The role of the begums of Bhopal in preserving the stupa at Sanchi : –
- There are several reasons due to why Sanchi Stupa managed to survive:
🔹 The Nawab of Bhopal Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum allocated a large number of funds for the preservation of the funds.
🔹 They funded the museums that were built near the site and also a guesthouse. The activities like the publication of volumes on the site were also funded by them.
🔹 They have preserved the stupa from the railway contractors and builders.
Vessantara Jataka : –
🔹 It is a story about a generous prince who gave everything away to a Brahmana and went to live in the forest with his wife and children.
Meaning of animal depictions on Sanchi Stupa : –
🔹 Some of the finest depictions of animals are found at Sanchi stupa. These animals include elephants, horses, monkeys and cattle. The jatakas contain several animal stories that are depicted at Sanchi.
🔹 Many of these animals were carved to create lively scenes to draw viewers. Also, animals were often used as symbols of human attributes. For example, elephants were depicted to signify strength and wisdom.
Shalabhanjika : –
🔹 It is a Sanskrit word. According to popular belief, this was a woman whose touch caused trees to bear flowers and fruits. It was regarded as an auspicious symbol and integrated into the decoration by the stupa.
Mahayana, Hinayana and theravadins : –
- Mahayana : – The new way of thinking in Buddhism was called Mahayana.
- Hinayana : – Those adopted new beliefs described the older traditions as Hinayana.
- Theravadins : – However, followers of the older tradition described themselves as theravadins.
Hinayana or Theravada?
🔹 Supporters of Mahayana regarded other Buddhists as followers of Hinayana. However, followers of the older tradition described themselves as theravadins, that is, those who followed the path of old, respected teachers, the theras.
Vaishnavism : –
🔹 Vaishnavism was that tradition of Hinduism within which, Vishnu was worshipped as the principal deity. In Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of the deity. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition.
Bodhisatta : –
🔹 Bodhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts, but used this not to attain nibbana and thereby abandon the world, but to help others.
The growth of Puranic Hinduism ( Traditions in Hinduism ) : –
🔹 Hinduism include Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Vaishnavism was a form of Hinduism within which Vishnu was worshipped as the principal deity of Hinduism.
- In Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of the deity.
- Shaivism was a tradition within which Shiva was regarded as the chief God. Shiva was symbolised by the linga.
🔹 All such representations depicted a complex set of ideas about the deities and their attributes through symbols.
Differentiate between Vaishnavism and Shaivism : –
🔹 The worship of Lord Shiva is known as Shaivism and the worship of Lord Vishnu is known as Vaishnavism.
Incarnation of God in different forms : –
🔹 In the case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of the deity. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition. These were forms that the deity was believed to have assumed in order to save the world whenever it was threatened by disorder and destruction because of the dominance of evil forces.
🔹 Some of these forms were represented in sculptures, as were other deities. Shiva, for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too.
Puranas : –
🔹 Brahmins composed the Puranas in the middle of the first millennium CE. Generally the Puranas written in Sanskrit verses were read aloud to everybody, including women and Shudras, who did not have access to Vedic learning.
Main features of Puranic Hinduism : –
- Mainly divided in two traditions vaishnavism and Shaivism.
- Ten Artars were rec grised within the tradition.
- Love and devotion by devotee is the real worship
- Vishnu is the Protector of the world.
- Linga is worshiped as a symbol of shiva.
- The rules and traditions of Hinduism are present in Vedas and Puranas.
- Women and sudras did not have the right to listen to the vedas.
- Temples were built in different part of India.
Building Temples : –
🔹 The early temple was a small square room called the garbhagriha, with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image. Gradually, a tall structure, known as the shikhara, was built over the central shrine.
🔹 Temple walls were often decorated with sculpture. Temples became more elaborate with inclusion of assembly halls, huge walls and gateways and arrangements for supplying water.
Artificial Caves : –
🔹 The unique features of early temples was that some of these were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves.
🔹 The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one as some of these were constructed in the third century BCE on the orders of Asoka for renouncers who belonged to the Ajivika sect. For example, the entire structure of Kailashnath Temple and Ellora was carved out of a single piece of rock.
Problems faced by the European scholars while studying the sculptures : –
🔹 Firstly, the Europeans scholars were not familiar with the local traditions and beliefs. They were horrified by the images of half human and half animals. They considered the Indian sculptures inferior to that of European sculptures from Greece with which they were familiar. This was because they compared the Indian sculpture to the images of Greece with which they were familiar.
🔹 Secondly, the art historians used textual traditions to understand the meaning of sculptures. While this is a better strategy than comparing the images found in India with that of Greece but it was not always easy to use. For example, to identify the sculpture along a huge rock in Mahabalipuram, art historians have to search through the Puranas.
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