Category: A2Z Challenge

  • Warangal Fort – Capital of Kakatiyas

    Warangal Fort – Capital of Kakatiyas

    During the 12th century, Kakatiyas from Telangana rose to power and established their empire. Kakatiyas ruled from the Fort in the city of Warangal. Today we are visiting the ruins of this Warangal Fort.

    From the history book of Warangal Fort

    In 8th century, Warangal was under control of Rashtrakutas. Later in 10th century Western Chalukyas ruled the city. In 12 century, kakatiyas rose to the power in Warangal. Historians, Archeologists consider that Ganapatidev started the construction of early structures during his reign from 1199 AD-1262 AD. It continued under the authority of his daughter and successor Rudramma Devi. Prataprudra II fortified it further. Historians consider his reign as the Golden Age of Kakatiyas. 

    Armies of Delhi Sultanate kept bashing and battering this fort repeatedly. Kakatiyas paid heavy tributes to the Khilji Dynasty including the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. During the subsequent siege Tughlaqs of Delhi Sultanate sacked the capital fort and plundered and destroyed it. Later this area was under the control of the Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda and later under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

    Gallery

    Ruins of the old glory

    Central part of the fort complex is now declared as an archeological zone which is marked by gates on all four directions. This Kakatiya Kala Thoranam is a classic ornamental gate of Kakatiyas. The ruins of the fort complex are scattered all around the site. These ruins show the ornamental engravings of lotus buds, looped garlands, mythical animals, and birds with foliated tails. They don’t contain any religious symbols. As a result, they remained unharmed during the destruction by invaders. The great Svayambhu Shiva Temple of Kakatiyas is in ruins. The outdoor museum exhibits wall slabs, brackets and ceiling panels of the temple. 

    Kush Mahal, a rectangular public hall, stands in the archeological zone. Delhi Sultanate built this hall in the 14th century after they conquered the fort. Each side has 6 arched openings in the hall. Once it had a timber roof supported by arches. It has a scenic view of the entire complex. In the southern side of the archeological zone, there’s a big water tank with a single large rock outcrop called Orugallu. It gives the name Warangal to the city. There’s a small temple built on the tank. There are several small temples and tanks scattered around the complex.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘W’ challenge. “W is for the Warangal Fort, Warangal, Telangana”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Vikramshila – The Knowledge House of Medieval India

    Vikramshila – The Knowledge House of Medieval India

    Medieval India had witnessed very powerful centres of learning spreading light of knowledge. Today we are visiting ruins of one of those knowledge hubs. Vikramshila is one of the two important Mahavihara of the 8th century.

    From the pages of history of Vikramshila

    By the 8th century, people started believing the quality of scholarship of Nalanda was going down.  Responding to this belief, Emperor Dharmapala of the Pala Empire established the Vikramshila University. According to the Tibetan sources, Vikramshila grew to prominence in this period and formed an elite club with four other important knowledge centers, Nalanda, Somapura, Odantapura, and Jagaddala.

    The university prospered for the next four centuries. It contributed to the Buddhists body of knowledge through its large number of thousand scholars and hundred teachers. During the invasion of Turko-Afghan military gemera; Bakhtiyar Khilji Vikramshila University was destroyed.

    Gallery

    • Pillars of vikramshila Photo by Rakesh Ranjan Copyrights CC VY 2.0
    • Seating and meditation area at Vikramshila Ruins
    • The view of the entrance from the Stupa
    • Main Stupa at Ruins of VIkramshila Photo by Prataparya Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0

    About the ruins

    Today, we can visit the ruins of Vikramshila in Antichak village, Bhagalpur district in Bihar. Prof. B. P. Sinha of Patna University undertook the first methodical excavation of this site in the 1960s. A few years after that, the Archaeological Survey of India started a second excavation. Over the period of two decades, archaeologists revealed a site spread over more than a hundred acres. Huge monastery with a cruciform stupa in its centre, a library building and cluster of votive stupas formed the campus of this medieval university of India.

    Residential quarters of the monastery is a huge square structure with 52 cells on each side opening in a common verandah. They also found few brick arched underground meditation chambers below few residential cells. Main stupa is at the center of the monastery. It is a brick structure with mud mortar. Archeologists also found a few Hindu and Tibatian temples on the northern side of the monastery.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘V’ challenge. “V is for the Vikramshila University, Bihar”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Thiksey Monastery – A Lighthouse of Buddhism in Ladakh

    Thiksey Monastery – A Lighthouse of Buddhism in Ladakh

    Ladakh is one of the beautiful regions of India. And Buddhism is an integral part of Ladakhi life. There are many Gompas (monasteries) scattered all across the region. Today we are visiting one of the glorious and important Gompa of Ladakh. Thiksey Gompa, situated on top of the hill in Thiksey near Leh. This monastery is attached to the Gelug sect of Tibatian Buddhism.

    Something from the history of Thiksey

    Founder of Gelug sect tasked one of his students, Jangsem Sherab Zangpo, with seeking permission of the King of Ladakh to spread the teachings of Gelug Buddhism in Ladakh. Soon he reached the King with the message and gifts from the founder of Gelug sect. King was pleased with the gifts. He directed his minister to help to set up a monastery of Gelug sect in Ladakh. This is how the first monastery was built in Stagmo village. 

    Legend of the Thiksey tells a story of start of Thiksey Monastery. Once Sherab with his disciple Palden Zangpo was performing sacred rituals of torma offerings. Suddenly, two crows appeared from somewhere and took away the offerings. Palden and other disciples went on the lookout for torma offerings. Soon after, they reached Thiksey. As soon as they reached Thiksey, they found out that crows had put the tormas on a rocky outcrop in perfect orders and in an undisturbed condition. Considering this as a divine direction, Palden decided to build the monastery at this place. And this is how Thiksey monastery came in existance.

    Glory of the Thiksey monastery

    Situated at an altitude of 3600 meters in the Indus valley, Thiksey Gompa is a huge twelve storey complex. It houses many buddhis items like stupas, wall paintings, thangkas (fabric paintings), weapons, sculptures, etc. Buildings in the complex are in ascending order on a hill slope and have a good spacing between them. This monastery shows an architectural resemblance with the Potala Palace in Lhasa. As a result, Thiksey Gompa has title of “Mini Potala”. This house of 60 lamas is red, ochre and white in color. This is a fort monastery of a Central Tibatian Pattern. 

    Maitreya buddha Thikse Photo by Redtigerxyz Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0

    The monastery has a temple erected to commemorate the visit of the 14th Dalai Lama to the Thiskey Gompa. The temple houses a 15 meter high statue of Maitreya Buddha. This is the largest statue of Maitreya Buddha in Ladakh. Generally, we find Maitreya Buddha in a standing position or seated on a high throne. However, the statue in Thiksey is an unusual depiction of Maitreya seating in a lotus position. Shilp Guru Nawang Tsering of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies (Leh) guided the local artists to make this statue in clay, copper and gold paint. In addition to this temple, there are temples of goddess Tara and several guardian divinities including Cham-spring – the protector deity of Thiksey.

    Recently, the Archeological Survey of India completed the activities of restoration the monastery. However, it created some controversies. Hence, they achieved a balance to the restoration and renovation works to retain the old order in consonance with the new works.

    Glimpse of Thiksey
    • Front of the Thiksey Monastery Photo by Caesardeka Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Shakyamuni Buddha in inner sanctum of the assembly hall Photo by Redtigerxyz Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Thiksey Monastery Gompas Photo by Anilsh59 Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0

    Festivals

    Monastery celebrates its annual festival from the 17th to 19th day of the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar (October–November). People perform sacred mask dances as a part of the rituals. Villagers from all over the Ladakh gather at the base of Thiksey monastery and trade their goods during this festival.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘T’ challenge. “T is for the Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Sun Temple – Homage to an Ancient Indian God

    Sun Temple – Homage to an Ancient Indian God

    In the Vedic tradition of Hinduism, people worshiped forces of nature in the form of various deities. The Sun god Surya was one of the important deities of the era. However, Indians built many temples to worship this god. Today we are visiting the most prominent sun temple out of many in India. We are going to Konark to see the ruins of one of the oldest Sun temples of India which once was a magnificent temple complex.

