Parul Pandya Dhar
University of Delhi, Department of History, Faculty Member
- South and Southeast Asian Art, Religion, and History, Performing Arts, Art History, History, Art Historical Methodology, Historiography (in Art History), and 33 moreArchitectural History, Culture, Torana Book Details, Saivism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Sanskrit Aesthetics, South East Asian Studies, Asian Studies, Indian studies, Buddhism, South Asian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Indian Art, South Asian Art, Religious Studies /Indology, Buddhist art and architecture, South Indian Temple Architecture, Religion and Art, Sanskrit Studies, Sanskrit Aesthetics, Indian Philosophy, Indian Music, Dance and Arts, Calukya dynasty, Sanskrit language and literature, Early Western Chalukya, Sanskrit Poetics (Particularly School of Dhvani, Epic Sanskrit, Khmer art and architecture, Indian Temple Architecture, Cross-Cultural Studies, Cross-Cultural Interaction (History), South and Southeast Asian Art History, Buddhist Studies, Buddhist Art, Southeast Asian Art History, and Berliner Indologische Studienedit
- Art Historian, South and Southeast Asia, Professor in the Department of History, University of Delhi.edit
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The Rāmāyaṇa traditions of South India and Southeast Asia are examined at multiple levels in this volume. The research presented here offers in-depth investigations of chosen moments in the development of the epic tradition together with... more
The Rāmāyaṇa traditions of South India and Southeast Asia are examined at multiple levels in this volume. The research presented here offers in-depth investigations of chosen moments in the development of the epic tradition together with broader trends that help in understanding the epic’s multivalence. The journey and localization of the Rāmāyaṇa is explored in its manifold expressions – from classical to folk, from temples and palaces to theatres and by-lanes in cities and villages, and from ancient to modern times. Regional Rāmāyaṇas from different parts of South India and Southeast Asia are placed in deliberate juxtaposition to enable a historically informed discussion of their connected pasts across land and seas. The three parts of this volume, organized as visual, literary, and performance cultures, discuss the sculpted, painted, inscribed, written, recited, and performed Rāmāyaṇas. A related emphasis is on the way boundaries of medium and genre have been crossed in the visual, literary, and performed representations of the Rāmāyaṇa. These are rewarding directions of research that have thus far received little attention. Bringing together 19 well-known scholars in Rāmāyaṇa studies from Cambodia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, UK, and USA, this thought-provoking and elegantly illustrated volume engages with the inherent plurality, diversity, and adaptability of the Rāmāyaṇa in changing socio-political, religious, and cultural contexts and with shifting norms, tastes, traditions, and ideologies.
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Contributors: Catherine B. Asher, Frederick Asher, Gouriswar Bhattacharya, Nachiket Chanchani, Anna L. Dallapiccola, Hemant Dave, Devangana Desai, Parul Pandya Dhar, Thomas E. Donaldson, Adalbert J. Gail, Pika Ghosh, Kamal Giri, Adam... more
Contributors:
Catherine B. Asher, Frederick Asher, Gouriswar Bhattacharya, Nachiket Chanchani, Anna L. Dallapiccola, Hemant Dave, Devangana Desai, Parul Pandya Dhar, Thomas E. Donaldson, Adalbert J. Gail, Pika Ghosh, Kamal Giri, Adam Hardy, Arvind P. Jamkhedkar, Kumud Kanitkar, Kirit L. Mankodi, Stephen Markel, Michael W. Meister, Gerd J.R. Mevissen, George Michell, Jürgen Neuss, Pratapaditya Pal, Suraj A. Pandit, Ratan Parimoo, Alka Patel, Tamara I. Sears, S. Settar, Snehal Shah, Shanti S. Sinha, Walter Spink, Doris Meth Srinivasan, Maruti Nandan Tiwari, Anila Verghese, and Corinna Wessels-Mevissen.
This volume is a tribute to Professor M.A. Dhaky’s profound and influential scholarship by an international community of well-known scholars in the field of South and Southeast Asian temple art and architecture. The thirty-two essays that make this book unfold many layers of the temples’ imagery, taking a broad view and traversing religious, cultural, and temporal boundaries. While a majority of these are rooted in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, and Vietnam also figure prominently.
