GS Paper: GS1-01.Indian Culture- Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Lakhs of devotees thronged the coastal town of Puri town to witness the annual Rath Yatra with three decorated chariots of sibling deities Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra towed in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple.

About Jagannath Rath Yatra

• Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
• It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
• The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
• It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.

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Back2Basics: Puri Temple Architecture

• Jagannath Temple is a very big temple and covers an area of 37000m2. The height of the outer wall is 6.1m.
• It is surrounded by a high fortified wall 6.1 m high is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
• The main portion of the temple is also surrounded by a wall known as Kurma Bheda.
• The temple is built in Rekha Deula style and has four distinct sectional structures, namely –

1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls)
2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch)
3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

Try this question from CSP 2019:

Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-

(a) Chalukya (b) Chandela (c) Rashtrakuta (d) Vijayanagara

 

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As in every monsoon, Catholics in Goa will celebrate Sao Joao, the feast of St John the Baptist.

Note: The name typically sounds like a North-Eastern festival, but it is not.

What is Sao Joao and where is it celebrated in Goa?

• In Goa, Catholics celebrate all the feasts of the Roman Catholic Church, which include the feast of St John the Baptist on June 24.
• John the Baptist is the person who he had baptised Jesus Christ on the river Jordan.
• Traditionally, there are spirited Sao Joao festivities in the villages of Cortalim in South Goa and Harmal, Baga, Siolim and Terekhol in North Goa.
• However, over the years, pool parties and private Sao Joao parties in Goa have been a “complete package of merriment and joy” for tourists.

Course of celebration

• The celebrations will include revellers sporting crowns made of fruits, flowers and leaves, and the major draw of the feast is the water bodies – wells, ponds, fountains, rivers – in which the revellers take the “leap of joy”.
• Enjoyed by children and adults alike, the festival also includes playing the traditional gumott (percussion instrument), a boat festival, servings of feni, and a place of pride for new sons-in-law.

What does jumping into water bodies symbolise?

• The youngsters in Goa celebrate this occasion with revelry and perform daredevil feats, by jumping into over flowing wells or rivulets.
• The boys are found merrily jumping into the water to commemorate the leap of joy, which St John is said to have taken in the womb of his mother St Elizabeth when virgin Mary visited her.

 

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Kashmiri Hindus, locally known as Pandits, will celebrate the Zyestha Ashtami at the Mata Kheerbhawani temple at Tulmulla in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.

Kheerbhawani Temple

• The temple is dedicated to the goddess Ragnya Devi.
• The festival, known as Mela Kheerbhawani, is the largest gathering of Hindus in Kashmir after the annual Amarnath Yatra.
• Situated 30 km from Srinagar city, it is one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites for Kashmiri Hindus.
• The temple gets its name from kheer, or milk and rice pudding that pilgrims pour into the spring inside the temple complex as an offering to the goddess.
• Hundreds of local Muslims, too, traditionally join the celebrations.

Legend of the festival

• Legend has it that the water of the temple’s spring changes colour from white to red and black.
• The colour of the water is said to predict the impending future.
• If it changes to black, it is seen as inauspicious or an impending disaster.
• Kashmiri Pandits say that the water had turned black before they were forced to flee Kashmir during the militancy of 1990.

 

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Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

 

Try this PYQ:

Q.Consider the following pairs:

Traditions- Communities

1. Chaliha Sahib Festival- Sindhis
2. Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra- Gonds
3. Wari-Warkari- Santhals

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3

(d) None of the above

 

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President Kovind inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana and paid tribute to the Bhakti saint, Kabir at Maghar, his resting place in Uttar Pradesh.

Kabir and the Bhakti Movement

• The Bhakti movement, which began in the 7th century in South India, had begun to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
• The movement was characterized by popular poet-saints who sang devotional songs to God in vernacular languages.
• Most of the preaching were meant for abolishing the Varna system and promoting Hindu-Muslim unity.
• They emphasized an intense emotional attachment with God.

Who was Sant Kabir?

• One school within the Bhakti movement was the Nirguni tradition and Sant Kabir was a prominent member of it.
• In this tradition, God was understood to be a universal and formless being.
• Many of the saints of the Bhakti movement came from the ranks of the lower to middle artisanal classes.
• Kabir was an alleged ‘low caste’ weaver (Julaha), Raidas was a leather worker and Dadu a cotton carder.
• Their radical dissent against orthodoxy and rejection of caste made these poet-saints extremely popular among the masses and their ideology of egalitarianism spread across India.

His life

• He was born in Varanasi and lived between the years 1398 and 1448, or till the year 1518 according to popular belief.
• He was from a community of ‘lower caste’ weavers of the Julaha caste, a group that had recently converted to Islam.
• He learned the art of weaving, likely studied meditative and devotional practices under the guidance of a Hindu guru and grew to become an eminent teacher and poet-singer.
• Kabir’s beliefs were deeply radical, and he was known for his intense and outspoken voice which he used to attack the dominant religions and entrenched caste systems of the time.
• He composed his verses orally and is generally assumed to be illiterate.

