Pattachitra arts is a form of fabric painting known for its intricate details as well as mythological narratives and folktales inscribed in it.
Pattachitra is one of the ancient artworks of Odisha ,Bengal & Bangladesh. In Sanskrit, the word paṭṭa means “cloth” and chitra means “picture”. Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu mythology.
This ancient painting art is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian states of Odisha, West Bengal and parts of Bangladesh.
There are chiefly two important categories of pattachitra painting- Odisha pattachitra and Bengal pattachitra.
Hisory
Originally this art form was created for ritual use and as souvenirs for pilgrims to Puri, as well as other temples in Odisha.
Patachitras are also a component of an ancient Bengali narrative art, originally serving as a visual device during the performance of a song.
Charanachitras, Mankhas, Yamapatas were ancient form of paintings out of which Pattachitra paintings seem to be evolved. Pattachitra paintings are over more than thousand years old.
Odisha pattachitra painting
Pattachitra style of painting is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha. Most of the paintings depicts Hindu mythology stories. They seem to be inspired by Jagannath and Vaishnava sect. All colours used in the Paintings are natural and paintings are made in old traditional way by Chitrakaras or Odiya Painter.
There are different categories of Pattachitra from the point of view of medium used for painting, i.e. paintings on cloth are called ‘Patta Chitra’ .
Paintings on walls are known as ‘Bhitti Chitra’ and paintings on palm leaf engravings as “Tala Patra Chitra’ or “Pothi, Chitra’.
The style of all the three painting arts remains more or less the same at a specific time as then the artists were commissioned to work in all these media.
The pattachitra paintings are similar to the old murals of Odisha particularly of religious centres of Puri, Konark and Bhubaneshwar region [ 5th century BC]. The oldest record of Pattachitra Paintings is related to the time of establishment of the shrine of Shri Jagannath temple at Puri. However, the oldest classical marble paintings of Sitabanji at Keonjhar do not conform to the present style of Patta painting wholly.
Pattachitra themes
The theme of Odia Pattachitra painting mostly portrays Lord Jagannath and the Vaishnava sect of Hindu mythology. Lord Jagannath is believed as an incarnation of Lord Krishna. The theme also include Balabhadra and Subhadra, temple activities, the ten incarnations of Vishnu basing on the ‘Gita Govinda’ of Jayadev, Kama Kujara Navagunjara, Ramayana, Mahabharata. The dress style portrayed in the paintings has Mughal influences.
The background on which the figures are represented in pattachitra is delineated with decorations of flowers and foliages and is mostly painted in red colour. All the paintings are given decorative borders.
Pattachitra painting method
Pattachitra paintings are done on small strips of cotton cloth. The canvas is prepared by coating the clothing with a mixture of chalk and gum made from Guar or tamarind seeds. Then it is rubbed by taking the help of two different stones and then the cloth is dried. The mixture of gum and chalk gives the cloth’s surface a leathery finish on which the artists paint with vegetable, earth and stone colours.
The chitrakar or painter simply draw over the cloth canvas made, with the brush either in light red or yellow colour. Then the colours are filled in. The final lines are drawn and the painting is given a lacquer coating to protect it from weather, thus making the painting glossy. The painting is held over a fireplace so that the back of the painting is exposed to heat. On the surface of the painting fine lacquer is applied.
The pattachitra painters prepare their own colours or paints. White colour is made from the conch-shells by powdering, boiling and filtering through a complicated process. Although this process requires great effort and patience it gives brilliance and permanence to the hue.
‘Hingula’, a mineral colour, is used for red. ‘Haritala’, king of stone ingredients for yellow, ‘Ramaraja’ a sort of indigo for blue are being used in pattachitra painting. Pure lamp-black or black colour is prepared from the burning of coconut shell.
The brushes that are used by the painters of this art form are also indigenous and are made of hair of domestic animals. A bunch of hair tied to the end of a bamboo stick and the brush is made.
Palm leaf Pattachitra
Palm leaf pattachitra which is in Oriya language known as Tala Pattachitra drawn on palm leaf. The palm leaves are plucked and left for becoming hard. Then these are sewn together to form like a canvas. The images are traced by using black or white ink to fill grooves etched on rows of equal-sized panels of palm leaf that are sewn together. These panels can also be easily folded like a fan and packed in a compact pile for better conservation.
Often palm-leaf illustrations are more elaborated, obtaining by superimposing layers that are glued together for most of the surface, but in some areas can open like small windows to reveal a second image under the first layer.
Bengal Patachitra
The Bengal Patachitra refers to the ancient painting art of West Bengal and Bangladesh. It is a traditional and mythological heritage of West Bengal. The Bengal Patachitra is categorized into various types like Durga Pat, Chalchitra, Tribal Patachitra, Medinipur Patachitra, and Kalighat Patachitra.
The theme of Bengal Patachitra is mostly mythological, religious stories, folk lore and social. The Kalighat Patachitra, the last tradition of Bengal Patachitra is developed by Jamini Roy. The artist of the Bengal Patachitra is called Patua.
These religious pots[ painting] encompass the story of Hindu epics like, mythology, Ramayana, Mahabharata narrating stories of Hindu gods and goddesses like Radha Krishna, Chaitanya, Kali, Shiba and the indigenous Bengali folklore of Manasha and Chandi, Behula and Lakshinder .
Secular pots depict important news events, scandals accidents etc. such as bus accidents at Narayangarh, rural elections, the rationing system, family planning, evils of the dowry system etc.
Every Bengal Patachitra has a song related to it, which the artists sing while unfurling the Patachitra. Singing pot in Bengal is called Patua Sangeet. Patua Sangeet or Poter Gan is a cultural tradition of the singing Bengal Patachitra.
It is famous in the village part of West Bengal like Birbhum, Jhargram, Bardhaman and Murshidabad as a folk song of West Bengal.
Chalchitra is a part of Bengal Patachitra, It referred to the Debi Chal or Durga chala, the background of the Durga Pratima or idol.
Patua or the artists of Chalchitra called it as Pata Lekha, means the writing of Patachitra. 300–400 years old idols of Nabadwip Shakta Rash used Chalchitra as a part of Pratima.
Durga pot or Durga sara is recognised as the worshiped patachitra. It worshiped in the Hatsarandi Sutradhar society of Birbhum district on Durga puja time. This type of patachitra is also worshiped is Katwa. Durga Pot has a hemispherical Patachitra where Patachitra of Durga is in the middle position.
Ram, Sita, Shib, Nandi-Vringi, Brahma, Vishnu, Shumbha-Nishumbha are painted on this kind of Chalchitra. These paintings have elements of symbolism and cultural significance.
Use of natural color is one of the individual characteristics of the Bengal Patachitra. In general, blue, yellow, green, red, brown, black and white are used in the Patachitra of West Bengal. Chalk dust is used for white color, pauri for yellow color, cultivated indigo for blue, bhushakali for black and mete sindur for red color.
The seated figures of Dasaratha and Chand Sadagar of Medinipur crowning the Ramayana and Kamale-Kamini scrolls are impressive and monumental.
Bengal Patua artists carry the occupational surname of ‘Chitrakar’. They are concentrated in the village of Naya in Medinipur district of West Bengal.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam non nisl in velit dignissim mollis a rhoncus dolor. Vivamus egestas condimentum erat, in iaculis nulla blandit ut.
Nutrition plays a key role in the growth and repair of hair in human body. Many vitamins ,minerals and other nutrients are crucial for hair growth.
Deficiencies of crucial nutrients lead to hair loss, although various other factors also have been attributed as the causation of hair loss.
A list of important nutrients for promoting hair growth as well as for preventing hair loss is listed below:
Vitamin A influence hair growth cycle
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin essential for the growth of healthy hair. However, it has been found that both deficiency and excess of vitamin A can cause hair loss. Retinoic acid form of vitamin A helps to regulate hair follicle stem cells, influencing the functioning of the hair cycle.
Beta-carotene or the pro vitamin A is also important to hair growth as beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A which helps growth of hairs.
Pro vitamin A carotenoids are plant pigments that the body converts into vitamin A in the intestine. The main pro vitamin A carotenoids are beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Sources of provitamin A are leafy green vegetables, orange and yellow vegetables, tomato products, fruits, and some vegetable oils.
Preformed vitamin A is found in foods from animal sources, including dairy products, eggs, fish, and meats.
Vitamin B complex to nourish hair follicles
B group vitamins particularly vitamins B1, B2, Niacin & Pantothenic acid play crucial role in hair growth. Reduced levels of thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin, and pantothenic acid can contribute to the undernourishment of hair-follicle cells.
Sources of B vitamins are Fortified breakfast cereals, fish beans, lentils, green peas, enriched or fortified cereals, breads, brown rice, sunflower seeds ,yogurt.
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) gives hair flexibility, strength and shine and helps prevent hair loss and greying.
Pantothenic acid is found in a wide variety of foods like nuts, seeds, dairy milk, yogurt potatoes eggs, brown rice oats, broccoli, fortified cereals ,organ meats (liver, kidney), beef, chicken breast, mushrooms, avocado.
Bacteria in the gut can also produce pantothenic acid to a small extent, although it is not adequate for bodily functions.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin B5 for men and women is 5 mg daily. For pregnancy and lactation, the amount increases to 6 mg and 7 mg daily, respectively.
Vitamin B12 to prevent hair loss
Vitamin B12 helps prevent the loss of hair and can be found in fish, eggs, chicken and milk.
Sources of vitamin B12 are:
• milk
• cheese
• yogurt
• meat
• fish-salmon, trout
• eggs
• clams
• shiitake mushroom
Folic acid to boost hair follicle cell division and growth.
Folic acid is important for hair growth as folic acid deficiency may contribute to decreased hair-follicle cell division and growth.
Folic acid is also essential for the maintenance of healthy methionine amino acid levels in the body.
