On Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi.

Sanchi stupa in Madhya Pradesh is one of the oldest standing structure in India (dated 2nd century B.C.E).  It was first built by king Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty.  Later other dynasties such as the Sunga, Satwahana, and Malwa kings etc continued to protect and expand the Sanchi Stupa.  It is believed that Buddha relics are stored inside the stupa.  Hence, it is one of the most revered Buddhist monument in the world.  
Ashoka's wife was from Vidhesha- a town adjacent to Sanchi.  Ashoka himself is believed to have been a Governor of Vidhesha, before he became a great emperor.  Ashoka chose Sanchi to build the stupa as he found Sanchi to be a peaceful, quiet place, away from the hum drum of city life of Vidhesha.  These days, Sanchi is a bustling city with train whistles, temple and mosque announcements/songs on the loud speaker, people shouting while playing cricket in the near by parks, disturbing the peace and quiet of the stupa.  The location of the stupa is still very beautiful, with rolling hills and greenery around it as far as eye can see.  
The most beautiful part of the Sanchi Stupa are its torana (gateways).  These torana were made by the Sunga kings (1st century B.C.E) who are otherwise also known for giving India the most beautiful sculptures.  The women sculptures are damn beautiful and attractive!  I think, if it were not for the beautiful women sculptures, the beauty of the torana would not have been what it is with them.  The design of the gateway is very unique and beautiful i.e., parallel beams on top which extend artistically beyond the gateway.  The Sanchi Stupa is a must see for those who want to understand India and also for those who appreciate art.

On Khajuraho Temples (India).

khajuraho temples are located in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.  Khajuraho is a village where these temples were discovered in the midst of jungle, about 250 years ago.  It is stated that at the time of their discovery, the temples were known to few, mostly people of nearby villages.  Vines, cree

pers were found growing inside and over the temple walls.  The Chandela kings built them in 9th and 10th century C.E.  One unusual feature about these beautiful temples is the erotic art that decorates it.  As per ancient hindu belief system, gods and goddesses have similar day to day concerns in their lives as ordinary human beings i.e., family life, wars, enemies, prayers etc.  Through numerous temple sculptures such ordinary activities that sustain life can be seen.  It was common practice (dating as far back as 2nd century B.C.E) to show gods and goddesses as intimate couples (i.e., shiva and Parvati, Lakshmi and Narayan etc).  The intimacy was a reflection of the acts of ordinary human beings of the society.  At Khajuraho, the extent of sexual intimacy is somewhat further than previously shown in the hindu temples, but nevertheless, it still resonates as true reflection of societal practices, which are depicted quite openly in a public space i.e., a temple wall.  The Chandela kings were true pioneers, for they unhesitantly have shown sexual intimacy, some of it perhaps taboo and unconventional, on temple walls in a way that had not been done before.  However, the idea of showing hindu gods and goddesses in intimate positions is an older concept, on which which the Chandela kings built the Khajuraho temples.  These temples are very beautiful even today.

As kings, it was their future to provide means of wealth to their society.  Through their unique way  of decorating Khajuraho temples, the Chandela kings even today, continue to attract wealth for Khajuraho residents through tourists who come here not only from India but far away countries as well.

On women and ancient Indian temples.

There are some auspicious symbols in Indian culture, that adorn its ancient temples.  Temples are meant to a beautiful and spiritual place for the community.  Acceptable motifs on the entrance, (not necessarily restricted to it), are creepers, foliage, flowers, Devi such as Ganga and Yamuna (for they bear water and hence cleanse and comfort the dusty and tired visitor), lovers and couples (indicative of fertility) etc.  Young, decorated women figures are used to beautify temple premises as in shalbhanjika (i.e., woman holding tree branches), or as a couple (mother, lover).  Goddess Lakshmi is an auspicious symbol on the temple door jambh (entrance).  Women in Indian culture are considered auspicious for attracting wealth.  Goddess Lakshmi, being a beautiful woman, is the goddess of wealth i.e., creates/ increases wealth in a community.  This is especially true as men desire fertile women, and when men do, they quite invariably end up creating wealth through their labor in the community, so as to sustain the woman they love and likely their offsprings.  In Indian culture, as per the available sculptures, full bodied women, are desired as they are considered beautiful and fertile i.e., they are perfect conduits for attracting wealth in the community in which the women live.  Ancient Buddhist temples are also found decorated with beautiful women/couple figures.  Ancient Indian society, whether Buddhist or Hindu, was a beautiful amalgamation of spirituality and physical desires.

Indian temples in olden days, were self sustaining due to public donations. High emphasis on temple decoration with both religious and non religious sculptures, is a representation of the psyche of the society of its time.  Public donations in a temple were likely to increase if the temple was beautiful and spiritual in the eyes of the public and as per the acceptable social norms should represent society's psyche.  In this sense, temples were indeed a reflection of society.  The ancient Indian society was deeply spiritual at its core and women (through men), were the threads of societal fabric that made the society prosper.  Thus women were held in high esteem.  They still are, in philosophical sense at least.



