भारत गणराज् The Arts of India are the illustration of the religious life of the Hindus. Like their faith, the arts have been preserved for the past 3,000 years, from change and decay, from foreign invasions, and from the fury of the nature. Officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. 7th LARGEST country by geographical area. GEOGRAPHY of INDIA Bounded by the: • Indian Ocean on the south • Arabian Sea on the south-west • Bay of Bengal on the south-east • it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west • China, Nepal, & Bhutan north-east • Burma & Bangladesh to the east. 2nd most populous country with over 1.2 billion people. ETYMOLOGY The name India is derived from INDUS: which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu (�सन्ध). The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi (Ινδοί), the people of the Indus. • Bhagwa or the saffron color denotes renunciation or disinterestedness. • The white in the centre is light, the path of truth to guide their conduct. The INDIAN FLAG •The green shows their relation to (the) soil, the relation to the plant life here, on which all other life depends. The INDIAN FLAG The "Ashoka Chakra" in the centre of the white is the wheel of the law of dharma. The INDIAN FLAG Indian subcontinent is the home to the world’s oldest civilizations and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires. Four of the world's major religion originated in India — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. भारत गणराज् HINDUISM A predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. HINDUISM Known to its followers as Sanātana Dharma a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the eternal law“. (the eternal law that sustains / upholds / surely preserves) HINDUISM Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the oldest living major religion" in the world. HINDUISM TRIMURTI: 3 FORMS TRIMURTI: THREE FORMS A concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance and destruction are personified by the forms. TRIMURTI: THREE FORMS Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer. TRIMURTI: THREE FORMS These three deities have been called “the Hindu triad” or the "Great Trinity", often addressed as: "Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara" TRIMURTI: THREE FORMS "Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara" One kind of representation for the Trimurti or Trinity shows three heads on one neck and often even three faces on one head that each one looking in a dissimilar direction. BRAHMA THE CREATOR BRAHMA: THE CREATOR “BRAHMA CREATED THE FOUR TYPES: GODS, DEMONS, ANCESTORS, AND MEN.” BRAHMA: THE CREATOR --- According to the Brahma Purana, Brahma – the creator is the father of Mānu. --- from Mānu all human beings are descended. --- In the Ramayana and the Mahābhārata, he is often referred to as the progenitor or great grandsire of all human beings. BRAHMA: Symbols Back right hand Back left hand represents mind represents intellect Front right hand is ego Front left hand is self- The Four confidence Arms & Hands: represent the four directions BRAHMA: Symbols The Book The Lotus symbolizes knowledge symbolizes nature and the living essence of all things and beings in the Universe. The Gold symbolizes activity; thus the golden face of Brahma indicates that He The Prayer beads is actively involved in the Symbolize the process of creating the substances used in Universe. the process of creation. BRAHMA: Symbols The Crown - Lord Brahma's crown indicates His supreme authority. The Beard - Brahma's black or white beard denotes wisdom and the eternal process of creation. The Swan - is the symbol of grace and discernment. Brahma uses the swan as his vāhana, or his carrier or vehicle. BRAHMA: Symbols The Four Faces – represents the four Vedas or the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism. BRAHMA: Symbols • Rik / Rigveda - contains several mythological and poetical accounts of the origin of the world, hymns praising the gods, and ancient prayers for life, prosperity, etc. • Samaveda - It consists of a collection (samhita) of hymns, portions of hymns, and detached verses BRAHMA: Symbols • Yajurveda - contains the liturgy (mantras) needed to perform the sacrifices. • Atharvaveda - a collection of spells and incantations, apostrophic charms and speculative hymns. BRAHMA: The Creator At the beginning of time Narayana lay on a banyan leaf floating on the ancient waters. After many ages, Narayana began to create the universe. BRAHMA: The Creator Banyan leaf. BRAHMA: The Creator From his mouth, Narayana created speech. Speech brought communication to the world. BRAHMA: The Creator From his mind, Narayana created the Vedas. The Vedas brought history and guidance to the world. BRAHMA: The Creator From his tongue, Narayana created