Nav Ras / The Nine Melows or Moods INTRODUCTION NatyaShastra and the Bhava-Rasa Theory of Bharata Muni emphasizes that the success of a performance is measured by whether or not the audience has a specific experience called RASA. Rasa is the internal enjoyment which is relished by the audience which are nine in number. HISTORY OF NATYASHASTRA The Natyaśāstra, is the oldest surviving Indian compendium on the knowledge of performing arts. It primarily deals with theatre, dance & musical performance. The text, which now contains 6000 slokas, is believed to have been written during the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE by Sage Bharata. The NatyaShastra itself is based upon the much older Gandharva Veda (appendix to Sama Veda) which contained 36000slokas. However, its most complete exposition in drama, son...
SWASTIK symbol was found in Indus Valley. It seems later it was adopted world over. The symbol of the true Swastika goes back over 11,000 years and is believed to have originated in the Harappan period and the culture of the Indus Valley Civilization. “We have found the most mature and geometrically ordered Swastika in the pre-Harappan times in the form of seals. We have also been able to trace the mention of the Swastika in the Vedas around the same time. These are scintillating findings that will help us announce that the Indian civilization is far more ancient than what is written in accepted history books, mostly by Europeans,” said Joy Sen, a faculty member at IIT-Kgp faculty and lead project. Indus Seal Subjects Spirituality Bhagvad Gita Bhagwad Puran Buddhism Krishna Guru First & Earliest Influence of Culture Knowledge History Past Glories Un...
Who can be called Bhagvan? Maharishi Parashara was the author of many ancient Indian texts. He is accredited as the author of the first Purana, the Vishnu Purana, before his son Vyasa wrote it in its present form. He was the grandson of Vasishtha, the son of Śakti Maharṣi, and the father of Vyasa. ऐश्वर्यस्य समग्रस्य वीर्यस्य यशसः श्रियः। ज्ञान - वैराग्ययोश्चैव षण्णां भग इतीरणा॥ aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣaṇṇāṁ bhagam itīṅganā (Viṣṇu Purāṇa 6.5.47) The term ‘Bhagavan’ or God, is thus defined by Parasara Muni as one who is full in six opulences— 1. who has unlimited strength 2. fame 3. wealth 4. knowledge 5. beauty and 6. renunciation . Prashar Lake with blue and clear waters is held sacred to the sage Prashar and he is regarded to have meditated there. *** At a dis...
The Earliest Known Chess Board & Dice This ancient chess board was excavated from Lothal (Gujarat, India). It is the earliest known Chess board in the whole world. It dates back to c.2400 BC. What follows is an excerpt from the published excavation report by the archaeologist SR Rao . . . "The close resemblance between various types of terracotta chessmen excavated from Lothal and modern Chessmen is remarkable. It seems that the Indian game of Chaturanga (Chess) had its origin in one of the Harappan Games. Much valuable information about the various indoor games indulged in by the Harappans is available from the gamesmen, game-boards and dices found at the major Indus cities. A game involving the use of dice was very popular in the Harappan and later times, especially in the time of the Mahabharata war. The Pandava prince is said to have lost everything including his kingdom in a game of dice. A...
These coins seem to be the first known representations of Vedic deities on coins, and they display early Avatars of Vishnu: Balarama-Sankarshana with attributes consisting of the Gada mace and the plow, and Vasudeva-Krishna with the Vishnu attributes of the Shankha and the Sudarshana Chakra wheel. Agathocles Dikaios (meaning: "The Just") was a Greco-Bactrian/ Indo-Greek king, who reigned between around 190 and 180 BC. He might have been a son of Demetrius and one of his sub-kings in charge of the Paropamisade between Bactria and Indus-Ganges plains. He seems to be a Buddhist. Very little is known about him, apart from his extensive coinage. Agathocles issued an intriguing range of bilingual coinage, displaying what seem to be Buddhist as well as Hindu symbolism. Manufactured according to the Indian standard, using either Brahmi (ancient Indian script), Greek or Kharoshthi (ancient script used in Gandhar kingdom : present day Afghanistan & Pakistan), and displaying symbo...
