Pashupati

An epithet originally used for the Vedic deity Rudra and now denoting one of the incarnations of the Hindu deity Shiva as the lord of all animals. The name derives from the Sanskrit words pashu, meaning “animal,” and pati, meaning “lord.

More Definitions

Vedas

A body of religious texts composed in Sanskrit and considered the oldest scriptures in Hinduism. There are four primary texts…

Somaskanda

A representation of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati with their son Skanda, the god of war. This representation emerged…

Second Diffusion

A religious revival movement between c. tenth and eleventh centuries CE, credited with establishing Buddhism as a majority religion in…

Kubera

A ruler of the yakshas (nature spirits) and a guardian deity in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religious mythologies. He is…

Paramita

A Buddhist term for characteristics and noble qualities associated with enlightened individuals. The term is used across Theravada, Mahayana and…

Dhyani-Buddha

Denoting any of the five celestial and meditative Buddhas — Vairochana, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi — it was a…

Vashishtha

In the Hindu religious tradition, one of the seven maharishis (great sages). In the Indian epic Ramayana, he is a…

Kankaladhara

A form of the Hindu deity, Shiva, in which he is shown with a kankala-danda (a staff bearing the bones…