Hindu
The Vaiṣṇava, Śaiva and Śākta currents, their deities, texts and philosophies.
Deities
- Adi LakshmiThe primeval Lakṣmī;
- Adi ParashaktiThe primordial supreme power;
- Adi ShaktiIn Shakta Hindu theology, the primordial feminine power held to be the source, sustaining for…
- AditiThe boundless;
- AgniAgni is the Vedic and Hindu god of fire, addressed in the opening hymn of the Rigveda as the…
- AgniFire;
- AiravataAiravata is the divine white elephant that carries Indra, king of the Vedic gods, and ranks a…
- AiravataThe white four-tusked elephant;
- AmarnathShiva worshipped as the ice-liṅga that forms each year in the Himalayan cave.
- AmbikaThe Mother;
- AmshaĀditya of the share due to gods and worshippers.
- AnalaVasu of fire.
- AnantaGuardian of the nadir;
- AngalammanThe fierce guardian mother-goddess of the cremation ground.
- AnilaVasu of wind.
- AnnapurnaGoddess of food and nourishment, who fed even Shiva.
- ApsarasApsaras are celestial female beings of Hindu and Buddhist mythology, renowned as divine dance…
- AranyaniGoddess of the forest and its wild solitude.
- AravanSon of Arjuna, worshipped as Kūttāṇṭavar by the Aravani community.
- ArdhanarishvaraHalf Shiva, half Parvati;
- ArundhatiWife of Vasiṣṭha;
- AryamanĀditya of customs, hospitality and marriage.
- Ashapura Mata“Fulfiller of hopes”;
- AshokasundariDaughter of Shiva and Parvati in Purāṇic lore.
- AshvinsTwin horsemen;
- AyyanarGuardian-god who rides the village bounds at night on a terracotta horse.
- AyyappaBorn of Shiva and Mohini;
- BagalamukhiThe paralysing goddess who stills speech and enemies.
- Bahuchara MataGoddess on a rooster;
- BalabhadraElder brother of Jagannath;
- BalaramaKrishna’s elder brother;
- BanasuraThe thousand-armed demon-devotee of Shiva.
- BathouBwrai Bathou, the supreme god of the Bodo people, worshipped through the sijou plant.
- BhagaĀditya of fortune, wealth and just apportionment.
- BhairavaThe terrifying guardian of sacred sites;
- BhairaviThe fierce goddess of decay and transformative power.
- BhandasuraThe demon born of ashes, destroyed by Lalitā.
- BhavaniThe life-giving goddess;
- BhikshatanaThe naked wandering mendicant form.
- BhudeviThe Earth goddess;
- BhuvaneshwariQueen and mother of the manifest universe.
- BirajaThe ancient goddess of Jajpur;
- Bonbibi“Lady of the forest”;
- BrahmaBrahma is the creator deity of the Hindu Trimurti, traditionally depicted with four heads rep…
- BrahmachariniBrahmacharini is the second of the Navadurga, the nine forms of the goddess Durga worshipped…
- BrahmaniPower of Brahma;
- BrihaspatiPreceptor of the gods;
- BuddhaCounted as an avatar in many lists (Balarāma replaces him in others).
- BudhaMercury;
- ChamundaChamunda is a fierce form of the Hindu goddess Durga, described in the Devi Mahatmya as emerg…
- ChamundeshwariThe lion-riding goddess of Mysore, slayer of Mahiṣa on Chamundi Hill.
- ChandiThe fierce goddess of the Devī Māhātmya.
- ChandraThe Moon;
- ChandraghantaChandraghanta is the third of the Navadurga, the nine forms of the goddess Durga invoked on s…
- ChhayaChhaya (Chāyā, "shadow") is a goddess in Hindu mythology, the shadow-substitute wife of the s…
- ChinnamastaThe self-decapitated goddess;
- ChintpurniChinnamastikā of Una;
- ChitraguptaThe scribe of Yama who records every deed of every soul.
- Dakshin RaiThe tiger-god and lord of the Sundarbans, rival tamed by Bonbibi.
- DakshinamurtiThe silent guru facing south;
- DattatreyaCombined avatar of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva;
- DevasThe shining gods as a class;
- Dhana LakshmiGoddess of monetary wealth.
- DhanvantariPhysician of the gods;
- Dhanya LakshmiGoddess of grain and the harvest.
- DharaVasu of the earth.
- Dhari DeviThe guardian-goddess of the Alaknanda, protectress of Uttarakhand.
- DharmathakurFormless village god of lower Bengal, worshipped as a shapeless stone.
- DhatriĀditya of health, domestic ritual and creation.
- DhruvaVasu of the pole star;
- DhumavatiThe widow-goddess of smoke, void and the unmanifest.
- DitiMother of the Daityas;
- Doni-PoloThe Sun (Donyi) and Moon (Polo), supreme deities of several Arunachal peoples.
- DraupadiQueen of the Pāṇḍavas;
- Draupadi AmmanDraupadī deified as a fire-walking village goddess.
- DurgaThe invincible warrior-goddess, lion-riding, wielder of every divine weapon.
- DwarkadhishKrishna as king of Dwārka.
- DyausThe sky father;
- The Eight VasusThe elemental spheres — Dhara, Anala, Anila, Apa, Soma, Dhruva, Prabhāsa, Pratyūṣa.
- EkviraThe mother-goddess of the Karla caves, revered by the Kolis and Agris.
- The Eleven RudrasThe vital forces / howlers;
- Gaja LakshmiLakṣmī flanked by elephants;
- GanasThe dwarfish, motley attendants of Shiva, led by Gaṇeśa.
- GandharvasGandharvas are a class of male celestial beings in Hindu and Buddhist tradition associated ch…
- GaneshaElephant-headed remover of obstacles;
- GangaThe Ganges;
- GangadharaBearer of the river Gaṅgā in his matted locks.
- GangammaThe fierce village mother of the Tirupati country, honoured in the jātara.
- GarudaThe divine eagle;
- GauriThe radiant, golden form of Parvati.
- GodavariThe “Ganges of the South”;
- GogajiThe snake-god and folk-hero of Rajasthan, invoked against serpents.
- Golu DevtaThe god of justice of Kumaon, whose shrines are hung with petition-bells and letters.
- GopalaKrishna the cowherd;
- GulikanA Theyyam deity of death and time, a form of Yama-Kāla.
- GuruvayurappaThe child-Krishna form enshrined at Guruvayur.
- HamsaThe swan avatar who imparted supreme knowledge to the sages.
- HarsiddhiThe Śākta goddess of Ujjain and coastal Gujarat.
- HayagrivaHorse-headed restorer of the stolen Vedas;
- Hidimba DeviThe demoness-wife of Bhīma, worshipped as goddess at Manali.
- HiranyakashipuThe invincible tyrant slain by Narasiṃha.
- HiranyakshaWho dragged the earth into the sea;
- HuligemmaThe tiger-riding goddess of northern Karnataka.
- IndraIndra is the Vedic king of the gods and the deity of thunder, lightning, rain, and war, the m…
- IndraniPower of Indra;
- IshanaGuardian of the Northeast;
- Jagannath“Lord of the Universe”;
- JalandharaThe mighty asura born of Shiva’s wrath.
- JhulelalJhulelal is the patron deity of the Sindhi community, worshipped by Sindhi Hindus as an incar…
- Jwala JiThe goddess worshipped as ever-burning natural flames in Himachal.
- JyotibaThe hill-god of Wadi Ratnagiri, a form of Kedāranātha.
- KalaratriKalaratri is the seventh of the nine forms of Durga worshipped during Navaratri, a fierce asp…
- KaliThe dark, fierce goddess of time;
- KalkiThe future avatar on a white horse, to end the Kali age.
- KamadevaThe god of love, who looses flower-arrows of desire.
- KamadhenuThe wish-fulfilling cow, mother of all cattle.
- KamakhyaThe bleeding mother-goddess of the Nīlācala hill;
- KamakshiThe goddess of Kanchipuram, eyes full of desire and grace.
- KamalaThe lotus goddess;
- KanyakumariThe virgin goddess at India’s southern tip.
- KapilaSage-avatar;
- Karni MataThe warrior-sage goddess of Deshnoke, whose temple honours sacred rats.
- KartikeyaKartikeya, also known as Skanda, Murugan, and Subrahmanya, is the Hindu god of war and comman…
- KaruppasamiThe “black god”;
- KatyayaniKatyayani is a warrior form of the Hindu goddess Durga, worshipped on the sixth day (Shashthi…
- KaumariPower of Kārttikeya;
- KaveriLife-giving river-goddess of the Tamil country.
- Kechai Khaiti“Eater of raw flesh”;
- KetuThe severed tail;
- KhandobaWarrior-god on horseback, a folk form of Shiva;
- Khatu ShyamKhatu Shyam is a Hindu deity worshipped chiefly in Rajasthan as a form of Barbarika, a Mahabh…
- Kheer BhawaniRāgnyā Devī of Tulmul, whose sacred spring changes colour;
- KhodiyarThe crocodile-riding warrior-goddess of Gujarat.
- KinnarasHalf-human, half-bird celestial musicians.
- Kodungallur BhagavathyThe fierce Bhadrakālī of Kodungallur;
- KrishnaKrishna is a central deity of Hinduism, worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and, in man…
- KuberaGuardian of the North;
- KurmaThe tortoise;
- KushmandaKushmanda is the fourth of the Navadurga, the nine forms of the goddess Durga worshipped acro…
- KuttichathanA mischievous child-spirit deity of the household and grove.
- LakshmiGoddess of fortune, wealth and beauty;
- Lalita TripurasundariThe beautiful supreme goddess of Śrī Vidyā and the Śrī Yantra.
- LingamThe aniconic pillar;
- LingodbhavaThe infinite pillar of fire whose ends the gods could not find.
- Maa TariniThe widely-worshipped goddess of Ghatgaon, honoured by a stone face of red.
- Madurai VeeranThe deified warrior-hero and guardian of the Madurai country.
- MahabaliThe virtuous demon-king sent to the underworld;
- MahadevaThe Great God;
- MahagauriMahagauri is the eighth of the Navadurga, the nine forms of the goddess Durga worshipped on s…
- MahakalaGreat Time and Death;
- MahalakshmiAmbābāī of Kolhapur;
- Mahasu DevtaMahasu Devta is a group of four brother deities worshipped as ruling gods (devtas) across the…
- MaheshvariPower of Shiva;
- MahishasuraThe buffalo-demon slain by Durga.
- MahishasuramardiniDurga as slayer of the buffalo-demon Mahiṣāsura.
- Male MahadeshwaraThe hill-god of the M.
- ManasaThe serpent-goddess;
- MangalaMars;
- MangalaVillage mother-goddess of Kakatpur and coastal Odisha.
- MangalchandiA benign folk form of Caṇḍī, goddess of household welfare.
- ManjunathaThe form of Shiva enshrined at Dharmasthala.
- MariammanGoddess of rain, fertility and disease;
- MarutsThe storm-troop;
- MatangiThe outcaste goddess of speech, music and forbidden knowledge.
- MatsyaThe fish;
- MeenakshiThe fish-eyed warrior-queen goddess of Madurai.
