[anc. Koil]
City in Uttar Pradesh, India, 135 km south-east of Delhi. A Rajput stronghold, Koil fell to Muslim invaders in
[anc. Koil]
City in Uttar Pradesh, India, 135 km south-east of Delhi. A Rajput stronghold, Koil fell to Muslim invaders in
[anc. Prayaga]
City of religious, strategic and administrative importance in Uttar Pradesh, India. Located at the confluence of the sacred rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mystical Saraswati, Allahabad has drawn Hindu pilgrims for centuries. The earliest monument is a stone pillar, inscribed with edicts of Ashoka (reg
c. 269–c. 232
Mughal residences and gardens straggled along the Yamuna from the fort to the city. Prince Salim, the future emperor ...
[Ayodhyā]
City in Faizabad District, Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the right bank of the River Sarayu, it was the capital of the ancient Kosala kingdom, one of whose kings, Rama, is regarded by Hindus as an incarnation of Vishnu.
Excavations in 17 different parts of the ancient mounds have revealed that the first occupation at Ayodhya commenced c. 700
[Badoli]
Group of Hindu temples of the 10th century
Balinese Hindu temple (pura) complex. It is situated on the southwestern flank of the volcano Gunung Agung, Bali’s highest mountain, in the northeast of the island. Associated probably since prehistoric times with the Lord of the Mountain, now identified with the Hindu god Shiva, it has been a dynastic temple of several royal families since at least the 15th century. The complex consists of twenty-two temples, spread along three parallel ridges over a distance of more than a kilometer. The complex was not planned as an entity but seems to have been constructed piecemeal, and the overall structure that links the temples is more ritual and symbolic than physical. The annual cycle of more than seventy rituals culminates in the enormous centennial Ekadasa Rudra ceremony.
The symbolic and ritual center of the complex is Pura Penataran Agung, the largest temple, which over the centuries has undergone numerous changes. Its fifty-seven separate structures are arranged on six terraces. Originating probably in a simple prehistoric sanctuary, it has a terraced form suggesting a series of successive enlargements. The earliest structures were probably simple shrines and stone seats, represented now in developed form by the two uppermost shrines dedicated to the Lord of the Mountain. On current evidence, the pagoda-like shrines (...
[Bagwan]
(fl late 1570s–c. 1600).
Indian miniature painter. His career illustrates the difficulties experienced by Hindu artists in adjusting to the demanding patronage of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reg 1556–1605). His nine folios in the Dārābnāma (‘Story of Darab’, c. 1580–85; London, BL, Or. 4615) are the largest group by a single artist, indicating that he must have worked on the Hamzanāma (‘Tales of Hamza’, c. 1567–82, alternatively dated c. 1562–77); however, the tracing and awkward juxtaposition of Persian models show that the task was alien to him (fols 23r and 25v). Where Hindu conventions, and especially female forms, could be introduced, he was more confident (fol. 62r). This was a feature of his work in the Razmnāma (‘Book of wars’, 1582–6; Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Mus., MS AG. 1683–1850; fol. 93 designed by Lal, coloured by Bhagwan). Nonetheless, in many of the nine folios, to which he was assigned as colourist with the masters ...
[Telugu: ‘Mountain of the fearsome god’]
Site of a Hindu cave temple complex 140 km north-west of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, India. Isolated between the precipitous red cliffs of a box canyon, the site comprises eight small and remarkably similar caves excavated from a single rock face above a stream. Datable by style and epigraphy to the 7th century
[Banvari; Banwari Kalan; Banwali Kalan]
(fl c. 1570–c. 1596).
Indian miniature painter. A Hindu, he was a lesser artist active throughout the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reg 1556–1605). He worked on two folios in the Ṭūṭīnāma (‘Tales of a parrot’, c. 1567, alternatively dated 1556–60; Cleveland, OH, Mus. A., 62.279) and thus would have participated in producing the Hamzanāma (‘Tales of Hamza’, c. 1567–82, alternatively dated c. 1562–77). His single contribution to the Dārābnāma (‘Story of Darab’, c. 1580–85; London, BL, Or. 4615, fol. 36r) is an awkward composition of carefully traced models from Persian sources. However, his work in the large-scale manuscripts of the 1580s, such as the Razmnāma (‘Book of wars’, 1582–6; Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Mus., MS. AG. 1683–1850, fols 15, 34–5, 62, 122 plus one sole composition fol. 168), shows he was a competent colourist. Further, he had a sole composition in the Tīmūrnāma (‘History of Timur’, ...
[Buḍhā Nilkaṇṭha]
Village 8 km north of Kathmandu, Nepal. It is the site of a stone image of the Hindu god Vishnu lying on the coiled mass of the serpent Ananta (l. 7 m), the largest sculpture in the Kathmandu Valley and one of its outstanding masterpieces.
The Jalashayana Narayana of Budhanilkantha village is second in importance only to Changu Narayan in the worship of Vishnu in Nepal. It was carved from a single block of a variety of basalt found a few kilometres outside the Kathmandu Valley. Several artists must have contributed to the sculpture, although it appears to have been conceived by a single mind. Notwithstanding its huge size, the figure is well proportioned and seems to float in the spring-fed pool surrounding the cushion-like coils of Ananta, who shelters the god under the canopy of his eleven hoods. The statue was consecrated in
[KesuKesu KalanKeshava Kalan]
(fl c. 1570–c. 1602)
Indian miniature painter. A Hindu, he is best known for his copies and adaptations of European prints, of which the most famous is St Matthew the Evangelist. Signed Kesu Das and dated
[Dasavanta]
(fl c. 1560; d 1584).
