Arts in the Puranas (study)

by Meena Devadatta Jeste | 1973 | 74,370 words

Hinduism Purana Natyashastra Kavyashastra Vastushastra Shilpashastra

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Summary: This essay studies the Arts in the Puranas by reconstructing the theory of six major fine arts—Music, Dance, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Literature—from the Major and Minor Puranas. This thesis shows how ancient sages studied these arts within the context of cultural traditions of ancient India.

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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Source 1: exoticindiaart.com
Source 2: shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Arts in the Puranas (study) in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

Warning! This document has not been proofread. However, for each page you can (and should) verify the text with the original source PDF file.

+ Chapter 1 - Music in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction To Music In The Puranas

. 2. History of Music from the Vedic period

. 3. Literature on ancient Indian Music

. 4. Music in the Markandeya Purana

. 5. Music in the Vayu Purana

. 6.1. Music in the Vishnudharmottara Purana

. 6.2. Atodya-vidhana: Instrumental music

. 7. Music in the Linga Purana

. 8. Music in the Harivamsha

. 9. Music in the Narada Purana

. 10. Notes and References for chapter 1

+ Chapter 2 - Dance in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction to Dance in the Puranas

. 2. The Art of Dance in the Vishnudharmottara

. 3. Four types of Abhinaya

. 4. Angikabhinaya (gestures of major and minor limbs)

. 5. Hasta-mudras (gestures of the hands)

. 6. Movements of the various Limbs

. 7. Movements of the Face

. 8. Movements of the Eye, Eyelids, Eyebrows

. 9. Rasa-drishtis (glances)

. 10. Movements of the Chest, Waist and Sides

. 11. Postures (Sthana, Asana and Sayana)

. 12. The topic of Gatis (gaits)

. 13. Aharyabhinaya (extraneous representation)

. 14. Samanyabhinaya (acting in general)

. 15. The Rasa Dance

. 16. Notes and References for chapter 2

+ Chapter 3 - Architecture in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction (ancient Indian architecture)

. 2. Ancient Architects

. 3. Selection of Site and Testing of Soil

. 4. Vastu-purusa (presiding deity of buildings)

. 5. Building material

. 6. Town planning

. 7. Units of measurement

. 8. Temple Architecture

. 9. Mandapas (halls, porches)

. 10. Stambha-mana (columns)

. 11. Residential architecture

. 12. Notes for chapter 3

+ Chapter 4 - Sculpture in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction (history of ancient Indian sculpting)

. 2. Texts on the Art of Sculpture

. 3. Sculpture and other Fine Arts

. 4. Mudras or the Hand-poses of the Images

. 5. The materials for Icon-making

. 6. Proportionate Measurement (in sculptures)

. 7.1. The Images of various Deities

. 7.2. Images of Vishnu

. 7.3. Incarnations (dasha-avatara) of Vishnu

. 8. Icons of Shiva

. 9. Icons of Ganapati

. 10. Icons of Kartikeya

. 11. Icons of Sarasvati

. 12. Icons of Lakshmi

. 13. Icons of Shakti

. 14. Icons of Surya (the Sun)

. 15. Icons of the Dikpalas

. 16. Icons of Shalagrama (worshippable objects)

. 17. Notes and References for chapter 4

+ Chapter 5 - Painting in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction (the ancient Indian art of Painting)

. 2. Texts on the Art of Painting

. 3. Origin of the art of Painting

. 4. Characteristics and classification of Indian Painting

. 5. Materials for Painting

. 6. The preparation of the Wall-plaster

. 7. The technique of Indian Painting

. 8. Conventions in the Proportionate Measurement (in painting)

. 9. Drishta and Adrishta (visible and invisible thingss)

. 10. Suggestion (as an important element in art)

. 11. Sentiments in Painting

. 12. Notes for chapter 5

+ Chapter 6 - Literature in the Puranas

. 1. Introduction to Indian Literature (poetics and dramaturgy)

. 2. Texts on Poetics and Dramaturgy

. 3. Puranas and the Art of Literature

. 4. General topics of Poetics

. 5. The concepts of Riti, Vritti and Pravritti

. 6. Gunas (excellences) and Dosas (defects)

. 7. Alankaras (Embellishments or Ornaments)

. 8. The Dhvani theory in Kavya

. 9. Natya or Dramaturgy

. 10. Notes and References for chapter 6

Appendix: The Date of the Puranas

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Last Updated: 11 November, 2024

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