Harappan-era city of Dholavira added to UNESCO list as World Heritage site

Close on the heels of Telangana's 13th-century Ramappa Temple receiving the title of World Heritage Site during the ongoing 44th session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou in China, now the Harappan city of Dholavira in the Bhachau taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat has been inscribed on the list.  

Dholavira is the first Indus Valley Civilisation site in India to be bestowed the coveted title by UNESCO. 

The archeological site of Dholavira is one of the two largest Harappan settlements in India. Rakhigarhi in Haryana is the other larger Indus Valley Civilization (also known as Harappan civilisation) site. 

Locally known as Kotada timba, meaning a large fort, Dholavira was first explored by ASI’s J P Joshi in 1968. However, it was excavated extensively by RS Bisht in the 1990s. 

Dholavira is one of the most well-preserved urban settlements from ca. 3000-1500 BCE. The site comprises a cemetery and a fortified city. This Indus site had a sophisticated water management system and multi-layered defensive mechanisms. Water reservoirs furnished with inlet channels for carrying the rain water have been founded here. Rain water is so important in the semi-arid environment in which Dholavira is situated. 

Bead processing workshops and artifacts of various kinds such as copper, shell, stone, jewellery of semi-precious stones, terracotta, gold, ivory have been found during archaeological excavations of Dholavira.

With the addition of Dholavira, India now boasts 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Gujarat is now home to four World Heritage Sites. Rani ki Vav in Patan, Champaner near Pavagadh, and Ahmedabad are the other three. 

Telangana's Ramappa Temple now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Telangana's 13th-century Rudreswara temple, more famously known as Ramappa Temple, has been bestowed the much-coveted title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. 

Ramappa Temple is a glowing specimen of the exquisite architecture patronized by Kakatiya kings who ruled over an area corresponding to the modern day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, eastern Karnataka and parts of southern Odisha from the late 12th to early 14th centuries AD.  

Built in 1213 AD during the reign of the greatest Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva (ruled 1199–1262) by his general Recharla Rudra, the Ramappa Temple is located in a valley at the village of Palampet, approximately 77 km away from Warangal and 200km north-east of Hyderabad. 

Mandapa inside Ramappa temple / Copyright: © ASI

Venetian traveller Marco Polo, who visited this Kakatiya temple during the reign of his successor Rudrama Devi, had described the temple as the "brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan".

Named after its architect Ramappa who worked on the project for 40 years, Ramappa Temple is situated in an environment of serenity close to the shores of the Ramappa Cheruvu, a Kakatiya era water reservoir.  

Nandi mandapa of Ramappa temple (Northern view) / Copyright: © ASI

Standing majestically on a 6 ft high star-shaped platform, this magnificent gem 
of Kakatiya architecture is a Shivalaya, the presiding deity of which is Ramalingeswara Swamy. 

Bracket figures of Ramappa temple /Copyright: © ASI

India now boasts 39 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

India Celebrates Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Birthday

                                             Bal Gangadhar Tilak / Image credit

Today India is celebrating the 165th birth anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a leading light of Indian freedom struggle. 

Of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Edwin Samuel Montagu, British Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922, said, "Tilak is at the moment probably the most powerful man in India".

One of the famous triumvirate called “Lal-Bal-Pal”, Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born on July 23, 1856 in Ratnagiri district in the Konkan region of Maharashtra. 

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was educated in Poona where had co-founded Fergusson College, a landmark educational institution in Maharashtra. A scholar in mathematics, law and Sanskrit, Tilak was one of the founders of the Deccan Education Society in 1884, with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar,  Madhavrao Namjoshi  and  Vishnushastri Chipalunkar  being the other members. 

During Home Rule movement which he started in 1914 Bal Gangadhar was given the epithet of Lokamanya (Universally Respected). Tilak was called "father of Indian unrest" by Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol, a British journalist. 

Tilak was imprisoned several times by the British authorities on charges of sedition. In July 1908, he was imprisoned for six years on charges of sedition and sent to Mandalay Jail in present-day Myanmar where he wrote Gita Rahasya or Bhagavad Gita . The Arctic Home in the Vedas was also written by Tilak. 

The nationalist poet Subramania Bharati translated Tilak’s Tenets of the New Party into Tamil. 

Tilak had launched two newspapers, Kesari (in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English). His trenchant criticism of colonial rule through these newspapers earned him the ire of the British administration.

Tilak initiated two important festivals, Ganesh in 1893 and Shivaji in 1895.

In 1916 Tilak signed the historic Lucknow Pact also known as the Congress–League Pact. 

