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Devadasi System
In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women also learned and practiced classical Indian artistic traditions such as Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Their social status was high as dance and music were an essential part of temple worship. Between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, Devadasis had a high rank and dignity in society and were exceptionally affluent as they were seen as the protectors of the arts. During this period royal patrons provided them with gifts of land, property, and jewellery. After becoming Devadasis, the women would spend their time learning religious rites, rituals, and dances. Devadasis were expected to live a life of celibacy, however, there have been instances of exceptions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devadasi 1920s
In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women also learned and practiced classical Indian artistic traditions such as Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Their social status was high as dance and music were an essential part of temple worship. Between the sixth and thirteenth centuries, Devadasis had a high rank and dignity in society and were exceptionally affluent as they were seen as the protectors of the arts. During this period royal patrons provided them with gifts of land, property, and jewellery. After becoming Devadasis, the women would spend their time learning religious rites, rituals, and dances. Devadasis were expected to live a life of celibacy, however, there have been instances of exceptions. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnataka'' in 1973. The state corresponds to the Carnatic region. Its capital and largest city is Bengaluru. Karnataka is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. It is the only southern state to have land borders with all of the other four southern Indian sister states. The state covers an area of , or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the sixth-largest Indian state by area. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 districts. Kannada, one of the classical languages of India, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, comprising 19.31% of India's area () and 20% of India's population. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges – the Western and Eastern Ghats – bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Periyar, Bharathappuzha, Pamba, Thamirabarani, Palar, and Vaigai rivers are important perennial rivers. The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada (all 4 of which are among the 6 Classic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75 The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
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 colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. His surviving works consist of three plays, two epic poems and two shorter poems. Much about his life is unknown except what can be inferred from his poetry and plays. His works cannot be dated with precision, but they were most likely authored before the 5th century CE. Early life Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kālidāsa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his ''Kumārasambhava'', the display of his love for Ujjain in ''Meghadūta'', and his highly eulogistic descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hemāngada in '' Raghuvaṃśa'' (sixth ''sarga''). Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891–1953), a Sanskrit scholar an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meghadūta
} ''Meghadūta'' ( sa, मेघदूत literally ''Cloud Messenger'') is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa (c. 4th–5th century CE), considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets. It describes how a ''yakṣa'' (or nature spirit), who had been banished by his master to a remote region for a year, asked a cloud to take a message of love to his wife. The poem become well-known in Sanskrit literature and inspired other poets to write similar poems (known as "messenger-poems", or Sandesha Kavya) on similar themes. Korada Ramachandra Sastri wrote ''Ghanavrttam,'' a sequel to ''Meghduta.'' About the poem A poem of 120 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works. The work is divided into two parts, Purva-megha and Uttara-megha. It recounts how a yakṣa, a subject of King Kubera (the god of wealth), after being exiled for a year to Central India for neglecting his duties, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife at Alaka on Mount Kailāsa in the Himā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthashastra
The ''Arthashastra'' ( sa, अर्थशास्त्रम्, ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy. Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text.: "References to the work in other Sanskrit literature attribute it variously to , and . The same individual is meant in each case. The '' Pańcatantra'' explicitly identifies Chanakya with ." The latter was a scholar at Takshashila, the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Some scholars believe them to be the same person, while a few have questioned this identification.; : "while in his character as author of an ''arthaśāstra'' he is generally referred to by his '' gotra'' name, ;": "T. Burrow... has now shown that Cāṇakya is also a ''gotra'' name, which in conjunction with other evidence makes it clear that we are dealing with distinct persons, the minister Cāṇaky ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is "one of the oldest classes of Buddhist literature."Skilling, Peter (2010). ''Buddhism and Buddhist Literature of South-East Asia,'' pp. 161-162. Some of these works are also considered great works of literature in their own right. In these stories, the future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a deva, an animal—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. Often, Jātaka tales include an extensive cast of characters who interact and get into various kinds of trouble - whereupon the Buddha character intervenes to resolve all the problems and bring about a happy ending. The Jātaka genre is based on the idea that the Buddha was able to recollect all his past lives and thus could use these memor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nagarvadhu
Nagarvadhu or Nagar Vadhu (Devanagari: नगरवधू) ("bride of the city") was a tradition followed in some parts of ancient India. Women competed to win the title of a Nagarvadhu, and there was no taboo against the practice. The most beautiful woman, and most talented in various dance forms, was chosen as the Nagarvadhu. A Nagarvadhu was respected, and she was a courtesan; people could watch her dance and sing. A Nagarvadhu's price for a single night's dance was very high, and she was only within the reach of the very rich – the king, the princes, and the lords. Famous Nagarvadhus *Amrapali, state courtesan and Buddhist disciple, described in ''Vaishali Ki Nagarvadhu'' by Acharya Chatursen *Vasantasena, a character in the classic Sanskrit story of '' Mricchakatika'', written in the 2nd century BC by Śūdraka * Madhavi, a character in the classic Tamil story of ''Silappatikaram'', written in tamil by Ilango Adigal See also *Devadasi *Deuki * Ca trù, a similar profes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amrapali
Āmrapālī, also known as "Ambapālika", "Ambapali", or "Amra" was a celebrated ''nagarvadhu'' (royal courtesan) of the republic of Vaishali (located in present-day Bihar) in ancient India around 500 BC. Following the Buddha's teachings, she became an arahant. She is mentioned in the old Pali texts and Buddhist traditions ( āgama sutras), particularly in conjunction with the Buddha staying at her mango grove, ''Ambapali vana'', which she later donated to his order and wherein he preached the famous ''Ambapalika Sutra''. The legend of Amrapali originated in the Buddhist Jataka Tales some 1500 years ago. Early life Amrapali was born around 600-500 BCE, to Mahanama & an unknown mother. Etymologically, the variants on her name derive from a combination of two Sanskrit words: ''amra'', meaning mango, and ''pallawa'', meaning young leaves or sprouts. It is said that she was spontaneously born at the foot of a mango tree in one of the royal gardens in Vaishali — hence her name. E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varna (Hinduism)
''Varṇa'' ( sa, वर्ण, varṇa), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical caste system in India, caste system. The ideology is epitomized in texts like ''Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or ''Dharma''. *Brahmins: Vedas, Vedic scholars, priests or teachers. *Kshatriyas: Rulers, administrators or warriors. *Vaishyas: Agriculturalists, farmers or merchants. *Shudras: Artisan, Artisans, laborers or servants. Communities which belong to one of the four varnas or classes are called savarna Hindus. The Dalits and tribes, tribals who do not belong to any varna were called avarna. This quadruple division is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system ''Jātis'' which correspond to the European term caste system in India, "caste". The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The concept i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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