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Torana
A ''torana'' (; ''[tawr-uh-nuh]'') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu architecture, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. Chinese Shanmen gateways, Japanese ''torii'' gateways, Korean Iljumun and Hongsalmun gateways, Vietnamese Tam quan gateways, and Thai Giant Swing, Sao Ching Cha were derived from the Indian ''torana''. They are also referred to as ''vandanamalikas''. History Indologist art historian and archaeologist Percy Brown (art historian), Percy Brown has traced the origin of ''torana'' from the wikt:ग्राम, grama-dvara (village-gateways) of the Vedic period, vedic era (1500 BCE – 500 BCE) village which later developed as a popular adornment for cities, places, and sacred shrines.Krishna Chandra Panigrahi, Harish Chandra Das and Snigdha Tripathy, 1994, Kṛṣṇa pratibhā: studies in Indology : Prof. Krishna Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanchi Stupa
Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist art, Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the States and territories of India, State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometers from Raisen, Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument to the historical architecture of India. It was originally commissioned by the Maurya Empire, Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great, Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Gautama Buddha, Buddha. It was crowned by the Chatra (umbrella), chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant of nearby Vidisha. Sanchi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kirti Toran
Kirti Toran are two ''torana'' (ornamental gateways) located in Vadnagar in Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. Built in the 12th century, they are examples of Maru-Gurjara architecture. History The two toranas belong to the 12th-century are located just north of the walled town. They stand on the bank of the Sharmistha Lake. The one to the east is in better condition and has been used as a symbol of Gujarat in recent times. Initially, one ''torana'' was intact while the other was ruined. The ruined one was re-erected in 2007 by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The ''toranas'' might have served as an entrance to a large temple complex, but no remains of such have been found till date. It is the Monument of National Importance protected by the ASI. The ''torana''s were known as ''Narsinh Mehta's Chauri'' and was legendarily attributed to 15th century Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta. Architecture The toranas, a pair of columns supporting an arch, about tall, built in red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mukteshvara Temple, Bhubaneswar
Mukteshwara Temple (; also spelt Mukteswara) is a 10th-century Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. The temple dates back to 950–975 CE and is a monument of importance in the study of the development of Hindu temples in Odisha. The stylistic development of the Mukteswara Temple marks the culmination of all earlier developments, and initiates a period of experiment which continues for an entire century, as seen in such temples as the Rajarani Temple and Lingaraj temple, both located in Bhubaneswar. It is one of the prominent tourist attractions of the city. History The Mukteshvara Temple is found to be the earliest work from the Somavaṃśī dynasty, Somavamshi period. Most scholars believe that the temple is the successor to Parashurameshvara Temple and was built earlier to the Brahmeswara Temple (1060 CE). Percy Brown puts the date of construction of the temple to 950 CE. The presence of a ''torana'', which is not part of any other temple i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii
A is a traditional culture of Japan, Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to travel through. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small ''torii'' icon represents them on Japanese road maps and on Google Maps. The first appearance of ''torii'' gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period; they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The oldest existing stone ''torii'' was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. The oldest existing wooden ''torii'' is a ''ryōbu torii'' (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi Prefecture built in 1535. ''Torii'' gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, stain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Architecture
Hindu architecture is the traditional system of Indian architecture for structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, market places, gardens and town planning as described in Hindu texts. The architectural guidelines survive in Sanskrit manuscripts and in some cases also in other regional languages. These texts include the Vastu shastras, Shilpa Shastras, the ''Brihat Samhita'', architectural portions of the Puranas and the Agamas, and regional texts such as the Manasara among others. By far the most important, characteristic and numerous surviving examples of Hindu architecture are Hindu temples, with an Hindu temple architecture, architectural tradition that has left surviving examples in stone, brick, and Indian rock-cut architecture, rock-cut architecture dating back to the Gupta Empire. These architectures had influence of Ancient Persian and Hellenistic influence on Indian art, Hellenistic architecture. Far fewer secular Hindu architecture have survived into th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajarani Temple
