In the Ramayana we find wherein Valmiki describes present Afghanistan as Gandarvadesh. It was Pushkal and Taksha, two sons of Bharat, the brother of Lord Sri Rama, who defeated the Gandharvas to rule there in the capital that had been built as Pushkalavati (known as Pukli in Afghanistan) and Takshashila, now in Pakistan. Gandarvadesh became Gandhar in the Mahabharata era. A princess from Gandhar married a prince of Hastinapur, namely Dhritarashtra.

The Gandharvas, when they were defeated at that time, moved farther west where they established the “Gana Rajya” republics. They continued to move farther west and established the Avagana Rajyas republics, which become known as “Avaganasthan” until the arrival of Islam when the name became Afghanistan. The rivers also changed names, such as the Kubha became the Kabul, Krumu became the Kurran, Gomati became the Gomal, Sarayu became Harayu, and the Sarasvati became the Harhaity. The Savastu became Swat Valley, and the mountain Mujavat became Munjan.In about 250 BCE, Emperor Ashok sent Buddhist monks to Avaganasthan and Buddhism was accepted. That is when vihars and stupas were built, along with huge images of Buddha on the hillsides. It was after the 10th century CE when many Islamic invasions took place and changed the Vedic and Buddhist nation to Islamic. Even Panini, the Sanskrit grammarian, was from Salatura, Afghanistan.

The Mahabharata also calls the area of Persia as the land of Parsikas, which some people think of as the Parsu (Axe) wielding people, who carried it for defense. However, this can also refer to those who were removed from Bharatvarsha by Lord Parashurama many years ago. The name Persia is a derivative of the Sanskrit name Parasu, which was the battle axe of Parashurama. Lord Parashurama had led 21 expeditions around the world to chastise the Kshatriya warriors who had swayed from the Vedic principles and became cruel and unruly. This was before the time of Lord Ramachandra. Persia was overrun by Lord Parashurama and his troops and succumbed to abide by his administration. According to E. Pococke on page 45 of his book, India in Greece, the land of Persia was known as Paarasika.

One of the first to begin recognizing how the influence of Indian forces spread throughout the Mideast was E. Pococke. He says, “I have glanced at the India settlements in Egypt, which will again be noticed, and I will now resume my observation from the lofty frontier, which is the true boundary of the European and Indian races. The parasoos, the people of Parasu Ram, those warriors of the axe, have penetrated into and given a name to Persia; they are the people of Bharata; and to the principal stream that pours waters into the Persian Gulf they have given the name of Eu-Bharat-es (Euphrates), the Bharat Chief.”

parashuram

The Persians or Parsikas, having been banished from Bharathvarsha by Parashurama, later changed their religion even more with the appearance of Zarathustra who established Zoroastrianism. However, it is said that the Parsis who have settled in India are accepted as the Parsikas, the ancient people of Persia, and are also related to the Koknastha Brahmins of Maharashtra who worship Parashurama at Chiplun in coastal Konkan. Dr. Poonai is another researcher who describes the ancient migrations out of Bharatvarsha, India. He explains that several Sanskrit speaking Aryan clans emigrated to the west beyond the Aegean area. He says that in the early part of the third millennium BCE that states of Caria, Miletus,Lydia, Troy, and Phrygia and surrounding areas were occupied by people who spoke various Sanskrit dialects.

The Indian fables, legends and literature also made their way to the West and into the Middle East as early as the 6th century BCE and had considerable influence wherever they went. The earliest of these collections included the Buddhist Jatakas, and the Vedic Panchatantra and the Hitopadesha. Also the Shukasaptati was translated several times into Persian under the name of Tutinamah, and through its transmission many Indian stories found their way into Europe. The story of the two jackals, Karkataka and Damanaka is yet another example of an Indian fable which was rendered into Pehlavi in the sixth century, and then in the seventh century into Arabic before being translated into Persian, Syriac, Latin, Hebrew, and then Spanish. Most of these fables and stories, if not all, were woven into the very fabric of European literature, and Indian motifs continued to be utilized in medieval Europe no matter if people recognized them or not.