- MenakaApsara sent to break the penance of Viśvāmitra.
- MhasobaA fierce village guardian-god of the Maharashtrian countryside.
- MitraGod of friendship, contracts and the light of day.
- MohiniVishnu’s female form;
- MrikanduMrikandu (Mṛkaṇḍu) is a sage of Puranic Hindu tradition, known principally as the father of t…
- MuniswaranA guardian-god of the boundaries, a folk form of Shiva.
- MuthappanThe hunter-and-toddy god of Parassinikadavu, worshipped through Theyyam.
- NagasNagas are serpent deities and semi-divine beings in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain tradition, wors…
- Naina DeviThe eye-goddess of the Śakti Pīṭha above Bilaspur.
- Nanda DeviThe mountain-goddess of Uttarakhand, honoured in the great Rāj Jāt pilgrimage.
- NandiThe bull;
- NarakasuraThe demon of Prāgjyotiṣa slain by Krishna.
- Nara-NarayanaThe twin sages;
- NarasimhaThe man-lion;
- NarayanaThe cosmic Vishnu reclining on the causal waters, source of all.
- NarmadaThe self-born river of central India, holy to Shiva.
- NatarajaLord of the cosmic dance (tāṇḍava), dancing creation and destruction.
- NavadurgaNavadurga are the nine forms of the goddess Durga worshipped across the nine nights of Navara…
- NilakanthaThe blue-throated one, who held the world-poison in his throat.
- NirritiGuardian of the Southwest;
- PabujiThe deified Rathore hero, protector of camels and cattle.
- PadmanabhaThe lotus-naveled reclining Vishnu of Thiruvananthapuram.
- PanchanandaA rustic five-faced folk form of Shiva in rural Bengal.
- ParashuramaThe axe-wielding warrior-sage who humbled the unrighteous kings.
- ParjanyaThe rain-cloud god;
- Partha-sarathiKrishna as Arjuna’s charioteer at Kurukṣetra.
- ParvatiGoddess of power and devotion;
- PashupatiLord of animals and all souls;
- PitrsThe deified ancestors, honoured in the śrāddha rites.
- PochammaThe Telugu village goddess of pox and protection.
- PrabhasaVasu of dawn-light and splendour.
- PrahladaThe demon-prince and supreme devotee of Vishnu.
- PrajapatiLord of creatures;
- PrithuThe first sovereign king, who “milked” the earth to abundance.
- PrithviPrithvi is the Vedic and Hindu goddess personifying the earth, worshipped from the earliest S…
- PushanNourisher and guardian of roads, herds and travellers.
- RadhaKrishna’s beloved;
- Radha-KrishnaThe united divine couple;
- RahuThe severed head;
- RaktabijaWhose every drop of blood spawned a clone;
- RambhaCelebrated apsara of Indra’s court.
- RamdevjiFolk-deity and saint of Ranuja, revered across caste and creed.
- RanganathaThe reclining Vishnu of Srirangam;
- RatiGoddess of desire and pleasure;
- RatriThe goddess of night.
- RishabhaAscetic king-avatar;
- RudraThe fierce, howling Vedic storm-god from whom Shiva emerges.
- RukminiKrishna’s chief queen at Dwārka;
- SachiQueen of heaven;
- SadashivaThe five-faced supreme Shiva of the Āgamas.
- SamaleswariThe presiding mother-goddess of western Odisha at Sambalpur.
- Sammakka & SaralammaTribal mother and daughter goddesses of the great Medaram jātara.
- SandhyaGoddess of the ritual twilight junctures.
- Santana LakshmiGoddess of progeny and family.
- SaptashrungiThe eighteen-armed goddess of the seven peaks near Nashik.
- SaraswatiSaraswati is the Hindu goddess of wisdom, learning, speech, music and the arts, worshipped si…
- SatiSati is the Hindu goddess who, as the first wife of Shiva, immolated herself in protest at he…
- SatiShiva’s first consort, who immolated herself at Dakṣa’s sacrifice.
- SatyabhamaKrishna’s warrior-queen;
- SatyanarayanaThe “true lord”;
- SavitrThe solar impeller;
- SavitriWho won her husband back from Yama through devotion.
- ShailaputriShailaputri is the first of the nine forms of Durga (Navadurga) worshipped on the opening nig…
- ShaniShani is the Hindu deity of the planet Saturn and one of the Navagrahas, revered as an impart…
- SharabhaThe part-lion, part-bird form that subdued Narasiṃha’s fury.
- SharadaThe goddess of learning of ancient Kashmir, of the Śāradā Pīṭha.
- Sharika DeviThe eighteen-armed goddess of Hari Parbat in Srinagar.
- ShashthiCat-riding goddess of children and childbirth.
- ShitalaThe “cool one” who governs and cures smallpox and fever.
- ShivaShiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the destroyer within the Tri…
- Shumbha and NishumbhaShumbha and Nishumbha are two asura brothers whose conquest of the heavens and defeat by the…
- SiddhasPerfected beings possessing spiritual powers.
- SiddhidatriSiddhidatri is the ninth and final form of Durga in the Navadurga sequence, worshipped on the…
- SkandamataSkandamātā, mother of Skanda, is the fifth of the Navadurga — the nine forms of the goddess D…
- SomaThe sacred draught and the moon;
- SrinathjiKrishna lifting Govardhana;
- SubhadraSister of Jagannath and Balabhadra;
- Sudalai MadanThe cremation-ground god, a fierce son of Shiva in folk belief.
- SudarshanaThe deified discus of Vishnu, worshipped as a pillar in the Puri triad.
- SuryaSurya is the principal solar deity of Hinduism, worshipped in the Vedas as the source of ligh…
- SvahaThe oblation-cry personified;
- TamreswariThe copper-temple goddess of Sadiya, of Chutia worship.
- TaraThe star;
- TarakasuraThe demon slain by Kārttikeya, born for that purpose.
- TejajiThe Jat warrior-saint, worshipped as a god who cures snakebite.
- TilottamaApsara fashioned from the finest particle of every beautiful thing.
- TripurantakaDestroyer of the three demon-cities with a single arrow.
- TulsiThe sacred basil deified;
- TvashtarThe heavenly artisan who forged Indra’s thunderbolt.
- The Twelve ĀdityasSolar sovereigns — Mitra, Varuṇa, Aryaman, Bhaga, Dhātṛ, Aṃśa, Vivasvān, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, Pūṣa…
- UchchaihshravasThe seven-headed white horse of the gods.
- UrvashiThe most beautiful of the apsaras.
- UshasThe radiant goddess of dawn.
- VacThe goddess of sacred speech and the creative word.
- VaishnaviPower of Vishnu;
- Vaishno DeviThe mountain goddess of the Trikūṭa hills, worshipped as three piṇḍis.
- VamanaThe dwarf brahmin;
- VarahaThe boar;
- VarahiPower of Varāha;
- VarunaGuardian of cosmic order (ṛta) and the waters;
- VasudevaThe supreme indwelling Vishnu;
- VasukiKing of the nāgas;
- VayuVāyu is the Vedic and Hindu god of wind and breath, one of the Pañca Bhūta (five elements), i…
- VayuThe wind;
- Veera LakshmiGoddess of valour and courage.
- VenkateshwaraLord of the Seven Hills at Tirupati;
- VetalThe lord of spirits (Vetāḷa), a guardian folk deity of the Konkan.
- Vettakkorumakan“The son born for the hunt”;
- Vidya LakshmiGoddess of knowledge and learning.
- VidyadharasSky-dwelling magicians and keepers of esoteric knowledge.
- Vijaya LakshmiGoddess of victory.
- VirabhadraThe towering warrior born of Shiva’s wrath at Dakṣa’s sacrifice.
- VishnuViṣṇu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, worshipped as the Preserver of the Trimūrt…
- VishnumayaChāthan;
- VishvadevasThe “all-gods”;
- VishvakarmaThe divine architect and craftsman of the gods.
- VishvaksenaCommander of Vishnu’s forces;
- VithobaThe arms-akimbo Krishna of Pandharpur;
- VritraThe primordial serpent of drought, slain by Indra.
- YakshasNature-spirits of forests and wealth;
- YamaFirst mortal and lord of the dead;
- YamunaThe dark river of Vṛndāvana;
- YellammaReṇukā of Saundatti;
People
- Adi ShankaraAn early medieval philosopher-monk from Kerala who systematized Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu sc…
- AdipaththarThe fisherman who cast his best catch into the sea for Shiva.
- AgastyaAgastya is a rishi credited with authorship of Vedic hymns, with bringing Vedic and Tamil lea…
- AhalyāAhalyā is the wife of the sage Gautama in the Rāmāyaṇa, seduced by Indra in her husband's for…
- Aiyadigal KadavarkonA Pallava king who renounced his throne and sang Shiva’s praise.
- AkampanaAkampana is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who escaped the destruction of Janasthāna and first p…
- AmaraneediThe merchant tested by Shiva as a young ascetic.
- AnayaThe cowherd whose flute drew all creation to Shiva.
- AndalThe only woman among the Ālvārs;
- AṅgadaAṅgada is the son of Vālī and Tārā in the Rāmāyaṇa, made crown prince of Kiṣkindhā at his fat…
- ApparTirunāvukkarasar;
- Apputhi AdigalWho named everything he owned for Appar out of love.
- ArivattayaThe devotee whose offering was never refused.
- AryabhataAryabhata (476 CE – c.
- The ascetic's sonThe ascetic's son is the youth in the Rāmāyaṇa whom the young Daśaratha killed by shooting at…
- AtikāyaAtikāya is the colossal son of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa, armoured by Brahmā and schooled in the…
- AtriOne of the seven seers;
- Atri and AnasūyāAtri and Anasūyā are the aged sage and his wife in the Rāmāyaṇa who received the exiles at th…
- Bappa RawalBappa Rawal, also known as Kalbhoj, is the semi-legendary eighth-century founder of the Guhil…
- BharadvājaBharadvāja is the sage of Prayāga in the Rāmāyaṇa, who received the exiles at the confluence…
- BharataBharata is Rāma's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose mother Kaikeyī won him the throne an…
- BhriguProgenitor-sage who tested and marked the three great gods.
- Bhutham AlvarOne of the first three;
- ChandeshvaraThe boy who struck his own father to protect the liṅga;
- Chandragupta IIChandragupta II, also known by the epithet Vikramaditya, was a Gupta emperor who ruled north…
- Cheraman PerumalThe Chera king and poet, friend of Sundarar.
- ChyavanaThe aged sage restored to youth by the Aśvins.
- DadhichiThe sage who gave his own bones to forge Indra’s thunderbolt.
- DadhimukhaDadhimukha is the keeper of Sugrīva's honey grove in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose complaint that the r…
- Dandi AdigalThe blind saint who dug the temple tank at Tiruvarur.
- Dara ShikohDara Shikoh (1615–1659) was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and heir apparent to…
- DaśarathaDaśaratha is the king of Ayodhyā and father of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, destroyed by two boons h…
- DhūmrākṣaDhūmrākṣa is the rākṣasa general in the Rāmāyaṇa sent out through the western gate of Laṅkā u…
- DurvasaThe short-tempered sage whose curses and boons drive many tales.
