1.
Archaeological Survey of India
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It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General. The first systematic research into Indias history was conducted by the Asiatic Society, based in Calcutta, the society promoted the study of ancient Sanskrit and Persian texts and published an annual journal titled Asiatic Researches. Notable among its members was Charles Wilkins who published the first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita in 1785 with the patronage of the then Governor-General of India. However, the most important of the achievements was the decipherment of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1837. This successful decipherment inaugurated the study of Indian palaeography, armed with the knowledge of Brahmi, Alexander Cunningham, a protégé of Prinsep, carried out a detailed survey of the Buddhist monuments which lasted for over half a century. Inspired by early amateur archaeologists like the Italian military officer, Jean-Baptiste Ventura, the survey was suspended briefly between 1865 and 1871 due to lack of funds but restored by Lord Lawrence the then Viceroy of India. In 1871, the Survey was revived as a separate department, to this day, Alexander Cunningham is revered as the Father of Indian Archaeology. Cunningham retired in 1885 and was succeeded as Director General by James Burgess, Burgess launched a yearly journal The Indian Antiquary and an annual epigraphical publication Epigraphia Indica as a supplement to the Indian Antiquary. The post of Director General was permanently suspended in 1889 due to a crunch and was not restored until 1902. In the interim period, conservation work in the different circles was carried out by the superintendents of the individual circles, the post of Director General was restored by Lord Curzon in 1902. Breaking with tradition, Curzon chose a 26-year-old professor of classical studies at Cambridge named John Marshall to head the survey. Marshall served as Director General for a quarter of a century and during his long tenure, Marshall established the post of Government epigraphist and encouraged epigraphical studies. The most significant event of his tenure was, however, the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilization at Harappa, the success and scale of the discoveries made ensured that the progress made in Marshalls tenure would remain unmatched. Marshall was succeeded by Harold Hargreaves in 1928, Hargreaves was succeeded by Daya Ram Sahni, supervisor of Marshalls excavation of Harappa in 1921−22, who in 1931, became the first Indian Director General of the survey. Sahni was succeeded by J. F. Blakiston and K. N. Dikshit both of whom had participated in the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro, in 1944, a British archaeologist and army officer, Mortimer Wheeler took over as Director General. Wheeler served as Director General till 1948 and during this period he excavated the Iron Age site of Arikamedu, Wheeler was succeeded by N. P. Chakravarti in 1948. The National Museum was inaugurated in New Delhi on August 15,1949 to house the artifacts displayed at the Indian Exhibition in the United Kingdom, madho Sarup Vats and Amalananda Ghosh succeeded Chakravarti. Ghoshs tenure which lasted until 1968 is noted for the excavations of Indus Valley sites at Kalibangan, Lothal, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act was passed in 1958 bringing the archaeological survey under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture
2.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
3.
Shaivism
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Shaivism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism that reveres Shiva as the Supreme Being or its metaphysical concept of Brahman. The followers of Shaivism are called Shaivas or Saivas, like much of Hinduism, the Shaiva have many sub-traditions, ranging from devotional dualistic theism such as Shaiva Siddhanta to yoga-oriented monistic non-theism such as Kashmiri Shaivism. It considers both the Vedas and the Agama texts as important sources of theology, Shaivism has ancient roots, traceable in the Vedic literature of 2nd millennium BCE, but this is in the form of the Vedic deity Rudra. In the early centuries of the era is the first clear evidence of Pāśupata Shaivism. Both devotional and monistic Shaivism became popular in the 1st millennium CE and it arrived in Southeast Asia shortly thereafter, leading to thousands of Shaiva temples on the islands of Indonesia as well as Cambodia and Vietnam, co-evolving with Buddhism in these regions. In the contemporary era, Shaivism is one of the aspects of Hinduism. Shaivism theology ranges from Shiva being the creator, preserver, destroyer to being the same as the Atman within oneself and it is closely related to Shaktism, and some Shaiva worship in Shiva and Shakti temples. It is the Hindu tradition that most accepts ascetic life and emphasizes yoga, Shaivism is one of the largest traditions within Hinduism. Shiva literally means kind, friendly, gracious, or auspicious, as a proper name, it means The Auspicious One. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, the Sanskrit word śaiva or Shaiva means relating to the god Shiva, while the related beliefs, practices, history, literature and sub-traditions constitute Shaivism. The reverence for Shiva is one of the traditions, found widely across India, Sri Lanka. While Shiva is revered broadly, Hinduism itself is a complex religion, Shaivism is a major tradition within Hinduism, with a theology that is predominantly related to the Hindu god Shiva. Shaivism has many different sub-traditions with regional variations and differences in philosophy, Shaivism has a vast literature with different philosophical schools, ranging from nondualism, dualism, and mixed schools. The origins of Shaivism are unclear and a matter of debate among scholars, some trace the origins to the Indus Valley civilization, which reached its peak around 2500–2000 BCE. Archeological discoveries show seals that suggest a deity that appears like Shiva. Of these is the Pashupati seal, which scholars interpreted as someone seated in a meditating yoga pose surrounded by animals. This Pashupati seal has been interpreted by scholars as a prototype of Shiva
4.
Bhakti
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Bhakti literally means attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety. Bhakti, in Hinduism, refers to devotion and the love of a god or a representational god by a devotee. Bhakti in Indian religions is emotional devotionalism, particularly to a god or to spiritual ideas. The term also refers to a movement that arose between the 7th century and 10th century CE in India, focused on the gods Vishnu and Shiva, the Bhakti movement reached North India during the Delhi Sultanate era and grew throughout the Mughal era. It evolved the characteristics of Hinduism as the religion of the population as dhimmi under the Islamic rulers in parts of the Indian subcontinent. Bhakti-like movements also spread to other Indian religions during this period, the term bhakti, in the modern era, is used to refer to any tradition of Hindu devotionalism, including Shaivism, Vaishnavism, or Shaktism. The Bhagavata Purana is a associated with the Bhakti movement which elaborates the concept of bhakti as found in the Bhagavad Gita. Along with Hinduism, nirguni Bhakti is found in Sikhism, the Sanskrit word bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which means divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to. The word also means attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, the meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous to but different from Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love, Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection. Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, one who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. It may refer to devotion towards a teacher as guru-bhakti, or to a personal god. The term Bhakti also refers to one of several alternate spiritual paths to moksha in Hinduism, the other paths are Jnana marga, Karma marga, Rāja marga. The term bhakti has been translated as devotion in Orientalist literature. The colonial era authors variously described Bhakti as a form of mysticism or primitive religious devotion of lay people with monotheistic parallels, however, modern scholars state devotion is a misleading and incomplete translation of bhakti. Bhakti in Indian religions is not a ritualistic devotion to a god or to religion and it involves, among other things, refining ones state of mind, knowing god, participating in god, and internalizing god. Increasingly, instead of devotion, the participation is appearing in scholarly literature as a gloss for the term bhakti. David Lorenzen states that bhakti is an important term in Sikhism and Hinduism and they both share numerous concepts and core spiritual ideas, but bhakti of nirguni is particularly significant in Sikhism
5.
Sirkazhi
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Sirkazhi is a municipal town in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 13 km from the coast of the Bay of Bengal, Sirkazhi was a part of Thanjavur district until 1991 and has later been part of Nagapattinam district. The town covers an area of 13.21 km2 and in 2011 had a population of 34,927 and it is administered by a second grade municipality. A Sirkazhi is part of the Cauvery delta region and agriculture is the major occupation, roads are the main means of transportation, the town has 51.47 km of district roads, including a national highway. The town is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled by the Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Marathas, the Tamil trinity of Carnatic music, Arunachala Kavirayar, Muthu Thandavar and Marimutthu Pillai, originated from Sirkazhi. The Saiva saint Tirugnanasambandar, foremost of the Saiva Nayanars, was here in the seventh century. The history of the town is centred on the Sattainathar Temple, in ancient times, this town had twelve different names, including Brahmapuram, Venupuram, Thonipuram, Kazhumalam, Pugali, Sirkazhiswaram and Shri Kali. According to Hindu legend, during one of the biggest deluges that submerged the planet earth, the presiding deity in the temple, Shiva, is thus called Thoniappar and the region is called Thonipuram. The Hindu god Brahma is believed to have worshiped Shiva here, giving the name Bhramapureeswarar, Shiva is believed to have quelled the arrogance of Hindu god Vishnu, after showing his dominance over the three worlds and hence got the name Sattainathar here. The town is thus called Sattainathapuram, which in times, is a suburb within Sirkazhi. The town was known as Kalumalam during the early Chola period, thirugnanasambandar, the seventh century Saiva nayanar, as an infant is believed to have been fed with the milk of wisdom by the divine mother Parvati on the banks of the temple tank. The child Sambandar started singing the anthology of Tevaram hymns from then on, Sambandar refers the town as Kazhi in his verses. It was called Shiyali during British rule, and after Independence, the earliest mention of Sirkazhi is found in the history of the Chola king Kocengannan from the Sangam Age, who is believed to have won a bloody battle here. During the 7th–8th century, there were disputes between the Hindu sects of Saivism and Vaishnavism. The Chola Kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 to 1280, there 41 inscriptions from the Chola kings in the temple that record various gifts like land, sheep, cow and oil to the temple. The region fell under the control of Pandyas in 1532 and later part of the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom. The region was conquered in 1674 by Ekoji I, the Maratha enemy of the Nawab of Bijapur, the town and the region became part of the British East India Company during the mid-18th century. Tanjore district was constituted in 1799 when the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji II ceded most of his kingdom to the British East India Company in return for his restitution on the throne
6.
