document_title: Roman calendar

question_text: where does the month of april get its name

text: Roman calendar

text: History[edit]

text: Prehistoric lunar calendar[edit]

text: The original Roman calendar is believed to have been an observational lunar calendar[1] whose months began from the first signs of a new crescent moon. Because a lunar cycle is about 29 1⁄2 days long, such months would have varied between 29 and 30 days. Twelve such months would have fallen 10 or 11 days short of the solar year; without adjustment, such a year would have quickly rotated out of alignment with the seasons in the manner of the present-day Islamic calendar. Given the seasonal aspects of the later calendar and its associated religious festivals, this was presumably avoided through some form of intercalation or through the suspension of the calendar during winter.

text: Rome's 8-day week, the nundinal cycle, was shared with the Etruscans, who used it as the schedule of royal audiences. It was presumably a feature of the early calendar and was credited in Roman legend variously to Romulus and Servius Tullius.

text: Legendary 10-month calendar[edit]

text: The Romans themselves described their first organized year as one with ten fixed months, each of 30 or 31 days.[2][3] Such a decimal division fit general Roman practice.[4] The four 31-day months were called "full" (pleni) and the others "hollow" (cavi).[a][6] Its 304 days made up exactly 38 nundinal cycles. The system is usually said to have left the remaining 50-odd days of the year as an unorganized "winter", although Licinius Macer's lost history apparently stated the earliest Roman calendar employed intercalation instead[7][8] and Macrobius claims the 10-month calendar was allowed to shift until the summer and winter months were completely misplaced, at which time additional days belonging to no month were simply inserted into the calendar until it seemed things were restored to their proper place.[9][10]

text: Later Roman writers credited this calendar to Romulus,[11][12] their legendary first king and culture hero, although this was common with other practices and traditions whose origin had been lost to them. Some scholars doubt the existence of this calendar at all, as it is only attested in late Republican and Imperial sources and apparently supported only by the misplaced names of the months from September to December.[13] Rüpke also finds the coincidence of the length of the supposed "Romulan" year with the length of the first ten months of the Julian calendar to be suspicious.[clarification needed][13]

text:
Calendar of Romulus

English
Latin
Meaning
Length
in days
[2][3]

March
Mensis Martius
Month of Mars
31

April
Mensis Aprilis
Month of Apru (Aphrodite)[14]
30

May
Mensis Maius
Month of Maia[15]
31

June
Mensis Iunius
Month of Juno
30

Quintilis
Mensis Quintilis
Mensis Quinctilis[16]
Fifth Month
31

Sextilis
Mensis Sextilis
Sixth Month
30

September
Mensis September
Seventh Month
30

October
Mensis October
Eighth Month
31

November
Mensis November
Ninth Month
30

December
Mensis December
Tenth Month
30

—

(51)

text: Other traditions existed alongside this one, however. Plutarch's Parallel Lives recounts that Romulus's calendar had been solar but adhered to the general principle that the year should last for 360 days. Months were employed secondarily and haphazardly, with some counted as 20 days and others as 35 or more.[17][18]

text: Republican calendar[edit]

text: The attested calendar of the Roman Republic was quite different. It followed Greek calendars in assuming a lunar cycle of 29 1⁄2 days and a solar year of 12 1⁄2 synodic months (368 3⁄4 days), which align every fourth year after the addition of two intercalary months.[6] The additional two months of the year were January and February; the intercalary month was sometimes known as Mercedonius.[6]

text: The Romans did not follow the usual Greek practice in alternating 29- and 30-day months and a 29- or 30-day intercalary month every other year. Instead, their 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 10th months[b] had 31 days each; all the other months had 29 days except February, which had 28 days for three years and then 29 every fourth year. The total of these months over a 4-year span differed from the Greeks by 5 days, meaning the Roman intercalary month always had 27 days. Similarly, within each month, the weeks did not vary in the Greek fashion between 7 and 8 days; instead, the full months had two additional days in their first week and the other three weeks of every month ran for 8 days ("nine" by Roman reckoning).[19] Still more unusually, the intercalary month was not placed at the end of the year but within the month of February after the Terminalia on the 23rd (a.d. VII Kal. Mart.); the remaining days of February followed its completion. This seems to have arisen from Roman superstitions concerning the numbering and order of the months.[citation needed] The arrangement of the Roman calendar similarly seems to have arisen from Pythagorean superstitions concerning the luckiness of odd numbers.[19]

text: These Pythagorean-based changes to the Roman calendar were generally credited by the Romans to Numa Pompilius, Romulus's successor and the second of Rome's seven kings,[citation needed] as were the two new months of the calendar.[20][21][c] Most sources thought he had established intercalation with the rest of his calendar.[citation needed] Although Livy's Numa instituted a lunar calendar, the author claimed the king had instituted a 19-year system of intercalation equivalent to the Metonic cycle[22] centuries before its development by Babylonian and Greek astronomers.[d] Plutarch's account claims he ended the former chaos of the calendar by employing 12 months totaling 354 days—the length of the lunar and Greek years—and biennial intercalary months of 22 days.[17][18]

text: Plutarch believed Numa was responsible for placing January and February first in the calendar;[17][18] Ovid states January began as the first month and February the last, with its present order owing to the Decemvirs.[24][25] W. Warde Fowler believed the Roman priests continued to treat January and February as the last months of the calendar throughout the Republican period.[26]

text:
Roman Republican calendar

English
Latin
Meaning
Length
in days
[27][28][17][18]

January
Mensis Ianuarius
Month of Janus
29

February
Mensis Februarius
Month of the Februa
28

Mercedonius
Intercalary Month
Mercedonius
Mensis Intercalaris
Month of Wages
23

March
Mensis Martius
Month of Mars
31

April
Mensis Aprilis
Uncertain
29

May
Mensis Maius
Uncertain
31

June
Mensis Iunius
Month of Juno
29

Quintilis
Mensis Quintilis
Mensis Quinctilis[16]
Fifth Month
31

Sextilis
Mensis Sextilis
Sixth Month
29

September
Mensis September
Seventh Month
29

October
Mensis October
Eighth Month
31

November
Mensis November
Ninth Month
29

December
Mensis December
Tenth Month
29

text: The consuls' terms of office were not always a modern calendar year, but ordinary consuls were elected or appointed annually. The traditional list of Roman consuls used by the Romans to date their years began in 509 BC.[29]

text: Flavian reform[edit]

text: Gnaeus Flavius, a secretary to the pontifex maximus, introduced a series of reforms in 304 BC.[30] Their exact nature is uncertain, although he is thought to have begun the custom of publishing the calendar in advance of the month, depriving the priests of some of their power but allowing for a more consistent calendar for official business.[31]

text: Julian reform[edit]

text: Julius Caesar, following his victory in his civil war and in his role as pontifex maximus, ordered a reformation of the calendar in 46 BC. This was undertaken by a group of scholars apparently including the Alexandrian Sosigenes[32] and the Roman M. Flavius.[33][28] Its main lines involved the insertion of ten additional days throughout the calendar and regular intercalation of a single leap day every fourth year in order to bring the Roman calendar into close agreement with the solar year. The year 46 BC was the last of the old system and included 3 intercalary months, the first inserted in February and two more—Intercalaris Prior and Posterior—before the kalends of December.

text: Later reforms[edit]

text: After Caesar's assassination, Mark Antony had Caesar's birth month Quintilis renamed July (Iulius) in his honor. After Antony's defeat at Actium, Augustus assumed control of Rome and, finding the priests had (owing to their inclusive counting) been intercalating every third year instead of every fourth, suspended the practice following the twelfth intercalation. This took place in 9 BC although (had the instructions been correctly followed) it would not have happened till AD 4. The first leap year after the hiatus was, therefore, AD 8. It was now Augustus' turn to be honoured. In 8 BC, the plebiscite Lex Pacuvia de Mense Augusto caused Sextilis to be renamed August (Augustus). [34][35][28][e]

text: In large part, this calendar continued unchanged under the Roman Empire. (Egyptians used the related Alexandrian calendar, which Augustus had adapted from their wandering ancient calendar to maintain its alignment with Rome's.) A few emperors altered the names of the months after themselves or their family, but such changes were abandoned by their successors. Diocletian began the 15-year indiction cycles beginning from the AD 297 census;[29] these became the required format for official dating under Justinian. Constantine formally established the 7-day week by making Sunday an official holiday in 321. Consular dating became obsolete following the abandonment of appointing nonimperial consuls in AD 541.[29] The Roman method of numbering the days of the month never became widespread in the Hellenized eastern provinces and was eventually abandoned by the Byzantine Empire in its calendar.

text: Days[edit]

text: Roman dates were counted inclusively forward to the next one of three principal days within each month:[36]

text:
Kalends (Kalendae or Kal.), the 1st day of each month[36]
Nones (Nonae or Non.), the 7th day of full months[37] and 5th day of hollow ones,[36] 8 days—"nine" by Roman reckoning—before the Ides in every month
Ides (Idus, variously Eid. or Id.), the 15th day of full months[37] and the 13th day of hollow ones,[36] a day less than the middle of each month

text: These are thought to reflect a prehistoric lunar calendar, with the kalends proclaimed after the sighting of the first sliver of the new crescent moon a day or two after the new moon, the nones occurring on the day of the first-quarter moon, and the ides on the day of the full moon. The kalends of each month were sacred to Juno and the ides to Jupiter.[38][39] The day before each was known as its eve (pridie); the day after each (postridie) was considered particularly unlucky.

text: The days of the month were expressed in early Latin using the ablative of time, denoting points in time, in the contracted form "the 6th December Kalends" (VI Kalendas Decembres).[37] In classical Latin, this use continued for the three principal days of the month[40] but other days were idiomatically expressed in the accusative case, which usually expressed a duration of time, and took the form "6th day before the December Kalends" (ante diem VI Kalendas Decembres). This anomaly may have followed the treatment of days in Greek,[41] reflected the increasing use of such date phrases as an absolute phrase able to function as the object of another preposition,[37] or simply originated in a mistaken agreement of dies with the preposition ante once it moved to the beginning of the expression.[37] In late Latin, this idiom was sometimes abandoned in favor of again using the ablative of time.

