METAL CRAFT WORK IN INDIA

 

                                    THE METAL CRAFT WORK IN INDIA

           

                   INDIAN ARTISANS KNEW THE ART OF METALWORKING SINCE 3000 B.C. THE BEAUTIFUL FIGURINE OF THE DANCING GIRL BELONGING TO THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION INDICATES THE HIGH LEVEL OF WORKMANCHIP ATTAINED BY ANCIENT CRAFTMEN. THE OTHER HIGH POINTS REACHED BY THE CRAFTMEN IN THE FIELD OF METALWORKING ARE BRONZE SCULPTURES BELONGING TO THE CHOLA RULERS AND THE IRON PILLAR ARE MEHRAULI, IN DELHI, WHICH WAS MADE DURING THE TIME OF KING ASHOK.

               METAL CRAFT IN INDIA : IN INDIA CRAFTMEN USE DIFFERENT METALS LIKE IRON, COPPER, SILVER AND ALLOYS LIKE BRONZE, BELL METAL, WHITE METAL ETC. TO MAKE A VARIETY OF ITEMS SUCH AS POTS, PANS, UTENSILS, PHOTO FRAMES, SCULPTURE OF DEITIES, MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES AND ANIMALS ETC. ITEMS LIKE DOORKNOBS, TAPS, KEY CHAINS, BOXES ETC. ARE ALSO MADE, USING DIFFERENT METALS.

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               GOLD & SILVERWARE : THE PRINCELY STATES OF INDIA DEMANDED NOT ONLY ENAMELLED JEWELLERY BUT ALSO ENAMELLED UTENSILS SUCH AS WINE-CUPS, FINGER BOWLS, PILL BOXES ETC., IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER REPOUSSE, SOMETIMES STUDDED WITH JEWELS. THE CRAFTSPERSONS OF INDIA EXCEL IN THIS ART. WITH THE EVOLUTION OF NEW TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND SKILLS, THEY ARE NOW BETTER EQUIPPED TO CATER TO MODERN TASTES.

               

               BRASS & COPPERWARE : INDIA IS THE LARGEST BRASS AND COPPER MAKING REGION IN THE WORLD WITH THOUSANDS OF ESTABLISHMENTS SPREAD ALL OVER FOR ARTICLES MADE OUT OF ONE OR MORE PIECES OF METAL. THE COPPER OR BRASS SHEET IS FIRST MARKED OUT BY A PAIR OF COMPASS AND THE PIECE OR PIECES CUT OFF BY A SCISSOR CALLED KATARI. THE REQUIRED SHAPE IS MADE BY ALTERNATE HEATING AND HAMMERING, AND IS FINALLY TURNED ON THE LATHE. THE FINAL POLISH TO THE ARTICLE IS GIVEN ON THE LATHE ITSELF. MORADABAD IS FAMOUS FOR UTENSILS, BOTH UTILITY AND ORNAMENTAL, MADE OF WHITE METAL AND ELECTROPLATED BRASS AND COPPER. THE ENGRAVING IS EITHER SADA (PLAIN ) OR SIA KALAM. MODERN STREAMLINED ARTICLES OF SWEDISH DESIGN IN POLISHED BRASS OR BURNISHED COPPER ARE ALSO MADE HERE, SATISFYING AND DEMAND FOR MODERN ACCESSORIES AND SOPHISTICATED INTERIOR DECORATION. VARANASI, IN UTTAR PRADESH IS THE FIRST CITY IN INDIA FOR THE MULTITUDE OF ITS CASE AND SCULPTURED MYTHOLOGICAL IMAGES AND EMBLEMATA IN BRASS AND COPPER AS WELL AS HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS. IN RECENT YEARS MIRZAPUR HAS ALSO EMERGED AS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT BRASS INDUSTRIES OF UTTAR PRADESH. GOODS PRODUCED HAVE AN ALL INDIA MARKET, WITH A PORTION BEING EXPORTED TO OTHER COUNTRIES.  SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND INTERESTING METALWHERE OF INDIA FOR DAILY AS WELL AS FOR CEREMONIAL PURPOSES ARE CRAFTED IN KASHMIR, BIHAR, WEST BENGAL, ASSAM, ORISSA. TAMIL NADU AND KERALA.

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                  METAL ORNAMENTATION : METAL ORNAMENTS HAVE BEEN  A RAVE IN ALL AGES, AND TIMES. THE ATTRACTIVE CONSTRASTS IN COLOURS AND TEXTILES OF METAL HAS LED TO THE EVOLUTION OF MENTAL ORNAMENTATION THROUGH TECHNIQUES LIKE INLAY, OVERLAY, APPLIQUE, FIXING OF COLOURS ETC.

 

                    BIDRI : BIDRI, A FORM OF SURFACE ORNAMENTATION, TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE CITY OF BIDAR SITUATED NORTH-WEST OF HEDERABAD. THE WORK IS IN BLACK COLOUR WHICH NEVER FACES AND IS RELIEVED WITH SILVER AND GOLD INLAY.

            IN LUCKNOW THE ART OF MANUFACTURING BIDARI IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED FROM THE TIME OF THE NAWABS OF AVADH. THE EMPEROR AT DELHI BESTOWED ON THEM THE DIGNITY OF THE FISH (MAHI MURATTIB) LUCKNOW BIDARI, THEREFORE, ABOUNDS IS FISH MOTIFS, FLORA & FAUNA AND VINE LEAF PATTERNS.

               

                   ENAMELLING : ENAMELLING IS THE ART OF COLOURING AND ORNAMENTING THE SURFACE OF THE METAL BY FUSING OVER IT VARIOUS MINERAL SUBSTANCES. THE BEAUTY OF THE ARTICLE DEPENDS ON THE SKILL AND RESOURCES OF THE WORKER AND THE EXCELLENCE OF THE MATERIALS EMPLOYED. THE RANGE OF COLOURS OBTAINED TO GOLD IS MUCH GREATER THAN THAT ON SILVER, COPPER AND BRASS. THREE FORMS OF ENAMELLING ARE KNOWN TO EXIST. THESE INCLUDE THE CLOISONNE OF JAPAN AND CHINA, THE CHAMLEVE PATTERN EXTENSIVELY PRACTISED IN LUCKNOW AND VARANASI. AND JAIPUR SPECIALISES IN ENAMELLED TRAYS AND TRINKET BOXES.

               IDEAL PLACES TO SHOP : LUCKNOW, VARANASI, HYDERABAD, JAIPUR, BIHAR.

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                                   THE VARIETY OF INDIAN ORNAMENTS

         

                 IN INDIA THERE ARE ORNAMENTS FOR ALMOST ALL PARTS OF HUMAN BODY. SOME OF THESE ARE WORN REGULARLY WHILE OTHERS ARE WORN AT SPECIFIC OCCASIONS, SOME ORNAMENTS ARE WOVEN FOR RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL PURPOSES. FOR THE RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL ORNAMENTS EVEN MATERIAL IS SPECIFIED. THE USE OF ORNAMENTS BY WOMEN IS UNIVERSAL BUT IN MANY COMMUNITIES MEN ALSO WEAR THEM. MEN WEAR THEM ALSO FOR RITUAL AND CEREMONIAL PURPOSES.

              ORNAMENTS USED FOR THE HEAD ARE OF THREE TYPES. THE FIRST IS WHAT WAS CALLED TURBAN JEWELS. THESE WERE NOT IN COMMON USE AND WERE USED MAINLY BY ROYALTY AND CHIEFS IN THEIR TURBANS. THESE ARE CALLED JIGHA OR SARPATI. OTHERS TWO HEAD ORNAMENTS ARE USED BY WOMEN. OF THESE ONE IS FOR THE FOREHEAD (TIKA). THEY COME IN VARIOUS FORMS AND SHAPES. THE OTHER ONE IS FOR HAIR. THIS ALSO COMES IN VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES. IN SOME REGIONS THEY ARE WORN REGULARLY WHILE IN SOME OTHERS THE HEAD ORNAMENTS ARE WORN ONLY ON CEREMONIAL OCCASIONS LIKE MARRIAGE.

