Dance Forms:

o the entire Himalayan region, from Kashmir to Darjeeling, folk dancers

link arms and sway gracefully in undulating movements, celebrate the
sowing of the wheat crop
o Dholak South asean two-headed hand drum
have traditional cotton rope lacing, screw-turnbuckle tensioning
or both combined
a folk instrument, lacking the exact tuning and playing
techniques of the tabla or the pakhawaj
o Women perform the Giddha, also characterised by its spontaneous
energy
o Rajasthani women, their faces covered with flowing veils, are swirls of
colour as they pirouette in the Ghoomar dance
o In Gujarat women perform the famous Garba, dancing in a circle with
batons and rhythmic clapping
It popularly performed during Navratri
Garbha Deep - light in the inner sanctum of the temple or lamp
inside a perforated earthen pot
Their men perform the Dandiya Ras, a more vigorous version of
the same dance, leaping and crouching in twirling pattern
o Lavani Dance combination of traditional song and dance, which
particularly performed to the beats of Dholki
noted for its powerful rhythm and erotic sentiment
In the fishing communities of Maharashtra by women is notable
for its unabashed sensuality
o Nautanki Rajasthan, UP, Bihar
o Bhavai Gujarath
o Tamasha Maharastra
o Jatra Bengali
o Yakshgana Karnataka
o Theyyam Kerala
o Kalaripayattu Kerala
o Lazim Maharastra
o Chhau dance Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar
Major Dance Forms (7):
o the first references come from the Vedas where dance and music have
their roots
classical Sanskrit drama which was an amalgam of the spoken
word, gestures and mime, choreography, stylised movement
and music
Excavations have brought to light a bronze statuette from
Mohenjodaro and a broken torso from Harappa
o Dance is considered to be having three aspects : Natya, nritya, nritta
Natya highlights the dramatic element
Nritya is essentially expressional, performed specifically to
convey the meaning of a theme or idea
 Nritta is pure dance where body movements do not express any
mood
o Navarasas shringara, hasya, karuna, veera, roudra, bhayanak,
bibhatsa, adbuta, shaanta
o Tandava - masculine, is heroic bold and vigorous
o Lasya the feminine is soft, lyrical and graceful
o Abhinaya (expression) is achieved through angika (body & limbs),
vachika (song & speech), aharya(costume & adornment),
satvika(moods & emotion)
o The two modes of presentation of Natya are:
Natyadharmi Formalized presentation of theatre
Lokadharmi folk, realistic, naturalistic or regional
o Style or vrittis are classified into 3 types:
Kaishiki - deft lyrical more suited to convey the lasya aspects
Arbati - the energetic masculine
Satvaki - used while depicting the rasas and the Bharati, the
literary content
Bharatanatyam Tamil Nadu
o The Abhinaya Darpana by Nandikesvara is one of the main sources
of textual material, for the study of the technique and grammar of
body movement in Bharatnatyam Dance
o It is known as Ekaharya(one dancer takes many roles in single
performance)
o The style was kept alive by the devadasis (young girls 'gifted' by their
parents to the temples and who were married to the gods)
o Nattuvanar the person who conducts the dance recitation
o It follow a regular pattern of steps:
The first dance item is the alarippu (to adorn with flowers)
Jatiswaram - short pure dance piece performed to the
accompaniment of musical notes of any raga of Carnatic music
Bharatnatyam leans heavily on the abhinaya or mime aspect of
dance - the nritya
Shabdam follows the jatiswaram the accompanying song is
generally in adoration of the Supreme Being
varnam which is the most important composition of the
Bharatnatyam repertoire, encompasses both nritta and nritya
and epitomises the essence of this classical dance form
After the strenuous varnam, the dancer performs a number of
abhinaya items expressing a variety of moods
Bharatnatyam performance ends with a tillana which has its
origin in the tarana of Hindustani music
a vibrant dance performed to the accompaniment of
musical syllables with a few lines of sahitya
finale of the piece is a series of well designed rhythmic lines
reaching a climax. The performance ends with a mangalam
invoking the blessings of the Gods
Kathakali Kerala
o Only Kathakali give emphasis to the Natya aspect
o Chakiarkoothu, Koodiyattam, Krishnattam and Ramanattam has
influence on kathakali in its form and technique
o blend of dance, music and acting and dramatizes stories, which are
mostly adapted from the Indian epics
o Four aspects of abhinaya (angika, aharya, vachika, satvika) combined
perfectly
o Codified hastamudras and facial expressions, closely following the
verses (padams) that are sung
o Satvika characters are noble, heroic, generous and refined

Types of characters based on Aharya (as per tenets laid down by

natyashastra)

o In pacha, green colour dominates and kirita (headgear) is worn by all

Indra, Arjuna and devas Pacha characters
o Kathi anti-heroes;
Ravana, Kamsa, Sisupala kathi charaters (for ex)
moustache and the small knob called chuttippu fixed on "the tip
of the nose and another in the centre of the forehead, is peculiar
kathi char
o Thadi (beard) Chuvanna(red), vellathadi (white), Karutha (black)
Vellathadi characters like hanuman
o Kari make-up having a black base, black costume (hunter, dweller
etc)
o Minukku women and sage characters
o Make up of kathakali classified into three types
Teppu self done makeup
Chuttikuthu makeup done by experts
Uduthukettu wearing of huge bellowing skirts
o Tirasseela curtain held on the stage before the performance of main
dancers
o No other dance style is the entire body used so completely as in
Kathakali
o Kalasams pure dance sequences of actor to express himself and his
skills
o Begins with Kelikottu calling audience for attention
Todayam devotional no performed to invoke blessings of god
Purappadu - nritta sequence following todayam
Melappada musicians and drummers hold stage entertaining
audience
Tiranokku debut of all characters other than pacha or minukku
Follows the particular scene choosen to play
o Music followed in kathakali traditional Sopana Sangeet
 o Ilakiattam - part of the performance when the characters get an
opportunity to demonstrate their excellence in abhinaya
o Most part of the performance dancers engage in chodiattam - acting in
strict conformity to the words in the padams sung by musicians