Mr. Pococke further explains his conclusions. Even during his day of the mid-1800s, he wrote: “Who could have imagined that latitudes so northerly as the line of Oxus and the northern Indus would have sent forth the inhabitants of their frozen domains to colonize the sultry clime of Egypt and Palestine! Yet so it was. These were the Indian tribes that, under the appellation of ‘Surya,’ or ‘the Sun,’ gave its enduring name to the vast province of ‘Suria,’now Syria. It is in Palestine that this martial race will be found settled in the greatest force.”

Here we can see also, as did Pococke, how the names of the countries changed yet still held the seeds of its original influence, and from where that influence was coming from.

However, things changed, and the Vedic influence subsided, which is briefly described by V. Gordon Childe in his book The Aryans: “In Palestine the Aryan [Mitanni] names have totally disappeared by 1000 B.C., and even in the Mitanni region that have scarcely a vestige behind them. Here at least Aryan speech succumbed to Semitic and Asianic dialect, and small Aryan aristocracies were absorbed by the native population.”

THE SUMERIANS

The Sumerians were considered some of the earliest residents of the Middle East, namely Mesopotamia, who originally came from or had been a part of Bharatvarsha. The Sumerians also claim to have originally entered the valley of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris some four thousand or so years BCE, bringing with them some basic elements of civilization already developed to its final form, such as a script and a code of law. The original homeland has not been positively identified, yet many researchers have stated that the Sumerians were a part of Vedic Aryan culture, meaning that they had to have come from the land of Bharatvarsha.

“After extensive research, Sir Arthur Keith concluded that one can still trace ancient Sumerians eastwards among the inhabitants of Afghanistan and Baluchistan, until the valley of Indus is reached some 1500 miles distant from Mesopotamia.”

L. A. Waddell has also expressed that the Sumerians were a part of the Vedic tradition, as was discussed in Proof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence. But there was also the discovery of inscribed tablets that are said to be from a period before 3000 BCE that bore the names in Sanskrit of the Sumerian kings in Babylonia. Some of these names coincide with the names of the Puranic personages who were either kings or great sages. This would also further indicate that the Sumerians were of the Indo-Aryan stock, emigrating from the area of ancient Bharatvarsha into Babylonia. This is why the names like Indaru (Indra), Baragu (Bhrigu), Kush, Mana (Manu), Dasratta (Dasaratha), Kashipu (Kashyapa), Varen (Varun), Barama (Brahma), and others are found on these tablets in Sumer. 19 The book called The Sumerians, an Oxford publication, also says: “We find that the Sumerian civilization was an off-shoot of the Vedic Aryan civilization. Archeological evidence, in the form of relics of the past Sumerian language still exists which leaves no doubt as to the real incentive behind the origin of the Sumerian language.”

THE KASSITES

The spread of the Vedic culture into the region of West Asia can be seen with the Kassites in 1750 BCE in Mesopotamia, where they worshiped Surya. Other Vedic groups were undoubtedly in the intermediate region of Iran, which consisted of several ethnic groups including the Elamite and the Turkic.

The Kassites were Indian immigrants who entered Babylonia around or before 1760 BCE. The first Aryan presence is marked by the use of the Sanskrit word suryas, designating the sun, by the Kassites in Babylon. 20

This shows the reason why the clay tablets excavated at Boghazkoi in Asia minor in 1907 invoked the gods as guardian of the treaty with the names of the Vedic gods, such as Mitra, Varuna, Indra, and Nasatyau. This was the treaty between the Hittite king Shubbiluliuma and the Mitanni king Mittiuaza at the beginning of the 14th century BCE. This sheds a good deal of light on the Aryan expansion in that part of the world 1400 years before the Christian era.

SYRIA

The princes and towns and gods bearing Sanskrit names or names derived from classical or Vedic Sanskrit abounded in Syria so freely that it is natural to presume that there had to have been a settlement from India in that region during this period of time or even earlier. Or that the area of Mesopotamia was once a part of the Vedic culture, and many of the people there had been worshipers of the sun, or Surya. This is where Syria, once called Surya, got its name from the tribes of sun worshipers there.

