Glossary

Cummins, Joan

Save Cite Share

Free

Glossary

Joan Cummins

Indian Painting from Cave Temples to the Colonial Period

Glossary

Author

Joan Cummins

PublisherMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-21176

Glossary

Akbar Nama of Abul Fazl—Official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, Mughal emperor, written by one of his favorite courtiers; illustrated in four different versions during Akbar’s reign

anjali mudra—Gesture (mudra) of respect and homage, made by pressing palms together with fingers pointing upward, usually at chest level

ashram—Hindu religious retreat, usually located in a rural area, usually founded or led by one respected religious teacher

Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita—Important sutra of Mahayana Buddhism, often copied in eastern Indian palm leaf manuscripts, some of which were illustrated

avatar—Earthly incarnation assumed by the Hindu god Vishnu; Vishnu’s avatars include animal as well as quasi-human forms and number ten or eleven according to the teachings of different schools of Hinduism

Babur Nama—Autobiography of Babur, the first Mughal emperor of India; Babur’s grandson, Akbar, commissioned several illustrated volumes of the text

Bhagavad Gita—One of Hinduism’s most sacred texts, a sermon preached by Krishna on the battlefield in the Mahabharata; one of the first Hindu texts to promote bhakti

Bhagavata Purana—Lengthy scripture dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, describing his role and celebrating the deeds of his avatars; Chapter Ten, dedicated to the avatar Krishna, was particularly popular as a subject for illustrated manuscripts

Bhairava—Ferocious or wrathful form of the Hindu god Shiva

bhakti—Form of Hinduism emphasizing devotion to one deity; later forms of bhakti called upon the devotee to develop an intimate relationship with his or her god, leading to the creation of a large body of romantic literature with strong devotional overtones, favorite subjects for patrons of Rajput painting

bodhisattva—Buddhist deity, an enlightened individual who opts to maintain ties to earthly existence in order to assist others in their quest for enlightenment

Brahma—Multiheaded Hindu deity associated with creation and learning

brahmin—Member of the priestly caste, the highest level of Hindu society

Buddhism—Religion established in fifth or sixth century B.C.E. in northern India; while spreading rapidly throughout Asia, it gradually dwindled in popularity in India, essentially disappearing from its homeland after the twelfth century

Chaurapanchasika of Bilhana—Thirteenth-century romantic poem, illustrated in a celebrated, circa-1520 manuscript; the manuscript gives its name to the style found in most pre-Mughal miniature paintings made for Hindu patrons

darbar—Formal public audience of a ruler

darshan—Experience of seeing a deity in iconic form during worship

dhoti—garment wrapped around the waist, worn primarily by men

fresco secco—Italian term for the mural-painting technique in which color is applied on top of a layer of dried plaster; this technique is typical of Indian wall painting

Ganesh—Elephant-headed Hindu god, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who assists followers in overcoming obstacles

Gita Govinda of Jayadeva—Twelfth-century devotional poem describing the tumultuous romance between Krishna and Radha

gopa/gopi—cowherd/milkmaid, the companions and devoted followers of the young Krishna who lived in the pastoral community of Vrindavan

Hamza Nama—Series of legends describing the adventures of some of Islam’s earliest proponents, compiled and illustrated in a giant painting series early in the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar

Hindi—modern language spoken in central area of northern India

Hinduism—Ancient, diverse religion practiced by most Indians

huqqa—Water pipe smoked by many upper-class Indians in the period treated in this book

imam—Muslim religious leader

Indra—Hindu deity, much worshiped as King of the Gods in an ancient period; he also appears in Jain literature, in which he acknowledges the superiority of the jinas

Inju dynasty—Rulers of Persia for a brief period in the mid-fourteenth century; manuscript illustrations made during their reign are in a rough variant of the painting style made for the Mongol rulers earlier in the century

Islam—Major religion founded on the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century by the Prophet Muhammad following a series of revelations; first arrived on the Indian subcontinent in the eighth century

Jahangir Nama—Autobiographical chronicle of the Mughal emperor Jahangir, also known as the Tuzukh-i Jahangiri; apparently only partially illustrated in a series of paintings that are now widely dispersed

Jainism—Ancient religion founded in the sixth century B.C.E. in India by Mahavira; the worldly, urban followers of Jainism commissioned numerous illustrated manuscripts to donate to temple libraries

jama—Long tunic or light coat worn over trousers, usually by men

jataka—Previous earthly incarnation of Shakyamuni, the historic Buddha; jataka illustrations make up the majority of the wall paintings at Ajanta

jina—Divine savior in the Jain religion, also known as a tirthankara

Kalakacharyakatha—Jain text recounting the struggle between a righteous monk and an evil ruler; a popular subject for illustrated manuscripts in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

Kalpasutra—Jain scripture narrating the life of the founder of the religion, Mahavira, and celebrating the jinas, or Jain saviors; a popular subject for illustrated manuscripts in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

karma—Fundamental concept of moral accountability, found in several Indian religions; the lifelong accumulation of righteous or malevolent karma dictates the status in which a person will be reincarnated