Rajarani Temple is an 11th-century CE Hindu temple located in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha (Orissa previously), India. Believed to be devoted to Lord Shiva, the shrine is called Raja Rani because it is made of yellow and red sandstone and the two colors are locally called ‘Raja Rani’. Overview The temple is believed to have been known originally as Indreshvara. It is locally known as a "love temple" because of the erotic carvings of women and men and couples in the temple. Rajarani Temple is built in the ''pancharatha'' style on a raised platform with two structures: a central shrine called the ''vimana'' (sanctum) with a ''bada'' (curvilinear spire) over its roof rising to a height of , and a viewing hall called ''jagamohana'' with a pyramidal roof. The temple was constructed of dull red and yellow sandstone locally called "Rajarani". There are no images inside the sanctum, and hence it is not associated with a specific sect of Hinduism but broadly classified as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauryan Polish
Mauryan polish describes one of the frequent characteristics of architecture and sculptures of the Maurya Empire in India (325 to 185 BCE), which gives a very smooth and shiny surface to the stone material, generally of sandstone or granite.The roots of Indian Art, Gupta, p .88 Mauryan polish is found especially in the Ashoka Pillars as well as in some constructions like the Barabar Caves. The technique did not end with the empire, but continued to be "used on occasion up to the first or second century A.D.", although the presence of the polish sometimes complicates dating, as with the Didarganj Yakshi. According to the Archaeology, archaeologist John Marshall (archaeologist), John Marshall: the "extraordinary precision and accuracy which characterizes all Mauryan works, and which has never, we venture to say, been surpassed even by the finest workmanship on Athens, Athenian buildings". Polished Barabar Caves The Barabar caves are the first known and dated example of Mauryan pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaulukya Dynasty
The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The family is also known as the "Solanki dynasty" in the vernacular literature. They belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs. Mularaja, the founder of the dynasty, supplanted the last ruler of the Chavda dynasty around 940 CE. His successors fought several battles with the neighbouring rulers such as the Chudasamas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Shakambhari. During the reign of Bhima I, the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud invaded the kingdom and raided the Somnath temple during 1024–1025 CE. The Chaulukyas soon recovered, and the kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala in the 12th century. Several minor dynasties, such as the Chahamanas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories of India by area, fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the List of states and union territories of India by population, ninth-most populous state, with a population of 60.4 million in 2011. It is bordered by Rajasthan to the northeast, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the south, Maharashtra to the southeast, Madhya Pradesh to the east, and the Arabian Sea and the Pakistani province of Sindh to the west. Gujarat's capital city is Gandhinagar, while its largest city is Ahmedabad. The Gujarati people, Gujaratis are indigenous to the state and their language, Gujarati language, Gujarati, is the state's official language. The state List of Indus Valley civilisation sites#List of Indus Valley sites discovered, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagannath Temple, Puri
The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti built the main temple of Jagannath at Puri. The present temple was rebuilt from the eleventh century onwards, on the site of the pre-existing temples in the compound, but not the main Jagannath temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Many of the temple rituals are based on Oddiyana Tantras which are the refined versions of Mahayana Tantras as well as Shabari Tantras which are evolved from Tantric Buddhism and tribal beliefs respectively. The local legends link the idols with aboriginal tribes and the daitapatis (servitors) claim to be descendants of the aboriginals. The temple is one of the 108 '' Abhimana Kshethram'' of the Vaishnavite tradition. The temple is famous for its annual Rat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalinga Architecture
The Kaliṅga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga previously known as Utkal and in present eastern Indian state of Odisha. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha Deula, Pidha Deula and Khakhara Deula. The former two are associated with Vishnu, Surya and Shiva temples while the third is mainly with Chamunda and Durga temples. The Rekha Deula and Khakhara Deula houses are the sanctum sanctorum while the Pidha Deula constitutes outer dancing and offering halls. In Kalinga, the ancient land of Shakta cult, divine iconography existed since the mythological era. Present day research implies that idols (deities) were placed under auspicious trees in the ancient days. The various aspects of a typical Kalinga temple include architectural stipulations, iconography, historical connotations and honoring the traditions, customs and associated legends. Architecture Selecting people There is a specific hier ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mauryan Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sources for the written records of the Mauryan times are partial records of the lost history of Megasthenes in Roman texts of several centuries later; the Edicts of Ashoka, which were first read in the modern era by James Prinsep after he had deciphered the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts in 1838; and the ''Arthashastra'', a work first discovered in the early 20th century,: "... another source that enjoyed high standing as a description of the early Mauryan state was the Arthashastra, a treatise on power discovered in the early twentieth century." and previously attributed to Chanakya, but now thought to be composed by multiple authors in the first centuries of the common era. Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
