Indian Cities Extinguished in the Flow of Time
World is a very crucial place where everything is mortal from Humans to Places everything changes with the Flow of Time. So, Today we are going to talk about the 3 beautiful and mysteries cities of India which has no extensions in our Current INDIA Map.
Key Points
1. Hampi
Hampi is located in hilly terrain formed by granite boulders The Hampi monuments comprising the UNESCO ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) world heritage site are a subset of the wider-spread Vijayanagara ruins. The monuments were built in and About between 1336 and 1570 CE during the Vijayanagara rule. The site has about 1,600 monuments and covers 41.5 square kilometers (16.0 sq mi) in total.
The Hampi site has been studied in three broad zones, the first has been named the “sacred center” by scholars such as Burton Stein and others, the second is referred to as the “urban core” or the “royal centre”, and the third constitutes the rest of metropolitan Vijayanagara. The sacred center, alongside the river, contains the oldest temples with a history of pilgrimage and monuments pre-dating the Vijayanagara empire. The urban core and royal center have over sixty ruined temples beyond those in the sacred center, but the temples in the urban core are all dated to the Vijayanagara empire. The urban core also includes public utility infrastructure such as roads, an aqueduct, water tanks, mandapa, gateways and markets, monasteries This distinction has been assisted by some seventy-seven stone inscriptions.
Most of the monuments are Hindu; the temples and the public infrastructure such as tanks and markets include reliefs and artwork depicting Hindu deities and themes from Hindu texts. There are also six Jain temples and monuments and a Muslim mosque and tomb. The architecture is built from the abundant local stone, the dominant style is Dravidian, with roots in the developments in Hindu arts and architecture in the second half of the 1st millennium in the Deccan region. It also included elements of the arts that developed during the Hoysala Empire rule in the south between the 11th and 14th century such as in the pillars of Ramachandra temple and ceilings of some of the Virupaksha temple complex. The architects also adopted an Indo-Islamic style in a few monuments, such as the Queen’s bath and Elephant stables, which UNESCO says reflects a “highly evolved multi-religious and multi-ethnic society”.
Reason for why Hampi is on the Edge of Extinction
the structures in the vicinity of the 15th century monument have been facing serious damage from illegal quarrying and rampant blasting activities. As a result of which a significant portion of the entrance tower of the Varha temple (also known as the Shiva temple) collapsed recently. Severe damage was caused to other three monuments as well. These architectural marvels represent India and the fear of losing them has forced for the protection of these monuments.
According to the scholars, rampant quarrying and blasting accompanied by the rains have weakened the structures leading in their damage. Cracks have been seen on a few other important monuments in the complex as well. Monuments such as the Vijaya Vittala temple tower and the Kudure Gombe Matapa are among the ones which have developed cracks recently. Despite the regulation to stop quarrying, its operation is still a continuous one mainly in the surrounding villages of Venkatapura and Gudalkere Bukkasagera. Another structure at Hampi – the Akka Thangi Gudda, known as the sister stones, also collapsed recently due to the consequence of the illegal quarrying.
Steps are being taken to conserve this world heritage and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) hopes to end illegal quarrying in the area. Previously, mobile squads were operated in these areas but were unable to stop the mining altogether. Violations have become a common thing at the Hampi ruins. A private resort (under the name of a guest house) came up in the core zone of the site. The government of Karnataka should have taken strict action against the property owner but the course of action too went into ruins.
Government has been neglecting this issue for past many years. As a result of this negligence the Hampi is now on the verge of collapse which has certainly become a matter of concern. A huge sum is spent every year on the great Hampi festival to celebrate the vitality of the Hampi structures; instead this money should be used in restoring and conserving of the damaged ruins. For the sake of the great Indian heritage, the government of Karnataka should take strict action against the illegal mining, which is on a toll at this point of time.
2. Pattadakal
The Pattadakal monuments are located in the Indian state of Karnataka, about 165 kilometres (103 mi) southeast of Belgaum, 265 kilometres (165 mi) northeast from Goa, 14 miles (23 km) from Badami, via Karanataka state highway SH14, and about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Aihole, set midst sandstone mountains and Malprabha river valley. In total, there are over 150 Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments, and archaeological discoveries, dating from the 4th to 10th century CE, in addition to pre-historic dolmens and cave paintings that are preserved at the Pattadakal-Badami-Aihole site.
