , instead of Bhadrapada. As per Hindu traditions, the south celestial sphere

3060-434: The darbha grass , a gold image, or Shaligram stone) and Yama. The food offering is then made, cooked especially for the ceremony on the roof. The offering is considered to be accepted if a crow arrives and devours the food; the bird is believed to be a messenger from Yama or the spirit of the ancestors. A cow and a dog are also fed, and Brahmin priests are also offered food. Once the ancestors (crow) and Brahmins have eaten,

3145-570: The Buddha and the Mahavira's lifetimes as their reference points. The Hindu calendar is also important to the practice of Hindu astrology and zodiac system. It is also employed for observing the auspicious days of deities and occasions of fasting, such as Ekadashi . Time keeping [The current year] minus one, multiplied by twelve, multiplied by two, added to the elapsed [half months of current year], increased by two for every sixty [in

3230-603: The Christian era, once had 18 texts of which only 5 have survived into the modern era. These texts provide specific information and formulae on motions of Sun, Moon and planets, to predict their future relative positions, equinoxes, rise and set, with corrections for prograde, retrograde motions, as well as parallax. These ancient scholars attempted to calculate their time to the accuracy of a truti (29.63 microseconds). In their pursuit of accurate tracking of relative movements of celestial bodies for their calendar, they had computed

3315-558: The Gaya city during the Pitri Paksha Mela every year. It is essential that Shraddha be performed by the son—usually the eldest—or male relative of the paternal branch of the family, limited to the preceding three generations. However, on Sarvapitri amavasya or matamaha , the daughter's son can offer Shraddha for the maternal side of his family if a male heir is absent in his mother's family. Some castes only perform

3400-482: The Kuru ancestors who were stuck in limbo cursed him. Karna said that since he was unaware of his ancestry, he never donated anything in their memory. To make amends, Karna was permitted to return to the earth for a 15-day period, so that he could perform shraddha to them and donate food and water in their memory. This period is now known as Pitri Paksha. In some legends, Yama replaces Indra. The performance of Shraddha by

3485-626: The Malayalam calendar broadly retains the phonetic Sanskrit names, the Bengali and Tamil calendars repurpose the Sanskrit lunar month names (Chaitra, Vaishaka etc.) as follows: The solar months ( rāśi ) along with their equivalent names in the Bangali, Malayalam and Tamil calendar are given below: or ଭାଦ୍ର (Bhādra) (Tai) or ଫଗୁଣ (Phaguṇa) (Māsi) The solar months ( rāśi ) along with

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3570-673: The Meru style to Shrivatsa style. Each thematic form of temple architecture permits nine styles of temples, and the Purana lists all 45 styles. It also states that within these various temple styles, the inner edifice is best in five shapes: triangle, lotus-shaped, crescent, rectangular, and octagonal. The text thereafter describes the design guidelines for the Mandapa and the Garbha Griha . The temple design, states Jonathan Parry, follows

3655-660: The Sun towards north for 6 months, and south for 6 months. Time keeping was important to Vedic rituals, and Jyotisha was the Vedic era field of tracking and predicting the movements of astronomical bodies in order to keep time, in order to fix the day and time of these rituals. This study is one of the six ancient Vedangas , or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Vedic Sanatan Sanskriti. Yukio Ohashi states that this Vedanga field developed from actual astronomical studies in ancient Vedic Period. The texts of Vedic Jyotisha sciences were translated into

3740-412: The ancestors are content with the shraddhas, they will bestow health, wealth, knowledge and longevity, and ultimately heaven and salvation ( moksha ) upon the performer. The performance of Sarvapitri amavasya rites can also compensate a forgotten or neglected annual Shraddha ceremony, which should ideally coincide with the death anniversary of the deceased. According to Sharma, the ceremony is central to

3825-440: The approximate correspondence to Hindu seasons and Gregorian months are: Meṣa ♈ Mid May ( Spring ) [sõ:tʰ] Mithuna ♊ Mid July ( Summer ) [greʃim] Siṃha ♌ Mid Sep ( Monsoon ) [wəhraːtʰ] Tulā Garuda Purana Divisions Sama vedic Yajur vedic Atharva vedic Vaishnava puranas Shaiva puranas Shakta puranas The Sanskrit text Garuda Purana

3910-609: The beginning of Durga Puja festivities. Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis, is celebrated annually during the Hindu calendar month Ashvin (September and October). The celebration begins with Mahalaya. Mahalaya is the day when the goddess Durga is believed to have descended to Earth. Bengali people traditionally wake up early in the morning on Mahalaya to recite hymns from the Devi Mahatmya (Chandi) scripture. Every Bengali household wakes up at dawn to listen to