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               ORNAMENTS OF EAR AND NECK ARE MOST COMMON. THE EAR ORNAMENTS ARE OF VARIOUS TYPES. THE MOST COMMON ARE SMALL TOPS AND THE DROPPING TYPES WITH SPECIAL BANDS OR STRINGS TO SUPPORT THE WEIGHT. THESE ARE GENERALLY WORN IN EAR LOBES BUT WORN TOGETHER. 

            

                         NOSE IS OTHER PART OF BODY WHICH IS POPULARLY USED FOR WEARING ORNAMENTS. SMALL NOSE STUDS AND A CIRCULAR BIG RING (NATH) ARE TWO COMMON TYPES. THE DIFFERENT REGION HAVE VARIATIONS IN SHAPES AND SIZES. THE LARGE RING TYPE ORNAMENT IS GERENALLY WORN ON THE OCCASION OF MARRIAGES AND OTHER CEREMONIES. IN MANY COMMUNITIES ONLY MARRIED WOMEN ARE SUPPOSED TO WEAR NOSE ORNAMENTS.

               NECK IS ADORNED WITH A VARIETY OF ORNAMENTS. THE MOST COMMON ORNAMENT CALLED NECKLACE IS THE ONE THAT HANGS IN THE NECK THROUGH A GOLD COIN OR A THICK THREAD. ANOTHER VARIETY IS THE CHOCKER (GULUBAND) WHICH FITS TIGHTLY AROUND NECK. THE THIRD VARIETY IS THE PENDANT WHICH CAN BE IN ANY CHAIN, STRING OF BEADS OR PLAIN STRING. IN THE SOUTH THE NECKLACE WORN FOR MARRIAGE IS CALLED THALI. WEARING OF GOLD CHAIN WITHOUT ANY PENDANTIS ALSO QUITE POPULAR. THESE CHAINS ARE MADE IN VARIOUS DESIGNS. ONE SPECIFIC NECK ORNAMENT CALLED MANGALSUTRA IS WORN ONLY BY MARRIED WOMEN ALONG HINDUS. IT IS CONSIDERED AUSPICIOUS AND GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IS ATTACHED TO IT. IT IS MADE WITH BLACK GOLD BEADS.

                  ORNAMENTS FOR HANDS CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES - FINGERS, WRISTS AND LOWER ARMS AND UPPER ARMS. ARMLETS OR BAZUBAND ARE WORN IN THE UPPER ARM. THESE ARE MAINLY OF TWO TYPES, THE ONE THAT IS TIED WITH STRINGS AND THE OTHER WHICH FIT AROUND THE ARM WITH A LOCKING MECHANISM. THE ORNAMENTS FOR LOWER ARM ARE BRACELET, WRITSLETS AND BANGLES. THE FIRST TWO FIT TO THE ARM WHILE THE BANGLES ARE LOOSE. THE RINGS ALSO HAVE A LARGE VARIETY. THERE ARE SEPARATE RINGS FOR THUMB AND DIFFERENT FINGERS OF HAND. THESE ARE MADE AS SIMPLE CIRCULAR RINGS OR WITH FLORAL PATTERN ON TOP OR WITH STONES FIXED ON TOP. BESIDES ADORNING THE HAND THESE ARE WORN FOR THERAPEUTIC OR MAGICAL OR RITUALISTIC PURPOSES OF FOR WARDING OF EVIL INFLUENCES OF PLANETS. IN A LARGE NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES THE RINGS ARE EXCHANGED BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN ON THE OCCASION OF MARRIAGE.

                IN A LARGE NUMBER OF COMMUNITIES A THICK WAIST ORNAMENT IS WORN. IS IS CALLED KARDHANI (KAMARDHANI). GENERALLY, MARRIED WOMEN WEAR IT. THE ORNAMENTS FOR THE LEG ARE OF TWO TYPES - THE ANKLEST AND TOR RINGS. ANKLETS COME IN VARIOUS SHAPES. SOME CLING TO THE ANKLES WHILE OTHERS ARE LOOSE LIKE BANGLES.

               THERE IS A SPECIFIC TYPE CALLED PAYAL WHICH IS WORN AROUND ANKLES BY WOMEN AND MAKES A MUSICAL SOUND WHEN WOMEN MOVE AROUND. THE TOE RINGS ARE WOMEN IN THE FINGERS OF FEET. IN MOST OF THE COMMUNITIES THESE ARE TRADITIONALLY WORN BY MARRIED WOMEN ONLY.

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MUGHALS ARCHITECTURAL

 

                             ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF THE MUGHALS

                 MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE IS THE STYLE THAT DEVELOPED IN INDIA UNDER THE MUGHAL DYNASTY IN THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES. THIS IS A BLEND OF ISLAMIC, PERSIAN AND INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. TEH BUILDINGS OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE REFLECTS NOT ON THE ARCHITECTURAL TECHNIQUES AND WEALTH BUT ALSO THEIR LOVE FOR POETRY, PERSONALITY AND OTHER ARISTIC INCLINATIONS. MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE HAS ITS ORIGIN IN ITS RELIGION, ISLAM. THE CONCEPTS APPARENT IN ISLAM LIKE POWER, PLEASURE AND DEATH ARE REFLECTED IN THE FORTS, DURBARS, MOSQUES, TOMBS, GARDENS AND SO ON.

             EARLY MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE : THE MUGHALS WERE AN INDIAN ISLAMIC DYNASTY WHICH RULED MOST OF NORTHERN INDIA FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH TO THE MID-EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE CAME INTO PROMINENCE WITH THE RULE OF BABUR WHO WAS THE FIRST MUGHAL EMPEROR IN INDIA IN 1526. BAHUR'S VICTORY OVER IBRAHIM LODI, INITIATED THE ERECTION OF A MOSQUE AT PANIPAT SUCCEEDED BY ANOTHER CALLED THE BABRI MASJID IN AYODHYA. THE MAQBARA IN BARODA IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE EARLY MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE RELIED ON POST-AND BEAM CONSTRUCTION AND SCARECELY USED ARCHES. SOME GREAT FORTS AND PALACES OF THE EARLY MUGHAL PERIOD CAN BE TRACED IN THE REIGN OF AKBAR (1556-1605) IN AGRA. LAHORE AND FATEPUR SIKRI. MAUSOLEUM TO HUMAYUN IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT SIGNIFIER OF THE EARLY MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE. 

                AKBAR AND MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE : EMPEROR AKBAR WAS THE FIRST MUGHAL RULER DURING WHOSE RULE WE FIND THE EMERGENCE OF WONDERFUL MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE, WHICH RAPIDLY PROGRESSED WITH HIS REIGN. HE BUILD MASSIVELY AND THE STYLE WAS UNIQUE WHICH WAS DEVELOPED IN HIS RULE. MOST OF AKBAR'S BUILDINGS ARE ALMOST ENTIRELY IN RED SANDSTONE, EXEMPTED AT TIMES THROUGH MARBLE INLAY, FATEHPUR SIKRI WHICH IS LOCATED26 MILES WEST AGRA, WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE LATE 1500 S AND BEARS THE TESTIMONY TO THE ERA OF HIS ROYAL HERITAGE. IN GUJARAT AND MANY OTHER PLACES WE FIND THE PRESENCE OF A STYLE, WHICH IS A BLENDOF MUSLIM AND HINDU CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF ARCHITECTURE. FATEPUR SIKRI DEFINES AKBAR'S FINEST STYLES OF ARCHITECTURAL BRILLIANCE UNMATCHED IN ELEGANCE AND SPLENDOR.