Preceded by valuable insights into M.A. Dhaky’s encyclopaedic writings, the volume is configured along six sub-themes inspired by his contributions to the discipline. These include the architectonics of temples, their varied materials and milieus, stylistics, patronage and transregional connections; studies of architectural elements in culture-specific contexts; inter-relationships between sculpture and architecture in the temple’s larger narrative; the embodiment of cult icons; other, non-cultic manifestations on the temple; ritual observances and performance traditions. Several of the essays move in and out of M.A. Dhaky’s writings, building upon themes addressed by him, extending his methods to newer materials, regions, and time-frames, and charting fresh paths that extend the orbit of temple studies.
Scholars and interested readers will find in this volume a thoughtful and cohesive collection of the most recent and insightful research on art historical aspects of South and Southeast Asian temples by the finest minds engaged in the field.
Catherine B. Asher, Frederick Asher, Gouriswar Bhattacharya, Nachiket Chanchani, Anna L. Dallapiccola, Hemant Dave, Devangana Desai, Parul Pandya Dhar, Thomas E. Donaldson, Adalbert J. Gail, Pika Ghosh, Kamal Giri, Adam Hardy, Arvind P. Jamkhedkar, Kumud Kanitkar, Kirit L. Mankodi, Stephen Markel, Michael W. Meister, Gerd J.R. Mevissen, George Michell, Jürgen Neuss, Pratapaditya Pal, Suraj A. Pandit, Ratan Parimoo, Alka Patel, Tamara I. Sears, S. Settar, Snehal Shah, Shanti S. Sinha, Walter Spink, Doris Meth Srinivasan, Maruti Nandan Tiwari, Anila Verghese, and Corinna Wessels-Mevissen.
This volume is a tribute to Professor M.A. Dhaky’s profound and influential scholarship by an international community of well-known scholars in the field of South and Southeast Asian temple art and architecture. The thirty-two essays that make this book unfold many layers of the temples’ imagery, taking a broad view and traversing religious, cultural, and temporal boundaries. While a majority of these are rooted in India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Cambodia, and Vietnam also figure prominently.
Preceded by valuable insights into M.A. Dhaky’s encyclopaedic writings, the volume is configured along six sub-themes inspired by his contributions to the discipline. These include the architectonics of temples, their varied materials and milieus, stylistics, patronage and transregional connections; studies of architectural elements in culture-specific contexts; inter-relationships between sculpture and architecture in the temple’s larger narrative; the embodiment of cult icons; other, non-cultic manifestations on the temple; ritual observances and performance traditions. Several of the essays move in and out of M.A. Dhaky’s writings, building upon themes addressed by him, extending his methods to newer materials, regions, and time-frames, and charting fresh paths that extend the orbit of temple studies.
Scholars and interested readers will find in this volume a thoughtful and cohesive collection of the most recent and insightful research on art historical aspects of South and Southeast Asian temples by the finest minds engaged in the field.
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The centuries-old interactions between the different regions of Asia took various forms including the migration of people, trade in raw materials and goods, and the exchange of religious, literary, and aesthetic ideas and forms. Covering... more
The centuries-old interactions between the different regions of Asia took various forms including the migration of people, trade in raw materials and goods, and the exchange of religious, literary, and aesthetic ideas and forms. Covering diverse aspects of these interactions, this volume studies the connections between India and other parts of Asia including China and Southeast Asia.
It, therefore, approaches the subject of Asian cultural interactions during the pre-modern and early modern periods through the prism of politics, art, religion, and trade. By bringing together these inter-related aspects of cultural encounters, it explores the complex connected histories of the Asian people in a comprehensive manner.
The diversities of cultural interactions addressed in this book range from issues of war and diplomacy to trade, trade routes and ship-wrecks; from the making of grand monumental edifices to the circulation of tiny terracottas and coveted carpets, and from the religious to the secular domains in the exchange of cultural ideas and forms. Crucial for a comprehensive understanding of contemporary networks between the Indian subcontinent and various other parts of Asia, this work shows that interactions across cultures in pre-modern Asia were motivated not only by commercial but also cultural ties and explores the historical context in which they took place.
It, therefore, approaches the subject of Asian cultural interactions during the pre-modern and early modern periods through the prism of politics, art, religion, and trade. By bringing together these inter-related aspects of cultural encounters, it explores the complex connected histories of the Asian people in a comprehensive manner.
The diversities of cultural interactions addressed in this book range from issues of war and diplomacy to trade, trade routes and ship-wrecks; from the making of grand monumental edifices to the circulation of tiny terracottas and coveted carpets, and from the religious to the secular domains in the exchange of cultural ideas and forms. Crucial for a comprehensive understanding of contemporary networks between the Indian subcontinent and various other parts of Asia, this work shows that interactions across cultures in pre-modern Asia were motivated not only by commercial but also cultural ties and explores the historical context in which they took place.
