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Which is the cone-like superstructure of a Northern Indian temple?
shikara (shikhara)
Differences between shikhar style and stupa stye?
Shikhar style and stupa style are two distinct architectural forms in Indian temple design. The shikhar style, prevalent in North India, features a tall, spire-like structure (shikhara) that rises above the sanctum, often adorned with intricate carvings. In contrast, the stupa style is characterized by a dome-shaped structure that serves as a reliquary, often surrounded by a circumambulatory path and topped with a chhatra (umbrella), symbolizing enlightenment. While shikharas are primarily associated with Hindu temples, stupas are more commonly linked to Buddhist architecture.
What are mudras?
Simple answer: they are symbolic or ritual gestures usually made with the hands or fingers, but can involve the whole body. The following (first) answer provides much detail (perhaps too much). ***** One of the striking features of the classical Indian dances is the use of the hand gestures. Strictly speaking they form a part of the angikabhinaya, expression through body to convey meaning and expressions. However, hand gestures known as nirtta hastas are employed for the sake of beauty and decorative purpose while performing nritta, pure dance. Therefore nirtta hastas do not convey any meaning. In Natyashastra, the hastas are classified into three categories: asamyuta(single), samyuta ( double) and nritta (pure danced) hastas. Another text, the Abhinayadarpana, describes the hand gestures and also lists the usages. The usages are called viniyogas The Natyashastra enumerate twenty-four asamyata, thirteen samyuta and twenty-seven nritta hastas. Similarly, there are differences in the number of the usages in these texts. The Natyashastra lists 35 viniyogas of the pataka hasta, whereas the Abhinayadarpana lists forty. After the revival of the Bharata Natyam, most of the dancers mainly follow the Abinayadarpana. The usages are taught by the gurus along with the placement of the hands. The relative expression is registered on the face by the dancer to suggest or convey the meaning and the import of the song or sahitya. The Abhinayadarpana mentions that a dancer should sing the song by the throat, express the meaning of the song through the hand gestures, show the state of her being by her eyes and keep the time with her feet. It further states that where go the hands, there the glance follows; where go the glances, the mind follows; where goes the mind, the mood follows; and where the mood is, there is a rasa or flavour. So vast is the art of hand gestures that it covers almost all the aspects of human life and the universe. The asamyuta and samyuta hastas are capable of expressing a number of things, including abstract concepts like beauty and truth. They express, interpret, describe and narrate several things, objects , actions and concepts. This process forms the language of the hastas. The hand gestures also describe the time element. They compress an interval of a period, say from the eighth of the waxing moon to the full moon. The dancer turns ardhachandra hasta into alapadma hasta and suggests the passage of time. Hastas scale distance between the lotus and the moon. The flowers open up from the fingers of the dancer and the brids fly off their tips. The hands can command, request, reject, admonish and make love. They establish a relationship between two objects in the manner a poet does through a simile and metaphor. For example, pataka, one of the asamyuta hastas where the thumb is bent and the fingers are stretched and held closed together, has several usages which cover a variety of things and actions. The Abhinayadarpana mentions that it is used in the beginning of natya, to denote the clouds, a forest, forbidding things, the bosom, night, a river, the region of the gods etc. When the two pataka hastas join the palm it is called anjali hasta. It is one of the samyuta hasta. It is used for salutations. The Abhinayadarpana mentions that the anjali hasta is to be held on the head, face and bosom respectively in the salutation of a deity, a preceptor and a brahmana. The Abhinayadarpana further lists the hastas for castes like the brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras; relationships such as husband and wife, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, husband's brother, husband's sister, elder and younger brothers,sons, daughter-in-law and co-wife. There are hand gestures for the Gods Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Indra, Manmatha, Yama, Nirutti, Varuna, Vayu and Kubera; goddesses like Lakshmi, Saraswati and Parvati; hand gestures for ten incarnation ofVishna such as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama, Krishna and Kalki; hand gestures for representing the nine planetary dieties the Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. The language of hand gestures enables the dancer to express practically anything. It augments the communication, enhances the impact of the abhinayas and endows it