3995-568: The benefits of self-knowledge. The Padma Purana categorizes the Garuda Purana —along with the Bhagavata Purana , the Vishnu Purana and itself—as a sattva Purana (a Purana that represents goodness and purity). The text, like all Mahapuranas, is attributed to the sage Vyasa in the Hindu tradition. According to Pintchman, the text was composed sometime in the first millennium CE, but likely compiled and changed over

4080-495: The ceremony, known as Shraddha or Tarpana . In southern and western India, it falls in the second paksha (fortnight) Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada (September) and follows the fortnight immediately after Ganesh Utsav . It begins on the Pratipada (first day of the fortnight) ending with the no moon day known as Sarvapitri Amavasya , Pitri Amavasya , Peddala Amavasya or Mahalaya Amavasya (simply Mahalaya ) Most years,

4165-447: The characteristics of the respective planetary motion. Other texts such as Surya Siddhanta dated to have been completed sometime between the 5th century and 10th century present their chapters on various deified planets with stories behind them. The manuscripts of these texts exist in slightly different versions. They present Surya, planet-based calculations and Surya's relative motion to Earth. These vary in their data, suggesting that

4250-416: The concept of lineages. Shraddha involves oblations to three preceding generations—by reciting their names—as well as to the lineage ancestor ( gotra ). A person thus gets to know the names of six generations (three preceding generation, his own and two succeeding generations—his sons and grandsons) in his life, reaffirming lineage ties. Anthropologist Usha Menon of Drexel University presents

4335-464: The country where you can find neither friends nor pleasures, nor in which there is any knowledge to be gained. Ethics Little by little a man should acquire learning. Little by little a mountain should be climbed. Little by little desires should be gratified. — Garuda Purana , Purvakhanda, chapter 109 (translator: MN Dutt) The Garuda Purana asserts: save money for times of distress, but be willing to give it up all to save your wife. It

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4420-531: The cycles of Surya (the Sun), Moon and the planets. These calculations about the Sun appear in various astronomical texts in Sanskrit , such as the 5th-century Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata , the 6th-century Romaka by Latadeva and Panca Siddhantika by Varahamihira, the 7th-century Khandakhadyaka by Brahmagupta and the 8th-century Sisyadhivrddida by Lalla. These texts present Surya and various planets and estimate

4505-415: The dark fortnight. When the legendary donor Karna died in the epic Mahabharata war and his soul transcended to heaven, he became plagued with extreme hunger, but any food he touched became gold instantly. Karna and Surya went to Indra and asked him about the cause of this situation. Indra told Karna that he had donated gold his entire life, but had never donated food to his ancestors in shraddha. Hence,

4590-464: The early twentieth century. The Garuda Purana is a Vaishnava Purana and has, according to the tradition, 19,000 shlokas (verses). However, the manuscripts that have survived into the modern era have preserved about 8,000 verses. These are divided into two parts: a Purvakhanda (early section) and an Uttarakhanda (later section, more often known as Pretakhanda or Pretakalpa ). The Purvakhanda contains about 229 chapters, but in some versions of

4675-596: The family members can begin lunch. Some families also conduct ritual recitals of scriptures such the Bhagavata Purana and the Bhagavad Gita . Others may be charitable and present gifts to the priests or pay them to recite prayers for the ancestors' well-being. Hindu calendar#amanta Traditional The Hindu calendar , also called Panchanga ( Sanskrit : पञ्चाङ्ग ), is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in

4760-546: The festivals and crop-related rituals fall in the appropriate season. The Hindu calendars have been in use in the Indian subcontinent since Vedic times, and remain in use by the Hindus all over the world, particularly to set Hindu festival dates. Early Buddhist communities of India adopted the ancient Vedic calendar,later Vikrami calendar and then local Buddhist calendars . Buddhist festivals continue to be scheduled according to

4845-409: The homology at the foundation of Hindu thought, that the cosmos and body are harmonious correspondence of each other; the temple is a model and reminder of this cosmic homology. Gems: how to buy them? First the shape, color, defects or excellences of a gem should be carefully tested and then its price should be ascertained in consultation with a gem expert who has studied all the books dealing with

4930-410: The indents therein set at a third and a fifth ratio of the inner vault's chord. The arc should be half the height of pinnacle, and the text describes various ratios of the temple's exterior to the adytum, those within adytum and then that of the floor plan to the vimana (spire). The second design details a 16 square grid, with four inner squares ( pada ) for the adytum. The text thereafter presents

5015-421: The king, the rule should be based on truth and justice, and he must protect the country from foreign invaders. Taxation should be bearable, never cause hardship on the merchants or taxpayers, and should be similar in style to one used by the florist who harvests a few flowers without uprooting the plants and while sustaining the future crops. A good government advances order and prosperity for all. A stable king

