[MR] Medieval India (Fwd: Aoife-Links Digest, Vol 3, Issue 1)

[SNSpies at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/2/2004 11:47:42 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
aoife-links-request at scatoday.net writes:

This  week's Links List commemorates my return to the workforce full time
(for  the first time in 17 years!). I have recently found work on the staff
of  Yoga International, a magazine dedicated to --you guessed  it--Yoga!
Therefore this week's Links List is about Medieval  India.

As always, please share this information wherever it will find a  ready
audience.

Cheers!

Aoife


Dame Aoife Finn of  Ynos Mon
Riverouge
Endless Hills
Aethelmearc

Medieval  India
http://www.goindiago.com/history/medieval.htm
(Site Excerpt) The  period following the death of Harsha is known as the
Rajput period. The  word Rajput connotes the scion of a royal family and
these princes claimed  descent from the sun or the moon. This was an era of
chivalry and  feudalism. Family feuds and strong notions of personal pride
often  exacerbated conflicts. The Rajputs weakened each other by  constant
fighting. This allowed the foreigners (Turks) to embark on  victorious
campaigns using duplicity and deceit wherever military strength  failed
against Rajputs.

NUPAM'S WEBPAGE FOR THE INDIAN COINS  (Ancient and Medieval)
http://www.med.unc.edu/~nupam/welcome.html
(Site  Excerpt) India, which historically includes Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Nepal and  Afghanistan, is also known as Bharat Varsha, a land of famous King
Bharata  or Hindustan. The name `India' was applied to this country by
Greeks.  Aryans, the early inhabitants of the subcontinent were mystified by
the  mighty river which they named Sindhu (in Sanskrit, it means `like  an
ocean').

RBI Monteray Museum: Medieval India  Coinage
http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-medi.html
(Site Excerpt)  The Arabs conquered Sindh in 712 AD and ruled it as a
province of the  Caliphate. By the 9th Century AD, provincial governors
established  independent rule and struck their own coins. However, it was
with the  emergence of Turkish Sultans of Delhi in the 12th Century that a
decisive  break was made with the past and the existing motifs were  gradually
replaced by Islamic devices, largely  calligraphy.


Topics on Life in Medieval India
Last updated :  November  24,2004
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/ancient/medieval.htm
Fortyone  links to articles and illustrations on a variety of topics
including women,  clothing, music, food, society, etc.

Internet Indian History  Sourcebook
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/india/indiasbook.html
A  resource of vast amounts of information on the History of the area  that
covers modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka, and much  more.

Art of Medieval  India
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/india/medieval.html
35  image examples.

Asian  Art
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks3.html
Many links to  images

Emperors of  India
http://www.royalty.nu/Asia/India/
Various Links and webbed news  articles

History of the Taj  Mahal
http://www.royalty.nu/Asia/India/TajMahal.html
(Site Excerpt) In  1631, Mumtaz Mahal died giving birth to their 14th child.
Her heartbroken  husband spent approximately two decades, and much of the
money in the royal  treasury, fulfilling his wife's dying wish by building a
monument to their  love. The Taj Mahal is considered one of the wonders of
the world. It  stands amid acres of gardens on the banks of the Yamuna River
in Agra. The  most famous part of the monument is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal
with its white  marble dome, but the 42-acre complex also includes mosques,
minarets and  other buildings.

History of  Yoga
http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogahistory.asp
(Site  Excerpt) The first archaeological evidence of Yoga's existence is
found in  stone seals excavated from the Indus valley. The stone seals depict
figures  performing Yoga postures. These artifacts officially put Yoga on  the
History books circa 3000 B.C., and more importantly link it to the  great
Indus-Sarasvati Civilization. The Indus-Sarasvati was the  largest
civilization in the ancient world and exceptionally modern for its  time.
Named after the two rivers that flowed through India, the  Indus-Sarasvati
was a maritime society, exporting goods throughout the  Middle East and
Africa. They constructed multistory buildings, a sewage  system, and laid out
geometrical brick roads.

Choli Pattern (Woman's  Blouse)
http://www.eagnet.com/edipage/areaserv/camdentor/cholipat.htm

How  to wear a Sari
http://www.kerala.com/fashion/hwsari.htm
(Site Excerpt)  No exotic fancy dress, but a garment that is worn daily by
women through  the length and breadth of India, 5½ metres of continuous
fabric.  Unstitched. Yet a perfect fit for every figure. And not as
complicated to  wear as you might suppose.

