Incredible ancient Hindu sculpture architecture and monuments

[darksider]

That's on the Khajuraho temples. Google the image.

Why is it narrow minded?
After political changes populations DO drift apart. We ARE different. Even the Indians say so.
Even with the same ethnic stock Americans are different from Europeans. Germans are different from Austrians, Swiss and Walloons.
To appreciate architecture, music, or literature we don't have to artificially link a genetic heritage.
We can read and appreciate Shakespeare, listen to Strauss,
and appreciate the architecture of the Notre Dame de Paris without identifying ourselves as British, Germans, or French. Why do we have to artificially identify with Indians? Why even the Bangladeshis don't identify with West Bengalis as they have over the last 49 years developed their own culture.


Surprised you traveled 8 times on a Pakistani passport to India. You must have connections, because India does not grant that many visas, and I hope your police reporting was pleasant.
Most Pakistanis do the "Mughal " Delhi Agra Sikandara Fatehpur Sikri circuit or maybe a stroll through the Charminar area slums of Hyderabad. Very few Pakistanis have heard of the Vedagiriswarar temple in Tirukalukundram ( Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram) where two birds are supposed to fly all the way from Tibet ( Mount Kailash) every day to be fed by the temple priests.
To get to know the " real " India you must visit these places and also have a strong stomach and visit thr Kumbh Mela and watch the Naga Sadhus jump into the river. You must stand by the cremation ghats in Benares ( Varanasi) and smell the "burning ". You must watch the aughars, the unclad sadhvis, the immersion of the idols during Durga Puja ...and Ganpati. Watch the beheading of the goats in the Kali Mandir... The devdasis dancing the Andhra Natyam.
THAT is India...

Something these keyboard "experts " uploading sanitized pictures can never convey to you. Nor for that matter will their Indian Muslim compatriots who try to present a "as 'Islamic' as you " face to Pakistanis..

Can you link me with original devdasi dance but not stage performances.i tried to find with google but front page is full of stage performances not the original dance in tample.
Thanks for other info you shared.i will always keep this in my mind if i ever visit india.
But Pakistanis should not visit India until modi or bjp is in power.

@Suriya
And i am missing images of tejo mahalaya. Which is most famous historical building of india world wide.other images you are posting people dont know about them much.so post some images tejo mahalaya also.

 

[Bilal.]

Exquisite! So intricately done. Amazing, even a small portion of the carvings would be a master piece and they built entire buildings covered with such intricate art.

 

[kongn]

Halebidu personally is the most exquisite.

The most impressive video on the architectural styles of indian temples and their development style.

 

[Baibars_1260]

I absolutely disagree that Indian Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are no factors.

The way I see it India's states will start fighting within themselves in the next two decades.

BJP has brought such rot into the system that's it's only going to keep getting worse from here.

Only Indira Gandhi's emergency led to such levels of authoritarianism and social discord. It led to the Sikh insurgency, and then the Kashmir insurgency after her son took charge.

If Pakistan had played its cards right and kept the Khalistan and Kashmir burning together it would have bled India. But we had done no planning

On second thoughts you may be right. There is ethno-linguistic chauvinism to an extreme degree in India where even Hindutva anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan sentiment fails to unite. The case in Maharashtra is good example.
The Shiv Sena which sought to hog the credit for bringing down the Babri Masjid and once threatened Pakistani cricket players with death if they attempted to play a test match in Bombay is today locked in combat with the BJP in alliance with the local Congress. The reason ostensibly is Maratha pride but the RSS itself is Maharashtra based, and its top leadership have always been Marathi Brahmins. So the question boils down to caste and power sharing and regional loyalties. Another remarkable case is the split between Andhra and Telengana . Both populations are Telugu speaking with an identical culture and caste set up and both populations have an intense hatred of Indian ( Hyderabadi) Muslims and Muslims in general ( the Andhra ladies and gentlemen on this forum are good examples). Yet they split because the Andhra population largely confined to the coast were not tuned to the IT industry hub in Hyderabad. The original Andhra Pradesh split.
Armed conflicts by use of paramilitary forces amongst states in India have already happened, chiefly over water resources.
Examples :
Punjab and Haryana:

Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal row: ‘Punjab will burn’ if forced to share water with Haryana, says CM

Amarinder Singh urged the Centre to be cautious on the issue, as it had the ‘potential to disturb the nation’s security’.

scroll.in

Nagaland and Assam:
In the past there have been pitched battles between the Nagaland Armed Constabulary
and the Assam police using mortars and machine guns.