Kuchipudi Andhra Pradesh

o Kuchipudi is the name of a village in the Krishna district of Andhra
Pradesh
o Yakshagana andhras long tradition of dance drama
o 17th century Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana was conceived by
Siddhendra Yogi
o It is said that Siddhendra Yogi had a dream in which Lord Krishna asked
him to compose a dancedrama based on the myth of the bringing of
paarijaata flower for Sathyabhaama Bhaamakalaapam
o Taarangam solo dancing inspired by Krishna-leela tarangini
o To show the dexterity of the dancers in footwork and their control and
balance over their bodies, techniques like dancing on the rim of a brass
plate and with a pitcher full of water on the head was introduced
o There are two forms of kuchipudi - traditional musical dance-drama
and the solo dance
o Steps of a kuchipudi dance
recital of Kuchipudi begins with an invocatory number, as is
done in some other classical dance styles (Earlier only Ganesh
Vandana now other gods also)
followed by nritta, that is, non-narrative and abstract dancing
Usually jatiswaram is performed as the nritta number
Next is presented a narrative number called shabdam
One of the favorite traditional shabdam is
Dashaavataara
Shabdam is followed by a natya number called Kalaapam
entry of Satyabhama from the traditional dance-drama
Bhaamaakalaapam
Next in the sequence comes a pure nrityaabhinaya number
based on literary-cum musical forms like padam, jaavli,
shlokam, etc
Eeach of the sung words is delineated in space through
dance (Drishya-kavita)
Kuchipudi recital is usually concluded with tarangam
Excerpts of Krishna-leela-tarangini are sung with this
number
In this the dancer usually stands on brass plate locking
feet in shakatavadanam paada & moves plate
rhythmically with great dexterity
Kathak UP
o Kathak katha (a story) kathakars (story-tellers)
o It probably started as an oral tradition mimea & gestures added later
to make it ef
o Raslila Important development of Kathak mainly in Braj region
(Mathura, UP)
It combined in itself music, dance and the narrative
Dance in Raslila is an extension of basic mimes and gestures of
kathakars
o The weight of the body is equally distributed along the horizontal and
vertical axis
The full foot contact is of prime importance where only the toe
or the ball of the foot are used, their function is limited
There are no deflections and no use of sharp bends or curves of
the upper or lower part of the body
o Dance sequences
Dancer commences with a sequence That - soft gliding
movements of the neck, eyebrows and the wrists, are introduced
Followed by conventional formal entry known as the Amad
(entry) and the Salami (salutation)
Then follow the various combinations of rhythmic passages all
punctuated with and culminating in a number of pirouettes
The nritta portion of Kathak is performed to the nagma
In the mime portions (nritya or abhinaya), words are not used
in simple numbers called the gata, which is performed in a
lyrical manner to gentle rhythm
These are short narrative pieces which portray a brief
episode from Krishna's life
o The interpretative and the abstract dance techniques are interwoven
into each other, and the dancer's greatness lies in his capacity for
improvisation on the melodic and metric line on the one hand and the
poetic line on the other
o Kathak is the only classical dance of India having links with Muslim
culture representing the unique synthesis of Hindu and Muslim genius
in art

Odissi Orissa
o In Natyashastra south-eastern style mentioned as Odra Magadha
precursor of odissi
o Maharis original temple dancers centuries ago
o Gotipuas a class of boys trained in the art, who danced in temples
and also general
o Facial expressions, hand gestures and body movements are used to
suggest a certain feeling, an emotion or one of the nine rasas
o Two basic postures of odissi are chowk and tribhanga
 Chowk - position imitating a square - a very masculine stance
with the weight of the body equally balanced
Tribhanga - very feminine stance where the body is deflected at
the neck, torso and the knees
o Bhangis - units of movement ending in one particular stance
o Steps of dance sequence are
Opening item is Mangalacharan where the dancer slowly
enters the stage with flowers in her hands and makes an ofering
to mother earth
followed by an invocation to the deity of the dancer's choice
(gen. ganesha)
Item ends with nritta seq with salutations to God, Guru &
audience
next item is called Batu where the basic concepts of the Odissi
nritta technique are highlighted bringing out the duality of the
masculine and the feminine through the basic stance of the
chauk and tribhanga
This is danced in praise of batukeshwar Bhairav or Shiva
After this comes flowering and ornamentation of music and
movements in Pallavi
followed by the rendering of abhinaya
Here dance of Ashtapadis(Jayadevas Gita govinda) was
performed
The concluding item of the repertoire, which may consist of
more than one pallavi and items based on abhinaya, is called
moksha
Manipuri Manipur
o Manipur have been protected from outside influences, and this region
has been able to retain its unique traditional culture
o It is performed as a ceremonial ofering while Lai Haraoba
(Merrymaking of gods) festival
o Popular forms of Manipur dance Ras, Sankirtana and Thang-Ta
o Ras costume consists of a richly embroidered stif skirt which extends
to the feet
o In Sankirtana, male dancers play the Pung and Kartal while dancing
o In Thang-Ta, martial dances of Manipur (swords, spears and shields) is
performed
o Manipuri dance incorporates both the tandava and lasya
o Manipuri abhinaya does not play up the mukhabhinaya very much
but there is use of whole body to convey certain rasa
sarvangabhinaya
o Rhythmic complexities are usually overlooked as the dancers do not
wear ankle bells to stamp out the rhythms in a theatrical display, as
this interferes with the delicate body movements
o Nat Manipuri classical style of singing
 Sattriya Assam
o This dance form was introduced by vaishnavite saint Mahapurusha
Sankaradeva
o For centuries, nurtured and preserved with great commitment by the
Sattras i.e. Vaishnava maths or monasteries
o Ojapali dances (folk dance) are still prevalent in Assam
Two forms Sukanni(Maroi) Ojapali (Sakti cult) & Vyah
Ojapali(Vaishnava cult)
The dancers in a Oja paali chorus not only sing and dance but
also explain the narration by gestures and stylized movements
o As far as Devadasi dance is concerned, resemblance of a good number
of rhythmic syllables and dance postures along with footwork with
Sattriya dance is a clear indication of the influence of the Devadasi on
Sattriya
o Other visible influences on Sattriya dance are those from Assamese
folk dances namely Bihu, Bodos etc. Many hand gestures and rhythmic
syllables are strikingly similar in these dance forms
o Sattriya dance is laid down with respect to hastamudras, footworks,
aharyas, music

Music of India:

Hindustani Classic Music

o Music of India was more or less uniform before the 13th century. Later
it bifurcated into the two musical systems
o Two systems of classical music Hindustani , Carnatic
Carnatic music is confined to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu and Kerala
The classical music of the rest of the country goes under the
name, Hindustani Classical Music
o grama is itself perhaps derivable from the idea of group or sect: a
village, for instance. This probably lead to a set of svaras or notes
being called grama
There were two gramas prevalent
Shadja and Madhyama Grama
The diference between the two was only in one note, the
panchama
The panchama in madhyama grama was one sruti
lower than the panchama in shadja grama
o sruti thus is the unit of measure or small diference between the
various consecutive pitches within a grama or a scale
For all practical purposes they are said to be 22 in number
o The subsidiary scales derived from each grama are called
moorcchanas
There are seven basic notes in a scale, hence there can be
seven moorcchanas
o In the Natya Shastra of Bharata are found descriptions of melodic
forms called jati
Every one of these jatis could be put in some moorcchana or
the other
They were distinguished by chars like graha(starting pt)
nyasa(note on which phrase stops), range of notes from low to
high pitch and so on
o Tala is a cyclic arrangement of time units
The basic units of time division are laghu, guru, and pluta
Laghu comprises one syllable,guru two, and pluta three
o A theka is the definition of a tala by the stroke of a table
Each stroke on the drum has a name called a bol or syllable. For
instance, dha, ta, ghe. Etc
o Anibaddha sangeeta is one which is not restricted by meaningful
words and tala. It is a free improvisation
Alaap is the finest form of Anibaddha sangeeta
o Nibaddha Sangeeta closed or bound form of music
prabandha is often used as a generic term to indicate any
nibaddha song
They were set to definite ragas and talas
o Dhrupad Form of Nibaddha Sangeet
It is believed to be an elaboration of prabandha structure
Its name is derived from Dhruv and pada(verse)
It denotes both verse form of poetry and the style in which it is
sung
In structure dhrupad has two parts, the anibaddha section and
the sanchari dhrupad proper
The first is a free alap
The dhrupad proper is a song in four parts: the asthayee,
the antara, the Sanchari and the abhoga
The instruments Been and Pakhawaj were closely associated
with the dhrupad
o Present day place in Hindustani music is occupied by Khyal
(imagination)
Scholars believe its roots in ancient Indian roopaka alaps
Two types Vilambit (slow) and Drut (fast) khyal
Comparable to the vanis of the dhrupads, we have gharanas,
in the khyal.
o Thumri It is a love song and hence the textual beauty is very
important
Very lyrical in its structure and presentation
Two styles of thumri singing Poorab or Banaras (slow), Punjab
style
 o Tappa It consists of songs uttered in fast note patterns
It is a difficult composition and needs much practice

Musical Instruments of India

o In Natyashastra (by Bharata muni) divided musical instruments into
four types
Tata vadya or chordophones stringed instruments
Sushira vadya or aerophones wind instruments
Avanaddha vadya or membranophones percussion instruments
Ghana vadya or Idiophones solid instruments which dont
require tuning
o Tata vadya
Veena types Ekatantri and sata-tantri etc. and Chitra (seven
strings), Vipanchi(9 strings)
Santoor stringed instrument similar to Sata-tantri veena
famous in J&K
Bowed instruments are usually used as an accompaniment to
vocal music Geetaguna
Divided into two categories upright and inverted
Upright - fingerboard is held straight up as in the case of
Sarangi
Inverted - he board or resonator is held towards the
shoulder and the fingerboard dandi is held across the arm
of the player as in the case of the Ravanhastaveena, the
Banam, the Violin
Kamaicha
bowed lute played by the manganiars of west Rajasthan
Whole instrument is one piece of wood, the spherical bowl
extending into a neck and fingerboard
Resonator is covered with leather and the upper portion
with wood with four main strings & no of subsidiary ones
passing through thin bridge
Diferent parts of stringed instruments
resonator- Toomba of most stringed instruments is either
made of wood or from a specially grown gourd
Over toomba there is a wooden plate known as Tabli
The resonator is attached to the fingerboard-Danda at
the top end of which are inserted the pegs Khoontis,
for tuning the instrument
On the Tabli there is a bridge made of ivory or bone
The main strings pass over the bridge, some instruments
also have a number of sympathetic strings below the
main strings (Tarab)
 Some stringed instruments are plucked with the fingers or
by using a small plectrum called the Kona
o Sushira Vadya
Sound is produced by blowing air into an hollow column flutes,
Reed Instr.
There is reference in the Vedas to an instrument-the Venu
Used as an accompaniment to chanting and recitation
Flutes
Single or double flutes with only one hollow tube with
finger holes for controlling the pitch of the note are very
common
Long horizontal flutes with a larger diameter are used to
play slow passages such as Alap of the lower registers
Smaller and shorter flutes, sometimes held vertically, are
used for Taans, the faster passages, and also for
producing higher pitches of sound
The double flutes are mostly played by musicians of the
tribal and rural areas and are rarely found on the concert
platform
Reed Instruments (Shehnai, nadaswaram)
have one or two reeds inserted in the hollow beak or tube
of the instrument, these vibrate when air is blown into
them
Shehnai is a reed instrument in which there are seven
holes along the tube which are used for playing the
melody
o Ustad Bismillah Khan is credited for popularizing
this instr.
o Avanaddha Vadya
Sound is produced by striking the animal skin which has been
stretched across an earthern or metal pot or a wooden barrel or
frame
Types of these drum family - Oordhwaka, Ankya, Alingya and the
waisted or the Damaru
Oordhwaka - drums are placed vertically before the musician
and sound is produced by striking them with sticks or the fingers
Tabla pair or chenda
Tabla
right side is called the Tabla and the left, the Bayan or
Dagga
Tabla has a wooden body with a covering of animal skin,
this is held together with leather straps
Between straps and wooden body, oblong wooden blocks
are placed
 There is a syahi paste applied in the centre of the animal
skin
The tabla can be tuned accurately by striking the rims
with a hammer
Ankya
Ankya drums are held horizontally before the musician
and usually both sides are covered with animal hide
Sound is produced by striking both sides with sticks or
fingers
o Mridangam, Pakhawaj, Khol, etc
Alingya
These drums have the animal hide fixed to a wooden
round frame and are embraced or held close to the body
with one hand while the other hand is used for playing on
the instrument
o Duf, Dufflies, etc
Damaru (waist drum)
It ranges from small Huddaka of Himachal Pradesh to the
larger instrument known as Timila of the southern region
o Ghana Vadya
earliest instruments invented by man are said to be the Ghana
Vadya
Once constructed, this variety of instrument do not need special
tuning prior to playing
pots and pans, jhanj, falams, etc

Theatre Forms of India:

Traditional theatre forms of India

o Traditional theatre forms incorporate not only the common mans
interests but there is also a classical element in them
o In traditional theatre forms there are special styles of dance portraying
the entry on to the stage or platform, narrative and descriptive roles
o In traditional theatre forms there are certain conventions of
presentations depending upon and changing according to the form and
size of the stage or the platform and other available situations
No formal setup governing entry and exit of actors
Depending on the situation or context, the actors enter into the
stage and enact their role without being formally introduced
After a particular event or incident is over, all the artists make
an exit
o Traditional theatre forms have definitely been influenced by industrial
civilization, industrialization, and urbanization
o Characters keep changing their place on the stage to be more
impressive and to give the situation a greater significance
o Nautanki Traditional theatre centre in Kanpur
Diferent forms of Traditional Theatre
o Bidapat Naach
emphasis is not on beauty but on acting itself and narrative and
descriptive skills
Bhand Jashn
The art of making the entry by dancing has been perfected in
this J&K theatre form
The way each character walks and enters the platform, identifies
him
o Bhand Pather
Traditional theatre form of Kashmir; combination of dance, music
& acting
Satire, wit and parody are preferred for inducing laughter
o Swang
Mainly music based, gradually prose too
The softness of emotions, accomplishment of rasa alongwith the
development of character can be seen in this theatre form
Two styles Rohtak(lang Haryanvi) and Haathras(lang
Brajbhasha)
o Nautanki
Popular traditional centre in UP in Kanpur, Lucknow and
Haathras
Meters used in the verses are: Doha, Chaubola, Chhappai,
Behar-e-tabeel
Previously only men acted, but now-a-days women also started
o Raasleela
Based exclusively on Lord Krishna legends
Nand Das wrote the initial plays based on the life of Krishna
o Bhavai
Traditional theatre form of Gujarat(Kutch and Kathiawar)
Instr used in Bhavai bhungal, tabla, flute, pakhaawaj, rabaab,
sarangi, manjeera
Rare synthesis of devotional and romantic sentiments
o Jatra (Bengal)
Krishna Jatra became popular due to Chaitanya's influence
Earlier form of Jatra has been musical. Dialogues were added at
later stage
o Maach (MP)
Maach is used for the stage itself as also for the play
In this theatre form songs are given prominence in between the
dialogues
Term for dialogue bol; rhyme in narration vanag; tunes of
theatre rangat
o Bhaona (Assam)
Presentation of Ankia Naat; cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal
Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen
Sutradhaar narrator of story (Begins in Sanskrit then Brajboli or
Assamese)
o Tamaasha (Maharastra)
Traditional folk evolved from Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan
In tamaasha, female actress (Murki) is the chief exponent of
dance movements
Classical music, footwork at lightning-speed, and vivid gestures
make it possible to portray all the emotions through dance
o Dashavatar (Goa and Konkan regions)
performers personify the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu
Apart from stylized make-up, the Dashavatar performers wear
masks of wood and papier mache
o Krishnattam (Kerala)
Krishnattam is a cycle of eight plays performed for eight
consecutive days
The plays are Avataram, Kaliamandana, Rasa krida,
kamasavadha, Swayamvaram, Bana Yudham, Vivida Vadham,
and Swargarohana
The episodes are based on the theme of Lord Krishna - his birth,
childhood pranks and various deeds depicting victory of good
over evil
o Mudiyettu (Kerala)
celebrated in the month of Vrischikam (November-December)
performed only in the Kali temples of Kerala, as an oblation to
the Goddess
triumph of goddess Bhadrakali over the asura Darika
o Theyyam (Kerala)
Gods dance; tradition of worshipping of spirits of ancestors, folk
heroes, and deities of various diseases and ailments can be
traced back to ancient times in South India
o Koodiayaattam (Kerala)
The characters of this theatre form are: Chakyaar or actor,
Naambiyaar, the instrumentalists and Naangyaar, those taking
on women's roles
The Sutradhar or narrator and the Vidushak or jesters are the
protagonists
Only Vidushak delivers the dialogues
o Yakshagana (Karnataka)
Theatrical arts based on mythological stories
The most popular episodes are from the Mahabharata i.e.
Draupadi swayamvar, Subhadra vivah, Abhimanyu vadh, Karna-
Arjun yuddh and from Ramayana i.e. Raajyaabhishek, Lav-kush
Yuddh, Baali-Sugreeva yuddha and Panchavati
o Therukoothu (TN)
Means Street play; Mostly performed at the time of annual
temple festivals of Mariamman (Rain goddess) to achieve rich
harvest
there is a cycle of eight plays based on the life of Draupadi
 Kattiakaran, the Sutradhara of the Therukoothu performance,
gives the gist of the play to the audience; Komali entertains the
audience with his bufoonery

Puppet Forms of India:

Puppet Forms
o Silappadikaaram - earliest reference to the art of puppetry is found in
Tamil classic
o Puppetry throughout the ages has held an important place in
traditional entertainment
o Puppetry has been successfully used to motivate emotionally and
physically handicapped students to develop their mental and physical
faculties
String Puppets
o String puppets or Marionettes - jointed limbs controlled by strings allow
flexibility
o Kathputli (Rajasthan)
accompanied by a highly dramatised version of the regional
music
Oval faces, large eyes, arched eyebrows and large lips are some
of the distinct facial features of these string puppets
These puppets wear long trailing skirts and do not have legs
o Kundhei (Orissa)
Orissa puppets have no legs but wear long flowing skirts
They have more joints - more versatile, articulate and easy to
manipulate
puppeteers often hold a wooden prop, triangular in shape, to
which strings are attached for manipulation
o Gombeyatta (Karnataka)
They are styled and designed like the characters of Yakshagana
Gombeyatta puppet figures are highly stylized and have joints at
the legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees
These puppets are manipulated by five to seven strings tied to a
prop
o Bommalattam (TN)
Bommalattam combine the techniques of both rod and string
puppets
They are made of wood and the strings for manipulation are tied
to an iron ring which the puppeteer wears like a crown on his
head
Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and the most
articulate of all traditional Indian marionettes
Shadow Puppets
o Shadow puppets are flat figures
o They are cut out of leather, which has been treated to make it
translucent
 o They are pressed against the screen with a strong source of light
behind it
o Togalu Gombeyatta (Karnataka)
These puppets are mostly small in size
he puppets however difer in size according to their social
status, for instance, large size for kings and religious characters
and smaller size for common people or servants
o Tholu Bommalata (AP)
puppets are large in size and have jointed waist, shoulders,
elbows and knees
Colored on both sides hence throw colored shadows on the
screen
music is dominantly influenced by the classical music of the
region
themes are drawn from Mahabharata and Ramayana and
Puranas
o Ravanachhaya (Orissa)
puppets are in one piece and have no joints
They are not coloured, hence throw opaque shadows on the
screen
manipulation requires great dexterity, since there are no joints
puppets are made of deer skin and are conceived in bold
dramatic poses
Rod Puppets
o Putul Nautch (WB)
Rod-puppets used to be of human size like the Bunraku puppets
of Japan
These puppets have mostly three joints (Head & hands joined to
rod at neck)
o Yampuri (Bihar)
These puppets are made of wood
these puppets are in one piece and have no joints
Glove Puppets
o head is made of either papier mache, cloth or wood, with two hands
emerging from just below the neck
o the first finger inserted in the head and the middle finger and the
thumb are the two arms of the puppet
o In Orissa, the puppeteer plays on the dholak with one hand and
manipulates the puppet with the other
o Pavakoothu (Kerala)
influence of Kathakali, the famous classical dance-drama of
Kerala
The manipulator puts his hand into the bag and moves the
hands and head of the puppet
The musical instruments used during the performance are
Chenda, Chengiloa, Ilathalam and Shankha the conch
Indian Literature:

Ancient Indian Literature:

o Vedas Are essentially archetypal poetry of high literary value. They
are mythical in nature and of symbolic language
Yajna means worship of divine, co-ordination and giving
(sacrifice)
Division of contexts of vedas are twofold ritualistic injunction
and discussions on meaning of vedic ritual and all that is related
of it
o Purana (that which renews the old) illustrates and expound truth of
the vedas
No of puranas 18
Classical Sanskrit Language
o Kavya more care on form, such as the style, figure of speech,
conceits, descriptions, etc., and the story-theme is pushed to the
background
Pali Literature
o Pali is the archaic Sanskrit combination of various dialects
o Buddha gave sermons in Pali and the Tripitakas were written in Pali
language
Vinaya Pitaka monastic rules of the Order of Buddhist monks
Sutta Pitaka collection of speeches and dialogues of Buddha
Abhidamma Pitaka deals with ethics, psychology or theory of
knowledge
Dravidian Literature
o Indian languages speak four diferent speech families Austric,
Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European
Austric -
Dravidian Literature Telugu, Tamil (oldest), Malayalam,
Kannada
Sino-Tibetan
Indo-European
Medieval Literature
o The powerful trend of medieval indian literature (1000 to 1800CE) is
devotional (Bhakti)
o Basavanna, Allam Prabhu are bhakti poets of Kannada language
o Gyaneswar (Dhyaneswar) first and foremost bhakti poet in Marathi
o Eknath, Tukaram are other poets who cast their spell all over
Maharashtra
o Kabir(Hindi), Namdev(Marathi), Guru Nanak(Punjabi) other famous
poets
o Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera bhai belong to same period 15 th to 16th
century
 o Women poets of Bhakti
Ghosha, Lopamudra, Viswawara, Gargi, Maitreyi, Apala,
Romasha wrote few texts in vedas called as Brahmavadini
(expounder of veda)
Medieval Lit. by women -
Songs of Buddhist Nuns Mutta, Ubiri, Mettika (Pali Lang)
Alwar like Andal gave expression to their love for divine
Lal ded (Muslim Poetess, Kashmiri) represented sant
tradition of bakti
They all wrote small lyrics or poems of devotional fervour,
metaphysical depth, and with a spirit of dedication and
utmost sincerity
o Other Trends
Heroic poetry in Punjabi known as Kissa and Var
Najabats Var Nadir Shah
Love ballads Hir Ranjha Warris Shah (Muslim poet, Punjabi)
Amir Khusro Sufi Poet exp. with Persian & Hindi (Hindavi) mix.
poetry Urdu
Modern Indian Literature
o Emergence of Nationalism
Bankim Chandra chatterjee Durgesh Nandini, Anand Math
Revivalism and reformism were natural corollaries of the newly
emerging idea of nationalism
Tagore made Federalism as important part of his concept of
national ideology
Mod Indian pluralism is multi-lingual, multi-cultural, secular,
national-state conc
o Literature of Nationalism, Revivalism, Reformism
Rangalal in Bengali, Mirza Ghalib in Urdu and Bharatendu
Harishchandra in Hindi expressed themselves as the patriotic
voice of that era
MM Dutt wrote first modern epic in Indian language, and
naturalized blank verse in Bengali
First Tamil Novel(Pratap Mudaliyar Charitam Samuel Pillai),
Telugu(Sri Rangaraja Charitra Krishnama Chetty),
Malayalam(Indulekha Chandu menon
o Progressive Literature
Chhayavad was challenged by a progressive school that came to
be known as Pragativad (progressivism)
Nagarjun was undisputedly the most powerful and noted Hindi
poet of the progressive group
The critical norms of progressive literature were established by
the pioneer of this phase in Punjabi by Sant Singh Sekhon
The progressive writers movement attracted the attention of
eminent poets of Urdu, like Josh Malihabadi and Faiz Ahmad Faiz
o Dalit Literature
 Dalit movement was started in literature by Marathi, Gujarati
and Kannada writes under the leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
It came into the limelight because of progressive literature
moving nearer to the downtrodden
literature of militant protest against upper caste literature
upholding Brahmanical values
It challenges the tone and context of existing literary canons and
decentralises the whole process of a literary movement
It creates an alternative aesthetics and extends the linguistic
and generic possibilities of literature
o The present-day crisis in India is the conflict between expediency and
universality, and as a result, a large number of writers are in the process
of identifying a pattern of problem-solving within the traditional system,
vigorous enough to generate and sustain an indigenous process of
modernization, which does not need readymade external solutions, and is
in accord with indigenous needs and attitudes

Some famous books:

o Natyashastra Bharata Muni (2nd century BC 2nd century AD)
the date of the work is between the 2nd century B.C.E- 2nd
century C.E
Natyashastra is also known as the fifth veda
he has evolved this veda by taking words from the Rigveda,
music from the Samaveda, gestures from the Yajurveda and
emotions from the Atharvaveda
o Sangeeta Ratnakara SarangaDeva (13th century AD)
o Kamasutra Vatsayana
o Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvasiam, Abhigyana Shakuntalam
Kalidasa
o Mricchakatika Sudraka
o Uttara-Ramacharitam Bhavabhuti
o Gitagovida Jayadeva
o Panchatantra Vishnu Sharma
o Hitopadesha Narayan Pandit
o Buddhacharita Aswagosha
o Gathasaptasathi Hala
o Ramcharitamanas Tulsidas
o Naurasnama Ibrahim II
o Advent of Printing Press in India William Carey at Serampore,
Bengal

