Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

91 results found

Bhave, Vinoba

(Encyclopedia)Bhave, Vinoba vĭnōbə bäˈvā [key], 1895–1982, Indian religious figure, founder of the Bhoodan Movement. While studying Sanskrit in Benares (Varanasi), he joined Mohandas K. Gandhi as a disciple...

Kosala

(Encyclopedia)Kosala kōˈsələ [key], ancient Indian kingdom, corresponding roughly in area with the region of Oudh. Its capital was Ayodhya. It was a powerful state in the 6th cent. b.c. but was weakened by a se...

Chaitanya

(Encyclopedia)Chaitanya chītŭnˈyə [key], 1485–1533, Indian mystic, also called Gauranga (“the Golden”). He was born of Brahman parents in Nabadwip, Bengal, a center of Sanskrit learning. As a young man he...

Eliade, Mircea

(Encyclopedia)Eliade, Mircea mûrˈshə āˌlē-ädˈə [key], 1907–86, American philosopher and historian of comparative religion, b. Bucharest. He studied Indian philosophy and Sanskrit at the Univ. of Calcutta...

Aryan

(Encyclopedia)Aryan ârˈēən [key], [Sanskrit,=noble], term formerly used to designate the Indo-European race or language family or its Indo-Iranian subgroup. Originally a group of nomadic tribes, the Aryans were...

Ujjain

(Encyclopedia)Ujjain o͞ojīnˈ, o͞oˈjīn [key], city (1991 pop. 362,633), Madhya Pradesh state, central India, on the Sipra River. Many pilgrims visit Ujjain, which Hindus consider one of the holiest places in I...

Mahabharata

(Encyclopedia)Mahabharata məhäˌbärˈətə [key], classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed between 200 b.c. and a.d. 200. The Mahabharata, comprising more than 90,000 couplets, usually of 32 syllables...

fable

(Encyclopedia)fable, brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retainin...

Anquetil-Duperron, Abraham Hyacinthe

(Encyclopedia)Anquetil-Duperron, Abraham Hyacinthe düpĕrôNˈ [key], 1731–1805, French Orientalist. He gave up studying for the priesthood to pursue his deep interest in Eastern languages. In India (1755–61) ...

Magadha

(Encyclopedia)Magadha mŭˈgädə [key], ancient Indian kingdom, situated within the area of the modern states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Its capital was Pataliputra (now Patna). The kingdom rose to prominence in the ...

Browse by Subject