- DūṣaṇaDūṣaṇa is the marshal of Khara's forces at Janasthāna in the Rāmāyaṇa, killed with the whole…
- EripathaThe devotee of fierce temper in Shiva’s service.
- Eyarkon KalikamaThe saint who repented doubting Sundarar.
- GananathaThe brahmin saint devoted to Shiva’s service.
- Gautama MaharṣiGautama is the sage of the Rāmāyaṇa whose curse condemned his wife Ahalyā to live unseen and…
- GuhaGuha is the Niṣāda chief of Śṛṅgaverapura in the Rāmāyaṇa, a hunter-fisher king who was alrea…
- HanumānHanumān is the vānara minister of Sugrīva in the Rāmāyaṇa who leaps the ocean to find Sītā in…
- HarshaHarsha Vardhana (r.
- IdangazhiA king who opened his granaries for Shiva’s servants.
- Ilayankudi MaranarThe farmer who fed a devotee in famine.
- IndrajitIndrajit is Rāvaṇa's eldest son in the Rāmāyaṇa, who defeated Indra and took his name from it…
- IsaignaniyaarMother of Sundarar;
- Iyarpagai“Contrary to nature”;
- JāmbavānJāmbavān is the ancient king of the bears in the Rāmāyaṇa, the oldest of Rāma's allies, who r…
- JanakaJanaka is the king of Videha and the father of Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa, who found her as an infa…
- JaṭāyuJaṭāyu is the aged vulture king in the Rāmāyaṇa, an old friend of Daśaratha, who attacked Rāv…
- JayachandraJayachandra (r.
- JayapalaJayapala (r.
- KabandhaKabandha is the headless, one-eyed, long-armed creature of the Rāmāyaṇa who seizes both broth…
- KaikasīKaikasī is the rākṣasī mother of Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, Śūrpaṇakhā and Vibhīṣaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇ…
- KaikeyīKaikeyī is the second queen of Daśaratha in the Rāmāyaṇa, the wife he loved best, who called…
- KaliaWho set out to end his life when he could no longer light the temple lamp.
- KalidasaKalidasa was a classical Sanskrit poet and dramatist, traditionally placed in the 4th–5th cen…
- KalikambaThe merchant who cut off his wife’s hand for hesitating before a devotee.
- KambanKamban was the Tamil poet who composed the Irāmāvatāram, and is counted among the greatest wr…
- KanampullaWho burnt his own hair as a wick when the lamp-grass ran out.
- KannappaThe hunter who offered his own eyes to Shiva;
- Karaikkal AmmaiyarThe skeletal woman-saint of Karaikkal;
- KariThe poet-saint and chieftain devoted to Shiva.
- KashyapaThe primal patriarch;
- KausalyāKausalyā is the senior queen of Daśaratha and the mother of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, whose posit…
- KazharsingaA Pallava king zealous for the devotees’ honour.
- Kesarī and AñjanāKesarī and Añjanā are the parents of Hanumān in the Rāmāyaṇa — a vānara chieftain and an apsa…
- KharaKhara is the rākṣasa commander of Janasthāna in the Rāmāyaṇa, Rāvaṇa's kinsman, whose army of…
- Kochengat CholaThe Chola king who built many shrines to Shiva.
- KootruvaA chieftain who won a crown by his devotion.
- KotpuliThe officer who guarded the temple grain even against his own kin.
- KulachiraiMinister of the Pandya king;
- Kulasekhara AlvarA Chera king who renounced his throne for Vishnu.
- Kumaragupta IKumaragupta I (r.
- KumbhakarṇaKumbhakarṇa is Rāvaṇa's giant brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, cursed to sleep for half the year, who…
- Kungiliya KalayaWho burned incense for Shiva though it beggared him.
- KuśadhvajaKuśadhvaja is Janaka's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, ruler of Sāṅkāśyā, whose two daughter…
- LakṣmaṇaLakṣmaṇa is Rāma's younger brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, who follows him into exile and serves fou…
- LalitadityaLalitaditya Muktapida (r.
- Lava and KuśaLava and Kuśa are the twin sons of Rāma and Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa, born at Vālmīki's hermitage…
- Madhurakavi AlvarDevoted disciple of Nammālvar, whose praise he sang above all.
- MahodaraMahodara is the courtier-general of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa who answered Kumbhakarṇa's blunt wa…
- Mainda and DvividaMainda and Dvivida are the vānara brothers of the Rāmāyaṇa, sons of the Aśvins, counted among…
- ManakancharaThe general who gave his daughter’s hair for a devotee’s garland.
- Māṇḍavī and ŚrutakīrtiMāṇḍavī and Śrutakīrti are the daughters of Kuśadhvaja in the Rāmāyaṇa, cousins of Sītā, marr…
- MandodarīMandodarī is the chief queen of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa and the mother of Indrajit, whose lame…
- MangayarkkarasiyarPandya queen who kept the faith at court;
- MantharāMantharā is the hunchbacked maidservant of Kaikeyī in the Rāmāyaṇa who persuades her mistress…
- MārīcaMārīca is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who took the form of the golden deer that drew Rāma awa…
- MarkandeyaThe ever-youthful sage who survived the cosmic dissolution.
- MātaliMātali is Indra's charioteer in the Rāmāyaṇa, sent down with the god's own chariot so that Rā…
- MeiporulThe king slain by a false ascetic, whom he spared for the holy garb.
- Mohandas Karamchand GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) was an Indian lawyer and political leader who develope…
- MunaiyaduvarThe soldier who gave his war-spoils to Shiva’s devotees.
- MurkhaThe gambler-saint who fed Shiva’s devotees with his winnings.
- MurthiyarWho ground sandal for Shiva with his own arm when tools failed.
- MurugaThe saint of Tiruppugalur, gatherer of flowers for worship.
- NalaNala is the vānara engineer in the Rāmāyaṇa, a son of the divine architect Viśvakarman, who b…
- Nami Nandi AdigalWho lit the temple lamps with water when oil was denied.
- NammalvarThe foremost Ālvār;
- NandanarThe labourer-saint of humble birth who entered the Chidambaram shrine.
- NaradaThe wandering divine sage and musician;
- Narāntaka and DevāntakaNarāntaka and Devāntaka are sons of Rāvaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa who fought in the great sortie aft…
- Narasimhadeva INarasimhadeva I (r.
- Narasinga MuniyaraiyarThe chieftain who fostered the young saint Sundarar.
- Neem Karoli BabaNeem Karoli Baba (c.
- Nesa NayanarThe weaver who clothed Shiva’s devotees.
- NīlaNīla is the commander-in-chief of the vānara army in the Rāmāyaṇa, a son of the fire god, who…
- Ninra Seer NedumaaraThe Pandya king restored to Śaivism by Sambandar.
- PaniniPanini was an ancient Sanskrit grammarian of Gandhara, active around the 4th century BCE, who…
- ParasharaSage-father of Vyāsa;
- PatanjaliCodifier of the Yoga Sūtras;
- PeriyalvarThe “great Ālvār”;
- Perumizhalai KurumbaSaint of Perumizhalai, devoted to Shiva’s servants.
- Pey AlvarThe third of the earliest three;
- Poigai AlvarFirst of the three earliest Ālvārs;
- PrahastaPrahasta is Rāvaṇa's chief minister and commander-in-chief in the Rāmāyaṇa, held back until t…
- Pugal CholaA Chola king and Nāyanār.
- Pugazh ThunaiThe saint who clung to Shiva through utter poverty.
- PusalarWho built a temple to Shiva entirely in his mind.
- Raja DahirRaja Dahir (r.
- RāmaRāma is the prince of Ayodhyā at the centre of the Rāmāyaṇa, exiled for fourteen years by his…
- Rana SangaRana Sanga (Sangram Singh, r.
- RāvaṇaRāvaṇa is the ten-headed rākṣasa king of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa, a brahmin's son, a scholar an…
- ṚśyaśṛṅgaṚśyaśṛṅga is the antelope-horned ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa, raised without ever seeing a woman,…
- Rudra PasupathiWho stood neck-deep in water reciting the sacred hymns.
- RumāRumā is the wife of Sugrīva in the Rāmāyaṇa, taken by his brother Vālī after he drove him out…
- ŚabarīŚabarī is the forest ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa who waited at Lake Pampā on her teachers' word t…
- SadaiyaFather of Sundarar, honoured among the saints.
- Sagara and the descent of the GaṅgāSagara and his sixty thousand sons are the ancestors of Rāma in a story told within the Rāmāy…
- SakkiyaA former Buddhist who worshipped Shiva by casting a stone each day.
- SambandarChild prodigy poet-saint who lived only sixteen years.
- SambhajiSambhaji Bhosale (1657–1689) was the second Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire, son and succes…
- ŚambūkaŚambūka is the śūdra ascetic in the Rāmāyaṇa's seventh book whom Rāma beheads for performing…
- SampātiSampāti is the elder vulture brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, wingless since he shielded Jaṭāyu from…
- ŚāntāŚāntā is the princess of Aṅga in the Rāmāyaṇa, given in marriage to the ascetic Ṛśyaśṛṅga whe…
- SaptarishiThe seven great seers of the age: Kaśyapa, Atri, Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, Bh…
- ŚarabhaṅgaŚarabhaṅga is the sage of the Daṇḍaka forest in the Rāmāyaṇa who kept Brahmā's world waiting…
- SaramāSaramā is the rākṣasī of the Rāmāyaṇa who befriended Sītā in captivity, exposed Rāvaṇa's illu…
- ŚatrughnaŚatrughna is the youngest of the four brothers of the Rāmāyaṇa, Lakṣmaṇa's twin and Bharata's…
- SattiThe saint who silenced slander of Shiva’s devotees.
- SeruthunaiWho punished an insult to a devotee without hesitation.
- ShashankaShashanka (r.
- ShivajiShivaji Bhonsle (1630–1680) was the founder of the Maratha Empire, crowned Chhatrapati in 167…
- ShukraVenus;
- SirappuliThe brahmin saint of Tiruvakkarai.
- SiruthondarThe general of Narasiṃhavarman who cooked his own son at Shiva’s test.
- SītāSītā is the wife of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, found by King Janaka in a furrow, carried off by Rā…
- Somasi MaraThe brahmin who performed the soma sacrifices for Shiva.
