Asian Art Final Exam

Apsaras

Nymph (angel) of the sky or atmosphere, courtesan of Indra's heaven.

Bhakti

Devotion to a deity. Source of the theistic development and imagery.

Dravida

Southern or Dravidian/ Agamic style of architecture.

Durga

Consort of Shiva in her terrible form.

Jainism

A sect founded by Mahavira in the 6th century B.C., preaching a rigid asceticism and solicitude for all life as a means of escaping the cycle of transmigration.

Krishna

The Black One. Incarnation of Vishnu. Hero of the Mahabharata.

Brahma

The absolute creator of all things. Chief of the Hindu trinity with Vishnu and Shiva.

Lingam

Phallic emblem of Shiva.

Maya

The creation of any illusion or artifice, the power of the gods to assume different shapes. The gods in all existence are generated from one original undeferential universal substance, MAYA, the inexhaustible and eternal font of all being.

Mudra

Mystic ritual gestures of the hands of deities, signifying various actions and powers.

Naga

Mythical serpent god, symbol of water.

Sakti

The active power of a god, and thought of mythologically as his consort or feminine complement; the creative source in its feminine aspect.

Sikhara

Spire, tower. Typical form of Indo-Aryan architecture.

Stupika

Small domical structure resembling a stupa, employed as a crowning member of Dravidian temples and repeated in a smaller scale on the lower levels of the structure.

Yoga

Communication with a universal spirit by the practice of ecstatic meditation.

Parvati

Consort of Shiva.

Shiva and Parvati on Kailasa, Kailasanatha Temple at Ellora, 8th cent. AD, p. 140

Shiva Mahadeva from Elephanta, 550-575 AD, p. 142

Descent of the Ganges, Mamallapuram, Pallava Period, 7th cent. AD, p. 146

The Five Raths, Mamallapuram, Pallava Period, 7th cent. AD, p. 148

Shiva Nataraja, bronze, Chola Period, 11th cent. AD, p. 161

Great Temple at Madurai, Nayak, 14th - 18th cent., p. 163

The Surya Deul (Black Pagoda) from Konarak, c.1240, p. 182

Kandariya Mahadeo Temple, Khajuraho, c.1000 AD, p. 190

Akbar and the Wild Elephants, color on paper, Mughal School, c.1590, p. 206

Taj Mahal, Mughal, Shah Jahan Period, 1643, p. 210

Tomb of Humayun, Delhi, Mughal, Akbar Period, 1565 - 1571, p. 199

Lady with a hawk, Pahari, Guler, 1750, p. 235

Malasri Ragini, Mewar, 1605, p. 221