Early Indian Art

Four Noble Truths of Buddhism

1) All life is full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. 2) The cause of suffering is desire. 3) The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire. 4) The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold Path

The Delhi Sultanate in India

1192-1526

Mahayana

"the Greater Vehicle" - The largest of Buddhism's three divisions, prevalent in China, Japan and Korea, encompasses a variety of forms, including those that emphasize devotion and prayer to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Bhiksu came together to form communities near stupas or places associated with Buddha. Some retreated to isolated spots in caves for meditation.

Buddhist monk - adherents who chose to separate themselves from the world.

Shiva fire

Emblem of the descruction of samsara and the physical universe

2nd-3rd Century, Schist Standing Figure of Buddha

From the Takht-i Bahi Monestery

Vedas (1500-1100 BCE/1200-800 BCE)

Sacred Texts

Qutb Mosque Complex

Sandstone, Islamic Surface decorations, no images

2600-1900 BCE Burned Steatite 1-1/2-1/1/2 Stamp Seal & Impression with a "Unicorn" and a Ritual Offering Stand"

Scholars don't know much about these

2600-1900, "Torso of a Priest-King", White, low fired Steatite. 6-1/8 x 4-3/8

Scholars think he was a clan leader or revered ancestor

3000-1500 Steatite, 1-1/16 x 1-1/8 "Stamp seal with a Seated Male Figure"

Seated in a yoga position. Script is undeciphered today. Scholars know that it was written from right to left.

Krishna Killing The Horse Demon Keshi Gupta period, 5th century.

Horse dead on bottom with poop

Lakshmana Temple Khajuraho, India. Hindu, Chandella Dynasty. c. 930-950 C.E. Sandstone Though the temple is one of the oldest in the Khajuraho fields, it is also one of the most exquistely decorated, covered almost completely with images of over 600 gods in the Hindu Pantheon. The main shrine of the temple, which faces east, is flanked by four freestanding subsidiary shrines at the corners of the temple platform.

Idealized female beauty - auspicious, protective, fertility, growth, properity & abundance. Image of loving couples - symbols of divine union and moksha, activating the power of the temple, protection, averting evil and misfortunate, as a punning of their "joining" as the joining of the vimana and mandapa

Darmachakra mudra

Indicates Buddha's teaching

Indus River Valley - Hindu

Indus River Valey

Islam introduced

Islam in arabia was revealed to humanity by the prophet muhammed. Birth of Islam 7th c. Mecca, Prophet Muhammed, Archangel Gabriel Caliph - spiratual head of Islam Caliphate - the dominion of a caliph.

2600-1900 Urban development took place - all tax paying, hierarchical Mohenjo-Daro

Largest city of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large-scale implies central planning.

c. 11th Century, South Asia Shiva as NATARAJA (Lord of the Dance) CHOLA period.

Shiva is the creator and destroyer. Ring is the universe with flames around it representing the boundaries of the universe. Matted hair as a wise person would wear. Third eye (chakra), hands. In left hand, he holds the drum of creation (sound). Foot on dwarf representing struggles, The fire he is holding in his hand represents release from samsara (rebirth). His lifted leg represents liberation (which he is also pointing to). The mudra "Abhaya" means Do Not Be Afraid.

USHNISHA (TOPKNOT)

Signals wisdom

Chaitya Hall

South Asian rock-cut temple hall having a votive stupa at one end

1030 Kandariya Mahadeva Temple - dedicated to Shiva - northern style temple (but located in Khajuraho , Madhaya Pradesh). In the same complex, both Hindu and Jain temples were built.

This is a Hindu temple in India dedicated to Shiva. Large medieval temple in a complex. known for erotic sculpture with successive higher roof towers. Circumambulation. Shivalinga.

Islam in India - Mughal Empire 1526-1858

Timeline of India Indus valley 2600-1900 Vedic Period 1750-322 Maurya 322-185 BCE Shunga 185 BCE-50 CE Kushan 1-3 century Ce Gupta c 320-480 CE Chola empire and Medieval India 753-1190 Mulslim Rule in Northern India 1206-1526 Mughal Empire 1526-1857

Chakra - alludes to Buddha's first sermon which he was metaphorically describing as "turning the wheel of the law" for the first time.

Wheel of law

Kandariya Temple Relief

Posture of women turning, looking around with attendants, Very feminine, elegant women,

Bodhisattva - 3rd century in a Roman-Grecco contrapposto pose typical of Hellenistic sculpture, Kushan period, 43 ft. high. Knee is slightly bent, draped robes, more naturalistic than Mathura sculpture.

a person who has attained enlightenment but who has postponed nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment

Mandapas

assembly halls before the garbhagriha

Shikhara

beehive-shaped tower of a northern style Hindu temple

100's CE The Origins of the Buddha Image

before you would just see parasols or footprints, In the second century Mathura and Gandhara during the reign of the Kushan kings

axis mundi

believed to connect the heavens and the earth and regarded as the center of the world

Krishna

blue-skinned youth lives with the cowherds, loves the maiden Radha (Incarnation of Vishnu). Represented by stories. Shown with cows. Demonstrates his strength (strong). Blue represents infinity and eternity. Plays the flute to attract a mate. Baby Krishna in his hand, he is stealing the butter.