Tevaram
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The Tevaram denotes the first seven volumes of the Tirumurai, the twelve-volume collection of Tamil Śaiva devotional poetry. All seven volumes are dedicated to the works of the three most prominent Tamil poets of the 7th century, the Nayanars - Sambandar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar, the singing of Tevaram is continued as a hereditary practise in some Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu. It is during the Chola dynasty that Tamil Shaivism came of age and Tevaram, with its body of texts on rituals, philosophy and theology, was canonized. The 276 temples revered by these verses are called paadal petra sthalam and it was Tevaram for Shaivism and Nalayira Divya Prabandam for Vaishanvism. There are 796 of these songs with a total of more than 8200 stanzas, the three poets were not only involved in portraying their personal devotion to Shiva, but also involved a community of believers through their songs. It is one of the important sources of Tamil Bhakti, a movement that inspired the agricultural community, the word Dēvāram is to be split as Dēva-āram. Both the Saiva and Vaishnava textual tradition negated the Vedic orthodoxy, the authority of the hymns were established with the Saivities calling the Tevaram as Tamil Marai, while Vaishnavities called the Nalayira Divya Prabandham as Dravida Veda. The usage of Sanskrit liturgies for religion was overcome with the usage of Tamil in both Tevaram and Prabandham, Sangam literature established the convention of akam and puram poetry. Though influence of Sangam literature is seen in Thevaram, the strict conventions were not followed. The verses were more oriented towards folk tradition, which was accessible to people. The first three Tirumurais of Tevaram are composed by ThiruGnaanaSambanthar, the three by Appar and the seventh one is composed by Sundarar. Appar and ThiruGnaanaSambanthar lived around the 7th century, while Sundarar lived in the 8th century, a Sanskrit hagiography called Brahmapureesa Charitam is now lost. The first volumes of the Tirumurai contain three hundred and eighty-four poems of Sambanthar, all that out of a reputed more than 10,000 hymns. ThiruGnaanaSambanthar merged with Lord around the age of 16 in 655 CE on the day of his marriage and his verses were set to tune by ThiruNeelaKanda Yaazhpaanar, who is set to have accompanied the musician on his yal or lute. Appars was born during the 7th century in Tiruvamur, Tamil Nadu and his sister, Thilagavathiar was betrothed to a military commander who died in action. When his sister was about to end her life, he pleaded with her not to him alone in the world. She decided to lead a life and bring up her only brother. During boyhood, Appar was very interested in Jainism and started studying its scriptures
7.
Nayanars
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The Nayanars were a group of 63 saints in the 6th to 8th century who were devoted to the Hindu god Shiva in Tamil Nadu. They, along with the Alvars, influenced the Bhakti movement in Tamil, the names of the Nayanars were first compiled by Sundarar. The list was expanded by Nambiyandar Nambi during his compilation of material by the poets for the Tirumurai collection, the list of the Nayanars was initially compiled by Sundarar. In his poem, Tiruthonda Thogai, he sings, in verses, the names of the Nayanar saints up to Karaikkal Ammeiyar. The list did not go into the detail of the lives of the saints, in the 10th century, king Raja Raja Chola I collected Tevaram literature after hearing excerpts of the hymns in his court. His priest Nambiyandar Nambi began compiling the hymns into a series of volumes called the Tirumurai and he arranged the hymns of three saint poets Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar as the first seven books which he called the Tevaram. In the eleventh book, he created the Tirutotanar Tiruvanthathi, which consisted of 89 verses, with the addition of Sundarar and his parents to the sequence, this became the canonical list of the 63 saints. In the 12th century, Sekkizhar added a twelfth volume to the Tirumurai called Periya Puranam in which he expands further on the stories of each of 63 Nayanars, the Nayanars were from various backgrounds, including Channars, Vellalas, oilmongers, Brahmins, and nobles. Along with the twelve Vaishnava Alvars, they are regarded the important saints from Tamil Nadu, Sundarars original list of Nayanars did not follow any sequence with regards to chronology or importance. However, some groups have followed an order for arranging their Nayanar temple images according to Sundarars poem as well as the information from Nambi. 9th century poet Manikkavacakar was not counted as one of the 63 Nayanarsbecause he is really great, Manikkavacakar Tamil mythology Cort, John E. Open boundaries, Jain communities and culture in Indian history. Albany, State University of New York Press, a map of Nayanar temples Legends of the Nayanmars ebook nayanmars
8.
Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
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Tamils
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Tamil people with a population of approximately 76 million living around the world are one of the largest and oldest of the existing ethno-linguistic cultural groups of people in the modern world. Tamils comprise 24. 87% of the population in Sri Lanka,5. 91% in India,10. 83% in Mauritius, 5% in Singapore, among languages spoken today, the Tamil language is the oldest written language. Between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century AD, Tamil people produced native literature that came to be called Sangam literature, Tamils were noted for their martial, religious and mercantile activities beyond their native borders. Pandyas and Cholas were historically active in Sri Lanka, the Chola dynasty successfully invaded parts of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Southern Thailand and Indonesia. Medieval Tamil guilds and trading organizations like the Ayyavole and Manigramam played an important role in the Southeast Asia trade, Pallava traders and religious leaders travelled to Southeast Asia and played an important role in the cultural Indianisation of the region. Locally developed scripts such as Grantha and Pallava script induced the development of many scripts such as Khmer, Javanese Kawi script, Baybayin. Tamil visual art is dominated by stylised Temple architecture in major centres, Chola bronzes, especially the Nataraja sculpture of the Chola period, have become notable as a symbol of Hinduism. Tamil performing arts are divided into popular and classical, classical form is Bharatanatyam, whereas the popular forms are known as Koothu and performed in village temples and on street corners. Tamil cinema, known as Kollywood, is an important part of the Indian cinema industry, music too is divided into classical Carnatic form and many popular genres. Although most Tamils are Hindus, most practice what is considered to be folk Hinduism, a sizeable number are Christians and Muslims. A small Jain community survives from the period as well. Tamil cuisine is informed by varied vegetarian and non-vegetarian items usually spiced with locally available spices, the music, the temple architecture and the stylised sculptures favoured by the Tamil people as in their ancient nation are still being learnt and practised. It is unknown as to whether the term Thamizhar and its equivalents in Prakrit such as Damela, Dameda, the well-known Hathigumpha inscription of the Kalinga ruler Kharavela refers to a Tmira samghata dated to 150 BC. It also mentions that the league of Tamil kingdoms had been in existence 113 years before then, in Amaravati in present-day Andhra Pradesh there is an inscription referring to a Dhamila-vaniya datable to the 3rd century AD. Another inscription of about the time in Nagarjunakonda seems to refer to a Damila. A third inscription in Kanheri Caves refers to a Dhamila-gharini, in the Buddhist Jataka story known as Akiti Jataka there is a mention to Damila-rattha. There were trade relationship between the Roman Empire and Pandyan Empire, as recorded by Strabo, Emperor Augustus of Rome received at Antioch an ambassador from a king called Pandyan of Dramira. Hence, it is clear that by at least 300 BC, Thamizhar is etymologically related to Tamil, the language spoken by Tamil people
10.
Bhakti movement
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The Bhakti movement refers to the theistic devotional trend that emerged in medieval Hinduism and later revolutionised in Sikhism. It originated in the seventh-century Tamil south India, and spread northwards and it swept over east and north India from the 15th century onwards, reaching its zenith between the 15th and 17th century CE. The Bhakti movement regionally developed around different gods and goddesses, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, the movement was inspired by many poet-saints, who championed a wide range of philosophical positions ranging from theistic dualism of Dvaita to absolute monism of Advaita Vedanta. Postmodern scholars question this view and whether the Bhakti movement ever was a reform or rebellion of any kind. They suggest Bhakti movement was a revival, reworking and recontextualisation of ancient Vedic traditions, scriptures of the Bhakti movement include the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana and Padma Purana. The Sanskrit word bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which means divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to. The word also means attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, the meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous but different than Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love, Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection. Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, Bhakti movement in Hinduism refers to ideas and engagement that emerged in the medieval era on love and devotion to religious concepts built around one or more gods and goddesses. One who practices bhakti is called a bhakta, ancient Indian texts, dated to be from the 1st millennium BCE, such as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the Katha Upanishad and the Bhagavad Gita mention Bhakti. Grierson as well as Carus note that the first epilogue verse 6.21 can mean gift or grace of his Soul. Doris Srinivasan states that the Upanishad is a treatise on theism, but it creatively embeds a variety of divine images, tsuchida writes that the Upanishad syncretically combines monistic ideas in Upanishad and self-development ideas in Yoga with personification of Shiva-Rudra deity. In verses 6.31 through 6.47 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna as an avatar of deity Vishnu, describes yoga and loving devotion. Shandilya and Narada are credited with two Bhakti texts, the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra and Narada Bhakti Sutra, the movement started with the Saiva Nayanars and the Vaisnava Alvars. Their efforts ultimately help spread bhakti poetry and ideas throughout India by the 12th–18th century CE, the Alvars, which literally means those immersed in God, were Vaishnava poet-saints who sang praises of Vishnu as they travelled from one place to another. They established temple sites such as Srirangam, and spread ideas about Vaishnavism and their poems, compiled as Alwar Arulicheyalgal or Divya Prabhandham, developed into an influential scripture for the Vaishnavas. Like the Alvars, the Saiva Nayanar poets were influential, the Tirumurai, a compilation of hymns on Shiva by sixty-three Nayanar poet-saints, developed into an influential scripture in Shaivism. The poets itinerant lifestyle helped create temple and pilgrimage sites and spread spiritual ideas built around Shiva, early Tamil-Siva bhakti poets influenced Hindu texts that came to be revered all over India
11.