amrita, the ocean of milk. Amrita was the 'water of life'. Without amrita, the existence of the universe was in danger. BRAHMA: The Creator From his nose, Narayana created the stars and the sky. The stars guided travellers on their way and the sky formed a canopy over the earth. BRAHMA: The Creator From the pupils of his eyes, Narayana created the heavens and the sun. The sun brought light and heat to the earth. BRAHMA: The Creator From his ears, Narayana created places of worship. Places of worship gave the people a way to honour and pay respects to their gods. BRAHMA: The Creator From his hair, Narayana created the clouds and rain. Clouds and rain brought water to the earth, making the land fertile. BRAHMA: The Creator From his beard, Narayana created lightning – it signals the power of the Gods. BRAHMA: The Creator From his nails, Narayana created rocks. Rocks brought stability to the earth. BRAHMA: The Creator From his bones, Narayana created mountains. Montains formed the landscape of the earth. BRAHMA: The Creator And thus, the UNIVERSE was created. VISHNU THE PRESERVER Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called “Preserver of the universe”. In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatara, most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna. VISHNU: Symbols Panchajanya The Four Arms & (Shankha / conch shell) Hands: represents his power to holding a lotus, mace, create and maintain the conch and a wheel universe. Sudarshana Chakra Padma (Lotus) symbolizes the purified represents spiritualized mind. • spiritual liberation • Divine perfection Kaumodaki • purity and the (Gada / mace) • unfolding of Spiritual symbolizes his divine consciousness within power is the source of all the individual. spiritual, mental and physical strength. VISHNU: Symbols The two earrings The crown represent inherent symbolizes his opposites in creation: supreme authority. • knowledge and sometimes depicted ignorance having a peacock • happiness and feather unhappiness • pleasure and pain Around his neck, he wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel, The color of his skin is and a “vanamaalaa” (garland of flowers) new-cloud-like-blue VISHNU: Symbols Vishnu rests on Ananta Shesha: the immortal and infinite snake. VISHNU: The AVATARS An Avatar, meaning “descent” or “incarnation”, is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being. VISHNU: The AVATARS The concept of avatar within Hinduism is most often associated with Vishnu. Vishnu's avatars typically descend for a very specific purpose. VISHNU: The AVATARS An oft-quoted passage from the Bhagavad Gita describes the typical role of an avatar of Vishnu—to bring dharma, or righteousness, back to the social and cosmic order: VISHNU: The AVATARS “Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth. For the protection of the good and for the destruction of evil, and for the establishment of righteousness, I come into being age after age.” (Gita:4.7–8) VISHNU: The Dashavatara The ten best known avatars of Vishnu are collectively known as the “Dashavatara”. Avatar literally means "descent, alight, to make one's appearance", and refers to the embodiment of the essence of a superhuman being or a deity in another form. VISHNU: The Dashavatara Yuga in Hinduism is an epoch or era within a four age cycle. A complete Yuga starts with the Satya Yuga, via Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga into a Kali Yuga. Satya yuga Treta yuga Dwapara yuga Kali yuga. Satya Yuga The first of the four Yugas, the "Yuga (Age or Era) of Truth", when humanity is governed by gods, and every manifestation or work is close to the purest ideal and humanity will allow intrinsic goodness to rule supreme. Satya Yuga lasted 1,728,000 years. Treta Yuga - Ages of mankind Treta Yuga is the second out of the four yugas, or ages of mankind, in the religion of Hinduism. (Treta means 'a collection of three things ) 5TH - Vamana 6TH - Parashurama 7TH Rama Treta Yuga lasted 1,296,000 years. Dvapara Yuga / Dwapara Yuga – Ages of compassion and truthfulness. The third out of four Yugas, or ages, described in the scriptures of Hinduism. There are only two pillars of religion during the Dvapara Yuga: compassion and truthfulness. Dvapara Yuga lasts 864,000 years. Kali Yuga - Age of [the demon] Kali", or "age of vice") The last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Sanskrit scriptures. Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali. The start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE. (Before Common Era ) VISHNU: The Dashavatara 1. MATSYA the fish-avatar who saved Manu – the progenitor of mankind from the great flood and rescued the Vedic scriptures by killing a demon. VISHNU: The Dashavatara Manu said prostrating before the fish."Manu, the Yuga is about to end in seven days.