Varaha Cave Temple
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Varaha Cave Temple
Varaha Cave Temple (i.e., Varaha Mandapa or the Adivaraha Cave) is a rock-cut cave temple located at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the hill top village, which is to the north of the main Mahabalipurm sites of rathas and the Shore Temple. It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century. The temple is one of the finest testimonial to the ancient Hindu rock-cut cave architecture, out of many such caves also called mandapas. Part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, the temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as inscribed in 1984 under criteria i, ii, iii and iv. The most prominent sculpture in the cave is that of the Hindu god Vishnu in the incarnated form of a Varaha or boar lifting Bhudevi, the mother earth goddess from the sea. Also carved are many mythical figures. Geography Varaha Cave Temple is located on the hills of Mahabalipuram town, to the ...
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Mamallapuram
Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is one of the famous tourist sites in India. The ancient name of the place is Thirukadalmallai. Mamallapuram was one of two major port cities in the Pallava kingdom. The town was named after Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who was also known as Mamalla. Along with economic prosperity, it became the site of a group of royal monuments, many carved out of the living rock. These are dated to the 7th and 8th centuries: rathas (temples in the form of chariots), mandapas (cave sanctuaries), the giant open-air rock relief the '' Descent of the Ganges'', and the Shore Temple dedicated to Shiva. The contemporary town plan was established by the British Raj in 1827. Etymology The earliest mention of the city is found in the 1st century work called ...
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by the Southern Ocean or Antarctica, depending on the definition in use. Along its core, the Indian Ocean has some large marginal or regional seas such as the Arabian Sea, Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Andaman Sea. Etymology The Indian Ocean has been known by its present name since at least 1515 when the Latin form ''Oceanus Orientalis Indicus'' ("Indian Eastern Ocean") is attested, named after India, which projects into it. It was earlier known as the ''Eastern Ocean'', a term that was still in use during the mid-18th century (see map), as opposed to the ''Western Ocean'' ( Atlantic) before the Pacific was surmised. Conversely, Chinese explorers in the Indian Ocean during the 15th century called it the Western Oceans. In Ancie ...
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Gajalakshmi
Gajalakshmi (), also spelt as Gajalaxmi, is one of the most significant '' Ashtalakshmi'' aspects of the Hindu goddess of prosperity, Lakshmi. Mythology In Hindu mythology, Gajalakshmi is regarded to have restored the wealth and power lost by Indra when she rose from the Samudra Manthana, the churning of the ocean. She is the form of the goddess who stands for animal wealth, as well as other symbols of wealth that represent strength. Iconography In a sixth century BCE sculpture, the goddess is depicted holding a lotus in her left hand and a lotus cornucopia in her right hand. There are two lions at her feet, two elephants bathing her with life giving waters, and two female attendants to her left and right side holding flywhisks. Depictions An image is found from the 2nd century BCE, possibly in Buddhist contexts, and appears on the railings from the Buddhist site of Bharhut, from 125-100 BCE. It appears on a 1st-century BCE coin of Azilises, and a 3rd-century CE coin f ...
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Chakra
Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or inner traditions of Hinduism.Chakra: Religion
Encyclopaedia Britannica
The concept of the chakra arose in the early traditions of . Beliefs differ between the Indian religions, with many Buddhist texts consistently mentioning five chakras, while Hindu sources reference six or seven. Early S ...
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Shankha
A Shankha ( conch shell) has religious ritual importance in Hinduism. It is the shell of any suitable sea snail which had a hole made for the performer's embouchure. In Hindu history, the shankha is a sacred emblem of The Hindu preserver god Vishnu. It is still used as a trumpet in Hindu ritual, and in the past was used as a war trumpet. The shankha is praised in Hindu scriptures as a giver of fame, longevity and prosperity, the cleanser of sin and the abode of goddess Lakshmi, who is the goddess of prosperity and consort of Vishnu. The shankha is displayed in Hindu art in association with Vishnu. As a symbol of water, it is associated with female fertility and serpents (Nāgas). The shankha (representing the conch of the presiding deity of Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a part of the state emblem of the Indian state of Kerala. The symbol was derived from the erstwhile emblems of the Indian princely state of Travancore, and the Kingdom of Cochin. The shankha is one of the eig ...