Shiva
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Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
12.
Tirumurai
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Thirumurai is a twelve volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century by various poets in South India. Nambi Andar Nambi compiled the first seven volumes by Appar, Sampandhar and Sundarar as Tevaram during the 12th century, during the course of time, a strong necessity was felt by scholars to compile Saiva literature to accommodate other works. The eleventh is compiled by Karaikal Ammaiyar, Cheraman Perumal and others, the contemporary Chola king was impressed by the work of Nampi and included Nampis work in the eleventh Tirumurai. Sekkizhars Periya Puranam, composed a century later, contains the life depiction of all the 63 Nayanmars, the response for the work was so tremendous among Saiva scholars and Kulothunga Chola I that it was included as the 12th Tirumurai. Tirumurai along with Vedas and Saiva agamas form the basis of Saiva Siddantha philosophy in Tamil Nadu, the Pallava period in the history of the Tamil land is a period of religious revival of by the Shaivite Nayanars who by their Bhakti hymns captured the hearts of the people. They made an impression on the people by singing the praise of Shiva in soul-stirring devotional hymns. Tirumurai in anthology supersedes Sangam literature, which is predominantly secular in nature, the entire Tirumurai is in viruttam meter or lines of four. The principal characteristics of the head-rhyming is influenced both by syllabic and moric prosody, the Shaiva Tirumurais are twelve in number. The first seven Tirumurais are the hymns of the three great Shaivite saints, Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar and these hymns were the best musical compositions of their age. The first three Tirumurais of Tevaram are composed by Sambanthar, the three by Appar and the seventh one is composed by Sundarar. There is a saying about the Saiva trio that Appar sang for me, Sambanthar sang for himself. Appar and Sambanthar lived around the 7th century, while Sundarar lived in the 8th century, Sambanthar was a 7th-century poet born in Sirkali in Brahmin community and was believed to be suckled by the goddess Parvathi, whereupon he sang the first hymn. On the request of the queen of Pandya Nadu, Sambandar went on a pilgrimage to the south, the Jains provoked Sambandar by burning his house and challenging him to debate, but Sambandar eventually had victory over them. He was a contemporary of Appar, another Saiva saint, a Sanskrit hagiography called Brahmapureesa Charitam is now lost. The first volumes of the Tirumurai contain three hundred and eighty-four poems of Campantar, all that out of a reputed more than 10,000 hymns. Sambanthar is believed to have died at the age of 16 in 655 CE on the day of his marriage and his verses were set to tune by Nilakantaperumalanar who is set to have accompanied the poet on his yal or lute. Appar was born in the middle of the 7th century in Tiruvamur, Tamil Nadu and his sister, Thilagavathiar was betrothed to a military commander who died in action. When his sister was about to end her life, he pleaded with her not to him alone in the world
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Shaiva Siddhanta
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Saiva siddhānta, provides the normative rites, cosmology and theological categories of Agamic and Vedic Shaivam combined. Being a dualistic philosophy, the goal of Shaiva Siddhanta is to become a soul through Lord Sivas Grace. This tradition was once practiced all over India, however the Muslim subjugation of North India restricted Shaiva Siddhanta to the south, where it merged with the Tamil Saiva movement expressed in the bhakti poetry of the Nayanars. It is in historical context that Shaiva Siddhanta is commonly considered a southern tradition. The Tamil compendium of songs known as Tirumurai, the Shaiva Agamas and Meykanda or Siddhanta Shastras. Shaiva Siddhanta encompasses tens of millions of adherents, predominantly in Tamil Nadu, the name of the school could be translated as the settled view of Shaiva doctrine or perfected Shaivism. Saiva Siddhantas original form is uncertain, some hold that it originated as a monistic doctrine, espoused by Tirumular. Such a notion of liberatory initiation appears to have borrowed from a Pashupata tradition. At the time of the development of the theology of the school, the question of monism or dualism. From the fifth to the eighth CE Buddhism and Jainism had spread in Tamil Nadu before a forceful Shaiva bhakti movement arose, between the seventh and ninth centuries, pilgrim saints such as Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar used songs of Shiva’s greatness to refute concepts of Buddhism and Jainism. Manikkavacakars heart-melting verses, called Tiruvacakam, are full of visionary experience, divine love, the Bhakti movement should not be exaggerated as an articulation of a class struggle, there is nevertheless a strong sense against rigis structures in the society. In the twelfth century Aghorasiva, the head of a monastery of the Amardaka order in Chidambaram, took up the task of amalgamating Sanskrit. Aghorasiva was successful in preserving the Sanskrit rituals of the ancient Āgamic tradition, to this day, Aghorasiva’s Siddhanta philosophy is followed by almost all of the hereditary temple priests, and his texts on the Āgamas have become the standard puja manuals. His Kriyakramadyotika is a vast work covering all aspects of Shaiva Siddhanta ritual, including the daily worship of Siva, occasional rituals, initiation rites, funerary rites. In Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, the thirteenth century Meykandar, Arulnandi Sivacharya, Siva is an efficient but not material cause. They view the soul’s merging in Siva as salt in water, Saiva Siddhanta today is practiced widely among the Hindus of southern India and Sri Lanka, especially by members of the Vellalar community. It is also prevalent among Hindus of the Tamil diaspora around the world, prominent Siddhanta societies, temples and monasteries also exist in a number of other countries. The United States island of Kauai, a part of Hawaii, is home to the Saiva Siddhanta Church and this was founded by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, which is currently under the auspices of Subramuniyaswamis designated successor, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
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Appar
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Appar Tirunavukkarasar Nayanar, also known as Navakkarasar and Appar Father, was a seventh-century Śaiva Tamil poet-saint, one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars. He was a contemporary of Thirugnana Sambandar. His birth-name was Marulneekkiyar, he was called father by Sambandar, Sundarar states in his Tiruttondartokai that Appar composed 4,900 hymns of ten or eleven verses each, this is repeated by Nambiyandar Nambi and Sekkizhar, but only 313 hymns are available today. These are collected into the Tirumurai along with the compositions of Sundarar and Thirugnana Sambandar, Appar having his own volumes, details of Appars life are found in his own hymns and in Sekkizhars Periya Puranam. Appar was born in the middle of 7th century in Tiruvamur, Tamil Nadu and his sister, Thilagavathiar was betrothed to a military commander who died in action. When his sister was about to end her life, he pleaded with her not to him alone in the world. She decided to lead a life and bring up her only brother. During boyhood, Appar was very interested in Jainism and started studying its scriptures. He went away home and stayed in their monastery and was renamed Darmasena. Appar had travelled to Patalipura in Bihar to join a Jain monastery where he was given the name Dharmasena, seeing the transient, ephemeral world he decided to probe into truth through renunciation. After a while, afflicted by an illness, Dharmasena returned home. He prayed for relief at the Siva temple where his sister served and was cured and he was also involved in converting the Pallava king, Mahendravarman to Saivaism. This was also the period of resurrection of the smaller Shiva temples, Appar sanctified all these temples by his verses and was also involved in cleaning of the dilapidated temples called uzhavarapadai. He was called Tirunavukkarasu, meaning the King of divine speech and he extolled Siva in 49,000 stanzas out of which 3130 are now available and compiled in Tirumurais 4-6. Navukkarasar is supposed to have stayed many years at Atikai with his sister before visiting other Siva temples to sing in praise of Siva and he heard of Thirugnana Sambandar and went to Sirkali to meet him. Thiru GnaanaSambandar respectfully addressed Navukkarasar as Appar and he and Appar travelled together singing hymns, Appar is said to have traveled to about a hundred and twenty-five temples in different cities or villages in Tamil Nadu. He attained Mukti in Sadhaya Nakshtra in the Tamil month of Chithirai at Tiru Pukalur Siva temple at the age of 81, appar’s Tevaram hymns are grouped into three books, forming the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes of the Tirumurai, the Tamil poetic canon of Shaiva Siddhanta. The compilation of books is generally ascribed to Nambiyandar Nambi
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Sundarar
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Sundarar, also known affectionately as Tampiran Tōḻan was an eighth-century poet who was one of the most prominent Nayanars, the Shaiva bhakti poets of Tamil Nadu. He was a contemporary of Cheraman Perumal and Kotpuli Nayanar who also figure in the 63 Nayanmars, the songs of praise are called Thiruthondathogai and is the original nucleus around which the Periyapuranam is based. The Periya Puranam, which collects the legends of the Nayanars, starts, the hymns of seventh volume of the Tirumurai, the twelve-volume compendium of the poetry of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, were composed by him. Sundarar is unique among the Nayanars in that both of his parents are also recognised as Nayanars and he was born into an adi saiva, temple priest Brahmin group. His original name was Nambi aroorar. The ruler of the kingdom, Narasingamunaiarayar a chieftain, adopted him and brought up as his own son. Sundarar was a contemporary of great Pallava emperor Rajasimha who was also a nayanmar saint, from epigraphs it is also inferred that a Sanskrit hagiography on sundarar namely sva swami mitra prabhandam translated as travelogues of he who became friend of lord is now not available. Sundarar and those assembled at the wedding were outraged and called the old man a madman, but a court of Vedic scholars concluded that the palm leaf was legally valid. Did you not call me a mad man just a short while ago, begin your hymn addressing me O mad man. Lord sivan had also advised vanthondar to while on earth sing of us in words of Tamil, subsequently, Sundarar moved around Tamil Nadu, visiting several Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu. In Tiruvarur, in the Thanjavur district, he fell in love with a girl named Paravayar, of the Rudra Kanyakayar caste of female ascetics, and married her. Sundarar was held in such a high regard by his contemporary nayanmar saints like viranmindar, kalikamanar etc. that he was offered royal treatment by those rich servitors, the same treatment is accorded by the saint to yet another girl namely singati. In many hymns sundarar makes this declaration of love filled, gracious patronage to the children that he accorded, Sundarar is also famous for declaring in many hymns that one reality of lord sivan is apprehended by selfless, dispassionate and attachment free service to him. He also declares that all beings are created equal by lord, at tirupunkoor near thillai chidambaram a famous saivite temple, the region was devoid of rains for a long time. After many such days sundarar was summoned by the prince again to fix the problem of heavy rains, Sundarar once again insisted that 12 more acres be given to the temple should the rains cease after his song. The same happened and the temple became richer by 24 acres more, at avinashi an ancient saiva pilgrim centre near present-day coimbatore sundarar prayed to lord sivan to give back life to an eight-year-old boy who had died untimely many years ago. On hearing his hymn lord sivan bestowed his grace and the boy who was swallowed by a crocodile was instantly returned by the same crocodile, the legend states that at Tiruvarur he recited the names of all sixty-three future Nayanars, this recitation is called Tiruttondar-Tokai. In it, he refers to himself as the servant of servants of these saints and his fame reached the ears of the Cheraman Perumal, who came to Tiruvarur. But Sundarar became tired of life and was taken up to heaven by a white elephant, the king followed him on his horse