Trouble brewing at Nagaland-Assam border after organisations launch economic blockade

Karbi Students Association (KSA) begun an indefinite economic blockade along the Assam-Nagaland inter-state borders in Karbi Anglong district of Assam from Tuesday alleging illegal encroachments by Nagaland.

m.economictimes.com

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu:
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu armed police confronted each other over water resources.

Why water war has broken out in India's Silicon Valley

TS Sudhir explains why violence has broken out in India's technology hub Bangalore over a long-running dispute about water.

www.bbc.com

Khalistan:
With the assassination of Indira Gandhi the Khalistan movement lost traction amongst the Indian Sikh population, Sikh troops had mutineed against the destruction of the Golden Temple.
The nationwide mass pogrom against Sikhs have achieved the following:
1. While Khalistan itself is a distant dream the original hostility of Sikhs against India's Muslim minority has been dented for good. Sikhs can feel some of the pain the Indian Muslims feel having been on the receiving end of fascist violence.
2. Sikh hostility towards Pakistan has been tempered because of the need for Sikh pilgrims to visit their sacred centers of pilgrimage which now lie in Pakistan. Originally the Sikhs had believed the Hindutva zealots that Pakistan would collapse and be "reconquered" for a joint Hindu Sikh rule., Sikhs know that will never happen.
3. Pakistan's own policies towards Sikhs, both the minority living in Pakistan and the international diaspora has been remarkably consistent. The Kartarpur corridor, and the renovation of Sikh temples as well as the induction of Sikhs into the armed forces in Pakistan has done a great deal to build relations between Sikhs and Pakistan. There are linguistic and cultural similarities between the populations of Punjab in India and Punjab in Pakistan. This did not prevent the most horrible atrocities being committed on the respective minority populations during Partition. The deep hostility continued throughout the decades from the 1940s to 1980s but has since undergone a change.
The original support the population in Indian Punjab had for continuing hostility towards Pakistan has vanished.
Kartarpur corridor has been a master diplomatic stroke.

 

[Cliftonite]

On second thoughts you may be right. There is ethno-linguistic chauvinism to an extreme degree in India where even Hindutva anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan sentiment fails to unite. The case in Maharashtra is good example.
The Shiv Sena which sought to hog the credit for bringing down the Babri Masjid and once threatened Pakistani cricket players with death if they attempted to play a test match in Bombay is today locked in combat with the BJP in alliance with the local Congress. The reason ostensibly is Maratha pride but the RSS itself is Maharashtra based, and its top leadership have always been Marathi Brahmins. So the question boils down to caste and power sharing and regional loyalties. Another remarkable case is the split between Andhra and Telengana . Both populations are Telugu speaking with an identical culture and caste set up and both populations have an intense hatred of Indian ( Hyderabadi) Muslims and Muslims in general ( the Andhra ladies and gentlemen on this forum are good examples). Yet they split because the Andhra population largely confined to the coast were not tuned to the IT industry hub in Hyderabad. The original Andhra Pradesh split.
Armed conflicts by use of paramilitary forces amongst states in India have already happened, chiefly over water resources.
Examples :
Punjab and Haryana:

Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal row: ‘Punjab will burn’ if forced to share water with Haryana, says CM

Amarinder Singh urged the Centre to be cautious on the issue, as it had the ‘potential to disturb the nation’s security’.

scroll.in

Nagaland and Assam:
In the past there have been pitched battles between the Nagaland Armed Constabulary
and the Assam police using mortars and machine guns.

