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Daily News Digest 20 Jan 2024

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Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

Why in News?

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 announced.

About Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

  • It is awarded by the Government of India to children between the ages of 5 and 18 to recognise their exceptional abilities and outstanding achievements.
  • It is given in six fields: innovation, scholastic achievements, sports, art and culture, social service and bravery.
  • Each awardee of PMRBP is given a medal, a cash prize of Rs 1 Lakh and a certificate.
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development administers awards.

Vaishnavite Monasteries in Assam

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

About Satara

  • The Auniati Satra was established in 1663 A.D. by the Ahom King Sultanla.
  • The Satras (Vaishnavite Hermitages/Monasteries) are unique to the riverine Majuli Island of Assam.
  • They were established to spread Sankardeva’s unique “worship through art” approach.
  • They are doing it presently with music (borgeet), dance (sattriya), and theatre (bhauna).
  • Srimanta Sankardev (1449–1568) was a 15th–16th-century Assamese saint, scholar, poet, and social-religious reformer.
    • He propagated a form of Bhakti philosophy called Eka Sarana Naam Dharma.

Japan becomes 5th country to land on Moon

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

Why in news?

Recently, a Japanese spacecraft landed on the lunar surface, becoming the 5th country to reach the moon.

  • The Soviet Union, the United States, China, and India are the only four countries that have successfully carried out soft landings on the moon.

About Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) Mission:

  • It is Japan's first lunar surface mission.
  • It was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on September 7, 2023, from the Tanegashima spaceport.
  • It was launched together with XRISM, a next-generation X-ray space telescope, onboard an H-2A rocket.

What is the Nagara Style, in which Ayodhya’s Ram temple is being built

Time to Read :🕑 3 Mins

Why in news?

The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated on January 22.

Background

More details on news

  • Meru, Mandara and Kailasa are the first three names amongst the twenty types of temples described in the early texts, all three are the names of the Mountain, which is the axis of the world.
  • One of Ayodhya's Ram temple's 'hybrid' features — although no elaborate gopuram has been built (citing paucity of space), a 732m long wall runs around the temple compound.

A language of architecture

  • The Nagara style of temple architecture emerged sometime in the fifth century CE, during the late Gupta period, in northern India.
    • It is seen in juxtaposition with the Dravida style of southern India, which too emerged in the same period.
  • “Nagara and Dravida may be called ‘styles’, but they cover vast areas and time spans,”
    • Instead of ‘styles’, Adam Hardy refers to the two as “the two great classical languages of Indian temple architecture”.

Ram Mandir - Architectural Design and Influence

  • The Nagara style, known for its beehive-like shikharas (spires), is prevalent in northern India and is characterized by its symmetrical form and radial designs.
  • The Ram Mandir, spanning 2.77 acres within a larger 70-acre complex, boasts a towering height of 161 ft, making it not just a spiritual hub but a landmark in Indian architectural history.

Nagara Style

  • Nagara temples are built on a raised plinth with the garbhagriha also known as “sanctum sanctorum” where the idol of the deity rests.
  • It is considered as the most sacred part of the temple.
  • Towering over the garbhagriha is the shikhara, referred to as ‘mountain peak’ and is considered as the most distinguishable aspect of Nagara style temples.
  • Shikharas are human-made representations of the natural and cosmological order, as imagined in Hindu tradition.
  • A typical Nagara style temple also comprises a circumambulatory passage around the garbhagriha meant for parikrama.
  • It has one or more mandapas (halls) on the same axis.
  • Elaborate murals and reliefs often adorn its walls.

Five modes of Nagara architecture

  • Depending on the period and geography, there is a large variation when it comes to what a shikhara looks like, or how it is used in a temple’s design.
  • On this basis, Hardy identifies five modes of Nagara temple architecture — Valabhi, Phamsana, Latina, Shekhari, and Bhumija.
  • Valabhi and Phamsana are Early Nagara modes, derived from barrel-roofed wooden structures.
  • Latina is a single, slightly curved tower with four equal sides, dominant for three centuries.
  • Shekhari and Bhumija are composite Latinas with attached sub-spires or miniature spires, creating a complex and ornate appearance.

Dravida style

  • In Dravidian temple design, the main structure is divided into various sections, including
  • The Garbhagriha, the sanctum, atop which sits the decorative pyramidal Vimana.
  • Mahamandapa, a closed hall.
  • Mandapa, a semi-closed hall.
  • Ardha Mandapa, the porch.
  • Natya Mandapa, a space designed especially for dance performances.
  • Gopurams, temple gateway towers, are one of the most distinctive features of the architectural style.