English
A military people inhabiting a country of the same name in the middle of the Panjab ; probably the ' A'jL^dsrai of Ptolemy. 2. The medical tribe in Manu. A^MBIKA. I. A sister of Rudra, but in later times identified witli Uma. 2. Elder widow of Vichitra-virya and mother of Dhrita-rash^ra by Vyasa. See Maha-bharata. AMBIKEYA. A metron^^mic ajiplicable to Ganesa, Skanda, and Dh?7ta-rash/ra. AMXAYA. Sacred tradition. The Vedas in the aggregate. AMi?7TA. 'Immortal.' A god. The water of life. The term -was known to the Vedas, and seems to have been applied to various things offered in sacrifice, but more especially to the Soma juice. It is also called Nir-jara and Piyiisha. In later times it was the water of life produced at the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons, the legend of which is told Avitli some variations in the RamayaTza, the Maha-bharata, and the Pura??as. The gods, feeling their weakness, having been worsted by the demons, and being, according to one authority, under the ban of a holy sage, repaired to Vish?iu, beseeching him for renewed vigour and the gift of immortality. He directed them to chum the ocean for the Am?-ita and other precious things which had boon lost. The story as told in the Vish?^u Purawa has been rendered into verse by I'rofessor Williams thus : — AMRITA, 13 " The gods addressed the mighty Vishnu thus — * Conquered in battle by the evil demons, • We fly to thee for succour, soul of all ; Pity, and by thy might deliver us ! ' Hari, the lord, creator of the world. Thus by the gods implored, all graciously Replied — ' Your strength shall be restored, ye gods ; Only accomplish what I now command. Unite yourselves in peaceful combination With these your foes ; collect all plants and herbs Of diverse kinds from every quarter ; cast them Into the sea of milk ; take Mandara, The mountain, for a churning stick, and Vasuki, The serpent, for a rope ; together churn The ocean to produce the beverage — Source of all strength and immortality — Then reckon on my aid ; I will take care Your foes shall share your toil, but not partake In its reward, or drink th' immortal draught.' Thus by the god of gods advised, the host United in alliance with the demons. Straightway they gathered various herbs and cast them Into the waters, then they took the mountain To serve as churning-stafF, and next the snake To serve as cord, and in the ocean's midst Hari himself, present in tortoise-form. Became a pivot for the churning- staff. Then did they churn the sea of milk ; and first Out of the waters rose the sacred Cow, God-worshipped Surabhi, eternal fountain Of milk and ofl'erings of butter ; next. While holy Siddhas wondered at the sight. With eyes all rolling, Varum uprose, Goddess of wine. Then from the whirlpool sprang Fair Parijata, tree of Paradise, delight Of heavenly maidens, with its fragrant blossoms Perfuming the whole world, Th' Apsarasas, Troop of celestial nymphs, matchless in grace, Perfect in loveliness, were next produced. Then from the sea uprose the cool-rayed moon, Which Maha-deva seized ; terrific poison Next issued from the waters ; this the snake-gods Claimed as their 0"v\rQ. Then, seated on a lotus, Beauty's bright goddess, peerless >SrI, arose Out of the waves ; and with her, robed in white. Came forth Dhanwantari, the gods' physician. 14 ANADHRIsn TI- A NARGHA RAGHA 1 ^A. Higli in liis hand he bore the cup of nectar — Life-giving draught — longed for by gods and demons. Then had the demons forcibly borne off The cup, and drained the precious beverage; Had not the mighty Vish/iu interposed. Bewildering them, he gave it to the gods ; AVhereat, incensed, the demon troops assailed The host of heaven, but they with strength renewed. Quaffing the draught, struck down their foes, who fell Headlong through space to lowest depths of hell ! " There is an elaborate article on the subject in Goldstiicker's Dictionary. In after-times, Yislmu's bird GaruiZa is said to have stolen the Amrfta, but it was recovered by Indxa. AXADHi?/SH2T. A son of Ugrasena and general of the Yadavas. AXAKA-DU:N'DUBHL 'Drums.' A name of Vasu-deva, who was so called because the drums of heaven resounded at his birth. AXAXDA. 