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                THE SOUTH GATEWAY IS WELL KNOWN, EXCELLING ANY SIMILAR ENTRANCE IN INDIA IN ITS SIZE AND STRUCTURE. THE TOMB OF AKBAR'S FATHER HUMANYUN, AKBAR'S TOMB AT SIKANDRA ARE SOME SUCH FINEST WORK OF ARCHITECTURAL MAGNIFICENCE WHICH BROADLY HIGHLIGHTS THE MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE PROTOTYPES. THE TOMB PLACED IN A GARDEN AT DELHI, HAS AN INTRICATE GROUND PLAN WITH CENTRAL OCTAGONAL CHAMBERS, WHICH IS JOINED BY AN ELEGANTLY FACETED ARCHWAY, SURMOUNTED BY CUPOLAS, KIOSKS, AND PINNACLES RUCTURE OF THE KIND AND OF GREAT VIRTUE.

                       HAHANGIR & MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE : JAHANGIR'S REIGN DURING 1605 - 1627 SAW THE DECLINE IN THE HINDU INFLUENCE ON MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE. JAHANGIR'S REIGN WAS NOTED FOR ARCHITECTURAL WORKS. HIS STYLE BASICALLY WAS PERSIAN LIKE HIS GREAT MOSQUE AT LAHORE, WHICH IS COVERED WITH ENAMELED TILES. AKBAR'S MAUSOLEUM WAS BUILT IN JAHANGIR'S TIME, BUT JAHANGIR'S INTEREST WERE PAINTING JAHANGIR BEAUTIFULLY AROUND SPRING. THE TOMB OF ITIMAD - UD - DAULA COMPLETED IN 1628, WAS BUILD ENTIRELY OF WHITE MARBLE AND COVERED WHOLLY BY PIETRA DURA MOSAIC. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST RESPLENDENT EXAMPLES OF THAT CLASS OF ORNAMENTATION THAT CAN BE FOUND ANYWHERE. THE SHALIMAR GARDENS AND OTHER PAVILIONS ON THE SHORE OF KASHMIR'S DAL LAKE WAS ALSO MAGNIFICENTLY BUILT BY HIM. THE SHALIMAR BAGH, IS DISTINGUISHED BY A SERIES OF PAVILIONS ON CARVED PILLARS, SURROUNDED BY POOLS WITH SEAT WHICH CAN ONLY BE REACHED BY STEPPING STONES. JAHANGIR WAS THE PERSON WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MUGHAL GARDEN. JAHANGIR'S OWN TOMB, I TIMADUDDULAH 'S AND AKBAR'S TOMBS, HAVE NO DOME, MINARATES AND ORNAMENTATION ARE ONLY EVIDENT. 

                        AFTER ITIMAD-UD-DAULAH DIED HIS DAUGHER COMMISSIONED THE CONSTRUCTION IN WHITE MARBLE OF HIS EXQUISTLE TOMB AT AGRA WHICH WAS FINISHED IN 1628. THE TOMB APPEALED DUE TO ITS DECORATION WITH VARIOUS STYLES OF INLAY. THE EXTENSIVE USE OF WHITE MARBLE AS A MATERIAL AND INLAY AS A DECORATIVE MOTIF WERE THE TWO MAJOR INNOVATIONS DISTINGUISHING THE MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE IN THE LATER YEARS.  

                          SHAHJAHAN & MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE : MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE REACHED ITS PROTECTION IN SHAHAJAHAN'S REIGN (1627 - 1658). HUMAYUN'S TOMB WAS THE FIRST OF THE TOMBS, WHICH CONTINUED THE SAGA OF THE SUCCESSION OF TOMBS OUT OF WHICH THE TAJ MAHAL IS A MAGNIFICENCE PIECE OF ART. THE RED FORT CONTAINS THE IMPERIAL MUGHAL PALACE, WHICH IS SITUATED IN DELHI, IS AGAIN ONE OF SHAHJAHAN'S EXCELLENCE.  TRADITION AND INNOVATION WAS VERY INTELLIGENTLY REGARDED IN SHAHJAHAN'S ARCHITECTURAL EXTRAVAGANZA. MARBLE, WHICH WAS EASILY AVAILABLE IN RAJASTHAN, WAS USED FOR THE CONSTRUCTIONS. IN THE PALACE FORT FOR OF AGRA, SHAH JAHAN MARBLES WAS USED FOR THE RE-BUILDING OF THE DIWAN-I-AM. THE MOTI MASJID IS HIGHLY REPRESENTATIVE OF PURITY, BALANCE, AND GRACEFULNESS WHICH WAS HIS APPRECIABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AGRA FORT.

                  THE JAMA MOSQUE OF DELHI AND THE PEARL MOSQUE OF AGRA ARE REMISCENT OF THE STYLE THAT WAS EMINENT IN MUGHAL ERA. NEAR THE CITY OF OLD DELHI, SHAH JAHAN BUILD A NEW CAPITAL, SHAJJAHANABAD, WITH ITS MAGNIFICENT RED FORT. THE HALL OF PUBLIC AUDIENCE, IN THE FORT CONTAINS THE PEACOCK. THRONE, WHICH CONSISTED ENTIRELY OF JEWELS AND PRECIOUS METALS AND STONES. SHAH JAHAN TOOK TEN YEARS TO BUILD THE CITY, AND OTHER THAN PARTS OF THE WALL AND THREE OF ITS ORIGINAL 14 GATES, THE RED FORT AND THREE MOSQUES HAS SURVIVED THE RAVAGES OF TIME.

                         

             TAJ MAHAL : TAJ MAHAL, IS THE FINEST EXAMPLE OF MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE COMBINING PERSIAN, TURKISH AND INDIAN STYLES. THERE ARE INCRIBED TEXTS FROM THE KORAN ROUND THE TALL DOORWAYS WHICH APPEAR LIKE DESIGNS. THE LETTER 30 FEET OR MORE ABOVE THE LINE OF THE EYE APPEAR TO BE EXACTLY OF THE SAME SIZE AS THOSE A FOOT ABOVE THE FLOOR LEVEL, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY REVALATION OF THE GREAT MASTERY AND PERSPECTIVE OF THE ARTISTS, IT IS MADE IN  WHITE MARBLE. THE TAJ MAHAL IS DESCRIBED AS " A DREAM IN MARBLE " AND THE MOSAIC IS STUDDED WITH ONYX, JASPER, CORNELIAN, MALACHITE, CARBUNCLE, LAPIS LAZULI AND PRECIOUS STONES.

                        

                THE TAJ MAHAL'S APPROXIMATED ESTIMATE IS 32 MILLION RUPEES, BUT IT IS TIMELESS AND PRICELESS DUE TO ITS BEATY VALOR. THE TAJ IS AMONG THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, AND CITED AS " JEWEL OF MUSLIM ART IN INDIA AND ONE OF THE UNIVERSALLY ADMIRED MASTERPIECES OF THE WORLD'S HERITAGE".

 

               

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ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

  

                      

                                THE SHORT ON ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE

 

                   INDIAN ARCHITECTURE IS AS OLD AS THE HISTORY OF THE CIVILIZATION. THE EARLIEST REMAINS F RECOGZABLE BUILDING ACTIVITY IN THE INDIA DATES BACK TO THE INDUS VALLEY CITIES. AMONG INDIA'S ANCIENT ARCHITECTURAL REMAINS, THE MOST CHARACTERISTIC ARE THE TEMPLES, CHAITYAS, VIHARAS, STUPAS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS STRUCTRES. IN ANCIENT INDIA, TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE OF HIGH STANDARD DEVELOPED IN ALMOST ALL RELIGIONS. THE DISTINCT ARCHITECTURAL STYLE OF TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION IN DIFFERENT PARTS WAS A RESULT OF GEOGRAPHICAL, CLIMATE, ETHNIC, RACIAL, HISTORICAL AND LINGUISTIC DIVERSITIES.