1615-1618 CE Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings. Mughal empire. Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper with Persian Poetry, Illuminated manscripts. Part of a larger book but was ripped a part by European collectors.

c. 1620 C.E. Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper. Persian poetry, illuminated manuscripts, domed architecture Influence from Afghanistan) and European English King James I Influence (hourglass, winged babies, Putti). Back by the Sun and Moon (European) and is sitting on hourglass denoting his rule transcends time, or alternatively, his time is coming to an end. Bichtri, a Hindu, painted the portrait and is shown holding a book that was given to him by Jahangir with Bichtri on the cover with an elephant. King James the 1st is next, while a Sultan from an Ottoman (black beard) has his hands clasped. Sufi - an islamic mystic, jahangir - seizer of the world, "light of faith", resent moon and sun - ruler, divine truth, halo, platform, various ethnicities, multicultural blend.

Brahma

creator god

Bhumisparsha mudra

earth-touching right hand reaches down to ground, calling the earth to witness the buddha's enlightenment

varada mudra

fulfillment of all wishes; the gesture of charity

Mudras

hand gestures

abhaya mudra

have no fear

amalaka

in Hindu temple design, large flat disk with ribbed edges surmounting beehive-shaped tower where the diety is directly below.

Dhyana mudra

meditation

Vimana

pyramidal tower over the garbha griha of a southern style Hindu temple

Vitarka mudra

reasoning

Samsara

reincarnation

Dancing Ganesh

remover of obstacles. Parvati was taking a bath, Ganesh was standing guard and Shiva cut his head off. Ganesh, son of Parvati, Shiva, Elephant, auspicious.

Jatakas

stories from the previous lives of Buddha

Karma

the effects that good or bad actions have on a person's soul

Eightfold Path

the path to Moksha, comprising eight aspects in which an aspirant must become practiced: right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

Vishnu

the preserver Rama and Krishna Blue colored skin (Krishna), Four arms (powerful) conch shell, Disc, Mace Lotus Flower/seed, Garuda j- 10 incarnation. Buddha is the 9th incarnation. Matsya the fish, Kurma the tortoise, Varaha the Boar, Narashima the giant lion man, Vamana the dwarf, Parasurama Rama with the Axe, Rama the warrior, Drishna a cowherder, Buddha, Kalki (to come).

Dharma

the religious and moral duties of an individual

Devi

The Great Goddess, the mother of all. Her manifistations include Parvati (wife of Shiva), Laskhmi, (Vishnu), Radha (Krishna) and Durga.

Rama

Assisted by the monkey king, fights the demon Ravana

Hinayana Buddhism

Branch of Buddhism known as the "lesser vehicle," also known as Theravada Buddhism; its beliefs include strict, individual path to enlightenment, and it is popular in south and southeast Asia.

2nd half of third century CE - Relief of the Buddha standing in the gateway of a stupa in AP

Buddha stands in doorway and on either side and above are carved stone reliefs decorating the structure. Two small devotees raise their hands in reverence at the foot of the statue, and two attendants with fly whisks flank it. The long limbs of these figures and the slight fleshiness of the Buddha are considered stylistic features of the Nagarjunakonda school.

5000-2600 Harappan Civilization - Villages started to coalesce into towns with defensive walls and large buildings.

An ancient civilization that developed along the Indus River.

Stupa (Buddhism)

A large, mound-shaped Buddhist shrine, commonly used for funerary purposes.

Hinduism

A religion native to India, featuring belief in many gods and reincarnation

Hindu temples

Axis Mundi - buddhist stupas, ashokan pillars, hindu temples

c. 400-800 C.E. Bamiyan Buddha, 180 feet

Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Gandharan. (destroyed in 2001). Cut rock with plaster and polychrome paint.

Shiva Drum

Beat represents the rhythms of creation and destruction, birth and death

Moksha

Becoming liberated for the cycle of reincarnation in Hinduism.

Ajanta Caves - more than 20 caves. The earliest were in eastern India where local rulers would predominate in patronage. Caves were sculpted in narratives and included architectural elements like doors, arches and columns. They had chapels (Chaityas) and monastic residences (Viharas)

Caves in India that have frescos inspired by the Buddha upon their walls. 200-500 CE

Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh

Central India, south of the Kushan empire another school of sculpture - mostly limestone. Sculptors produced Buddhist images for 30 monastaries which had stupas and Chaitya halls, residential complexas

Five Pillars of Islam

Declaration of faith (Shahada), prayer (salat) (5x a day), alms (2.5%), fasting (Sawm)during daylight hours of ramadan until sunset, and pilgrimage (hajj)to Mecca.