A collection showing the life-style of ancient Indians - the hair style, clothing and fashion, generally based on sculptures. The picture below shows the hair-style of men & women in India during Sunga Period (100-200 BC). Discovery of these earrings provided first tangible evidence that jewelry depicted by sculptors was in fact based on real models, for a very similar pair is shown on a first century B.C relief of chakravartin from Jaggayapeta Presently @metmuseum 2nd-1st century BC, Shunga period female beauty of Eastern India in terracotta. Presently at Ethnological Museum, Berlin. * Headwear? * Richly ornamented * Showing ear ring? * Long skirt is also carved * Seems she is wearing a Gown? Ear Ornaments (Prakarvapra Kundla),1st cent BC India. Made of 18kg Gold in 3 forms,sheet, wire & granules & lion & elephant motifs. Old orname...
Kallanai Dam is also known as the “Grand Anicut”. It is one of the oldest irrigation dams in the world built around 2000 years ago. It is build cross the Kaveri River in Trichy District in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. It is the fourth-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world and the oldest in India which is still in use. The dam was originally built by King Karikalan of the Chola Dynasty in c. 100 BC – c. 100 AD. The main purpose of the Kallanai dam was to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. The dam splits the river Kaveri into 4 streams known as Kollidam Aru, Kaveri, Vennaru and Puthu Aru . The dam was constructed in an elegant way to see the dam from any point. The dam is about 329 m (1,079 ft) long, 20 m (66 ft) wide and 5.4 m (18ft) high. The unique structure of the Kallanai dam involves large stones sunk in the Cauvery river to divert the water flow to the fert...
A Story of Forgotten Kurukshetra & Linga Parvata of Champasak Province, Laos - 1500 yrs ago & 1000 miles from India. HIGHLIGHTS There is a mountain called LINGPARVAT with natural ‘linga’ (almost 10 meter high on top) in Champasak province, Laos. Some 1500 years ago a King named Devanika decided to create a new TIRTH and named it 'New Kurukshetra' in this territory. The king himself states in an inscription that he was inspired by Bramha, Vishnu & Shiva. Around 400 AD King Devanika built city Shreshthapur and also built A temple called Wat Phu. Later it became the part of Khmer Empire of Kambuja Desa (modern Combodia) but the area retained same spiritual significance. A new city called Lingapuram was established nearby and a royal road directly linked this tirtha to new c...
The Kitchen of Lord Jagannath, biggest in the World Sri Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe. His Kitchen is consid ered as the largest and the biggest Kitchen in the world. It is situated in the south-east direction of the outer compound of Srimandir. The length of the Kitchen is 150 feet, breadth is 100 feet and height is about 20 feet. It consists of 32 rooms with 250 earthen ovens within them. Around 600 cooks(Suaras) and 400 assistants serve here everyday and prepare food for the Lord. Devotees here believe that Mahalaxmi Herself comes to cook in the Kitchen while everyone else is serving Her. Chappan Bhog or Mahaprasad Mahaprasad is the term applied to the 56 food items offered to Lord Jagannath in the holy Temple of Puri, According to "Skanda Purana” Lord Jagannath redeems the devotees by permitting them to partake his Mahaprasad, to have His darshan and to worship him by observing rituals and by offering of gifts. Mahaprasad is treated here as ‘Anna Brahma’. The temple ...
Pictures of the oldest surviving manuscripts of Bhagavad Gita that can be found in different museums and libraries around the world are presented here. The copies are from 15th Century CE onwards. World’s Largest Bhagavad Gita at ISKCON Temple, Delhi. Largest Bhagvad Gita It weighs 800kg, 2m x 2.8m, has gems embedded on the cover. The book was printed in Milan, Italy, on YUPO synthetic paper, which is untearable and waterproof and can easily last 300-400 years. It is comprised of 670 pages & It includes all 700 Sanskrit verses, 18 full-page color illustrations, and the commentary of Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. 15th Century The Digital Version of Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 32, 79 This is the Oldest manuscript of the Bhagavad Gita, dated to 1492, original currently kept in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Text of original inscribed on 83 palm leaves, both recto and verso. Images and English tra...
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