Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Ancient India

Ancient India government started with the heads of nomadic tribes being given the designation of kings when they started settling in groups for agricultural purposes. The passage of time saw the growth of large kingdoms. By the end of the 6th century BC, there were 16 Mahajanapadas or what they call as kingdoms in ancient India. Many small republics were formed at this time with the elements of the democratic form of governance. The king heads the judiciary, legislative and executive structures and is appointed many officials or council of ministers as advisors under him.

Ancient Indian culture is not just old and unique but a pot full of interesting events whose traits can be seen in the culture of India even today. Ancient India cultures were amazingly diverse because of the vast geographical territory. Every state in India had its unique language, art and life style. India is the house of many religions like Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism etc. Ancient Indian festival celebrations were fascinating for their rituals, traditions, spiritual philosophy, art, pomp and gaiety.

Ancient India food habits reflect its cultural diversity. Ancient Indian cuisine was a composite mixture of many styles. Each state had its own unique style of cooking and serving food. This was based on the geography of the region. Ancient Indian food was known for its flavored, spicy aromatic food.

A combination of these factors has resulted in an exclusive Indian culture - a composite mixture of varying styles and influences. In the case of cuisine for instance, the North and the South are totally different. In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Karnatak and the Hindustani music.

Ancient India art was very cerebral. Music, painting and the scriptural texts is something that India can proudly boast of. The language of ancient India was Sanskrit. It was a much evolved language in terms of phonetics. Ancient Indian art was highly introspective and driven towards the full evolution of human mind and body.

Patanjalis yoga shastra and yoga vidhya are a very good example of this. Ancient India adapted to ornamentation and beauty for a religious life and metaphysical ex-pression. Gods and Goddesses were depicted in all works of ancient Indian art as representing different elements of nature. The paintings of ancient India can be seen in famous temples of Khajurao, caves of Ajanta and Ellora and other such places. Ancient Indian artists and sculptors were known for their meticulous and detailed ornamental kind of work..

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