HINDU ART
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Hinduism: Many different sects of Hinduism. Belief in the infinite variety of the divine: nature, gods, humans. Orthodox Hindus accept the Vedic (ancient Sanskrit) texts as divine. Vedic texts assign Brahmins (a caste of ritual specialists). Enlightenment, or reaching Nirvana, ends the cycle, through good deeds and living a devotional life to charities, religious fervor, and love of all.
KEY IDEAS
Hindu Philosophies
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CONTENT: What do you see?
FORM: The details (what you see more exactly). How the artist delivers the content. CONTEXT: Everything NOT observable. FUNCTION: The intended purpose of the work. ART WORKSINDIA:
200. Lakshmana Temple - relief detail, lion detail - temple plan 202. Shiva as Lord of Dance CAMBODIA: 199. Angkor, the temple of Angkor Wat - the city of Angkor Thom - stone masonry - south gate of Angkor Thom - temple plan * Churning of the Ocean Milk Relief * Jayavarman VII as Buddha 
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Indian Hindu Art
Context - History:
Pre-history: c. 2500 BCE civilization in the Indus Valley
c. 1800 BCE Aryan (Indo-European)invasion from the north
Vedic Period: 550 BCE Buddhism established (Sakyamuni Buddha born c. 563 BCE
327 BCE Alexander the Great in northern India - Greek culture introduced into India
Hinduism: 2nd Cent BCE Hinduism emerges with the Bhagavad Gita - the fundamental doctrine of Hinduism
Maurya Dynasty: 273-232 BCE Asoka makes Buddhism the dominant religion By 185 BCE Hinduism becomes favored religion
Gupta Empire: 320-c. 600CE Indian culture reaches new heights - sustained peace - Hindu temples Hinduism adopts aspects of Buddhism - increases popularity
Chola Bronzes: 10th Cent South Indian bronzes originally created solely as icons of worship to be carried through the temple and adjoining areas of a town
HINDU HISTORY:
BASIC BELIEFS AND IDEAS:
2. Shiva (The Destroyer) worshipped by Brahmins and lyers
3. Vishnu (The Protector) worshipped by Brahmins and lyengars
HINDUISM:
1. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being, who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest. Reality
2. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution.
3. Hindu believe in Karma, the law of cause and e ect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words, and deeds.
4. Hindu believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
5. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, non-injury, in thought, word, and deed.
6. Hindus believe in the divinity of four Vedas, the world’s most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God’s word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion.
7. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments, and personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
8. Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, puri fication, pilgrimage, self-injury, meditation, and surrender in God.
9. Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God’s Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.
Pre-history: c. 2500 BCE civilization in the Indus Valley
c. 1800 BCE Aryan (Indo-European)invasion from the north
Vedic Period: 550 BCE Buddhism established (Sakyamuni Buddha born c. 563 BCE
327 BCE Alexander the Great in northern India - Greek culture introduced into India
Hinduism: 2nd Cent BCE Hinduism emerges with the Bhagavad Gita - the fundamental doctrine of Hinduism
Maurya Dynasty: 273-232 BCE Asoka makes Buddhism the dominant religion By 185 BCE Hinduism becomes favored religion
Gupta Empire: 320-c. 600CE Indian culture reaches new heights - sustained peace - Hindu temples Hinduism adopts aspects of Buddhism - increases popularity
Chola Bronzes: 10th Cent South Indian bronzes originally created solely as icons of worship to be carried through the temple and adjoining areas of a town
HINDU HISTORY:
- Hinduism has no founder or date of origin - it is the oldest faith structure in the world.
- Hinduism is thought to have gotten its name from the Persian word Hindu, meaning “river,” used by outsiders to describe the people of the Indus River Valley.
- The first sacred texts of Hinduism, dating from around 1200 BCE, were concerned with the ritual sacri fices associated with numerous gods representing forces of nature.
BASIC BELIEFS AND IDEAS:
- Hindus regard their religion as eternal but not a homogeneous organized system
- Hindus refer to their religion as sanatama dharma (”eternal religion”)
- The three main gods of Hinduism, based on the idea that evil will be eradicated
2. Shiva (The Destroyer) worshipped by Brahmins and lyers
3. Vishnu (The Protector) worshipped by Brahmins and lyengars
HINDUISM:
1. Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being, who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest. Reality
2. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation, and dissolution.
3. Hindu believe in Karma, the law of cause and e ect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words, and deeds.
4. Hindu believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.
5. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, non-injury, in thought, word, and deed.
6. Hindus believe in the divinity of four Vedas, the world’s most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God’s word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion.
7. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments, and personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and Gods.
8. Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, puri fication, pilgrimage, self-injury, meditation, and surrender in God.
9. Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God’s Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.
VOCABULARY
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ascetic
amalaka aniconic ashlar masonry axis mundi bas-relief bi Bodhisattva Brahma Buddha Buddhism chaltya circumambulation |
Daoism
dharma finial Hinduism horror vacui iconoclasm karma mandorla mudra Nirvana primordial human being Sakyamuni |
samsara
Shiva shikhara stupa torana urna ushinisha Vairocana Vishnu wat womb chamber yakshi |
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