- SubāhuSubāhu is the rākṣasa in the Rāmāyaṇa who with Mārīca defiled Viśvāmitra's sacrifices, and wh…
- SugrīvaSugrīva is the vānara king of Kiṣkindhā in the Rāmāyaṇa, driven out by his brother Vālī over…
- Śuka and SāraṇaŚuka and Sāraṇa are Rāvaṇa's spies in the Rāmāyaṇa, caught counting the besieging army, relea…
- SumantraSumantra is Daśaratha's charioteer and chief counsellor in the Rāmāyaṇa, who drove Rāma out o…
- SumitrāSumitrā is the middle queen of Daśaratha in the Rāmāyaṇa, mother of Lakṣmaṇa and Śatrughna, w…
- SundararThe last of the three foremost;
- ŚūrpaṇakhāŚūrpaṇakhā is Rāvaṇa's sister in the Rāmāyaṇa, who desired Rāma in the forest, was mocked and…
- SuṣeṇaSuṣeṇa is the vānara physician in the Rāmāyaṇa, father of Tārā, who identified the healing he…
- SutīkṣṇaSutīkṣṇa is the forest ascetic of the Rāmāyaṇa who offered Rāma the heaven he had earned by a…
- SvayamprabhāSvayamprabhā is the ascetic woman of the Rāmāyaṇa who guards an enchanted underground palace,…
- Tārā of KiṣkindhāTārā is the queen of Vālī in the Rāmāyaṇa, the shrewdest counsellor in Kiṣkindhā, who warned…
- TāṭakāTāṭakā is the yakṣī turned rākṣasī in the Rāmāyaṇa whose killing is the first act of violence…
- Thondaradippodi Alvar“Dust of the devotees’ feet”;
- Tiru Kurippu ThondaThe washerman ready to serve Shiva’s devotees at any cost.
- Tiru NeelakantaThe potter-saint, second in the traditional list.
- Tiru Nilakanta YazhpanarThe lute-player (yāḻ) who accompanied Sambandar’s hymns.
- Tirumangai AlvarA chieftain and reformed brigand turned prolific poet-saint.
- Tirumazhisai AlvarPoet-saint of Tirumazhisai;
- TirumularThe yogi-saint, author of the Tirumantiram.
- TiruneelanakkaThe brahmin saint of Tirumarugal.
- Tiruppaan AlvarOf the lowest caste, carried into the sanctum on a priest’s shoulders;
- TrijaṭāTrijaṭā is the rākṣasī in the Rāmāyaṇa who guards Sītā in the aśoka grove and protects her, r…
- TriśirasTriśiras is the three-headed rākṣasa of Khara's command in the Rāmāyaṇa who asked to face Rām…
- TulsīdāsTulsīdās was the sixteenth-century poet-saint who composed the Rāmcaritmānas, the Awadhi Rāmā…
- ŪrmilāŪrmilā is Sītā's sister and the wife of Lakṣmaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa, left in Ayodhyā for fourtee…
- VajradaṃṣṭraVajradaṃṣṭra is the rākṣasa general in the Rāmāyaṇa sent against the southern gate of Laṅkā a…
- VālīVālī is the vānara king of Kiṣkindhā in the Rāmāyaṇa, the strongest of his kind, who drove ou…
- VālmīkiVālmīki is the sage to whom the Rāmāyaṇa is attributed, called the ādi-kavi or first poet, an…
- VasiṣṭhaVasiṣṭha is one of the seven great sages (saptarṣi) of Hindu tradition and, in the Rāmāyaṇa,…
- VayilarWho worshipped Shiva in the temple of his own heart.
- VibhīṣaṇaVibhīṣaṇa is Rāvaṇa's youngest brother in the Rāmāyaṇa, who told him in open council to retur…
- Vinayak Damodar SavarkarVinayak Damodar Savarkar was a nationalist revolutionary, writer and political ideologue whos…
- ViralmindaThe devotee zealous for the honour of Shiva’s servants.
- VishwamitraKing who became a brahmarṣi;
- ViśravasViśravas is the brahmin sage of the Rāmāyaṇa's seventh book who fathered both Kubera, the lor…
- ViśvāmitraViśvāmitra is the sage in the Rāmāyaṇa who took the boy Rāma from his father's house to guard…
- VyasaCompiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahābhārata.
- YenathinatharA swordsman who laid down his guard before Shiva’s mark.
Dynasties & States
- Ābhīra dynastyThe Ābhīras were a people of the northern Deccan who established a dynasty in the third centu…
- Adil Shahi Sultanate of BijapurThe Adil Shahis ruled Bijapur and the western Deccan for nearly two centuries, and built the…
- ĀgreyaĀgreya was a people of what is now Haryana, attested by coins found at the mound of Agroha, a…
- Ahom dynastyThe Ahom dynasty was a Tai-descended royal line that ruled the Brahmaputra valley of Assam fr…
- Alchon HunsThe Alchon Huns were a Central Asian people who invaded northwestern India from the late four…
- AlupasThe Alupas ruled the Tulu-speaking coast of Karnataka for a thousand years as feudatories of…
- Ānanda Gotrika dynastyThe Ānanda Gotrikas were a dynasty of the Guntur country in the fourth and fifth centuries CE…
- Andhra Ikṣvāku dynastyThe Andhra Ikṣvākus were the dynasty that succeeded the Sātavāhanas in the lower Krishna vall…
- Angres of KolabaThe Angres commanded the Maratha navy from the Konkan forts and for fifty years levied their…
- ĀrjunāyanaThe Ārjunāyanas were a corporate people of eastern Rajasthan, known from copper coins bearing…
- Asaf Jahi dynastyThe Asaf Jahi Nizams ruled Hyderabad from 1724 to 1948, the largest and richest princely stat…
- AudumbaraThe Audumbaras were a people of the Punjab hill country between the Ravi and the Beas, known…
- Aulikara dynastyThe Aulikaras ruled western Malwa from Daśapura and produced Yaśodharman, the king whose vict…
- Āy dynastyThe Āys were a dynasty of the far south of Kerala, beginning as Sangam-age hill chieftains an…
- Āyudha dynastyThe Āyudhas held Kannauj in the late eighth century CE, and their weakness made the city the…
- Baghelas of RewaThe Baghelas ruled Baghelkhand from the thirteenth century until 1948, a durable second-rank…
- Baise RajyaThe Baise Rajya were the twenty-two small kingdoms of the Karnali basin that emerged from the…
- Bāṇa kingdomThe Bāṇas were a long-lived feudatory dynasty of the country where Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and…
- Baro-Bhuyan confederacyThe Baro-Bhuyans were confederacies of independent landholders in Assam and Bengal who govern…
- Bengal SultanateThe Bengal Sultanate ruled the delta for over two centuries from 1352, an independent and pro…
- Bhañja dynastiesThe Bhañjas were a family of dynasties in the interior uplands of Odisha, ruling from the eig…
- Bharata dynastyThe Bharata dynasty is the legendary lunar-line (Chandravansha) royal lineage described in th…
- Bhāṭīs of JaisalmerThe Bhāṭīs founded Jaisalmer in 1156 on a ridge in the Thar desert and ruled it until 1949, t…
- Bhauma-Kara dynastyThe Bhauma-Karas ruled coastal Odisha for two centuries from about 736 CE, a Buddhist dynasty…
- Bhonsles of NagpurThe Bhonsles of Nagpur ruled the eastern Maratha territories from 1739 until the state was an…
- Bhulua kingdomBhulua was a small kingdom of southeastern Bengal, in the Noakhali country, holding out in th…
- BilaspurBilaspur, also called Kahlur, was a Sutlej valley state whose capital was submerged in the 19…
- Brahman dynasty of SindhThe Brahman dynasty ruled Sindh for eighty years until the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim…
- Bṛhatphalāyana dynastyThe Bṛhatphalāyanas were a short-lived dynasty of the Andhra coast in the late third century…
- Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of AfghanistanThe Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms of Afghanistan were a succession of polities in Gandhara, Bac…
- BushahrBushahr was the largest of the Himachal hill states, running up the Sutlej to the Tibetan fro…
- Chāhamānas of JālorThe Chāhamānas of Jālor ruled southwestern Rajasthan from the twelfth century until Alauddin…
- Chāhamānas of NaḍḍūlaThe Chāhamānas of Naḍḍūla were a branch of the Śākambharī house that ruled part of Marwar fro…
- Chāhamānas of RanthamboreThe Chāhamānas of Ranthambore were founded by Pṛthvīrāja III's son after the fall of Ajmer, a…
- Chāhamānas of ŚākambharīThe Chāhamānas of Śākambharī were the leading Rajput dynasty of eastern Rajasthan, and their…
- Chalukyas of BādāmiThe Chalukyas of Bādāmi ruled the Deccan for two centuries from 543 CE, checked Harṣa at the…
- Chalukyas of LāṭaThe Chalukyas of Lāṭa were a branch of the Bādāmi house governing southern Gujarat, whose rul…
- ChambaChamba was a Himalayan kingdom of the Ravi valley from the sixth century to 1948, whose unbro…
- Chandela dynastyThe Chandelas ruled Bundelkhand from the ninth to the fourteenth century and built the temple…
- ChandradwipChandradwip was a deltaic kingdom of southern Bengal whose Bakla rajas were among the Baro-Bh…
- Chaubisi RajyaThe Chaubisi Rajya were the twenty-four principalities of the Gandaki basin in central Nepal,…
- Chaulukya dynasty of GujaratThe Chaulukyas ruled Gujarat from Patan for three centuries from 942 CE, the period in which…
- Chāvḍā dynastyThe Chāvḍās ruled northern Gujarat before the Chaulukyas, and their king Vanarāja founded Aṇa…
- Chhatrapatis of KolhapurThe Chhatrapatis of Kolhapur were the junior branch of Shivaji's line, and their ruler Shahu…
- Chindaka Nāgas of BastarThe Chindaka Nāgas ruled the Bastar country of southern Chhattisgarh from about 1000 to 1324…
- Chola EmpireThe Chola Empire ruled the Tamil country from 848 to 1279, at its height controlling southern…
- Chudasamas of SaurashtraThe Chudasamas ruled Sorath in southern Saurashtra from Junagadh for six centuries, until the…
- Chutia kingdomThe Chutia kingdom held upper Assam around Sadiya from the twelfth century until the Ahoms de…
- Cuṭu dynastyThe Cuṭus were a dynasty of northern Karnataka centred on Banavāsi who ruled the southwestern…
- Doti kingdomDoti was a kingdom of far-western Nepal ruled by the Raika kings, one of the successor states…
- Early CherasThe early Cheras ruled the Malabar coast and the western Tamil country in the Sangam age, and…
- Early CholasThe early Cholas were one of the three crowned dynasties of the Tamil country in the Sangam a…
- Eastern Chalukyas of VengiThe Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra for five and a half centuries from 624 CE, and und…
- Eastern Ganga dynastyThe Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga for nearly a thousand years, and under them the Jagannātha t…
- Gaekwads of BarodaThe Gaekwads ruled Baroda from 1721 to 1949, and under Sayajirao Gaekwad III the state introd…
- Gajapati dynastyThe Gajapatis ruled Odisha from 1434 to 1541 and briefly held the eastern seaboard from the G…
- Garhwal kingdomThe Panwar dynasty ruled Garhwal from the ninth century until 1949, a Himalayan kingdom conta…
- Gauḍa kingdomGauḍa was the kingdom of Śaśāṅka, the first ruler to unify Bengal as an independent power in…
- Gohil dynastyThe Gohils migrated from Marwar to eastern Saurashtra in the thirteenth century and gave thei…
- Guhilas of ChatsuThe Guhilas of Chatsu were a branch of the Guhila family that held territory south of modern…
