Pujas at Angkor
Also featuring Pancaratra and Angkor Wat Temple
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COPYRIGHT
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Chapter Pujas at Angkor1 Page 7
Chapterv2 Monumental Gates of AngkorbPage 33
Chapter 3 ANGKOR WAT in Collective Memorialization page 43
Chapter 4-Hindu Cities & Cosmological Design page 55
Chapter 5-The Art & Architecture of the Vijaynagar Empire page 93
CHAPTER 6-THE CONCEPT of a LOST CONTINENT-Featuring Atlantis
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Chapter 1
Pujas at Angkor
Also featuring Pancaratra and Angkor Wat Temple
How does Angkor Wat reflect Hindu beliefs?
Iconic Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu to see over the
Khmer Empire that ruled during that time. ... Vishnu is known as the protector, and as King
Suryavarman's name translating as “protector of the sun”, dedicating the temple to his namesake
seems fitting. In my earlier paper-The 9 Graha Puja performed at Bantey Sarai( near Angkor
Wat) 1200 years ago I had outlined the “Satyanarayan” puja performed there. In his paper The
Planetary clustering and navagraha at Banteay Srei , Asger Mollerup found that an inscription
at Prasat Banteay Srey, 15 km north of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, dates the inauguration of this
Shivaite sanctuary to coincide with a planetary alignment. A planetary clustering or planetary
alignment is when the five planets visible to the naked eye are observable at dawn or dusk above
the eastern or western horizon. The five planets form together with the sun, the moon, Rahu and
Ketu the Indian concept the Navagraha. A close gathering of the five planets is an impressive
celestial event and has been described in ancient Indian and Chinese records and calculations.
https://www.academia.edu/41864223/Planetary_clustering_and_navagraha_at_Banteay_Sr
ei
Since the 15th century, Buddhists have used the temple and visitors today will see, among the
thousands of visitors, Buddhist monks and nuns who worship at the site. Angkor Wat has also
become an important symbol for the Cambodian nation.
Hindu god Vishnu is Worshipped in Angkor Wat today also.
Originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple by the
end of the 12th century. there is a Vishnu temple right at the entrance of Angor Wat Temple.
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Overall in earlier times focus was on hindu trinity god
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Brahma - the creator
Vishnu - the preserver
Mahesh(Shiva ) - the destroyer
You would still be able to find all three gods among angor wat temple.
But recently Vishnu & Shiva became more popular gods. Here are a fabulous collection of temples
– replete with tales from Ramayana and Mahabharata etched on its walls – that lie 2500 km from the
south Indian shores, as the crow flies. The temple complex – brilliant by all accord – was built in the
12th century by the local king Suryavaraman in a place that was named Yeshodharapura but
subsequently renamed Angkor. If all the names sound so Indian, then don’t be surprised: the king
was by descent related to the Cholas who ruled from present day Tamil Nadu. Our local guide Arjun
tells us that Angkor Wat is Vishnu loka, the abode of the preserver of the universe. It later became a
Buddhist temple and even today the idols of the Sakyamuni adorn the temple and are worshipped
daily here in Cambodia.
Cambodia's Hinduism can be traced back to the Funan Kingdom which ruled between 100BC
and 500AD. During this period, kings worshiped Vishnu and Shiva. When the Khmer Empire
came to power, Hinduism remained the dominating religion until Jayavarman VII (reigned 11811218). Spread of Hinduism
Hinduism and Judaism were historically not that intent on evangelism. Both these religions
have more cultural/ethnic roots. Like the pagan religions of Europe & the religions of China, the
missionary zeal was absent. There is nothing in the religious texts that makes it a duty of the
followers to spread the religion. Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century (1135BC). Estimated construction time of the temple is 30 years by King Suryavarman II. He was
one of the greatest ones from Khmer Empire. It was build as a state temple. Although originally
build as a Hindu temple dedicated to Supreme Lord Vishnu, later on it got converted as Buddhist
temple, when Khmers adopted Buddhism as a state religion.
At the western entrance of Angkor Wat stands 5 meters tall statue of Lord Vishnu, known locally
as Ta Reach. It is carved from a single piece of sandstone and is draped with colorful clothing
and offerings from pilgrims visiting the site. This standing stone statue has eight arms and the
head of Buddha. When Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple, the head of Lord Vishnu was
replaced with the head of Buddha.
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In fact the entire stretch of South East Asia from Indonesia to Cambodia is strewn with remains of
Indian influence. Travelers would not have missed that Bangkok’s airport is
called Suvarnabhoomi and the entrance of the airport depicts Amrit Manthan, the churning of the sea
by devas to extract the elixir of life. The Indian influence in Indonesia –whose tourist haven of Bali is
a Hindu majority province, is something that is fairly well known.
But the Indian history lessons taught in our schools and colleges depict nothing of this Hindu,
Buddhist and ancient Indian influence on this region. Instead all that it depicts is the continual
invasion of India from north-west borders and how hordes upon hordes entered and pillaged the
plains of Hindustan. Soon these invading armies started settling in the regions around Delhi and thus
begun the Delhi sultanate. This was followed by the Mughals whose 180 year rule between 1530 and
1707 was the high-water mark of Indian prosperity in medieval India. Everybody in India has been
exposed to Akbar and in college studying economic history (as a side course in Economics) I was
exposed to the agrarian revenue system of the Mughals and how it was established by the great
Mughal. I also learnt that agricultural productivity in those days was high, in fact higher than pre
green revolution levels.
Hindu temples are important places for Hindu culture, religion, and traditions. They are
often visited on auspicious occasions as part of pilgrimages rather than as a regular practice.
Hindus, in diaspora or dispersed communities, see temples as important social environments
where they can meet other members of their community to strengthen social bonds. Unlike other
religions, visiting temples for worship is not a mandate for the Hindus. They have home shrines
where they can partake in home puja, which is part of their dharma. In Hinduism, dharma means
morality, duty or virtue and refers to the power which upholds the universe or society.
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With major Hindu Complexes around the world, each of them holds a strong historical
significance, and some are even named after gods. Here are some of the biggest and most
impressive Hindu temple complexes in the world.
Only Hindus knew well what lays in the ruins and living of Angkor Wat, I would not be amused
if they would stake religious claims on Cambodia. In spite of numerous national calamities and
tragedies, the spirit of the country is witnessed in the Angkor Wat.
Temples of Angkor: The massive and greatest Angkor Wat stands out against any Hindu temple
of the Indian Sub Continent. Built around the Hindu fable of ‘Samudra Mathan’, the temple is
among the few relics which has remained a religious site ever since it was founded. Many other
temple complexes show a strong Hindu presence in the region, both Shaivites and Vashnavites,
owing to the strong trade domination kings from India had over most of South East Asia at that
time, including Myanmar, Southern Vietnam, Cambodia and Sumatra. The Angkor Wat Temple,
architecturally oriented to the west, is designed in the form of galleries and ‘South Indian
mountain style’ temples, which represents Mt Sumeru - the mountain used for the churning of
the ocean of milk. The galleries exhibit carvings from Ramayana and Mahabharata, a true eye
tonic for a Hindu devout.
Bayon Temple- Though the Angkor Wat temple is more enormous and the most well preserved
of the lot, there are also some significant ‘not-to-be-missed’ temples in the complex. The temples
in the Angkor Thom complex such as Bayon, which was built by Mahayana Budhhist king
Jayawarman VII, and exhibits what looks like a mixture of Lord Buddha and the kings own
image on every tower of the temple.
Priest doing Puja at Bayon
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Restore puja in Angkor Wat by priests of Sivakaivalya lineage
The excerpts are taken from the authoritative work by French Epigraphist Prof. George Coedes
in his French book translated as: The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, University of Hawaii
Press, Honolulu, 1964, p.73, pp. 99-102, p.113:
[Quote]The inscriptions in Khmer, which begin to appear in greater number, have preserved an
archaic stage of this language (Sanskrit), a language that has undergone much less change over
fourteen centuries than have Indo-European languages during the same period...The major Hindu
sects seem to have co-existed in Cambodia as in India proper, and among those already
mentioned we find the Sivaite sect of the Pasupatas and the Vishnuite sect of the Pancharatras,
each of which in its sphere played a leading role in the Angkor period...Foundation of the
Kingdom of Angkor, the Sailendras in Sumatra, First Three Quarters of the Ninth Century. The
beginnings of the Kingdom of Angkor: Jayavarman II (802-50)
The liberation of Cambodia from the suzerainty of Java was the work of Jayavarman II, founder
of the Kingdom of Angkor...the principal episodes of his reign are related in some detail in an
inscription of the eleventh century on the stele of Sdok Kak Thom (Louis Finot, 'L'inscription de
Sdok kak Thom.' BBulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient (BEFEO), XV, 2, pp.51-106.
Coedes and Pierre Dupont, 'Les steles de Sdok Kak Thom, Phnom Sandak et Prah Vihar,'
BEFEO, XLIII, pp. 56 ff.)...It was at Indrapura, it seems, that the young king took into his
services as royal chaplain a Brahman scholar, Srikaivalya, who was to folow him in all his
changes of residence and to become the first chief priest of a new cult, that of the Devaraja, or
'God-King'...'When they arrived at the Eastern District,' says the stele of Sdok Kak Thom, 'the
king bestowed an estate and a village called Kuti upon the family of the royal chaplain.' The
'eastern district' refers to the region to the east of Angkor. The name Kuti survives in the name of
Banteay Kdei, a late monument which was built near a much earlier one. 'Later,' continues the
stele, 'the king reigned in the city of Hariharalaya. The royal chaplain also settled in this city, and
the members of his family were appointed to the corps of pages.'... 'Afterwards,' the inscription
says, 'the king went to found the city of Amarendrapura, and the royal chaplain also settled in the
city to serve the king.'...'Then,' continues the inscription, the king went to reign at
Mahendraparvata, and the Lord Sivakaivalya followed him, establishing himself in this capital to
serve the king as before. Then a Brahman named Hiranyadama, learned in the magical science,
came from Janapada (Probably Prasad Khna in Mlu Prei -- Coeses, 'Le Site de Janaada', BEFEO,
XLIII, p.8) at the king's invitation to perform a ritual designed to ensure that the country of
Kambujas would no longer be dependent on Java and that there would be no more than one
sovereign who was chakravartin (universal monarch). This Brahman performed a ritual
according to the sacred Vinasikha and established a Lord of the Universe who was the king
(Sanskrit: Devaraja). This Brahman taught the sacred Vinasikha, the Nayottara, the Sammoha,
and the Siraccheda. He recited them from beginning to end in order that they might be written
down and taught to Lord Sivakaivalya, and he ordained Lord Sivakaivalya to perform the ritual
of the Devaraja. The king and the Brahman Hiranyadama took an oath to employ the family of
Lord Sivakaivalya to conduct the worship of the Devaraja and not allow others to conduct it. The
Lord Sivakaivalya, the chief priest (purohita), assigned all his relatives to this cult.'...A number
of families were to trace their first ancestor back to his reign, and several charters of the
endowment of land ownership attribute their origin to his reign...the king (Yasovarman) had a
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series of monasteries built for the various sects that his religious eclecticism permitted him to
divide his favors among: the Sivaite Brahmanasrama for the Saiva, the Pasupatas, and the
Tapasvins, the Vishnuite Vaishnavasrama for the Pancharatras, the Bhagavatas and the Sattvatas;
and perhaps also a Buddhist Saugasrama, the stele of which, moved from its original site, has
been found at Tep Pranam in Angkor Thom. (Coedes, 'La stele de Tep Pranam,' Journal
Asiatique, March-April 1908, p.203). [Unquote]
Restoring puja in Angkor wat-http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2018/03/restore-puja-inangkor-wat-by-priests.html
Sdok Kok Thom inscription K.194 identifies Divakarapandita as rajahotar of Suryavarman II. He
had also served the previous two kings Jayavarman VI and Dharanindravarman I. (Coedes G. &
Dupont P., Les steles de Sdok Kak Thom, Phnom Sandak et Prah Vihar, BEFEO, XLIII, 1943:
145). It is a reasonable assumption that the themes and narratives of sculptures of the temple
were chosen from Itihasa-Purana with the guidance of Divakarapandita.
From S'ivapada of Chams to Vishnuloka of Suryavarman II is a remarkable syncretism of the
traditions which have been documented in Indian traditions documented in Pancaratra samhitas
(e.g. Sattvata and Ahirbudhnya Samhitas), Ramayana and Mahabharata -- and adapted in Angkor
Wat and associated sites of the Cham-Kampuchean-Thai peoples who orgnized themselves into a
state, Rajyam governed by dharma-dhamma Hindu-Bauddham continuum.
The term pancaratra denotes 5 principal subjects: 1. Ontology (cosmology); 2. liberation; 3.
devotion; 4. yoga; 5. objects of sense. Pancaratra Sattra is mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana
(SB) XIII.6.1 which refers to Purusa Narayana as having conceived the idea of Pancaratra Sattra
(continued performance of rites for five days) to obtain superiority over all beings and becoming
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all beings. Chapter XIII.3.4 of SB details how He, by sacrificing Himself, actually became the
whole world. (p.25). Five-fold self-manifestation of paramaatman Mahesvara occurs by means of
His Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryamin and Arca forms. Ahirbudhnya Samhita notes at the end
of the 11th adhyaya that the Paramaatman Himself framed out of the original S'astra 'the system
(tantra) called Pancaratra describing His (fivefold) nature known as Para (life-period of a
Brahman), Vyuha, Vibhava, etc." and 'that highest Will of Visnu called Sudarsana through which
He split into five, appearing five-mouthed."
The Vaishnava Agamas are: Pancharatra Agama and Vaikhanasa Agama. Some of the Samhitas
are: * Agastya-Samhita * Aniruddha-Samhita * Ahirbudhnya Samhita * Brahma Samhita *
Brihat-Brahma-Samhita * Isvara-Samhita * Kapinjala-Samhita * Gautama-Samhita *
Citrasikhandi-Samhita * Jayakhya-Samhita * Jayottara-Samhita * Nalakubara-Samhita *
Naradiya-Samhita * Pancaprasna-Samhita * Parama-Samhita * Paramapurusa-Samhita *
Parasara-Samhita * Padma-Samhita * Paramesvara-Samhita * Purusottama-Samhita * PauskaraSamhita * Bharadvaja-Samhita * Bhargava-Tantra * Mayavaibhava-Samhita * MarkandeyaSamhita * Laksmi Tantra * Varaha-Samhita * Vasistha-Samhita * Visva-Samhita * VisvamitraSamhita * Visnutattva-Samhita * Visnu Tantra * Visnu-Samhita * Visvaksena-Samhita *
Vihagendra-Samhita * Vrddha-Padma-Samhita * Sriprasna-Samhita * Sanatkumara-Samhita *
Sattvata-Samhita * Hayasirsa-Samhita This list is mainly based on the list of the Sanskrit texts
from the H. Daniel Smith Agama Collection, Cleveland, Ohio. Of these Samhitas in Srirangam
SriRanganatha Swamy temple "SriParamesvara Samhita" a variant of paushkara samhita is
followed and in practice. In SriKanchipuram Varadaraja Swamy temple "Sri Jayakhya Samhita"
is followed and in practice. In SriMelukote Cheluva Narayana Swamy temple "Sri ISwara
samhita" is followed and in practice. In Tiruvellarai Sri Pundarikaksha Swamy Temple "Sri
Paadma Samhita" is followed and in practice. In Tirukkudantai (kumbakONam) Aravamudhan
Sarngapani is worshipped with "Sriprasna samhita" Rest of the places use pAdma samhita or its
variants. Gaudiya Vaishnavism follow Brahma Samhita and "Naradiya Samhita"
Pancaratra Agamas:
There are three main agamic schools - the Saiva, Sakta and Vaisnava - and each has their own
Pancaratras. Among the Vaisnavas the followers of Sri-sampradaya (Sri Vaisnavas) draw a lot
from the agamas. All of these agamas comprise four topics in general:
Jnana or knowledge; kriya (service such as construction of temples, installation of deities); carya
or conduct (such as the observance of daily rites, festivals); and yoga or devotion, or attention.
Common features of all agamas:
(a) They accept the existence of a supreme being with a predominant male or female aspect.
(b) The existence of undivided souls.
(c) The reality of the objective universe.
(d) Devotion is the only means of emancipation.
Nearly nine centuries after the world’s tallest Hindu shrine – Angkor Wat temple - was built in
Cambodia, its replica is all set to come up in Bihar’s Vaishali district. The foundation stone for
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an identical shrine of Angkor Wat – was laid near Hajipur (Vaishali) recently. The proposed
temple will come up on the sprawling campus of 15 acres of land on Hajipur-Biddupur road at an
estimated cost of Rs 100 crore. “The temple, much like the original structure at Angkor
(Cambodia), will be five-storeyed and have five shikhas.. o be named Virat Angkor Wat Ram
Mandir, the temple near Hajipur will be spread over one lakh square feet and have deities such as
Rama-Sita, Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesh, Surya and 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
Slaves in Cambodia were treated as ‘goods’ possessed by an owner. They were gifted to temples
along with lands and other goods.
A case suggesting two dependent parents is recorded on inscription K904,A1.23,
“me kandan, ta kandan ku Kandan” meaning mother of Kandan, father of Kandan.
Kandan is a Tamil name derivedfrom Sanskrit Skanda.
Va and Ku are used frequently in inscriptions, Va is Mr and Ku is Mrs or Miss.
In folk tales Kandhan , with Tamil spelling, Kam Raj, Krishna Kumar and Suvanna Kumar (
Swarnakumara) are used. Though these names are Tamilized Sanskrit words these are more
common in Tamil Nadu than other parts of India.
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Order of details in Inscriptions
Pre-Angkor inscriptions followed the same order in giving details like India. Here also we see
Indian influence.
The date or name of the reigning king;
The title and name of donors;
The name of the god;
Names of the people from whom the donor obtained land to offer to the foundation;
The extent, location, capacity of the donated rice fields;
The names of the donated slaves with an indication of their duties;
Details of the subsistence given to the religious personnel;
Details of other lands given to the foundation, orchards, market, garden etc
List of precious objects given to the foundation;
The statement s that the revenues are to be combined with those of another foundation ;
Warning of punishment for anyone using or abusing the belongings of the foundation.
King Vikramaditya
‘Satra keng kantrai’ is a collection of legal tales known also in Laos, Thailand and Burma. In
each case the dispute cannot be solved by a mere judge and has to be referred to the king. His
judgments are wise and fair. When two women claim to be the mother of one child, for example,
he settles the case very much as Solomon did.
It is like our Vikramaditya, a wise and just king.
Tamil Anangu
The frequent appearances in the stories of spirits ‘anak ta’ always associated with a specific
locality such as a strangely shaped tree trunk or huge rock may be compared with ‘Thaakku
Anangu’ in Sangam Tamil literature and Brahmarakshas in Sanskrit literature. This shows clear
Indian influence. (Thaaku Anangu= Anak Ta)
When we look at all these stories we come across Sanskrit or Tamil words or parallel Indian
stories. That shows even Solomon’s stories are borrowed from India and adapted.
Dhananjay
‘Themen Chey’ is a story known in Cambodia, Burma and Thailand. It is the corrupted form of
Dhananjayan, one of the popular names of Arjuna. Also a common name among business
community of Tamil Nadu. In the story, he is a poor boy who rises first to be the servant of a rich
man, then to attend upon the king, and finally to be the most eminent man in the land.
–subham–
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Brahmin Power in South East Asian Countries
Written by London swaminathanDate: 10 JUNE 2018
Pictures shown here are taken from various sources such as Facebook friends, Books,
Google and newspapers; thanks. Pictures may be subject to copyright laws.
In Cambodia, Brahmins maintained powerful hierarchy for many centuries. They were well
organised. They came there around fifth century and increased in number due to a constant flow
of immigrants from India. During the reign of Yasovarman 889 CE, Saivism was predominant.
We learn from the following inscription that they enjoyed a position similar to that which was
theirs in India.
The king,well versed in kingly duties, performed Koti Homa and Yajnas, for which he gave the
priest s magnificent presents of jewels, gold etc. The cult of the Royal God, though founded by
Jayavarman II, 802 CE, did not reach the heights of its development until two centuries after
wards, and was especially associated with Vaishnavism and the temple of Angkor Wat. This cult
led Brahmins enjoying even more exalted position . The priest hood became hereditary in the
family of Sivakaivalya, who enjoyed immense power. This sacerdotal dynasty almost threw the
royal dynasty into the shade. Brahmins were depicted on the reliefs of Angkor Wat and Coedes
has identified Drona and Visvamitra amongst them. In one of the relief s which illustrates a royal
procession, it is interesting that the Brahmins were the only onlookers who do not prostrate
before the king, as was also the case in India. In the reliefs aristocracy wear the chignon and the
lower castes short hair.
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One remarkable sign of the power of the Brahmins was that they had even marriage alliances
with the princesses. Bakus, the descendants of ancient Brahmins, chose one from them to
succeed if the royal family failed.
As early as the reign of Jayavarman V, Buddhism and Hinduism got mixed and the Brahmin
purohitas were expected to be well versed in Buddhist prayers and rites. But the Brahmin s of
Cambodia never sank so low as did those of Campa (modern Vietnam). In the Po Nagar
inscription of Campa, we read that the feet of the king were worshiped,even by Brahmins and
priests.
In Thailand
Though the religion of Thailand was Buddhism the royalty recruited Brahmin s from Cambodia.
For centuries Brahmin s enjoyed quite an important position.The famous inscription dated about
1361 CE of King Dharma Raja mentioned the kings knowledge of the Vedas and of astronomy.
The inscription on the Siva statue found at Kamben bejra recorded the desire of King
Dharmasokaraja,(1510 CE), to exalt both Hinduism and Buddhism.
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Brahmins had access to sacred books and law books and so they served the royal s in various
capacities. The epigraph ic records demonstrate the powerful influence of purohitas in Burma
and Cambodia, where they often served under successive rulers and provided continuity to the
government in troubled times. In ninth century Angkor, for instance, Indravarman I had the
service of Sivasoma, who studied VedantA under Shankara.
Indian Brahmins are occasionally mentioned in the south East Asian inscription s and one
wondered how Brahmins travelled abroad when Manu and other lawmakers ban foreign travel
for Brahmins. These prohibitions may have had little practical effect, and would n of have
deterred ambitious men lured by the hope of honour and fortune in a distant land. In fact they
were invited by some rulers. Not only in the Hindu courts in Cambodia but also in the courts of
Pagan in Burma and Sukothai in Thailand, the Brahmins conducted great ceremonies,such as the
Royal Consecration and-functioned as ministers and counsellors . The grand ceremony in Pagan
required the services of numerous Brahmins.
In Cambodia Jayavarman VIII built a temple for the scholar priest Jayamangalaartha and
likewise for the Brahmin Vidyesavid. Who became Royal sacrificial Priest. The Chinese visitor
Chou Ta kuan refers to the presence of Brahmins wearing sacred thread. We have evidence of
use of Sanskrit even in Sri Lanka. Thirteenth century work Kundamala was composed in
Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, according to some scholars.
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Religious Kingship in Cambodia and India:The Role and Status Purohita (King’s Priest) in
the context of the Devarāja (god-king) Tradition, Nalini Rao,2017
In Kāmbujadeśa, the terms, paṇdita, ācārya, guru, rājaguru and rājapurohita were normally
associated with Tāntric priests which was not the case in India. This requires an examination of
the office of the priest in the context of Tāntrism and the devarāja cult. The Khmers received
Tāntric Śaivism in two waves – the first during the Pre- Angkorean period, 7th to early 8th
centuries CE, and the second from 9th to 14th centuries CE. The first period consisted of
followers of the Atimārga tradition, with the Paśupatas, the Pancarātrikas, Lakuliśas/
Kālamukhas and Somasiddhāntins; the second period included the practitioners of the
Mantramārga tradition correspoinding to Āgamic or Tāntric Śaivism, principally that of the
Śaivasiddhantikas, the followers of the Siddhānta.22 Inscriptional evidences from Kāmbujadeśa
clearly point to the presence of priests belonging to these paths. The early Phnom Preah Vihar
inscription of Bhavavarman mentions the royal purohita, Vidyapuśpa, as a Paśupatāchārya...and
Hiranyadāma, the brāhmin is said to have taught the Tāntric texts of Vīnāśikha, Nayottara,
Saṃmoha and Śiraścheda (Tantrās) to Śivakaivalya who could perform the ritual viddhi in the
presence of the kamraten jagat ta rāja, which was the royal devarāja (ritual) based on the four
Tāntric texts.23
Purohita and the Devarāja Cult The devarāja cult played a central role in the history of the rise of
Khmer kingly authority and power. It has been variously interpreted, as a god-king cult, ritual,
temple, deified king, etc. According to Mabbett, devarāja was not similar to the worship of the
king,31 while Filliozat contends that the term did not refer to the kings of Angkor but to God
Siva as ‘King of the Gods.’ However, the cult appears to be a gradual development, originating
from the king being an overlord,32 to one who accomplished the siddhi of success. Later, Khmer
kings were identified with their favorite god even during their lifetimes, with either Śiva or
Durga, according to their gender,33 and finally the cult was assimilated into the tutelary gods of
Bhadreśvara and Tribhuvaneśvara implying the divinity of kings.34 In India, although Hindu
kingship had been regarded as a divine institution, (as described in the Manusmriti, Nārada
Smriti, Mahābhārata, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa and other texts), a comparison of kings to gods did
not imply divine kingship or actual divinity of kings, but a king with special qualities and
essence, lineage, and virtues. In Kāmbujadeśa the devarāja cult was closely associated with the
divinity of the king, which imparted politicoreligious benefits of legitimacy to kingly power. It
was an extraordinary means devised by the priest, when living kings as rulers of the earth
became the representatives and part of the divine ruler or devarāja. It exalted the status of both
the king and the purohita, whose genius lay in its creative transformation into an integral system
within its kingship. The Family of the Purohita It is interesting to find that in Kāmbujadeśa, the
office of the purohita, apart from being hereditary, could pass down the line of sister’s son,
which was the case in kingly families as well. In the Sdok Kak Thom inscription of Jayavarman
II, of 1053 CE, Hiranyadāma, a brāhmin agreed that the right to conduct the “worship of the god
should pass from
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Śivakaivalya to men or women in his maternal line.35 The priestly families in Cambodia
exercised even hereditary rights as well, to provide the religious functionaries. For instance,
Atmaśiva who belonged to the family of Śivakaivalya, was the purohita of Jayavarman V (9681000 CE). His hotṛ, who belonged to the family of Pranāvatman, was Nārayana, brother of
Sankara who had served as a hotṛ under Rājendravaman (944-968 CE.). Some of the important
priestly families, who were also in the service of the king were the Saptadevakula and
Ānanditapura hereditary families.36 Furthermore, a long inscription recounts the lineage of
Śivakaivalya under Jayavarman and his successors till Śadāśiva in Udayādityavarman II’s reign
(1050- 1066 CE).37 A further evidence comes from the priest, Śivācarya who descended from
the family of Śivakaivalya and furnished hereditary priests. Even more striking is that,
Sivāchārya is said to have continued to be a priest for both Jayavarman and Udayādityavarman
(1050-1066 CE).38 We also come across the phenomenon of the purohita having marriage
alliances with royalty, such as Suryavarman I (1006-50 CE) who took his purohita Sadāśiva out
of the religious state and married him to a sister of Suryavarman’s own queen; on his marriage
he is said to have relinquished the hereditary charge of the purohita of the devarāja cult.39 Apart
from the relation to the kingly families by marriage, the purohita was rewarded with valuable
gifts, such as a golden palanquin, fans, parasols, royal symbols, servants and lands.40 Such a
pre-eminent position, leads us to investigate into the concept of the royal advisor or rājaguru.
The Rājapurohita and the Rājaguru.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321904720_Religious_Kingship_in_Cambodia_and_In
diaThe_Role_and_Status_Purohita_King%27s_Priest_in_the_context_of_the_Devaraja_godking_Tradition
Priests Uphold a Unique and Royal TraditionSamantha Melamed and Kuch Naren
October 31, 2005
Centuries ago in the chambers of Angkor Wat and Bayon temple, Brahman priests serving Angkorian kings presided over sacred ceremonies.
Descendants of the Indian priest caste who brought their religion to Cambodia centuries before
Buddhism took root, the Brahmans served as mystics, clairvoyants, advisers and clergy.
They passed down their faith from one generation of men to the next, in a chain of tradition that
withstood centuries of warring regimes and even the cultural destruction wreaked by the Khmer
Rouge.
“Cambodia has Brahmanism in its history,” Ly Daravuth, director of Reyum Institute, explained.
“When the Indian entrance became effective, it brought in the Brahmans. Although there was
Buddhism, [there] has been Brahmanism all along—the state religion and the king’s religion.
Brahmanism has always been part of the Cambodian royalty,” he said.
Now, the burden of upholding that royal tradition falls on the gaunt, hunched shoulders of Kang
Ken, Cambodia’s head Brahman priest and a civil servant in the Ministry of the Royal Palace.
With his tall frame wrapped in the traditional white shirt and black trousers, and his long,
graying hair tied in a tight knot, Kang Ken, 55, leads seven other priests known as the Bakou
19
Borahet, the Brahmans of the King’s court.
Puri,
See also B. N. (1958). BRAHMANISM IN ANCIENT KAMBUJADEŚA. Proceedings of the Indian History
Congress, 21, 95–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44145174
20
In Indian tradition of Hinduism and Bauddham, Itihasa-Purana were considered the "fifth
Veda".(Brhadaranyaka Upanisad 2.4.10, 4.1.2, 4.5.11.) Itihasa means 'that which occurred'.
Purana (Sanskrit: पुराण, meaning "ancient" or "old")are defined with "Panca-laksana"
(Sanskrit: "Five distinguishing marks or contents") which expand itihasa to provide an
account of the history of creation and cosmology, combined with a chronology of the
families of great personages of history, and dynastic histories:
Sarga—The
creation
of
the
universe.
Pratisarga—Secondary
creations,
mostly
re-creations
after
dissolution.
Vamśa—Genealogy
of
gods
and
sages.
Manvañtara—The creation of the human race and the first human beings.
Vamśānucaritam—Dynastic histories.(Matsya Purana 53.65)
In the ancient Indian tradition, two great epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are
known as itihasa.
Traditionally, it is said that there are eighteen Mahāpuranas and eighteen Upapuranas (Great
and Additional Puranas).
Scholars read from itihasa and Purana; tell their stories, usually in Katha sessions in a
temple.
Such Katha sessions are embellished as visual narratives in the exquisite sculptures of
Angkor Wat. Many facets of Vyûha are represented in the sculptures.
Ahirbudhnya Samhita (see the embedded introduction to the samhita) discusses the Vyûha.
This Samhit also mentions Jayakhya and Sattvata Samhita [which in turn mentions Pauskara,
Varaha and Prajapatya (Brahma)], all of which constitute the authoritative Pancaratra
scripture. As noted in the introduction, the ideal Pancaratra Samhita, like the Saiva Agamas,
is said to consist of four 'quarters' (Paada) teaching respectively (1) jnaana, knowledge; (2)
yoga, concentration; (3) kriyaa (making); and (4) caryaa, doing. "By Making is meant
everything connected with the construction and consecration of temples (mandira-nirmaana)
and images (pratistha-vidhi), and by Doing, the religious and social observances
[domestic/daily observances (samskaara, aahnika), public festivals (utsava), social rules
(varnasrama-dharma)]." (p.22) This four-fold classification is confirmed by Padma Tantra
Visnutttva Samhita which have jnaana paada, yoga paada, kriyaa paada and caryaa paada.
Similarly, Hayasirsa Samhita has 4 kaandas: Pratistha, Samkarsa, Linga and Saura, the first
two dealing with supplement (consecration), worship (puja).
The term pancaratra denotes 5 principal subjects: 1. Ontology (cosmology); 2. liberation; 3.
devotion; 4. yoga; 5. objects of sense. Pancaratra Sattra is mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana
(SB) XIII.6.1 which refers to Purusa Narayana as having conceived the idea of Pancaratra
Sattra (continued performance of rites for five days) to obtain superiority over all beings and
becoming all beings. Chapter XIII.3.4 of SB details how He, by sacrificing Himself, actually
became the whole world. (p.25). Five-fold self-manifestation of paramaatman Mahesvara
occurs by means of His Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Antaryamin and Arca forms. Ahirbudhnya
Samhita notes at the end of the 11th adhyaya that the Paramaatman Himself framed out of
the original S'astra 'the system (tantra) called Pancaratra describing His (fivefold) nature
21
known as Para (life-period of a Brahman), Vyuha, Vibhava, etc." and 'that highest Will of
Visnu called Sudarsana through which He split into five, appearing five-mouthed."
The Ahirbudhnya Samhita illustrates the days and nights of the Paramaatman by an image of
dazzling beauty: during the Day the universe is like a sky sprinkled all over with cirrus
clouds -- the Brahmic Eggs, of which there are koti-arbudas of koti-oghas (an unimaginably
high number); while during the Night it resembles a sky without a single cloud. (p. 29).
"In the eighth and last part of the Cosmic Night (paurusi ratri) the great S'akti of Visnu,
awakened as it were by His command, 'opens her eyes'. This unmesa 'opening of the eyes',
says the Samhita, is like the appearance of a lightning in the sky. And it means that the S'akti,
which was so far indistinguishable from the 'windless atmosphere' or 'motionless ocean' of
the Absolute, existing only as it were in a form of 'darkness' or 'emptiness', suddenly, 'by
some independent resolve' (kasmaccit svatantryat), flashes up, with an infinitely small part of
herself, in her dual aspect of kriya (acting) and bhuti (becoming), that is Force and
Matter...The Kriya S'akti is 'the Sudarsana portion of Lakshmi'; for it is identical with Visnu's
'Will-to-be' symbolised by the Sudarsana or discus...Through three pairs of what are called
the Six Gunas (shadguna), to wit: Knowledge, Lordship, Power, etc. does the Pure Creation
(or first stage) of (His) becoming takes place. Now, the six Gunas are described as follows:
The first Guna is jnaana, 'knowledge', defined as 'non-inert, self-conscious, eternal, allpenetrating', that is: omniscience. 'It is both the essence and an attribute of Brahman', for
which reason the remaining five Gunas are occasionally called 'attributes of jnaana'. Jnaana
is, of course, also the essence of Lakshmi. The second Guna is aisvarya 'lordship', that is
'activity based on independence', 'unimpeded activity'...The third Guna is s'akti 'ability,
potency', namely to become the material cause of the world (jagat-prakriti-bhaava)...The
fourth Guna is bala, 'strength' defined as 'absence of fatigue' (srama-haani), or 'fatigulessness
in connection with the production of the world', or 'power to sustain all things', 'sustaining
power' (dhaarana-saamarthya). The fifth Guna is veerya 'virility', that is 'unaffectedness
(changelessness, vikaara-viraha) in spite of being the material cause...The sixth and last Guna
is tejas 'splendour, might', which is said to mean 'self-sufficiency (sahakaari-anapeksa) and
'power to defeat others' (paraabhibhavana-saamarthya)...The six Gunas are the material, or
instruments, as it were of Pure Creation (1) in their totality, and (2)by pairs...In their totality
the Gunas make up the body of Vasudeva, the highest personal divinity as well as that of his
consort Lakshmi, in the way that these two are constantly seen by the free aatman inhabiting
the Highest Space...The Pancaratra teaches a chain, as it were, of emanations; each
emanation, except the first, originating from an anterior emanation; and thus the favourite
image of the process has, with the Pancaratrins, become that of one flame proceeding from
another flame. Any production, up to the formation of the Egg, is imagined as taking place in
this way. The first three (or, including Vasudeva, four) beings thus coming into existence are
called Vyuhas. This word is a combination of the root uuh 'to shove' and the preposition vi
'asunder' and apparently refers to the 'shoving asunder' and apparently refers to the 'shoving
asunder' of the six Gunas into three pairs...each Vyuha is Visnu Himself with His six Gunas,
of which, however, two only, in each case, become manifest. Abiding by the image, we may
say that each new flame has for its fuel another pair of Gunas. The Vyuhas are named after
the elder brother, the son, and the grandson, respectively of Krsna, namely Samkarsana (or
Balarama, Baladeva), Pradyumna, and Aniruddha and the pairs of Gunas connected with
these are respectively: jnaana and bala; aisvarya and veerya; s'akti and tejas."
22
Lakshmi Tantra explains that Samkarsana, etc. Vyuha are, as it were, the soul (jeeva), the
mind (buddhi, manas), and the organ of self-assertion of the 'playing' (that is,
creating)Vasudeva. Vishvaksena Samhita declares Samkarsana 'is acting as the
superintendent of all the aatman'; Pradyumna 'is the superintendent of the mind (manas); he
is declared to be of the nature of the mind (manomaya); and Aniruddha is declared as the
creator of the mis'ra-varga, that is, of the aatman dominated by Rajas and Tamas, thus seen
as the adhishthaatr of the Ahamkaara.
From each Vyuha descend three sub-vyuhas (vyuhantar, maartyantara), namely (1) from
Vasudeva: Kesava, Narayana and Madhava; (2) from Samkarsana: Govinda, Visnu, and
Madhusudana; (3) from Pradyumna: Trivikrama, Vamana and S'ridhara; and (4) from
Aniruddha: Hrsikesa, Padmanabha and Damodara. These twelve are the 'Lords of the
months', that is the tutelar deities (adhidevata) of the twelve months and the twelve suns and
as such play an important part in diagrams (yantras), etc. (p.41) Another set of twelve
Vidyes'varas descending from the Vyuhas is mentioned...Padma Tantra...: from the Vyuha
Vasudeva springs another Vasudeva, from the latter Purushottama, and from him Janardana;
similarly from Samkarsana another Samkarsana, Adhokshaja, and Upendra; and from
Aniruddha another Aniruddha, Acyuta and Krsna. These twelve are enumerated after the
twelve sub-vyuhas and called, together with the latter, 'the twenty-four forms' (caturvims'atimurtayah). To Pure Creation further belong the so-called Vibhavas (manifestations) or
Avataras (descents), that is incarnations of Paramaatman or His Vyuhas or Sub-Vyuhas or
angels among this or that class of terrestrial beings (vibhavo naama tat-tat-sajaateeya-roopan
aavirbhaavah). The principal Vibhavas according to Ahirbudhnya Samhit are the following
39: 1. Padmanabha; 2. Dhruva; 3. Ananta; 4. S'aktyaatman; 5. Madhusudana; 6.
Vidyadhideva; 7. Kapila; 8. Vis'varupa; 9. Vihangama; 10. Krodaatman; 11. Badabaavaktra;
12. Dharma; 13. Vagis'vara; 14. Ekarnavas'aayin; 15. Kamathes'vara; 16. Varaha; 17.
Narasimha; 18. Piyusaharanin;19. S'ripati; 20. Kantaatman; 21. Rahujit; 22. Kalanemighna;
23. Parijatahara; 24 Lokanatha; 25. S'antaatman; 26. Dattatraya; 27. Nyagrodhas'aayin; 28.
Ekas'rngatanu; 29. Vaamanadeha; 30. Trivikrama; 31. Nara; 32. Narayana; 33. Hari; 34.
Krsna; 35. Paras'urama; 36. Rama Dhanurdhara; 37. Vedavid; 38. Kalkin; 39.
