Sunday, August 16, 2015

Vedic connection of Ancient America before occupation by Europeans


American swastika
India's Cultural Link with Ancient America
Arun Chinchmalatpure

Right from the period of first Spanish historian Mr. Fray Shahaun (1515 AD) till today a number of scholars have worked over the life of native Americans and some of them came to the conclusion that in ancient times people from India and the Indian archipelago migrated to America and developed a great civilization there. In his book 'A Compact History of Mexico' Mr. Ignacio Bernall states that people from Asia entered America some thirty-five thousand years before, whereas Mr. Arcio Nuns, a Brazilian nuclear scientist, mentions about the Dravidians of Asia with America as old as eleven thousand years.

An article published in the 'Hindu' of 27th Sept. 1985 about the discovery made by Dr. Harry Fell, renowned epigraphist of USA goes to suggest that the early merchant settlers of South-East Asia had sailed to far off lands in pursuit of their profession, whose presence in Mexico is available in the form of inscriptions. Dr. Fell has deciphered the Indic inscription from Tihosuco which reads that merchant Vusaluna, the captain of the ship, sailing along the coast line, had got the inscription engraved on the stone slab in the month of July of the year 845. It is assumed that year mentioned is of Saka era.
Cultural Links:

Worship - The archaeologists found many Hindu deities like Shiva, Shiva linga, Ganesh, Kali, Sun, Buddha etc. (in similar or slightly different forms) which were worshiped in ancient America. The Hindu God of luck, Ganesh, was worshiped in Central-South America. Images of Ganesh have been excavated in plenty in Mexico. This god with the elephant's trunk is frequently depicted in Mexican manuscripts and in the temple ruins in Central America as the god with a proboscis-like horn, whence water is squirting and his head is most frequently portrayed on the corners of temple walls, which are always built with reference to the original points. And image of 'Ekadant Ganesh' was noticed in the temple at Kopan by great Indologist late Dr. W.S. Wakankar.

An image of Hanuman called by the name 'Wilka Huemana' and measuring 50 feet in height and 12 feet in breadth was found in Guatemala. Similar one was found during an excavation of an Aztec temple in Mexico City and was known as 'Euhectal', a wind God, a monkey God. 

Buddhism also had a vast influence on pre-Colombian America. Professor F.W. Putnam found in the jungles of Honduras a sculpture which greatly resembles Buddha. According to the July, 1901 issue of American Harper's Magazine, it has been proved with evidence that five Buddhist monks had reached Mexico in ancient times, via Alaska.


Mexican Buddha

Ceremonies, Beliefs and Customs:

Hindu culture, civilization, custom and belief also dominated ancient America to some extent. Ancient Americans believed in legendary cataclysm, rebirth, four yugas and the concept of two planets like Rahu and Ketu causing solar eclipse. The Hindu doctrine of the ages is preserved in a stone monolith popularly known as the Aztec calendar. This remarkable piece of stone carving is in the form of an immense disc 12 feet in diameter and weights over 20 tons. A festival called Sita-Ram (Situa-Raimi) was celebrated in Mexico during Nav-Ratri or Dussehra period which has been described on page 5867 in the book 'Hamsworth History of the World'. Both in Central and South America, there are found Sati cremation, priesthood, gurukul system, yajna, birth, marriage and death ceremonies to some extent similar to the Hindus.

Social life:

The ancient American's dresses (male and female) were simple and similar to those of Hindu dresses. Mexican face types were found to be similar to those of Assam, Naga, Nepal and Haryana people. Even their reddish brown skin complexion bears distinct similarity with those of Nepalis and Nagas. If an Indian is shown a Maya lady of Yucatan province from Mexico, he will recognize her as a Jat Lady of Haryana. Ayar Inoa King used to wear a turban, earring and a trishul type trident in his hand.

Today native Indians of America live in the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico who number only few lacs (lac = 100,000). These tribes are still vegetarians. Similarly, only two lacs natives are survived in Canada who are still called as 'Indians'. Their lifestyle, customs, and beliefs are similar to Bharatiya people.

Trade:

Goldsmiths from Peru and Mexico prevailed working style similar to Indian traditional goldsmiths. Mr. Michael Long of the National Geographic Society was surprised to see the back strap weaving method in handloom at Santa Rosa of Peru. This is used to separate thread. It is very well known that cotton is a gift given by Indians to the whole world.

Language:

Professor Raman Mena, curator of the National Museum of Mexico, said that the general appearance of Maya's writing is considered of oriental origin. According to scholar Orozco V. Berra, Maya and other languages are of Sanskrit origin. A few Sanskrit and Quichua words are given here to show their similarity and origin.

Quichua Sanskrit

A hina (also) ena (also) Killa (moon) Kil (shining) Illapi (chant) lap (to speak) Paksa (fortnight) Paksha (fortnight)

The word 'Wara', a unit of measurement, was also used by Maya people. They used to call Antyas as Antis. Professor Hug Fox of Michigan State University found a strange mix of Tamil and local American languages in use some millennia ago. For example, shasta, Indiana, Arevada, Utah, Guyana etc. Mr. Arcio Nuns from the Federal University of Brazil found evidence of our Gorani language in the form of Bruhi language during his long research work conducted in South America. 'Gorani' language was practiced thousands of years before in Tamilnadu as per Arcio Nuns. This language is still used in the Adi-Chandlur tribal area of Tamilnadu and shows similarity to the Bruhi language being practiced in South America.

It is also believed that Quichua's (language of Peruvians) characteristic of mouth transmission is derived from Indians. Writing mathematical figures by using vertical and horizontal straight lines was a system commonly practiced by Indians and Mayas.

Shilpa:

Southern and Central American excavations revealed ancient cities, forts, bridges, tanks, canals, houses and pyramids which indicated the high state of civilization and what is found that some sculptures of those archaeological remnants are similar in form and design to that found in Indian sculptural monuments. 'Supporting the buildings over the arms of Yaksha' is an Indian art. Similar types of construction was found in ancient Mexico. Similarly, sculptures of human figures with headgear similar to Tamils, sculptures of Indian style ornamentation of elephants were found in Kopan (Honduras) and Palenque. Thousands of ancient baked-clay bricks were found in Comalcalco in Mexico over which Pali scripts were engraved and these were used in the construction of pyramid temples which were similar to the pyramid temple in the Chidambaram village situated on the Coromandel coast in Southern India. In an article written by scholar Ronald Shiller named 'Unsolved Mysteries of the Incas' (published in Reader's Digest of August 1982) he claims to have seen the imprints of South-East Asian culture over the sculptures found in Peru dating to the second century BC.

I hope my findings will help the scholars to study the influence of Indian culture over the Meso-American culture, so as to bring before the world the universality of great Vedic culture in the past.

Vedic Roots of Ancient America

Sushama Lodhe

Baffling Links to Ancient India:

History is full of misnomers; one such term is the New World, as applied to the Americas. The landing of Columbus in 1492 undoubtedly created a new life on the continents, but it neither created nor discovered a new world. Many centuries ago Asian migrants had come to the western shore in substantial numbers. What if the popular idea that Tibetans and American Indians have much in common in terms of their spiritual culture is largely a result of another historical scenario?

What if Hindus and Hopis, Advaitins and Aztecs, Tibetan Monks and Mayans were part of one world culture - a spiritual one?

Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), an eminent European scholar and anthropologist, was one of the first to postulate the Asiatic origin of the Indian civilizations of the Americas. Swami B.V. Tripurari asks, " What mysterious psychological law would have caused Asians and Americans to both use the umbrella as a sign of royalty, to invent the same games, imagine similar cosmologies and attribute the same colors to the different directions?"

The first Maya Empire had been founded in Guatemala at about the beginning of the Christian era. Before the fall of Rome the Mayas were charting accurately the synodical revolutions of Venus and whilst Europe was still lingering in the Dark Ages the Maya civilization had reached a peak of greatness.

It is significant that the zenith of Maya civilization was reached at a time when India had also attained an unparalleled cultural peak during the Gupta period. Indian cultural intercourse with Southeast Asia, the Gupta period, had begun more than a century before the Mayan classical age in 320 and Buddhism and Hinduism had been well known in neighboring countries for centuries. If there was contact between Mayan America and Indianized Southeast Asia, the simultaneous cultural advance would not appear surprising. In marked contrast, this was the darkest period in Europe's history between the sack of Rome and the rise of Charlemagne.

The most important development of the ancient American or Asiomerican culture took place in the south of the United States, in Mexico, in central America and in Peru. The early history of Asiomericans is shrouded in mystery and controversy due to the absence of definitive documentary evidence, which was destroyed by the European conquerors in their misguided religious zeal.

However, it appears that after the discovery of introduction of maize into Mexico, Asiomericans no longer had to wander about in search of food. Men in America, as in other parts of the world, settled down to cultivate food and culture, a by-product of agricultural life, inevitably followed.

Of the Asiomerican civilizations, the best known are the Maya, the Toltec, the Aztec, and the Inca. The Mayas were possibly the earliest people to found a civilization there; they moved from the Mexican plateau into Guatemala. They were later pushed out, presumably by the Toltecs, who, in turn were dislodged by the Aztecs.

Similarities:

Astrology

Baron Alexander Von Humboldt, whilst visiting Mexico, found similarities between Asian and Mexican astrology. He founded systematic study of ancient American cultures and was convinced of the Asian origin of the American-Indian high civilization. He said:
"If languages supply but feeble evidence of ancient communication between the two worlds, their communication is fully proved by the cosmogonies, the monuments, the hieroglyphical characters and the institutions of the people of America and Asia."

In 1866, the French architect, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, also noted striking resemblances between ancient Mexican structures and those of South India.

Hindu-Mexican Trinity:

Scholars were also greatly impressed by the similarity between the Hindu Trinity - Brahma-Visnu-Shiva and the Mexican Trinity Ho-Huitzilopochtli-Tlaloc as well as the likeness between Indian temples and American pyramids. The parallels between the Hindu Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Trinity and the Mexican Ho-Huitzilopochtli-Tlaloc Trinity and the resemblances between the attributes of certain Hindu deities and those of the Mayan pantheon are impressive. Discussing the diffusion of Indian religions to Mexico, a recent scholar Paul Kirchhoff has even suggested that it is not simply a question of miscellaneous influences wandering from one country to the other, but that China, India, Java and Mexico actually share a common system."

Kirchhoff has sought "to demonstrate that a calendaric classification of 28 Hindu gods and their animals into twelve groups, subdivided into four blocks, within each of which we find a sequence of gods and animals representing Creation, Destruction and Renovation, and which can be shown to have existed both in India and Java, must have been carried from the Old World to the New, since in Mexico we find calendaric lists of gods and animals that follow each other without interruption in the same order and with attributes and functions or meanings strikingly similar to those of the 12 Indian and Javanese groups of gods, showing the same four subdivisions."

E. B. Taylor also found the counterparts of the tortoise myth of India in ancient America.

Donald A. Mackenzie and other scholars, however, are of definite opinion that the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians were familiar with Indian mythology and cite in support close parallels in details. For instance, the history of the Mayan elephant symbol cannot be traced in the local tradition, whereas it was a prominent religious symbol in India. The African elephant has larger ears. It is the profile of the Indian elephant, its tusk and lower lip, the form of its ear, as well as its turbaned rider with his ankus, which is found in Meso-American models. Whilst the African elephant was of little religious significance, it had been tamed in India and associated with religious practices since the early days.

The Mexican doctrine of the World's Ages - the universe was destroyed four consecutive times - is reminiscent of the Indian Yugas. Even the reputed colors of these mythical four ages, white, yellow, red and black are identical with and in the same order as one of the two versions of the Indian Yugas. In both myths the duration of the First Age is exactly the same, 4,800 divine years. The Mexican Trinity is associated with this doctrine as in the Hindu Trinity with the Yugas in India.

Later, two English scholars Channing Arnold and Frederick J. Tabor Frost, in their The American Egypt, made a detailed examination of the transpacific contacts, reinforcing the view of Buddhist influences on Central America. The most recent and by far the most systematic well-reasoned, and effective case has been advanced by the eminent archaeologist, R. Heine-Geldern and Gordon Ekholm, who favor Indian and Southeast Asian cultural influences on ancient America through migration across the Pacific.

According to the Mayan calendar, which is extant, the time record of the Mayas began on 6 August 613 B.C. It is an exact date based upon intricated astronomical calculations and prolonged observations. To work out this kind of elaborate calendar must have taken well over two thousand years of studying stars and the Asiomericans must have been remarkably shrewd observers.

Use of Zero

The Mayas of Yucatan were the first people besides the Indians to use a zero sign and represent number values by the position of basic symbols. The similarity between the Indian zero and the Mayan zero is indeed striking. So far as the logical principle is concerned, the two are identical, but the expressions of the principle are dissimilar. Again, whilst the Indian system of notation was decimal, as was the European, the Mayan was vigesimal. Consequently, their 100 stood for 400, 1000 stood for 8000, 1234 for 8864. While the place of zero in the respective systems of the Indians and Mayans is different, the underlying principle and method are the same and the common origin of the Mayan and Indian zeros appears to be undoubted. 
Disputes continue amongst scholars in the absence of conclusive evidence. As chronological evidence stands today, the Mayan zero appears to be anterior by several centuries to its Hindu counterpart.
Other similarities

In 1949, two scholars, Gordon Ekholm and Chaman Lal, systematically compared the Mayan, Aztec, Incan, and the North American Indian civilizations with the Hindu-oriented countries of Southeast Asia and with India herself. According to them the emigrant cultures of India took with them India's system of time measurement, local gods and customs. Ekholm and Lal found signs of Aryan civilization throughout the Americas in art (lotus flowers with knotted stems and half dragon/half fish motifs found commonly in paintings and carvings), architecture, calendars, astronomy, religious symbols and even games such as our Parchessi and Mexican Patilli, which have their origins in India's pachisi.