Tilak breathed his last in Bombay on August 1, 1920. Gandhi wrote of him in Young India on August 4, 1920: 

“A giant among men has fallen. The voice of the lion is hushed… He knew no religion but love of his country. He was a born democrat. He believed in the rule of majority with an intensity that fairly frightened me…No man preached the gospel of swaraj with the consistency and the insistence of Lokamanya.” 

Famous Quotes from Bal Gangadhar Tilak 

"Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!"

'If God were to tolerate untouchability, I would not recognise Him as God at all.'' 

Ajivika: Vanished Indian philosophy and religion

                        Buddha's disciple Mahākāśyapa meets an Ājīvika / Wikimedia Commons 

Ajivikas were a religious sect founded in the 5th century BC by Goshala Maskariputra, a contemporary of the Buddha and Mahavir. The doctrines of the Ajivikas have come to us only from Buddhist and Jain texts which are highly critical of this sect. Naturally enough, they were the chief rivals of Buddhists and Jains. The cardinal point of the doctrines of the Ajivikas was a belief in the rule of the principle of order, Niyati or fate. Hence, there was no room for human volition.

The Ajivika sect enjoyed its heydays during the Mauryan rule under Ashoka and his successor Dasharatha. Two of the Barabar caves in Gaya in Bihar were dedicated by Ashoka to the monks of Ajivika sect. Dasharatha is also credited with the dedication of three caves in the Nagarjuni Hills, near Barabar, to them. 

This strictly deterministic sect survived until fourteenth century in South India where the Ajivika monks practised severe asceticism. Inscriptions show that  a special tax was levied on them by the Cholas. 

The Jaina text Bhagwati Sutra is the main source of the information about the Ajivika sect. Bhagwati Sutra has been translated into English by K. C. Lalwani.  

The Earliest Chalukyas: Chalukyas of Badami

                    Badami Caves / Wikimedia Commons Photo: Sanyam Bahga

The Chalukyas dynasty of Badami was an ancient Indian power which rose in prominence in an area comprising modern day Karnataka and much of Andhra Pradesh in the middle of the 6th century AD. The dynasty was founded in 543 by Pulkesin I who had chosen Vatapi (modern Badami in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka)  as his capital. He is known to have performed Ashvamedha yajna (horse sacrifice) to mark his accession to power. 

Pulkesin I was succeeded by his son Kirtivarman I who extended the territories of the kingdom at the cost of his adversaries including Kadambas of Banavasi and Nalas of Bastar. Goa, then known as Revatidwipa, was annexed to the empire. Since Pulkesin II, son of Kirtivarman, was too young to ascend the throne at the time of latter’s death in 597-98, Mangalesa, brother of Kirtivarman, became the regent of the empire. However, when Pulkesin II came of age, Mangalesa refused to surrender the throne and tried to secure the throne for his own son. So there ensued a battle between Mangalesa and Pulkesin II who killed the former and proclaimed himself king in 609-10. 

Pulkesin II is the greatest king of the Chalukya dynasty of Badami. Aihole Prasasti (Inscription) composed by his court poet Ravikirti, gives a detailed account of his victories. He was a contemporary of North Indian emperor Harsha (Vardhana dynasty) whom he had defeated on the banks of the Narmada river - the only check in the northern ruler’s otherwise victorious career. He subjugated the Latas (Gujarat), Malavas and Gurjaras.  

Pulkesin II considerably extended the bounds of his realm. Leaving his younger brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana in charge of the capital he embarked on an extensive campaign of conquest of Southern Kosala, Kalinga in the eastern Deccan. (Vishnuvardhana was the founder of a separate dynasty known as Eastern Chalukya, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi.) 

He subjugated Kadamabas by overthrowing their capital Banavasi and compelled Alupas of Southern Karnataka and the Gangas of Mysore to acknowledge his suzerainty. Mauryas of northern Konkan were also compelled to submission when he successfully attacked their capital Puri (on the island of Elephanta). 

During his reign the Battle of Pullalur was fought with the Pallava king Mahendravarman I who was defeated. The battle took place at Pullalur (now in the Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu) in about 618–19. This was the beginning of the long-drawn-out struggle between the Pallavas and their sworn enemies the Chalukyas. In 640 AD the battle of Maanimangala was fought between Pallava ruler Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II who suffered defeat. The Battle of Vatapi took place in 642 AD between Narasimhavarman I and Pulakesin II near Vatapi.  After the battle which resulted in the defeat and death of Pulakeshin II, Narasimhavarman I took the title of Vatapikonda (Conqueror of Vatapi).