For example, the Indo-Aryan families that had settled in Syria were known as the Mitannies and Hittites, along with a prince named Dasaratha.The Hittites were known to have been in the Middle East since 2200 BCE. Another king in the region entered into a treaty invoking the Vedic gods of Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Nasatya as guardians of the terms of the treaty. The treaty was drafted near the beginning of the 14th century BCE. And we know that the oath to the gods in the treaty has value only if the members of both parties hold allegiance to the gods who are invoked. 21

LEBANON AND THE DRUZE

The Druhyus ruled in northwest Aryavrata some 5000 years ago, but after being defeated by the Purus, they moved to the northwest. They brought their culture with them as they moved through different areas of Central Asia. The Vedic relics in these areas arrived there because of the Druhyus. However, they were greatly reduced during the onslaught of Islam. Nonetheless, they became known as the Druze and still practice similarities of the Vedic tradition where they can presently be found in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and Jordan.

They have their scripture, kutub al-hikma, or wisdom books, which is a collection of epistles and correspondence between their great thinkers, one of which is called Epistles of India, indicating some of them are from India. Within their wisdom books you can detect the influence of the Koran along with Greek and Vedic philosophy, especially in their conception of a transcendent God and their acceptance of reincarnation of the soul and karma. 30

Amongst the Druze prophets, Jethro is one of the most recognized, and is a major preceptor of the Druze. Some consider him to be the father-inlaw

of Moses, though the Druze feel Jethro was only the guardian of Zipporah and not her father. Nonetheless, Jethro had great influence over Moses. Jethro was a Kenite, a part of the Midianites, a tribe descending from the sons of Keturah who were sent by Abraham to the East, such as India. It is from there, it seems, that the origins of the Druze oral and written traditions were based. And in turn, Jethro was the teacher of Moses.

In this way, the roots of the Judaic traditions are likely to have been based on the Vedic culture and its philosophy of India, through the instructions given by Jethro.

The Druze are considered to be an Arabic sect of Islam, though an unorthodox one. Still, most Druze believe their roots to be in India. And they can still easily relate to the teachings as found in the Vedic texts today. Their own scriptures describe a history dating back hundreds or millions of years, with avataras of God appearing in human form on a regular basis. They also accept the transmigration of the soul from one body to another as a central tenet of their philosophy.

In fact, the late Druze political hero and renown spiritualist Kamal Jumbalat often glorified Lord Krishna, the Bhagavad-gita, the Ramayana, and other Vedic texts and divinities in his own writings. He also spoke about the Druze going to India and taking up the renounced order, such as sannyasa. Jumbalat himself was a vegetarian, and later lived accordingto the principles of the retired order as found in the Vedic system.

The term “Druze” was coined by the Muslims of the time. Nearly 1000 years ago El Drazi was considered a heretic, and the other Muslims, to deride this new sect that he was a part of, referred to the group in a derisive manner using the name of El Drazi to identify it, which became the Druze.

The Druze considered themselves as the Muwahidoon, meaning the one, eternal religion, similar to the meaning of Sanatana-dharma. 32 The current manifestation of the Muwahidoon, known as the Druze, oiriginate from al Hakim Bi-Amr Allah, the sixth Fitimid Caliph, who ruled Egypt during the late 10th and early 11th centuries. Some Druze have revealed that the original language of their scriptures was Sanskrit, and that avataras such as Buddha and Krishna are described therein.

TURKEY

In briefly looking at Turkey, more recent research by B. G. Sidharth, writing in his A Lost Anatolian Civilization: Is It Vedic? (Research Communication, 1992), relates that he was startled to see a sculpture of the head of a priest, excavated at Nevali Cori in Anatolia (present Turkey) by archeologists headed by Professor Harald Hauptmann of Heidelberg. Sidharth had gone to the Nevali Cori site. Sidharth in mentioning the head said, “It is identical to the head of a Vedic priest, so common in India even today. The sculpture represents a clean shaven head with the typical plait or Shikha.” According to radiocarbon analysis, this head dated to further back than 7000 BCE, thus making it clear that the Vedic Aryans had been in this area from before that time.

The post The Signs of Vedic Culture in the Middle East appeared first on Dharma Today.

