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Kudavayil Balasubramanian
Kudavayil Balasubramanian (born Kudavayil, Tiruvarur district) is an archaeologist from Tamil Nadu, India. He is former curator and publication manager at Saraswathi Mahal Library located at Thanjavur. He is credited with discovering more than 100 inscriptions, coins, copper plates, sculptures, and paintings now in museums and temples in that state. Balasubramanian received a bachelor's in zoology, and studied history as a post-graduate. For his contribution to temple art and Tamil language he received (Doctor of Letters (honoris causa)) in February 2016. Twenty seven books all magnum opuses, twenty booklets, fifty three seminar papers and four hundred and fifty articles have been brought out in the fields of History, Archaeology, Numismatics, Epigraphy, Temple Architecture, Saiva Agamas, Sculptures, Paintings, Music and Dance by Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian. His discovery of Nandipuram near Kandiyur and its shrine housing 1000 Siva Lingas, is hailed as the greatest of hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kudavasal
Kudavasal or Kodavasal is a panchayat in Thiruvarur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is the headquarters of Kudavasal taluk. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Kudavasal had a population of 13,500. Males constituted 49% of the population and females 51%. Kudavasal has a literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy rate is 78%, and the female rate is 66%. In Kudavasal, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Located at the heart of the Cauvery delta, Kudavasal was a prominent settlement during medieval times. Brahmin scholars migrating from the north of India to the Chola kingdom lived here. There are multiple Shaivite temples here including Koneswarar Temple, and multiple Vaishnavite temples including the Srinivasa Perumal Temple and Varadharaja Perumal temple at Kodavasal. Post-independence migration trends have seen native populations move to urban centers like Chennai Chennai, also known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epigraphy
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the writing and the writers. Specifically excluded from epigraphy are the historical significance of an epigraph as a document and the artistic value of a literature, literary composition. A person using the methods of epigraphy is called an ''epigrapher'' or ''epigraphist''. For example, the Behistun inscription is an official document of the Achaemenid Empire engraved on native rock at a location in Iran. Epigraphists are responsible for reconstructing, translating, and dating the trilingual inscription and finding any relevant circumstances. It is the work of historians, however, to determine and interpret the events recorded by the inscription as document. Often, epigraphy and history are competences practised by the same person. Epigraphy is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians have studied that topic by using particular sources, techniques of research, and theoretical approaches to the interpretation of documentary sources. Scholars discuss historiography by topic—such as the historiography of the United Kingdom, of historiography of World War II, WWII, of the Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Americas, of early historiography of early Islam, Islam, and of Chinese historiography, China—and different approaches to the work and the genres of history, such as political history and social history. Beginning in the nineteenth century, the development of academic history produced a great corpus of historiographic literature. The extent to which historians are influence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dravidian Architecture
Dravidian architecture, or the Southern Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from Southern India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. In contrast with North Indian temple styles, Dravidian architecture uses shorter and more pyramidal towers, called vimana, over the garbhagriha or sanctuary, where the north has taller towers, usually curving inwards as they rise, called shikharas. Larger modern Dravidian style temples, however, include one or more high gopura or gatehouse entrances to the compound as their dominating feature; large temples have several dwarfing the vimana, although these are a much more recent development. There are numerous other distinct features, such as the '' dvarapalakas'' – twin guardians at the main entrance and the inner sanctum of the temple and ''goshtams'' – deities carved in niches on the outer side walls of the garbhagriha. Mentioned as one of three styles of temple building ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as co-regent with his father in 1012 until his father died in 1014, when Rajendra ascended to the Chola throne. During his reign, the Chola Empire reached its zenith in the Indian subcontinent; it extended its reach via trade and conquest across the Indian Ocean, making Rajendra one of only a few Indian monarchs who conquered territory beyond South Asia. In his early years, Rajendra was involved in the Chola military, Chola Army, with which he fought in several campaigns against the Western Chalukya Empire, Western Chalukyas and the rulers of Anuradhapura, earning him his first victories. He quelled rebellions in the Chera dynasty, Chera and Pandya dynasty, Pandiya vassal states, and in Sri Lanka. As Emperor, Rajendra completed the conquest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darasuram
