The ten avatars of Vishnu, ( Clockwise, from Left upper corner ) Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Gautama Buddha in Hinduism | Buddha, Parshurama, Rama and Narasimha, ( in centre ) Krishna

Ten avatars of Vishnu ( Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna, Kalki, Gautama Buddha in Hinduism | Buddha, Parshurama, Rama & Narasimha ).

In Hinduism, Kalki ( Devanagari: कल ् क ि; also rendered by some as Kalkin and Kalaki ) is the tenth and final Maha Avatara ( great incarnation ) of Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga.

Vamana ( Devanagari: व ा मन, IAST: Vāmana ) is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the Fifth Avatar of Vishnu, and the first incarnation of the Second Age, or the Treta yuga.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit lexical item svāhā ( Romanized Sanskrit transcription ; Devanagari: स ् व ा ह ा, chi.

Radha ( Devanagari: र ा ध ा, IAST: Rādhā ), also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism.

In Hinduism, an avatar (; ; from Sanskrit अवत ा र in the Devanagari script, meaning " descent ") is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being ( i. e., Vishnu for Vaishnavites ) and is mostly translated into English as " incarnation ," but more accurately as " appearance " or " manifestation ".

Om or ( written universally as ; in Devanagari as oṃ, auṃ, or om ) is a mystical Sanskrit sound of Hindu origin, sacred and important in various Dharmic religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Brahmacharya (; Devanagari: ब ् रह ् मचर ् य behavior that leads to Brahman ) is one of the four stages of life in an age-based social system as laid out in the Manu Smrti and later Classical Sanskrit texts in Hinduism.

In Hinduism, the goddess Tara ( Bengali: দ ে ব ী ত া র া ম া )( Sanskrit: Tārā, Devanagari: त ा र ा) meaning " star " is the second of the Dasa ( ten ) Mahavidyas or " Great Wisdom ", Tantric manifestations of Mahadevi, Kali, or Parvati.

In Hinduism, a murti ( Devanagari: म ू र ् त ि), or murthi, or vigraha or pratima typically refers to an image that expresses a Divine Spirit ( murta ).

In Hinduism, the s ( Devanagari: ) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailasa.

Treta Yuga ( Devanagari: त ् र े त ा य ु ग ) is the second out of four yugas, or ages of mankind, in the religion of Hinduism, and follows the Satya Yuga of perfect morality and precedes the Dvapara Yuga.

In Hinduism, Mahadevi ( Sanskrit: Mahādevī, Devanagari: मह ा द े व ी) or " Great Goddess " is a term used to denote the Goddess or Devi that is the sum of all other Devis-an all encompassing Female Deity as the consort or complement to an all encompassing Male Deity ( Deva ) or the Ultimate Reality ( Brahman ) in Shaktism.

Satsvarupa das Goswami During ISKCON diksa ceremony in 1979. Diksa ( Sanskrit: द ी क ् ष ा in Devanagari,, Tamil: த ீ ட ் ச ை) also spelled deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a " preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony ", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.

The Satya Yuga ( Devanagari: सत ् य य ु ग ), also called Sat Yuga, Krta Yuga and Krita Yuga in Hinduism, is the " Yuga ( Age or Era ) of Truth ", when mankind is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and mankind will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme.

Dvapara Yuga or Dwapara Yuga ( Devanagari: द ् व ा पर य ु ग ) is the third out of four yugas, or ages, described in the scriptures of Hinduism.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, rūpa ( Sanskrit ; Pāli ; Devanagari: ; ) generally refers to material objects, particularly in regards to their appearance.

Jambudvīpa ( Devanagari: जम ् ब ु द ् व ी प ) is the dvipa (" island " or " continent ") of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live.

The Isha Upanishad ( Devanagari: ईश ा व ा स ् य उपन ि षद ्,, otherwise Ishopanishad or ) is one of the shortest of the Upanishads, consisting of 17 or 18 verses in total ; like other core texts of the vedanta, it is considered revealed scripture ( Śruti ) by diverse traditions within Hinduism.

( Devanagari ) traditions are conservative ritualistic traditions of the historical Vedic religion in Hinduism, based on the body of Śruti literature.

In Hinduism, the gandharvas ( Sanskrit: गन ् धर ् व, gandharva, Kannada: ಗ ಂ ಧರ ್ ವ, Tamil: கந ் தர ் வர ், Telugu: గ ం ధర ్ వ ) are male nature spirits, husbands of the Apsaras.

In Hinduism, Chandra ( Sanskrit चन ् द ् र lit.

The Guardians of the Directions ( Sanskrit: द ि क ् प ा ल, Dikpāla ) are the deities who rule the specific directions of space according to Hinduism and

In Hinduism, Durvasa ( द ु र ् व ा स ) is an ancient sage, son of Atri and Anasuya.

