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South Asian Art
Descriptions of South Asian art and key terms
23
Art History
Undergraduate 1
04/29/2014

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Term
Bhakti
Definition
Sanskrit-Prakrit term indicating pious devotion to a deity, through the worshiper’s personal communion with him/her.
Term
Bodhisattva
Definition
in Buddhism, preceding Sakyamuni Buddha, one of the lesser 'spiritual princes' on their way to Enlightenment who served as mediators for mortals on the Middle Path.
Term
Buddhism
Definition
religion originating in the 6th century BCE during the historical life of Sakyamuni Buddha (556-486 BCE; perhaps later, d. ca. 400 BCE), the Enlightened One.
Term
Brahmanism (Hinduism)
Definition
an umbrella term encompassing the Indic religious system; loosely comprised of sects dedicated to various deities, who in turn probably originated, both conceptually and iconographically, in pre-historic nature and fertility cults. All three of the major Indic religions entered the priestly phases of their histories during the 1st centuries BCE/CE.
Term
Dharma
Definition
Skt. 'the Law', referring to set of beliefs/precepts that comprise a "religion," most commonly used to refer to Buddhism, though usable for all the Indic religions.
Term
Islam
Definition
one of the world's great religions, initiated during the lifetime of Muhammad Quraishi (ca. 570-632 CE), a native of Mecca in the Arabian peninsula. His departure from Mecca to the nearby city of Madina in 622 CE marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, the Hijra. Islam has come to be a prominent socio-religious system with adherent communites from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, including Central Asia (along with western China), South Asia, Africa, Europe and north America.
Term
Jainism
Definition
a religious system was initiated during the time of Vardhamana (599-527 BCE). Vardhamana is also known as Mahavira, and is considered the final jina, one of the 24 enlightened beings worshipped as the symbols of liberation from rebirth.
Term
Jataka
Definition
parable-like stories of the Buddha's past lives, told in Buddhist textual sources and serving as the subjects of narrative reliefs gracing Buddhist architectural complexes.
Term
Jina
Definition
in Jainism, one of the 24 enlightened beings who are worshipped as the symbols of liberation from rebirth.
Term
Krishna
Definition
one of the semi-divine manifestations of Vishnu, who came to be the object of personal devotion (bhakti) of Arjun, the Pandava warrior-hero of the Bhagavata-Gita.
Term
Mahabharata
Definition
compiled ca. 400-500 BCE, this is an epic detailing inter-clan wars for spiritual edification and demonstration of philosohpical principles; two of its epic cycles are known as the Bhagvata-Gita and the Harivamsa.
Term
Middle Path
Definition
a common name for Buddhism, referring to its fundamental tenet of balanced living, so that the extremes of sensory indulgence and severe asceticism are avoided in order to strive for a balance between the two.
Term
Puranas
Definition
a series of works elaborating on Brahmanical tenets and compiled during the first millennium CE; the Puranas are considered to be the premises for "modern Hinduism."
Term
Qur'an (Koran)
Definition
The holy book of Islam, considered to be the word of Allah communicated directly to Muhammad (ca. 570-632 CE), and used as the basis for all Islamic theology and law.
Term
Ramayana
Definition
another epic work written around 400 BCE, also demonstrating righteous and virtuous behavior according to Hindu principles. Its protagonist is the semi-divine figure Rama, and his consort is Sita.
Term
Shaivism
Definition
dedicated to the god Shiva, this is another sect of what is broadly known as Hinduism; other sects include the Vaishnava sect, which worships the god Vishnu.
Term
Stupa
Definition
commemorates the Final Extinguishment (parinirvana) of the Buddha; it consists of a hemispherical mound of earth usually housing a relic associated with the Enlightened One, surrounded by a railing (vedika) decorated with reliefs depicting scenes from the Buddha's past lives -- scenes called jatakas. Worship at a stupa site includes circumambulation.
Term
Upanishads
Definition
following the Vedas, these works were collected around the last centuries BCE, and forming the basis of the intellectual traditions of Brahmanical Hinduism thereafter.
Term
Vaishnavism
Definition
dedicated to the god Vishnu, a sect of a series of belief systems collected under the umbrella term 'Hinduism'.
Term
Varna
Definition
Skt. literally 'color'; commonly translated as 'caste' in English; there are technically four varnas according to Aryan beliefs, which came to be adopted into mainstream Brahmanism/Hinduism: Brahmins (priests); Ksatriyas (warriors); Vaisyas (merchants); Sudras (menials, laborers); and those 'without caste' (‘untouchables’)
Term
Vedas
Definition
four works canonical in Hinduism, collected between 1500 and 600 BCE. These works are considered the beginnings of the codification of Hindu worship.
Term
Water Cosmology
Definition
a term encompassing the iconography and ritual practices of locally based Indic cults, centered on the worship of natural forces; iconography included numerous symbols of auspiciousness (flora and fauna, and motifs derived therefrom), and anthropomorphic renditions of nature spirits. The iconographic system of the Water Cosmology was never completely relinquished, even with the growing influence of the "priestly" religions (i.e. Brahmanism, Buddhism, Jainism); in fact, the latter incorporated iconographic elements and ritual concepts into their own visual systems.
Term
[image]
Definition
Yaksha
3rd-2nd century BCE
Parkham, near Mathura (north India) 
Stone
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