Karttikeya—Hindu god, the son of Shiva and Parvati, also known as Skanda or Kumara; depicted as a perpetual youth, a warrior who rides a peacock

Khamsa of Amir Khusrau Dihlavi—Late thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century version of the quintet of poems made popular by Nizami, written in Persian by an author based in India; illustrated in the Sultanate period in a now-dispersed manuscript

Khamsa of Nizami—Twelfth-century poetic work narrating five well-known Persian romances; often illustrated by artists working within the Persian sphere of influence

Koran—The central and most sacred text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the word of God as dictated to the Prophet Muhammad

Krishna—Hindu god, an avatar of Vishnu, who lived on earth as a heroic but mischievous prince; much worshiped by practitioners of bhakti

kshatriya—Hindu caste of royalty and the military, ranking below Brahmins but above all others

lakshana—Physical characteristic or mark, usually an indication of inherent nobility or heroism

Lakshmana—Most loyal brother of Rama, who followed Rama into exile and fought beside him against the demons in the epic Ramayana

lila—Sanskrit term for play or playfulness, used in Hinduism to describe both the delightful pastimes of the gods and the heedless whimsy with which the gods can treat their devotees

lingam—Nonfigural emblem of the Hindu god Shiva, phallic in form, representing the god’s role as a powerful, active force and progenitor

Mahabharata—Great epic of Hinduism, describing the massive conflict between rival branches of a single family that eventually leads to the destruction of many participants

maharaja/maharana/maharao—Hindu rulers of Indian kingdoms; the two alternate spellings reflect the regional traditions of the Rajasthani states of Mewar and Kota, respectively. The Mughal emperors dictated which Rajputs were maharajas (the prefix “maha” means great) and which were simply rajas, but most rulers referred to themselves by the more exalted term

Mahavira—Founder of the Jain religion, born a prince in the sixth century B.C.E.; one of the religion’s twenty-four divine saviors, or tirthankaras

Mahayana—Branch of Buddhism, known as “The Great Path,” practiced by most Buddhists in East Asia and the Himalayas

monsoon—Rainy season peculiar to southern Asia, usually coinciding with the Western months of July and August

Mughal dynasty—Rulers of Central Asian origin who conquered Pakistan and northern India and established a large and powerful empire there in the sixteenth century; after approximately two hundred years of domination, the empire lost most of its power but continued to exist into the nineteenth century

Muhammad—Founder of Islam, the Prophet who received the word of God and recorded it in the Koran in the early seventh century

Muslim—Follower of Islam

nawab—Muslim ruler; term is most commonly used for the leaders of eastern states who gained power as the Mughal empire decentralized in the eighteenth century

nayaka/nayika—Romantic hero/heroine, usually a figure who represents a category or type of lover in a text such as the Rasamanjari

Padshah Nama—Official chronicle of the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, compiled by a team of authors and illustrated in a single manuscript, now housed in the British royal collection

Pahari—”Of the hills”; traditional Indian term for the cultures of the Punjab Hills

Pala dynasty—Rulers of northeastern India from the eighth to the twelfth century; India’s last royal patrons for Buddhism

pandit—Teacher, usually for religious or highly cultured subjects

Parvati—Hindu goddess, wife of Shiva and mother of Ganesh and Karttikeya

patka—Decorative sash worn over a tunic or coat by wealthy Indian men, especially during the reign of the Mughal empire

Persian—The language and culture of Persia, the empire that had its center in modern-day Iran but often extended into Central Asia and Iraq

puja—Hindu ritual worship, usually involving the offering of prayers and gifts to an enshrined deity

purana—Ancient Hindu scripture, usually dedicated to a single deity; the many puranas cover every aspect of worship of a deity, recounting pertinent myths, prescribing prayers and rituals, and explaining the true nature of the divine

purdah—The seclusion of women, practiced at times by both Hindus and Muslims in India; even where some women of high birth were allowed to appear in public, they were expected to spend most of their time in the zenana, or women’s quarters

Radha—The favorite lover of Krishna; a gopi who was married to another man but who carried out a long and tumultuous affair with the Hindu god

raga/ragini/ragaputra—Long-established modes of Indian classical music; frameworks or guidelines for quasi-improvisational performance, each of which has a familiar character celebrated in poetry and imagery; in musical families defined by theorists, the modes are either husbands (ragas), wives (raginis), or sons (ragaputras)

ragamala—”garland of ragas”; collection of poems and/or paintings describing the personalities of many different musical modes

Rajput—Member of a subcaste of Hindu kings and warriors who ruled much of northern and Central India

Rama—Avatar of Vishnu; the model of righteous princely behavior and hero of the Ramayana, Rama defeated the demon king Ravana after Ravana kidnapped Rama’s wife, Sita

