BIJOLIA TEMPLE OF RAJASTHAN,

The ancient city of Bijolia and the fort are located on the Bundi Chittaurgarh Road. A high paved courtyard on the side of the town has three large temples of Lord Shiva. A carved archway leads to these temples which has a fine image of the elephant head Ganesha as guardian on the entrance. It is said that there were hundred temples in Bijolia but now only three temples are left, which are fine example of 9th century architecture.

Sdok Kok Thom -Khmer temple in present-day Thailand -SHIVA TEMPLE

Sdok Kok Thom is an 11th-century Khmer temple in present-day Thailand , located about 34 kilometres (21 mi) northeast of the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet(अ...रण्यप्रस्थ) . The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
At the center of the temple is a sandstone tower, which served asthe main sanctuary, probably sheltering a linga , symbol of Shiva. The tower's door is on the east, approached by steps; the other three sides have false doors. A few meters to the northeast and southeast are two sandstone structures known as libraries, with large side windows and laterite bases. Enclosing the tower and libraries is a rectangular courtyard measuring roughly 42 by 36 meters and having galleries on all four sides. On the court's eastern side is a gopura , or gate, reflecting the temple's orientation to the east.
In various places in the temple, there is extensive carving on stone, including floral decoration, Nāga serpents and a figure that appears to be the reclining Hindu god Viṣñu .
A moat, likely representing the Hindu Sea of Creation, lies beyond each of the courtyard's four sides.An avenue leads east from the gopura. A laterite wall standing approximately 2.5 meters high and measuring 126 meters from east to west and 120 meters south to north provides additional enclosure to the entire complex. The midpoint of the eastern side of this wall has an elaborate gopura, standing on a laterite base. About 200 meters tothe east of this gopura, along a laterite-paved avenue with free-standing stone posts on either side, is a baray , or holy reservoir, measuring roughly 200 by 370 meters.

MANDORE TEMPLES,JODHPUR--Antique City of Parihar Rajput

ANCIENT RAJASTHAN AND BEAUTIFUL ARCHEOLOGY ,LETS KNOW ABOUT MANDORE TEMPLES,JODHPUR

MANDORE inhabited since the time of RAMAYANA, originally known as Mandavyapur. The king Ravana married to princess Mandodri of Mandavyapur. During Gupta period 6th – 7th century AD, the ancient capital of the PARIHARS was ruled by King Shri Nahar Rao Parihar, which later became the capital of MARWAR. Mandore has an extensive and beautiful garden on the slopes of a hill. Here one may find a cha...rming collection of temples and memorials. The devals (cenotaphs) of Maharaja Shri Jaswant Singh and Maharaja Shri Ajit Singh are housed here. Its hall of heroes depicting popular Hindu and folk deities, dating back to the 17th – 18th century has 16 figures carved out of a single rock, also known as the hall of demigods and demigoddesses. (These are called 330 million Devi and Devtas).
Higher up on the plateau are ruins of Mandore, the antique city of PARIHARS. The Mandore fort was built in stages. A study of the Mandore fort, its thick walls and huge ruins showed that the fort was a fine piece of architecture. Many statues and etchings on stone and rock found at Mandore now adorn Mandore museum. The ruins also indicate the existence of a huge temple inside the fort. The outer wall of the temple depicts finely carved botanical designs, birds, animals and beautifully carved planetary system.

In 1395 AD, Shri Chundaji Rathore married a Parihar princess named Mohil and began ruling Mandore, which became the capital of Marwar

The Great Indian Kingdoms

1. Pallava Dynasty.

SourceFlickr
The Pallavas ruled the area of Andhra pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka from 275 BCE to 882 BCE with Kanchipuram as their capital.
They built  architectural temple Mahabalipuram and created the modern form Brahmi script which influenced the genesis of almost all Southeast Asian scripts.
Thailand, Indonasia, Burma and other Southeast Asian Scripts are evolved from Brahmi script which was the Pallavas creation.

2. The Maratha empire.

Sourcehttp://iyadav.com/
The Marathas were a Hindu warrior group who established an empire that existed from 1674 to 1818 in the present day Maharashtra that rose to prominence by establishing ‘Hindavi Swarajya’.They ended  the Mughal rule in India and united India after creating biggest empire like Great Ashoka.Thanjavur was their capital.
Sourcewikipedia
They ruled almost the whole India  except  Andhra and tamil nadu and a part of kerala. They are known to be fierce warriors  who are said to be devoted Hindus and never ate meat.
Some of the famous rulers include Chathrapathi Sivaji, Baji Rao 1 and Rajaram Chhatrapati.

3. Vijayanagara Empire.

Source
The Vijayanagara Empire lasted for 3 centuries from 1336 to 1660 before losing it to the Deccan sultanates. This period is said to be the golden period for the Telugu and Kannada cultures as they have established many monuments across South India and enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada,Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit. Carnatic music evolved into its current form. They ruled the whole south India with Vijayanagara as their capital city.

