Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

242 results found

Kabir

(Encyclopedia)Kabir kəbērˈ [key], 1440–1518, Indian mystic and poet. A Muslim by birth, he was a weaver in Benares (Varanasi) and early in life may have become the disciple of the famous Hindu saint Ramananda....

Advani, Lal Krishna

(Encyclopedia)Advani, Lal Krishna, 1927–, Indian political leader, b. Karachi, British India (now in Pakistan). A lawyer and a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), he was the party's pres...

Karur

(Encyclopedia)Karur kəro͞orˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 113,669), Tamil Nadu state, S central India. Milled rice, cotton fabrics, and brassware are the city's chief products. According to Hindu legend, Brahma began ...

Tantra

(Encyclopedia)Tantra tŭnˈtrə [key], in both Hinduism and Buddhism, esoteric tradition of ritual and yoga known for elaborate use of mantra, or symbolic speech, and mandala, or symbolic diagrams; the importance o...

Elephanta

(Encyclopedia)Elephanta ĕlĭfănˈtə [key], island, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in Mumbai harbor, Maharashtra state, W India. It is noted for six Brahmanic caves, carved (8th cent.) from solid rock some 250 ft (76 m) ...

Mathura

(Encyclopedia)Mathura mŭˈtrə [key], city (1991 pop. 235,922), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Yamuna River. An agricultural market town and district administrative center, it is best known as a Hind...

Kurnool

(Encyclopedia)Kurnool kərno͞olˈ [key], city (1991 pop. 275,360), Andhra Pradesh state, S central India, at the confluence of the Tungabhadra and Hindri rivers. It was the state capital from 1953 to 1956, when it...

United Provinces , former state, India

(Encyclopedia)United Provinces, former state, N India, now almost coextensive with the modern state of Uttar Pradesh. The United Provinces embraced the plain of the Ganges, the heartland of India. This region was t...

Ayodhya

(Encyclopedia)Ayodhya –jōdˈ– [key], town, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Ghaghara River. Formerly called Oudh, the town forms a municipal corporation with Faizabad. Ayodhya was the capital of the kingdo...

Thackeray, Bal Keshav

(Encyclopedia)Thackeray, Bal Keshav bäl kĕshävˈ täkˈərā [key], 1926–2012, Indian political leader. He first became known in his hometown of Mumbai (then Bombay) as a mainly political newspaper cartoonist,...