Rhythmic 8

The eight classical dance forms in India are Bharatanatyam that originated in Tamil Nadu, kathak from Uttar Pradesh, kathakali and Mohiniattam from Kerala, Odissi from Odisha, kuchipudi from Andhra Pradesh, Manipuri from Manipur and sattriya from Assam.

Musical 8

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The word originates from the Latin word octavus meaning eighth.

Olympic 8

The number eight is considered lucky in Chinese culture. So much so that the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8pm.

Fruity 8

Eight Treasure Rice or Ba Bao Fan, is a Chinese New Year dessert made from eight kinds of fruits, besides sticky rice. The eight fruits — dates, lotus seeds, candied plums, sweetened winter melon, dried longan, red bean paste, assorted beans and assorted nuts — are considered to be therapeutic in Chinese medicine.

Knotty 8

Figure of eight is a type of rope knot used by rock climbers and sailors. The knot jams under strain but can easily be undone.

Sporty 8

The curves in the digit eight render itself for a move in figure skating. A figure 8 roller coaster is one where the train’s course is shaped like the figure 8. This was one of the first-ever roller coaster designs and remains popular.

Fishy 8

There is a fish named Figure 8 Puffer which has spots near its tail resembling the figure eight or eyespots. This is why it is also called eyespot puffer.

Creepy 8

All spiders have eight legs.

The octopus has eight arms, known as tentacles. Perhaps the most famous octopus was Paul (picture below), who shot to fame for correctly predicted results of the 2010 football World Cup matches. Paul would be served food in two boxes bearing flags of two competing countries and he would choose one. The two-year-old octopus died in October 2010.

 

Healing 8

Ayurveda is known as the “the science of eight components” namely general medicine, paediatrics, surgery, ophthalmology and ENT, psychiatry, toxicology, elixirs and aphrodisiacs.

Spiritual 8

In Christianity Sunday is referred to as the “eighth day”.

In Islam, there are eight angels carrying The Holy Throne of Allah in heaven.

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principle teachings of the Buddha. It teaches the right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration in an attempt to end suffering.

Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, was the eighth born child of Devaki and Vasudeva. Kansa, Devaki’s brother, was an oppressive king and as per a prophecy, would be killed by Devaki’s eighth child. Upon hearing this Kansa jailed Devaki and Vasudeva and killed the first six children she bore in jail.

The seventh, Balarama, was moved to Vasudeva’s consort Rohini’s womb and the eighth born was Krishna. Vasudeva escaped from prison to hand Krishna to a cowherd couple Yashoda and Nanda, who brought him up. Krishna grew up to slay Kansa.

Later on, Krishna had eight

principal wives, collectively called ashtabharya. They are Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana.

Metallic 8

Ashtadhatu is a combination of eight metals, namely gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin, iron and mercury. Ancient ashtadhatu idols are worshipped in several temples of India.

Tech 8

In computer technology eight bits make a byte.

Grammatical 8

In English grammar there are eight parts of speech — noun, verb, participle, interjection, pronoun, preposition, adverb and conjunction.

Sleepy 8

It is believed that the average adult needs eight hours of sleep a day.

Reel 8

8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimetres wide. It was developed by the Eastman Kodak company during the Great Depression in 1932 as a cheap substitute of the 16mm format.

Eight Below is a 2006 Walt Disney film about eight dogs that are left behind in Antarctica after a mission and of how they survive. Two Alaskan Malamutes and six Siberian Huskies are used in the film.

8 Mile is a 2002 American film about a white rap musician trying to make it big in an industry dominated by African Americans. It starred rapper Eminem and

featured the Oscar-winning song Lose yourself.

Eight Days a Week is a popular 1964 song by British band The Beatles.

Checkmate 8

The Eight Queens Puzzle is a challenge on the chessboard where one has to place eight “queen” pieces such that no two queens can attack the other. It was first posed by chess composer Max Bezzel in 1848 and the first solutions were presented in 1850.

Deck of 8

In the card game Crazy Eights or Game of Eights, each player must either play a card of the same suit or rank as that played by the preceding player or play an eight and call for any suit. The object is to get rid of all of one’s cards before others.

Divine 8

In Hinduism, Ashta Vasus are eight gods that represent different aspects of Nature. They are Agni (fire), Prithvi (earth), Vayu (wind), Antariksha (space), Aditya (sun), Chandramas (moon), Nakshatrani (stars) and Dyaus (sky).

Once the Vasus, led by Dyaus, tried to steal sage Vashishta’s cow and were cursed to be born as mortals on earth. Upon being pleaded to, Vashishta agreed to reduce the curse. Seven of the Ashta Vasus would get freed from earth within a year of being born but Dyaus would still have to live a full-fledged life. The Vasus were then born to goddess Ganga and King Shantanu. Ganga drowned the first seven babies born to her in accordance to the curse but Shantanu stops her from drowning the eighth. This eighth baby is the incarnation of Dyaus who grows up to be Bhishma in The Mahabharata (picture above).

8 shades of weddings

In Hinduism, there are eight types marriages. The first four marriages, such as Prajapatya when a girl’s father gives her in marriage to the bridegroom respectfully, are recommended. The last four types are marriage by force and are condemned.

The eight types of marriages are:

Brahma marriage: This is where a parent decks his daughter with ornaments, presents her with gifts and marries her off to a learned man.

Daiva marriage: Here the daughter is decked with ornaments and married to a priest.

Arsha marriage: Here a parent marries off his daughter after receiving a cow or bull from the groom.

Prajapatya marriage: Here the bride’s father treats the newly-weds respectfully and blesses them to perform their duties together.

Gandharva marriage: This is a marriage of a man and woman which springs from sexual desire.

Asura marriage: This is when the groom marries the bride after offering as much of his wealth as he can to the bride’s family.

Rakshasa marriage: This is when a man marries a woman after abducting her.

Paishacha marriage: This marriage results if a man seduces a woman who is intoxicated or not in her senses.