Srikrishna Devaraya was the famous king of Vijayanagara empire. He was a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara and the Diamonds and Gold we see on lord Balaji in Tirumala are mostly his donations. It was known that Vijayanagara kingdom was equal to the rule of Lord Sri ram where people where happy and prosperous. He was called as  “Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana” (Lord of the Kannada empire) and  Andhra Bhoja. 

4. Kingdom of Kochin.

Sourcewikipedia
This Kingdom lasted for 7 centuries from early 1200s to 1947 surviving every foreign invasion. They are said to be excellent negotiators and tacticians. They formed relations with all their surrounding kingdoms and played their cards wisely. Their capital changed over time but they mainly ruled in the areas surrounding Kochin.

5. Kakatiya Dynasty.

Sourceexploretelangana.com
The Kakatiyas ruled from 1083 to 1323 with orugallu (Warangal) as their capital extending to the whole of Andhra along with a part of Telangana, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. The kakatiya kings are said to be given low importance to Caste system as a social identifier, anyone, regardless of birth, could use the nayaka title to denote warrior status and the inscriptions suggest that people were not bound to an occupation by birth. This helped them flourish in war and arts alike.
The Warangal Fort, Thousand Pillar temple and the famous Kakatiya Toranam are built by kakatiya legacy.
Rani Rudramadevi, the famous queen of the Kakatiya dynasty set path for the Women to lead kingdoms in India as early as 12th century.

6. Gajapathi Kingdom.

SourceFlickr
The Gajapatis were a medieval Hindu dynastythat ruled over Kalinga (the present day Odisha), large parts of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, and the eastern and central parts of Madhya Pradesh and the southern parts of Bihar from 1434-1541.  They were claimed to be descended from the Surya Vamsha (Sun Dyanasy) of the Mahabharata
“Gaja” in Oriya means elephant and “Pati” means master. As such, Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants. The literature  Oriya flourished during this period .
They ruled from Mukhalingam of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and later moved their Capital to Cuttack. Religious leader Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated the Puri Jagannath Temple and another king from the dynasty, Narasimha Deva built the Sun Temple at Konark which are both Archaeological wonders.

7. The Pandyas.

The Pandyan  dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty, one of the three Tamil dynasties, the other two being the Chola and the Chera.
They were descendents of ancient Mahabharata  Pandya King and they have survived till the early British conquest.
They controlled the pearl fisheries along the South Indian coast, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world.

8. The Chola Dynasty.

The Chola dynasty  was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of southern India spanning between 300s BCE–1279 CE.
Together with the Chera and Pandya dynasties, the Cholas formed the three main Tamil dynasties of Iron Age India, who were collectively known as the Three Crowned Kings.
They mainly ruled the area between the Kaveri and Tungabhadra rivers. Their rule extended out of india when they successfully invaded cities of Srivijaya in Malaysia, Indonesia and Southern Thailand.

9. Satavahana Kingdom. 

The Satavahana Empire also known as Andhra kingdom was an Indian dynasty based from Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh which is now back as Capital of Andhra Pradesh State. This dynasty extended to Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra during the later years.
The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward. History suggests that it lasted about 450 years from 230 BCE to 22- CE.
The Satavahanas are credited for establishing peace in the country, resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of Mauryan Empire.

10.  Hoysala Empire.

The Hoysala empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries.
The empire is remembered for architectural temples like Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura.

11. Magadha Kingdom.

Magadha was a kingdom which existed right from by Vedic period was founded by King Jarasandha . It was reborn from the Gupta Kingdom. Rajgir of Bihar was the capital.
As you know, King Jarasandha was killed by Bheema in a wrestling duel and Pataliputra (Patna) was choosen as the new capital of this kingdom during the start of Kali Yuga. This kingdom later gave  Mauryan Empire that spanned almost whole of India with ASHOKA,the great,

12. The Chalukyas.

The Chalukya dynasty  was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries.
They had their capital in 3 cities namely Badami and Kalyani of Karnataka and Vengi on the river of Godavari. This marks the first time a Southern India based kingdom took control and consolidated the entire region between the Kaveri and the Narmada rivers.
The Kannada and Telugu literature flourished during their reign.

13. The Mauryas.

The Maurya dynasty was the superpower of the Iron Age India which existed between 320 BC to 185 BC. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in pataliputra and later extended to Afghanistan.
During the rule of Ashoka, the Great the kingdom managed  to conquer the whole Indian sub continent and rule it as one dynasty. They were credited as the only people who could defeat King Alexander the Great. The Jain and Buddhist cultures flourished during this Kingdom.

