ShudraShudra or Shoodra (Sanskrit: ) is one of the four varnas of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class serving other three classes. The word Shudra appears in the Rig Veda and it is found in other Hindu texts such as the Manusmriti, Arthashastra, Dharmashastras and Jyotishshastra. In some cases, Shudras participated in the coronation of kings, or were ministers and kings according to early Indian texts.
ŚuddhodanaŚuddhodana (शुद्धोदन; Pali: Suddhōdana), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapilavastu. In later renditions of the life of the Buddha, Śuddhodana was often referred to as a king, though that status cannot be established with confidence and is in fact disputed by modern scholars. Sudhdhodhana king's earliest predecessor was King Maha Sammatha(or the first king of the Kalpa).
BhikkhuA bhikkhu (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, bhikṣu) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", bhikkhunī, Sanskrit bhikṣuṇī) are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the prātimokṣa or pātimokkha. Their lifestyles are shaped to support their spiritual practice: to live a simple and meditative life and attain nirvana. A person under the age of 20 cannot be ordained as a bhikkhu or bhikkhuni but can be ordained as a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇērī.
AcharyaIn Indian religions and society, an acharya (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ācariya) is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a title affixed to the names of learned subject. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism, Buddhism and secular contexts. Acharya is sometimes used to address an expert teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the expert mathematician.
BindusaraBindusara (297-273 BCE), also Amitraghāta or Amitrakhāda ( "slayer of enemies" or "devourer of enemies") or Amitrochates (Strabo calls him Allitrochades) was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. He was the son of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta and the father of its most famous ruler Ashoka. Bindusara's life is not documented as well as the lives of these two emperors: much of the information about him comes from legendary accounts written several hundred years after his death.
ŚrāvakaŚrāvaka (Sanskrit) or Sāvaka (Pali) means "hearer" or, more generally, "disciple". This term is used in Buddhism and Jainism. In Jainism, a śrāvaka is any lay Jain so the term śrāvaka has been used for the Jain community itself (for example see Sarak and Sarawagi). Śrāvakācāras are the lay conduct outlined within the treaties by Śvetāmbara or Digambara mendicants. "In parallel to the prescriptive texts, Jain religious teachers have written a number of stories to illustrate vows in practice and produced a rich répertoire of characters.
KalpavrikshaKalpavriksha (कल्पवृक्ष, Kalpavṛkṣa) is a wish-fulfilling divine tree in Indian religions, like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Its earliest descriptions are mentioned in Sanskrit literature. It is also a popular theme in Jain cosmology and Buddhism. The Kalpavriksha originated during the Samudra Manthana or the "churning of the ocean" along with Kamadhenu, the divine cow, providing for all needs. The king of the gods, Indra, returned with this tree to his paradise.
RishiIn Indian religions, a rishi (ऋषि) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mentions in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "great yogis" or "sages" who after intense meditation (tapas) realized the supreme truth and eternal knowledge, which they composed into hymns. The term appears in Pali literature as Ishi and in Buddhism, they can be either Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas, Arahats or a monk of high rank.
VaisheshikaVaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika (vaɪˈʃɛʃɪkə; वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and soteriology. Over time, the Vaiśeṣika system became similar in its philosophical procedures, ethical conclusions and soteriology to the Nyāya school of Hinduism, but retained its difference in epistemology and metaphysics.
KapilaKapila (कपिल), also referred to as Cakradhanus, is a sage in Hindu tradition. According to Bhagavata Purana, he is the son of the sage Kardama and Devahuti, the daughter of the Svayambhuva Manu. Kardama had nine daughters, who were very learned and went ahead to marry Marici, as well as other great sages. When he came of age, Kapila is most well-known as the founder of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. Kapila of Samkhya fame is considered a Vedic sage, estimated to have lived in the 6th-century BCE, or the 7th-century BCE.
