Why in News?

A single judge of the Gujarat High Court struck down the ban on the sale of non-vegetarian food near the Somnath temple, but a Division Bench stayed the order within hours, so the ban continues for now. The Bench will hear the matter next on 26 December.

Background

• Article 19(1)(g): The right to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business. Article 19(6) allows reasonable restrictions in the public interest.
• Article 21: The right to life includes the right to livelihood (Olga Tellis case, 1985).
• Articles 25 and 26: Freedom of religion, which the State relies on to protect the sanctity of pilgrimage routes.
• Hinsa Virodhak Sangh v. Mirzapur Moti Kuresh Jamat (2008): The Supreme Court upheld the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s order closing slaughterhouses for nine days during Paryushan. It held that a short-term restriction was reasonable and did not violate Article 19(1)(g).

About Somnath Temple

• Location: Prabhas Patan, near Veraval, on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat (Gir Somnath district).
• Religious importance: Revered as the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
• Architecture: The present temple is in the Maru-Gurjara (Chaulukya or Solanki) style, called the Kailash Mahameru Prasad form. It falls within the Nagara school of North Indian temples.
• Maru-Gurjara features: A curvilinear shikhara, a free-standing kirti torana (ceremonial gateway), a kunda (temple tank) and a layout of garbhagriha (sanctum), sabhamandapa (assembly hall) and nrityamandapa (dance hall).
• Raid of 1026 CE: In January 1026 CE, during the reign of Bhima I of the Solanki dynasty, Mahmud of Ghazni raided and plundered the temple. The raid is recorded by the traveller Al-Biruni.
• Rebuilding: Rebuilt in stone after the raid, and renovated by the Solanki ruler Kumarapala in the 12th century. It was attacked again by Alauddin Khalji’s forces in 1299.
• Ahilyabai Holkar: The Maratha queen of Indore built a small temple (“Old Somnath”) next to the ruins in 1783.
• Modern reconstruction: Begun at the initiative of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1947. The present temple was consecrated by President Rajendra Prasad on 11 May 1951, and its architect was Prabhashankar Sompura.
• Baan Stambh: The arrow pillar at the southern edge of the courtyard, which indicates that there is no landmass between Somnath and Antarctica in a straight line south.

Why in News?

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, lost about $6.3 billion in a hack on 29 October 2026, the largest crypto theft on record. About $3 billion was frozen, and Binance says it will cover users’ losses.

Key Points: The Hack and Crypto Basics

• Who is blamed: TRM Labs and Chainalysis blame TraderTraitor, a unit of North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which the US Treasury sanctioned in 2019. North Korea denies such hacks.
• Market impact: Bitcoin fell 4.5% and Ethereum 5%.
• Earlier hacks: Bybit (February 2025, about $1.5 billion) and Binance itself (2019, about $40 million).
• Cryptocurrency: A digital asset secured by cryptography, with no central issuer. Bitcoin (2009) has a fixed supply of 21 million coins.
• CBDC: A Central Bank Digital Currency is issued by the central bank and is legal tender, unlike private crypto.
• Global: India’s G20 presidency (2023) pushed for common global rules on crypto.

Indian Context

• Legal status: Crypto is not legal tender and has no dedicated law. It is a Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) under the Finance Act, 2022.
• Tax: 30% on income from transfer (Section 115BBH), no set-off of losses, and 1% TDS (Section 194S) from 1 July 2022.
• Supreme Court: In 2020 (Internet and Mobile Association of India v. RBI), the Court struck down the RBI’s 2018 circular barring banks from serving crypto firms.
• Bill and policy: The 2021 Bill on crypto and an official digital currency was never passed, and a government discussion paper has been repeatedly delayed.
• Digital rupee: India’s e₹ has a wholesale pilot (1 November 2022) and a retail pilot (1 December 2022).

Why in News?

Researchers at the School of Liberal Arts, IIT Jodhpur, have made the first systematic study of tribal astronomy in western Rajasthan and linked it to the Indian knowledge system. Based on it, they set up a Nakshatra Vatika at Nandiya Kalan village.

