Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, kṛṣṇa in IAST ) is a deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism. He is usually depicted as a young cowherd boy playing a flute (such as in the Bhagavata Purana) or a youthful prince giving philosophical direction (as in the Bhagavad Gita).

Most commonly within Hinduism, Krishna is worshipped as an avatar of Vishnu, who is considered the Supreme God by the Vaishnava schools. Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism Krishna is worshipped as the source of all other avatars (including Vishnu).

Krishna and the stories associated with him appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions. Though they sometimes differ in details reflecting the concerns of a particular tradition, some core features are shared by all. These include a divine incarnation, a pastoral childhood and youth, and life as a heroic warrior and teacher.


The term Krishna in Sanskrit has the literal meaning of "black" or "dark", and is used as a name to describe someone with dark skin. The Brahma Samhita describes Krishna's complexion as being "tinged with the hue of blue clouds", and he is often depicted in paintings with blue or dark-blue skin. In murthis, Krishna is more commonly portrayed as being dark skinned or black. For instance, the Jagannatha (a name meaning: Krishna as 'Lord of the World'), deity at Puri in Orissa shows Krishna as being 'jet black' in colour alongside his brother Balarama, and sister Subhadra, the latter two having much lighter complexions.

The Gaudiya tradition explains the primary meaning of the name Krishna as being “all-attractive”. This is justified by an interpretation of a verse in the Mahabharata, as given in the Chaitanya Charitamrita. Commentators on the Vishnu sahasranama offer explanations on similar lines. According to Adi Sankara's commentary, Krishna is the 57th name of Vishnu and means the "Existence of knowledge and Bliss."

Birth
Traditional belief based on scriptural details and astrological calculations gives Krishna's birth date as July 19th 3228 B.C.E.

Krishna was of the royal family of Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva. Mathura was the capital of the closely linked clans of Vrishni, Andhaka, and Bhoja. They are generally known as Yadavs after their eponymous ancestor Yadu, and sometimes as Surasenas after another famed ancestor. Vasudeva and Devaki belonged to these clans. The king Kamsa, Devaki's brother, had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth son, he had the couple cast into prison where he planned to kill all of Devaki's children at birth. After killing the first six children, and Devaki's apparent miscarriage of the seventh, Krishna took birth. As his life was in danger he was smuggled out to be raised by his foster parents Yasoda and Nanda in Gokul, Mahavana. Two of his siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki's seventh child, transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini born much later than Balarama and Krishna).

The place believed by worshippers to mark Krishna's birth is now known as Krishnajanmabhoomi, where a temple is raised in his honour

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Rama (rāma in IAST, राम in Devanāgarī) or Ramachandra is a legendary or historical king of ancient India. In Hinduism, he is considered to be the seventh Avatar of Vishnu.

He is one of the most popular heroes of Hindu mythology and folktales in South and Southeast Asia. The majority of details concerning Rama come from the Ramayana, one of the two great epics of India. Born as the eldest son of Kausalya and Dasaratha, king of Kosala, he is the embodiment of the Supreme Brahman[citation needed] and Dharma. Rama is Maryada Purushottama, literally The Perfect Man. Rama is the husband of Sita, who Hindus consider to be an Avatar of Lakshmi and the embodiment of perfect womanhood.

Rama's life and journey is one of perfect adherence to dharma despite harsh tests of life and time. For the sake of his father's honour, Rama abandons his claim to Kosala's throne to serve an exile in the forest. His wife, Sita and brother, Lakshmana being unable to live without Rama decide to join him, and all three spend many years in exile. This leads to the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the Rakshasa monarch of Lanka. After a long and arduous search that tests his personal strength and virtue, Rama fights a colossal war against Ravana's armies. In a war of powerful and magical beings, greatly destructive weaponry and battles, Rama slays Ravana in battle and liberates his wife. Having completed his exile, Rama returns to be crowned King in Ayodhya (the capital of his Kingdom) and eventually becomes Emperor of the World, after which he reigns for eleven thousand years - an era of perfect happiness, peace, prosperity and justice known as Rama Rajya.

Rama's courage in searching for Sita and fighting a terrible war to rescue his wife and their honour is complemented by Sita's absolute devotion to her husband's love, and perfect chastity despite being Ravana's captive. Rama's younger brothers, namely Lakshmana, Shatrughna and Bharata strongly complement his piety, virtue and strength, and they are believed by many to belong to the Mariyada Purshottama and the Seventh Avatara, mainly embodied by Rama. Rama's piety and virtue attract powerful and devoted allies such as Hanuman and the Vanaras of Kishkindha, with whose help he rescues Sita. The legend of Rama is deeply influential and popular in the societies of the Indian subcontinent and across South East Asia. Rama is revered for his unending compassion, courage and devotion to religious values and duty.