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Sanskrit
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Sanskrit is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, a philosophical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and a literary language and lingua franca of ancient and medieval South Asia. As a result of transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia and parts of Central Asia, as one of the oldest Indo-European languages for which substantial written documentation exists, Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies. The body of Sanskrit literature encompasses a rich tradition of poetry and drama as well as scientific, technical, philosophical, the compositions of Sanskrit were orally transmitted for much of its early history by methods of memorization of exceptional complexity, rigor, and fidelity. Thereafter, variants and derivatives of the Brahmi script came to be used, Sanskrit is today one of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which mandates the Indian government to develop the language. It continues to be used as a ceremonial language in Hindu religious rituals and Buddhist practice in the form of hymns. The Sanskrit verbal adjective sáṃskṛta- may be translated as refined, elaborated, as a term for refined or elaborated speech, the adjective appears only in Epic and Classical Sanskrit in the Manusmṛti and the Mahabharata. The pre-Classical form of Sanskrit is known as Vedic Sanskrit, with the language of the Rigveda being the oldest and most archaic stage preserved, Classical Sanskrit is the standard register as laid out in the grammar of Pāṇini, around the fourth century BCE. Sanskrit, as defined by Pāṇini, evolved out of the earlier Vedic form, the present form of Vedic Sanskrit can be traced back to as early as the second millennium BCE. Scholars often distinguish Vedic Sanskrit and Classical or Pāṇinian Sanskrit as separate dialects, although they are quite similar, they differ in a number of essential points of phonology, vocabulary, grammar and syntax. Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, a collection of hymns, incantations and theological and religio-philosophical discussions in the Brahmanas. Modern linguists consider the metrical hymns of the Rigveda Samhita to be the earliest, for nearly 2000 years, Sanskrit was the language of a cultural order that exerted influence across South Asia, Inner Asia, Southeast Asia, and to a certain extent East Asia. A significant form of post-Vedic Sanskrit is found in the Sanskrit of Indian epic poetry—the Ramayana, the deviations from Pāṇini in the epics are generally considered to be on account of interference from Prakrits, or innovations, and not because they are pre-Paninian. Traditional Sanskrit scholars call such deviations ārṣa, meaning of the ṛṣis, in some contexts, there are also more prakritisms than in Classical Sanskrit proper. There were four principal dialects of classical Sanskrit, paścimottarī, madhyadeśī, pūrvi, the predecessors of the first three dialects are attested in Vedic Brāhmaṇas, of which the first one was regarded as the purest. In the 2001 Census of India,14,035 Indians reported Sanskrit to be their first language, in India, Sanskrit is among the 14 original languages of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The state of Uttarakhand in India has ruled Sanskrit as its official language. In October 2012 social activist Hemant Goswami filed a petition in the Punjab. More than 3,000 Sanskrit works have been composed since Indias independence in 1947, much of this work has been judged of high quality, in comparison to both classical Sanskrit literature and modern literature in other Indian languages
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Hagiography
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A hagiography /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/ is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader. The term hagiography may be used to refer to the biography of a saint or highly developed spiritual being in any of the spiritual traditions. Hagiographic works, especially those of the Middle Ages, can incorporate a record of institutional and local history, and evidence of popular cults, customs, and traditions. Hagiography constituted an important literary genre in the early Christian church, providing some informational history along with the inspirational stories. A hagiographic account of a saint can consist of a biography, a description of the saints deeds and/or miracles. The genre of lives of the saints first came into being in the Roman Empire as legends about Christian martyrs were recorded, the dates of their deaths formed the basis of martyrologies. In Western Europe hagiography was one of the important vehicles for the study of inspirational history during the Middle Ages. The Golden Legend of Jacob de Voragine compiled a great deal of medieval hagiographic material, Lives were often written to promote the cult of local or national states, and in particular to develop pilgrimages to visit relics. The bronze Gniezno Doors of Gniezno Cathedral in Poland are the only Romanesque doors in Europe to feature the life of a saint. The life of Saint Adalbert of Prague, who is buried in the cathedral, is shown in 18 scenes, the Bollandist Society continues the study, academic assembly, appraisal and publication of materials relating to the lives of Christian saints. Many of the important hagiographical texts composed in medieval England were written in the vernacular dialect Anglo-Norman, with the introduction of Latin literature into England in the 7th and 8th centuries the genre of the life of the saint grew increasingly popular. When one contrasts it to the heroic poem, such as Beowulf. Both genres then focus on the figure, but with the distinction that the saint is of a spiritual sort. Imitation of the life of Christ was then the benchmark against which saints were measured, in Anglo-Saxon and medieval England, hagiography became a literary genre par excellence for the teaching of a largely illiterate audience. Hagiography provided priests and theologians with classical handbooks in a form that allowed them the tools necessary to present their faith through the example of the saints lives. Of all the English hagiographers no one was more prolific nor so aware of the importance of the genre as Abbot Ælfric of Eynsham and his work The Lives of the Saints comprises a set of sermons on saints days, formerly observed by the English Church. The text spans the entire year and describes the lives of many saints, there are two known instances where saints lives were adapted into vernacular plays in Britain. These are the Cornish-language works Beunans Meriasek and Beunans Ke, about the lives of Saints Meriasek and Kea, Irish hagiographers wrote primarily in Latin while some of the later saints lives were written in the hagiographers native vernacular Irish
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Brahmin
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Brahmin is a varna in Hinduism specialising as priests of sacred learning across generations. However, Indian texts suggest that Brahmins were often agriculturalists in medieval India, the Gautama Dharmasutra states in verse 10.3 that it is obligatory on a Brahmin to learn and teach the Vedas. The text forbids a Brahmin from engaging in the trade of animals for slaughter, meat, medicines, the Apastamba Dharmasutra asserts in verse 1.20.10 that trade is generally not sanctioned for Brahmins, but in the times of adversity he may do so. The chapter 1.20 of Apastamba, states Olivelle, forbids the trade of the following under any circumstances, human beings, meat, skins, weapons, barren cows, sesame seeds, pepper, and merits. The 1st millennium CE Dharmasastras, that followed the Dharmasutras contain similar recommendations on occupations for a Brahmin, both in prosperous or normal times, and in the times of adversity. The widely studied Manusmriti, for example, states, Except during a time of adversity and he should gather wealth just sufficient for his subsistence through irreproachable activities that are specific to him, without fatiguing his body. –4. 2–4.3 He must never follow a worldly occupation for the sake of livelihood, one who seeks happiness should become supremely content and self controlled, for happiness is rooted in contentment and its opposite is the root of unhappiness. –4. 11–4.12 The Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmins occupation must never involve forbidden activities such as producing or trading poison, weapons, meat, trapping birds and others. It also lists six occupations that it deems proper for a Brahmin, teaching, studying, offering yajna, officiating at yajna, giving gifts, of these, states Manusmriti, three which provide a Brahmin with a livelihood are teaching, officiating at yajna, and accepting gifts. The text states that teaching is best, and ranks the accepting of gifts as the lowest of the six, in the times of adversity, Manusmriti recommends that a Brahmin may live by engaging in the occupations of the warrior class, or agriculture or cattle herding or trade. Of these, Manusmriti in verses 10. 83–10, the term Brahmin in Indian texts has signified someone who is good and virtuous, not just someone of priestly class. Both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, states Patrick Olivelle, repeatedly define Brahmin not in terms of family of birth and these virtues and characteristics mirror the values cherished in Hinduism during the Sannyasa stage of life, or the life of renunciation for spiritual pursuits. Brahmins, states Olivelle, were the class from which most ascetics came. The earliest inferred reference to Brahmin as a social class is in the Rigveda, occurs once. Ancient texts describing community-oriented Vedic yajna rituals mention four to five priests, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar, the functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations and litanies drawn from the Rigveda. The Adhvaryu is the assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin recites from the Atharvaveda, the Ritvij is the chief operating priest
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Parvati
