#India history

[kailash-se-birha]

Islamic invaders raided and burned down a Buddhist University destroying centuries of knowledge accumulation and slaughtering monks.

The Dalit Voice: How do I indict Brahmins for this and twist it into Hindu v/s Buddhist

The twitter user in the attached tweet quoted some primary sources from Tibetan Buddhist texts and historical records:

Her sources: A Note on the Antiquity of Chittagong, Tibetan works Pagsam Jon-Zañ of Sumpa Khan-po and Kahbab Dun-dan of Lama Tara Natha.— By Sarat Chandra Das, C.I.E., Rai Bahadur.

The cultural continuum between Trika Shaivism and Tibetan Buddhism resembles two rivers converging, sharing their currents and wisdom. These traditions echo a parallelism of non-dualism, inner realization, and the path to transcendence, weaving a tapestry of spiritual resonance across time and space.

[gwydpolls]

We Have a Tie! Time Travel Question 47 Run Off

These Questions are the result of suggestions a the previous iteration.

Please add new suggestions below if you have them for future consideration. All cultures and time periods welcome.

[hoarder-of-dragons]

Genuine question for all the Britishers out there, do y'all learn about the colonization of India (and other countries) in your School syllabus??

Like do y'all know about the importance of the Indigo plantations, Jallianwala Bagh or the freedom fighters or anything?

[SORRY FOR THE SPELLING ERRORS]

[worldhistorian1845]

Countries with the Most Deaths from WW2

Soviet Union | Deaths: 24,000,000

China | Deaths: 19,500,000

Germany | Deaths: 7,700,000

Poland | Deaths: 5,600,000

Dutch East Indies | Deaths: 3,500,000

Japan | Deaths: 2,850,000

India | Deaths: 2,087,000

French Indochina | Deaths: 1,250,000

Yugoslavia | Deaths: 1,000,000

Romania | Deaths: 833,000

[americaisthetrueoldworld]

(via America is the True Old World: The Original Africa - Paperback)

[mithilatoday]

Travels in Western India: Jain Temples, Hindu Shrines, and Ancient Cities Explored by James Tod

In the expansive narrative of “Travels in Western India,” James Tod, a British military officer turned Oriental scholar, invites readers on a captivating journey through the sacred landscapes of Western India. This work, documenting Tod’s return from India to England, chronicles his exploration of revered Jain and Hindu sites spanning from Rajasthan to the Indus. Tod’s voyage commences from the…

[universalambients]

India, 1928

[delappdesignsbyl]

Jewelry History - India

So far, our travels into the history of jewelry have taken us to multiple locations and times in history. A full list of previous jewelry history posts will be available at the bottom of this post. We now find ourselves in India because this post is being published around the time of the Festival of Colors. Enjoy! Developing the Art of Jewel-Making Since India was the first documented…

[bullfrogjoy]

Bullfrog Joy

March 22, 2023

Good Morning! It’s really spring now, but I’m not sure it feels like it. For some reason I am just cold. I do like the sunshine later in the day, and I know it will warm up. On my walk today I saw bluebells and mini daffodils. So cute! My regular daffodils are just about bloomed out. They’ll last a little longer for just a bit more early spring joy.

March Madness…it’s another sign of spring. Are you in? How do you choose your winners? I’m looking for a Cinderella team, but the one I picked got beat. Long Beach State. Their coach got fired and then they won their tournament. I’ll look for another one. Maybe Oakland?

I guess you could say my family is a little basketball crazy. We had two TV’s going last night, flipping between games. Our daughter took two days off work to watch games this week. We did not teach her to be a North Carolina fan, but somehow that has become her team. They won so her bracket is good so far.

Facebook told me that our son got tickets to see Illinois play yesterday afternoon. I didn’t even know he was a fan, but there was his picture at the game. He and his friend drove six hours to watch the game. Guess they were feeling the joy because Illinois won. I did notice he had on his White Sox shirt so he does still know which sport is the best!

Here’s my non-basketball joy story for the week, my friends. My brother left town for the winter, but before he left he made plans for some remodeling of his house here in Illinois. He asked if I would supervise and make some decisions if necessary. It really is a bit bigger job than I expected, but it is sort of fun to be in charge of spending someone else’s money! Someone had to choose what kind of flooring to put in his new bathroom and hallway. The carpenters suggested we go to the Warehouse Bargain store at the mall. WOW! Have you been there? So much stuff! And so many deals.

However, the real joy was when we discovered we had not bought enough flooring. Doesn’t sound like joy, does it? We had to go back to buy an entire box to get the three pieces we needed for the doorway we hadn’t measured. We walked in, told the guy what we wanted, and he said he thought he could hook us up. He pulled three pieces out of an open box and handed them to us, saying, “Have a nice day. It’s on us!” What a deal! And yes, my friends, that was JOY! We will go back to that store.

