From the magnificent Taj Mahal to the architectural ruins of Hampi, India is home to 35 World Heritage Sites, which are recognised by UNESCO. Established in 1972, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention describes the places that hold importance of cultural or natural heritage.
Recently,ancient Nalanda University of Bihar has been marked as the heritage site. Along with it, Chandigarh Capitol Complex and Kanchenganga national park have also been recognised as the heritage sites.
At present, there are 35 UNESCO world Heritage sites in india, out of which, 27 are cultural sites and 8 are are natural sites.
1. Nalanda Mahavihara
It is said to have founded by the Kumara Gupta-1 of the Gupta dynasty in the present state of the Bihar. It is was founded in 5th century A.D. University dealt many wide range subjects such as astronomy,Mathematics, Philosophy,Buddhist religion and other important subjects. It was home to many scholars of both indian and foreigners. Hieun Tsang visited the nalanda university ,stayed there for awhile and took many manuscripts along with him to china. Bhaktiyar Khalji Invasion on Eastern India was the disaster to the University. He desecrated the university and damaged it to the ruins.
2. Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary
Sanctuary lies in the state of assam. Sprawled over an area of 42,996 hectares in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra River's south bank, Kaziranga Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a national park in 1974. The sanctuary is home to the largest population of the great Indian one-horned rhinoceros. It was then declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 1985.
3. Humayun's Tomb
Humayun’s Tomb was commissioned in 1565 by Bega Begum, widow of the second Mughal emperor, Humayun, to have his beloved husband laid to rest in one of the first garden tombs built in India. It was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a famous Persian architect.
Humayun is the 2nd emperor of the Mughal Dynasty. As a lover of the books,he was spending the significant amount of time in his personal library after regaining his kingdom from the sur dynasty. While alighting steps of his library, he fell down and succumbed to wounds subsequently. Later, On his memory, a tomb was constructed at outskirts of the Delhi. It was the significant monument and set example for the later buildings of mughals such as taj mahal, tomb of Itmad ud daulah and other constructions. This Tomb is confluence of red stone and marble(both white and black).The Humayun's tomb is the first Indian building to use the Persian concept of a double dome.
It was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list in 1993.
4. Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park is the World Heritage Site in Gujarat state of India. it is full of palaces, temples, residential complexes, agricultural structures and water installations such as stepwells and tanks, mosques and tombs.
It is located around Champaner, a historical city and extends to the Pavagadh hill-station. This place was fortified by the Gujarat King, Muhammad Begada. This park was given the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. This vast heritage site is spread over 1,329 hectares with an extended 2,812 hectares of the buffer zone. The primary zone is 983.27 hectares wide and has many archaeological and historic sites.
5. Group of Monuments at Pattadakal:-
Chalukyan rulers were not only empire builders, but great patrons of art whose encouragement prompted the artists and craftsmen to experiment and innovate in different architectural styles and giving it a new dimension. It is in their period that transition from rock-cut medium to structural temples took place.
Pattadakal located in Bijapur district of Karnataka was not only popular for Chalukyan architectural activities but also a holy place for royal coronation, 'Pattadakisuvolal'. Temples constructed here mark the blending of the Rekha, Nagara, Prasada and the Dravida Vimana styles of temple building.The oldest temple at Pattadakal is Sangamesvara built by Vijayaditya Satyasraya.
This place is home to different temples such as jain temple, Virupaksha Temple, Sangameswara temple, Chandrasekhara Temple, Mallikarjuna temple and other temples.
6.Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka
Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka are described in the UNESCO Inscription as "the site complex as a magnificent repository of rock paintings within natural rock shelters". Located in the foothills of the Vindhya Range of hills in Madhya Pradesh, these rock shelters are said to be 300,000 years old. These were however, discovered only in 1957 and were added to the list of World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003.
It is the place of example to the Indian Civilisation,History,Culture and Art. Among different rock shelters, Auditorium Rock shleter, Zoo rock shelter and Boar Rock shelters are important ones. They reflects indian history through rock paintings(especially in the red colour). Paintings of this place ranges from Middle Palaeolithic to Mesolithic(some other extended to other time frames also). In later times, This place even became the host for the inscriptions of Mauryan kings.
7. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
This historic railway station of Mumbai was nominated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on July 2, 2004. It took ten years to complete the station, formerly known as "Victoria Terminus".
8. Sun Temple,Konark:-
Built in the thirteenth century, it was conceived as a gigantic solar chariot with twelve pairs of exquisitely-ornamented wheels dragged by seven rearing horses. The temple comprised a sanctum with a lofty (presumably over 68 m. high) sikhara, a jagamohana (30. m. square and 30. m. high) and a detached nata-mandira (hall of dance) in the same axis, besides numerous subsidiary shrines. The sanctum and the nata-mandira have lost their roof. The nata-mandira exhibits a more balanced architectural design than that of other Orissan temples. The sanctum displays superb images of the Sun-god in the three projections which are treated as miniature shrines. The sanctum and the jagamohana together stand on a common platform studded with an intricate wealth of decorative ornaments and sculptures, often of a highly erotic type.
Mayadevi Temple :- To the west of the main temple are the remains of temple no.2 popularly called the temple of Mayadevi, believed to have been one of the wives of Lord Surya. But the presence of the sun images as parsvadevata in-situ indicate its dedication to the sun god, built earlier than the main Sun temple. The temple facing east, consists of a sanctum (deul) and a porch (Jagamohana) standing over a raised platform, façade of which is relieved with ornamentation. The superstructures of the sanctum and porch are missing. The interior of the porch is notable for their sculptural treatment while the sanctum is devoid of any deity. Stylistically, the temple is assignable to circa late eleventh century AD.
Vaishnava Temple:- The small brick temple facing east in south-west corner of the compound was discovered in 1956 during the sand clearance. Also called temple no.3 is pancharatha on plan. It consists of a deul and a Jagamohana but with the superstructure is missing and devoid of any exterior decoration. Images of Balarama and two parsvadevatas of Varaha and Trivikrama were unearthed (now displayed in Archaeological Museum, Konark) proving its Vaishnava affiliation. The temple is datable to circa eleventh century A.D.
This temple was added as a cultural property in the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1984.
9. Mountain Railways of India:
Under the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, Mountain Railways of India represents a collective listing of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway. These were added to the UNESCO's list in years 1999, 2005 and 2008, respective
10. Sundarbans National Park:-
The largest estuarine mangrove forest in the world, Sundarbans National Park was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 as a natural property. The national park is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment