Torana
Torana is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes seen in the Hindu and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia. Torana is a honorific gateway in Buddhist and Hindu architecture, its typical form is a projecting cross-piece resting on posts. It is made of wood or stone, the cross-piece is of three bars placed one on the top of the other. Toranas are associated with Buddhist stupas like the Great Stupa in Sanchi, as well as with Jain and Hindu structures, with several secular structures. Symbolic toranas can be made of flowers and leaves and hung over the doors and at entrances in Western and Southern India, they are believed to signify auspicious and festive occasions. They can serve didactic and narrative purposes or be erected to mark the victory of a king. During Vesak festival of Sri Lanka it is a tradition to erect electrically illuminated colorful Vesak toranas in public places; these decorations are temporary installations which remain in public display for couple of weeks starting from the day of Vesak.
Toranas are referred to as vandanamalikas. There are many different types of toranas - dvara-toranas, patra-toranas, ratne-toranas and so on; these are mentioned in medieval Indian architectural treatises. The earliest archaeological evidence of Torana dates back to Sanchi stupa built by Mauryan Empire in 3rd century BCE; the Sanchi torana and architecture is imitation of timber and brick construction in stone, popular feature in Indian architecture before 3rd century BCE. Both Chinese paifang gateways and Japanese torii gateways have been derived from the Indian torana; the functions of all three are similar, but they differ based on their respective architectural styles, such as having multiple tiered and arched roofs and various "supporting posts" that are prevalent in East Asian architectural style. The Korean gateway is related to the Japanese torii, similar structures exist in Thailand. A great deal of cultural exchange between these countries took place in ancient times, so that many Indian, Chinese, Korean and other East and Southeast Asian cultural practices are related.
For example, Benzaiten is a Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the ancient Siddhaṃ script, which disappeared from India by 1200 CE, is still written by monks in Japan. In Kalinga architecture we can see the Toran in many temples built from the 7th to 12th centuries. Jagannath Temple, Rajarani Temple and Mukteswar Temple are the few example of Kalinga architecture having torana. In Gujarat, several Toranas built during reign of Chaulukya dynasty, they were associated with temples. Toran Torii Paifang Joseph Needham: Science and Civilization in China, Vol 4, part 3, p137-138. Ram Nath: Studies in Medieval Indian Architecture. M. D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. 172 pages. ISBN 81-85880-56-5 Nick Edwards, Mike Ford, Devdan Sen, Beth Wooldridge, David Abram: The Rough Guide to India. Rough Guides. 1440 pages. ISBN 9781843530893
Satavahana dynasty
The Satavahanas referred to as the Andhras in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty based in the Deccan region. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavahana rule began in the first century BCE and lasted until the second century CE, although some assign the beginning of their rule to as early as the 3rd century BCE; the Satavahana kingdom comprised the present-day Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. At different times, their rule extended to parts of modern Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka; the dynasty had different capital cities including Pratishthana and Amaravati. The origin of the dynasty is uncertain, but according to the Puranas, their first king overthrew the Kanva dynasty. In the post-Maurya era, the Satavahanas established peace in the Deccan region, resisted the onslaught of foreign invaders. In particular their struggles with the Saka Western Satraps went on for a long time; the dynasty reached its zenith under the rule of Gautamiputra Satakarni and his successor Vasisthiputra Pulamavi.
The kingdom fragmented into smaller states by the early 3rd century CE. The Satavahanas were early issuers of Indian state coinage struck with images of their rulers, they formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India. They supported Brahmanism as well as Buddhism, patronised Prakrit literature; the date and place of origin of the Satavahanas, as well as the meaning of the dynasty's name, are a matter of debate among the historians. Some of these debates have happened in the context of regionalism, with the present-day Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana being variously claimed as the original homeland of the Satavahanas. According to one theory, the word "Satavahana" is a Prakrit form of the Sanskrit Sapta-Vahana; this would indicate that the Satavahanas claimed association with the legendary solar dynasty, as was common in ancient India. According to Inguva Kartikeya Sarma, the dynasty's name is derived from the words vahana.
Another theory connects their name to the earlier Satiyaputa dynasty. Yet another theory derives their name from the Munda words Sadam and Harpan, implying "son of the performer of a horse sacrifice". Several rulers of the dynasty bear the name or title "Satakarni". Satavahana, Satakarni and Shalivahana appear to be variations of the same word. Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi theorized that the word "Satakarni" is derived from the Munda words sada and kon; the Puranas use the name "Andhra" or "Andhra-Bhritya" for the Satavahanas. The term "Andhra" may refer to territory of the dynasty, it does not appear in the dynasty's own records. Tamil epic Silappatikaram mentions a "Nurruvar Kannar", who helped Chera king Senguttuvan during his Himalaya campaign; the direct translation of the term Nurruvar Kannar is "the hundred Karnas" or "Satakarni", hence the Nurruvar Kannar has been identified with the Satavahana dynasty. The use of the name "Andhra" in the Puranas has led some scholars to believe that the dynasty originated in the eastern Deccan region.
At Kotilingala in Telangana, coins bearing the legend "Rano Siri Chimuka Satavahanasa" were found. Epigraphist and numismastist P. V. P. Sastry identified Chimuka with the dynasty's founder Simuka, because of which Kotilingala came to be known as the only place where coins attributed to Simuka were found. Coins attributed to Simuka's successors Kanha and Satakarni I were discovered at Kotilingla. Based on these discoveries, historians such as D. R. Reddy, S. Reddy and Shankar R. Goyal theorized that Kotlingala was the original home of the Satavahanas. However, the coin samples from Kotlingala are small, it is not certain if these coins were minted there or reached there from somewhere else. Moreover, the identification of Chimuka of Kotilingala with the dynasty's founder Simuka has been contested by several scholars including P. L. Gupta and I. K. Sarma, who identified Chimuka as a ruler. P. V. P. Sastry later changed his view, stated that the two kings were different; as for the Puranas, these texts were compiled much during the Gupta period, it is not certain if the Satavahanas were referred to as Andhras during their time.
Another section of scholars believe. All four extant inscriptions from the early Satavahana period have been found in and around this region; the oldest known Satavahana inscription was found at Cave No.19 of the Pandavleni Caves in Nashik district, was issued during the reign of Kanha. An inscription found at Naneghat was issued by Nayanika, the widow of Satakarni I. A later inscription dated to the reign of Satakarni II has been found at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh, located to the north of Maharashtra; the majority of the other Satavahana inscriptions have been found in western Deccan. On the other hand, the epigraphic evidence from eastern Deccan does not mention the Satavahanas before the 4th century CE. At Nevasa, a seal and coins attributed to Kanha have been discovered. Coins attributed to Satakarni I have been discovered at Nashik and Pauni in Maharashtra (besides places in eastern Deccan and present-day Madhya Pra
Sarnath
Sarnath is a place located 10 kilometres north-east of Varanasi near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pradesh, India. The deer park in Sarnath is where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Singhpur, a village one kilometre away from the site, was the birthplace of Shreyansanath, the Eleventh Tirthankara of Jainism. A temple dedicated to him, is an important pilgrimage site. Referred to as Isipatana, this city is mentioned by the Buddha as one of the four places of pilgrimage to which his devout followers should visit, it was the site of the Buddha's Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, his first teaching after attaining enlightenment, in which he taught the four noble truths and the teachings associated with it. Sarnath has been variously known as Mrigadava, Migadāya, Rishipattana and Isipatana throughout its long history. Mrigadava means "deer-park". "Isipatana" is the name used in the Pali Canon, means the place where holy men landed.
The legend says that when the Buddha-to-be was born, some devas came down to announce it to 500 rishis. The rishis all rose into the air and disappeared and their relics fell to the ground. Another explanation for the name is that Isipatana was so called because, sages, on their way through the air, alight here or start from here on their aerial flight. Pacceka Buddhas, having spent seven days in contemplation in the Gandhamādana, bathe in the Anotatta Lake and come to the habitations of men through the air, in search of alms, they descend to earth at Isipatana. Sometimes the Pacceka Buddhas come to Isipatana from Nandamūlaka-pabbhāra. Xuanzang quotes the Nigrodhamiga Jātaka to account for the origin of the Migadāya. According to him the Deer Park was a forest given by the king of Benares of the Jātaka, where deer might wander unmolested; the Migadāya was so-called. Sarnath derives from the Sanskrit Sāranganātha, which means "Lord of the Deer", relates to another old Buddhist story in which the Bodhisattva is a deer and offers his life to a king instead of the doe the latter is planning to kill.
