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Devdasi
In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women also learn and practice classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Their status as dancers, musicians, and consorts was an essential part of temple worship. Devadasis also engaged in providing sexual services to temple officials and devotees as part of their temple responsibilities, with the earnings from these services being handed over to the temple. The practice of temple prostitution became more prominent with the emergence of Puranic Hinduism. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanjore
Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian culture, southern Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Great Living Chola Temples, which are World Heritage Sites, UNESCO World Heritage Monuments, are located in and around Thanjavur. The foremost among these, the Brihadisvara Temple, built by the Chola emperor Rajaraja I, is located in the centre of the city. This temple has one of the largest bull statues (called Nandi) in India carved out of a single granite rock. Thanjavur is also home to Thanjavur painting, Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region. Thanjavur is the headquarters of the Thanjavur district, Thanjavur District. The city is an important agricultural centre located in the Cauvery Delta, Kaveri Delta and is known as the ''Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somavamshi Dynasty
The Somavamshi (IAST: Somavaṃśī, "Lunar dynasty") or Keshari (IAST: Keśarī) dynasty ruled parts of present-day Odisha in eastern India between the 9th and the 12th centuries. Their capitals included Yayatinagara (modern Binika, Binka) and Abhinava-Yayatinagara (modern Jajpur). The Somavanshi, Somavamshis may have been related to the Panduvamshis of Dakshina Kosala, Panduvamshis, who ruled the Dakshina Kosala region in central India. They were probably driven out from this region by the Kalachuris of Tripuri, Kalachuris, following which they conquered the Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga and the Utkala kingdom, Utkala regions in present-day Odisha, supplanting the Bhauma-Kara dynasty, Bhauma-Karas. The Somavamshis introduced a new style of art and architecture in Odisha, and their rule saw a remarkable shift from Buddhism to Hinduism in the region. The Somavamshi rule ended in the early 12th century, when the Eastern Ganga dynasty, Eastern Ganga ruler Anantavarman Choda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali (god), Kali"; 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 Hindu Puranas and philosophy. 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 during the Gupta Empire, Gupta era. Kalidas is mentioned as one of the seven Brahma avatars in Dasam Granth, written by Guru Gobind Singh. Early life Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga (historical region), Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kālidāsa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his ''Kumārasambhava, Kumārasambhavam'', the display of his love for Ujjain in ''Meghadūta'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meghadūta
''Meghadūta'' (, 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 became 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 ''Meghaduta''. 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 Himālaya mountains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthashastra
''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashastras'', texts which according to Olivelle date from the 2nd c. BCE to the 1st c. CE. These treatises were compiled and amended in a new treatise, according to McClish and Olivelle in the 1st century CE by either an anonymous author or Kautilya, though earlier and later dates have also been proposed. While often regarded as created by a single author, McClish and Olivelle argue that this compilation, possibly titled ''Daņdanīti'', served as the basis for a major expansion and redaction in the 2nd or 3rd century CE by either Kautilya or an anonymous author, when several books, dialogical comments, and the disharmonious chapter-division were added, and a stronger Brahmanical ideology was brought in. The text thus became a proper ''arthashast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jataka
The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories were depicted on the railings and Toran_(art), torans of the stupas. 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 texts are also considered great works of literature in their own right.Shaw, Sarah (2006). ''The Jatakas: Birth Stories of Bodhisatta'', p. xxii. Penguin UK. The various Indian Buddhist schools had different collections of jātakas. The largest known collection is the ''Jātaka (Pali Canon), Jātakatthavaṇṇanā'' of the Theravada school, as a textual division of the Pāli Canon, included in the ''Khuddaka Nikaya'' of the ''Sutta Pitaka''. In these stories, the future B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varna (Hinduism)
Varna (, ), in the context of Hinduism, refers to a social class within a hierarchical traditional Hindu society. The ideology of varna is epitomized in texts like '' Manusmriti'', which describes and ranks four varnas, and prescribes their occupations, requirements and duties, or '' Dharma''. *Brahmins: Vedic scholars, priests or teachers. * Kshatriyas: Rulers, administrators or warriors. * Vaishyas: Agriculturalists, farmers or merchants. * Shudras: Artisans, labourers or servants. This quadruple division is a form of social stratification, quite different from the more nuanced system of '' Jātis'', which correspond to the term "caste". The varna system is discussed in Hindu texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The concept is generally traced back to the '' Purusha Sukta'' verse of the Rigveda. In the post- Vedic period, the varna division is described in the '' Mahabharata,'' ''Puranas'' and in the '' Dharmashastra literatures''. The commentary on the Varna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), follow lifestyles often linked to a particular occupation, hold a ritual status observed within a hierarchy, and interact with others based on cultural notions of social exclusion, exclusion, with certain castes considered as either more pure or more polluted than others. The term "caste" is also applied to morphological groupings in eusocial insects such as ants, bees, and termites#caste, termites. The paradigmatic ethnographic example of caste is the division of India's Hinduism, Hindu society into rigid social groups. Its roots lie in South Asia's ancient history and it still exists; however, the economic significance of the caste system in India seems to be declining as a result of urbanisation and affirmative action programs. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goa And Damaon
Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the liberation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first governor. The Goa portion of the territory was granted full statehood within the Indian union on 30 May 1987, Daman and Diu remained a separate territory until December 2019, when it was merged with Dadra and Nagar Haveli and is today the territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Damaon, Dio & Silvassa). The areas of Goa and Damaon are located at the southern and northern edges of the Konkan region, the two geographically separated from each other by land and sea, the two areas were among the many other possessions that were ruled over for centuries by the Portuguese in Goa and Bombay. For the purposes of local administration under Indian administration, the territory was divided into three districts; namely Goa, Damaon, and Dio district, with the capital at Panjim. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, the third most populous country subdivision in South Asia and the fourth-most populous in the world. The state is divided into 6 divisions and 36 districts. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra due to its historical significance as a major trading port and its status as India's financial hub, housing key institutions and a diverse economy. Additionally, Mumbai's well-developed infrastructure and cultural diversity make it a suitable administrative center for the state, and the most populous urban are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Reorganisation Act, and renamed ''Karnataka'' in 1973. The state 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. With 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the List of states and union territories of India by population, eighth-largest state by population, comprising 31 List of districts in India, districts. With 15,257,000 residents, the state capital Bengaluru is the largest city of Karnataka. The economy of Karnataka is among the most productive in the country with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and a per capita GSDP of for the financial year 2023– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puja (Hinduism)
() is a worship ritual performed by Hindus to offer devotional homage and prayer to one or more deities, to host and honour a guest, or to spiritually celebrate an event. It may honour or celebrate the presence of special guests, or their memories after they die. The word ''puja'' is roughly translated into English as 'reverence, honour, homage, adoration, or worship'.पूजा ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', Germany (2009) ''Puja'' (পুজো / পুজা in Bengali language, Bangla), the loving offering of light, flowers, and water or food to the divine, is the essential ritual of Hinduism. For the worshipper, the divine is visible in the image, and the divinity sees the worshipper. The interaction between human and deity, between human and guru, is called a ''Darshan (Indian re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