Both the Hindus and Americans used similar items in their worship rituals. They both maintained the concept of four Yuga cycles, or cosmological seasons, extending over thousands of years, and conceived of twelve constellations with reference to the sun as indicated by the Incan sun calendar. Royal insignias, systems of government and practice of religious dance and temple worship all showed remarkable similarities, pointing strongly to the idea that the Americas were strongly influenced by the Aryans. The theory is found in the Vedic literature of India. The ancient Puranas (literally "histories") and the Mahabharata make mention of the Americas as lands rich with gold and silver. Argentina, which means "related to silver", is thought to have been named after Arjuna (of silver hue).
Another scholar, Ramon Mena, author of Mexican Archaelogy, called the Nahuatl, Zapoteca, and Mayan languages "of Hindu origin." He went to say, "A deep mystery enfolds the tribes that inhabited the state of Chiapas in the district named Palenque... their writing, and the anthropological type, as well as their personal adornments... their system and style of construction clearly indicate the remotest antiquity... (they) all speak of India and the Orient."

Still another scholar, Ambassador Miles Poindexter, a former ambassador of the United States to Mexico, in his two-volume 1930s treatise The Arya-Incas, called the Mayan civilization "unquestionably Hindu." He proposed that primitive Aryan words and people came to America by the island chains of Polynesia. The Mexican name for boat is a South Indian Tamil word, Catamaran, and Poindexter gives a long list of words of the Quichua languages and their analogous forms in Sanskrit. Similarities between the hymns of the Inca rulers of Peru and Vedic hymns have been pointed out. A. L. Krober has also found striking similarities between the structure of Indo-European and the Penutian language of some of the tribes along the northwestern coast of California. Recently, an Indian scholar, B. C. Chhabra, in his "Vestiges of Indian Culture in Hawaii", has noticed certain resemblances between the symbols found in the petroglyphs from the Hawaiian Islands and those on the Harappan seals. Some of the symbols in the petroglyphs are described as akin to early Brahmi script.

Indeed, the parallels between the arts and culture of India and those of ancient America are too numerous and close to be attributed to independent growth. A variety of art forms are common to Mexico, India, Java, and Indochina, the most striking of which are the Teocallis, the pyramids with receding stages, faced with cut stone, and with stairways leading to a stone sanctuary on top. Many share surprisingly common features such as serpent columns and banisters, vaulted galleries and corbeled arches, attached columns, stone cut-out lattices and Atlantean figures; these are typical of the Puuc style of Yucatan. Heine-Geldern and Ekholm point out that temple pyramids in Cambodia did not become important until the ninth and tenth centuries, a time coinciding with the beginning of the Puuc period.

Vedic Americas
 Vrin Parker

The fact that a highly civilized race inhabited America long before the modern civilization of Europe made its appearance there, is quite clear from the striking remains of ancient and his refinement existing in the country. Extensive remains of cities which must have been once in a most flourishing condition, of strong and well-built fortresses, as well as the ruins of very ancient and magnificent buildings, roads, tanks and canals that meet the eye over a very wide area of the southern continent of America, irresistibly force us to the conclusion that the country must have been inhabited at one time by a very highly civilized nation. But whence did this civilization spring?

The researches of European antiquarians trace it to India. Mr. Coleman says: "Baron Humboldt, the great German traveler and scientist, describes the existence of Hindu remains still found in America."

Speaking of the social usages of the inhabitants of Peru, Mr. Pococke says: "The Peruvians and their ancestors, the Indians, are in this point of view at once seen to be the same people." The architecture of ancient America resembles the Hindu style of architecture. Mr. Hardy says: "The ancient edifices of Chichen in Central America bear a striking resemblance to the tops of India." Mr. Squire also says: "The Buddhist temples of Southern India and of the islands of the Indian archipelago, as described to us by the learned members of the Asiatic Society and the numerous writers on the religion and antiquities of the Hindus, correspond with great exactness in all their essential and in many of their minor features with those of Central America." Dr. Zerfii remarks: "We find the remarkable temples, fortresses and viaducts, aqueducts of the Aryan group."

A still more significant fact proves the Hindu origin of the civilization of ancient America. The mythology of ancient America furnishes sufficient grounds for the inference that it was a child of Hindu mythology. The following facts will elucidate the matter:

Americans worshiped Mother Earth as a mythological deity, as the Hindus still do - Dhatri mata and Prithvi mata are well known as familiar phrases in Hindustan.

Footprints of heroes and deities on rocks and hills were worshiped by the Americans as devoutly as they are done in India even at the present day. Mexicans are said to have worshiped the footprints of Quetzal Coatl and the Indians worship the footprints of Buddha in Ceylon and of Krishna in Gokula near Mathura.

The Solar and Lunar eclipses were looked upon in ancient America in the same light as in modern India. The Hindus beat drums and make noises by beating tin pots and other things. The Americans, too, raise a frightful howl and sound musical instruments. The Carecles (Americans) think that the demon Maleoyo, the hater of light, swallows the moon and sun in the same way as the Hindus think that the demons Rahu and Ketu devour the sun and the moon.

The priests were represented in America with serpents round their heads, as Siva, Kali and others are represented by the Hindus.


Native Indian stories and traces of Vedic civilization
Notes by JanM, November 2000
General Vedic traces:

  • universe originally dark and empty except for water,
    then a god creates earth, sun, stars, animals and people
    [cf. Brahma]
  • earth and sky originally as one, later separated
    [cf. Dyaus & Prthvi]
  • in the beginning there is often no sun, moon, stars or water; sometimes they are held captured by some envious beings. They must be tricked, usually by the Raven
    [cf. Rg Veda story of Indra fighting Vrtra demon]
  • natural phenomena have personal forms
    (e.g. Lightning and Thunder man)
  • devas on higher planets, personifying the planets, sometimes relating to humans, teaching them
  • existence of underworld [cf. Bila-svarga], human origin there according to Apache lore
  • shapeshifting of men and animals
  • animals originally man-like (talking etc.), later they changed into their present forms
  • flood of the world as G/god's punishment for evil behavior of people, few good people saved by warning, being instructed to build a kind of makeshift watercraft or to escape on mountains or other safe places, they also took onboard various animals and plants and later became ancestors of present humans
    [cf. Manu]
Stories:

BearAndIndianWife: (Haida, British Columbia)
bears previously people-like [cf. rkshas - ape/bears, yetti], crossbreeding possible

BirdSerpent: (Powhatan, Virginia)
birds as visible spirits of the deceased [cf. Pitas fed through pinda offerings left on the ground for birds]

BlessingWay: (Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
chants and rituals revealed by higher beings, the mantra is a holy being satisfying devas

BuffaloWife: (Blackfoot, Alberta and Montana)
revival of a man from a bone (cloning?)

ChangingWoman: (Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
children of devas grow up within a few days, deva is a planet's inner form [cf. Surya etc.]

CloudCatcher: (Ojibwa, Great Lakes)
devas eat sacrificed animals, time scale difference between the heaven and earth

Creation: (Tlingit, southern Alaska coast)
flood of the world, Raven in the role of savior, giant animals on earth (dinosaurs?), darkness in the beginning

DanceDead: (Luiseno, southern California)
dead people turned into birds [cf. sraddha offering to birds; reincarnation mentioned]

EarthMaking: (Cherokee, Great Lakes, eastern Tennessee)
flat earth, as an island on water, animals originally living on higher planets (see also SolitudeWalker)

Emergence: (Jicarilla Apache, northeastern New Mexico)
darkness and winds at the beginning; earth - mother, sky - father; underworld origin of people

EveningStar: (Karasha, South America)
a deva taught people to grow crops

FirstManFirstWoman: (Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
magic number 4

FishMonster: (Menomini, Wisconsin-Michigan)
biblical Job & leviathan analogy

Flood: (Zuni, southwestern U.S.)
sins punished by the flood

FloodOnSuperstitionMountain: (Pima, southwestern Arizona)
sinful people killed by flood, only a virtuous shaman and his wife survived in an "ark"

GirlMarriedDog: (Cheyenne, Minnesota)
sexual relations between humans and Pleiadeans

GreatFlood: (Salish/Cowichan, Pacific Northwest)
flood of the world

GreatSerpent&Flood: (Chippewa, Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
flood, people saved on a raft

GustOfWind: (Ojibwa, Great Lakes)
earth as a woman [cf. Bhumi] (see also MotherOfAllPeople), crossbreeding of devas and humans

HowCornCameToEarth: (Kansas state?)
in old times there were giants on earth, they stopped smoke sacrifice so God killed them by flood; people were told to hide in a large cave with all the animals, the cave was sealed from the floodwater, the people were lead out by a devi, taught various skills and wisdom and populated the earth

HowHopisReachedTheirWorld: (Hopi, southwestern U.S.)
underworld [cf. Bila-svarga] origin of people, degradation of dharma makes things go worse (first appearance of death, plant cultivation progressively more difficult)



IntheBeginning: (Yuchi, southeastern U.S.)
lower, middle and upper world [cf. Bila-svarga, Bhur-loka, Svarga-loka], extraordinary people and animals from the upper world visited the middle world but later returned home where they lived more comfortably

InvisibleOne: (Micmac, eastern Maritime Canada)
Cinderella version

LandOfDead: (Serrano)
time on death planet [cf. Yamaloka] moves slowlier than on earth (one day as one year)

Manabush: (Menomini, Wisconsin-Michigan)
a deva took a human wife and became a mediator between devas and humans

ManWhoActedAsSun: (Bellacoola)
devas' children grow very fast

MarriedRattlesnake: (Pomo, north central California)
crossbreed between humans and snakes

MedicineMan: (Passamaquoddy, northwestern U.S.)
who desires to live very long will become a tree [reincarnation mentioned]

MenVisitSky: (Seminole, Florida)
earth has an edge (see also SolitudeWalker)


MeteorLegends: (Ojibwa, Great Lakes)
Native Americans lived together with giant animals (dinos?)
who were destroyed by a comet

MicMacCreation: (Micmac, eastern Maritime Canada)
sacrificed animals brought back to life by the Great Spirit

MonsterSlayer: (Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
a deva keeping his heart, nerves, breath and blood in different places outside of his body [cf. Mahiravana, brother of Ravana]

Moon: (?)
sun is a being like ourselves

MorningStar: (Great Plains)
humans joining devas in marriage in heaven, planets as persons

Nisqually: (Nisqually, Puget Sound, Washington)
sinful people punished by the flood, a deva determined the women to be subservient to men, Pandora's box analogy

NorthStar: (Paiute, southwestern U.S.)
high central mountain in the universe [cf. Sumeru]

OldWomanSpring: (Cheyenne, Minnesota)
parallel dimension behind the waterfall as the original place of buffalo and corn

Opossum: (Cherokee, Great Lakes, eastern Tennessee)
previously the deer had sharp teeth [cf. ferocious deer of Ramayana]

OriginAnimals: (Apache, southwestern U.S.)
Apache origins in underworld [cf. Bila-svarga]

OriginOfCuring: (White Mountain Apache, southwestern U.S.)
healing songs [cf. mantras] revealed to people by the Creator

OriginOfSweatLodge: (Blackfeet/Piegan, Montana)
a man taken to higher planets to learn

ReleaseOfAnimals: (Comanche, southwestern U.S.)
buffalo were kept from the people by an evil being [cf. demon Vrtra of Rg Veda keeping heavenly cows in a cave], they were released by Coyote's trick (see also EmpoundedWater)

ScabbyOne: (Toltec, Mexico)
world destroyed because of people's sins (karma)

SeekYourFather: (Seneca, northwestern U.S.)
Sun living on a high mountain [cf. Sumeru] in the east

Shonto: (Anasazi-Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
punishment for adharma by the devas

SnakeBrothers: (Sioux/Dakota, South Dakota)
men turned into snakes, living underground, friendly relationship with people

SpiritLand: (general info)
astral travel of shamans, exorcism

SunMoonStars: (Navajo/Dine, southwestern U.S.)
people originating from the lower world [cf. Bila-svarga]; sun - male, moon - female; Milky Way as the path for the spirits between earth and heaven [cf. devayana] (see also OwlHusband, StoneMother)

TheFaster: (Winnebago, Wisconsin-Michigan)
the devas and spirits can't grant immortality (see also HuntingMedicine)

TheftOfLight: (Tsimshian, British Columbia)
analogy of Garuda stealing nectar from heaven and Prometheus stealing fire

ThunderBird: (northwestern Coast)
thunderbird analogous to Garuda

ThunderGods: (Dakota)
analogies of Jupiter/Indra

TotemAnimals: (general info)
totem animals in both Siberia and North America

TwinsAlterBook: (Winnebago, Wisconsin-Michigan)
a deva in charge of dead keeps a book of life [cf. Yama/Citragupta]

TwoGhostlyLovers: (Dakota, South Dakota)
a violent death indicates a man will turn into ghost [cf. Garuda Purana, Preta-khanda]

TwoJeebiUg: (Chippewa, Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
hospitality rewarded

WellBakedMan: (Pima, southwest Arizona)
Creator made humans according to his own form, breathing life into their bodies [cf. prana]

WhiteBuffalo: (Lakota, Great Plains)
a devi teaches a prayer

WhiteBuffaloWoman: (Lakota, Dakota, Great Plains)
a sacred buffalo [cf. Dharma bull] losing a leg in each age [cf. yuga], when he loses all four the Earth will be inundated

WhiteDeer: (Chickasaw, middlewestern U.S.)
a ferocious deer [cf. deer of Ramayana]

WhoIsStrongest: (Zuni, southwestern U.S.)
similar to a Vedic story

WhyStars: (Eskimo/Inuit)
stars are living beings, world has an edge, planet Jupiter wards off an evil

WomanFell: (Seneca, northwestern U.S.)
people came from the higher planets; original water in the universe [cf. Garbhodaka], Earth is made from the soil of its bottom; animals were originally bigger and later made small

FloodStories: in old times an old man came to Muysca tribe (Colombia)
and taught them agriculture, crafts, religion, and government [cf. dharmas of the four varnas]

Shuar (Andes)
tribe legend analogous to Arjuna & Ulupi story
Hopis and chakras: Frank Waters. Book of the Hopi, The Viking Press 1963, p.9-10, 26-27

On preservation of stories:

"In ages past, our old ones were the storytellers. This was the way things were passed along to the generations that followed. For this reason the aged people made it a point to remember every detail so they could relate it at a later time. They were the word and picture carriers making history and spirtual values alive and important. In recent times we have made our old ones think they are not so important. We spoof their stories and make them feel foolish. The truth is that we are ignorant of what is precious and how to 'a da li he li tse di -- appreciate age. Rigidity can creep in and set even the young mind if there are no soft memories, no laughter, no times too deep for tears. Age is grace -- a time too valuable to waste." (A Cherokee Feast of Days - Daily Meditations, Joyce Sequichie Hifler)

Sources:

Mythology and Folklore
www.pibburns.com/mythfolk.htm 
Native American Lore Index
www.ilhawaii.net:80/~stony/loreindx.html 
Native American Traditional Storytelling
www.hanksville.org/storytellers/ 
Native American Wisdom
www.angelfire.com/ca/Indian/stories.html 
Raven: Pacific Northwest Tales
www.eldrbarry.net/rabb/rvn/rvn.htm 
Stonee's Buffalo Part I
www.ilhawaii.net:80/~stony/buffalo.html
Voodoo and Vedic tradition
tannhaus
from http://iskcon.livejournal.com/85071.html

It might surprise you that Voodoo is not about casting spells and sticking pins into dolls. You might find it even more surprising that Voodoo is a legitimate religion that is, in many ways, very similar to Vedic religion. In order to promote greater understanding and respect, I have decided to show some similarities as well as differences between Voodoo and Vedic religion.

