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The Puranas and other Hindu texts contain descriptions of how the Supreme and powerful gods transcend the gender norms and manifest in several combinations of sex and gender that include male, female hermaphrodite and all other possibilities. This kind of gender transformation of the Hindu gods was justified through construing the mythological tales that highlight the greatness of the god over the other sectarian deities or with a specific purpose of attaining the goal in the process of putting down the pride of the sages or devotees or to kill the evil beings (demons) or to fulfil the desires of the devotees. An attempt is made here to focus briefly on the mythological legends of Mohini, a minor and temporary incarnation of Vishnnu and to discuss its iconography based on the sculptures in the temples and paintings of South India covering both the rare composite forms as well as the independent sculptures of Mohini?. It throws a welcome light on the growing popularity of the episode of Mohini and Bhasmasura in the narrative art of the temples of South India during the medieval times.

Keywords: Mohini, Ardha-Lakshmi-Hari, Va?sudeva-Kamalaja, Jaganmohini Kesava, Bhasmasura, Sagaramathana, Bhikshat?anamurti

The article discusses the interrelation of land, state and the elites. Since fifth century CE, we find the expansion of state polity in pre-state area. With the expansion of state, brahmanical ideology was introduced in society. Further, we see the proliferation of land grants and emergence of subordinate ruler under the Gupta realm. land grants led the emergence of bra?hman?as as landed elites. Within the timeframe of c. 400-600 CE, this essay shows the rise of political elites, landed elites and how state polity in Ma?lava was affected by the symbiosis of two elite groups.

Keywords: Land, State, Elites, Ma?lava, Economy, Polity

The paper explores some archaeological sites of Aurangabad in Bihar and establishes the rich cultural heritage of the district as distinct from the Buddhist traditions of neighbouring Bodh-Gaya. Because of its proximity to Bodh Gaya, the place where Buddha attained enlightenment, and to Rajagriha, the seat of power of the Mauryan dynasty, the culture of Aurangabad is assumed to be an extension of the great Magadhan Empire. But a closer look at its cultural landscape shows that this southernmost district of Bihar is culturally more aligned with the plains of the Sonbhadra River, as the antiquities obtained are largely Shaivaite. It is proposed to discuss the two sites of Deo and Umga located in the district of Aurangabad in Bihar.

Key Words: Buddhist, Magadh, Shaivite, Shakti, Shiva, Sonbhadra, Sun Temple, Surya.

Buddhism was transmitted to China during the Han Dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE) and was integrated into existing Chinese cultures such as Confucianism and Taoism. Gradually it emerged as a specific cultural phenomenon with Chinese qualities and traits. Within Buddhism itself, Avalokitesvara, a Bodhisattva experienced a long process of change. He is believed to have made a great vow to assist sentient beings in times of difficulty and to postpone his own Buddha-hood until he has assisted every sentient being in achieving nirvana. One of the striking changes in the image of Avalokitesvara, known as Kuan-yin in China, is the shifting of the gender of the deity. The great Sui-Tang dynasties patronised Buddhism as a state cult during the greater portion of their reign. Many scholars like Wu Yan, Jiao Jie, Sun Xiushen and Cui Feng observed that the Sui-Tang period was the turning point for the gender transformation of Kuan-yin (Cui Feng 2013, Sun Xiushen 1995, Wu Yan 2015). What are the reasons for transformations in the visual imagery of Avalokitesvara? It is proposed to make a comparative study on the representations of Avalokitesvara in India and China during the Sui-Tang period (seventh to tenth centuries), in order to see how Kuan-yin transformed in China and whether there might be influences from India in the ways that Kuan-yin’s gender is constructed in the iconography.

Key Words: Avalokitevara, Kuan-yin, Bodhisattvas

The cat is known as a popular domestic animal. It is an integral part of the mythology of different cultures all over the world. In world history the mummified cat in Egypt is considered as the earliest evidence of domestication of cats which is dated 1600 BCE. In India, the domestication of the cat is dated back to the Harappan period. Gokhale B.G.,1952 describes the Harappan site in India called Kalibangan (310 Km. to the northwest of Delhi) where he claims that a  brick having the paw-prints of cat and dog is found which proves the existence of cat in India1.It is interesting to study the textual references of cat in ancient Indian literature. An attempt is made in this paper to study the textual references of cat, and identify the status of cat in ancient Indian animal kingdom.

Keywords: Various words used for cat are otu,chatta, bidala, marjara, akhubhuk,caturasramin, diptak?a, dinalocana, gatrasankochin, jihvapa, vrsadamsaka, vrsadati, sali, hriku etc.

