Hanumân, the Monkey god, is renowned for his strength (he is said to be able to lift mountains), his valour and his bravery.
The Lingam is an abstract conformation of Shiva: this symbol represents Shiva in his form closest to the absolute: no attributes, no qualities: a simple, very uncluttered form...
Krishna is the 8 th and the best known of the avatars of Vishnu, he himself is venerated as a god in his own right. He personifies the absolute but above all he is the embodiment of Love, he is the god of Bhakti par excellence.
Devi is the mother goddess, Mahadevi being the Supreme Mother. This sacredness is found at the ultimate level even in every traditional Indian family where the biological mother is the manifestation of the divine mother and honored as such.
The sacred is an integral part of tribal life: traditionally artists do not consider themselves as such, they are "simply" one of the actors of the ritual.
In India, on Holi Day (this year March 29th) everything is allowed (or almost): no more barriers linked to caste, social status, religion... to this day, all people are equal. Powders and colored water can appear from everywhere and nowhere...
More than a thousand years ago, Mohra's art spread to the Himalayas in the present-day states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakand...
Ganesha in the Hindu pantheon is one of the sons of Shiva and Parvati (with Skanda). He symbolizes wealth, wisdom, luck. Ganesha is considered by his most fervent disciples as the supreme God, beyond the gods of Trimurti...
The Chola were originally installed in Tanjore (in present-day Tamil Nadu) from the 9th to the 11th century, then the capital moved to Gangaikondacholapuram, a royal city built at the time of the heyday of the Cholas under the reign of Rajendra I to celebrate the victory over the Pala of Bengal.
As early as Chandragupta II The Great, the religious and cultural foundations are established: this period is marked by a great refinement: the power in place ...
Parvati, is a complex deity, as is Shiva. She is both benevolent and terrifying (in the form of Durga and Kali).
Shiva is a complex deity, rich in teachings and symbols: he is ambivalent. Shiva is both terrifying and beneficial...
The primary function of Lakshmi is her quality of fertility: it is this that allows the manifestation to emerge, to be and to deploy. It is therefore the underlying, latent matrix.It is the foundation, the base of all things, without it, nothing can develop.
The active principle, the Shakti, the creative energy, is manifested by the feminine side of the Hindu divinity: for Brahma, it is Saraswati: she is both his daughter and his wife.
Vishnu is the one who preserves, protects, maintains life. He is the guarantor of the order that allows everyone to flourish. Attentive, benevolent, he dispenses justice, ensures peace and can also prove to be a formidable warrior if necessary.
« For Hindus, the Absolute exists either in a static, unmanifested form, above all, which is called "nirguna brahman" (Brahman without any attributes), or in a dynamic form, "saguna brahman" (Brahman with qualifications) which appears to us as the Creator God, Ishvara, and manifests itself in the three forms of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva «.(Arnaud Desjardins)
It is fascinating to watch the Dokra artists at work: this technique requires a great deal of know-how (which is transmitted from generation to generation), great skill and dexterity.
Today's Hinduism is strongly impregnated with the original Vedas but its practice has greatly evolved, many currents and schools have been created. The influence of Buddhism and Jainism is not negligible.
"The first good is health, the second beauty" Plato. Here, I would like to talk about the underestimated importance of art in professional and daily life.
The Hindu gods are countless, there are said to be more than 300 million of them! How to find them, how to recognize them?