Hinduism Docu

Introduction to Hinduism and its Art

Followers of Eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Shinto have created remarkable buildings and art.
The film explores temples and shrines inspired by these belief systems across centuries.
Focus on the great monuments of Hinduism, a religion with roots almost three millennia ago.

Architectural Journey Through Hindu Temples

The journey starts at India's Ellora Caves, traversing the subcontinent and beyond.
The travels cover the history of the Hindu temple across 800 years.
Starting with the Kailashanatha temple at Ellora, a wonder of the world from over 12 centuries ago.
Hinduism in India and Cambodia inspired glorious art of faith.

Overview of Hinduism

Hinduism has over a billion followers worldwide, mostly in India.
Often considered the world's oldest living religion.
It lacks a single founder and unified system of belief.
Hinduism is diverse, reflected in its iconography and architecture.
Traditional Western preconceptions about religion may not apply to Hinduism.
One scholar suggests Hinduism is best experienced rather than defined.

Core Beliefs and Deities

Most followers believe in a supreme god and numerous deities.
Examples of deities include Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Ashta Lakshmi, and Parvati, all viewed as forms of the god.

The Significance of Temples

Hindu temples serve as a link between the human world and the world of the gods.
The Kailashanatha temple at Ellora exemplifies this connection.

Kailashanatha Temple at Ellora

Carved from a solid mountainside, dating back to the 3rd century BCE.
Features Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.
Kailashanatha temple, cut out of the rock from the top down, is the centerpiece.
Construction started around 760 by King Krishna the First of the Rashtrakuta empire.
The empire controlled much of India from the 6th to the 10th century.
Construction took at least 100 years.

Construction and Design

The temple was carved from top to bottom, requiring precise planning.
Removing rock to leave a perfect, beautiful form was crucial.
Estimated 200,000 tons of rock were cut out to create the artwork.
The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and emulates his mountain fortress, Mount Kailash in the Himalayas.
Statues of couples in intimate embraces are present, symbolizing the link between the divine and human worlds.
The temple is entirely carved out of the mountainside, with no constructed elements.

3D Design and Symbolism

Hindu temples are designed as 3D structures.
The back of the temple features 13 sculpted elephants, symbolizing ascent towards the gods.

Basic Design Elements

Entrance facing the rising sun in the east.
Mandapas (halls) for gathering.
Garbha Griha (inner sanctum or womb chamber) housing the deity's image.
Tower above the Garbha Griha.

Inner Sanctum

The heart of the temple, where the god's image is kept.
The deity's presence permeates the space, generating divine energy.
Worshippers offer flowers, food, or prayers.
The inner sanctum is kept dark to create a womb-like atmosphere.
It's hard to film due to the darkness, to create such an atmosphere

Historical Significance

In the 8th century, no temple in the world was of this magnitude.
It has retained its glory despite attempts to demolish parts of it.

Ornamentation

External ornamentation, carving, and sculpture are striking features of Hindu architecture.
Things lacking ornament are considered imperfect.
The ambition, self-belief, and faith required to create such a wonder are noteworthy.

Mamallapuram and Pandya Dynasty

The Pandya dynasty dominated South India up to the 9th century CE.
Stonemasons in Mamallapuram have been carving statues for over 1,300 years.
The most exquisite sculptures date from the 7th and 8th centuries.
Mamallapuram is 60 kilometers from Chennai in southeastern India on the Indian Ocean.
The Pandyas were a seafaring people who spread Hindu culture across the Indian archipelago.

Arjuna's Penance

A 30-meter wide carving into the cliff face.
Depicts Arjuna standing on one leg, seeking the favor of Lord Shiva.
A story from the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.
May have been a multimedia installation with water flowing down the rock face to imitate the Ganges.
The carvings exhibit incredible variety, including caves with pillared facades, shrines, and temples hewn from granite boulders.

Purpose of Mamallapuram

The site may have been a workshop for testing stone temples.
Early temples were made of wood, brick, or bamboo, and Mamallapuram was an attempt to copy these in stone.
Stone was initially considered a dead medium, only used for tombstones.
Stone temples started being used around 600 AD in this part of India.

Unfinished Structures

The monolithic temples were started from the top down but not completed.
Constant battles with the Chola kings interrupted the work.

Artistic Qualities

The figures have a wonderful sense of dignity and presence.
Fluidity in sculptures.
The sculptures at Mamallapuram lack the detail found in other Hindu artwork due to the hardness of granite.

Krishna's Butter Ball

A large, natural rock formation.
Relates to the story of the god Krishna, who was fond of butter.

Khajuraho and the Chandela Dynasty

Khajuraho is in the north of the country.
Between the 10th and 12th centuries, it was the cultural capital of the Chandela dynasty.
The temples here survived for over 1,000 years.
The best-preserved temples are in a landscaped park.

Temple Structure

Devotees walk around the shrine clockwise, presenting the purer side of their body.
They walk around the platform and visit the four subsidiary shrines before approaching the main deity.

Lakshmana Temple

Completed at the start of the 11th century and dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
Named after a hero in the Ramayana.
A great example of the northern or Nagara style of Hindu temples.
The most distinctive element is the beehive shape of the main tower or sikhara over the inner sanctum.
The southern towers tend to taper up following the outline of the building.

Temple Layout

Entrance porch or ardhamandapa.
Mandapa, the main worship hall.
Maha mandapa, another worship hall.
Antarala, leading to the inner sanctum or garbha griha.
The statue of Vishnu is in the inner sanctum.
Carvings of women adorn the exterior of the inner sanctum.

Erotic Sculptures

Khajuraho is known for its visible figures depicting Kama Sutra.
These are considered more a spiritual pleasure rather than pornography.
Images of women were essential.

