|
Grahapati Kokkala Inscription
The Grahapati Kokkala inscription is an epigraphic record documenting the dedication of a Shiva temple. It dates to 1000-1001 CE. It is one of several Chandella era inscriptions that mention a Grahapati family. It is the earliest known reference to a Grahapati family. Unlike all other Chandella era Grahapati inscriptions which are Jain, this refers to a Shiva temple, although Verse 3 suggests that the builder also worshipped Jinas. Location It was found somewhere in Khajuraho or its vivicinity, and is currently located in the Vishvanath temple there. Publication The inscription was first published by Cunningham, and has since been published in several books. Description and contents The inscription at Khajuraho, dated Samvat 1056, Kartika (1000–1001 AD), is engraved on a slab and records the dedication of a temple termed Vidyanatha temple. The current location of the Vidyanatha temple is uncertain; the inscription slab has been fixed to the Vishvanath temple. Cunningham h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandella
The Chandelas of Jejakabhukti was an Indian dynasty in Central India. The Chandelas ruled much of the Bundelkhand region (then called ''Jejakabhukti'') between the 9th and the 13th centuries. They belonged to the Chandel (Rajput clan), Chandel clan of the Rajputs. The Chandelas initially ruled as feudatories of the Gurjara-Pratiharas of Kanyakubja (Kannauj). The 10th century Chandela ruler Yashovarman (Chandela dynasty), Yashovarman became practically independent, although he continued to acknowledge the Pratihara suzerainty. By the time of his successor Dhanga, the Chandelas had become a sovereign power. Their power rose and declined as they fought battles with the neighbouring dynasties, especially the Paramaras of Malwa and the Kalachuris of Tripuri. From the 11th century onwards, the Chandelas faced raids by the northern Muslim dynasties, including the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids. The Chandela power effectively ended around the beginning of the 13th century, following Chahaman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grahapati
Gahoi is a merchant Vaishya-Baniya community in central India. Gahois are divided into 12 gotras, each gotra is divided into six ''all''s. They have traditionally interdined with the Parwar Jain community of Bundelkhand. The "Grahapati" family mentioned in the Grahapati Kokkala inscription is believed to be from the same community that is now known as Gahoi. This inscription at Khajuraho, dated Vikram Samvat 1056, Kartika (1000–1001 AD), is the earliest known reference to the Grahapati family. Unlike all other Chandella-era Grahapati inscriptions which are Jain, this refers to a Shiva temple, although Verse 3 suggests that the builder also worshipped Jinas. An inscription is of Vikram samvat 1011 mentioning Pahilla, regarded to have been a Grahapati, who built a Jain temple during the reign of Dhanga at Khajuraho. This temple is among those that still exist at Khajuraho. A bronze Jain Altarpiece with Parshvanatha, Shantinatha, and Vasupujiya is preserved in the Los Angele ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khajuraho
Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 and is considered one of the "seven wonders" of India. The town's name, anciently "Kharjuravahaka", is derived from the Sanskrit word ''kharjur'' meaning " date palm". History The region was historically part of many kingdoms and empires. The earliest known power to have had Khajuraho in its territory were the Vatsa. Their successors in the region included the Mauryans, Sungas, Kushans, Nagas of Padmavati, the Vakataka dynasty, the Guptas, the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and the Gurjara-Praithara dynasty. It was specifically during the Gupta period that architecture and art began to flourish in this region, although their su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vishvanatha Temple, Khajuraho
The Vishvanatha Temple is a Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located among the western group of Khajuraho Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, who is also known as "Vishvanatha" (IAST: Viśvanātha), meaning "Lord of the Universe". The temple is believed to have been commissioned by the Chandela king Dhanga, and was probably completed in 999 CE or 1002 CE. Its architectural style is similar to that of the older Lakshmana Temple and the newer Kandariya Mahadeva Temple. It features several sculptures of various deities, surasundaris (celestial maidens), couples making love, and mythical creatures. History A dedicatory inscription, now affixed to the porch of the Vishvanatha temple, provides information about the construction of a Shiva temple by the Chandela king Dhanga. The original date of the inscription is read variously as 1056 VS (999 CE) or 1059 VS (1002 CE). The inscription mentions that Dhanga's descendant Jayavarman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly created position of archaeological surveyor to the government of India; and he founded and organised what later became the Archaeological Survey of India. He wrote numerous books and monographs and made extensive collections of artefacts. Some of his collections were lost, but most of the gold and silver coins and a fine group of Buddhist sculptures and jewellery were bought by the British Museum in 1894. He was also the father of mathematician Allan Cunningham. Early life and career Cunningham was born in London in 1814 to the Scottish poet Allan Cunningham (1784–1842) and his wife Jean née Walker (1791–1864). Along with his older brother, Joseph, he received his early education at Christ's Hospital, London. Through the influenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beejamandal
Beejamandal is a ruined temple in Jatkara village near Khajuraho, that has not yet been fully excavated and explored. It has a length of 34.60 meters and is thus longer than the largest temple of Khajuraho namely Kandariya which measures about 30 metres. Location and archaeological interest Beejamandal which is popularly known as Vijaya Temple is situated about 2 km from Eidgah square on Vidisha-Ashoknagar road. It is rich in archaeologically interesting objects. It is said that the building was built in 8th century then later on reconstructed in Paramara period in the second half of 11th century by Emperor Naravarman and since he was a devotee of Goddess Charchika who is also known as Vijaya because of which it is popularly known as Vijaya temple. Though the building was never finished which can easily be seen by the carved niches and unfinished architectural pieces found round the base of the temple plinth. During mughal emperor Aurangzeb period (1658A.D.-1707 A.D.) the temple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Padmavati Pawaya
Padmavati, identified with modern Pawaya in Madhya Pradesh, was an ancient Indian city mentioned in several classic Sanskrit texts, Malatimadhavam of Bhavabhuti, Harshacharita of Bana, and Sarasvatīkaṇṭhabharaṇa of Raja Bhoja. Bhavabhuti describes the city with tall mansions and temples with shikharas and gates, located between Para and the Sindhu rivers. It is also mentioned in inscriptions like the Kokkala Grahapati inscription of Khajuraho. The inscription mentions that the city had rows of tall mansions. The dust used to arise because of running of strong horses. Identification Alexander Cunningham identified Padmavati with present Narwar near Gwalior. M B Garde carried out excavations at Pawaya in 1924-25, 1933–34 and 1941. He identifies Pawaya with ancient Padmavati rejecting Cunningham’s identification with Narwar. Coins of several Naga kings, who have been dated between 210-340 AD, have been found at Pawaya. Antiquities Among the antiquities found at P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Inscriptions
The earliest undisputed deciphered epigraphy found in the Indian subcontinent are the Edicts of Ashoka of the 3rd century BCE, in the Brahmi script. If epigraphy of proto-writing is included, undeciphered markings with symbol systems that may or may not contain linguistic information, there is substantially older epigraphy in the Indus script, which dates back to the early 3rd millennium BCE. Two other important archeological classes of symbols are found from the 1st millennium BCE, Megalithic graffiti symbols and symbols on punch-marked coins, though most scholars do not consider these to constitute fully linguistic scripts, and their semiotic functions are not well understood. Writing in Sanskrit (Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit, EHS) appears in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. Indian epigraphy becomes more widespread over the 1st millennium, engraved on the faces of cliffs, on pillars, on tablets of stone, drawn in caves and on rocks, some gouged into the bedrock. Later th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit Inscriptions In India
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rig Veda, a collec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_(8638391942).jpg "Click for more on -> Chandella")