In Hinduism, Bhadra ( भद ् र ) is a goddess of the hunt and one of Shiva's servants.

Hinduism ( सन ा तन धर ् म ; Sanātana Dharma, roughly Perennial Moral Duty ) is one of the oldest major world religions.

David Frawley ( or Vāmadeva Śāstrī व ा मद े व श ा स ् त ् र ी) is an American Hindu author, publishing on topics such as Hinduism, Yoga and Ayurveda.

Hinduism and Buddhism have been an influence on the development of many of ayurveda's central ideas – particularly its fascination with balance, known in Buddhism as Madhyathmaka ( Devanāgarī: म ा ध ् य ा त ् म ि क ).

Bahun is a colloquial Nepali term for a member of the Pahari or " hill " Brahmin ( ब ् र ा ह ् मण ) caste, who are traditionally educators, scholars and priests of Hinduism.

Matangi is often associated with pollution, especially left-over or partially eaten food ( Ucchishta or Ucçhishṭa, उच ् छ ि ष ् ट ) considered impure in Hinduism.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, a Yajñopavītam ( Sanskrit: यज ् ञ ो पव ी तम ्, yajñopavītam ) is a thin consecrated cord, composed of distinct cotton strands, worn to symbolize coming of age.

In Hinduism and Sikhism, the Sikh Bhagats (, from Sanskrit भक ् त ) were holy men of various sects whose teachings are included in the Sikh holy book the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

Rigveda, one of the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism says Vikriti Evam Prakriti ( Sanskrit: व ि क ृ त िः एवम ्‌ प ् रक ृ त िः ।) ( what seems un-natural is also natural ), which some scholars believe recognises the cyclical constancy of homosexual / transsexual dimensions of human life, like all forms of universal diversities.

Kumkum ( Sanskrit क ु ङ ् क ु मम ् kuṅkumam, Marathi क ुं क ू kunku, Bengali ক ু মক ু ম kumkum Tamil க ு ங ் க ு மம ் kunkumam, Telugu క ుం క ు మ kumkuma, Kannada ಕ ುಂ ಕ ು ಮ Kumkuma, Malayalam ക ു ങ ് ക ു മ ം Kungkumam ), is a powder used for social and religious markings in Hinduism.

Many religions, whether they believe in the soul's existence in another world like Christianity, Islam and many pagan belief systems, or in reincarnation like many forms of Hinduism and Buddhism, believe that one's status in the afterlife is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life.

In Hinduism, the belief is that the body is but a shell, the soul inside is immutable and indestructible and takes on different lives in a cycle of birth and death.

Soul is believed to be indestructible. None of the five elements can harm or influence it. Hinduism through Garuda Purana also describes in detail various types of " Narkas " or Hells where a person after death is punished for his bad Karmas and dealt with accordingly.

According to Hinduism the basic concept of Karma is ' As you sow, you shall reap '.

Likewise a popular Hindu ritual form of worship of North Malabar in Kerala, India is the Tabuh Rah blood offering to Theyyam gods, despite being forbidden in the Vedic philosophy of sattvic Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, Theyyam deities are propitiated through the cock sacrifice where the religious cockfight is a religious exercise of offering blood to the Theyyam gods.

It is an important tenet of some Indian religions ( Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism ).

Like in Hinduism, the aim is to prevent the accumulation of harmful karma.

Decisive in distinguishing Buddhism from what is commonly called Hinduism is the issue of epistemological justification.

For some schools of Hinduism and Buddhism the received textual tradition is an epistemological category equal to perception and inference ( although this is not necessarily true for some other schools ).

Breatharianism is a related concept, in which believers claim food and possibly water are not necessary, and that humans can be sustained solely by prana ( the vital life force in Hinduism ), or, according to some, by the energy in sunlight ( according to Ayurveda, sunlight is one of the main sources of prana ).

Hinduism preaches ahimsa ( or ahinsa, non-violence ), but also teaches that the soul cannot be killed and death is limited only to the physical body.

In Hinduism, celibacy is usually associated with the sadhus (" holy men "), ascetics who withdraw from worldly ties.

In Hinduism, Vayu ( Sanskrit व ा य ु ), also known as Vāta व ा त, Pavana पवन ( meaning the Purifier ), or Prāna, is a primary deity, who is the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman.

As the words for air ( Vāyu ) or wind ( Pavana ) it is one of the Panchamahābhuta the " five great elements " in Hinduism.

In Hinduism, it is also the name of the deva, a personification of water, ( one of the Vasus in most later Puranic lists ).

A subject of much scholarship by sociologists and anthropologists, the Hindu caste system is sometimes used as an analogical basis for the study of caste-like social divisions existing outside Hinduism and India.

In Hinduism, sexual intercourse is seen as a sacred act of procreation within marriage.