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Sita (Sanskrit: सीता; "Sītā", also spelled Seeta) is the wife of Rama, the seventh avatāra of Vishnu, and is esteemed an exemplar of womanly and wifely virtue. According to Hindu belief, Sita was an avatāra of Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort, who chose to reincarnate herself on Earth as Sita and endure an arduous life, to provide humankind an example of good virtues. Sita is one of the principal characters in the Ramayana, a Hindu epic named after her husband Rama.

Sita was a foundling, discovered in a furrow in a ploughed field, and for that reason is regarded as a daughter of Bhudevi, the earth Goddess. She was found and adopted by Janaka, king of Mithila and his wife Sunayana. Upon her coming of age, a swayamwara was held to select a suitable husband for her, and she was wed to Rama, prince of Ayodhya, an avatara of Vishnu.

Some time after the wedding, circumstances became such that Rama felt it his duty to leave Ayodhya and spend a period of exile in the forests of Dandakaranya. At this time, he was 25, Sita 18 and his brother Lakshmana 16. Sita willingly renounced the comforts of the palace and joined her husband in braving the travails of exile, even living in a forest. Worse was however to come; the forest was the scene for the abduction of Sita by Ravana, King of Lanka, one of her former suitors. Ravana kidnapped Sita while her husband was away fetching a magnificent golden deer to please her ( this deer was actually Ravana's demon uncle, Mareecha, in disguise). Jatayu, the vulture-king, who was a friend of Rama, tried to protect her, but Ravana chopped off his wings. Jatayu survived long enough to inform Rama of what had happened.

The couple returned to Ayodhya, where Rama was crowned king with Sita by his side. While the trust and affection in which Rama held his wife never wavered, it soon became evident that a (perhaps small) section of the citizenry of Ayodhya found the fact of Sita's long residence in captivity, under the power of Ravana, a circumstance difficult to accept. The story goes that an intemperate washerman, while berating his wayward wife, declared that he was "no pusillanimous Rama who would take his wife back after she had lived in the house of another man". This calumnious comment was reported back to Rama, who knew that the aspersion cast on Sita was entirely baseless; nevertheless, he felt his position as ruler undermined by the constant possibility of slander attaching itself to his hitherto unimpeachable dynasty and personal reign. It was this train of thought that led Rama to desire the removal of Sita from his household.

Sita was thus again in exile; she was not only alone this time but also pregnant. She sought refuge in the hermitage of the sage Valmiki, where she was delivered of twin sons, Lava and Kusha.

Sita raised her sons single-handedly in the hermitage. They grew up to be valiant and intelligent and were eventually united with their father. Once she had witnessed the acceptance of her children by Rama, Sita sought final refuge in the arms of her mother Bhumidevi, the Earth Goddess. Hearing her plea for release from an unjust world and from a life that had rarely been happy, the earth dramatically split open; Bhumidevi manifested herself and took Sita away to a better world.

This part of the epic has been disputed. Sages point to it being written later than the Valmiki Ramayan. Some believe that this part of the story, Luv-Kushkanda, was promoted by the British. Many Hindu organizations today disown Luv-Kush kanda and state that after Ram is crowned king there is Ram rajya, when everyone is happy.

Sita also took part in the Hindu ritual of Ashvamedha. As narrated in the Uttara Kanda (book 7). In this narrative, Rama was married to a single wife, Sita, who at the time was not with him, having been excluded from Rama's capital of Ayodhya. She was therefore represented by a statue for the queen's ceremony (7.x[citation needed]). Sita was living in Valmiki's forest ashram with her twin children by Rama, Lava and Kusha, whose birth was unknown to Rama. In its wanderings, the horse, accompanied by an army and the monkey-king Hanuman, enters the forest and encounters Lava, who ignores the warning written on the horse's headplate not to hinder its progress. He tethers the horse, and with Kusha challenges the army, which is unable to defeat the brothers.



Ravana held her captive in his distant island realm. In captivity, Sita not only consistently rejected the many advances of her powerful and royal captor, but also preserved her chastity of mind, never once wavering in her adherence to her husband. She was finally rescued by her husband Rama, who waged a tremendous battle to defeat Ravana and secure the release of Sita.

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Hanuman (Sanskrit: हनुमत् Hanumat; nominative singular हनुमान् Hanumān), known also as 'Anjaneya', is one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana. He is a vanara who aided Lord Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) in rescuing his wife, Sita from the Rakshasa king Ravana.

