Hammira Mahakavya by Nayachandra Suri

One of the latest famous important works of Sanskrit literature, Hammira Mahakavya is an epic poem written in 15th-century by a Jain monk Nayachandra Suri. The poem deals with the life of Hammira, the last and most famous of the Chauhans of Ranthambhor, who was defeated and killed in 1301 in a siege of his capital Ranthambhor by Khilji Sultan Alauddin Khilji (reigned 1296 – 1316).

Nayachandra extols Hammira for his generosity to Brahmanas and respect for all schools of Indian philosophy including Jainism. According to the text, he was a patron of the poet Bijaditya.

Gita Govinda By Jayadeva

Gita Govinda 

Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) is a Sanskrit poem written by the 12th century Bengali poet Jayadeva who adorned the court of Lakshman Sena of Sena Dynasty. Divided into 12 sections, Gita Govinda is a series of dramatic lyrics intended for singing, and describes the love of Krishna for Radha and milkmaids. The poem is still sung at the festivals of the Bengali Vaisnavite sects. Its singing is especially prominent at an annual spring fair in the village of Kenduli in West Bengal's Birbhum dıstrict. According to one school of thought, Kenduli in West Bengal is identified as the birthplace of Jayadeva.

Gita Govinda (Song of the Cowherd) Manuscript / Image Credit

Gita Govinda begins with an invocation to the ten incarnations of Vishnu. As a matter of fact, the poem contains one of the earliest lists of incarnations of Vishnu. According to Gita Govinda, Vishnu became Buddha out of compassion for animals in order to put an end to bloody sacrifice.

By the fifteenth century, the Gitagovinda was sufficiently popular in Puri to be incorporated into the ritual of the Jagannatha temple. An inscription located on the left side of the Jayavijaya doorway, written in Oriya language and script and dated A.D. 1499, prescribes the performance of the Gitagovinda in the temple.  

Gita Govinda was translated into English by Orientalist Sir William Jones in 1792 and was published in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. The poem has also been translated into many Indian languages and many other modern European languages. 

Mughal Empire Quiz

Q.1. Salimgarh Fort, lying adjacent to the Red Fort in Delhi, was built by

(A) Jahangir

(B) Shah Jahan

(C) Islam Shah Suri

(D) Bahadur Shah Zafar

Answer

(C)

Jalal Khan who ascended the throne with the title of Islam Shah after the death of Sher Shah Suri, the founder of Sur dynasty. Islam Shah is more popularly known as Salim Shah. The fort he built in Delhi is also known as Salimgarh Fort, lying adjacent to the Red Fort. 

Before India got Independence from the British Rule, prisoners from the Indian National Army (INA) were also imprisoned in this fort from 1945 until India's independence in August 1947. Hence, Salimghar Fort is now renamed as Swatantrata Senani Smarak in memory of the prisoners who died in this fort prison.

Anantavarman Chodagangadeva

Anantadeva Varma or Anantavarman Chodagangadeva was an Odia emperor of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. He was the son of Eastern Ganga ruler Rajaraja I and Rajasundari, the grand daughter of illustrious Chola emperor Rajendra Chola (ruled 1014–1044) and daughter of Virarajendra Chola who ruled from 1065 to 1070. 

Anantavarman Chodagangadeva was so called because he was the son of Rajaraja I (a Ganga ruler) and Rajasundari (a Chola princess). Anantavarman Chodagangadeva is known for starting the construction of famed Jagannatha Temple at Puri. He ruled for 72 years from 17 February 1078 to 1150. 

In 2024 Anantavarman's inscriptions were found in Jami village of Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh. Written in both Sanskrit and Telugu these inscriptions were preserved in the premises of Venugopala Swamy, Triuparantaka Swamy and Janardana Swamy temples of Jami, which is 20 km away from Vizianagaram.

Rani ki Vav

Rani ki Vav / Image Credit

Situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, Rani Ki Vav is an intricately designed step well built in the 11th century by Queen Udayamati, wife of Bhima-I of the Chalukya (Solanki) Dynasty. It was during the reign of Bhima I (Bhimadeva) that Muslim invader Mahmud Ghazni overran Gujarat and plundered the great temple of Somanath. 

That Bhimadeva’s queen Udaymati caused this step-well to be built has been referred to in a text named Prabandhachintamani, written by the Jain scholar Merutunda, in 1304 AD. In 1986, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had carried out  excavation of this stepwell. An image of Udayamati was recovered during the excavation. 

Rani ki Vav was declared a UNESCO's World Heritage Site in 2014.

Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi

Veerabhadra Temple, Lepakshi / Image Credit

Located at Lepakshi in the Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh, the 16th century Veerabhadra temple is a famous shrine built  by Virupanna, a governor under the Vijayanagar Empire during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya.  

Executed in the Vijayanagar style, the temple, dedicated to the Virabhadra, a form of the god Shiva, is known for the monolithic statue of Nandi, the largest in the country. 

Paintings in the Veerabhadra Temple

Coiled multi-hooded serpent providing an umbrella cover over a Linga

Sembiyan Mahadevi: 10th Century Chola Queen

Sembiyan Mahadevi / Image Credit

Sembiyan Mahadevi was the wife of the Chola ruler Gandaraditya Chola who succeeded to the Chola throne in 955 AD. At the time of Gandaraditya’s reign, the Chola kingdom was reduced to the size of a principality. Gandaraditya, with his wife Sembiyan Mahadevi, is more known for his work in the field of culture and religion. 

Sembiyan Mahadevi was the mother of Uttama Chola who had become the Chola ruler in 973 after the death of the incumbent Chola monarch Parantaka Chola II who succeeded his father Arinjaya who became the ruler after the death of his brother Gandaraditya.

Sembiyan Mahadevi was instrumental in constructing many temples in South India including the Umamaheswarar  at Konerirajapuram, 30min drive from Kumbakonam In Tamil Nadu. Umamaheswarar temple has been the famous abode  of Lord Nataraja.