The main dietary sources of folic acid are:
o tomato
o fresh fruits-oranges, grapefruit, papaya, banana, avocado
o turnip greens, spinach, romaine lettuce, asparagus, brussels sprouts, broccoli , mustard greens, green peas,
o cantaloupe
o beans
o peanuts
o sunflower seeds
o whole grains
o liver
o seafood
o eggs
o fortified foods and supplements
o crab
o hard-boiled egg
o beef liver
Women of reproductive age need 400 mcg of folic acid every day.
Biotin for preserving hair strength, texture, and function.
According to a study conducted at Harvard University biotin is one of the most important nutrients for preserving hair strength, texture, and function.
Good food sources of biotin are eggs, liver and soy.
Biotin from natural sources helps hair growth. However, biotin intake as a supplement for hair loss is not having any scientific evidence.
People who are eating adequate amount of protein may not suffer from biotin deficiency; however vegans may be at risk.
Vitamin Cto build collagen for maintaining the strength of hair
Vitamin C intake is crucial in patients with hair loss associated with iron deficiency as it plays an important role in the intestinal absorption of iron.
Vitamin C helps to build collagen, which is vital for hair growth as well as for maintaining the strength of hair. Collagen plays a significant role in the health of the scalp and hair follicles.
Collagen is the primary component of the dermis that contains hair follicles. Declining collagen levels associated with ageing may contribute to hair loss.
The chief sources of vitamin C include :
Strawberries
Papaya
Potato
Broccoli
Kiwi fruit
Mangoes
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is linked with particular type of hair loss alopecia areata , in which hair is lost in circular spots. Vitamin D has crucial role in immune system functions and hence linked with an autoimmune disease alopecia areata.
It is a vitamin you get from exposure to sun. Meat, fish, milk, eggs and some oils are rich in vitamin D.
Vitamin E to maintain the integrity of cell membranes of hair follicles
Vitamin E is important to maintain the integrity of cell membranes of hair follicles. The vitamin also provides stability to cell membranes and functions as an antioxidant while promoting healthy skin and hair.
Vitamin E is an effective antioxidant which fights against free-radical damage causing hair loss.
The chief sources of vitamin E include nuts and seeds, wheat germ oil, Sunflower, safflower, and soybean oil, sunflower seeds, almonds, avocado, peanuts, peanut butter, beet greens, collard greens, spinach & pumpkin.
Amino acids
Amino acids L-methionine and L- cystein play a vital role in hair health. Proteins are the major sources of amino acids.
L-Methionine, one of four sulfur-containing amino acids, supports hair strength by providing adequate amounts of sulfur to hair cells.
The main sources of methionine are animal products as they contain all the essential amino acids and include meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products. The plant sources are sunflower seeds, tofu, edamame, black beans, refried beans, cashews.
Proteins for hair growth
Proteins play a significant role in the growth as well as in the maintenance of strength of hair. The daily requirement is 0.83 g/kg BW.
Sources of healthy proteins:
Lean meat
Eggs
Soy products.
Legumes, which include beans and peas
Nuts & seeds
Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt.
Whole grains
Vegetables
Minerals for maintaining healthy hair
A few minerals including iron, magnesium, sulfur, silica, selenium and zinc are also very important for maintaining healthy hair.
Selenium helps in protecting the hair from oxidative damage . It also helps in hair follicle morphogenesis. The mineral is involved in hair growth and is needed by the body for regulating and activating thyroid hormones, imbalances of which can lead to hair fall. Liver, fish, eggs, whole grains, meat, fish, nuts etc. are excellent sources of selenium.
Iron also play a vital role in hair loss prevention. Telogen effluvium is a type of excessive amount of hair loss related to deficiency of iron. It is essential to ensure the intake of iron, and maintain adequate amounts of serum ferritin [iron storage in the body]. Consume more leafy vegetables, beans such as red kidney beans and chickpeas, seafood etc.
Iodine is important for the production of thyroid hormones. Variations in thyroid hormone levels can lead to hair thinning and hair loss. Main sources of iodine are seaweed (nori, kelp, kombu, wakame),fish, shellfish (cod, canned tuna, oysters, shrimp, iodized table salts ,dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)eggs, beef liver, chicken.
Omega 3 fatty acids for hair growth and maintenance of follicular health.
Omega 3 fatty acids also have a significant role in hair growth and maintenance of scalp and hair follicular health. The essential omega-3 fatty acids found in fish sources, prevent a dry scalp and dull hair color.
Most important sources of omega 3 fatty acids are walnuts, chia seeds, flax seeds, fish oil, flaxseed oil etc. These are vital nutrients that support the health of hair follicles.
For the healthy growth of your hair include foods rich in all the essential nutrients or take supplements under the directions from your doctor depending on the degree of nutrient deficiency in your body .Diet has a key role in hair loss treatment also.
Kedaraswara temple in Balligavi , near Shikaripura in Shivamogga district of Karnataka is a Shiva temple built in trikuta style .It is a heritage site & protected monument under archeological survey of India [ASI]. The temple is presumed to be built during 11th century by the Hoysala kings who were feudatory of Western Chalukyan empire.
Location
Balligavi is a small town located in Shikaripura taluk, Shivamogga district, Karnataka, India.
It is an ancient Shiva temple where devotees from various parts of Karnataka and neighbouring states visit particularly during festivals like Shravana and Shivratri. The ancient Kedareswara temple is famous for its architectural significance and it is easily accessible from National highway.
The temple premises also include an artgallery with statues, paintings and sculptures of Hindu gods and goddesses from various centuries. Some of them are in dilapidated conditions.
Visiting Balligavi offers a delightful experience to devotees as well as individuals who are keen to understand the archeological significance of this heritage monument. Sri kedareswara temple is situated in Balligavi town at a picturesque place surrounded by lush green vegetation.
History
The town Balligavi is very ancient and it is mentioned in medieval inscriptions as Anadi rajadhani. Balligavi was a renowned town during the rule of western Chalukyas in 11th-12 th century. The golden age of Balligavi was during the rule of the Western Chalukya Empire during the 10th-12th centuries.
The ancient kedaraswara temple is built in distinctHoysala architectural style.
The temple has the cella [garbhagriha] with the Shivalinga [ universal symbol of Shiva ,the Hidu god].
During ancient times the temple was known as the centre of kalamukha sect of shaivism. The famous festivals celebrated in the temple are shravana and mahashivratri.
Temple architecture
The ancient kedareswara temple is built in trikuta style or having three shines with shikara facing east north and south. The temple shrines are capped by decorative towers of Hoysala style with kalasha on the top. According to the Mysore archaeological department , Kedareswara temple is the oldest example of the Western Chalukya- Hoysala architectural combinational style in Karnataka.
The western shrine has a vestibule and all the three shrines conjointly open to mahamandapa which is preceded by a sabhamandapa. The western shrine is presumed to be the oldest one. The western shrine is the oldest dating from the 7th or 8th century.
All shrines open up to a six-pillared hall called “mahamantapa” which is preceded by a large ornate open space called “sabhamantapa”.
The layout of the gathering hall or sabhamandapa is “staggered square” which has the effect of creating projections and recesses. Each projection of the wall has a complete “architectural articulation” (achieved by repetitive decoration). The gathering hall has entrances from the north, south and eastern directions.
The ceiling of the mantapa is flat and the inner ceiling is well carved with lotuses in them. The central ceiling has the carving of Tandaveshwara (dancing Shiva) with eight dikpalakas (guards).
The distinctive Hoysala crest symbol is evident in this temple also. The dome is a large sculpted piece known as helmet or amalaka. This is an excellent example of a trikuta “triple towers” temple in a transitional Western Chalukya-Hoysala architecture.
The superstructures over the shrines are 3-tiered (tritala arpita) vesara (combination of south and north Indian style) with the sculptural details being repeated in each tier.
Kedareswara temple has all the distinctive architectural styles of a Hoysala architectural monument. It includes the large decorative domed roof over the tower; the kalasha on top of it and the Hoysala crest (emblem of the Hoysala warrior stabbing a lion) over the sukhanasi (tower over the vestibule).
The dome is the largest sculptural piece in the temple with ground surface area of about 2×2 meters and is called the “helmet” or amalaka.
Its shape usually follows that of the shrine (square or star shape). The tower over the vestibules of the three shrines appear as low protrusions of the main tower .
The shrine interior :
The entrance to the shrine which faces east has a Nandi, the bull and a celestial attendant of Shiva.
The central shrine has a Shiv linga made from black marble .
The shrine to the south has a linga called Brahma and the shrine to the north has a statue of Janardhana (Vishnu).
The exterior architecture:
The exterior walls of temple are bult in “staggered-square” style with many projections and recesses which is a Hoysala design. The outer walls of the open mandapa (hall) have carvings of women wearing fine jewellery. Two Hoysala emblems were added in 1060 CE by king Vinayaditya.
The superstructure (tower) of the vimana is well- decorated with sculptures of Tandaveshwara, Varaha, Uma Narasimha, Bhairava etc. (avatars of Shiva and Vishnu) and the sukanasi of all three towers still exist.
How to reach Balligavi?
Nearest air ports
Hubbli airport is 130 km away.
Belgaum airport is 224km away from Balligavi town.
Nearest railway station
Shikaripura railway station is the nearest.
By road:
Bus services are available to Balligavi from nearby places like Shivamogga , Uduppi , Shikaripura etc.
From Shivamogga to Balligavi the distance is 74kms by bus or cab .
From Mangaluru to Uduppi buses or cabs are easily available and Uduppi to Shivamogga bus services reach Balligavi also.
[ Mangluru to Balligavi 234.2 kms]
References
A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 116-117, Dr. S.U. Kamath
Mahabalipuram is a famous heritage town listed under UNESCO world heritage sites and it is enriched with rock-cut cave temples, monolithic temples, bas-relief sculptures, and structural temples as well as the excavated remains of temples of Pallava architectural style.
Mahabalipuram (or Mamallapuram), located along southeastern India’s Coromandel Coast has a group of monuments built by the Pallava dynasty during 6th-9th centuries. The majestic edifices portray the dexterity of the Pallava craftsmen in carving temples and sculptures.
The site is well known for its 40 ancient monuments and Hindu temples, including one of the largest open-air rock reliefs in the world: the Descent of the Ganges or Arjuna’s Penance.
