indian culture

Sanchi

Location : 46 kms east of Bhopal
Tourist Attractions : Great Stupa no.1, The Eastern Gateway, The Western Gateway, The Northern Gateway, The Southern Gateway, Stupa no.2, Stupa no.3, The Ashoka Pillar, The Buddhist Vihara, The Great Bowl, The Gupta temple, The Museum.
Nearby Tourist Destinations : Sonari and Satdhara, Andher & Mural Khurd, Vidisha, The Lohangi Rock, Gumbaz-ka-Maqbara, Bijamandal Mosque, Udaygiri Caves, Gyraspur, Udaypur and Rahatgarh.
When to Visit : October to March

About Sanchi
Sanchi is located 46 kms from Bhopal, on an isolated hill, it holds an unmatched place in Buddhist history. Sanchi is famous for its Stupas, monasteries, temples and pillars standing tall from the 3rd century B.C. to the 12th century A.D. The Sanchi Stupa 1 is one of the most famous of these monuments and was originally built by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. He was then the governor of Ujjayini, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant from a nearby place called Vidisha. Their son Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitra were born in Ujjayini and sent to Sri Lanka, where they converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism.

Sanchi's Stupas, Chaityas, Temples, Monasteries, and gateways, decorated by delicate carvings depict the Buddha's life and teachings. For Buddhists all over the world, Sanchi is almost as sacred a spot as Bodh Gaya or Sarnath. On Buddha Purnima (full moon), which usually falls in April/May according to the lunar calendar, Buddhists from all over the world gather at Sanchi to celebrate the triple anniversary of Gautama Buddha's birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana.

UNESCO designated the Stupas of Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh in the year 1989 as the world heritage site for its archaeological and historical importance.

Major Tourist Attractions in Sanchi
The ASI Museum
At Sanchi there's a museum of the Archeological Survey of India. By paying a nominal entry fee you may visit the museum anytime between 9 am and 5 pm. The museum displays rare and antique items. It also has the lion capital of the Ashoka Pillar, several metal objects that were used by the monks and the earliest known ancient stone sculptures in Indian art from the 3rd to the 1st century BC. The Ashoka Pillar owns amazing architectural design and structural balance.

Ashoka's Stupa
Among the many Stupas at Sanchi, the most famous is the Great Stupa I that was built by the Great Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Only three out of eight stupas remain built by Ashoka at Sanchi in the 3 B.C. These Stupas have the relics of Buddha like his teeth, hair and the shoulder bones. The Great Stupa 1 is a major tourist attraction at Sanchi. The great Stupa is also known as the Ashoka's Stupa who built it in 3 B.C. This Stupa was originally constructed in burnt mud bricks though but the Stupa was largely re-built in the middle of the 2 B.C. There was a carved railing added with a stone facade to the 16 meter high Stupa and the restructured larger Stupa is what attracts people from across the globe today to Sanchi.

Other attractions at Sanchi are The Buddhist Vihara, The Great Bowl, The Gupta temple and many more.

Vidisha
Situated at a distance of twelve kilometers from Sanchi is the ancient city of Vidisha. Vidisha was also known as Besnagar since it was located on the conflux of the Betwa and the Bes rivers. Ashoka's wife was from Vidisha. One of the must visits at Videsha is the Heliodoros Pillar of the 5 A. D. which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu that marks the conversion of the Greek ambassador of Taxila into Hinduism. Even today the local fishermen worship the pillar as Khamb Baba.

Udaigiri
At Udaigiri (13 km from Sanchi), there are the Hindu and the Jain caves that run in succession. These rock cut cave sanctuaries of Udaigiri are world famous. Both the places are of much historical significances. The Buddhist monks inhabited these caves cut into the sand stone hills in 2 B.C. The caves contain carvings of Lord Vishnu. One can visit the remains of the 6th century Gupta temple on the top of the hill. The Gupta temple is amongst the pioneer temples that followed the temple architecture in India.
The journey to Sanchi will definitely be memorable and will offer you a deeper insight into the rich cultural, architectural and religious heritage of India.