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Parvati, also known as Urvi/Renu, is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love and devotion, as well as of divine strength and power. She is the gentle and nurturing aspect of the Hindu goddess Shakti and she is the mother goddess in Hinduism, and has many attributes and aspects. Each of her aspects is expressed with a different name, giving her over 100 names in regional Hindu stories of India, along with Lakshmi and Saraswati, she forms the trinity of Hindu goddesses. Parvati is the wife of the Hindu god Shiva - the protector and regenerator of universe and she is the daughter of the mountain king Himavan and mother Mena. Parvati is the mother of Hindu deities Ganesha and Kartikeya, some communities also believe her to be the sister of the god Vishnu and the river-goddess Ganga. With Shiva, Parvati is a deity in the Shaiva sect. In Hindu belief, she is the energy and power of Shiva, and she is the cause of a bond that connects all beings. In Hindu temples dedicated to her and Shiva, she is represented as the argha or yoni. She is found extensively in ancient Indian literature, and her statues and iconography grace Hindu temples all over South Asia, parvata is one of the Sanskrit words for mountain, Parvati derives her name from being the daughter of king Himavan and mother Mena. King Parvat is considered lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas, Parvati is known by many names in Hindu literature. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja, Adrija or Nagajaa or Shailaputri, Haimavathi, the Lalita sahasranama contains a listing of 1,000 names of Parvati. Two of Parvatis most famous epithets are Uma and Aparna, the name Uma is used for Sati in earlier texts, but in the Ramayana, it is used as a synonym for Parvati. In the Harivamsa, Parvati is referred to as Aparna and then addressed as Uma and she is also Ambika, Shakti, Mataji, Maheshwari, Durga, Bhairavi, Bhavani, Shivaradni, and many hundreds of others. Parvati is also the goddess of love and devotion, or Kamakshi, regional stories of Gauri suggest an alternate origin for Gauris name and complexion. In parts of India, Gauris skin color is golden or yellow in honor of her being the goddess of ripened corn/harvest, some scholars hold that Parvati does not explicitly appear in Vedic literature, though the Kena Upanishad contains a goddess called Uma-Haimavati. She appears as the shakti, or essential power, of the Supreme Brahman. Her primary role is as a mediator who reveals the knowledge of Brahman to the Vedic trinity of Agni, Vayu, and Indra, Sati-Parvati appears in the epic period, as both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata present Parvati as Shivas wife. However, it is not until the plays of Kalidasa and the Puranas that the stories of Sati-Parvati, Kinsley adds that Parvati may have emerged from legends of non-aryan goddesses that lived in mountains
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Vedas
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The Vedas are a large body of knowledge texts originating in the ancient Indian subcontinent. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature, Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruṣeya, which means not of a man, superhuman and impersonal, authorless. Vedas are also called śruti literature, distinguishing them from religious texts. The Veda, for orthodox Indian theologians, are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation, in the Hindu Epic the Mahabharata, the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma. The Vedic hymns themselves assert that they were created by Rishis, after inspired creativity. There are four Vedas, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda, each Veda has been subclassified into four major text types – the Samhitas, the Aranyakas, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads. Some scholars add a fifth category – the Upasanas, the various Indian philosophies and denominations have taken differing positions on the Vedas. Schools of Indian philosophy which cite the Vedas as their authority are classified as orthodox. Other śramaṇa traditions, such as Lokayata, Carvaka, Ajivika, Buddhism and Jainism, despite their differences, just like the texts of the śramaṇa traditions, the layers of texts in the Vedas discuss similar ideas and concepts. The Sanskrit word véda knowledge, wisdom is derived from the root vid- to know and this is reconstructed as being derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *u̯eid-, meaning see or know. The noun is from Proto-Indo-European *u̯eidos, cognate to Greek εἶδος aspect, not to be confused is the homonymous 1st and 3rd person singular perfect tense véda, cognate to Greek οἶδα oida I know. Root cognates are Greek ἰδέα, English wit, etc, the Sanskrit term veda as a common noun means knowledge. The term in some contexts, such as hymn 10.93.11 of the Rigveda, means obtaining or finding wealth, property, a related word Vedena appears in hymn 8.19.5 of the Rigveda. It was translated by Ralph T. H. Griffith as ritual lore, as studying the Veda by the 14th century Indian scholar Sayana, as bundle of grass by Max Müller, Vedas are called Maṛai or Vaymoli in parts of South India. Marai literally means hidden, a secret, mystery, in some south Indian communities such as Iyengars, the word Veda includes the Tamil writings of the Alvar saints, such as Divya Prabandham, for example Tiruvaymoli. The Vedas are among the oldest sacred texts, the Samhitas date to roughly 1700–1100 BC, and the circum-Vedic texts, as well as the redaction of the Samhitas, date to c. 1000-500 BC, resulting in a Vedic period, spanning the mid 2nd to mid 1st millennium BC, or the Late Bronze Age, Michael Witzel gives a time span of c.1500 to c. Witzel makes special reference to the Near Eastern Mitanni material of the 14th century BC the only record of Indo-Aryan contemporary to the Rigvedic period
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Moksha
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Moksha, also called vimoksha, vimukti and mukti, is a term in Hinduism and Hindu philosophy which refers to various forms of emancipation, liberation, and release. In its soteriological and eschatological senses, it refers to freedom from saṃsāra, in its epistemological and psychological senses, moksha refers to freedom from ignorance, self-realization and self-knowledge. In Hindu traditions, moksha is a concept and included as one of the four aspects and goals of human life. Together, these four aims of life are called Puruṣārtha in Hinduism, the concept of moksha is found in Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism. In some schools of Indian religions, moksha is considered equivalent to and used interchangeably with terms such as vimoksha, vimukti, kaivalya, apavarga, mukti, nihsreyasa. However, terms such as moksha and nirvana differ and mean different states between various schools of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the term nirvana is more common in Buddhism, while moksha is more prevalent in Hinduism. Moksha is derived from the root Sanskrit, मुच्, muc, in Vedas and early Upanishads, the word Sanskrit, मुच्यते, mucyate appears, which means to be set free or release - such as of a horse from its harness. The definition and meaning of moksha varies between schools of Indian religions. Moksha means freedom, liberation, from what and how is where the schools differ, Moksha is also a concept that means liberation from rebirth or saṃsāra. This liberation can be attained while one is on earth, or eschatologically, some Indian traditions have emphasized liberation on concrete, ethical action within the world. This liberation is a transformation that permits one to see the truth. For example, Vivekachudamani - an ancient book on moksha, explains one of many steps on the path to moksha, as. Samsara originated with religious movements in the first millennium BCE and these movements such as Buddhism, Jainism and new schools within Hinduism, saw human life as bondage to a repeated process of rebirth. This bondage to repeated rebirth and life, each subject to injury, disease. By release from this cycle, the involved in this cycle also ended. This release was called moksha, nirvana, kaivalya, mukti, in earliest Vedic literature, heaven and hell sufficed soteriological curiosities. The rebirth idea ultimately flowered into the ideas of saṃsāra, or transmigration - where one’s balance sheet of karma determined one’s rebirth, along with this idea of saṃsāra, the ancient scholars developed the concept of moksha, as a state that released a person from the saṃsāra cycle. Moksha release in eschatological sense in these ancient literature of Hinduism, suggests van Buitenen, comes from self-knowledge, the meaning of moksha in epistemological and psychological sense has been variously explained by scholars
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Jainism
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Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the śramaṇa tradition. The central tenet is non-violence and respect all living beings. The three main principles of Jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada and aparigraha, followers of Jainism take five main vows, ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha. Jain monks and nuns observe these vows absolutely whereas householders observe them within their practical limitations, self-discipline and asceticism are thus major focuses of Jainism. The word Jain derives from the Sanskrit word jina, a human being who has conquered all inner passions like attachment, desire, anger, pride, greed, etc. is called Jina. Followers of the path practiced and preached by the jinas are known as Jains, Parasparopagraho Jivanam is the motto of Jainism. Jains trace their history through a succession of teachers and revivers of the Jain path known as Tirthankaras. In the current era, this started with Rishabhdeva and concluded with Mahavira, Jains believe that Jainism is eternal and while it may be forgotten, it will be revived from time to time. The majority of Jains reside in India, with 6-7 million followers, Jainism is smaller than many other major world religions. Outside of India, some of the largest Jain communities are present in Canada, Europe, Kenya, the UK, Suriname, Fiji, contemporary Jainism is divided into two major sects, Digambara and Śvētāmbara. Namokar Mantra is the most common and basic prayer in Jainism, major Jain festivals include Paryushana and Daslakshana, Mahavir Jayanti, and Diwali. The principle of ahimsa is the most fundamental and well-known aspect of Jainism, the everyday implementation of the principle of non-violence is more comprehensive than in other religions and is the hallmark for Jain identity. Jains believe in avoiding harm to others thoughts, speech. According to the Jain text, Purushartha Siddhyupaya, killing any living being out of passions is hiṃsā, Jains extend the practice of nonviolence and kindness not only towards other humans but towards all living beings. For this reason, vegetarianism is a hallmark of Jain identity, if there is violence against animals during the production of dairy products, veganism is encouraged. Jainism has an elaborate framework on types of life and includes life-forms that may be invisible. Therefore, after humans and animals, insects are the living being offered protection in Jain practice. For example, insects in the home are often escorted out instead of killed, Jainism teaches that intentional harm and the absence of compassion make an action more violent
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Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
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Pandyan dynasty