I do like basketball as much as the rest of the family, but I also found a really good book. It may be a tough choice this weekend. Basketball or The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese? The characters are amazing. The setting is 1900’s in India. An interesting tidbit, not particularly important to the plot is that the main character attends a church established by the apostle Thomas, after Jesus sent him to go to all nations, preach the gospel and baptize believers. I had to check on this. I don’t know that it is proven fact, but it is tradition that Thomas did go to India to preach the Word, and there are churches that claim to be founded by Thomas. There are three different story lines. At page 250 (there are 700) I am beginning to see how they might intertwine. So much to find out, so much to read, how can I watch basketball?

Life is good. Joy is out there my friends. Macomb outdoor Dairy Queen is open! It may be cold, but ice cream brings me joy! And….even better….It’s almost Easter when we celebrate the greatest joy of all. Find a church and celebrate Palm Sunday! Jesus is alive. Joy to you my friends. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me.

[affairsmastery]

Indian Association (1876) by Surendranath Banerjee, Anand Mohan Bose

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Here's the link to the video

👏 SAY 👏 IT 👏 LOUDER 👏

[forkaround]

Indian Elitism is something else entirely huh

[thoughtportal]

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He didn’t invent anything

[sixteenseveredhands]

Emerald Spectacles from India, c. 1620-1660 CE: the lenses of these spectacles were cut from a single 300-carat emerald, and it was believed that they possessed mystical properties

These eyeglasses are also known by the name "Astaneh-e ferdaws," meaning "Gate of Paradise," based on the symbolic associations between the color green and the concept of spiritual salvation/Paradise. That symbolism (which is rooted in Islamic tradition) was especially popular in Mughal-era India, where the spectacles were made.

The lenses were crafted from two thin slices of the same emerald. Together, the lenses have a combined weight of about 27 carats, but given the precision, size, and shape of each lens, experts believe that the original emerald likely weighed in excess of 300 carats (more than sixty grams) before it was cleaved down in order to produce the lenses. The emerald was sourced from a mine in Muzo, Colombia, and it was then transported across the Atlantic by Spanish or Portuguese merchants.

Each lens is encircled by a series of rose-cut diamonds, which run along an ornate frame made of gold and silver. The diamond-studded frame was added in the 1890s, when the original prince-nez design was fitted with more modern frames.

The emerald eyeglasses have long been paired with a second set of spectacles, and they were almost certainly commissioned by the same patron. This second pair is known as "Halqeh-e nur," or the "Halo of Light."

The Halo of Light features lenses that were made from slices of diamond. The diamond lenses were cleaved from a single stone, just like the emerald lenses, with the diamond itself being sourced from a mine in Southern India. It's estimated that the original, uncut diamond would have weighed about 200-300 carats, which would make it one of the largest uncut diamonds ever found.

The lenses are so clear and so smoothly cut that it sometimes looks like they're not even there.

Both sets of spectacles date back to the mid-1600s, and it's generally believed that they were commissioned by a Mughal emperor or prince. The identity of that person is still a bit of a mystery, but it has been widely speculated that the patron was Shah Jahan -- the Mughal ruler who famously commissioned the Taj Mahal after the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan did rule as the Mughal emperor from about 1628 to 1658.

The emerald and diamond lenses may have been chosen for symbolic, sentimental, and/or cultural reasons, or they may have been chosen simply because they're pretty and extravagant; the original meaning and purpose behind the design is still unclear. Experts do believe that the eyeglasses were designed to be worn by someone, though.

At times, it was believed that the spectacles had spiritual properties, like the ability to promote healing, to ward off evil, to impart wisdom, and to bring the wearer closer to enlightenment. Those beliefs are largely based on the spiritual significance that emeralds and diamonds can have within certain Indic and Islamic traditions -- emeralds may be viewed as an emblem of Paradise, salvation, healing, cleansing, and eternal life, while diamonds are similarly associated with enlightenment, wisdom, celestial light, and mysticism.

The Gate of Paradise and the Halo of Light were both kept in the collections of a wealthy Indian family until 1980, when they were sold to private collectors, and they were then put up for auction once again in 2021. They were most recently valued at about $2 million to $3.4 million per pair.

Sources & More Info:

Sotheby's: Mughal Spectacles

Architectural Digest of India: At Sotheby's auction, Mughal-era eyeglasses made of diamond and emerald create a stir

Only Natural Diamonds: Auspicious Sight & the Halqeh-e Nur Spectacles

The Royal Society Publishing: Cleaving the Halqeh-Ye Nur Diamonds

Gemological Institution of America: Two Antique Mughal Spectacles with Gemstone Lenses

Manuscript: From Satan's Crown to the Holy Grail: emeralds in myth, magic, and history

CNN: The $3.5 million Spectacles Said to Ward off Evil

BBC: Rare Mughal Era Spectacles to be Auctioned by Sotheby's

[memories-of-ancients]

Emerald set box, Mughal Empire (India), circa 1635

from The Khalili Collection

[americaisthetrueoldworld]

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