    • Watercolour drawing of the north side of Surya Temple Konark (1820)
    • A lithography plate from James Fergusson’s Ancient Architecture in Hindoostan (1847)
    • Konark sun temple Photo by Chaitali Chowdhury Copyrights CC BY SA 3.0

    From the pages of history of Sun temple

    Though sun god is a Vedic deity, we have built its temples since the 7th century. Narasimhadve I of Eastern Ganga Dynasty built this particular temple around 1250 CE. The historic documentations of the planning and construction of this temple is written in Sanskrit with Odia script. This writing is in a form of preserved palm leaves manuscripts. These scripts surfaced during an excavation in a nearby village during the 1960s. The king sponsored the construction of the temple on which Siva Samantaraya Mahapatra was the overseer. This new temple site was near the old one. They re-consecrated sculpture of deity from old temple and established in this new larger temple complex. Many copper plates describe the development of the complex and address the temple as “great cottage”.

    “Here the language of stone surpasses the language of human”

    Rabindranath Tagore about Sun temple Konark.

    What can we see at Sun Temple today

    Temple had two parts, one mandapa and one inner sanctum called Deul. However, today only mandapa survives the tests of time and stands there with very intricate carvings and sculptures. Old documents suggest that shikhara of deul was around 225 ft high. It is enough to give us an idea about the glorious temple which once stood these grounds. The shape of the temple was that of a giant stone ornamented chariot pulled by 7 horses with 24 huge stone wheels. Wheels are very elaborately carved. If one looks at the temple at dawn from inland, it looks like the chariot is emerging from the ocean. Last standing part of Deul succumbed to the neglect and forces of nature around late 1800. 

    • Chariot Wheels illustrative intricate carving, Photo by Andrew Moore Copyrights CC BY-SA 2.0
    • Sculpture of a young woman on sun temple konark Photo by H. Grobe Copyright CC BY 3.0
    • Bansuri player and ghana player at Photo by Mike Prince Copyrights CC BY 2.0
    • Konark Temple Panorama Photo by Alok Prasad, Copyrights CC BY 3.0

    Carvings

    Walls are full of carved intricate motifs. There are many sculptures of male and female musicians holding various musical instruments including the vina, mardala, gini, sculptures of Hindu deities, apsaras. You can also see images from the daily life and culture of the people (artha and dharma scenes), various animals, aquatic creatures, birds, legendary creatures, and friezes narrating the Hindu texts. Along with these Konark temple is also famous for its erotic sculptures of maithunas. There are large statues of lions subduing elephants, elephants subduing demons, a warrior and a horse, etc. There was an intricately carved pillar dedicated to Aruna, a chariot marshal of Surya. This piller was in front of eastern stairs of the poarch. But today, the pillar stands in front of the Jagannath temple in Puri.

    In popular culture

    If you happen to visit this glorious place, don’t forget to check the chariot wheel which appears on the reverse side of our 10 rupees currency note. This signifies the importance of this temple to Indian heritage and culture.

    Stone wheel at Konark Sun Temple Photo by Subhrajyoti Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘S’ challenge. “S is for the Sun Temple, Konark”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Rashtrapati Bhavan – Palace of the President of India

    Rashtrapati Bhavan – Palace of the President of India

    In 1950, India took democracy and formed a republic after adopting the constitution written by our constitutional assembly. Dr. Rajendra Prasad took over as the first president of the Union of India. Today, we are visiting the residence of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, in our journey of Incredible India. 

    The history of the Rashtrapati Bhavan

    The Delhi Durbar of 1911 decided to shift the capital of British India to Delhi from Calcutta. After Delhi Darbar, they decided to build the new capital in the south of Old Delhi near Raisina and Malcha. The British Raj commissioned Architect Lutyens to design the viceregal palace. His design of the palace was grand, classical with colours and details inspired from Indian architecture. Lord Hardinge imposed budget restrictions during construction of the palace. As a result, the reduction of construction size by one third took place. Even after reduction, the completed viceroy palace was very similar to his designs. It took around two decades to complete this palatial residence. 