His literary works

• Kabir’s compositions can be classified into three literary forms – dohas (short two liners), ramanas (rhymed 4 liners), sung compositions of varying length, known as padas (verses) and sabdas (words).
• There are myriad legendary accounts on the other hand, for which there exists less of a factual historical basis.

Kabir’s critique of religion and caste

• Kabir is in modern times portrayed as a figure that synthesized Islam and Hinduism.
• While he did borrow elements from different traditions, he very forcefully proclaimed his independence from them.
• He did not only target the rituals and practices of both Hinduism and Islam, but also dismissed the sacred authority of their religious books, the Vedas and the Quran.
• He even combined Allah and Ram in his poems.
• He sought to eradicate caste distinctions and attempted to create an egalitarian society, by stressing the notion that a Bhakt (devotee) was neither a Brahmin nor an ‘untouchable’ but just a Bhakt.

Kabir’s legacy

• Kabir’s own humble origins and his radical message of egalitarianism fostered a community of his followers called the Kabir Panth.
• A sect in northern and central India, many of their members are from the Dalit community.
• All regard Kabir as their guru and treat the Bijak as their holy scripture.
• The Bijak contains works attributed to Kabir and is argued by historians to have been written in the 17th century.
• Several of Kabir’s verses and songs form a vital part of the Guru Granth Sahib.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

Q.Consider the following statements:

1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.

2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

 

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Ten antiquities (sculptures) retrieved from Australia and the United States were handed over to the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Some of the returned antiquities, and how they had gone missing:

(1) Dvarapala:

• Retrieved in 2020 from Australia, this stone sculpture belongs to the Vijayanagar dynasty dating to the 15th-16th century.
• He is holding a gada in one hand and has another leg raised up to the level of his knee.
• The sculpture was burgled from Moondreeswaramudayar Temple, Tiruneveli in1994.

(2) Nataraja:

• Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this image of Nataraja, a depiction of Shiva, in his divine cosmic dance form, is in tribhanga posture, standing on the lotus pedestal.
• It is dateable to the 11th-12th century. Possibly, ananda tandava or the Dance of Bliss is portrayed here.
• The sculpture was burgled from the strong room of Punnainallur Arulmigu Mariyamman Temple, Thanjavur, in 2018.

(3) Kankalamurti:

• Retrieved in 2021 from the US, Kankalamurti is depicted as a fearsome aspect of Lord Shiva and Bhairava.
• The sculpture is four-armed, holding ayudhas such as damaru and trishula in the upper hands and a bowl and a trefoil shaped object, as a treat for the playful fawn, in the lower right hand.
• The idol is dateable to the 12th-13th century, and was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli in 1985.

(4) Nandikeshvara:

• Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this bronze image of Nandikeshvara is dateable to the 13th century.
• It is shown standing in tribhanga posture with folded arms, holding an axe and a fawn in the upper arms, with his forearms in namaskara mudra.
• This sculpture was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli, in 1985.

(5) Four-armed Vishnu:

• Retrieved in 2021 from the US, dateable to the 11th century, and belonging to the later Chola period.
• The sculpture has Lord Vishnu standing on a padma pedestal holding attributes such as shankha and chakra in two hands; while the lower right hand is in abhaya mudra.
• It was stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur, in 2008.

(6) Goddess Parvati:

• Retrieved in 2021 from the US, the image depicts a Chola-period sculpture dateable to the 11th century.
• She is shown holding a lotus in the left hand whereas the right is hanging down near her kati.
• This sculpture was also stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur in 2008.

(7) Standing child Sambandar:

• Retrieved in 2022 from Australia. Sambandar, the popular 7th-century child saint, is one of the Muvar, the three principal saints of South India.
• The sculpture is dateable to the 11th century.
• The legend goes that after receiving a bowl of milk from Goddess Uma, the infant Sambandar devoted his life to composing hymns in praise of Lord Shiva.
• The sculpture displays the saint’s childlike quality, while also empowering him with the maturity and authority of a spiritual leader.
• It was stolen from Sayavaneeswarar Temple, Nagapattinam, between 1965 and 1975.

 

 

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The Qutub Minar complex is not a place of worship and its character cannot be changed now, the Archaeological Survey of India submitted in a Delhi Court while opposing a plea challenging the dismissal of a civil suit seeking “restoration” of temples on the premises.

What is the case?

• The original suit claimed that 27 temples were demolished to build the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutub Minar complex.
• This pleas was dismissed last year under the provisions of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
• The Additional District Judge (ADJ) has now reserved the order.
• The petitioner said that the dismissal of the original suit based on the 1991 Act was wrong.
• The Qutub Minar complex comes under the purview of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958.

Why in news now?

• The ASI now submitted that the Qutub Minar complex was not a place of worship when it was first notified as a protected monument in 1914.
• The ASI, explained that the character of a monument is decided on the date when it comes under protection.

About Qutub Minar

• The Qutub Minar is a minaret and “victory tower” that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs.
• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi.
• It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c. 1190, which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower.
• The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns.
• The Qutb Minar has a shaft that is fluted with “superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies” at the top of each stage.