text: The kalends were the day for payment of debts and the account books (kalendaria) kept for them gave English its word calendar. The public Roman calendars were the fasti, which designated the religious and legal character of each month's days. The Romans marked each day of such calendars with the letters:[42]

text:
F (fastus, "permissible") on days when it was legal to initiate action in the courts of civil law (dies fasti, "allowed days")
C (comitialis) on fasti days during which the Roman people could hold assemblies (dies comitalis)
N (nefastus) on days when political and judicial activities were prohibited (dies nefasti)
NP (uncertain)[f] on public holidays (feriae)
QRCF (uncertain)[g] on days when the "king" (rex sacrorum) could convene an assembly
EN (endotercissus, an archaic form of intercissus, "halved") on days when most political and religious activities were prohibited in the morning and evening due to sacrifices being prepared or offered but were acceptable for a period in the middle of the day

text: Each day was also marked by a letter from A to H to indicate its place within the nundinal cycle of market days.

text: Weeks[edit]

text: The nundinae were the market days which formed a kind of weekend in Rome, Italy, and some other parts of Roman territory. By Roman inclusive counting, they were reckoned as "ninth days" although they actually occurred every eighth day. Because the republican and Julian years were not evenly divisible into eight-day periods, Roman calendars included a column giving every day of the year a nundinal letter from A to H marking its place in the cycle of market days. Each year, the letter used for the markets would shift 2–5 letters along the cycle. As a day when the city swelled with rural plebeians, they were overseen by the aediles and took on an important role in Roman legislation, which was supposed to be announced for three nundinal weeks (between 17 and 24 days) in advance of its coming to a vote. The patricians and their clients sometimes exploited this fact as a kind of filibuster, since the tribunes of the plebs were required to wait another three-week period if their proposals could not receive a vote before dusk on the day they were introduced. Superstitions arose concerning the bad luck that followed a nundinae on the nones of a month or, later, on the first day of January. Intercalation was supposedly used to avoid such coincidences, even after the Julian reform of the calendar.

text: The 7-day week began to be observed in Italy in the early imperial period,[44] as practitioners and converts to eastern religions introduced Hellenistic and Babylonian astrology, the Jewish Saturday sabbath, and the Christian Lord's Day. The system was originally used for private worship and astrology but had replaced the nundinal week by the time Constantine made Sunday (dies Solis) an official day of rest in AD 321. The hebdomadal week was also reckoned as a cycle of letters from A to G; these were adapted for Christian use as the dominical letters.

text: Months[edit]

text: The names of Roman months originally functioned as adjectives (e.g., the January kalends occur in the January month) before being treated as substantive nouns in their own right (e.g., the kalends of January occur in January). Some of their etymologies are well-established: January and March honor the gods Janus[45] and Mars;[46] July and August honor the dictator Julius Caesar[47] and his successor, the emperor Augustus;[48] and the months Quintilis,[49] Sextilis,[50] September,[51] October,[52] November,[53] and December[54] are archaic adjectives formed from the ordinal numbers from 5 to 10, their position in the calendar when it began around the spring equinox in March.[51] Others are uncertain. February may derive from the Februa festival or its eponymous februa ("purifications, expiatory offerings"), whose name may be either Sabine or preserve an archaic word for sulphuric.[55] April may relate to the Etruscan goddess Apru or the verb aperire ("to open").[citation needed] May and June may honor Maia[56] and Juno[57] or derive from archaic terms for "senior" and "junior". A few emperors attempted to add themselves to the calendar after Augustus, but without enduring success.

text: In classical Latin, the days of each month were usually reckoned as:[40]

text:
Day
Original
31-day months[h]
New Julian
31-day months[i]
New Julian
30-day months[j]
Original
29-day months[k]
February

1
Kal.
On the Kalends
Kalendis

Kal.
Kal.
Kal. Feb.

2
a.d. VI Non.
The 4th Day before the Nones
ante diem quartum Nonas

a.d. IV Non.
a.d. IV Non.
a.d. IV Non. Feb.

3
a.d. V Non.
The 3rd Day before the Nones
ante diem tertium Nonas

a.d. III Non.
a.d. III Non.
a.d. III Non. Feb.

4
a.d. IV Non.
On the Day before the Nones
Pridie Nonas

Prid. Non.
Prid. Non.
Prid. Non. Feb.

5
a.d. III Non.
On the Nones
Nonis

Non.
Non.
Non. Feb.

6
Prid. Non.
The 8th Day before the Ides
ante diem octavum Idus

a.d. VIII Eid.
a.d. VIII Eid.
a.d. VIII Eid. Feb.

7
Non.
The 7th Day before the Ides
ante diem septimum Idus

a.d. VII Eid.
a.d. VII Eid.
a.d. VII Eid. Feb.

8
a.d. VIII Eid.
The 6th Day before the Ides
ante diem sextum Idus

a.d. VI Eid.
a.d. VI Eid.
a.d. VI Eid. Feb.

9
a.d. VII Eid.
The 5th Day before the Ides
ante diem quintum Idus

a.d. V Eid.
a.d. V Eid.
a.d. V Eid. Feb.

10
a.d. VI Eid.
The 4th Day before the Ides
ante diem quartum Idus

a.d. IV Eid.
a.d. IV Eid.
a.d. IV Eid. Feb.

11
a.d. V Eid.
The 3rd Day before the Ides
ante diem tertium Idus

a.d. III Eid.
a.d. III Eid.
a.d. III Eid. Feb.

12
a.d. IV Eid.
On the Day before the Ides
Pridie Idus

Prid. Eid.
Prid. Eid.
Prid. Eid. Feb.

13
a.d. III Eid.
On the Ides
Idibus

Eid.
Eid.
Eid. Feb.

14
Prid. Eid.
The 19th Day before the Kalends
ante diem undevicesimum Kalendas

a.d. XVIII Kal.
a.d. XVII Kal.
a.d. XVI Kal. Mart.

15
Eid.
The 18th Day before the Kalends
ante diem duodevicesimum Kalendas

a.d. XVII Kal.
a.d. XVI Kal.
a.d. XV Kal. Mart.

16
a.d. XVII Kal.
The 17th Day before the Kalends
ante diem septimum decimum Kalendas

a.d. XVI Kal.
a.d. XV Kal.
a.d. XIV Kal. Mart.

17
a.d. XVI Kal.
The 16th Day before the Kalends
ante diem sextum decimum Kalendas

a.d. XV Kal.
a.d. XIV Kal.
a.d. XIII Kal. Mart.

18
a.d. XV Kal.
The 15th Day before the Kalends
ante diem quintum decimum Kalendas

a.d. XIV Kal.
a.d. XIII Kal.
a.d. XII Kal. Mart.

19
a.d. XIV Kal.
The 14th Day before the Kalends
ante diem quartum decimum Kalendas

a.d. XIII Kal.
a.d. XII Kal.
a.d. XI Kal. Mart.

20
a.d. XIII Kal.
The 13th Day before the Kalends
ante diem tertium decimum Kalendas

a.d. XII Kal.
a.d. XI Kal.
a.d. X Kal. Mart.

21
a.d. XII Kal.
The 12th Day before the Kalends
ante diem duodecimum Kalendas

a.d. XI Kal.
a.d. X Kal.
a.d. IX Kal. Mart.

22
a.d. XI Kal.
The 11th Day before the Kalends
ante diem undecimum Kalendas

a.d. X Kal.
a.d. IX Kal.
a.d. VIII Kal. Mart.

23
a.d. X Kal.
The 10th Day before the Kalends
ante diem decimum Kalendas

a.d. IX Kal.
a.d. VIII Kal.
a.d. VII Kal. Mart.

24
a.d. IX Kal.
The 9th Day before the Kalends
ante diem nonum Kalendas

a.d. VIII Kal.
a.d. VII Kal.
a.d. VI Kal. Mart.[l]

25
a.d. VIII Kal.
The 8th Day before the Kalends
ante diem octavum Kalendas

a.d. VII Kal.
a.d. VI Kal.
a.d. V Kal. Mart.

26
a.d. VII Kal.
The 7th Day before the Kalends
ante diem septimum Kalendas

a.d. VI Kal.
a.d. V Kal.
a.d. IV Kal. Mart.

27
a.d. VI Kal.
The 6th Day before the Kalends
ante diem sextum Kalendas

a.d. V Kal.
a.d. IV Kal.
a.d. III Kal. Mart.

28
a.d. V Kal.
The 5th Day before the Kalends
ante diem quintum Kalendas

a.d. IV Kal.
a.d. III Kal.
Prid. Kal. Mart.

29
a.d. IV Kal.
The 4th Day before the Kalends
ante diem quartum Kalendas

a.d. III Kal.
Prid. Kal.

30
a.d. III Kal.
The 3rd Day before the Kalends
ante diem tertium Kalendas

Prid. Kal.