Drinking in Ancient Karnataka
by Dr.  Jyotsna  Kamat
http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/ancient/drinking/inkar.htm
(Site  Excerpt) Brewing and drinking of various liquors was developed into an
art  in ancient India as well as in Karnataka (map- topics).  Several
interpretations exist on the drinking habit of Kannadigas. Smritis  or sacred
texts (like Manusmriti and Yajayavalkyasmriti) consider drinking  liquor
(sura) was a great sin and forbidden to certain communities  (Brahmins,
Jains, Veerashaivas). Some commentators on Smritis, however,  considered it
as a minor sin that could be reattributed by observing  Prayaschitta or
punishment.

Food and Food Habits in Vijayanagara  Times
By Jyotsna  Burde
http://www.kamat.com/database/articles/vnagar_foods.htm
(Site  Excerpt) ...Then, "to see limes that come each day such that those of
Povos  are of no account, and also loads of sweet and sour oranges, and  wild
brinjals, and other garden stuff, in such abundance as to stupefy one  [2]".
Paes was a widely travelled man. He had visited important cities of  South
Europe and might have come across many cities in the course of his  travel
from Portugal to Vijayanagara. Therefore his observation that the  city of
Vijayanagara was ' the best-provided city in the world' has  great
significance.

>From Pot to  Palate
http://www.kamat.com/indica/alamkara/9.htm
(Site Excerpt) India  is well-known for its tradition of vegetarianism which
has a history  spanning more than two millennia. However, this was not always
the case.  During the Vedic period (1500-500 BC), the priestly castes
sacrificed  animals to appease and gain boons from the gods, after which the
flesh was  consumed. But the trend of meat-eating shifted with the times.  The
anti-meat eating sentiment was already felt at the end of the Vedic  period.

Social Life in Medieval Karnataka
by Jyotsna Kamat
Food  and  Drinks
http://www.kamat.com/database/books/sociallife/food_drink.htm
(Site  Excerpt) Food habits of pre-Vijayanagar times have with little change
come  down to our own days. Cookery was known as a science (Supasastra) and
it  developed to a finesse. Sound dietetics was a subject intimately
connected  with the welfare of the royalty and is discussed at length by
Somadeva Suri  [1]. Somesvara [1a] has devoted 268 verses to food alone, and
the varieties  of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes he describes are
astonishing. And  in ancient times, food was equated with life itself.

About: Hunduism: A  Glossary of Sanskrit  Words
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-glossary-index.htm
(Site  Excerpt--note that there are only 20 letters to click) Here is a
glossary  of Sanskrit terms generally used in Hindu teachings. Click on  the
appropriate initial letter in the index box below to view the words  and
meanings.

University of Calgary Library Pathfinder
Medieval  Hinduism  Bibliography
http://www.ucalgary.ca/library/subjects/RELS/medhinduism.html

History  of Hinduism: The Medieval Period
By  V.Jayaram
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/hinduhistory2.htm
(Site  Excerpt) Hinduism faced a very stiff competition from Islam during  the
medieval period. Free booters and plunderers from the harsh plains  of
central Asia and Persia descended upon the Indian subcontinent carrying  in
their hands the flag of Islam and in their hearts dreams of looting the  vast
and legendary treasures of the country and establishing great  empires.

HISTORIC ASPECTS OF CRAFT AND TRADE IN  INDIA
http://jigyasa0.tripod.com/trade.html
(Site Excerpt) Although the  courtly culture of the Mughal rulers of the
Indian subcontinent is the most  well known, a cosmopolitan outlook was not
new to India; several sources  point to a thriving system of international
trade that linked the ports of  Southern India with those of Ancient Rome.
The chronicles of the Greek  Periplus reveal that Indian exports included a
variety of spices,  aromatics, quality textiles (muslins and cottons), ivory,
high quality iron  and gems.

The medieval Tamil-language inscriptions in Southeast Asia  and China
http://www.ismaili.net/Source/0104c.html
(Site Excerpt) Early  inscriptions written in Indian languages and scripts
abound in Southeast  Asia. Literacy in the very early states of Southeast
Asia - aside from the  portion of north Vietnam annexed by China - began with
the importing, by  local rulers, of modified cults of Buddhism or Hinduism,
and the attendant  adoption of Sanskrit or Pali language for the writing of
religious texts.  Later, in the seventh century, a broader range of texts
began to appear on  permanent materials, written in indigenous languages.

Ethics of India  30 BC To 1300
http://www.san.beck.org/AB2-India.html
(Site Excerpt)  Ashvaghosha was the son of a Brahmin and at first traveled
around arguing  against Buddhism until he was converted, probably by Parshva