Tamil Heritage Trust
Monthly Heritage Talk - "Monolithic PIllars in India" by Dr S Krishnamurthy
at 5.30 pm IST on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Talk in English.
In his Talk, "Monolithic PIllars in India", Dr S Krishnamurthy delves
into the origins and antiquity of this tradition, using examples from
the 3rd C BCE to 6th C CE. He notes how the sponsors of these pillars
often achieved multiple objectives by erecting them. He examines the
inscriptional evidence and the archeaological context to offer insights
into their growing religious and political significance.
The emperor Ashoka used them to propagate his dharma.
Buddhists marked their sacred spots of worship with them. Heliodorus, an
ambassador from an Indo-Greek kingdom, calling himself a bhagavata,
erected one of them in honour of his deity, Vasudeva.
By the second century BCE, the free-standing monolithic pillar had
become the architectural element of choice for kings and commoners for a
range of applications. This tradition has since continued for centuries
across India.
Tamil Heritage Trust
tamilheritage.in
teachers4heritage.tht@gmail.com
919444823681
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