Paataalas'ayana.(p.42)
Pancaratra and Angkor Wat Temple
A follower of Visnu is enjoined to perform the sraddha rites with the remnants of food first
offered to Visnu. The Padma-purana enjoins that deities other than Visnu and the fathers may
be propitiated with food that has been first offered to Visnu. In that same text Narada says,
"Following the ordinances of the Sattvata School, the devotees first worshiped Visnu, the
God of gods, and with the remnants of such food worshiped the fathers." In the Brahmandapurana it is enjoined that the father's remain gratified for thousands of kalpas with rice cakes
mixed with sacred blossoms of tulasi, prepared with the remnants of food offered with
devotion to Visnu. In the Skanda-purana, Siva says, "Food should first be offered to Visnu
and then the very same food should be distributed to the minor deities and the fathers." In the
Purusottama-khanda of that same text, it is stated, "For avoiding defilement, the remnants of
food offered to Visnu should be mixed with the rice cakes to be offered to the fathers. Food
is rendered pure when sprinkled with the waters of the tulasi and when mixed with the food
offered to Visnu." In the course of a conversation between Brahma and Narada ithas been
23
made clear that the worship of Visnu alone is capable of releasing the fathers from the
suffering of hell." It is even stated that the performance of the sraddha rite is useless in the
age of Kali without first worshipping Visnu.
This series of quotations from various Puranas reflects the Pancaratrika idea that through a
person's sole reliance on Visnu all things that a human being would otherwise have to do
alone could be accomplished through the grace of God. The successful outcome of the
sraddha process was therefore, not dependant on the power of the ritual, the expertise of the
priest, precise timing, and availability of the articles, etc. but upon God alone. This approach
involved the 'handing over' of the fate of the soul to God.
According to this approach, food or water that is offered to the pitrs is first offered to Visnu
and thereby transformed into visnu-prasada. The word prasada means "mercy" or "grace."
Thus visnu-prasada is God's grace. This prasada of Visnu is then offered to the pitrs, who
now receive God's grace instead of mere food or water. In this way, the grace of God has the
power to elevate and sustain the pitrs in a manner that no human power can match. In the
case of a homa or havan, a ritual performed with fire, the fire is used as the "delivery system"
by which Visnu is first offered food. This food offering, which is now God's grace, is then
offered to the pitrs through the fire. It is thus Agnideva, the fire God, who acts as the link
between this world and the world of the pitrs.
Pitru Paksha ("fortnight of ancestors"), is the period when the family remembers all its
ancestors and offers Tarpan to them. This period falls just before the Navratri or Durga Puja
falling in the month of Ashwin (Hincu calendar). Mahalaya marks the end of the fortnightlong Tarpan to the ancestors. Mahalaya Tarpan is on September 27, 2011.
In Khmer tradition, Pchum Ben is celebrated between October 7 and 9 that is 14 and 15 of
Phutrobot (Bhadrapada) and 1 of Asuj [Phutrobot (Bhadrapada) and Asuj (Asvina) are lunar
months according to the following calendar of 12 months]:
24
Songkran
in
Thailand (saMkrama m. Sanskrit. संक्रमः The passage of a planetary body through the
zodiacal signs; दिनक्षये व्यतीपाते संक्रमे$र्कदिने$दप वा Bhāg.4.12.49.) संक्रमणम् 1 Concurrence.
-2 Transition, progress, passing from one point to another. -3 Passage. -4 The sun's passage
from one zodiacal sign to another. संक्रान्तः f. The passage of the sun or any planetary body
from one zodiacal sign into another.-- Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year, generally
celebrated as a water festival. Be prepared to get wet all over as revelers abound, ready to
soak
you
as
a
form
of
celebrating
this
season!
Songkran
2012
Friday,
13
April
2012
Saturday,
14
April
2012
Sunday, 15 April 2012
The Tamil New Year follows the nirayanam vernal equinox and generally falls on 13 or 14
April of the Gregorian year. 13 or 14 April marks the first day of the traditional Tamil
calendar and this remains a public holiday in both Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. Tropical
vernal equinox fall around 22 March, and adding 23 degrees of trepidation or oscillation to it,
we get the Hindu sidereal or Nirayana Mesha Sankranti (Sun's transition into nirayana
Aries). Hence, the Tamil calendar begins on the same date in April which is observed by
most traditional calendars of the rest of India - Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Orissa, Manipur,
Punjab etc. This also coincides with the traditional new year in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh Nepal and Thailand.
25
Pic at Left: King Jayavarman VII, National Museum, Phnom Penh, twelfth century. A
number of similar statues have been found, and are also presumed to be his likeness. There is
no intimation, in these statues, that the King was venerated or worshipped in a temple. In the
Pancaratra tradition of temple construction and consecration of murti-s, artistic
embellishments are invariably found in all murti-s to connote their sacredness (such as a
mukuta or ear or neck ornaments). Such embellishments are absent in the statues of King
Jayavarman VII, thus belying the hypotheses of some scholars who claim that some temples
were
'funerary
temples'.
Sdok Kok Thom inscription K.194 identifies Divakarapandita as rajahotar of Suryavarman
II. He had also served the previous two kings Jayavarman VI and Dharanindravarman I.
(Coedes G. & Dupont P.,Les steles de Sdok Kak Thom, Phnom Sandak et Prah Vihar,
BEFEO, XLIII, 1943: 145). It is a reasonable assumption that the themes and narratives of
sculptures of the temple were chosen from Itihasa-Purana with the guidance of
Divakarapandita.
Pic at RIGHT:n Soldiers descend from Mount S'ivapada. Inscription K.268 was
translated by E. Aymonier (1904) and George Coedes (1911). Represented twice are the
king, two of his ministers and the rajahotar. Total 19 dignitaries are shown: Vrah kmraten an
- VKA (His Lordship) are six; kamraten an - KA (Lord) are two and Anak sanjak AS(protectors of the king) are eleven. The inscription records 'tnvay kamraten an pandita'
('the presents from the honorable pandits'); 'samtac vrah pada kamraten an paravishnuloka na
stt nau vnam S'ivapada pi pancuh vala' ('His Majesty Paramavishnuloka, at the moment when
he is on Mt. S'ivapada to make the army descend'); VKA's are: 'Shri Virasinhavarman', 'Shri
Jayendravarman Ldau'; 'Shri Virendradhipativarman Chok Vakula'; 'Shri Virayudhavarman';
'Shri Mahipatindravaman Canlattai'; 'Shri Ranaviravarman'; 'Shri Rajasinhavarman';
'Narapatindravarman'; 'Shuradhiparivarman'; KA's are: 'Dhananjaya', 'Shri Varddha'; AS's
are: Kancas Pryak, Mat Gnan ti hau; Vidyashrama ti hau; Virajaya, Aso Vnya Chlan to hau.
Another message of the inscription is: 'Vrah pada kamraten Paramavishnuloka' ('The holy
26
feet of his Grace Paramavishnuloka'. King Suryavarman II stands on the royal elephant
turning his head back, accompanied by 15 parasols, five fans, six flywhisks, four banners and
a standard with a statuette of Vishnu on the shoulder of Garuda
A
carved pedestal supports a linga. Tra Kieu. Ht. 43 cm. (Courtesy Paisarn Priemmattawat).
Tra Kieu was known as Simhapura to the Chams. Glover (Glover, I.C., 1997, The
excavations of J.Y. Claeys at Tra Kieu, Central Vietnam, 1927-28 from the unpublished
archives of the EFEO, Parts and records in possession of the Claeys family, JSS 85: 173-86)
identified the settlement to the 5th and 6th centuries, with initial occupation in the last two or
three centuries BCE. A fragment of pottery from the lowest layer has been identified as
rouletted ware closely paralleling Arikamedu finds in India. This suggests maritime
exchange was in place during the late first millennium BCE. (cf. Charles Higham, Early
cultures of Mainland Southeast Asia, Chicago, Art Media Resources Ltd., p. 273)
Paramavishnuloka is a reference to the memory of the ancestor, Suryavarman II 'he who has
reached the realm of Vishnu'. All Suryavarman's ministers and associates are united on
Mount S'ivapada. Rajahotar's presence denotes a s'raddha observance (remembering the
ancestors). Vrah Vlen 'sacred fire' is carried in an ark on a type of palanquin, preceded by an
orchestra.
From S'ivapada of Chams to Vishnuloka of Suryavarman II is a remarkable syncretism of the
traditions which have been documented in Indian traditions documented in Pancaratra
samhitas (e.g. Sattvata and Ahirbudhnya Samhitas), Ramayana and Mahabharata -- and
adapted in Angkor Wat and associated sites of the Cham-Kampuchean-Thai peoples who
orgnized themselves into a state, Rajyam governed by dharma-dhamma Hindu-Bauddham
continuum.
27
Banteay Srei lintel, 10th century. Valin and Sugriva of Ramayana/
Royal sacred power derives from adherance to dharma-dhamma, the eternal, cosmic,
universal law. The sacredtemples of Angkor are a testament to the sacred power of dharmadhamma. Ancestors are deified and merit is earned by constructing temples, constructing
reservoirs
and
performing dharmic acts.
From Vishnuloka to S'ivapada, the function of the temple is to depict the steps for final
liberation and attainment of Vrah Vishnuloka. This panel is the closest one gets to a s'raddha,
an event venerating the ancestors with specific reference to royal associates in King
Suryavarman II's reign.
It will be an incomplete representation of the message of the temple to view it as a 'funerary
temple' for some kings of ancient Cambodia (cf. George Coedes, 1963,Angkor, an
introduction, London, OUP, p. 38). Nor is it valid to record that the parikrama
(circumambulation) of the temple praakaara has to be done counter-clockwise because in the
Indian historical tradition, Ramayana chronologically precedes Mahabharata.
28
Banteay Srei lintel, tenth century. Ravana shakes Moutn
Kailasa. Like Meru, it is shown as a temple-mountain, a pyramid with several layers. S'iva
and Parvati are enthroned on top. Below is a row of ascetics, people in masks and animals
fleeing in fear.
29
Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat depictions of Samudra
manthanam 92 asuras, 88 devas pulling the snake Vasuki.
Both the epics do recount the narrative of Samudra manthanam (churning of the
ocean).
The divinity common to both the epics is Hanuman. The parikrama is done as in any
Mandiram (temple) clockwise - starting with the Battle of Lanka narrative from Ramayana.
Yes, there are narrative panels of Raja Suryarman's army on the march close to the
Kurukshetra war narrative panel. This interpolation clearly demonstrates that there is no
counter-clockwise parikrama prescribed for the worship in the temple of Angkor Wat.
Like Angkor Wat, there are many Hindu temples in India and in South East Asia which face
west:
Prambanan temple has three main temples in the primary yard, namely Vishnu, Brahma, and
Shiva temples. Those three temples are symbols of Trimurti in Hindu belief. All of them face
to the east. Each main temple has accompanying temple facing to the west, namely Nandini
for Shiva, Angsa for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu.
30
31
The monograph will demonstrate that Angkor Wat is embellished with visual narratives and inscriptions
which substantiate the Itihasa-Purana tradition.
पदिमं इदतहास श्रवणे इदतवृत्तम आध्यादयर्ोिाहरणं धमं शास्त्रं अर्क शास्त्रं चेतीदतहासः Puraana (the
chronicles of the ancients), Itivrtta (occurrences or events), Akhyayika (anecdotes and tales),
Udaaharana (illustrative examples), Dharmashastra (the canon of Righteous conduct), and
Arthashastra (the science of Government) are known by (comprise the corpus of Itihaasah,
history)(Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Book 1, Chapter 5). The purport of itihaasa is clearly stated
to have been achieved to 'hearing' s'ravane. Thus, the chroniclers were kathaa-kaar, 'historytellers'.
Kalhana in the Rajatarangini,12th century CE (1147 to 1149 CE) expounds the purpose of
itihasa: धमाकर्क र्ाममोक्षाणामुपिे श समन्ितं । पुरावृत्तं क्तर्र्ायुक्त रूपदमदतहासं प्रचक्षते ।।
“Dharmaartha-kaama-moskshanaam upadesa-samanvitam | Puraa-vrttam, kathaa-yuttarupam
Ithihaasah prachakshate ||” Trahslation: Itihasa provides, combined with guidance from past
events embellished with anecdotes, the means to achieve dharma, artha, kaama and moksha - righteous conduct, material well-being and liberation.
32
Chapter 2
Monumentalised Gates of Angkor
In Hindu tradition, there is no dividing line between the secular and the lonely sacred. In the
same spirit, Hindu temples are not just sacred spaces; they are also secular spaces. Their meaning
and purpose have extended beyond spiritual life to social rituals and daily life, offering thus a
social meaning. Some temples have served as a venue to mark festivals, to celebrate arts through
dance and music, to get married or commemorate marriages, the birth of a child, other significant
life events or the death of a loved one. In political and economic life, Hindu temples have served
as a venue for succession within dynasties and landmarks around which economic activity
thrived.
Almost all Hindu temples take two forms: a house or a palace. A house-themed temple is a
simple shelter which serves as a deity's home. The temple is a place where the devotee visits, just
like he or she would visit a friend or relative. The use of moveable and immoveable images is
mentioned by Pāṇini. In Bhakti school of Hinduism, temples are venues for puja, which is a
hospitality ritual, where the deity is honored, and where devotee calls upon, attends to and
connects with the deity. In other schools of Hinduism, the person may simply perform jap, or
meditation, or yoga, or introspection in his or her temple. Palace-themed temples often
incorporate more elaborate and monumental architecture.
A gopuram or gopura is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of a Hindu
temple, in the Tamil architecture of the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka,
and Telangana states of Southern India.
Ancient and early medieval temples feature smaller gopuram, while in later temples they are a
prominent feature of Hindu temples of the Dravidian style; or in many cases the temple
compound was expanded and new larger gopuram built along the new boundary. They are
topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial. They function as gateways through the walls that
surround the temple complex. Another towering structure located towards the center of the
temple is the Vimanam. Both of them are designed and constructed as per rules given in the texts
of Vaastu shastra.
The gopuram's origins can be traced back to early structures of the Pallava kings, and relate to
the central shikhara towers of North India. Between the twelfth and sixteenth century, during
the Pandya, Nayaka and Vijayanagara era when Hindu temples increasingly became a hub of the
urban life, these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance, eventually
overshadowing the inner sanctuary which became obscured from view by the gopuram's colossal
size and courtyards. It also dominated the inner sanctum in amount of ornamentation. Often a
shrine has more than one gopuram. They also appear in architecture outside India,
especially Khmer architecture, as at Angkor Wat.
A large Dravidian-style temple, or koil, may have multiple gopurams as the openings into
successively smaller walled enclosures around the main shrine, with the largest generally at the
33
outer edges. The temple compound is typically square or rectangular with at least the outermost
wall having gopuras, often from the four cardinal directions. The multiple storeys of a gopuram
typically repeat the lower level features on a rhythmic diminishing scale. The inner sanctum and
its towering roof (the central deity's shrine) is also called the Vimanam, although in the south it is
typically smaller than the gopurams in large temples.
GOPURAM-The Tamil derivation of Gopuram is from the two words: க ோ (kō) and புறம்
(puram) meaning 'king' and 'exterior' respectively. It originates from the Sangam age when it was
known as ஓங் கு நிலை வோயிை் (ōnggu nilai vāyil) meaning 'imperishable gateway'
Eastern Gopuram at Angkor
34
Jungle Temple Entrance or gate
In 1177, approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by
the Chams, the traditional enemies of the Khmer.[ Thereafter the empire was restored by a new
king, Jayavarman VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and
the Bayon, respectively), a few kilometers north, dedicated to Buddhism, because the king
believed that the Hindu gods had failed him. Angkor Wat was therefore also gradually converted
into a Buddhist site, and many Hindu sculptures were replaced by Buddhist arAngkor Wat
combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the
later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of
the devas in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is
oriented to the west. Scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for
the grandeur and harmony of its architecture, extensive bas-reliefs, and the statues
of Buddhas and Devas that adorn its walls.
As the best-preserved temple at the site, Angkor Wat is the only one to have remained a
significant religious centre since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical
style of Khmer architecture. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists in
Cambodia and around the world, having played a major role in converting Cambodia into a
Buddhist nation. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,appearing on its national flag, and is the
country's main tourist attraction.
35
The Meenakshi temple complex of Madurai, mostly built between 1623 and 1655 CE, a large complex in
the Dravidian architecture of South India, dominated by gopuram gatehouse towers. The two main shrines
are much smaller, with gold tops.
How many gates are there in Angkor Wat?
According to a myth, the construction of Angkor Wat was ordered by Indra to serve as a palace
for his son Precha Ket Mealea. According to the 13th-century Chinese traveller Zhou Daguan,
some believed that the temple was constructed in a single night by a divine architect
Architectural design. The city of Angkor Thom is surrounded by a wall, 8m high and 12km long,
with five gates (two in the eastern wall). The initial design and construction of the temple took
place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 –
c. 1150). All of the original religious motifs derived from Hinduism. Breaking from
the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. It was built
as the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary
inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may
have been known as "Varah Vishnu-lok" after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended
shortly after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished. The
term Vrah Viṣṇuloka or Parama Viṣṇuloka literally means "The king who has gone to the
36
supreme world of Vishnu", which refer to Suryavarman II posthumously and intend to venerate
his glory and memory.
The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods according to Hindu mythology:
the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of the mountain, and the walls and moat
symbolize the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. Access to the upper areas of the temple was
progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted only to the lowest level.
The South Gate is the most famous city gate and a kind of emblem of Angkor Thom. Every
visitor of Angkor will see it, as the only road from the Angkor Wat to the second-most popular
destination, the Bayon, crosses Angkor Thom's South Gate
The South Gate is the most famous city gate and a kind of emblem of Angkor Thom. Every
visitor of Angkor will see it, as the only road from the Angkor Wat to the second-most popular
destination, the Bayon, crosses Angkor Thom's South Gate. All visitors will stop here in front of
Angkor's most extensive collection of giant sculptures. Many tourists start an elephant ride here,
either through the South Gate to the Bayon temple or to the top of the nearby hill Phnom
Bakheng. The causeway of the South Gate is pretty crowded sometimes, particularly between
9.00 and 10.00 am. In the evening, an hour or two after sunset, the South Gate will be closed.
Visits of Angkor are not allowed at night-time, except for guests of some special events such as
dining on the upper terrace of the illuminated Bayon, sometimes exclusively arranged by luxury
hotels.
In front of the South Gate there is the best-preserved and restored stone causeway across the 100
m broad moat of Angkor Thom. The railings are formed by the world-famous rows of giant
sculptures holding on their knees a Naga, whose seven heads rises fanwise at the outer end of the
causeway. Originally, each of the Angkor Thom's five city gates had such balustrades with two
times 54 figures, 108 being a holy number in Mahayana Buddhism. But today only the South
Gate has an almost complete set.
The eastern railing is the row of 54 Ashura demons, they can be easily identified because of the
grimacing expressions of their faces. Some of the original heads are sheltered in museums now,
being replaced by cement copies of a much brighter colour. The other row of 54 more friendly
looking Devas (gods) is less well preserved, and more heads are missing. As already mentioned,
the sculptures in each of both rows are connected by a rope in their hands in the form of a
serpent. The most common and convincing interpretation, though not undisputed, is that this is a
three-dimensional version of the famous "Churning of the Milk Ocean", which is depicted on
many bas-reliefs in Angkor, for example, in majestic size and perfect workmanship, at the
western outer gallery of the Angkor Wat.
The myth of the Churning of the Sea of Milk is told in India's sacred Purana scriptures, for
example in the most famous one, the Bhagavatam. Thus, the Churning of the Ocean of Milk is a
narrative from the Vishnu mythology, more precisely, the story of the second of his ten major
incarnations within a world cycle ("Dashavataras" = "ten Avatars") . Vishnu had to appear in the
form of a turtle called Kurma in order to help to produce the elixier of immortality for the gods.
The story goes: The Devas were not able to gain the Amrita, the elixier of immortality, as long as
they fought against their opponents, the Ashuras, who also tried to win it. Finally both sides
37
agreed to join their forces temporarily and to churn the Sea of Milk together in order to produce
Amrita. After winding the body of the serpent Vashuki around the pivot, Mt. Mandara, they
jointly churned the ocean by rotating Mt. Mandara with the Naga's body as a rope. But Mt.
Mandara began to sink into the ocean. And this is why Vishnu had to incarnate himself as the
turtle Kurma, in order to carry Mt. Mandara on the back of his shell and to stabilize the pivotal
mountain. During a period of one thousand years of joint efforts, many treasures came into
existence by that churning, among them the celestial female dancers called Apsaras, the goddess
Lakshmi, the three-headed elephant Airavata, and finally the Amrita elixier. Instantly, another
argument and battle between gods and demons arose, before the gods could secure the Amrita for
themselves.
Mt. Mandara could be symbolized by the enormous Bayon temple in the centre of Angkor Thom,
right in the middle between the rows of giants at the South Gate and the North Gate.
The morning is slightly better to visit the South Gate. Then the faces of the demons are lighted
up from the side, in the afternoon frontally. The ticket is not checked at the monument, but at the
access roads of Angkor Wat and Angkor
38
A jamb (from French jambe, "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or
other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to
doors and windows with caps and bases are known as “jamb-shafts”; when in the inside arris of
the jamb of a window they are sometimes called "scoinsons."
A doorjamb, door jamb (also sometimes doorpost) is the vertical portion of the door frame
onto which a door is secured.[2] The jamb bears the weight of the door through its hinges, and
most types of door latches and deadbolts extend into a recess in the doorjamb when engaged,
making the accuracy of the plumb (i.e. true vertical) and strength of the doorjambs vitally
important to the overall operational durability and security of the door.
The word jamb is also used to describe a wing of a building, perhaps just in Scottish architecture.
John Adam added a 'jamb' to the old Leith Customs house in the Citadel of Leith in 1754–1755.
There ate no jamb statutes.A jamb statue is a figure carved on the jambs of a doorway or
window. These statues are often human figures-typically religious figures or secular
or ecclesiastical leaders. Jambs are usually a part of a portal, accompanied by lintel and trumeau.
39
Two commonly known examples of jamb statues are the ones in Chartres Cathedral and those
in Reims Cathedral; both locations are in France.
RIGHT PIC BELOWS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The basic form of a Hindu structural temple consists of the following.
Garbhagriha: It literally means 'womb-house' and is a cave like a sanctum. ...
Mandapa: It is the entrance to the temple. ...
Shikhara or Vimana: ...
Amalaka: ...
Kalasha: ...
Antarala (vestibule): ...
Jagati: ...
Vahana:
Outer enclosure
A view of the gates and west wall of the outer enclosure of Angkor Wat from across the moat
40
The outer wall, 1,024 m (3,360 ft) by 802 m (2,631 ft) and 4.5 m (15 ft) high, is surrounded by a
30 m (98 ft) apron of open ground and a moat 190 m (620 ft) wide and over 5 kilometres (3 mi)
in perimeter. The moat extends 1.5 kilometres from east to west and 1.3 kilometres from north to
south. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west;
the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. There
are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far the largest and has three ruined
towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form of the temple proper.
Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura
often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These
galleries have square pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side.
The ceiling between the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with
dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on
prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be
showing her teeth.
in a particular way In general, these gateways have much less decoration than the gates of the
religious complexes, something that we had already expected not to see so much in a city
fortress. However, it was common in Khmer architecture that the gates of urban enclosures
(called gopura in Sanskrit) were monumentalised in a particular way, including having a height
of wall superior to the rectilinear sections of the perimeter. Thus, the size of the gateways of
Vimayapura was sufficient for a royal elephant to enter; we calculate the width was
approximately 2.5 metres, the length of the passageway almost 12 metres and the preserved
height 6 metres, excluding the vaults and towers. As a comparison we note that the passageways
of Angkor Thom are 3.5-metre wide, 16-metre long and 7-metre high.
The same as the gates of many Khmer towns and temples, including Prasat Phimai, those from
the urban enceinte of Vimayapura had a cruciform plan (Figure 14). They form a Greek cross,
composed of a passage perpendicular to the enclosure walls flanked by two side chambers with
the stone floor elevated around one metre from the level of circulation.26 Each of those chambers
was divided into three smaller rectangular spaces, with doors between them, except for the first
one which was open (Figures 15, 16 and 17). They would have been used as guard posts, to
control the passage of people, carriages, animals or goods inside and outside the city centre.
41
Old plan of the North Gate of Vimayapura. Although the proportions are correct, each one of the
side chambers should be divided into three spaces instead of two
One of the side chambers of the North Gate divided into three spaces / One of the side chambers
of the West Gate divided into three spaces
The jambs of the doors still have, carved in stone, the corresponding vertical frames for installing
the heavy wooden panels, nowadays gone (Figure 18). Moreover, on the floor of the
passageways there are two rows of transversal stones, about one metre wide and 30 centimetres
high, exactly in the points where the doors closed. Besides this function, these elements could
42
have served for hindering the pace of those who crossed the gates, mounted or on foot, thus
increasing the security of the control post.
The gates were originally covered with the characteristic corbel or false vaults used by the
ancient Khmers and crowned with tower-like decorative structures, none of them preserved.
Although it is tempting to imagine gigantic stone faces similar to those from Angkor Thom or
Banteay Chmar (Sharrock 2015), unfortunately we do not have any conclusive data regarding
this possibility. Nevertheless, we should remember that in Khmer art those giant faces represent
the guardian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara looking towards the four cardinal directions, protector
of the cities and the kingdom (Jessup 2004, 173), and both Kings Jayavarman VI and
Jayavarman VII (with one hundred years difference and related to Vimayapura) are known for
ordering the construction of Buddhist monuments. In the case of the second, he is famous for his
special predilection for that iconographic way of decorating city gates and temples (Albanese
2005, 132–33, 220–35; 2006, 202–19; Freeman and Jacques 2008, 74–83).
Puja happening at Main Vishnu Shrine of Angkor
43
Chapter 3
ANGKOR WAT in Collective Memorialization
Tomb of the Pol Pot Victims. Slaves on the walls of Angkor
Cambodia is a small country, but it offers everything. There are two main reasons why on should
visit Cambodia:
1) it offers an incredible amount of history and culture;
2) its nature is amazing: it ranges from the gorgeous National Parks to the relaxing islands.
The most obvious and popular interesting fact about Cambodia is, of course, Angkor Wat. Angkor
Wat is the main reason tourists flock in their numbers to Cambodia. It is the world's largest
religious building and considered one of the wonders of the worldAngkor, archaeological site in
what is now northwestern Cambodia, lying 4 miles (6 km) north of the modern town of Siĕmréab. It
was the capital of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire from the 9th to the 15th century, a period that is
considered the classical era of Cambodian history. Its most-imposing monuments are Angkor Wat,
a temple complex built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–c. 1150),
and Angkor Thom, a temple complex built about 1200 by King Jayavarman VII. (See
also Southeast Asian arts: Kingdom of Khmer: 9th to 13th century.)Angkor Wat is the largest
Hindu temple in the world and considered one of the most important archaeological sites for its
historical, religious and architectural significance. ... Today, Angkor Wat attracts thousands with
religious backgrounds and individuals visiting Siem Reap on Cambodia tours.
In the late 13th century, according to a vivid account by the Chinese commercial envoy Zhou
Daguan, Angkor was still a large, thriving metropolis and one of the most magnificent capitals in all
Asia. Nevertheless, by then the great building frenzy that had peaked during the reign of
44
Jayavarman VII had clearly come to an end, the new and more restrained religious orientation
represented by Theravada Buddhism was on the rise, and the armies of Ayutthaya established in the
western sections of the empire were beginning to encroach on the Khmer heartland. By the 16th
century, when the next available firsthand description was written, the city was abandoned, and all
that remained were the jungle-covered remnants of the ancient temples and the ruins of the oncemagnificent system of reservoirs and waterways.
Archaeological interest and preservation issues
During the more than four centuries between the demise of the ancient city and the beginning of the
modern period (i.e., from the mid-15th century to the late 19th century), interest in Angkor was
largely focused on Angkor Wat, which, having been taken over and kept largely intact
by Theravada Buddhist monks, became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Southeast
Asia. Even during this period, however, a number of early European visitors to Cambodia showed a
strong curiosity concerning the “lost city,” and, when the French colonial regime was established
(1863), the entire site became the focus of intense scholarly interest and concern. Working at first
independently and then, in the first half of the 20th century, under the aegis of the governmentsponsored École Française d’Extrême Orient (French School of the Far East), a group of French
archaeologists and philologists initiated a comprehensive program of research, which yielded much
of the knowledge now possessed about the history of the city and the sophisticated religious
and political system that informed and guided its life. Archaeologists also carried through
an arduous and painstaking program of reconstruction, through which the ancient complex of
temples, reservoirs, and canals was partially restored.
Heritage and social memory are not an abstract concepts. Cambodia’s recent history needs to be
re-articulated and made meaningful for a population recovering from decades of national turmoil.
The role played in this context by the national festival of Khmer New Year sends an important
message to the people as well as the visitors- mostly tourists- that “WE LIVE” and “WE REJOICE
45
our heritage”Cambodian New Year Khmer New Year also known as Choul Chnam Thmey or
Moha Sankranti in Sanskrit maks the traditional solar year in Cambodia and begins in April..
Every Cambodian family it is said, has lost relatives under the Khmer Rouge.The genocide
perpetrated in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979, under the leadership of Pol
Pot was in fact a Marxist dictatorship, the self-proclaimed “Democratic Kampuchea,30 years ago that
caused the death of about 1.5 million people, or a quarter of the population
.The government believes in politics of reconciliation, Buddhist believe in karma, economic
development brings mass tourism opportunities, international law, and national historical narratives
ann underlining
Cambodia has in the past decades been in the news with the first trial of a Democratic Kampuchea
leader under the auspices of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). After
the National Assembly passed a law in 2003 establishing an international court for the prosecution of
crimes committed under the rule of Democratic Kampuchea, the first warrants against high-ranked
leaders were issued in April 2004.
The first defendant was Guek Eav Kaing, alias Duch, who was the commander of the Tuol Sleng
prison (known as S-21 in the Khmer Rouge code). As such, he was responsible for sending over
14,000 people to their deaths after extended torture and inhumane treatment. Duch’s trial, which
spanned from 2009 to 2010, was the first opportunity to publicly document the genocidal operations
and to memorialize the victims, since numerous civil parties were represented and scores of
witnesses testified in memory of the dead. Another four top-ranked officials—Khieu Samphan (alias
Hem), Ieng Thirith (alias Phea), Ieng Sary (alias Van), and Nuon Chea, all elderly—have been
indicted for crimes against humanity and detained since 2007. They are awaiting trial, provided they
do not die first, as did Pol Pot and Ta Mok (“the butcher”).
Although these trials have generated new research on the genocide and the remembrance of victims,
little has been written about the memorialization efforts, especially in relation to memorial sites and
commemorative practices. The articles written by Paul Williams and Judy Ledgerwood espouse an
anthropological and museum studies perspective but focus exclusively on the center of the Khmer
Rouge killing machine, Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek.4Rachel Hughes is one of the rare scholars to
explore local genocide memorials as well, albeit briefly. 5 Here, I examine a variety of memorial sites
and commemorative practices, embracing the hyper-local and the transnational, as well as political,
economic, and religious motivations.
There are over one hundred memorial sites related to the genocide in Cambodia, from mass
graves to urns and ossuaries to public artworks, but most of them are scattered in the provinces and
not easily identifiable by foreign visitors. This partially explains why local memorials have not
generated much scholarship. However, the main reason that national and international attention
turned to Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek lies in the original agenda of these memorials. Both sites were
the first “genocide museums” that meant to display the crimes of the Khmer Rouge while primarily
fulfilling a political agenda. In other words, Tuol Sleng did not become a tourism destination over
time; curatorial and marketing strategies to attract visitors have been essential from its inception.
When 100,000 Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in January 1979, those who stormed the
barricaded compound of Tuol Sleng found dead bodies in shackles, fresh bloodstains on the walls,
46
human bones, torture instruments, photographic archives, and memos left by the Khmer Rouge who
had just fled. While the Khmer Rouge were physically eliminating thousands of people and making
the identification of human remains impossible, they were meticulously documenting their crimes—
mug shots of those imprisoned, tortured, and killed; volumes of “confessions” obtained under
pressure; lists of names given under duress—a paradoxical policy of erasure and evidence not unlike
that of the Nazis.
The army preserved everything and immediately asked a Vietnamese museum expert, Mai Lam, to
turn Tuol Sleng into a museum that would document the crimes of Democratic Kampuchea. Mai
Lam was a colonel in the Vietnamese army who had fought in Cambodia during the first Indochina
war and had previously organized the Museum of American War Crimes in Ho-Chi-Minh City. He
came with experience and with an agenda. The genocide museum opened a year later, in 1980, first
to foreign dignitaries and later to the general public.
David Chandler wrote: “It was important for the Vietnamese and the PRK to label Democratic
Kampuchea a ‘fascist’ regime, like Nazi Germany, rather than a Communist one, recognized as such
by many Communist countries. Finally, it was important for the Vietnamese to argue that what had
happened in Cambodia under Democratic Kampuchea, and particularly at S-21, was genocide,
resembling the Holocaust in World War II, rather than the assassinations of political enemies that at
different times had marked the history of the Soviet Union, Communist China, and Vietnam.” 7 The
post–Khmer Rouge discourse is very similar to that of the German Democratic Republic after World
War II. This state aligned itself with the Soviet Union in denouncing the fascist crimes of (West)
Germany and siding with the liberators. In the case of Cambodia, the Vietnamese forces and the new
DRK government divorced the labels “Communist” or “Socialist” from Democratic Kampuchea, in
favor of “Pol Pot’s genocidal clique,” “traitors of the people,” and “fascists,” so as to position
themselves as liberators, even though they were Communists.
Prisons, torture chambers and houses and make shift killing places mark the landscape all open to
visitors as much as the Hindu temples of the Khmer Civilization. In the course of time, the number of
Cambodian visitors decreased, while statistics for foreign visitors increased. Since 1993 and the
establishment of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the prison has seen thousands of tourists from capitalist
countries (Australia, Japan, South Korea, United States, France, Germany, etc.). Consequently, it has
adapted its offering to mass tourism: a US $3 entrance fee charged to foreign visitors, guided tours,
marketing with travel agents, pamphlets in various languages, bathrooms, a souvenir shop, a food
and drink stand, and parking areas. The neighborhood has developed accordingly, with numerous
shops selling arts and crafts, rickshaw drivers hailing potential customers, and beggars working for
their daily pittance.
The main site of the Khmer Rouge genocide, the killing fields of Choeung Ek, also discovered
by Vietnamese troops and turned into a tourism site by Mai Lam in the early 1980s is located ten
miles southeast of Phnom-Penh. Choeung Ek is described, on the official flyer, as “hell on earth in
the 20th century.” A former orchard and Chinese cemetery, Choeung Ek was the main killing field
where prisoners from Tuol Sleng were transported to be murdered in 1977–78. When the Vietnamese
troops discovered the site, they found about 9,000 bodies in mass graves; many were headless, naked,
their hands tied; the separated heads were blindfolded. The skulls and bones showed traces of bullets,
knives, and other forms of violence inflicted upon men, women, and children. Babies were thrown
against trees and instantly killed.
47
Through its glass doors, one can see hundreds of skulls and human bones stacked almost to the top
of the sixty-two-meter-high structure. The glass doors are ajar, and the skulls stare at the visitors.
Foreign tourists constitute over 90 percent of the total visitors, according to the statistics for 2007 and
2008 released by the administration of the memorial.15 In line with this statistic, the development and
management of the site seem to be entirely geared toward international tourism. The mission
statement on the official flyer announces, “Choeung Ek Killing Field became a historical museum for
humankind and is one of the most popular attractions for both domestic and foreign tourists in
Phnom-Penh.”
The official management policy lists the following goals: “Preserve genocide history . . . ; make
Choeung Ek an international symbol of genocide; bring Choeung Ek to the attention of the world;
make Choeung Ek a model for conservation.”17 The means to achieve the goals include improving
communication with tourists, generating income by attracting more tourists, finding alternative
sources of income aside from the entrance fee, and developing ties with other tourism sites such as
Tuol Sleng. The strategic plan recommends “the progressive enhancement of the facilities so as to
increase income by providing resting chairs, a coffee shop, a restaurant, a souvenir and bookshop and
toilets; the development of a calendar of special events, information projects, lectures that will
eventually attract 1,000 visitors per day.”18 The notions of remembrance or memory are almost absent
from the official document; so are Cambodian nationals, who do not seem worthy of much attention,
as opposed to paying international tourists.
In Cambodia, memory and memorialization are not performed in the main sites of murder such as
Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek, and not on official holidays such as January 7 and May 20. It is clear
that these government-sponsored memorials serve primarily other purposes—political legitimacy,
economic development, and profit-making ventures. They are not directed to locals who have a
personal connection to memory but to international travelers who feed the global tourism industry
and the national economy. To this end, all strategies are acceptable, even if they involve
commodifying skulls, capitalizing on human suffering, promoting sites associated with criminals,
and ignoring religious traditions.
In Cambodia, remembrance of the genocide does take place, but quietly, traditionally, and locally—
in each village, in each stupa, next to the pagoda, on religious holidays. There, human dignity is
respected, mourning rituals have meaning, and the spirits of the murdered can eventually find rest.
What makes Cambodia special?
48
Cambodians are proud people. They are proud of their strong history, which stretches back to the
mighty Angkor Empire – the creators of Angkor Wat – and they are proud of their rich culture,
which takes in apsara dancing, traditional arts and a swathe of artisanal crafts. Cambodia is a
member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), one of the largest and most important free trade areas
in the world, and benefits from the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) agreement. This means
that it can trade with other member countries on preferential terms and, in some cases, tariff-free.
According to a Royal Decree dated March 21, 2005 on the Designation of Animals and Plants as National
Symbols of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the seven symbols are the kouprey, giant ibis, royal turtle, giant
Mekong barb, sugar palm, rumdul and chicken egg banana.
An alarming amount of young Cambodians have no idea know what our national symbols are, a
shocking surprise given their knee-jerk reactions when responding affirmatively to being
nationalists.
Yang Hakvun, 20, a student at Vanda Institute, said, “I want to know about the symbols of our
national pride, but I don’t know what those animals and plants are.”
Hakvun studies accounting, and has heard nothing of Cambodia’s national symbols in the media.
According to a Royal Decree dated March 21, 2005 on the Designation of Animals and Plants as
National Symbols of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the seven symbols are the kouprey, giant ibis,
royal turtle, giant Mekong barb, sugar palm, rumdul and chicken egg banana.
The kouprey is a kind of wild animal that dwells in low land and forests. They are more
intelligent than other species in their family, and they are strong and agile. However, the kouprey
is now extinct – it hasn’t been spotted since 1983.
The royal turtle stands out from other turtles because while other turtle species have five claws,
the royal turtle has four. The turtle was believed to be extinct in Cambodia, but the animal was
spotted again in 1995 in Koh Kong Province. People named it the “royal turtle” because its eggs
were eaten only by the king.
49
The giant Mekong barb is the biggest kind of river fish in Cambodia; its weight can be up to 300
kilograms. There are pictures of Giant Mekong Barb carved on Angkor Wat bas reliefs. The fish
is so delicious that Cambodians prefers to eat it more than any other fish, while its scales are
used to make shuttlecock.
The giant ibis can be found in Preh Vihear Province, where its population stands around 100.
The bird has been widely written about in popular Khmer songs and traditional tales. The giant
ibis is very intelligent: if it fails at hunting in one place, the bird will never return to that location.