Darasuram or Dharasuram is a neighbourhood in the city of Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. The area is known for the Airavateswara temple constructed by the Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. The temple is a recognised UNESCO World Heritage monument. Demographics India census, Darasuram had a population of 13,027. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Dharasuram has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77% and, female literacy is 63%. In Dharasuram, 11% of the population is under six years of age. Airavatesvara temple This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture. The ''vimana'' is 85 feet high. The front mandapam itself is in the form of a huge chariot drawn by horses. The temple has some exquisite stone carvings. The main deity's consort Periya Nayaki Amman temple is situated adjacent to Airavateshwarar temple. The Great Living Chola Temples. (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) at Thanjavur, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' () and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaiva Siddhanta, Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola art and architecture, Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India.Thanjavur , Encyclopaedia Britannica It is one of the List of largest Hindu temples, largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of Tamil architecture, a subset of Dravidian architecture. It is also called ''Dakshina Meru'' (Mount Meru, Meru of the South India, South). Built by Chola dynasty, Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I, Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", along with the Chola-era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kartikeya
Kartikeya (/Sanskrit phonology, kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda (Sanskrit phonology, /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/Sanskrit phonology, sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha (Sanskrit phonology, /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/Sanskrit phonology, mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hinduism, Hindu List of war deities, god of war. He is generally described as the son of the deities Shiva and Parvati and the brother of Ganesha. Kartikeya has been an important deity in the Indian subcontinent since Vedic period, ancient times. Mentions of Skanda in the Sanskrit literature data back to fifth century BCE and the mythology relating to Kartikeya became widespread in North India around the second century BCE. Archaeological evidence from the first century CE and earlier shows an association of his iconography with Agni, the Hindu god of fire, indicating that Kartikeya was a significant deity in early Hinduism. He is hailed as the "favoured god of the Tamils", and the tutelary dei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam taluk of Thanjavur district. It is the second largest city in the district after Thanjavur. The city is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River to the north and Arasalar River to the south. Kumbakonam is known as a "Temple City" due to the prevalence of a number of Hindu temple, temples here and is noted for its Mahamaham festival, which happens once in 12 years, attracting people from all over the country. Kumbakonam dates back to the Sangam period and was ruled by the Early Cholas, Pallavas, Mutharaiyar dynasty, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagara Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks and the Thanjavur Marathas. It rose to be a prominent town between the seventh and ninth centuries AD, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarangapani Temple, Kumbakonam
The Sarangapani Temple, Thirukudanthai, or Kumbakonam koyil is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, located in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the ''Divya Desams'', the 108 temples of Vishnu revered in Nalayira Divya Prabandham by the 12 poet saints, or Alvars. This temple is along Kaveri and is one of the Pancharanga Kshetrams. The temple is one of the Pancha Kshethram where the goddess Maha Lakshmi, Lakshmi was born as ''Bhargavi''- the daughter of Maharishi Bhrigu. The other four temples of the Pancha Kshethram are Sundararaja Perumal Temple, Salem, Oppiliappan temple, Nachiyar Koil and Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. The temple is believed to be of significant antiquity with contributions at different times from Medieval Cholas, Vijayanagar Empire, Vijayanagara Empire and Madurai Nayaks. The temple is enshrined within a huge granite wall and the complex contains all the shrines and the water bodies of the temple. The ''gopuram, rajagopuram'' (the main gatewa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gopuram
A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...: ಗೋಪುರ, Malayalam language, Malayalam: ഗോപുരം) is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate, at the Entrance Hall, entrance of a Hindu temple, in the Dravidian architecture, South Indian architecture of the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, and Telangana, and Sri Lanka. In other areas of India they are much more modest, while in Southern Indian temples they are very often by far the highest part of the temple. Ancient and early medieval temples feature smaller ''gopuram'', while in later temples they are a prominent feature of Hindu temple architecture, Hindu Tamil archi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