American Discovery was a multi-ethnic achievement. The first explorers came from Siberia during the Pleistocene Ice Age. They were followed by countless voyagers from Asia, Africa, and Europe. Among their ranks were Indo-Sumerians, Phoenicians, Celts, Britons, Danes, Norwegians, West Africans, Egyptians, Polynesians, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Hindus, and many others. Eventually, the New World became a meeting ground of races and a congress of ethnic diversity–the first United Nations.

It was America’s destiny to become the meeting ground of all the world’s races and cultures. Whether they traveled by raft, kayak, canoe or ship, curious explorers ventured into the unknown seeking new lands–and they eventually made their way to a New World. Merchants and wanderers, pioneers and refugees joined them. They found a boundless wilderness; they made it a paradise of farms and orchards.

Furthermore DNA analysis helps to analyze the prominent cultures of the Native Americans also reveal where they came from and what were the most prominent traditions that influenced them the most. Vining Edward in his book, An Inglorious Columbus, proves that the Chinese traveler Huei Sen had already discovered America in 499 of our era, that is to say, a thousand years before Columbus.

How the Immigrants Travelled

There were various ways that people used to reach the Americas at different times in history.Ocean’s are filled with specific currents that can take immigrants from India and over to the eastern coast of Africa, then down around Africa’s southern tip and the north across the Atlantic over to North America, where immigrants could have settled on the eastern coast. They also could have sailed on up to the St. Lawrence Seaway, and settling in the Great Lakes region. People from the Mediterranean could also catch the ocean currents across the Atlantic to North America. Or people from far eastern Asia or Japan could ride the currents across the north Pacific through the Aleutian islands to Alaska or further south. Or people could cross the Southern Pacific from Southeast Asia, including India, and then hopping across the Indonesian islands and then using the currents to reach South or Central America.

Ancient North America And Its Vedic Connections

Dr. John Haywood’s in his book on the Natural and Aboriginal History of Tennessee, reports on the findings that seem to connect ancient America with the Vedic culture of India. In White County, Tennessee, there are what he calls ‘face jugs,’ or ancient jugs with painted faces on them, that “display a striking resemblance of the Asiatic countenance.

There were lines on the cheeks and forehead that bear a striking similarity to caste marks used by the Hindu religion to mark social standing and religious status or affiliation. There was often three horizontal lines across the forehead [as worshippers of Shiva use]or perpendicular lines from the root of the nose to the top of the forehead [as done by worshippers of Lord Vishnu]. Therefore, the jugs were likely intended for sacred uses. The speculation was that the three heads on such vessels, painted with the different marks, might designate the various orders of men for which libations were made. If so, the evidence is most directly connected to the identity of religion professed by the Hindus and the aborigines of Tennessee. No fabulous circumstance or train of thought could have occasioned such striking similarity in the paints and modes of applying them, in order to distinguish the different orders of men in their respective nations. If however the flagon is not a vessel of libation, the fact of its having three heads and possessing Asiatic features is certainly strong evidence of Asiatic origination. Brahma, one of the three principal gods of the Hindus, was represented with a triple head.

We might want to explain further that Brahma was depicted with four heads, each one facing in one of the four directions, but some paintings often show only three heads [the fourth being the head at the back]. The main image in the Elephanta caves in Mumbai, and other images with three heads, often represent the Vedic trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, each one having their own forehead marks, or forms of tilaka. This may have been the real depiction on the jug in question.

There was also evidence that indicated that the ancient Indians of Carolina knew that the world was round, which was common knowledge in the Vedic tradition. A medallion found in association with the mound builders of North Carolina had an image of a three-headed goddess holding a round globe of the world in one of her hands. John Haywood explains it this way:

In the same temple of Elephanta before mentioned is another triple-formed divinity, with three faces, and three arms; in one hand holding a globe; a proof that the ancients of India, as well as the Indians of Carolina, knew that the world was round.

On a medal of Syracuse, is a figure with three heads, extremely like the symbols adopted by the Hindus, and resembling much the Indian figures… The resemblance of the heads, to the deities of India, leaves no doubt of the origin of the emblem. It is seated on a tower. The heads hold various symbolic articles, among which the ring is clearly distinguishable.