Indian miniature painter. His name indicates that he was a Hindu. According to Abu’l-Fazl, writing in the Ā’īn-i Akbarī, the annals of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reg 1556–1605), Daswanth was the son of a palanquin-bearer (kahār) who worked in the royal workship. He was a favourite artist of the emperor Akbar, who discovered his talent and sent him to the master painter ‛Abd al-Samad for training, and in ‘a short time he surpassed all painters and became the first master of the age’ (Eng. trans., p. 114). He is known mainly for his highly imaginative and original compositions, where the irrational tends to dominate the realistic. Contemporary writers described him as a madman, and Abu’l-Fazl acknowledged that some critics preferred the more naturalistic work of the painter Basawan.
Daswanth’s earliest known works are illustrations of the Ṭū ṭīnāma (‘Tales of a parrot’; c. 1556–61, other scholars prefer ...
[Dhanu]
(fl c. 1580–c. 1600).
Indian miniature painter. A Hindu, he was established in the studio of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reg 1556–1605) by the early 1580s and thus would have worked on the Hamzanāma (‘Tales of Hamza’; c. 1567–82; alternatively dated 1562–77). His five compositions in the Dārābnāma (‘Story of Darab’; c. 1580–85; London, BL, Or. 4615, fols 38r, 41r, 41v, 75r and 104v) are imaginative, with some attempt at naturalism in drawing and palette. His single contribution to the Razmnāma (‘Book of wars’; 1582–6; Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Mus., MS. AG. 1683–1850, fol. 12) was as the colourist of a design by Basawan, although in the Tīmūrnāma (‘History of Timur’; 1584; Bankipur, Patna, Khuda Bakhsh Lib., 269) he was the sole artist of two illustrations (fols 178v and 269r) and worked as a colourist on designs by Basawan (fol. 53...
Hindu temple site, 1800 m above sea level in Central Java. Volcanic activity in the area led to the creation there from the 8th century
Two groups of Hindu temples of the 10th–15th centuries
[Kanniyakumari; Cape Cormorin]
Southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent. Venerated as a Hindu holy place, the rocky promontory is associated with the cult of Parvati, who sought to win the god Shiva by doing penance. At first unsuccessful, she swore to remain a virgin (Skt kanyā), and she is worshipped here as such. The Kanyakumari Temple, entered through a gateway (gopura), is quite small. Overlooking the sea where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea meet, it is hidden behind a high wall, and a rocky pool for ritual bathing adjoins it. Some 500 m out to sea is the Vivekananda Rock, a large granite outcrop upon which Swami Vivekananda sat meditating in 1892 prior to beginning his preaching mission in India and abroad. In 1970 the rock’s appearance was transformed when a memorial pavilion in ‘neo-Dravida’ style was built upon it. Ashore is the Gandhi Mandapa, commemorating Mahatma Gandhi....
[Khem; Kemkaran]
(fl c. 1580–c. 1605).
Indian miniature painter. A Hindu, he was 13th of the 17 artists listed in the Āyin-i Akbarī, a contemporary account of the administration of the Mughal emperor Akbar (reg 1556–1605) as it was c. 1590. As he was established by the 1580s, probably having worked on the Hamzanāma (‘Tales of Hamza’; c. 1567–82; alternatively dated 1562–77), his fine composition in the Dārābnāma (‘Story of Darab’; c. 1580–85; London, BL, Or. 4615, fol. 89v) qualified him to work in several capacities on the Razmnāma (‘Book of wars’; 1582–6; Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Mus., MS. AG. 1683–1850): as sole artist (fols 27, 53 and 107), as designer (fol. 28) and as colourist (fols 78 and 165). Perhaps he was a poor teacher, or a slow worker, for in the other manuscripts produced by teams of artists his few illustrations were sole compositions: Tīmūrnāma (1584...
[anc. Yāpriṅ]
Capital of Nepal, situated on the Bagmati River. According to legends recorded in Hindu and Buddhist texts, in ancient times the entire Kathmandu Valley was a lake—a story given credibility by the type of alluvial soil found in the valley. The city of Kathmandu appears to have developed out of two small towns that grew partly because of the fertility of the soil and partly because a principal trans-Himalayan trade route passed through them. The limits of the two towns are still vaguely remembered in the designated routes and areas for such traditional cultural activities as chariot festivals and processions of an image of a local divinity.
In the Lichchhavi period (c.
Temple site in Alleppey District, southern Kerala, India. It is known for two Hindu temples: the Mahadeva Temple of the late 10th century
[CambayKhambhayat]
City at the mouth of the Mali River, c. 84 km south of Ahmadabad in Gujarat, India. Although it was a flourishing commercial centre from the 8th to the 18th century
The remarkable congregational mosque (Jami‛ Masjid), dated by inscription to 1325, consists of an inner courtyard surrounded by a colonnade constructed of pillars from local temples and a prayer-hall with bays marked by low domes; each dome, apart from those above the three prayer niches, or mihrabs, has a corresponding window perforated with lattice patterns in the traditional Gujarati style. Attached to the south side of the mosque is a square, pillared chamber with a ruined circular inner court, housing the intricately carved tomb of the wealthy merchant ...
[KonārakKoṇārka]
Site of a Hindu temple sacred to the sun god Surya, on India’s eastern coast about 48 km south-east of Bhubaneswar, Orissa. The 13th-century temple marks the climax of the temple building tradition of Orissa (anc. Kalinga) both in its grandiose monumentality and in the quality and extent of its sculptural decoration. Some scholars have suggested, on the basis of local legends, that the Surya Temple was built on the site of an earlier temple dedicated to the sun god. While not archaeologically verified, the legends indicate that Konarak was sacred to Surya earlier than the 13th century.
The first known mention of the temple is an inscription dated Shaka year 1217 (