The king is so moved. The park is active in modern times. Before Gautama attained enlightenment, he gave up his austere penances and his friends, the Pañcavaggiya monks. Seven weeks after his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, Buddha left Uruvela and travelled to Isipatana to rejoin them because, using his spiritual powers, he had seen that his five former companions would be able to understand Dharma quickly. While traveling to Sarnath, Gautama Buddha had no money to pay the ferryman to cross the Ganges, so he crossed it through the air; when King Bimbisāra heard of this, he abolished the toll for ascetics. Gautama Buddha found his five former companions and enlightened them with the teachings of the Dharma. At that time, the Sangha, the community of the enlightened ones, was founded; the sermon, Buddha gave to the five monks, was his first sermon, called the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. It was given on the full-moon day of Asalha Puja. Buddha subsequently spent his first rainy season at Sarnath at the Mulagandhakuti.
By the Sangha had grown to 60 in number, so Buddha sent them out in all directions to travel alone and teach the Dharma. All 60 monks were Arhats. Several other incidents connected with the Buddha, besides the preaching of the first sermon, are mentioned as having taken place in Isipatana, it was here when one day, at dawn, Yasa became an Arhat. It was at Isipatana, that the rule was passed, prohibiting the use of sandals made of talipot leaves. On another occasion when the Buddha was staying at Isipatana, having gone there from Rājagaha, he instituted rules forbidding the use of certain kinds of flesh, including human flesh. Twice, while the Buddha was at Isipatana, Māra had to go away discomfited. Besides the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta mentioned above, several other suttas were preached by the Buddha while staying at Isipatana, among them the Anattalakkhana Sutta, the Saccavibhanga Sutta, the Pañca Sutta, the Rathakāra or Pacetana Sutta, the two Pāsa Suttas, the Samaya Sutta, the Katuviya Sutta, a discourse on the Metteyyapañha of the Parāyana, the Dhammadinna Sutta, preached to the distinguished layman Dhammadinna, who came to see the Buddha.
Some of the most eminent members of the Sangha seem to have resided at Isipatana from time to time. There is a mention of a discourse in which several monks staying at Isipatana tried to help Channa in his difficulties. According to the Udapāna Jātaka there was a ancient well near Isipatana which, in the Buddha's time, was used by the monks living there. According to the Mahavamsa, there was a large community of monks at Isipatana in the second century B. C. for, we are told that at the foundation ceremony of the Mahā Thūpa in Anurādhapura, twelve thousand monks were present from Isipatana led by the Elder Dhammasena. Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk, who travelled to India in the seventh century, found fifteen hundred monks studying the Hīnayāna at the Isipatana. In the enclosure of the Sanghārāma was a vihāra about two hundred feet high built, its roof surmounted by a golden figure of the mango. In the centre of the vihāra was a life-size sta
Sarnath Museum
Sarnath Museum is the oldest site museum of Archaeological Survey of India. It houses the findings and excavations at the archaeological site of Sarnath, by the Archaeological Survey of India. Sarnath is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh; the museum has 6,832 artefacts. To keep the antiquities found from the site, a decision was taken in 1904 by the Government to construct a site museum adjacent to the excavated site at Sarnath, it was due to initiative of Sir John Marshall, the Director General of Archaeology in India, that this museum was created. The plans were prepared by Mr. James Ramson, the consulting Architect to the Government of India; the building was completed in 1910 to house and study the antiquities in their right perspective. The building forms half of a monastery in plan; the museum contains five galleries and two verandahs to display the antiquities ranging from the 3rd century BCE to 12th century AD that have been found at Sarnath. Sarnath has yielded a rich collection of sculptures and edifices comprising numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images and other ancient remains.