There has been a long list of researchers and authors who agree that some of the Native Americans originated from, or were influenced by, those who of ancient Vedic India. One prominent believer was a person Baron Alexander von Humbolt, the famous late 18^th and early 19^th century European scholar, explorer and anthropologist. Another was George Squier (1821-1888) who was the U.S. charge d’affaires to Central America in 1849 and who brought to attention the many possible connections between India and the Americas. He compared the temples of India, Java and Mexico, as he relates in his book The Serpent Symbol,

A proper examination of these monuments would disclose the fact that, in their interior structure, as well as their exterior form, and obvious purposes, these buildings [the temples in Palenque, Mexico]correspond with great exactness to those of Hindusthan and the Indian Archipeligo.

Why The Vedic Tribes Of Central Asia Came To North America

For most of the twentieth century, it has been accepted that the date of the Apache and Navaho trek southward from Alaska took place about 1200 CE, and their arrival was about 1500 CE. This is certainly a later wave of migration into North America.

How this began goes back to the time of the Dene and Na-Denes. These were tribes of people from the north of Tibet and west of the Gobi Desert, primarily in the Tarim Valley. Their great enemy was the Mongol Genghis Khan (1162-1227 CE) who was invading all parts of the region. So to escape a certain death, the Dene tribes fled from Central Asia by the way of routes well known to the sea-otter hunters and traders of Northeast Asia. In fact, the Dene and Na-Dene traditions speak of how their ancestors landed on the southern coast of Alaska, near 1233 CE. Even today, Chinese artifacts off the coast of California are incontrovertible evidence that the Chinese ships reached America long before Columbus.

It is explained that:

the Dene reached America in Chinese ships that had features unknown in Europe until many centuries later–watertight compartments, the balanced rudder, the mariner’s compass, and other navigational aids too numerous to mention here. According to Dene tradition, and that of the Na-Dene, they followed Kuro-Siva [a route that goes north and then heads east on the eastern side of Japan], and from time to time, put in to sandy and rocky islands to rest.

The savage techniques of Genghis Khan are vividly described. Mongol strategy followed a regular pattern once the war machine of North China became available to them. First, they rounded up the population of the countryside surrounding the besieged city, driving them before them to protect themselves. Then they used the bodies of the slain as ramps as they breached the walls with their mangonels. The surviving prisoners were driven up the ramps before them for protection as they entered the city. Once it was in their hands, the Mongols drove the inhabitants outside the walls, raped all the women amid indescribable scenes of brutal savagery, and then slaughtered all the prisoners–man, woman and child. The city was then looted and burned to the ground, and a thousand years of recorded history went up in flames.

These Sioux Indians, six of whom were present at the Battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876, gather in Custer State Park in the Black Hills area of Custer, S.D. on Sept. 2, 1948. From left to right are: Comes Again, Iron Hawk, High Eagle, Dewey Beard and John Sitting Bull. The others are unidentified. (AP Photo)

At the fall of Chung-tu, such was the terror that sixty thousand girls threw themselves from the walls rather than fall into Mongol hands. An Arab embassy described the ground as covered with bones and greasy with human fat, and the air so polluted that some of the embassy fell ill. Very few historians mention these scenes when describing the military success of Genghis Khan. The actual horrors of his conquest of North China, Khwarezm, and HsiHsia–the terror, suffering, the devastation, the terrible slaughter is left aside. This is what drove the Dene tribes northeastward and then over the waters to find and settle in America.

For nine and one half years, the Naiman Khan and his followers lived at the Hsi-Hsia capital in relative security. In 1225 A.D., at the beginning of the campaign that destroyed the kingdom of Hsi-Hsia, the king further enraged Genghis Khan by giving asylum to the two sons of the Naiman Khan. If they survived the ensuing slaughter, they ended up in America with their father. Before the Hsi-Hsia surrender and the Mongol occupation of their capital in 1227 A. D., the King, according to the Kutchin Migration tradition (which the Mckenzie River Kutchin [in Western Canada]call Le Navigateur, and the Peel River Kutchin call Ata-choh Kai-yo) arranged for the escape of his Naiman friends and other fugitives and remnants of Hsi-Hsia tribes in his army. They traveled by river boat and by land to their rebel Khitan relatives, and from Liao-tung to the mouth of a great river and along a chain of islands to a new home ‘on the other side of the earth.