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The Pandyan or Pandiyan or Pandian dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty, one of the three Tamil dynasties, the other two being the Chola and the Chera. The Pandya King, along with Chera King and Chola King, were referred to as the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty ruled parts of South India from around 600 BCE to first half of 17th century CE. They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, fish being their flag, Pandyas were experts in water management, agriculture and fisheries and they were eminent sailors and sea traders too. Pandyan was well known since ancient times, with contacts, even diplomatic, the Pandyan empire was home to temples including Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and Nellaiappar Temple built on the bank of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. The Pandya kings were called either Jatavarman or Maravarman Pandyan, from being Jains in their early ages, they became Shaivaites after some centuries of rule. Strabo states that an Indian king called Pandion sent Augustus Caesar presents and gifts of honour, the country of the Pandyas, Pandi Mandala, was described as Pandyan Mediterranea in the Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by Ptolemy. The early Pandyan Dynasty of the Sangam Literature faded into obscurity upon the invasion of the Kalabhras, the dynasty revived under Kadungon in the early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Tamil country and ruled from Madurai. They again went into decline with the rise of the Cholas in the 9th century and were in constant conflict with them. The Pandyas allied themselves with the Sinhalese and the Cheras in harassing the Chola empire until they found an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century and they also had extensive trade links with the Southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors. The Pandyas excelled in trade and literature. They controlled the fisheries along the South Indian coast, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world. Traditionally, the legendary Sangams were held in Madurai under their patronage, during their history, the Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas and finally the Muslim invaders from the Delhi Sultanate. The Islamic invasion led to the end of Pandyan supremacy in South India,1323, Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lanka declared its independence from the crumbling Pandyan Empire. The Pandyans lost their capital city Madurai to Madurai Sultanate in 1335, however they shifted their capital to Tenkasi and continued to rule the Tirulnelveli, Tuticorin, Ramanad, Sivagangai regions. Meanwhile, Madurai sultanate was replaced by Nayaka governors of Vijayanagara in 1378, in 1529 Nayaka governors declared independence and established Madurai Nayak dynasty. The word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word Pandu meaning very old, another theory is that the word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word Pandi meaning bull. Ancient Tamils, considered the bull as a sign of masculinity, the earliest Pandyans, probably used the bull as its emblem. Another theory suggests that in Sangam Tamil lexicon the word Pandya means old country in contrast with Chola meaning new country, Chera meaning hill country, the Chera, Chola and Pandya are the traditional Tamil siblings and together with the Pallavas are the major Kings that ruled ancient Tamilakam
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Koon Pandiyan
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Koon Pandiyan was the nickname of a king who ruled Madurai around 7th century. Some historians identify him with the Pandyan king Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman and he converted from Shaivism to Jainism, but then re-converted under the influence of Sambandar. According to a Saivite legend, after his re-conversion, he ordered a massacre of 8000 Jains in Samanatham, Sambandar is said to have cured his hunched back, after which he was known as Sundara Pandya. In the 7th century, Jainism was one of the religions in South India. The king Koon Pandian had embraced Jainism, but wife Mangaiarkkarasi, when the king suffered from an boils and incurable fever, the two invited the Shaivite saint Sambandar to Madurai. Sambandar is said to have cured his fever and his hunched back, after this, the king became a Shaivite, and several of his subjects converted to Shaivism during his rule. The Tamil poet Sekkizhar honored Koon Pandiyan, Kulachirai and Mangaiarkkarasi by naming them among the 63 Nayanars in Periya Puranam, according to a Saivite legend, when the Jains in Samanatham refused to convert to Shaivism, the king ordered their killings with the consent of Sambandar. Around 8000 Jains were said to have killed by impalement in which the victims were forcefully put over sharp, tall. However, this legend is not found in any Jain text, is believed to be a made up by the Saivites to prove their dominance. Koon Pandiyan is said to have died without a heir, and after his death
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Raja Raja Chola I
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Raja Raja Chola I was a renowned king who ruled over the Chola kingdom of southern India between 985 and 1014 CE. During his reign, the Cholas expanded beyond South India with their domains stretching from Sri Lanka in the south to Kalinga in the north, Raja Raja Chola also launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of the Malabar Coast as well as the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Raja Raja built the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, one of the largest Hindu temples, during his reign, the texts of the Tamil poets Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar were collected and edited into one compilation called Thirumurai. He initiated a project of land survey and assessment in 1000 which led to the reorganization of the country into individual units known as valanadus. Raja Raja Chola died in 1014 and was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola, Raja Raja was born in 947 in Aipassi month on the day of Sadhayam star. He was the child of Parantaka Sundara Chola and Vanavan Maha Devi of the Velir Malayaman dynasty and was named Arulmozhi Varman. He had an elder brother Aditya Karikalan and an elder sister Kundavai, Aditya Karikalan, the crown prince was assassinated in suspicious circumstances in 969. After the death of Aditya, Sundara Chola announced that Uttama Chola will succeed him to the throne, arulmozhivarman ascended the throne after the death of Uttama Chola in 985. The Thiruvalangadu copper-plate inscriptions state that Raja Raja was elected through a process followed by the Cholas. Raja Rajas adopted name Raja Raja literally means King of Kings and he was also known as Rajaraja Sivapada Sekhara. His elder sister Kundavai Pirāttiyār assisted Raja Raja in administration and management of temples, Raja Raja had at least four queens including Ōlōkamādēviyār and Thiripuvānamādēviyār and at least three daughters. He had a son Rajendra with Thiripuvānamādēviyār and his first daughter Kundavai married Chalukya prince Vimaladithan. He had two daughters named Mathevalzagal and Ģangamādevī. Raja Raja died in 1014 in the Tamil month of Maka and was succeeded by Rajendra Chola I, Rajaraja created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy. A number of regiments are mentioned in the Thanjavur inscriptions and these regiments were divided into elephant troops, cavalry and infantry and each of these regiments had its own autonomy and was free to endow benefactions or build temples. Rajaraja began his first campaign in the year of his reign. The Pandyas, Cheras and the Sinhalas allied against the Cholas, in 994, Rajaraja destroyed the fleet of the Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varman Thiruvadi in the Kandalur War. Rajaraja defeated the Pandya king Amarabhujanga and captured the port of Virinam, to commemorate these conquests, Rajaraja assumed the title Mummudi Chola, a title used by Tamil kings who ruled the three kingdoms of Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras
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Tiruvarur
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Thiruvarur also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in Tiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Tiruvarur district and Tiruvarur taluk. The town was one of the five capitals of the Chola empire, with one of the emperors of the dynasty, Kulothunga Chola I. The town is believed to be of significant antiquity and has ruled, at different times, by the Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Marathas. The town is known for the Thyagaraja temple, and the chariot festival held in the month of April. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing 300 tonnes, Thiruvarur is the birthplace of Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Syama Sastri, popularly known as the Trinity of Carnatic music of the 18th century CE. Thiruvarur was a part of Thanjavur district till 1991 and Nagapattinam district until 1997, the Odambokki river passes through the centre of the town. Thiruvarur covers an area of 10.47 km2 and had a population of 58,301 as of 2011 and it is administered by a first grade municipality. The town is a part of the Cauvery delta region and agriculture is the major occupation, roadways are the major means of transportation with a total of 94.06 km of district roads including three national highways passing through the town. The historic name of the town was Aaroor and it mention in the 7th century saiva canonical work. The term Thiru is added to all cities that are mostly revered by the verses of Tevaram. During the British Raj, the town was termed Tiruvalur, Tiruvaloor, as per the district and municipality websites, the district has the spelling Tiruvarur, while the town has it as Thiruvarur. As per folk legend, Thiruvarur is mentioned as the town of a legendary Chola king, Manu Needhi Cholan. His name is used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature. Thiruvarur was one of the five capitals of the Chola empire. Tirunavukkarasar mentions several traditions of the temple like Marghazhi Aathirai Vizha, Panguni Uttirai Perunaal, the granite structure of the temple was first constructed by Aditya Chola I in the 9th century CE and revamped during the reign of Rajaraja Chola I. The temple was upgraded and rebuilt with stone by Rajendra Chola I, the temple has inscriptions from both the emperors, later Cholas and Pandyas. The temple is believed to be an inspiration for Rajaraja Chola to build the Brihadeeswarar Temple, inscriptions from the temple indicate Thiruvarur as the capital of Kulothunga Chola I, during which the town emerged a centre of saivism
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Chola dynasty
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The Chola dynasty was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India. The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE left by Ashoka, as one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 13th century CE. The whole country south of the Tungabhadra was united and held as one state for a period of two centuries and more, the Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian sea power. During the period 1010–1200, the Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of which is now Sri Lanka, Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to North India that touched the river Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia and Indonesia, the Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan Dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas left a lasting legacy and their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal in the building of temples has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship and they pioneered a centralised form of government and established a disciplined bureaucracy. The Chola school of art spread to Southeast Asia and influenced the architecture, the Cholas are also known as the Choda. There is very little available in regarding their origin. Its antiquity is evident from the mentions in ancient Tamil literature, Later medieval Cholas also claimed a long and ancient lineage. Mentions in the early Sangam literature indicate that the earliest kings of the dynasty antedated 100 CE, Cholas were mentioned in Ashokan Edicts of 3rd Century BCE as one of the neighboring countries existing in the South. A commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the annotator Parimelazhagar said, The charity of people with ancient lineage are forever generous in spite of their reduced means. Other names in use for the Cholas are Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil kil meaning dig or cleave and this word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with valam – fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country, in Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country. There is very little evidence available of the Cholas prior to the 7th century. Historic records exist thereafter, including inscriptions on temples, the main source for the available information of the early Cholas is the early Tamil literature of the Sangam Period