Trouble brewing at Nagaland-Assam border after organisations launch economic blockade

Karbi Students Association (KSA) begun an indefinite economic blockade along the Assam-Nagaland inter-state borders in Karbi Anglong district of Assam from Tuesday alleging illegal encroachments by Nagaland.

m.economictimes.com

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu:
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu armed police confronted each other over water resources.

Why water war has broken out in India's Silicon Valley

TS Sudhir explains why violence has broken out in India's technology hub Bangalore over a long-running dispute about water.

www.bbc.com

Khalistan:
With the assassination of Indira Gandhi the Khalistan movement lost traction amongst the Indian Sikh population, Sikh troops had mutineed against the destruction of the Golden Temple.
The nationwide mass pogrom against Sikhs have achieved the following:
1. While Khalistan itself is a distant dream the original hostility of Sikhs against India's Muslim minority has been dented for good. Sikhs can feel some of the pain the Indian Muslims feel having been on the receiving end of fascist violence.
2. Sikh hostility towards Pakistan has been tempered because of the need for Sikh pilgrims to visit their sacred centers of pilgrimage which now lie in Pakistan. Originally the Sikhs had believed the Hindutva zealots that Pakistan would collapse and be "reconquered" for a joint Hindu Sikh rule., Sikhs know that will never happen.
3. Pakistan's own policies towards Sikhs, both the minority living in Pakistan and the international diaspora has been remarkably consistent. The Kartarpur corridor, and the renovation of Sikh temples as well as the induction of Sikhs into the armed forces in Pakistan has done a great deal to build relations between Sikhs and Pakistan. There are linguistic and cultural similarities between the populations of Punjab in India and Punjab in Pakistan. This did not prevent the most horrible atrocities being committed on the respective minority populations during Partition. The deep hostility continued throughout the decades from the 1940s to 1980s but has since undergone a change.
The original support the population in Indian Punjab had for continuing hostility towards Pakistan has vanished.
Kartarpur corridor has been a master diplomatic stroke.

BJP bhakts have a severe disdain for Southies. It's going to be interesting to watch how it plays out.

The Maratha Shiv Sena vs cow belt BJP tussle is also interesting. Let's see how it works out. Hain tou dono ek hi thaali ke chatte batte. But BJP makes no qualms about being overtly Hindi belt. Will the Maratha nationalist Shiv Sena be okay with that?

The north and south of the Vindhyas are almost two different countries lugging along at different speeds like a horse and a mule.

 

[Baibars_1260]

Can you link me with original devdasi dance but not stage performances.i tried to find with google but front page is full of stage performances not the original dance in tample.
Thanks for other info you shared.i will always keep this in my mind if i ever visit india.
But Pakistanis should not visit India until modi or bjp is in power.

@Suriya
And i am missing images of tejo mahalaya. Which is most famous historical building of india world wide.other images you are posting people dont know about them much.so post some images tejo mahalaya also.

On Devadasis:
This is what they looked like:

File:Devadasi 1920s.JPG - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

There is no video footage of the actual devadasis dance because the temple authorities do not allow photography inside the temples ( not even the British were able to
do that). Those of us who have visited the "ancillary buildings" at
Tirupati have seen private performances for ourselves.,
Likewise there are "ancillary service " facilities at Kalighat , in Kolkata. Am not sure about Puri and other Dhaams.
Re-enactments:
There are several Bollywood , Tamil and Malayalam movies based on the practice of Devdasis. Here the rituals where the girls are "dedicated " to God have been meticulously re-enacted. The rituals depicted are very authentic but of course are censored in some details per the existing media censorship laws. Search for the movie title Devdasi in Malayalam, or Tamil on Youtube. If you can find a subtitled version then scroll through to the induction ceremony.
Here is a crude documentary on the Devdasi practice " Pratha" :

 

[Mace]

No.

Yes and no. Yes, we share common history with all humanity.

Just because we should appreciate Indian art should not be used to now sing the "we be same" songs please. I have absolutely no ancestry with a Bihari, Madya Pradeshi, a Tamil a Bengali beyond the common human link we all have.

You are confusing common past heritage/culture with common ancestry.