First, let us start with where Voodoo came from: During the sixteenth century, slave traders began taking people from the West Coast of Africa (also known as the Slave Coast), the area comprising Benin (formerly Dahomey) and Togo, and selling them to French owned plantations in the Caribbean. The French Catholics tried to forcibly convert the slaves to Catholicism. What instead happened was an integration of the Yoruba and Fon traditions of Africa with Catholicism, thus creating Vodou. The later movement of these slaves also brought Vodou to New Orleans and the Carolina coast.

The word Vodou means "Spirit" or "Deity" in the Fon language of Dahomey. Like Vedic religion, Vodou is monotheistic. They believe in one God, called Bondye (from French Bon Dieu, "Good God") who is unfathomable. In Vedic religion, guru provides a link between God and man. In Vodou, that link is accomplished by spirits very similar to the demigods: the loa (also spelled lwa). It is also accomplished by the Mambo (priestess) or Houngan (priest). 

There is no difference between Houngans and Mambos other than gender. They are equals in respect and power. But, they complete the link between man and God by helping us connect to the loa. In many ways, the Houngan and Mambo are like our spiritual parents. They provide spiritual guidance, emotional support, and they even provide herbs when we are ill. Whereas any person can pray to the loa and feel them in their lives, the mambo or houngan has the ability to bridge the gap between our plane of existence and theirs and actually call them into our realm of experience.

As far as the loa themselves, who are they? They are archetypical and ancestral spirits, bridging the gap between man and God. Their similarity to the demigods is surprising. For instance, the loa Ghede corresponds to Yama and the loa Papa Legba corresponds to Ganesh. 
In Vodou they realize that the demigods are below God and so they serve God _through_them.

A major theme in Vodou is service, just like in Vedic religion. As Sallie Ann Glassman (my old Mambo and author of Vodou Visions, a book where you can find this information on Vodou as well as a lot more) says, "The core focus of a Vodou Sosyete (society or congregation) is on service. Be true to yourself and make your life the most beautiful offering that you can give. Service to the Lwa is service to the community. Service to the community is service to the Lwa."

The lwa are honored in much the same way as Krishna and the demigods. They are offered incense, water, food (they even have favorite foods), etc. A difference is that the loa are also offered liquor and cigarettes or cigars (which signifies lower gunas of the worshiper). But the idea is the same. The offering is made, the loa accept the offering, and then the now sacred food can be consumed by the congregation (as prasadam).

In Vodou, respect and honor are paramount. It is not some empty respect for a God that you cannot see, but it is respect for all life. Each individual is a creation of God and is thus sacred. Every item, when used in the service of the Lwa, becomes sacred. Whereas many people go to a church which they consider holy ground, Vodou makes the ground they live on holy. Vodou makes the things of your everyday life sacred. Vodou makes the here and now an act of worship, and not just the "there and on Sunday".

Like in the Vaisnava tradition, song and dance is an integral part of the Vodou ceremony. When you dance in Vodou, you offer your energy and body to the lwa. You feel the drumbeat pulse through you like the heartbeat of the loa and you immerse yourself in their caress. The trappings of everyday life bleed from you and you become spirit, dancing in honor and ecstasy. You commune with the lwa.

No article on Vodou would be complete without also touching on three often misunderstood subjects: magic, possession, and sacrifice:
In Vodou, like in the Vedas, animal sacrifice is a reality. But also, like the Vedas, Judaism, etc., animal sacrifice is done with a sense of compassion and respect. The idea is not to torture or harm the poor animal, but instead to offer it up to the lwa, life and body. Afterwards, the animal is cooked and eaten by the congregation. This is not a barbaric rite, but one that affirms life. Whereas in the West we eat meat that comes wrapped in plastic and anonymous, these animals are cared for, respected, and eventually offered to the lwa. All life is sacred. Their gift does not go unnoticed.

There is often a difference in Vodou in the United States and Vodou in Haiti in that regard. In Haiti it is believed that without the life force the lwa cannot manifest in our realm of experience. It is also worth noting that the Haitians don't enjoy the luxury of buying anonymous animals wrapped in plastic. They have to kill their own animals. So, it can be argued, if they have to kill their own food, why should they not be able to kill the food for the loa?

That brings up another issue: How do the loa "manifest" in our realm of experience? Some people see them in their dreams or visions but the primary way of manifestation is that of possession. In the West, when you mention possession immediately you think of a setting something like that from the movie Exorcist. The thought of losing control over our own bodies terrifies us. In the context of Vodou, however, possession is a beautiful thing.

When someone is possessed by a lwa in Vodou, the lwa essentially borrows that body for a time. Then they can interact with the congregation directly. This is an amazing experience, being able to talk, dance, and laugh with a being that is, for all intents and purposes, identical to the demigods. For the person who is possessed, they do not remember the incident. They have given the ultimate sacrifice: their own body for the good of the congregation even though they weren't around to enjoy! However, they're later told what has happened and can take comfort in knowing that _they_ were inhabited by the lwa... and they are transformed by the knowledge that they themselves were chosen by the lwa and shared their bodies with such a powerful and beautiful spirit.

As far as the value to the people around a possessed person... they actually get more value than the possessed person. The loa acts through that body. They will talk... eat the offerings... dance... It's like having them there as a flesh and blood person. The person possessed won't remember this... but the people in the congregation will actually get to spend time _with_ the loa... in a very real sense.

The last thing I want to touch on is the issue of magic. For those familiar with Vedic traditions it comes as no surprise that other religions acknowledge magic to be possible. However, in the context of Vodou, there is a difference between a sorcerer (bokor, "one who offers with a left hand", which suggest a left-hand tantra connection) and the priest or priestess. The priest and priestess deal with spiritual transformation and the bokor deals with magic. Magic is temporary whereas spiritual transformation follows you for all your life.

It is not simply a case of good and evil, because the bokor can do spells for good _or_ bad. But, like Gandhi said, "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves." Anything the bokor does is necessarily temporary because it works on the material plane, which is in a constant state of change. However, when we enact real spiritual change with the help of the Mambo or Houngan and the loa, that change follows us all the days of our lives. I would like to end this article with a quote from Gandhi as well: "The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different.

Links Between Ancient India and Mayans 

From the Deccan Chronicle 

HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 29, 2002: Recent studies suggest a link between Indus Valley and Mayans of Central America. The studies focused on the calendars of the two advanced civilizations. The Indus Valley inhabitants followed a calendar based on the movements of Jupiter and the Mayans followed one based on the Venus. In the Puranas, a secondary Hindu scripture, Jupiter, Brihaspati, was acknowledged to be the leader of the gods, while Venus, Shukra, was the leader of the asuras. The texts further state that the devas and asuras lived on opposite sides of the Earth. Mexico and India are at opposite sides in longitude. The correspondences were pointed out by B. G. Siddarth, director of the B. M. Birla Science Centre in Hyderabad. He also said the Hindu story of the churning of the ocean has been found in carvings in Mexico, as well Mayan representations of a tortoise carrying twelve pillars similar to Indian illustrations. Dr. Ganapati Sthapati of Chennai, a foremost expert on Vastu Shastra, the ancient Hindu architecture, has visited the Mayan structures in Central America and found many similarities between the design and construction methods of the Mayans and that of the ancient Hindus.
More: Were the Mayas’ Pyramids Built By the Vedic Architect Maya?

Ancient Heritage of Tamils
V.G. Ramachandran

Have we not evidence that the ancient Cholas discovered South America long before Columbus and that the Inca Sun Worshipers of Peru are none but the descendants of "our Chola ancestors" (vide Neelakanta Sastri "History of S. India" and M. Monohan's "Chola's in America 1976", p. 11-20). The Incas had their Temple of the Sun God (Peru) much like the one in Konark in Orissa built by the Cholas. The Chola chieftains (Incas) of America styled themselves as "Raghuvamsa Manickam". This shows that they belonged to the Raghuvamsa of Sri Rama whose ancestor Sibi Chakravarti is well described in ancient Tamil literature as the Chola king Sembian. This takes us to a very relevant inference that the ancestors of Dasaratha are as much the ancestors of the Tamils. One other ancestor of Sri Rama, Musu Kunthan, is none other than the Musu Kuntha Chola in ancient Tamil history. This Musu Kunthan's reign was during the second Tamil Sangam age 4800-2800 BC.

Vedic Culture in Peru
Guru-vrata Das

In 1994 I saw a newspaper article that showed a photograph of a "huaco" (ancient pot usually made of clay, from the Inca culture or older). The sign that appeared on this "huaco" was a big svastika with four dots inside. This is a Vedic sign that you can see on the top of the gates of ancient temples. (Of course, the archeologists did not know what that symbol meant and maybe they still don't know it).

Also a devotee-scholar told me that he had seen another "huaco" that he described in this way: A monkey supposingly running or flying, holding a small mountain in one hand and a club in the other. The monkey had some kind of helmet. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Jaya Sri Hanumanji!

I've heard that some stories from Ramayana tell that Sri Ramacandra came to the American continent when he was fighting with Ravana & Kumbhakarna. This is very interesting point. When you go to Bolivia and to the south of Peru, you can see a very famous festival called "La Diablada" ("Demoniac Dance"). This festival depicts a very ancient story: two angel-like warriors fight against a ten-headed demon. This demon has a army and the angelical warriors are being helped by animal armies, especially by a society of well organized monkeys. Jaya Sri Ramayana!

I have also heard that the word "Dinka" means "Children of the Sun" or "Worshipers of the Sun" in Sanskrit or some other Indian language. The word "Inka" in Quechua (language spoken by the Inca culture) means "Children of the Sun". And worshiping the Sun gives the worshiper intelligence and gold, a very notorious feature of the Inca empire. Their society was very similar to varnasrama.

American Indian Karna
Vrin Parker

There are many similarities between Vedic culture and the American Indian traditions. In the Pueblo (Indians of the SW USA) traditions there is an amazing tale which parallels the story of Karna from the Mahabharata. There are some variations but the similarities are striking. Here is the story as retold by Gerald McDermott. He published it in a children story book form and thus many of the details have been simplified. More research will surely find the parallels an even better match.

"Long ago the Sun God sent the spark of life to Earth. It traveled down the rays of the sun, through the heavens, and it came to the Pueblo. There it entered the house of a Young Maiden. In due course, the Boy came into the world of men. He lived and grew and played in the Pueblo (village).

However the other boys would not let him join in their games. "Where is your father?" they asked. "You have no father!" they mocked him and chased him away. The Boy and his Mother were sad.

One day he said, "Mother, I must look for my father. No matter where he is I must find him." So the boy left home.

He traveled through the world of men and came to the Corn Planter. "Can you lead me to my father?" he asked. Corn planter said nothing, but continued to tend his crops.

The boy went to the Pot Maker. "Can you lead me to my father?" Pot Maker said nothing, but continued making his pots.

Then the boy went to the Arrow Maker, who was a wise man. "Can you lead me to my father?" Arrow Maker did not answer, but, because he was wise, he saw that the Boy had come from the Sun God. So he created a special arrow. The Boy became the Arrow.

Arrow Maker fitted the Boy to his bow and drew it. The Boy flew into the Heavens. In this way the Boy traveled to the Sun.

After meeting the Sun God, and passing his tests, father and son rejoiced. The Boy was transformed and filled with the power of the Sun. "Now you must return to Earth, my son, and bring my spirit to the world of men." Said the Sun God.

Once again the Boy became the Arrow. When the arrow reached the Earth, the Boy emerged and went to the Pueblo.

The People celebrated his return in the Dance of Life."

Anyone familiar with the story of Karna can see the similarities. I will point out the obvious ones.

The Sun God is Suryadeva. The Maiden who received the spark of life through his rays is the Maiden Princess, Kunti. The Boy is Karna. The other boys who would not let him join in their games are the Pandavas who mocked Karna for not knowing who his father was.

The Corn Planter and Pot Maker represent the teachers Drona and Kripa. The Arrow Maker represents Parashurama, who accepted Karna as his disciple and made him the greatest archer on earth.