Key Points

• The study: It documents how tribal communities understand the sky, stars, seasons and natural cycles, and developed a glossary of astronomical terms used by them. The communities covered were the Bhil, Meena, Banjara, Gond, Kolam and Korku.
• Knowledge recorded: Time reckoning by the moon, predicting seasons from the stars, rituals during eclipses, and planting and harvesting by the cycles of the sky. Celestial objects carry symbolic meanings: comets as heavenly mops, meteors as ancestors’ souls and the Milky Way as a “river of the universe”.
• Comparison with Sanskrit astronomy: The tribal knowledge is not in formal mathematical notation, but is based on careful observation and local conditions, and the study compares it with classical Sanskrit computational astronomy.
• Nakshatra Vatika: Built on degraded community land at Nandiya Kalan, about 60 km from Jodhpur, with about 1,000 trees planted in the nursery with community participation. Plants such as jamun, gular, peepal, khejri, jasmine and banyan are linked with star constellations and zodiac signs.
• Aim: To conserve medicinal plants and biodiversity, revive the fragile ecosystem and preserve oral histories and ritual practices before they fade.

Background

• Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) Division: Set up in October 2020 under the Ministry of Education, at the AICTE headquarters in New Delhi, after the National Education Policy, 2020 stressed bringing IKS into education.
• Nakshatras: The 27 lunar mansions of Indian astronomy, each traditionally linked with a tree species, the idea behind a Nakshatra Vatika (or Nakshatra Van).
• Khejri: The state tree of Rajasthan.

Why in News?

The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) has unearthed bronze alloy idols of Lord Nataraja and Goddess Sivagami, with their pedestals, during excavations at Nagapattinam.

Key Points

• Find: Both idols were found at a depth of one metre, with their pedestals.
• Nataraja: In the Ananda Tandava posture, with four arms.
• Sivagami: In the Tribhanga posture, with two arms.
• The finds give evidence of religious practices, art and metal sculpture in Nagapattinam during the Chola period.
• Nagapattinam: A port town on the Coromandel coast. The TNSDA began exploring it in 2025, using LIDAR and a drone, for remains of the Chudamani Vihara, a Buddhist monastery.

About Chola Bronzes

• Period: Made from the 9th to 13th centuries, mainly as temple icons for worship and processions. The craft survives at Swamimalai and Kumbakonam.
• Lost-wax (cire perdue) technique: A wax model is coated in clay, the wax is melted out and metal is poured in. It is known since the Indus Valley civilisation, as in the Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro.
• Panchaloha: The five-metal alloy traditionally used for temple idols.
• Patron: The Chola queen Sembiyan Maha Devi was a major patron of temples and bronzes in the 10th century.

About Nataraja

• Meaning: Nataraja (“King of Dance”) is Shiva as the cosmic dancer. The Ananda Tandava (“Dance of Bliss”) symbolises creation, preservation and destruction.
• Upper right hand: Holds the damaru (drum), the sound of creation.
• Upper left hand: Holds agni (fire), standing for destruction and transformation.
• Lower right hand: In the abhaya mudra (protection and fearlessness), often with a cobra coiled around the forearm.
• Lower left hand: In the gaja hasta or danda hasta pose, pointing to the raised left foot, a symbol of liberation.
• Apasmara (Muyalaka): The dwarf under the right foot, a symbol of ignorance and ego, subdued and not killed.
• Prabha mandala: The ring of fire around the figure, standing for the cosmos and the cycle of time, held by two makaras.
• Pancha Kritya: The five acts of Shiva: srishti (creation), sthiti (preservation), samhara (destruction), tirobhava (concealment) and anugraha (grace).
• Tribhanga: A pose with three bends of the body (neck, waist and knee), as in the Sivagami idol.

About Chidambaram and Nataraja in Indian Culture

• Chidambaram (Thillai) Nataraja Temple: In Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, the main centre of Nataraja worship. It is one of the five Pancha Bhoota Shiva temples, representing space (akasha), and its sanctum is called the Chidambaram Rahasya.
• Sabhesan: Nataraja is also called “Lord of the Hall”, after the Kanaka Sabha.
• Sivagami: The consort of Nataraja, worshipped as Shivakami Amman at Chidambaram.
• Dance link: The temple gateways (gopurams) carry the 108 Karanas (dance poses) from Bharata’s Natya Shastra, the basis of Bharatanatyam.
• Bhakti literature: The four Nayanar saints praised Nataraja in their hymns.
• Modern symbol: A bronze Nataraja was installed at CERN, Geneva, in 2004.

Why in News?

The Bihar Museum in Patna has been ranked ninth in the world and first in Asia in the “World’s 100 Best Museums” list published by the international travel guide Worth a Journey. It sits in the top 10 alongside the Louvre, the Vatican Museums and the British Museum.