Physical distance ensures little/no commonality between Pakistani and a Bengali or a Tamil. No need to keep parotting the same nonsense over and over. But ancient/current day Indians and ancient Pakistanis shared common culture and heritage.

Shortsighted Pakistanis like you have a lot to learn from Indonesians. Unlike Pakistanis Muslim Indonesians are comfortable acknowledging their Hindu/Buddhist past as part of their ancient heritage.

 

[Baibars_1260]

Unlike Pakistanis Muslim Indonesians are comfortable acknowledging their Hindu/Buddhist past as part of their ancient heritage.

For your education:
There is a stark difference between Indonesia and Pakistan. The analogy is poor.

Indonesian of ethnic island stock converted to Islam based on the contact due to trade with other Muslim countries. Their ethnic stock and thus their heritage remained unchanged. There was no immigration, invasion or settlement of different races or any diversity. It is thus natural and easy for Indonesians to relate to their ore-Islamic heritage. Bangladesh is similar.
Retaining links with a cultural heritage does not mean a potential reversal to the original faith. Globally Muslims have converted from many different faiths, Shamanism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Arab paganism, and of course the largest population of conversions ( if you combine Bangladesh, Indonesia, Brunei , Malaysia, India Pakistan) has been from Hinduism.

People's who have converted to Islam have mostly retained their culture after conversion.
Iran still relates to its Zoroastrian heritage. The Oghuz Turks who migrated out of Central Asia fleeing the Mongols retained much of their Shamanist cultural symbols after conversion to Islam; including most importantly their martial prowess and heritage which was similar to the Mongols, Turks today keep their pre-Islamic names and though no longer tribal do look back with pride at their Central Asian origins
Pakistan is different.
Islam spread here through a combination of Sufi mysticism, and settling of different ethnic peoples who arrived both through trade and
conquest. There was a merger of cultures and it took centuries for a cultural base line to emerge based on mix of Persian, Arab and Turko- Afghan cultures primarily amongst the elite. The common rural folk in three of Pakistan's provinces still carry much of their pre-Islamic culture native to their region .
So the Sindhi peasant relates to Jhulelal and likewise Punjabi peasant relates to the folklore even retaining names like Lahore for their cities.
There is no single ethnic entity in Pakistan because of its racial mix over the centuries from Greeks to Mongols and beyond. Pakistan can largely be grouped into four ( or now five) geographically demarcated linguistic, and cultural
provinces,
Bottom line :
Pakistanis do have a cultural link to their pre-Islamic history dating from the Indus valley civilization of Moenjodaro and Harrapa. They also have a syncretic connection based on the Sufi traditions with local folklore and culture native to their regions. This is common to ALL Muslim communities globally who maintain a link to their cultural past after converting to Islam.
Holding up the example of Indonesia to Pakistanis as to
why they should accept or revert to Hinduism is idiotic . Even the Bangladeshis with such close linguistic and cultural ties to their Hindu cousins in India don't buy such twisted logic; nor for that matter do the Moplah Muslims of Malabar in Kerala.

Pakistan is a nation with its own rich culture and heritage and doesn't need to borrow it from the Hoysalas and Chola kingdoms of yore. Pakistanis are no more going to go back to Hinduism, Buddhism, or Shamanism than the Indonesians, Bangladeshis or Turks. The attempts by the RSS bhakts here to shame Pakistanis into doing so are futile.
We ARE different and will remain so.

 

[Mace]

For your education:
There is a stark difference between Indonesia and Pakistan. The analogy is poor.

Indonesian of ethnic island stock converted to Islam based on the contact due to trade with other Muslim countries. Their ethnic stock and thus their heritage remained unchanged. There was no immigration, invasion or settlement of different races or any diversity. It is thus natural and easy for Indonesians to relate to their ore-Islamic heritage. Bangladesh is similar.
Retaining links with a cultural heritage does not mean a potential reversal to the original faith. Globally Muslims have converted from many different faiths, Shamanism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Arab paganism, and of course the largest population of conversions ( if you combine Bangladesh, Indonesia, Brunei , Malaysia, India Pakistan) has been from Hinduism.