14. The Rajputs.

Sourcearoundtheglobe.com
The Rajputs are a ancient dynasty that ruled a vast area of the subcontinent whic includes western, central, northern India and current eastern Pakistan.
They seem to have risen to prominence from the late 6th century CE and governed the the country with Rajastan as their base.
They are credited as one of the very few dynasties who were unmoved from their capital by the Muslim sultanate.

15. The Nanda Dynasty.

The Nanda dynasty originated from the region of Magadha in ancient India during the 4th century BC and lasted between 345–321 BCE. At its greatest extent, the empire ruled by the Nanda Dynasty extended from Bengal in the east, to Punjab in the west and as far south as the Vindhya mountains.
The rulers of this dynasty were famed for the great wealth which they accumulated. The Nanda Empire was later conquered by Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire.
The Nandas are described as the first empire builders in the recorded history of India. They inherited the large kingdom of Magadha and expanded it to yet more distant frontiers. To achieve this objective they built a vast army, consisting of 200,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, 2,000 war chariots and 3,000 war elephants.

16. The Guptas.

The Gupta Empire which existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of  Hindu culture.
Chandra Gupta I, Samudra Gupta, and Chandra Gupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.
Vatsayana of this kingdom wrote the world famous “Kama Sutra“. One of the greatest inventions ever ” 0 “ was invented by Aryabhata in their period as Shoonya.

 Source

Few unique temples outside India

1. Wat Rong Khun, Thailand

A contemporary temple, Wat Rong Khun in Chiang Rai is better known as the White Temple. A Buddhist place of worship, it has made it to our list of funky temples because of its unconventional exterior. It is completely white, and each form it highlighted with mosaic glass and mirrors, making it sparkle in the sunlight. Privately owned; it is a work in progress, not expected to be completed for many years to come. Thailand’s very own Sagrada Familia!

2. Haeinsa , South Korea

One of South Korea’s most important Buddhist temples, Haiensa in South Gyeongsang Province was initially built in 802. It was rebuilt in 1818 after a fire gutted it the year before. The most amazing bit about this temple is the fact that it is home to a complete copy of Buddhist Scriptures which have been written on 81,350 printing blocks made of wood – all of which survived the devastating fire!
 





















 

3. Po Lin Monastery , Hong Kong

This Buddhist monastery on Lantau Island was started in 1906, but continuous additions and extensions have been made to it over the years. A very notable extension - and the one that resulted in putting this monastery on our list – was the construction of the Tian Tan Buddha, in 1993. This statue, made of 202 bronze pieces, is 112 feet tall. On a clear day, the statue is visible across the bay from as far as Macau. It also holds the record of being the world’s tallest, outdoor, seated Buddha.


































 

4. Borobudur Temple,  Indonesia

Borobudur in Java is the largest and one of the most famous Buddhist temples around the world. Built in the 9th century, it was abandoned in the 14th for not so clear reasons. Made of over 2 million blocks of stone, this huge monument lay hidden for centuries under volcanic ash and jungle growth only to be rediscovered in the 19th century. Since then several restorations have given it back some of its past glory.
 

5. Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Glass Temple, Malaysia

One of Malaysia’s oldest and now a major Hindu temple, this sparkler started off as an ordinary little hut. That is, till the chairman of the temple decided it was time the humble place of worship got a make over fit for a disco. So now Malaysia has its first and only glass temple in Tebrau. Light from crystal chandeliers bounces off every surface, from doors and walls to pillars and ceilings which are decorated with 300,000 tiny mosaic pieces of coloured glass. It is quite a bright blaze in there!

6. Hanging Temple, China

Hanging precariously on a cliff side in the mountains near Datong, is the Hanging Temple. Built about 1,500 years ago, this monastery is the only existing place of worship which is a combination of three traditional Chinese religions – Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Another claim to fame is that it has made the list of the world’s top ten most odd dangerous buildings!
 

7. Chion-in Temple, Japan

Kyoto’s Chion-in temple is the headquarters of the Jodo sect, the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan. A 17th century structure, it has a huge two storey tall gate which is the largest existing structure of its type in Japan. Another completely bizarre feature is the floor – the wooden boards have these metal ends that are attached to metal joints – giving off a piercing squeaky sound when someone walks over them. The purpose of this musical floor was to keep a track on intruders. Chion-in also has a giant bell in the main hall – it weighs some 70 tonnes and needs 17 strapping monks to ring it!
 

8. Jetavanaramaya, Sri Lanka

Jetavanaramaya is a 4th century stupa in the sacred city Anuradhapura. It makes our list for the incredible number of firsts in figures – it is 400 feet tall, placing it on top of the tallest stupa in the ancient world list. It is also the largest structure in the ancient world with a base area of 2,508,000 square feet. Another funky figure is an unbelievable 93.3 million baked bricks that were used as construction material for this colossal structure.