Sugar palm is a kind of trees with a single stem, large stump and cylindrical trunk with a height
of approximately 10 metres. People use sugar palm’s leaves for building roofs, its dates for
making cookies and the trunk for building boats.
Rumdul is a kind of flower that’s known for its alluring fragrance. The elderly compare the smell
of a rumdul to a virgin girl, both fresh in nature. Rumdul flowers are a white-yellow colour and
you can smell them from miles away.
The chicken egg banana is used as an offering to the spirits, Thevada and for presents in many
ceremonies. Its purpose is largely ceremonial.
H.E. Chuch Phoeurn, Secretary of State, responsible for Cultural Heritage and Museums, said,
“By selecting the seven national symbols of Cambodia, we must distinguish whether it’s rare or
extinct to be preserved such as the kouprey, the giant ibis and the royal turtle.”
“Those things must be praised and valued by Cambodian people, relate to the history and culture
as in the songs or books and be especially advantageous to every-day life.”
“For example, sugar palm can provide benefits from its roots to its leaves.”
His Excellency added, “The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has planned and is preparing an
application to put these National Symbols of Cambodia as the Memory of the World Register,
like Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.”
Om Ratha, 22, a Beltei International Institute student majoring in English Literature, said, “I
know about the animals and plants from when I read through a magazine, which made me want
to read more about these symbols.”
A history teacher at Intraktevi High School, Ke Sokhena, said that she knew about the animals
and plants as National Symbols of Cambodia, but she did not have time to talk about it due to a
tight lesson schedule.
However, the animals and plants chosen as symbols are taught in geography class, she said.
50
How successive Cambodian governments have regarded the so‐called Khmer Rouge
regime, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 is interesting to note. Between
1979 and 1993, Cambodian governments demonised the Khmer Rouge but since the late
1990s, and the collapse of the Khmer Rouge as a movement, the government has
enforced a policy of collective amnesia. In closing, the rationales for officially
demonising the past and officially burying it – and how these rartionales ‘fit’ with
Cambodia’s collective memory – are discussed in relation to the trial of surviving Khmer
leaders now (2008) taking place in Phnom Penh.
In examining tourism at Angkor as a form of spatial practice, it has been argued that the
presence of certain prevailing discourses and framings, in this case cultural tourism, serves to
marginalise alternative understandings of heritage and memory. By viewing formations of
landscape and heritage as inherently contested, and thus far from normative, the analysis offered
here has highlighted some of the tensions underpinning Angkor’s recent transformation into
commodified tourist space. The arrival of large-scale international tourism in Cambodia
undoubtedly necessitates difficult decisions regarding both the preservation and the presentation
of Angkor. While the current strategy of developing cultural tourism succeeds in presenting a
‘high quality’ landscape of ‘ancient’ monuments for an international audience, the practices and
values of domestic visitors remain inadequately appreciated. By contrast, this paper has drawn
upon the concept of memory to illuminate how the recent traumatic historical events of a nation
are simultaneously re-appropriated, remembered and forgotten through the personal experiences
of being a tourist at Angkor today. Examining tourism through the Heideggerian lens of Dasein
has powerfully illustrated the ways in which activities such as picnicking, swimming and driving
are symbolically and metaphorically imbued with a sense of national recovery for Cambodians
today. We have also seen how the ongoing reconstruction of Angkor’s temples and modern
pagodas, in the context of an increasingly popular festival, also provides Cambodians with an
optimism regarding the country’s future. Addressing the complex interplay between time and
space in this way provides valuable insight into the processes through which encounters with
heritage landscapes can be translated and abstracted into formations of collective identities.
Clearly, new year at Angkor is an example of a tourism practice whereby the ‘the activity and its
51
space are enlarged in the imagination’ (Crouch, 1999: 271). As post-conflict Cambodia vividly
demonstrates, the material heritage of ‘ancient’ monumental landscapes does not merely remain
part of a nation’s past, but can actively serve as a living heritage contributing to the ongoing
constitution of national, cultural and ethnic identities. This analysis of domestic tourism at
Angkor, as a series of creative sociocultural practices, is thus offered in an attempt to advance
the understanding of such vital processes
Tim Winter wrote 9n Landscape, Memory and Heritage: New Year Celebrations at Angkor,
Cambodia, 2004,Current Issues in Tourism 7(4):330-345 and in Article 2 - Ethnic Identity and
Cultural Heritage Tourism,2019
Site of Angkor, Cambodia. Rather than viewing heritage and social memory as abstract concepts,
the paper explores domestic tourism at Angkor as the context within which Cambodia’s recent
history is re-articulated and made meaningful for a population recovering from decades of
national turmoil. In exploring the various values and mean- ings associated with the national
festival of Khmer New Year, the paper argues that an understanding of Angkor as a form of
‘living heritage’ remains neglected within a management framework which conceives the site as
a form of material culture of the ‘ancient’ past. It is therefore suggested that exploring the values
and meanings associ- ated with Angkor’s cultural heritage in this way provides valuable insight
into the complex relationships of landscape, memory and identity. 1
In the 1930s, an American writer described Cambodia as 'a haunted country, full of shadows, full
of ambiguous little hints of the past. Villages lie scattered through it, hovering behind old trees
like huge mushrooms. Time doesn't exist here. Men are born old and die young' (Prokosch 1983:
340). While using conventional exotic, orientalist themes, Frederic Prokosch does convey
something of the evident omnipresence of the past in the Cambodian landscape and the dizzying
temporal somersaults to which its built environment in particular is subject.
This 'haunted country' has produced contrasting constructions of memory at two neighbouring
sites: one generated by colonial discourse in which France recreated Angkor as a 'French'
monument, and the other of the neighbouring 'French' town of Siem Reap, which struggles to
resist the reductive memory that global tourism inscribes on it. While historical accounts of the
region are abundant, especially in French and English, there is far less contemporary local
historiography, unsurprisingly in a country in which written records of all kinds have been
systematically destroyed. 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/designing-for-typologies/a4851-angkor-wat-and-itsmagnificent-khmer-story/
2. A tale of two cities: Angkor and Siem Reap-Dick Vigers. Journal of Romance Studies(Vol. 5,
Issue 1), Date: Spring 2005,Publisher: Liverpool University Press (UK)
52
To many in the West, the name Cambodia still conjures up indelible images of destruction and
death, the legacy of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and the terror it inflicted in its attempt to
create a communist utopia in the 1970s. Sebastian Strangio, a journalist based in the capital city
of Phnom Penh, now offers an eye-opening appraisal of modern-day Cambodia in the years
following
its
emergence
from
bitter
conflict
and
bloody
upheaval.
In the early 1990s, Cambodia became the focus of the UN’s first great post–Cold War nationbuilding project, with billions in international aid rolling in to support the fledgling democracy.
But since the UN-supervised elections in 1993, the nation has slipped steadily backward into
neo-authoritarian rule under Prime Minister Hun Sen. Behind a mirage of democracy, ordinary
people have few rights and corruption infuses virtually every facet of everyday lifeIt has become
a nation struggling to reconcile the promise of peace and democracy with a violent and
tumultuous past.
In A tale of two cities: Angkor and Siem Reap--the evolution of competing sites of memory
53
Chapter 4
Hindu Cities & Cosmological Design
Throughout the Indian subcontinent there are territories and areas wherein culture, geography,
and the archetypal cosmos interact with each other to create a sacredscape that is infused with
meaning, cultural performances and transcendent power. These sacred sites possess extensive
mythological associations where believed that spirit can cross between different realms. In a
broad perspective such studies falls within the realm of cultural astronomy, which has two broad
areas, viz. archaeoastronomy, concerned with the study of the use of astronomy and its role in
ancient cultures and civilizations; and ethnoastronomy that studies the use of astronomy and its
role in contemporary cultures. The critical appraisal of studying cultural astronomy and cosmic
order and its implications in India, is thebcore of the pictured book COSMIC ORDER AND
CULTURAL ATRONOMY. It is illustrated with case studies like heritagescape of Khajuraho,
where stone speaks; manescape of Gaya, where manes come and bless the devotees; Deviscape
of Vindhyachal, where goddess resorts; Shivascape of Kashi, where Shiva dances in making
order; Shaktiscape of Kashi, that possesses the spatial ordering of goddesses; and Naturscape of
Chitrakut, where mother earth blesses.
COSMOLOGY: HINDU COSMOLOGY
Hindu tradition possesses one of the richest and most continually evolving cosmologies in the
global culture. From the most ancient Indian religious compositions, the Vedas, to contemporary
twenty-first-century Indian theories combining science and religion, time and space have been
lavishly narrated and meticulously calculated. Moreover moral, social, and philosophical
meanings underlie these cosmologies in compelling ways.
54
Although through the millennia Hindu thinkers have dramatically redrawn notions of time,
space, and person, they also share a wealth of common imagery: the reciprocal effects between
natural and human affairs, the central idea of a cycle, and the divisions of space into particular
realms and spheres. Each new cosmology does not completely replace the old but stands
alongside of it as yet another cosmological option.
Vedic Cosmology
The Vedas and Brāhmaṇas are texts that existed before the idea of "Hinduism" per se emerged as
a world religion. Present scholarly consensus puts the earliest date of the Vedas at 1500 bce, but
there remains debate on the topic that might place the Vedas earlier. The Brāhmaṇas are placed
around 900 bce. These texts were almost entirely oral, guarded by the priestly Brahmanic
tradition as the basic supporting texts of the sacrifice. The cosmology of the Vedas speaks of the
cosmos as Father Sky (Dyaus Pitṛ) and Earth (Pṛthivī).
In other texts the cosmos is divided into three realms:
1. bhūr (earth),
2. bhuvaḥ (air), and
3. svaḥ (heaven).
The sacrifice and not the gods is considered the source of time, space, and all things that make
up the universe. The Agnicayana, or the building of the fire altar, as well as many other forms of
sacrifice are viewed in the Brāhmaṇa texts as symbolic reconstructions of the cosmos. Moreover
the right placement of sacrificial implements and correct chanting of mantras allows the
unimpeded turning of the year, the months, and the seasons as well as the correct placement of
the three realms. At times cosmological thinking is so present and deeply assumed in Vedic texts
that the "earthly realm" (as opposed to the other realms) is simply referred to as iha, "here."
Vedic Space
Following from above, the basic form of cosmological space is the sacrificial arena. However,
many of the Vedic gods, such as Agni, the fire god, have three different forms corresponding to
the three Vedic realms. These "realms" are not only spatial but can also be described as mental
states of mind: loka, or world, in its earliest meanings, can mean the "freedom to exist
unimpeded" or "expansiveness" as much as it can mean a physical location. Yet these three
realms are not the only form of imagined space: at death, the Vedic funeral hymns assert, the
various elements within a person are scattered to various parts of the natural world. Alternatively
the person can go to the realm of Yama, the overlord of the dead.
Vedic Time
55
The sacrificial world understood time as a kind of simple cycle in which the year, the months,
and the day are products of the work of the sacrifice. The passing of time is also homologized
with death, and in later periods both death and the year were created by Prajāpati, the "Lord of
Creatures," who also gave instructions about the correct procedures of the sacrifice. If one
sacrificed well and long enough, one attained status oneself as an ancestor deity to be propitiated
by other living sacrificers on earth. Therefore once one attained this status, the Vedic texts
express a wish to avoid a "re-death." In addition Vedic texts show a high awareness of the
motion and rhythm of the sun, moon, and stars and imagine them in a variety of colorful ways:
the sun as a horse crossing the sky in a chariot, night and the dawn as rivalrous sisters, and so on.
There is evidence that astronomical knowledge, such as the marking of the lunar asterisms, might
well have been fairly advanced, even at this early stage of known religious history.
Vedic Person and Morality
In one famous Vedic hymn (Ṛgveda 10:90), which proved to be influential in a number of later
Hindu schools of thought, the universe itself is understood as a cosmic person (Puruṣa). This
Puruṣa is sacrificed in a primordial ritual procedure, and from parts of his body emerge the
various creatures of the earth, elements of time and space, elements of the sacrifice, and most
importantly categories of the social world, called varṇa. These four varṇa s (brahmin
priest; kṣatriya warrior; vaiśya agriculturalist or trader; and śūdra servant) become the basis of
social organization expressed in later legal and religious texts. The model earthly Vedic person is
one who studies the Vedas, sacrifices, and tends to the sacrificial fires and therefore becomes
ritually and morally responsible for the cosmos.
And yet such a person is also a seeker. Ṛgveda 10:90 ends with a philosophical paradox: "with
the sacrifice the gods sacrificed to the sacrifice." This enigma also sets the tone for much of
Vedic cosmology: acceptance of multiple versions of creation; Vedic cosmology is questioning
and searching, not doctrinal or creedal in nature. One of the most famous cosmological hymns,
the Nasadīya hymn (Ṛgveda 10:129), speaks of the world beginning from nothingness, where
"the One breathed, windless," and then coming into existence through the power of heat. Desire
is the primal seed, and the sages create by stretching a cord across the void. Yet even this spare,
poetic cosmology ends with a query:
Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this
creation? The gods came afterwards, with the creation of the universe. Who then knows whence
it has arisen? … perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not—the one who looks down on it, in
the highest heaven, only he knows perhaps he does not know. (O'Flaherty, 1981, pp. 25–26)
UpaniṢadic Cosmology
While the activity of sacrifice is still presumed in the period of composition of the Upaniṣadic
texts, the object of sacrificial knowledge is no longer the actual procedures of the sacrifice or the
gods per se but a new force called brahman. Brahman is thought of as the power behind the
sacrifice, and as the Upaniṣadic thought developed, it was described as the power behind every
living thing and every element in the universe. Brahman is "the Whole" (Bṛhadāraṇyaka
Upaniṣad 2:5) and transcends even the gods. It also exists beyond all known things in this world,
and yet is also present within them as well. It is set apart from beings and yet dwelling within
56
beings at the same time. This basic identification between the selves of beings
and brahman leads to the famous Upaniṣadic equation that the self (ātman) is the same as the
power behind the universe (brahman). As the sage Yājn̄avalkya puts it, "The self within all is
this self of yours." The larger brahman is also spoken of as the ātman or "self" of the universe,
thus giving rise to the poetic nineteenth-century translation "the World-Soul."
The earliest Upaniṣads probably originated around 600 to 500 bce and were composed in prose.
They shared a common focus on many topics, such as the nature of brahman, the nature of
sacrificial speech and the verses, the various forms of breath, and the homologization of parts of
the body to the powers in the universe. The teaching of the five fires as the essence of the major
parts of the cosmos (e.g., fire as man, woman, and the three worlds) is especially distinctive in
these early prose compositions. The later Upaniṣads are composed in verse and develop the
theme of brahman into a theistic rather than monistic conception. They also focus on the idea of
liberation through meditation. Both are themes common in later Purāṇic cosmologies.
UpaniṢadic Space
Many of the Upaniṣads continue the idea of the three worlds in the Vedas but add to this
cosmology an inner, more existential meaning. When the student Aśvala asks how many
oblations there will be, the sage Yājn̄avalkya responds that each oblation has its own modality
and is therefore connected to the specific world that shares that modality. The oblations that flare
will win the world of the gods, for the world shines that way. The oblations that
overflow (atinedante) will go to the world of the ancestors, for that world is "over
above" (ati). The oblations that lie down (adhiśerate) will go to this human world, for that world
is here below (adha).
This imagery continues a basic cosmology that one sees in earlier Vedic texts of the worlds of
the gods, the fathers, and the ancestors. However, it attributes, through etymologies, different
modes of being to each of the offerings and each of worlds. In other passages the three-fold
world is described in a progression of size from one to sixty-four, a numerology that is recurrent
in many later cosmological texts. Finally, in other passages the three levels (bhūr, bhuvaḥ,
svaḥ) of the Vedic world are expanded into seven realms, many of the additional realms again
connoting "modes of being": mahas, janas, tapas (meditative heat), and satyam (truth).
The second kind of Upaniṣadic space is the body itself. Each of the basic sacrificial procedures,
present from the earliest Vedic ritual texts, becomes homologized with the individual breathing
body as well as the world itself. In the Bṛhadāraṇyaka and other Upaniṣads the sacrificial fires
are seen as part of the inner workings of the body; the role of the Adhvaryu priest is identified
with their eyes and the process of sight itself, and this sight can see the nature of the whole world
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3:1:5). In other passages it is not only the cosmology of the sacrifice
that is given to the body but also the cosmology of the entire world and its topography. For
instance, rivers of the world are identified as the rivers contained within the body
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1:1:1; Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1:4:5), the eye of the world is also the
sight of the body (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 1:7:4), and so on.
The third kind of Upaniṣadic space is that of brahman itself. Brahman is also spoken of as a
formulation of truth—a truth that is to be attained by wise men and women who have practiced
57
meditation and focused on the forest teachings for a long time. Brahman is the highest object of
the teachings on hidden connections—an object rooted in austerity and the knowledge of the self
(Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1:9). The imagery here is not simply that of a truth to be attained but of
an abode in its own right, where the sun never sets nor rises (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 3:11).
Similarly other Upaniṣads also describe brahman as a stainless realm (Praśna Upaniṣad 1.16) in
its own right—a world of unending peace, an ancient formulation that is heard in the heavenly
abodes.
UpaniṢadic Time: The Cycle of Birth and Death
One sees emerging in the Upaniṣads a theory of death and birth that is strikingly different than
the Vedic sacrificial fear of "re-death" (punarmṛtyu). The Upaniṣads contain the earliest records
of what has been called saṃsāra, or the endless cycle of birth and death, as well as mokṣa, or the
path that leads away from saṃsāra. The story of Jabālā is instructive on this point (Chāndogya
Upaniṣad 3:4:1–4). Jabālā is ashamed that his native learning, gleaned at his father's knee, is not
sufficient in the court to which he travels. He must learn an entirely new set of metaphors, in
which each aspect of life (man, woman, semen, food) is said to be identical with the sacrificial
fire. While such matters are not unusual for many sections of the Upaniṣads, the subsequent
section is startlingly new. Those whose conduct is good but who choose to offer sacrifices in the
village will go on the path of the moon and be reborn accordingly. Those who choose the path of
the forest and the knowledge of brahman will go on the path of the sun and leave this life
altogether. And those whose conduct is reprehensible will be reborn into a lesser, probably
repugnant womb. In other accounts the two paths are described as the path of the
gods (devayāna) and the path of the father (pitṛyāna).
UpaniṢadic Person and Morality
Despite their variations, the Upaniṣads all share the concept of a cycle of infinitely recurring
births and deaths in which the nature of a rebirth depends upon a person's actions in life. The
only way to escape this cycle of time is through knowledge of brahman, the infinite, which can
be gained through slow and painstaking mastery of meditation under the guidance of a teacher.
Each Upaniṣad had a different method for teaching this knowledge, but all used the basic
imageries of the sacrifice to show the ways in which bodily processes and processes of
awareness allowed the student to conceive of the sacrifice as going on inside his body. In
the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3:1:8–10, Aśvala the hotṛ (a priest trained in sacrifice and
sacrificial recitation), asks Yājn̄avalkya the teacher about how many deities will be used by the
Brāhmaṇ priest to protect the sacrifice that day. He answers, "One, the mind." Yajn̄avalkya
argues that this is possible because the mind is without limit, the all-gods are without limit, and
the world one gains by it is also limitless. Thus the deities become identified with mind itself—
and by implication the Brāhmaṇ priest, the controller of the sacrifice, can earn his authority
through the machinations of his own mind. Finally, in discussing the hymns that are used in the
sacrifice, Aśvala asks what these hymns are with respect to the "self-body" (ātman). Yājn̄avalkya
replies that the hymn recited before the sacrifice is the out-breath, the hymn that accompanies the
sacrifice the in-breath, and the hymn of praise the inter-breath.
The Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad puts the relationship between self, body, and cosmos eloquently:
"This self is the honey of all beings, and all beings are the honey of this self. The radiant and
58
immortal person in the self and the radiant and immortal person connected with the body [here,
also referred to as ātman ]—they are both one's self. It is the immortal; it is Brahman, it is the
Whole" (2:5:9).
Epic Cosmology
The two great Indian epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata, were probably composed
between 200 bce and 200 ce. Both of these narratives act as a kind of bridge between the worlds
of the Vedas and the Upaniṣads and that of classical, Purāṇic Hinduism. This same period saw
the development of the early Śāstras or legal texts, which also contain cosmological information.
The cosmology of the epics and the early Śāstras incorporates an increasing systematization of
the idea of samsaric time for the individual and expands the idea of the universe into one that
dissolves and regenerates. Epic cosmology also incorporates the ideas of Sāṃkhya and Yoga
philosophy, such as the "qualities," or guṇa s, that are inherent in all beings and elements in the
universe. Such a cosmology involves an entirely new pantheon of gods, the triad of Viṣṇu, Śiva,
and Brahmā, and the Devī, or goddess. These gods were probably part of the popular religious
worlds of North India, even during the period of Vedic sacrificial practice. However, as
sacrificial practice waned and the patronage of temples increased, these gods emerged as the
larger, cosmological deities in their own right. Devotion (bhakti) toward these deities is also an
emerging theme in the epics, in which the deity is seen as the creator and sustainer of the
universe. The body of the deity is the frame of the cosmos, and time (also an agent of the deity)
moves beings toward their final state.
At the basis of these ideas is an early Hindu philosophy called Sāṃkhya, which means
"counting." In the sense that its aim is to enumerate everything in the universe, it could also be
called a cosmology. According to Sāṃkhya, the universe evolves from a feminine "natural
matter" and becomes entangled with the masculine puruṣa, which is an individual soul (and not
to be confused with the earlier "cosmic person"). Thus in these entanglements twenty-four
"evolutes" emerge, including the senses and the elements. Sāṃkhya is the basis of the practice of
Yoga, whereby the yogin gradually extricates the soul from the evolutes of prakṛti. After eight
stages, the soul realizes its eternal nature and is no longer subject to the laws of action (karma) or
transmigration (saṃsāra). Time, however, is not an agent in itself. Sāṃkhya's ordering of the
universe of prakṛti is generally not hierarchical, although one text—the Yoga Bhāṣya —sees the
lower evolutes of prakṛti as the hells and the higher ones as the heavens. The extrication of the
soul from prakṛti in the practice of Yoga is seen as the soul's movement toward the higher
realms, and when it leaves the world altogether, it also dissolves it. On a smaller cosmological
scale, Sāṃkhya Yoga philosophy contributes the basic idea that there are universal qualities
or "guṇas" inherent
in
every
element
on
earth.
These guṇas are sattva (truth,
light); rajas (passion, force) and tamas (weight, darkness) are inherent in every particle of the
universe.
Epic Space
The epics and Dharmaśāstras and related texts of this period give an idea of how those heavens
and netherworlds might be inhabited. In the Mahābhārata, Arjuna visits Śiva and obtains a
59
weapon from him in one of his heavenly abodes; so too the gods dwelling in heaven remind
Rāma of his duty toward his wife at the end of the Rāmāyaṇa. The great Mahābhārata heroes,
the Paṇḍava brothers, also make ascents and descents to heaven and hell at the end of the great
battle. Most importantly it is during this transitional period that one sees the intimation that the
land of Bhārata is to be identified with Indian civilization and the entirety of the earth.
Epic Time
The Bhiṣmaparvan of the Mahābhārata (4–12) contains an entire depiction of the cosmos, which
involves the beginnings of the devotional, or bhakti, tradition. So too the Śantiparvan introduces
the idea of the division of time into kalpas and yugas, as does the Manu Smṛti, one of the more
well-known legal Dharmaśāstric texts developed during this time. The epic texts also introduce
explicit teachings on the doctrine of the avatāras, or "descents" of god. These avatāras appear at
various points when time has lost its power to fight the demons and to restore the dharma, or
moral order, of the universe. As early as the great Bhagavadgītā, or "Song of the Lord,"
contained in the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa apparently refers to the notion of time and to the
integration of the idea of the avatāra with that of the descending ages, or yugas. As Kṛṣṇa puts it:
Son of Bhārata, whenever there is a decline in dharma, and the absence of dharma increases, I
create Myself. I come into being from age to age with the purpose of fixing dharma —as a refuge
for those who do good and as a doom for those who do wrong. (4:7–8; in Patton, 2005)
Epic Person and Morality
Kṛṣṇa's words lead directly to a new understanding of the relationship between cosmology and
the morality of the human world. That relationship is conceived of in terms of dharma (sacred
role or duty). Kṛṣṇa is beyond time and space and yet at the same time incarnates himself in
order to make sure that dharma is in the correct order and format. The cosmos is perceived as
directly responsive to any change in the correct pattern of dharma. So too the reverse is the case:
as one of the Dharmaśāstras argues, if one follows the dharma of hospitality toward a brahmin
guest, one can gain various heavens depending upon the number of days the guest stays in one's
home. Entertaining a brahmin guest forever allows one to attain svargaloka.
PurĀṆic Cosmology
The medieval Hindu texts called Purāṇas ("of the ancient times") contain Hindu cosmology at its
most exuberant and efflorescent. Emerging during the early first millennium ce as a genre in
their own right, Purāṇas were sponsored by each temple or kingdom and usually focused on a
particular deity, which gave its own account of the world and its destruction. In the Purāṇas, the
basic themes introduced in the epics and the Śāstras are elaborated upon imagistically, poetically,
and mathematically. Moreover the theme of bhakti, or devotion, which was dramatically
introduced in the epics and Yoga texts, becomes paramount.
PurĀṆic Space
Many Purāṇas, including the relatively early Viṣṇu Purāṇa, describe a flat disk of earth, which is
itself composed of a series of circles. These are in fact seven concentric islands that keep
doubling in size as one moves outward. (The first is an actual circle, and the concentric islands
60
are ring-shaped.) The islands are separated from each other by a series of oceans, each of which
has the width of the island it encircles. The center-most island is the most well known and is
called Jambudvīpa (Rose Apple Island). And at the center of the world, the golden mountain
called Meru anchors the entire arrangement. Meru is unusual in that it is an inversion of the usual
mountains and points downward. Jambudvīpa is further divided into nine varṣa s, or regions, that
consist of mountain ranges. The lines are latitudinal, running from east to west.
The region of Jambudvīpa that is the farthest north is called Uttarakuru and may well be
Kurukṣetra, where the central battle of the Mahābhārata took place. Moving southward, one
encounters the other varṣas: Hiranmaya, Ramyaka, Ketumāla, Ilavṛta, Bhadrāśya, Harivarṣa,
Kiṃpuruṣa, and Bhārata. The final region, Bhārata, is assumed by many scholars to be India, as
this is the same name for India in the twenty-first century. In the Purāṇic cosmograph, however,
it is a karmabhūmi, or realm where the laws of karma apply. As such one can only attain mokṣa,
or liberation from these laws, in this region. Bhārata is also the only place on earth where rain
falls. Bhārata itself is divided into nine sections. Moreover the celestial river Ganges also divides
into seven branches—the traditional seven rivers found in ancient Vedic texts.
The full series of seven islands then begins with Jambudvīpa, whose diameter is
100,000 yojana s. Jambudvīpa forms an actual circle with a radius of fifty thousand yojana s.
(A yojana is a word that occurs as early as the Ṛgveda; it has been variously measured as two,
four, five, or nine English miles, although it also has an etymological link to Yoga and yuga that
makes its connotations metaphysical.) The rest of the ring-shaped islands are named as follows:
Plakṣadvīpa, Sālmaladvīpa, Kuśadvīpa, Krauṇcadvīpa, Śākadvīpa, and Puṣkaradvīpa. All the
islands are named after some species of the trees and plants that grow on them. Each concentric
ring island is double the width of the previous one, so that the outermost, Puṣkaradvīpa, ends up
with a width of 6.4 million yojana s. Finally, just as Jambudvīpa is divided into nine varṣa s, or
regions, of mountain ranges, so too each of the five inner ring-shaped islands also is divided into
seven mountain-range varṣa s. The outer most island, Puṣkaradvīpa, is delineated by a ring of
mountains called Mānassottara.
The oceans that separate the ring islands from one another have the same width as the diameter
they surround, with the same expansion of measurement up to 6.4 million for the last ocean.
Their names are drawn from the substance of the oceans themselves: Lavaṇoda (Salt Ocean),
Ikṣura (Molasses Ocean), Suroda (Wine Ocean), Ghṛtoda (Ghee Ocean), Dadhyoda (Curd
Ocean), Kṣīroda (Milk Ocean), and Svādūdaka (Freshwater Ocean). The Freshwater Ocean flows
beyond the last ring island, Puṣkaradvīpa, and separates it from the end of the
universe (lokasaṃsthiti). The realm at the end of the universe is a golden realm that divides the
world from the nonworld, similarly to the way in which being and nonbeing are distinguished
even in the earliest Vedic cosmologies. The golden realm also has a mountain, Lokakāloka
(World and non-World). After this mountain is a region of perpetual darkness, where, the texts
seem to suggest, only the elements of earth, wind, air, and fire exist. After that realm is the shell
of the egg of Brahmā, which envelopes the universe in its entirety. The entire diameter of this
universe is said to be 500 million yojana s.
What of the stars and other heavenly bodies? The stars move around Mount Meru in a circular
direction, with the North Star (dhruva) as their pivot. Below them lies the flat disk of the earth.
The sun, moon, and planets move about in chariots drawn by horses, as was the case even in the
61
earliest Vedic texts. They are attached to the North Star by bands of air that allow them to travel
in their proper orbits.
The Hindu cosmograph, with its conical center, Mount Meru, and the chariot of the sun and disk
of stars circulating above the disk of concentric islands and oceans may be based on a projection
of the celestial sphere onto a flat surface. In such an analysis the circle of the sun is the
mythographic expression of the circle of the ecliptic. Mount Meru represents the projection of
the celestial Tropic of Cancer, while the Mānassottara Mountain represents the projection of
the Tropic of Capricorn. The prominence of the North Star, the conspicuous absence of the south
polar star, and the stories about the exile of Agastya (Canopus) to the Southern Hemisphere to
preserve the cosmograph all support the idea that the Hindu cosmograph is a northern,
planispheric projection of the sort used to construct such instruments as the astrolabe.
As for a vertical cosmology, there are seven worlds with the same names as those of the
Upaniṣads, although the Purāṇas make considerable elaboration on these. The bhūrloka contains
the cosmograph of the seven islands outlined above, with Bhārata as the only land where the law
of karma applies and liberation is possible. Most significantly, there are seven Pātalas, or
netherworlds: Atala, Vitala, Nitala, Gabhastimat, Mahātala, Sutala, and Pātala. Below these are
twenty-eight hell realms.
The bhuvaṣḥ, or intermediate realm, is the realm of the sun, which moves through its annual
course in its chariot. Above this is the svarloka, which contains, in ascending order, the moon; its
twenty-seven or twenty-eight Nakṣatras, or houses of the moon; Mercury (Buddha); Venus
(Śukra); Mars (Angārika); Jupiter (Bṛhaspati); Saturn (Śani); and the Seven Ṛṣis (the Great Bear)
and Dhruva (the North star, mentioned above).
The three basic realms of bhur, bhuvaḥ, and svaḥ are described as kṛtika —meaning they are
"created" worlds and therefore transitory. They are the regions where consequences are
experienced and renewed with every kalpa. In these three realms the fruits of karma that are
acquired in Bhārata manifest themselves, and souls are reborn to enjoy these fruits. These are the
enjoyment realms (bhogabhūmi) as opposed to the karmabhūmi of Bhārata. Above
the svarloka is the realm of mahas, which is considered a mixed realm because it is a deserted by
beings at the end of kalpa but is not destroyed. Finally, the three highest realms—janas, tapas,
and satyam —are described as akṛittika: that which is uncreated. They perish only at the end of
the life of Brahmā.
PurĀṆic Time
The Purāṇas divide time into such components as yugas, as four age cycles, and kalpa s, which
are a day and a night of Brahmā. The Purāṇas provide a very thorough analysis of these
components. Together with doctrines concerning the various destructions (pralayas), they are the
glue that holds this cosmology together and provides it with a coherent drama of salvation.
Indeed Viṣṇu Purāṇa asserts it is not space but time that constitutes the body of the deity.
Hindu divisions of time are as follows. Fifteen "twinklings of the eye" make a kāṣṭhās, or
one kalā; and thirty kalās equal one muhūrtta. Thirty muhūrttas constitute a day and a night of
62
mortals; thirty such days make a month, which is divided into two halves (waxing and waning).
Six months form an ayana, and two ayanas compose a year.
The southern ayana is a night and the northern a day of the gods. Twelve thousand divine years,
each
comprising
360
such
days,
constitute
the
period
of
the yugas
(caturyuga). The kṛtayuga consists of four thousand divine years, the tretāyuga of three
thousand, the dvāparayuga of two thousand, and the kaliyuga of one thousand. The period that
precedes a yuga is called a sandhyā; it lasts for as many hundred years as there are thousands in
the yuga. The sandhyānsa, at the end of the yuga, is of similar duration. Together the
four yugas constitute a kalpa. A thousand kalpas is a day of Brahmā, and fourteen Manus, or
descendants of man, reign during that time period, which is known as Manvantara. At the end of
a day of Brahmā, the universe is consumed by fire, and its dissolution occurs. Brahmā then
sleeps for a night of equal duration. Three hundred and sixty such days and nights constitute a
year of Brahmā, and one hundred such years equal his entire life (mahākalpa). One parārddha,
or half his life, has expired.
The various pralayas epitomize the agency of time by moving the soul—and the universe—from
its current state to its eventual salvation. The Purāṇas distinguish four types of dissolution,
or pralaya, each reversing the process of creation at different levels. These include:
•
•
•
•
Nitya pralaya, or physical death of the individual caught in the cycle of
transmigration;
Ātyantika pralaya, or spiritual liberation (mokṣa) ;
Prākṛta pralaya, or dissolution of the elements at the end of the life of Brahmā;
Naimittika pralaya, or occasional dissolution associated with the cycles of yugas and
descents of avatāras.
Yet calculations of time also had a meditative quality: the contemplation of infinity, or the
largest number next to infinity, was meant to be close to a vision of God. The Brahmavaivarta
Purāṇa tells the well-known story of the dialogue between Viṣṇu and Indra. In the form of a
young boy, Viṣṇu tells Indra that a parade of ants crawling on the earth have all had lives as
Indras—each ruling over their own solar systems in different ages.
PurĀṆic Person and Morality
In the Purāṇic texts, the four yugas progress as a kind of inevitable decay in the moral quality of
the universe. The Kūrma Purāṇa (1:27, 16–57; 28:1–7) states it elaborately. The text describes
the meditational bliss, lack of self interest, and natural habitat of human beings in the first yuga,
kṛtayuga; the arising of pleasure and greed in the tretāyuga; the lack of firm resolve and the
introduction of war, death, and suffering in the dvāparayuga; and the rampant hunger, fear, and
inversion of social order in the final present age of the kaliyuga. Happiness, beauty, homes in the
forest, and food dropping from trees gradually give way to the moral decay of the world and then
to the development of practices aimed at liberation from such decay.
The kaliyuga is considered the worst of the four yugas —the moment right before the final
destruction and renewal of the universe. The Purāṇas and many contemporary Hindu thinkers
understand the present to be the kaliyuga. The decadence, greed, and confusion of social
63
categories is both inevitable and part of the turning of the cycles of time, and yet the Purāṇas and
other Hindu texts exhort each individual to be the moral exception in this period of decay.
Non-Sanskritic Cosmologies
It is important to note, however, that the extended discussion of cosmology above is based
mainly on the Sanskrit textual tradition and that there are many important cosmologies within
Hinduism that may depart from these basic ideas in significant ways. In South India, for
example, Tamil, Telugu, and Karnatak traditions have developed complex and sophisticated
classical cosmologies of their own. Such texts focus on the meaning of the temple and the city
surrounding it as a center and origin of the world and on a regional deity as its creator. The
temple spires and surrounding tanks frequently function in ways similar to, and are sometimes
even compared with, Mount Meru and its surrounding islands in the Sanskrit texts. So too South
Indian texts describe deities like Murukaṉ (Murugan) residing in these temples as if they were a
kind of paradise created at the beginning of the world. At a village level, guardian deities of
ponds, wells, and the intersections of roads are also credited with cosmological powers and roles
in creation.
Finally, the ādivasis, or "tribal" communities of India, such as the Muṇḍa, Santal, and others,
also possess unique cosmologies, some of which incorporate Hindu deities such as Rāma, others
of which involve completely separate deities who have created and preside over the natural
world and look after the welfare of human beings. Many tribal cosmologies incorporate
narratives of the victory of good over evil. The Muṇḍa, for example, tell the story of Singbonga,
who tried to stop the iron smelters from working as it was causing pollution in the universe.
When they refused, he had to destroy them in order to keep the world safe. So too the Kokna,
Bhil, and Varli peoples understand that before humans the world was filled with rakṣasas, or
demons; Rāma and Sītā then passed through the area, killed the demons, and gave birth to
humans.
Science and Cosmology
Any discussion of Hindu cosmology would be empty without a discussion of astronomy and
related sciences. As mentioned previously, the astronomical sciences appear as early as the
Vedic period in the form of Jyotiṣḥśāstra, or "the science of light." Though there is considerable
debate as to the range and nature of astronomical knowledge, it is known that the lunar mansions
are mentioned in the Brāhmaṇas and that the Hindu science of calculation began with the
cosmological Vedic altars and developed into the elaborate calculations of the yugas, kalpas,
and mahākalpas in the Purāṇas. Jyotiṣḥśāstra encouraged thinkers to assign dates to the grand
conjunctions of the middle planets at Aries, and the date February 18 (or 19) of 3101 (or 3102)
bce is frequently cited as marking the beginning of the kaliyuga. One astronomical text, in
the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa (2:166–174), is the earliest of this genre and is the basis of
the Brahmāpakṣa. Together with the Aryapakṣa and the Ardharatrikapakṣa, these three texts
form the canonical schools of Hindu astronomy.
The great astronomer-sage Āryabhaṭa (fifth–sixth centuries ce) calculated the rotations of the
earth and the sun in terms of the yugas. His treatises (siddhantas) sketch his mathematical,
planetary, and cosmic theories and include a sine table, astronomical computations, divisions of
64
time, and rules for computation for eclipses as well as the longitude of planets. Among the other
theorists, Varāhamihira (sixth century ce), Brahmagupta (seventh century ce), Bhāskara (twelfth
century ce), and Mādhava (fourteenth century ce) all gave calculational and astronomical
theories that contributed to overall ideas about the universe, such as the rotational powers of the
planets and the centrality of the sun.
Indeed by the time of Bhāskara (c. twelfth century ce) the old Purāṇic cosmology was being
questioned with the construction of a different model of the solar system. In the debates one can
detect a conflict between the Purāṇic cosmology and the cosmology of the Jyotiṣas. There are
some discussions that remind one of the contemporary cosmological debate between creationism
and the Big Bang. For instance, the astronomical writers asked: If, as some of the Purāṇas state, a
tortoise is holding up the earth, then what being or substance might be supporting that tortoise?
Or if one is assuming the gigantic height of Mount Meru and a flat, disk-like earth, then would
not one be able to see Mount Meru from every point on the disk of the earth?
Around 1200 ce al-Bīrūnī, an Arab astronomer and translator, noted the debates and problems of
Purāṇic cosmology that were present in the discussions of Indian astronomers. Relatedly it is
clear that there was a great deal of scientific collaboration between Hindus and Muslims in
Mughal India, especially in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Jaipur, where the appropriate
description of the cosmos was argued out at great length.