People's who have converted to Islam have mostly retained their culture after conversion.
Iran still relates to its Zoroastrian heritage. The Oghuz Turks who migrated out of Central Asia fleeing the Mongols retained much of their Shamanist cultural symbols after conversion to Islam; including most importantly their martial prowess and heritage which was similar to the Mongols, Turks today keep their pre-Islamic names and though no longer tribal do look back with pride at their Central Asian origins
Pakistan is different.
Islam spread here through a combination of Sufi mysticism, and settling of different ethnic peoples who arrived both through trade and
conquest. There was a merger of cultures and it took centuries for a cultural base line to emerge based on mix of Persian, Arab and Turko- Afghan cultures primarily amongst the elite. The common rural folk in three of Pakistan's provinces still carry much of their pre-Islamic culture native to their region .
So the Sindhi peasant relates to Jhulelal and likewise Punjabi peasant relates to the folklore even retaining names like Lahore for their cities.
There is no single ethnic entity in Pakistan because of its racial mix over the centuries from Greeks to Mongols and beyond. Pakistan can largely be grouped into four ( or now five) geographically demarcated linguistic, and cultural
provinces,
Bottom line :
Pakistanis do have a cultural link to their pre-Islamic history dating from the Indus valley civilization of Moenjodaro and Harrapa. They also have a syncretic connection based on the Sufi traditions with local folklore and culture native to their regions. This is common to ALL Muslim communities globally who maintain a link to their cultural past after converting to Islam.
Holding up the example of Indonesia to Pakistanis as to
why they should accept or revert to Hinduism is idiotic . Even the Bangladeshis with such close linguistic and cultural ties to their Hindu cousins in India don't buy such twisted logic; nor for that matter do the Moplah Muslims of Malabar in Kerala.

Pakistan is a nation with its own rich culture and heritage and doesn't need to borrow it from the Hoysalas and Chola kingdoms of yore. Pakistanis are no more going to go back to Hinduism, Buddhism, or Shamanism than the Indonesians, Bangladeshis or Turks. The attempts by the RSS bhakts here to shame Pakistanis into doing so are futile.
We ARE different and will remain so.

Your grasp of English language is not one of your main strengths. Reread my post. Nobody is asking you or Indonesians to renounce your religion. What you are exhibiting is probably the same blind spot most Pakistanis suffer from.

 

[Baibars_1260]

Your grasp of English language is not one of your main strengths. Reread my post. Nobody is asking you or Indonesians to renounce your religion. What you are exhibiting is probably the same blind spot most Pakistanis suffer from.

Likewise your grasp of English is insufficient.
You are comparing Indonesian appreciation for their pre-Islamic heritage with Pakistan's "non-appreciation " or denial of their heritage.
Will make it simple for you since dyslexia is a common affliction among RSS Andhbhakts .
1. Pakistani pre-Islamic heritage is different and there have been different phases of evolution since the Indus Valley civilization until the 8th Century C.E. when conversions to Islam began. The heritage was not only Hindu, but a mix of Buddhism and local folk lore. It is unclear what the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization was. This is something the RSS bhakts ignore.
2. Pakistanis do value their cultural heritage. It is just not evident to the RSS because Pakistanis are not acknowledging the Sanatana Dharmic Aryan Centric Brahmanical Vedic straight jacket and show a reverence to that culture; and there is no reason why they should.
For that matter Sikhs who converted mostly from Hindu peasant stock in Punjab have far less reverence for their Vedic culture either. The RSS is careful not to rake this point up with Sikhs.

I could put it in simpler English.
We don't care what the Indonesians think , or for that matter what the RSS thinks of us. If you don't like our culture you are welcome to take a hike. You are welcome to your million temples and build some more.