Indian Architecture:
Indus Civilization
o Building activity during Indus valley Civilization
Town planning was excellent, burnt bricks used, roads were wide
and at right angles, city drains were laid out, corbelled arch and
baths were constructed
o Two important remains of the oldest times are fortifications of the old
Rajagriha town, in Bihar and the fortified capital of Sisupalgarh
o Lomas Rishi cave in the Barabar Hills of Bihar Ajivika sect during
Asokha period
Buddhist Architecture
o Chaitya Prayer hall; Vihara dwelling place for monks
o The Buddhist Stupa is another form of architecture, comprising a
hemispherical dome, a solid structure into which one cannot enter
The stupa is a glorified, beautified, enlarged funerary mound
(once the resting place of the bones and ashes of a holy man)
o The railing and gateways at Bharhut, Sanchi and Bodh Gaya are the
most famous in the north and at Amravati and Nagarjunakonda in the
South
o On these surfaces are carved the favourite symbols of Buddhism, the
lotus, elephant, bull, lion and horse and some of the Jataka stories of
the previous births of Buddha, depicted in low relief with such
exuberant details that they are considered a land-mark in the story of
Indian art
Temple Architecture
o Earliest structural temple still standing in its original condition is the
one constructed at Aihole in Karnataka
little structure built of huge almost boulder-like blocks of stones
temple consists of a simple square cell (garbhagriha) or sanctum
sanctorum, in front of which there is a covered verandah, a
portico, which consists of four heavy pillars supporting a stone
roof
The entire structure is heavy, bulky and clumsy
this was constructed near about 300 to 350 A.D
o The Ladkhan temple of Aihole belongs to about 5th century A.D
Here the architect has tried to give attention to the
circumambulation path which is enclosed by means of a wall
allowing devotees to have pradakshana
o The Durga temple at Aihole is an apsidal temple of about 550 A.D. in
which the architect has made immense improvements upon his
previous attempts
To make this construction doubly strong, he hit upon the 'idea of
making brackets, an essential element in Hindu and Buddhist
architecture in India and used much earlier in China; a slanting
piece of stone emerging as it were from the pillars or posts,
reaching out like an arm to hold the lintel or beam steadily
 This kind of construction is known by the architectural term,
trabeate, as distinct from accurate which was later made use of
by the Muslims
o Rock cut temples are found at Mahabalipuram known as Ratha (or
Chariots)
o Nalanda had become the principal centre of Mahayana learning and a
famed University town with numerous shrines and monasteries which
attracted scholars
Nalanda was an important centre of Pala sculptures and bronzes
and has also yielded seals and sealings of great historical
significance
o Vimana The temple tower over the main shrine in Orissa is one of the
most glorious inventions of architecture in India and is functionally a
much finer conception than the south Indian Gopuram
chhatra or the crown on top of the spire or tower
The round stone at the pinnacle of the horizontal slabs is amlaka
o The early Indian temple was provided with a flat roof and there was a
problem of letting out accumulated rain water
In the Aihole temples of Ladkhan and Durga, the roof slabs have
been given a slant and these slabs of large stones which were
used in the early Orissan temples
Sun temple at Konark which was constructed by the eastern
Ganga ruler Narasimha Varman (1250)
vast & wonderful struct, magnificently conceived as a
gigantic chariot
o Dravidian style of temple architecture
from the 8th century to about the 13-14 century A.D
Natamandaps dance halls
Bhogamandapas hall of oferings
Brihadesvara temple which was erected about 1000 A.D. is a
contemporary of the Rajarani temple of Bhubaneswar
structure is adorned with beautiful sculpture and paintings
Dedicated to Shiva - consists of the sanctum sanctorum
Kailasa temple at Ellora is in a class by itself because it is a rock-
cut temple complex, which in many respects resembles the
various rathas at Mahabalipuram
constructed during the reign of the Rashtrakuta King
Krishna
gopuram, is the tower, an oblong quadrangle, sometimes a
square, with a passage through the centre and is situated on the
entrance gateway unlike in the north
o Khajuraho, twenty five miles North of Panna and twenty seven miles of
Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh is an important place because of the
exquisite temples built there by the Chandellas
They are cruciform in plan with the long axis from East to West
these temples have a soft texture and a most pleasing colour
 he temples at Khajuraho have a circumambulatory passage also
Panchayatana - a temple that has a central shrine surrounded by
four other shrines
o Chaunsat Yogini Temple the only temple made entirely of granite and
dedicated to sixty four yoginis
o The Style/Shapes of temple architectures in India are
Nagara - The tower/shikhar is beehive/curvilinear shaped
Earliest Nagara temples are in Karnataka
Galaganath at Pattadakal
Dravida - The tower/shikhar consists of progressively smaller
storeys of pavilions
Teli-ka-Mandir at Gwalior
Vesara Once common in Karnataka, which is a combination of
two styles
Classic Hindu temples of India and Southeast Asia, such
as Angkor Wat, Brihadisvara, Khajuraho, Mukteshvara,
and Prambanan

Indo-Islamic Architecture:
o The most important factors common to both forms of architecture,
especially in respect of mosques and temples, were that to both styles,
ornamental decoration was very vital and that the open court in many
cases was surrounded by colonnades
 o The prayer chamber of the mosque was spacious, whereas the shrine
of the temple was comparatively small
Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque - Qutub-ud-din Aibak
Qutub Minar of Mehrauli started by Qutubuddin 1199 & compl
by Iltumish
Alai Darwaja Allauddin Khilji
Din-i-illahi New eclectic religion created by Akbar
Agra Fort Akbar (1565-74)
Panch mahal (fatehpur sikri, Agra) trabeate structure Akbar
Foundation of Shahzanabad Shahjahan
Red Fort irregular octagon 1639-48 Shahjahan
Hawa Mahal Jaipur, Rajasthan Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh

Indian Sculpture

Indus Civilization
o urban culture is the bust portrait of a bearded nobleman or high priest,
from Mohenjodaro, weaving a shawl with trefoil pattern
It bears a close resemblance to a similar figure discovered in the
Sumerian sites of Ur and Susa
o The figure of a male dancer belonging to the same period and
discovered at Harappa almost 5000 years ago
The bronze dancing girl of the same period discovered at
Mohenjodaro is perhaps the greatest surviving achievement of
the metal work of the Harappan age
The art is of bronze casting in the cire perdue or lost-wax
process
o The terracotta figure representing a bull is a forceful representation,
eloquently proclaiming the special study of the anatomy of the animal
by the modeller who fashioned the figure
The animal is shown standing with his head turned to the right
and there is a cord around the neck
o Large number of seals made of steatite, terracotta and copper are
found in excavations
Seal of Pashupati - a seated figure of a Yogi, probably Shiva
Pashupati, surrounded by four animals - a rhino, a bufalo, an
elephant and a tiger
Buddhist Sculpture
o Ashokas work Lion-capital at Sarnath
It represents four roaring lions back to back facing the four
cardinal directions
The round abacus is decorated with four dharmachakras or
wheels of law, alternating with an elephant, a bull, a horse and a
lion, all carved with masterly skill
The abacus is supported by a bell-shaped base consisting of a
lotus with dharmachakra
 o Buddha is never represented in human form in Buddhist art before the
Christian era, as his spirituality was considered too abstract for the
purpose
The adherents of the Buddhist faith followed the Hinayana path
as a means of attaining salvation
Buddha's presence in early Indian art is, therefore, suggested by
symbols like the Bodhi tree under which he attained
enlightenment, the wheel of law, his foot prints, the royal
umbrella, the stupa and an empty throne, etc
o Sanchi stupa - It is a solid structural dome raised on a terrace and
surmounted by a railed pavilion from which rises the shaft of the
crowning umbrella
The stupa was originally a mud funerary mound enshrining in its
core the sacred relics of the Buddha or his disciples, such as
hair, bits of bones, etc
The present stupa at Sanchi was originally constructed during
Ashoka's reign but was considerably enlarged and the circum-
ambulatory enclosure as well as the outer enclosures was added
in the 1st century B.C
o relief medallion from Amravati belonging to the second century A.D. is
a masterly representation of a scene showing the subjugation or
taming of Nalagiri, a mad elephant let loose on the Buddha in the
streets of Rajagriha by his wicked cousin, Devadatta
o After alexander invasion (326BC), a distinct style of sculpture Greco-
Roman, Buddhist or Gandhara art emerged
It was a product of the combination of Hellenistic, West Asiatic
and native elements
Buddha who was hitherto designated only by a symbol, was
conceived in human form
The Gandhara image might seem to resemble Apollo in some
extraneous forms and does look characteristically Greco-Roman
in drapery
o Buddha is one who has attained the enlightenment of supreme
knowledge, while the Bodhisattava is still a candidate for it
Gupta Sculpture
o Red sandstone image of the Buddha from Mathura
remarkable example of Gupta workmanship datable to the 5th
century A.D
Right hand in Abhayamudra(assuring protection) & left holding
the hem of garment
o The image of the standing Buddha is an excellent example of Gupta art
in its maturity from Sarnath
o Dharmachakrapravartana Mudra The gesture of preaching
o A magnificient repr. Of Vishnu belongs by Guptas like
The typical gown vanamala
 the charming string of pearls twirled round the neck, the long
and elegant yagnopavita
Medieval Sculpture
o The Pallava style concerns itself with a tall and slender physiognomical
form. The thin and elongated limbs emphasise the tallness of the figure
The female figures are much lighter in appearance, with their
slender waists, narrow chests and shoulders, smaller breasts,
sparse ornaments and garments and generally submissive
attitude
The figure sculpture of the Pallavas is natural in pose and
modeling
The front of the torso is almost flat, and the ornamentations
simple in high relief
o Later Pallava sculpture shows greater details of workmanship, lighter
anatomy and more developed artistic finishing
o Pala Style is marked by slim and graceful figures, elaborate jewellery
and conventional decoration
Their sculptures from Bihar are somewhat thick set and heavier
in their general proportions of limbs than those from Bengal
The Pala rulers had intimate relations with Java which are
evident in Hindu-Javanese sculpture, and painting of Nepal,
Kashmir, Burma and Thailand
o Traditions of the marble sculpture of Gujarat in Western India are seen
in the profusion of intricately carved sculptures which decorate the Jain
temples at Mount Abu, Girnar and Palitana
o Hoysala art
The temples they built at Halebid and Belur look like lace work in
stone
The decoration is elaborate, the emphasis being more on
ornamentation than movement or the grace of the human body
Hoysala sculptures are somewhat squat and short, highly
embellished, or almost over-loaded with ornamentation, but yet
are pleasing to behold
Modern Indian Sculpture
o the story of contemporary Indian sculpture is the story of a transition
from academism to well-defined non-objectivism
o Contemporary Indian sculpture has not shown either the speed or
variety of painting
o Nandalal Bose, Kshitindranath Majumdar are renowned pupils of
Abanindranath Tagore
Nandalal - n the painting of a woman in the act of doing
'Pranam' one sees both simplicity and directness of his
pictorialism as also the significant impact on his work of the
vitality of folk art
Kshitindranath - known for his soft palette and the grace and
lyrical quality of his drawing. He is almost unique in this respect
 o Jamini Roy His images and ideas as in this painting of 'Pujarinis' are
direct, singularly stylised, and conceived in emphatic flat spaces and
strong lines
o K Sreenivasulu - greatly moved by folk art and rural life like Jamini Roy
He drew much inspiration from the art heritage of South India,
particularly from the mural tradition of Tanjavur and Lepakshi
o DP Roy Chowdhury renowned sculptor work Triumph of Labour

Paintings of India:

Wall Paintings
o Primitive records of painting in India was dated to Neolithic man where
records of wild animals, war processions and hunting scenes were
picturesque
o Early mural paintings may be assumed to be the prototypes of the
carved and painted picture galleries of the subsequent periods of the
Buddhist art, such as in the painted cave temples of Ajanta situated in
Maharashtra State near Aurangabad
o paintings of Ajanta, Bagh and Badami represent the classical tradition
of the North and the Deccan at its best
o Paintings of Sittannavasal connected with Jain themes and symbology
o Ellora
composition of the paintings at Ellora is measured out in
rectangular panels with thick borders
The classical tradition of modelling of the mass and rounded soft
outline as well as the illusion of the coming forward from the
depth is not altogether ignored
Sharp twist of the head, painted angular bents of the arms, the
concave curve of the close limbs, the sharp projected nose and
the long drawn open eyes characteristic feature
o Paintings at Lepakshi, Hindupur - paintings are pressed within broad
friezes and illustrate Saivaite and secular themes
o Technique
In Rajarajeshwara temple at Tanjore painting is done in a true
fresco method over the surface of the rock
Most of the colours were locally available
Brushes were made up from the hair of animals, such as goat,
camel, mongoose, etc
The ground was coated with an exceedingly thin layer of lime
plaster over which paintings were drawn in water colours
In true fresco method the paintings are done when the surface
wall is still wet so that the pigments go deep inside the wall
surface
Tempora or Fresco-secco method
 It is a method of painting on the lime plastered surface
which has been allowed to dry first and then drenched
with fresh lime water
On surface thus obtained artist proceeds to sketch out his
composition

Miniature Paintings
o It has the flavor of Persian but has the inborn charm of Indian tradition
o The practice of signing pictures was started in miniature paintings from
this period
o Pala Paintings
Pala painting is characterised by sinuous line and subdued tones
of colour
Naturalistic style resembles contemporary bronze and stone
sculpture reflects the feeling of classical art of Ajanta
o Western Indian Schools (15th century)
motivating force for the artistic activity in Western India was
Jainism
The illustrations on these manuscripts are in a style of vigorous
distortion
This is an art of primitive vitality vigorous line and forceful
colours
o Kulhadar Group
This group includes illustrations of the 'Chaurapanchasika, Gita
Govinda, the Bhagavata Purana and Ragamala
style of these miniatures is marked by the use of brilliant
contrasting colours, vigorous and angular drawing, transparent
drapery
conical caps 'Kulha' on which turbans are worn by the male
figures
o Mughal paintings
Babur-Nama, Akbar-Nama, Hamza-Nama, Razm-Nama are
beautifully illustrated manuscripts of this period
Mughal paintings are aristocratic, individualistic, strong in their
character of portraiture, being forstered by and for nobility
Mughal art peeped into the inner revelry of harem, court, wild
bouts, depiction of elephant and camel fights appealed to
emperor, scenes of hunting etc

