Vandana Shiva

of Shiva Nataraja . Upon first glance Shiva Nataraja appears anthropomorphic, it isn’t until further scrutiny that the dissimilarity between a human and the Shiva Nataraja sculpture are revealed. The forehead of Shiva Nataraja bears a third eye, a common representation of cosmic knowledge. A popular hymn tells of the goddess, Parvati covering Shiva’s two, lower eyes in a flirtatious jest. However, as a result of this game, the Earth plunged into darkness. To restore light the universe, Shiva created

created the universe, Vishnu maintained it and Shiva destroyed it. These three gods comprise the Hindu trinity (the trimurti) and are considered to be the leading gods of the religion, especially Brahma, who is the oldest of all the gods. This point is questionable though as the Visnu Purana talks of Brahma emerging from Vishnu's navel to maintain the world after Vishnu has created it and then he returns to the navel after Shiva has destroyed it. If this is the case then Vishnu's

traditions of Hinduism that worships the deity Shiva (or sometimes his consort and power, Sakti), practiced widely across India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Saivism is also the oldest form of Hinduism worship. Like Vaisnavism, Saivism has obtained many varieties of ritual practices and ideologies, though it has leaned more towards ascetic ideals. An important myth in the tales of Shiva is the story of Daksa, which is told in the Mahabharata, where we learn that Shiva was originally excluded from the vedic sacrifice

When one thinks about famous monumental structures, the Taj Mahal, Statue of Liberty, and Washington Monument may come to mind. The Angkor Wat, however, is one of the largest and best preserved monuments of the Angkor group that most do not think about. This monument was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II in Angkor, which is modern-day Cambodia.  This monument is the world’s largest religious structure and measures to be about 400 acres. It is built entirely of stone, which is rather

Mamallapuram, also called Mahabalipuram, (Mamalla meaning "great warrior") is a famous town in India that's well-known for its monuments and temple created by the Pallava dynasty during the 7th and 8th century. The five Rathas and the Shore Temple I will be writing about in this essay covers the history and materials that were used to build them. They are also labeled as rock-cut temples that were hallowed out of mountains carved out of hard stone and are more connected to sculptures rather than

There are no mountains like the Himalaya for in them are Kailash and Manasarovar. As the dew is dried up by the morning sun, so are the sins of mankind by the sight of the Himachal. —The Ramayana saga Nothing has given humankind a bigger sense of divinity than mountains and no place can make you more aware of their power than the Himalaya. Beyond their sight, which may change your life; when you walk the crowded city

The Japanese sculpture Standing Amida Nyorai, also known as Amitābha Buddha, is modernly located in the department of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston in Texas. The medium of the Standing Amida Nyorai sculpture is wood with gold pigment. It also has cut gold leaf, and its eyes have an inlaid of crystal eyes. This figure has a simple robe and it completes lack of adornments. However, it has tight spiral curls forming a bun atop of its head. This sculpture has a Halo of 113.4 centimeters

Ranjeet Chaudhari FYI-102-12 Dr. Salgado Hinduism Reflection Hinduism is a major world and oldest extant religion with a billion followers which started in the Indian subcontinent. It has a variety of systems of philosophy, belief, and ritual, characterized by the belief in reincarnation one absolute being of multiple manifestations, the law of cause and effect, following the path of righteousness, and the desire for liberation from

Not all regions where Jews live celebrate life and death in the same way. This is because Jews had to assimilate to local cultures after they began to disperse to various parts of the world. This caused traditions to be pushed aside all together or to be blended with local cultures (Parkes, page 99). However, there are many core values that never faded and area consistently practiced in most parts of the world. Death in Judaism is an important part of life. As described in Death and Bereavement Across

betrayed her due to their loyalty. Parvati being jealous, created Ganesha from the dirt on her body to have someone who was loyal to her like her husband did. Once Shiva discovered this and Ganesha would not let Shiva pass through to see Parvati, he sent out an army to kill Ganesha. This mission was unsuccessful but shortly after Shiva fought him and