Hanuman was born in the Treta Yuga, to Anjana, a female Vanara. Anjana was actually an apsara or a celestial being, named Punjiksthala, who, due to a curse, was born on the earth as a female vanara. The curse was to be removed upon her giving birth to an incarnation of Shiva. Anjana was the wife of Kesari, a strong vanara who once killed a mighty elephant that was troubling sages and hermits. He therefore got the name "Kesari", meaning lion, and is also called Kunjara Südana, the elephant killer. The combination of Vanara and the celestial give Hanuman strength, divinity and quick wits – his main characteristics.

Along with Kesari, Anjana performed intense prayers to Lord Shiva to beget Him as her Child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the boon they sought.

At the time that Anjana was worshipping Lord Shiva, elsewhere, Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya, was performing the Putrakama Yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding, to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding, and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Pavan, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.

Hanuman's father (biological or spiritual) being Vayu, the god of wind (also called Pavan, Marut), he acquired the names Pavan-putra (meaning "son of Pavan") or Maruti. As Vayu's child, Hanuman was born with immense physical strength, the power to fly, and divine levels of endurance.

As a child, assuming the sun to be a ripe fruit, he once took flight to catch hold of it to eat. Indra, the king of devas observed this. He hurled his weapon, the Vajra (thunderbolt) at Hanuman, who fell back down to earth, broke his chin and became unconscious. Upset, Vayu went into seclusion, taking the atmosphere with him. As living beings began to get asphyxiated, to pacify Vayu, Indra withdrew the effect of his thunderbolt, and the devas revived Hanuman and blessed him with multiple boons. However, a permanent mark was left on his chin (hanuhH in Sanskrit).

On ascertaining Surya to be an all-knowing teacher, Hanuman raised his body into an orbit around the sun and requested that Surya accept him as a student. But Surya refused, claiming that as he always had to be on the move in his chariot, it would be impossible for Hanuman to learn effectively. Undeterred by Surya's travel, Hanuman enlarged his body; he placed one leg on the eastern ranges and the other on the western ranges and with his face turned toward the sun, made his request again. Pleased by his persistence, Surya accepted. Hanuman then moved (backwards, to remain facing Surya) continuously with his teacher, and learned all of the latter's knowledge. When Hanuman then requested Surya to quote his "guru-dakshina" (teacher's fee), the latter refused, saying that the pleasure of teaching one as dedicated as him was the fee in itself. But Hanuman insisted, and it was then that Surya asked him to help his (Surya's) spiritual son Sugriva. Hanuman's choice of Surya as his teacher is said to signify Surya as a Karma Saakshi, an eternal witness of all deeds.

Hanuman was mischievous in his childhood, and sometimes teased the meditating sages in the forests by snatching their personal belongings and by disturbing their well-arranged articles of worship. Finding his antics unbearable, but realising that Hanuman was but a child, (albeit invincible), the sages placed a mild curse on him. By this curse Hanuman forgot his own prowess, and recollected it only when others reminded him about it. It is hypothesised that without this curse, the entire course of the Ramayana war might have been different, for he demonstrated phenomenal abilities during the war, despite the curse. The Curse is highlighted in Kishkindha Kanda and Sundara Kanda when Jambavantha reminds Hanuman of his abilities and encourages him to go and find Sita. Hanuman accomplishes his task.

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Third Eye: Shiva is often depicted with a third eye with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes.

Serpents: Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.

Crescent: Shiva bears on his head the crescent of the fifth day (panchami) moon. This is placed near the fiery third eye and this shows the power of Soma, the sacrificial offering, which is the representative of moon. It means that Shiva possesses the power of procreation along with the power of destruction.[citation needed] The moon is also a measure of time; thus the Crescent also represents his control over time.[citation needed] Thus Shiva is known by the names of Somasundara and Chandrashekara.

Sacred Ganga: Ganga, the holiest of the holy rivers, flows from the matted hair of Shiva. Shiva allowed an outlet to the great river to traverse the earth and bring purifying water to human beings (See: Origin of Ganga). The flowing water is one of the five elements which compose the whole Universe and from which earth arises. Ganga also denotes fertility one of the creative aspect of Shiva.

Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a "damaru" (Sanskrit: ḍamaru).This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.[48]

Vibhuti: Vibhuti is three lines of ashes drawn on the forehead that represents the essence of our Being, which remains after all the malas (impurities of ignorance, ego and action) and vasanas (likes and dislikes, attachments to one's body, world, worldly fame, worldly enjoyments, etc.) have been burnt in the fire of knowledge. Hence vibhuti is revered as the very form of Shiva and signifies the Immortality of the soul and manifested glory of the Lord.[citation needed]

Ashes: Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy. These practices associated with cremation grounds are also menteioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism. One epithet for Shiva is "Inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin) referring to this connection.