Other acclaimed Pallava monuments include Ratha temples with monolithic processional chariots, built between 630 and 668; mandapa viharas (cave temples) with narratives from the Mahabharata and Shaivite, Shakti or Shaaktha and Vaishnava inscriptions in a number of Indian languages and scripts; rock reliefs (particularly bas-reliefs); stone-cut temples built between 695 and 722.
This heritage site is restored after 1960 and now protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Location
The Mahabalipuram temples are located in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, about 60 kilometres southwest of Chennai on the Coromandel Coast.
The origin of Mamallapuram- The city of Pallava dynasty
Mahabalipuram is also known by the name Mamallapuram; Mamalla means “Great Wrestler”, and refers to the 7th-century king of Pallava dynasty Narasimha Varman I.
The town is mentioned in history in various other names including Mamallapattana, Mavalipuram, Mavalivaram, Mavellipore, Mauvellipooram and Mahabalipur, all of which refer to a “great wrestler city” or “city of Mahabali”. Mabalipuram is also linked with the legend of is Mahabali, the demon king defeated by Vamana (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu).
Indian monuments and landforms are intricately linked with the vastness of its mythology and this sacred linking is not uncommon throughout the subcontinent. In the ancient monuments of Mahabalipuram the sculptures, cave temples and inscriptions are connected to history as well as mythology, particularly Mahabharata epic.
There is another story linking this heritage city with prosperity and growth as the Tamil word “mallal” means prosperity. It refers to the prosperity and economic growth of this city of Pallavas during 6th and 7th centuries.
It is curious to find that an 8th-century Tamil text by the early Bhakti movement poet Thirumangai Alvar, where Mamallapuram is called “Kadal Mallai” supporting this claim of Nagaswamy.
Most of the ancient texts , including seventh-century inscriptions refer this town of Palavas as “Mamallapuram” or its close variants. The name “Mahabalipuram” appears only after the 16th century as per records.
The town was also mentioned in colonial-era literature as “Seven Pagodas” by European sailors who landed on the coast and found the towers of seven Hindu temples built by Pallavas.
Marco Polo (1271-1295 CE) also has mentioned about “Seven Pagodas” and the name became associated with the shore temples of Mahabalipuram in publications by European merchants centuries later. However, currently Mahabalipuram monuments own fewer than seven towers, the name “ seven pagodas” has inspired speculation and debate.
In December 2004 Asian tsunami, generated by an earthquake in Indian ocean 160km away from Sumatra island as its epicentre [Indonesa] had a devastating impact on the shores of Tamilnadu also. In many places across the world, there was receding sea water exposing oceanic bed before the occurrence of towering tsunami wave. The tsunami had briefly exposed the beachfront near Saluvankuppam (now north of Mahabalipuram), revealing inscriptions and structures. According to a BBC report that these inscriptions dated back to 9th century and they might have been destroyed later by a 13th-century tsunami.
The tsunami also revealed large structures on the seabed about a kilometre offshore. About this site archaeologists opined that it might be the ancient Mahabalipuram. According to a Science article, the tsunami exposed rocks with elaborately sculpted head of an elephant and a horse in flight. Other artefacts exposed were a small niche with a statue of a deity, another rock with a reclining lion, and other Hindu religious iconography.
In Mahabalipuram group monuments Shore temple is prominent ancient monument close to the beach area. Marine archaeologists and underwater diving teams have explored a site east of the Shore Temple after the 2004 tsunami. This has revealed ruins of fallen walls, a large number of rectangular blocks and other structures parallel to the shore, and the forty surviving monuments.
Pallava rule & emergence of Mamallapuram
Mamallapuram became prominent during the Pallava-era reign of Simhavishnu during the late 6th century. During his reign there was great friction with Pandyas and Cheras.
The monuments of Mahabalipuram are a fusion of religion, culture and legend relating to the Hindu religious pantheon. The monuments depict many 7th- and 8th-century Sanskrit inscriptions and also unravel the medieval South Indian history, culture, reign and religion.
Mamallapuram’s architecture is linked to Simhavishnu’s son, Mahendravarman I (600-630 CE), who was a patron of the arts. Mahendravarman’s son, Narsimha Varman I, continued the work of this city architecture . After a brief hiatus, temple and monument construction was revived during the reign of Rajasimha (or Narasimhavarman II; 690–728).
The site has about forty monuments, including monolithic temples, cave temples , sculptures ,rock reliefs etc.
Types of monuments in Mahabalipuram
Rathas: chariot-shaped temples
Mandapas: Cave temples
Rock reliefs
Structural temples
Excavations
There are ten major rathas, ten mandapas, two rock bas-reliefs and three structural temples.
The monuments portray Hindu mythology gods and goddesses. The reliefs, sculptures and architecture incorporate Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.
Ratha temples
The ratha temples are carved in the shape of chariots in blocks of diorite and granite in sand, carving legends in stone.
They include five monolithic structures projecting above the beach, known as the Five Rathas or the Pandava Rathas.
They are temples with chariot carvings dedicated to deities and concepts of the Shaivi, (Shiva), Vaishnavi (Vishnu) and Shakti (Durga) traditions of Hinduism. These temples are dated to the 7th century.
Cave temples
Mandapas also refer to rock-cut cave temples or shrines, built according to the same concept, and Mamallapuram has many mandapas dated to the 7th and 8th centuries. Cave temples of Mahabalipuram have three entrances
Trimurti cave in northern Mamallapuram
Temple entrance with lingam
Shiva shrine
Temple entrance, with bas-reliefs on interior wall
Vishnu shrine
Mandapa is a Sanskrit term for a typically square vestibule, pillared hall or pavilion.
It was a space for gathering for rituals for the people. Cells or sanctums would often be included, creating a vihara.
The noteworthy feature of cave temples is that they are in incomplete form, and therefore provides much information about how cave monuments were excavated and built in 7th-century. The process of producing rock-cut cave temples influenced later structural Hindu temples.
Segments of the caves indicate that artisans worked with architects to mark off the colonnade, cutting deep grooves into the rock to create rough-hewn protuberances with margins. The hanging rocks were then cut off, and they repeated the process. After the excavation, other artisans moved in to polish the rocks and begin the creation of designs, motifs, friezes and Hindu iconography.
Varaha cave temple
The Varaha cave was excavated from a vertical wall on the west face of the main Mamallapuram hill. it is known for its four sculptures depicting Hindu legends: the Vamana-Trivikrama legend, the Varaha legend, the Durga legend and the Gajalakshmi legend and dated back to the 7th century.
Kotikal cave temple
It is a simple, early excavation with two pilasters on its facade. Inside the Kotikal cave temple are an oblong ardha-mandapa (half or partial hall) and a square sanctum (garbha griya). The front of the sanctum has mouldings and features similar to a free-standing temple. The sanctum door is flanked by female dvarapalas (sculptures guarding the door) on each side.
The female guardians on the sanctum door suggest that the deity in the sanctum was probably Durga, the Hindu goddess.
One pillar has an inscription in the Grantha alphabet which transliterates as “Sri Vamankusa”. It is believed that the temple was built by a patron (according to Ramaswami, possibly Telugu). The temple dates back to the early Mahendra period.
Dharmaraja cave temple
The Dharmaraja cave temple, also known as the Atyantakama cave temple, is on the south side of Mamallapuram hill near the Mahishamardini cave.
The temple has a fourteen-line Sanskrit inscription in the Grantha alphabet with an epithet. The cave is probably built during the reign of King Rajasimha (late 7th or early 8th century), but other archeologists date it to the 7th-century King Paramesvara-varman .A few other scholars assign it to the Mahendra period, based on its style.
Ramanuja cave temple
One of the most sophisticated and complete cave temples, excavated in the center of the main Mamallapuram hill, on its eastern scarp.
The Ramanuja cave consists of a rectangular ardha-mandapa, marked with a row of pillars. At the side of its facade are two model vimanas with a square rock platform. On the floor between the two pillars of the facade is a Sanskrit inscription in the Grantha alphabet praising Rudra, evidence that the temple was originally associated with Shaivism. The inscription’s florid font and epithets date it to the 7th century and Parameshvara Varman.
The temple was partially renovated centuries after its construction into a shrine for the Vaishnava scholar, Ramanuja. The later artisans added the six crudely-cut, free-standing pillars in front, probably to extend the mandapa.
Koneri mandapa
The Koneri temple is dedicated to Shiva and it is carved into the western side of the main hill in Mamallapuram. The temple has two rows of four pillars and two pilasters. The front row is considerably simpler than the row near the shrines, which is intricately carved.
Krishna mandapa
The Krishna mandapa is a sophisticated cave, built in 7th century, with large panels depicting Hindu mythology and the culture, situated near the Descent of the Ganges bas-relief. The walls of the pillared hall depict village life woven into the story of Krishna. Krishna holds Goverdhana Mountain, under which are people, cattle and other animals, in one section.
Atiranachanda cave temple
This 7th-century built cave temple is in the village of Saluvankuppam, north of Mamallapuram. It has a small facade, with two octagonal pillars with square sadurams (bases) and two four-sided pilasters. Behind the facade is an ardha-mandapa and a small, square sanctum. In front of the facade are empty mortise holes, probably later additions to a now-missing mandapa.
The sanctum entrance has two Shaiva dvarapalas. Inside is a later black, polished, 16-sided, tantra-style Shiva linga.
Adivaraha cave temple
The Adivaraha cave temple is built in 7th century and it is also known as the Maha Varaha Vishnu temple. It is known for sculptures relating the Hindu legends about Varaha (Vaishnavism), Durga (Shaktism), Gangadhara (Shaivism), Harihara (Vaishnavism-Shaivism fusion) and Gajalakshmi (Vaishnavism).
The temple is at the northern end of the main Mamallapuram hill, on its western side.
This temple is opened only during times of pooja in the morning and evening.
The temple is dedicated to Varaha incarnation of god Vishnu. In the panel inside temple Shiva is represented as Ganga dhara which is a Pallava style of temple architecture.
