Angkor: Asia’s ancient ‘Hydraulic City’
Angkor Wat attracts millions of visitors a year, but most know little of the intricate and vast water system that fed the empire’s rise and demise. Every April during Khmer New Year celebrations, Sophy Peng, her four siblings and parents…
Taliban now guard site of Bamiyan Buddhas they destroyed
Taliban gunmen now stand guard at the gaping rock cavities that once housed two ancient statues of the Buddha – desecrated with dynamite by the Islamists during their last stint in power. The monuments in Bamiyan province had stood for…
Should a deity have two arms or more?
The earliest Hindu iconography showing a four-armed Vishnu has been found in Malhar in Madhya Pradesh, dating to 100 BCE In Kushan coins, minted over 1,800 years ago, we come across images of a woman holding the horn of plenty….
Afghanistan: Years after dynamiting Buddha statues, Taliban vow to preserve empty niches in Bamiyan
A Taliban member said the Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed in 2001 because of religious ideology. Two monumental statues of Buddha were created on either ends of a cliff side in Bamiyan during the sixth century The Bamiyan Buddhas were once…
National Museum to open Buddha galleries soon, arms gallery in 2 months
National Museum building on Janpath is among buildings proposed to be demolished as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project and the museum itself moved to North and South Block The National Museum’s extensive collections are set to be displayed…
Cambodian Ministry seeking modifications to statues of Buddha
The Battambang provincial Department of Cults and Religions is seeking permission for sculptors to make modifications to the Buddha statues which are under construction on the face of Phnom Sampov Mountain after inaccuracies were discovered during a recent inspection. Department…
Ancient artefacts including Buddha heads looted from Unesco site amid Afghan turmoil
The items were stolen from a storage facility belonging to a French archaeological team working to conserve the site Excavated Buddha heads and other items have been looted from the storage facility of a French archaeological team involved in conserving…
The Magnificent Borobudur Temple Of Indonesia
The Borobudur Temple Compounds is the world’s largest Buddhist monument, measuring roughly 63 acres. It is a Mahayana Buddhist temple located in Java, Indonesia, with many experts believing it was built during the rule of the Sailendra Dynasty (c. 650-1025…
ASI expert claims discovery of two lost vajrasanas in Bodhgaya
Different emperors and kings had down the centuries installed three so-called diamond thrones or enlightenment thrones under the famous Bodhi (peepal) tree An Archaeological Survey of India expert has claimed to have discovered the two lost vajrasanas or “diamond thrones”…