Appearance of warrior female deities, like Durga, Kali etc seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon.  Why did women deities need to take such violent forms?  Is it in response to the changed attitude of men in society or else to protect the society against external threats or something else?

On Indus Valley Civilization.

I came across an interesting research article on the causes of decline and disappearance of Indus Valley Civilization.  On the outset the reason is climatic alongside biological and social.  The society was discriminated on name less factors and a certain section of society suffered more violence and disease burden and were buried piled up.  The findings, to me, also go on to show that people were not aware that cremation was a better option than burial to contain spread of infectious diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis.

Anyway.  The link and abstract of the article is posted below:


Read the open-access, full-text article here:
http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084814

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Infection, Disease, and Biosocial Processes at the End of the Indus Civilization

Abstract:

In the third millennium B.C., the Indus Civilization flourished in northwest India and Pakistan. The late mature phase (2200-1900 B.C.) was characterized by long-distance exchange networks, planned urban settlements, sanitation facilities, standardized weights and measures, and a sphere of influence over 1,000,000 square kilometers of territory. Recent paleoclimate reconstructions from the Beas River Valley demonstrate hydro-climatic stress due to a weakened monsoon system may have impacted urban centers like Harappa by the end of the third millennium B.C. the impact of environmental change was compounded by concurrent disruptions to the regional interaction sphere. Climate, economic, and social changes contributed to the disintegration of this civilization after 1900 B.C. We assess evidence for paleopathology to infer the biological consequences of climate change and socio-economic disruption in the post-urban period at Harappa, one of the largest urban centers in the Indus Civilization. Bioarchaeological evidence demonstrates the prevalence of infection and infectious disease increased through time. Furthermore, the risk for infection and disease was uneven among burial communities. Corresponding mortuary differences suggest that socially and economically marginalized communities were most vulnerable in the context of climate uncertainty at Harappa. Combined with prior evidence for increasing levels of interpersonal violence, our data support a growing pathology of power at Harappa after 2000 B.C. Observations of the intersection between climate change and social processes in proto-historic cities offer valuable lessons about vulnerability, insecurity, and the long-term consequences of short-term strategies for coping with climate change.

Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur.

Nahargarh fort felt like home.  It was a great experience enjoying cup of coffee in the winter sun in the courtyards of one of the restaurants on the fort premises.

Paintings from Rajasthan.

Representation of music (i.e., various Raag and Ragini) and festivals has been beautifully done in ancient themed Rajasthani paintings.  The first photo shows rain music (i.e., raag 'megh malhar') i.e., a sound, in the form of painting i.e., a vision.  The raag 'megh malhar' is associated with rains and therefore the raag, personified as a dark (alludes to dark rain clouds) complexioned man, is pictured in the backdrop of rain clouds.  The painting is currently housed in Albert Hall, Jaipur (State Museum of Rajasthan).

The second painting shows ragini bhairavi (bhairavi in Sanskrit means 'shiva') worshipping shiva linga.  Other raginis are shown as companions.

The following painting shows Raag Deepak (deepak refers to wicker lamp) in painting form.

The following painting shows Raag Bhairavi (Bhairon in Sanskrit refers to Shiva).  Various Raginis are shown worshipping the lingam i.e., Shiva.

Changing Forms of Sivalinga through history.

The following are the photographs of various sculptures of Sivalinga that date from Kushana (1st century B.C.E) and Gupta period (5th century C.E).  In those days, it was customary to sculpt a face of a deity, including that of Siva, on the linga.  However, these days, the sivalinga is made without any deity face on it.  This is a major change in the design of the sivalinga over time.  A sculpture of Sivalinga shown below is 5 faced i.e., it has been made as a group of 5 lingas, with a deity face on the lingas (1 lingam in the centre and 4 lingas around it; Gupta period).  It is made from mottled red sand stone (typical stone used in the Mathura School of Art sculptures).  It is housed in the State Museum at Mathura (India).  Such deity faced lingam's remind one of oval shaped Buddhist stupas which by Mahayana period (around Gupta period i.e., 4th century C.E) started appearing with the image of Gautama Buddha on them, as in Ajanta caves.  As per ancient Indian mindset, meditation involves focussing on 'shoonyata' (nothingness) and in that regard, oval sort of shape of the lingam and the stupa is helpful. The oval shape of lingam and stupa was originally meant to be an icon/symbol of deity and buddha respectively. Over time, actual images of deities and that of buddha were sculpted on the lingam and stupa respectively. During the life time of Buddha, he forbade his image worship or for that matter did not permit his image to be drawn. This continued all through the Hinayana phase but by the time Mahayana phase of Buddhism ushered in full force, buddha images were quite popular.


The one faced Sivalingam is from the Kushana period, now housed in the State Museum of Mathura.