Mahishasuramardini cave temple
The Mahishasuramardini cave, also known as the Mahishamardini mandapa, is found at the southern end of the site (known locally as Yamapuri). Excavated on the eastern scarp of a boulder on the main Mamallapuram hill, above it are the ruins of the Olakkannesvara temple. According to Ramaswami, the temple is unfinished but what has been carved represents the ultimate in Tamil temple rock art. The cave has many panels, and their narrative follows the Markandeya Purana.
Panchapandava mandapam
Just south of the Arjuna’s Penance bas-relief is the Panchapandava mandapam, the largest (unfinished) cave temple excavated in Mamallapuram.
It has six pillars, one of which has been restored, and two pilasters as its facade. Another row of pillars follows in the ardhamandapa, and largely-unfinished, deep side halls also contain pillars. Evidence of work in progress suggests that the cave was intended to have a walking path and large wall reliefs.
Other mandapas
The Mamallapuram site includes a number of other unfinished cave temples. Among them are the Trimurti temple, dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.
Pulipudar and adjacent cave temples near the Konerippallam tank and the Tiger Cave, also known as the Yali mandapa, dedicated to Lakshmi (the goddess of prosperity.
Structural temples
The structural (free-standing) temples at Mamallapuram have been built with cut stones as building blocks, rather than carved into a rock (cave temples) or out of a rock (ratha temples).
They represent a different stage, style and sophistication than the other monuments, are some of best examples of early medieval Tamil Hindu-temple architecture These temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Durga, although more Shiva iconography has survived over time.
Shore Temple of Mahabalipuram
The Shore Temple complex is near the Mamallapuram shore. It consists of a large temple, two smaller temples and many minor shrines, open halls, gateways, and other elements, much of which is buried by sand.
The main temple is within a two-tier, compound wall with statues of Shiva’s vahana (vehicle), Nandi, surrounding it. The 60-foot (18 m)-high temple has a 50-square-foot (4.6 m2) plan. It is a stepped pyramidal tower, arranged in five tiers with Shiva iconography.
The temple includes a path around its main sanctum and a large, barrel vaulted roof above its doorway. Pilasters on the outer wall divide it into bays.
A small temple in the original forecourt of the larger temple. The other two temples in the complex are behind the main temple, face each other and are known as the Rajasimhesvara (or Nripatisimha Pallava Vishnugriha) and the Kshatriyasimhesvara.
The main shrine has Vishnu and Durga images. The rear temple walls are carved with Somaskanda bas-relief panels depicting Shiva, Parvati and the infant Skanda.
Most of its Nandi sculptures were in ruins and scattered around the main temple complex. Twentieth-century restoration efforts replaced them in accordance with the inscriptions, descriptions of the temple in medieval texts and excavations of layers which confirmed that Nandi bulls were seated along its periphery.
The Shiva temples of the complex have been dated to the early 8th century and are attributed to the reign of the Pallava king Rajasimha (700-728). The Vishnu temple, with an image of a reclining Vishnu discovered after excavations, has been dated to the 7th century.
Olakkanesvara temple
The Olakkanesvara temple is situated on the rock above the Mahishamardini cave temple. It is also known as the Old Lighthouse because of its conversion by British officials. The temple is built by King Rajasimha ,in the early 8th century from grey granite cut into blocks.
This temple is in dilapidated condition and its superstructure is missing; what remains is a square building with its west entrance flanked by dvarapalas. The walls of the temple depict the Ravananugraha legend from the Ramayana and a relief of Dakshinamurti (Shiva as a yoga teacher). Its name is modern, based on the “ollock of oil” per day which was burnt by local residents to keep the temple flame lit.
Mukundanayanar temple
The Mukundanayanar temple has ratha-like architecture. North of the main hill in Mamallapuram, it has been dated to the early 8th century and attributed to King Rajasimha.
Rock reliefs
Reliefs are carved on rocks or boulders. These include the wall of the Krishna mandapa, where a superstructure was added in front of the relief.
The best-known rock relief in Mahablipuram is the Descent of the Ganges (also known as Arjuna’s Penance or Bhagiratha’s Penance), the largest open-air rock relief.
The Descent of the Ganges is considered one of the largest bas-relief works in the world. The relief, consisting of Hindu mythology, is carved on two 27-metre-long (89 ft), 9-metre-high (30 ft) boulders.
Inscriptions near the panel with the light house in the background
There are two primary interpretations regarding this descent of ganges.
The first one is the effort needed to bring the Ganges from the heavens to earth, and the Kiratarjuniya legend and the chapter from the Mahabharata about Arjuna’s efforts to gain the weapon he needed to help good triumph over evil. A portion of the panel shows the help he received from Shiva to defeat the Asuras. Included in the panel are Vishnu, Shiva, other gods and goddesses, sages, human beings, animals, reptiles and birds.
According to another interpretation, an ascetic Bhagiratha is praying for the Ganges to be brought to earth. Shiva receives the river, to which all life is racing in peace and thirst. This myth has not been universally accepted as central characters are missing or are inconsistent with their legends. The absence of a boar from the entire panel makes it doubtful that it is single story.
However, scenes of Arjuna’s penance and the descent of the Ganges are affirmed.
The granite reliefs, from the early or middle 7th century, are considered by The Hindu as “one of the marvels of the sculptural art of India.
Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the town of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi is one of the most sought-after heritage tourism destinations in India, renowned for its architectural and archeological significance.
Hampi group of monuments include Hindu, Buddhist and Jainist temples depicting a mélange of tradition and culture. The city was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire which ruled this part of Karnataka from 1336 to 1565.Later it faded into oblivion with Muslim invasion of the empire.
This heritage site remained in total neglect until the mid-19th century, when Alexander Greenlaw visited and photographed the site in 1856. These photographs were away from public domain for decades in the United Kingdom, till it published in 1982. Greenlow had created an archive of 60 calotype photographs of temples and royal structures of that period which have great historical and cultural significance as the most valuable source of evidence of the mid-19th-century Hampi.
Location
Hampi is a small modern town with the city of Hosapete 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) away in Karnataka state, India. It is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the eastern part of central Karnataka. It is 140 kilometres southeast of the Badami and Aihole archaeological sites of Karnataka.
The ruins of a sleeping empire -Vijayanagara
Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire which ruled this part of Karnataka from 1336 to 1565. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates in 1565, after which Hampi was faded into oblivion for many decades.
The ruins of this ancient heritage town are spread over 4,100 hectares and it has been described by UNESCO as an “austere, grandiose site” of more than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India.
Hampi group of monuments includes forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures, water structures etc.
Hampi was a major centre of trade at the time of Vijayanagar Empire, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal mostly. During 1500 CE Hampi was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing. It was one of the wealthiest cities of Indian subcontinent which fascinated many 16th-century traders from across the Deccan area, Persia and the Portuguese colony of Goa.
The Vijayanagara rulers fostered developments and they were also lovers of various art forms. The dynasty focused on developing roads, waterworks, agriculture, religious buildings and public infrastructure. According to the accounts of UNESCO, Vijayanagara empire had many forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas (halls for people to sit), memorial structures, gateways, check posts, stables, water structures, and more”
Being a mighty empire Vijayanagara maintained a strong military and fought many wars with sultanates to its north and east.
The centuries old city was multi-religious and multi-ethnic; Still the ruins and vestiges show Hindu and Jain monuments next to each other. The buildings predominantly followed South Indian Hindu arts and architecture dating to the Aihole-Pattadakal styles, but the Hampi builders also used elements of Indian architecture in the Lotus Mahal, the public bath and the elephant stables.
The monuments at this site probably might have been built in colours rather than the sandstone tint visible in the current era.
The empire has been mentioned in foreign texts and documents and it adds to the global significance of Hampi. Robert Sewell published his scholarly treatise A Forgotten Empire in 1900, which brought into light this heritage town.
Alexander Rea, an officer of the Archaeological Survey department of the Madras Presidency within British India, published his survey of the site in 1885.
The growing interest led Rea and his successor Longhurst to clear and repair the Hampi group of monuments.
The site is significant historically and archaeologically, for the Vijayanagara period and the previous years of sleeping history. The Archaeological Survey of India continues to conduct excavations in the area.
According to the Hoysala-period inscriptions Hampi was known by alternate names such as Virupakshapattana, Vijaya Virupakshapura in honour of the old Virupaksha (Shiva) temple there.
Sacred links of myths encircling Hampi
According to Sthala Purana, Parvati (Pampa) pursued her ascetic, yogini lifestyle on Hemakuta Hill, now a part of Hampi, to win and bring ascetic Shiva back into householder life. Shiva is also called Pampapati as the husband of pampa or goddess Parvati. The river near the Hemakuta Hill came to be known as Pampa river. As in many other parts of Indiian subcontinent here also the sacred linking of geographical regions is evident. The Sanskrit word Pampa morphed into the Kannada word Hampa and the place Parvati pursued Shiva came to be known as Hampe or Hampi.
Rising up of Vijayanagara empire from the ashes of pampapura
Emperor Ashoka , the great Mauryan ruleris connected to Hampi according to Rock Edicts in Nittur and Udegola [ in Bellary district ]269-232 BCE. It suggests that this region was part of the Maurya Empire during the 3rd century BCE. A Brahmi inscription and a terracotta seal dating to about the 2nd century CE have been found during site excavations.
The town Hampi is mentioned in Badami Chalukya’s inscriptions as Pampapura, dating from between the 6th and 8th centuries. By the 10th century, pamapapura had become a centre of religious and educational activities under the reign of Chalukya empire. Kalyana Chalukyas ruled this area and the inscriptions of the century state that the kings made land grants to the Virupaksha temple.
Several inscriptions from the 11th to 13th centuries are about the Hampi site, with a mention of gifts to goddess Hampa-devi.
Between the 12th and 14th centuries, Hindu kings of the Hoysala Empire of South India built temples to Durga, Hampadevi and Shiva, according to an inscription dated about 1,199 CE. Hampi became the second royal residence; one of the Hoysala kings was known as Hampeya-Odeya or “lord of Hampi”.