Pattadakal, also called Paṭṭadakallu or Raktapura, is a complex of 7th and 8th century CE Hindu and Jain temples in northern Karnataka (India). Located on the west bank of the Malaprabha River in Bagalakote district, this UNESCO World Heritage site is 14 miles (23 km) from Badami and about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Aihole, both of which are historically significant centres of Chalukya monuments. The monument is a protected site under Indian law and is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Pattadakal (“place of coronation”) was considered a holy place, being where the Malprabha river turned northwards towards the Himalayas and the Kailasha mountan (uttara-vahini). As its name implies, it was used during the Chalukya dynasty for coronation ceremonies, such as that of Vinayaditya in the 7th century CE. Other names this place was known by were Kisuvolal meaning “valley of red soil”, Raktapura meaning “city of red”, and Pattada-Kisuvolal meaning “red soil valley for coronation”. The site, states Archaeological Survey of India, is mentioned in texts by Srivijaya and is referred to by Ptolemy as “Petirgal” in his Geography.
Pattadakal became, along with nearby Aihole and Badami, a major cultural center and religious site for innovations in architecture and experimentation of ideas. The rule of the Gupta Empire during the 5th century brought about a period of political stability, during which Aihole became a locus of scholarship. The experimentations in architecture extended into Badami over the course of the next two centuries. This culture of learning encompassed Pattadakal in the 7th century which became a nexus where ideas from northern and southern India fused. It was during this latter period that the Chalukya empire constructed many of the temples in Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal region.
3. Muziris
Muziris (Muchiri,[1] Muyirikode,[1] Makotai, Mahodayapuram) was an ancient seaport and urban center on the Malabar Coast (modern-day Indian state of Kerala) that dates from at least the 1st century BC, if not before it. Muziris has found mention in the bardic Tamil Sangam literature and a number of classical European historical sources.
The port was a key to the trade between southern India and the Phoenicians, the Persians, the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Roman Empire. The important known commodities exported from Muziris were spices (such as black pepper and malabathron), semi-precious stones (such as beryl), pearls, diamonds, sapphires, ivory, Chinese silk, Gangetic spikenard and tortoise shells. The Romans brought money (in gold coins), peridots, thin clothing, figured linens, multicoloured textiles, sulfide of antimony, copper, tin, lead, coral, raw glass, wine, realgar and orpiment. The cry to re-enact the ancient (first Centuries AD/BC) Muziris-Red Sea voyages made from the 1970s onwards by George Menachery and others has become more intense of late. The locations of unearthed coin-hoards suggest an inland trade link from Muziris via the Palghat Gap and along the Kaveri Valley to the east coast of India. Though the Roman trade declined from the 5th century AD, the former Muziris attracted the attention of other nationalities, particularly the Persians, the Chinese and the Arabs, presumably until the devastating floods of Periyar in the 14th century.
The exact location of Muziris is still not known to historians and archaeologists. In fact historians have criticised the attempts by groups to rush to conclusions. It is generally speculated to be situated around present day Kodungallur, a town situated 18 miles north of Cochin. Kodungallur in central Kerala figures prominently in the ancient history of southern India as a vibrant urban hub of the Chera rulers. A series of excavations were conducted at the village of Pattanam in North Paravur by Kerala Council for Historical Research (an autonomous institution outsourced by Kerala State Department of Archaeology) in 2006-07 and it was announced that the lost port of Muziris was found. The rapid conclusion invited criticism from historians and archaeologists and started a healthy debate among historians of south India.
This was a centre of paramount importance for Roman trade, What made it absolutely unique was the considerable amounts of black pepper exported from Muziris. We are talking about thousands of tons. In addition to pepper, exporter included other local products like ivory, pearls, spices such as malabathron and those from other parts of India, including semi-precious stones, silks and the aromatic root nard. These attest to commercial relationships nurtured with the Gangetic valley and east Himalayan regions.
In the other direction, ships arrived with gold, coral, fine glassware, amphorae of wine, olive oil and the fermented fish sauce called garum. But the value of this trade was lopsided. Pliny the Elder estimated Rome’s annual deficit caused by imbalanced trade with India at 50m sesterces (500,000 gold coins of a little less than eight grammes), with Muziris representing the lion’s share of it.
Maritime trade between Muziris and Rome started in the first century BC, when it became known that sailing through the Red Sea to the horn of Africa, then due east along the 12th latitude, led to the Kerala coast. Muziris was entirely dependent on foreign, especially Roman, demand for pepper, De Romanis says. So when the Roman empire’s economy began to struggle in the third century AD, he believes the trade in pepper reconfigured itself, and Muziris lost its importance.