31
Prid. Kal.
On the Day Before the Kalends
Pridie Kalendas

text: Dates after the ides count forward to the kalends of the next month and are expressed as such. For example, March 19 was expressed as "the 14th day before the April Kalends" (a.d. XIV Kal. Apr.), without a mention of March itself. The day after a kalends, nones, or ides was also often expressed as the "day after" (postridie) owing to their special status as particularly unlucky "black days".

text: The anomalous status of the new 31-day months under the Julian calendar was an effect of Caesar's desire to avoid affecting the festivals tied to the nones and ides of various months, because the dates at the ends of the month all counted forward to the next kalends, however, they were all shifted by one or two days by the change. This created confusion with regard to certain anniversaries. For instance, Augustus's birthday on the 23rd day of September was a.d. VIII Kal. Oct. in the old calendar but a.d. IX Kal. Oct. under the new system. The ambiguity caused honorary festivals to be held on either or both dates.

text: Intercalation[edit]

text: The Republican calendar only had 355 days, which meant that it would quickly unsynchronize from the solar year, causing, for example, agricultural festivals to occur out of season. The Roman solution to this problem was to periodically lengthen the calendar by adding extra days within February. February was broken into two parts, each with an odd number of days. The first part ended with the Terminalia on the 23rd (a.d. VII Kal. Mart.), which was considered the end of the religious year; the five remaining days beginning with the Regifugium on the 24th (a.d. VI Kal. Mart.) formed the second part; and the intercalary month Mercedonius was inserted between them. In such years, the days between the ides and the Regifugium were counted down to either the Intercalary Kalends or to the Terminalia. The intercalary month counted down to nones and ides on its 5th and 13th day in the manner of the other short months. The remaining days of the month counted down towards the March Kalends, so that the end of Mercedonius and the second part of February were indistinguishable to the Romans, one ending on a.d. VII Kal. Mart. and the other picking up at a.d. VI Kal. Mart. and bearing the normal festivals of such dates.

text: Apparently because of the confusion of these changes or uncertainty as to whether an intercalary month would be ordered, dates after the February ides are attested as sometimes counting down towards the Quirinalia (Feb. 17), the Feralia (Feb. 21), or Terminalia (Feb. 23)[58] rather than the intercalary or March kalends.

text: The third-century writer Censorinus says:

text: When it was thought necessary to add (every two years) an intercalary month of 22 or 23 days, so that the civil year should correspond to the natural (solar) year, this intercalation was in preference made in February, between Terminalia [23rd] and Regifugium [24th].[59]

text: The fifth-century writer Macrobius says that the Romans intercalated 22 and 23 days in alternate years (Saturnalia, 1.13.12); the intercalation was placed after 23 February and the remaining five days of February followed (Saturnalia, 1.13.15). To avoid the nones falling on a nundine, where necessary an intercalary day was inserted "in the middle of the Terminalia, where they placed the intercalary month".[60]

text: This is historically correct. In 167 BC Intercalaris began on the day after 23 February [61] and in 170 BC it began on the second day after 23 February.[62] Varro, writing in the first century BC, says "the twelfth month was February, and when intercalations take place the five last days of this month are removed."[63] Since all the days after the Ides of Intercalaris were counted down to the beginning of March Intercalaris had either 27 days (making 377 for the year) or 28 (making 378 for the year).

text: There is another theory which says that in intercalary years February had 23 or 24 days and Intercalaris had 27. No date is offered for the Regifugium in 378-day years.[64] Macrobius describes a further refinement whereby, in one 8-year period within a 24-year cycle, there were only three intercalary years, each of 377 days. This refinement brings the calendar back in line with the seasons, and averages the length of the year to 365.25 days over 24 years.

text: The Pontifex Maximus determined when an intercalary month was to be inserted. On average, this happened in alternate years. The system of aligning the year through intercalary months broke down at least twice: the first time was during and after the Second Punic War. It led to the reform of the 191 BC Acilian Law on Intercalation, the details of which are unclear, but it appears to have successfully regulated intercalation for over a century. The second breakdown was in the middle of the first century BC and may have been related to the increasingly chaotic and adversarial nature of Roman politics at the time. The position of Pontifex Maximus was not a full-time job; it was held by a member of the Roman elite, who would almost invariably be involved in the machinations of Roman politics. Because the term of office of elected Roman magistrates was defined in terms of a Roman calendar year, a Pontifex Maximus would have reason to lengthen a year in which he or his allies were in power or shorten a year in which his political opponents held office.

text: Although there are many stories to interpret the intercalation, a period of 22 or 23 days is always ¾ synodic month. Obviously, the month beginning shifts forward (from the new moon, to the third quarter, to the full moon, to the first quarter, back the new moon) after intercalation.

text: Years[edit]

text: As mentioned above, Rome's legendary 10-month calendar notionally lasted for 304 days but was usually thought to make up the rest of the solar year during an unorganized winter period. The unattested but almost certain lunar year and the pre-Julian civil year were 354 or 355 days long, with the difference from the solar year more or less corrected by an irregular intercalary month. The Julian year was 365 days long, with a leap day doubled in length every fourth year, almost equivalent to the present Gregorian system.

text: The calendar era before and under the Roman kings is uncertain but dating by regnal years was common in antiquity. Under the Roman Republic, from 509 BC, years were most commonly described in terms of their reigning ordinary consuls.[29] (Temporary and honorary consuls were sometimes elected or appointed but were not used in dating.)[29] Consular lists were displayed on the public calendars. After the institution of the Roman Empire, regnal dates based on the emperors' terms in office became more common. Some historians of the later republic and early imperial eras dated from the legendary founding of the city of Rome (ab urbe condita or AVC).[29] Varro's date for this was 753 BC but other writers used different dates, varying by several decades.[citation needed] Such dating was, however, never widespread. After the consuls waned in importance, most Roman dating was regnal[66] or followed Diocletian's 15-year Indiction tax cycle.[29] These cycles were not distinguished, however, so that "year 2 of the indiction" may refer to any of 298, 313, 328, &c.[29] The Orthodox subjects of the Byzantine Empire used various Christian eras, including those based on Diocletian's persecutions, Christ's incarnation, and the supposed age of the world.

text: The Romans did not have records of their early calendars but, like modern historians, assumed the year originally began in March on the basis of the names of the months following June. The consul M. Fulvius Nobilior (r. 189 BC) wrote a commentary on the calendar at the Temple of Hercules Musarum that claimed January had been named for Janus because the god faced both ways,[67][where?] suggesting it had been instituted as a first month.[citation needed] It was, however, usually said to have been instituted along with February, whose nature and festivals suggest it had originally been considered the last month of the year. The consuls' term of office—and thus the order of the years under the republic—seems to have changed several times. Their inaugurations were finally moved to 1 January (Kal. Ian.) in 153 BC to allow Q. Fulvius Nobilior to attack Segeda in Spain during the Celtiberian Wars, before which they had occurred on 15 March (Eid. Mart.).[68] There is reason to believe the inauguration date had been 1 May during the 3rd century BC until 222 BC[citation needed] and Livy mentions earlier inaugurations on 15 May (Eid. Mai.), 1 July (Kal. Qui.), 1 August (Kal. Sex.), 1 October (Kal. Oct.), and 15 December (Eid. Dec.).[69][where?] Under the Julian calendar, the year began on 1 January but years of the Indiction cycle began on 1 September.

text: In addition Egypt's separate calendar, some provinces maintained their records using a local era.[29] Africa dated its records sequentially from 39 BC;[66] Spain from AD 38.[citation needed] This dating system continued as the Spanish era used in medieval Spain.[citation needed]

text: Conversion to Julian or Gregorian dates[edit]

text: The continuity of names from the Roman to the Gregorian calendar can lead to the mistaken belief that Roman dates correspond to Julian or Gregorian ones. In fact, the essentially complete list of Roman consuls allows general certainty of years back to the establishment of the republic but the uncertainty as to the end of lunar dating and the irregularity of Roman intercalation means that dates which can be independently verified are invariably weeks to months outside of their "proper" place. Two astronomical events dated by Livy show the calendar 4 months out of alignment with the Julian date in 190 BC and 2 months out of alignment in 168 BC. Thus, "the year of the consulship of Publius Cornelius Sciopio Africanus and Publius Licinius Crassus" (usually given as "205 BC") actually began on 15 March 205 BC and ended on 14 March 204 BC according to the Roman calendar but may have begun as early as November or December 206 BC owing to its misalignment. Even following the establishment of the Julian calendar, the leap years were not applied correctly by the Roman priests, meaning dates are a few days out of their "proper" place until a few decades into Augustus's reign.

text: Given the paucity of records regarding the state of the calendar and its intercalation, historians have reconstructed the correspondence of Roman dates to their Julian and Gregorian equivalents from disparate sources. There are detailed accounts of the decades leading up to the Julian reform, particularly the speeches and letters of Cicero, which permit an established chronology back to about 58 BC. The nundinal cycle and a few known synchronisms—e.g., a Roman date in terms of the Attic calendar and Olympiad—are used to generate contested chronologies back to the start of the First Punic War in 264 BC. Beyond that, dates are roughly known based on clues such as the dates of harvests and seasonal religious festivals.


document_title: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)

question_text: where was diary of a wimpy kid filmed

question_tokens: where was diary of a wimpy kid filmed

root

text: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: The film starts with Rodrick waking up his brother Greg, saying it is time for school. However, Rodrick tricks Greg, as it is night. After the title sequence, Greg attends his first day at middle school and discovers the ups and downs, such as the missing stall doors in the boys' bathroom and the difficulties of obtaining a seat during lunch break. During P.E. lessons, he and his best friend Rowley escape from a game of Gladiator and learn about the Cheese Touch - a rotten piece of cheese on the basketball court that makes anyone who touches it an outcast. Greg also meets Angie, a girl who isolates herself from the other girls to survive. Greg states his intention of becoming the most popular student in school.

tag: p

text: At the end of the day, Rowley unintentionally embarrasses both boys by asking Greg if he wants to come over and "play". Greg looks through Rodrick's yearbook at home and Rodrick catches them, threatening to kill Greg. The next day, Greg signs up for wrestling to become popular but suffers humiliating losses against both Fregley, a weird outcast, and Patty Farrell, Greg's arch-enemy from elementary school. On Halloween, the two boys encounter teenagers while trick or treating, and they are drenched with water. When Greg threatens to call the cops, the teenagers chase them to his Grandma's house. Some time later on, Greg makes it an effort to make Rowley popular by changing his style of clothing and looks, and how he wears a backpack.

text: The boys join Safety Patrol in an effort to become popular, and they try out for a contest that offers a student a chance to become the new cartoonist for the school paper. After Greg breaks Rowley's arm during a game the boys played, Rowley becomes extremely popular, and wins the contest. Greg becomes jealous of him. At Safety Patrol, Greg panicks when he encounters a truck identical to the teenagers' from Halloween, and hides the kids in a construction zone. He is spotted by a neighbour who mistakes him for Rowley. To his own bewilderment, Rowley is banned from the Patrol, but Greg eventually confesses to Rowley. Upset and feeling betrayed, Rowley tells Greg that isn't a good friend, and that all he cares about is himself. Rowley then ends their friendship, and makes friends with Collin who replaces Greg as Rowley's new best friend.

text: Greg decides to pursue popularity without Rowley by joining the school play. At tryouts, Greg's soprano voice earns him the role of Dorothy; however, Patty threatens the teacher into casting her instead. Greg signs up as a tree, hoping to throw apples on Patty during the play, but during rehearsal, the trees are told they won't throw apples but sing a song instead. At the performance, Greg refuses to sing as Rodrick is videotaping the performance, and begins throwing apples, ending the play in chaos.

text: Later, Rodrick found an invitation to the mother-son sweetheart dance, which Greg was trying his hardest to hide. As a result, Greg got revenge by letting Manny read Rodrick's pornographic magazines. Rodrick is grounded for leaving his magazines out in the open where their baby brother Manny is able to find them, but Greg fails to reconcile with Rowley.

text: One day at school, Rowley and Greg confront each other. Patty and the other kids force Greg and Rowley to fight; however, neither of them are good at fighting. The Halloween teenagers arrive at the scene and force the school to flee, but catch Rowley and Greg. They force Rowley to eat the cheese before the P.E. teacher forces them to flee. When the other kids notice that the Cheese has been moved from its original location and has been bitten, Greg covers up for Rowley by saying he ate it. This mends their friendship but makes Greg an outcast, as he is thought to have the Cheese Touch.

text: When the yearbooks are published, he and Rowley make the Class Favorites page as "Cutest Best Friends." Surprisingly though, people were brave enough to be close to Greg.

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Zachary Gordon as Greg Heffley.
Robert Capron as Rowley Jefferson, Greg's childish best friend.
Devon Bostick as Rodrick Heffley, Greg's older brother.
Steve Zahn as Frank Heffley, Greg's father.
Rachael Harris as Susan Heffley, Greg's mother.
Chloë Grace Moretz as Angie Steadman, a seventh grader at Greg's school who is a reporter for the school paper.
Karan Brar as Chirag Gupta, a friend of Greg's.
Grayson Russell as Fregley, a weird classmate of Greg's.
Laine MacNeil as Patty Farrell, Greg's arch-enemy.
Alex Ferris as Collin Lee, Rowley's substitute best friend during his fight with Greg.
Andrew McNee as Coach Malone, Greg's gym teacher.
Connor and Owen Fielding as Manny Heffley, Greg's little brother.
Belita Moreno as Mrs. Norton, Greg's acting teacher.

tag: ul

text: Production[edit]

text: Filming of Diary of a Wimpy Kid was in Vancouver and wrapped up on October 16, 2009.

text: The official trailer for Wimpy Kid was released virally on January 21, 2010 and was shown in theaters with Tooth Fairy.[8] A poster for the film was released shortly after. Another trailer was shown with Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.[9]

text: The official Facebook account for Wimpy Kid had uploaded three clips from the film, as of March 1, 2010.[10] In the United Kingdom and Ireland the film was released in cinemas on August 25, 2010.

text: Soundtrack[edit]

text: The soundtrack was released on CD by La La Land Records with the score composed by Theodore Shapiro, containing 34 tracks.

text: Distribution[edit]

text: Tie-in book[edit]

text: A tie-in book, written by Kinney, called The Wimpy Kid Movie Diary was published on March 16, 2010, by Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams Books). It includes film stills, storyboards, preliminary concept drawings, and also behind the scenes information to humorously chronicle the making of the film. It also includes some new illustrations.[11][12]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 3, 2010. The Blu-ray Version features six pages from Rowley's diary, Diary of an Awesome, Friendly Kid.

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 53%, based on 106 reviews with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unlike its bestselling source material, Diary of a Wimpy Kid fails to place a likable protagonist at the center of its middle-school humor – and its underlying message is drowned out as a result."[13] It also holds a rating of 56/100 at Metacritic, based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14] Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, writing "It's nimble, bright and funny. It doesn't dumb down. It doesn't patronize. It knows something about human nature."[15] Glenn Whipp of the Associated Press was less positive, saying, "In transferring the clean, precise humor of Kinney's illustrations and prose to the big-screen, the material loses just a bit of its charm."[16] At the Movies host David Stratton gave the film one star while co-host Margaret Pomeranz gave it half a star. Stratton called the film "tiresome" and said there was "nothing remotely interesting in Thor Freudenthal's direction or the screenplay." Pomeranz disliked the character of Greg Heffley, saying "I really thought he was unpleasant. I did not want to spend time with him. I could not wait for the end of this film."[17]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film opened in second place at the weekend box office grossing $22.1 million, behind Alice in Wonderland.[18]

text: Despite a lack of distinctive marketing, Diary of a Wimpy Kid drew a decent crowd, opening to $22.1 million on approximately 3,400 screens at 3,077 sites, notably beating out the heavily hyped The Bounty Hunter. It was the biggest start ever for a non-animated, non-fantasy children's book adaptation. Diary of a Wimpy Kid grossed more in its first three days than other film adaptions to children's novels like How to Eat Fried Worms and Hoot grossed in their entire runs.[18] The film grossed $64,003,625 in North America and $11,696,873 in other territories for a worldwide total of $75,700,498.[19]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipient(s)
Result
Ref.

2011
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award
Favorite Movie
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Nominated

2011
Young Artist Award
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor
Zachary Gordon
Nominated
[20]

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor
Robert Capron
Nominated

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actor
Alex Ferris
Nominated

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress
Laine MacNeil
Nominated

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast
Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Devon Bostick, Chloë Grace Moretz, Laine MacNeil, Grayson Russell, Karan Brar, and Alex Ferris
Nominated

tag: table

text: Sequels[edit]

text: Three sequels were released in 2011, 2012 and 2017 respectively. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was released on March 25, 2011. It was based on the second book in the series, Rodrick Rules. Zachary Gordon reprised his role in the film. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was released in August 3, 2012 and is based on The Last Straw and Dog Days, including scenes from both books. A film based on The Long Haul was released in May 2017.


document_title: Waltz of the Angels

question_text: who wrote the song play me the waltz of the angels

text: Waltz of the Angels

text: This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
"Waltz of the Angels"

Single by George Jones and Margie Singleton

Released
1962

Genre
Country

Length
2:45

Label
UA

Songwriter(s)
C.A. Hussey

Producer(s)
Shelby Singleton

George Jones and Margie Singleton singles chronology

"Did I Ever Tell You"
(1961)
"Waltz of the Angels"
(1962)

"Did I Ever Tell You"
(1961)
"Waltz of the Angels"
(1962)

text: "Waltz of the Angels" is a duet by George Jones and Margie Singleton. The love song was released as the pair's second single and rose to #11 on the Billboard country chart. It was composed by C.A. Hussey in 1879. It would be included on the 2007 Time Life Records Jones set 40 Years of Duets. Jean Shepard also recorded the song in 1960.

text:
[hide]

v
t
e

George Jones

Studio albums

Grand Ole Opry's New Star (1956)
Hillbilly Hit Parade
Long Live King George
Country Church Time
White Lightning and Other Favorites
George Jones Salutes Hank Williams
Sings Country and Western Hits
Sings from the Heart
George Jones Sings Bob Wills
Homecoming in Heaven
My Favorites of Hank Williams
I Wish Tonight Would Never End
Blue & Lonesome
George Jones Sings Like the Dickens!
Mr. Country & Western Music
New Country Hits
Old Brush Arbors
Country Heart
Love Bug
I'm a People
We Found Heaven Right Here on Earth at "4033"
Walk Through This World with Me
Sings the Songs of Dallas Frazier
If My Heart Had Windows
I'll Share My World with You
Where Grass Won't Grow
Will You Visit Me on Sunday?
George Jones with Love
George Jones Sings the Great Songs of Leon Payne
George Jones (We Can Make It)
A Picture of Me (Without You)
Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You)
In a Gospel Way
The Grand Tour
Memories of Us
The Battle
Alone Again
I Wanta Sing
Bartender's Blues
I Am What I Am
Still the Same Ole Me
Shine On
Jones Country
You've Still Got a Place in My Heart
Ladies' Choice
Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes
Wine Colored Roses
Too Wild Too Long
One Woman Man
You Oughta Be Here with Me
And Along Came Jones
Walls Can Fall
High-Tech Redneck
I Lived to Tell It All
It Don't Get Any Better Than This
Cold Hard Truth
The Rock: Stone Cold Country 2001
The Gospel Collection
Hits I Missed...And One I Didn't

Collaborative albums

What's in Our Hearts
A King & Two Queens
Bluegrass Hootenanny
Famous Country Duets
George Jones and Gene Pitney: For the First Time! Two Great Singers
George Jones and Gene Pitney (Recorded in Nashville!)
It's Country Time Again!
We Go Together
Me and the First Lady
We Love to Sing About Jesus
Let's Build a World Together
We're Gonna Hold On
George & Tammy & Tina
Golden Ring
My Very Special Guests
Double Trouble
Together Again
A Taste of Yesterday's Wine
Friends in High Places
The Bradley Barn Sessions
George and Tammy Super Hits
One
God's Country: George Jones and Friends
Kickin' Out the Footlights...Again
Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets

Compilations

Hits by George
Anniversary – 10 Years of Hits
By Request
First Time Live
Super Hits
Super Hits, Volume 2
16 Biggest Hits
Live with the Possum
50 Years of Hits