Finally, in the contemporary period various more and less controversial attempts have been made
to correlate scientific advances with Hindu cosmology. In the more controversial cases textual
exegetes argue about whether it is appropriate to view certain descriptions of "vehicles" in the
epics as referring to space travelers or whether the ancient word yojana, mentioned above, refers
to the speed of light. In a more speculative and less controversial vein Yoga theorists draw
parallels between the theory of the three guṇas and James C. Maxwell's theories of
electromagnetism; between the relation of space and time in Sāṃkhya theory and the theory of
relativity; between the idea of the cosmic egg and the theory of curved space in the general
theory of relativity; and so on.
Many contemporary philosophers and historians, such as S. Radhakrishnan, B. K. Motilal, A. N.
Balslev, and W. R. Kloetzli, have written of the parallels (not equivalencies) between scientific
and Hindu philosophical thinking. The Hindu philosophical school of Nyāya Vaiśeṣika and its
views on the atom's role in the universe is one particularly salient example. Finally, the
cosmological writings of astrophysicist Jayant Viṣṇu Narlikar land more squarely in the world of
physical science and cosmology. Considered a leading expert and defender of the steady state
cosmology against the more popular Big Bang cosmology, Narlikar has also drawn some
intriguing parallels with Hindu mythology—not in order to "prove" the existence of scientific
knowledge in ancient texts but rather to show the power of the cosmological imagination in both
science and mythology. Many of the cosmological myths referred to above, involving expansion
and contraction, the in-breathing and out-breathing of Brahmā, and so on, seem to involve
metaphors of a "steady state" similar to Narlikar's physical and mathematical arguments in
scientific cosmology.
TOWN PLANNING
65
They say that town planning originated in the United Kingdom during the industrial revolution.
The rapid growth of the urban population resulted in overcrowding and water contamination
which caused serious public health issues. In response, local authorities took responsibility for
providing clean water and the removal of sewerage and refuse. Acts of Parliament were passed to
regulate for these services.
Town planning soon expanded to include amenity matters. Controls were introduced to minimise
the detrimental effects that resulted from the adjacent location of incompatible activities (e.g.
noisy or smelly activities in residential areas). It was soon recognised that rural land also needed
to be managed to prevent the continued loss of productive rural land and the escalating cost of
providing infrastructure to the suburbs.
Similarly, the history of urban planning is a technical and political process concerned with the
use of land and design of the urban environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure
passing into and out of urban areas such as transportation and distribution networks.
The history of urban planning runs parallel to the history of the city, as planning is in evidence at
some of the earliest known urban sites.
The pre-Classical and Classical periods saw a number of cities laid out according to fixed plans,
though many tended to develop organically. Designed cities were characteristic of
the Minoan, Mesopotamian, Harrapan, and Egyptian civilisations of the third millennium BC
(see Urban planning in ancient Egypt). The first recorded description of urban planning appears
in the Epic of Gilgamesh: "Go up on to the wall of Uruk and walk around. Inspect the foundation
platform and scrutinise the brickwork. Testify that its bricks are baked bricks, And that the Seven
Counsellors must have laid its foundations. One square mile is city, one square mile is orchards,
one square mile is claypits, as well as the open ground of Ishtar's temple.Three square miles and
the open ground comprise Uruk. Look for the copper tablet-box, Undo its bronze lock, Open the
door to its secret, Lift out the lapis lazuli tablet and read."
All these word describe the same phenomenon- aggregate living of people. Which ofcourse
began since ancient times and not just after the industrial revolution.
A city was and is a large human settlement. It can be defined as a permanent
and densely settled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work
primarily
on
non-agricultural
tasks Cities
generally
have
extensive
systems
for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land
use, production
of
goods,
and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government
organisations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as
improving efficiency of goods and service distribution.
Historically, city-dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two
centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization, more than half of the world population now
lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability. Present-day cities
usually form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas—creating
numerous commuters traveling towards city centres for employment, entertainment, and
education.
However, in a world of intensifying globalisation, all cities are to varying degrees also connected
globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant
66
influences on global issues, such as sustainable development, global warming and global health.
Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized
investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11. Due to the efficiency
of transportation and the smaller land consumption, dense cities hold the potential to have a
smaller ecological
footprint per
inhabitant
than
more
sparsely
populated
areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element of fighting climate
change. However, this concentration can also have significant negative consequences, such as
forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other
resources.
Other important traits of cities besides population include the capital status and relative
continued occupation of the city. For example, country capitals such as Beijing, London, Mexico
City, Moscow, Nairobi, New
Delhi, Paris, Rome, Athens, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo,
and Washington, D.C. reflect the identity and apex of their respective nations. Some historic
capitals, such as Kyoto and Xi'an, maintain their reflection of cultural identity even without
modern capital status. Religious holy sites offer another example of capital status within a
religion, Jerusalem, Mecca, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Haridwar and Prayagraj each hold significance.
The cities of Jericho, Faiyum, Damascus, Athens, Aleppo and Argos are among those laying
claim to the longest continual inhabitation.
HISTORY
Cities, characterized by population density, symbolic function, and urban planning, have existed
for thousands of years.[41] In the conventional view, civilization and the city both followed from
the development of agriculture, which enabled production of surplus food, and thus a
social division of labour (with concomitant social stratification) and trade. Early cities often
featured granaries, sometimes within a temple. A minority viewpoint considers that cities may
have arisen without agriculture, due to alternative means of subsistence (fishing), to use as
communal seasonal shelters, to their value as bases for defensive and offensive military
organization, or to their inherent economic function. Cities played a crucial role in the
establishment of political power over an area, and ancient leaders such as Alexander the
Great founded and created them with zeal.
Ancient times
Jericho and Çatalhöyük, dated to the eighth millennium BC, are among the earliest protocities known to archaeologists.
In the fourth and third millennium BC, complex civilizations flourished in the river valleys
of Mesopotamia, India, China, and Egypt. Excavations in these areas have found the ruins of
cities geared variously towards trade, politics, or religion. Some had large, dense populations, but
others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large
associated populations. Among the early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley
Civilization in present-day Pakistan, existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a
population of 50,000 or more and a sophisticated sanitation system. China's planned cities were
constructed according to sacred principles to act as celestial microcosms. The Ancient Egyptian
cities known physically by archaeologists are not extensive. They include (known by their Arab
names) El Lahun, a workers' town associated with the pyramid of Senusret II, and the religious
city Amarna built by Akhenaten and abandoned. These sites appear planned in a highly
67
regimented and stratified fashion, with a minimalistic grid of rooms for the workers and
increasingly more elaborate housing available for higher classes.
In Mesopotamia, the civilization of Sumer, followed by Assyria and Babylon, gave rise to
numerous cities, governed by kings and fostering multiple languages written in cuneiform.
The Phoenician trading empire, flourishing around the turn of the first millennium BC,
encompassed numerous cities extending from Tyre, Cydon, and Byblos to Carthage and Cádiz.
In the following centuries, independent city-states of Greece, especially Athens, developed
the polis, an association of male landowning citizens who collectively constituted the city.
The agora, meaning "gathering place" or "assembly", was the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual
and political life of the polis. Rome was the first city that surpassed one million inhabitants.
Under the authority of its empire, Rome transformed and founded many cities (coloniae), and
with them brought its principles of urban architecture, design, and society.
In the ancient Americas, early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica. In the
Andes,
the
first
urban
centers
developed
in
the Norte
Chico
civilization, Chavin and Moche cultures,
followed
by
major
cities
in
the Huari, Chimu and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major
population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the
oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between the 30th century BC and the 18th
century BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, beginning
with the Olmec and spreading to the Preclassic Maya, the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in
central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec, Andean civilization, Mayan, Mississippians,
and Pueblo peoples drew on these earlier urban traditions. Many of their ancient cities continue
to be inhabited, including major metropolitan cities such as Mexico City, in the same location
as Tenochtitlan; while ancient continuously inhabited Pueblos are near modern urban areas
in New Mexico, such as Acoma Pueblo near the Albuquerque metropolitan area and Taos
Pueblo near Taos; while others like Lima are located nearby ancient Peruvian sites such
as Pachacamac.
Jenné-Jeno, located in present-day Mali and dating to the third century BC, lacked monumental
architecture and a distinctive elite social class—but nevertheless had specialized production and
relations with a hinterland.[64] Pre-Arabic trade contacts probably existed between Jenné-Jeno
and North Africa.[65] Other early urban centers in sub-Saharan Africa, dated to around 500 AD,
include Awdaghust, Kumbi-Saleh the ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda a center located on
a trade route between Egypt and Gao.
Middle Ages
In the remnants of the Roman Empire, cities of late antiquity gained independence but soon lost
population and importance. The locus of power in the West shifted to Constantinople and to
the ascendant Islamic civilization with its major cities Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba.[67] From the
9th through the end of the 12th century, Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire,
was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, with a population approaching 1 million.
The Ottoman Empire gradually gained control over many cities in the Mediterranean area,
including Constantinople in 1453.
In the Holy Roman Empire, beginning in the 12th. century, free imperial cities such
as Nuremberg, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Basel, Zurich, Nijmegen became a privileged elite among
68
towns having won self-governance from their local lay or secular lord or having been granted
self-governanace by the emperor and being placed under his immediate protection. By 1480,
these cities, as far as still part of the empire, became part of the Imperial Estates governing the
empire with the emperor through the Imperial Diet.
By the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, some cities become powerful states, taking
surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. In
Italy medieval communes developed into city-states including the Republic of Venice and
the Republic of Genoa. In Northern Europe, cities including Lübeck and Bruges formed
the Hanseatic League for collective defense and commerce. Their power was
later challenged and eclipsed by the Dutch commercial cities of Ghent, Ypres, and Amsterdam.
Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai, which enjoyed a considerable
autonomy in late medieval Japan.
In the first millennium AD, the Khmer capital of Angkor in Cambodia grew into the most
extensive preindustrial settlement in the world by area, covering over 1,000 sq km and possibly
supporting up to one million people
69
RESEARCH
Smith, M. E. (2003). Can We Read Cosmology in Ancient Maya City Plans? Comment on Ashmore
and Sabloff. Latin American Antiquity, 14(2), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.2307/3557596 found that the
Mayans planned their cities based on the map of the stars. In Layout of Ancient Maya
Cities,Grant R. Aylesworth, Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy pp 769772| it issaid that although there is little doubt that the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica laid their
cities out based, in part, on astronomical considerations, the proliferation of “cosmograms” in
contemporary scholarly discourse has complicated matters for the acceptance of rigorous
archaeoastronomical research.
Hidenobu, Jinnai. "CHAPTER TWO. The Cosmology of a City of Water". Tokyo: A Spatial
Anthropology,
Berkeley:
University
of
California
Press,
2020,
pp.
66170. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520354906-005 refers to the planning of Tokyo which
resembled Venice and in fact reflectef theTokyo of yesterday: even destroyed by the earthquake
of 1923 and again by the firebombing of World War II much remained of the old city.
The internationally known Japanese architectural historian Jinnai Hidenobu found that, despite
an almost completely new cityscape, present-day inhabitants divide Tokyo's space in much the
same way that their ancestors did two hundred years before.His detailing shows how natural,
topographical features were incorporated into the layout of the city. A variety of visual
documents (maps from the Tokugawa and Meiji periods, building floorplans, woodblock prints,
photographs) supplement his observations. Industry Reviews term it as a book about the
historical and social logic of Tokyo: a compelling exploration of the reasons why the city
acquired is present shape. . . . "Tokyo: A Spatial Anthropology is very obviously a labor of love;
its style overflows with enthusiasm at the wonders to the city. . . . An original, readable, and
fascinating book."--Tessa Morris-Suzuki, "Journal of Asian Studies.
Yet ther is no agreement on assessing the Typology of Cosmological interphase of the cities as
proposed in More on Mesoamerican Cosmology and City Plans by Ivan Šprajc
MOHNJO DARO
70
Around 12,000 years ago, humans hunkered down. Though they had previously traversed the
planet to forage for food, people made the decision to devote themselves to agriculture and spent
their days planting seeds, picking produce and amassing the world’s first food surpluses.
Ultimately, the security provided by abundant food allowed portions of the human population to
concentrate on converting small, agrarian settlements into vibrant cities. They could construct
towering temples and palaces and throw themselves into the burgeoning endeavors of art,
philosophy and politics.
Here are seven ancient societies that have gained a reputation for their ingenuity and innovation.
(The exact timelines for these civilizations are approximate and subject to academic debate.)
Sumerian Civilization (4500 B.C. to 1900 B.C.)
Ancient Sumer, an area in Mesopotamia above the shared floodplains of the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers, is famous for fostering the first civilizations in human history. Around 10000
B.C., Mesopotamia’s “Fertile Crescent” allowed ancient populations to settle and support
themselves with farming. By about 4500 B.C., these communities (who we currently call the
Sumerians), could cultivate crops in such excess that they could forge the world’s first cities
without feeling peckish.
Sumerian cities such as Eridu, Uruk and Ur contained tall temple and palace complexes. The
ancient Sumerians are also credited with creating the written word: As many as 5,000 years ago,
they scratched clay tablets with a writing system called cuneiform. This system allowed them to
track the movement of grain throughout their territory, share stories and myths, and spread
advice on agriculture and cooking, among other purposes. These innovations secured
Mesopotamia’s modern title: the “Cradle of Civilization.” The Sumerians also pioneered
mathematics, astronomy and astrology, invented irrigation, started the first schools, codified the
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first codes of law and fashioned our current conceptions of time by dividing the day into hours,
minutes and seconds.
Indus Valley Civilization (3300 B.C. to 1300 B.C.)
Around 7000 B.C., agriculturalists began building small villages throughout the Indus River
Valley in present-day India and Pakistan. Starting around 3300 B.C., these settlements grew
particularly bustling. Although the Sumerians invented cities, the people of the Indus Valley
perfected them. Their settlements of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, for instance, housed
approximately 40,000 to 50,000 individuals and featured baked-brick buildings.
Sophisticated sewer and water supply systems kept these cities clean, and their spacious streets
formed a strict grid structure suggesting these sites were meticulously planned.
The painstaking urban planning that transpired in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro indicate the people
of the Indus Valley sought uniformity. Their omnipresent bricks shared standard dimensions,
and, indeed, their standardized weights and measures rank among their most important
innovations.
Other
inventions
included
a
mysterious
writing
system
that
remains undecipherable, and novel techniques in metallurgy.
Ancient Egypt (3100 B.C.
to 30 B.C.)
By 6000 B.C., settlers arrived at the banks of the Nile and found an asylum from the scorching
sands. They tilled the soil and built villages, and around 3100 B.C., these settlements became
bustling metropolises, ruled by pharaohs who acted as statesmen — declaring laws, demanding
taxes, waging war and overseeing their territory — and divine intermediaries between the people
and their deities.
The Egyptians thrived for thousands of years under the pharaohs and found fame for their
advances in several fields of knowledge. For instance, they possessed a vast awareness of what
became arithmetic, astronomy and anatomy, and were credited with inventing medical surgery
72
thanks to their skills in stitching wounds and setting broken bones. (It’s actually theorized that
their mummification practices influenced their medical talents.)
The ancient Egyptians were also prolific writers. They independently invented a system
of hieroglyphics featuring hundreds — if not thousands — of alphabetic, syllabic and
logographic characters that they inscribed in stone. This early civilization also pioneered several
derivative scripts that were written across papyrus, a tough material made from the pith of plants
found throughout the floodplains. Above all, the people of ancient Egypt proved to be skilled
builders. Their temples and tombs are considered among the grandest constructions ever
executed, and their monuments such as the Great Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza still remind
us of their early ingenuity.
Ancient and Early Imperial China (2070 B.C. to A.D. 220)
The Yellow River Valley of China fostered one of the world’s oldest civilizations. The first
farming settlements appeared there around 5000 B.C., and from these modest foundations grew a
centralized government. Starting with the Xia (2070-1600 B.C.), several successive dynasties
dominated Chinese civilization. These kingdoms supposedly sustained themselves by divine
decree, an idea that developed into the “Mandate of Heaven.” This political philosophy
encouraged rulers to act as stewards of their people and warned against bad behavior.
In both tranquil and troubled times, Chinese culture flourished. In the Shang Dynasty (16001046 B.C.), Chinese scribes wrote with characters that resemble those used today, and by around
400 B.C., the ideas of famous figures such as Confucius began blossoming into full-fledged
belief systems stressing virtue and filial piety. Beyond these philosophical achievements,
Chinese artisans created the first silk and the first forms of paper. They also fashioned the first
block printing processes and maritime compasses. The traditions of acupuncture and herbal
medicine have become one of China’s longest-lived contributions. Additionally, Chinese
builders are famed for constructing and connecting the first portions of one of the most
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impressive architectural accomplishments of all time: the Great Wall. This tremendous work
started as early as the 7th century B.C.
Ancient Maya Civilization (1000 B.C. to A.D. 1520)
Around 7000 B.C., Mesoamerican communities started cultivating maize and beans and
developing permanent dwellings concentrated in what is now southeastern Mexico, Guatemala
and Belize, as well as sections of Honduras and El Salvador. Starting around 1000 B.C., these
villages were replaced by the ancient cities of the Maya Civilization, which spread around
massive administrative and ceremonial complexes that seemed to touch the stars.
The Maya found the sky fascinating. They built large observatories and made meticulous records
of planetary movement with a sophisticated system of writing that combined pictorial and
phonetic characters. They also made predictions of the positions of celestial objects that rang true
far into the future. In fact, the Maya people’s understanding of the movements of Venus, Mars
and the moon inspired their famous system of timekeeping. This system incorporated complex
interlocking calendars that timed their agricultural activities and religious rituals to coincide
with certain astronomical arrangements. Modern minds are also captivated by their calendar,
which is still consulted by many of the Maya’s 6 million modern descendants.
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Ancient Greece (1100 B.C. to A.D. 140)
Ancient Greece wasn’t the first civilization to form on the craggy coasts of the Mediterranean,
though their culture undoubtedly made its mark. In approximately 7000 B.C., agricultural
settlements appeared across the Aegean Sea and grew into societies including those of
the Minoans and Mycenaeans. In fact, the latter greatly influenced the Greeks: They developed
the first forms of their language and worshiped several gods and goddesses who would
ultimately populate the Greek pantheon, including Zeus, Poseidon and Athena. They also
inspired ancient Greece’s most important myths, including their account of the legendary
Mycenaean soldiers Achilles and Odysseus and their activities in the Trojan War.
By 1100 B.C., the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures collapsed, and around the 8th century B.C., a
smattering of independent city-states, including Athens, Sparta and Thebes, began to dominate
the Greek world. Though these city-states possessed distinct cultures, they shared a language,
religion and interest in innovation. While the society’s poets such as Homer and Hesiod
pioneered Western literature, Greek thinkers paved the way for modern medicine, mathematics
and science, and became the first proponents of ideas such as atomism and heliocentrism. It was
also ancient Greek figures — including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle — who fostered Western
philosophy. Perhaps most consequentially, the culture laid the foundations for today’s
democracies.
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Ancient Rome (750 B.C. to A.D. 470)
Though Rome began as a modest village along the banks of the Tiber on the Italian Peninsula
around 750 B.C., it expanded into one of history’s largest empires, spanning massive swaths of
the Mediterranean and beyond. As they extended their authority, the Romans often appropriated
the ideas and inventions of those they encountered. For instance, they absorbed the divinities and
rituals of the Greeks, Egyptians and several other societies to supplement their own pantheon.
They also collected and systematized knowledge from throughout the Mediterranean world and
wrote the earliest surviving encyclopedias. In fact, Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia claimed
to compile 20,000 facts from various cultures and cover all ancient knowledge about natural
history, art and architecture.
Roman appropriation was not without ingenuity, particularly with state-sponsored construction
projects. Though the Romans did not invent the road, arch nor aqueduct, their renditions were
renowned for their sturdiness and strength, and some still operate today. Alongside the temples
and amphitheaters — including the Pantheon and the Colosseum — that still stand thanks to the
Romans’ innovations in concrete, their constructions testify to the skill of the era’s architects.
Today, they remind us that plenty of impressive inventions are rooted in the ancient past.
Ancient Indian Cities Forgotten in Time
India is a land of many wonders. It is known for its cultural diversity and heritage, which has a
history of more than 2000 years. It has inspired many literary giants and poets, both new and old.
India is also home to some of the oldest cities in the world that were once bustling towns,
thriving sea ports, majestic capitals of great empires and trade centres of the world. Eventually,
these ancient Indian cities fell prey to the ravages of war and time. Here’s an effort to remember
some of them.
1. Dwarka
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One of the holy cities of pilgrimage for Hindus all over the world, Dwarka is counted as one
among the country’s oldest cities. It is further evidenced by the fact that no one knows for certain
when this city came into existence or when it was established. Located in the state of Gujarat, it
finds extensive mention in the Mahabharata and the Harivamsa. Mythologically, Krishna is
believed to have found and built this city after fleeing from Mathura. Archaeologists have
divided opinions about how ancient this city exactly is. Some findings have shown that the city
could have existed around the time when Indus Valley Civilization flourished. According to the
Mahabharata, the city of Dwarka was swept away by the sea after the death of Krishna, but this
was considered to be a grand myth. In 1983, when excavations were conducted under the sea,
archaeologists found several temple structures and the remains of a town just a little off the coast
of Dwarka, thus adding credence to the legend of this ancient city. Only time will tell us more
about the treasures the sea around Dwarka still holds.
2. Nagarjunakonda
77
About 150 kilometres southeast of Hyderabad lie the ruins of a city that flourished about 1800
years ago. It was one of the largest and richest cities in South India, and also the educational,
cultural and religious centre of Buddhism. Nagarjunakonda or “the hill of Nagarjuna” was named
after Acharya Nagarjuna, a renowned Buddhist philosopher who was responsible for setting up
many monasteries and schools that attracted students from all over the world. Home to a large
number of academic centres, temples and stupas, the city thrived under the reign of many
powerful kingdoms especially the Ikshvaku dynasty, which made the illustrious city their capital.
It eventually fell into decline after the demise of the last Ikshvaku king. The ruins of this city
were discovered in 1926, but it was only in 1953 that this area was excavated yielding the ruins
of many stupas, viharas, mandaps, tools from the Stone Age era and a number of priceless
Buddhist relics.
3. Mahabalipuram
78
One of the most beautiful cities in South India, Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is named after
the great Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman-I. Filled with relics, monuments and some of the most
beautiful temples in the world, Mahabalipuram was an important sea port of the Pallava dynasty
from the 7th to the 10th centuries. Often referred to as the “Land of Seven Pagodas” based on an
ancient Hindu legend, Mahabalipuram is a city known for its grandeur, hand carved monolithic
structures, shrines and the rathas or cave temples. The descent of the Ganges is the world’s
largest bas-relief sculpture depicting tales from the Mahabharata. The legendary stone-built
Shore temple, which is a mammoth architectural wonder, is believed to be the only one surviving
among the seven pagodas.
4. Muziris
Muziris or “Muciri” as it is known in Tamil and “Muyirikkottu” in Malayalam was once a
thriving sea port and an important trade centre between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean
regions. It has been mentioned in a number of ancient scripts and texts by Egyptian and Greek
writers like Ptolemy and Pliny the Elder, as well as a few Roman and Tamil Sangam texts.
According to the Vienna Papyrus, there was a healthy trading relationship between Alexandria
and Muziris, which means that in addition to acting as a sea port for the Romans and the
Egyptians, Muziris must also have been a busy and flourishing town. A number of excavations
undertaken by the ASI and Kerala Council for Historical Research have suggested that the town
of Pattanam near Kochi could be the ancient Muziris, but the exact location of this town that
vanished without a trace one morning in 1314 CE still remains unknown.
79
Hampi Vijayanagara Kingdom – Roehan Rengadurai via Flickr
Beneath all the development and modernization that we see today, India is still a country with
long history that dates back to ancient times. Right from the Indus Valley Civilization, our
country has seen a lot of ancient cities that were eventually abandoned or razed to the ground due
to wars, natural disasters, invasions, etc.
The following is a list of few such ancient cities of India that were forgotten in time and that
make great offbeat travel destinations to explore the ancient times of India.
Sirkap
80
Source
Sirkap is an ancient city in Taxila, Punjab (present-day Pakistan) that was founded by the
Bactrian king Demetrius, when he invaded the region in 180 BC. The city was rebuilt numerous
times during raids and incursions and flourished as a town from the 2nd century BC under
several rulers, such as the Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians and the Kushanas. It eventually
sank into oblivion when it was abandoned for a new city at Sirsukh. It was only in 1912 that the
details about Sirkap came to light when archaeologist Sir John Marshall began excavating the
region. These excavations have yielded a number of Greek artifacts, coins, gold and silver
jewellery. What remains of the city now are ruins and temples built according to the Greek
Hippodamian plan, Buddhist stupas and shrines.
Kalibangan
Considered to be the “very first city of the indian culture and heritage”, Kalibangan is a prehistoric city that traces its origin back to the Indus valley civilization and is located on the banks
of the river Ghaggar, in modern day Rajasthan. Excavations were carried out in 1960, but
Kalibangan’s identity and location were unearthed during the 18th century by Italian Indologist
Luigi Pio Tessitori. The town has yielded evidence that it was indeed a bustling Harappan city,
but the most important discovery is the existence of a ploughed agricultural field, perhaps the
earliest of its kind in the world. The town is also known for its fire altars which may have been
used for ceremonials rituals. The city was destroyed during an earthquake that took place in 2600
BC; archaeologists have also suggested that it may have been abandoned when the river Ghaggar
dried up.
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Lothal
Lothal was once a prominent trade centre as well as one of the most important cities during the
Indus valley civilization. Located in modern day Gujarat, it was first discovered in 195. The
excavations at this region have again borne evidence of the fact that the Harappans were the most
cultured and educated people of their day. Its most dominating feature is the unique dockyard
which must have been a wonder in its heyday. A number of rare antiquities such as jewellery,
beads, pottery and seals have been found at this site. The city was eventually abandoned because
of constant floods and storms.
Puhar
82
Puhar or Poompuhar near Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu was the seat of the Chola kings. It served
as a port capital to the kings and flourished under their regime. This ancient city also finds a
mention in a number of Tamil texts and poetic works, Brahmi inscriptions as well as GrecoRoman manuscripts. Excavations began in 1910 revealing that Puhar was a well-planned city;
the remains of buildings, beautiful temples, copper coins, brick figures and a wharf have also
been unearthed. Unfortunately because of its proximity to the sea, it sank and submerged in the
waters around 300 BC and only a few villages remain as a testament to this once glorious town.
Vijayanagara
83
Vijayanagara or modern day Hampi was once considered to be the second largest city in the
world. It prospered under the famous Vijayanagara dynasty and was the most powerful Hindu
city in ancient India. Home to magnificent temples such as the Virupaksha temple and the Vittala
temple, as well as the historic Lotus Palace and the exquisite elephant stables, it is now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site. The now ruined “City of Victory”, Vijayanagara dazzled foreign
travellers such as Domingos Paes, who was astonished by its beauty and wealth. However, in the
15th century the city fell into the hands of Muslim invaders who razed and destroyed it, bringing
this once glorious city to its untimely end.
HINDU COSMOLOGY IN CITY DESIGN
Smith, M. E. (2003). Can We Read Cosmology in Ancient Maya City Plans? Comment on Ashmore
and Sabloff. Latin American Antiquity, 14(2), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.2307/3557596
Synoptic philosophy comes from the Greek word συνοπτικός synoptikos ("seeing everything
together") and together with the word philosophy, means the love of wisdom emerging from a
coherent understanding of everything together.
Social constructivism is a sociological theory of knowledge according to which human
development is socially situated and knowledge is constructed through interaction with others.
Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to
construct artifacts. While social constructionism focuses on the artifacts that are created through
the social interactions of a group, social constructivism focuses on an individual's learning that
takes place because of his or her interactions in a group.
A very simple example is an object like a cup. The object can be used for many things, but its
shape does suggest some 'knowledge' about carrying liquids (see also Affordance). A more
complex example is an online course—not only do the 'shapes' of the software tools indicate
certain things about the way online courses should work, but the activities and texts produced
within the group as a whole will help shape how each person behaves within that group. A
person's cognitive development will also be influenced by the culture that they are involved in,
such as the language, history and social context.
The 2007 study used satellite images, aircraft-based radar data, conventional aerial photography,
and ground observations to analyze an area of 2,848 square kilometers (1,100 square miles). The
top image is a mosaic of observations collected by the Airborne Synthetic Aperture
Radar (AIRSAR) between 2000 and 2007. The bottom image is a map derived from airborne
data sources and earlier archaeological maps.
A radar doesn’t work like a camera, so its imagery doesn’t look like a photograph. The radar
(mounted on an airplane) sends a pulse of energy down towards the surface, and measures the
echo—the signal that the surface scatters back. Different surfaces—water, forests, clearings,
buildings—have different echoes. Smooth surfaces tend to be darker (less backscatter), and
rough surfaces tend to be brighter (more backscatter). Since radio-frequency energy is invisible,
scientists make false-color images in which they use colors to represent different frequencies and
intensities of energy.
84
In the top image, the darker areas indicate low echoes, such as water bodies where the pulse
simply bounced off the smooth surface and away from the radar. The largest example is the
medieval West Baray reservoir, which continues to hold water today. Forested areas appear
much brighter, almost white in places, because the radar pulse is backscattered by multi-layered
surfaces, such as branches and leaves. Within these lighter areas, colors take on an additional
significance. Red indicates the smallest surfaces, such as grasses and rice fields. Green indicates
larger surfaces, such as broader leaves and shrubs. Blue indicates even larger surfaces, such as
tree trunks. (Because AIRSAR is a sideways-looking instrument, large vertical objects like tree
trunks and walls present the sensor with the largest surface areas.) Within the dotted fields of
color, the straight lines and sharp angles of architecture contrast sharply with the surroundings.
The bottom image is a map of the surface features of the ancient city made by scientists from the
results of the 2007 study. The researchers described this map as conservative; for a feature to be
included, it had to appear in at least two separate data sources, or be verified from the ground or
a low-altitude aerial survey. This map reveals an extensive network of linear features. On the flat
Angkor plain, elevated linear features might have served as water channels, water barriers,
and/or roads, and these features remained visible to radar sensors centuries later. Dwellings and
water tanks were spread across some 1,000 square kilometers (385 square miles), connected by
roads and canals.
The study published in 2007 concluded that the perimeter of Angkor’s urban complex enclosed
roughly 900 to 1,000 square kilometers (350 to 385 square miles)—nearly four times the size of
twenty-first century New York City. Angkor was a low-density city, meaning the settlement was
spread out over a fairly large area, more closely resembling a modern suburb than an inner city.
The Angkor perimeter identified in 2007 established Angkor as the largest pre-industrial city yet
known to exist anywhere on Earth, several times the size of the Mayan metropolis of Tikal.
Besides giving a sense of the medieval city’s size, the 2007 study also suggested causes for
Angkor’s demise. The extensive water management system built at Angkor enabled its
inhabitants to overcome the vicissitudes of nature—for a time. However, those same humanengineered changes to the landscape also created a new set of problems, including deforestation,
degradation of the topsoil, and erosion. Evidence of impromptu changes to the water
management system, and breaches and failures within the system suggested to archaeologists
that the waterways became harder to manage as the years wore on. Although some residents
remained after the fifteenth century, they comprised only a tiny remnant of Angkor’s population
at its peak.
NASA images create by Jesse Allen, using imagery provided courtesy of the American Museum
of Natural History’s Science Bulletins and Damian Evans, University o
The synoptic view of Landsat imagery generated from the Angkor landscape provides a new
perspective in archaeology. This is especially significant for large, complex sites such as Angkor,
the religious and administrative centre of Khmer dynasts for more than 500 years. In this study
the major features of the Angkor “townscape”; ‐barays, temple‐pyramids and canals ‐ are
examined. Landsat‐TM signatures are developed for each class of feature and detectability
ratings established. Changes in the urban perimeter are identified and set in a chronological
framework. The regional road network is mapped with the addition of new details. The benefits
of the Landsat overview are shown to be the discovery of hitherto unrecorded detail, increased
85
understanding of the site situation from contextual environmental relations and an improved
comprehension of the historic landscape as a whole.
John T. Parry (1996) A new perspective on Angkor ‐ the spatial organization of an historical
landscape
viewed
from
Landsat, Geocarto
International, 11:2, 1532, DOI: 10.1080/10106049609354531
Formore than a decade the mult national (Australian, French, Cambodian) Greater Angkor
Project has been investigating the rise and fall of medieval urbanism at Angkor, in Cambodia,
using a diverse range of techniques, including extensive use of remotely sensed imagery to find,
map and analyse elements of urban form. The research activities have focussed on the role of
Angkor’s elaborate water management system in the demise of the urban complex, and has
recently been expanded to include nearby ‘secondary’ settlement complexes such as provincial
centres and ephemeral capitals. In such a research agenda, it is crucial to gain a full
understanding of the original hydrological layout of the Angkor basin, in order to provide
essential insights into human modifications to the natural hydrology and topography. To this end,
a number of multispectral satellite images (including QuickBird and ASTER) were processed
and analysed to identify palaeo-environmental traces and anthropogenic features relevant to the
identification of remnants of the original fluvial system. Vegetation indices (VI), Vegetation
suppression and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were adopted as the primary procedures
in order to detect relevant traces over differing environments such as perennially forested zones,
scrubland and barren terrain. The outcome of this work has been to add significant chronological
resolution to the current map of Greater Angkor.
Uncovering Angkor: Integrated Remote Sensing Applications in the Archaeology of Early
CambodiaDamian Evans,Arianna Traviglia, Satellite Remote Sensing January 2012
A synoptic vision of the universe in ancient India and shows its continuity across different
periods. This vision was based on an assumed equivalence of the outer and the inner cosmoses
and it is embodied in architecture, music, and art. It provides an archaeoastronomical window on
Indian monumental architecture. The ancient world did not have a split between the sacred and
the temporal. The temple served as the place where time-bound ritual was conducted and
keeping time was one of its functions. The English word temple is derived from the Latin
templum, which is sacred space, facing west, that was marked out by the augurs. In the east-west
orientation of the axis of the temple that is strictly true only on the two equinoxes is the
acknowledgement of concern with time and the seasons. In India, the temple is likewise
associated with the east-west axis and we can trace its origins to priests who maintained different
day counts with respect to the solstices and the equinoxes. Specific days were marked with ritual
observances [1] that were done at different times of the day. Some ritual included construction of
altars that coded knowledge related to the motions of the sun and the moon and supposed
correspondences with the inner cosmos.
Time,
Space
and
Structure
in
Ancient
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0903/0903.3252.pdf
86
India,
Subhash
Kak,
The Khmer Empire had steadily gained hegemonic power over most of mainland Southeast
Asia since its early days in the 8th and 9th centuries. Rivalries and wars with its western
neighbour, the Pagan Kingdom of the Mon people of modern-day Burma were less numerous
and decisive than those with Champa to the east. The Khmer and Cham Hindu kingdoms
remained for centuries preoccupied with each other's containment and it has been argued that one
of the Khmer's military objectives was "...in the reigns of the Angkor kings Suryavarman II and
Jayavarman VII." the conquest of the Cham ports, "...important in the international trade of the
time". Even though the Khmer suffered a number of serious defeats, such as the Cham invasion
of Angkor in 1177, the empire quickly recovered, capable to strike back, as it was the case in
1181 with the invasion of the Cham city-state of Vijaya.
Mongol incursions into southern China and political and cultural pressure caused the
southward migration of the Tai people and Thai people and their settling on the upper Chao
Phraya River in the 12th century. The Sukhothai Kingdom and later the Ayutthaya
kingdom were established and "...conquered the Khmers of the upper and central Menam valley
and greatly extended their territory..."
Although a number of sources, such as the Cambodian Royal Chronicles and the Royal
chronicles of Ayutthaya contain recordings of military expeditions and raids with associated
dates and the names of sovereigns and warlords, several influential scholars, such as David
Chandler and Michael Vickery doubt the accuracy and reliability of these texts. Other authors
criticise this rigid "overall assessment", though.
David Chandler states in A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing, Volume 2: "Michael
Vickery has argued that Cambodian chronicles, including this one, that treat events earlier than
1550 cannot be verified, and were often copied from Thai chronicles about Thailand..." Linguist
Jean-Michel Filippi concludes: "The chronology of Cambodian history itself is more a chronoideology with a pivotal role offered to Angkor." Similarities apply to Thai chronological records,
with the notable example of the Ramkhamhaeng controversy.
According to the Siamese Royal chronicles of Paramanuchitchinorot, clashes occurred in 1350,
around 1380, 1418 and 1431.
"In 1350/51; probably April 1350 King Ramadhipati had his son Ramesvara attack the capital of
the King of the Kambujas (Angkor) and had Paramaraja (Pha-ngua) of Suphanburi advance to
support him. The Kambuja capital was taken and many families were removed to the capital
Ayudhya.
At that time, [around 1380] the ruler of Kambuja came to attack Chonburi, to carry away
families from the provinces eastwards to Chanthaburi, amounting to about six or seven thousand
persons who returned [with the Cambodian armies] to Kambuja. So the King attacked Kambuja
and, having captured it, returned to the capitol.[sic]
Then [1418] he went to attack Angkor, the capital of Kambuja, and captured it."
Land or People?
Siamese sources record the habit of capturing sizeable numbers of inhabitants from the capital
cities and centres of civilisation of the defeated parties in Chiang Mai and Angkor which can be
assumed to have accelerated the cultural decline.
87
Cambodian people in 18th century in chinese painting Portraits of Periodical Offering by Xie
Sui.
Author Michael Vickery debates the degree of importance of this subject in his publication "Two
Historical Records of the Kingdom of Vientiane - Land or People?": "It is not at all certain that
Angkor desired manpower in central Thailand, rather than simply control over the rich
agricultural resources." and "...whether the political economy of early Southeast Asia resulted in
rulers being more concerned with control of land or control of people..." and "...both sides of this
discussion have offered ad hoc, case-by-case pronunciamentos, which are then repeated like
mantra... Critical discussion of the question is long overdue..."
Contrary views
Author Akin Rabibhadana, who quotes Ram Khamhaeng: "One particular characteristic of
the historical Southeast Asian mainland states was the lack of manpower. The need for
manpower is well illustrated by events following each war between Thailand and her
neighbours. The victorious side always carried off a large number of people from the
conquered territory. Whole villages were often moved into the territory of the conqueror,
where they were assimilated and became the population of the conqueror."
David K. Wyatt: "As much as anything else, the Tai müang was an instrument for the
efficient use of manpower in a region where land was plentiful in relation to labor and
agricultural technology."
And Aung-Thwin wrote: "Much of the warfare of early Southeast Asia witnessed the victor
carrying off half the population of the vanquished foe and later resettling them on his own
soil. Pagan was located in the dry belt of Burma, and depended mainly upon irrigated
agriculture for its economic base. Land was plentiful but labor was extremely difficult to
obtain."
88
Dynastic and religious factors
The flag of the kingdom of Cambodia until 1863.
The complete transition from the early Khmer kingdom to the firm establishment of the
Mahidharapura dynasty (first king Jayavarman VI, 1080 to 1107), which originated west of
the Dângrêk Mountains at Phimai in the Mun river valley lasted several decades. Some
historians argue, that these kings failed to acquire absolute central administrative control and
had limited access to local resources. The dynasty discontinued "ritual policy" and
genealogical traditions. Further momentum ensued as Mahayana Buddhism was eventually
tolerated and several Buddhist kings emerged, including Suryavarman I, Rajendravarman
II and Jayavarman VII.