Durga

One of Shiva's wives and the goddess of justice and punishment. Highly revered in Bengal

2600-1900, "Figurine of a Mother Goddess", TerraCotta, 7"

Female attributes = fertility. Placed at alters or temples to receive diving assistance for children

272-231 Emperor Ashoka

First expanded the empire through warfare, but after the gruesome battle of Kalinga in 262 BC, Ashoka converted to Buddhism.

250 BCE (but enlarged 50-25 BCE) Great Stupa at Sanchi, (or Stupa 1). India where Buddha's ashes are enshrined (and among 84,000 other areas).

Form: -mandala plan (map of the cosmos) -sandstone Content: -4 gateways (toranas) marking the cardinal directions (North, South, East, West). -hemispherical dome with umbrella (axis of universe) -yakshis and yakshus- nature goddess/god Function: Siddhartha's relics -pictured along the outside wall are symbolic representations of the Buddha (footprints, lion, elongated pathway, empty seat) -no actual pictures of Buddha's face -show inclusiveness of Buddhism Context: -300-100 BCE Madya Pradesh, India -Visitors Circuambulate around passing the 4 toranas marking the cardinal directions (east, west, north, south). Continuous Narrative "Great Departure of the Buddha"

Babur

Founder of the Mughal Empire

Khajuraho Temples

M.P. (1986 ), Chandella Dynasty, 950 to 1050, only 20 temples remain, Hinduism and Jainism, Perfect Balance between Architecture and Sculpture, Temple of Kandariya, 175 km from Jhansi

Ashoka's Columns

Monolithic, sandstone, 45-50 feet tall with separately carved capital with animals, bulls, lion, elephants. Distributed throughout . Inscribed with Ashoka's edicts prescribing ethical behavior. Visible from far away, reaching for the heavens. They linked the Buddha's dharma to Ashoka's presence throughout his vast empire.

2600-1900 BCE, Male Figure, Indus Valley

Naturalistic. Dowels were used to attach limbs and head. Most naturalistic of all the Indus Valley sculptures. It represents a departure from the other excavated material. The ID and purpose is a mystery.

Qutb Mosque Complex 1198, Arched Screen with

QUTB Mosque, Delhi, 1192 and later. The first Islamic structure in India. 1) Mosque, 2) Iron Pillar, 3) Qutb Minar, 4) Alia Darwaza, 5) Alai Minar 6) Tomb

5:30 @ Deograth Temple. Uttar Pradesh. Vishnu Reclining on the Serpent Ananta" Relief panel in the Vishnu Temple at Deogarth, Four figures on below right good, more powerful. Two on left are bad. Brahma is coming out of Vishnu's navel. An infinite ocean in which never-ending movement of birth, life and death of the cosmos occurs. Soft, round surface, Gupta features.

Relief panel in the Vishnu Temple at Deogarth c. 530 Sandstone. The relief relates the story of the creation of the universe, which the recumbent Vishu dreams into existence. Holding Vishnu's right foot is Lakshmi, representing female energy that inspired Vishnu's act and below him are the boils of Ananta which frame Vishnu's sleeping visage. Seated on a lotus above Vishnu is Brahma and other gods and goddesses. Usually the lotus is meant to grow from his navel but instead, rises behind him.

Sarnath, India 250 BCE, Lions represent loyal power and Buddha whose speech was likened to a lion's roar. Built by Ashoka - many of them around his empire. It has Ashoka's edicts combined with Buddha's Dharma.

Still standing Column

Delhi Sultanate 1206-1526

Sultan: a Muslim sovereign (religious) Sultanate: a state or country governed by a sultan Tughlaq Dynasty 1321-1398

nimbus

The Halolike element behind the buddah's head that indicates divinity.

Shiva

The destroyer of the evil forces so that a new cycle can begin. His symbol of the linga (an upright phallus), often represented as Lord of the Dance, dances within a ring of figure Parvati is his consort. A blue face (and body), a third eye, a cobra necklace, a trident, linga/lingam (Phallus) - symbol of his progenitive powers. Has four hands

garbhagriha (sanctuary or womb chamber)

The innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti (idol) of the primary deity of the temple. Means "womb chamber" in Sanskrit

563-483 BCE Siddhartha Gautama, renounced his comfortable life at 29 yo to search for the answer to human suffering. After 6 years, he figured it out and became "Buddha" ( The Enlightened One).

The prince who is said to have founded Buddhism.

Humayun

The son of Babur and his successor as ruler of the Mughal Empire. He also helped enlarge the empire.

Chakra

wheel of law appears on the soles and palms of Buddah

urna

whorl of hair, represented as a dot, between the brows

Puja

worship