5 ms·

You see this in India at every temple that was raided by Muslims. The logic being that breaking the nose would make the "idol" unfit for worship. There probabl

You see this in India at every temple that was raided by Muslims. The logic being that breaking the nose would make the "idol" unfit for worship. There probably are a lot of examples in the North (they are now part of some "secular" Mosque complex), but it's very apparent in some of the Hoysala temples that were partially/fully destroyed (esp. Halebidu), and in Vijayanagara. It's really quite sad. Then again, I suppose this adequately reflects India's state as a civilization... so SNAFU.

reaperducer 8y ago
You see this in India at every temple that was raided by Muslims. The logic being that breaking the nose would make the "idol" unfit for worship. I find that interesting because when I was in Turkey it was common to see the ancient depictions of Jesus Christ on church walls with the eyes scratched off. The explanation given by the locals was the same as what you state for the statues in India.
- peteretep 8y ago
  Let's double-down on this and point out that the marauding Burmese desecrated temples of their neighbours -- knocking heads off Buddhas -- and they were of identical religions!
  - temporalparts 8y ago
    When Angkor Wat was being raided by art thieves operating out of Thailand, they knocked off heads off of buddha not to be disrepsectful per se, but because they wanted to loot and sell those heads on the black market. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat#History
  - benj111 8y ago
    I believe Muslims recognise Jesus as a prophet [1], so there was more going on there than different religions. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam
    - povertyworld 8y ago
      I can't say what happened when the Turks arrived, but that region was already known for iconoclasm while it was still under Christian leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Iconoclasm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Iconoclasm
    - allemagne 8y ago
      Sounds pretty comparable to Christian iconoclasts tearing down images of saints. I.e. it was the "right thing to do" and they probably thought Jesus would be horrified to be part of an idolatrous image.
fdloo3 8y ago
Well the other side of the coin is, Indian civilization survives. The same language, rituals, stories, music, food, imagery used, are all pretty much alive outside and inside thousands of temple even today. Those aspects of culture have somehow weathered invasion, natural disasters, famine, and drought. You can't say the same about Egyptian civilization.
- danans 8y ago
  > The same language, rituals, stories, music, food, imagery used, are all pretty much alive outside and inside thousands of temple even today. Technically, it's not the same language, culture, etc. The living culture has changed considerably over the centuries both organically and via outside influences, including Islam. The surprising thing about India is that it has kept around so much of the really ancient stuff while also adding a huge amount of new stuff along the way. Cultural hoarding, if you will. It's like the cultural change process is sedimentary, with previous layers being preserved below, while the newer layers get added above, giving a kind of continuity, whereas in other parts of the world, it has often tended to be a more volcanic process, with the destruction of what preceded. Also, Indian culture long ago accepted what to Western thinking seems like a contradiction of polytheistic icon based religious worship and the belief in a more abstract deity, or even atheism. In the West, this resulted in the complete disposal of the previous pantheons, but in India, it was rationalized through a "many perspectives" lens where all the viewpoints could be accommodated.
  - Aromasin 8y ago
    How it was described by my Indian friends was that, at least in their households, the religious stories were treated more like 'campfire stories'; not practically real, but entertaining, and good for teaching morality (that's not to say that there aren't Hindus that take it very seriously). This is as opposed to how most westerners treat religion, in a very literal sense - Moses/Muhammed/Jesus DID exists and their teachings ARE the word of God, and they must be strictly adhered to.
    - danans 8y ago
atomical 8y ago
Why are you using a throwaway account to post this?

reaperducer 8y ago

You see this in India at every temple that was raided by Muslims. The logic being that breaking the nose would make the "idol" unfit for worship. I find that interesting because when I was in Turkey it was common to see the ancient depictions of Jesus Christ on church walls with the eyes scratched off. The explanation given by the locals was the same as what you state for the statues in India.

peteretep 8y ago
Let's double-down on this and point out that the marauding Burmese desecrated temples of their neighbours -- knocking heads off Buddhas -- and they were of identical religions!
- temporalparts 8y ago
  When Angkor Wat was being raided by art thieves operating out of Thailand, they knocked off heads off of buddha not to be disrepsectful per se, but because they wanted to loot and sell those heads on the black market. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat#History
- benj111 8y ago
  I believe Muslims recognise Jesus as a prophet [1], so there was more going on there than different religions. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Islam
  - povertyworld 8y ago
    I can't say what happened when the Turks arrived, but that region was already known for iconoclasm while it was still under Christian leadership. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Iconoclasm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Iconoclasm
  - allemagne 8y ago
    Sounds pretty comparable to Christian iconoclasts tearing down images of saints. I.e. it was the "right thing to do" and they probably thought Jesus would be horrified to be part of an idolatrous image.

fdloo3 8y ago

Well the other side of the coin is, Indian civilization survives. The same language, rituals, stories, music, food, imagery used, are all pretty much alive outside and inside thousands of temple even today. Those aspects of culture have somehow weathered invasion, natural disasters, famine, and drought. You can't say the same about Egyptian civilization.

danans 8y ago
> The same language, rituals, stories, music, food, imagery used, are all pretty much alive outside and inside thousands of temple even today. Technically, it's not the same language, culture, etc. The living culture has changed considerably over the centuries both organically and via outside influences, including Islam. The surprising thing about India is that it has kept around so much of the really ancient stuff while also adding a huge amount of new stuff along the way. Cultural hoarding, if you will. It's like the cultural change process is sedimentary, with previous layers being preserved below, while the newer layers get added above, giving a kind of continuity, whereas in other parts of the world, it has often tended to be a more volcanic process, with the destruction of what preceded. Also, Indian culture long ago accepted what to Western thinking seems like a contradiction of polytheistic icon based religious worship and the belief in a more abstract deity, or even atheism. In the West, this resulted in the complete disposal of the previous pantheons, but in India, it was rationalized through a "many perspectives" lens where all the viewpoints could be accommodated.
- Aromasin 8y ago
  How it was described by my Indian friends was that, at least in their households, the religious stories were treated more like 'campfire stories'; not practically real, but entertaining, and good for teaching morality (that's not to say that there aren't Hindus that take it very seriously). This is as opposed to how most westerners treat religion, in a very literal sense - Moses/Muhammed/Jesus DID exists and their teachings ARE the word of God, and they must be strictly adhered to.
  - danans 8y ago

atomical 8y ago

Why are you using a throwaway account to post this?