'Joy, happiness.' An appellation of ^iva, also of Bala-rama. ANAXDA GIRL A follower of >Sankaracharya, and a teacher and expositor of his doctrines. He w^as the author of a Sanhara-vijaya, and lived about the tenth century. AXAXDA-LAHARI. ' The w^ave of joy.' A poem attributed to ASankaracharya. It is a hymn of praise addressed to ParvatI, consort of >Siva, mixed up with mystical doctrine. It has been translated into French by Troyer as LOnde de Beatitude. AXAXGA 'The bodiless.' A name of Kama, god of love. AXANTA. 'The infinite.' A name of the serpent ^eslia. The term is also applied to Vishnu and other deities. ANARAZVYA. A descendant of Ikshwiiku and king of Ayodhyii. According to the Ramayawa, many kings submitted to Rava7?a without fighting, but when Anara?iya was summoned to fight or submit, he preferred to fight. His army was over- come and he was thrown from his chariot. Rava^aa triumphed over his prostrate foe, who retorted that he had been beaten by fate, not by Ravawa, and predicted the death of Rrn'a7?a at the hands of Rama, a descendant of Anara??ya. AXARGHA RAGHA V A. A drama in seven acts by Murfiri Misra, possibly written in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Raghava or Rama is the hero of the piece. " It has no dramatic merit, being deficient in character, action, situation, and interest AN-ARVA—ANGADA. 15 As a poem it presents occasionally poetic thoughts, but they are very few, and are lost amid pages of flat commonplace, quaint conceit, hyperbolical extravagance, and obscure mythology." — JFilson. It is also called, after its author, Murari Na/aka. AN-ARYA. 'Unworthy, vile.' People who were not Aryans, barbarians of other races and religion. ANAStJYA. 'Charity.' Wife of the i?ishi Atri. In the Ramaya?^ she appears living with her husband in a hermitage in the forest south of Chitra-kii/a, She was very pious and given to austere devotion, through which she had obtained miraculous powers. When Sita visited her and her husban( I, she was very attentive and kind, and gave Sita an ointment which was to keep her beautiful for ever. She was mother of the ii-ascible sage Durvasas. A friend of >S'akuntala. ANDHAKA. i. A demon, son of Kasyapa and Diti, with a thousand arms and heads, two thousand eyes and feet, and called Andliaka because he walked like a blind man, although he sa^v very well. He was slain by /Siva when he attempted to carry off the Parijiita tree from Swarga. From this feat iS'iva obtained the appellation Andhaka-ripu, ' foe of Andhaka.' 2. A grand- son of Krosh^ri and son of Yudhajit, of the Yadava race, who, together with his brother Yrisli?ii, is the ancestor of the celebrated family of Andliaka- Yrish^iis. 3. The name was borne by many others of less note. ANDHRA, ANTDHRA. Xame of a country and peoj)le in the south of India, the country of Telingana. It was the seat of a powerful dynasty, and the people were known to Pliny as gens Andarce. ANDHRA-BH^/TYA. A dynasty of kings that reigned in Magadha somewhere about the beginning of the Christian era. The name seems to indicate that its founder was a native of Andlira, now Telingana. AKGA. I. The country of Bengal proper about Bhagalpur. Its capital was Champa, or Champa-pim. {See Anu.) 2. A sup- plement to the Vedas. See Vedanga. AXGADA. I. Son of Lakshma?m and king of Angadi, capital of a country near the Himalaya. 2. Son of Gada (brother of K?ish?2a) by Vn'hati. 3. Son of Ball, the monkey king of Kish- kindhya. He was protected by Rama and fought on his sido against Ravawa. i6 ANGIRAS—ANGIRASAS. ANGIRAS. A Pikhi to whom many hymns of the i2ig-veda are attributed. He was one of the seven Maharshis or great it/shis, and also one of the ten Prajapatis or progenitors of man- kind. In later times Angiras was one of the inspired lawgivers, and also a writer on astronomy. As an astronomical personifica- tion he is BrOiaspati, the regent of the planet Jupiter, or the planet itself. He was also called "the priest of the gods," and "the lord of sacrifice." There is much ambiguity about the name. It comes from the same root as agnij ' fire,' and resembles that word in sound. This may be the reason why the name Angiras is used as an epithet or synonjTue of Agni.