Finest specimens of Buddhist art and other important remains have been housed at the museum. While the single most famous exhibit of this museum is the Lion Capital of Ashoka, the Sarnath museum houses a collection of other Buddhist artefacts. Among the things to see is a sculpture of the Buddha from the 5th century; the Buddha sits cross-legged, with eyes downcast in deep meditation, a halo around his head. Worth exploring are the several figures of the bodhisattvas. Of other Buddhist remains, there is a life-size standing Bodhisattva and a delicate image of the Bodhisattva with a lotus and yet another bronze sculpture showing the Bodhisattva with multiple arms; the museum at Sarnath houses a collection of figures and sculptures from the Mauryan, the Kushana and the Gupta periods. Prominent among them is the earliest Buddha image found at Sarnath and many images of Hindu Gods dating from the 9th to 12th centuries; this is the famous original sandstone sculpted Lion Capital of Ashoka preserved at Sarnath Museum, erected around 250 BCE atop an Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath.
The angle from which this picture has been taken, minus the inverted bell-shaped lotus flower, has been adopted as the National Emblem of India showing the Horse on the left and the Bull on the right of the Ashoka Chakra in the circular base on which the four Indian lions are standing back to back. On the far side there is a Lion instead; the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the centre of the National Flag of India. Official site of the museum
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft and ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orange color. Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry, cupronickel used to make marine hardware and coins, constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement. Copper is one of the few metals; this led to early human use in several regions, from c. 8000 BC. Thousands of years it was the first metal to be smelted from sulfide ores, c. 5000 BC, the first metal to be cast into a shape in a mold, c. 4000 BC and the first metal to be purposefully alloyed with another metal, tin, to create bronze, c. 3500 BC. In the Roman era, copper was principally mined on Cyprus, the origin of the name of the metal, from aes сyprium corrupted to сuprum, from which the words derived and copper, first used around 1530.
The encountered compounds are copper salts, which impart blue or green colors to such minerals as azurite and turquoise, have been used and as pigments. Copper used in buildings for roofing, oxidizes to form a green verdigris. Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as bacteriostatic agents and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the respiratory enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the iron-complexed hemoglobin in fish and other vertebrates. In humans, copper is found in the liver and bone; the adult body contains between 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight. Copper and gold are in group 11 of the periodic table; the filled d-shells in these elements contribute little to interatomic interactions, which are dominated by the s-electrons through metallic bonds.
Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are weak. This observation explains the low high ductility of single crystals of copper. At the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress, thereby increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is supplied in a fine-grained polycrystalline form, which has greater strength than monocrystalline forms; the softness of copper explains its high electrical conductivity and high thermal conductivity, second highest among pure metals at room temperature. This is because the resistivity to electron transport in metals at room temperature originates from scattering of electrons on thermal vibrations of the lattice, which are weak in a soft metal; the maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is 3.1×106 A/m2 of cross-sectional area, above which it begins to heat excessively. Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than silver.
Pure copper acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air. The characteristic color of copper results from the electronic transitions between the filled 3d and half-empty 4s atomic shells – the energy difference between these shells corresponds to orange light; as with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur. Copper does not react with water, but it does react with atmospheric oxygen to form a layer of brown-black copper oxide which, unlike the rust that forms on iron in moist air, protects the underlying metal from further corrosion. A green layer of verdigris can be seen on old copper structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings and the Statue of Liberty. Copper tarnishes when exposed to some sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides. There are 29 isotopes of copper. 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, with 63Cu comprising 69% of occurring copper. The other isotopes are radioactive, with the most stable being 67Cu with a half-life of 61.83 hours.