                 THE ROCK-CUT STRUCTURES PRESENT THE MOST SPECTACULAR PIECE OF ANCIENT INDIA ARE SPECIMEN. MOST OF THE ROCT-CUT STRUCTURES WERE RELATED TO VARIOUS RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES. IN THE BEGINNING, REMARKABLE BUDDHIST AND JAIN MONUMENTS WERE PRODUCED IN AREAS SUCH AS BIHAR IN THE EAST AND MAHARASTRA IN THE WEST. CHAITYAS AND VIHARAS ARE THOSE ROCK-CUT STRUCTURES THAT WERE HEWN OUT FOR BUDDHIST AND JAIN MONKS. CHAITYAS WERE PLACE OF WORSHIP WHEREAS VIHARAS WERE RESIDENCE OF MONKS. THE RATHAS AT MAHABALIPURAM ARE YET ANOTHER GREAT SPECIMEN OF ROCK-CUT ARCHITECTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA.

              EXPLAIN THE SALIENT FEATURES OF ANCIENT RELIGIOUS                                                    MONUMENTS ARCHITECTURE

                                             RELIGIOUS MONUMENTS 

                           STUPAS : THE PRACTICE OF PRESERVING THE REMAINS OF AN IMPORTANT PERSONALITY UNDER A HEAP OF ACCUMULATED EARTH HAD BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR LONG. BHUDDHISTS ADOPTED THIS PRACTICE AND THE STRUCTURE BUILT OVER SUCH A SITE WAS KNOWN AS STUPA. ACCORDING TO BUDDHIST SOURCES THE REMAINS OF BUDDHA'S BODY WERE DIVIDED INTO EIGHT PARTS AND PLACED UNDER THE STUPAS. THESE, DURING THE TIME OF ASHOKA, WERE DUG OUT AND REDISTRIBUTED WHICH LED TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF OTHER STUPAS, THE SACRED , THE SACRED PLACES OF BUDDHISM. THE WORSHIP OF STUPAS LED TO THEIR ORNAMENTATION AND A SPECIFIC TYPE OF ARCHETECTURE DEVELOPED FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTION.

                      THE STUPAS HAS THE SHAPE OF A BOWL TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. AT THE TOP, WHICH WAS A BIT FLAT, USED TO BE ITS HARMIKA. I.E, THE ABODE OF THE GODS. IT WAS HERE THAT THE URNS CONTAINING THE REMAINS OF BUDDHA OR A GREAT PERSONALITY CONNECTED WITH THE RELIGION WAS PLACED IN A GOLD OR SILVER CASKET. A WOODEN ROD WAS PLACED IN ITS MIDDLE AND BOTTOM OF THE ROD WAS FIXED ON THE TOP OF THE STUPA. ON THE TOP OF THIS ROD WERE PLACED THREE SMALL UMBRELLA-TYPE DISCS SYMBOLIZING RESPECT, VENERATION AND MAGNANIMITY. THE MAIN STUPAS IN INDIA ARE LOCATED AT BODHGAYA, SANCHI, BHARHUT, AMRAVATI AND NAGAJUNKONDA.

                  ROCK CUT ARCHETECTURE : BOTH THE BUDDHISTS AND JAIN BUILT CHAITYAS AND VIHARAS AS PLACES OF WORSHIP. A CHAITYA IS A SHRINE CELL WITH A VOTIVE STUPA PLACED IN THE CENTER. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHAITYAS ARE AS FOLLOWS :

                    * THEY HAVE A LONG RECTANGULAR HALL ENDING IN A SEMI-CIRCLE                             AT THE REAR END.

                    * THIS LONG HALL IS INTERNALLY DIVIDED INTO A NAVE, AND APSE AND                         TWO SIDE AISLES.

                    * THE AISLES ARE SEPERATED FROM THE NAVE BY TWO ROWS OF                                       PILLARS.

                    * THE PILLARS COME AROUND THE VOTIVE STUPA PLACED IN THE                                     CENTER OF THE APSIDAL PART OF THE NAVE.

                    * THE HALL HAS A BARREL-VALUTED CEILING.

                    * THE DOORWAY IS USUALLY PLACED FACING THE VOTIVE STUPA.

                    * THE FACADE HAS A HORSE-SHOE SHAPED WINDOW CALLED THE                                     CHAITYA WINDOW.

              VIHARAS WERE PRIMARILY CUT OUT OF ROCKS FOR THE RESIDENCE OF MONKS. THE GENERAL FEATURES OF VIHARAS ARE:

  

                    👀 THEY HAVEA SQUARE OR OBLONG HALL IN THE CENTER.

                    👀 THIS IS PRECEDED IN FRONT BY A PILLARED VERANDA.

                    👀 THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF SMALL SQUARE CELLS.

                    👀 THE CELLS AND HALLS ARE USUALLY PROVIDED WITH RAISED                                         BEACHES FOR THE USE OF MONKS.

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                       THE EARLIEST OF THE VIHARAS OF WESTERN INDIA ARE LOCATED AT SUCH SITES AS BHAJA, BEDSA, AJANTA, PITAKHORA, NASIK AND KARLE.

                      TEMPLES : THE EARLIEST FREE STANDING RELIGIOUS BUILDING OF WHICH TRACES REMAIN IS A SMALL ROUND HALL, PROBABLY CONTAINING A BUDDHIST STUPA, AT BAIRAT NEAR JAIPUR. THERE ARE NO REMAINS OF FREE-STANDING HINDU TEMPLES ERECTED BEFORE THE GUPTA PERIOD, THOUGH BY THIS TIME THEY MUST LONG HAVE BEEN BUIL IN WOOD, CRY AND BRICK. ALL THE GUPAT TEMPLES WERE SMALL AND MOST HAD FLAT ROOFS. THEIR MASONRY WAS HELD TOGETHER WITHOUT MORTAR AND WAS FAR LARGER AND THICKER THANWAS NECESSARY FOR THE COMPARATIVELY SMALL BUILDINGS. THE PORTAL VERANDA WAS CONTINUED ALL ROUND THE BUILDING, MAKING A COVERED WALK.

              THE STANDARD TYPE OF HINDU TEMPLE, WHICH HAS PERSISTED FROM THE 6TH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY, WAS NOT FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS. THE HEART OF THE TEMPLE WAS A SMALL DARK SHRINE-ROOM (GARBHA GRIHA), CONTAINING THE CHIEF ICON. THIS OPENED INTO A HALL FOR THE WORSHIPPERS (MANDAPA), ORIGINALLY A SEPARATE BUILDING, BUT USUALLY JOINED TO THE SHRINEROOM BY A VESTIBULE. THE HALL WAS APPROACHED BY A PORCH. THE SHRINE ROOM WAS GENERALLY SURMOUNTED BY A TOWER WHILE SMALLER TOWERS ROSE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE BUILDING. THE WHOLE WAS SET IN A RECTANGULAR COURTYARD (WHICH MIGHT CONTAIN LESSER SHRINES) AND WAS OFTEN PLACED ON A RAISED PLATFORM.

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NATYASHASTRA

 

                                   THE BRIEF NOTE ON NATYASHASTRA

                 THE NATYA SHASTRA (NATYAUASTRA) OF BHARATA, A TREATISE ON GANDHARVAVEDA, IS THE PRINCIPLE WORK OF DRAMATIC THEORY, ENCOMPASSING DANCE AND MUSIC, IN CLASSICAL INDIA BY SAGE BHARATA.

