Asko ParpolaAsko Parpola (born 12 July 1941, in Forssa) is a Finnish Indologist, current professor emeritus of South Asian studies at the University of Helsinki. He specializes in Sindhology, specifically the study of the Indus script. Parpola is a brother of the Akkadian language epigrapher Simo Parpola. He is married to Marjatta Parpola, who has authored a study on the traditions of Kerala's Nambudiri Brahmins.
KashyapaKashyapa (, ) is a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism. He is one of the Saptarishis, the seven ancient sages of the Rigveda. Kashyapa is the most ancient and venerated rishi, along with the other Saptarishis, listed in the colophon verse in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Kashyapa is an ancient name, referring to many different personalities in the ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts. The place Kashmir is named after him, as well as numerous other Sanskrit texts and Indian scriptures. Kashyapa means "turtle" in Sanskrit.
NiruktaNirukta (निरुक्त, n̪iɾuktɐ, "explained, interpreted") is one of the six ancient Vedangas, or ancillary science connected with the Vedas – the scriptures of Hinduism. Nirukta covers etymology, and is the study concerned with correct interpretation of Sanskrit words in the Vedas. Nirukta is the systematic creation of a glossary and it discusses how to understand archaic, uncommon words. The field grew probably because almost a quarter of words in the Vedic texts composed in the 2nd-millennium BCE appear just once.
YāskaYāska was an ancient Indian grammarian and linguist [est. 7th–5th century BCE(disputed)]. Preceding Pāṇini [est. 7th–4th century BCE(disputed)], he is traditionally identified as the author of Nirukta, the discipline of "etymology" (explanation of words) within Sanskrit grammatical tradition and the Nighantu, the oldest proto-thesaurus in India. Yaska is widely regarded as the precursive founder of the discipline of what would become etymology in both the East and the West.
SamhitaSaṃhitā literally means "put together, joined, union", a "collection", and "a methodically, rule-based combination of text or verses". Saṃhitā also refers to the most ancient layer of text in the Vedas, consisting of mantras, hymns, prayers, litanies and benedictions. Parts of Vedic Samhitas constitute the oldest living part of Hindu tradition. Saṃhita is a Sanskrit word from the prefix sam (सम्), 'together', and hita (हित), the past participle of the verbal root dhā (धा) 'put'.
ShakhaA shakha (Sanskrit , "branch" or "limb") is a Hindu theological school that specializes in learning certain Vedic texts, or else the traditional texts followed by such a school. An individual follower of a particular school or recension is called a . The term is also used in Hindu philosophy to refer to an adherent of a particular orthodox system.
Vedic metreVedic metre refers to the poetic metre in the Vedic literature. The study of Vedic metre, along with post-Vedic metre, is part of Chandas, one of the six Vedanga disciplines. In addition to these seven, there are fourteen less frequent syllable-based metres (Varna-vritta or Akshara-chandas): 8. Atijagati (13x4); 9. Śakkarī (14x4); 10. Atiśakarī (15x4); 11. Ashṭi (16x4); 12. Atyashti (17x4); 13. Dhritī (18x4); 14. Atidhritī (19x4); 15. Kṛiti (20x4); 16. Prakṛiti (21x4); 17. Ākṛiti (22x4): 18. Vikṛiti (23x4); 19.
Vedic SanskritVedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid-2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It is orally preserved, predating the advent of writing by several centuries. Extensive ancient literature in the Vedic Sanskrit language has survived into the modern era, and this has been a major source of information for reconstructing Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Indo-Iranian history.
AntyestiAntyesti (IAST: Antyeṣṭi, अन्त्येष्टि) literally means "last sacrifice" or "final auspicious ceremony", and refers to the funeral rites for the dead in Hinduism, which usually involves cremation of the body. This rite of passage is the last samskara in a series of traditional life cycle samskaras that start from conception in Hindu tradition. It is also referred to as Antima Samskar, Antya-kriya, Anvarohanyya, or as Vahni Samskara. The details of the Antyesti ceremony depend on the region, social group, gender and age of the dead.
Gayatri MantraThe Gāyatrī Mantra (Sanskrit: गायत्री मन्त्र), also known as the Sāvitri Mantra (Sanskrit: सावित्री मन्त्र), is a highly revered mantra from the Rig Veda (Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. Its recitation is traditionally preceded by and the formula , known as the , or "great (mystical) utterance". The Gayatri mantra is cited widely in Hindu texts, such as the mantra listings of the Śrauta liturgy, and classical Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and Manusmṛti.