5100-465: The lunar day rule; special days are allotted for people who died in a particular manner or had a certain status in life. Chautha Bharani and Bharani Panchami , the fourth and fifth lunar day respectively, are allocated for people deceased in the past year. Avidhava navami ("Unwidowed ninth"), the ninth lunar day, is for married women who died before their husband. Widowers invite Brahmin women as guests for their wife's shraddha. The twelfth lunar day

5185-517: The mean diameter of the Earth, which was very close to the actual 12,742 km (7,918 mi). Hindu calendars were refined during the Gupta era astronomy by Āryabhaṭa and Varāhamihira in the 5th to 6th century. These, in turn, were based in the astronomical tradition of Vedāṅga Jyotiṣa , which in the preceding centuries had been standardised in a number of (non-extant) works known as Sūrya Siddhānta . Regional diversification took place in

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5270-651: The medieval period. The astronomical foundations were further developed in the medieval period, notably by Bhāskara II (12th century). Later, the term Jyotisha evolved to include Hindu astrology . The astrological application of the Hindu calendar was a field that likely developed in the centuries after the arrival of Greek astrology with Alexander the Great , because their zodiac signs are nearly identical. The ancient Hindu texts on Jyotisha only discuss timekeeping, and never mention astrology or prophecy. These ancient texts predominantly cover astronomy, but at

5355-448: The moon and planets, and the Hindu calendar and its basis; architecture, home building, and the essential features of a Hindu temple ; rites of passage, charity and gift making, economy, thrift, the duties of a king, politics, and state officials and their roles and how to appoint them; and genres of literature and rules of grammar. The final chapters discuss how to practice yoga ( Samkhya and Advaita types), personal development, and

5440-414: The precious stones. — Garuda Purana , Purvakhanda, chapter 68 (translator: MN Dutt) The Garuda Purana describes 14 gems, their varieties, and how to test their quality. The gems discussed include ruby , pearl , yellow sapphire , hessonite , emerald , diamond , cats eye , blue sapphire, coral , red garnet , jade , colorless quartz , and bloodstone . The technical discussion of gems in

5525-513: The process. Like other Puranas, the cosmogenesis in Garuda Purana weaves the Samkhya theory of two realities—the Purusha (spirit) and Prakriti (matter), the masculine and feminine—presented as interdependent, each playing a different but essential role to create the observed universe. Goddess Lakshmi is the creative power of Prakriti, the cosmic seed and the source of creation. God Vishnu

5610-526: The purnimanta tradition). Hence this paksha has been designated as Pitri paksha and Hindus perform special religious rites during this entire period. In Hinduism, the souls of three preceding generations of one's ancestors reside in Pitriloka , a realm between heaven and earth. This realm is governed by Yama , the god of death, who takes the soul of a dying man from earth to Pitriloka . Only those three generations are given Shraddha rites, in which Yama plays

5695-516: The rewards when one weds one's knowledge with noble nature, deep is the friendship roused by connection of the soul. The discussion on ethics is mixed in other chapters. Governance is part of the Neeti Shaastra section of the Garuda Purana , and this section influenced later Indian texts on politics and economy. The Purvakhanda, from chapter 111 onwards, describes the characteristics of a good king and good government. Dharma should guide

5780-430: The ring. The shraddha is usually performed bare-chested, as the position of the sacred thread worn by him needs to be changed multiple times during the ceremony. The shraddha involves pinda dana , which is an offering to the ancestors of pindas (cooked rice and barley flour balls mixed with ghee and black sesame seeds), accompanying the release of water from the hand. It is followed by the worship of Vishnu (in form of

5865-406: The sacred Hindu epics , at the beginning of Pitri Paksha, the sun enters the zodiac sign of Virgo (Kanya). Coinciding with this moment, it is believed that the spirits leave Pitriloka and reside in their descendants' homes for a month until the sun enters the next zodiac— Libra ( Tulā )—and there is a full moon. Hindus are expected to propitiate the ancestors in the first half, during

5950-408: The same challenge of accounting for the mismatch between the nearly 354 lunar days in twelve months, versus over 365 solar days in a year. They tracked the solar year by observing the entrance and departure of Surya (sun, at sunrise and sunset) in the constellation formed by stars in the sky, which they divided into 12 intervals of 30 degrees each. Like other ancient human cultures, Hindus innovated

6035-413: The same substances. All the gods are inside the human body; what is outside the body is present within it as well. Body and cosmos, states Madan, are equated in this theme. Vishnu is presented by the text as the supreme soul within the body. The text describes Vishnu, Vaishnava festivals and puja (worship), and offers mahatmya (a pilgrimage tour guide) to Vishnu-related sacred places. However,

6120-420: The shraddha for one generation. Prior to performing the rite, the male should have experienced a sacred thread ceremony . Since the ceremony is considered inauspicious due to its association with death, the royal family of Kutch , the king or heirs of the throne are prohibited from conducting Shraddha. The food offerings made to the ancestors are usually cooked in silver or copper vessels and typically placed on