Seven metastable isotopes have been characterized. Isotopes with a mass number above 64 decay by β−, whereas those with a mass number below 64 decay by β+. 64Cu, which has a half-life of 12.7 hours, decays both ways.62Cu and 64Cu have significant applications. 62Cu is used in 62Cu-PTSM as a radioactive tracer for positron emission tomography. Copper is produced in massive stars and is present in the Earth's crust in a proportion of about 50 parts per million. In nature, copper occurs in a variety of minerals, including native copper, copper sulfides such as chalcopyrite, digenite and chalcocite, copper sulfosalts such as tetrahedite-tennantite, enargite, copper carbonates such as azurite and malachite, as copper or copper oxides such as cuprite and tenorite, respectively; the largest mass of elemental copper discovered weighed 420 tonnes and was found in 1857 on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, US. Native copper is a polycrystal
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire existing from the mid-to-late 3rd century CE to 543 CE. At its zenith, from 319 to 543 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent; this period is called the Golden Age of India by some historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras and others. The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place during the reigns of Samudragupta I, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many of the literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period; the Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era.
The period gave rise to achievements in architecture and painting that "set standards of form and taste determined the whole subsequent course of art, not only in India but far beyond her borders". Strong trade ties made the region an important cultural centre and established the region as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia; the Puranas, earlier long poems on a variety of subjects, are thought to have been committed to written texts around this period. The empire died out because of many factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, as well as the invasion by the Huna peoples from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. Many theories debating the homeland of the early Guptas were put forth by scholars and it was assumed to be uncertain. According to one theory, they originated in the present-day eastern Uttar Pradesh, where most of the inscriptions and coins of the early Gupta kings have been discovered.
The proponents of this theory argue that according to the Puranas, the territory of the early Gupta kings included Prayaga and other areas in the Ganges basin. Another prominent theory locates the Gupta homeland in the present-day Bengal region, based on the account of the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing. According to Yijing, king Che-li-ki-to built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no. Yijing states that this temple was located more than 40 yojanas east of Nalanda, which would mean it was situated somewhere in the modern Bengal region. Another proposal is that the early Gupta kingdom extended from Prayaga in the west to northern Bengal in the east.. Latest research confirms that the Gupta Empire originated in the Kannauj district of U. P; the earliest gold coins of the King and Queen on Couch Type are only found in this district. The Gupta records do not mention the dynasty's varna; some historians, such as A. S. Altekar, have theorized that they were of Vaishya origin, as some ancient Indian texts prescribe the name "Gupta" for the members of the Vaishya varna.
Critics of this theory point out that the suffix Gupta features in the names of several non-Vaishyas before as well as during the Gupta period, the dynastic name "Gupta" may have derived from the name of the family's first king Gupta. Some scholars, such as S. R. Goyal, theorize that the Guptas were Brahmanas, because they had matrimonial relations with Brahmanas, but others reject this evidence as inconclusive. Based on the Pune and Riddhapur inscriptions of the Gupta princess Prabhavati-gupta, some scholars believe that the name of her paternal gotra was "Dharana", but an alternative reading of these inscriptions suggests that Dharana was the gotra of her mother Kuberanaga.. Dr. Chhabra pointed to the presence of the crescent standard on these early Gupta coins as an indication that the Gupta kings may have been Chandravamśa Kshatriya — who traced their origins from the moon or Soma or Chandra; the Gupta royal inscriptions do not list any caste affiliations for the Gupta kings, however on the coins of the Archer-Quiver Type, we can see the king with the yajñopavītam, the sacred thread across his chest as it flows from over the left shoulder.
This Upanayana thread ceremony was performed within the Brahmin and the Kshatriya castes and is considered a rite of passage for the start of the education process for the young student at the feet of his guru This sacred thread can be seen draped across the left shoulder of the King Chandragupta I in the coin below. It is important to note here that thisyajñopavītam thread is not seen on any coins struck after Chandragupta I. Gupta is the earliest known king of the dynasty: different historians variously date the beginning of his reign from mid-to-late 3rd century CE. "Che-li-ki-to", the name of a king mentioned by the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, is believed to be a transcription of "Shri-Gupta", "Shri" being an honorific prefix. According to Yijing, this king built a temple for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims near "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no". In the Allahabad Pillar inscription and his successor Ghatotkacha are described as Maharaja, while the next king Chandragupta I is called a Mahar
Bull
A bull is an intact adult male of the species Bos taurus. More muscular and aggressive than the female of the species, the cow, the bull has long been an important symbol in many cultures, plays a significant role in both beef ranching and dairy farming, in a variety of other cultural activities; the female counterpart to a bull is a cow, while a male of the species, castrated is a steer, ox or bullock, although in North America this last term refers to a young bull, in Australia to a draught animal. Usage of these terms varies with area and dialect. Colloquially, people unfamiliar with cattle may refer to both castrated and intact animals as "bulls". A wild, unmarked bull is known as a micky in Australia. Improper or late castration on a bull results in it becoming a coarse steer known as a stag in Australia and New Zealand. In some countries an incompletely castrated male is known as a rig or ridgling; the word "bull" denotes the males of other bovines, including bison and water buffalo as well as many other species of large animals including elephants, seals & walruses, camels, elk, moose and antelopes.
