Hara (हर), in Hinduism, is an early name for Shiva. In the rhythmic chants echoing through ancient temples and modern…
Shaiva Siddhanta (शैव सिद्धांत) is a form of Shaivism from South India and Sri Lanka that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and…
The Buddha (बुद्ध) is considered the ninth avatar among the ten major avatars of the God Vishnu, according to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The Buddha has been…
Krishna (कृष्ण) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is…
Anatman (अनात्मन) in Sanskrit means “which is different from atman” or “non-self”. In Hinduism, the former definition is found in some…
Sakam karma (सकाम कर्म) means to act selfishly, or with personal gain and self-interest in mind. From Sanskrit, sakam means “together,” “jointly”…
Adi Shankara (आदि शङ्कर), also called Adi Shankaracharya (आदि शङ्कराचार्य) was an Indian Vedic scholar and teacher (acharya) of Advaita Vedanta. He is seen as…
Sankhya (सांख्य) is a dualistic orthodox school of Hindu philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, Puruṣa (‘consciousness’ or spirit) and Prakṛiti (nature or matter, including the…
Dharmashastra Smriti (धर्मशास्त्र स्मृति) are Sanskrit texts on law and conduct and refer to the treatises (śāstras) on Dharma. Unlike Dharmasutra which…
The Bhagavata Purana (भागवत पुराण), also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana or simply Bhagavata, is one of Hinduism’s eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas). Composed in Sanskrit and traditionally attributed…