Related articles

Albums discography
Singles discography
Discography with Tammy Wynette
Awards

text: 1879 songsUnited Artists Records singlesGeorge Jones songs

text: Articles lacking sources from August 2015All articles lacking sourcesArticles with hAudio microformats


document_title: Konark Sun Temple

question_text: sun temple is made up of which rock

question_tokens: sun temple is made up of which rock

text: Konark Sun Temple

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The name Konark derives from the combination of the Sanskrit words Kona (corner or angle) and Arka (the sun).[9] The context of the term Kona is unclear, but probably refers to the southeast location of this temple either within a larger temple complex or in relation to other sun temples on the subcontinent.[11] The Arka refers to the Hindu sun god Surya.[9]

text: Location[edit]

text: The Konark Sun Temple is located in an eponymous village about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Puri and 60 kilometres (37 mi) southeast of Bhubaneswar on the Bay of Bengal coastline in the Indian state of Odisha. The nearest airport is Bhubaneswar airport (IATA: BBI). Both Puri and Bhubaneswar are major railway hubs connected by Indian Railways' Southeastern services.[12]

text: Description[edit]

text: The Konark Sun Temple was built from stone in the form of a giant ornamented chariot dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. In Hindu Vedic iconography Surya is represented as rising in the east and traveling rapidly across the sky in a chariot drawn by seven horses. He is described typically as a resplendent standing person holding a lotus flower in both his hands, riding the chariot marshaled by the charioteer Aruna.[13][14] The seven horses are named after the seven meters of Sanskrit prosody: Gayatri, Brihati, Ushnih, Jagati, Trishtubha, Anushtubha, and Pankti.[14] Typically seen flanking Surya are two females who represent the dawn goddesses, Usha and Pratyusha. The goddesses are shown to be shooting arrows, a symbol of their initiative in challenging darkness.[15] The architecture is also symbolic, with the chariot's twelve pairs of wheels corresponding to the 12 months of the Hindu calendar, each month paired into two cycles (Shukla and Krishna).[16]

text: The Konark temple presents this iconography on a grand scale. It has 24 elaborately carved stone wheels which are nearly 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter and are pulled by a set of seven horses.[5][2][17] When viewed from inland during the dawn and sunrise, the chariot-shaped temple appears to emerge from the depths of the blue sea carrying the sun.[18]

text: The temple plan includes all the traditional elements of a Hindu temple set on a square plan. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the ground plan, as well the layout of sculptures and reliefs, follow the square and circle geometry, forms found in Odisha temple design texts such as the Silpasarini.[19] This mandala structure informs the plans of other Hindu temples in Odisha and elsewhere.[19]

text: The main temple at Konark, locally called the deul, no longer exists. It was surrounded by subsidiary shrines containing niches depicting Hindu deities, particularly Surya in many of his aspects. The deul was built on a high terrace.[5] The temple was originally a complex consisting of the main sanctuary, called the rekha deul, or bada deul (lit. big sanctum).[18] In front of it was the bhadra deul (lit. small sanctum), or jagamohana (lit. assembly hall of the people) (called a mandapa in other parts of India.[20]). The attached platform was called the pida deul, which consisted of a square mandapa with a pyramidal roof.[18] All of these structures were square at their core, and each was overlain with the pancharatha plan containing a variegated exterior.[18] The central projection, called the raha, is more pronounced than the side projections, called kanika-paga, a style that aims for an interplay of sunlight and shade and adds to the visual appeal of the structure throughout the day. The design manual for this style is found in the Silpa Sastra of ancient Odisha.[18][21]

text: Twice as wide as they were high, the walls of the jagamohana are 100 feet (30 m) tall. The surviving structure has three tiers of six pidas each. These diminish incrementally and repeat the lower patterns. The pidas are divided into terraces. On each of these terraces stand statues of musician figures.[5] The main temple and the jagamohana porch consist of four main zones: the platform, the wall, the trunk, and the crowning head called a mastaka.[22] The first three are square while the mastaka is circular. The main temple and the jagamohana differed in size, decorative themes, and design. It was the main temple's trunk, called the gandhi in medieval Hindu architecture texts, that was ruined long ago. The sanctum of the main temple is now without a roof and most of the original parts.[22]

text: On the east side of the main temple is the Nata mandira (lit. dance temple). It stands on a high, intricately carved platform. The relief on the platform is similar in style to that found on the surviving walls of the temple.[5] According to historical texts, there was an Aruna stambha (lit. Aruna's pillar) between the main temple and the Nata mandira, but it is no longer there because it was moved to the Jagannatha at Puri sometime during the troubled history of this temple.[5] According to Harle, the texts suggest that originally the complex was enclosed within a wall 865 feet (264 m) by 540 feet (160 m), with gateways on three sides.[5]

text: The stone temple was made from three types of stone.[23] Chlorite was used for the door lintel and frames as well as some sculptures. Laterite was used for the core of the platform and staircases near the foundation. Khondalite was used for other parts of the temple. According to Mitra, the Khondalite stone weathers faster over time, and this may have contributed to erosion and accelerated the damage when parts of the temples were destroyed.[23] None of these stones occur naturally nearby, and the architects and artisans must have procured and moved the stones from distant sources, probably using the rivers and water channels near the site.[23] The masons then created ashlar, wherein the stones were polished and finished so as to make joints hardly visible.[23]

text: The original temple had a main sanctum sanctorum (vimana), which is estimated to have been 229 feet (70 m)[17] tall. The main vimana fell in 1837. The main mandapa audience hall (jagamohana), which is about 128 feet (39 m) tall, still stands and is the principal structure in the surviving ruins. Among the structures that have survived to the current day are the dance hall (Nata mandira) and the dining hall (Bhoga mandapa).[2][17]

text: Reliefs and sculpture[edit]

text: The walls of the temple from the temple's base through the crowing elements are ornamented with reliefs, many finished to jewelry-quality miniature details. The terraces contain stone statues of male and female musicians holding various musical instruments.[24] Other major works of art include sculptures of Hindu deities, apsaras and images from the daily life and culture of the people (artha and dharma scenes), various animals, aquatic creatures, birds, mythological creatures, and friezes narrating the Hindu texts. The carvings include purely decorative geometric patterns and plant motifs.[24] Some panels show images from the life of the king such as one showing him receiving counsel from a guru, where the artists symbolically portrayed the king as much smaller than the guru, with the king's sword resting on the ground next to him.[25]

text: The upana (moulding) layer at the bottom of the platform contains friezes of elephants, marching soldiers, musicians, and images depicting the secular life of the people, including hunting scenes, a caravan of domesticated animals, people carrying supplies on their head or with the help of a bullock cart, travelers preparing a meal along the roadside, and festive processions.[26] On other walls are found images depicting the daily life of the elite as well as the common people. For example, girls are shown wringing their wet hair, standing by a tree, looking from a window, playing with pets, putting on makeup while looking into a mirror, playing musical instruments such as the vina, chasing away a monkey who is trying to snatch items, a family taking leave of their elderly grandmother who seems dressed for a pilgrimage, a mother blessing her son, a teacher with students, a yogi during a standing asana, a warrior being greeted with a namaste, a mother with her child, an old woman with a walking stick and a bowl in her hands, comical characters, among others.[27]

text: The Konark temple is also known for its erotic sculptures of maithunas.[28] These show couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy, and in some cases coital themes. Notorious in the colonial era for their uninhibited celebration of sexuality, these images are included with other aspects of human life as well as deities that are typically associated with tantra. This led some to propose that the erotic sculptures are linked to the vama marga (left hand tantra) tradition.[5] However, this is not supported by local literary sources, and these images may be the same kama and mithuna scenes found integrated into the art of many Hindu temples.[5] The erotic sculptures are found on the temple's Shikhara, and these illustrate all the bandhas (mudra forms) described in the Kamasutra.[20]

text: Other large sculptures were a part of the gateways of the temple complex. These include life-size lions subduing elephants, elephants subduing demons, and horses. A major pillar dedicated to Aruna, called the Aruna Stambha, used to stand in front of the eastern stairs of the porch. This, too, was intricately carved with horizontal friezes and motifs. It now stands in front of the Jagannatha temple at Puri.[29]

text: Hindu deities[edit]

text: The upper levels and terrace of the Konark Sun temple contain larger and more significant works of art than the lower level. These include images of musicians and mythological narratives as well as sculptures of Hindu deities, including Durga in her Mahishasuramardini aspect killing the shape-shifting buffalo demon (Shaktism), Vishnu in his Jagannatha form (Vaishnavism), and Shiva as a (largely damaged) linga (Shaivism). Some of the better-preserved friezes and sculptures were removed and relocated to museums in Europe and major cities of India before 1940.[30]

text: The Hindu deities are also depicted in other parts of the temple. For example, the medallions of the chariot wheels of the Surya temple, as well as the anuratha artwork of the jagamohana, show Vishnu, Shiva, Gajalakshmi, Parvati, Krishna, Narasimha, and other gods and goddesses.[31] Also found on the jagamohana are sculptures of Vedic deities such as Indra, Agni, Kubera, Varuna, and Âdityas.[32]

text: Style[edit]

text: The temple follows the traditional style of Kalinga architecture. It is oriented towards the east so that the first rays of the sunrise strike the main entrance.[2] The temple, built from Khondalite rocks,[33][34] was originally constructed at the mouth of the river Chandrabhaga, but the waterline has receded since then.[citation needed] The wheels of the temple are sundials, which can be used to calculate time accurately to a minute.[35]

text: Other temples and monuments[edit]

text: The Konark Sun Temple complex has ruins of many subsidiary shrines and monuments around the main temple. Some of these include:

text:
Mayadevi Temple – Located west-southwest from the entrance of the main temple,[36] it has been dated to the late 11th century, earlier than the main temple.[37] It consists of a sanctuary, a mandapa and, before it, an open platform. It was discovered during excavations carried out between 1900 and 1910. Early theories assumed that it was dedicated to Surya's wife and thus named the Mayadevi Temple. However, later studies suggested that it was also a Surya temple, albeit an older one that was fused into the complex when the monumental temple was built.[36] This temple also has numerous carvings and a square mandapa is overlain by a sapta-ratha. The sanctum of this Surya temple features a Nataraja. Other deities in the interior include a damaged Surya holding a lotus, along with Agni, Varuna, Vishnu, and Vayu.[38]
Vaishnava Temple – Located southwest of the so-called Mayadevi Temple, it was discovered during excavations in 1956. This discovery was significant because it confirmed that the Konark Sun Temple complex revered all the major Hindu traditions, and was not an exclusive worship place for the saura cult as previously believed. This is a small temple with sculptures of Balarama, Varaha, and Vamana–Trivikrama in its sanctum, marking it as a Vaishnavite temple. These images are shown as wearing dhoti and a lot of jewelry. The sanctum's primary idol is missing, as are images from some niches in the temple.[39] The site's significance as a place of Vaishnavism pilgrimage is attested to in Vaishnava texts. For example, Krishna Chaitanya, the early 16th-century scholar and founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, visited the Konark temple and prayed on its premises.[40]
Kitchen – This monument is found south of the bhoga mandapa (feeding hall). It, too, was discovered in excavations in the 1950s. It includes means to bring water, cisterns to store water, drains, a cooking floor, depressions in the floor probably for pounding spices or grains, as well several triple ovens (chulahs) for cooking. This structure may have been for festive occasions or a part of a community feeding hall.[41] According to Thomas Donaldson, the kitchen complex may have been added a little later than the original temple.[42]
Well 1 – This monument is located north of the kitchen, towards its eastern flank, was probably built to supply water to the community kitchen and bhoga mandapa. Near the well are a pillared mandapa and five structures, some with semi-circular steps whose role is unclear.[43]
Well 2 – This monument and associated structures are in the front of the northern staircase of the main temple, with foot rests, a washing platform, and a wash water drain system. It was probably designed for the use of pilgrims arriving at the temple.[44]

text: A collection of fallen sculptures can be viewed at the Konark Archaeological Museum, which is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.[45]

text: History[edit]

text:
Part of a series on

Hinduism

Hindu
History

Concepts[show]