                 THE NATYA SHASTRA IS INCREDIBLY WIDE IN ITS SCOPE. IT COVERS STAGE-DESGIGN, MUSIC, DANCE, MAKEUP, VIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF STAGECRAFT. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE MUSICIAN BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY TEXT WHICH GIVES SUCH DETAIL ABOUT THE MUSIC AND INSTRUMENTS OF THE PERIOD. THE TEXT CONTAINS A SET OF PRECEPTS ON THE WRITING AND PERFORMANCE OF THEATRE, DANCE AND MUSIC. WHILE IT PRIMARILY DEALS WITH STAGECRAFT, IT HAS COME TO INFLUENCE MUSIC, CLASSICAL INDIAN DANCE, AND LITERATURE AS WELL. THUS, AN ARGUMENT CAN BE MADE THAT THE NATYASASTRA'S THE FOUNDATION OF THE FINE ARETS IN INDIA. AUTHOR OF THIS WORK IS MUNI (SAGE) BHARATA AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN 200 BCE AND 200 CE. THE NATYA SHASTRA IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING TEXT ON STAGECRAFT IN THE WORLD. HOWEVER THERE ARE SCHOLARS WHO BELIEVE THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY VARIOUS AUTHORS AT DIFFERENT TIMES. IT IS BELIEVED THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY VARIOUS AUTHORS AT DIFFERENT TIMES. IT IS BELIEVEDTHAT THE NATYA SHASTRA IS BASED UPON THE MUCH OLDER NATYA SUTRAS. UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE NO SURVIVING COPIES OF THE NATYA SUTRAS SO WE HAVE NO WAY TO KNOW FOR SURE. THE MOST AUTHORITATIVE COMMENTARY ON NATYA SHASTRA IS ABHINAVABHARATI BY ABHINAVA GUPTA.

           

              THE NATYA SHASTRA IS THE OLDEST SURVIVING TEXT ON STAGECRAFT ON THE WORLD. THE TEXT, WHICH NOW CONTAINS 6000 SLOKAS, IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE MUNI (SAGE) BHARATA AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN 200 BC AND 200 AD. THE NATYA SHASTRA IS BASED UPON THE MUCH OLDER NATYA VEDA WHICH CONTAINED 36000 SLOKAS. UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE NO SURVIVING COPIES OF THE NATYA VEDA.

             THE DOCUMENT IS DIFFICULT TO DATE AND BHARATA'S HISTORICITY HAS ALSO BEEN DOUBTED, SOME AUTHORS SUGGESTING THAT IT MAY BE THE WORK OF SEVERAL PERSONS. HOWEVER, KAPILA VATSYAYAN HAS ARGUED THAT BASED ON THE UNITY OF THE TEXT, AND THE MANY INSTANCES OF COHERENT REFERENCE OF LATER CHAPTERS FROM EARLIER TEXT, THE COMPOSITIONS IS LIKELY THAT OF A SINGLE POERSON. WHETHER HIS/HER NAME REALLY WAS BHARATA IS OPEN TO QUESTION: NEAR THE END OF THE TEXT WE HAVE THE VERSE: "SINCE HE ALONE IS THE LEADER OF THE PERFORMANCE, TAKING ON MANY ROLES, HE IS CALLED BHARATA ", INDICATING THAT BHARATA MAY BE A GENERIC NAMES. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT BHARATA IS AN ACRONYM FOR THE THREE SYLLABUS: BHA FOR BHAVA (MOOD), RA FOR RAGA (MELODIC FRAMEWORKS), AND TA FOR TALA (RHYTHM). HOWEVER, IN TRADITIONAL USAGE BHARATA HAS BEEN ICONIFIED AS MUNI OR SAGE, AND THE WORK IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PERSONAGE.

                   SINCE NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT BHARATA, ANY ARGUMENTS REGARDING DATE CAN BE BASED SOLELY ON THE TEXT. IT HAS BEEN ARGUED THAT THE TEXT PREDATES SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE RAMAYANA, SINCE THE MUSIC TERMINOLOGY USED BY VALMIKI FOLLOWS BHARATA'S OUTLINES. AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS CLEARLY LATER THAN SOME OF THE PURANA AND BRAHMA TEXTS. ALONG WITH MANY OTHER ARGUMENTS, THIS HAS LED TO THE OPINION THAT THE DATE MAY LIE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN  200 BC AND 200 AD. THOUGH EARLIER AND LATER DATS ARE OFTEN POSTULATED, THIS APPEAR TO BE THE "BROAD CONSENSUS".

                                                     TITLE AND SETTING

               

                    WRITTEN IN SANSKRIT, THE TEXT CONSISTS OF 6000 SUTRAS, OR VERSE STARZAS, INCORPORATED IN 35 OR 36 CHARACTER, SOME PASSAGES THAT ARE COMPOSED IN A PROSE FORM.

                 THE TITLE CAN BE LOOSELY TRASLATED AS A COMPENDIUM OF THEATRE OR A A MANUAL OF DRAMATIC ARTS. NATYA, OR NATAKA MEANS DRAMATIC ARTS. IN CONTEMPORARY USAGE, THIS WORD DOES NOT INCLUDE DANCE OR MUSIC, BUT ETYMOLOGICALLY THE ROOT NAT REFERS TI "DANCE".

                THE DISCOURSE IS SET IN A FRAME WHERE A NUMBER OF MUNIS APPROACH BHARATA, ASKING HIM ABOUT NATYAVEDA (LIT. NATYA =DRAMA, PERFORMANCE, VEDA = KNOWLEDGE). THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION COMPRISES THE REST OF THE BOOK, WHICH IS THUS LOOSELY A DIALOGUE. BHARATA SAYS THAT ALL THIS KNOWLEDGE IS DUE TO BRAHMA. AT ONE POINT HE MENTIONS THAT HE HAS A HUNDRED "SONS" WHO WILL SPREAD THIS KNOWLEDGE, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT BHARATA MAY HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF DISCIPLES WHOM HE TRAINED.

                THE CREATION BY BRAHMA OF NATYAVEDA IS ASSOCIATED WITH AN EGALITARIAN MYTH CALLED FIFTH VEDA: SINCE THE FOUR VEDAS, ALSO CREATED BY BRAHMA, WERE NOT TO BE STUDIED BY WOMEN AND LOWER CASTES, HE CREATED THIS FIFTH VEDA, THE ART OF DRAMA, TO BE PRACTICED BY EVERYONE.

                                          PERFORMANCE ART THEORY

                    THE NATYA SHASTRA RANGES WIDELY IN SCOPE, FROM ISSUES OF LETERARY CONSTRUCTION, TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE STAGE OR MANDAPA, TO A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF MUSICAL SCALES AND MOVEMENTS (MURUCHHANAS), TO AN ANALYSIS OF DANCE FORMS THAT CONSIDERS SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF BODY MOVEMENTS, AND THEIR IMPACTS ON THE VIEWER.

                BHARATA DESCRIBES 15 TYPES OF DRAMA RANGING ONE ON TEN ACTS. THE PRINCIPLES FOR STAGE DESIGN ARE LAID DOWN IN SOME DETAIL. INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS DEAL WITH ASPECTS SUCH AS MAKEUP, COSTUME, ACTING, DIRECTING, ETC., A LARGE SECTION DEALS WITH MEANINGS CONVEYED BY THE PERFORMANCE (BHAVAS) GET PARTICULAR EMPHASIS, LEADING TO A BROAD THEORY OF AESTHETICS (RASAS).

              FOUE KINDS OR ABHINAYA (ACTING, OR HISTRIONICS), ARE DESCRIBED - THAT BY BODY PART MOTIONS (ANGIKA), THAT BY SPEECH (VACHIKA), THAY BY INTERNAL EMOTIONS, EXPRESSED THROUGH MINUTE MOVEMENTS OF THE LIPS, EYEBROWS, EAR, ETC., (SATTVIKA).

                                                                    RASA

                     THE NATYASHASTRA DELINEATES A DETAILED THEORY OF DRAMA COMPARABLE TO THE POETICS OF ARISTOTLE. BHARATA  REFERS TO BHAVAS, THE IMITATIONS OF EMOTIONS THAT THE ACTORS PERFORM, AND THE RASAS (EMOTIONAL RESPONSES) THAT THEY INSPIRE IN THE AUDIENCE. HE ARGUES THAT THERE ARE EIGHT PRINCIPLE RASAS: LOVE, PITY, ANGER, DISGUST, HEROISM, AWE, TERROR AND COMEDY, AND THAT PLAYS SHOULD MIX DIFFERENT RASAS BUT BE DOMINATED BY ONE. 

