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Kudavayil Balasubramanian
Kudavayil Balasubramanian (born Kudavayil, Tiruvarur district) is an archaeologist from Tamil Nadu, India. He is former curator and publication manager at Saraswathi Mahal Library located at Thanjavur. He is credited with discovering more than 100 inscriptions, coins, copper plates, sculptures, and paintings now in museums and temples in that state. Balasubramanian received a bachelor's in zoology, and studied history as a post-graduate. For his contribution to temple art and Tamil language he received (Doctor of Letters (honoris causa)) in February 2016. Twenty seven books all magnum opuses, twenty booklets, fifty three seminar papers and four hundred and fifty articles have been brought out in the fields of History, Archaeology, Numismatics, Epigraphy, Temple Architecture, Saiva Agamas, Sculptures, Paintings, Music and Dance by Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian. His discovery of Nandipuram near Kandiyur and its shrine housing 1000 Siva Lingas, is hailed as the greatest of his ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kudavasal
Kudavasal or Kodavasal is a panchayat in Thiruvarur district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. The town is the headquarters of Kudavasal taluk. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Kudavasal had a population of 13,500. Males constituted 49% of the population and females 51%. Kudavasal has a literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy rate is 78%, and the female rate is 66%. In Kudavasal, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Located at the heart of the Kaveri, Cauvery delta, Kudavasal was a prominent settlement during medieval times. Brahmin scholars migrating from the north of India to the Chola kingdom lived here. There are multiple Shaivite temples here including Koneswarar Temple, and multiple Vaishnavite temples including the Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Kudavasal, Srinivasa Perumal Temple and Varadharaja Perumal temple at Kodavasal. Post-independence migration trends have seen native popula ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka has a population of around 22 million (2020) and is a multinational state, home to diverse cultures, languages, and ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation's population. The Tamils, who are a large minority group, have also played an influential role in the island's history. Other long established groups include the Moors, the Burghers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epigraphy
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literature, literary composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an ''epigrapher'' or ''epigraphist''. For example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and finding any relevant circumstances. It is the work of historians, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practised by the same person. Epigraphy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, and theoretical approaches. Scholars discuss historiography by topic—such as the historiography of the United Kingdom, that of WWII, the British Empire, early Islam, and China—and different approaches and genres, such as political history and social history. Beginning in the nineteenth century, with the development of academic history, there developed a body of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influenced by their own groups and loyalties—such as to their nation state—remains a debated question. In the ancient world, chronological annals were produced in civilizations such as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. However, the discipline of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dravidian Architecture
Dravidian architecture, or the South Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It is seen in Hindu temples, and the most distinctive difference from north Indian styles is the use of a shorter and more pyramidal tower over the garbhagriha or sanctuary called a vimana, where the north has taller towers, usually bending inwards as they rise, called shikharas. However, for modern visitors to larger temples the dominating feature is the high gopura or gatehouse at the edge of the compound; large temples have several, dwarfing the vimana; these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features such as the ''dwarapalakas'' – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and ''goshtams'' – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha. Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tamil: ''Kaṅkaikoṇṭa Cōḻaṉ''; ), and Kadaram Kondan (Middle Tamil: Kaṭāram koṇṭāṉ ; ) was a Chola Emperor who reigned between 1014 and 1044 CE. He is considered the most significant ruler in early eleventh century South Asia for his role in patronising the arts, encouraging trade and expanding the Chola Empire to is greatest extent . Born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I and his queen Vanavan Mahadevi, Rajendra first assumed royal power as co-regent with his father in 1012 until the later's death in 1014, after which he ascended the Chola throne in his own right. During his reign, the Chola Empire was the largest and most significant political, military, and economic force is in the Indian subcontinent, and extended its reach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darasuram
Darasuram or Dharasuram is a locality in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument. Demographics India census, Darasuram had a population of 13,027. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Dharasuram has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77% and, female literacy is 63%. In Dharasuram, 11% of the population is under six years of age. Kumbakonam temple This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture. The ''vimana'' is 85 feet high. The front mandapam itself is in the form of a huge chariot drawn by horses. The temple has some exquisite stone carvings. The main deity's consort Periya Nayaki Amman temple is situated adjacent to Airavateshwarar temple. The Great Living Chola Temples. (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) at Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.Thanjavur Encyclopaedia Britannica It is one of the largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of . It is also called ''Dakshina Meru'' (" |
Kartikeya
Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha and a god whose legends have many versions in Hinduism. Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since ancient times, worshipped as Mahasena and Kumara in North India and is predominantly worshipped in the state of Tamil Nadu and other parts of South India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia as Murugan. Murugan is widely regarded as the "God of the Tamil people". It has been postulated that the Tamil deity of Murugan was syncretised with the Vedic deity of Subrahmanya following the Sangam era. Both Muruga and Subrahmanya refer to Kartikeya. The iconography of Kartikeya varies significantly; he is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near an Indian peafowl, called Paravani, bearing a vel and so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district. It is the second largest city in the district after Thanjavur. The city is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. Kumbakonam is known as a "Temple town" due to the prevalence of a number of Hindu temple, temples here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival, which happens once in 12 years, attracting people from all over the country. Kumbakonam dates back to the Sangam period and was ruled by the Early Cholas, Pallavas, Mutharaiyar dynasty, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagara Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks and the Thanjavur Marathas. It rose to be a prominent town between the seventh and ninth centuries AD, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarangapani Temple, Kumbakonam
Sarangapani Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the ''Divya Desams'', the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars. This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire, Vijayanagara Empire and Madurai Nayaks. The temple is enshrined within a huge granite wall and the complex contains all the shrines and the water bodies of the temple. The ''gopuram, rajagopuram'' (the main gateway) has eleven tiers and has a height of . The Potramarai tank, the temple tank, is located opposite to the western entrance of the temple. Sarangapani is believed to have appeared for sage Hemarishi. The temple has six daily rituals at various times from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and twelve yearly festivals on its calendar. The temple char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopuram
A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Malayalam: ഗോപുരം, Kannada: ಗೋಪುರ, Telugu: గోపురం) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu temple, in the South Indian architecture of the Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana, and Sri Lanka. In other areas of India they are much more modest, while in Southern Indian temples they are very often by far the highest part of the temple. Ancient and early medieval temples feature smaller ''gopuram'', while in later temples they are a prominent feature of Hindu Dravidian style; in many cases the temple compound was expanded and new larger gopuram built along the new boundary. They are topped by the ''kalasam'', a bulbous stone finial. They function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex. Another towering structure located towards the center of the temple is the Vimanam. Both of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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