| Art History 207~~Fall 1998 |
| Terminology |
| "M" |
| Mahabharata |
One of the great epic poems originally written in Sanskrit,
by the late Vedic period; includes materials later reintegrated as the Bhagavad
Gita.
|
| Mahadevi |
Great Mother, sometimes identified with Parvati or with Shakti.
|
| mahal |
A palace.
|
| Mahayana |
'Great Vehicle,' the tradition of Buddhism which emerged during the Kushan period and which was centered on the concept of the Bodhisattva.
|
| Maitreya |
A Boddhisattva, also known as the Buddha of the Future; similar to a messiah figure.
|
| mandala |
Sacred cosmic diagram, referring to three-dimensional space.
|
| mandapa |
Columned fore-hall in a South Indian temple; corresponds to the jagamohan in the north.
|
| mandorla |
Nimbus behind a Buddhist figure.
|
| mantra |
Sacred chant.
|
| maya |
Illusion.
|
| mihrab |
The niche in the western wall of a mosque sanctuary which refers to the direction of Mecca.
|
| minar |
A 'pole' or tower, usually associated with a mosque, and representing the power of Islam.
|
| minaret |
A small tower, often an ornamental part of the design of Islamic architecture.
|
| mithuna |
Loving couples; probably originated in the folk tradition of yaksha and yakshi; refer to fertility, physical and hence spiritual well-being.
|
| moksha |
Release from the illusion of existence; the Fourth End to be striven for in Hindu doctrine.
|
| mudra |
Symbolic hand gestures; characteristic of all Buddhist and Hindu deities, as well as of Indian dance traditions.
|
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Please send any comments or questions to:
strubles@aaa.uoregon.edu
Web site created and maintained by Stephanie Struble for Professor Esther Jacobson,
"History of Indian Art" (ArH 207), Fall 1998, Department of Art History, University of Oregon.