               EACH RASA EXPERIENCED BY THE AUDIENCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH A SPECIFIC BHAVA PORTRAYED ON STAGE. FOR EXAMPLE, IN ORDER FOR THE AUDIENCE TO EXPERIENCE SRNGARA (THE EROTIC RASA), THE PLAYWRIGHT, ACTORS AND MUSICIAN WORK TOGETHER TO PORTRAY THE BHAVA CALLED RATI (LOVE).

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INTRODUCING INDIAN CULTURE

 

                                         SHORT NOTE ON INDIAN CULTURE

                  CULTURE CONSISTS OF DEVELOP INDERSTANDINGS OF LITERATURE, MUSIC, AND VARIOUS ARE FORMS. TYPE OF CIVILIZATION AND THE WAYS OF LIVING HELP TO MAKE UP A CULTURE. THE TERM CULTURE REFERS TO A STATE OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OR MANNERS. THE SOCIAL AS CULTURE. INDIAN CULTURE IS RICH AND DIVERSE AND AS A RESULT UNIQUE IN ITS VERY OWN WAY. OUR MANNERS, WAY OF COMMUNICATING WITH ONE ANOTHER, ETC., ARE ONE OF THE IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF OUR CULTURE. EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE ACCEPTED MODERN MEANS OF LIVING, IMPROVED OUR LIFESTYLE, OUR VALUES AND BELIEFS STILL REMAIN UNCHANGED. A PERSON CAN CHANGE HIS WAY OF CLOTHING, WAY OF EATING AND LIVING BUT THE RICH VALUES IN A PERSON ALWAYS REMAINS UNCHANGED BECAUSE THEY ARE DEEPLY ROOTED WITHIN OUR HEARTS, MIND, BODY, AND SOUL WHICH WE RECEIVE FROM OUR CULTURE.

              INDIAN CULTURE TREATS GUESTS AS GOD AND SERVES THEM AND TAKES CARE OF THEM AS IF THEY ARE A PART AND PARCEL OF THE FAMILY ITSELF. EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO EAT, THE GUESTS ARE NEVER LEFT HUNGRY AND ARE ALWAYS LOOKED AFTER BY THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. ELDERS ARE THE DRIVING FORCE FOR ANY FAMILY AND HENCE THE LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ELDERS COMES FROM WITHIN AND IT NOT ARTIFICIAL. AN INDIVIDUAL TAKES BLESSINGS FROM HIS ELDERS BY TOUCHING THEIR FEET. ELDERS DRILL AND PASS ON THE INDIAN CULTURE WITHIN US WE GROW.

               "RESPECT ONE ANOTHER" IS ANOTHER LESSON THAT IS TAUGHT FROM THE BOOKS OF INDIAN CULTURE. ALL PEOPLE ARE A LIKE AND RESPECTING ONE ANOTHER IS ONES DUTY. IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES THE RELATION BETWEEN THE BOSS AND THE EMPLOYEE IS LIKE A MASTER THE SLAVE AND IS PURELY MONETARY WHEREAS IN INDIAN CULTURE THE RELATION BETWEEN THE BOSS AND THE EMPLOYEES IS MORE LIKE HOMELY RELATIONS UNLIKE FOREIGN COUNTRIES. HELPFUL NATURE IS ANOTHER STRIKING FEATURE IN OUR INDIAN CULTURE. RIGHT FROM OUR EARLY DAYS OF CHILDHOOD WE ARE TAUGHT TO HELP ONE ANOTHER IN NEED OF HELP AND DISTRESS. IF NOT MONETARY THEN AT LEAST IN KIND OR NON-MONETARY WAYS. INDIAN CULTURE TELLS US TO MULTIPLY AND DISTRIBUTE JOY AND HAPPINESS AND SHARE SADNESS AND PAIN. IT TELLS US THAT BY ALL THIS WE CAN DO DEVELOP CO-OPERATION AND BETTER LIVING AMONGST OURSELVES AND SUBSEQUENTLY MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN. EVEN THOUGH INDIA IS A COUNTRYOF VARIOUS RELIGIONS AND CASTE OUR CULTURE TELLS UR JUST ONE THING "PHIR BHI DIL HAI HIDUSTANI".

                    THE MAIN FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE CULTURE

 

            CULTURE IS DETERMINED AND SHAPED HISTORICALLY AND SOCIALLY, IT, IN ITS TUNE, INFLUENCES THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE OR NATION.    

                          CULTURE, SOCIETY AND HISTORY : TO BEGIN WITH, CULTURAL IS THE LIFE AND MIND OF A SOCIETY AT ANY GIVEN TIME IN HISTORY. THE CULTURE OF A PARTICULAR SOCIETY OR AGE CANNOT BE SEPERATED FROM ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THE CONTINUITY, CHANGE OR TRANSFORMATION IN CULTURAL TRADITIONS IS INFLUENCED BY THE SOCIAL. ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AT ANY GIVEN TIME AND VICE VERSA.

              TO GIVE A FEW EXAMPLE, THE GROWTH AND CHANGES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ARE INSEPARABLY LINKED WITH THE EMERGENCE, DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGES WITHIN THE VEDIC CIVILIZATION IN INDIA. THE VEDIC CIVILIZATION WHICH GAVE BIRTH TO THE VARNASHRAM AND THE CASTE SYSTEM HAS, TURN, EXERTED GREAT INFLUENCE OF INDIAN CULTURE. THE CASTE SYSTEM - AN INESCAPABLE ASPECT OF OUR SOCIETY THROUGH HISTORY, HAS ASSUMED CHANGES, MODIFICATIONS AND FLEXIBILITY TO SUIT THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE VARIOUS RULING GROUPS IN INDIA. THE EARLY DRAVIDAN CIVILIZATION HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT INFLUENCE BECAUSE OF ITS CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE IN A SPECIFIC HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT. THE FLOWERING OF ART AND LITERATURE AS WELL AS THE BUDDHIST MONUMENTS OF THE MAURYA AND GUPTA PERIOD WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE PROSPERITY AND INCREASE IN COMMERCE DURING THAT PERIOD. THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE CHOLA TEMPLES OR THE VIJAYNAGAR STRUCTURES.

              THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT HAS AS ITS BASIS THE GROWTH OF TRADE AND COMMERCE AND THE CONSEQUENT GROWTH OF TOWNS IN THE 14 THE AND 15TH  CENTUIES, WHICH MOTIVATED A QUESTIONING OF THE CASTE RESTRICTIONS IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS IN THE NAME OF RELIGION. THE PREACHINGS OF BHAKTI SAINTS IN THE PEOPLE'S LANGUAGE AND THEIR COMPILATION MADE POSSIBLE THE GROWTH OF BRAJ, AWADHI, RAJASTHANI, GUJARATI, MARATHI, PUNJABI, KASHMIRI AND OTHER REGIONAL LITERATURES. THE ENOMOUS EXPENDITURE INVOLVED IN THE MAGNIFICENT ARCHITECTURE OF THE MUGHALS WAS POSSIBLE ONLY BECAUSE OF THE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED STATE SHARE IN THE SURPLUS PRODUCTION DURING MUGHAL RULE. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MUSICAL FORMS AND THEIR POPULAZATION OF THE COURTS, TRANSLATION OF IMPORTANT TEXTS OF THE WORLD, AS WELL AS GROWTH OF NEW TECHNIQUES IN PRODUCTION WERE IMMENSELY HELPED BY THE COURT PATRONAGE GENERATED BY THIS INCREASED SURPLUS. THE CONCEPTS OF EQUALITY AS PART OF ANTIP-CASTE AND PEASANT ECONOMIC STRUGGLES, THE MOVEMENT FOR WOMEN'S EDUCATION AND EMANCIPATION, A SCIENTIFIC TEMPER, SECULARISM, A DEMOCRATIC CULTURE AND THE CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY TOOK SHAPE IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERNITY THAT CAME WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM IN INDIA, AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACT OF BRITISH CONQUEST.

