The art and symbology of icons has been developed to an extremely sophisticated degree by the hindu mind. The elephant head also represents certain qualities to which a. As with most hindu iconography, there is no singular, consistent, canonical image of kali. Hindu iconography reflects fully the hindu mind in its religious and social aspects. Harle j c art and architecture of the indian subcontinent. Hindu sculpture, as seen in other forms of hindu art, reflects this plurality of beliefs. The early development of hindu religion and the beginnings of hindu art in gandhara is. Iconography of local gods and goddesses evidence of sculptural treasure bears witness for strong veneration of hindu worship of local gods and goddesses in goa.
In the previous articles we have discussed about the later mural traditions, post mauryan trends in indian art and architecture, arts of the mauryan period, arts of indus. Development of hindu iconography volume 50 issue 34 a. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the enter key is pressed. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. Here are the verses about creation of caste as translated by. All hindu icons are visual representatives of the transcendent divine and the spiritual forces which support, sustain and direct the cosmos.
Hinduism, a unified religious entity that boasts an extraordinary diversity in its beliefs and customs claims over 1. The following is a brief description of common symbols, emblems and. The urgent need for queer and feminist hindu theology. Included are examples of buddhist and hindu sculpture in stone and bronze, later indian court art, miniature painting, and elegant personal possessions. Publication date 1914 topics art, hindu, mythology, hindu, hinduism publisher madras. Brahma is of lesser significance as he cannot act until vishnu gives him authority to do so. In hindu iconography, gods image is a direct symbol of the god himself. The man part of ganesha represents the manifest principle which is subordinate to the unmanifest principle which is represented by the elephants head. Many such sculptures beautifully carved in soapstone or basalt and found scattered in almost all the villages in goa. The role of the scythians in the genesis of wess iconography. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully. Color symbolism in hinduism for the hindu, colors play a very important role in the religion and culture and have a very deep significance, transcending purely decorative values. Each of these two ways of being hindu developed its own complementary.
For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history. Hindu denominations are traditions within hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as shiva, shakti, vishnu, and brahma. Its history overlaps or coincides with the development. Earlier temples were made of wood, but freestanding stone and brick temples soon appeared in many parts of india.
Pdf building science of indian temple architecture researchgate. Over the millennia of its development hinduism has adopted several iconic symbols, forming part of hindu iconography, that are imbued with spiritual meaning based on either the scriptures or cultural traditions. Iconography of lord shiva, religious iconography in india. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Illustrated dictionary of hindu iconography stutley, margaret on. Hinduism is a religion with various gods and goddesses. Min bahadur shakya who has been engaging himself in the study and research work of buddhism and buddhist iconography for a long time. This post is a part of the indian culture compilation based on the ncert text book an introduction to indian art part 1. Wheter it is the fear of the unknown, or the mystery of death, especially of ones parents and ancestors. Iconography means not merely the mechanical description and identification of an image, but also a study of the various processes, mental and social, which lead to the growth of a cult or of a. Although hindu temples vary in size and style, they tend to have several basic components in common. By the 7th century, stone temples, some of considerable dimensions, were found in many parts of the country. Its study enables one to understand the mysterious india in the varied facets of her life and culture.
Some of these symbols have been widely popular and do have resemblance with many other worldly signs. Indian art is becoming increasingly popular in the west, but it cannot be appreciated fully without some knowledge of the religious and philosophical background. Western imagination, the development of which can easily. The gupta period was marked by the rapid development of temple architecture. In the iconography of lord shiva, below the lotus the bull or nandi is found seated in a graceful pose with a band round the neck and with his eyes looking upward as if listening to some music and a tub apparently meant for food has been placed in front of him. Hinduism early hinduism 2nd century bce4th century ce. The image is worshipped with all the rituals which in turn are a way of serving god. History of hinduism denotes a wide variety of related religious traditions native to the indian subcontinent. Introduction hinduism, religion that originated in india and is still practiced by most of its inhabitants, as well as by those whose families have migrated from india to other parts of the world chiefly east africa, south africa, southeast asia, the east indies, and england. Iconography means not merely the mechanical description and identification of an image, but also a study of the various processes, mental and social, which lead to the growth of a cult or of a particular iconic type. Bickford professor of indian art, harvard uni versity, who has. Iconography means depiction of images through different artistic style. This unusual motif is generally not found in most of the sculptures of lord shiva. The fishsavior later merges with the identity of brahma in postvedic era, and still later as an avatar of vishnu.