The Kampili kingdom in north-central Karnataka followed the collapse of Hoysala Empire. The Kampili kingdom ended after an invasion by the Muslim armies of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. In 14th century Muslim rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq, invaded and plundered South India. The Hoysala Empire and its capital Dvarasamudra in southern Karnataka was plundered and destroyed in the early 14th century by the armies of Alauddin Khalji.
In 1326 CE the army of Muhammad bin Tughlaq destroyed the kingdom mercilessly.The Hindu women of Kampili committed jauhar (ritual mass suicide) when the Kampili soldiers faced defeat by Tughlaq’s army.
In 1336 CE, the Vijayanagara Empire arose from the ruins of the Kampili kingdom. It grew into one of the famed Hindu empires of South India that ruled for over 200 years.The Vijayanagara Empire built its capital around Hampi, calling it Vijayanagara. Historians suggests that Harihara I and Bukka I, the founders of the empire, were commanders in the army of the Hoysala Empire stationed in the Tungabhadra region to ward off Muslim invasions from the Northern India.
Another story proposed is that these people were Telugu people, who took control of the northern parts of the Hoysala Empire during its decline.
As per texts such as Vidyaranya Kalajana, Vidyaranya Vritanta, Rajakalanirnaya, Pitamahasamhita, Sivatatvaratnakara, they were treasury officers of Pratap Rudra, the King of Kakatiya Kingdom.
When Muhammad Bin Tughlaq came looking for Baha-Ud-Din Gurshasp (who was taking refuge in the court of Pratap Rudra), Pratap Rudra was overthrown and Kakatiya was destroyed. During this time the two brothers Harihara I and Bukka I, with a small army came to the present site of Vijayanagara, Hampi. Vidyaranya, the 12th Jagadguru of Sringeri took them under his protection and established them on the throne and the city was called Vidyanagara in A.D. 1336.
Decline of vijayanagara
In 1565, at the Battle of Talikota, a coalition of Muslim sultanates entered into a war with the Vijayanagara Empire. They captured and beheaded the king Aliya Rama Raya, followed by a massive destruction of the infrastructure fabric of Hampi and the metropolitan Vijayanagara. The city was pillaged, looted and burnt for six months after the war, then abandoned as ruins, which are now called the Group of Monuments at Hampi
Monuments of Hampi
Most of the monuments of Hampi were built between 1336 and 1570 CE during the reign of Vijayanagara empire. The site has about 1,600 monuments and covers 41.5 square kilometres .
The Hampi site has been studied by hisorians in three broad zones such as :
sacred centre
urban core or the royal centre
metropolitan Vijayanagara.
The sacred centre, alongside the river, contains the oldest temples with a history of pilgrimage and monuments pre-dating the Vijayanagara empire.
The urban core and royal centre have over sixty ruined temples beyond those in the sacred centre, but the temples in the urban core are all dated to the Vijayanagara empire. The urban core also includes public utility infrastructure such as roads, an aqueduct, water tanks, mandapa, gateways and markets, monasteries. This distinction has been assisted by some seventy-seven stone inscriptions.
Most of the monuments of Hampi are depicting Hindu temple architecture and the public infrastructure such as tanks and markets include reliefs and artwork depicting Hindu deities and themes from Hindu texts.
There are also six Jain temples and monuments and a Muslim mosque and tomb in Hampi.
The architectural style of monuments of Hampi is Dravidian, rooted in Hindu arts and architecture of [the second half of the 1st millennium] the Deccan region.
It also included elements of the arts that developed during the Hoysala rule of the empire between the 11th and 14th century such as in the pillars of Ramachandra temple and ceilings of some of the Virupaksha temple complex.
Major temple monuments of Hampi
Virupaksha temple complex
The Virupaksha temple is the oldest Hindu shrine, the main destination for pilgrims and tourists. It includes parts of the Shiva, Pampa and Durga temples existed in the 11th-century; it was extended during the Vijayanagara era. The temple is a collection of smaller temples.
According to local tradition, the Virupaksha is the only Hindu temple that continued to be a gathering place of Hindus and visited by pilgrims after the destruction of Hampi in 1565. The temple attracts large crowd during the annual festivals, with a chariot procession to mark the marriage of Virupaksha and Pampa [ Shiva &Parvati] is held in spring, as is the solemn festival of Maha Shivaratri.
Krishna temple
This temple is also called Balakrishna temple, situated on the other side of Hemakuta hill, is about 1 kilometre south of Virupaksha temple. It is dated back to 1515 CE.
The temple faces to the east; it has a gateway with reliefs of all ten avatars of Vishnu starting with Matsya at the bottom. Inside the ruined temple for Krishna ruined shrines for goddesses are also found.
South of the Krishna temple’s exterior are two adjacent shrines, one containing the largest monolithic Shiva Linga and the other with the largest monolithic Yoga-Narasimha avatar of Vishnu in Hampi.
Achyutaraya temple
The Achyutaraya temple, also called the Tiruvengalanatha temple, is about 1 kilometre east of Virupaksha temple and close to Tungabhadra River. It is referred to be in Achyutapura in inscriptions and is dated to 1534 CE. It is one of the four largest complexes in Hampi.
Vitthala temple
It is over 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) north-east of the Virupaksha temple near the banks of the Tungabhadra River. It is an artistically sophisticated Hindu temple in Hampi, and is part of the sacred centre of Vijayanagara.
Hemakuta hill monuments
The Hemakuta hill lies between the Virupaksha temple complex to the north and the Krishna temple to the south. It has monuments that are preserved examples of pre-Vijayanagara and early-Vijayanagara temples and construction. The site has several important inscriptions. The hill has more than thirty small-to-moderate-sized temples, together with water cisterns, gateways, and secular pavilions.
The Hazara Rama temple
This temple is also referred to as the Ramachandra temple in inscriptions, occupied the western part of the urban core in the royal centre section of Hampi. This temple was dedicated to Rama of the Ramayana.The inner walls of the temple has friezes containing extensive narration of the Hindu epic Ramayana
Kodandarama temple and riverside monuments
The Kodandarama temple complex lies near the Tungabhadra River, and is north of Achyutaraya temple. The temple overlooks Chakratirtha, where the Tungabhadra turns northwards towards the Himalayas. The river banks has a Vijayanagara-era ghat and mandapa facilities for bathing. There is a dipa stambha (lighting pillar) in front of the temple under a Pipal tree, and inside the temple there is a sanctum dedicated to Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.
Pattabhirama temple complex
This temple complex is in the southern suburban centre outside the sacred centre and the urban core, about 500 metres from the ASI Hampi museum. It seems to be built in the early 16th century and dedicated to Rama of Ramayana[ Incarnation of Lord Vishnu].It was at the nucleus of economic and cultural activity of this suburb, now located north-east of Kamalapura. The complex, also known as Varadevi Ammana Pattana.
Mahanavami platform
This monument, is within a 7.5-hectare (19-acre) enclosure at one of the highest points inside the royal centre (urban core). It is mentioned in the memoirs of foreigners who visited Vijayanagara and is referred as “House of Victory”.
The largest monument in this complex has three ascending square stages leading to a large, square platform that likely had a wooden mandapa above it. This was burnt down during the destruction of Hampi.
It has reliefs—possibly a catalogue of 14th-century royal activities—and lines of marching animals including elephants, horses and camels.
Reliefs on the south side show musicians and dancers, including female stick-dancers. The third level reliefs show a battle procession, couples and scenes of common citizens celebrating Holi (Vasantotsava) by throwing water at each other.
The Square Water Pavilion, also called the Queen’s Bath, is in the south-east of the royal centre. It has a pavilion, a water basin and a method of moving fresh water to it and taking away wash water and overflows. The basin is enclosed within an ornate, pillared, vaulted bay. The building’s interior arches show influence from Indo-Islamic architecture, reflecting an era in which Hindu and Muslim arts influenced each other in India
The Hampi monuments include aqueducts to carry water to tanks and other parts of the city, as well as drains and channels to remove water overflow.
Several major temples in Hampi have an embedded kitchen and 100-or-more-pillared feeding halls.[64][65] Hampi also had a dedicated public Bhojana shala (house of food) where numerous thali (dish) were carved in series in a rock on both sides of a water channel.
Lotus mahal
The enclosure contains the Lotus Mahal which is a two-storeyed pavilion in the royal centre.[124] The Lotus Mahal combines a symmetrical, square, Hindu mandala design with lobed arches, vaults, and domes of the Indo-Islamic style. Its basement and pyramidal towers are based on Hindu temple architecture.[124] Like almost all of the structures in Hampi’s royal centre, this monument has no inscriptions nor epigraphs mentioning it and therefore dating it and establishing its function with evidence has been difficult. The Lotus Mahal and other structures in the Hampi urban core, however, were not built with Muslim patronage, unlike the tombs in the various Muslim quarters of the city. These buildings reflect the assimilative approach of the Vijayanagara Hindu rulers. Lotus Mahal looks like a syncretic, congested space and its purpose is unclear. Speculations include it being a council hall.[124][125]
The Hampi site has over 1,600 surviving ruins—mostly Hindu—spread over a wide area.[10] Other significant monuments include a temple near the octagonal bath for Saraswati, a Hindu goddess of knowledge and music; a temple in the suburbs for Ananthasayana Vishnu; an Uddana Virbhadra temple for Shiva and Vishnu; a shrine for Kali, the fierce form of Durga unusually shown holding a ball of rice and a ladle (Annapurna);[131] an underground temple in the royal centre; a Sugriva cave temple;[132] the Matanga hill monuments; the Purandaradasa temple dedicated to the scholar-musician famed for the Carnatic music tradition; the Chandrashekhara temple for Shiva near the Queen’s bath monument; and the Malyavanta hill dedicated to Rama-Sita-Lakshmana and Shiva. The Malyavanta hill features several shrines including the Raghunatha temple and a row of Shiva lingas carved in stone.[133]
Jain monuments
Reliefs of Jain temples at Hampi include Hemkut Jain temples, Ratnantraykut, Parsvanath Charan and Ganagitti Jain temples. Most of the idols are now missing from these temples, which were built in the 14th century.[134]
Ganagitti temple complex
The Indo-Islamic style is visible in a few monuments, such as the Queen’s bath and Elephant stables. UNESCO has commented that it reflects a highly evolved multi-religious and multi-ethnic society.