These rulers were not considered, and did not consider themselves, as divine, which lead to a
shift in perception of royal authority, central power and a loss of dynastic prestige with
respect to foreign rulers. Effectively the royal subjects were given permission to re-direct
attention and support from the Hindu state of military dominance with its consecrated leader,
the "Varman"—protector king, towards the inner-worldly alternative with the contradictory
teachings of the Buddhist temple.Indravarman III (c. 1295-1308) adopted Theravada
Buddhism as the state religion,[45] which implied an even more passive, introverted focus
towards individual and personal responsibility to accumulate merit to achieve nirvana.
Miriam T. Stark argues that competition and rivalries in royal succession, usurpers and
"second grade" rulers characterised the kingdom since the 9th century. Periods of
"...consolidation alternated with political fragmentation [as] only few rulers were able to
wrest control from the provincial level".
Debate remains on the progress of the imperial society as the kingdom grew and occupied
foreign lands. Authors present numerous theories about the relationship between Southeast
Asian kings and the populace's loyalties, nature and degree of identity, the Mandala concept
and the effects of changing state-religion. Scholar Ben Kiernan highlights a tendency to
identify with a universal religion rather than to adhere to the concept of a people or nation, as
he refers to author Victor Lieberman in: Blood and Soil: Modern Genocide 15002000 "[local courts make]...no formal demand, that rulers be of the same ethnicity as their
subjects"
Environmental problems and infrastructural breakdown
Historians increasingly maintain the idea that decline was caused by progressing ecological
imbalance of the delicate irrigation network and canal system of "...a profoundly ritualized,
elaborate system of hydraulic engineering..." at Angkor's Yasodharapura. Recent studies
indicate that the irrigation system was overworked and gradually started to silt up, amplified
89
by large scale deforestation.[51] Permanent monument construction projects and maintenance
of temples instead of canals and dykes put an enormous strain on the royal resources and
drained thousands of slaves and common people from the public workforce and caused tax
deficits.
Author Heng L. Thung addressed common sense in "Geohydrology and the decline of
Angkor" as he sums things up: "...the preoccupation of the Khmers with the need to store
water for the long dry season. Each household needed a pond to provide drinking and
household water for both man and beast. The barays [reservoirs] of Angkor were simply the
manifestation of the need of an urban population. Water was the fountain of life for Angkor;
a disruption in its supply would be fatal."
Recent Lidar (Light detection and ranging) Geo-Scans of Angkor have produced new data,
that have caused several "Eureka moments" and "have profoundly transformed our
understanding of urbanism in the region of Angkor". Results of dendrochronological studies
imply prolonged periods of drought between the 14th and 15th centuries. As a result, recent
re-interpretations of the epoch put greater emphasis on human–environment interactions and
the ecological consequences
Kings never decided arbitrarily or at their whim the location of cities, their orientation and their
layout. The plan of the ideal Khmer city was inspired by the model of the Khmer temples, which
were based on Hindu cosmology. It should have a perfect quadrangular shape, walls with four
gates in the middle of each side and an organised internal layout resembling a mandala, with the
city temple in the centre and its main sanctuary inside it, with a tower shape which represents the
mythological Mount Meru, the sacred axis mundi, separated by successive concentric walls. At
the same time, this concrete representation of cosmology in city planning was based on the
religious and political idea of the “god-king” (devaraja), which considers monarchs as
incarnations on the Earth (avatars) of Shiva, Vishnu or Buddha.
The role and function of Angkor Wat has changed significantly over the eight centuries since its
construction in the twelfth century AD (Fletcher et al. 2015: 1389–90) (Figure 1). Despite this varied
history, research on Angkor Wat has largely focused on its art and architecture and its role as a Vishnuite
temple during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
During the Angkorian period (ninth to fifteenth centuries), Angkor was situated at the heart of its
empire but by the Middle Period or post-Angkorian period (fifteenth to nineteenth centuries), this
location had come to be on the periphery of the Cambodian state. The kingdom of Ayutthaya was, at this
time, expanding its influence and significantly encroaching on the former territory of Angkor. Meanwhile,
Angkor Wat, originally built as a temple dedicated to Vishnu, had, by the sixteenth century, become hallowed
by Theravada Buddhist monks as the religious practices of the Khmer changed. Over the centuries, Angkor Wat
has undergone repairs; in addition to maintenance, it has been modified in several places, especially within the
first (innermost) enclosure. These additions are significant because they reveal changes to the function of the
monument. The fourth (outermost) enclosure wall also bears traces of a significant, and late, change in its
function in the form of numerous holes and postholes (Figure 2), which supported substantial wooden
structures that no longer
90
As an example I could discuss the case of Varanasi or Banagas.In Cosmic Layout of the Hindu
Sacred city, Varanasi, the author Rana P.B. Singh describes one of the few cosmologi\cally
planned cities of Hindu India-Varanasi (Benares), also known as the microcosm of India and the
most sacred city of Hindu religion, has maintained its cosmic layout which developed in the
historical past. The passage from macrocosmos (heaven) into mesocosmos (earth) and further
down into microcosmos (the temple, or body) is made spatially visible and is regulated by the network
of pilgrimage routes — this is what we call pilgrimage mandala. In Varanasi five of the various
pilgrimage circuits are well developed; taken as a sequence leading from outer to inner space, they
reveal parallels between macro-, meso- and microcosmos and the related transcendental powers.
Moreover, the spatial arrangement of the 56 shrines of Ganesha ("Elephant-headed God") and the
route5 following Vinayaka's pilgrimage journey, also form a mandala representing the product
of 8 directions and 7 layers of atmosphere, thus the number 56. These aspects are described and the
notion of cosmogonic integrity is discussed.
From its prominent position on the river Ganges , Banaras has borne testimony to a flourishing
civilization and the many socio-political turmoil associated with a thriving territory from the
ancient kingdoms of Aryans with its mention in Ramayana to the combats of medieval rulers of
Mauryan and Gupta dynasty and the never ceasing instability during the dominance of Muslim
and British regime.[1] The historical unrest has vanished and the city with its inhabitants of
“grin-and-bear-it” attitude endured every phase of this turmoil and adapted to it and
commemorated every such change in their stories and culture. Every paradigm shift gave
Banaras its own unique Art and Culture which it (Banaras) has assimilated and made it its very
own signature be it Food, Fabric, Jewellery, Lifestyle, Mode of communication, Weapons,
Architecture, Mythology, Tales, Culture, Cult , Art and much more The citys divine image , its
elaborate traditional rituals , its prodigious display of the hand-in-hand existence of art and the
mundane activities of life. All give it a peculiar feel, though the city has tried to keep pace with
time, it has modernized or commercialised but what has stayed with time is what satiates the
quench of a mystic or an explorer of Art and Culture . This write up here is an attempt to bring to
words the connection between what the oldest civilizations or cults have left to enrich the Art &
culture or other-way-round , how by exploring the existing we are able to get a glimpse into the
glorious past that has passed and enriched India .This manuscript is a study and construal of
Varanasi from the perspective of one who is close enough to the hindu tradition to see its
religious significance and also close enough to art , design and academics to know the
understanding that Arts and Varanasi might pose. The journey towards the finalization of this
script started with mapping the city and searching for the temples mentioned in various texts and
my work is based on two primary sources : the city itself with its multitude of temples , its
seasons of pilgrimage , the Akharas , voluminous literature on Banaras and its pandas and lay
interpreters.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BANARAS: A PARALLEL SPACE OF THE COSMIC UNIVERSE AND ITS
CONTRIBUTION TO ARCHITECTURE- Kumar Vikas,
https://www.journalijar.com/article/35173/banaras:-a-parallel-space-of-the-cosmic-universe-andits-contribution-to-architecture/
Further Rana P.B. Singh says that “ The tīrthas (holy places, sacredscapes) of India provide
examples of self-amplifying interactions between people and their cultural landscape. The five
91
pilgrimage routes, developed during CE 5th – 9th centuries, in Banaras symbolises the
manifestation and archetypal representation of five koshas, the ‘sheaths’. That is how koshas are
analogous to the five gross elements of organism according to Hindu mythology. The
mythologies give a cosmogonic outline to understand the archetypal nature of earth spirit ― a
process making a place sacred and exposed in a frame of cosmic geometry. Born of the earth, of
water, of fire, of space, and of air, the Hindu divinities are still here among us, still alive, of
course invisible. The geographicality of the sacred territories, the pilgrimages and the related
journeys, and experiential feelings of the pilgrims directly correspond to the making of complex
web of metamorphosis that converged into sacredscapes and faithscapes of Banaras/Kashi.
Banaras is an example of the ‘cosmic whole’, an archetype of ‘body’.”
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Chapter 5
The Art & Architecture of the Vijaynagar Empire
Virupaksha temple By 1500 CE,
Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world's second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that
time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim
sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in
ruins.
93
Gandaberunda emblem in the Mysore Palace. This is now the official emblem of Karnataka state in India
1. Vijayanagar Empire: A Hindu state based in the Deccan plateau region of South India
that reigned from 1336–1646 CE, when it was conquered by the Muslim Sultans of
Bijapur and Golkonda.
2. gopuram: A monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in
Southern India.
3. hippogryphs: A legendary creature that has the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a
horse.
4. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly Portuguese, say that it was
a prosperous, wealthy & grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with temples, farms &
trading markets.
5. By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was world's second-largest medieval-era city after
Beijing, and probably India's richest, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. *)The
Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates and was destroyed
and ruined
6. Now I would discuss about some of the important sites to watch in Hampi
7. Virupaksha temple and market complex
8. The Virupaksha temple is the oldest shrine, the principal destination for pilgrims and
tourists, and remains an active Hindu worship site. *)The temple is a collection of smaller
temples, a regularly repainted, 50-metre (160 ft) high gopuram, a Hindu monastery
dedicated to
9. Vidyaranya of Advaita Vedanta tradition, a water tank (Manmatha), a community kitchen,
other monuments and a 750 metres (2,460 ft)-long ruined stone market with a monolithic
Nandi shrine on the east end. *) The market was Probable richest in entire India during
Mediaval age.
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10. Krishna temple, Narasimha and Linga *)The Krishna temple, also called Balakrishna
temple, on the other side of Hemakuta hill, is about 1 kilometre south of Virupaksha
temple. *)It is dated to 1515 CE; this part of the Hampi complex is called Krishnapura in
inscriptions
11. Lakshmi Narasimha Temple
12. The Narasimha monolith originally had goddess Lakshmi with him, but it shows signs of
extensive damage and a carbon-stained floor—evidence of attempts to burn the shrine
down.
13. The statue has been cleaned and parts of the shrine have been restored
14. This is Gaint Shiva Linga
15. Achyutaraya temple and market complex
16. The Achyutaraya temple, also called the Tiruvengalanatha temple is 1 kilometre east of
Virupaksha temple and close to the Tungabhadra River. It is referred to be in Achyutapura
and is dated to 1534 CE. Its one of the largest complexes here
17. Vitthala temple and market complex *)The Vitthala temple and market complex is over 3
kilometres north-east of the Virupaksha temple near the banks of the Tungabhadra River. It
is the most artistically sophisticated Hindu temple in Hampi, and is part of the sacred
centre.
18. Near Temple, The Garuda shrine in the form of stone chariot at Vitthala temple which is
one of the World famous Sites.
19. Hemakuta hill monuments -The Hemakuta hill lies between the Virupaksha temple
complex to the north and Krishna temple to the south. Its a collection of modestly sized
monuments that are the best examples for pre-Vijayanagara and early-Vijayanagara
temples and construction.
20. Hazara Rama temple-The Hazara Rama temple, referred to as the Ramachandra temple in
inscriptions, occupied the western part of the urban core in the royal centre section of
Hampi. This temple was dedicated to Rama. It was the ceremonial temple for the royal
family.
21. 1 -Outer walls of the Hazara Rama temple show Hindu festive procession 2- Jain tirthankar
relief inside the temple.
22. There are also Areas like-Kodandarama temple and riverside monuments *)Pattabhirama
temple complex Mahanavami platform, public square complex
23. Water infrastructure -The Square Water Pavilion, also called the Queen's Bath, is in the
south-east of the royal centre.
24. There were also fountains and community kitchens. - Below One is Stable of Elephants and
other is Lotus Mahal.
25. There are also Jain monuments like Ganagitti Jain temple and Tomb of Ahmad Khan.
26. THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS OF VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE ARE:
27. THE PRINCIPAL DEITY WAS VITTHLA A FORM OF LORD "VISHNU".
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28. THE TEMPLE HAS SEVERAL HALLS AND A SHRINE DESIGNED AS A
CHARIOT.
29. A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF THE TEMPLE IS COMPLEXES IS THE
CHARIOT STREETS THAT EXTENDED FROM THE TEMPLE GOPURAM IN A
STRAIGHT LINE.
INTRODUCTION
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called Karnata Kingdom, was based in the Deccan
Plateau region in South India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka
Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, members of a pastoralist cowherd community that
claimed Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the
southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. At its peak, it
subjugated almost all of South India's ruling families and pushed the sultans of the Deccan
beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna river doab region, in addition to annexing modern
day Odisha (ancient Kalinga) from the Gajapati Kingdom thus becoming a notable power. It
lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a major military defeat in the Battle of
Talikota in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its
capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage
Site in Karnataka, India. The wealth and fame of the empire inspired visits by and writings of
medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Niccolò de' Conti. These
travelogues, contemporary literature and epigraphy in the local languages and modern
archeological excavations at Vijayanagara has provided ample information about the history and
power of the empire.
The empire's legacy includes monuments spread over South India, the best known of which is
the group at Hampi. Different temple building traditions in South and Central India were merged
into the Vijayanagara architecture style. This synthesis inspired architectural innovations in the
construction of Hindu temples. Efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new
technologies to the region such as water management systems for irrigation. The empire's
patronage enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil,
and Sanskrit with topics such as astronomy, mathematics, medicine, fiction, musicology,
historiography and theater gaining popularity. The classical music of Southern India, Carnatic
music, evolved into its current form. The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in the history of
Southern India that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor.
Before the early 14th-century rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Hindu states of the Deccan –
the Yadava Empire of Devagiri, the Kakatiya dynasty of Warangal, and the Pandyan
Empire of Madurai – were repeatedly raided and attacked by Muslims from the north. By 1336
the upper Deccan region (modern-day Maharashtra and Telangana) had been defeated by armies
of Sultan Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate.
Further south in the Deccan region, Hoysala commander Singeya Nayaka-III declared
independence after the Muslim forces of the Delhi Sultanate defeated and captured the territories
of
the Yadava
Empire in
1294 CE. He
created
the Kampili
kingdom near Gulbarga and Tungabhadra River in the northeastern parts of presentday Karnataka state. The kingdom collapsed after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate and
96
upon their defeat, the populace committed a jauhar (ritual mass suicide) in c. 1327–28. The
Vijayanagara Kingdom was founded in 1336 CE as a successor to the hitherto prosperous Hindu
kingdoms of the Hoysalas, the Kakatiyas, and the Yadavas with the breakaway Kampili
Kingdom adding a new dimension to the resistance to the Muslim invasion of South India.
Two theories have been proposed regarding the linguistic origins of the Vijayanagara
empire. One is that Harihara I and Bukka-I, the founders of the empire, were Kannadigas and
commanders in the army of the Hoysala Empire stationed in the Tungabhadra region to ward off
Muslim invasions from Northern India. Another theory is that Harihara and Bukkaraya
were Telugu people, first associated with the Kakatiya Kingdom, who took control of the
northern parts of the Hoysala Empire during its decline. They were believed to have been
captured by the army of Ulugh Khan at Warangal. According to tradition, based on a Telugunarrative, the founders were supported and inspired by Vidyaranya, a saint at
the Sringeri monastery, to fight the Muslim invasion of South India, but the role of Vidyaranya
in the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire is not certain.
Architecture
Virupaksha temple, Raja Gopura (main tower over entrance gate) at Hampi, Karnataka
Typical dravidian style Shikhara (superstructure) over shrines at the Raghunatha temple in
Hampi/Typical dravidian shrine and mantapa of the Vijayanagara period at Balakrishna temple
in Ha mpi
Vijayanagara architecture of 1336–1565 CE was a notable building idiom that developed
during the rule of the imperial Hindu Vijayanagara Empire. The empire ruled South India, from
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their regal capital at Vijayanagara, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in
modern Karnataka, India. The empire built temples, monuments, palaces and other structures
across South India, with a largest concentration in its capital. The monuments in and
around Hampi, in the Vijayanagara principality, are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In addition to building new temples, the empire added new structures and made modifications to
hundreds of temples across South India. Some structures at Vijayanagara are from the preVijayanagara period. The Mahakuta hill temples are from the Western Chalukya era. The region
around Hampi had been a popular place of worship for centuries before the Vijayanagara period
with earliest records dating from 689 CE when it was known as Pampa Tirtha after the local
river God Pampa.
There are hundreds of monuments in the core area of the capital city. Of these, 56 are protected
by UNESCO, 654 monuments are protected by the government of Karnataka and another 300
await protection.
Salient features
Early 14th century Shiva temples on Hemakuta hill built during the rule of Harihara Raya I
incorporates the stepped Kadamba style nagara shikhara (superstructure)/ The mid-14th century
Vidyashankara temple at Sringeri, one of the earliest temples built by the kings of the empire
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Typical shrine at Hazare Rama temple in Hampi/ A typical Vijayanagara style pillared maha
mantapa (main hall) at Someshvara temple at Kolar
Pillared open mantapa incorporating Hoysala style "staggered square" layout at Vittala temple in
Hampi/ Typical large open pillared hall at Ananthasayana temple in Ananthasayanagudi, Bellary
district, Karnataka
An open mantapa with yali columns at the Vittala temple in Hampi
Vijayanagara architecture can be broadly classified into religious, courtly and civic architecture,
as can the associated sculptures and paintings. The Vijayanagara style is a combination of
the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles which evolved earlier in the centuries when
these empires ruled and is characterised by a return to the simplistic and serene art of the past..
For the approximately 400 years during the rule of the Western Chalukya and
the Hoysalas empires, the most popular material for temple construction was
chloritic schist or soapstone. This was also true for sculpture as soapstone is soft and easily
carved. During the Vijayanagar period the local hard granite was preferred in
the Badami Chalukya style, although soapstone was used for a few reliefs and sculptures.
material for the temple structure. Because granite is prone to flaking, few pieces of individual
sculptures reached the high levels of quality seen in previous centuries. To cover the unevenness
of the stone used in sculptures, artists employed plaster to give the rough surface a smooth finish
and then painted it with lively colours.
Vijayanagara temples are usually surrounded by a strong enclosure. Small shrines consist simply
of
a garbhagriha (sanctum)
and
a
porch.
Medium-sized
temples
have
a garbhagriha, shukanasi (antechamber), a navaranga (antrala) connecting the sanctum and
outer mandapa (hall), and a rangamantapa (enclosed pillared hall). Large temples have tall
Rayagopuram built with wood, brick and stucco in Chola style. The term Raya is added to
indicate a gopura built by Vijayanagar Rayas. The top of the gopuram has
a shalashikhara resembling a barrel made to rest on its side. Large life-size figures of men,
woman, Gods and Goddesses adorn the gopuram. This Tamil dravida-influenced style became
popular during the rule of king Krishnadevaraya and is seen in South Indian temples constructed
99
over the next 200 years. Examples of Rayagopuram are the Chennakesava Temple in Belur and
the temples at Srisailam and Srirangam. In addition to these structures, medium-size temples
have a closed circumambulatory (Pradakshinapatha) passage around the sanctum, an
open mahamantapa (large hall), a kalyanamantapa (ceremonial hall) and a temple tank to serve
the needs of annual celebrations.
Temple pillars often have engravings of charging horses or hippogryphs (Yali) — horses
standing on hind legs with their fore legs lifted and riders on their backs. The horses on some
pillars stand seven to eight feet tall. On the other side of the pillar are usually carvings
from Hindu mythology.[8] Pillars that do not have such hippogryphs are generally rectangular
with mythology themed decoration on all sides. Some pillars have a cluster of smaller pillars
around a central pillar shaft. The bottom supports of these pillars have engravings
of Gods and Goddesses. Carvings of hippogryphs clearly show the adroitness of the artists who
created them.
The Mandapas are built on square or polygonal plinths with carved friezes that are four to five
feet high and have ornate stepped entrances on all four sides with miniature elephants or
with Yali balustrades (parapets). The Mantapas are supported by ornate pillars. The 1,000pillared style with large halls supported by numerous pillars was popular. The 1,000-pillared
Jain basadi at Mudabidri is an example. Larger temples have a separate shrine for the female
deity. Some examples of this are the Hazara Rama, Balakrishna and Vitthala temples at Hampi.
Some shrines in the Vitthalapura area inside Vijayanagara were consecrated specifically for
Tamil Alwar saints and for the great Vaishnava saint, Ramanujacharya. Architecturally they are
different in that each shrine has an image depicting the saint for whose worship the temple was
built. Each shrine has its own enclosure and a separate kitchen and pilgrim feeding hall. The
water storage tank inside the royal center, the [stepwell stepped tank] called, "Pushkarni", is a
recent archaeological discovery. The stepped tank is fashioned with finished chlorite schist slabs
arranged in a symmetrical formation with steps and landings descending to the water on all four
sides. This is clearly a Western Chalukya-Hoysala style tank and is seen in many parts of
present-day Karnataka. The inscriptions on the slabs indicate the material was brought from
outside the Vijayanagara area.
P
A
L
A
C
E
S
Much of what is known today of Vijayanagara palaces is drawn from archaeological excavations
at Hampi as no royal palace structures have survived.[14] Most palaces stand in their own
compound defined by high tapering walls made of stone or layered earth. Palaces are approached
through a sequence of courts with passageways and doorways requiring multiple changes in
direction. All palaces face east or north. The larger palaces have side extensions giving the
complex a symmetrical shape.
Palaces were built on raised platforms made of granite. The platforms have multiple tiers of
mouldings with well-decorated friezes. The decorations can be floral, Kirtimukha shapes (demon
faces), geese, elephants and occasionally human figures. Pillars, beams and rafters inside the
palace were made of wood as evidenced by ash discovered in excavations. The roof was made of
brick or lime concrete, while copper and ivory were used for finials. Palaces commonly consisted
of multiple levels with each flight of stairs decorated by balustrades on either side, with
100
either yali (imaginary beast) or elephant sculptures. The entrance steps into palaces and
temple mantapas were similarly decorated. Water tanks inside the palace complex have
decorative water spouts such as the carved torso of the Nandi with a gaping mouth to allow water
flow into the tank.Other structures commonly found inside a palace complex are wells and
shrines.
The courtly architecture generally show secular styles with Islamic influences. Examples are the
Lotus Mahal palace, Elephant stables, and watch towers. Courtly buildings and domed structures
were built with mortar mixed with stone rubble.
The impact of this style of architecture was seen well into the 17th century when the successive
Nayaka kingdoms continued to encourage pillars with hippogryphs and granite became the main
building material.
While the empire is well known for its monuments in the regal capital Vijayanagara (a UNESCO
World Heritage Site), it also built temples in other regions of Karnataka including the coastal
region (called Karavali) where the Vijayanagara idiom mingled with local styles. A List of these
temples and their approximate time of construction is given in the article List of Vijayanagara
era temples in Karnataka.
In Andhra Pradesh the empire built the Mallikarjuna Temple at Srisailam, Upper Narasimha
Temple and Lower Narasimha Temple at Ahobilam, Veera Bhadra Temple
at Lepakshi and Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati and others. In Tamil Nadu the empire built the
Vijayaraghava Permal temple modeled after the famous temples at Tirupati with statues of
Krishnadevaraya in Thayar Sanithi pillars facing each other.
Typical Vijayanagara style dravida shikhara (south Indian style tower over shrine) at the
Someshvara temple at Kolar (14th century)/ Yali pillars at Ranganatha temple, Rangasthala,
Chikkaballapur district, Karnataka
Yali pillars at Ranganatha temple in Neerthadi, Chitradurga district, Karnataka/Yali pillars of
a mantapa at Vittala temple, Hampi
101
1. Pillared hall in Veera Bhadra temple, Lepakshi
2. A mantapa with hippogryphs at Melkote
3. Ornate pillared Kalyanamantapa in Cheluva Narayana temple, Melkote
4. Pillared hall in Raghunatha temple, Hampi
Kudure Gombe (horse doll) mantapa in Hampi/Elephant balustrade leading
open mantapa in Raghunatha temple in Hampi/Yali pillars with Hippogryphs at Hampi
to
Yali pillars in Aghoreshwara Temple at Ikkeri in Shimoga District/Market place
at Hampi and the sacred tank located near the Krishna temple
102
Temple car at the Vittala temple in Hampi
Vijayanagara architecture, according to art critic Percy Brown is a vibrant combination and
blossoming of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles, idioms that prospered in
previous centuries. Its legacy of sculpture, architecture and painting influenced the development
of the arts long after the empire came to an end. Its stylistic hallmark is the
ornate pillared Kalyanamantapa (marriage hall), Vasanthamantapa (open pillared halls) and
the Rayagopura (tower). Artisans used the locally available hard granite because of its durability
since the kingdom was under constant threat of invasion. An open-air theatre of monuments at its
capital at Vijayanagara is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the 14th century, the kings continued to build vesara or Deccan-style monuments but later
incorporated Dravida-style gopuras to meet their ritualistic needs. The Prasanna Virupaksha
temple (underground temple) of Bukka and the Hazare Rama temple of Deva Raya are examples
of Deccan architecture.[170] The varied and intricate ornamentation of the pillars is a mark of their
work. At Hampi, the Vitthala and Hazara Ramaswamy temples are examples of their
pillared Kalyanamantapa style. A visible aspect of their style is their return to the simplistic and
serene art developed by the Chalukya dynasty. The Vitthala temple took several decades to
complete during the reign of the Tuluva kings.
Aerial view of the Meenakshi Temple, Madurai. The temple was rebuilt by the Nayaks rulers
under the Vijayanagar Empire
Another element of the Vijayanagara style is the carving and consecration of
large monoliths such as the Sasivekaalu (mustard) Ganesha and Kadalekaalu (ground nut)
Ganesha at Hampi, the Gommateshwara (Bahubali) monoliths in Karkala and Venur, and
the Nandi bull in Lepakshi. The Vijayanagara temples of Kolar, Kanakagiri, Sringeri and other
towns of Karnataka; the temples of Tadpatri, Lepakshi, Ahobilam, Tirumala Venkateswara
Temple and Srikalahasti in Andhra
Pradesh;
and
the
temples
of Vellore, Kumbakonam, Kanchi and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu are examples of this style.
Vijayanagara art includes wall-paintings such as the Dashavatara and Girijakalyana (marriage
of Parvati, Shiva's consort) in the Virupaksha Temple at Hampi, the Shivapurana murals (tales of
Shiva) at the Virabhadra temple at Lepakshi, and those at the Kamaakshi and Varadaraja temples
103
at Kanchi. This mingling of the South Indian styles resulted in a new idiom of art not seen in
earlier centuries, a focus on reliefs in addition to sculpture differing from that previously in
India.
An aspect of Vijayanagara architecture that shows the cosmopolitanism of the great city is the
presence of many secular structures bearing Islamic features. While political history concentrates
on the ongoing conflict between the Vijayanagara empire and the Deccan Sultanates, the
architectural
record
reflects
a
more
creative
interaction.
There
are
many arches, domes and vaults that show these influences. The concentration of structures
like pavilions, stables and towers suggests they were for use by royalty. The decorative details of
these structures may have been absorbed into Vijayanagara architecture during the early 15th
century, coinciding with the rule of Deva Raya I and Deva Raya II. These kings are known to
have employed many Muslims in their army and court, some of whom may have been Muslim
architects. This harmonious exchange of architectural ideas must have happened during rare
periods of peace between the Hindu and Muslim kingdoms. The "Great Platform" (Mahanavami
Dibba) has relief carvings in which the figures seem to have the facial features of central Asian
Turks who were known to have been employed as royal attendants.
Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu temple architecture developed under the rule
of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today
as Karnataka, a state of India. Hoysala influence was at its peak in the 13th century, when it
dominated the Southern Deccan Plateau region. Large and small temples built during this era
remain as examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including the Chennakesava
Temple at Belur,
the Hoysaleswara
Temple at Halebidu,
and
the Kesava
Temple at Somanathapura. Other examples of Hoysala craftsmanship are the temples
at Belavadi, Amruthapura, Hosaholalu, Mosale, Arasikere, Basaralu, Kikkeri and Nuggehalli. St
udy of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a negligible Indo-Aryan influence while the
impact of Southern Indian style is more distinct.
Temples built prior to Hoysala independence in the mid-12th century reflect significant Western
Chalukya influences, while later temples retain some features salient to Western Chalukya
architecture but have additional inventive decoration and ornamentation, features unique to
Hoysala artisans. Some three hundred temples are known to survive in present-day Karnataka
state and many more are mentioned in inscriptions, though only about seventy have been
documented. The greatest concentration of these are in the Malnad (hill) districts, the native
home of the Hoysala kings.
Hoysala architecture is classified by the influential scholar Adam Hardy as part of the Karnata
Dravida tradition, a trend within Dravidian architecture in the Deccan that is distinct from
the Tamil style of further south. Other terms for the tradition are Vesara, and Chalukya
architecture, divided into early Badami Chalukya architecture and the Western Chalukya
architecture which immediately preceded the Hoysalas. The whole tradition covers a period of
about seven centuries began in the 7th century under the patronage of the Chalukya
dynasty of Badami, developed further under the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta during the 9th and
10th centuries and the Western Chalukyas (or Later Chalukyas) of Basavakalyan in the 11th and
12th centuries. Its final development stage and transformation into an independent style was
during the rule of the Hoysalas in the 12th and 13th centuries.[7] Medieval inscriptions displayed
104
prominently at temple locations give information about donations made toward the maintenance
of the temple, details of consecration and on occasion, even architectural details
Vishnu with Lakshmi (Lakshminarayana) at Halebidu
Shiva, Parvati, Nandi at Halebidu
Hinduism is a combination of secular and sacred beliefs, rituals, daily practices and traditions
that has evolved over the course of over two thousand years and embodies complex symbolism
combining the natural world with philosophy.
Hindu temples began as simple shrines housing a deity and by the time of the Hoysalas had
evolved into well-articulated edifices in which worshippers sought transcendence of the daily
world. Hoysala temples were not limited to any specifically organised tradition of Hinduism and
encouraged pilgrims of different Hindu devotional movements. The Hoysalas usually dedicated
their temples to Shiva or to Vishnu (two of the popular Hindu gods), but they occasionally built
some temples dedicated to the Jain faith as well. Worshippers of Shiva are called Shaivas and
worshippers of Vishnu are called Vaishnavas. While King Vishnuvardhana and his descendants
were Vaishnava by faith,records show that the Hoysalas maintained religious harmony by
building as many temples dedicated to Shiva as they did to Vishnu.
Most of these temples have secular features with broad themes depicted in their sculptures. This
can be seen in the famous Chennakesava Temple at Belur dedicated to Vishnu and in
the Hoysaleswara
temple at Halebidu dedicated
to
Shiva.
The
Kesava
temple
at Somanathapura is different in that its ornamentation is strictly Vaishnava. Generally
Vaishnava temples are dedicated to Keshava (or to Chennakeshava, meaning "Beautiful
Vishnu") while a small number are dedicated to Lakshminarayana and Lakshminarasimha
(Narayana and Narasimha both being Avatars, or physical manifestations, of Vishnu)
with Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu, seated at his feet. Temples dedicated to Vishnu are always
named after the deity.
The Shaiva temples have a Shiva linga, symbol of fertility and the universal symbol of Shiva, in
the shrine. The names of Shiva temples can end with the suffix eshwara meaning "Lord of". The
name "Hoysaleswara", for instance, means "Lord of Hoysala". The temple can also be named
after the devotee who commissioned the construction of the temple, an example being the
Bucesvara temple at Koravangala, named after the devotee Buci. The most striking sculptural
decorations are the horizontal rows of mouldings with detailed relief, and intricately carved
images of gods, goddesses and their attendants on the outer temple wall panels.
The Doddagaddavalli Lakshmi Devi ("Goddess of Wealth") Temple is an exception as it is
dedicated to neither Vishnu nor Shiva. The defeat of the Jain Western Ganga Dynasty (of
present-day south Karnataka) by the Cholas in the early 11th century and the rising numbers of
followers of Vaishnava Hinduism and Virashaivism in the 12th century was mirrored by a
decreased interest in Jainism. However, two notable locations of Jain worship in the Hoysala
territory were Shravanabelagola and Kambadahalli. The Hoysalas built Jain temples to satisfy
the needs of its Jain population, a few of which have survived in Halebidu containing icons of
Jain tirthankaras. They constructed stepped wells called Pushkarni or Kalyani, the ornate tank at
Hulikere being an example. The tank has twelve minor shrines containing Hindu deities.
105
The two main deities found in Hoysala temple sculpture are Shiva and Vishnu in their various
forms and avatars (incarnations). Shiva is usually shown with four arms holding a trident and a
small drum among other emblems that symbolise objects worshiped independently of the divine
image with which they are associated. Any male icon portrayed in this way is Shiva although a
female icon may sometimes be portrayed with these attributes as Shiva's consort, Parvati.
Various depictions of Lord Shiva exist: showing him naked (fully or partially), in activities such
as slaying a demon (Andhaka) or dancing on the head of a slain elephant (Gajasura) and holding
its skin up behind his back. He is often accompanied by his consort Parvati or shown
with Nandi the bull. He may be represented as Bhairava, another of Shiva's many manifestations.
A male figure depicted holding certain objects such as a conch (symbol of eternal, heavenly
space) and a wheel (eternal time and destructive power) is Vishnu. If a female figure is depicted
holding these objects, she is seen as his consort, Lakshmi. In all the depictions Vishnu is holding
four objects: a conch, a wheel, a lotus and a Kaumodaki (mace). These can be held in any of the
icon's hands, making possible twenty-four different forms of Vishnu, each with a unique
name.[19] Apart from these, Vishnu is depicted in any of his ten avataras, which include Vishnu
sitting on Anantha (the celestial snake and keeper of life energy also known as Shesha), Vishnu
with Lakshmi seated on his lap (Lakshminarayana), with the head of a lion disembowelling a
demon on his lap (Lakshminarasimha), with head of a boar walking over a demon (Varaha), in
the Krishna avatar (as Venugopala or the cow herder playing the Venu (flute), dancing on the
head of the snake Kaliya, lifting a hill such as Govardhana), with his feet over head of a small
figure (Vamana), along with Indra riding an elephant, with Lakshmi seated on Garuda, and the
eagle (stealing the parijata tree).
TEMPLE COMPLEXES
Hoysala stepped temple tank (Kalyani) at Hulikere, Karnataka
106
Temple profile – staggered square plan mantapa at Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi/Akkana
Basadi at Shravanbelgola
The focus of a temple is the centre or sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha) where the image of the
deity resides, so temple architecture is designed to move the devotee from outside to the
garbhagriha through ambulatory passageways for circumambulation and halls or chambers
(mantapas) that become increasingly sacred as the deity is approached. Hoysala temples have
distinct parts that are merged to form a unified organic whole, in contrast to the temples of Tamil
country where different parts of a temple stand independently. Although superficially unique,
Hoysala temples resemble each other structurally. They are characterised by a complex profusion
of sculpture decorating all the temple parts chiselled of soft soapstone (chloritic schist), a good
material for intricate carving, executed mostly by local craftsmen, and exhibit architectural
features that distinguish them from other temple architectures of South India.
Most Hoysala temples have a plain covered entrance porch supported by lathe turned (circular or
bell-shaped) pillars which were sometimes further carved with deep fluting and moulded with
decorative motifs. The temples may be built upon a platform raised by about a metre called a
"jagati". The jagati, apart from giving a raised look to the temple, serves as
a pradakshinapatha or "circumambulation path" for circumambulation around the temple, as
the garbagriha (inner sanctum) provides no such feature.[22] Such temples will have an additional
set of steps leading to an open mantapa (open hall) with parapet walls. A good example of this
style is the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The jagati which is in unity with the rest of the
temple[23] follows a star-shaped design and the walls of the temple follow a zig-zag pattern, a
Hoysala innovation.
Devotees can first complete a ritual circumambulation on the jagati starting from the main
entrance by walking in a clockwise direction (towards the left) before entering the mantapa,
following the sculptural clockwise-sequenced reliefs on the outer temple walls depicting a
sequence of epic scenes from the Hindu epics. Temples that are not built on a jagati can have
steps flanked by elephant balustrades (parapets) that lead to the mantapa from ground level. An
example of a temple that does not exhibit the raised platform is the Bucesvara temple in
Korvangla, Hassan District. In temples with two shrines (dvikuta), the vimanas (the shrines
or cellae) may be placed either next to each other or on opposite sides The Lakshmidevi temple
at Doddagaddavalli is unique to Hoysala architecture as it has four shrines around a common
centre and a fifth shrine within the same complex for the deity Bhairava (a form of Shiva). In
addition, four minor shrines exist at each corner of the courtyard (prakaram).
107
ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
Mantapa
Ornate lintel over mantapa entrance in Chennakeshava temple, Belur/ Ornate bay ceiling in
mantapa in the Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi, a common feature in Hoysala temples
The mantapa is the hall where groups of people gather during prayers. The entrance to
the mantapa normally has a highly ornate overhead lintel called a makaratorana (makara is an
imaginary beast and torana is an overhead decoration).[22] The open mantapa which serves the
purpose of an outer hall (outer mantapa) is a regular feature in larger Hoysala temples leading to
an inner small closed mantapa and the shrines. The open mantapas which are often spacious
have seating areas (asana) made of stone with the mantapa's parapet wall acting as a back rest.
The seats may follow the same staggered square shape of the parapet wall. The ceiling here is
supported by numerous pillars that create many bays. The shape of the open mantapa is best
described as staggered-square and is the style used in most Hoysala temples.[31] Even the
smallest open mantapa has 13 bays. The walls have parapets that have half pillars supporting the
outer ends of the roof which allow plenty of light making all the sculptural details visible.
The mantapa ceiling is generally ornate with sculptures, both mythological and floral. The
ceiling consists of deep and domical surfaces and contains sculptural depictions of banana bud
motifs and other such decorations.
Open Mantapa with shining, lathe-turned pillars at Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura
If the temple is small it will consist of only a closed mantapa (enclosed with walls extending all
the way to the ceiling) and the shrine. The closed mantapa, well decorated inside and out, is
larger than the vestibule connecting the shrine and the mantapa and has four lathe-turned pillars
to support the ceiling, which may be deeply domed. The four pillars divide the hall into nine
bays. The nine bays result in nine decorated ceilings.[33] Pierced stone screens
108
(Jali or Latticework)
that
serve
as
windows
in
the navaranga (hall)
and Sabhamantapa (congregation hall) is a characteristic Hoysala stylistic element.
A porch adorns the entrance to a closed mantapa, consisting of an awning supported by two halfpillars (engaged columns) and two parapets, all richly decorated. The closed mantapa is
connected to the shrines by a vestibule, a square area that also connects the shrines. Its outer
walls are decorated, but as the size the vestibule is not large, this may not be a conspicuous part
of the temple. The vestibule also has a short tower called the sukanasi or "nose" upon which is
mounted the Hoysala emblem. In Belur and Halebidu, these sculptures are quite large and are
placed at all doorways.