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Research Interests: Indian Archaeology and History of Art, Indian Art History, Torana Book Details, South and Southeast Asian Art History, Indian Temple Architecture, and 3 moreSouth Indian Temple Architecture, art history, Hindu temples, south asian art and architecture, and South and Southeast Asian Temple Architecture
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The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) completed twenty years in 2020. The MGC initiative is a sub-regional cooperation organisation comprising India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. To... more
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) completed twenty years in 2020. The MGC initiative is a sub-regional cooperation organisation comprising India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. To commemorate the 20 years of establishment of MGC, the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in collaboration with the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) organised an international conference entitled "Twenty Years of Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC)" on 5-6 November 2020 at New Delhi in virtual mode. This volume is an outcome of the aforesaid conference and examines the connected past, present, and future of MGC. This commemorative volume presents a selected set of papers, which were presented at the aforesaid conference. Although the economic engagements between India and Mekong have been limited, there is further scope to scale up our economic relations. This volume shows the path to strengthen the MGC partnership in the third decade of its establishment. This book will serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, research scholars, practitioners and regional cooperation specialists.
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Proceedings of the Second International Seminar, 'Telangana through Ages: Perspectives from Ancient and Medieval Periods, Hyderabad, edited by Shrikant Ganvir, Hemant Dalavi and Harshada Wirkud (General Editor: N.R. Visalatchy), pp.... more
Proceedings of the Second International Seminar, 'Telangana through Ages: Perspectives from Ancient and Medieval Periods, Hyderabad, edited by Shrikant Ganvir, Hemant Dalavi and Harshada Wirkud (General Editor: N.R. Visalatchy), pp. 48-62. Hyderabad: Department of Heritage, Telangana, 2019
The central focus of this paper is the dramatic discovery in the year 2002/3 of architraves of a free-standing, post-and-lintel type of limestone toraṇa (arched portal) of exceptional beauty from the Phanigiri Buddhist complex in the State of Telangana in South India. The Phanigiri toraṇa holds a very special place in the history of early Indian architecture because it has no surviving parallel in all of Deccan and South India. In this article, I discuss the historical importance of this unique toraṇa in the context of Buddhist visual culture at Phanigiri and next, analyse its place in early Indian Buddhist art and architecture. Integrating more recent field documentation, research, and a close study of the fragments with my earlier work on toraṇas, a reconstruction of the Phanigiri toraṇa is proposed.
The central focus of this paper is the dramatic discovery in the year 2002/3 of architraves of a free-standing, post-and-lintel type of limestone toraṇa (arched portal) of exceptional beauty from the Phanigiri Buddhist complex in the State of Telangana in South India. The Phanigiri toraṇa holds a very special place in the history of early Indian architecture because it has no surviving parallel in all of Deccan and South India. In this article, I discuss the historical importance of this unique toraṇa in the context of Buddhist visual culture at Phanigiri and next, analyse its place in early Indian Buddhist art and architecture. Integrating more recent field documentation, research, and a close study of the fragments with my earlier work on toraṇas, a reconstruction of the Phanigiri toraṇa is proposed.
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Dhar, Parul Pandya, 2019. Pride and Penitence of an Anti-Hero: Rāvaṇānugraha as Motif and Metaphor in India and Campā, in Champa: Territories and Networks of a Southeast Asian Kingdom, Proceedings of an international conference, New... more
Dhar, Parul Pandya, 2019. Pride and Penitence of an Anti-Hero: Rāvaṇānugraha as Motif and Metaphor in India and Campā, in Champa: Territories and Networks of a Southeast Asian Kingdom, Proceedings of an international conference, New Research in Historical Campā Studies, edited by Arlo Griffiths, Andrew Hardy and Geoff Wade, Paris: Études thématiques de l’EFEO, pp. 355-373.
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Research Interests: Ancient History, South Asian History, Indian Archaeology and History of Art, Early Deccan, Early Medieval India, and 15 moreEarly Medieval and Medieval Deccan, Ancient Indian History, Ramayana retellings, Antihero, Indian Art History, Ancient Indian History and Culture, Indian visual culture, Indian Culture. Epics, Aihole, Epics and History, Indian Aesthetics Visual Culture, Badami, Ravana, Indian Temple Sculptures, and Early Western Chalukya
Short: This essay discusses the cross-cultural histories of Angkor Wat. It writes about the narratives connected with the monument and its interlaced concerns in the contemporary cultural and political histories of India and Southeast... more
Short: This essay discusses the cross-cultural histories of Angkor Wat. It writes about the narratives connected with the monument and its interlaced concerns in the contemporary cultural and political histories of India and Southeast Asia.