Hampi monuments attract millions of tourists every year to Karnataka from various parts of the globe. The monuments tell the story of many dynasties and the multi ethnic societies lived in this land. It stands as an integral part of the history of Indian subcontinent which tells numerous tales of conquests, expansion and widening of frontiers by various Northern dynasties and invasion by foreign Muslim rulers.
The Ganigitti Jain temple is near Bhima’s gate in the south-east of the urban core section of Hampi. In front of it is a monolithic lamp pillar.[129] The temple faced north; it is dated to 1385 CE, during the rule of Hindu king Harihara II, based on an inscription in the temple.[129] It is dedicated to Tirthankara Kunthunatha and has plain walls, a pillared mandapa and a square sanctum from which the Jina’s statue is missing.
A cluster of Jain 150 meters (160 yd) east of the elephant stables. One north-facing temple is dedicated to Parshvanatha Tirthankara. It was built by King Devaraya II and dates to 1426 CE, per an inscription in the temple. In front of the temple are two ruined temples
The Hampi site includes a Muslim quarter with Islamic tombs, two mosques and a cemetery. These are neither in the sacred centre nor in the royal centre of the Hampi site.
There is a Muslim monument in the south-east of the urban core on the road from Kamalapura to Anegondi, before Turuttu canal in the irrigated valley. This monument was first built in 1439 by Ahmad Khan, a Muslim officer in the army of Hindu king Devaraya II. The monuments include a mosque, an octagonal well, and a tomb. The mosque lacks a dome and is a pillared pavilion, while the tomb has a dome and arches.
How to reach Hampi ?
The nearest airport to Hampi, Bellary is 60 km away from Hampi.
Hubli Airport is another Airport which is 143 km away from Hampi.
Also, JSW Vidyanagar Airport in Toranagallu is located approximately 40 kms from Hampi.
However, if you are a foreigner visiting the places you need to step down at Bengaluru Airport to get Visa on Arrival. You can book domestic flight tickets from Bengaluru to Bellary or Hubli to reach Hampi without any delay.
By road :
To reach Hampi you can choose buses or cabs.
Bangalore to Hampi 343 km 6 hours 2 mins
Many buses are available to Hosapete town, Hospet has great road connectivity from Bangalore[ state- Karnataka] and Mumbai,Pune&Kolhapur[ state-Maharashtra].
By train:
People from other states of India may reach Hampi by booking tickets to Hosapete Junction (Hospet) railway station (railway station code: HPT).
Bhagoriya festival is a harvest festival celebrated by tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, a unique celebration of the Bhil and other indigenous communities such as Bhilalas and Pateliyas.
It is a festival of singing and dance which celebrates the arrival of Spring and harvest. The tribal people start the celebrations seven days before the festival of Holi.
Bhagoriya is more than just a festivity, it’s a vibrant expression of tribal culture, unity which also has a sacred linking with divinity, according to the beliefs of tribal community.
It is the tradition of the tribes of the hamlets here to honour Lord Shiva and his consort goddess Parvati. The name Bhagoriya is derived from “Bhav-Gauri”, another name for lord Shiva and goddess Parvati.
Locations of bhagoriya celebration
The festival takes place in the Barwani, Dhar, Alirajpur, Khargone and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is celebrated for seven days in the month of March before the Holi.
Traditionally, the people of the tribes travel to the festival grounds with their families on decorated bullock carts to do shopping for the upcoming festival of Holi and dance to traditional musical instruments, sing songs in unison with the tribal people of different areas.
The festival is the celebration of vibrant colours with music and dance in the ground of fair where men reach wearing dhoti, jhuladi, and a safa (turban), often accessorised with conventional weapons and a belt of bells around their waists. The tribal women appear in ghaghra and polki, adorned with dazzling accessories of silver jewellery from head to foot.
History
According to folklore the festival is connected to a king who initiated it for searching his missing daughter. However, historians attribute the patronage of the festival to King Kasumar Damor.
During the festival, the dancing tribes take Mahua liquor, a local brew enjoyed during the festivities. Groups from various villages arrive in processions, carrying traditional musical instruments such as the mandar, kund, brass plates, and flutes.
The dance is a visual treat with the fascinating performance of tribes in silver ornaments , vibrant attires enriched with intricate body movements and expressions.
The Bhagoriya Festival fairs are a treasure trove of tribal life, featuring shops selling tribal jewellery, artefacts, clothes, and indigenous items made by the tribal people.
Food stalls are also organized to offer local delicacies across the festival ground. The festival fair also comes alive with fun rides, including merry-go-rounds.
Cultural organisations and NGOs have taken initiatives to document and promote Bhagoriya festivities. DECU ISRO has worked with local artists to preserve the dance and its traditions. Recently Madhya Pradesh ministry has stated that Bhagoriya festival is part of its cultural heritage.
Indeed, tribal fests are to be revived & preserved for the posterity to understand the indigenous culture and tradition of this land in the decades yet to come. These kinds of tribal fests of the subcontinent features our tangible & intangible heritage which can inspire the world forever.
Microbes play a vital role in reducing air pollution and global warming. Let us have a glimpse at the role of microbes in carbon sequestration and in climate change.
Microbes are microscopic living things found in water, soil, the air and our bodies. Microbes are also referred to as microorganisms and some of them are disease causing agents while others are helpful to the body as well as the environment. The microbes include bacteria, viruses and fungi and they are part of our life and environment.
It is a well-known fact that human body contains numerous microbes and every microorganism is not harmful to us. For example, human intestine contains probiotic bacteriae and vitamin K synthesizing bacteriae which helps to maintain the gut health. Similarly, our environment also incorporates microbes as a part of our ecosystem and which helps to maintain ecological balance.
Melbourne researchers have discovered that microbes of our environment consume huge amounts of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) and helps in detoxification process. CO is a green house gas which leads to global warming phenomenon due to their increased heat trapping potential.
The Monash University-led Study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, shows that at an atomic level how microbes consume carbon monoxide present in the atmosphere. The microbes use a special enzyme, called the CO dehydrogenase in this detoxification process. These microbes consume CO for their own survival, but it helps to clear carbon monoxide, the toxic gas that gets trapped on Earth’s atmosphere.
Microbes reduce air pollution
Carbon monoxide [CO] is an atmospheric trace gas and rarely exceeds 1 ppm except in heavily polluted city airspaces, volcanic exhalations, or industrial flue gases . Volcanic exhalations have significant CO content, submarine hydrothermal vent fluids have about 100 nM CO .
Moderate concentrations of CO are produced by bacterial fermentation or in soil associated with rhizosphere bacteria. CO has high potential as an electron donor, and represents a very favorable energy and carbon source for microbial growth. Some atmospheric microbes utilize atmospheric carbon monoxide as a part of their survival process, but this detoxification process by the microbes has positive impact on our ecosystem as it reduces air pollution, which kills many millions of people each year.
Microbes impact global warming
According to NASA, Global warming is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities , primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere. Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a number that is currently increasing by more than 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade.
Generally, life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. About half the light energy reaching Earth’s atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated in the form of infrared heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-radiated, slowing heat loss to space. Greenhouse gases are slowing heat loss from the lower atmosphere.
The consumption of carbon monoxide [CO]by the microbes help to reduce global warming, as CO is a notoriously known for raising atmospheric temperature as a greenhouse gas. Five key greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor.
History of link between microbes and environment
The evidence for CO utilization by “methane bacteria” was noted by Kluyver and Schnellen in 1947 and since then many microbes using CO via oxidation have emerged. Many strains of microbes use molecular oxygen as the electron acceptor for aerobic oxidation of CO.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most important chemical reactants in the troposphere layer of earth’s atmosphere. It influences the fate of methane and ozone by removing the major atmospheric oxidizing agent, hydroxyl radical.
Fossil fuel use, biomass burning, and oxidation of atmospheric hydrocarbons (methane and other compounds) account for most of the CO source strength of the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide sequestration
Soil microbes are essential to carbon sequestration. Certain bacteria and algae convert carbon dioxide into organic matter, which is then stored in the soil. This helps remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, mitigating the effects of global warming.
Some of the key soil microbes involved in carbon sequestration include:
Mycorrhizal fungi: These fungi form mutualistic relationships with plant roots, helping plants to absorb nutrients and water from the soil. They also play a role in carbon sequestration by increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
Actinobacteria: These bacteria are known to decompose plant litter and other organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide in the process. They also play a role in carbon sequestration by producing organic compounds that help to stabilize soil organic matter.
Rhizobia: These bacteria form symbiotic relationships with legume plants, fixing nitrogen from the air and making it available to the plant. This process also helps to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: These fungi form symbiotic relationships with a many plant species, and they play vital role in carbon sequestration by increasing the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
Proteobacteria: These bacteria help in decomposing plant litter and other organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide. However, they aid carbon sequestration by producing compounds that help to stabilize soil organic matter.
Scientists have recently discovered a microbe, a type of cyanobacteria, off the coast of a volcanic island near Sicily that consumes carbon dioxide (CO2) very quickly. Cyanobacteria are a type of bacteria that use photosynthesis to obtain energy, capturing carbon in the process.
Together with a team of researchers from Harvard and Cornell universities in the US and the University of Palermo in Sicily, and with help from the Vulcano community, Tierney isolated a microbe that converted CO2 into biomass faster than other known cyanobacteria.
How do microbes impact climate change?
Scientists all over the world are of the opinion that tackling climate change will require large-scale carbon capture and carbon sequestration. Both aims at removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus prevent the climate change. This can probably be achieved via new technology or through protecting and enhancing existing natural ecosystems such as forests, peatlands and soils.
Last year the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that carbon capture is essential because even big cuts to emissions won’t be enough to limit global warming. Microbes play a crucial role in caron capture.