                                       POLITICAL STRUCTURES AND THEIR 

                                                      IMPACT ON CULTURE

           POLITICAL STRUCTURES HAVE ALSO HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR CULTURE THROUGHOUT ITS HISTORY. FOR EXAMPLE, THE PERIODS OF POLITICAL DECENTRALIZATION OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE AND LATER, THE MUGHAL EMPIRE, RESULTED IN THE GROWTH OF REGIONAL CULTURES. SIMILARLY THE PERIODS OF CENTRALIZATION, SUCH AS THE MUGHAL AND THE MODERN PERIODS, HELPED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPOSITE, SYNCRETIC TRADITION THAT HAS THE SEMBLANCE OF A NATIONAL CULTURE. THE RELIGION PROFESSED BY A RULER CAN INSPIRE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ART FORMS BEARING THOSE RELIGIOUS EXPRESSIONS. IT DOES NOT, HOWEVER, MEAN THAT OTHER FORMS WERE SUPPRESSED. SIMILARLY A MORE LIBERAL, DEMOCRATIC AND SECULAR RULE MAY WITNESS THE GROWTH OF NON-RELIGIOUS ARE FORMS AS SEEN IN MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY INDIA. AN OPPRESSIVE RULE CAN ALSO STIMULATE CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS OF PROTEST AS SEEN DURING HE COLONIAL RULE.

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SADHANA STEPS (GAYATRI MANTRA)

 

                                                    SADHANA STEP 9

                               CHANT THE HYMN OF AUSPICIOUSNESS (SVASTIVACHAM)

                    A CHANT TO INVITE AND INVOKE THE VEDIC ENERGIES AROUND YOU IS DONE AT THIS STAGE. IT IS USUALLY DONE BY CHANTING A SPECIFIC HYMN CALLED SVASTIVACHANA. YOU CAN EITHER CHANT THE SVASTIVACHANA OR JUST THE FOLLOWING VERSES TAKEN FROM THE RIGVEDA. 

                  

                                  OM BHADRAM KARNEBHIH SRNUYAMA DEVAH

                                  BHADRAM PASYEMAKSABHIRYA JATRAH

                                  STHIRAIRANGAISUSTUVAGAM SASTANUBHIH

                                  VYASEMA DEVAHITAM YADAYUH

                                   SVASTI NA INDRO VRDDHASRAVAH 

                                   SVASTI NAH PUSA VISVAVEDAH

                                   SVASTI NASTAKSARYO ARISTANEMIH

                                   SVASTI NO BRUHASPATIRDADHATU

                                   OM SANTHI SANTHI SANTIH      

                                                             TRASLATION

       

                MAY WE ONLY HEAR AUSPICIOUS SOUNDS WITH OUR EARS AND MAY ONLY SEE DIVINE THINGS WITH OUR EYES. MAY WE LEAD A STABLE LIFE OF HEALTH AND PROSPERITY WITH GRATITUDE THROUGHOUT THE LIFESPAN GRANTED TO US. MAY INDRA OF GREA RENOWN PROTECT US. MAY THE OMNICIENT PROTECT US. MAY LORD GARUDA DESTROY ALL HARM AND NEGATIVITY. MAY BRIHASPATI PROTECT US.

                           10. MEDITATE ON YOUR GURU ( GURU DHYANA )

                     NOW THAT YOU HAVE PURIFIED YOURSELF AND THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND YOU BY INVOKING VARIOUS ENERGIES, IT IS TIME TO MEDITATE ON YOUR GURU. CALL UPON YOUR GURU BY OFFERING A FLOWER IF YOU HAVE YOUR GURU'S PICTURE OR YOU CAN SIMPLY VISUALIZE YOUR GURU'S FORM AND CHANT THE FOLLOWING MANTRA WITH REVERENCE :

                            GURURBRAMA GURUVISNURGURURDEVO MAHESVARAH

                            GURUREVA PARAM BRAHMA TASTAI SRIGURUVE NAMAH

                        

                                                      TRANSLATION

                      GURU IS BRAHMA, GURU IS VISHNU, GURU IS SHIVA HIMSELF, GURU IS VERILY PARA-BRAHMA (SUPREME SOUL). HUMBLE OBEISANCE AND SALUTATIONS TO MY GURU.

                            11. CHANT THE GURU MANTRA ( GURU MANTRA JAPA )

                  NOW YOU SHOULD CHANT YOUR GURU MANTRA 11, 21, OR 108 TIMES DEPENDING ON EITHER THE ROUTINE GIVEN TO YOU BY YOUR GURU OR YOUR OWN USUAL ROUTINE.

 

                                       12. OBEISANCE TO ALL SIDDHAS

                 OFFER YOUR RESPECTS AND GRATITUDE TO ALL THE SIDDHAS, SAGES, SEERS AND GURUS OF THE PAST. GENERALLY, THIS MANTRA CAN DIFFER FROM TRADITION TO TRADITION BUT IF YOUR GURU IS NOT A MANTRA ADEPT (THEREFORE NOT KNOWING THIS MANTRA ) OR HASN'T INTIATED YOU INTO THIS MANTRA, SIMPLY CHANT THE FOLLOWING : 

 

                     SANSKRIT                                          TRANSLATION

              OM DIVYAUGHA NAMAH           MY OBEISANCE TO ALL THE SIDDHAS OF 

                                                                            DIVINE BODIES.

             OM SIDDHAUGHA NAMAH         MY OBEISANCE TO ALL THE SIDDHAS OF THE                                                                                PAST WHO ARE NO MORE IN THEIR PHYSICAL                                                                                BODIES.

             OM MANAVAUGHA NAMAH       MY OBEISANCE TO ALL THE SIDDHAS WHO ARE                                                                            EITHER STILL IN A HUMAN BODY OR CAN                                                                                        ASSUME ONE.

                       13. MEDITATING ON YOUR DEITY (ISHTA DHYANA)

                 OM BALAM VIDYAM TU GAYATRIM LOHITAM CATURANANAM

                 RAKTAMBARADVAYOPETAMAKSA SUTRAKARAM TATHA 

                 KAMANDALUDHARAM DEVI HAMSAVAHANASAMSTHITAM

                 BRAHMANI BRAHMADAIVATYAM BRAHMALOKANIVASINIM

                                                        TRANSLATION

                THE YOUTHFUL, GLORIOUS AND BEATIFUL DEVI IS AN EMBODIMENT OF THE HIGHEST WISDOM. SHE IS OF RED COLOR AND HAS FOUR FACES. SHE HOLDS RUDRAKSHA BEADS IN ONE HAND AND A WATER POT IN THE OTHER. MOUNTED ON A SWAN, SHE'S LIKE SARASWATI. SHE RESIDES AND ABIDES IN THE ABSOLUTE BRAHMAN AND IS A CONSORT OF BRAHMA.

                                 14. CHANT THE PRELIMINARY MANTRA

                                             ( ISHTA MANTRA JAPA )

                              15. PRAY TO MOTHER EARTH (PRITHVI PUJA)

                   DRAW A TRIANGLE ON THE FLOOR, RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU WITH WATER. IT'S A SYMBOLIC TRIANGLE. IF YOU ARE TRYING TO INVOKE A MASCULINE MANTRA, THE TRIANGLE SHOULD POINT UPWARDS (TOWARDS THE DEITY) AND IF YOU ARE INVOKING A FEMININE MANTRA, THE TRIANGLE SHOULD POINT DOWNWARDS. PUT A DOT WITH WATER RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRIANGLE AND PUT A FLOWER IN THE MIDDLE (ON TOP OF THE DOT) AND SAY THE FOLLOWING MANTRA :

                       HRIM ADHARASAKTAYE NAMAH     -      MY OBEISANCE TO THE                                                                                                                          PRIMORDIAL ENERGY THAT IS                                                                                                              SUSTAINING THE ENTIRE                                                                                                                        CREATION.