6205-523: The sixth century or later. The version of the Garuda Purana that survives into the modern era, states Dalal, is likely from 800 to 1000 CE, with sections added in the 2nd millennium. Pintchman suggests 850 to 1000 CE. Chaudhuri and Banerjee, as well as Hazra, on the other hand, state that it cannot be from before about the tenth or eleventh century CE. The text exists in many versions, with varying numbers of chapters and considerably different content. Some Garuda Purana manuscripts have been known by

6290-577: The solar cycle is emphasized and this is called the Tamil calendar (though Tamil Calendar uses month names like in Hindu Calendar) and Malayalam calendar and these have origins in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. A Hindu calendar is sometimes referred to as Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्), which is also known as Panjika in Eastern India. The ancient Hindu calendar conceptual design

6375-417: The sun], is the quantity of half-months ( syzygies ). — Rigveda Jyotisha-vedanga 4 Translator: Kim Plofker The Vedic culture developed a sophisticated time keeping methodology and calendars for Vedic rituals, and timekeeping as well as the nature of solar and Moon movements are mentioned in Vedic texts. For example, Kaushitaki Brahmana chapter 19.3 mentions the shift in the relative location of

6460-531: The text is woven with its theories on the mythical creation of each gem, astrological significance, and talisman benefits. The text describes the characteristics of the gems, how to clean and make jewelry from them, and cautions that gem experts should be consulted before buying them. For example, it describes using jamvera fruit juice (contains lime ) mixed with boiled rice starch in order to clean and soften pearls, then piercing them to make holes for jewelry. A sequential vitanapatti method of cleaning, states

6545-467: The text this section has between 240–243 chapters. The Uttarakhanda varies between 34 and 49 chapters. The Venkatesvara Edition of the Purana has an additional Khanda named Brahmakhanda . The Garuda Purana was likely fashioned after the Agni Purana , the other major medieval India encyclopedia that has survived. The text's structure is idiosyncratic, in that it is a medley, and does not follow

6630-468: The text were open and revised over their lives. For example, the 1st millennium CE Hindu scholars calculated the sidereal length of a year as follows, from their astronomical studies, with slightly different results: The Hindu texts used the lunar cycle for setting months and days, but the solar cycle to set the complete year. This system is similar to the Jewish and Babylonian ancient calendars, creating

6715-475: The text—wherein the pearls are cleaned with hot water, wine, and milk—gives the best results. It also describes a friction test by which pearls should be examined. Similar procedures and tests are described for emerald, jade, diamonds, and all other gems included in the text. Chapter 93 of the Garuda Purvakhanda presents sage Yajnavalkya's theory on laws of virtue. The text asserts that knowledge

6800-446: The theoretical structure expected in a historic puranic genre of Indian literature. It is presented as information that Garuda (the man-bird vehicle of Vishnu) learned from Vishnu and then narrated to the sage Kashyapa , which then spread in the mythical forest of Naimisha to reach the sage Vyasa. The largest section (90%) of the text is Purvakhanda, which discusses a wide range of topics associated with life and living. The remaining

6885-576: The titles " Sauparna Purana " (mentioned in Bhagavata Purana section 12.13), " Tarksya Purana " (the Persian scholar Al-Biruni who visited India mentions this name), and " Vainateya Purana " (mentioned in Vayu Purana sections 2.42 and 104.8). The book Garudapuranasaroddhara , translated by Ernest Wood and SV Subrahmanyam, appeared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This, states Ludo Rocher , created major confusion because it

6970-595: The various ratios for the temple design. The dimensions of the carvings and images on the walls, edifices, pillars and the murti are recommended by the text to be certain harmonic proportions of the layout (length of a pada ), the adytum and the spire. The text asserts that temples exist in many thematic forms. These include the bairaja (rectangle themed), puspakaksa (quadrilateral themed), kailasha (circular themed), malikahvaya (segments of sphere themed), and tripistapam (octagon themed). The text claims these five themes create 45 different styles of temples, from

7055-783: The various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka (Based on the King Shalivahana , also the Indian national calendar ) found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize the lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala,

7140-439: The year, which in reality is actually caused by the Earth revolving around the Sun. The rāśi s have 30° each and are named for constellations found in the zodiac. The time taken by the Sun to transit through a rāśi is a solar month whose name is identical to the name of the rāśi. In practice, solar months are mostly referred as rāśi (not months). The solar months are named differently in different regional calendars. While

7225-402: Was mistaken for the Garuda Purana , a misidentification first discovered by Albrecht Weber . Garuda-purana-saroddhara is actually the original bhasya work (commentary) of Naunidhirama, which cites a section of the now nonexistent version of Garuda Purana as well as other Indian texts. The earliest translation of one version of the Garuda Purana , by Manmatha Nath Dutt , was published in

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