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Freer Gallery of Art
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The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery form the Smithsonian Institutions national museums of Asian art in the United States. The gallery is located on the side of the National Mall in Washington. The museum is open 364 days a year, and is administered by a staff with the Sackler Gallery. The galleries are among the most visited art museums in the world, the Freer houses over 26,000 objects spanning 6,000 years of history from the Neolithic to modern eras. In addition to Asian art, the Freer also contains the famous Peacock Room by American artist James McNeill Whistler which serves as the centerpiece to the Freers American art collection. The museum offers tours to the public and presents a full schedule events for the public including films, lectures, symposia, concerts, performances. Over 11,000 objects from the Freer|Sackler collections are searchable and available online. The Freer was also featured in the Google Art Project, which offers online viewers close-up views of selected items from the Freer, the gallery was founded by Detroit railroad-car manufacturer and self-taught connoisseur Charles Lang Freer. He owned the largest collection of works by American artist James McNeill Whistler and became a patron, Whistler made it very clear to Freer that if he helped him to build the premier Whistler collection, then that collection would have to be displayed in a city where tourists went. In 1908, Charles Moore, an aide to Michigan United States Senator, James McMillin. Moore became friends with Freer, who was director of the Michigan Car Company, travelers impressed by the beauty of the National Mall in Washington, D. C. can thank three Detroiters for their role in creating it. The mall was the brainchild of James McMillan, a Michigan United States senator, Charles Freer for his enormous donation to the Smithsonian, and Moore for carrying out the Washington mall concept. The Freer gift was accepted on behalf of the government by the Smithsonian Board of Regents in 1906, freer’s will, however, contained certain requirements that only objects from the permanent collection could be exhibited in the gallery, and that none of the art could be exhibited elsewhere. Freer felt strongly that all of the museum’s holding should be accessible to scholars at all times. In addition, Freers bequest to the Smithsonian came with the proviso that he would execute full curatorial control over the collection until his death, the Smithsonian initially hesitated at the requirements but the intercession of President Theodore Roosevelt allowed for the project to proceed. The Freer Gallery possesses a letter from Roosevelt inviting Freer to visit him at the White House. Freer died before the art gallery was completed, construction of the gallery began in 1916 and was completed in 1921, after a delay due to World War I. On May 9,1923, the Freer Gallery of Art was opened to the public, designed by American architect and landscape planner Charles A. Platt, the Freer is an Italian Renaissance-style building inspired by Freers visits to palazzos in Italy
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Paadal Petra Sthalam
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The Paadal Petra Sthalams are 275 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent. The Divya Desams by comparison are the 108 Vishnu temples glorified in the poems of the contemporary Vaishnava Alvars of Tamil Nadu, the three are considered the primary three among the sixty three Nayanmars of the Saivite sect of Hinduism. The former two lived during the 7th century AD while the latter around 8th century AD, all songs in Thevaram are believed to be in sets of ten songs, called pathikam in Tamil. Some musical experts consider Thevaram as a musical form. The 275 temples that are mentioned in Thevaram are referred as Paadal Petra Sthalam, on the contrary, Vaippu Sthalam are temples that were mentioned casually in the songs in Thevaram and lacking a mention of those temples. In modern times, the verses of Tevaram are sung daily, manikkavacakar is considered the 4th in the line of Saiva Kuravars, whose verses are classified as Thiruvasagam. There is a saying that Thiruvasagathuku urugar, oru vasagathukum orugar meaning the person who does not budge for thiruvasagam wont budge for anything else, there are around 275 temples that are revered by the verses of Saiva Kuravars and are amongst the greatest Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu. The list is as shown below and this refers to the temples that are the manifestation of the five elements - land, water, air, sky, fire. Pancha Bhoota stalam Map The temples where Lord Shiva is believed to have performed the Cosmic Dance, pancha Sabhai Map The temples where Lord Shiva is believed to have performed with fury. The eight temples are in 1, the Thyagarajar Temple at Tiruvarur is famous for the ajapa natanam, that is executed by the deity itself. According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra, Indra tried to misguide the king and had six other images made, but the king chose the right image at Tiruvarur. The other six images were installed in ThiruNallaaru, Nagapattinam, Tirukarayil, Tirukolili, Thiruvaaimur, all the seven places are villages situated in the river Cauvery delta. All seven Thyagaraja images are said to dance when taken in procession, the temples with dance styles are regarded as Saptha Vidangam and the related temples are as under, The sapthasthanam festival is conducted at Tiruvaiyaru during April every year. Hundreds of people witness the convergence of seven glass palanquins carrying principal deities of respective temples from seven places at Tiruvaiyaru, the palanquins are paraded near the car stand, the crowd witnessed the Poochorithal in which a doll offers flowers to the principal deities in the palanquins. After the Poochorithal, the left for their respective places. The seven temples are The seven temples are Aathara Stalam indicates the places which are considered to be diving impersonification of Tantric chakras associated with human anatomy,4 temples are located in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh, and one at Varanasi
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Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu
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Lord Shiva has innumerable temples dedicated to him throughout the length and breadth of India. The most temples are most likely in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, There are several kinds of temples in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pancha Booth Sthalangal are the temples that are the manifestation of the five elements – land, water, air, sky, pancha Bhoota stalam Map Panch Sabhai Sthalangal are the temples where Lord Shiva is believed to have performed the Cosmic Dance. Pancha Sabhai Map Shiva Temples which are glorified in Tamil Tevaram hymns are the Paadal Petra Sthalangal and have been in existence for more than 1,000 years. References to these temples are found in Tevaram Hymns, composed and authored by the 3 Nayanamars – Thirunavukarasar, Sambandar and Sundarar who lived between 7th and 9th century A. D. There is approximately 275 Temples of this kind, There are several ancient Shiva temples in and around Tirunelveli, Ancient Shiva temples in, Temples in Tamilnadu – An introduction Shiva temple www. thirukalukundram. in thirukalukundram latchadeepam
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Puja (Hinduism)
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Pūjā or Poojan is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to host, honour and worship one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event. Sometimes spelt phonetically as pooja or poojah, it may honour or celebrate the presence of special guest, the word pūjā comes from Sanskrit, and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, and worship. Puja rituals are held by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. In Hinduism, puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequency and settings. It may include daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and annual festivals, to few lifetime events such as birth of a baby or a wedding. The two main areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life, events or some such as Durga Puja. Puja is not mandatory, it may be a daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual for some. In some temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day, in other temples, Puja varies according to the school of Hinduism. Puja may vary by region, occasion, deity honored, in formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honour of deity Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or image of deity is present, in both ceremonies, a diya or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or hymn is sung. Puja is typically performed by a Hindu worshipper alone, though sometimes in presence of a priest who is well versed in procedure, both Nigama and Agama puja are practiced in Hinduism in India. In Hinduism of Bali Indonesia, Agama puja is most prevalent both inside homes and in temples, Puja is sometimes called Sembahyang in Indonesia. Puja is an ancient culture or way of life, with unclear origins, joshi claims the word puja was first used in vedic times when Sūtra were composed, to describe prayers and worship before yajna or homa – fire deity, Agni. Charpentier suggests the origin of the word Puja may lie in the Dravidian languages, two possible Tamil roots have been suggested, Poosai to smear with something and Poochei to do with flowers. According to scholars, one of the earliest mentions of pūjā is in the Grihya Sutras and these Sutras, dated to be about 500 BC, use the term puja to describe the hospitality to honor priests who were invited to one’s home to lead rituals for departed ancestors. As Hindu philosophy expanded and diversified, with such as the bhakti movement. As with vedic times, the concept of puja remained the same. The Puranic corpus of literature, dating from about 6th century CE, deity puja thus melds Vedic rites with devotion to deity in its ritual form
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Kulothunga Chola III