Of course there are many points in the Mahabharata story that don't seem represented here but since the source is a modern retelling of an ancient Pueblo Indian tale, thousands of years of separation from the original version will always create variations. This phenomenon can be found in Vedic culture itself. Example: Hanuman is a well known Brahmacari yet in Thailand he is married.

It is hoped more research and cultural exchanges can be done in the ongoing search for Humanities Ancient World Vedic Heritage.

 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4462818989433226617#editor/target=post;postID=3772990212719480240

Monday, August 10, 2015

Ship building in Ancient India

Sea-Going and River-Going Vessels

The Sanskrit texts like Vedas, Jatakas, Panini’s Astadhyayi, epics, Arthashastra etc consists of innumerable references to sea voyages and sea-borne trade. Among the surviving indigenous record throwing enormous light on the Ship-building in India is Yuktikalpataru by King Bhoja who is known as well reputed name in literature and history. He is author of many valuable work like Samarangana Sutradhara (architecture), Rajamartanda, Saraswati Kanthabharna, Subhasita-prabandha etc. #Yuktikalpataru, a Sanskrit manuscript by Bhoja Narapati is something like a treatise, on art of ship-building in Ancient India. The two chapters entitled Nispadayanodesa and Jaghanya Jalayanani under following heads gives description of subjects like Sea and period suitable for ship-building, varieties of wood best suited for ship-building, tying of iron nail to sea-going vessels, classification of River going (Samanya) and Sea-going (Visesa) ships, names and measurements of ordinary type of vessels, two types of special ships – dirgha (according to length) and Unnata (according to height) etc. [6,7]

Yuktikalpataru gives according to Vriksha-Ayurveda (science of plant life), an account of four different kinds of wood. The first class comprises wood that is light and soft, and can be joined to any other wood. The second class is light and hard, but cannot be joined be to any class of wood. The third class of wood is soft and heavy. Lastly the fourth kind is hard and heavy. According to Bhoja, the ship made out of second class of wood, brings wealth and happiness. Ships of this kind be safely used for crossing the oceans. Ships made out of timbers containing different properties are not good, as they rot in water, and split and sink at the slightest shock. The thirty first chapter contains description of various kinds of mechanical contrivances (yantra) such as elephant machine (gajayantra), wooden bird machine travelling on air (vyomacari-vihanga yantra), wooden vimana flying machine and many more. The Samarangana defines yantra as machine which controls the bhutas and make them serve a specific purpose. The main elements of yantra according to Samarangana are four – the earth, water, fire and wind and it states the three varieties of yantra – Jala (water) Yantra, Agneya yantra and Vayu (Air) Yantra. [6,7]

Yuktikalpataru also suggests metals to be used for decorations. According to cabins, ships are to be grouped into three classes:[7]
(1) #Sarvamandira Ships, having the largest cabin, from one end of the ship to other basically used for transportation of royal treasury.
(2) #Madhyamandira Ships, with cabins for rainy seasons
(3) Ships with cabins near the prows, are called #Agramandira and are used for sailing in the dry seasons.
It was in these ships, that the first naval battle recorded in Indian literature, was fought, when Tugra, the Rishi King, sent his son Bhujyu against his enemies inhabiting some Island, and Bhujyu, on being wrecked was rescued by two Aswins. [8] Of the same descriptions are the five hundred vessels mentioned in #Ramayana with Swastika flags on it.
In #Rajavalliya, the ship in which prince Vijaya and his followers were sent away by King Sinhala of Bengal was large enough to accommodate seven hundred passengers.[5] The Janaka Jataka mentions ship wreck of seven hundred passengers too. The ship by which was used for rescuing of Brahmin mentioned in Sankha Jataka was 800 cubits (#370Meters) length, 600 cubits (277m) in width, 20 fathoms (36m) deep and had 3 masts.[6] The ship named #SantaMaria used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage, was 18-25 meter long. [1,2] #KautilyaArthashastra, devotes a full chapter on state department of waterways under Navadhyaksha “Superintendent of ships”. His duties included the examination of accounts relating to the navigation, not only on oceans and mouths of river but also on lakes, natural or artificial, and rivers. Vasco’s ship was the ’#SaoGabriel’, a nau of length 27 meters. [3,4] 
====================================================
References and Readings
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_(ship)
[2] http://www.madeira-web.com/PagesUK/santa-maria.html
[3] http://www.shipsonstamps.org/Topics/html/vasco.htm
[4] http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Vasco_da_Gama
[5] From Bharata to India: Chrysee the Golde By M. K. Agarwal
[6] Society, Law and Administration in Ancient India edited by H. S. Bhatia
[7] Chaudhary, M. (1975). Ship-Building in the Yuktikalpataru and Samaranga Sutradhara. Indian National Science Academy, Calcutta.
[8] http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/rvs:bhujyu
http://www.unitconversion.org/…/cubits-greek-to-meters-conv…
Sea-Going and River-Going Vessels The Sanskrit texts like Vedas, Jatakas, Panini’s Astadhyayi, epics, Arthashastra etc consists of innumerable references to sea voyages and sea-borne trade. Among the surviving indigenous record throwing enormous light on the Ship-building in India is Yuktikalpataru by King Bhoja who is known as well reputed name in literature and history. He is author of many valuable work like Samarangana Sutradhara (architecture), Rajamartanda, Saraswati Kanthabharna, Subhasita-prabandha etc. #Yuktikalpataru, a Sanskrit manuscript by Bhoja Narapati is something like a treatise, on art of ship-building in Ancient India. The two chapters entitled Nispadayanodesa and Jaghanya Jalayanani under following heads gives description of subjects like Sea and period suitable for ship-building, varieties of wood best suited for ship-building, tying of iron nail to sea-going vessels, classification of River going (Samanya) and Sea-going (Visesa) ships, names and measurements of ordinary type of vessels, two types of special ships – dirgha (according to length) and Unnata (according to height) etc. [6,7] Yuktikalpataru gives according to Vriksha-Ayurveda (science of plant life), an account of four different kinds of wood. The first class comprises wood that is light and soft, and can be joined to any other wood. The second class is light and hard, but cannot be joined be to any class of wood. The third class of wood is soft and heavy. Lastly the fourth kind is hard and heavy. According to Bhoja, the ship made out of second class of wood, brings wealth and happiness. Ships of this kind be safely used for crossing the oceans. Ships made out of timbers containing different properties are not good, as they rot in water, and split and sink at the slightest shock. The thirty first chapter contains description of various kinds of mechanical contrivances (yantra) such as elephant machine (gajayantra), wooden bird machine travelling on air (vyomacari-vihanga yantra), wooden vimana flying machine and many more. The Samarangana defines yantra as machine which controls the bhutas and make them serve a specific purpose. The main elements of yantra according to Samarangana are four – the earth, water, fire and wind and it states the three varieties of yantra – Jala (water) Yantra, Agneya yantra and Vayu (Air) Yantra. [6,7] Yuktikalpataru also suggests metals to be used for decorations. According to cabins, ships are to be grouped into three classes:[7] (1) #Sarvamandira Ships, having the largest cabin, from one end of the ship to other basically used for transportation of royal treasury. (2) #Madhyamandira Ships, with cabins for rainy seasons (3) Ships with cabins near the prows, are called #Agramandira and are used for sailing in the dry seasons. It was in these ships, that the first naval battle recorded in Indian literature, was fought, when Tugra, the Rishi King, sent his son Bhujyu against his enemies inhabiting some Island, and Bhujyu, on being wrecked was rescued by two Aswins. [8] Of the same descriptions are the five hundred vessels mentioned in #Ramayana with Swastika flags on it. In #Rajavalliya, the ship in which prince Vijaya and his followers were sent away by King Sinhala of Bengal was large enough to accommodate seven hundred passengers.[5] The Janaka Jataka mentions ship wreck of seven hundred passengers too. The ship by which was used for rescuing of Brahmin mentioned in Sankha Jataka was 800 cubits (#370Meters) length, 600 cubits (277m) in width, 20 fathoms (36m) deep and had 3 masts.[6] The ship named #SantaMaria used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage, was 18-25 meter long. [1,2] #KautilyaArthashastra, devotes a full chapter on state department of waterways under Navadhyaksha “Superintendent of ships”. His duties included the examination of accounts relating to the navigation, not only on oceans and mouths of river but also on lakes, natural or artificial, and rivers. Vasco’s ship was the ’#SaoGabriel’, a nau of length 27 meters. [3,4] ==================================================== References and Readings [1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_(ship) [2] http://www.madeira-web.com/PagesUK/santa-maria.html [3] http://www.shipsonstamps.org/Topics/html/vasco.htm [4]http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Vasco_da_Gama [5] From Bharata to India: Chrysee the Golde By M. K. Agarwal [6] Society, Law and Administration in Ancient India edited by H. S. Bhatia [7] Chaudhary, M. (1975). Ship-Building in the Yuktikalpataru and Samaranga Sutradhara. Indian National Science Academy, Calcutta. [8] http://ancientvoice.wikidot.com/rvs:bhujyu http://www.unitconversion.org/…/cubits-greek-to-meters-conv…

Pre Spanish history of Phillippines-A MYSTERY DECODED-TAMIL CULTURE

The Pre Spanish history of Philippines was shrouded in mystery. Now the mist around the Philippines is clearing thanks to recent discoveries. The Spaniards, wherever they went, destroyed the local culture, plundered their gold and massacred the people. They spared those people who converted to Christianity.

The Philippines is a country of 7000 islands. Nobody asked or wondered what those places were called before they named it “ Philippines” just 400 years ago. They had their own names, their own culture, but they were ignored as primitive and uncivilized. Fortunately one inscription and one golden statue escaped the wrath of the religious fanatics.

One important Tamil inscription of Rajendra Chola was not properly explained. Half of the place names mentioned in the inscription is not properly identified. The East Indies were known to Kalidasa of 1st century BC. Parasurama was linked with Aparanta. Kalidasa used to mention Indonesia and the islands beyond as Dwipantara. Rajendra Cholas inscription mentioned Parasurama.

Hindu music instrument Kadjabi is still played in the Philippines. Hundreds of Sanskrit words are used in the islands even today.

Golden Statue

A five and a half inch tall golden statue recovered from Mindanao in 1917 is kept in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Vishnu’s vehicle Garuda was found in Palawan. The gold statue is that of a Buddhist goddess known as Tara. It weighs 4 pounds (approximately 2 Kilos). It is dated 1200 to 1300 AD. It was found in Wawa River after heavy rains. Lot of gold was taken back to Spain and melted. Only a few escaped from the invaders.

Luzon in the Philippines was ruled by Lakans (local chieftains) from 900 AD until 1571. An inscription found there known as Laguna copperplate inscription dated 900 AD contains Sanskrit words and place names. The inscription which was found in 1989 contains information about debts cleared by the ruler of Tondo. Namwaran along with his children Lady Angkatana and Buka were cleared of debts. It was written in Kawi script. Lord Minister Jayadewa issued the order. The inscription is kept in the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. A lot of Sanskrit words such as Swasti, Visaka,Chathurthi, Suwarna, Krishnapaksha, Somawara, Dewata, Jyotisa are in the text. Full text and translation is available in Wikipedia.

Language

Wikipedia article says 25 percent of words in Philippines native language are from Sanskrit and Tamil. Look at the list given by Wikipedia:

From Tagalog:

* budhi “conscience” from the Sanskrit bodhi
* dukha “one who suffers” from the Sanskrit dukkha
* guro “teacher” from the Sanskrit guru
* sampalataya “faith” from the Sanskrit sampratyaya
* mukha “face” from the Sanskrit mukha
* laho “eclipse” from the Sanskrit rahu
* maharlika “noble” from Sanskrit mahardikka

From Kapampangan:

* kalma “fate” from the Sanskrit karma
* damla “divine law” from the Sanskrit dharma
* mantala -“magic formulas” from the Sanskrit mantra
* upaya “power” from the Sanskrit upaya
* lupa “face” from the Sanskrit rupa
* sabla “every” from the Sanskrit sarva
* lawu “eclipse” from the Sanskrit rahu
* Galura “giant eagle (a surname)” from the Sanskrit garuda
* Laksina -“south (a surname)” from the Sanskrit dakshin
* Laksamana/Lacsamana “admiral (a surname)” from the Sanskrit lakshmana

From Tausug:

* suarga “heaven”; compare “sorga” in modern Indonesian [1]
* neraka “hell”
* agama “religion”

Sanskrit and Sanskrit-derived words common to most Philippine languages:

* sutla “silk” from the Sanskrit sutra
* kapas “cotton” from the Sanskrit kerpas
* naga “dragon or serpent” from the Sanskrit naga

Ramayana in the islands

Ramayana and Mahabharata are popular in all the South East Asian countries. Philippines also have its own version of Ramayana. The Maranao version is Maharadia lawana ( Maharaja Ravana). Lam- Ang is the version of the Llocanos. Many verses of Hud Hud are from Ramyana and Mahabharata.

Musical Instruments

Several musical instruments of the Philippines are similar to Indian musical instruments and Kutiyapi is a corrupted word of Kadjabi, a Sanskrit word.

Rajendra Chola Inscription

Rajendra Chola, son of the Raja Raja won many countries in South East Asia. The inscription named all the countries and islands he won around 1025 AD. K.A.Nilakanta Sastri, the greatest authority on South Indian History has written about his conquests. But when he wrote about the Cholas 75 years ago Laguna inscription was not discovere. Only Rajendra’s Tamil inscription was known. Now we know Philippine islands were under Hindu rulers even before Rajendra invaded S.E. Asian countries.

Scholars identify the following places in the inscription:

Sri Vijaya= Palembang, Pannai= North Sumatra, Malaiyur= Jambi, Mayirudingam= Thai-Malay peninsula, Ilangasokam= Langkasuka, Mappalam= Pegu, Mavimbangam= Isthumus of Ligor or Thai-Malay peninsula, Valaipanduru= Vietnam?, Talaitakkolam= Takoba, Madamalingam= Tambralinga, Ilamuridesam= Lamri in Aceh, Manakkavaram= Nicobar islands, Kadaram= Kedah.

Some of the above places are confirmed by secondary evidence. My research shows that the place names such as Mayirudingam, Mavimbangam are islands of Philippines. The reason for this is the trade roués to China went through these islands. During 1300 year rule, the countries established trade and political contacts with China which is confirmed by the Chinese writers. A patient decoding of Chinese transliterations may reveal more truths. Sanskrit and Tamil words are corrupted beyond recognition Eg. Liang Shu (Langkasoka).

Kaundinya from South India established the Hindu empire in the First century AD in Funan. Chinese writers have written about the rulers and their relationship with China. Agastya cult was deep rooted in Java, Sumatra and Bali islands. I have already written about it and Mulavarman’s Sanskrit inscription in Borneo.

More From History of Indian Culture by B.M.Luniy

“ Modern researchers have proved that the people of South India had established their colonies in the Philippines and they had considerably influenced all aspects of daily life. Handicrafts, coins, folk songs, traditions and many religious customs exhibit the Hindu influence there. The scripts of the people of Philippines bear striking resemblance with those of South India. In the realm of religious rites, rituals and assigning names, the natives of Philippines followed Indians closely. The names of the places on the Luzon coast and the shores of Manila bay indicate their Sanskrit origin. The discovery of Ganesh statue proves that the people followed Brahmanism. The hill tribes of Luzon worship early Vedic Gods even to this day.

The people of many islands in the Pacific Ocean have physical appearance similar to that of Indo Aryans. Their languages have resemblance with those of the pre Aryan Indians like Santhals. Their religious and social customs and beliefs betray traces of Hindu cultural influences. The Hula dance of Hawai islands and Shiva dance of Samoa are similar to the folk dances of Bengal 

Their use of conch shell, nose flute, musical bones, staple food stuffs and animals reveal Indian origin. Many of their decorative designs, crafts, traditions, ideas of phallic symbolism and images are examples of old Polynesian cultural traits derived from the Brahmanical civilization”.

1.Pandya King who Ruled Vietnam 2.Ancient Sanskrit inscriptions in strange places 3.Sanskrit inscriptions in Mosques and on Coins 4.Sanskrit inscription and Magic Square on Tortoise 5.Ancient Tamil Dress 6.Pallankuzi (mancala) mystery 7.India- Madagascar Link 8.Is Brahmastra a Nuclear Weapon? 9.Great Engineers of Ancient India 10. The Mysterious Link between Karnataka and Cambodia

We have given below part of the text of Rajendra Chola’s inscription for the benefit of Tamil readers:

தொல்பெருங் காவற் பல்பழந் தீவும்

செருவிற் சினவி யிருபத் தொருகால்

அரசுகளை கட்ட பரசு ராமன்

மேவருஞ் சாந்திமத் தீவரண் கருதி

இருத்திய செம்பொற் றிருத்தகு முடியும் (20)

********

அலைகடல் நடுவுட் பலகலஞ் செலுத்திச்

சங்கிராம விசையோத் துங்க வர்ம

னாகிய கடாரத் தரசனை வாகையும்

பொருகடல் கும்பக் கரியொடு மகப்படுத் (50)

துரிமையிற் பிறக்கிய பருநிதிப் பிறக்கமும்

ஆர்த்தவ னகநகர்ப் போர்த்தொழில் வாசலில்

விச்சா திரத்தோ ரணமு மொய்த்தொளிர்

புனைமணிப் புதவமுங் கனமணிக் கதவமும்

நிறைசீர் விசயமுந் துறைநீர்ப் பண்ணையும்

வன்மலை யூரெயிற் றொன்மலை யூரும்

ஆழ்கட லகழ்சூழ் மாயிரு டிங்கமும்

கலங்கா வல்வினை இலங்கா சோகமும்

காப்புறு நிறைபுனல் மாப்பப் பாளமும்

காவலம் புரிசை மேவிலிம் பங்கமும் (60)

விளைப்பந் தூருடை வளைப்பந் தூரும்

கலைத்தக் கோர்புகழ் தலைத்தக் கோலமும்

தீதமர் பல்வினை மாதமா லிங்கமும்

கலாமுதிர் கடந்திற லிலாமுரி தேசமும்

தேனக்க வார்பொழில் மானக்க வாரமும் (65)

தொடுகடற் காவற் கடுமுரட் கடாரமும்

மாப்பொரு தண்டாற் கொண்ட கோப்பரகேசரி வன்மரான

உடையார் ஸ்ரீராசேந்திர சோழதேவர்க்கு யாண்டு…”
The Pre Spanish history of Philippines was shrouded in mystery. Now the mist around the Philippines is clearing thanks to recent discoveries. The Spaniards, wherever they went, destroyed the local culture, plundered their gold and massacred the people. They spared those people who converted to Christianity. The Philippines is a country of 7000 islands. Nobody asked or wondered what those places were called before they named it “ Philippines” just 400 years ago. They had their own names, their own culture, but they were ignored as primitive and uncivilized. Fortunately one inscription and one golden statue escaped the wrath of the religious fanatics. One important Tamil inscription of Rajendra Chola was not properly explained. Half of the place names mentioned in the inscription is not properly identified. The East Indies were known to Kalidasa of 1st century BC. Parasurama was linked with Aparanta. Kalidasa used to mention Indonesia and the islands beyond as Dwipantara. Rajendra Cholas inscription mentioned Parasurama. Hindu music instrument Kadjabi is still played in the Philippines. Hundreds of Sanskrit words are used in the islands even today. Golden Statue A five and a half inch tall golden statue recovered from Mindanao in 1917 is kept in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Vishnu’s vehicle Garuda was found in Palawan. The gold statue is that of a Buddhist goddess known as Tara. It weighs 4 pounds (approximately 2 Kilos). It is dated 1200 to 1300 AD. It was found in Wawa River after heavy rains. Lot of gold was taken back to Spain and melted. Only a few escaped from the invaders. Luzon in the Philippines was ruled by Lakans (local chieftains) from 900 AD until 1571. An inscription found there known as Laguna copperplate inscription dated 900 AD contains Sanskrit words and place names. The inscription which was found in 1989 contains information about debts cleared by the ruler of Tondo. Namwaran along with his children Lady Angkatana and Buka were cleared of debts. It was written in Kawi script. Lord Minister Jayadewa issued the order. The inscription is kept in the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. A lot of Sanskrit words such as Swasti, Visaka,Chathurthi, Suwarna, Krishnapaksha, Somawara, Dewata, Jyotisa are in the text. Full text and translation is available in Wikipedia. Language Wikipedia article says 25 percent of words in Philippines native language are from Sanskrit and Tamil. Look at the list given by Wikipedia: From Tagalog: * budhi “conscience” from the Sanskrit bodhi * dukha “one who suffers” from the Sanskrit dukkha * guro “teacher” from the Sanskrit guru * sampalataya “faith” from the Sanskrit sampratyaya * mukha “face” from the Sanskrit mukha * laho “eclipse” from the Sanskrit rahu * maharlika “noble” from Sanskrit mahardikka From Kapampangan: * kalma “fate” from the Sanskrit karma * damla “divine law” from the Sanskrit dharma * mantala -“magic formulas” from the Sanskrit mantra * upaya “power” from the Sanskrit upaya * lupa “face” from the Sanskrit rupa * sabla “every” from the Sanskrit sarva * lawu “eclipse” from the Sanskrit rahu * Galura “giant eagle (a surname)” from the Sanskrit garuda * Laksina -“south (a surname)” from the Sanskrit dakshin * Laksamana/Lacsamana “admiral (a surname)” from the Sanskrit lakshmana From Tausug: * suarga “heaven”; compare “sorga” in modern Indonesian [1] * neraka “hell” * agama “religion” Sanskrit and Sanskrit-derived words common to most Philippine languages: * sutla “silk” from the Sanskrit sutra * kapas “cotton” from the Sanskrit kerpas * naga “dragon or serpent” from the Sanskrit naga Ramayana in the islands Ramayana and Mahabharata are popular in all the South East Asian countries. Philippines also have its own version of Ramayana. The Maranao version is Maharadia lawana ( Maharaja Ravana). Lam- Ang is the version of the Llocanos. Many verses of Hud Hud are from Ramyana and Mahabharata. Musical Instruments Several musical instruments of the Philippines are similar to Indian musical instruments and Kutiyapi is a corrupted word of Kadjabi, a Sanskrit word. Rajendra Chola Inscription Rajendra Chola, son of the Raja Raja won many countries in South East Asia. The inscription named all the countries and islands he won around 1025 AD. K.A.Nilakanta Sastri, the greatest authority on South Indian History has written about his conquests. But when he wrote about the Cholas 75 years ago Laguna inscription was not discovere. Only Rajendra’s Tamil inscription was known. Now we know Philippine islands were under Hindu rulers even before Rajendra invaded S.E. Asian countries. Scholars identify the following places in the inscription: Sri Vijaya= Palembang, Pannai= North Sumatra, Malaiyur= Jambi, Mayirudingam= Thai-Malay peninsula, Ilangasokam= Langkasuka, Mappalam= Pegu, Mavimbangam= Isthumus of Ligor or Thai-Malay peninsula, Valaipanduru= Vietnam?, Talaitakkolam= Takoba, Madamalingam= Tambralinga, Ilamuridesam= Lamri in Aceh, Manakkavaram= Nicobar islands, Kadaram= Kedah. Some of the above places are confirmed by secondary evidence. My research shows that the place names such as Mayirudingam, Mavimbangam are islands of Philippines. The reason for this is the trade roués to China went through these islands. During 1300 year rule, the countries established trade and political contacts with China which is confirmed by the Chinese writers. A patient decoding of Chinese transliterations may reveal more truths. Sanskrit and Tamil words are corrupted beyond recognition Eg. Liang Shu (Langkasoka). Kaundinya from South India established the Hindu empire in the First century AD in Funan. Chinese writers have written about the rulers and their relationship with China. Agastya cult was deep rooted in Java, Sumatra and Bali islands. I have already written about it and Mulavarman’s Sanskrit inscription in Borneo. More From History of Indian Culture by B.M.Luniy “ Modern researchers have proved that the people of South India had established their colonies in the Philippines and they had considerably influenced all aspects of daily life. Handicrafts, coins, folk songs, traditions and many religious customs exhibit the Hindu influence there. The scripts of the people of Philippines bear striking resemblance with those of South India. In the realm of religious rites, rituals and assigning names, the natives of Philippines followed Indians closely. The names of the places on the Luzon coast and the shores of Manila bay indicate their Sanskrit origin. The discovery of Ganesh statue proves that the people followed Brahmanism. The hill tribes of Luzon worship early Vedic Gods even to this day. The people of many islands in the Pacific Ocean have physical appearance similar to that of Indo Aryans. Their languages have resemblance with those of the pre Aryan Indians like Santhals. Their religious and social customs and beliefs betray traces of Hindu cultural influences. The Hula dance of Hawai islands and Shiva dance of Samoa are similar to the folk dances of Bengal Their use of conch shell, nose flute, musical bones, staple food stuffs and animals reveal Indian origin. Many of their decorative designs, crafts, traditions, ideas of phallic symbolism and images are examples of old Polynesian cultural traits derived from the Brahmanical civilization”. 1.Pandya King who Ruled Vietnam 2.Ancient Sanskrit inscriptions in strange places 3.Sanskrit inscriptions in Mosques and on Coins 4.Sanskrit inscription and Magic Square on Tortoise 5.Ancient Tamil Dress 6.Pallankuzi (mancala) mystery 7.India- Madagascar Link 8.Is Brahmastra a Nuclear Weapon? 9.Great Engineers of Ancient India 10. The Mysterious Link between Karnataka and Cambodia We have given below part of the text of Rajendra Chola’s inscription for the benefit of Tamil readers: தொல்பெருங் காவற் பல்பழந் தீவும் செருவிற் சினவி யிருபத் தொருகால் அரசுகளை கட்ட பரசு ராமன் மேவருஞ் சாந்திமத் தீவரண் கருதி இருத்திய செம்பொற் றிருத்தகு முடியும் (20) ******** அலைகடல் நடுவுட் பலகலஞ் செலுத்திச் சங்கிராம விசையோத் துங்க வர்ம னாகிய கடாரத் தரசனை வாகையும் பொருகடல் கும்பக் கரியொடு மகப்படுத் (50) துரிமையிற் பிறக்கிய பருநிதிப் பிறக்கமும் ஆர்த்தவ னகநகர்ப் போர்த்தொழில் வாசலில் விச்சா திரத்தோ ரணமு மொய்த்தொளிர் புனைமணிப் புதவமுங் கனமணிக் கதவமும் நிறைசீர் விசயமுந் துறைநீர்ப் பண்ணையும் வன்மலை யூரெயிற் றொன்மலை யூரும் ஆழ்கட லகழ்சூழ் மாயிரு டிங்கமும் கலங்கா வல்வினை இலங்கா சோகமும் காப்புறு நிறைபுனல் மாப்பப் பாளமும் காவலம் புரிசை மேவிலிம் பங்கமும் (60) விளைப்பந் தூருடை வளைப்பந் தூரும் கலைத்தக் கோர்புகழ் தலைத்தக் கோலமும் தீதமர் பல்வினை மாதமா லிங்கமும் கலாமுதிர் கடந்திற லிலாமுரி தேசமும் தேனக்க வார்பொழில் மானக்க வாரமும் (65) தொடுகடற் காவற் கடுமுரட் கடாரமும் மாப்பொரு தண்டாற் கொண்ட கோப்பரகேசரி வன்மரான உடையார் ஸ்ரீராசேந்திர சோழதேவர்க்கு யாண்டு…”

Cultural Similarities between the Ancient Hindu & Indigenous Civilizations of the Americas

Cultural Similarities between the Ancient Hindu & Indigenous Civilizations of the Americas
********************************************************************************

The parallel between the arts and culture of India and those of the Americas are so numerous and close that it is not possible to attribute them to independent growth.