Bulls are much more muscular than cows, with thicker bones, larger feet, a muscular neck, a large, bony head with protective ridges over the eyes. These features assist bulls in fighting for domination over a herd, giving the winner superior access to cows for reproduction; the hair is shorter on the body, but on the neck and head there is a "mane" of curlier, wooly hair. Bulls are about the same height as cows or a little taller, but because of the additional muscle and bone mass they weigh far more. Most of the time, a bull has a hump on his shoulders; when a bull is full-grown, he can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. In horned cattle the horns of bulls tend to be thicker and somewhat shorter than those of cows, in many breeds they curve outwards in a flat arc rather than upwards in a lyre shape, it is not true, as is believed, bulls have horns and cows do not: the presence of horns depends on the breed, or in horned breeds on whether the horns have been disbudded. Cattle that do not have horns are referred to as polled, or muleys.
Castrated male cattle are physically similar to females in build and horn shape, although if allowed to reach maturity they may be taller than either bulls or cows, with muscled shoulders. Bulls become fertile at about seven months of age, their fertility is related to the size of their testicles, one simple test of fertility is to measure the circumference of the scrotum: a young bull is to be fertile once this reaches 28 centimetres. Bulls have a fibro-elastic penis. Given the small amount of erectile tissue, there is little enlargement after erection; the penis is quite rigid when non-erect, becomes more rigid during erection. Protrusion is not affected much by erection, but more by relaxation of the retractor penis muscle and straightening of the sigmoid flexure. Bulls are affected by a condition known as "corkscrew penis"; the penis of a mature bull is about 3–4 cm in diameter, 80–100 cm in length. The bull's glans penis has a elongated shape. A common misconception repeated in depictions of bull behavior is that the color red angers bulls, inciting them to charge.
In fact, like most mammals, cattle are red-green color blind. In bullfighting, it is the movement of the matador's cape, not the color, which provokes a reaction in the bull. Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated and slaughtered for meat before the age of three years, except where they are needed as work oxen for haulage. Most of these beef animals are castrated as calves to reduce aggressive behavior and prevent unwanted mating, although some are reared as uncastrated bull beef. A bull is ready for slaughter one or two months sooner than a castrated male or a female, produces proportionately more, leaner muscle. Frame score is a useful way of describing the skeletal size of other cattle. Frame scores can be used as an aid to predict mature cattle sizes and aid in the selection of beef bulls. Frame scores are calculated from hip age. In sales catalogues, this measurement is reported in addition to weight and other performance data such as estimated breed value.
Adult bulls may weigh between 1,000 kilograms. Most are capable of aggressive behavior and require careful handling to ensure safety of humans and other animals; those of dairy breeds may be more prone to aggression, while beef breeds are somewhat less aggressive, though beef breeds such as the Spanish Fighting Bull and related animals are noted for aggressive tendencies, which are further encouraged by selective breeding. It is estimated that 42% of all livestock-related fatalities in Canada are a result of bull attacks, fewer than one in twenty victims of a bull attack survives. Dairy breed bulls are dangerous and unpredictable. Being trampled, jammed against a wall or gored by a bull was one of the most frequent causes of death in the dairy industry before 1940. With regard to such risks, one popular farming magazine has suggested, "Handle with a staff and take no