Key Points

• Ranking basis: The guide assessed museums on cultural value, infrastructure, visitor experience and accessibility.
• Highlights: Its showpiece is the Didarganj Yakshi, a 3rd-century BC polished sandstone sculpture, the museum’s counterpart to the Louvre’s Mona Lisa.
• Collection: Galleries run in time order from the Stone Age to modern times, with ancient sculptures, coins, manuscripts, archaeological finds and folk art. It has a children’s gallery and a regional folk art gallery.
• Art on display: Kurkihar bronzes of the Pala period, Nalanda stone murals, and crafts such as Madhubani art, Patna Kalam paintings and Sikki grass craft.

About Didarganj Yakshi and Mauryan Art

• Didarganj Yakshi: A life-size female figure about 5 ft 2 in tall, carved from Chunar sandstone with a mirror-like finish. She holds a chauri (fly-whisk) in the right hand, and the left hand is broken. It is also called the Didarganj Chauri Bearer.
• Mauryan polish: The lustrous finish typical of Mauryan sculpture, seen on the Ashokan pillars. The Yakshi represents folk or popular art, as distinct from the court art of the pillars.
• Dating debate: Dated to the 3rd century BCE for its polish, but some scholars place it in the 1st to 2nd century CE.
• Other Mauryan art in Bihar: The Barabar Hills rock-cut caves and the pillared hall at Kumhrar.
• Yakshi: A female nature spirit linked with fertility and prosperity in early Indian art.

About Patna Museum and Pala Art

• Patna Museum: Established in 1917, called Jadughar (“house of magic”). The Bihar Museum grew out of its collections.
• Kurkihar bronzes: The collection of 163 bronzes is regarded as among the best in India, showing Pala metal art.
• Pala dynasty: Ruled Bihar and Bengal from the 8th to 12th centuries, and patronised Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, with the monasteries of Nalanda and Vikramshila.
• Pala art: Bronzes by the lost-wax method, black basalt sculpture, and illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts such as the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita. The sculptors Dhiman and Vitapala are credited with the eastern school of bronze and stone sculpture.

About Folk and Miniature Art of Bihar

• Madhubani (Mithila) painting: A folk art done mostly by women of the Mithila region, known for geometric fillers and double-line borders. It has a GI tag (2007).
• Manjusha art: A scroll painting from Bhagalpur (ancient Anga), telling the folk tale of Bihula-Bishari, and using only pink, green and yellow. It is also called Angika or snake art.
• Sikki grass craft: Golden marsh grass of north Bihar, woven into baskets, boxes and figures.
• Tikuli art: Painting in the shape of a bindi, today done in enamel on wood.
• Patna Kalam: A school of painting of the 18th and 19th centuries, also called Company painting. It blended Mughal and British styles and depicted common people and their daily life.

Why in News?

Manisha Bhanwala won the 59 kg gold at the World Wrestling Championships in Astana, becoming the first Indian woman to win a World Championships gold.

Key Points

• The final: She beat USA’s Abigail Nette, 8-6, after trailing 0-6.
• Her profile: A 29-year-old from Haryana and former Asian champion (62 kg). 59 kg is a non-Olympic category.
• Women’s team: Neelam Sirohi (50 kg) and Kajal Dhochak (76 kg) won silver, and Tanu Sharma won bronze (72 kg), India’s best-ever showing.
• Earlier milestones: Sushil Kumar won the World title in 2010, and Anshu Malik won silver in 2021.

Why in News?

Russia’s independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta has announced that it is closing, saying it was “killed” by state pressure after years of repression of journalists critical of the Kremlin and its war in Ukraine.

Prelims Pointer

• World Press Freedom Index: Published each year by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), ranking 180 countries and territories.
• Latest index (2026, released 30 April): Global press freedom is at its lowest level in 25 years. Norway is first for the 10th consecutive year, followed by the Netherlands, Estonia, Denmark and Sweden. Eritrea is last (180th), with North Korea (179th) and China (178th) above it.
• Russia: Ranked 172nd, with 48 journalists in prison. RSF says it uses laws against terrorism, separatism and extremism to restrict the press.
• India: Ranked 157th, down six places from 151st in 2025, in the “very serious” category.
• India and press freedom: The press is protected under Article 19(1)(a). See also the recent note on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.