- Guhilas of MedapāṭaThe Guhilas ruled Medapāṭa — Mewar — from about the seventh century, holding Chittor until Al…
- Gujarat SultanateThe Gujarat Sultanate ruled the western seaboard from 1407 to 1573, founded Ahmedabad, and de…
- GulerGuler was a small Kangra-valley state whose court produced the Guler school of painting and t…
- Gupta EmpireThe Gupta Empire was a dynasty that ruled much of northern and central India from the early f…
- Gurjara-Pratihāra EmpireThe Gurjara-Pratihāras ruled northern India from Kannauj for two centuries from the mid-eight…
- Gurjaras of NandipurīThe Gurjaras of Nandipurī ruled the Lāṭa country of southern Gujarat from the late sixth cent…
- Guttas of GuttavolalThe Guttas were a feudatory family of the Dharwad country in northern Karnataka, claiming des…
- Hāḍā Chauhans of Bundi and KotaThe Hāḍās were a Chāhamāna branch that ruled the Hadoti country of southeastern Rajasthan fro…
- Hindu Shahi dynastyA Hindu dynasty that ruled Kabul, Gandhara, and the Punjab from the mid-9th to the early 11th…
- Holkars of IndoreThe Holkars ruled Indore and western Malwa from 1731 to 1948, and their queen Ahilyabai rebui…
- The house of Yaśovarman of KannaujYaśovarman ruled at Kannauj in the first half of the eighth century CE, briefly restoring an…
- Hoysala dynastyThe Hoysalas ruled southern Karnataka from the eleventh to the fourteenth century and built a…
- The Ikṣvāku lineThe Ikṣvākus are the solar dynasty of the Rāmāyaṇa, ruling Kosala from Ayodhyā, whose genealo…
- Jadeja dynasty of KutchThe Jadejas ruled Kutch from the twelfth century until 1948, a desert and coastal kingdom who…
- Jaintia kingdomThe Jaintia kingdom held the hills and the adjoining Sylhet plain until 1835, a matrilineal K…
- Jethwa dynastyThe Jethwas ruled the Barda hills and the Porbandar coast of Saurashtra from the medieval per…
- Kacchapaghāta dynastyThe Kacchapaghātas ruled the Gwalior region between the tenth and twelfth centuries, and buil…
- Kachari kingdomThe Kachari or Dimasa kingdom ruled central and southern Assam from Dimapur and later Maibang…
- Kachwahas of DhūṇḍhāḍThe Kachwahas ruled Dhūṇḍhāḍ from Amber and later Jaipur, were the first Rajput house to ente…
- Kadamba dynastyThe Kadambas of Banavāsi were the first indigenous dynasty of Karnataka, founded in the fourt…
- Kadambas of GoaThe Kadambas of Goa ruled the Konkan coast from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and thei…
- Kadambas of HangalThe Kadambas of Hangal ruled northern Karnataka as Western Chalukya feudatories from the tent…
- Kākatīya dynastyThe Kākatīyas ruled the Telugu country from Warangal for a century and a half, were governed…
- Kalachuris of KalyāṇiThe Kalachuris of Kalyāṇi held the Deccan for twenty-five years in the twelfth century, and i…
- Kalachuris of MāhiṣmatīThe early Kalachuris ruled the Narmada valley and the northern Deccan in the sixth and early…
- Kalachuris of RatnapuraThe Kalachuris of Ratnapura were a branch of the Tripurī house that ruled Chhattisgarh from a…
- Kalachuris of SarayūpāraThe Kalachuris of Sarayūpāra were a minor branch of the family that ruled the country north o…
- Kalachuris of TripurīThe Kalachuris of Tripurī ruled the Chedi country of central India for four centuries, reachi…
- Kāmatā kingdomKāmatā was the kingdom that succeeded Kāmarūpa in western Assam and north Bengal from the thi…
- Kamboja-Pāla dynastyThe Kamboja-Pālas were a dynasty that seized part of Bengal from the Pālas in the tenth centu…
- Kangra and the Katoch dynastyThe Katoch rajas of Kangra claimed descent from the ancient Trigarta and, under Sansar Chand…
- Kāṇva dynastyThe Kāṇvas were a short-lived brahmin dynasty that displaced the Śuṅgas in Magadha in the fir…
- Karkoṭa dynastyThe Karkoṭas ruled Kashmir from the seventh to the ninth century CE, and under Lalitāditya th…
- Karṇāṭa dynasty of MithilāThe Karṇāṭas ruled Mithilā from Simraungarh for over two centuries from 1097, a dynasty of so…
- Katyūrī dynastyThe Katyūrīs ruled the central Himalayan country of what is now Uttarakhand from about 700 to…
- Keladi NayakasThe Keladi Nayakas ruled the Malnad hills and the Karnataka coast from 1499 to 1763, and thei…
- Khasa Malla kingdomThe Khasa Mallas ruled the Karnali basin and much of the western Himalaya from Sinja between…
- Khen dynasty of KāmatāThe Khens were the last dynasty of the Kāmatā kingdom, ruling for some sixty years until the…
- Khmer EmpireThe Khmer Empire was a Southeast Asian state centered on Angkor in present-day Cambodia that…
- Khokhar chiefsThe Khokhars were a Punjab people whose chiefs resisted the Delhi Sultanate for three centuri…
- Kingdom of CochinThe kingdom of Cochin ruled central Kerala from the twelfth century until 1949, and by allyin…
- Kingdom of TravancoreTravancore was the kingdom Marthanda Varma built out of Venāḍ from 1729, notable for defeatin…
- Kirāta dynastyThe Kirātas are the dynasty Nepali tradition places before the Licchavis in the Kathmandu val…
- Koch dynastyThe Koch dynasty ruled western Assam and north Bengal from 1515, reached its height under Nar…
- Koch HajoKoch Hajo was the eastern half of the divided Koch kingdom, lasting a single generation befor…
- KolathunāḍuKolathunāḍu was the north Malabar kingdom that succeeded the Mūṣikas, ruling from Chirakkal,…
- Koṭas of DharaṇikoṭaThe Koṭas ruled Dharaṇikoṭa on the Krishna from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, the s…
- KulluKullu was a kingdom of the upper Beas valley whose rajas ceded sovereignty to the god Raghuna…
- KulūtaKulūta was a small hill state of the upper Beas valley, attested by a coinage naming its rule…
- Kumaon kingdomThe Chand dynasty ruled Kumaon from Champawat and later Almora until the Gorkha conquest of 1…
- KuṇindaThe Kuṇindas were a hill people of the Himalayan foothills between the Yamuna and the Sutlej,…
- Kuru KingdomThe Kuru Kingdom was both a historically attested late Vedic polity of the upper Ganga-Yamuna…
- KutlehrKutlehr was one of the smallest of the Punjab hill states, holding a few valleys in the Himac…
- Later CherasThe Later Cheras ruled Kerala from Mahodayapuram between about 800 and 1124 CE, and their cha…
- Later GuptasThe Later Guptas were a dynasty that ruled Magadha and at times Malwa from the late fifth to…
- Licchavi dynasty of NepalThe Licchavis ruled the Kathmandu valley from about 400 to 750 CE, the first historically doc…
- Lohara dynastyThe Loharas ruled Kashmir from 1003 to 1320, a period of increasing disorder that Kalhaṇa rec…
- Maitraka dynastyThe Maitrakas ruled Saurashtra and Gujarat for three centuries from Vallabhī, a city whose Bu…
- MālavaThe Mālavas were a people who fought Alexander in the Punjab, migrated southeast into Rajasth…
- Malla dynasty of BishnupurThe Malla kings of Bishnupur ruled the Bankura country of western Bengal for over a thousand…
- Malla dynasty of NepalThe Mallas ruled the Kathmandu valley from the thirteenth century to 1769, and their division…
- Malwa SultanateThe Malwa Sultanate ruled central India from 1392 to 1562, and built at Mandu one of the most…
- MandiMandi was a Himalayan state of the Beas valley founded in 1527, known for its stone temples a…
- ManipurManipur was ruled by the Ningthouja dynasty from the Kangla at Imphal, and its court chronicl…
- Maratha EmpireThe Maratha Empire was a Hindu warrior state that rose in the Deccan under Chhatrapati Shivaj…
- Matak stateThe Matak state was carved out of upper Assam by the Moamaria rebels in 1805, the political o…
- Māṭhara dynastyThe Māṭharas ruled Kalinga in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, the first dynasty after the…
- Maukhari dynastyThe Maukharis ruled from Kannauj in the sixth century CE, made it the leading city of norther…
- The Mitra dynastiesThe Mitra dynasties were local ruling houses of the Ganga–Yamuna country between the Mauryas…
- MoirangMoirang was one of the principalities of the Manipur valley before Ningthouja unification, th…
- Mūṣika dynastyThe Mūṣikas ruled north Malabar from Ezhimala from the Sangam age onward, and are the subject…
- Musunuri NayaksThe Musunuri Nayaks were Kākatīya officers who combined after the fall of Warangal in 1323 to…
- Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu SultanHyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan ruled Mysore from 1761 to 1799, fought four wars against th…
- Nāgas of PadmāvatīThe Nāgas of Padmāvatī were a dynasty of central India in the third and fourth centuries CE,…
- Nāgavaṃśī of ChotanagpurThe Nāgavaṃśīs ruled the Chotanagpur plateau, claiming descent from a serpent ancestor, and s…
- Nala dynastyThe Nalas ruled the forested country of Bastar and Koraput in the fifth and sixth centuries C…
- NalagarhNalagarh, also called Hindur, was a small state of the Himachal foothills founded as a branch…
- Nawabs of AwadhThe Nawabs of Awadh ruled the central Ganga plain from Lucknow until the British annexed the…
- Nayaks of GingeeThe Nayaks of Gingee ruled the northern Tamil country from a fortress spanning three hills th…
- Nayaks of MaduraiThe Nayaks of Madurai ruled the southern Tamil country for two centuries from 1529, and under…
- Nayaks of ThanjavurThe Nayaks of Thanjavur ruled the Kaveri delta from 1532 to 1673, a Telugu-speaking dynasty i…
- Nellore CholasThe Nellore Cholas ruled southern Andhra between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and th…
- Nikumbha dynastyThe Nikumbhas were a minor dynasty attested in the Alwar country of Rajasthan and later in Kh…
- Nizam Shahi Sultanate of AhmadnagarThe Nizam Shahis ruled Ahmadnagar from 1490 to 1636, the Deccan sultanate that fought the Mug…
- NolambasThe Nolambas ruled Nolambavāḍi, the dry country on the Karnataka–Andhra border, from the eigh…
- The Northern SatrapsThe Northern Satraps were Śaka governors who ruled at Mathurā in the first centuries BCE and…
- NurpurNurpur was a Pathania state on the Punjab–Himachal border, renamed for the Mughal empress Nur…
- Oinwar dynastyThe Oinwars ruled Mithilā for two centuries after the fall of the Karṇāṭas, and their court p…
- Pala dynastyThe Pala dynasty was a Buddhist-patronizing dynasty that ruled Bengal and Bihar from the mid-…
- Pāla dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Pālas of Kāmarūpa ruled Assam from about 900 to 1100 CE, the last dynasty of the old Kāma…
- Pallava dynastyThe Pallavas ruled the northern Tamil country from Kāñcīpuram for six centuries, fought the C…