Tiger skin: He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin.
Elephant and Deer Skin: Shiva also wears elephant skins. Similarly deer represent the jumping of minds (flickering mind). Shiva wears deer skin which indicates that he has controlled the mind perfectly.

Trident: (Sanskrit: Trishula) Shiva's particular weapon is the trident.
Nandi, the Bull, is his Vahana (Sanskrit for vehicle).

Lingam:Shiva is often worshipped in the form of a lingam. These are depicted in various forms. Also see: Jyotirlinga
Varanasi (Benares) is considered as the city specially-loved by Shiva, and is the holiest place of pilgrimage in northern India.


Mount Kailasha in the Himalayas is his traditional abode.

He is often represented as immersed in deep meditation.
He is said to eradicate Kama (sexual desire), Moha (material desire) and Maya (mundane thoughts) from his devotees' minds.

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Shiva (also spelled Siva; Sanskrit Śiva) is considered to be the supreme deity in Shaivism, a denomination of Hinduism. Many Hindus such as those of Smarta tradition are free to accept various manifestations of the divine as their chosen deity for worship, and those who prefer Shiva are called Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[1] Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu, and Śākta traditions that focus on the Goddess (Devī) are three of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.

The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India. Shiva is one of the five primary forms of the Divine in Smartism, a denomination of Hinduism that puts particular emphasis on five deities, the other four being Vishnu, Devi, Ganesha, and Surya. Another way of thinking about the divinities in Hinduism identifies Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva as each representing one of the three primary aspects of the Divine in Hinduism, known collectively as the Trimurti. In the Trimurti system, Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer or transformer.


Shaivites, the worshippers of Shiva consider Shiva as the Ultimate Reality (see Ishta-Deva for fuller discussion).

The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names. Shiva as Rudra is considered to be the destroyer of evil and sorrow[citation needed]. Shiva as Shankara is the doer of good.

Shiva's consort is Parvati, who is identifed with Devi, the Divine Mother, and with Shakti (divine energy).


Shiva and Parvati, a painting from Smithsonian InstituteShiva and Parvati are the parents of Karthikeya and Ganesha. Karttikeya is popular in South India by the names Subrahmanya and Murugan, and in North India he is more popular by the name Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.



In Maharashtra a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes.The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri. Khandoba has been assimilated both as a name for Karttikya and also as a form of Shiva himself in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam. Shakti M. Gupta clarifies the possible confusion between these two identifications by explaining that one of Karttikeya's functions is as the patron deity of thieves, and it is in this capacity that the tribe called Ramoshis, who are thieves by profession, worship Khandoba.Khandoba's varied associations also include an indentification with Surya. The derivation of the name Khandoba has been variously interpreted, and M. S. Mate says that the most commonly-held belief is that it was a distorted form of Skanda, but also notes alternate theories.

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Guru Nanak Dev (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ, Gurū Nānak Dēv) (Born in hindu Bedi Mehta family in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, India (now Pakistan) on 15 April 1469 – 7 September 1539, Kartarpur, Punjab, India (now Pakistan)), was the founder of Sikhism, and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus.

Beside followers of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev is revered by Punjabi Hindus, Sahajdhari Sikhs and Sindhi Hindus across the Indian subcontinent. His primary message to society was recorded to be "devotion of thought and excellence of conduct as the first of duties".

Stories of Guru Nanak's life

The stories of Guru Nanak's life are collected in writings known as the 'Janamsākhīs'. The most popular Janamsākhī purports to have been written by Bhai Bala close companion, before Guru Nanak left this world. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars such as Max Arthur Macauliffe certain that they were composed after Guru Nanak left this world.

Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Gurū Granth Sāhib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. However, these too were compiled after Guru Nanak's demise, and are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. Sikhs tend to hold Gurdas's accounts in higher esteem because of the author's generally perceived trustworthiness.


Early life

Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 in a Hindu family of the Bedi Khatri clan, in the village of Rāi Bhōi dī Talvaṇḍī, now called Nankana Sahib (after the Guru), near Lahore, Pakistan. Today, his birth place is marked by Gurdwara Janam Asthan. His father, Mehta Kalyan Das Bedi, also known as Mehta Kalu, was a Patwari—an accountant of land revenue in the government. He worked for the Muslim landlord of the village, Rai Bullar. Guru Nanak's mother was Tripta Devi and he had one older sister, Nanaki.


