Paper by Author explores exquisite beauty & social life of early Buddhist culture through their sculptures revealing how feminine beauty was celebrated & integrated into daily life, highlighting Gender Equality.
Of all the constructional activities of the early India, temple building was the foremost as it is not only an abode of God but also a symbolic representation of the various social and cultural activities
Vinay Kumar (b. 1976), Ph. D. MA (Ancient Indian, History, Culture and Archaeology), MA (Archaeology and Heritage Management), Post-Graduate Diploma in Archaeology from Institute of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Presently he is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ancient Indian, History, Culture and Archaeology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Prior to this he has worked as Assistant Professor at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh. Dr. Kumar has worked as Consultant and Assistant Archaeologist in ASI. He has also worked as Research Scholar in Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts and Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi. His areas of specialization include Field Archaeology, Art History and Heritage Management. Dr. Kumar is recipient of Gold Medal by former Hon’ble President of India for being University topper. Dr. Kumar has been awarded Junior and Senior Research Fellowship by University Grants Commission. He has also been awarded National Museum of Korea 2014 and 2016 Museum Network Fellowship by Govt. of South Korea. He has been awarded Study and Research Grant by the Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum to undertake project on ‘Ethno-archaeological Perspectives on Megaliths of Bastar.’ He has participated and supervised many archaeological excavations namely- excavations at Lahuradeva (U.P), Bhirrana (Haryana), Baror (Rajasthan), Hansi (Haryana), Bhanpura (M.P), Gambhirwatola (M. P.), etc. He has conducted archaeological excavation the site of Matigaon (Pharsand Mohanpur), Distt. Chandauli as the Director in field Season 2019-20, 2020-21. He has undertaken many research projects and their outcomes have been presented in many National and International workshops, seminars and conferences. Dr. Kumar has worked with many International and National Scholars. He has published more than forty five research papers in many national and International journals. He has authored the book titled, West Asian and Hellenistic Elements in Indian Art, Mani Sushma: Archaeology and Heritage, Early Harappan Culture of Kot Diji – Sothi Complex, Indian Art, Archaeology and Culture, Felicitating A Legendry Archaeologist: Prof B.B.Lal, Pura-Mimansa and Puratattva Vaibhav. He is a life member of many national and international committees/societies like Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi, International Association for Asian Heritage (IAAH), Colombo, Society of South Asian Archaeology (SOSAA), Pune, Museums Association of India (MAI), Indian Art History Congress (IAHC), Indian Society for Greek and Roman Studies (ISGARS), Madhya Pradesh Itihas Parishad (MPIP), Sagar, Indian History Congress (IHC), New Delhi, Wakankar Rock Art and Heritage Welfare and Society (WRAHWS), Bhopal, Numismatics Society of India (NSI),Varanasi, Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti, Kashi, U.P , Indo-Hellenic Research Centre (IHRC), New Delhi etc etc. He has organized eight International and nine national conferences. Dr. Kumar is well versed in Persian, German, Sanskrit, Oriya, Bangla and Maithili languages.