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Kulothunga Chola III was the ruler of the Chola empire from 1178 to 1218 CE, after succeeding Rajadhiraja Chola II. Kulothunga Chola III gained success in war against his traditional foes and he gained victories in war against the Hoysalas, Pandyas of Madurai, Cheras of Venad, the Sinhala kings of Eelam, as well as the Chodas of Velanadu and Nellore. He also restored Chola control over Karur, which were ruled by the Adigaman chiefs as vassals of the Cholas and he drove out the Hoysalas under Veera Ballala II who had made inroads in the Gangavadi and adjoining areas of Tagadur in Kongu country in an effort expand their territory. However, during the last two years of his reign, he lost in war to the resurgent Pandyas, heralded a period of decline and ultimately. Kulothunga Chola III is also renowned for his patronage of art, everywhere feudatory chieftains were becoming more and more assertive. The growing independence of the power on the part of feudatories noticed in the reign of Rajaraja Chola II became more pronounced under Rajadhiraja Chola II. Pandya affairs first claimed the attention of Kulothunga Chola III, the civil war in the Pandya country had not yet settled when he came to the throne, and the Chola forces were still involved in active fighting there. Kulothunga Chola III succeeded for the best part of his reign to continue the Chola hegemony on the Pandya kingdom, parakramabahu of Sri Lanka, known as Ilangai in Tamil, renewed his efforts against the Cholas and even persuaded Pandya Emperor Vira Pandya to make common cause with him. Vikrama Pandya sought the help of Kulothunga Chola III against Vira Pandya, the battle resulted in the defeat of the Pandya and Sinhala forces, Vira Pandya was driven into exile, and Vikrama Pandya was installed on the throne of Madurai. From his exile, with the aid of his allies, Vira Pandya made another effort to retrieve his fortune, thence, Vira Pandya fled to Ceylon. This was Kulothunga Chola IIIs first campaign in the Pandyan kingdom, between 1185–1186, Kulothunga Chola III undertook a second campaign against the Pandya King Vira Pandya following a rebellion by him and non-payment of tribute to his Chola overlord. This time, however, Pandya King Vira Pandya did not get the support from the Sinhala. After being caught with his allies on the battlefield trying to overthrow the Cholas from his exile. His life was spared and he was allowed some land and other wealth suited to his new station, possibly, Kulothunga Chola III also had a hand in the identification and enthronement of the next Pandya monarch Vikrama Pandya after his victory over Vira Pandya. About 1205, Kulothunga Chola III led an expedition into the Pandya country, sacked the capital. The rise of the Pandyas between 1215–1230 CE contrasted directly with the decline of the Cholas which started during the last part of Kulothunga Chola IIIs reign, after the second Pandya war, Kulothunga Chola III undertook campaign in Kongu to check the growth of Hoysala power in that quarter. Apparently, Hoysala King Veera Ballala II I tried to extend his rule beyond the Kaveri-Tungabhadra basin northwards to the Malaprabha basin in Kannada country. He had gained some success initially against the Western Chalukya King Someshvara IV and against the Yadava-Seuna Dynasty King Bhillama, the Kalachuris continued to war against the Hoysalas under Veera Ballala II
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Vaishnavism
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Vaishnavism is one of the major traditions within Hinduism along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism, its followers are called Vaishnavas, the tradition is notable for its avatar doctrine, wherein Vishnu is revered in one of many distinct incarnations. Of these, ten avatars of Vishnu are the most studied, Krishna, Rama, Narayana, Vāsudeva, Hari, Vithoba, Kesava, Madhava, Govinda and Jagannath are among the popular names used for the same supreme. The tradition has traceable roots to the 1st millennium BCE, as Bhagavatism, later developments led by Ramananda created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia. The Vaishnava tradition has many sampradayas ranging from the medieval era Dvaita school of Madhvacharya to Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja, new Vaishnavism movements have been founded in the modern era such as the ISKCON of Prabhupada. The tradition is known for the devotion to an avatar of Vishnu. Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra texts, Krishnaism becomes associated with bhakti yoga in the medieval period. Although Vishnu was a Vedic solar deity, he is mentioned less often compared to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities, other scholars state that there are other Vedic deities, such as water deity Nara, who together form the historical roots of Vaishnavism. The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, the evidence inconsistent, according to Dalal, the origins may be in Vedic deity Bhaga, who gave rise to Bhagavatism. According to Preciado-Solís, the Vedic deities Nara and Narayana form one of the Vedic roots of Vaishnavism, according to Dandekar, Vaishnavism may have emerged from merger of several ancient theistic traditions, where the various deities were integrated as different avatars of the same god. In Dandekar theory, Vaishnavism emerged at the end of the Vedic period, closely before the urbanisation of northern India. This earliest phase was established the time of Pāṇini who, in his Astadhyayi and this was followed by a merger with the cult of Gopala-Krsna of the cowherd community of the Abhıras at the 4th century CE. The character of Gopala Krishna is often considered to be non-Vedic, according to Dandekar, such mergers consolidated the position of Krishnaism between the heterodox sramana movement and the orthodox Vedic religion. The Greater Krsnaism, states Dandekar, then merged with the Rigvedic Vishnu, syncretism of various traditions and Vedism resulted in Vaishnavism. At this stage that Vishnu of the Rig Veda was assimilated into non-Vedic Krishnaism, the appearance of Krishna as one of the Avatars of Vishnu dates to the period of the Sanskrit epics in the early centuries CE. The Bhagavad Gita was incorporated into the Mahabharata as a key text for Krishnaism, finally, the Narayana-cult was also included, which further brahmanized Vaishnavism. The Nara-Narayana cult may have originated in Badari, a ridge of the Hindu Kush. Purusa Narayana may have later turned into Arjuna and Krsna
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United Theological College, Bangalore
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Since 1976, it has been granted the status of an autonomous college under the University. The college has welcomed world leaders, mahatma Gandhi visited it in 1927 and declared, To live the gospel is the most effective way…I can say that the life of service and uttermost simplicity is the best preaching. India Post released a commemorative stamp in honor of the United Theological College on 8 July 2011. The current Principal is The Rev. John Samuel Raj and it is sometimes condensed to Not to be Served but to Serve. In the University emblem the motto is in Greek, οὐ, διακονηθῆναι ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι The UTC was granted autonomy in the year 1976 by the Senate of Serampore College. It has a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Edinburgh wherein a student can study a semester in Bengaluru. The Bangalore Theological Forum, an academic journal brought out twice a year, masihi Sevak, a pastoral magazine with three releases in a year. Good environment for study purpose. The college has a library including 200-year-old palm leaf manuscripts. The United States Embassy awarded a grant for preservation of rare palm leaf manuscripts in 2006. Academic administrators who have led the seminary have been designated Principal
36.
Fred Goodwill
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Fred Goodwill was a British missionary stationed in Bangalore, British India between 1899 and 1924, serving as the Superintendent of the Wesleyan Tamil Mission, Bangalore and Kolar Gold Fields. He is acknowledged for working for the cause of education of women in the Bangalore Cantonment. The Goodwills Girls School located in Fraser Town, Bangalore Cantonment is named after him and he was a scholar of the Tamil Language, and was also fluent in Canarese and Telagu. Fred is acknowledged as an authority on Tamil Shaiva Literature, with authors quoting from his research. As one of the members of the Mythic Society, his published papers on the history of the Mysore State form the basis of history of the State. Fred Goodwill was a photographer and documented life in British India, especially life around the Bangalore Cantonment. His pictures have recently evoked lot of interest in media groups interested in Bangalore. Many of his photos have been published in books published in British India and have also published as Tucks India Series Postcards. Fred was the youngest child of farmers Thomas and Elizabeth Goodwill and his birth was registered in the first quarter of 1874 at Great Ouseburn. The family owned 56 acres of land and lived in the Main Street of Helperby, freds siblings were James, Hannah, Thomas, Elizabeth and Pollie. Fred seemed to have a start with his early education at the local Helperby school where he also taught other students. His entire family then contributed for his education as he studied at the Handsworth Theological College. The family was religious, and Fred had a genuine interest in working as a missionary. Fred Goodwill met Alice Haynes, his wife, presumably during his time at Handsworth. Alice lived at Old Hill and was a primitive Methodist while Fred was a Wesleyan, according to their daughter Bessie Goodwill, Fred had a posting in India and decided to go first to sort out things and then call Alice. The couple were married in Tumkur, Mysore State, British India in 1901, India was a fascination for Fred, and he had a keen interest in its history, people, religions, scenery and native languages. Fred Goodwill was a gifted linguist, and was said to any language like a native after just six months practice. He could speak, read and write fluently in Tamil, Telugu and his research in Indian history was not merely for his own interest, but he also contributed papers for various societies on these subjects
37.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
38.
Kamil Zvelebil
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Kamil Václav Zvelebil was a distinguished Czech scholar in Indian literature and linguistics, notably Tamil, Sanskrit, Dravidian linguistics and literature and philology. Zvelebil studied at the Charles University in Prague from 1946 to 1952 where he majored in Indology, English language, literature and philosophy. After obtaining his Ph. D in 1952 and until 1970 he was a research fellow in Tamil and Dravidian linguistics. He held the role of professor of Tamil and Dravidian at Charles University in Prague until 1968. During the late 1960s, he made field trips including those to South India. From 1965 to 1966, he was a professor in Dravidian studies at the University of Chicago in the United States and was a visiting professor at Heidelberg University between 1967 and 1968. In 1970, after time at the University of Chicago. After more travel through European universities he became the professor of Dravidian linguistics and he has authored numerous books and articles on Dravidian linguistics and literature. Some of them are, Comparative Dravidian Phonology, Published by Mouton, ASIN, B0006BZAIK Dravidian Linguistics, An Introduction, PILC,1990 Tamil Literature, “Z drávidské poezie”, transl. of Tamil poetry into Czech, NO5,94. “Národnostní hnutí na jihu Indie”, NO8,15, of Tamil poetry into Czech, NO9,78. “Auväijár, tamilská Sapfó”, NO1,12 “Nejstarší styky Indie se západním světem”, NO4, 59–60 “Jaro”, from Kalittokai into Czech, NO4,66 Vindan, “Zavřené dveře”, transl. From Tamil into Czech, NO6,100, from Tamil into Czech, Zemědělské noviny 24.7.1952. “S. Báradi, zakladatel moderní tamilské literatury”, NO 139–140, “Dvě písně o hladu v Indii”, Práce 25.12.1952 S. Báradi, Svobodný párija, transl. Osm tamilských povídek ve sbírce Pohádka o písni, SNKL, Praha, Čtyři tamilské povídky ve sbírce Indické novely, Bratislava. “O tamilských písních a příslovích”, NO7,105, “O literatuře tamilské” Nový život 11. “Collectanea zur Tamil-Grammatik von der Hand des † A. Ludwig´, “Ándhra, první indický stát na základě národnostním” NO1,8. “Vallattól, národní básník malajálamský”, NO2,22, “O vývoji některých kmenů jihoindických”, Čs. “Řím, Řecko a jižní Indie ve starověku”, Oriental Institute, Prague Mail, Tamil Culture III,1
39.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
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