Tunnel vision that is endangering India’s history

Tunnel vision that is endangering India’s history

Subject: History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

Section 20 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958, last amended in 2010, prohibits construction within a 100 metre radius of all Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monuments and regulates activities within another 300 metre radius.

• BarabarCaves(Bihar)
  • The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE)
  • These caves are situated in the twin hills of Barabar (four caves) and Nagarjuni (three caves).
  • These rock-cut chambers bear dedicatory inscriptions in the name of “King Piyadasi” for the Barabar group, and “DevanampiyaDasaratha” for the Nagarjuni group, thought to date back to the 3rd century BCE during the Maurya period, and to correspond respectively to Ashoka (reigned 273–232 BCE) and his grandson, Dasharatha Maurya.
  • The sculptured surround to the entrance to the Lomas Rishi Cave is the earliest survival of the ogee shaped “chaitya arch” or chandrashala that was to be an important feature of Indian rock-cut architecture and sculptural decoration for centuries.
  • The caves were used by ascetics from the Ajivika sect, founded by MakkhaliGosala, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and of Mahavira, the last and 24th Tirthankara of Jainism.
  • Most caves at Barabar consist of two chambers, carved entirely out of granite, with a highly polished internal surface, the “Mauryan polish” also found on sculptures, and exciting echo effects.
• Caves in barabar hills
  • Lomas Rishi cave has an arch-like shape facade that imitates contemporary timber architecture. On the doorway, a row of elephants proceed towards stupa emblems, along the curved architrave
  • Sudama cave was dedicated by Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka in 261 BCE. The arches of Sudama cave have bow shape. The caves consist of a circular vaulted chamber with a rectangular mandapa.
  • Karan Chaupar (Karna Chaupar) consists of single rectangular room with polished surfaces, contains inscription which could be dated to 245 BCE.
  • Visva karma cave, reachable by Ashoka steps hewn in the cliff, consists of two rectangular rooms.
• AjantaCave (Maharashtra)
  • The Ajanta Caves are approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form
  • The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U-shaped gorge of the river Waghur, in the Deccan plateau
• Masrur Rock cut temple (Himachal Pradesh)
  • Rock-cut Temples at Masrur, is an early 8th-century complex of rock-cut Hindu temples in the Kangra Valley of Beas River in Himachal Pradesh, India
  • They are a version of North Indian Nagara architecture style, dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Devi and Saura traditions of Hinduism, with its surviving iconography likely inspired by a henotheistic
  • The temples were carved out of monolithic rock with a shikhara, and provided with a sacred pool of water as recommended by Hindu texts on temple architecture
• Guntupalli Cave(Andhra Pradesh)
  • The rock-cut part of the site has two Buddhist caves, a chaitya hall and a large group of stupas.The chaitya hall has a rare carved stone entrance replicating wooden architecture, a simpler version of that at the Lomas Rishi Cave.
  • The core of this consists of the stone stupa with an enclosed path around it allowing ritual parikrama (circumambulation).
• Pattadakal’s temples (Karnataka)
  • Located on the west bank of the Mallaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • The Hindu temples are generally dedicated to Shiva, but elements of Vaishnavism and Shaktism theology and legends are also featured. The friezes in the Hindu temples display various Vedic and Puranic concepts, depict stories from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana, as well as elements of other Hindu texts, such as the Panchatantra and the Kirātārjunīya.
  • The most sophisticated temples, with complex friezes and a fusion of Northern and Southern styles, are found in the Papanatha and Virupakshatemples.TheVirupaksha temple is an active house of Hindu worship
• Viramgam’sMunsarTalav (Gujarat)
  • Munsar is water body constructed by Minaldevi, mother of Jayasimha Siddharaja, of Chaulukya dynasty. It was named as Mansavor but due to Indiscretion it’s widely known as Munsar. This lake is situated at Viramgam, near Ahmedabad.
  • It is the centrepiece of a landscape consisting of interlocking ponds, sluice gates, decanting wells, irrigation canals, and farmlands.
• Lucknow’s imambaras
  • Bara Imambara, also known as AsfiImambara is an imambara complex in Lucknow, India built by Asaf-ud-Daula, Nawab of Awadh in 1784. Bara means big. This imambara is the second largest after the NizamatImambara.