The outer and inner mantapa (open and closed) have circular lathe-turned pillars having four
brackets at the top. Over each bracket stands sculptured figures called salabhanjika or madanika.
The pillars may also exhibit ornamental carvings on the surface and no two pillars are alike. This
is how Hoysala art differs from the work of their early overlords, the Western Chalukyas, who
added sculptural details to the circular pillar base and left the top plain. The lathe-turned pillars
are 16, 32, or 64-pointed; some are bell-shaped and have properties that reflect light. The
Parsvanatha Basadi at Halebidu is a good example. According to Brown, the pillars with four
monolithic brackets above them carry images of salabhanjikas and madanikas (sculpture of a
woman, displaying stylised feminine features). This is a common feature of Chalukya-Hoysala
temples. According to Sastri, the shape of the pillar and its capital, the base of which is square
and whose shaft is a monolith that is lathe turned to render different shapes, is a "remarkable
feature" of Hoysala art.
Vimana
Outer wall panel with six horizontal mouldings at Somanathapura/Star shaped Vimana (shrine)
at Hosaholalu
The vimana, also called the cella, contains the most sacred shrine wherein resides the image of
the presiding deity. The vimana is often topped by a tower which is quite different on the outside
than on the inside. Inside, the vimana is plain and square, whereas outside it is profusely
decorated and can be either stellate ("star-shaped") or shaped as a staggered square, or feature a
combination of these designs, giving it many projections and recesses that seem to multiply as
the light falls on it. Each projection and recess has a complete decorative articulation that is
rhythmic and repetitive and composed of blocks and mouldings, obscuring the tower profile.
109
Depending on the number of shrines (and hence on the number of towers), the temples are
classified
as ekakuta (one), dvikuta (two), trikuta (three), chatushkuta (four)
and panchakuta (five). Most Hoysala temples are ekakuta, dvikuta or trikuta, the Vaishnava ones
mostly being trikuta. There are cases where a temple is trikuta but has only one tower over the
main shrine (in the middle). So the terminology trikuta may not be literally accurate.[ In temples
with multiple disconnected shrines, such as the twin temples at Mosale, all essential parts are
duplicated for symmetry and balance.
The highest point of the temple (kalasa) has the shape of a water pot and stands on top of the
tower. This portion of the vimana is often lost due to age and has been replaced with a metallic
pinnacle. Below the kalasa is a large, highly- sculptured structure resembling a dome which is
made from large stones and looks like a helmet. It may be 2 m by 2 m in size and follows the
shape of the shrine. Below this structure are domed roofs in a square plan, all of them much
smaller and crowned with small kalasas. They are mixed with other small roofs of different
shapes and are ornately decorated. The tower of the shrine usually has three or four tiers of rows
of decorative roofs while the tower on top of the sukanasi has one less tier, making the tower
look like an extension of the main tower (Foekema calls it the "nose"). One decorated roof tier
runs on top of the wall of a closed mantapa above the heavy eaves of an open mantapa and
above the porches.
Below the superstructure of the vimana are temple "eaves" projecting half a meter from the wall.
Below the eaves two different decorative schemes may be found, depending on whether a temple
was built in the early or the later period of the empire. In the early temples built prior to the 13th
century, there is one eave and below this are decorative miniature towers. A panel of Hindu
deities and their attendants are below these towers, followed by a set of five different mouldings
forming the base of the wall. In the later temples there is a second eave running about a metre
below the upper eaves with decorative miniature towers placed between them. The wall images
of gods are below the lower eaves, followed by six different mouldings of equal size. This is
broadly termed "horizontal treatment".The six mouldings at the base are divided in two sections.
Going from the very base of the wall, the first horizontal layer contains a procession of
elephants, above which are horsemen and then a band of foliage. The second horizontal section
has depictions of the Hindu epics and Puranic scenes executed with detail. Above this are two
friezes of yalis or makaras (imaginary beasts) and hamsas (swans). The vimana (tower) is
divided into three horizontal sections and is even more ornate than the walls.
110
Sculpture
Sthamba buttalika, Hoysala art at Belur/ Madanika bracket at Belur
In Hoysala art Hardy identifies two conspicuous departures from the more austere Western
(Later) Chalukya art:ornamental elaboration and a profusion of iconography with figure
sculptures, both of which are found in abundance even on the superstructure over the shrine.
Their medium, the soft chlorite schist (Soapstone) enabled a virtuoso carving style. Hoysala
artists are noted for their attention to sculptural detail be it in the depiction of themes from
the Hindu epics
and
deities
or
in
their
use
of motifs such
as yali, kirtimukha (gargoyles), aedicula (miniature
decorative
towers)
on pilaster, makara (aquatic monster), birds (hamsa), spiral foliage, animals such as lions,
elephants and horses, and even general aspects of daily life such as hair styles in vogue
Salabhanjika, a common form of Hoysala sculpture, is an old Indian tradition going back to
Buddhist sculpture. Sala is the sala tree and bhanjika is the chaste maiden. In the Hoysala
idiom, madanika figures are decorative objects put at an angle on the outer walls of the temple
near the roof so that worshipers circumambulating the temple can view them.
The sthamba buttalikas are pillar images that show traces of Chola art in the Chalukyan touches.
Some of the artists working for the Hoysalas may have been from Chola country, a result of the
expansion of the empire into Tamil-speaking regions of Southern India. The image of mohini on
one of the pillars in the mantapa (closed hall) of the Chennakeshava temple is an example of
Chola art.
General life themes are portrayed on wall panels such as the way horses were reined, the type of
stirrup used, the depiction of dancers, musicians, instrumentalists, and rows of animals such as
lions and elephants (where no two animals are identical). Perhaps no other temple in the country
depicts the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics more effectively than the Hoysaleshwara temple at
Halebidu..
Erotica was a subject the Hoysala artist handled with discretion. There is no exhibitionism in
this, and erotic themes were carved into recesses and niches, generally miniature in form, making
them inconspicuous. These erotic representations are associated with the Shakta practice
111
Apart from these sculptures, entire sequences from the Hindu epics (commonly
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata) have been sculpted in a clockwise direction starting at the
main entrance.[48] The right to left sequence is the same direction taken by the devotees in their
ritual circumambulation as they wind inward toward the inner sanctum. Depictions from
mythology such as the epic hero Arjuna shooting fish, the elephant-headed god Ganesha, the Sun
god Surya, the weather and war god Indra, and Brahma with Sarasvati are common. Also
frequently seen in these temples is Durga, with several arms holding weapons given to her by
other gods, in the act of killing a buffalo (a demon in a buffalo's form) and Harihara (a fusion of
Shiva and Vishnu) holding a conch, wheel, and trident. Many of these friezes were signed by the
artisans, the first known instance of signed artwork in India.
Kirtimukha decoration (demon faces) on tower at Amrutesvara Temple, Amruthapura
Ornate lintel and door jamb relief at entrance to inner mantapa in the Harihareshwara Temple at
Harihar
According to Settar, surveys in modern times have indicated that 1000–1500 structures were
built by the Hoysalas, of which about a hundred temples have survived to date. The Hoysala
style is an offshoot of the Western Chalukya style, which was popular in the 10th and 11th
centuries. It is distinctively Dravidian, and according to Brown, owing to its features, Hoysala
architecture qualifies as an independent style. While the Hoysalas introduced innovative features
into their architecture, they also borrowed features from earlier builders of Karnata like
the Kadambas, Western Chalukyas. These features included the use of chloritic schist
or soapstone as a basic building material.
Other features were the stepped style of vimana tower called the Kadamba shikhara, which was
inherited from the Kadambas. Hoysala sculptors made use of the effect of light and shade on
carved walls, which poses a challenge for photography of the temples.[13] The artistry of the
Hoysalas in stone has been compared to the finesse of an ivory worker or a goldsmith. The
abundance of jewellery worn by the sculpted figures and the variety of hairstyles and
headdresses depicted give a fair idea of the lifestyles of the Hoysala times.
CRAFTSMEN
112
Elephant balustrades in the Bucesvara temple. A temple plan without jagati at Korvangla
Vasantha mantapa, an ornate 13th century contribution from the Hoysala era to the preexisting Uma-Maheshvara shrine at the Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple complex, Chikkaballapura
district
While medieval Indian artisans preferred to remain anonymous, Hoysala artisans signed their
works, which has given researchers details about their lives, families, guilds, etc. Apart from the
architects and sculptors, people of other guilds such as goldsmiths, ivory carvers, carpenters, and
silversmiths also contributed to the completion of temples. The artisans were from diverse
geographical backgrounds and included famous locals. Prolific architects included Amarashilpi
Jakanachari,[55] a native of Kaidala in Tumkur district, who also built temples for the Western
Chalukyas. Ruvari Malithamma built the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura and worked on forty
other monuments, including the Amruteshwara temple at Amruthapura. Malithamma specialised
in ornamentation, and his works span six decades. His sculptures were typically signed in
shorthand as Malli or simply Ma.
Dasoja and his son Chavana from Balligavi were the architects of Chennakesava Temple at
Belur; Kedaroja was the chief architect of the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu. Their influence
is seen in other temples built by the Hoysalas as well. Names of other locals found in inscriptions
are Maridamma, Baicoja, Caudaya, Nanjaya and Bama, Malloja, Nadoja,
Siddoja,[59] Masanithamma, Chameya and Rameya. Artists from Tamil country included
Pallavachari and Cholavachari.
Temples of the Hoysala Empire
113
Kadamba shikara (tower)with Kalasa (pinnacle)
Doddagaddavalli
on
top
at Lakshmi
Devi
Temple,
Pierced stone window screens at Somanathapura/ Stellate plan of shrine in Chennakeshava
Temple, Aralaguppe, Karnataka
Name
Location
Lakshmidevi
Perio
d
King
Deity
Doddagaddaval
1113
li
Vishnuvardha
na
Lakshmi
Chennakesava
Belur
1117
Vishnuvardha
na
Vishnu
Hoysaleswara
Halebidu
1120
Vishnuvardha
Shiva
114
na
Vishnuvardha
Parshvanatha, Shantinatha, Adin
na,
Veera
atha
Ballala II
Basadi complex
Halebidu
1133,
1196
Rameshvara
Koodli
12th
c.
Vishnuvardha
na
Shiva
Brahmeshwara
Kikkeri
1171
Narasimha I
Shiva
Bucheshvara
Koravangala
1173
Veera Ballala
Shiva
II
Akkana Basadi
Shravanabelag
ola
1181
Veera Ballala
Parshvanatha
II
Amruteshwara
Amruthapura
1196
Veera Ballala II Shiva
Shantinatha
Basadi
Jinanathapura
1200
Veera Ballala
Shantinatha
II
NageshvaraChennakeshava
Mosale
1200
Veera Ballala
Shiva, Vishnu
II
Veeranarayana
Belavadi
1200
Veera Ballala
Vishnu
II
Kedareshwara
Halebidu
1200
Veera Ballala
Shiva
II
115
Ishvara (Shiva)
Arsikere
1220
Veera Ballala
Shiva
II
Harihareshwara
Harihar
1224
Vira
Narasimha II
Shiva, Vishnu
Mallikarjuna
Basaralu
1234
Vira
Narasimha II
Shiva
Someshvara
Haranhalli
1235
Vira
Someshwara
Shiva
Lakshminarasimh
Haranhalli
a
1235
Vira
Someshwara
Vishnu
Panchalingeshwa
Govindanhalli
ra[
1238
Vira
Someshwara
Shiva
Lakshminarasimh
Nuggehalli
a
1246
Vira
Someshwara
Vishnu
Sadashiva
Nuggehalli
1249
Vira
Someshwara
Shiva
Lakshminarayana Hosaholalu
1250
Vira
Someshwara
Vishnu
Lakshminarasimh
Javagallu
a
1250
Vira
Someshwara
Vishnu
116
Chennakesava
Aralaguppe
1250
Vira
Someshwara
Vishnu
Kesava
Somanathapur
a
1268
Narasimha III
Vishnu
Architecture in the Vijayanagar Empire
The Vijayanagar Empire ruled in South India from 1336 until 1646 and left a lasting legacy of
architecture, sculpture, and painting. Vijayanagar architecture is a vibrant combination of the
Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya, and Chola styles , which evolved from prior empires in earlier
centuries. It is also influenced by later Deccan and Dravidian styles.
•
Preferred for its durability, local hard granite was the building material of choice, as it had
been for the Badami Chalukyas.
•
Vijayanagar temples are characterized by ornate pillared halls and rayagopurams, or
monumental towers adorned with life-sized figures of gods and goddesses that stand at the
entrance of the temple.
•
The courtly architecture of Vijayanagar is generally made of mortar mixed with stone
rubble and often shows secular styles with Islamic-influenced arches , domes , and vaults .
•
balustrade: A row of balusters topped by a rail, serving as an open parapet, as along the
edge of a balcony, terrace, bridge, staircase, or the eaves of a building.
monolithic: Formed of a single massive rock or stone.
•
Background: The Vijayanagar Empire
The Vijayanagar Empire was a Hindu empire based in the Deccan plateau region of South India.
Established in 1336 by Harihara I (who ruled from 1336–1356 CE), it enjoyed its greatest
political and cultural prominence under Emperor Krishna Deva Raya (who ruled from 1509–
1529 CE) and lasted until 1646, when it was conquered by the Muslim Sultans of Bijapur and
Golkonda.
The empire’s patronage enabled its fine arts and literature to rise to new heights, and its legacy of
sculpture, painting, and architecture influenced the development of the arts in South India long
after the empire came to an end. There were great innovations in Hindu temple construction
during this period, and many diverse temple building traditions and styles in South India came
together in the Vijayanagar style of architecture, the finest examples of which are to be found in
the capital Hampi.
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Vijayanagar Architecture
Vijayanagar era architecture can be broadly classified into religious, courtly, and civic
architecture. Its style is a harmonious combination of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya, and Chola
styles that evolved in earlier centuries and represents a return to the simplicity and serenity of the
past. Preferred for its durability, local hard granite was the building material of choice, as it had
been for the Badami Chalukyas; however, soapstone, which was soft and easily carved, was also
used for reliefs and sculptures.
Temples
Vijayanagar temples are surrounded by strong enclosures and characterized by ornate
pillared kalyanamandapa (marriage halls); tall rayagopurams (carved monumental towers at the
entrance of the temple) built of wood, brick, and stucco in the Chola style; and adorned with lifesized figures of gods and goddesses. This dravida style became popular during the reign of
Krishnadeva Raya and is seen in South Indian temples constructed over the next two centuries.
Vijayanagar temples are also known for their carved pillars , which depict charging horses,
figures from Hindu mythology, and yali (hippogriphs). Some of the larger temples are dedicated
to a male deity , with a separate shrine intended for the worship of his female counterpart. Some
famous temples exemplifying the Vijayanagar style include the Virupaksha Temple at Hampi
and the Hazara Rama temple of Deva Raya I.
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Virupaksha Temple, Hampi: This temple has a particularly fine example of the tall, ornate
rayagopuram popularized by Vijayanagar architecture.
Horse Pillars in Vijayanagar Temple: Kudure gombe (horse doll) pillars in a mantapa at
Hampi
Pillars at Chandikesvara Temple in Hampi: Pillars of Vijayanagar temples are often engraved
with images of yali, or hippogriffs.
Palaces and Courtly Architecture
No royal palace structures from the Vijayanagar period have survived intact, and most of what is
known about them has been drawn from archaeological excavations at Hampi. Most of the
palaces faced east or north and stood within compounds surrounded by high, tapering stone and
earth walls. They were built on raised granite platforms with multiple tiers of mouldings
decorated with carved friezes . Palaces usually spanned multiple levels and had tall flights of
stairs flanked on either side by balustrades carved with yali and elephants. Pillars and beams
were made of wood and the roofs of brick and lime concrete. The courtly architecture of
Vijayanagar was generally made of mortar mixed with stone rubble and often shows secular
styles with Islamic-influenced arches, domes, and vaults.
Sculpture in the Vijayanagar Empire
Vijayanagar sculpture can most commonly be seen in the reliefs, pillars, and monolithic statues
of temples.
•
The mingling of South Indian styles under the Vijayanagar Empire resulted in a richness
not seen in earlier centuries, including a focus on reliefs and sculpture that surpassed that
seen previously in India.
119
•
Soapstone, which was soft and easily carved, was commonly used for reliefs and
sculptures. To cover the unevenness of the stone, artists employed brightly painted plaster
to smooth over and finish rough surfaces.
•
Sculpture was integrally linked with architecture in the creation of Vijayanagar temples.
•
Large life-size figures of men, women, gods, and goddesses adorn many Vijayagara
temples, and temple pillars often have engravings of charging horses or hippogryphs (yali)
and other elements of Hindu mythology.
•
Another element of the Vijayanagar style is the carving and consecration of large
monolithic statues, such as the Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha at Hampi.
Vijayanagar Sculpture
The Vijayanagar Empire’s patronage enabled its fine arts and literature to rise to new heights. Its
legacy of sculpture, painting, and architecture influenced the development of the arts in South
India long after the empire came to an end. The mingling of South Indian styles resulted in a
richness not seen in earlier centuries, including a focus on reliefs in addition to sculpture that
surpassed that seen previously in India.
Sculpture Material
Preferred for its durability, local hard granite was the building material of choice for architecture;
however, soapstone, which was soft and easily carved, was commonly used for reliefs and
sculptures. While the use of granite reduced the density of sculptured works, granite was a more
durable material for the temple structure. Because granite is prone to flaking, few pieces of
individual sculptures reached the high levels of quality seen in previous centuries. In order to
cover the unevenness of the stone used in sculptures, artists employed brightly painted plaster to
smooth over and finish rough surfaces.
Temple Sculpture
Sculpture was integrally linked with architecture in the creation of Vijayanagar temples. Large
life-size figures of men, women, gods, and goddesses adorn the gopuram of many Vijayagara
temples. Temple pillars often have engravings of charging horses or hippogryphs (yali)—horses
standing on hind legs with their fore legs lifted and riders on their backs. The horses on some
pillars stand seven to eight feet tall. On the other side of the pillar are often carvings from Hindu
mythology.
Another element of the Vijayanagar style is the carving and consecration of large monolithic
statues, such as the Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha at Hampi; the Gommateshvara
(Bahubali) monoliths in Karkala and Venur; and the Nandi bull in Lepakshi. Examples of this
style can also be seen in the Vijayanagara temples of Kolar, Kanakagiri, Shringeri and other
towns of Karnataka; the temples of Tadpatri, Lepakshi, Ahobilam, Tirumala Venkateswara, and
120
Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh; and the temples of Vellore, Kumbakonam, Kanchi, and
Srirangam in Tamil Nadu.
Painting in the Vijayanagar Empire
Painting in the Vijayanagar Empire, which evolved into the Mysore style of painting, is best
illustrated in the elaborate wall paintings of temples.
The Vijayanagar school of painting is renowned for its frescoes of Hindu gods and goddesses
and scenes from Hindu mythology on temple walls and ceilings.Absorbing the local artistic
traditions and customs, the Vijayanagar school of painting gradually evolved into many styles of
painting in South India, including the Mysore and Tanjore schools of painting.
Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colors, and attention to detail; they are
characterized by delicate lines , intricate brush strokes, graceful delineation of figures, and the
discreet use of bright vegetable colors and lustrous gold leaf .Vijayanagar painting is most
commonly represented in elaborate manuscripts and wall paintings in Hindu temples.Mysore
painting: An important form of classical South Indian art that originated in and around a town
with this name in Karnataka, and evolved from the paintings of Vijayanagar times during the
reign of the Vijayanagar Kings. These paintings are made by artisans of the chitrakar caste,
within the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal; traditionally painters and mask
makers.
The Vijayanagar School and Mysore Painting
In addition to architecture and sculpture, the Vijayanagar emperors were enthusiastic patrons of
painting. The Vijayanagar school of painting was renowned for its frescoes of Hindu
mythological themes on temple walls and ceilings. The rulers of Vijayanagar encouraged
literature, art, architecture, religious, and philosophical discussions. With the fall of the
Vijayanagar empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565 CE, the artists who were under royal
patronage migrated to various other places such as Mysore, Tanjore, and Surpur.
Absorbing the local artistic traditions and customs, the Vijayanagar school of painting gradually
evolved into many styles of painting in South India, including the Mysore and Tanjore schools of
painting. Mysore painting, an important form of South Indian classical painting, developed out of
Vijayanagar painting and originated in the southern town of Mysore, in Karnataka, during the
reign of the Vijayanagar emperors.
Characteristics of Vijayanagar Painting
Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colors, and attention to detail. Popular
themes include Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. The paintings are
characterized by delicate lines, intricate brush strokes, graceful delineation of figures, and the
discreet use of bright vegetable colors and lustrous gold leaf. More than mere decorative pieces,
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the paintings are designed to inspire feelings of devotion and humility in the viewer . The
painter’s individual skill in giving expression to various emotions is therefore of paramount
importance to this style of painting.
The ancient painters in Mysore prepared their own materials. The colors were from natural
sources of vegetable, mineral, leaves, stones, and flowers. Brushes were made with squirrel hairs
for delicate work, and for superfine lines, a brush made of pointed blades of a special variety of
grass was used. Due to the long lasting quality of the earth and vegetable colors used, the
original Mysore paintings still retain their freshness and luster even today.
Wall Paintings
Vijayanagar art includes wall paintings such as the Dashavatara (the Ten Avatars of Vishnu) and
the Girijakalyana (the marriage of Parvati, Shiva’s consort) in the Virupaksha Temple at Hampi;
the Shivapurana murals (the Tales of Shiva) at the Virabhadra temple at Lepakshi; and those at
the Kamaakshi and Varadaraja temples at Kanchi.
Painted Ceiling, Virupaksha Temple: 15th century painting, depicting scenes from Hindu
mythology in red and gold.
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Manuscripts
The most famous of the manuscripts detailing the various nuances of the Mysore school is the
Sritattvanidhi, a voluminous work of 1500 pages prepared under the patronage of Mummadi
Krishnaraja Wodeyar. This pictorial digest is a compendium of illustrations of gods, goddesses,
and mythological figures with instructions to painters on an incredible range of topics concerning
composition placement, color choice, individual attributes, and mood. The seasons, ecohappenings, animals, and plant world are also effectively depicted in these paintings as cothemes or contexts.
Other Sanskrit literary sources such as the Visnudharmottara Purana , Abhilasitarthacintamani,
and Sivatatvaratnakara also highlight the objectives and principles of painting, methods of
preparing pigments , brushes, qualifications of the chitrakar (the traditional community of
painters), and the technique to be followed.
Hampi has been ranked second in New York Times must-see Global Destinations. At the
height of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 16th century, Hampi thrived as one of the largest
and richest cities in the world. Its architectural legacy lives on in the southwestern state of
Karnataka with over 1,000 well-preserved stone monuments, including Hindu temples,
forts and palaces.Spread over 16 miles near the banks of the Tungabhadra River, and
surrounded by a sea of granite boulders, the Unesco World Heritage site has been
notoriously difficult to reach, until now.TruJet recently began daily direct flights from
Hyderabad and Bangalore to Ballari, a 25-mile drive from Hampi.
One of the notable features of the Vittala Temple is the Musical Pillars-Musical Pillared Hall
The most elegant achievements of the Kingdom was the 56 Musical Pillared Hall, which is in the
Vijaya Vittala Temple, enclosure which striking the pillars brings out the 7 Musical Chords and
the Stone Chariot carved out of a single Granite rock is an achievement in the field of
architecture as one wonders of how the Wheels of a Granite Rock carved Chariot to rotated. The
large Ranga Mandapa is well known for its 56 musical pillars. These pillars are also known as
SaReGaMa pillars, which are attributed to the musical notes emerging out of them. The pillars
produce musical tones when struck with a thumb.
The Temple is also called as the Vijaya Vittala Temple and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu
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The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries, when the
empires that evolved in the Karnataka region of India made a lasting impact on the subcontinent.
Before this, alien empires held sway over the region, and the nucleus of power was outside
modern Karnataka. The medieval era can be broadly divided into several periods: The earliest
native kingdoms and imperialism; the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern
India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region; and the domination of
the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion. The origins of the rise of the
Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth-century birth of the Kadamba
Dynasty of Banavasi, the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native
language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit. This is the historical starting point in
studying the development of the region as an enduring geopolitical entity and of Kannada as an
important regional language.
In the southern regions of Karnataka, the Western Gangas of Talakad were contemporaries of the
Kadambas. The Kadambas and Gangas were followed by the imperial dynasties of the Badami
Chalukya Empire, the Rashtrakuta Empire, the Western Chalukya Empire, the Hoysala
Empire and the Vijayanagara Empire, all patronising the ancient Indic religions while showing
tolerance to the new cultures arriving from the west of the subcontinent. The Muslim invasion of
the Deccan resulted in the breaking away of the feudatory Sultanates in the 14th century. The
rule of the Bahamani Sultanate of Bidar and the Bijapur Sultanate from the northern Deccan
region caused a mingling of the ancient Hindu traditions with the nascent Islamic culture in the
region. The hereditary ruling families and clans ably served the large empires and upheld the
local culture and traditions. The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565 brought about a slow
disintegration of Kannada-speaking regions into minor kingdoms that struggled to maintain
autonomy in an age dominated by foreigners until unification and independence in 1947.
Kadamba Dynasty, Western Ganga Dynasty, and Western Ganga literature
124
Kadamba tower at Doddagaddavalli
Kadamba Empire, 500 CE.
Prior to and during the early centuries of the first millennium, large areas of the Karnataka region
was ruled by such imperial powers as the Mauryas of Maghada and later the Satavahanas,
empires whose centres of power were in the Gangetic plains and Central India respectively. With
the weakening of the Satavahanas, the Pallavas of Kanchi took control for a brief duration. [1] In
the 4th century, the rise to power of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi identified the Karnataka
region as an independent political entity and Kannada as an administrative language from the
middle of the 5th century. The Kadambas were natives of the Talagunda region (in
modern Shivamogga district) as proven by inscriptions. Mayurasharma, a Brahmin native of
Talagunda who was humiliated by a Pallava guard, rose in rage against the Pallava control of the
Banavasi region and declared his independence in 345. After many wars, the Pallava king had to
accept the sovereignty of the Kadambas and Mayurasharma, the founding king, crowned himself
at Banavasi (in the present day Uttara Kannada district).
125
Western Ganga Territories, 800 CE.
The
fact
that
the
Kadambas
cultivated
marital
ties
with
the
imperial Vakatakas and Gupta dynasties attests to their power.[12] Kakusthavarma, the most
powerful ruler of the dynasty whom inscriptions describe as "ornament of the Kadamba family"
and "Sun among the kings of wide spread flame", gave one daughter in marriage to Vakataka
Narendrasena and another to Skandagupta, grandson of Chandragupta II of the Gupta
dynasty. Historians trace their rise to political power through the examination of the
contemporaneous Sanskrit writing, Aichitya Vichara Charcha by Kshemendra, which quotes
portions of a writing Kunthalesvara Dautya by the famous poet Kalidasa. Here Kalidasa
describes his visit to the Kadamba kingdom as an ambassador where he was not offered a seat in
the court of the Kadamba king and had to sit on the ground. Historians view this act as one of
assertion by the Kadambas who considered themselves equal to the imperial Gupta dynasty.[15]
Roof relief sculpture, Jain Panchakuta basadi at Kambadahalli.
126
Family feuds and conflicts ended the Kadamba rule in the middle of the 6th century when the
last Kadamba ruler Krishna Varma II was subdued by Pulakeshin I of the Chalukya feudatory,
ending their sovereign rule. The Kadambas would continue to rule parts of Karnataka and Goa
for many centuries to come but never again as an independent kingdom. Some historians view
the Kadambas as the originators of the Karnataka architectural tradition although there were
elements in common with the structures built by the contemporaneous Pallavas of
Kanchi.[17] The oldest surviving Kadamba structure is one dating to the late 5th century
in Halsi in modern Belgaum district. The most prominent feature of their architectural style, one
that remained popular centuries later and was used by the Hoysalas and the Vijayanagar kings, is
the Kadamba Shikara (Kadamba tower) with a Kalasa (pot) on top.
The Western Ganga Dynasty, contemporaries of the Kadambas, came to power from Kolar but in
the late 4th century - early 5th century moved their capital to Talakad in modern Mysore district.
They ruled the region historically known as Gangavadi comprising most of the modern southern
districts of Karnataka. Acting as a buffer state between the Kannada kingdoms of Karnataka
region and the Tamil kingdoms of Tamilakam, the Western Ganga architectural innovations
show mixed influences.[20] Their sovereign rule ended around the same time as the Kadambas
when they came under the Badami Chalukya control. The Western Gangas continued to rule as a
feudatory till the beginning of the eleventh century when they were defeated by
the Cholas of Tanjavur.
Important
figures
among
the
Gangas
were
King Durvinita and Shivamara II, admired as able warriors and scholars,[22] and
minister Chavundaraya who was a builder, a warrior and a writer in Kannada and Sanskrit. The
most important architectural contributions of these Gangas are the monuments
and basadis of Shravanabelagola, the monolith of Gomateshwara termed as the mightiest
achievement in the field of sculpture in ancient Karnataka and the Panchakuta basadi ( five
towers)
at Kambadahalli. Their
free
standing
pillars
(called Mahasthambhas and Brahmasthambhas) and Hero stones (virgal) with sculptural detail
are also considered a unique contribution.[26]
Badami Chalukya Empire during the reign of Pulakeshin II, 640 CE.
127
The Badami Chalukya era (7th and 8th century) was an important
period in the development of South Indian architecture. Their style of
architecture is called “Chalukyan architecture” or “Karnata Dravida
architecture”.The Chalukya dynasty, natives of the Aihole and Badami region in
Karnataka, were at first a feudatory of the Kadambas. They encouraged the use of Kannada in
addition to the Sanskrit language in their administration. In the middle of the 6th century the
Chalukyas came into their own when Pulakeshin I made the hill fortress in Badami his center of
power. During the rule of Pulakeshin II a south Indian empire sent expeditions to the north past
the Tapti River and Narmada River for the first time and successfully defied Harshavardhana, the
King of Northern India (Uttarapatheswara). The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II, written in
classical Sanskrit language and old Kannada script dated 634, proclaims his victories against the
Kingdoms of Kadambas, Western Gangas, Alupas of South Canara, Mauryas of Puri, Kingdom
of Kosala, Malwa, Lata and Gurjaras of southern Rajasthan. The inscription describes how King
Harsha of Kannauj lost his Harsha (joyful disposition) on seeing a large number of his war
elephants die in battle against Pulakeshin II.
Badami Cave Temples No 3.(Vishnu)
These victories earned him the title Dakshinapatha Prithviswamy (lord of the south). Pulakeshin
II continued his conquests in the east where he conquered all kingdoms in his way and reached
the Bay of Bengal in present-day Orissa. A Chalukya viceroyalty was set up in Gujarat and
Vengi (coastal Andhra) and princes from the Badami family were dispatched to rule them.
Having subdued the Pallavas of Kanchipuram, he accepted tributes from
the Pandyas of Madurai, Chola dynasty and Cheras of the Kerala region. Pulakeshin II thus
became the master of India, south of the Narmada River. Pulakeshin II is widely regarded as one
of the great kings in Indian history. Hiuen-Tsiang, a Chinese traveller visited the court of
Pulakeshin II at this time and Persian emperor Khosrau II exchanged ambassadors. However, the
continuous wars with Pallavas took a turn for the worse in 642 when the Pallava
king Narasimhavarman I avenged his father's defeat, conquered and plundered the capital of
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Pulakeshin II who may have died in battle. A century later, Chalukya Vikramaditya II marched
victoriously into Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital and occupied it on three occasions, the third
time under the leadership of his son and crown prince Kirtivarman II. He thus avenged the earlier
humiliation of the Chalukyas by the Pallavas and engraved a Kannada inscription on the victory
pillar at the Kailasanatha Temple. He later overran the other traditional kingdoms of Tamil
country, the Pandyas, Cholas and Keralas in addition to subduing a Kalabhra ruler.
The Kappe Arabhatta record from this period (700) in tripadi (three line) metre is considered the
earliest available record in Kannada poetics. The most enduring legacy of the Chalukya dynasty
is the architecture and art that they left behind. More than one hundred and fifty monuments
attributed to them, built between 450 and 700, have survived in the Malaprabha basin in
Karnataka. The constructions are centred in a relatively small area within the Chalukyan
heartland. The structural temples at Pattadakal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cave
temples of Badami, the temples at Mahakuta and early experiments in temple building
at Aihole are their most celebrated monuments. Two of the famous paintings at Ajanta cave no.
1, "The Temptation of the Buddha" and "The Persian Embassy" are also credited to
them. Further, they influenced the architecture in far off places like Gujarat and Vengi as
evidenced in the Nava Brahma temples at Alampur.
The Badami Chalukya architecture
The Badami Chalukya architecture was a temple building idiom that evolved in the 5th – 8th
centuries AD in the Malaprabha river basin, in present-day Bagalkot district of Karnataka state
of India, under the Chalukya dynasty. This style is sometimes called the Vesara style
and Chalukya style, a term that also includes the much later Western Chalukya architecture of
the 11th and 12th centuries. Early Chalukya architecture, used by George Michell and others,
equates to Badami Chalukya. The earliest Badami Chalukya temples date back to around 450
A.D. in Aihole when the Badami Chalukyas were vassals of the Kadambas of Banavasi.
According to historian K.V. Sounder Rajan, the Badami Chalukyas contribution to temple
building matched their valor and their achievements in battle.
About 450 CE, the Early Chalukya style originated in Aihole and was perfected in Badaami,
Karnataka and Pattadakal, Karnataka. The unknown architects and artists experimented with
different styles, blended the Nagara and Dravidian styles.
Their style includes two types of monuments: rock cut halls or "cave temples", and "structural"
temples, built above ground.
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Cave temple at Badami Karnataka// Bhutanatha temple complex
Badami cave temples have rock-cut halls with three basic features: pillared veranda, columned
hall and a sanctum cut out deep into rock.
Early experiments in rock-cut halls were attempted in Aihole where they built three cave
temples, one each in Vedic, Buddhist and Jaina styles. Later they refined their style and cut out
four marvellous cave temples at Badami. One noteworthy feature of these cave temples is the
running frieze of Ganas in various amusing postures caved in relief on each plinth.
The outside verandas of the cave temples are rather plain, but the inner hall contains rich and
prolific sculptural symbolism. Art critic Dr. M. Sheshadri wrote of the Chalukya art that they cut
rock like Titans but finished like jewellers. Critic Zimmer wrote that the Chalukya cave temples
are a fine balance of versatility and restrain.
The finest structural temples are located in Pattadakal. Of the ten temples in Pattadakal, six are
in Dravidian style and four in Rekhanagara style. The Virupaksha temple in many ways holds
resemblance to the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram which came into existence a few years
earlier.
This is a fully inclusive temple, it has a central structure, nandi pavilion in front and has a walled
enclosure that is entered by a gateway. The main sanctum has a Pradakshinapatha and mantapa.
The mantapa is pillared and has perforated windows (pierced window screens). The external
wall surface is divided by pilasters into well-spaced ornamental niches filled with either
sculptures or perforated windows. Art critic Percy Brown says about the sculptures that they
flow into the architecture in a continuous stream. It is said that the Virupaskha temple is one of
those monuments where the spirit of the men who built it, still lives.
Many centuries later, the serene art of the Badami Chalukya reappeared in the pillared
architecture of the Vijayanagar Empire. Their caves include finely engraved sculptures
of Harihara, Trivikrama, Mahisa
130
Mardhini, Tandavamurthi, Paravasudeva, Nataraja, Varaha, Gomateshvara and others. Plenty
of animal and foliage motifs are also included.
Some important sculptors of their time were Gundan Anivaritachari, Revadi Ovajja and
Narasobba.
Important Badami Chalukya temples
Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal// Ravana Phadi cave, Aihole
Pattadakal
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Virupaksha Temple
Sangameswarar Temple
Kashivisvanatha Temple (Rashtrakuta)
Mallikarjuna Temple
Galganatha Temple
Kadasiddeshvara Temple
Jambulinga Temple
Jain Narayana Temple (Rashtrakuta)
Papanatha Temple
Museum of the Plains and Sculpture gallery
Naganatha Temple
Chandrashekara
Mahakuteshwara Temple
Sun Temple
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Jain tirthankara Parshvanath, cave No. 4, Badami cave temples
Aihole
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Lad Khan Temple
Huchiappayyagudi Temple
Huchiappayya math
Durga Temple
Meguti Jain Temple
Ravanaphadi Temple
Gowda Temple
Museum & Art Gallery
Suryanarayana Temple
Badami
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Cave 1 (Shiva)
Cave 2 (Vishnu as Trivikrama or Vamana, Varaha and Krishna)
Cave 3 (Vishnu as Narasimha, Varaha, Harihara and Trivikrama.)
Cave 4 (Jain Tirthankara Parsvanatha)
Bhutanatha group of temples (Badami and Kalyani Chalukya)
Gerusoppa
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Vardhamanaswamy Temple
Sanduru
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Parvati temple
Alampur, Andhra Pradesh
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Navabrahma temples
Kudavelly Sangameshwara Temple
Rashtrakuta Dynasty and Rashtrakuta literature
Rashtrakuta Empire in 800 CE, 915 CE.
In the middle of the 8th century the Chalukya rule was ended by their feudatory, the Rashtrakuta
family rulers of Berar (in present-day Amravati district of Maharashtra). Sensing an opportunity
during a weak period in the Chalukya rule, Dantidurga trounced the great Chalukyan
"Karnatabala" (power of Karnata). Having overthrown the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas
made Manyakheta their capital (modern Malkhed in Kalaburagi district). Although the origins of
the early Rashtrakuta ruling families in central India and the Deccan in the 6th and 7th centuries
is controversial, during the eighth through the tenth centuries they emphasised the importance of
the Kannada language in conjunction with Sanskrit in their administration. Rashtrakuta
inscriptions are in Kannada and Sanskrit only. They encouraged literature in both languages and
thus literature flowered under their rule.
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Kailash Temple in Ellora Caves
The Rashtrakutas quickly became the most powerful Deccan empire, making their initial
successful forays into the doab region of Ganges River and Jamuna River during the rule
of Dhruva Dharavarsha. The rule of his son Govinda III signaled a new era with Rashtrakuta
victories against the Pala Dynasty of Bengal and Gurjara Pratihara of north western India
resulting in the capture of Kannauj. The Rashtrakutas held Kannauj intermittently during a
period of a tripartite struggle for the resources of the rich Gangetic plains. Because of Govinda
III's victories, historians have compared him to Alexander the Great and Pandava Arjuna of the
Hindu epic Mahabharata. The Sanjan inscription states the horses of Govinda III drank the icy
water of the Himalayan stream and his war elephants tasted the sacred waters of the Ganges
River.[ Amoghavarsha I, eulogised by contemporary Arab traveller Sulaiman as one among the
four great emperors of the world, succeeded Govinda III to the throne and ruled during an
important cultural period that produced landmark writings in Kannada and Sanskrit. The
benevolent development of Jain religion was a hallmark of his rule. Because of his religious
temperament, his interest in the arts and literature and his peace-loving nature,[71] he has been
compared to emperor Ashoka.] The rule of Indra III in the tenth century enhanced the
Rashtrakuta position as an imperial power as they conquered and held Kannauj again.[75] Krishna
III followed Indra III to the throne in 939. A patron of Kannada literature and a powerful warrior,
his reign marked the submission of the Paramara of Ujjain in the north and Cholas in the south.