with poetry. The hands have life, hastapranah and invest the classical dance-form with an enchanting quality. Certain selected Hastas are employed along with the footwork while dancing the Nritta sequences or items and these Hastas are therefore referred to as Nritta-Hastas. Pataka, Tripataka, Ardhapataka, Katakamukha, Alapadma, Shikhara, Kapittha, Dola, Mrigasheersha, Chatura, Tamrachooda, Anjali, Swasthika, Katakavardhana etc are such decorative Hastas which while displayed alongwith Adavus do not signify any meaning but help the execution of Adavus. Abhinaya Darpana, lays down this famous Sloka: " Yatho Hasta Thatho Drishti, YathoDrishti Thatho Manah Yatho Manah Thatho Bhaava, Yatho Bhaava Thatho Rasa " This can be roughly translated as follows… Where the hands(hasta) are, go the eyes (drishti); where the eyes are, goes the mind(mana); where the mind goes, there is an expression of inner feeling (Bhava) and where there is bhava, mood or sentiment(rasa) is evoked. Hand gestures of Bharatanatyam are classified as ASAMYUTHA HASTHA - Single hand gestures SAMYUTHA HASTHA - Double hand gestures There are 28 Asamyutha Hasthas and 24 Samyutha Hasthas. Each Hastha has a defined usage called Viniyoga. ASAMYUTHA HASTHA (SINGLE HAND GESTURES) Pataka Tripatakordhapataka Kartareemukhaha Mayurakyordhachandrashcha Arala Shukatundakaha Mushtishta Shikarakyashcha Kapitha Katakamukhaha Suchee Chandrakala Padmakosham Sarpashirastata Mrugasheersha Simhamukho Langulasolapadmakaha Chaturo Bramarashchiva Hamsasyo Hamsapakshakaha Samdamsho Mukulashchiva Tamrachooda Trishoolakaha Ashtavimshatihastha Naam Evam Naamaanivikramat. SAMYUTHA HASTHA (DOUBLE HAND GESTURES) Anjalishcha Kapotashcha Karkata Swastikastatha Dolahastha Pushpaputaha Utsanga Shivalingakaha Katakavardhanashchiva Kartaree Swatikastata Shakata Shankha Chakrecha Samputa Pasha Keelakau Matsya Koorma Varahashcha Garudonagabandakaha Khatwa Bherundakakhyashcha Avahitastathivacha Chaturvimshatisankhyakaha Samyuta Katithakaraha Different schools and styles of dance use different hand gestures and different terms for the same hand gestures. Most have a fairly similar set of terms that largely overlap with this list, but many may be different in the details. It is largely a case of individual style, and the important thing is to communicate the ideas clearly.
What has the author Adi Da Samraj written?
Adi Da Samraj has written: 'Discipline is an act of love' -- subject(s): Discipline of children, Religious aspects of Discipline of children, Religious aspects 'The santosha avatara gita' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Da Mahamantra' 'My Call for the Universal Restoration of the Sacred (or Central)Domain of Human Life: The New (and Necessary) Paradigm for Human Culture (Truth for Real)' 'The Non-Humans' 'Love of me must be the measure of your intimacies' -- subject(s): Religious aspects of Sex, Religious aspects, Sex 'The Seven Stages of Life' -- subject(s): Life, Spiritual life 'The Commitment to Happiness' 'Forehead, breath, and smile' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Surrender self by sighting me' -- subject(s): Doctrines, Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life 'The Urge to Happiness (Dual Sensitivities, Volume One)' 'Aesthetic ecstasy' -- subject(s): Aesthetics, Transcendentalism in art, Adi Da Samraj, 'Transcend the Self-knot of Fear' 'Go the way I will show to you' -- subject(s): Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life, Handbooks, manuals 'The Ultimate Outshining of Death' 'Feeling without limitation' -- subject(s): Spiritual life '\\' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Cooperative, Human Seale Community and the Integrity (Religious and Altogether) of Civilization (Truth for Real Series)' 'Direct Examination of the Structure and the Roots of One's Own Body-Mind Provides Immediate Evidence of the Hierarchical Structure of Reality, and (The \\' 'The way of divine communion' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Divine Distraction' 'The illusion of relatedness' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The Great Esoteric Tradition of Devotion to the Adept Realizer (Truth for Real Series)' 'Love Is How I Got To Here / The God Who Truly Is, The \\' 'The adept' -- subject(s): Spiritual life, Gurus 'The Heaven Born Gospel of The Ruchira Avatar' 'Hridaya rosary =' -- subject(s): Spiritual life, Mystiek 'The \\' 'Spiritual transmission and self-surrender' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'What is Required to Realize the Non-Dual Truth?' 