Shilabalikas of Belur

Shilabalika, a.k.a. ‘salabhanjika’, is a standard decorative element of Indian sculpture depicting in stone a young female under a stylized tree in various poses, such as dancing, grooming herself or playing a musical instrument.The salabhanjika concept stems from ancient symbolism linking a chaste maiden with the sala tree or the asoka tree through the ritual called dohada, or the fertilisation of plants through contact with a young woman. The symbolism changed over the course of time and the salabhanjika became figures used as ornamental carvings, usually located in the area where worshipers engage in circumambulation, near the garbhagriha of many Hindu temples.

Bylakupee Golden temple

When the Chinese occupied Tibet, back in 1959, Indian government set aside a sizeable land space for the fleeing Tibetans near Bylakupee, in Karnataka. Bylakupee is now the second largest Tibetan settlement outside of Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. Namdroling Monastery is the largest monastery in Bylakupee. The monastery is famous for the three copper and gold […]