- Pāṇḍuvaṃśins of Dakṣiṇa KosalaThe Pāṇḍuvaṃśins ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala from Sirpur between the sixth and eighth centuries CE,…
- Pandya dynastyThe Pandya dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty centered on Madurai in southern Tamil Nadu, w…
- Paramāra dynasty of MalwaThe Paramāras ruled Malwa from Dhārā for five centuries, and their king Bhoja was the most ce…
- Paramāras of ArbudaThe Paramāras of Arbuda ruled the Mount Abu country from Chandrāvatī, and it was under their…
- Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and JālorThe Paramāras of Bhīnmāl and Jālor were a minor branch of the family holding southwestern Raj…
- Paramāras of VāgaḍaThe Paramāras of Vāgaḍa were a branch of the Malwa house that ruled the hill country between…
- Parivrājaka and Uccakalpa mahārājasThe Parivrājakas and the mahārājas of Uccakalpa were two feudatory houses of central India in…
- The PeshwasThe Peshwas were the hereditary chief ministers who ruled the Maratha empire from Pune for a…
- Pottapi CholasThe Pottapi Cholas were a Telugu Choda branch ruling from Pottapi in the Cuddapah country bet…
- PrāgjyotiṣaPrāgjyotiṣa is the name the epics give to the kingdom of the Brahmaputra valley, ruled by Nar…
- Puars of Dhar and DewasThe Puars held Dhar and the two Dewas states in Malwa from 1728 to 1948, Maratha commanders w…
- Puṣyabhūti dynastyThe Puṣyabhūtis were the dynasty of Thanesar whose king Harṣa ruled most of northern India fr…
- Qutb Shahi Sultanate of GolcondaThe Qutb Shahis ruled Golconda and the Telugu country from 1518 to 1687, founded Hyderabad, a…
- Rai dynasty of SindhThe Rai dynasty ruled Sindh from Alor for some hundred and forty years until 632 CE, a Buddhi…
- RājanyaRājanya was a people attested by copper coins bearing the legend of the Rājanya janapada, one…
- Rashtrakuta dynastyThe Rashtrakuta dynasty was an imperial power that dominated the Deccan and much of central I…
- Rathores of MarwarThe Rathores ruled Marwar from the thirteenth century and founded Jodhpur in 1459, becoming w…
- Rattas of SaundattiThe Rattas ruled the Belgaum country of northern Karnataka from the ninth to the thirteenth c…
- Recherla NayakasThe Recherla Nayakas ruled the hill forts of Rachakonda and Devarakonda in Telangana through…
- Reddy kingdom of KondaviduThe Reddy kingdom of Kondavidu ruled coastal Andhra for a century from 1325, and its patronag…
- Reddy kingdom of RajahmundryThe Reddy kingdom of Rajahmundry was the northern half of the Reddy state, ruling the Godāvar…
- Renāṭi CholasThe Renāṭi Cholas ruled the Cuddapah country from the sixth to the eighth century, and their…
- Śailodbhava dynastyThe Śailodbhavas ruled the Koṅgoda country around Chilika lake in coastal Odisha between the…
- Saindhava dynastyThe Saindhavas ruled western Saurashtra from the eighth to the tenth century, styling themsel…
- Śālaṅkāyana dynastyThe Śālaṅkāyanas ruled the Vengī country of coastal Andhra in the fourth and fifth centuries…
- Śālastambha dynastyThe Śālastambhas ruled Kāmarūpa for two and a half centuries after the Varmans, a dynasty the…
- Śarabhapurīya dynastyThe Śarabhapurīyas ruled Dakṣiṇa Kosala, the upper Mahanadi basin of modern Chhattisgarh, in…
- Sātavāhana EmpireThe Sātavāhanas were the first great power of the Deccan, ruling from the Konkan to the Andhr…
- Scindias of GwaliorThe Scindias ruled Gwalior and much of central India from 1731 to 1948, and under Mahadji Sci…
- Sena dynastyThe Senas were the last Hindu dynasty to rule Bengal, displacing the Pālas in the twelfth cen…
- SendrakasThe Sendrakas were a feudatory family of the Deccan in the sixth to eighth centuries, holding…
- Seuṇa Yādavas of DevagiriThe Seuṇa Yādavas ruled the Marathi-speaking Deccan from the hill fortress of Devagiri for ov…
- Shah dynasty of NepalThe Shah dynasty ruled Gorkha from 1559 and Nepal from 1769 until the monarchy was abolished…
- Shah Mir dynasty of KashmirThe Shah Mirs ruled Kashmir from 1339 to 1561, the dynasty under which the valley became Musl…
- Shimla Hill StatesThe Shimla Hill States were some twenty-eight small principalities of the Sutlej–Yamuna water…
- ŚilāhārasThe Śilāhāras ruled the Konkan coast and the Kolhapur country in three branches for five cent…
- Sindas of YelburgaThe Sindas were a feudatory family of northern Karnataka under the Western Chalukyas, ruling…
- SirmurSirmur was a hill state of the Himachal foothills whose recovery from Gorkha occupation in 18…
- Sisodia dynasty of MewarThe Sisodias ruled Mewar from 1326 until 1949, the senior house among the Rajput dynasties, a…
- Somavaṃśī dynastyThe Somavaṃśīs moved from Dakṣiṇa Kosala into coastal Odisha in the tenth century and unified…
- Spiti and Lahaul chiefshipsSpiti and Lahaul were trans-Himalayan valleys governed by local chiefs under Ladakhi and then…
- SuketSuket was one of the older hill states of Himachal, ruled by a Sen dynasty from which Mandi s…
- Śuṅga dynastyThe Śuṅgas were the dynasty that replaced the Mauryas in 185 BCE, ruling Magadha and central…
- ŚūrasenaŚūrasena was a mahājanapada of the Mathurā country, the kingdom in whose territory the Kṛṣṇa…
- SuryavanshaSuryavansha, or the Solar Dynasty, is the Puranic and epic genealogical lineage tracing desce…
- Telugu CholasThe Telugu Cholas were a group of related dynasties in the Andhra country claiming Chola desc…
- Thakuri periodThe Thakuri period covers the four and a half centuries between the Licchavis and the Mallas…
- Tomaras of DelhiThe Tomaras ruled the Delhi region before the Chauhans, and are credited with founding the se…
- Tomaras of GwaliorThe Tomaras ruled Gwalior for a century and a quarter from 1394, and under Mān Singh Tomar th…
- Traikūṭaka dynastyThe Traikūṭakas ruled the northern Konkan and the Gujarat coast in the third to fifth centuri…
- TrigartaTrigarta was a polity of the Jalandhar Doab and the Kangra hills, named as a corporation in P…
- Turk Shahi dynastyThe Turk Shahis ruled the Kabul valley and Gandhāra from the seventh to the ninth century CE,…
- Twipra kingdomThe Twipra kingdom was ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the fourteenth century until 1949, a…
- UddehikaUddehika was a people of central India, in the country around Vidiśā, attested by a copper co…
- Utpala dynastyThe Utpalas ruled Kashmir from 855 to 1003 CE, a period that produced the valley's great hydr…
- Vāghela dynastyThe Vāghelas were the last Hindu dynasty of Gujarat, ruling from Patan for sixty years until…
- VaidumbasThe Vaidumbas were a dynasty of the Rayalaseema uplands between the ninth and twelfth centuri…
- Vākāṭaka dynastyThe Vākāṭakas ruled the northern Deccan from the third to the fifth century CE, were bound to…
- Valluvanāḍ and Palakkad chieftainciesValluvanāḍ and Palakkad were central Kerala chieftaincies caught between Calicut and Cochin,…
- Varman dynasty of BengalThe Varmans ruled eastern Bengal from Vikramapura in the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, b…
- Varman dynasty of KāmarūpaThe Varmans were the first historically documented dynasty of Assam, ruling Kāmarūpa from abo…
- Velanāṭi CholasThe Velanāṭi Cholas governed coastal Andhra for the Chola empire from the late eleventh centu…
- Vēḷir chieftainciesThe Vēḷir were the chieftains of the Tamil country who ruled the hill and forest tracts betwe…
- Velugoti Nayaks of VenkatagiriThe Velugoti Nayaks of Venkatagiri were Velama chiefs who served Vijayanagara, held their ter…
- VemakaVemaka was a people of the eastern Punjab attested only by a small series of copper coins bea…
- VenāḍVenāḍ was the southern Kerala principality that emerged from the Chera collapse and grew into…
- Vijayanagara EmpireVijayanagara was the last great empire of southern India, founded on the Tungabhadra in 1336,…
- Viṣṇukuṇḍin dynastyThe Viṣṇukuṇḍins ruled coastal Andhra and Telangana for two centuries from about 420 CE, the…
- Vṛṣṇi corporationThe Vṛṣṇi corporation was a clan body of the Mathurā country attested by a coin issued in the…
- Western Chalukyas of KalyāṇiThe Western Chalukyas ruled the Deccan from Kalyāṇi between 973 and 1189 CE, fought the Chola…
- Western Ganga dynastyThe Western Gangas ruled southern Karnataka for some six centuries from about 350 CE, and the…
- Wodeyars of MysoreThe Wodeyars ruled Mysore from 1399 to 1950, first as Vijayanagara feudatories, then as an in…
- Yadu and the Yādava lineageYadu was a Ṛgvedic people whose name became, in later tradition, the great Yādava lineage of…
- Yajvapāla dynastyThe Yajvapālas ruled the Narwar country of central India in the second half of the thirteenth…
- YaudheyaThe Yaudheyas were a martial corporation of the country between the Sutlej and the Yamuna, th…
- Zamorins of CalicutThe Zamorins ruled Calicut from the twelfth century and made it the greatest port of the Mala…
Places & Regions
- AlakāAlakā is the city of Kubera, lord of wealth, in the Rāmāyaṇa — the seat he withdrew to on Mou…
- The aśoka groveThe aśoka grove is the garden in Laṅkā where Sītā was held for a year in the Rāmāyaṇa, guarde…
- AyodhyāAyodhyā is the capital of Kosala and the city of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa, on the river Sarayū, d…
- CitrakūṭaCitrakūṭa is the hill in the Rāmāyaṇa where the exiles settled first, where Daśaratha's death…
- The Daṇḍaka forestThe Daṇḍaka is the great forest south of the Vindhyas in the Rāmāyaṇa, where the exiles spent…
- DelhiDelhi is the capital of India and one of the longest continuously inhabited urban regions in…
- GandharaGandhara was an ancient region centred on the Peshawar Valley, Swat Valley, and Taxila in pre…
- HampiHampi is the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara Empire on the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka,…
- JanasthānaJanasthāna is the district of the Daṇḍaka forest in the Rāmāyaṇa held by the rākṣasa commande…
- KannaujKannauj, ancient Kanyakubja, is a city on the Ganga in present-day Uttar Pradesh that served…
- KashmirKashmir is a Himalayan valley in the northwestern subcontinent whose early history encompasse…
- KekayaKekaya is the north-western kingdom of the Rāmāyaṇa from which Kaikeyī came, and where Bharat…
- KiṣkindhāKiṣkindhā is the vānara kingdom of the Rāmāyaṇa, ruled by Vālī and then by Sugrīva, where Rām…
- KosalaKosala is the kingdom of the Ikṣvāku line in the Rāmāyaṇa, ruled from Ayodhyā on the Sarayū,…