Kandariya Temple

The largest and most ornate of the Khajuraho temples.
Its entire surface is carved in astonishing detail.

Significance of Carvings

The carvings reflect the Hindu passion for portraying every aspect of life honestly.
Women are associated with fertility and abundance.
Couples represent fertility, abundance, and prosperity.
Kama, or love, was accepted as one of the goals of life.
Explicitly sexual images were seen as appropriate.
The carvings may represent rituals of the esoteric sect of the [INAUDIBLE], a tantric offshoot of Shiva worship.

Tantric Influence

The temples were constructed by the Chandelas, followers of the tantric sect.
Tantrism practices sex to super consciousness, awakening energies.
Erotic figures are only on the exteriors of the temples.

Thanjavur and the Chola Dynasty

Thanjavur was the center of the Chola dynasty at the start of the 11th century.
King Rajaraja the first built a temple to celebrate his triumphs and glorify his gods.
Thanjavur is one of the oldest cities in India.

Brihadisvara Temple

Rajaraja Chola laid out the foundations in 1002 CE.
The temple is dedicated to Shiva and aligns the king with his favored deity.

Temple Details

The sikhara rises nearly 70 meters, one of India's tallest.
It's in the southern Indian or Dravidian style.
The tower has 13 stories.
The temple stands in the center of a huge square and is surrounded by halls and smaller shrines.
It remains India's largest temple complex.

Temple Atmosphere

Any Hindu temple is not only a pace of worship, but a place of comfort and festivity with more faith and spirituality.
Brihadisvara was the world's first temple complex built entirely from granite.
The statue of the bull Nandi was cut from a single piece of granite weighing 15 tons.
Nandi is the main attendant of Lord Shiva, and his blessing is sought before worshipping Shiva.
Carvings of Shiva in his warrior pose cover the main shrine.

Spiritual Significance

The towering spire gives a feeling of going towards the sky.
The garbha griha, or womb, is dark and has only one opening.
The foundation is a grounding.

Madurai and the Meenakshi Temple

Madurai has trade links to Greece and Rome from as far back as 550 BCE.
It is believed to be the oldest inhabited city on the Indian peninsula.

Temple Overview

The vast Hindu temple is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi.
It's covered with an estimated 30 million carvings and guided by four gopura or gateways.
Most pilgrims enter at the eastern gate.
Meenakshi, the consort of Lord Shiva, is worshipped mainly in southern India.
This is one of the few Hindu female deities to whom a major temple is dedicated.
The temple was built around 1600.

Temple Interior

The temple complex includes stalls selling various items for offerings.
The atmosphere is peaceful, with people bowing and praying.
For most Hindus, religious practice involves four goals: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
Statues of gods are everywhere, and people pray at all of them.
The place emphasizes day-to-day life and aspirations for the afterlife.

Temple Rituals

Gods follow a routine similar to humans.
They are woken up, offered camphor, and then go to their suites.
The goddess Meenakshi goes to her sanctum sanctorum, and Lord Shiva goes to his place.

Personal Connection

Devotees have a personal relationship with the gods.
God is formless, but people focus on something to begin with.
Temples are the first stage of religious evolution.
Positive vibrations are present in these places, enhanced by chanting.
Stone structures can hold and give back these vibrations.
People enter the temple barefoot to receive these vibrations from millions of people who have walked there.

Angkor Wat and Hinduism in Cambodia

Located in the jungles of Cambodia, the temple of Vishnu is said to be the world's largest single religious building.
Hinduism moved along trade routes out of the Indian subcontinent in the fifth century.
Hindu gods began to be worshipped across Southeast Asia, including in the Khmer empire.
From the 10th century on, the Khmers built a succession of capital cities and great religious buildings.
Angkor Wat was constructed as an expression of political power and a sanctuary for the gods.
The area around Angkor Wat has hundreds of temples, with Phnom Bakheng being the oldest, built in 900 and dedicated to Shiva.

Temple Mountain Concept

Phnom Bakheng takes the traditional Hindu form of the temple mountain.
Like Angkor Wat, it represents Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods.
Its site, perched on top of the only hill for miles, reinforces this idea.

Angkor Wat Specifics

The name means \"city temple.\"
It was built from vast blocks of sandstone in just 40 years.
It features carved apsaras, or celestial dancers.

Orientation and Dedication

In contrast to other temples that face east, Angkor Wat faces west.
It was commissioned by King Suryavarman II as his mausoleum.
The west in Hindu mythology is also associated with Vishnu, to whom the temple was originally dedicated.

Bas-Reliefs and Hindu Mythology

Ramayana depicts the battle between monkeys and demons.
Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, fights to release Sita.
Hanuman, the monkey general, assists Rama.
The bas-reliefs educate people about Hinduism and beautify the place.

Cosmos Representation

The layout attempts to reflect the Hindu understanding of the cosmos.

Temple Access and Sacredness

As one goes up these various levels to reflect the idea of gods living in the mountains.
Access to the different levels of the temple became increasingly exclusive.
The steep and narrow steps made people walk slowly and pay more respect to God.

Conversion to Buddhism

Angkor Wat was under the influence of the king who worshipped the Hindu god from the 12th century.
Later, it was converted from Hinduism to Buddhism.
Statues of the Buddha were built in replacement to Hinduism.

Hinduism and Buddhism Coexistence

The two religions live side by side and play crucial roles in the daily lives of Cambodian people.

Abandonment and Restoration

The construction of Angkor Wat was mostly complete by the mid-12th century.
First Vishnu, then the Buddha, were worshipped there until 1431.
The area was overrun by the neighboring Thais.
The Khmer capital was moved to Phnom Penh.
Angkor Wat and the temples around were abandoned to the jungle.
It came to the attention of the West in the 19th century.
The last century has been dedicated to restoration and research.