SHIVARATRI

SHIVARATRI (February - March) Maha Shivaratri is celebrated throughout the country; it is particularly popular in Uttar Pradesh. Maha Shivratri falls on the I3th (or I4th) day of the dark half of 'Phalgun' (February-March). The name means "the night of Shiva". The ceremonies take place chiefly at night. This is a festival observed in honour of Lord Shiva and it is believed that on this day Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. On this festival people worship 'Shiva - the Destroyer'. This night marks the night when Lord Shiva danced the 'Tandav'....

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GOKULASHTAMI

GOKULASHTAMI (August-September) Maha Vishnu took various avatars to protect the mortal world from the evildoers and sinners. One such incarnation was his birth as the child of King Vasudeva and Queen Devaki Devi. Gokul Ashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna. It falls on the 8th day of the dark half of the month of 'Bhadrapada' (August-September) and is one of the greatest of all Hindu festivals. Lord Krishna was born at midnight. A twenty-four hour fast is observed on this day, which is broken at midnight. The festival is called in different...

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Hindu Festivals

Home Hindu Gods Hindu Temples Caste System In India Aryans Hindu Festivals Hinduism Ramayana Vedas Upanishads Puranas Hindu Festivals MAKAR SANKRANTI (January) Also See: GOKULASHTAMI SHIVARATRI Makar Sankranti usually falls on 14th of January every year. This festival is one of the many festivals which have been celebrated since the vedic period. On this day the sun comes across the north of equator. On this very day it is believed that 'the morning' of the deities commences. This particular period, when the sun...

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Aryans

Home Hindu Gods Hindu Temples Caste System In India Aryans Hindu Festivals Hinduism Ramayana Vedas Upanishads Puranas Aryans Who Were the Aryans? The Aryans were semi-nomadic Nordic Whites, perhaps located originally on the steppes of southern Russia and Central Asia, who spoke the parent language of the various Indo-European languages. Latin, Greek, Hittite, Sanskrit, French, German, Latvian, English, Spanish, Russian etc. are all Indo-European languages; Indo-European, or more properly Proto-Indo-European (PIE), is the lost...

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Caste System in India

Home Hindu Gods Hindu Temples Caste System In India Aryans Hindu Festivals Hinduism Ramayana Vedas Upanishads Puranas Caste System in India The pattern of social classes in Hinduism is called the "caste system." The chart shows the major divisions and contents of the system. Basic caste is called varn.a, or "color." Subcaste, or j�ti, "birth, life, rank," is a traditional subdivision of varn.a. The Bhagavad Gita says this about the varn.as: The works of Brahmins, Ks.atriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras are different,...

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