Its construction

• The Qutb Minar was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot, the citadel of Dhillika.
• Qutub Minar was begun after the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, which was started around 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.
• It is usually thought that the tower is named for Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who began it.
• It is also possible that it is named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th-century sufi saint, because Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a devotee of his.
• Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the north-east of the Minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198.
• It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din.
• This is recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.

Back2Basics:

What is the Places of Worship Act?

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There is controversy around a new film where some communities of Rajasthan are laying claim over the 12th century emperor Prithviraj Chauhan.

Prithviraj Chauhan

• Prithviraj Chauhan (1177–1192 CE) popularly known as a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan.
• Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south.

His legend

• He aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandela’s.
• Prithviraj unified several Rajput clans and defeated the Ghurid army led by Muhammad Ghori near Taraori in 1191 AD.
• However, in 1192 CE, Ghori returned with an army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajput army on the same battlefield.
• Prithviraj fled the battlefield, but was captured near Sirsa and executed.
• His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India, and has been described in several semi-legendary accounts, most notably the Prithviraj Raso.

Prithviraj in literary works

• The image of Prithviraj as a fearless and skilled warrior that is now etched in the folk imagination can be traced back to his depiction in ‘Prithviraj Raso’.
• This was a poem in Brajbhasha attributed to Chand Bardai, which is thought to have been composed in the 16th century.
• James Mill’s ‘The History of British India’ (1817) categorized Indian history into the Hindu, Muhammadan and British periods.
• In this formulation, Prithviraj Chauhan would be the last ruler of ‘Hindu’ India.

Why is he being revived?

• To a vocal section of the Hindu right, Prithviraj Chauhan appears as “the last Hindu emperor” of India who made a valiant attempt to stop the radical invaders.
• In the popular imagination, he is the heroic figure who symbolises the exalted ideals of patriotism and national pride.
• However the historical evidence demonstrates rather different ways in which Prithviraj has been seen over the ages.

 

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Prime Minister in Lumbini, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, said that his birthplace Vadnagar in Gujarat’s Mehsana district had been a great centre for Buddhist learning centuries ago.

Vadnagar’s ties with Buddhism

• In 2014, the excavation work has brought up Buddhist relics and around 20,000 artefacts, some dating back to the 2nd century.
• Among these are an elliptical structure and a circular stupa along with a square memorial stupa of 2×2 metres and 130 centimetres in height with a wall enclosure.
• It is like a platform which has a chamber in the centre that resembles a pradakshina path.
• Further, bowls said to be used by monks have been found during the excavations, which have a terracotta sealing with inscriptions of namassarvagyaya and a face-shaped pendant with tritatva symbol.
• Sacred relics of the Buddha were even found in Devni Mori in Aravalli district of Gujarat.

In travellers record

• Vadnagar is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveler, Hiuen Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town.
• He is believed to have visited the state in 641 AD.
• It adds how some of the names attributed to Vadnagar in history are Chamatkarpur, Anandpur, Snehpur and Vimalpur.
• It also had snippets about other Buddhist heritage sites in Gujarat, such as Junagadh, Kutch and Bharuch.

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Back2Basics: Places associated with Buddha

These are three of the few holiest sites in Buddhism:

1. Bodh Gaya in Bihar, the site of the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha under a tree and top site in the list of world heritage sites in India.
2. Kesaria stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet (32 m).
3. Nalanda was a renowned Buddhist University in the ancient kingdom of Magadha (modern-day Bihar) in India.Buddhist texts describe it as a Mahavihara, a revered Buddhist monastery.
4. Sarnath near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), where Buddha taught about the Middle Way, the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
5. Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, the site of the Buddha’s parinirvana and home of many famous meditation & prayer offering sites in India.

 

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Pope Francis canonised Devasahayam Pillai as a Catholic Saint during an event in St Peter’s Basilica.

Who was Devasahayam Pillai?

• Devasahayam was born on April 23, 1712 in Nattalam village in Kanyakumari district, and went on to serve in the court of Marthanda Varma of Travancore.
• After meeting a Dutch naval commander at the court, Devasahayam was baptised in 1745, and assumed the name ‘Lazarus’, meaning ‘God is my help’.

His works

• While preaching, he particularly insisted on the equality of all people, despite caste differences.
• His conversion did not go well with the heads of his native religion.
• False charges of treason and espionage were brought against him and he was divested of his post in the royal administration.
• On January 14, 1752, Devasahayam was shot dead in the Aralvaimozhy forest.
• Since then, he is widely considered a martyr, and his mortal remains were interred inside what is now Saint Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Kottar, Nagercoil.

Other canonized saints in India

• Of the eleven, Gonsalo Garcia, born in India to Portuguese parents in Mumbai in 1557, is considered to have been the first India-born saint.
• In 2008, Kerala-born Sister Alphonsa was declared as the first woman Catholic saint from India.
• Mother Teresa had a fast track to sainthood when she was canonized in 2016.

 

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