- Kuśāvatī and ŚrāvastīKuśāvatī and Śrāvastī are the cities in the Rāmāyaṇa's last book where Rāma installed his son…
- LaṅkāLaṅkā is Rāvaṇa's island city in the Rāmāyaṇa, taken from his half-brother Kubera, burned by…
- MathuraMathura is an ancient city on the Yamuna River in western Uttar Pradesh, revered in Hindu tra…
- Mount MahendraMount Mahendra is the peak in the Rāmāyaṇa from which Hanumān launched himself across the oce…
- NandigrāmaNandigrāma is the village outside Ayodhyā in the Rāmāyaṇa from which Bharata governed Kosala…
- PañcavaṭīPañcavaṭī is the place on the Godāvarī in the Rāmāyaṇa where the exiles built their hut on Ag…
- PrayāgaPrayāga is the confluence of the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā in the Rāmāyaṇa, where the sage Bharadv…
- PunjabPunjab, the "Land of Five Rivers" straddling the India-Pakistan border in the northwestern su…
- PushkalavatiPushkalavati, at modern Charsadda in Pakistan, was the earliest capital of the Gandhara regio…
- Rāma SetuRāma Setu is the causeway built across the sea to Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa, identified in tradit…
- Ṛṣyamūka and Lake PampāṚṣyamūka is the hill in the Rāmāyaṇa where the exiled Sugrīva sheltered from his brother, abo…
- SāṅkāśyāSāṅkāśyā is the city of Kuśadhvaja in the Rāmāyaṇa, a satellite kingdom of Videha, whose two…
- The SarayūThe Sarayū is the river of Ayodhyā in the Rāmāyaṇa, on which the city stands, where Daśaratha…
- ŚṛṅgaverapuraŚṛṅgaverapura is the town of the Niṣāda chief Guha on the Gaṅgā in the Rāmāyaṇa, where the ex…
- TaxilaTaxila, or Takshashila, was an ancient city in the Gandhara region of the northwestern subcon…
- UjjainUjjain is a city on the Shipra River in Madhya Pradesh, continuously inhabited since at least…
- VaranasiVaranasi, traditionally known as Kāśī or Banaras, is a city on the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh reg…
- Videha and MithilāVideha is the kingdom of Janaka in the Rāmāyaṇa, north of the Ganges, ruled from Mithilā — th…
Sites & Monuments
- Ancient universities of IndiaAncient India's centers of higher learning ranged from large residential monastic universitie…
- Angkor WatAngkor Wat is a 12th-century temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia, built by the Khmer king…
- BAPS templesBAPS (Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha) is a Hindu monastic and cultural…
- Char DhamChar Dham refers to a set of four major Hindu pilgrimage sites — Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and…
- Hatkoti TempleHatkoti is a temple complex on the Pabbar River in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla district, center…
- Kailasa TempleThe Kailasa Temple (Cave 16) at Ellora is a monolithic rock-cut Hindu temple dedicated to Shi…
- KhajurahoKhajuraho is a group of Hindu and Jain temples in present-day Madhya Pradesh, built by the Ch…
- Konark Sun TempleThe Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century Hindu temple dedicated to the sun god Surya at Konark…
- Krishna JanmabhoomiKrishna Janmabhoomi is a temple complex in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, venerated as Krishna's bir…
- MahabalipuramMahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, is a 7th–8th century port town and rock-cut monume…
- MahasthangarhMahasthangarh is the earliest known city in Bengal, a fortified site on the Karatoya in north…
- Meenakshi TempleThe Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is a major Hindu temple complex dedicated…
- Preah VihearPreah Vihear is an early-medieval Khmer temple dedicated to Shiva, built along a cliff edge o…
- Qutub MinarThe Qutub Minar is a 73-metre brick minaret begun in Delhi in 1192-93 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, f…
- Rani ki VavRani ki Vav is an 11th-century stepwell at Patan, Gujarat, built by Queen Udayamati of the Ch…
- Shakti PithasThe Shakti Pithas are a network of Hindu pilgrimage sites, numbered variously at 51 or 108, e…
- Sun templesSun temples (sūrya mandirs) are Hindu shrines dedicated to the solar deity Sūrya, built acros…
Texts
- AbhijnanashakuntalamA Sanskrit play in seven acts by the poet Kalidasa, dramatizing the courtship, separation, an…
- Adhyātma RāmāyaṇaThe Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa is a Sanskrit retelling of the epic embedded in the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa, w…
- Adhyātmarāmāyaṇaṃ KiḷippāṭṭuThe Adhyātmarāmāyaṇaṃ Kiḷippāṭṭu is Ezhuttacchan's Malayalam version of the Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇa…
- Ānanda RāmāyaṇaThe Ānanda Rāmāyaṇa is a late Sanskrit retelling ascribed to Vālmīki, probably of the fifteen…
- Araṇya KāṇḍaThe Araṇya Kāṇḍa is the third book of the Rāmāyaṇa, covering the years in the Daṇḍaka forest,…
- Ayodhyā KāṇḍaThe Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa is the second book of the Rāmāyaṇa, in which Kaikeyī's two boons send Rāma…
- Bāla KāṇḍaThe Bāla Kāṇḍa is the first book of the Rāmāyaṇa, covering Rāma's birth, his first expedition…
- Bhagavad GitaThe Bhagavad Gita is a 700-verse Sanskrit dialogue between the warrior prince Arjuna and the…
- Devi MahatmyaThe Devi Mahatmya is a Sanskrit text of roughly 700 verses embedded in the Markandeya Purana,…
- Hikayat Seri RamaThe Hikayat Seri Rama is the Malay prose Rāmāyaṇa, known from manuscripts of the sixteenth an…
- IrāmāvatāramThe Irāmāvatāram is Kamban's Tamil retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa, a poem of some ten thousand ver…
- Kakawin RāmāyaṇaThe Kakawin Rāmāyaṇa is the Old Javanese version of the epic, composed in central Java in abo…
- Kiṣkindhā KāṇḍaThe Kiṣkindhā Kāṇḍa is the fourth book of the Rāmāyaṇa, in which Rāma allies with the exiled…
- Kṛttivāsī RāmāyaṇaThe Kṛttivāsī Rāmāyaṇa is the Bengali retelling composed by Kṛttibās Ojhā in the fifteenth ce…
- MahabharataThe Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic of ancient India, traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa…
- NatyashastraThe Natyashastra is an ancient Sanskrit treatise on dramaturgy, dance, and music attributed t…
- Phra Lak Phra LamPhra Lak Phra Lam is the Lao Rāmāyaṇa, named for Lakṣmaṇa before Rāma, told as a birth-story…
- PuranasThe Puranas are a body of Sanskrit smriti literature — eighteen major texts and numerous mino…
- RamakienThe Ramakien is the Thai national version of the Rāmāyaṇa, whose fullest text was composed un…
- RāmāyaṇaThe Rāmāyaṇa is the Sanskrit epic attributed to Vālmīki, in seven books, telling how Rāma of…
- RāmcaritmānasThe Rāmcaritmānas is Tulsīdās's retelling of the Rāmāyaṇa in Awadhi, begun at Ayodhyā in 1574…
- Raṅganātha RāmāyaṇaThe Raṅganātha Rāmāyaṇa is the earliest full Telugu retelling of the epic, composed in the dv…
- ReamkerThe Reamker is the Khmer Rāmāyaṇa, known from manuscripts of the sixteenth century onward and…
- Sundara KāṇḍaThe Sundara Kāṇḍa is the fifth book of the Rāmāyaṇa, in which Hanumān leaps the ocean, finds…
- Torave RāmāyaṇaThe Torave Rāmāyaṇa is the best-known Kannada retelling of the epic, composed in the sixteent…
- UpanishadsThe Upanishads are a body of Sanskrit philosophical texts, composed over several centuries fr…
- Uttara KāṇḍaThe Uttara Kāṇḍa is the seventh book of the Rāmāyaṇa, covering Rāvaṇa's ancestry, the banishm…
- VedasThe Vedas are the oldest layer of Hindu scripture, a body of Sanskrit hymns, ritual formulas,…
- Yama ZatdawThe Yama Zatdaw is the Burmese version of the Rāmāyaṇa, established in its present form after…
- Yuddha KāṇḍaThe Yuddha Kāṇḍa is the sixth and longest book of the Rāmāyaṇa, covering the bridging of the…
Concepts
- AhimsaAhimsa is the principle of non-harm to living beings, central to Jain ethics and important in…
- The anuṣṭubh and the first verseThe anuṣṭubh or śloka is the thirty-two-syllable verse in which the Rāmāyaṇa is composed, and…
- Astika and nastikaAstika and nastika are the terms by which Indian philosophical schools were sorted into ortho…
- The astrasThe astras of the Rāmāyaṇa are weapons belonging to particular gods, invoked and recalled by…
- Bhakti movementThe Bhakti movement was a devotional current in Hinduism, emerging in Tamil Nadu by the 6th c…
- Boons and curses in the RāmāyaṇaBoons and curses are the machinery of the Rāmāyaṇa's plot: a promise that cannot be revoked,…
- Brahma KamalBrahma Kamal is the common name for Saussurea obvallata, a rare, night-blooming high-altitude…
- DashavataraDashavatara ("ten avatars") is the standard Vaishnava list of Vishnu's ten principal incarnat…
- Dating the RāmāyaṇaThe Rāmāyaṇa has no securely fixed date;
- Denominations of HinduismShaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, and Smartism are the four major devotional traditions (sampr…
- Devi, devata, Brahman and yajnaDevi, deva/devata, Bhagavan, Ishvara, Brahman, and Atman are core Sanskrit terms in Hindu the…
- Dharma-saṅkaṭa in the RāmāyaṇaDharma-saṅkaṭa is a conflict of obligations with no clean exit, and the Rāmāyaṇa is largely b…
- The fall of IndraThe fall of Indra is a Puranic myth, told most fully in the Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Puran…
- The fourteen yearsThe fourteen years of Rāma's exile in the Rāmāyaṇa are counted exactly by everyone in the poe…
- The geography of the RāmāyaṇaThe Rāmāyaṇa's landscape is precise in the north and schematic in the south, and the pattern…
- Hanumān and the invention of bhaktiHanumān's service to Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa became the model on which North Indian devotion bui…
- Hindu civilization in IndonesiaThe Hindu–Buddhist civilization that shaped the Indonesian archipelago from roughly the 4th t…
- HinduismHinduism is the world's oldest continuously practiced major religious tradition and the domin…
- Hinduism: basic beliefsA survey of the beliefs shared, in varying form, across most Hindu traditions: the doctrines…
- Hinduism: frequently asked questionsA reference set of commonly asked questions about Hindu belief, deities, sacred texts, ritual…
- IndosphereThe Indosphere is the vast zone of cultural, religious, linguistic, and artistic influence ra…
- Indus Valley Civilization: Hindu perspectivesIndus Valley Civilization: Hindu perspectives surveys the interpretive tradition, both schola…
- Jati, varna and gotraJati, varna, and gotra are three distinct traditional frameworks for social classification an…
- JyotishaJyotisha is the traditional Indian science of astronomy and astrology, one of the six Vedanga…