Worldview

Hindu cosmology
Puranic chronology
Hindu mythology

God / Highest Reality

Brahman
Ishvara
God in Hinduism
God and gender

Life

Ashrama (stage)

Brahmacharya
Grihastha
Vanaprastha
Sannyasa

Purusharthas

Dharma
Artha
Kama
Moksha

Liberation

Atman
Maya
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Samsara

Ethics

Niti shastra
Yamas
Niyama
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Satya
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Dayā
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Santosha
Tapas
Svādhyāya
Shaucha
Mitahara
Dāna

Liberation

Bhakti yoga
Jnana yoga
Karma yoga

Schools[show]

Six Astika schools

Samkhya
Yoga
Nyaya
Vaisheshika
Mimamsa
Vedanta

Advaita
Dvaita
Vishishtadvaita

Other schools

Pasupata
Saiva
Pratyabhijña
Raseśvara
Īśvara
Pāṇini Darśana
Charvaka

Deities[show]

Trimurti

Brahma
Vishnu
Shiva

Other major Devas / Devis

Vedic
Indra
Agni
Prajapati
Rudra
Devi
Saraswati
Ushas
Varuna
Vayu

Post-Vedic
Durga
Ganesha
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Kali
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Lakshmi
Parvati
Radha
Rama
Shakti
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Texts[show]

Scriptures

Vedas

Rigveda
Yajurveda
Samaveda
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Divisions

Samhita
Brahmana
Aranyaka
Upanishad

Upanishads

Rigveda:
Aitareya
Kaushitaki

Yajurveda:
Brihadaranyaka
Isha
Taittiriya
Katha
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text: Ancient Texts[edit]

text: The oldest surviving Vedic hymns, such as hymn 1.115 of the Rigveda, mention Surya with particular reverence for the "rising sun" and its symbolism as dispeller of darkness, one who empowers knowledge, the good, and all life.[14] However, the usage is context specific. In some hymns, the word Surya simply means sun as an inanimate object, a stone, or a gem in the sky (Rigvedic hymns 5.47, 6.51 and 7.63) while in others it refers to a personified deity.[14][46][47] In the layers of Vedic texts, Surya is one of the several trinities along with Agni and either Vayu or Indra, which are presented as an equivalent icon and aspect of the Hindu metaphysical concept called the Brahman.[48]

text: In the Brahmanas layer of Vedic literature, Surya appears with Agni (fire god) in the same hymns.[49] Surya is revered for the day, and Agni for its role during the night.[49] According to Kapila Vatsyayan, the concept of a Surya–Agni relationship evolves, and in later literature Surya is described as Agni representing the first principle and the seed of the universe.[50] It is in the Brahmanas layer of the Vedas,[51][52] and the Upanishads that Surya is explicitly linked to the power of sight, and to visual perception and knowledge. He is then internalized and said to be the eye, as ancient Hindu sages suggested abandonment of external rituals to gods in favor of internal reflection and meditation of the gods within, in one's journey to realize the Atman (soul, self) within, in texts such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad, Kaushitaki Upanishad, and others.[53][54][55]

text: The Mahabharata epic opens its chapter on Surya by reverentially calling him the "eye of the universe, soul of all existence, origin of all life, goal of the Samkhyas and Yogis, and symbolism for freedom and spiritual emancipation".[14] In the Mahabharata, Karna is the son of Surya and an unmarried princess named Kunti.[14] The epic describes Kunti's difficult life as an unmarried mother, then her abandonment of Karna, followed by her lifelong grief. Baby Karna is found and then adopted, and grows up to become one of the central characters in the great battle of Kurukshetra where he fights his half-brothers.[56]

text: Konark in texts[edit]

text: Konark, also referred to in Indian texts by the name Kainapara, was a significant trading port by the early centuries of the common era.[57] The current Konark temple dates to the 13th century, though evidence suggests that a sun temple was built in the Konark area by at least the 9th century.[58] Several Puranas mention Surya worship centers in Mundira, which may have been the earlier name for Konark, Kalapriya (Mathura), and Multan (now in Pakistan).[59] The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim and traveler Hiuen-tsang (also referred to as Xuanzang) mentions a port city in Odisha named Charitra. He describes the city as prosperous, with five convents and "storeyed towers that are very high and carved with saintly figures exquisitely done". Since he visited India in the 7th century, he could not have been referring to the 13th-century temple, but his description suggests either Konark or another Odisha port city already featuring towering structures with sculptures.[40]

text: According to the Madala Panji, there was at one time another temple in the region built by Pundara Kesari. He may have been Puranjaya, the 7th-century ruler of the Somavasmi Dynasty.[60]

text: Construction[edit]

text: The current temple is attributed to Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, r. 1238–1264 CE– . It is one of the few Hindu temples whose planning and construction records written in Sanskrit in the Odiya script have been preserved in the form of palm leaf manuscripts that were discovered in a village in the 1960s and subsequently translated.[61] The temple was sponsored by the king, and its construction was overseen by Siva Samantaraya Mahapatra. It was built near an old Surya temple. The sculpture in the older temple's sanctum was re-consecrated and incorporated into the newer larger temple. This chronology of temple site's evolution is supported by many copper plate inscriptions of the era in which the Konark temple is referred to as the "great cottage".[40]

text: According to James Harle, the temple as built in the 13th century consisted of two main structures, the dance mandapa and the great temple (deul). The smaller mandapa is the structure that survives; the great deul collapsed sometime in the late 16th century or after. According to Harle, the original temple "must originally have stood to a height of some 225 feet (69 m)", but only parts of its walls and decorative mouldings remain.[5]

text: Damage and ruins[edit]

text: The temple was in ruins before its restoration. Speculation continues as to the cause of the destruction of the temple. Early theories stated that the temple was never completed and collapsed during construction. This is contradicted by textual evidence and evidence from inscriptions. The Kenduli copper plate inscription of 1384 CE from the reign of Narasimha IV seems to indicate that the temple was not only completed but an active site of worship. Another inscription states that various deities in the temple were consecrated, also suggesting that construction of the temple had been completed.[62] A non-Hindu textual source, the Akbar-era text Ain-i-Akbari by Abul Fazl dated to the 16th century, mentions the Konark temple,[40] describing it as a prosperous site with a temple that made visitors "astonished at its sight", with no mention of ruins.[62][63][64]

text: Texts from the 19th century do mention ruins, which means the temple was damaged either intentionally or through natural causes sometime between 1556 and 1800 CE. The intentional-damage theory is supported by Mughal era records that mention the Muslim invader Kalapahar attacking and destroying Jagannath Puri and the Konark temple.[62][65][66] Other texts state that the temple was sacked several times by Muslim armies between the 15th and 17th centuries.[1][40] Islamic texts describing the raids of Kalapahar mention his army's first attempt to destroy the temple in 1565, but they failed. They inflicted only minor damage and carried away the copper kalasa.[40]

text:
A medieval era description of Konark
When nine flights of steps are passed, a spacious court appears with a large arch of stone upon which are carved the sun and other planets. Around them are a variety of worshippers of every class, each after its manner with bowed heads, standing, sitting, prostrate, laughing, weeping, lost in amaze or in rapt attention, and following these are divers musicians and strange animals which never existed but in imagination.

—Ain-i-Akbari, Abul Fazl[40]

tag: div

text: The controversial Hindu text Madala Panji and regional tradition state that Kalapahar attacked again and damaged the temple in 1568.[67] The natural-damage theory is supported by the nearness of the temple to the shore and the monsoons in the region that would tend to cause damage. However, the existence of nearby stone temples in the Odisha region that were built earlier and have stood without damage casts doubt to this theory. According to P. Parya, the number of rings of moss and lichen growth found on the stone ruins suggests the damage occurred sometime around the 1570s, but this approach does not indicate why or by whom.[62]

text: According to Thomas Donaldson, evidence suggests that the damage and the temple's ruined condition can be dated to between the late 16th century and the early 17th century from the records of various surveys and repairs found in early 17th-century texts. These also record that the temple remained a site of worship in the early 17th century. These records do not state whether the ruins were being used by devotees to gather and worship, or part of the damaged temple was still in use for some other purpose. This evidence of the use of the temple, however, contradicts any theories that the late 16th-century Muslim invasion had completely destroyed the site.[68]

text: Aruna Stambha[edit]

text: In the last quarter of the 18th century, the Aruna stambha (Aruna pillar) was removed from the entrance of Konark temple and placed at the Singha-dwara (Lion's Gate) of the Jagannath temple in Puri by a Maratha Brahmachari named Goswain (or Goswami).[69][70] The pillar, made of monolithic chlorite, is 33 feet 8 inches (10.26 m) tall and is dedicated to Aruna, the charioteer of the Sun god.[70]

text: Preservation Efforts[edit]

text: In 1803 the East India Marine Board requested of the Governor General of Bengal that conservation efforts be undertaken. However, the only conservation measure put in place at the time was to prohibit further removal of stones from the site. Lacking structural support, the last part of the main tower still standing, a small broken curved section, collapsed in 1848.[71]

text: The then-Raja of Khurda, who had jurisdiction over this region in the early 19th century, removed some stones and sculptures to use in a temple he was building in Puri. A few gateways and some sculptures were destroyed in the process.[72] In 1838 the Asiatic Society of Bengal requested that conservation efforts be undertaken, but the requests were denied, and only measures to prevent vandalism were put in place.[71]

text: In 1859 the Asiatic Society of Bengal proposed, and in 1867 attempted to relocate an architrave of the Konark temple depicting the navagraha to the Indian Museum in Calcutta. This attempt was abandoned as funds had run out.[71] In 1894 thirteen sculptures were moved to the Indian Museum. Local Hindu population objected to further damage and removal of temple ruins. The government issued orders to respect the local sentiments.[71] In 1903, when a major excavation was attempted nearby, the then-Lieutenant governor of Bengal, J. A. Baurdilon, ordered the temple to be sealed and filled with sand to prevent the collapse of the Jagamohana. The Mukhasala and Nata Mandir were repaired by 1905.[62][73]