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Trivikrama
Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. Originating in the Vedas, Vamana is most commonly associated in the Hindu epics and Puranas with the legend of taking back the three worlds (collectively referred to as the ''Trailokya'') from the daitya-king Bali by taking three steps to restore the cosmic order. He is the youngest among the adityas, the sons of Aditi and the sage Kashyapa. Nomenclature and etymology 'Vāmana' (Sanskrit वामन) means 'dwarf', 'small' or 'small or short in stature'. It also means 'dwarfish bull', which is notable as Vishnu is directly associated with dwarfish animals (including bulls) in the Vedas (see below). Stated in Puranic literature to be born of the great sage Kashyapa and his wife Aditi, other names or epithets referring to Vamana inclu ...
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Pallava
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as feudatories. The Pallavas became a major South Indian power during the reign of Mahendravarman I (600–630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE), and dominated the southern Andhra Region and the northern parts of the Tamil region for about 600 years, until the end of the 9th century. Throughout their reign, they remained in constant conflict with both the Chalukyas of Badami in the north, and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola and Pandyas in the south. The Pallavas were finally defeated by the Chola ruler Aditya I in the 9th century CE. The Pallavas are most noted for their patronage of Hindu temple architecture, the finest example being the Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mamallapuram. Kancheepuram served as the capi ...
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European Architecture
The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelter and protection. The term "architecture" generally refers to buildings, but in its essence is much broader, including fields we now consider specialized forms of practice, such as urbanism, civil engineering, naval, military, and landscape architecture. Trends in architecture were influenced, among other factors, by technological innovations, particularly in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The improvement and/or use of steel, cast iron, tile, reinforced concrete, and glass helped for example Art Nouveau appear and made Beaux Arts more grandiose. Neolithic Göbekli Tepe, Urfa.jpg, Göbekli Tepe (Turkey), 9500-8000 BC Hemudu Site Museum, 2017-08-12 13.jpg, Reconstructed wooden house ( Hemudu, China), 5000-4500 BC 2018 07 12 Schott ...
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Greco-Roman World
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were directly and intimately influenced by the language, culture, government and religion of the Greeks and Romans. A better-known term is classical civilization. In exact terms the area refers to the "Mediterranean world", the extensive tracts of land centered on the Mediterranean and Black Sea Basins, the "swimming pool and spa" of the Greeks and the Romans, in which those peoples' cultural perceptions, ideas, and sensitivities became dominant in classical antiquity. That process was aided by the universal adoption of Greek as the language of intellectual culture and commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean and of Latin as the language of public administration and of forensic advocacy, especially in the Western Mediterranean. Greek and Latin ...
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Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano. In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces. The word derives, via the Latin , from the Ancient Greek word (), from () meaning "one" or "single" and () meaning "stone". Geologica ...
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Varaha Mandapam, Pallava Period, 7th Century, Mahabalipuram (11) (37428423256)
Varaha ( sa, वराह, , "boar") is an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, in the form of a boar. Varaha is generally listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is most commonly associated with the legend of lifting the Earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi) out of the cosmic ocean. When the asura Hiranyaksha stole the earth and hid her in the primordial waters, Vishnu appeared as Varaha to rescue her. Varaha slew the asura, and retrieved the Earth from the ocean, lifting it on his tusks, and restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe. Varaha may be depicted as completely a boar or in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and the human body. His consort, Bhudevi, the personified Earth, is often depicted as a young woman, lifted by Varaha. Etymology and other names The deity Varaha derives its name from the Sanskrit word ''varāha'' (Devanagari: वराह, ) meaning "boar" or "wild boar". The word ''varāha'' is from ...
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Rock Cut Varaha Temple Containing Varaha And Vamana Incarnation Of Vishnu (4)
Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales * Rock, Cornwall, a village in England * Rock, County Tyrone, a village in Northern Ireland * Rock, Devon, a location in England * Rock, Neath Port Talbot, a location in Wales * Rock, Northumberland, a village in England * Rock, Somerset, a location in Wales * Rock, West Sussex, a hamlet in Washington, England * Rock, Worcestershire, a village and civil parish in England United States * Rock, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Rock, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Rock, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Rock, Rock County, Wisconsin, a town in southern Wisconsin * Rock, Wood County, Wisconsin, a town in central Wisconsin Elsewhere * Corregidor, an island in the Philippines also known as "The Rock" * Jamaica, an isl ...
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