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27 Apr, 4 tweets, 2 min read
Duarte Barbosa, the portuguese writer describes the women of Vijayanagara. He says:

1) They were beautiful
2) Well trained in singing & dancing
3) Wore cotton or silk garments
4) Wore leather footwear
5) Heads were uncovered
6) Tied their hair
7) Decorated hair with flowers (1)
8) Wore nosepin studded with precious gems.
9) Wore earrings, necklaces of gold, coral beads.
10) Wore gold bangles with coral beads.
11) Described as extremely wealthy.

(2)
Domingo Paes, another Portuguese traveler who spent much time during the reign of Shri Krishnadevaraya gives a similar description on the attire & ornaments of Vijayanagara women.

(3)
Source : Social and political life in the Vijayanagara empire by Dr S Krishnaswami Iyengar.

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More from @_ugra_

27 Apr
Kashmiri Brahmins & Karnataka go a long way. A large number of Kashmiri Brahmanas settled down in Vijayanagara. They were accorded a high position. In an inscription dated to 1368 CE during the reign of Bukka Raya, they are praised as virtuous & devoted to worship of Shiva.
Kashmiri Brahmanas were always highly regarded in entire Bharat. Wherever they went, they commanded much respect in the courts of the maharajas. One such example is Sarangadeva, the author of Sangeeta ratnakara, whose patron was Singhana of the Devagiri.
Coincidentally there is a Vijayanagara connection to Sarangadeva & Sangeeta ratnakara. This important text was lost during the turushka invasion of Devagiri. More than a 100 yrs later,the text was found in Vijayanagara & commentaries were written on it at the orders of the king
Read 4 tweets
26 Apr
Short THREAD on Medical education in ancient Bharat.

Important points:

1) Candidates from all 4 Varnas were eligible to enroll as medical students.

2) Special Upanayana ceremony was conducted for students seeking admission to medical courses.

(1)
3) The student was expected to be proficient in Sanskrit.

4) Rote learning was discouraged. This is said by the great Sushruta himself.

5) Different medical specialization courses were offered.

6) Emphasis was laid on practical training in surgery & pharmacy.

(2)
7) Beginner students were taught how to hold medical instruments by teachers. They practiced dissection procedures first on pumpkins, cucumbers followed by dead animals.

8) Students were also taught suturing techniques.

(3)
Read 11 tweets
25 Apr
PV Kane in his book "History of Dharmashastras" gives us the chief reason for the decline of Buddhism in India.

1)People realised the dangers of buddhist teachings of constantly being preach on how the world is a place of suffering & giving up on all desires etc

(1)
2)Hindu concept of 4 Ashrama system gave men a real purpose in life. Inculcated discipline in them, unlike Buddhist philosophy that threatened the very stability & continuance of human society that gradually led to loss of physical & mental vitality, idleness & race suicide (2)
3)Later Buddhists strayed so much from the original teachings of buddha, in the process they simply ended up copying Hindu ideals like Bhakti. The line between Buddhism & Hinduism got so thin that the former got subsumed in the vast superior ocean that is Hindu dharma.

(3)
Read 5 tweets
23 Apr
A few rules laid down in the Dharmashastras on do's & dont's before going to sleep.

1)feet must not be wet
2)head must not be placed in north or west
3)should not sleep naked
4)should not sleep below a beam
5)should not sleep in temples
6)should not sleep in unoccupied houses. Image
7)should not sleep on bed of elders
8)should not sleep on bedstead of elderly.
9)should not sleep before washing hands & mouth after eating.
10)should not sleep during day & twilight hours.
11)should not sleep on top of mountain.
12)should not sleep on same bed with person suffering from fever, asthama etc.

Do's
1)pray to ishta devata before sleep.
2)keep bamboo stick near bed.
3)keep a jar of water near the head.
4)praying to Maha Vishnu will result in good sleep. Image
Read 4 tweets
21 Apr
The Pauranika description of Ayodhya nagara. It was first described by Narada muni to Skanda, who in turn describes it to Agastya muni.

The below Shlokas describe Ayodhya on the banks of the Sarayu river as a magnificent city on par with Indra's abode Amaravati. (1)
Ayodhya is described as a city full of elephants, horses, chariots & foot soldiers. It tops all cities in its richness & prosperity. It has numerous broad roads & great rampart walls & golden arched gateways resembling mountain ridges & peaks. (An artist's impression) (2)
Ayodhya's squares & crossroads are well planned and neatly maintained. There are many storeyed palaces with numerous artistic alterations & modifications in the walls. It is rendered splendid by many tanks with excellent water abounding in full blown lotuses. (3)
Read 10 tweets
3 Apr
Undoubtedly. His legendary work, the Samarangana Sutradhara has no parallel for its time. In this particular chapter in the Samarangana called Yantra-vidhanam, he describes the method of building pretty advanced mechanical devices like Golakabhramana, Jalayantra & many other.
Bhoja talks about a number of advanced mechanical devices which he calls as "Yantras"

He defines a Yantra as " The device by which the mahabhutas like earth,water,fire,air & ether are controlled. When the free & natural activities of these mahabhutas...cont...
..,the primary elements are made to act in a particular manner by means of some device, it is an Yantra"

Bhoja also classifies these Yantra into 2 types.

1) Svayamvahakam (Automatic devices)
2) Sakrt Preryam (Device that requires occasional propelling)
Read 6 tweets

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