Getting there
Air : At a distance of 46 kilometers at Bhopal is the nearest airport of Bhopal that connects Sanchi with the other major cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Gwalior and Indore.
Rail : The railway station of Vidisha is at a distance of 10 kilometers from Sanchi and caters to the tourists who travel by trains.
Road : The road network links Sanchi with Indore, Sagar, Gwalior, Vidisha and Raisen. From Bhopal the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, several buses and taxis ply to and from Sanchi

The Shore Temple in Mamallapuram

Though known as the land of Seven Pagodasm, there is only one remaining today. The five-storied Sore Temple on the sea beach was built by the Pallava King Raja Singha at the end of seventh century in pure dravidian sculpture. This temple was the last work of Pallava dynasty. Guarding the temple are Lion-King Nandi or the row of oxens. Recently, Sore Temple Complex has been enlisted in the recorded history of World Heritage. This is one of the oldest temples in South India.

Cone January and the stones of the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram begin to resound with music and dance rhythms. Dating back to the 8th century AD the temple was built during the reign of Narsimha Varman of the Pallava dynasty.

The tourist guide will tell you many an interesting legend about the building of the temple. Stories that are romantic and yet sad. Stories about man?s ingenuity to carve this magnificent structure, now a World Heritage Site, from solid stone.

The shore temple was built by the Pallava ruler Narsimha Varman II who ruled Narsimha Varman II who ruled in the 8th century AD. The Pallavas of Kanchi were the most important dynasty to emerge from the Tamil country after the decline of the north Indian Gupta Empire. The Pallavas were prosperous rulers with a large portion of their wealth derived from land.

The village of Mamallapuram was the second capital of the Pallava kingdom. It was also an important port.

The Pallavas were originally Jains. The conversion of Mahendra Varman I to Saivism in the early part of the 7th century AD led to its demise from the court. Most of the temples in Mamallapuram are consecrated to Shiva.

While temples throughout India are embellished with figures of deities the shore temple depicts scenes form day to day life-farmers in the fields, women milking cattle, important dignitaries? Scenes you will encounter in real life while moving around the place. Great art is universal and eternal.

An important sculpture Mamallapuram is Arjuna?s Penance. It depicts the story of the emergence of the Ganga from the Himalyas. The panel is flood lit during the dance festival. As the cool sea-breeze blows from the Bay of Bengal India?s well known classical dancers give performances against its backdrop during the dance festival.

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Brihadeeswarar temple

The Brihadishwara Temple also known as Rajarajeswaram^[1], at Thanjavur, is the world's first complete granite temple^[2] and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in temple architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron RajaRaja Chola I. It remains as one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture^[3]. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples" and this temple is an ultimate testimonial for the Vishwakarmas architectural cognizance in planning and sculpting this temple.
This temple is one of India's most prized architectural sites. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century. The 'Vimana' - or the temple tower - is 216 ft (66 m) high ^[4] (about 70 meters) and is among the tallest of its kind in the world. The Kalash or 'Shikhara' (apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is of monolithic granite weighing 81.25 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high^[5]. The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones, a material sparsely available currently in Thanjavur area where the temple is located.

History

The temple had its foundations laid out by the ambitious emperor Chola king Rajaraja Chola I in 1002 CE, as the first of the great Chola building projects.^[6] According to tradition, the temple was built by the Chola king Rajaraja in compliance of a command given to him in his dream^[5]. The scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout.^[7] Temples from this period and the following two centuries are an expression of the Chola wealth, power and artistic expertise. The emergence of such features as the multifaceted columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style.^[8]
The Brihadishwara Temple was built to be the royal temple to display the emperor's vision of his power and his relationship to the universal order. The temple was the site of the major royal ceremonies such as anointed the emperor and linking him with its deity, Shiva, and the daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by those of the king. The temple maintained a staff of 600 people in various capacities^{[citation needed]}. Besides the Brahmin priest, these included record-keepers, musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every type as well as housekeeping staff. Even today, the Brihadishwara Temple remains India's largest.^[9]
The temple is an example of the architectural conception of the pure form of the Dravida type of temple architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in Southern India. The temples "testify to the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze casting".^[10]