text: In 1906 casuarina and punnang trees were planted facing the sea to provide a buffer against sand-laden winds.[71] In 1909 the Mayadevi temple was discovered while removing sand and debris.[71] The temple was granted World Heritage Site status by the UNESCO in 1984.[2]

text: Reception[edit]

text: The Konark Sun Temple has attracted conflicting reviews. According to Coomaraswamy, the Konark Sun Temple marks the high point of the Odisha style of Nagara architecture.[74]

text: The colonial-era reception of the temple ranged from derision to praise. Andrew Sterling, the early colonial-era administrator and Commissioner of Cuttack questioned the skill of the 13th-century architects, but also wrote that the temple had "an air of elegance, combined with massiveness in the whole structure, which entitles it to no small share of admiration", adding that the sculpture had "a degree of taste, propriety and freedom which would stand a comparison with some of our best specimens of Gothic architectural ornament".[75] The Victorian mindset saw pornography in the artwork of Konark and wondered why there was no "shame and guilt in this pleasure in filth", while Alan Watts stated that there was no comprehensible reason to separate spirituality from love, sex, and religious arts.[76] According to Ernest Binfield Havell, the Konark temple is "one of the grandest examples of Indian sculpture extant", adding that they express "as much fire and passion as the greatest European art" such as that found in Venice.[77]

text: Indian writers, too, have expressed a spectrum of opinions. For example, the leftist author Bhattacharya criticized the "brahmanical temple erotica", offering it as evidence of "female exploitation by the dominant classes of Hindu male society", and a "reflection of abnormal sex desires".[78] In contrast, the Nobel Laureate Tagore wrote,

text: Here the language of stone surpasses the language of human.

text: Gallery[edit]

text: Antique paintings and photographs[edit]

text:
Watercolour painting of two European officers with a dog exploring the interior (1812)

Watercolour "somnath" drawing of the north side of Konark (1820). It depicts part of the main tower still standing.

Photograph of a general view from the south-west (c.1890).

Arunastambha at the Singhadwara at Jagannath Temple in Puri (1870)

text: Current day photographs[edit]

text:
Nata mandir

Front view of Nata mandir

A simha-gaja at the entrance

A weathered horse sculpture

Elephants of Konark Temple

A secondary statue of the Sun god

A sculpture on the temple wall

Mayadevi Temple at Konark

Sculpture of a makara on Mayadevi Temple

Vaishnava Temple

Sanctum of the Vaishnava Temple

Carvings on the Sun temple

A sculpture on the temple wall

A sculpture taken from the site at the British Museum

Replica of Sun Temple at Gwalior


document_title: Mahabharat (1988 TV series)

question_text: who played the role of duryodhan in mahabharat

question_tokens: who played the role of duryodhan in mahabharat

text: Mahabharat (1988 TV series)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Kuru Clan[edit]

text:
Raj Babbar as Bharat/ ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas
Ashalata as Shakuntala, Bharata's mother/ King Dushyanta's wife

text:
Rishabh Shukla as Shantanu, descendant of Bharata
Kiran Juneja as Ganga, Shantanu's first wife/ Bhisma's mother, and the holy river of Hindus.
Debashree Roy as Satyavati, Shantanu's second wife/ Vichitravirya and Chitrangada's mother/ Bhisma's step-mother

text:
Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma, Shantanu- Ganga's eighth son/ eighth Vasu/ Satyavati's step-son
Sudesh Berry as Vichitravirya, Shantanu-Satyavati's second son after Chitrangada, Bhisma's step brother
Meena Chakrabarty as Ambika, 2nd princess of Kashi/ Vichitravirya's first queen
Menaka Babbar as Ambalika, 3rd princess of Kashi/ Vichitravirya's second queen

text:
Girija Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Vichitravirya's son from Ambika(eldest)/ later king of Hastinapur/ father of Kauravas
Renuka Israni as Gandhari, wife of Dhritrashtra/ Queen of Hastinapur/ mother of Kauravas/ princess of Gandhara
Tarakesh Chauhan as Pandu, Vichitravirya's son from Ambalika(youngest)/ King of Hastinapur/ father of Pandavas
Nazneen as Kunti, Pandu's first wife/ mother of Yudhisthira, Bhim and Arjun/ Daughter of Shoorsen hence Vasudev's sister andYadava princess
Roma Manik as Madri, Padu's second wife/ Madra princess/ mother of Nakul and Sahadev
Virendra Razdan as Vidur,  the Mahaa Mantri of Hastinapur / son of Ambika's head maid, Parishrami/ half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura and also the uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas
Kamlesh Maan as Sulabha, Vidur's  wife

text:
Pankaj Dheer as Karna / Adhiratha-Radha's foster son, King of Anga Desh
Gajendra Chouhan as Yudhishthir, 1st Pandav/ Eldest son of Kuru Clan/ King of Indraprastha
Praveen Kumar as Bhim, 2nd Pandav/ Second eldest son of Kuru clan/ Yuvraaj(crown Prince) of Indraprastha
Arjun (Firoz Khan) as Arjun, 3rd Pandava, husband of Draupadi, Uloopi, Chitangada and  Subhadra, brother-in-law of Balaram-Krishna, father of Abhimanyu
Sameer Chitre as Nakul, 4th Pandav
Sanjeev Chitre as Sahadeva, 5th Pandav
Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi, Wife of all Pandav/Also called as Panchali/ Yagyaseni/ Younger daughter of Drupad/ Princess of Panchala
Aloka Mukherjee as Subhadra, Arjuna's 2nd wife/ Abhimanyu's mother/ Vasudev's daughter hence Krishna-Balaram's sister and Yadava princess

text:
Puneet Issar as Duryodhan
Vinod Kapoor as Dushasan
Dinesh Anand as Vikarna

text:
Razak Khan as Ghatotkach
Mayur Verma (Master Mayur) as Abhimanyu
Varsha Usgaonkar as Uttara, Abhimanyu's wife/ Virata princess

text: Ayub Khan as Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and Uttara/ Grandson of Arjuna-Subhadra

text:
Dharmesh Tiwari as Kripacharya, Kulguru, Family Teacher
Surendra Pal as Dronacharya, Guru of Kauravas and Pandavas
Om Katare as Adhiratha, Charioteer/Karna's foster father
Saroj Sharma as Radha, Adhiratha's wife,/Karna's foster mother
Pradeep Rawat as Ashwatthama, son of Dronacharya
Ram Mohan as Raj Purohit, Head Priest
Rafique Mukkadam as Minister
Vinod Raut as Purochana, Royal architect
Pramod Kumar as Dwarpal
Abha Mishra as Maid Servant to Ganga
Lalit Tiwari as Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his charioteer

text:
Nitish Bhardwaj as Lord Krishna, Vasudev's younger son
Ramlal Gupta as Ugrasen, King of Mathura
Goga Kapoor as Kans, son of Ugrasen
Devidas as Kans's Minister
Ashok Banthia as Senapati Kritvarma
Ajay Sinha as Akroor, Vrishni Chief
Bashir Khan as Satyaki, General
Vishnu Sharma as Vasudev, Son of Shoorsen, prince of Vrishni tribe
Kshama Raj as Rohini, Vasudev's elder wife
Sheela Sharma as Devaki, Vasudev's younger wife
Rasik Dave as Nand Raj, Chief of Gokul
Manju Vyas as Yashoda, Nand's wife
Sagar Salunke as Balram, Vasudev's elder son
Channa Ruparel as Rukmini, Krishna's chief wife
Parijat as Radha, Krishna's consort

text:
Pradeep Sharma as Drupada
Arun Bakshi as Dhrishtadyumna
Paintal as Shikhandi / Sudama

text:
Ashok Sharma as Virata, King of Virata
Chandni Sharma as Sudeshna, Queen of Virata
Sameer Rajda as Uttar, crown prince of Virata
Sharat Saxena as Kichak, Army General of Virata

text: Kapil Kumar as Shalya

text: Deep Dhillon as Jayadratha, Dussala's husband, Kaurava's brother-in-law

text:
Rakesh Bidua as Kashya, King Of Kashi
Jahnavi as Amba, 1st princess of Kashi

text:
Vikrant Mathur as Subala, Shakuni's and Gandhari's Father, King of Gandhara
Gufi Paintal as Shakuni, Gandhari's brother/ later King of Gandhara

text:
Shivendra Mahal as Parshuram / Lord Shiva
Dara Singh as Hanuman (cameo)
Satish Kaul as Indra
Gopi Krishna as Chitrasena

text: Rana Jung Bahadur as Jarasandh, King of Magadha, Father-in-law of Kans

text: Karunakar Pathak as Shishupala, King of Chedi, Cousin of Krishna and Balaram

text: Pawan Shukla as Shalv Kumar, Prince of Salwa Kingdom

text:
Prem Sagar as Rishi Kanva
Pankaj Berry as Rishi Kindama, sage who cursed Pandu
Rajesh Vivek as Maharishi Ved Vyas

text:
Vikas Prasad as Ekalavya
Randhir Singh as Hidimba / Bhootana (Putana)
Sabrina as Bhootana, (Putana)
Paramjeet Chima as Dashraj, Satyavati's Father
Harish Bhimani as Samay/ Narrator

text: Cast (Children)[edit]

text:
Shampa as Child Krishna
Kewal Shah as Adolescent Krishna
Chetan Hansraj as Young Balram
Krish Mallik as Young Bhishma
Harendra Paintal as Young Karna
Sonu as Young Yudhishthir
Mallik as Young Bhim
Ankur Javeri as Young Arjun
Amit Shukla as Young Duryodhan
Kaushal Shah as Young Dushasan
Babbu as Young Ashwatthama
Sumeet Raghavan as Young Sudama