In 1949, two scholars, Gordon Ekholm and Chaman Lal, systematically compared the Maya, Aztec, Inca, and the North American indigenous civilizations with India and the Hindu-Buddhist oriented countries of South-East Asia. They found signs of Hindu civilization throughout the Americas in art architecture, calendars, astronomy, religious symbols, etc. The zenith of Maya civilization was reached at a time when ancient India had attained an unparalleled cultural peak during the Gupta Period in 320 AD.

Buddhism which originated in India from Hindu philosophical ideas not only spread across to the Far East but also to Mexico. Hence, the cultural influences of South-East Asia in Mexico are very strong. In Cambodia, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Angkor Wat is a living testimony to the contribution of Indian culture towards the Cambodian Khmer heritage. Similar bas reliefs are found at Borobudur in Indonesia.

Sir Stamford Raffles the British historian, and founder of Singapore as a British colony, expressed a similar view when he wrote: “the great temple of Borobudur in Java might readily be mistaken for a Central American temple.”

It is worth mentioning that the eminent scholar, Miles Poindexter, a former ambassador of the United States to Mexico, in his two-volume 1930s treatise “The Ayar-Incas” called the Maya civilization “unquestionably Hindu.”

There are so many cultural similarities between the Hindu and the Maya civilizations that it makes it very easy to point out towards a common relation. In 1849, the United States Charge d’affaires to Central America, Ephraim George Squier wrote: “A proper examination of these monuments would disclose the fact that in their interior as well as their exterior form and obvious purposes, these buildings (temples in Palenque, Mexico) correspond with great exactness to those of Hindustan (India)…”

Another scholar, Ramon Mena, author of Synthesis of Mexican archaeology for the summer school of the National University, (1924) called the Nahuatl, Zapoteca, and Mayan languages “of Hindu origin.” He went to say, “A deep mystery enfolds the tribes that inhabited the state of Chiapas in the district named Palenque….their writing, and the anthropological type, as well as their personal adornments…their system and style of construction clearly indicate the remotest antiquity…(they) all speak of India and the Orient.” Striking similarity is found between certain Maya and the Hindu mythologies, and their related astronomical interpretation.

In Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu is represented as resting on the serpent, Ananta or Sheshnaga. The eagle, Garuda is his carrier or vehicle. In the Hindu temples dedicated to the worship of Lord Vishnu, both Sheshnaga and Garuda are shown alongside. Sheshnaga represents the water deities while Garuda represents the Vedas and the solar deities. The serpent is of great significance in all the Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya culture too. The Maya Kukulkán or the Aztec Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent god is the combination of Sheshnaga and Garuda.

Both the Hindus and the Maya used similar items in their worship rituals. Royal insignias, systems of government, and practice of religious dance and temple worship all showed remarkable similarities. The Hindu caste system was prevalent in the Maya culture too and in both cultures, the priest class was the retainer of knowledge on religion, astronomy, science, mathematics, etc.

Maya temples and idols were lavishly decorated with gold and precious stones, just like those in India and their divine images were painted in blue. The Maya of Yucatan offered animal sacrifices to the gods in the same way as is done in North India, at the same seasons and determined by the same stars. Maya “scorpion stars” were the same as the constellation Scorpio on Hindu charts. At the Maya site of Uxmal in Yucatan, some phallic structures were discovered which were later removed by the authorities in the late nineteenth century. In Hindu culture, phallic structures are worshipped in the form of Shiva Lingams representing Lord Shiva.

In 1911, William Niven, a renowned mineralogist and archaeologist, discovered ancient ruins buried beneath volcanic ash near Azcapotzalco in the Federal District, just north of Mexico City. Among the many stone tablets recovered from the “Buried City”, there were few which bore pictographs of the sacred Hindu Swastika, the symbol of cyclic time.

Like in India, the umbrella was used as a sign of royalty which is clearly depicted in the Maya art. The game of Pachisi which originated in India somewhere around 500 BC was played even in Mexico by the name of Patolli. Chewing of betel and coca leaves is a common daily habit in both the countries. Maya women pierced their left nostril for inserting jewelled nose rings like Indian women. The practice of astrology and mental telepathy is common among both cultures. The Maya were of peace-loving disposition like the Hindus which allowed both of them to be ruled by Europeans. Last but not the least of the similarities is the cultivation of cotton, practiced since early times in Asia.

When South American cotton was studied, scholars and scientists were thoroughly baffled. After a series of painstaking experiments to determine genetic origin, experts agreed that one parent of the American cotton undoubtedly came from Asia: in other words, from the Indus Valley – the most advanced ancient civilizations which grew in the present-day Pakistan and the north-western parts of India from 3300 BC before suddenly disappearing in 1400 BC.

It has been claimed that even maize, the most Mesoamerican crop, was in use in Asia before Columbus brought it from the Americas. Eleventh century temples in Southern India, where maize was supposedly unknown at the time, house many stone figures which, according to cultural geographers, are shown offering ears of maize to the Gods. Another common custom is the offering of food to God before eating as an expression of gratitude for the meal provided. Mexican food displays unusual similarities to Indian food. Like the Hindus, the Maya too were primarily vegetarians. The Indian rotis or chappatis and the Mexican tortillas are totally similar in preparation, size and shape.

Maya paintings depict their men folk dressed in white loin cloth wrapped around their waist extending till knee level. Both these styles with the white loin cloth are till today the customary daily wear of the people of South India. Prior to the colonial invention of the wooden whisk called molinillo, hot chocolate was frothed up by pouring it from one cup to another. In South India, the ancient custom of pouring coffee from one cup to another to create foam before it is served, is widely in existence even today and is the essence of South Indian filter coffee.

This article and a lot many interesting details were part of my epic book titled “Mexico: A grand voyage through the fascinating land with ancient links to India” which I completed in 2010. I set aside these incredible details when I converted the epic book into three e-books Discovering Mexico, Mexico: The Country, Its History & The Maya World and A Guide To Mexican Cuisine which are available for sale on this blog.

I hope you enjoyed reading my work as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’re interested in knowing all about Mexico, do check out my three e-books.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you again :

https://thegr8wall.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/cultural-similarities-between-the-ancient-hindu-indigenous-civilizations-of-the-americas/
Cultural Similarities between the Ancient Hindu & Indigenous Civilizations of the Americas 
 The parallel between the arts and culture of India and those of the Americas are so numerous and close that it is not possible to attribute them to independent growth. In 1949, two scholars, Gordon Ekholm and Chaman Lal, systematically compared the Maya, Aztec, Inca, and the North American indigenous civilizations with India and the Hindu-Buddhist oriented countries of South-East Asia. They found signs of Hindu civilization throughout the Americas in art architecture, calendars, astronomy, religious symbols, etc. The zenith of Maya civilization was reached at a time when ancient India had attained an unparalleled cultural peak during the Gupta Period in 320 AD. Buddhism which originated in India from Hindu philosophical ideas not only spread across to the Far East but also to Mexico. Hence, the cultural influences of South-East Asia in Mexico are very strong. In Cambodia, at the ancient capital Angkor Wat, stories from the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata have been carved on the walls of temples and palaces. Angkor Wat is a living testimony to the contribution of Indian culture towards the Cambodian Khmer heritage. Similar bas reliefs are found at Borobudur in Indonesia. Sir Stamford Raffles the British historian, and founder of Singapore as a British colony, expressed a similar view when he wrote: “the great temple of Borobudur in Java might readily be mistaken for a Central American temple.” It is worth mentioning that the eminent scholar, Miles Poindexter, a former ambassador of the United States to Mexico, in his two-volume 1930s treatise “The Ayar-Incas” called the Maya civilization “unquestionably Hindu.” There are so many cultural similarities between the Hindu and the Maya civilizations that it makes it very easy to point out towards a common relation. In 1849, the United States Charge d’affaires to Central America, Ephraim George Squier wrote: “A proper examination of these monuments would disclose the fact that in their interior as well as their exterior form and obvious purposes, these buildings (temples in Palenque, Mexico) correspond with great exactness to those of Hindustan (India)…” Another scholar, Ramon Mena, author of Synthesis of Mexican archaeology for the summer school of the National University, (1924) called the Nahuatl, Zapoteca, and Mayan languages “of Hindu origin.” He went to say, “A deep mystery enfolds the tribes that inhabited the state of Chiapas in the district named Palenque….their writing, and the anthropological type, as well as their personal adornments…their system and style of construction clearly indicate the remotest antiquity…(they) all speak of India and the Orient.” Striking similarity is found between certain Maya and the Hindu mythologies, and their related astronomical interpretation. In Hindu mythology, Lord Vishnu is represented as resting on the serpent, Ananta or Sheshnaga. The eagle, Garuda is his carrier or vehicle. In the Hindu temples dedicated to the worship of Lord Vishnu, both Sheshnaga and Garuda are shown alongside. Sheshnaga represents the water deities while Garuda represents the Vedas and the solar deities. The serpent is of great significance in all the Mesoamerican cultures including the Maya culture too. The Maya Kukulkán or the Aztec Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent god is the combination of Sheshnaga and Garuda. Both the Hindus and the Maya used similar items in their worship rituals. Royal insignias, systems of government, and practice of religious dance and temple worship all showed remarkable similarities. The Hindu caste system was prevalent in the Maya culture too and in both cultures, the priest class was the retainer of knowledge on religion, astronomy, science, mathematics, etc. Maya temples and idols were lavishly decorated with gold and precious stones, just like those in India and their divine images were painted in blue. The Maya of Yucatan offered animal sacrifices to the gods in the same way as is done in North India, at the same seasons and determined by the same stars. Maya “scorpion stars” were the same as the constellation Scorpio on Hindu charts. At the Maya site of Uxmal in Yucatan, some phallic structures were discovered which were later removed by the authorities in the late nineteenth century. In Hindu culture, phallic structures are worshipped in the form of Shiva Lingams representing Lord Shiva. In 1911, William Niven, a renowned mineralogist and archaeologist, discovered ancient ruins buried beneath volcanic ash near Azcapotzalco in the Federal District, just north of Mexico City. Among the many stone tablets recovered from the “Buried City”, there were few which bore pictographs of the sacred Hindu Swastika, the symbol of cyclic time. Like in India, the umbrella was used as a sign of royalty which is clearly depicted in the Maya art. The game of Pachisi which originated in India somewhere around 500 BC was played even in Mexico by the name of Patolli. Chewing of betel and coca leaves is a common daily habit in both the countries. Maya women pierced their left nostril for inserting jewelled nose rings like Indian women. The practice of astrology and mental telepathy is common among both cultures. The Maya were of peace-loving disposition like the Hindus which allowed both of them to be ruled by Europeans. Last but not the least of the similarities is the cultivation of cotton, practiced since early times in Asia. When South American cotton was studied, scholars and scientists were thoroughly baffled. After a series of painstaking experiments to determine genetic origin, experts agreed that one parent of the American cotton undoubtedly came from Asia: in other words, from the Indus Valley – the most advanced ancient civilizations which grew in the present-day Pakistan and the north-western parts of India from 3300 BC before suddenly disappearing in 1400 BC. It has been claimed that even maize, the most Mesoamerican crop, was in use in Asia before Columbus brought it from the Americas. Eleventh century temples in Southern India, where maize was supposedly unknown at the time, house many stone figures which, according to cultural geographers, are shown offering ears of maize to the Gods. Another common custom is the offering of food to God before eating as an expression of gratitude for the meal provided. Mexican food displays unusual similarities to Indian food. Like the Hindus, the Maya too were primarily vegetarians. The Indian rotis or chappatis and the Mexican tortillas are totally similar in preparation, size and shape. Maya paintings depict their men folk dressed in white loin cloth wrapped around their waist extending till knee level. Both these styles with the white loin cloth are till today the customary daily wear of the people of South India. Prior to the colonial invention of the wooden whisk called molinillo, hot chocolate was frothed up by pouring it from one cup to another. In South India, the ancient custom of pouring coffee from one cup to another to create foam before it is served, is widely in existence even today and is the essence of South Indian filter coffee. This article and a lot many interesting details were part of my epic book titled “Mexico: A grand voyage through the fascinating land with ancient links to India” which I completed in 2010. I set aside these incredible details when I converted the epic book into three e-books Discovering Mexico, Mexico: The Country, Its History & The Maya World and A Guide To Mexican Cuisine which are available for sale on this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading my work as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you’re interested in knowing all about Mexico, do check out my three e-books. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you again :https://thegr8wall.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/cultural-similarities-between-the-ancient-hindu-indigenous-civilizations-of-the-americas/

Double Headed Eagle: Sumerian-Indian Connection

Double Headed Eagle: Sumerian-Indian Connection
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There are striking similarities between the Indian and Sumerian civilizations. One of them is the use of the Double Headed Eagle as a royal symbol. From 3800 BC until today this mythical bird is used as a symbol of royalty. Russia and other Eastern European countries use it on their currency notes and national flags. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh praise the mighty strength of this bird in coins, sculptures and literature. The Panchatantra used the story of double headed bird, also known as Ganda Berunda bird, to emphasize unity. Ancient Cankam (Sangam) Tamil literature used this bird in their love poetry. Devotional poets of India like Ekanath also used this bird as a simile.

Sumerians considered this bird the symbol of God Ninurta of Lagash. They thought it had divine power. We can trace the history of this mythical bird from the Sumerian days. A cylindrical seal shows the double headed eagle from 3800 BC. Later, the Hittite empire which had its capital in Bogazkoy (in Modern Turkey) used it in several monuments. Even today we can see the monuments displaying this symbol in huge sculptures in Hattusa and Yazilikaya. Bogazkoy was the place where a tablet with the names of the Vedic Gods: Indra, Mitra, Nasatya and Varuna was discovered. The tablet was dated 1380 BC. This establishes the Indian connection of the region.