- The Lakṣmaṇa-rekhāThe Lakṣmaṇa-rekhā is the protective line Lakṣmaṇa is said to have drawn around the hermitage…
- Maryāda-puruṣottamaMaryāda-puruṣottama — the supreme person who keeps within limits — is the epithet by which Rā…
- Names for IndiaIndia has been known by a range of names across history and languages — including Bharata, Hi…
- Pancha BhutaThe Pancha Bhutas, the five great elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space, are the fou…
- PinākaPināka is the bow of Śiva in the Rāmāyaṇa, kept by the kings of Videha, which no suitor could…
- PunditPandit, from the Sanskrit paṇḍita meaning "learned," is a title for a scholar or expert that…
- The Puṣpaka vimānaThe Puṣpaka is the flying chariot of the Rāmāyaṇa, made for Kubera and seized by Rāvaṇa, whic…
- The rākṣasasThe rākṣasas are the people of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa — night-ranging, shape-shifting, flesh-e…
- Rāma-rājyaRāma-rājya is the reign of Rāma described at the end of the Rāmāyaṇa — a kingdom without want…
- The Rāmāyaṇa in culture and religionThe Rāmāyaṇa has shaped Indian religion, literature, art and performance more thoroughly than…
- Recensions of the RāmāyaṇaThe Rāmāyaṇa survives in three broad regional recensions whose manuscripts differ substantial…
- Religious persecution under the MughalsReligious persecution under the Mughals refers to episodes of temple destruction, discriminat…
- Sacred animals in HinduismSacred animals in Hinduism are creatures accorded ritual reverence or mythological significan…
- Samudra ManthanaSamudra Manthana, the churning of the cosmic ocean of milk, is a Puranic myth in which devas…
- Sanatana DharmaSanātana Dharma ("eternal law" or "eternal duty") is a Sanskrit term used, especially since t…
- Sarasvati river debateThe Sarasvati debate concerns whether the river praised in the Rigveda is the now-dry Ghaggar…
- Schools of Hindu philosophyThe six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy - Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa and…
- Science in ancient IndiaA survey of scientific and technical achievement in ancient and early medieval India, across…
- Sītā's ordeal and the epic's own doubtsSītā's treatment after the war — the public repudiation, the fire, the banishment and her fin…
- SwastikaThe swastika is an equilateral hooked cross, one of the oldest continuously used symbols in h…
- Syncretism in Indian religionsSyncretism in Indian religions refers to the historical blending of doctrines, deities, saint…
- Taj Mahal origin controversyThe Taj Mahal origin controversy refers to a set of disputed and, in several cases, discredit…
- TandavaTandava is the cosmic dance of the Hindu god Shiva, performed in both fierce, destructive for…
- The vānarasThe vānaras are the forest people of the Rāmāyaṇa who supply Rāma's army — described as monke…
- YogaYoga is a body of Indian spiritual and physical disciplines, rooted in Vedic ritual and Upani…
Events
- The agni-parīkṣāThe agni-parīkṣā is the passage in the Rāmāyaṇa in which Rāma, after winning the war, repudia…
- The aśvamedha and the singing of the poemAt Rāma's horse sacrifice in the Rāmāyaṇa's last book, two boys raised at Vālmīki's hermitage…
- Aurangzeb and the MarathasThe Mughal-Maratha wars were a 27-year series of campaigns (1681–1707) fought by Emperor Aura…
- Bangladesh Liberation WarThe Bangladesh Liberation War was the 1971 conflict in which East Pakistan, led by the Awami…
- The banishment of SītāThe banishment of Sītā in the Rāmāyaṇa's seventh book is Rāma's decision, on hearing that his…
- Battle of ArorThe Battle of Aror, fought around 712 CE near the Sindhi capital of Aror between the Umayyad…
- Battles of PanipatThe three Battles of Panipat, fought in 1526, 1556, and 1761 on the same plain north of Delhi…
- Beginnings of Islamic rule in IndiaThis entry covers the establishment of Islamic political rule on the Indian subcontinent, fro…
- Bharata and the sandalsBharata's taking of Rāma's sandals in the Rāmāyaṇa, after failing to bring his brother home f…
- The breaking of Śiva's bowThe breaking of Śiva's bow at Mithilā is the episode in the Rāmāyaṇa by which Rāma wins Sītā,…
- The building of the bridgeThe building of the causeway to Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa follows Rāma's three-day appeal to the…
- The burning of LaṅkāThe burning of Laṅkā in the Rāmāyaṇa is Hanumān's exit from the city — allowing himself to be…
- Chalukya-Pallava rivalryThe Chalukya-Pallava rivalry was a roughly two-century contest for dominance in the Deccan an…
- The death of DaśarathaDaśaratha dies of grief in the Rāmāyaṇa on the sixth night after Rāma's departure, understand…
- The exile of RāmaThe exile of Rāma is the departure of the prince, his wife and his brother from Ayodhyā for f…
- The golden deer and the abductionThe golden deer is the disguise in the Rāmāyaṇa by which the rākṣasa Mārīca drew Rāma away fr…
- Gorkha rule in Himachal and UttarakhandGorkha rule in Himachal and Uttarakhand refers to the roughly two-decade period, from 1790 to…
- Hanumān's leap to LaṅkāHanumān's leap across a hundred yojanas of ocean to Laṅkā opens the fifth book of the Rāmāyaṇ…
- Islamic rule in KashmirIslamic rule in Kashmir denotes the political and religious transformation of the Kashmir Val…
- Janapadas after the KurusThe Janapadas were the polities of Iron Age North India that succeeded the Vedic-era Kuru kin…
- Kaikeyī's two boonsKaikeyī's two boons are the demand in the Rāmāyaṇa that sets the whole story in motion — that…
- Kannauj TriangleThe Kannauj Triangle, also called the Tripartite Struggle, was a roughly 150-year contest fro…
- The killing of VālīRāma's killing of the vānara king Vālī from behind cover, during a wrestling match with his b…
- Mughal-Maratha warsThe Mughal-Maratha wars were a prolonged series of conflicts between the Mughal Empire and th…
- The mutilation of ŚūrpaṇakhāThe mutilation of Śūrpaṇakhā at Pañcavaṭī in the Rāmāyaṇa — her nose and ears cut off by Lakṣ…
- Partition of IndiaThe Partition of India in 1947 divided British India into the independent dominions of India…
- Rāma's departureRāma's departure at the end of the Rāmāyaṇa is his walk into the river Sarayū, with the popul…
- The sañjīvanī and the mountainThe sañjīvanī episode in the Rāmāyaṇa is Hanumān's flight to a mountain in the north for four…
- Siege of Chittorgarh (1303)The Siege of Chittorgarh of 1303 was Alauddin Khilji's successful campaign against the Guhila…
- Siege of Chittorgarh (1567-68)The siege of Chittorgarh (October 1567 to February 1568) was the Mughal emperor Akbar's rough…
- The waking of KumbhakarṇaThe waking of Kumbhakarṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa is the set piece in which Rāvaṇa's giant brother is…
Art & Architecture
- Hindu temple architectureThe architectural tradition of Hindu temple building on the Indian subcontinent, spanning the…
- Pashupati sealThe Pashupati seal is a steatite seal from Mohenjo-daro, ancient India (modern-day Pakistan),…
- Ramanand Sagar's RamayanRamanand Sagar's television Ramayan, broadcast on Doordarshan from 1987, was watched by audie…
- The Rāmāyaṇa in dance and mask-dramaThe Rāmāyaṇa is the central repertoire of classical and folk performance across South and Sou…
- The Rāmāyaṇa in paintingThe Rāmāyaṇa has been illustrated continuously in Indian painting, most magnificently in the…
- The Rāmāyaṇa in temple reliefThe Rāmāyaṇa is carved on temple walls from the Gupta period onward, and the great relief cyc…
Practice & Festival
- AkharasAkharas are monastic-martial orders of Hindu ascetics, organized into Shaiva, Vaishnava, and…
- Barsana HoliLathmar Holi, also called Barsana Holi, is a distinctive pre-Holi festival observed in the Br…
- Chaitra and Sharad NavratriNavratri is a nine-night Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga, observed twice a year in…
- DhanterasDhanteras, or Dhanatrayodashi, is the first of the five days of Diwali, observed on the thirt…
- Dīvālī and Rāma's returnIn North Indian tradition the lamps of Dīvālī mark the night Ayodhyā lit itself for Rāma's re…
- DiwaliDiwali, or Deepavali ("row of lamps"), is a five-day festival of lights observed by Hindus, J…
- Diwali 2024 calendarThis entry records the five-day Diwali calendar as observed in 2024, when Dhanteras fell on 2…
- DussehraDussehra, or Vijayadashami, is a Hindu festival observed on the tenth day of the bright fortn…
- Hanumān worship and the Hanumān CālīsāHanumān is among the most widely worshipped deities in India, approached for strength, courag…
- HoliA major Hindu festival marking the arrival of spring and the triumph of good over evil, celeb…
- JanmashtamiJanmashtami (Krishna Janmashtami) is the Hindu festival marking the birth of Krishna, the eig…
- KanwariyasKanwariyas are Hindu devotees of Shiva who undertake the Kanwar Yatra, an annual pilgrimage o…
- Kullu DussehraKullu Dussehra is a week-long Hindu festival held at Dhalpur in the Kullu Valley of Himachal…
- Kumbh MelaThe Kumbh Mela is a Hindu mass pilgrimage and ritual bathing festival held on a rotating cycl…
- Maha Kumbh Mela 2025The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 was a Hindu pilgrimage festival held at the Triveni Sangam in Prayag…
- Maha ShivaratriMaha Shivaratri, the 'Great Night of Shiva,' is a Hindu festival observed on the fourteenth n…
- NavratriNavratri is a nine-night Hindu festival cycle centered on the worship of the goddess Durga an…
- Raksha BandhanRaksha Bandhan (Rakhi) is a Hindu festival, kept on the full moon of the lunar month of Shrav…
- Rām NavamīRām Navamī is the Hindu festival of Rāma's birth, kept on the ninth day of the bright half of…
- The Rāma pilgrimage circuitThe places of the Rāmāyaṇa form a pilgrimage geography running the length of India — Ayodhyā,…
- The Rāmānandī sampradāyaThe Rāmānandīs are the largest order of Vaiṣṇava ascetics in northern India, devoted to Rāma…
- RāmlīlāRāmlīlā is the annual public staging of the Rāmāyaṇa across northern India, played over days…
- The Rāmnāmī SamājThe Rāmnāmīs are a community of the Chhattisgarh plains, founded in the late nineteenth centu…
- Sharad NavratriSharad Navratri is the principal autumn observance of Navratri, a nine-night Hindu festival h…
- Shraddha and Pitru PakshaShraddha is the Hindu ritual of offering food and libations to deceased ancestors, performed…