Art and Culture

Life of Buddha Buddha is also called Sakyamuni or Tathagata. Gautam Buddha was born at Lumbini (in present Nepal) in 563 BCE as Siddhartha Gautam. His mother was Queen Maya and father was King Suddhodana and he belonged to the … Continue reading →

University Location Description Odantapuri Bihar Made under the patronage of Pala Dynasty King Gopala I.  It was a Buddhist mahavihara which was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji.  Vikramshila Bhagalpur district of Bihar It was established by King Dharampala of the Pala … Continue reading →

There are three major types of fire temples of the Parsi faith.  The first is Atash Behram (Fire of Victory). Second is Atash Adaran. The third is Atash Dadgah. There are eight Atash Behrams in India Iranshah Atash Behram in … Continue reading →

Modhera Sun Temple Location: Gujarat Built: It was built in 1026-27 CE during the reign of Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty The temple is suspected to have been built to commemorate the defence of Modhera by Bhima I against … Continue reading →

Nataraja in the Tandava dance Posture The upper right-hand holds the drum, which signifies the sound of creation.  The upper left-hand holds the eternal fire, which represents destruction.  The lower right hand is raised in the gesture of abhaya mudra … Continue reading →

Also called Chola Architecture. Patronage by the Chola rulers. Continuation of the previous Pallava architecture. Features of the Dravidian style or Chola style The Dravidian temples were surrounded by high boundary walls.  The front wall had a high entrance gateway … Continue reading →

Mahendra Group The first stage of Pallava temple architecture.  The temples built under Mahendravarman were rock-cut temples and temples were called mandapas. Narasimha Group The rock-cut temples were decorated with intricate sculptures.  Under Narasimhavarman, the mandapas were now divided into … Continue reading →

Architecture: Also known as Maru-Gurjara style Region: North-Western parts of India including Gujarat and Rajasthan. Patronage by: Solanki rulers Basic Features The temple walls were devoid of any carvings.  The garbhagriha was connected with the mandapa both internally as well … Continue reading →

Location: Central part of India. Built by: Chandela Dynasty Basic Features In these temples, both the interior and exterior walls were lavishly decorated with carvings.  The sculptures were generally erotic in their themes and drew inspiration from Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra.  The … Continue reading →