Even the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire used this symbol. This Hindu symbol was used by the Christians.

In Sanskrit literature – the Panchatantra (book of fables) has a story about Ganda Berunda bird. It says that the bird had two heads but one stomach. In the story, one head wanted to drink Amrita (ambrosia) but the other head went for poison. Ultimately, the head that drank the poison made the bird die. The moral of the story is that disunity is dangerous.

Tamil literature, dated two thousand years old, mentions it in three places. In Akananuru, poet Kapilar (verse 12) compares this double-headed, single-bellied bird to two people in love. Though there were two physical bodies, they have one life. Nallanthuvanar also used this simile in Paripatal (Verse 8-72). But another Tamil poet Maruthan Ilanagan in Kalithokai (verse 89) used this bird in the form of two fighting heads, like the Panchatantra story. It shows that Indians from one end of the land to the other knew this bird very well. Thakadur Yaththirai is a lost Tamil book, but excerpts are available as quotes in other works. These quotes compared the fight between two kings Athiyaman and Peruncheral Irumporai to the double headed bird fighting with itself. (Ref. Purath thirattu verse 785). 

The most imaginative story of the bird comes from the Vijayanagar Empire. Gold Coins issued by Achyuta Raya (1530-1542) show the Ganda Berunda bird lifting an elephant in each of its beaks. Its power is legendary. Other coins show each head holding a snake. Before Achyuta Raya Devaraya II (1422-1446) issued coins with the bird’s name in Deva Nagari script.

Jain Stupa at Sirkap, Taxila is the most ancient Ganda Berunda monument in India. We can see this mythical bird sculptures in Srisailam, Keladi, Koramangala, Belur and the medieval art of Sri Lanka.

Recently even dances were choreographed showing the magical strength of the bird. Dasara Flower Show in Mysore had a 10 foot flower decoration of the bird to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the bird symbol in Karnataka.

The Wodeyar family of Mysore use this as their royal emblem. Later the Government of Karnataka used it as the emblem of the state. There are stories connecting this bird with the Narasimha (Man-Lion) avatara of Vishnu.

Eastern European country Albania has this bird in its national flag. Several countries issued stamps and coins as well. Russian Roubles and Kopeks had this bird.

In the Eastern Province Erzurum of Turkey, a huge double headed eagle is being erected in 2011 which is visible from space. Turkey gives so much importance to this legendary bird.

An ancient monument of Turkey shows this bird lifting two hares on its beaks. But the imagination of Indians made it a dinosaur lifting two elephants on its beaks!
Double Headed Eagle: Sumerian-Indian Connection 
There are striking similarities between the Indian and Sumerian civilizations. One of them is the use of the Double Headed Eagle as a royal symbol. From 3800 BC until today this mythical bird is used as a symbol of royalty. Russia and other Eastern European countries use it on their currency notes and national flags. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh praise the mighty strength of this bird in coins, sculptures and literature. The Panchatantra used the story of double headed bird, also known as Ganda Berunda bird, to emphasize unity. Ancient Cankam (Sangam) Tamil literature used this bird in their love poetry. Devotional poets of India like Ekanath also used this bird as a simile. Sumerians considered this bird the symbol of God Ninurta of Lagash. They thought it had divine power. We can trace the history of this mythical bird from the Sumerian days. A cylindrical seal shows the double headed eagle from 3800 BC. Later, the Hittite empire which had its capital in Bogazkoy (in Modern Turkey) used it in several monuments. Even today we can see the monuments displaying this symbol in huge sculptures in Hattusa and Yazilikaya. Bogazkoy was the place where a tablet with the names of the Vedic Gods: Indra, Mitra, Nasatya and Varuna was discovered. The tablet was dated 1380 BC. This establishes the Indian connection of the region. Even the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire used this symbol. This Hindu symbol was used by the Christians. In Sanskrit literature – the Panchatantra (book of fables) has a story about Ganda Berunda bird. It says that the bird had two heads but one stomach. In the story, one head wanted to drink Amrita (ambrosia) but the other head went for poison. Ultimately, the head that drank the poison made the bird die. The moral of the story is that disunity is dangerous. Tamil literature, dated two thousand years old, mentions it in three places. In Akananuru, poet Kapilar (verse 12) compares this double-headed, single-bellied bird to two people in love. Though there were two physical bodies, they have one life. Nallanthuvanar also used this simile in Paripatal (Verse 8-72). But another Tamil poet Maruthan Ilanagan in Kalithokai (verse 89) used this bird in the form of two fighting heads, like the Panchatantra story. It shows that Indians from one end of the land to the other knew this bird very well. Thakadur Yaththirai is a lost Tamil book, but excerpts are available as quotes in other works. These quotes compared the fight between two kings Athiyaman and Peruncheral Irumporai to the double headed bird fighting with itself. (Ref. Purath thirattu verse 785). The most imaginative story of the bird comes from the Vijayanagar Empire. Gold Coins issued by Achyuta Raya (1530-1542) show the Ganda Berunda bird lifting an elephant in each of its beaks. Its power is legendary. Other coins show each head holding a snake. Before Achyuta Raya Devaraya II (1422-1446) issued coins with the bird’s name in Deva Nagari script. Jain Stupa at Sirkap, Taxila is the most ancient Ganda Berunda monument in India. We can see this mythical bird sculptures in Srisailam, Keladi, Koramangala, Belur and the medieval art of Sri Lanka. Recently even dances were choreographed showing the magical strength of the bird. Dasara Flower Show in Mysore had a 10 foot flower decoration of the bird to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the bird symbol in Karnataka. The Wodeyar family of Mysore use this as their royal emblem. Later the Government of Karnataka used it as the emblem of the state. There are stories connecting this bird with the Narasimha (Man-Lion) avatara of Vishnu. Eastern European country Albania has this bird in its national flag. Several countries issued stamps and coins as well. Russian Roubles and Kopeks had this bird. In the Eastern Province Erzurum of Turkey, a huge double headed eagle is being erected in 2011 which is visible from space. Turkey gives so much importance to this legendary bird. An ancient monument of Turkey shows this bird lifting two hares on its beaks. But the imagination of Indians made it a dinosaur lifting two elephants 

Similarities in Ancient Hindu and Latin American Architecture

Similarities in Ancient Hindu and Latin American Architecture
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The common architectural elements which India and the South-East Asia share with the Mesoamerican Maya are the pyramids with receding stages, faced with cut stone, and with stairways leading to a stone sanctuary on top. Many of the pyramids share surprisingly common features such as serpent columns and banisters, vaulted galleries and corbeled arches, attached columns, stone cut-out lattices, and Atlantean figures which are all typical of the Puuc style of Yucatan. The temple pyramids in Cambodia gained prominence in the ninth and tenth centuries, a time coinciding with the beginning of the Puuc period.

Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, the foremost expert on Vastu Shatra (the ancient Hindu architecture), claimed that there had to be a connection between India and South America based on the old Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures on architecture. His ancestors had built the great Shiva temple in Thanjavur in South India approximately a thousand years ago, and he himself continues to build temples all over the world according to the same principles of Vedic architecture. In 1995, he visited the archaeological zones of the Maya and the Inca in Mexico, Central America and Peru. He noted many similarities with Vedic architecture in terms of design, measurements and construction methods of the ancient structures. In addition, the techniques applied by the Maya to erect their buildings and to hammer their huge stones for temples and pyramids are identical to those still taught and applied by Dr. Sthapati today.

It is noted in the Vastu Shastras that the creator of its architecture is named Mayan. The fundamental principle of Mayan’s architecture and town planning is the “module.” Buildings and towns are to be laid out according to certain multiples of a standard unit. Floor plans, door locations and sizes, wall heights and roofs, all are determined by the modular plan. Incan and Maya structures followed this modular plan. Chichen Itza too conformed to the Vastu Vedic principles of Mayan. The basic similarities include the method of joining and fitting of stones, the use of lime mortar, levelling with a plumb line and triangle, and the corbeling for the roofs. Corbeling is the method by which stones are drawn in layer by layer until they meet or nearly meet to allow a roof slab to be placed on top. The similarity of this technology to that used in India is very significant.

It has been confirmed that the layout of the Maya structures, the locations of doors and windows, proportions of width to length, roof styles, degree of slopes for roofs, column sizes, wall thicknesses, etc., all conform completely to the principles and guidelines as prescribed in the Vastu Shastras of India. Residential layouts are identical to those found in the Indus Valley civilization. As in Maya buildings, the Hindus have been using lime mortar for all of their stone and brick buildings. This can be seen in the monumental creations in Mahabalipuram and the famed stone temples of Thanjavur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The outer surfaces of these temples were plastered, embellished in lime mortar and then painted. This method was strong among the Maya too whose structures were plaster-coated and painted in different colours.

So the question is did Maya Danava really travel from South India to Mexico, Central America and Peru, or did he originally come from that region to become a famous architect in India later? This question can only be answered if we take into account the mystical personality of Maya Danava. According to historical records of the Vedic culture, Maya Danava’s influence on man was prevailing for 8000 years. At the same time, he is described as a being from another planetary system, equipped with all sorts of mystic powers and with an astronomic life span. Had the same Maya Danava first worked as an architect in South India and published Vedic texts in order to contribute later to the development of the Maya Culture in Central America, which shows a number of similarities with the Vedic India also in fields different from architecture?

According to Dr. Sthapati, there are two specific archaeological discoveries pertaining to 761 AD, about which most historians are silent, that are significant as possible links of Maya civilization to ancient India. The first one is a wall panel at Piedras Negras in Guatemala belonging to the Mesoamerican Classic Period. It appears that the scene depicted in the panel relates to the great Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’. It shows a king sitting on the throne and one maidservant with two children standing on the right side of the throne. A guard stands behind the three. On the other side of the king, three important personages are standing whereas the vassal chiefs and important feudatories are sitting in front of the throne. The king on the throne is believed to be Lord Ram with his three illustrious brothers standing by his side. The two little children are his two sons with a maid and a guard behind them. This panel is a beautiful piece of sculpture and an evidence of great Maya heritage, their artistic taste and superior creative ability and, above all, an archaeological evidence to prove India’s link with Mexico in the 8th century at least. The artistic design and postures of the figures carved can be compared to those found at the famed Ajanta and Ellora caves in India. This interpretation, however, remains only a plausible one till the hieroglyphics and frescoes surrounding the wall panel are deciphered. Another archaeological discovery at the same place belonging to the same period is a stone stele with a beautiful image of a deity with eight hands (called “ashtabhuja” in Sanskrit). The art style is discernibly Indian as this type of deity is not worshipped in any other religion of the world.

The Vedic origin is further enhanced by the frequency that the elephant motif is found in Maya art, especially the earlier works of the Maya, such as at Copan in Honduras, although the elephant never existed in that region.
Similarities in Ancient Hindu and Latin American Architecture 

The common architectural elements which India and the South-East Asia share with the Mesoamerican Maya are the pyramids with receding stages, faced with cut stone, and with stairways leading to a stone sanctuary on top. Many of the pyramids share surprisingly common features such as serpent columns and banisters, vaulted galleries and corbeled arches, attached columns, stone cut-out lattices, and Atlantean figures which are all typical of the Puuc style of Yucatan. The temple pyramids in Cambodia gained prominence in the ninth and tenth centuries, a time coinciding with the beginning of the Puuc period. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, the foremost expert on Vastu Shatra (the ancient Hindu architecture), claimed that there had to be a connection between India and South America based on the old Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures on architecture. His ancestors had built the great Shiva temple in Thanjavur in South India approximately a thousand years ago, and he himself continues to build temples all over the world according to the same principles of Vedic architecture. In 1995, he visited the archaeological zones of the Maya and the Inca in Mexico, Central America and Peru. He noted many similarities with Vedic architecture in terms of design, measurements and construction methods of the ancient structures. In addition, the techniques applied by the Maya to erect their buildings and to hammer their huge stones for temples and pyramids are identical to those still taught and applied by Dr. Sthapati today. It is noted in the Vastu Shastras that the creator of its architecture is named Mayan. The fundamental principle of Mayan’s architecture and town planning is the “module.” Buildings and towns are to be laid out according to certain multiples of a standard unit. Floor plans, door locations and sizes, wall heights and roofs, all are determined by the modular plan. Incan and Maya structures followed this modular plan. Chichen Itza too conformed to the Vastu Vedic principles of Mayan. The basic similarities include the method of joining and fitting of stones, the use of lime mortar, levelling with a plumb line and triangle, and the corbeling for the roofs. Corbeling is the method by which stones are drawn in layer by layer until they meet or nearly meet to allow a roof slab to be placed on top. The similarity of this technology to that used in India is very significant. It has been confirmed that the layout of the Maya structures, the locations of doors and windows, proportions of width to length, roof styles, degree of slopes for roofs, column sizes, wall thicknesses, etc., all conform completely to the principles and guidelines as prescribed in the Vastu Shastras of India. Residential layouts are identical to those found in the Indus Valley civilization. As in Maya buildings, the Hindus have been using lime mortar for all of their stone and brick buildings. This can be seen in the monumental creations in Mahabalipuram and the famed stone temples of Thanjavur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The outer surfaces of these temples were plastered, embellished in lime mortar and then painted. This method was strong among the Maya too whose structures were plaster-coated and painted in different colours. So the question is did Maya Danava really travel from South India to Mexico, Central America and Peru, or did he originally come from that region to become a famous architect in India later? This question can only be answered if we take into account the mystical personality of Maya Danava. According to historical records of the Vedic culture, Maya Danava’s influence on man was prevailing for 8000 years. At the same time, he is described as a being from another planetary system, equipped with all sorts of mystic powers and with an astronomic life span. Had the same Maya Danava first worked as an architect in South India and published Vedic texts in order to contribute later to the development of the Maya Culture in Central America, which shows a number of similarities with the Vedic India also in fields different from architecture? According to Dr. Sthapati, there are two specific archaeological discoveries pertaining to 761 AD, about which most historians are silent, that are significant as possible links of Maya civilization to ancient India. The first one is a wall panel at Piedras Negras in Guatemala belonging to the Mesoamerican Classic Period. It appears that the scene depicted in the panel relates to the great Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’. It shows a king sitting on the throne and one maidservant with two children standing on the right side of the throne. A guard stands behind the three. On the other side of the king, three important personages are standing whereas the vassal chiefs and important feudatories are sitting in front of the throne. The king on the throne is believed to be Lord Ram with his three illustrious brothers standing by his side. The two little children are his two sons with a maid and a guard behind them. This panel is a beautiful piece of sculpture and an evidence of great Maya heritage, their artistic taste and superior creative ability and, above all, an archaeological evidence to prove India’s link with Mexico in the 8th century at least. The artistic design and postures of the figures carved can be compared to those found at the famed Ajanta and Ellora caves in India. This interpretation, however, remains only a plausible one till the hieroglyphics and frescoes surrounding the wall panel are deciphered. Another archaeological discovery at the same place belonging to the same period is a stone stele with a beautiful image of a deity with eight hands (called “ashtabhuja” in Sanskrit). The art style is discernibly Indian as this type of deity is not worshipped in any other religion of the world. The Vedic origin is further enhanced by the frequency that the elephant motif is found in Maya art, especially the earlier works of the Maya, such as at Copan in Honduras, although the elephant never existed in that region.