This discovery elucidates the significance of coexistence of microbes in our environment for better weather and climatic state. All microbes are not deleterious to our health in normal weather and climatic conditions. Some are helpful in preserving the equilibrium of our ecosystem.
Kumbh Mela (the festival of the sacred Pitcher or pot ) is considered as the largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, and it includes the ritual of taking bathe or a holy dip in a sacred river. It is a huge spiritual event inviting global attention as a tradition interwoven with the rich cultural heritage of India since ancient times.The event is a religious and cultural spectacle which occurs once in 12 years attracting participants from around the globe to take a dip in the holy waters
In 2025 Mahakumbhamela is happening in Prayagraj in India. The 45-day Maha Kumbh, happening after a gap of 144 years, will witness the participation of over 45 crore devotees, including nearly 15 lakh from foreign nations
Kumbh Mela plays a central spiritual role in the country and the event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices making this a culturally diverse festival. Knowledge and skills related to this tradition are transmitted through ancient religious manuscripts, oral traditions, historical travelogues and texts produced by eminent historians. However, the teacher-student relationship of the sadhus in the ashrams and akhadas remains the most important method of imparting and safeguarding knowledge and skills relating to Kumbh Mela.
The ritualistic bath of kumbh mela
The kumbh mela festival is connected with the ritual of the sacred bath or dip in Ganges River or its confluences. Devotees believe that by bathing in the holy Ganges, one is freed from sins liberating the person from the cycle of birth and death. This impart Kumbh mela a dimension of salvation or moksha along with the fervor and enthusiasm interwoven with the celebration of spirituality.
The congregation of pilgrims attending Maha Kumbh mela includes ascetics, saints, sadhus, aspirants-kalpavasis and visitors from any part of the globe. It is believed that Kumbh mela is a festival which is celebrated in India since ancient times at periodic intervals as a celebration of holy bath and congregation for spiritual discussions and rituals, in various other names as Magh festival. Still it is a matter of debate while looking through the lens of history .
Most pilgrims stay at the venue of Kumbh mela for a day or two, but some stay the entire month of Magh during the festival and live an austere life during the stay. They attend spiritual discourses, fast and pray over the month, and these Kumbh pilgrims are called kalpavasis
Traditionally, the riverside events conducted at four major pilgrimage sites are recognized as the Kumbh Melas: Prayagraj (Ganges-Yamuna-Sarasvati rivers confluence), Haridwar (Ganges), Nashik-Trimbak (Godavari), and Ujjain (Shipra). It was asserted that, in 2022, after a 700-year break, Bansberia (Hooghly), hosted the pilgrimage again.
Apart from the ritualistic dip in the waters, Kumbh mela is a festival of community commerce with numerous fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, mass gatherings of monks, and entertainment.
Kumbh mela through the veil of myths
Kumbh mela is a festival categorized under intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. This congregation of pilgrims intricately is linked with the legend of Indian mythology. Through the veil of myths and legends Kumbh mela has deeper connection with Hindu puranas and epics which describes the churning of the great ocean Palazhimanthan and from which many precious objects, animals and divine figurines emerged.
However historian rejects this linking of Kumbhamela with the myth of “the great ocean churning” with the claim that as none of the ancient or medieval era texts t mention the Samudra Manthana legend [ ocean churning] ever linked it to a “mela” or festival. Giorgio Bonazzoli, a scholar of Sanskrit Puranas, considers these myths as mere anachronistic explanations, an adaptation of early legends to a later practice by a “small circle of adherents” who have sought the roots of a highly popular pilgrimage and festival.
Hindu mythology puranas and epics describes the emergence of a “Kumbha of amrita (nectar of immortality)” after the forces of good and evil churn the great ocean of creation. The gods and demons fight over the possession of this amrit kumbh to attain immortality. In a later day extension to this myth ,the pot or amrit kumbh is spilt at four places, and that relates to the origin of the four Kumbha Melas. However this myth of “spilling” and associated Kumbh Mela celebration is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of Samudra Manthana (churning of the ocean) such as the Vedic era texts (pre-500 BCE).
There is another story associated with Kumbh mela which is the more widely known version that narrates about the Mohini avtar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu to regain the pot from demons who stole it for a short interval from the gods. All these myths and legends impart the festival a divine dimension beyond its relevance as the periodical spiritual congregation .
The “Kumbha Mela “ word as such is not found in the ancient or medieval era texts, however many texts and verses mention about a bathing festival, the sacred junction of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and sacred Saraswati at Prayag, and pilgrimage to Prayag.
History of origin of kumbh mela
Kumbh mela , an ancient religious festival, the roots of which lies in obscurity since time immemorial. According to religious texts, it is believed that the festival began in the 8th-century as a Hindu gathering initiated by Hindu philosopher and saint Adi Shankara for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent. However, historical literary evidence is lacking about these mass pilgrimages called “Kumbha Mela” prior to the 19th century.
There is mention about Magha mela celebrated annually in various inscriptions and manuscripts with periodic huge gatherings of pilgrims at 6 0r 12 years and taking holy dip in sacred rivers.
According to the author & professor of school of Humanities and Languages, Kama MacLean, Kumbh mela is rebranding and remobilization of the ancient Magha Mela as the modern era Kumbh Mela, particularly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.She mentions about Kumbh mela in her book Pilgrimage and power and also in other articles.
The first Kumbh Mela event was organized in 1870, under the supervision of British empire in the colonial era. The weeks over which the festival is observed cycle at each site approximately once every 12 years based on the Hindu luni-solar calendar and the relative astrological positions of Jupiter, the sun and the moon. The difference between Prayag and Haridwar festivals is about 6 years, and both feature a Maha (major) and Ardha (half) Kumbh Melas.
The exact years for the celebration of Kumbh Melas at Ujjain and Nashik have been a topic of dispute in the 20th century. The Nashik and Ujjain festivals have been celebrated in the same year or one year apart typically about 3 years after the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela.
There is mention about holy dip in Prayaga in many religious texts but the name “ kumbh mela “ is conspicuously absent. The earliest mention of Prayaga and the bathing pilgrimage is found in a supplement to the Rigveda.
The holy bath in prayaga is also mentioned in the Pali canons of Buddhism. In section 1.7 of Majjhima Nikaya, Buddha states that bathing in Prayaga cannot wash away cruel and evil deeds, rather the virtuous one should be pure in heart and fair in action.
The Indian epic Mahabharata mentions a bathing pilgrimage at Prayag as a means of atonement, penance for past mistakes and guilt.
In Tirthayatra Parva of Mahabharata [means pilgrimage before the great war depicted in the epic] the epic states “the one who observes firm [ethical] vows, having bathed at Prayaga during Magha, becomes spotless and reaches heaven. Magha mentioned here is the Magha festival of ancient era.
The Anushasana Parva of the epic [ the part of mahabharatha epic post war] also narrates about this bathing pilgrimage as “geographical tirtha” that must be combined with Manasa-tirtha (tirtha of the heart).
There are a few other textual references to Prayaga and river-side festivals including the places where present-day Kumbh Melas are held. However, the exact age of the Kumbh Mela is still obscure and remain intertwined with myths and legends. Most of the texts mentioning Prayaga is referring to Magha festival. Nonetheless, no evidences corroborates that Magha is the primitive form of Kumbha mela.
Historians probably take into account the 7th-century Buddhist Chinese traveller Xuanzang’s (Hiuen Tsang) mentioning about king Harsha and his capital of Prayag, which he states to be a sacred Hindu city with hundreds of “deva temples” and two Buddhist institutions. The ancient traveler also mentions the Hindu bathing rituals at the junction of the rivers. According to some scholars, this is the earliest surviving historical account of the Kumbh Mela, which took place in present-day Prayag in 644 CE.
Some traditions believes that Kumbha Mela’s origin happened in the 8th CE as philosopher Shankara called for a major Hindu gatherings for philosophical discussions and debates along with Hindu monasteries across the Indian subcontinent.
According to James Mallinson, a scholar of Hindu yoga manuscripts and monastic institutions, bathing festivals at Prayag with large gatherings of pilgrims are attested since “at least the middle of the first millennium CE”. He also states that textual evidence exists for similar pilgrimage at other major sacred rivers since the medieval period. He conclude that four of these pilgrim gatherings morphed under the name ” Kumbh Mela” during the reign of East India Company which made a deliberate move to control the war-prone monks through this transformation. The imperial power of Britain also had an eye on the lucrative tax and trade revenues at these Hindu pilgrimage festivals.
The Ramcharitmanas, a 16th century text of Tulsidas also cite an annual Mela in Prayag .
The Muslim historian’s Ain-i-Akbari (c. 1590 CE) The Persian text calls Prayag (spells it Priyag) the “king of shrines” for the Hindus, and mentions that it is considered particularly holy in the Hindu month of Magha.
The late 16th-century Tabaqat-i-Akbari also describes explicitly of an annual bathing festival at Prayag Sangam where “various classes of Hindus came from all over the country to bathe in large numbers that the jungles and plains were unable to hold them”.
The Kumbh Mela of Haridwar appears to be the original Kumbh Mela, since it is held according to the astrological sign “Kumbha” (Aquarius), and because there are several references to a 12-year cycle for it.
The later Mughal Empire era texts that contain the term “Kumbha Mela” in Haridwar’s context include Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh (1695–1699 CE), and Chahar Gulshan (1759 CE).The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh also mentions an annual bathing pilgrimage festival in Prayag, but it does not call it Kumbh.
Both these Mughal era texts use the term “Kumbh Mela” to describe only Haridwar’s fair, mentioning a similar fair held in Prayag and Nashik. The Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh lists the following melas: an annual mela and a Kumbh Mela every 12 years at Haridwar; a mela held at Trimbak when Jupiter enters Leo (that is, once in 12 years); and an annual mela held at Prayag (in modern Prayagraj) in Magh.
The Magh Mela of Prayag is probably the oldest among the four modern-day Kumbh Melas. It dates from the early centuries CE, given it has been mentioned in several early Puranas. However, the name Kumbh for these more ancient bathing pilgrimages probably dates to the mid-19th century.