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Since ancient times, India and Southeast Asia have engaged in an intense exchange of ideas, knowledge systems, objects and people traversing vast expanses over land and seas. The historiography of these early interactions has, in the past... more
Since ancient times, India and Southeast Asia have engaged in an intense exchange of ideas, knowledge systems, objects and people traversing vast expanses over land and seas. The historiography of these early interactions has, in the past half-century or more, witnessed an important paradigm shift, with the dominant framework of ‘Indianization’ yielding to an increased emphasis on ‘localization’ processes. What is more, notions of homogeneous cultural monoliths have been abandoned in favour of more textured understandings of regional and subregional diversities among the regions belonging to the Indian Ocean zone. More recently, the archaeology of cross-cultural interactions in South and Southeast Asia has yielded exciting new discoveries about the earliest encounters between the regions.
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https://thewire.in/religion/hindu-dham-cambodia-rss-southeast-asia
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/opinion/sangh-parivars-idea-building-hindu-dham-cambodia-wrong-137861/
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/opinion/sangh-parivars-idea-building-hindu-dham-cambodia-wrong-137861/
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In Parul Pandya Dhar and Gerd J.R. Mevissen, eds. Temple Architecture and Imagery of South and Southeast Asia. Prāsādanidhi: Papers Presented to Professor M.A. Dhaky. Delhi: Aryan Books International, 30-51.
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Abstract This chapter engages with the specific nature of Asian interactions at Ðồng Dương, located in present-day Vietnam. Ancient Ðồng Dương participated in a network of contacts between India, China, and Southeast Asia. A grand... more
Abstract
This chapter engages with the specific nature of Asian interactions at Ðồng Dương, located in present-day Vietnam. Ancient Ðồng Dương participated in a network of contacts between India, China, and Southeast Asia. A grand Buddhist monumental complex, patronized by an ancient Campā polity, stood there during the late 9th–early 10th centuries. Ravaged by time and war, its art remains now lie scattered in various Vietnamese and European museums, offering a unique view into the fragmented history of Vietnam’s Buddhist heritage. While Buddhism was the dominant religion, a close study of the art and inscriptions from Ðồng Dương reveals that Śaivism and local beliefs mingled inextricably with it, questioning the current tendency of creating a Buddhist-Hindu divide in the study of Asian religions. Some enigmatic sculptures from Ðồng Dương are difficult to identify and require going beyond established iconographic formulae to address cross-cultural issues such as hybridization and localization.
This chapter engages with the specific nature of Asian interactions at Ðồng Dương, located in present-day Vietnam. Ancient Ðồng Dương participated in a network of contacts between India, China, and Southeast Asia. A grand Buddhist monumental complex, patronized by an ancient Campā polity, stood there during the late 9th–early 10th centuries. Ravaged by time and war, its art remains now lie scattered in various Vietnamese and European museums, offering a unique view into the fragmented history of Vietnam’s Buddhist heritage. While Buddhism was the dominant religion, a close study of the art and inscriptions from Ðồng Dương reveals that Śaivism and local beliefs mingled inextricably with it, questioning the current tendency of creating a Buddhist-Hindu divide in the study of Asian religions. Some enigmatic sculptures from Ðồng Dương are difficult to identify and require going beyond established iconographic formulae to address cross-cultural issues such as hybridization and localization.
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Shila, Shilpa, Devata: Invoking the divine in South Indian sculpture -Parul Pandya Dhar A stone (shila) that once rested in a quarry is transformed into a sculpture (shilpa) through the skilful interventions of the sculptor (shilpi).... more
Shila, Shilpa, Devata: Invoking the divine in South Indian sculpture
-Parul Pandya Dhar
A stone (shila) that once rested in a quarry is transformed into a sculpture (shilpa) through the skilful interventions of the sculptor (shilpi). This may hold true for cultures past and present, distant and near. When intended to image a deity, such a stone requires to undergo several ritualistic procedures before it is deemed fit for worship. The visualization of a divine image involves preparatory rites prior to and during image-making, artistic creation of the image, and consecration rites that precede the rites of image worship. Several of these are recorded in ritualistic texts of southern India. The complex processes involved in image making reveal interesting details about the network of relationships between the chief protagonists involved: the artists, the priests and the patrons. The paper explores the relationship between ritualistic image, ritualistic texts and social contexts in the making of medieval south Indian sculptures.