Modern Indian Paintings

o There was only some minor artistic expression in the intervening
period by way of the 'Bazar' and 'Company' styles of painting
apart from the more substantial folk forms which were alive in
many parts of the country
o Raja Ravi Varma
most remembered for his paintings of sari-clad women portrayed
as shapely and graceful
 o Renaissance or Revivalist school Bengal school by Abanindranath
tagore

Old NCERT:

Ancient India Literature

o Vedanga
Siksha(phonetics), Kalpa(rituals), Vyakarna(grammar),
Nirukta(etymology), Chhanda(metrics), Jyotisha(astronomy)
o Sutra
precise and exact form of exp in prose which was dev by ancient
Indians
Ex Paninis Ashtadhyayi
o Later vedic literature
Brahmanas elaborate on vedic rituals
Aranyakas, Upanishads give discourse on dif spiritual & philo
probs
Sulvasutra presc measurements for sacrificial altars
geometry, maths
Srautasutra account of royal coronation ceremonies
Grihyasutra domestic rituals with birth, naming, marriage,
funeral etc
Jain and Buddhist Lit
o Jain Prakrit (form of Sanskrit language)
o Buddhism Pali (Provides det of Contemporary Magadha kings,
Ashokan edicts)
Jataka stories Buddhist books 550 stories throws light on
socio-economic conditions b/w 5BC 2BC
Limitations of literary sources
o Printing was not known everything written on bark, palm leaf, paper
etc
o Old manus fragile new copies manually copied errors, additions,
mistakes
Sangam Literature
o Tamil text kings and chiefs patronized poets
o These poets assemble in collages & compiled poems over 3-4 cent
Sanga lit.
Describe many kings and dynasties of South India
Generally describes events upto 4th Century AD
o Poems written in praise of numerous heroes and heroines. They
represent a heroic age of warriors and battles
o Songs are not primitive, show high quality of grammar
o It talked about how Yavans came in their own vessels, purchased
pepper with gold, supplied wine and women to Indian rulers.
Greek writers
o Megasthenese
 Greek ambassador (in CG Maurya court) Indika
Indika provide valuable inf on Maurya Admin, social classes &
eco activities
Limitations of Indika
Indika is not free from credulity and exaggerations
Megasthenese had little understanding of Indian society
and social sys
Discrepancies because he didnt know any Ind lang, not
part of society
o Herodotus - in his Histories gives us much information about Indo-
Persian relations
o Arrian - det acc of inv of Ind by Alexander on basis of inf frm those who
accompd camp
o Anonymous Periplus of Erythrean Sea gave valuable inf about
Indian coasts
o Ptolemy wrote geographical treatise on India in 2 nd Cent AD
o Limitations
Most of Greek writings based on secondary sources resulted in
no of errors
Except for Megasthe all others touched Ind hist in true sense
very marginally
They were ignorant of lang & customs of country & inf is full of
unbelive facts
Works of Mega & others are lost and available only in fragments
Chinese travelers
o Fa-hien 5th Cent AD desc soc-religious & eco cond of India in time of
Guptas
o Hiuen-Tsang 7th Cent Age of Harshavardhana & some other contemp
kings of N India
o I-tsing 7th Cent
o Limitations
Hiuen-Tsang depicts Harsha as a follower of Buddhism but in his
epigraphic records Harsha mentions himself as a devotee of
Siva.
Counter - Indian rulers always have, like their subjects, been
multi-religious people, it is not difficult for a foreigner to be
confused
Arab Historian (Al-Beruni)
o Abu-Rihan Central Asia 973AD Contemporary of Mohd. Ghazni
o Al-Beruni studied Sanskrit lang & tried to gain a precise knowledge of
Indian sources
o His observations range from philo, rel, cult, society to science, lit, art
and medicine
o does not give any political information of his times
o comparatively free from religious or racial biases
Archaeological Sources
 o Mound elevated portion of land, covering remains of old habitations
Vertical excavation helps uncover periodwise uncover of
culture
Horizontal Digging mound as a whole getting complete data
of a site
Very expensive, done at only few places
Impact of climate on Mounds
Dry Arid climate(Raj, West UP) better preserved
Humid-Moist climate(Gangetic, Deltas) Iron tools sufer
corrosion
o Only burnt brick structures can be detected
o Megaliths South Ind people buried their dead with tools, weapons,
potteries etc. Such graves were encircled by a big piece of stone,
called Megaliths.
o Carbon dating measure of decaying of C14 to C12 and identify no of
years elapsed
Inscriptions
o Ashokan inscriptions (in Brahmi script) are considered to be the earliest
(3rd AD)
o Four scripts used in edicts Aramic, Greek (Afghan), Kharosthi(Pak),
Brahmi(India)
o James Prinsep Made a complete chart of Ashokan Alphabets in 1837
o Sanskrit
Most of the Gupta epigraphs give genealogy
They took the opp to give an acc of their conquests and
achievements of their predecessor including mythology of their
origins
Sanskrit came to occupy a prune place since the Gupta period
o Imp Inscriptions
Junagarh Rock Rudradaman considered early ex of chaste
Sanskrit, 2nd Cen AD
Allahabad Pillar enumerates achievements of Samudragupta
Aihole inscription Chalukya king Pulkeshin II gives a dynastic
genealogy
Gwalior inscr (Bhoja) gives full account of his predecessors &
his achievements
Acc to it Learned Brahmins are granted with land free of
tax(Agraharas)
Numismatics
o Punch marked
Earliest coins, bear only symbols, dont bear inscription
Found throughout the country from Taxila to Magadha to Mysore
Made from silver and copper, some with gold(rare, authenticity
doubtful)
o Indo-Greek
Silver & copper, show beautiful artistic features, portrait of king
appears real
 On the reverse side some deity is depicted
From these coins we know that 40 Indo-Greek rulers ruled in NW
region of India
o Kushanas
Mostly gold and numerous copper,
coins of Vima Kadphises bear the figure of Siva standing beside
a bull
Kanishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva etc. all have this depiction on
their coins
o Guptas
Gold, indianised their coinage
Kings depicted activities like hunting a lion or rhinoceros, holding
bow or battle-axes, playing musical instr. Or performing
ashwamedh yajna

by Gali Vinod Simha