Other

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

AHOTW100_ShowCover_3000x3000px

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Factual: History

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, retells humanity's history through objects

Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

BBC Radio 4 LW

A History of the World in 100 Objects: Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD): Shiva and Parvati sculpture

Shiva and Parvati Sculpture

Shiva and Parvati sculpture

Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)

A History of the World in 100 Objects Omnibus

BBC Radio 4 - A History of the World in 100 Objects, Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD), Shiva and Parvati sculptureSearch BBC

Neil MacGregor with a stone sculpture of the Hindu deity Shiva and his consort Parvati.

Neil MacGregor is with the gods - exploring religious art during the 14th and 15th centuries. Today he is with a sculpture of the Hindu deity Shiva and his consort Parvati.

The history of humanity as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum in London is back in India. This week Neil MacGregor is with the gods - exploring the sophistication of religious art in the 14th and 15th centuries, as people around the world sought ways of finding physical expression for devotion and for representing the divine.  


Today Neil is with a magnificent stone sculpture showing the powerful deity Shiva with his consort Parvati seated on his knee - two of the most beloved and familiar figures of Hinduism. The vehicles of the deities, a bull and a lion, and their children sit at their feet, while a host of supporting musicians and attendants swirl around their heads. Neil considers how images like this help cement the relationship between deity and devotee. 


The writer Karen Armstrong considers the special relationship between male and female aspects in spiritual practice while the Hindu cleric Shaunaka Rishi Das explores the particular characteristics of Shiva and Parvati and considers the religious significance of their union.

Producer: Anthony Denselow



A History of the World in 100 Objects: Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Objects from the British Museum show how the faithful were brought closer to their gods

From Mexico to Easter Island, the followers of many world religions used objects to become closer to their gods. Neil MacGregor finds five such devotional items

Accessibility links

Programme Index

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Meeting The Gods (1200 - 1400 AD)

Shiva and Parvati sculpture

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4