-Parul Pandya Dhar
A stone (shila) that once rested in a quarry is transformed into a sculpture (shilpa) through the skilful interventions of the sculptor (shilpi). This may hold true for cultures past and present, distant and near. When intended to image a deity, such a stone requires to undergo several ritualistic procedures before it is deemed fit for worship. The visualization of a divine image involves preparatory rites prior to and during image-making, artistic creation of the image, and consecration rites that precede the rites of image worship. Several of these are recorded in ritualistic texts of southern India. The complex processes involved in image making reveal interesting details about the network of relationships between the chief protagonists involved: the artists, the priests and the patrons. The paper explores the relationship between ritualistic image, ritualistic texts and social contexts in the making of medieval south Indian sculptures.
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The book perceptively brings out the plurality and inclusiveness that mark the diverse Ramayana traditions traversing over two millennia and across wide geographical locations.
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A collection of articles on temple architecture in South and SouthEast Asia. By SUCHANDRA GHOSH Temple Architecture and Imagery of South and Southeast Asia, Prasadanidhi (temple's treasure) celebrates the life and scholarship of... more
A collection of articles on temple architecture in South and SouthEast Asia. By SUCHANDRA GHOSH Temple Architecture and Imagery of South and Southeast Asia, Prasadanidhi (temple's treasure) celebrates the life and scholarship of Professor Madhusudan Amilal Dhaky, best known the world over for his works on the subject of Indian temple architecture and Jain art and literature. Those of us who are not art/architectural historians as such, or did not have the privilege and opportunity to be associated with him, do have an idea of his profound erudition through the mega volumes of Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, which was a vast undertaking of inestimable importance by M.A. Dhaky along with Michael Meister and Krishna Deva. He was the real force behind the success of the Encyclopaedia. The editors, Parul Pandya Dhar and Gerd J.R. Mevissen, deserve our congratulations for this wellproduced and wellonceived felicitation volume. As expected, the volume in honour of Dhaky has contributions from wellknown scholars of South and South Eeast Asian temple art and architecture both from India and abroad. Indeed, as the editors correctly stated, " the thirtytwo essays reflect the most recent and revised research in South and SouthEast Asian art history by some of the finest minds engaged in the field ". The volume begins with a foreword by Kapila Vatsayan. Her close association with Dhaky Saheb, as he was often called, helps to her underline the facets of Dhaky's personality, which she characterises as strong, tenacious and unwavering with a kind of flexibility. Devangana Desai's " Dhaky Saheb: Reminiscences " is a vibrant journey down memory lane. The editors' introduction gives us an insight into the succeeding pages, which they have curated with great care. It is really the call of the day to not only look at the temple arts and architecture from the perspective of India but also include the art historical traditions of other regions of South Asia and SouthEast Asia. This broadening of horizon goes well with Dhaky's own understanding of the art and architecture beyond India, which for him is a dialogue, a kind of conversation with Indian art and architecture. In keeping with the master's own endearing engagement, temple obviously gets the first preference as a theme in this volume. But there are essays related to other issues, such as patronage, rituals and memorial monuments, which are significant and form essential elements of a religious and social landscape. It was imperative that this book should have an essay dedicated to the academic journey that Dhaky had undertaken for years for his passion, the temple. Parul Pandya Dhar has been immensely successful in presenting a representative discussion of his writings on temples, offering readers his research methods, his critical art historical construct, his emotional attachment with temple yet maintaining a scientific temper. This reading into the works of Dhaky sets the stage for reading and understanding the 32 essays in the next section. Hemant Dave illuminates us about Dhaky's penchant for writing in regional languages, particularly Gujrati, his mother tongue. He gives us a succinct account of the invaluable treasures that came from the master's pen in Gujarati and a few in Hindi. The book is laid out into six subthemes: Architectural Styles, Modes, Materials, and Milieus; Architectural Elements; Architecture and the Configuration of Imagery; Embodying the Deity; Inhabiting the Temple; and Piety, Society and Ritual Performance. All these themes are linked some way or another to Dhaky's contribution to the disciplines of art and architecture. The first section is directly related to the field to which Dhaky substantially contributed. It opens with an essay by Walter M. Spink on the development of the vihara shrines from Bagh to Ajanta. Taking the two sites together, he weaves a wonderful narrative of the interface between them —Bagh as a source for the development of the stupa shrines at Ajanta and Ajanta for the introduction of Buddha imagery in Bagh caves.