Gurdwara Nankana SahibThe Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail all the circumstances of the birth of the guru. They claim that at his birth, an astrologer who came to write his horoscope insisted on seeing the child. On seeing the infant, he is said to have worshipped him with clasped hands. The astrologer then remarked that he regretted that he should never live to see young Guru Nanak's eminence, worshipped as he should be alike by Hindus and Muslims, and not merely by Hindus.

At the age of five years Nanak is said to have begun to discuss spiritual and divine subjects. At age seven, his father Mehta Kalu enrolled him at the village school. Nanak left school early after he had shown his scholastic proficiency. He then took to private study and meditation.


All the Janamsākhīs are unanimous in stating that Nanak courted the retirement of the local forest and the society of the religious men who frequented it. Several of them were profoundly versed in the Indian religious literature of the age. They had also travelled far and wide within the limits of ancient India, and met its renowned religious teachers. Nanak thus became acquainted with the latest teachings of Indian philosophers and reformers.

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For Christians, Moses — mentioned more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure — is often a symbol of God's law, as reinforced and expounded upon in the teachings of Jesus. New Testament writers often made comparison of Jesus' words and deeds with Moses' in order to explain Jesus' mission. In Acts 7:39–43, 51–53, for example, the rejection of Moses by the Jews that worshiped the golden calf is likened to the rejection of Jesus by the Jews that continued in traditional Judaism.

Moses also figures in several of Jesus' messages. When he met the Pharisee Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, he compares Moses' lifting up of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which any Israelite could look upon and be healed, to his own lifting up (by his death and resurrection) for the people to look upon and be healed. In the sixth chapter, Jesus responds to the people's claim that Moses provided them manna in the wilderness by saying that it was not Moses, but God, who provided. Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus states that he is now provided to feed God's people.

He is presented in all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively. Later Christians found numerous other parallels between the life of Moses and Jesus to the extent that Jesus was likened to a "second Moses." For instance, Jesus' escape from the slaughter by Herod in Bethlehem is compared to Moses' escape from Pharaoh's designs to kill Hebrew infants. Such parallels, unlike those mentioned above, are not pointed out within Scripture. See the article on typology.

He is considered a saint by several Christian churches. He is commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church on September 4.

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Exodus 34:29-35 tells that after meeting with God the skin of Moses' face became radiant, frightening the Israelites and leading Moses to wear a veil. Jonathan Kirsch, in his book Moses: A Life, thought that, since he subsequently had to wear a veil to hide it, Moses' face was disfigured by a sort of "divine radiation burn".

This passage has led to one longstanding tradition that Moses grew horns. This is derived from a misinterpretation of the Hebrew phrase qarnu `owr panayv (קָרַן עֹור פָּנָיו). The root קרן Q-R-N (qof, resh, nun) may be read as either "horn" or "ray [of light]", depending on vocalization. `Owr panayv (עֹור פָּנָיו) translates to "the skin of his face".

Interpreted correctly, these two words form an expression meaning that Moses was enlightened, that "the skin of his face shone" (as with a gloriole), as the KJV has it. Many rabbinical studies[citation needed] explain that the knowledge revealed to him made his face metaphorically shine with enlightenment.

The Septuagint properly translates the Hebrew phrase as δεδόξασται ἡ ὄψις, "his face was glorified"; but Jerome translated the phrase into Latin as cornuta esset facies sua "his face was horned".

With apparent Biblical authority, and the added convenience of giving Moses a unique and easily identifiable visual attribute (something the other Old Testament prophets notably lacked), it remained standard in Western art to depict Moses with small horns until well after the mistranslation was realized by the Renaissance. Michelangelo's Moses, is probably the best-known example.

Not all the Renaissance Italian painters gave horns to Moses. The Venetian artist Tintoretto depicts Moses' face as radiating light, in his series about the life of the prophet in the Scuola di San Rocco.

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Santa Claus is a variation of a Dutch folk tale based on the historical figure Saint Nicholas, a bishop from Myra (modern day Demre) in Asia Minor (the greater part of modern-day Turkey), who used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. His charity became legend when a man lost his fortune and found himself incapable of supporting his three daughters, who would not be able to find husbands as they lacked dowries. This man was going to give them over to a life of prostitution; however, St Nicholas provided them with gold, enabling them to retain their virginal virtues and marry.

This inspired figure of Sinterklaas, the subject of a major celebration in the Netherlands and Belgium, Germany (where his believed date of death, December 6, is celebrated the evening before on December 5), which in turn inspired both the myth and the name of Santa Claus. "Santa Claus" is actually a mispronunciation of the Dutch word "Sinterklaas" by the English settlers of New Amsterdam (later renamed New York).