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GAYATRI MANTRA

 

                                  THE SPECIFIES OF GAYATRI SADHANA

                                             HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

                     THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO ACCUMULATE THE ENERGY OF THE GAYATRI MANTRA IN YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS. HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR YOU TO COMPLETE THE SADHANA DEPENDS ON WHAT KIND OF PURUSHCHARANA YOU UNDERTAKE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE IDEA IS QUITE SIMPLE, THE MORE YOU GATHER, THE MORE YOU HAVE AVAILABLE FOR USE AT A LATER DATE. HOWEVER, NOT EVERYONE HAS THE TIME OR INCLINATION TO UNDERTAKE A LONG PURUSHCHARANA. IRRESPECTIVE OF HOW LITTLE OR MUCH YOU DO, THE IMPORTANT THING TO BEAR IN MIND IS THAT THE QUANTITY OF JAPA SHOULD BE THE SAME EVERY DAY THROUGHOUT YOUR PURUSHCHARANA.

                            LAGHU PURUSHCHARANA (MINI INVOCATION)

                                                                      3-9 DAYS

              MINI INVOCATION IS DONE OVER  A MINUMUM PERIOD OF THREE DAYS TO A MAXIMUM OF NINE. MANY PEOPLE DO IT FOR NINE DAYS DURING THE NAVARATRAS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN UNDERTAKING LAGHU PURUSHCHARANA, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DO A MINIMUM CHANTING OF 1000 EVERY DAY. THE MORE THE BETTER, AS LONG AS YOU MAINTAIN THE SAME QUANTITY EVERY DAY. DOING IT DURING THE NAVARATRAS IN PARTICULARLY AUSPICIOUS AND YOU CAN CONSULT PANCHANGAM ONLINE OR ASK ANY VEDIC SCHOLAR ABOUT THE DATES OF THE NAVARATRAS THAT CHANGE EVERY YEAR. 

                SADHARANA PURUSHCHARANA (STANDARD INVOCATION)

                                                                    40-120 DAYS 

                  THIS IS THE ORDINARY KIND OF PURUSHCHARANA. THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE AN IMPACT - IT DOES. MORE THAN THE FIRST ONE AND LESS THAN THE NEXT ONE. IT IS CALLED ORDINARY OR STANDARD PURUSHCHARANA BECAUSE THIS IS THE BARE MINIMUM YOU NEED TO DO BEFORE YOU CAN START ACCUMULATING THE ENERGY OF THE GAYATRI MANTRA. IN THE STANDARD INVOCATION, YOU CHANT THE MANTRA A MINIMUM OF 100,000 TIMES. IDEALLY, THIS SHOULD BE DONE OVER A PERIOD OF 40 DAYS, WHICH MEANS YOU COULD CHANT APPROXIMATELY 2500 TIMES EVERY DAY FOR 40 DAYS. IF YOU ARE NOT DOING YAJNA OR THE OTHER POST-JAPA RITUALS, THEN IT IS RECOMMENDED TO CHANT 3000 TIMES EVERY DAY FOR 40 DAYS. IT IS ALSO PERMISSIBLE TO DO THIS OVER 60, 90 OR120 DAYS DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME YOU ARE ABLE TO DEVOTE ON A DAILY BASIS.

               I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU THAT THE VOW TO DO A PURUSHCHARANA IS TAKEN BEFORE YOU BEGIN ONE. THEREFORE, YOU MAINTAIN THE SAME QUANTITY EVERY DAY. IF YOU DECIDE TO DO A 60 - DAY PURUSHCHARANA AND CHANT 2000 TIMES ON THE FIRST DAY, THAT CONSISTENCY THEN MUST BE MAINTAINED FOR THE REMAINING 59 DAYS. YOU CAN'T CHANGE YOUR 60- DAYS PURUSHCHARANA TO A 120- DAY OR A 40- DAY ONE ONCE YOU'VE BEGUN IT.

                                          ASADHARANA PURUSHCHARANNA 

                                           (EXTRAORDINARY INVOCATION)

                                                                      18 - 24 MONTHS

                     VERY FEW PEOPLE UNDERTAKE THIS KIND OF PURUSHCHARANA. IN FACT, OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES, I'VE MET ONLY THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE THIS KIND. IT INVOLVES CHANTING THE GAYATRI MANTRA 2,400,000 (24 LACS) TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF 18 OR 24 MONTHS.

                  THE JAPA IS PEGGED AT 24 LACS BECAUSE THE GAYATRI MANTRA HAS WHAT WE CALL 24 VARNAS. THOSE ARE: TAT, SA, VI, TUR, VA, RE, NA, YAM, BHAR, GO, DE, VA, SYA, DHI, MA, HI, YO,YO, NA, PRA, CHO, DA AND YAT. MANTRA, YOU HAVE TO CHANT AS MANY LACS OF TIMES AS THERE ARE VARNAS IN A MANTRA - NOT LETTERS, BUT VARNAS, WHICH ROUGHLY EQUATE TO SYLLABLES.

                              MAHA PURUSHCHARANA (GRAND INVOCATION)

                                                                   24 - 32 MONTHS

                       THIS IS THE ULTIMATE FORM OF PURUSHCHARANA AND I'VE ONLY KNOWN ONE PERSON WHO DID THIS 19 TIMES IN HIS LIFE. SHRIRAM SHARMA OF SHANTI KUNJ, HARIDWAR, WAS SAID TO HAVE DONE GAYATRI MAHA PURUSHCHARANA MULTIPLE TIMES. THE STORY I WROTE IN THE CHAPTER "THE POWER OF GAYATRI MANTRA" WAS OF A DIRECT DISCIPLE OF SHRIRAM SHARMA.

                 IN MAHA PURUSHCHARANA, THE GAYATRI MANTRA IS CHANTED 32 LACS OR 3,200,000 TIMES BECAUSE WHEN WE ADD OM-BHUR-BHUVA-SVAHA TO THE ORIGINAL GAYATRI MANTRA FOUN IN THE RIG VEDA , THE COMPLETE MANTRA HAS 24 VARNAS. THEY ARE 24 AS EXPLAINED EARLIER PLUS A, U, M (FOR OM ), BHU, BHU, VA, SVA AND HA.

              THE MAXIMUM PERIOD ALLOWED TO DO A MAHA PURUSHCHARANA IS 32 MONTHS. THERE IS NO RELAXATION OF RULES FOR THE LONGER PURUSHCHARANA. THE SAME PRINCIPLES OF DIET, ABSTINENCE AND CONDUCT APPLY TO ALL FOUR TYPES. I MUST REMIND YOU HERE THAT JUST RECKLESS OR MINDLESS CHANTING HAS NO PLACE OR REPECT IN MANTRA YOGA. YOUR CHANTING MUST BE DONE WITH DEVOTION AND MINDFULNESS. I CANNOT STRESS THIS POINT ENOUGH. WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO CHANT, DO SO PATIENTLY AND MINDFULLY, LISTENING TO YOUR OWN VOICE, EVERY WORD, EVERY LETTER OF YOUR MANTRA. IT WILL GET TRING AT TIMES, BUT KEEP GOING IF YOU CARE TO GO TILL THE END.

             THE ONE WHO DOES 32 LAKHS OF JAPA OF THE GAYATRI MANTRA IS BOUND TO HAVE THE GRACE OF DEVI IN IMMEASURABLE, INEXPLICABLE WAYS. NEW DIMENSIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, NEW WAYS OF THINKING AND NEW AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM OPENS UP TO ANYONE WHO DOES THIS PURUSHCHARANA, AND IF YOU DO SO WITH DEVOTION, YOU WILL ALSO ATTAIN WHAT WE CALL VAK SIDDHI. VAK SIDDHI MEANS WHEN YOU SAY SOMETHING FROM YOUR HEART, IT BECOMES THE TRUTH, INDEED, EVERYTHING YOU SAY FROM YOUR HEART BECOMES THE TRUTH. THAT'S HOW OUR SAGES ACHIEVED AN EXALTED STATE IN THEIR OWN LIFETIMES.

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