 

[Mace]

Likewise your grasp of English is insufficient.
You are comparing Indonesian appreciation for their pre-Islamic heritage with Pakistan's "non-appreciation " or denial of their heritage.
Will make it simple for you since dyslexia is a common affliction among RSS Andhbhakts .
1. Pakistani pre-Islamic heritage is different and there have been different phases of evolution since the Indus Valley civilization until the 8th Century C.E. when conversions to Islam began. The heritage was not only Hindu, but a mix of Buddhism and local folk lore. It is unclear what the religion of the Indus Valley Civilization was. This is something the RSS bhakts ignore.
2. Pakistanis do value their cultural heritage. It is just not evident to the RSS because Pakistanis are not acknowledging the Sanatana Dharmic Aryan Centric Brahmanical Vedic straight jacket and show a reverence to that culture; and there is no reason why they should.
For that matter Sikhs who converted mostly from Hindu peasant stock in Punjab have far less reverence for their Vedic culture either. The RSS is careful not to rake this point up with Sikhs.

I could put it in simpler English.
We don't care what the Indonesians think , or for that matter what the RSS thinks of us. If you don't like our culture you are welcome to take a hike. You are welcome to your million temples and build some more.

What the F are you rambling on about?

 

[Baibars_1260]

What the F are you rambling on about?

Read... but that seems to be a tall order for you.

 

[Suriya]

Bhagwan Shiva controls the 5 elements of nature.

This temple represents the water. The sanctum of Jambukeswara has an underground water stream & in spite of pumping water out, it’s always filled with water!

@Maarkhoor
By looking at the statue it confirm that in ancient India before Muslim arrival they are not wearing proper cloths especially women.

exactly ... Muslims after arriving in India taught them the civility.. even if your read the travelogue of Ibn e Batuta .. he also mentions the same..

Gold coin of Kanishka (6th century Indian king) wearing Kurta Payjama. Take knowing date as homework.

This is Bronze rattling mirror (4th-5th Century BC) which depicts Indian women wearing waist-length Kurti.

@Maarkhoor


Ancient statue from 3rd Cen BC in Udaygiri and Khandagiri Caves, is wearing a long, kurta with Angarkha.

Statue of Devi from 2nd Century BC at Mathura. What is she wearing? Kurta isn’t it?

Statue of a warrior from the Kushan era (circa 30-375 AD). What is it wearing? @Maarkhoor

his sculpture from Gupta Period shows Chudidar & Kurta? Do you know how early were Guptas from Mughals? @Maarkhoor @MM_Haider

This is a painting from 1015 AD East India. 411 before arrival of Mughals. You can see girl wearing half kurta & Payjama

Forget carving, even drawing this on a paper is a BIG DEAL ..For today's Generation...

This is 1000years old carving of ravana lifting kailash mountain on his arm. Chennakeshava Temple, Belur ,karnataka

Girnar jain temple

Bhagwan Vishnu 5 mtr long Moorti in reclining posture sculpted from a single block of granite is very rich & famous.
Undavalli caves are very ancient and they are cut from the hill they are on. This Moorti is also one of the largest and magnificent among the other monuments.

' The Stone Chariot - Hampi '

 

[Suriya]

Magnificent Vedic architecture with intricately carved Shikhara at Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi Shimoga district Karnataka. Would you believe if I say it is about 950yrs old?

Try to look beyond 7 wonders , Our Bharat is much more than that


Jaisalmer Jain temple , Rajasthan

The Shore Temple (built in 700–728 AD) is so named because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. At the time of its creation, the site was a busy port during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty.

The Ranakpur Jain Temple is such a grand and unique carving that one wants to see it again and again.

 

[Maarkhoor]

Magnificent Vedic architecture with intricately carved Shikhara at Kedareshvara Temple, Balligavi Shimoga district Karnataka. Would you believe if I say it is about 950yrs old?


View attachment 693376
Try to look beyond 7 wonders , Our Bharat is much more than that


Jaisalmer Jain temple , Rajasthan

View attachment 693377
The Shore Temple (built in 700–728 AD) is so named because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. At the time of its creation, the site was a busy port during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty.

View attachment 693380View attachment 693381View attachment 693382View attachment 693383

Why they carved nude women? I think in ancient times in India women were not wearing cloths at all.