Temple complex

The temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channeled to make a moat around the complex's outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress. The complex is made up of many structures that are aligned axially. The complex can be entered either on one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a second access directly to the huge main quadrangle through a smaller free-standing gopuram. The massive size of the main sikhara (although it is hollow on the inside and not meant to be occupied), is 63 meters in height, with 16 severely articulated stories, and dominates the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and attached columns are placed rhythmically covering every surface of the shikhara.^[9]

Main temple

The main temple is in the center of the spacious quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi, a pillared hall and an assembly hall (mandapas), and many sub-shrines. The most important part of the temple is the inner mandapa which is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into different levels by sharply cut sculptures and pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasizing the principle cult icons.^[7] The garbhagriha, a Sanskrit word meaning the interior of the sanctum sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus of the temple where an image of the primary deity, Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone linga Literally the word garbha griha means "womb chamber" from Sanskrit word garbha for womb. Only priests are allowed to enter this inner most chamber.^[11][12] In the Dravida style, the garbhagriha takes the form of a miniature vimana with other features exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture such as the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a pradakshina around the garbhagriha for circumambulation (pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber housing the image of the god is the sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha. ^[8] The garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium and harmony as it is representative of a microcosm of the universe. In the center is placed the image of the deity.^[7] The circumambulation winds around the massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is repeated in an upper story, presenting the idea that Chola Empire freely offered access to the gods.^[9]
The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch with three staircases leading down. Sharing the same stone plinth is a small open mandapa dedicated to Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull mount.^[7]

Adjoining structures

Surrounding the main temple are two walled enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the temple complex area. Here is the massive gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within this a portico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with over 400 pillars, is enclosed by a high wall interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined up to the main temple.

Dussehra

In the months of Ashwin and kartik, Hindus observe a 10 day ceremony of fast, rituals, celebrations, fiests to honor the mother Goddess and triumph of Lord Rama over Demon Ravana. Dussehra also symbolizes the triumph of warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura. Thus, it is a celebration of victory of good over evil.

This celebration starts from Navratri and ends with the tenth day festival of “Dussehra”. Navratri and Dussehra is celebrated throughout the country at the same time, with varying rituals, but with great enthusiasm and energy as it marks the end of scorching summer and the start of winter season.

The tenth day after Navratri is called Dussehra, on which number of fairs are organized throughout the northern India, burning effigies of Ravana.It is also called “Vijayadashmi” as this day marks the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana. VijayaDashami is considered to be an auspicious day for the Indian householder, on which he worships, protects and preserves 'Shakti' (power). According to Scriptures, by worshipping the 'Shakti' on these nine-days the householders attain the threefold power i.e. physical, mental and spiritual, which helps him to progress in life without any difficulty.

The 'Ramlila' - an enactment of the life of Lord Rama, is held during the nine days preceding Dussehra. On the tenth day (Dussehra or Vijay Dasami), larger than life effigies of Ravana, his son and brother - Meghnadh and Kumbhakarna are set to fire.

The theatrical enactment of this dramatic encounter is held throughout the country in which every section of people participates enthusiastically.

In burning the effigies the people are asked to burn the evil within them, and thus follow the path of truth and goodness, bearing in mind the instance of Ravana, who despite all his might and majesty was destroyed for his evil ways.

Legends

Dussehra is also known as Vijaya Dasami, because of the victory of Ram over Ravana. On this day in Satya Yug, Ram (the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu), killed the great demon and king of Lanka, Ravana.

Puranas also opined that in this day warrior Goddess Durga defeated and killed the buffalo demon Mahishasura.