Dictionary

Namdev (Pronunciation: [naːmdeʋ]), also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, c 26 October 1270 – c 3 July 1350) was a Marathi Hindu poet and saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism He lived as a devotee of Lord Vitthal (Krishna) of Pandharpur The details of Namdev’s life are unclear He is the subject of many miracle-filled hagiographies composed centuries after he died Scholars find these biographies to be inconsistent and contradictory...

Narada (Sanskrit: नारद, IAST: Nārada), or Narad Muni, is a god-sage, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata, telling Yudhishtira the story of Prahlada and the Ramayana as well as in the Puranas Once God decided that it was time for Him to descend to earth to set matters right, most lesser Gods came down to like someone or the other to aid and enjoy a ringside view of epochal events...

Narasimha, (Sanskrit: नृसिंह, IAST: Nṛsiṁha), sometimes spelled Narasingha (; Sanskrit: नरसिंह, lit ‘man-lion’, IAST: Narasiṃha) is a fierce avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, one who incarnates in the form of part lion and part human to destroy evil and end religious persecution and calamity on Earth, thereby restoring Dharma Narasimha is depicted with three eyes, and is described as the God of Destruction, who destroys the entire universe at the time of great-dissolution (Mahapralaya)...

Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: Nārāyaṇa) is one of the forms and names of Lord Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama and is considered the Supreme being in Vaishnavism.

Āstika and nāstika are concepts that have been used to classify Indian philosophies by modern scholars, as well as some Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts The various definitions for āstika and nāstika philosophies have been disputed since ancient times, and there is no consensus In current Indian languages like Telugu, Hindi and Bengali, āstika and its derivatives usually mean ’theist’, and nāstika and its derivatives denote an ‘atheist’; however, the two terms in ancient- and medieval-era Sanskrit literature do not refer to ’theism’ or ‘atheism’...

Nataraja (Sanskrit: नटराज, romanized: Naṭarāja) (Tamil: நடராஜர்) is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer His dance is called Tandava The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the Anshumadbhed agama and Uttarakamika agama, the dance murti featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism, and is a well known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art...

Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider Shiva, as their first lord or guru, with varying lists of additional gurus Of these, the 9th or 10th century Matsyendranath and the ideas and organization mainly developed by Gorakhnath are particularly important...

Navaratri is a Hindu festival that spans over nine nights (and ten days) and is celebrated every year in the autumn season It is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Hindu Indian cultural sphere Theoretically, there are four seasonal Navaratri However, in practice, it is the post-monsoon autumn festival called Sharada Navaratri which is the most observed in honour of the divine feminine Devi (Durga)...

Neem Karoli Baba (Hindi: नीम करौली बाबा, romanized: nīm karaulī bābā) or Neeb Karori Baba (Hindi: नीब करौरी बाबा, romanized: nīb karaurī bābā) (c 1900 – 11 September 1973), known to his followers as Maharaj-ji, was a Hindu guru and a devotee of the Hindu deity Hanuman He is known outside India for being the spiritual master of a number of Americans who travelled to India in the 1960s and 70s, the most well-known being the spiritual teachers Ram Dass and Bhagavan Das, and the musicians Krishna Das and Jai Uttal...

In Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga Nididhyasana (Sanskrit: निदिध्यासन) is profound and repeated meditation on the mahavakyas, great Upanishadic statements such as “That art Thou”, to realize the identity of Atman and Brahman It is the fourth step in the training of a sisya (disciple), consisting of preparatory practices, listening to the teachings as contained in the sruti, reflection on the teachings, and nididhyasana

Ni-ranjan is a word from the Sanskrit literature of Hindu tradition, which means, spotless, pure, supreme being, devoid of all objectifications, without any bad quality (attributes), active, truthful, great and it is lord Shiva It is also Lord Krishna according to Bhagavad Gita

Nirbīja (Sanskrit; or Pāli: nibbija or nibija) Translated as without seed

Para Brahman (Sanskrit: परब्रह्म, romanized: parabrahma) in Hindu philosophy is the “Supreme Brahman” that which is beyond all descriptions and conceptualisations It is described as the formless (in the sense that it is devoid of Maya) that eternally pervades everything, everywhere in the universe and whatever is beyond Param Brahma is conceptualised in diverse ways In the Advaita Vedanta tradition, the Param Brahma is a synonym of nirguna brahman, i...

Nirmāṇakāya (Sanskrit; Chinese: 應身; pinyin: yīngshēn; Tib སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་, tulku, Wyl sprul sku) is the third aspect of the trikāya and the physical manifestation of a Buddha in time and space In Vajrayāna it is described as “the dimension of ceaseless manifestation "

Nirukta (Sanskrit: निरुक्त, IPA: [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