Surgery during Chola Kingdom

It can be acquainted about the medical services of the Chola kings from the inscriptions. A temple inscription of 11th century speaks in detail about a hospital functioned in the name of Vira Cholan Athura Salai. The hospital was founded in the name of king Vira Chola (1063-1069 AD). A Brahmin by the name of Savarna Kothandarama Aswathama Bhattan of Alampakkum was in charge of this hospital that had only fifteen beds. His title indicates he was also the chief consultant. The person who was second to the consultant is referred to as “the one who treats”. There were nurses (females) to assist him in caring the patients and administering medicine. An attendant was there to serve food and water purified by the addition of cardamom and the lamichcham (roots of Vetiveria zizanioides)

From the salary particulars revealed by this inscription, it is clear that the surgeon received much less remuneration compared to that of the consultant or his second in command. As we have observed earlier the departments of medicine and surgery were taken care of by two different classes of people. The profession of surgery was considered inferior to general medicine and had been performed by people belonging to lower classes. This could explain the salary differences between the physician and the surgeon in this ancient hospital.
The sculpture shown below depicts an event of surgery in ancient India. Persons belonging to various professions are involved in the process of surgery. Among them, the physician of the higher rank is seen with a turban, a bright aura around his head and a book in his hands. The person in the next rank is depicted here with a dull aura and without a turban but. The surgeon shown appears to be ordinary citizen as without any special feature to reflect his identity. He is neither wearing a turban nor any ornaments. The one who cares the patient is a female, probably a nurse or a relative to the patient. Though the surgeons were not respected and properly paid, there had been always a unique place for surgery in Ayurveda in the past.
Previously cited temple inscription also provides a list of medicines stored in the Vira Chola’s hospital. The list includes the following.

Vasa haritaki Dasamoola haritaki
Bilvatha haritaki Bala eranda Taila
Panchaka Taila Lasunathi eranda Taila
Uthamkarnathi Taila Mandura Vadakam
Sirovasthy Brahmium
Kadumpuri Kandiram
Vimalai Sunetri
Tamrathi Vajrakalpam
Kalyana lavanam

Sanskrit Name Latin Name
Vasa Adathoda vasica
Haritaki Terminalia Chebula
Bala sida cordifolia
Lasuna Allium sativum
Eranda Ricinus communis
Bilva Eagle marmelos
Ballathaka Semicarpus anacardium
Mandura Ferric oxide

Mandura means iron dust. Vadakam means dried medicinal balls. Maduram is the powder scattered while thrashing the iron rods in the iron smith workshops. This iron powder collected from soil, is mixed with cow’s urine and fried in a mud pan. This process is referred to as the purification of manduram (the iron dust).
Pararajasekaram, a Tamil medical text written in Sri Lanka in the 16th century describes the process of preparing Mandura Vadakam as follows: “the purified iron dust is mixed with lime juice and boiled. When the mixture reaches the semi solid state, dried ginger, black pepper, long pepper and garlic are added to it. The final product is made into dry pills. Mandura vadakam thus prepared when consumed with cooked rice and buttermilk will cure anemia.”
Vasa Haritaki, Dasamoola Haritaki and Bilvatha Haritaki are the medicines prepared with chebulic myrobalan. Ayurvedic texts often prescribe different kinds of Haritakii-based preparations to cure various diseases. Haritaki medicines are prepared by processing chebulic myrobalan by removing the seeds and inserting other herbal ingredients into it. Vasa Haritaki is a formulation that contains Adathoda vasica and Haritaki.
Taila refers to the medicated oil used for external application. Butter or a vegetable oil, especially, the sesame oil is used in such preparations. When castor oil is used in place of sesame oil the preparation is called Eranda Taila. When the herb known as bala (Sida cordifolia)) is used as the main ingredient of this medicated oil, the preparation is called Bala eranda Thailam. This oil is used to treat neck cramp, facial paralysis, noise in the ears and headache. Lasunadi Eranda Taila is a medicated oil in which garlic is the main ingredient.

It is clear that the Government sponsored hospitals of the Chola period (between 10th and 13th centuries) provided health care based on the traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility of the existence of other local remedies as well as those prescribed by Yogis known as “Siddhars”.
It can be acquainted about the medical services of the Chola kings from the inscriptions. A temple inscription of 11th century speaks in detail about a hospital functioned in the name of Vira Cholan Athura Salai. The hospital was founded in the name of king Vira Chola (1063-1069 AD). A Brahmin by the name of Savarna Kothandarama Aswathama Bhattan of Alampakkum was in charge of this hospital that had only fifteen beds. His title indicates he was also the chief consultant. The person who was second to the consultant is referred to as “the one who treats”. There were nurses (females) to assist him in caring the patients and administering medicine. An attendant was there to serve food and water purified by the addition of cardamom and the lamichcham (roots of Vetiveria zizanioides) From the salary particulars revealed by this inscription, it is clear that the surgeon received much less remuneration compared to that of the consultant or his second in command. As we have observed earlier the departments of medicine and surgery were taken care of by two different classes of people. The profession of surgery was considered inferior to general medicine and had been performed by people belonging to lower classes. This could explain the salary differences between the physician and the surgeon in this ancient hospital. The sculpture shown below depicts an event of surgery in ancient India. Persons belonging to various professions are involved in the process of surgery. Among them, the physician of the higher rank is seen with a turban, a bright aura around his head and a book in his hands. The person in the next rank is depicted here with a dull aura and without a turban but. The surgeon shown appears to be ordinary citizen as without any special feature to reflect his identity. He is neither wearing a turban nor any ornaments. The one who cares the patient is a female, probably a nurse or a relative to the patient. Though the surgeons were not respected and properly paid, there had been always a unique place for surgery in Ayurveda in the past. Previously cited temple inscription also provides a list of medicines stored in the Vira Chola’s hospital. The list includes the following. Vasa haritaki Dasamoola haritaki Bilvatha haritaki Bala eranda Taila Panchaka Taila Lasunathi eranda Taila Uthamkarnathi Taila Mandura Vadakam Sirovasthy Brahmium Kadumpuri Kandiram Vimalai Sunetri Tamrathi Vajrakalpam Kalyana lavanam Sanskrit Name Latin Name Vasa Adathoda vasica Haritaki Terminalia Chebula Bala sida cordifolia Lasuna Allium sativum Eranda Ricinus communis Bilva Eagle marmelos Ballathaka Semicarpus anacardium Mandura Ferric oxide Mandura means iron dust. Vadakam means dried medicinal balls. Maduram is the powder scattered while thrashing the iron rods in the iron smith workshops. This iron powder collected from soil, is mixed with cow’s urine and fried in a mud pan. This process is referred to as the purification of manduram (the iron dust). Pararajasekaram, a Tamil medical text written in Sri Lanka in the 16th century describes the process of preparing Mandura Vadakam as follows: “the purified iron dust is mixed with lime juice and boiled. When the mixture reaches the semi solid state, dried ginger, black pepper, long pepper and garlic are added to it. The final product is made into dry pills. Mandura vadakam thus prepared when consumed with cooked rice and buttermilk will cure anemia.” Vasa Haritaki, Dasamoola Haritaki and Bilvatha Haritaki are the medicines prepared with chebulic myrobalan. Ayurvedic texts often prescribe different kinds of Haritakii-based preparations to cure various diseases. Haritaki medicines are prepared by processing chebulic myrobalan by removing the seeds and inserting other herbal ingredients into it. Vasa Haritaki is a formulation that contains Adathoda vasica and Haritaki. Taila refers to the medicated oil used for external application. Butter or a vegetable oil, especially, the sesame oil is used in such preparations. When castor oil is used in place of sesame oil the preparation is called Eranda Taila. When the herb known as bala (Sida cordifolia)) is used as the main ingredient of this medicated oil, the preparation is called Bala eranda Thailam. This oil is used to treat neck cramp, facial paralysis, noise in the ears and headache. Lasunadi Eranda Taila is a medicated oil in which garlic is the main ingredient. It is clear that the Government sponsored hospitals of the Chola period (between 10th and 13th centuries) provided health care based on the traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine. At the same time, one cannot rule out the possibility of the existence of other local remedies as well as those prescribed by Yogis known as “Siddhars”

Monday, July 27, 2015

Krishna- protector of all

Lord Krishna had 16,108 wives technically: But Missionaries,Mlecchas and even ignorant Hindus tried to portray and make fun of Sri Krishna as playboy without understanding the core essence of Hindu philosophy.

Krishna was a compassionate person.There is a story that why Krishna had 16,000 wives. Some people even joke about it and say he was the biggest playboy the earth has ever seen. But which society, whether past or present, would allow a person to declare, “I have 16,000 wives,” and for those 16,000 wives to accept one husband? Is it really possible to have a family with so many wives?

The story is that these women were kidnapped by a king called Narakasura and liberated by Krishna. In Eastern society and also in Western society the belief is that marriages are made in heaven. When people have been kidnapped and kept in bondage in another kingdom by another king, their purity and chastity will definitely be doubted. In prison anything can happen – rape,sexual assault etc. When Krishna liberated the women he knew they would be rejected by their society, families and friends upon their return home because they were believed to be no longer pure(nothing different from today’s society). So he married all of them. Did he marry out of passion or out of compassion? 

Society accepted it because they knew that Krishna’s love was not physical or carnal. His character was such that people knew he was providing shelter and support. Krishna himself had eight wives to whom he was legally married and he provided social protection for the 16,000 wives so that they would be able to live in dignity. Krishna radiated love. When we speak of love we always think of carnal, physical love, but love does not mean a physical relationship. These are very gross definitions of love. Real love is transcendental. 

Radha was supposed to be Krishna’s lover. She was many years older than he was and married to someone else, yet today we do not remember the names of Krishna’s other wives other than Rukmini and Sathyabama. In India, songs of love are dedicated to Radha and Krishna to show respect for the love that existed between them. We bow our heads to that idea, that belief, that philosophy. And why go back so far? Read the story of Mira. She was born a few hundred years ago. Her love for Krishna was so intense that at the time of her death, her physical body dissolved into the statue of Krishna. She did not die a physical death as we do. The force of her love was such that her physical body merged with the statue of Krishna. Can we call this physical love? Can we understand such an expression of love? No, we cannot. Yet when we hear about it, we respect it and bow our heads in reverence. Such love is definitely transcendental.


Lord Krishna had 16,108 wives technically: But Missionaries,Mlecchas and even ignorant Hindus tried to portray and make fun of Sri Krishna as playboy without understanding the core essence of Hindu philosophy. Krishna was a compassionate person.There is a story that why Krishna had 16,000 wives. Some people even joke about it and say he was the biggest playboy the earth has ever seen. But which society, whether past or present, would allow a person to declare, “I have 16,000 wives,” and for those 16,000 wives to accept one husband? Is it really possible to have a family with so many wives? The story is that these women were kidnapped by a king called Narakasura and liberated by Krishna. In Eastern society and also in Western society the belief is that marriages are made in heaven. When people have been kidnapped and kept in bondage in another kingdom by another king, their purity and chastity will definitely be doubted. In prison anything can happen – rape,sexual assault etc. When Krishna liberated the women he knew they would be rejected by their society, families and friends upon their return home because they were believed to be no longer pure(nothing different from today’s society). So he married all of them. Did he marry out of passion or out of compassion? Society accepted it because they knew that Krishna’s love was not physical or carnal. His character was such that people knew he was providing shelter and support. Krishna himself had eight wives to whom he was legally married and he provided social protection for the 16,000 wives so that they would be able to live in dignity. Krishna radiated love. When we speak of love we always think of carnal, physical love, but love does not mean a physical relationship. These are very gross definitions of love. Real love is transcendental. Radha was supposed to be Krishna’s lover. She was many years older than he was and married to someone else, yet today we do not remember the names of Krishna’s other wives other than Rukmini and Sathyabama. In India, songs of love are dedicated to Radha and Krishna to show respect for the love that existed between them. We bow our heads to that idea, that belief, that philosophy. And why go back so far? Read the story of Mira. She was born a few hundred years ago. Her love for Krishna was so intense that at the time of her death, her physical body dissolved into the statue of Krishna. She did not die a physical death as we do. The force of her love was such that her physical body merged with the statue of Krishna. Can we call this physical love? Can we understand such an expression of love? No, we cannot. Yet when we hear about it, we respect it and bow our heads in reverence. Such love is definitely transcendental.