    When Chakravarti Rajagopalachari took over as India’s last but only Indian Governor-General and started residing in the Viceroy’s palace, he swapped the living quarters with a guest wing. This arrangement continues to be the same even now and the old Guest Wing is now the official residence of the President. Rashtrapati Bhavan hosts visiting heads of states and state receptions in this new guest wing which was original residence wing. As Dr. Rajendra Prasad took charge of the residence as the first President of India, they renamed Viceroy Palace as Rashtrapati Bhavan.

    • Rashtrapati Bhavan at evening Photo by Vinay Copyright CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Mughal gardens fountain Photo by India1277 Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavab Photo by Ronak Shah Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0

    What can we see there?

    This huge palace is spread over hundred and thirty hectares and has 340 rooms. We get a glimpse of many rooms like Ashoka hall  if we watch the footage of various ceremonies held in the presidential palace. Rashtrapati Bhavan has a gorgeous garden in the backyard. It draws the name of Mughal Gardens from their original design based on the gardens of Mughal era. Later during times of various presidents, landscape changed and today we see the blend of various landscaping styles. Mughal gardens are open to the public during the event of Udyanotsav every year during the months of February and March. 

    Rashtrapati Bhavan has a Museum Complex of three buildings, Clock tower, the Stables and the Garages. It helps visitors to get an inside view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, its art, architecture and get educated about the lives of past presidents. Tourists can also witness the Change of Guards ceremony which is held on every Saturday. The bookings for any of the visits have to be done online via official websites only. Please plan your visits accordingly.

    Main Façade of the Rashtrapati Bhavan

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘R’ challenge. “R is for the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Qila Mubarak – Standing Witness of the History

    Qila Mubarak – Standing Witness of the History

    Historically known as a Tabar-e-Hind (Gateway of India), Bathinda is one of the most thriving vibrant cities of Punjab. There are many lakes in the city. Because of them the city got the identity as the ‘city of lakes’. Today we are traveling to Bathinda to see one magnificent monument of national importance. This city bears witness to the long history of this country and 1600 year old Qila Mubarak stands guarding the gate. 

    Through the history book of Qila Mubarak

    In the 3rd century, a Rajput clan of Bhattis settled in the sandy region of Bathinda. Rao Bhatti laid the foundation of the city along with a city of Bhatner in Rajasthan. People believe that both of the cities were founded around the same time. Power over Qila Mubarak and Bathinda kept changing hands between different Rajput clans. Qila is situated on Lahore –  Delhi route. Because of this position, the fort became strategically and commercially important.

    During reign of Chauhans, this fort in Bathinda acted as a border post. It was the centre of actions when Muhammad Ghori attacked. After the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan in the second battle of Tarain, Qila Mubarak was under the control of the Ghurid dynasty. When the Delhi Sultanate came in power as a successor to Indian region of the Ghurid empire, Qila Mubarak came under their control. Conspirators captured and dethroned the first female ruler of Delhi sultanate, Razia Sultan, at this fort.

    Guru Nanak Dev, Guru Teg Bahadur and Guru Gobind Singh visited this fort during their times. 

    • Qila Mubarak in 1906
    • Main Building of Fort Photo by Lavish Thakkar-Copyrights-CC BY-SA 3.0
    • Inside Quila Mubarak complex – Photo by Devinder kaur Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Gate of Qila Mubarak – Photo by Raghbirkhanna Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0

    The present day sight

    Today, we can see outer walls which have been standing tall for the past 1600 years. The fort covers a vast area. There are pathways and lawns within the walls. It has 36 battlements in these huge 118 ft brick walls. Main building of the Fort is still in pretty good condition. This was the place of king’s common meetings. Fort houses Gurdwara Qila Mubarak Sahib. This fort is connected with three Gurus of Sikhism. Because of this, Sikhs around the globe reveres this Gurudwara. Maharaja Karam Singh built this Gurdwara in the fort. Qila also hosts four canons made up with an alloy of silver, gold, copper and iron. Babar had brought these canons with him when he came to India for the first time. Recently Archeological Survey of India completed the repairs after an extensive two year survey of the site done by Akal Society of America.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘Q’ challenge. “Q is for the Qila Mubarak, Bathinda, Punjab”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.