ANCIENT TIMES IN INDIA

In ancient India, various art forms like paintings, architecture and sculpture evolved. The history
of art in ancient India begins with prehistoric rock paintings.

An advanced town planning is seen in Harappa and Mohenjodaro, with their centrally
planned cities indicating a highly developed architecture. Another remarkable example of
sculpture from Harappan civilization comes in the form of the dancing girl from
Mohenjodaro.

CLASSICAL TIMES IN INDIA

Shiva means the supreme one, the auspicious one, the pure one and for me the beloved
one. Shiva is named as Pashupati which means the Lord of all living beings either it is
humans, devas, asuras or any creatures. Another name Mahadeva depicts the great God,
supreme in all devas(Gods).The God staying in a state blissful, enjoying in Its Own Self
eternally, without any flaws is the Supreme Lord shiva. The Perfection is the
completeness - there is nothing external that is required to make the Self blissful.

ISLAMIC TIMES IN INDIA

The Story of the Ramayana Briefly

So, just to let you know what you are in for, here is a very brief summary of the
Ramayana, the adventures of lord Rama. Rama is the son of King Daaratha, but he is
also an incarnation of the god Vishnu, born in human form to do battle with the demon
lord Ravana. Ravana had obtained divine protection against other demons, and even

against the gods - but because he scorned the world of animals and men, he had not asked
for protection from them. Therefore, Vishnu incarnated as a human being in order to put a
stop to Ravana. King Daaratha has three other sons besides Rama. There is Lakshmana,
who is devoted to Rama. There is also Bharata, the son of Daaratha's pretty young wife
Kaikeyi, and finally there is atrughna, who is as devoted to Bharata as Lakshmana is to
Rama.When Daaratha grows old, he decides to name Rama as his successor. Queen
Kaikeyi, however, is outraged. She manages to compel Daaratha to name their son
Bharata as his successor instead and to send Rama into exile in the forest. Rama agrees to
go into exile, and he is accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana. When
their exile is nearly over, Sita is abducted by the evil Ravana who carries her off to Lanka
city (on the island of Sri Lanka). Rama and Lakshmana follow in pursuit, and they are
aided by the monkey lord, Hanuman, who is perfectly devoted to Rama.After many
difficulties and dangers, Rama finally confronts Ravana and defeats him in battle. What
happens after that is a matter of some dispute in the different versions of the Ramayana.
Did Rama accept Sita back into his household? Or did he send her away because she had
been in the possession of another male? You will see different versions of the ending in
the two different editions of the Ramayana that you will read for this class.

The Story of the Mahabharata Briefly

In some ways, the entire story of the Mahabharata is an explanation of how our world, the
world of the Kali Yuga, came into being, and how things got to be as bad as they are. The
Ramayana has its share of suffering and even betrayal, but nothing to match the relentless
hatred and vengeance of the Mahabharata. The culmination of the Mahabharata is the
Battle of Kurukshetra when two bands of brothers, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, the
sons of two brothers and thus cousins to one another, fight each other to death, brutally
and cruelly, until the entire race is almost wiped out.The five sons of Pandu, the
Pandavas, are the heroes of the story. The eldest is King Yudhishthira. Next is Bhima, an
enormously strong fighter with equally enormous appetites. After Bhima is Arjuna, the
greatest of the warriors and also the companion of Krishna. The last two are twins,
Nakula and Sahadeva. These five brothers share one wife, Draupadi (she became the wife
of all five of them by accident, as you will learn).

The enemies of the Pandavas are the Kauravas, who are the sons of Pandu's brother,
Dhritarashtra. Although Dhritarashtra is still alive, he cannot manage to restrain his son
Duryodhana, who bitterly resents the achievements of his cousins, the Pandavas.
Duryodhana arranges for his maternal uncle to challenge Yudhishthira to a game of dice,
and Yudhishthira gambles everything away, even himself. The Pandavas have to go into
exile, but when they return they engage the Kauravas in battle. Krishna fights on the side
of the Pandavas, and serves as Arjuna's charioteer. The famous "Song of the Lord," or

Bhagavad-Gita, is actually a book within the Mahabharata, as the battle of Kurukshetra

begins. When Arjuna faces his cousins on the field of battle, he despairs and sinks down,
unable to fight. The Bhagavad-Gita contains the words that Krishna spoke to Arjuna at
that moment.The Pandavas do win the battle. Duryodhana is killed, and the Kaurava
armies are wiped out. But it is hardly a happy ending. Yudhishthira becomes king, but the
world is forever changed by the battle's violence. If you are familiar with the Iliad, you
might remember how that epic ends with the funeral of the Trojan hero Hector, a moment
which is utterly bleak and sad. The same is true for the Mahabharata. There are many
truths that are learned in the end, but the victory, such as it is, comes at a terrible price.