The Sundarbans, the largest deltaic mangrove forest, lie along the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal has been designated as a world Heritage site in 1987 and further as a Biosphere Reserve in 1989 by UNESCO. The rich biodiversity comprises large varieties of flora and fauna most famous of which are the Bengal tiger, estuarine crocodiles and Indian dog shark. The continuous historical record of the Sundarbans is available since the British East India Company took up the administration of the region in their hand in 1765 and decided to reclaim forest land in order to bring it under cultivation. The target of the British was to earn revenue. With this the human habitation started in the tract of Sundarbans. The whole of Indian Sundarbans falls within the state of West Bengal and is distributed in its two districts: North and South 24 Parganas. The Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve comprises altogether 102 islands intersected by innumerable waterways and estuaries. Of the total islands 54 are inhabited and under cultivation, others are under forest occupation. With the independence of India in 1947 and that of Bangladesh in 1971 there was large inflow of population to these islands, resulting in an unprecedented growth of population. The obvious impact of this trend was the excessive pressure on the economic resources. Land resources was limited. Other two resources were water (rivers) and forest. Forest resource attracted the most. Wood was the major forest product. Honey, though seasonal but gives a good return. The waterways inside the forests give a good harvest of fishes, oysters and crabs. Thus, forest was lucrative and could feed a large population.

The close interaction with the forest resulted into contact and conflict between man and wild life. The man-eating tiger in the forest posed a threat to life in the forest goers. Having no alternative economic avenues these helpless marginalized people found no other way but to risk their life in maintaining a bare living. What they looked for was an assurance of life, a hope for survival. The myth of Bonbibi provided them the courage to fight out the odds in the forest. Thus, the cult of Bonbibi emerged in the folk tradition of Sundarbans. The myth works as a pivot to their belief system and controls their cognition towards the ecosystem they live in. They looked at the forest through the lens of the myth.

The present discourse intends to highlight the cognition of this folk society towards their immediate environment of forest which forms an important resource of livelihood for them and how the myth of Bonbibi regulates their belief system around the forest through symbolism.

The discourse is based on the ethnographic study of the Gosaba Block of Sundarbans, situated at the farthest end on the eastern boundary, in close  proximity to the forest area, separated by the rivers only and a large proportion of its population live on forest resource. Gosaba being isolated with its relative remoteness is less interfered by the outsiders and therefore retained most of its traditional beliefs and practices almost unchanged and also being cut off  by the rivers from the cities is less privileged with economic avenues, thereby poverty is a prevailing fact here.

Key words: Mangroves forest, magical practices, folk traditions, migration, social psyche.

The exports of Chinese ceramic specially made for overseas trade seem to have started from the ninth century and increased greatly from the thirteenth century. Changsha ware distinguished itself with the painted iron brown and copper green and/or applique motif on the vessel covered with a transparent glaze. Changsha Tongguan kiln plays an important role in the history of Chinese ceramics because it is the birthplace of colourful ceramics in the world. The porcelain produced there adopted colourful under glaze decoration technology, breaking the single pattern that only celadon and white porcelain dominated the world at that time. The main purpose of this research paper is to describe Changsha ceramic trade in the ancient silk route. The study will analyse the historical and production technical details of the white pottery and analyses the trade of Changsha ceramic through the archaeological research that has been uncovered. The archaeological recovery of the wreck and its cargo has revealed the largest and most comprehensive assemblage of Chinese ceramics found to date from the late Tang dynasty to the Song Dynasty. As such, these finds make a unique contribution to our understanding of Changsha ceramic culture and its place in international trade.

Keywords: Changsha ceramic, silk rout, Technology, Trade.

Art in India is a way of thinking and a way of expressing emotions, thoughts and beliefs. It is a great medium of spreading messages to the contemporary people as well as to the people of coming generations. In Indian art the motifs are chosen and used very wisely and it gives a deep meaning to the whole scene. Elephants are very popular motif in Indian art. This huge animal with its majestic trunk and tiny tail gives a vast sky to the imagination of the artist to fly and create many beautiful art piece. This depiction of elephant can be seen from the pre-historic period till date in various mediums like stone, mud, metal, conch, ivory, wood, jute, glass, plastic and what not? The present paper deals with such depictions of elephants from the remote past to modern times. The examples taken here show some unusual types of depiction that catches the eyes. Their religious and social values in India are also discussed.

Keywords: Elephant, Bhimbetka, Ashoka, Bharhut, Deogarh, Mamallapuram

This paper focuses on the adoption contracts of children in Mesopotamia and Levant civilizations in the third and second millennia. It also sheds light on children’s rights, their duties and punishments, and gender differentiation perspectives mentioned in the adoption contracts. It is proposed to examine on the basis of historical transcripts, how adoption leads to a profound understanding of children’s lives and how the ruling authorities in ancient times used to protect the rights of children by documenting and regulating these contracts and prevented mixing races.

Keyword: Child, Emar, Ugarit, Levant, Mesopotamia, contract, adoption, Babylon

A large number of murals painted by ancient artists can be seen in various places in Sri Lanka. Always artists set the backgrounds before drawing. They took great care in the architectural features of the temple as well as on the background of the paintings. In the past, they chose different surfaces for the painting and used different types of plaster. They were well versed in the chemical reactions of the mortars used in the paintings as well as in creating paintings to withstand the prevailing climatic conditions in the country. Ancient artists in the past possessed a traditional knowledge of how to prepare plaster and use native plants and minerals to make the colour formulae. This research revealed that Sri Lankan ancient artists had a great ability to use local materials to create colours that have remained unchanged over time. It is proposed to study the traditional plaster used on various surfaces by the Sri Lankan ancient artists for ancient murals in Sri Lanka and the appropriate colours used for the plaster, as well as the techniques of their production.

Keyword: Ancient murals, Color technology, Plaster technology, Sri Lanka.