The development of hindu iconography vandana tomar research scholar, history of art department, banaras hindu university varanasi 221005, uttar pradesh, india abstract. View art, iconography and religion hindu and buddhist. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to. Divinity, identity, and authority in iconography of. The significance of the iconography differs according to the regions.
The puranas also include subsidiary myths, hymns of praise, philosophies, iconography, and rituals. Hindu temple architecture reached to its final form by combining. I am glad and certain that his deep knowledge of iconography of the buddhist as well as the hindu. Forms of lord siva description of siva images ravenshaw.
The word hindu is derived from the sanskrit word sindhu rivermore specifically, the indus. As well as being spiritual gestures employed in the iconography and spiritual. The creator and year of publication are essential information and must be provided. From the jacket hindu iconography reflects fully the hindu mind in its religious and social aspects. Because religion and culture are inseparable with hinduism, recurring symbols such as the gods and their reincarnations, the lotus flower, extra limbs, and even the traditional arts make their appearances in many sculptures of hindu. We examine i the transformation of an object into an icon, the rituals connected with images and their close link with performance, possession and narration ii the origin and development of anthropomorphism and iconography in india, iii the development of the most significant gods during 200 bc ad 300 that laid the foundation of hindu, buddhist and jain worship in india. The three dynamic deities are vishnu, shiva, and devi, each of whom encompasses all three divine functions of creation, preservation, and destruction. Hindu artists use color on the deities and their dresses signifying their qualities. Most of the sculptures are found without any shelter. Symbols in hindu iconographywere used before natural phenomena and divine power that were depicted in human form as gods. The exact significance accorded to any of the icons varies with region, period and denomination of the followers. The branch of knowledge that deals with the representative art in the form of pictures, drawings, figures or images or icons is called iconography. Religion played an important role in the development of the cultural art of any country and so also religious origin of indian iconography is well established.
Banerjea, jitehdra nath 2002 the development of hindu iconography. The visual vocabulary of india ut college of liberal arts. In this megaarticle, we shall discuss about the indian temple architecture and sculpture in detail. Certain symbols like conch, shiva lingam, veena, lotus and chakra are associated with particular gods.
The contents of the indian iconography page were merged into hindu iconography on 7 july 2016. The development of hindu iconography, calcutta, 1956. Tilak, rudraksha, om, swastika, vibhuti are some of the symbols. The construction of divine images and their subsequent meditation and worship brought pureness in thinking and gave mental peace to the human being. A valuable collection of paintings and bronzes of international repute illustrating indian art and religion has recently been added to the national collections by donation to the department of. Margaret stutley covers all aspects of hindu iconography, and explains that its roots lie far back in the style of prehistoric art which has remained part of a living tradition for 7,000 years and which resembles the. A resource for educatorsassembles comprehensive materials for teaching and learning in the form of texts, slides, posters, and a cdrom. In later literature, sharabha is described as an eightlegged deer. Temple architecture and sculpture hindu, buddhist and. In indian sculptural art, images are the symbolic representations of divinity whose origin and end is expressed through the religious and spiritual beliefs. Hindu temples can date as far back as 1,000 bce, making them among the oldest religious structures on earth. The gazetter of indian history, temples, culture, chennai, 1960. Explain main themes and concepts related to the development of hinduism identify and interpret hindu iconography critically analyze primary source material demonstrate knowledge of main terms and concepts in hinduism engage crucial themes in modern hindu traditions required texts.
The development of hindu iconography exotic india art. This image might not be in the public domain outside of the united states. Each and every feature of an icon has a profound truth. Development of hindu iconography journal of the royal. The development of hindu iconography 9788121500692. Like literature and the performing arts, the visual arts contributed to the perpetuation of myths. Hindu gods are always surrounded by symbols and emblems irrespective of the manner they are portrayed. In iconography ganesha is represented as an elephantheaded man. Macdonell skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites.
680 449 174 803 1119 807 1322 1440 117 773 490 1263 379 501 1388 1335 1508 1208 125 126 940 570 1142 244 228 1320 346 1086 116 1359 714