'No remedy' -- subject(s): Dawn Horse Communion (Organization) 'The Yoga of Right Diet' -- subject(s): Raw food diet, Diet '\\' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The Avon Lady' 'Atma-murti' 'The method of the Siddhas' -- subject(s): Spiritual life, Siddhas 'The bodily location of happiness' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The complete yoga of emotional-sexual life' -- subject(s): Sex instruction, Yoga, Spiritual life, Religious aspects, Religious life, Religious aspects of Sex instruction, Sex 'An open letter to all who would find heart-breaking freedom' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The \\' 'The First Step- Live the Ecstatic Life of Communion with Real God Through Devotion to the Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj' 'The Dawn Horse testament of the Ruchira Avatar' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The Way of Perfect Knowledge (The Perfect Knowledge\\' -- subject(s): Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life 'Ruchira Avatara Gita (The Way of the Divine Heart-Master): The Five Books of the Heart of the Adidam Revelation (The Five Books of the Heart of the Adidam Revelation , No 2)' 'Real God is the indivisible oneness of unbroken light' 'The way of Adidam' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Surrender self by sighting me' -- subject(s): Doctrines, Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life 'Reality Is Beyond \\' 'The paradox of instruction' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'I Call You to Go Beyond the \\' 'The eating gorilla comes in peace' -- subject(s): Nutrition, Diet, Moral and ethical aspects, Moral and religious aspects, Moral and ethical aspects of Diet, Religious aspects, Religious aspects of Nutrition, Moral and religious aspects of Diet, Moral and religious aspects of Nutrition 'The Stigmata (And Religious Phenomena in General) Are a Tradition-Inspired Product of Human Psycho-Physical Participation in the Unity and Ultimate (The \\' 'The scale of the very small' 'Quandra Loka (the indivisible space of conscious light)' -- subject(s): Exhibitions, Photography of the nude, Photomontage 'The Dawn Horse testament' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The seventeen companions of the true dawn horse' -- subject(s): Spiritual life, Religion 'The knee of listening' -- subject(s): Spiritual life, Biography, Gurus 'The Real Intention and True Message of \\' 'Renunciation and liberation by grace' 'Perfect philosophy' -- subject(s): Self (Philosophy), Reality 'The Gift of Discipline' 'Adi Da Samraj's divine work at Quandramama Shikhara' 'The Liberating Word Of Avatar Adi Da Samraj' 'The aletheon' -- subject(s): Doctrines, Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life, Spirituality 'God is not a gentleman and I am that one' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'The fire gospel' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'I give you the gift of one another' -- subject(s): Religious aspects, Communities, Religious aspects of Interpersonal relations, Interpersonal relations, Religious aspects of Communities 'The Lion Sutra' 'The practice of ecstacy with children' -- subject(s): Religious life, Children 'Death and the Purpose of Existence' 'Luxuriate in the Life of Contemplation' 'Ruchira avatara puja' -- subject(s): Adidam (Organization), Rituals 'The only complete way to realize the unbroken light of real God' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'My \\' -- subject(s): Miscellanea, Spiritual life, Adidam (Organization) 'The seventh way' -- subject(s): Adidam (Organization), Doctrines, Spiritual life 'Love of the two-armed form' -- subject(s): Sex instruction, Mind and body, Spiritual life, Religieuze ervaring, Seksualiteit 'Tell everyone that I am here' 'The Grace of Suffering' 'Sex, Laughter, and Real-God-Realization' 'A Call to Freedom of Choice in Religion and in Sexual Practice (Truth for Real Series)' 'Twirling & Jet Lag' 'The Truly Human New World-Culture of Unbroken Real-God-Man (The Seventeen Companions of the True Dawn Horse)' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Self-Understanding and Divine Communion' 'What is the conscious process?' 'Use Your Advantage' 'The Way Beyond Ego' 'Transcendental realism' -- subject(s): Aesthetics, Transcendentalism in art 'The hymn of the true heart-master' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Easy Death' 'Klik-Klak' 'The Dual Sensitivity at the Origin of the Divine Way of Adidam (Truth for Real Series)' 'Love-ananda gita (the free-song of love-bliss)' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Be Moved by Me to Infinity' 'Real practice requires a unique understanding' 'Guru, Faith, and Satsang' 'Abide with me in faithful love' 'Guru as Prophet' 'The Unique Potential of Man Is the Progress of Self Understanding and Self-Transcendence (Truth for Real Series)' 'Not-two is peace' -- subject(s): Doctrines, Adidam (Organization), Peace 'The Second Step- Embrace the Life-Positive Disciplines of Diet, Sexuality, Service, and Cooperative Life' 'The five books of the heart of the Adidam revelation' -- subject(s): Spiritual life 'Green gorilla' -- subject(s): Raw food diet, Detoxification (Health), Food, Raw foods, Religious aspects, Religious aspects of Food 'The spectra suites' 'Do you know what anything is?' -- subject(s): Spirituality 'The order of my free names' -- subject(s): Titles, Name 'The reality-way of Adidam' -- subject(s): Doctrines, Adidam (Organization), Adiam (Organization), Spiritual life 'The bright field' -- subject(s): Photomontage '\\' -- subject(s): Adidam (Organization), Spiritual life
