Awakening Shakti: On the Hindu Aesthetics of the Bhagavad Gita from the Scene Design of Padmaavat

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-170-8_70How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Queen Padmavati; Bhagavad Gita; spatial context; religious philosophy

Abstract

This paper focuses on Padmaavat in terms of the aesthetics of the scene and spatial design to explore the religious philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita, the most famous poem in all Hindu literature. The different scenes in this Indian film can be classified into three distinct categories based on their portrayal of yoga philosophy, varying from superficial to profound. The first category showcases the visual aspect of fortresses and gardens, highlighting the illusion of material nature. The second category portrays the spirit of bhakti and the journey toward the eternal spiritual realm, as depicted in the Ghoomar scene. The third category depicts scenes of sacrifice and self-immolation, illustrating the path toward renunciation. In the film, Queen Padmavati and the women of Mewar, akin to the goddess Shakti, exhibit divinity. They battle against evil by sacrificing themselves through self-immolation, all in the name of their country and justice. The film’s portrayal of these religious beliefs is skillfully depicted in its scene design, which progressively explores the profound significance behind them, the ancient Sanskrit wisdom. Namely, in comparison to the transient material universe, the soul is eternal, and the spirit of Queen Padmavati is also immortal.

Copyright

© 2023 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Huanyu Kang
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/12/31
TI  - Awakening Shakti: On the Hindu Aesthetics of the Bhagavad Gita from the Scene Design of Padmaavat
BT  - Proceedings of the  2023 5th International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2023)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 631
EP  - 646
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-170-8_70
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-170-8_70
ID  - Kang2023
ER  -