 





















 

9. The Golden Rock, Myanmar

The Golden Rock on Mt Kyaiktiyo in Mon State is probably the most dramatic mounument on our list. A popular destination for Buddhist pilgrimage, it is a visual delight – imagine a small pagoda built on top of a granite boulder which defies all known laws of gravity and is strangely perched on a mountain side. If that is not cool enough, add to it gold leaves pasted on the boulder by the faithful. A beautiful sight, especially in the evening;  when the rays of the setting sun seem to set the gold leaf on fire.
 

10. Ta Prohm, Cambodia

One of the very few temples in the Angkor region of Siem Reap that has been left in its original form, Ta Prohm is as dramatic as they come. A simple structure, its beauty is in the fact that large roots of various trees have grown over and above the temple structure, binding it in a sort of an unearthly and pretty scary looking grip. Made famous by the Tomb Raider movie that was filmed here, it is one of Cambodia’s most visited sites.
 





















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Millennium-Old Hindu Temple Discovered in Bangladesh

Archaeologists have discovered a millennium-old Hindu temple in northwestern Bangladesh believed to be established during the Pala dynasty, experts here said today.

"We found the temple, excavating an area in Bochaganj area of Dinajpur," leader of the excavation campaign Professor Swadhin Sen of Jahangirnagar University said.

He added the temple was believed to be built in between 8th and 9th century in this area which is now called Meherpur village of the Bochaganj sub-district.

The surprise discovery came as farmers found some archaeological relics like old time bricks whir preparing a piece of land for cultivation, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

Officials said the state-owned piece of land was leased out to local farmers for cultivation, who informed the university's archaeology team which was engaged in another excavation in a nearby area.

Sen said they found some terracotta plaques from a trench while the solid objects on the walls surrounding the temple were overly burnt.

Another member of the excavation team, Sohag Ali said they had detected idols and staircase of the temple and "we are working to dig those out".

The discovery came months after the same team unearthed a Buddhist temple, built around the same time at nearby Basudevpur village, the central edifice of which was built on a platform of 45 metres.

The Dhakeshwari Temple, the national temple of Bangladesh and one of the oldest in the country, was built in the 12th century by Ballal Sen during the Sen Dynasty which ruled the region after Pala kings and in popular notion the country's capital Dhaka was named after this temple.

WARANGAL TEMPLE RUINS ... ANDHRA PRADESH

Q. WHAT WAS ISLAMIC INVADERS CONTRIBUTION TO HINDU CULTURES ?
A. EVIDENT HERE .... !!!

WARANGAL TEMPLE RUINS ... ANDHRA PRADESH
Gateway & part of temple ruins @ Warangal
Unknown Photographer .....Date: 1875

Photograph of the gateway and temple ruins at Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, from the Lee-Warner Collection: 'Bombay Presidency. William Lee Warner C.S.', taken by an unkown photographer in the 1870s.

Warangal was the capital of the Kakatiya rulers in the 12th-13th centuries and together with Hanamkonda nearby, they were important political and artistic centres of the eastern Deccan. The circular city of Warangal was founded in the 12th century by the Kakatiya ruler Ganapatideva and was occupied by the Muslims in later times. There are two concentric circles of fortifications. The outer circuit is an earthern rampart entered through four arched gateways. The inner circuit is of stone and has four gateways. In the centre of the city there is a ruined temple dedicated to Shiva Svayambhu and another smaller one also dedicated to Shiva which dates from 14th century.

The Thousand Pillar Temple was built during the period of the Kakatiya dynasty, probably in 1163 CE by order of the then king, Rudra Deva. It stands out to be a masterpiece and achieved major heights in terms of architectural skills by the ancient Kakatiya vishwakarma sthapathis.

It was destroyed by the Tughlaq dynasty during their invasion of the Deccan. It consists one temple and other buildings. There were 1,000 pillars in the structures, but no pillar obstructs a person in any point of the temple to see the god in the other temple.

Modern engineers have removed all the pillars. After they lifted all the pillars they encountered a huge mass of sand. It took nearly two weeks for them to take away all the sand. It was wet sand, because of a pipe connection from the nearby water body named Bhadrakali Cheruvu.

The Thousand Pillar Temple with its ruins lies near the Hanamkonda-Warangal Highway in Telangana State, about 150 kilometres (93 mi) from the city of Hyderabad.

The temple is star-shaped with several shrines and lingams. There are three shrines inside the temple called the Trikutalayam, dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Surya. The temple is surrounded by a big garden in which many small lingam shrines can be seen. There is a carving of a Nandi bull in the form of a highly-polished black basalt monolith.

The Thousand Pillar Temple is constructed on a platform that is raised to a height of 1 metre (3.3 ft) from ground level. Rock-cut elephants and perforated screens in the temple are characteristic of the then prevailing dynasty. Many pilgrims visit. It is also a popular location for shooting films. The Kakatiya festival is held here.

The temple was renovated in 2004 by the Government of India.