DitiDiti (दिति) is a daughter of the Prajapati Daksha in Hinduism. She is a wife of the sage Kashyapa and the mother of the demonic race Daityas and the divine group of Marutas. According to the Puranic scriptures, Diti is one of the sixty daughters of Prajapati Daksha and his wife Asikni. She and her twelve sisters were married to the sage Kashyapa. Diti is described as the mother of two groups of beings—the Daityas and the Maruts. The most prominent of her sons were Hiranyakashipu, Hiranyaksha, Vajranaka, Arunasura, Raktabija and Surapadman.
DakshaIn Hinduism, Daksha (Sanskrit: दक्ष, IAST: , lit. "able, dexterous, or honest one") is one of the prajapati, the agents of creation, as well as a divine king-rishi. His iconography depicts him as a man with a stocky body and a handsome face or the head of a goat. In the Rigveda, Daksha is an aditya and is associated with priestly skills. In the epics and Puranic scriptures, he is a son of the creator-god Brahma and the father of many children, who became the progenitors of various creatures.
VasishthaVasishtha (वसिष्ठ, IAST: ) is one of the oldest and most revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vashistha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the Rigveda. Vashishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigvedic verse 10.167.4, other Rigvedic mandalas and in many Vedic texts. His ideas have been influential and he was called the first sage of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy by Adi Shankara. The Yoga Vasishtha, Vasishtha Samhita, as well as some versions of the Agni Purana and Vishnu Purana are attributed to him.
GotraIn Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra forms an exogamous unit, with marriage within the same gotra being regarded as incest and prohibited by custom. The name of the gotra can be used as a surname, but it is different from a surname and is strictly maintained because of its importance in marriages among Hindus, especially among castes.
AgniAgni (अग्नि, ˈɐgnɪ) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. In the classical cosmology of the Indian religions, Agni as fire is one of the five inert impermanent elements (pañcabhūtá) along with space (ākāśa), water (ap), air (vāyu) and earth (pṛthvī), the five combining to form the empirically perceived material existence (Prakṛti).
AgastyaAgastya ( अगस्त्य) was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He and his wife Lopamudra are the celebrated authors of hymns 1.165 to 1.191 in the Sanskrit text Rigveda and other Vedic literature. Agastya is considered to be the father of Siddha medicine. Agastya appears in numerous itihasas and Puranas including the major Ramayana and Mahabharata.
AditiInfobox deity | type = Hindu | deity_of = Goddess of the sky, consciousness, the past, the future, and fertility | image = Lord Brahma and Adhiti - 19th Century Illustration.jpg | caption = Aditi praying to the god Brahma | affiliation = Devi, Devaki | children = Adityas, including Indra, Surya, Bhaga, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, Savitr, and Vamana Rudras Vasus | texts = Rigveda, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata | consort = Kashyapa | mount = | weapons = Sword, Trishula | father = Daksha | mother = Asikni | name = Aditi | siblings = Diti, Kadru, Vinata, Sati, Smriti Swaha, Rohini, Revati, Danu, Muni and many other brothers and sisters Aditi (Sanskrit: अदिति, lit.
VishvamitraVishvamitra (विश्वामित्र, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. He is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Gayatri Mantra (3.62.10). The Puranas mention that only 24 rishis since antiquity have understood the whole meaning of —and thus wielded the whole power of — the Gayatri Mantra. Vishvamitra is supposed to have been the first, and Yajnavalkya the last.
TakshakaTakshaka (Sanskrit: तक्षक, IAST: Takṣaka) is a Nagaraja in Hinduism and Buddhism. He is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is described to be a king of the Nagas and one of the sons of Kadru. Takshaka also known in Chinese and Japanese mythology as being one of the "eight Great Dragon Kings" (八大龍王 Hachi Ryuu-ou), they are the only snakes which can fly and also mentioned as the most venomous snakes, amongst Nanda (Nagaraja), Upananda, Sagara (Shakara), Vasuki, Balavan, Anavatapta and Utpala.
BharadvajaBharadvaja (भरद्वाज, IAST: Bharadvāja; also spelled Bharadwaja) was one of the revered Vedic sages (maharishi) in Ancient India. He was a renowned scholar, economist, grammarian and physician. He is one of the Saptarishis (seven great sages or Maharṣis). His contributions to ancient Indian literature, specifically the Rigveda, provide significant insight into ancient Indian society. He and his family of students were the authors of the sixth book of the Rigveda.