Ramayana—Great Hindu epic recounting the life of Rama; the epic exists in several versions, including those by Valmiki and Tulsidas, which are the most popular sources for illustration

rasa—The emotive essence of a performance or work of art, as experienced by a knowledgeable audience

Rasamanjari of Bhanudatta—A sixteenth-century text categorizing types of male and female lovers and comparing their behavior in a variety of romantic scenarios

rasika—A trained connoisseur, one who can discern rasa in a work of art

Rasikapriya of Keshava Das—A sixteenth-century text describing the interaction between male and female lovers, particularly using Krishna and his beloved as examples

Ravana—King of the demons; he kidnaps Rama’s wife Sita and takes her back to his palace at Lanka in the Hindu epic Ramayana

sadhu—Hindu mendicant ascetic

Safavid dynasty—Rulers of Persia from the early sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century; the young Mughal court looked to the Safavids for cultural influence, but later relations between the two powerful courts became strained

sakhi—Female confidante, a standard character in Indian romantic literature

Sanskrit—Language of ancient Indian literature and scripture, developed and systematized by scholars in the fourth century B.C.E. as a formal and elite alternative to regional dialects

Sat Sai of Bihari—Seventeenth-century romantic and devotional text, describing the many moods and moments in the relationship between Krishna and his beloved

Shah Nama of Firdausi—The Persian national epic, describing centuries of Persian royalty and heroism, from the beginnings of civilization to the period immediately before Persia’s conversion to Islam

Shakyamuni—The historical Buddha, founder of Buddhism, born in India in the sixth century B.C.E.

Shia/Shiite—Belonging to one of the two major branches of Islam; Shiism is practiced largely in Iran and surrounding areas

Shiva—Hindu god of destruction, representing the extremes of religious practice; husband of Parvati and father of Ganesh and Karttikeya

Siddhartha—The birthfather of Mahavira, founder of Jainism; also a name for Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha

Sita—Devoted and righteous wife of Rama in the Ramayana

Sufism—Mystical form of Islam, promoting highly personal and ecstatic religious experiences

sultanate—A state ruled by a sultan, or Muslim prince, in the Deccan or in pre-Mughal northern India; also an adjective referring to the period and culture of pre-Mughal Muslim rule in northern and Central India, approximately twelfth through fifteenth centuries

Sunni—Belonging to one of the two major branches of Islam; the majority of Muslims are Sunni

sutra—Religious text of Buddhism, Jainism, or early Hinduism; in Buddhism, manuscripts of the sutras were worshiped as inherently divine objects

Takri—Script used in the Punjab Hills

Tantra—Later, esoteric developments in Hinduism and Buddhism, promoting unorthodox methods of reaching enlightenment, often involving worship of goddesses and wrathful deities

Tara—Female bodhisattva, the embodiment of compassion, widely worshiped by Mahayana Buddhists

tilak—Painted marks made on the face and limbs of a Hindu worshiper to indicate sectarian affiliation

Timurid dynasty—Central Asian rulers of Persia in the fifteenth century; the founder of the dynasty was the famous conqueror Timur, better known to the West as Tamerlane

tirthankara—”One who has crossed over”; Jain savior, also known as a jina

Trishala—Mother of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism

Turkman—Culture and language group of Central Asian peoples who were often absorbed into the Persian empire but retained some separate traditions

Tuzukh-i Jahangiri—Alternate title for the Jahangir Nama

Urdu—Modern language of Pakistan and Muslim northern India, written in Persian script

Vaishnava—Relating to the Hindu god Vishnu, and to his worship

Vajrayana—”The Way of the Lightning Bolt (Vajra)”; tantric or esoteric form of Buddhism

Vakataka dynasty—Rulers of the western Deccan in the fifth century; major patrons for the Buddhist caves at Ajanta

Vallabha Sampraday/Vallabhacharya—School of Vaishnava Hinduism, first preached by the fifteenth/sixteenth-century sage Vallabha, promoting devotion to Krishna; the movement was extremely popular among Rajput rulers of Rajasthan and was the inspiration for their patronage of multiple illustrated manuscripts of Krishna themes

vikram samvat—Traditional Indian system of dating, with the year 1 corresponding to the year 56 B.C.E.

Vishnu—Hindu god of preservation, always depicted with blue skin, best known through his avatars

Vishnudharmottara—Ancient Sanskrit text for artists, providing information about techniques and materials as well as iconographic guidelines for the making of Hindu images

yogin/yogini—Avid and advanced practitioner of yoga; yoginis (female practitioners) in particular are thought to have magical powers; in a separate context, a group of Hindu goddesses is sometimes referred to as the yoginis

yoni—Vaginal emblem of the Hindu goddess, usually displayed in conjunction with the lingam of Shiva as a representation of the balance and interplay of male and female

zenana—Women’s quarters in a palace, also known as a harem; usually off limits to grown men who are not directly related to the occupants

Previous chapter Next chapter

Base text size -

Chapter images ()