Despite his origin in the Orthodox East, in Greece Saint Nicholas is celebrated as a distinct character with no affiliation to Christmas; nevertheless, a Santa Claus character is still present. He is identified with Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (contemporary Turkey), whose feast is celebrated on January 1. According to the Greek tradition, he is supposed to visit children and give presents on New Year's Day. This festival is also marked by the baking of Saint Basil's bread (Gr. Βασιλόπιτα - Vasilópita), a sweetbread with a coin hidden inside.

Depictions of Santa Claus also have a close relationship with the Russian character of Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost"). He delivers presents to children and has a red coat, fur boots and long white beard. Much of the iconography of Santa Claus could be seen to derive from Russian traditions of Ded Moroz, particularly transmitted into western European culture through his German folklore equivalent, Väterchen Frost.


Department Store SantaConventionally, Santa Claus is portrayed as a kindly, round-bellied, merry, bespectacled white man in a red coat trimmed with white fur (perhaps remotely derived from the episcopal vestments of the original Bishop Nicholas), with a long white beard and green or white gloves. On Christmas Eve, he rides in his sleigh pulled by reindeer from house to house to give presents to children. During the rest of the year he lives together with his wife Mrs. Claus and his elves manufacturing toys. Some modern depictions of Santa (often in advertising and popular entertainment) show the elves and Santa's workshop as more of a processing and distribution facility, ordering and receiving the toys from various toy manufacturers from across the world. His home is usually given as either the North Pole, in northern Canada, Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland, Drøbak in Norway, Dalecarlia in Sweden, or Greenland, depending on the tradition and country. L. Frank Baum placed his home in The Laughing Valley of Hohaho. In the original Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas lives in Spain and is accompanied by a great number of black servants, called 'Zwarte Pieten', which means Black Petes.

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Early Middle Ages
Translation of the work of John of Damascus provided West with some information about Muhammad's life but "was nearly always used abusively." Another influential source was the “Letters of a Saracen” written by an Oriental Christian and translated into Latin from Arabic. From the 9th century onwards, highly negative biographies of Muhammad were written in Latin.

West also gained some knowledge of Muhammad through the Mozarabs of Spain in the 11th century. In 12th century, the Qur'an was ordered to be translated into Latin so that its teaching could be refuted by Christian scholars.

Middle Ages
The medieval scholars and churchmen held that Islam was the work of Muhammad who in turn was inspired by Satan. Fantastic legends and fables emerged. For example, in order to show that Muhammad was the anti-Christ, it was asserted that Muhammad died not in the year 632 but in the year 666 - the number of the Beast. A verbal expression of Christian contempt for Islam was expressed in turning his name from Muhammad to Mahound, the "devil incarnate".

Muhammad was frequently calumnized and made a subject of ridiculous legends taught by crusading preachers to stir up hate against Muslims as fact, and usually confirmed to pious Christians that Muhammad had come to a bad end. According to one version after falling into a drunken stupor he had been eaten by a herd of swine, and this was ascribed to the reason why Muslims proscribed consumption of liquor and pork. Leggenda di Maometto is an example of those in which he is taught from childhood the black arts by a heretical Christian villain who escaped imprisonment by the Church to Arabia and set up a false religion by selectively choosing and perverting text from the Bible and the Old Testament to set up Islam. It also ascribed the Muslim holiday of Friday "dies veneris" (day of Venus) vs. the Jewish (Saturday) and the Christian (Sunday) to his followers depravity and reflected in their multiplicity of wives. During the Middle Ages, especially in places where there was frequent Christian-Muslim conflict, it was popular to depict Muhammad being tortured by the demons in Hell. One such example is in Dante's The Divine Comedy in which Muhammad is in the ninth ditch of the eighth circle of hell, the realm for those who have caused schism. One common allegation laid against Muhammad was that he was an impostor, who to satisfy his ambition and his lust propagated religious teachings which he himself knew to be false. At one point Muhammad was transformed into Mahound, the prince of darkness. A somewhat different interpretation appears in the 13th century Estoire del Saint Grail, the first book in the vast Arthurian cycle, the Lancelot-Grail. In describing the travels of Joseph of Arimathea, keeper of the Holy Grail, the author says most residents of the Middle East were pagans until the coming Muhammad, shown here as a true prophet sent by God to bring Christianity to the region. This failed when Muhammad's pride caused him to alter God's wishes, thereby deceiving his followers. Nevertheless, Muhammad's religion is portrayed as greatly superior to paganism.