D. P. Dubey states that none of the ancient Hindu texts call the Prayag fair a “Kumbh Mela”.
Kama Maclean states that the early British records do not mention the name “Kumbh Mela” or the 12-year cycle for the Prayag fair. The first British reference to the Kumbh Mela in Prayag occurs only in an 1868 report, which mentions the need for increased pilgrimage and sanitation controls at the “Coomb fair” to be held in January 1870. According to Maclean, the Prayagwal Brahmin priests of Prayag coopted the Kumbh legend and brand to the annual Prayag Magh Mela given the socio-political circumstances in the 19th century.
The Kumbh Mela at Ujjain began in the 18th century when the Maratha ruler Ranoji Shinde invited ascetics from Nashik to Ujjain for a local festival.
Management of kumbh mela festival
The Kumbh Melas have three dates around which the significant majority of pilgrims participate, while the festival itself lasts between one and three months around these dates. Each festival attracts millions, with the largest gathering at the Prayag Kumbh Mela and the second largest at Haridwar.
The festival is observed over many days, with the day of Amavasya attracting the largest number on a single day. According to official figures, the largest one-day attendance at the Kumbh Mela was 30 million on 10 February 2013 and 50 million on 4 February 2019.
The Kumbh Mela is curated like camps, facilitating access to Sadhus & Hindu worshippers. Two key groups central to the Kumbh Mela are the Sadhus (Hindu ascetics) and the pilgrims. Through their dedicated yogic practices, Sadhus embody the transient nature of life and play a vital role in connecting the spiritual and the mundane.
The holy bath at the Kumbh festival
Bathing, or a dip in the river waters with a prayer, is the most important ritual of the Kumbh Melas for all pilgrims including monks or Sadhu akharas.
According to the traditions on a precalculated date of amavasya the Hindu pilgrims welcome and wait for the thirteen sadhu akharas to bathe first. This event is called shahi snan or rajyogi snan. This includes a celebratory processional march, with banners, flags, elephants, horses and musicians along with the naked or scantily clad monks, some smeared with bhasma (ashes) called akharas. These monk groups come from different parts of India, and have a particular emblem symbol and deity (Ganesha, Dattatreya, Hanuman, etc.). The largest contingent is the Juna akhara, traced to Adi Shankara, representing a diverse mix from the four of the largest Hindu monasteries in India with their headquarters at Sringeri, Dwarka, Jyotirmatha and Govardhana. The Mahanirbani and Niranjani are the other large contingents, and each akhara has their own lineage of saints and teachers.
In this holy bath celebration, great crowd gather in reverence of Sadhu akharas and cheer for this procession. The holy bath by akhara monks, the festival day opens for bathing by the pilgrim visitors.
Bathing ritual for the pilgrims in Kumbh mela may be aided by a Prayagwal priest or maybe done as a simple dip that is private. When the holy bath is done under the guidance of priests the rituals include mundan (shaving of head), prayers with offerings such as flowers, sindur (vermilion), milk or coconut, along with the recitation of hymns with shradha (prayers in the honour of one’s ancestors).
This may include sometimes elaborate ceremonies of yajna (homa) led by a priest and followed by a dip in the water and prayer by the pilgrim. Later pilgrim exits the river waters and visit old Hindu temples near the site.
The motivations for the bathing ritual is salvation or moksha – a means to liberation from the cycle of rebirths.
The pilgrimage is also recommended in Hindu texts as a means of atonement, penance for the mistakes committed during lifetime. Pilgrimage and bathing in holy rivers with a motivation to do penance and as a means to self-purify has Vedic precedents and is discussed in the early dharma literature of Hinduism.
Darshan in Kumbhamela
After the holy dip in water pilgrims may visit the near by temple in the premises of Kumbh mela.The darshan experience is integral to the Kumbh Mela, and worshippers do it as an act of great reverence, understanding the religious sanctity of the moment. It emphasizes a visual exchange—a divine connection with the deity’s power through sight. The pilgrims undertake this journey to experience the profound religious and cultural essence of the event.
The pilgrims can interact with monks or Sadhu akharas during this period.The interaction with Sadhus allows pilgrims to seek spiritual guidance and advice. In Kumbh mela any kind of interactions with Sadhus are very respectful, with devotees often leaving offerings at their feet as tokens of devotion and gratitude.
Activities at Kumbhamela
Kumbh mela provides a platform for religious discussions, devotional singing and religious assemblies where doctrines are debated and standardised (shastrartha).
The festival grounds also feature a wide range of cultural events including kalagram (venues of kala, Indian arts), laser light shows, classical dance and musical performances from different parts of India, thematic gates reflecting the historic regional architectural diversity, boat rides, tourist walks to historic sites near the river etc.
The festival also offers opportunities to visit the monastic camps to watch yoga adepts and spiritual discourses.
In the festival site the food to all is strictly vegetarian and the management has established multiple food stalls, offering delicacies from different states of India. The ritual practices are followed by celebratory feasts for the visitors and the pilgrims and all people sit in rows and share a community meal called mahaprasada that is prepared by volunteers from charitable donations
The collective energy generated during the Mela strengthens social bonds and elevates individual and communal consciousness, illustrating the power of such gatherings to create shared identity and purpose.
Caution of stampede
According to some news agencies’ reports, in January 2025, at least 50 people died and 100 others were injured in the stampede at the Maha Kumbh venue in Prayagraj, and hence Amrit Snan or ritual bath was temporary suspended. It was announced that a judicial enquiry by a three-member committee would be conducted, led by Justice Harsh Kumar.
Stampedes are common occurrences in many other important temple fests and other huge events, however it is a grave reminder that in any holy place, extra caution has to be exerted in crowd management with basic as well as emergency medical facilities along with a functional system for providing adequate resources – food, water and other basic amenities. The authorities must ensure this basic safety and amenities for pilgrims with extra caution and sense of dutifulness in a festival like Kumbh mela , the echoes of which touch the global conscience as well as consciousness.
Romila Thapar is a renowned Indian historian and author of many historical books. She has authored many internationally acclaimed books on history including From Lineage to State, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Early India: From Origins to AD 1300, and the popular History of India, Part I.
Thapar is an Honorary Fellow of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, where she also received her Ph.D. in 1958, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was an emeritus professor of history at jawaharlal nehru university , New Delhi.
Thapar is a historian who believed in authenticity of historical data that is corroborated by archaeological evidences. Her historical writings delineate the origins of Hinduism as an evolving interplay between social forces.
Romila’s book From Lineage to State analyses the formation of states in the middle Ganga valley in the first millennium BCE, tracing the process to a change, driven by the use of iron and plough agriculture, from a pastoral and mobile lineage-based society to one of settled peasant holdings, accumulation and increased urbanisation. Her book on Somnath examines the evolution of the historiographies about the legendary Gujarat temple.
Thapar was a great critic of “communal interpretation” of Indian history, in which events in the last thousand years are interpreted solely in terms of a notional continual conflict between monolithic Hindu and Muslim communities. According to Thapar, this communal history is “extremely selective” in choosing facts, “deliberately partisan” in interpretation and does not follow current methods of analysis using multiple, prioritised causes.
Personal life
Romila Thapar was born 0n 30th November 1931 in lucknow,india as the daughter of Lieutenant-General dr.Dayaram thapar,the director general of Indian armed forces medical services. Young Romila ‘s education was in different cities of India as her father had to move as a military officer. She is an alumna of the St. Mary’s School and Wadia College, Pune. After doing her graduation from Punjab university in English literature she secured a second bachelors degree and later doctorate in history from the university of London in 1958.
Career
she started her career journey in Indian history as a reader at Kurukshetra university between 1961 and 1962 and later at Delhi university between 1963 and 1970. Thapar joined as professor of ancient Indian history at the Jawaharlal Nehru university, New Delhi later and continued in the university as Emeritus professor.
She has authored many books as a historian and her major works include:
Asoka and the decline of the Mauryas
Ancient Indian social history: some interpretations
Recent perspectives of early Indian history
A History of India volume one
Early India: from the origins to ad 1300.
From lineage to state.
Thapar’s first volume ofa history of Indianarrates the period from its early history to the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century.
Ancient Indian social history gives an account of the period from early times to the end of the first millennium, and detailing a comparative study of Hindu and Buddhist socio-religious systems. It scrutinizes the role of Buddhism in social protest and social mobility in the caste system.
From lineage to state is a meticulous analysis about the formation of states in the middle Ganga valley in the first millennium B C and it traces the process to a change, driven by the use of iron and plough agriculture, from a pastoral and mobile lineage-based society to one of settled peasant holdings, accumulation and increased urbanisation.
Each book of Romila Thapar is an immersive account of historical narratives from a research-oriented perspective.
Honors & accolades
Romila Thapar is an honorary fellow at lady Margaret hall, oxford, and at the school of oriental and African studies (soas), university of London.
She holds honorary doctorates from the university of chicago, the institut national des langues et civilisations orientales in Paris, the university of oxford, the university of Edinburgh (2004), the university of Calcutta (2002) and recently (in 2009) from the university of Hyderabad.
Thapar was elected a foreign honorary member of the American academy of arts and sciences in 2009. She was also elected an honorary fellow of st Antony’s college, oxford, in 2017.
in 2004, the us library of congress appointed her as the first holder of the kluge chair in countries and cultures of the south.
She has been a visiting professor at Cornell university, the university of Pennsylvania, and the college de France in Paris.
She was elected general president of the Indian history congress in 1983 and a corresponding fellow of the British academy in 1999.
She is co-winner with Peter Brown of the Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanity for 2008.It is a very prestigious prize received by Romila Thapar. The prize is awarded by the John W. Kluge Centre at the Library of Congress.
in January 2005, she declined the Padma Bhushan awarded by the Indian government. Later she wrote to the president like this “i only accept awards from academic institutions or those associated with my professional work, and not state awards”.
Romila Thapar is considered as one of the intellectuals of Indian history who believes in doing justice to the nation’s history with a bold unyielding voice.