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Episode 1 - Introduction of Kuru Family, Raja Bharat and Raja Shantanu

text: Episode 2 - Ganga Kills Her Sons

text: Episode 3 - Bhishma Is Grown-up

text: Episode 4 - Bhisma Pratigya/Iccha Mrityu Vardaan

text: Episode 5 - Amba, Ambika and Ambalika's Introduction

text: Episode 6 - Birth of Pandu, Dhritarashtra and Vidhur

text: Episode 7 - Karna's Birth-story, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari Get Married and Pandu and Kunti Get Married

text: Episode 8 - Madri is gifted to Pandu, Pandu is resting and Sage Kindama's curse on Pandu

text: Episode 9 - Dhritarashtra is king his sanyas and Kansa is king and Akashwani about Krishna

text: Episode 10 - Birth of Balarama and Five Pandavas

text: Episode 11 - Krishna Janma

text: Episode 12 - Pootna's Death

text: Episode 13 - Krishna brahmand darshan and Krishna gets caught while stealing makhan

text: Episode 14 - Maiya Mori Mai nahi makhan khayo and Kaliya Nag Tandav

text: Episode 15 - Radha and Gopikas, protest against Mathura, Devakasur and Trulambasur Vadh

text: Episode 16 - Kansa invites Krishna to Mathura

text: Episode 17 - Kansa vadh

text: Episode 18 - Pandu's Death

text: Episode 19 - Satyavati, Ambika, Ambalika take sanyas with Rishi Vyas

text: Episode 20 - Duryodhan Poisons Bhim and Bhim Gets Strength of 1000 Elephants

text: Episode 21 - Sudama's chivda and Dron arrives to Hastinapur

text: Episode 22 - Shastra Pooja, Drona insults Karna and Arjun's Test

text: Episode 23 - Ekalavya, Karna's Education, Arjun's Test of Bird's Eye

text: Episode 24 - All grown up, prince is to be nominated and everyone exhibit their skills in Rangbhoomi, Karna challenges Arjun and Duryodhan gives Anga desh to Karna

text: Episode 25 - Drona's guru dakshina to capture Dhrupad

text: Episode 26 - Krishna gets Sudarshan chakra from Parshuram, defeats Jarasandh and orders building Dwarika

text: Episode 27 - Yudhishthir Is Crowned as Prince. Rukmini Is Being Forced to Marry Shishupal

text: Episode 28 - Krishna Rescues Rukmini

text: Episode 29 - Lakshagriha Is Built in Varnavat by Purochan

text: Episode 30 - Tunneling in Varnavat Begins

text: Episode 31 - Escape from Lakshagriha

text: Episode 32 - Hidimb Vadh and Bhima's marriage

text: Episode 33 - Bakasur Vadh

text: Episode 34 - Dristadyumna & Draupadi Birth and Draupadi Swayamvar

text: Episode 35 - Arjun Wins Draupadi and Later She Became the Wives of 5 Pandavas

text: Episode 36 - Pandav Leave from Panchal to Hastinapur

text: Episode 37 - Pandavas Arrives at Hastinapur and Kingdom Is Divided

text: Episode 38 - Pandav Get Khandavprastha

text: Episode 39 - Coronation of Yudhirsthir, Khandavprastha Becomes Indraprastha

text: Episode 40 - Arjun runs away with Subhadra

text: Episode 41 - Arjun Weds Subhadra. Arjun Gets Devdatta Conch and Gandiv and Bhim Gets His Gada

text: Episode 42 - Jarasandh Vadh, Rajsuya Yagnya begins, Shishupals Story

text: Episode 43 - Rajsuya Yagya, Shishupal Vadh

text: Episode 44 - Vyas Predicts War, Draupadi Laughs at Duryodhan

text: Episode 45 - Pandavas Go to Hastinapur to Gamble

text: Episode 46 - Yudhirshthir Loses Everything

text: Episode 47 - Vastraharan of Draupadi

text: Episode 48 - Pandavas Get Back Everything

text: Episode 49 - Re-match of Dyut

text: Episode 50 - Vanvas Begins

text: Episode 51 - Gandharvas Catch Duryodhan

text: Episode 52 - Arjun Worships Lord Indra and Lord Shiva for Divyastra and Gets Pashupatastra

text: Episode 53 - Krishna's story of one grain of rice, Bhim meets Ghatotkach and Hanuman, Arjun learns dance from Chitrasen

text: Episode 54 - Arjun gets curse of impotency from Urvashi, Abhimanyus as a kid, Jayadraths head is shaved

text: Episode 55 - Story of Poisoned Water and Yaksha, Abhimanyu Is Grown-up

text: Episode 56 - Agyatvas in Matsya Desh

text: Episode 57 - Karna's curse, Draupadi as Maid Sairandhri rejects Keechak

text: Episode 58 - Keechak Vadh by Bheema

text: Episode 59 - Kaurav Attack Matsya Desh

text: Episode 60 - Viraat yudh and clothes for Uttaras dolls

text: Episode 61 - Abhimanyu's Marriage and Pandavs Decide to Send a Doot to Hastinapur

text: Episode 62 - Dhritarashtra Does Not Agree and Sends Sanjay

text: Episode 63 - Duryodhan gets Narayani Sena from Krishna

text: Episode 64 - Krishna Goes to Hastinapur as Shanti Doot

text: Episode 65 - Krishna tooks Virat Avtar and Indra takes Karna's kawach kundala

text: Episode 66 - Karna's Identity Is Disclosed

text: Episode 67 - Vidur resigns as a prime minister, Kunti meets Karna

text: Episode 68 - Sanjay gets divya drishti, Ulluk goes to Pandavs

text: Episode 69 - Duryodhan tricks Shalya to join Kauravas

text: Episode 70 - Shikhandi's Story

text: Episode 71 - Arjun Worships Goddess Durga, Rules of War Laid

text: Episode 72 - Kurukshetra War Begins and Arjun Drops His Weapons, Geeta Saar Begins

text: Episode 73 - Geeta Saar Continues

text: Episode 74 - Geeta Saar Continues and Krishna Shows His Maha-Avtaar

text: Episode 75 - Yudhishthir Gets Blessings, Yuyutsu Changes Side and War Begins, Abhimanyu Faces Bhishma

text: Episode 76 - Uttar dies, Arjun faces Bhishma and day 2 begins

text: Episode 77 - Arjun is unstoppable, 3rd is over, 4th day begins, Bhim is surrounded, 10 Kauravs are killed, Krishna takes out his sudarshan

text: Episode 78 - 9th Day Is Over and 16 Kauravs Are Dead, Bhisma Tells Arjun How to Take Him Out of the War

text: Episode 79 - Bhishma lies on the Bed of Arrows, Karna meets Bhisma

text: Episode 80 - Day 11, Dron tries to capture Yudhishthir but is unsuccessful, Shantanu comes to Bhishma

text: Episode 81 - Chakra Vyuh Planned, Duryodhan Promises Susharma

text: Episode 82 - Abhimanyu Vadh

text: Episode 83 - Arjun Vows to Kill Jayadrath and Story About Jayadraths Curse

text: Episode 84 - Arjun Breaks Kamal Vyuh to Get to Jayadrath

text: Episode 85 - Jayadrath Vadh

text: Episode 86 - Ghatotkach dies

text: Episode 87 - Drona Dies

text: Episode 88 - Dushasana dies and Karna fights with Arjun, Krishna puts the rath in the land so that Arjun is saved

text: Episode 89 - Karna's curse, Karna Dies

text: Episode 90 - Shakuni Dies, Yudhishthir Curses All Woman Kind and Duryodhan Becomes Iron Bodied

text: Episode 91 - Balaram arrives, Bhim-Duryodhan Gada Yudh

text: Episode 92 - Duryodhan Dies, Ashwathama, Krip and Kritvarma Remain, Parikshit's Story

text: Episode 93 - Dhritarashtra Tries to Kill Bhim

text: Episode 94 - Yudhisthir Becomes King of Hastinapur, Bhishma Dies

text: Production[edit]

text: According to production team member Kishore Malhotra, the total cost of producing the series was ₹9 crore (US$1.3 million).[5] Nitish Bharadwaj was chosen by B R Chopra, Ravi Chopra, (screenplay writer) Pandit Narendra Sharma and (dialogue writer) Rahi Masoom Raza ,to play the central role of Krishna, at the age of 23.[6][7] Firoz Khan was chosen to portray the character of Arjun (which he later adopted as his screen name, not to become confused with a more popular actor of the same name) despite being rejected in auditions.[8] Praveen Kumar was selected to portray Bheem after Chopra was looking for someone "who could look the robust mythological character".[9] Around six actors were shortlisted for the role of Draupadi, including Juhi Chawla, who opted out of the show as she had bagged a film. Ramya Krishnan and Roopa Ganguly were the final names, and at last Roopa Ganguly was chosen, as her Hindi was good. Govinda (actor) and Chunky Pandey were signed for the role of Abhimanyu, but they opted out when they bagged films. Later, Master Mayur played the role.[10] Raj Babbar and Debashree Roy were the only two star actors of that time, who agreed to be parts of this venture.[11]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: It was shown in the United Kingdom by the BBC,[12] where it achieved audience figures of 5 million.[13][14] It was also the first programme broadcast on BBC2 after its 1991 revamp,[15] but had also been shown late at night on BBC 1 the previous year.[16]  It has also been shown on FBC TV in Fiji and Star Utsav. It also aired on Epic. Dubbed versions were aired in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and also in Indonesia in the early 1990s on TPI (now MNCTV) and in the early 2000s on ANteve (now antv).

text: Reception[edit]

text:
Lavanya Mohan of The Hindu on her article "Retelling of Mahabharata on Television over the years" wrote "The version that left the maximum impact on me is BR Chopra’s. Yes, the sets were gaudy, the effects comical, and the acting got a little too dramatic at times, but the writing and the way the episodes were paced ensured that the series was ahead of its time."
It is commonly known to be associated with this serial along with "Ramayana" serial, where it is said that streets in cities remained isolated and people left their work to watch this series.[17]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The series was uploaded on the website "Rajshri.com" along with its dubbed Tamil version.[18] Home video of Bengali dubbed version of its series has been released by Heart Video.[19]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Mahabharat along with Ramayana (1987) became one of the successful mythological television series in Indian television. Many actors went on to become popular through the series. Mukesh Khanna shot to fame as Bhishma and went on to name his production company after the character's name and Roopa Ganguly went on to become a successful actress in Bengali cinema.[20][21]