An Arabic writing Silsilatuttavarikh (851) called the Rashtrakutas one among the four principle
empires of the world. Kitab-ul-Masalik-ul-Mumalik (912) called them the "greatest kings of
India" and there were many other contemporaneous books written in their praise. The
Rashtrakuta empire at its peak spread from Cape Comorin in the south to Kannauj in the north
and from Banaras in the east to Broach (Bharuch) in the west.] While the Rashtrakutas built
many fine monuments in the Deccan, the most extensive and sumptuous of their work is the
monolithic Kailasanatha temple at Ellora, the temple being a splendid achievement. In Karnataka
their most famous temples are the Kashivishvanatha temple and the Jain Narayana temple at
Pattadakal. All of the monuments are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Western Chalukya Empire, Kannada literature in the Western Chalukya Empire, and Western
Chalukya Architecture
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Western Chalukya Empire in 1121 CE.
In the late 10th century, the Western Chalukyas, also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas or 'Later'
Chalukyas rose to power by overthrowing the Rashtrakutas under whom they had been serving
as feudatories. Manyakheta was their capital early on before they moved it to Kalyani
(modern Basavakalyan). Whether the kings of this empire belonged to the same family line as
their namesakes, the Badami Chalukyas is still debated. Whatever the Western Chalukya origins,
Kannada remained their language of administration and the Kannada and Sanskrit literature of
their time was prolific. Tailapa II, a feudatory ruler from Tardavadi (modern Bijapur district), reestablished the Chalukya rule by defeating the Rashtrakutas during the reign of Karka II. He
timed his rebellion to coincide with the confusion caused by the invading Paramara of Central
India to the Rashtrakutas capital in 973. This era produced prolonged warfare with the Chola
dynasty of Tamilakam for control of the resources of the Godavari River-Krishna River doab
region in Vengi. Someshvara I, a brave Chalukyan king, successfully curtailed the growth of the
Chola Empire to the south of the Tungabhadra River region despite suffering some defeatswhile
maintaining control over his feudatories in the Konkan, Gujarat, Malwa and Kalinga regions. For
approximately 100 years, beginning in the early 11th century, the Cholas occupied large areas of
South Karnataka region (Gangavadi).
Gadag style pillars, Western Chalukya art.
In 1076, the ascent of the most famous king of this Chalukya family, Vikramaditya VI, changed
the balance of power in favour of the Chalukyas. His fifty-year reign was an important period in
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Karnataka's history and is referred to as the "Chalukya Vikrama era". His victories over the
Cholas in the late 11th and early 12th centuries put an end to the Chola influence in the Vengi
region permanently. Some of the well-known contemporaneous feudatory families of the Deccan
under Chalukya control were the Hoysalas, the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri, the Kakatiya
dynasty and the Southern Kalachuri. At their peak, the Western Chalukyas ruled a vast empire
stretching from the Narmada River in the north to the Kaveri River in the south. Vikramaditya
VI is considered one of the most influential kings of Indian history. Important architectural
works were created by these Chalukyas, especially in the Tungabhadra river valley, that served
as a conceptual link between the building idioms of the early Badami Chalukyas and the later
Hoysalas. With the weakening of the Chalukyas in the decades following the death of
Vikramaditya VI in 1126, the feudatories of the Chalukyas gained their independence.
The Kalachuris of Karnataka, whose ancestors were immigrants into the southern deccan from
central India, had ruled as a feudatory from Mangalavada (modern Mangalavedhe in
Maharashtra). Bijjala II, the most powerful ruler of this dynasty, was a commander
(mahamandaleswar) during the reign of Chalukya Vikramaditya VI. Seizing an opportune
moment in the waning power of the Chalukyas, Bijjala II declared independence in 1157 and
annexed their capital Kalyani. His rule was cut short by his assassination in 1167 and the ensuing
civil war caused by his sons fighting over the throne ended the dynasty as the last Chalukya
scion regained control of Kalyani. This victory however, was short-lived as the Chalukyas were
eventually driven out by the Seuna Yadavas.
Hoysala Empire
Shilabalika, Chennakeshava Temple, Belur./Hoysala Empire in 1200 CE.
The Hoysalas had become a powerful force even during their rule from Belur in the 11th century
as a feudatory of the Chalukyas (in the south Karnataka region). In the early 12th century they
successfully fought the Cholas in the south, convincingly defeating them in the battle
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of Talakad and moved their capital to nearby Halebidu. Historians refer to the founders of the
dynasty as natives of Malnad Karnataka, based on the numerous inscriptions calling
them Maleparolganda or "Lord of the Male (hills) chiefs" (Malepas). With the waning of the
Western Chalukya power, the Hoysalas declared their independence in the late twelfth century.
During this period of Hoysala control, distinctive Kannada literary metres such as Ragale (blank
verse), Sangatya (meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a musical
instrument), Shatpadi (six-line verse or sestet) etc. became widely accepted. The Hoysalas
expanded the Vesara architecture stemming from the Chalukyas, culminating in the Hoysala
architectural articulation and style as exemplified in the construction of the Chennakeshava
Temple at Belur and the Hoysaleshwara Temple at Halebidu. Both these temples were built in
commemoration of the victories of the Hoysala Vishnuvardhana against the Cholas in
1116. Veera Ballala II, the most effective of the Hoysala rulers, defeated the aggressive Pandya
when they invaded the Chola kingdom and assumed the titles "Establisher of the Chola
Kingdom" (Cholarajyapratishtacharya), "Emperor of the south" (Dakshina Chakravarthi) and
"Hoysala emperor" (Hoysala Chakravarthi). The Hoysalas extended their foothold in areas
known today as Tamil Nadu around 1225, making the city of Kannanur Kuppam
near Srirangam a provincial capital.This gave them control over South Indian politics that began
a period of Hoysala hegemony in the southern Deccan.
In the early 13th century, with the Hoysala power remaining unchallenged, the first of
the Muslim incursions into South India began. After over two decades of waging war against a
foreign power, the Hoysala ruler at the time, Veera Ballala III, died in the battle of Madurai in
1343. This resulted in the merger of the sovereign territories of the Hoysala empire with the
areas administered by Harihara I, founder of the Vijayanagara Empire, located in
the Tungabhadra region in present-day Karnataka. The new kingdom thrived for another two
centuries with Vijayanagara as its capital.
Vijayanagara Architecture
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Stone Chariot Hampi/ Vijayanagara Empire in 1446 CE, 1520 CE.
The Vijayanagara Empire quickly rose to imperial status as early as the late 14th century. During
the reign of Bukka Raya I, the island of Lanka paid tributes and ambassadors were exchanged
with the Ming Dynasty of China. The empire's most famous rulers were Deva Raya II and
the Tuluva king Krishnadevaraya. Deva Raya II (known as Gajabetekara or hunter of elephants)
ascended the throne in 1424 and was the most effective of the Sangama dynasty rulers. He
quelled rebelling feudal lords, the Zamorin of Calicut and the Quilon in the south, and invaded
the island of Lanka while becoming overlord of the kings of Burma at Pegu and Tanasserim.
After a brief decline, the empire reached its peak in the early 16th century during the rule
of Krishnadevaraya when the Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious. The empire
annexed areas formerly under the Sultanates in the northern Deccan and the territories in the
eastern Deccan, including Kalinga, while simultaneously maintaining control over all its
subordinates in the south.
Many important monuments at Hampi were either completed or commissioned during the reign
of Krishnadevaraya. The enduring legacy of this empire is the vast open-air theatre of
monuments at the regal capital, Vijayanagara, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage
site. Vijayanagara architecture is a vibrant blend of the preceding Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya
and Chola styles. Literature in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit languages found royal
patronage. Telugu attained its height in popularity and reached its peak under Krishnadevaraya.
The Kannada Haridasa movement contributed greatly to Carnatic music and fostered a strong
Hindu sentiment across South India. With the defeat of the Vijayanagara Empire in the Battle of
Talikota in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates, the Karnataka region and South India in general
became fragmented and subsumed under the rule of various former feudatories of the empire. A
diminished Vijayanagara Empire moved its capital to Penukonda in modern Andhra Pradesh and
later to Chandragiri and Vellore before disintegrating. In the south and coastal Karnataka region,
the Kingdom of Mysore and the Keladi Nayaka of Shimoga held sway while the northern regions
were under the control of the Bijapur Sultanate. The Nayaka kingdom lasted into the 18th
century before merging with the Kingdom of Mysore which remained a princely state until
Indian independence in 1947, though they came under the British Raj (rule) in 1799 following
the defeat and death of the last independent Mysore king, Tipu Sultan.
Bahmani Sultanate
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Bahmani Sultanate territories, 1470.
The Bahmani Sultanate, a contemporary of the Vijayanagara Empire, was founded in 1347 by
Alla-ud-din-Hasan, a breakaway commander of the armies of the northern invaders led
by Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq. The capital was Gulbarga but was later moved further north
to Bidar in 1430. The first of the Muslim invasions of the Deccan came in the early decades of
the 14th century. At its peak, the Bahamani kingdom extended from the Krishna River in the
south to Penganga River in the north, thus covering the regions of northern parts of modern
Karnataka, parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The most famous of the Bahamani Kings
was Firuz Shah (also known as Taj Ud Din Firuz), who ruled from 1397 to 1422. Militarily, the
rule of Firuz Shah had uneven success against the Vijayanagara kings while he was more
convincingly successful against the Kherla rulers of Madhya Pradesh and the Vema Reddies
of Rajamundry, areas that he annexed in 1417. His last encounter with the Vijayanagara armies
in 1417 was disastrous and led to his defeat, ill health and ultimate death in 1422.
Contemporary writers such as Tabataba, in his writings have heaped praise on Firuz Shah.
Tabataba wrote of the king as, "[a]n impetuous, mighty monarch who patronised learned men,
Sheiks and hermits", while Shirazi described him as "a just, pious and generous king and one
without equal". He has earned the honorific Sultan-i-ghazian for his bravery, tolerant nature and
patronage of the fine arts. In the opinion of one historian, Firuz Shah was one of the most notable
Sultans to rule in India.] Another well-known figure from this kingdom was Kwaja Mahamud
Gavan, the prime minister, who served under several kings and regents. He rose above the kings
and princess of the dynasty by virtue of his ministerial, administrative, martial, literary and
philanthropic abilities. A Persian by descent and a visitor to Bidar in 1445, he impressed the
ruling Sultan Alla-ud-din II and was chosen to become a minister in his court. As a commander
he was able to extend the kingdom from Hubli in the south to Goa in the west and Kondavidu
and Rajamahendri in the east. He soon rose to the position of prime minister (Vakil-Us-Sultanat).
The Bahamanis introduced the large-scale use of paper in administration and began the IndoSarasenic architectural style, designed and constructed by Persian architects and artisans, (also
known as Deccani architecture) with its local influences in Karnataka. The Sultanate monuments
of Bidar and Gulbarga are testimony to their interest in architecture. The Bande Nawaz tombs
and a Jama Masjid in Gulbarga which exhibits a Spanish influence are well known. In Bidar,
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their buildings have Persian, Turkish, Arabic and Roman influences (the Solah Khamba mosque
being an example). Rangin Mahal, Gangan Mahal, Tarkash Mahal, Chini Mahal, Nagina Mahal
and the Taqk Mahal are some of the palaces built by them that have retained their beauty. The
Ahmad Shah Wali tombs are noted for their decor, and the school of learning (madrasa) built by
Gavan in Bidar (1472), with its lecture halls, library, mosque and residential houses are also
famous. In the later part of the 15th century, with a growing rift between the local Deccani
Muslims and the Pardeshi Muslims (foreign) who occupied influential positions in the kingdom,
the execution of Gavan under dubious circumstances in 1481, and constant wars with the
Vijayanagara kings weakened the Bahamani Kingdom eventually bringing about its end in 1527.
THE ART of Bijapur Sultanate
Bijapur Sultanate territories under Ibrahim II, 1620 CE.
The Bijapur Sultanate (or Adilshahi Kingdom) emerged towards the end of the 15th century with
the weakening of the Bahmani Sultanate . The main sources of information about this kingdom
comes from contemporaneous inscriptions and writings in Persian and Kannada, travelogues of
European visitors to the Deccan and inscriptions of neighbouring kingdoms. In 1489, Yusuf
Adilkhan, a Turkic general in the Bahmani army, broke away to found the kingdom from modern
Bijapur . Throughout his rule, the Sultanate was at war with the Vijayanagara Empire over the
strategic Raichur doab, with the Portuguese over Goa, with the Barid Shahis of Bidar and later
with the erstwhile feudatories of the Vijayanagara Empire who had gained independence after
1565. The Italian writer Varathema wrote about the founder Adilkhan and Bijapur, "A powerful
and prosperous king", "the city was encircled by many fortifications and contained beautiful and
majestic buildings".
Inter-Sultanate marriages normalised relations and Ali I (1557–1580) joined a confederacy of
Sultanates who eventually inflicted a crushing defeat on the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565. The
most notable ruler of the dynasty was Ibrahim II (1580–1626) who ascended the throne as a nineyear-old with Chandbibi, the king's aunt acting as the regent. Later when Ibrahim II was defeated
by the first of the Moghul incursions into the Deccan, he gave his daughter in marriage to
Daniyal, a son of Emperor Akbar, but managed to collect tributes from the former feudatories of
the Vijayanagara Empire. According to a historian, the rule of Ibrahim II was the high point of
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the Bijapur Sultanate. A tolerant king inclined to the fine arts, the earliest book on music in Urdu
language called Kitab-e-Nauras is ascribed to him. The opening song in the book is an
invocation of the Hindu Goddess Saraswati. During the rule of his son Muhammad, Shahji
Bhosle from Ahmadnagar joined the Bijapur army and along with commander Ranadullah Khan
conducted many successful campaigns in the southern Deccan collecting tribute from local rulers
there. The final end of the diminished Vijayanagara Empire ruling from Vellore came during
these campaigns.
Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur, has the second largest pre-modern dome in the world after the
Byzantine Hagia Sophia.
However, the rise of Maratha Shivaji and constant invasions by the Mughals from the north took
its toll on the kingdom, eventually bringing it to an end in the later part of the 17th century. The
contributions of the Bijapur Sultanate in the Indo-Saracenic idiom to the architectural landscape
of Karnataka is noteworthy. Their most famous monuments are the mausoleums called Ibrahim
Rauza and the Gol Gumbaz apart from many other palaces and mosques. The elegance, finish
and beauty of Mehtar Mahal is claimed by a historian to be equal to anything in Cairo. Their Kali
Masjid at Lakshmeshwar is a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim styles. The Ibrahim Rauza built by
Ibrahim II is a combination of a mausoleum and a mosque and is called the "Taj Mahal of the
Deccan".The Gol Gumbaz built by Muhammad is the largest dome in India and the second
largest pre-modern dome in the world after the Byzantine Hagia Sophia with an impressive
"whispering gallery". Some historians consider this one of the architectural marvels of the world.
Persian language was given state patronage while the use of the local languages, Kannada and
Marathi was popularised in local affairs.
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Kingdom of Mysore under Tipu Sultan.// Mysore Palace at dusk (Indo-Saracenic style).
The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565 at the Battle of Talikota started a slow disintegration
of the Kannada speaking region into many short-lived palegar chiefdoms, and the better
known Kingdom of Mysore and the kingdom of Keladi Nayakas, which were to later become
important centres of Kannada literary production. These kingdoms and the Nayakas ("chiefs") of
Tamil country continued to owe nominal support to a diminished Vijayanagara Empire ruling
from Penukonda (1570) and later from Chandragiri (1586) in modern Andhra Pradesh, followed
by a brief period of independence. By the mid-17th century, large areas in north Karnataka came
under the control of the Bijapur Sultanate who waged several wars in a bid to establish a
hegemony over the southern Deccan. The defeat of the Bijapur Sultanate at the hands of
the Mughals in late 17th century added a new dimension to the prevailing confusion.[160] The
constant wars of the local kingdoms with the two new rivals, the Mughals and the Marathas, and
among themselves, caused further instability in the region.[161] Major areas of Karnataka came
under the rule of the Mughals and the Marathas. Under Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, the
Mysore Kingdom reached its zenith of power but had to face the growing English might who by
now had a firm foothold in the subcontinent. After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799 in the fourth
Anglo-Mysore war, the Mysore Kingdom came under the British umbrella. More than a century
later, with the dawn of India as an independent nation in 1947, the unification of Kannada
speaking regions as modern Karnataka state brought four centuries of political uncertainty (and
centuries of foreign rule) to an end.
Timeline
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CHAPTER 6
THE CONCEPT of a LOST CONTINENT
Featuring Atlantis
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Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to
have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Such continents are
generally thought to have subsided into the sea, leaving behind only a few traces or legends by
which they may be known. Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific
theories, only to be picked up by writers and individuals outside the academy. Occult and New
Age writers have made use of Lost Lands, as have subaltern peoples such as the Tamils in India.
Phantom islands, as opposed to lost lands, are land masses formerly believed by cartographers to
exist in the current historical age, but to have been discredited as a result of expanding
geographic knowledge.
The classification of lost lands as continents, islands, or other regions is in some cases
subjective; for example, Atlantis is variously described as either a "lost island" or a "lost
continent". Lost land theories may originate in mythology or philosophy, or in scholarly or
scientific theories, such as catastrophic theories of geology.
Atlantis "island of Atlas" is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations
in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias, wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that
besieges "Ancient Athens", the pseudo-historic embodiment of Plato's ideal state in The
Republic.[1] In the story, Athens repels the Atlantean attack unlike any other nation of the known
world, supposedly bearing witness to the superiority of Plato's concept of a state. The story
concludes with Atlantis falling out of favor with the deities and submerging into the Atlantic
Ocean.
Despite its minor importance in Plato's work, the Atlantis story has had a considerable impact on
literature. The allegorical aspect of Atlantis was taken up in utopian works of
several Renaissance writers, such as Francis Bacon's New Atlantis and Thomas More's Utopia.
On the other hand, nineteenth-century amateur scholars misinterpreted Plato's narrative as
historical tradition, most famously Ignatius L. Donnelly in his Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.
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Plato's vague indications of the time of the events (more than 9,000 years before his time and the
alleged location of Atlantis ("beyond the Pillars of Hercules") gave rise to
much pseudoscientific speculation.[8] As a consequence, Atlantis has become a byword for any
and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations and continues to inspire contemporary
fiction, from comic books to films.
While present-day philologists and classicists agree on the story's fictional character, there is still
debate on what served as its inspiration. Plato is known to have freely borrowed some of his
allegories and metaphors from older traditions, as he did, for instance, with the story of Gyges.
This led a number of scholars to investigate possible inspiration of Atlantis
from Egyptian records of the Thera eruption, the Sea Peoples invasion, or the Trojan
War.] Others have rejected this chain of tradition as implausible and insist that Plato created an
entirely fictional account, drawing loose inspiration from contemporary events such as the
failed Athenian invasion of Sicily in 415–413 BC or the destruction of Helike in 373 BC.
Timaeus
A fifteenth-century Latin translation of Plato's Timaeus
The only primary sources for Atlantis are Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias; all other
mentions of the island are based on them. The dialogues claim to quote Solon, who visited Egypt
between 590 and 580 BC; they state that he translated Egyptian records of Atlantis. Written in
360 BC, Plato introduced Atlantis in Timaeus:
Critias
According to Critias, the Hellenic deities of old divided the land so that each deity might have
their own lot; Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis.
The island was larger than Ancient Libya and Asia Minor combined, but it was later sunk by an
earthquake and became an impassable mud shoal, inhibiting travel to any part of the ocean. Plato
asserted that the Egyptians described Atlantis as an island consisting mostly of mountains in the
northern portions and along the shore and encompassing a great plain in an oblong shape in the
south "extending in one direction three thousand stadia [about 555 km; 345 mi], but across the
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center inland it was two thousand stadia [about 370 km; 230 mi]." Fifty stadia [9 km; 6 mi] from
the coast was a mountain that was low on all sides ... broke it off all round about ... the central
island itself was five stades in diameter [about 0.92 km; 0.57 mi].
In Plato's metaphorical tale, Poseidon fell in love with Cleito, the daughter of Evenor and
Leucippe, who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made rightful
king of the entire island and the ocean (called the Atlantic Ocean in his honor), and was given
the mountain of his birth and the surrounding area as his fiefdom. Atlas's twin Gadeirus, or
Eumelus in Greek, was given the extremity of the island toward the pillars of Hercules. The other
four pairs of twins—Ampheres and Evaemon, Mneseus and Autochthon, Elasippus and Mestor,
and Azaes and Diaprepes—were also given "rule over many men, and a large territory."
Poseidon carved the mountain where his love dwelt into a palace and enclosed it with three
circular moats of increasing width, varying from one to three stadia and separated by rings of
land proportional in size. The Atlanteans then built bridges northward from the mountain,
making a route to the rest of the island. They dug a great canal to the sea, and alongside the
bridges carved tunnels into the rings of rock so that ships could pass into the city around the
mountain; they carved docks from the rock walls of the moats. Every passage to the city was
guarded by gates and towers, and a wall surrounded each ring of the city. The walls were
constructed of red, white, and black rock, quarried from the moats, and were covered
with brass, tin, and the precious metal orichalcum, respectively.
According to Critias, 9,000 years before his lifetime a war took place between those outside the
Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar and those who dwelt within them. The Atlanteans
had conquered the parts of Libya within the Pillars of Hercules, as far as Egypt, and the
European continent as far as Tyrrhenia, and had subjected its people to slavery. The Athenians
led an alliance of resistors against the Atlantean empire, and as the alliance disintegrated,
prevailed alone against the empire, liberating the occupied lands.
But afterwards there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of
misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like
manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is
impassable and impenetrable, because there is a shoal of mud in the way; and this was caused by
the subsidence of the island.
Ancient
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A map showing the supposed extent of the Atlantean Empire, from Ignatius L.
Donnelly's Atlantis: the Antediluvian World, 1882
Modern
Aside from Plato's original account, modern interpretations regarding Atlantis are an
amalgamation of diverse, speculative movements that began in the sixteenth century,[50] when
scholars began to identify Atlantis with the New World. Francisco Lopez de Gomara was the
first to state that Plato was referring to America, as did Francis Bacon and Alexander von
Humboldt; Janus Joannes Bircherod said in 1663 orbe novo non-novo ("the New World is not
new"). Athanasius Kircher accepted Plato's account as literally true, describing Atlantis as a
small continent in the Atlantic Ocean.
Contemporary perceptions of Atlantis share roots with Mayanism, which can be traced to the
beginning of the Modern Age, when European imaginations were fueled by their initial
encounters with the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[51] From this era
sprang apocalyptic and utopian visions that would inspire many subsequent generations of
theorists.
Most
of
these
interpretations
are
considered pseudohistory, pseudoscience,
or pseudoarchaeology, as they have presented their works as academic or scientific, but lack the
standards or criteria.
The Flemish cartographer and geographer Abraham Ortelius is believed to have been the first
person to imagine that the continents were joined before drifting to their present positions. In the
1596 edition of his Thesaurus Geographicus he wrote: "Unless it be a fable, the island of Gadir
or Gades [Cadiz] will be the remaining part of the island of Atlantis or America, which was not
sunk (as Plato reports in the Timaeus) so much as torn away from Europe and Africa by
earthquakes and flood... The traces of the ruptures are shown by the projections of Europe and
Africa and the indentations of America in the parts of the coasts of these three said lands that
face each other to anyone who, using a map of the world, carefully considered them. So that
anyone may say with Strabo in Book 2, that what Plato says of the island of Atlantis on the
authority of Solon is not a figment."
147
Recent times
148
As continental drift became widely accepted during the 1960s, and the increased understanding
of plate tectonics demonstrated the impossibility of a lost continent in the geologically recent
past, most "Lost Continent" theories of Atlantis began to wane in popularity.
Plato scholar Julia Annas, Regents Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona, had this
to say on the matter:
The continuing industry of discovering Atlantis illustrates the dangers of reading Plato. For he is
clearly using what has become a standard device of fiction—stressing the historicity of an event
(and the discovery of hitherto unknown authorities) as an indication that what follows is
fiction. The idea is that we should use the story to examine our ideas of government and power.
We have missed the point if instead of thinking about these issues we go off exploring the sea
bed. The continuing misunderstanding of Plato as historian here enables us to see why his
distrust of imaginative writing is sometimes justified.
One of the proposed explanations for the historical context of the Atlantis story is a warning of
Plato to his contemporary fourth-century fellow-citizens against their striving for naval power.
Kenneth Feder points out that Critias's story in the Timaeus provides a major clue. In the
dialogue, Critias says, referring to Socrates' hypothetical society:
And when you were speaking yesterday about your city and citizens, the tale which I have just
been repeating to you came into my mind, and I remarked with astonishment how, by some
mysterious coincidence, you agreed in almost every particular with the narrative of Solon. ...
Feder quotes A. E. Taylor, who wrote, "We could not be told much more plainly that the whole
narrative of Solon's conversation with the priests and his intention of writing the poem about
Atlantis are an invention of Plato's fancy."
Location hypotheses of Atlantis
Since Donnelly's day, there have been dozens of locations proposed for Atlantis, to the point
where the name has become a generic concept, divorced from the specifics of Plato's account.
This is reflected in the fact that many proposed sites are not within the Atlantic at all. Few today
are scholarly or archaeological hypotheses, while others have been made by psychic (e.g., Edgar
Cayce) or other pseudoscientific means. (The Atlantis researchers Jacques Collina-Girard and
Georgeos Díaz-Montexano, for instance, each claim the other's hypothesis is
pseudoscience.) Many of the proposed sites share some of the characteristics of the Atlantis story
(water, catastrophic end, relevant time period), but none has been demonstrated to be a true
historical Atlantis.
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Satellite image of the islands of Santorini. From the Minoan eruption event, and the 1964
discovery of Akrotiri on the island, this location is one of many sites purported to have been
the location of Atlantis.
In or near the Mediterranean Sea
Most of the historically proposed locations are in or near the Mediterranean Sea: islands such
as Sardinia, Crete, Santorini (Thera), Sicily, Cyprus, and Malta; land-based cities or states such
as Troy,Tartessos, and Tantalis (in the province of Manisa, Turkey);[81] Israel-Sinai or Canaan;
and northwestern Africa.
The Thera eruption, dated to the seventeenth or sixteenth century BC, caused a large tsunami that
some experts hypothesize devastated the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete,
further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the story. In
the area of the Black Sea the following locations have been proposed: Bosporus and Ancomah (a
legendary place near Trabzon).
Others have noted that, before the sixth century BC, the mountains on either side of the Gulf of
Laconia were called the "Pillars of Hercules",[37][38] and they could be the geographical location
being described in ancient reports upon which Plato was basing his story. The mountains stood at
either side of the southernmost gulf in Greece, the largest in the Peloponnese, and that gulf opens
onto the Mediterranean Sea. If from the beginning of discussions, misinterpretation of Gibraltar
as the location rather than being at the Gulf of Laconia, would lend itself to many erroneous
concepts regarding the location of Atlantis. Plato may have not been aware of the difference. The
Laconian pillars open to the south toward Crete and beyond which is Egypt. The Thera
eruption and the Late Bronze Age collapse affected that area and might have been the
devastation to which the sources used by Plato referred. Significant events such as these would
have been likely material for tales passed from one generation to another for almost a thousand
years.
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City Of Atlantis City-Building Survival Game Launches New Trailer
Posted on June 6, 2021 -by Joshua Nelson
Independent game developer SuperIndie Games has launched the latest trailer for City of
Atlantis, their new city-building survival game. Within the trailer, SuperIndie showcases
dramatic and stunning gameplay along with gorgeous graphics befitting of cinematics. The twist
is, those graphics are the gameplay graphics!
Key
art of SuperIndie Games' city-building survival indie game, City of Atlantis. This art depicts an
aerial view of Atlantis itself.
In City of Atlantis, you take the reigns governing the not-so-lost city, improving infrastructure
and architecture, protecting it from invaders, and perfecting Atlantis all the while. The city's role
on Earth is to preserve all recorded human knowledge within it, and as such you must protect its
scribes and keepers from harm while sending out heroic journeymen of your own to learn more
from various other cultures.
151
A beautiful isometric screenshot from SuperIndie Games' city-building survival game, City of Atlantis.//RIGHT- A
dramatic screenshot from City of Atlantis by SuperIndie Games, wherein a tsunami is fast approaching and the player
must think fast to avert the devastation of the city
Some goals of this indie game include the following, according to SuperIndie Games' press
release:CHAIN OF PRODUCTION: City management is Key. Plan the expansion in a way that
will ensure maximum efficiency of production chains and transportation.
ENSURE SURVIVAL: Atlantis must not fall. Defend your city from tsunamis and invaders.
GATHER AND PRESERVE KNOWLEDGE: The city of Atlantis has a mission. It must
discover and preserve the knowledge of the world. Train and equip heroes who will travel across
the land and gather knowledge about culture, history, law, art, and science.
MANAGE THE POPULATION: The life of the keepers of Atlantis is priceless. Make sure that
their work is not interrupted and they are protected from harm.
In the Atlantic Ocean
The location of Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean has a certain appeal given the closely related
names. Popular culture often places Atlantis there, perpetuating the original Platonic setting as
they understand it. The Canary Islands and Madeira Islands have been identified as a possible
location west of the Straits of Gibraltar, but in relative proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
Detailed studies of their geomorphology and geology have demonstrated, however, that they
have been steadily uplifted, without any significant periods of subsidence, over the last four
million years, by geologic processes such as erosional unloading, gravitational unloading,
lithospheric flexure induced by adjacent islands, and volcanic underplating.
Various islands or island groups in the Atlantic were also identified as possible locations, notably
the Azores. Similarly, cores of sediment covering the ocean bottom surrounding the Azores and
other evidence demonstrate that it has been an undersea plateau for millions of years. The area is
known for its volcanism however, which is associated with rifting along the Azores Triple
Junction. The spread of the crust along the existing faults and fractures has produced many
volcanic and seismic events. The area is supported by a buoyant upwelling in the deeper mantle,
which some associate with an Azores hotspot.[94] Most of the volcanic activity has occurred
primarily along the Terceira Rift. From the beginning of the islands' settlement, around the 15th
century, there have been about 30 volcanic eruptions (terrestrial and submarine) as well as
numerous, powerful earthquakes. The island of São Miguel in the Azores is the site of the Sete
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Cidades volcano and caldera, which are the byproducts of historical volcanic activity in the
Azores.
The submerged island of Spartel near the Strait of Gibraltar has also been suggested.
Ancient versions
A Faroe Islands postage stamp honoring Janus Djurhuus' "Atlantis"RIGHTA fragment
of Atlantis by Hellanicus of Lesbos
In order to give his account of Atlantis verisimilitude, Plato mentions that the story was heard
by Solon in Egypt, and transmitted orally over several generations through the family of
153
Dropides, until it reached Critias, a dialogue speaker in Timaeus and Critias.] Solon had
supposedly tried to adapt the Atlantis oral tradition into a poem (that if published, was to be
greater than the works of Hesiod and Homer). While it was never completed, Solon passed on
the story to Dropides. Modern classicists deny the existence of Solon's Atlantis poem and the
story as an oral tradition. Instead, Plato is thought to be the sole inventor or
fabricator. Hellanicus of Lesbos used the word "Atlantis" as the title for a poem published before
Plato, a fragment of which may be Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 11, 1359.] This work only describes the
Atlantides (the daughters of Atlas), however, and has no relation to Plato's Atlantis account.
In the new era, the third century AD Neoplatonist Zoticus wrote an epic poem based on Plato's
account of Atlantis.] Plato's work may already have inspired parodic imitation, however. Writing
only a few decades after the Timaeus and Critias, the historian Theopompus of Chios wrote of a
land beyond the ocean known as Meropis. This description was included in Book 8 of
his Philippica, which contains a dialogue between Silenus and King Midas. Silenus describes the
Meropids, a race of men who grow to twice normal size, and inhabit two cities on the island of
Meropis: Eusebes (Εὐσεβής, "Pious-town") and Machimos (Μάχιμος, "Fighting-town"). He also
reports that an army of ten million soldiers crossed the ocean to conquer Hyperborea, but
abandoned this proposal when they realized that the Hyperboreans were the luckiest people on
earth. Heinz-Günther Nesselrath has argued that these and other details of Silenus' story are
meant as imitation and exaggeration of the Atlantis story, by parody, for the purpose of exposing
Plato's ideas to ridicule.
Utopias and dystopias
The creation of Utopian and dystopian fictions was renewed after the Renaissance, most notably
in Francis Bacon's New Atlantis (1627), the description of an ideal society that he located off the
western coast of America. Thomas Heyrick (1649-1694) followed him with "The New Atlantis"
(1687), a satirical poem in three parts. His new continent of uncertain location, perhaps even a
floating island either in the sea or the sky, serves as background for his exposure of what he
described in a second edition as "A True Character of Popery and Jesuitism".
The title of The New Atalantis by Delarivier Manley (1709), distinguished from the two others
by the single letter, is an equally dystopian work but set this time on a fictional Mediterranean
island. In it sexual violence and exploitation is made a metaphor for the hypocritical behaviour of
politicians in their dealings with the general public. In Manley's case, the target of satire was
the Whig Party, while in David Maclean Parry's The Scarlet Empire (1906) it is Socialism as
practised in foundered Atlantis. It was followed in Russia by Velemir Khlebnikov's poem The
Fall of Atlantis (Gibel' Atlantidy, 1912), which is set in a future rationalist dystopia that has
discovered the secret of immortality and is so dedicated to progress that it has lost touch with the
past. When the high priest of this ideology is tempted by a slave girl into an act of irrationality,
he murders her and precipitates a second flood, above which her severed head floats vengefully
among the stars.
A slightly later work, The Ancient of Atlantis (Boston, 1915) by Albert Armstrong Manship,
expounds the Atlantean wisdom that is to redeem the earth. Its three parts consist of a verse
narrative of the life and training of an Atlantean wise one, followed by his Utopian moral
154
teachings and then a psychic drama set in modern times in which a reincarnated child embodying
the lost wisdom is reborn on earth.
In Hispanic eyes, Atlantis had a more intimate interpretation. The land had been a colonial power
which, although it had brought civilization to ancient Europe, had also enslaved its peoples. Its
tyrannical fall from grace had contributed to the fate that had overtaken it, but now its
disappearance had unbalanced the world. This was the point of view of Jacint Verdaguer's vast
mythological epic L'Atlantida (1877). After the sinking of the former continent, Hercules travels
east across the Atlantic to found the city of Barcelona and then departs westward again to
the Hesperides. The story is told by a hermit to a shipwrecked mariner, who is inspired to follow
in his tracks and so "call the New World into existence to redress the balance of the Old". This
mariner, of course, was Christopher Columbus.
Verdaguer's poem was written in Catalan, but was widely translated in both Europe and HispanoAmerica. One response was the similarly entitled Argentinian Atlantida of Olegario Victor
Andrade (1881), which sees in "Enchanted Atlantis that Plato foresaw, a golden promise to the
fruitful race" of Latins. The bad example of the colonising world remains, however. Jose Juan
Tablada characterises its threat in his "De Atlántida" (1894) through the beguiling picture of the
lost world populated by the underwater creatures of Classical myth, among whom is the Siren of
its final stanza with:
her eye on the keel of the wandering vessel
that in passing deflowers the sea's smooth mirror,
launching into the night her amorous warbling
and the dulcet lullaby of her treacherous voice!
There is a similar ambivalence in Janus Djurhuus' six-stanza "Atlantis" (1917), where a
celebration of the Faroese linguistic revival grants it an ancient pedigree by linking Greek to
Norse legend. In the poem a female figure rising from the sea against a background of Classical
palaces is recognised as a priestess of Atlantis. The poet recalls "that the Faroes lie there in the
north Atlantic Ocean/ where before lay the poet-dreamt lands," but also that in Norse belief, such
a figure only appears to those about to drown.
A land lost in the distance
The fact that Atlantis is a lost land has made of it a metaphor for something no longer attainable.
For the American poet Edith Willis Linn Forbes (1865-1945), "The Lost Atlantis" stands for
idealisation of the past; the present moment can only be treasured once that is realised. Ella
Wheeler Wilcox finds the location of "The Lost Land" (1910) in one's carefree youthful past.
Similarly, for the Irish poet Eavan Boland in "Atlantis, a lost sonnet" (2007), the idea was
defined when "the old fable-makers searched hard for a word/ to convey that what is gone is
gone forever".
For some male poets too, the idea of Atlantis is constructed from what cannot be
obtained. Charles Bewley in his Newdigate Prize poem (1910) thinks it grows from
dissatisfaction with one's condition,
And, because life is partly sweet
And ever girt about with pain,
155
We take the sweetness, and are fain
To set it free from grief's alloy
in a dream of Atlantis.
Similarly for the Australian Gary Catalano in a 1982 prose poem, it is "a vision that sank under
the weight of its own perfection".W. H. Auden, however, suggests a way out of such frustration
through the metaphor of journeying toward Atlantis in his poem of 1941.] While travelling, he
advises the one setting out, you will meet with many definitions of the goal in view, only
realising at the end that the way has all the time led inward.
Epic narratives
A few late-19th century verse narratives complement the genre fiction that was beginning to be
written at the same period. Two of them report the disaster that overtook the continent as related
by long-lived survivors. In Frederick Tennyson's Atlantis (1888), an ancient Greek mariner sails
west and discovers an inhabited island which is all that remains of the former kingdom. He
learns of its end and views the shattered remnant of its former glory, from which a few had
escaped to set up the Mediterranean civilisations.
In the second, Mona, Queen of Lost Atlantis: An Idyllic Re-embodiment of Long Forgotten
History (Los Angeles CA 1925) by James Logue Dryden (1840–1925), the story is told in a
series of visions. A Seer is taken to Mona's burial chamber in the ruins of Atlantis, where she
revives and describes the catastrophe. There follows a survey of the lost civilisations of
Hyperborea and Lemuria as well as Atlantis, accompanied by much spiritualist lore.
William Walton Hoskins (1856–1919) admits to the readers of his Atlantis and other
poems (Cleveland OH, 1881), that he is only 24. Its melodramatic plot concerns the poisoning of
the descendant of god-born kings. The usurping poisoner is poisoned in his turn, following which
the continent is swallowed in the waves.[141] Asian gods people the landscape of The Lost
Island (Ottawa 1889) by Edward Taylor Fletcher (1816–97). An angel foresees impending
catastrophe and that the people will be allowed to escape if their semi-divine rulers will sacrifice
themselves. A final example, Edward N. Beecher's The Lost Atlantis or The Great Deluge of
All (Cleveland OH, 1898) is just a doggerel vehicle for its author's opinions: that the continent
was the location of the Garden of Eden; that Darwin's theory of evolution is correct, as are
Donnelly's views.
Atlantis was to become a theme in Russia following the 1890s, taken up in unfinished poems
by Valery Bryusov and Konstantin Balmont, as well as in a drama by the schoolgirl Larisa
Reisner.[144] One other long narrative poem was published in New York by George V.
Golokhvastoff. His 250-page The Fall of Atlantis (1938) records how a high priest, distressed by
the prevailing degeneracy of the ruling classes, seeks to create an androgynous being from royal
twins as a means to overcome this polarity. When he is unable to control the forces unleashed by
his occult ceremony, the continent is destroyed.[145]
Music
The Spanish composer Manuel de Falla worked on a dramatic cantata based on
Verdaguer's L'Atlántida, during the last 20 years of his life. The name has been affixed to
156
symphonies by Janis Ivanovs (1941), Richard Nanes,[148] and Vaclav Buzek (2009). There was
also the symphonic celebration of Alan Hovhaness: "Fanfare for the New Atlantis" (Op. 281,
1975).
The Bohemian-American composer and arranger Vincent Frank Safranek wrote Atlantis (The
Lost Continent) Suite in Four Parts; I. Nocturne and Morning Hymn of Praise, II. A Court
Function, III. "I Love Thee" (The Prince and Aana), IV. The Destruction of Atlantis, for military
(concert) band in 1913.
Painting and sculpture
François de Nomé's The Fall of Atlantis// Nicholas Roerich's The Last of Atlantis
157
Léon Bakst's vision of cosmic catastrophe
Athanasius Kircher's map of Atlantis, placing it in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, from Mundus
Subterraneus 1669, published in Amsterdam. The map is oriented with south at the top.
Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar
and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative
religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jesuit Roger Joseph
Boscovich and to Leonardo da Vinci for his enormous range of interests, and has been honoured
158
with the title "Master of a Hundred Arts" He taught for more than 40 years at the Roman
College, where he set up a wunderkammer. A resurgence of interest in Kircher has occurred
within the scholarly community in recent decades.’
Kircher claimed to have deciphered the hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Egyptian language,
but most of his assumptions and translations in this field were later found to be incorrect. He did,
however, correctly establish the link between the ancient Egyptian and the Coptic languages, and
some commentators regard him as the founder of Egyptology. Kircher was also fascinated
with Sinology and wrote an encyclopedia of China, in which he noted the early presence there
of Nestorian Christians while also attempting to establish links with Egypt and Christianity.
Kircher's work in geology included studies of volcanoes and fossils. One of the first people to
observe microbes through a microscope, Kircher was ahead of his time in proposing that
the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to
prevent the spread of the disease. Kircher also displayed a keen interest in technology and
mechanical inventions; inventions attributed to him include a magnetic clock,
various automatons and the first megaphone. The invention of the magic lantern is often
misattributed to Kircher, although he did conduct a study of the principles involved in his Ars
Magna Lucis et Umbrae.
A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the rationalism of René
Descartes and others. In the late 20th century, however, the aesthetic qualities of his work again
began to be appreciated. One modern scholar, Alan Cutler, described Kircher as "a giant among
seventeenth-century scholars", and "one of the last thinkers who could rightfully claim all
knowledge as his domain". Another scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, referred to Kircher as "the
last Renaissance man". In A Man of Misconceptions, his 2012 book about Kircher, John Glassie
writes that while "many of Kircher's actual ideas today seem wildly off-base, if not simply
bizarre," he was "a champion of wonder, a man of awe-inspiring erudition and inventiveness,"
whose work was read "by the smartest minds of the time.
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HOW CITIES OR CONTINENTS ARE LOST
A lost city is a settlement that fell into terminal decline and became extensively or completely
uninhabited, with the consequence that the site's former significance was no longer known to the
wider world. The locations of many lost cities have been forgotten, but some have been
rediscovered and studied extensively by scientists. Recently abandoned cities or cities whose
location was never in question might be referred to as ruins or ghost towns. The search for such
lost cities by European explorers and adventurers in Africa, the Americas, and Southeast Asia
from the 15th century onwards eventually led to the development of archaeology.
Lost cities generally fall into two broad categories: those where all knowledge of the city's
existence was forgotten before it was rediscovered, and those whose memory was preserved in
myth, legend, or historical records but whose location was lost or at least no longer widely
recognized.
Cities may become lost for a variety of reasons including natural disasters, economic or social
upheaval, or war.
The Incan capital
city
of Vilcabamba was
destroyed
and
depopulated
during
the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1572. The Spanish did not rebuild the city, and the location went
unrecorded and was forgotten until it was rediscovered through a detailed examination of period
letters and documents.
Troy was a city located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It is best known for being
the focus of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of
the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, the city slowly
declined and was abandoned in the Byzantine era. Buried by time, the city was consigned to the
realm of legend until the location was first excavated in the 1860s.
Other settlements are lost with few or no clues to their decline. For example, Malden Island, in
the central Pacific, was deserted when first visited by Europeans in 1825, but the unsuspected
presence of ruined temples and the remains of other structures found on the island indicate that a
population of Polynesians had lived there for perhaps several generations some centuries earlier.
Prolonged drought seems the most likely explanation for their demise and the remote nature of
the island meant few visitors.
Rediscovery: With the development of archaeology and the application of modern techniques,
many previously lost cities have been rediscovered.
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba
Valley in Peru. Often referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar
icon of the Inca World. Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire. It
was abandoned just over 100 years later, in 1572, as a belated result of the Spanish Conquest. It
is possible that most of its inhabitants died from smallpox introduced by travelers before the
Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. In 1911, Melchor Arteaga led the explorer Hiram
Bingham to Machu Picchu, which had been largely forgotten by everybody except the small
number of people living in the immediate valley.
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Helike was an ancient Greek city that sank at night in the winter of 373 BCE. The city was
located in Achaea, Northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres (12 stadia) from the Corinthian Gulf.
The city was thought to be legend until 2001, when it was rediscovered in the Helike Delta. In
1988, the Greek archaeologist Dora Katsonopoulou launched the Helike Project to locate the site
of the lost city. In 1994, in collaboration with the University of Patras, a magnetometer survey
was carried out in the midplain of the delta, which revealed the outlines of a buried building. In
1995, this target was excavated (now known as the Klonis site), and a large Roman building with
standing walls was brought to light. The city was rediscovered in 2001, buried in an ancient
lagoon.
Lost cities of legend- &-15 Lost Cities Of The World
161
Fifteen Lost Cities Of The World
The Lost City of Atlantis might not be on any legitimate tour map, but these 15 awe-inspiring
metropolises of the past are open to visitors and well worth a trip.
Machu Picchu-Country: Peru-Civilization: the Incas Inhabited: 15th and 16th centuries A.D.
Conquistadors carrying small pox wiped out the inhabitants of this royal mountaintop fortress,
but the Lost City of the Incas was never actually discovered by the Spanish--in fact, it wasn't
discovered until 1911.
162
Ghost Towns of the Wild West-Country: U.S.
Civilization: American frontiersmen
Inhabited: 19th and early 20th centuries A.D.
Many of these hubs of Western folklore were boom towns that went bust once gold and other
nearby resources were depleted.
Petra
Country: Jordan-Civilization: the Nabataeans
Inhabited: sixth century B.C.
This rose-colored city carved from cliffs garnered fame in the West thanks to the 1980s
blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
163
Angkor-Country: Cambodia.Civilization: the Khmer Empire
Inhabited: ninth century to 15th century A.D.
More than a thousand temples, including Angkor Wat, populate this long-time Khmer capital. It
declined after a successful attack by invaders from what is now Thailand.
iStockphoto
Pre-Roman Carthage
Country: Tunisia-Civilization: the Phoenicians-Inhabited: 650 to 146 B.C.
Carthage was home to the Roman Empire's arch-nemesis, Hannibal. It was burned and the earth
salted during the final Punic War.
164
Chichen Itza-Country: Mexico-Civilization: the Mayans-Inhabited: 600 to 1000 A.D.
Site of one of Mesoamerica's largest ball courts, this royal city is located near a massive
underground cenote, or sinkhole, where the bodies of human sacrifices were dropped.
Pompeii-Country: Italy-Civilization: the Roman Empire
Inhabited: seventh/sixth century B.C. to 79 A.D.
Pompeii was a cultural center and vacation destination for Roman high society until it was
destroyed in 79 A.D. by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Left behind are naturally ash-encased
mummies.
165
Derinkuyu Underground City-Country: Turkey-Civilization: possibly the Phrygians
Inhabited: Approximately eighth century B.C.to 10th century A.D.
This underground network has more than 10 floors and room for up to 50,000 people, plus
livestock. It is rumored to have been a hideout for early Christians escaping Roman persecution.
Country: Egypt---MEMPHIS- Civilization: the Ancient Egyptians
Inhabited: third millennium B.C. to seventh century A.D.
Located at the mouth of the Nile delta, Memphis thrived for centures as a center of trade,
commerce, religion and royalty. Foreign invasions, including one by Alexander the Great, let to
its demise.
166
Teotihuacan-Country: Mexico-Civilization: possibly the Totonac people
Inhabited: 100 B.C. to 250 A.D.
This city, the founders of which remain a mystery, is home to some of the largest pyramids in
pre-Columbian America. It inspired several major empires, those of the Zapotec and Mayans.
Mosque City of Bagerhat- Country: Bangladesh-Civilization: Khan Jahan Ali
Inhabited: 15th century A.D.
The city formerly known as Khalifatabad was founded by a Turkish general. It boasts more than
50 Islamic monuments and the Sixty Pillar Mosque, constructed with 60 pillars and 80 domes.
167
Troy-Country:
Turkey-Civilization: the Hittites, among others-Inhabited: third millennium
B.C. to fourth century A.D.
Troia of Trojan War lore was decimated and rebuilt more than 10 times before disappearing for
good during the Byzantine Empire.
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom- Country: China
Civilization: Koguryo Kingdom-Inhabited: 37 B.C. to 668 A.D.
This site includes three cities that served successively as capitals for the ancient Korean kingdom
of Koguro before Chinese Tang soldiers conquered the region.
168
Thebes-Country: Egypt-Civilization: the Ancient Egyptians-Inhabited: 3200 B.C. to 20 B.C.
A prosperous Nile River port, Thebes' wealth is a subject of Homer's The Iliad. It served as the
capital of the female emperor Hatshepsut's Egyptian empire.
Babylon-Country: Iraq-Civilization: the Babylonians
Inhabited: third millennium B.C. to sixth century A.D.
One of Mesopotamia's first cities, Babylon gave rise to King Hammurabi of "eye for an eye"
fame before succumbing to defeat by Cyrus the Great of Persia.
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Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature
The Atlantis.. the above book is a study by L. Sprague de Camp that provides a detailed
examination of theories and speculations on Atlantis and other lost lands, including the scientific
arguments against their existence. It is one of his most popular works. It was written in 1948, and
first published serially in the magazine Other Worlds Science Fiction in 1952-1953; portions also
appeared as articles in Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, Natural History
Magazine, and the Toronto Star. It was first published in book form by Gnome Press in 1954; an
updated edition was published by Dover Publications in 1970. De Camp revised the work both
for its first book publication and for the updated edition.[1][2]
Sprague de Camp enjoyed debunking doubtful history and pseudoscientific claims. The work
provides a detailed examination of theories and speculations on Atlantis and other lost lands,
including the scientific arguments against their existence and how it has been continued,
developed and imitated by later theorists, speculators, scientific enquirers, enthusiasts, occultists,
quacks, and fantasists throughout history. Major speculative locales as Atlantis, Mu,
and Lemuria are covered in depth, with the origins of lesser-known ones such
as Thule, Hyperborea, and Rutas also treated. The work shows how the misinterpretation
of Mayan writings created the Mu myth, and how the name Lemuria originated from
the geological hypothesis about a land bridge between India and South Africa. Modern usage of
the concept in speculative fiction is gone into, as are the various attempts to discover the "real"
Atlantis.
Lost Continents by L. Sprague de Camp, Dover Publications, 1970
The 1970 edition was updated to reflect the rehabilitation of Alfred Wegener's continental
drift theory and investigation of the ancient volcanic eruption of the Aegean island of Thera. This
eruption is considered by many who think that Plato's account of Atlantis' destruction had an
underlying historical basis, to be that basis.
Importance
De Camp's work is still one of the most reliable sources on the lost continent theme. Lost
continents or ancient civilizations sunk by a deluge are a common theme in the scriptures of
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doctrines of many modern pseudoreligions or cults. Well-known instances include James
Churchward's books on Mu, or the Theosopical portrayals of Hyperborea, Lemuria and Atlantis,
and even the Nazi mythologizing about Thule. As authors of these materials tend not to state (or
mis-state) their sources, works like that of de Camp are quite useful to anyone interested
in objective information.
Critical reception
Reviewer Groff Conklin described the original edition as "a monument of scholarship [and] a
richly documented and entertaining survey of how crazy the crackpots can get."
Boucher and McComas praised it as "a marvelously and terrifying history of the human will-tobelieve, even in the face of all
Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to
have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Such continents are
generally thought to have subsided into the sea, leaving behind only a few traces or legends by
which they may be known.
Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theories, only to be picked up by
writers and individuals outside the academy. Occult and New Age writers have made use of Lost
Lands, as have subaltern peoples such as the Tamils in India. Phantom islands, as opposed to lost
lands, are land masses formerly believed by cartographers to exist in the current historical age,
but to have been discredited as a result of expanding geographic knowledge. The classification of
lost lands as continents, islands, or other regions is in some cases subjective; for
example, Atlantis is variously described as either a "lost island" or a "lost continent". Lost land
theories may originate in mythology or philosophy, or in scholarly or scientific theories, such
as catastrophic theories of geology.
With the development of plate tectonic simulation software, new lost land has been discovered
and confirmed by the scientific community (like Greater Adria in 2019).
Submerged continent and Continental fragment
The Sahul Shelf and the Sunda Shelf during the ice ages and today. The area in between is called "Wallacea".
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Although the existence of lost continents in the above sense is mythical (aside from
Zealandia and Greater Adria), there were many places on Earth that were once dry land, but
submerged after the ice age around 10,000 BCE due to rising sea levels, and possibly were the
basis for Neolithic and Bronze Age flood myths. Some were lost due to coastal erosion or
volcanic eruptions. An (incomplete) list follows:
• Atlit Yam, an ancient submerged Neolithic village off the coast of Atlit, Israel.
• Dhanushkodi, a town on the Pamban Island off the South Indian coast, eroded away by storm
surges in the 1964 Rameswaram cyclone.
• Heracleion, an ancient Egyptian city located near the Canopic Mouth of the Nile, about 32
kilometres (20 miles) northeast of Alexandria.
• Sundaland, the now submerged Sunda Shelf.
• Kerguelen Plateau, a submerged micro-continent which is now 1–2 kilometres (0.62–1.2
miles) below sea level.
• Beringia, connecting Asia and North America.
• Doggerland, the bed of the North Sea, which once connected Great Britain to Continental
Europe before being inundated by rising sea levels during the Holocene.
• A large island in the Mediterranean Sea, of which Malta is the only part not now submerged.
• Maui Nui, once a large island of the Hawaii archipelago; several major islands represent
residual high ground of Maui Nui.
• New Moore Island, an island in the Bay of Bengal which emerged after a cyclone in 1970
and submerged in 2010.
• Pavlopetri, sunken city off the coast of southern Laconia in Peloponnese, Greece,
• Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal, most of this region in The Netherlands vanished in a
storm in 1532; the town of Reimerswaal survived as an island into the 17th century; the last
bits of land vanished in the early 19th century.
• Strand, an island off the German coast with the town Rungholt, eroded away by storm surges
before being washed away by a final flood in 1634.
• Jordsand, once an island off the Danish coast, eroded away by storm surges before being
washed away by a final flood between 1998 and 1999.
• Ferdinandea, submerged volcanic island which has appeared at least four times in the past.
• Sarah Ann Island, now submerged guano island, located just north of the equator. Vanished
between 1917 and 1932.
• Ravenser Odd, a large 13th-century town on an old sandbank promontory in East Yorkshire,
which became an island and then vanished in January 1392.
• Dunwich, the traditional capital of the Kingdom of the East Angles that was lost to the sea by
gradual coast erosion and partly by a storm surge in 1286.
• Dadu Island, which was legally the southernmost point of the United States of America,
located at Palmyra Atoll and still shown on the map (an incorporated U.S. territory), was a
bare sand islet washed away by a storm in 2014. (It was named after a dog, "Dadu", that had
lived at the atoll )
• Semyonovsky Island, an island that was discovered in 1770, it had rapidly decreased in size,
4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi) to 1823, 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi) in 1936, by the 1950s it was
just baydzharakh and when visited in the early 1960s it had been submerged due to erosion.
172
Lost continent
• Zealandia, a scientifically accepted continent that is now 94% submerged under the Pacific
Ocean, surrounding the areas of New Zealand and New Caledonia.
• Greater Adria, a continent connecting between Italy and Northern Africa
HYPOTHETICAL LOST CONTINENTS
In the 1954 book Lost Continents by L. Sprague de Camp, he describes many modern writers
who have speculated about ancient civilizations that existed on continents now deluged under the
sea. According to de Camp, there is no real scientific evidence for any lost continents
whatsoever.
The most famous lost continent is Atlantis. Atlantis, like Hyperborea and Thule, is ultimately
derived from ancient Greek geographic speculation and possibly memories of the Minoan
eruption of the Thera volcano.
The name of hypothetical vanished continent Mu originated from the first attempted translation
of the Madrid Codex, one of only four remaining Maya codices.
Lemuria was a hypothesised continent that was believed to have once connected India, Australia
and Southern Africa.
List of mythological places and Mythical continents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Plato's Atlantis described in Timaeus and Critias
Agartha, in the Hollow Earth.
Atlantis, Plato's utopian paradise.
Avalon, the mythical lost land or island in Arthurian, Cornish and Welsh legend.
Buyan, an island with the ability to appear and disappear in Slavic mythology.
Cantre'r Gwaelod, in Welsh legend, the ancient sunken realm said to have occupied a tract
of fertile land lying between Ramsey Island and Bardsey Island in what is now Cardigan
Bay to the west of Wales.
7. Iram of the Pillars, a reference to a lost city, country or area mentioned in the Qur'an.
8. Kitezh, a legendary underwater city located in Russia, populated by spiritual people.
9. Kumari Kandam, a mythical lost continent with an ancient Tamil civilization in the Indian
Ocean
10. Lemuria, a mythical lost continent in the Indian or the Pacific Ocean.
11. Llys Helig Welsh legends regarding the local rock formations conceal the palace of
Prince Helig ap Glanawg, said to be part of a larger drowned kingdom
near Penmaenmawr, Wales.
12. Lyonesse in Arthurian literature: it was the home of Tristan and is usually associated with
the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall (an area inundated by the sea c.2500BC)[citation needed]. The tale
parallels the Welsh and particularly Breton legendary lost lands.[citation needed]
173
13. Mu, a legendary lost continent in the Pacific Ocean
14. Shangri-La, a fictitious valley in Tibet the idea of which may have been inspired by the
myth of Shambhala
15. Quivira and Cibola, also known as the Seven Cities of Gold. These were suspected
somewhere in America by the Conquistadors.
16. El Dorado, mythic city of gold.
17. Ys, a mythical drowned city in Brittany, similar to other Celtic lost lands
in Welsh and Cornish tradition. Most versions of the legend place the city in the Baie de
Douarnenez.
Phantom island
18. Phantom islands, as opposed to lost lands, are land masses formerly believed
by cartographers to exist in the historical age, but to have been discredited as a result of
expanding geographic knowledge. Terra Australis is a phantom continent. While a few
phantom islands originated from literary works (an example
is Ogygia from Homer's Odyssey), most phantom islands are the result of navigational
errors.
The following individuals are known for having written on the subject of lost lands
(either as fiction, hypothesis, or supposed fact):
I.
H.P. Blavatsky
II.
Edgar Rice Burroughs (The Land That Time Forgot, Tarzan and the Jewels of
Opar, At the Earth's Core)
III.
James Churchward
IV.
Henry Corbin (Malakut or Hurqalya)[6]
V. Ignatius L. Donnelly
VI.
Burak Eldem
VII.
Warren Ellis
VIII.
Philip José Farmer
IX.
H. Rider Haggard
X. Robert E. Howard (Hyborian Age)
XI.
Édouard Lalo (Le roi d'Ys)
XII.
H. P. Lovecraft often invoked the names of lost lands of his own invention, a practice
that subsequently gave birth to the Cthulhu mythos.
XIII.
Geoffrey of Monmouth first mention of Avalon in his Historia Regum Britanniae
XIV.
Plato
I.
Augustus Le Plongeon
II.
Zecharia Sitchin
III.
J. R. R. Tolkien partially based the story of Númenor, referenced in The Lord of the
Rings and The Silmarillion, on Atlantis.
IV.
Jack Vance (Lyonesse Trilogy)
V.
Samael Aun Weor
Where Is Atlantis? Is Atlantis Real?
174
The lost city of Atlantis is supposedly located in the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantis is a fictional island that was first described by Plato some 2,400 years ago. The island
nation was alleged to be an imperial superpower in the ancient world, possessing over 10,000
chariots and a large number of bulls and elephants. Atlantis or boasted of advanced technologies
and series of complex canals. According to Plato, Atlantis’ attacks were repelled by Athens,
unlike other nations. The story concludes by suggesting that Atlantis fell out of favor with the
deities and submerged into the Atlantic Ocean. However, the existence of Atlantis has been a
subject of great debate since Plato first mentioned it. Explorers have claimed to have found the
lost city of Atlantis on multiple occasions throughout the years but none of their findings have
solved the existence of this mysterious island nation.
Fact Or Fiction?
The debate on the existence of Atlantis is still far from over. Plato described this ancient city
around 360 BCE and for centuries historians considered his writing as an allegory. Many
philosophers, including Aristotle, also viewed Atlantis as fiction. However, some philosophers,
historians, and geographers have considered Plato’s story as truth.
The debate over the Atlantis remained relatively quiet until 1882 when Minnesota’s
Representative, Ignatius Donnelly published a book titled “Atlantis: The Antediluvian World,”
claiming that Atlantis was indeed a real place. He even claimed that all the known ancient
civilization originated from Atlantis’ high Neolithic culture.
175
Scholars and historians consider Atlantis as a New Age idea and as one of Pluto’s parables. Their
argument is backed by the fact that Plato often told fictitious tales. In the story of the Atlantis,
such scholars believe that Plato was sending a warning to the Greeks on the dangers of political
ambitions, and promoting nobility for personal gain.
Possible Locations Of Atlantis
Hundreds of locations have been proposed as the lost city of Atlantis to the point that the term
“Atlantis” has become a generic term rather than one specific location. Interestingly, most of the
proposed sites are not within the Atlantic Ocean. Also, some of the sites are scholarly hypothesis
while other sites have been made by pseudoscientific means. Most of the proposed sites share
similar characteristics of the Atlantis story including time period, water, and the catastrophic end.
Inside The Mediterranean
Most of the proposed sites are in or near the Mediterranean Sea because of the location
of Egypt from where the story was allegedly derived. The suggested sites in the Mediterranean
include the islands of Sardinia, Malta, Crete, Cyprus, and Santorini (Thera). A massive volcanic
eruption on Santorini led to a massive tsunami that experts believe disrupted Minoan Civilization
on Crete. Some people believe that this was the catastrophe that caused the sinking of Atlantis.
Robert Sarmast argued that Atlantis lies at the bottom of Cyprus Basin on the eastern
Mediterranean, beneath approximately 0.9 miles of water.
Another possible location of the Atlantis is Malta, considering its location on the dividing line
between eastern and western Mediterranean Sea. Being the location of some of the oldest manmade structures, Malta is considered by past and present researchers as the possible location of
Atlantis.
Outside The Mediterranean
Other locations around the world have also been considered as a possible location for Atlantis.
Some of these locations include Turkey, the Black Sea, Indonesia, the Caribbean
Sea, Morocco, and even Antarctica. Some geologists have even suggested that Atlantis was
actually the city-state of Troy. Although many proposed sites have been suggested as the lost city
of Atlantis, if the tales are believed to be true about the fated city, Atlantis remains lost.
Possible Site of Atlantis Found Using Satellite Imagery
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Fer Gregory / Shutterstock.com
Thanks to Plato’s account of the lost city and Google Earth, new visual and arithmetic clues
suggest that the mythical city of Atlantis may have been hiding in plain sight the entire time,
in rather an unlikely place.
Since Plato first described it in his dialogues in 360 BC, the legend of Atlantis has traveled down
the ages and only got stronger as centuries wore on.
As the legend goes, Atlantians tried to invade Athens, but were pushed back, and had to endure
the wrath of gods pouring down as a mighty deluge that engulfed the city. Atlantis sank, never to
be seen ever again.Plato’s account of Atlantis is supposedly suggesting that tyrannical powers
can’t triumph over organized democratic states, which is a major theme of his The Republic,
written a few years earlier.
“This [invading] power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those days the Atlantic was
navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the
Pillars of Heracles,” so went the recount of Plato (in Timaeus) who goes on to describe the fate
of Atlantis, “in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into the
earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea”.
To this day, Atlantis is still a dream for some archeologists, and a breeding ground for
conspiracy theorists, who all believe the city was a real ancient advanced civilization that
vanished due to a natural disaster after it has dominated the world.
The Lost City of Atlantis is the Eye of the Sahara
Most assumed that Atlantis, thought to have been once an idyllic paradise and a highly advanced
society, would be under the water somewhere in the Atlantic ocean or the Mediterranean sea, or
under the ice of Antarctica.
177
Even armed with modern science and tech, and more accurate translations of Plato’s account, no
one has come close to finding this version of Atlantis.
Now, we may have new clues as to the whereabouts of the Atlantis island that remained unseen
since it went under around 9600 BC.
Propounded by a YouTube channel called Bright Insight, a new theory, which fits Plato’s
description nicely, suggests Atlantis has been hiding in the Sahara all along.
Located in Mauritania (Northwest Africa), about 250 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean,
the Richat structure is more known as the Eye of the Sahara or the Eye of Africa.
The Eye of the Sahara is a prominent circular geological structure that, at 30 miles across, is so
huge that NASA astronauts used it as a landmark. From the ground, it’s hard to discern, but,
thanks to satellite imagery of the Gemini 4 first in 1965, then other space missions , we finally
got a comprehensive view of this giant bulls-eye.
First thought to be a meteorite impact site or the remnant of an ancient volcano that erupted long
ago, the Richat structure is now considered to be the natural product of an uplift shaped by
erosion, which formed over a hundred million years ago.
Bright Insight, however, has another theory that aspires to explain the origins of both Atlantis
and the Eye of the Sahara by suggesting they are the same, or, more accurately, the latter is the
ruinous remains of the former.
178
Bright Insight claims the Eye of the Sahara to be “the most likely location for the
lost city of Atlantis as it matches so many precise details of what Plato wrote”.
Atlantis… in Google Earth
With its almost perfect circularity and measurements of it concentric circles, which can’t be
explained by natural elements like erosion, the Eye of the Sahara fits the description of Plato.
According to the philosopher, Atlantis was made of “alternate zones of sea and land, larger and
smaller, encircling one another; there were two of land and three of water, which he turned as
with a lathe out of the center of the island, equidistant every way”.
The first clue is that if there had been water in the Eye of the Sahara, there would be three rings
of water and two of land, as Plato described.
The second clue, according to Plato’s texts, is that Atlantis disappeared 11,600 years ago, which
could have coincided with a comet event (the Younger Dryas theory) that just might have caused
the destruction of Atlantis, maybe by a tsunami.
The third clue is that Plato said the diameter of the Atlantis island was 127 stadia, which is an
ancient Greek distance unit that’s 607-630 feet (185-192 meters). So the diameter of the city of
Atlantis was 127×607 stadia, or 14.6 miles (23.5 km).
Measurements in Google Earth give you anywhere between 20 to 24 km, which is very close.
Another hint: “The mountains of the island of Atlantis were celebrated for their size and
beauty,” said Plato, “The surrounding mountains of the city flow with rivers. This part of the
island looked toward the south and was sheltered from the north”.
The Eye of the Sahara happens to be encircled with a chain of mountains on the north side, and
satellite imagery shows traces of many ancient rivers on the sides of these mountains.
Picture these rivers before they dry up, water spilling around the island of Atlantis, and the lush
vegetation that could once have covered this desolate place.
Plato says the city opens up to the ocean, and you can see in the image below that matches that
description very well, and the mountains.
There are many other clues that all point out that the Eye of the Sahara could well be the
legendary Atlantis.
For example, Plato also said that the city had elephants in great numbers, and archeologists have
found many skeletal remains of elephants in the area, and there are also rock art depictions of
elephants there.
Although this YouTube channel brings something new to the table, this is not the first time that
the Eye of the Sahara has been suggested as the location of the lost city of Atlantis.As always,
people are divided and further investigation by experts is needed, but aren’t the clues
convincing- By Mike Wehner- 2018
179
If there’s one archaeological find that would turn the world on its head it would be the discovery
of the lost city of Atlantis. Many have looked for the remains of the mythical locale, but nobody
has come close to actually finding it, and researchers claiming to have found it in the past have
all ultimately been proven wrong.
Now, with a suite of high-tech hardware at its disposal, a company called Merlin
Burrows believes it might have finally pinpointed the location where the city once stood.
Needless to say, you should take everything you read from this point on with a huge grain of salt.
Thousands of years ago, Plato wrote about the civilization, noting that its incredible
technological advancements and wealth had no equal, and that the city was ultimately destroyed
by some terrible event. Nobody even really knows if Plato meant for his writings to be taken as
documentation of the existence of the city or if he was just sewing a yarn to serve as a warning
against the dangers of excess, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of people from searching for
Atlantis.
Merlin Burrows, which calls itself a land and sea search company specializing in finding
“forgotten or hidden” things, is poised to release a documentary about what it says may finally
be proof that Atlantis was real.
180
Speaking with Live Science, Merlin Burrows CEO Bruce Blackburn says his company used
satellite data to comb an area that the group believed may have been the location of the thriving
city. Their work began years ago and, according to Blackburn, the location was chosen based on
Plato’s writings as well as other texts.
The spot, which is located near the coast in Spain’s Doñana National Park, was subsequently
searched for clues. Merlin Burrows says it was then that the company found what it believes is
remains of temples and towers. Dating of the material, which is thought to be early concrete,
suggested it was between 10,000 and 12,000 years old, which would fit the rough timeline of
when Atlantis is said to have existed.
This is hardly the first time a group has claimed discovery of Atlantis, and it’s not even the first
time that researchers suggested the remains might be sitting in this specific location in Spain.
However, Merlin Burrows says its upcoming documentary titled Atlantica will put questions to
rest.
With so many false “finds” in the past, the archaeological community at large is pretty worn out
on Atlantis discoveries. If this is indeed the proof we’ve all been waiting for it’ll be an incredible
achievement, but for now we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed. Author Mike Wehner has
reported on technology and video games for the past decade,
181
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About the Author
The author has worked for 30 years in the human resources arena in India and abroad.
He was Group Vice -President of MZI Group in New Delhi and has anchored Human
Relations in Go Air and Hotel Holiday Inn;was General Manager-Health Human
Resources at the Lata Mangeshkar Hospital amd Medical college. Is currently Consultant
to Gorewada International Zoo,Nagpur and visiting Faculty at the Central Institute of
Business Management and Research, Nagpur.
In Sweden he anchored HR in Stadbolaget RENIA, SSSB and advisor to a multi
millionaire. He has studied in Nagpur, India where he obtained degrees of Bachelor of
Science, Bachelor of Arts(Managerial Economics) and Bachelor of Laws. He has done his
Graduate Studies in labour laws from Canada at the Queen's University, Kingston; a
MBA from USA, and Doctorate from Stockholm University, Sweden. Apart from that he
has done a Management Training Program in Singapore.
A scholar of the Swedish Institute, he has been an Edvard Cassel Fund and Wineroth
Fund Awardee.A scholar for the Swedish Institute for 5 years.
In 1984 he was involved with the Comparative Labour Law Project of the University of
182
California, Los Angeles, U.S.A. He was also visiting lecturer there. In 1985 he was invited
by the President of Seychelles to do a study of the efficacy of the labour laws of
Seychelles.
Author of a book on a Swedish human resource law, his brief life sketch is part of the
English study text book of 7 th Class Students in Sweden -“Studying English. SPOTLIGHT
7”- and 8th Class students in Iceland - “SPOTLIGHT 8- Lausnir.”
RESEARCH PAPERS-320 + in Researchgate and academia.edu & scribd (readers)
165,000 consolidated as on 26 th Januaryr,2021
Authors-DR Uday DOKRAS
Dr. Uday Dokras
B.Sc., B.A. (Managerial Economics), LL.B., Nagpur University, India
Certificat'e en Droit, Queen’s University. Ontario, Canada,
MBA, CALSTATE,Los-Angeles, USA,
Ph.D. Stockholm University, Sweden,
Management and Efficacy Consultant, India
183
Reviews of the Book PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The authors highlight the benefits of paying attention to human resources and offer success and
failure factors guideline for a variety of potential practitioners and students in global project
marketplace.
Ms.Ylva Arnold, Head HR- Norstedts Publishers, Stockholm SWEDEN
184
From
2018
the Newspaper Times of India March 24,
185
Iceland Sweden both countries use the English Text SPOTLIGHT-one of the lessons in
which is about Dr Uday Dokras
186
Prof. S.Deshpande,President of the Indian Instituye of Architects, New Delhi INDIA
releasing the book of Dr Dokras HINDU TEMPLES on the web in CARONA gimes( May
2010)
187
188
189
190
Some of my books
191
192
193
194
Unravelling the
SCIENTIFIC BORUBUDUR
Dr Uday Dokras-Srishti Dokras - Kinjal Shah
195
1262 BOOKS BY DR UDAY DOKRAS
Published by
The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Stockholm
The Indo Swedish Author’s Collective Finland
Dr. Uday Dokras
Tamil People as Traders and Voyagers
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The Cambodian Trilogy
I.HINDU CAMBODIA
II.HYDROLOGY of ANGKOR
ANGKOR is known as a Hydraulic city- full or canals and river and
waterways. It is this water system they say that brought the downfall of this
intrinsic kingdom. But is that TRUE?
III.ENTER…… THE KINGDOM THAT
VANISHED- Angkor
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Building Materials of the Hindu Temple
In depth study of how Building Materials of the Hindu Temple was used in
India,Indonesia and Cambodia and India
The Art & Architecture of THE GOLDEN TEMPLE
COMPLEX, AMRITSAR
198
Mathematics in Temple Designs
Jain ART
Book on Jain Art and Iconography
Jain Temples- Part I -Complete CompendiumBook I
A to Z of the architecture, Design,Cosmology,Philosophy of Jain temples in
199
Jain Temples II
DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF JAIN TEMPLES AND THE
ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS(ORIGINAL) OF 3JAIN TEMPLES of Nagpur
DWARKA- CELESTIAL MYSTERIES of the Lost
CITY of KRISHNA
TIRUPATI TEMPLE Book part I
TIRUPATI TemplePart II
200
Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods
Vahanas- the vehicles of Hindu Gods. Animals in Hinduism. demi Gods
SATYANARAYAN PUJA-The Complete Compendium
Satyanarayan Puja or 9 Graha Puja( a puja of 9 planets) has been
performed by most Hindus not only now but for 1,000’s of years.
MAHALAXMI Puja
Hindu Goddess MAHALAXMI Puja
201
ARCHITECTURE OF PALESTINE
Palestine my Love
Palestine my Love is about the culture arts and crafts of palestine so we
recognize it as a entity that is fighting for recognition of not only its
legitimacy but also its cultural heritage
QUINTET (5) BOOKS ON MANDALA
Unravelling the MAZE of the MANDALA BOOK I
First part of a two book treatise on MANDALAS. This introductory phase
introduces mandalas
202
Maze of MANDALA BOOK II
Advanced Mandala routine for those who want to know more about
MANDALAS
Mandala BOOK III on Nakshatra
BOOK IV MANDALA & ARCHITECTURE
The Use of Mandalas in Building Temples and Modern Buildings
203
Book V on Mandala of the Oriental Kingdoms
Islamic Architectureal Arts of of Imam Ali's 2
Shrines
Hindu Gods in Scandinavia
Did the Hindu Gods originate or live in Scandinavia once? Find out
204
Book on Divinity and Architecture
What is divinity? How has man tried to harness architecture to create magic
in space
Virat Hridaya Padma-sthalam CHIDAMBARAM
Temple -Celestial Mysteries
This book is about a mysterious and revered tempe built by the Chola
Kings of South India 2000 years ago
T2- Temple Tech. A Book
How are Hindu temples built and the technology that follows this craft.
From A to Z Complete Guide.
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Rendezvous with Sri RAM Portfolio of Temple Art
by Srishti Dokras, Architect Special section on
Hindu Foods by Karan Dokras, Product Guru
Best Foot Forward
The story of Footwear through the ages up to COVID times
Hindu Temple Panorama-Celestial Mysteries
A to Z of Temples. A total Panoramic View of design and architecture of
Hindu temples in 350 page...
206
DUOLOGY (2) on JAINISM
Ativir
ATIVIR means Very Brave and is the name given to Lord Mahavir the 24 th
Saint(TIRTHANKAR) Contains rare translations of the Dialogue of the
Mahavir with his disciples called GHANDHARVAVAD
Vardhaman-वधकमान
IThis book is about Jainism- written by a non-
THE TRILOGY(3) on DEVRAJA The God kIngs of
Khemer
207
Book I DEVRAJ- The God Kings of Indo ChinaCambodia.
This is the first Book of a Trilogy that traces the growth of Hinduism in
South East Asia.
BOOK I I DEVRAJA- The Great Civilizations of
South East Asia -HINDU Era
How Hinduism reached Cambodia and how the Hindu Kings called Devraj
Built these magnificent structures
Devraja BOOK II I Devraja and Raj Dharma God
King and Kingly Religion The HINDU Era of
Great Civilizations of Khemer
Book 2 of a Trilogy that traces the advent of Hinduism on South East Asian
and Indo-Chinese
208
Vayu- Man's taming of the winds
Man's conquest of nature spans a million years. How was wind tamed by
him. Here is the full story... more
VIMANA Ancient Conquests of Wind
Ancient flying machines of Gods and Men(?) Were they true. Did they really
exist. 7000 years ago?
LIGHT HOUSES In words and pictures
BOOK Architecture of the Lighthouse of
Alexandria-BOOK
Indo Swedish Author's Collective, 2020
209
The lighthouse was built on an island off the coast of Alexandria called
Pharos. Its name, legend
Cosmology of lotus
Indo Nordic Author's Collective, 2020
The Lotus is the king of the flower world but few know it as a part of
creation. Find out the Cosmology.
Celestial Mysteries of the Borobudur Temple
Borobudur remains a mystery even today. The largest Buddhist Stupa in
the world has many unanswered...
Win with this new DIET
210
Hindu tempel of India , Cambodia and Indonesia
Hindu Temples dot India, Cambodia and Indonesia
DISRUPTION-Book
Book Architecture Creativity
Creativity and Architecture are linked and go hand in hand. This Book is a
culmination of 16 publications that have been put together as a book
Project HR Management
Indo Swedish Author's Collective
211
PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/'Dr UDAY DOKRAS The
project sphere has not been valued appropriately
Human Resource Engineering in Theme Parks.
by Dr. Uday Dokras and Mansse Bhandari
As theme parks evolve into facilitating for greater thrill seeking
audience,the role of human res... more
Health Human Resource Management
Management of Health care workers in hospitals and the human resource
practices to be followed in hospitals.
212
WIN DIET Lose fat-Diet and Exercise Book ONLY
BODY SHAPING GUIDE YOU NEED
The Act on Co-determination at Work – an Efficacy
study
Thesis of the Author for the degree of Doctor of Law
Stockholm University, SWEDEN 1990
213
ATLANTIS
The Lost Continent
& other essays of the Lost Lands
Dr Uday Dokras
INCORPORATING an article on RAMATHA city of RAM & Kumari
Kandam the lost Tamil Continent
214
215