Some Christians believed Muslims worshipped Muhammad, while others simply believed he was a Christian heretic.Still other medieval European literature often referred to Muslims as "pagans", or by sobriquets such as the paynim foe. These depictions such as those in the Song of Roland represent Muslims worshipping Muhammad (spelt e.g. 'Mahom' and 'Mahumet') as a god, and depict them worshipping various deities in the form of "idols", ranging from Apollo to Lucifer, but ascribing to them a chief deity known as "Termagant". John of Damascus coined the pejorative phrase "false prophet". and Alvarus of Cordoba proclaimed him the Anti-Christ in the 9th century. The number of the beast "666" was used to represent the period of time Muslims would hold sway of the land. In the 12th century Peter the Venerable saw him as the precursor to the Anti-Christ, and successor of Arius.When the Knights Templar were being tried for heresy reference was often made to their worship of a demon Baphomet, which was notable by implication for its similarity to the common rendition of Muhammad's name used by Christian writers of the time, Mahomet. All these and other variations on the theme were all set in the "temper of the times" of what was seen as an Muslim-Christian conflict as Medieval Europe was building a concept of "the great enemy" in the wake of the quickfire success of the Muslims through a series of conquests shortly after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as well as the lack of real information in the West of the mysterious east.

There are accusations that the Knights Templar worshipped an idol named Baphomet. The etymology of this idol is questioned, and some speculate that it is a variation of a deformation of the Latinised name of Muhammad.

 

 

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Moses in Jewish thought
To Orthodox Jews, Moses is really Moshe Rabbenu, `Eved HaShem, Avi haNeviim zya"a. He is called "Our Master Moshe", "Servant of God", and "Father of all the Prophets". In the Hebrew calendar, he was born on the 6th of Adar 2368 and died on the 6th of Adar 2488. The Torah is his work, as much for the revealed (written and oral) and the hidden (the `hokhmat nistar, which gave Judaism the Zohar of the Rashbi, the Torah of the Ari haQadosh and all that is discussed in the Heavenly Yeshivah between the Ramhal and his masters).

There is a wealth of stories and additional information about Moses in the Jewish genre of rabbinical exegesis known as Midrash, as well as in the primary works of the Jewish oral law, the Mishnah and the Talmud.

Arising in part from his age, but also because 120 is elsewhere stated as the maximum age for Noah's descendants (one interpretation of Genesis 6:3), "may you live to 120" has become a common blessing among Jews.

Moses in Christian thought
For Christians, Moses -- mentioned more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure -- is often a symbol of God's law, as reinforced and expounded upon in the teachings of Jesus. New Testament writers often made comparison of Jesus' words and deeds with Moses' in order to explain Jesus' mission. In Acts 7:39-43,51-53, for example, the rejection of Moses by the Jews that worshiped the golden calf is likened to the rejection of Jesus by the Jews that continued in traditional Judaism.

Moses also figures in several of Jesus' messages. When he met the Pharisee Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, he compares Moses' lifting up of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which any Israelite could look upon and be healed, to his own lifting up (by his death and resurrection) for the people to look upon and be healed. In the sixth chapter, Jesus responds to the people's claim that Moses provided them manna in the wilderness by saying that it was not Moses, but God, who provided. Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus states that he is now provided to feed God's people.

He is presented in all three Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively. Later Christians found numerous other parallels between the life of Moses and Jesus to the extent that Jesus was likened to a "second Moses." For instance, Jesus' escape from the slaughter by Herod in Bethlehem is compared to Moses' escape from Pharaoh's designs to kill Hebrew infants. Such parallels, unlike those mentioned above, are not pointed out within Scripture. See the article on typology.

He is considered a saint by several Christian churches. He is commemorated as a prophet in the Lutheran of the Lutheran Church on Sepetember 4.

Moses in Muslim thought
In the Qur'an, the life of Moses (Arabic: Musa) is narrated and recounted more than any other prophet recognized in Islam. The Qur'an narrates much of Moses' life in relation to God. The Qur'an and the Bible are similar on the basic outline of Moses' life. But some distinctive accounts, such as the story of Moses and Al Khidr, are found only in the Qur'an.

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God commissioned Moses to go to Egypt and deliver his fellow Hebrews from bondage. God had Moses practice transforming his rod into a serpent and inflicting and healing leprosy, and told him that he could also pour river water on dry land to change the water to blood. Moses then set off for Egypt, was nearly killed by God because his son was not circumcised, was met on the way by his elder brother, Aaron, and gained a hearing with his oppressed kindred after they returned to Egypt, who believed Moses and Aaron after they saw the signs that were performed in the midst of the Israelite assembly. It is also revealed that during Moses' absence, the Pharaoh of the Oppression (sometimes identified with Rameses II) had died, and been replaced by a new Pharaoh, known as the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