These were the days of crisis for Chalukyan kingdom. The feudatories began to declare independence and the matter was made worse by the dissensions among the sons of the Pulkeshin II. However there was a revival of the fortunes under Pulkeshin II’s son Vikramaditya I who set himself the task of repelling the Pallava invasion.  Vikramaditya I was succeeded by his son Vinayaditya who ruled from 681 to 696. Vinayaditya was in turn succeeded by his son Vijayaditya who was the longest serving Chalukya ruler of Badami. He ruled from 696 to 733. His long reign was generally marked by prosperity and general peace. Vijayaditya was followed by his son Vikramaditya II who is credited with overrunning the Pallava capital Kanchi three times. Vikramaditya II was succeeded by his son Kirtivarman II in 744-5. Kirtivarman II was overthrown in 752 or 753 by a chief named Dantidurga who proclaimed himself a sovereign power and founded the Rashtrakuta Empire. 

Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha

                                        Jagannatha temple of Puri 

Eastern Ganga dynasty was a kingdom in India, ruling over an area corresponding to present day Odisha, the coastal plain between the Ganga and the Godavari. Eastern Gangas, who had been ruling since the close of the 5th century, were great temple builders. The temples built by them survive to be awe-inspiring spectacles for the people who throng to them. Chief among them are Jagannatha temple of Puri and the Sun Temple (also known as Black Pagoda) at Konark. The dynasty is called Eastern Gangas to differentiate them from Western Gangas, a separate dynasty, ruling in Mysore. 

Nothing much can be said with certainty about the early history of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. One of the rulers of the dynasty was Vajrahasta III whose coronation took place in AD 1038. He adopted the titles of Trikalingadhipati and Anantavarman. He was succeeded by his son Rajaraja I who entered into a conflict with the Cholas. Peace was concluded by a marriage alliance under which Rajaraja I married a Chola princess, Rajasundari.

Rajasundari gave birth to Anantavarman Chodagangadeva who succeeded his father, Rajaraja I, in 1077. 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. 

In 1206 Ghiyas-ud-din Iwaz Shah, a lieutenant of Afghan military chief Bakhtiyar Khilji, invaded Odisha and defeated Rajaraja III who had ascended the Eastern Ganga throne in 1198. However, his son Anangabhima III (A.D.1207-1238) succeeded in driving the Muslims from Odisha. Anangabhima III had dedicated his kingdom to Lord Purushottama Jagannath and proclaimed himself as the deputy of the divinity of Puri. After Anangabhima III his son Narasimha I came to the throne. Narasimha I built the famous temple of Sun God at Konark. With his death in A.D. 1264, the Ganga dynasty began to lose its prominence. 

Narasiriiha I was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva I, who after a reign of fifteen years, was succeeded by his infant son Narasiriiha II. Narahari Tirtha, the famous Vaishnava scholar and disciple of Madhvacharya (founder of Dvaita school of philosophy), acted as the regent of Narasiriiha II for the first twelve years of latter's reign. 

Another ruler of the dynasty was Bhanudeva III (reigned 1352–1378) during whose reign the kingdom was invaded by Tughlaq Sultan, Firuz Tughluq, resulting in the flight of Bhanudeva III and desecration of the famous temple of Jagannatha at Puri. 

The throne of Bhanudeva IV, the last ruler of the dynasty, was usurped by his minister Kapilendra who founded a new dynasty, the Suryavamsha dynasty or Gajapati dynasty in c. A.D. 1434-5.  

Kanva Dynasty

Kanva dynasty was an ancient Indian dynasty which ruled from 72 BC to 28 BC in parts of eastern and central India. The founder of the dynasty was Vasudeva who brought an end to the Shunga (also spelt Sunga) kingdom by ordering the killing of its last ruler Devabhuti or Devabhumi of whom the former was a minister. This has been attested by 7th-century Sanskrit author Bana, who describes how Devabhuti fell prey to an assassination plot by Vasudeva and was eventually killed by a slave girl dressed in the guise of a queen.

According to the Puranas, Vasudeva ruled for 9 years and was succeeded by his son named Bhumimitra who ruled for 14 years. Next in the line of the Kanvas was Bumimitra’s son Narayana who ruled for 12 years. The fourth and last ruler of the dynasty was Narayana’s son Susarman who reigned for 10 years. Susarman was killed by the Satavahana (Andhra) ruler  and with this the Kanva dynasty came to an end. Kanva dynasty is also known as Kanvayanas. 

Like the Shungs, the Kanvas were also brahmanas.