If Rameses II is the Pharaoh of the Oppression, then this new Pharaoh would be Merneptah. Because the story the book of Exodus describes is catastrophic for the Egyptians -- involving horrible plagues, the loss of thousands of slaves, and many deaths (possibly including the death of Pharaoh himself, though that matter is unclear in Exodus) -- it is conspicuous that no Egyptian records speaking of Israelites in Egypt have ever been found. However, Merneptah, is indeed, historically known to have been a mediocre ruler, and certainly one weaker that Rameses II. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him that the Lord God of Israel wanted Pharaoh to permit the Israelites to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. Pharaoh replied that he did not know their God and would not permit them to go celebrate the feast. Pharaoh upbraided Moses and Aaron and made the Israelites find their own straw besides meeting the same daily quota of bricks. Moses and Aaron gained a second hearing with Pharaoh and changed Moses' rod into a serpent, but Pharaoh's magicians did the same with their rods. Moses and Aaron had a third opportunity when they went to meet the Pharaoh at the Nile riverbank, and Moses had Aaron turn the river to blood, but Pharaoh's magicians could do the same. .. more click on heading

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Traditional Christian
The death and resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the "Day of Preparation", i.e. the day before the Sabbath, the last day of the week), then resurrected on the third.[1] These two events form the heart of all Christian faith, and are remembered by Christians, the one on Good Friday and the other on every Sunday, but especially Easter Sunday.

Islamic
The issue of Jesus' death is important to Muslims because it differentiates their concept of Jesus from Christians, to whom the death of Jesus is paramount. While there is some dispute, most Muslims believe Jesus did not die but was raised to heaven by God. God gave the man who betrayed Jesus his appearance, causing everyone to believe Jesus did die. The basis of any of these beliefs is the verse 4:157-158 in the Qur'an.... more click on heading

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Non-religious view of Yazid
Although presented in many sources as a dissolute ruler, Yazid energetically tried to continue his father's policies and retained many of the men who served him. He strengthened the administrative structure of the empire and improved the military defenses of Syria, the Umayyad power base. The financial system was reformed. He lightened the taxation of some Christian groups and abolished the tax concessions granted to the Samaritans as a reward for aid they had rendered in the days of the early Arab conquests. He also paid significant attention to agriculture and improved the irrigation system of the Damascus oasis.

Shi'a view of Yazid
For Shi'a Muslims, Yazid is the consummate villain, who will always be remembered for his murder of Husayn and persecution of his family. He is said to have been fond of wine and the company of courtesans, and completely careless of his religious duties.

The events at Karbala figure prominently in Shi'a thought, and many Shi'a Islamist movements liken their causes to Husayn's struggle against Yazid. Leaders of the 1979 Iranian Revolution that overthrew the Pahlavi government frequently drew such comparisons. The 10th of Muharram (also known as Aashurah), the Islamic calendar date on which the Battle of Karbala occurred, is commemorated as a day of mourning by Shi'a Muslims around the world. Shi'a rituals on Aashurah usually involve public processions during which Shi'a Muslims curse Yazid and recite poems commemorating Husayn and his death. Shi'as around the world refer to Yazid as "the tyrant" and often add the word Lanatullah (which means May God's curse be upon him) after his name.

 Sunni view of Yazid

There is no Sunni consensus on the nature of Husayn's opposition to Yazid's rule and Yazid's culpability in Husayn's death. Some scholars have claimed that Husayn opposed Yazid's ascension to the Caliphate but did not actively revolt against him, and that Husayn's killing was ordered not by Yazid but by the Umayyad governor of Iraq, Ubaidallah ibn Ziyad[citation needed]. Others have refrained from taking a position on the matter, claiming that although Husayn's death was a tragic and unfortunate event, which showed how quickly the Muslim community deteriorated after the death of the Prophet, the evidence on exactly how it occurred and who bears responsibility is too inconclusive to merit judgment. This view is mainly taken by those who are concerned to maintain the reputation of Muawiyah as a wise and legitimate caliph. They do not wish to question Muawiyah's choice of his son as his successor, although they do not legitimize Yazid himself. However, some others have joined the Shi'a position, cursing Yazid and denouncing him as not only an illegitimate ruler but a non-Muslim. The majority view thus considers Yazid as illegitimate, indulgent, and criminal ruler, who was not only the first dynastic ruler, but directly or indirectly responsible for the killing of the descendants of the Prophet of Islam. In essense, thus, the Sunni view differs little from the Shi'i view, although some Sunni scholars have seen acts of cursing and demonization as bad, not because Yazid is not deserving of curses, but because it taints the soul and serves little purpose. Imam al-Ghazzali, thus, was reported to have said, 'Praising Husayn is better than cursing Yazid'.