Some 600 years after their migration to the continent now called America, the Kutchin do not remember the actual name or origins of their leader, who had lead the migrations of the Dene tribes out of Asia.

However, they remember him by a number of names for Tchulak-san-qun, that relate to him being from Central Asia, and affirm his relation to the Lunar Race.

The Vedic Connections With The Dene Traditions

The Dene utilized magic ceremonies, one in honor of the Vedic Lord Vishnu, and also supplications to Lord Ganesh. Their sacred fire ceremony was homage to the Vedic god Agni. Their god of the dead was Yama, and the abode of the dead was a combination of Yama’s dwelling and the Chinese Yellow Springs.

They also retained the ancient Yuch-che idea that after death they would return to the Moon, the higher realm to which they belonged. They also believed in reincarnation in both human and animal form. However, after many years of traveling in America, they began to forget the more sophisticated levels of thought present in Central Asia at the time of the Mongol invasions.

The significance of the Dene’s connection with the Vedic tradition is that they claimed descent from the Moon God. They considered themselves part of the lunar lineage. This is why they also considered that they would return to the Moon after death. This goes back to the time of the Mahabharat wherein Yayati, said to be fifth in descent from Soma, the Moon, who had two sons, Yadu and Puru. They became the progenitors of the Lunar Dynasty. They became the progenitors of the Yadavas and the Pauravas. The Yueh-ti tribe was part of the former line, or the Moon family, as mentioned in Chinese records, and part of the latter evolved into the Ch’iang, who became the forebears of the later Hsi-Hsia kingdom, also part of the Moon lineage.

In their tradition of the death of the last king of Hsi-Hsia, who was of the Toba branch of the Hsien-pi, and thought to be a reincarnated Buddha, the Dene tell of his journey to the town of Yama, the home of the dead. The king was not of the Lunar Race, so there was no place for him in the Moon world of the dead, so he had to go to Yama’s abode.

To the Loucheux and the Hare tribes in Alaska, and to the Denes, the muskox was a sacred animal. The reverence for this animal is in connection with the god Shiva and his bull carrier, Nandi. Shiva, in his benevolent characteristic, is the father of the world, but in his destructive aspect he was the destroyer, a god to be feared. In Northwest America, the only bovine animal there was the muskox. And the Dene attributed the powers of Lord Shiva and his bull to the muskox.

The Divine Triad of the Dene seems to have consisted of Shiva as the father of mankind, his wife, Uma, as the Divine Mother of the world, and their son Ganesh, as the bestower of all earthly blessings. There was also Vishnu as the preserver, and who also appeared as Buddha, and his successor Maitreya, the Buddha of the future who would rescue his people of their miseries.

However, by the 19^th century, the Dene tribes in America had no specific recollection of the elephant-headed god Ganesh, whose vehicle is the mouse who carries the large Ganesh on his back. Nonetheless, the Dene had come to perform rites to a Yellow Mouse with a pointed snout, capable of carrying men on his back, and designated by the Tibeto-Tarim words meaning elephant. In the traditions that are observed today, some of these tell of their ancestral origins in a land across the sea, and very far in the West, even on the other side of the earth, in a long distant past. 

Present American Indian Tribes Of The Dene

As Ethel Stewart explains according to her research, many of the Indian or Native American tribes who connect themselves with the Dene, but whom anthropologists call Athapaskan, are said to comprise a large number of related tribes whose territory range from Alaska to the McKenzie Valley, to Northern Alberta, and then from the Yukon down to the Rocky Mountain trench to Southern British Columbia, and then appearing in Arizona and New Mexico. As many as seventeen other tribes appear near Vancouver, and then Washington State to Northern California.

In Alaska the Dene tribes are the Ko-yu-kon, the Khotana, and a small tribe called the Tlagga-Silla near the mouth of the Yukon River. At Fort Yukon are the Koutcha, and the nearby smaller groups, such as the Tuchone, Artez, Intse, and Tran-jik. Along the Peel River were the Tatelit. On the lower McKenzie River were the Na-Lotcho, who also called themselves Degu-the Dene, which indicated ‘People who avoid the arrows of their enemies by keeping a lookout on both sides.’ 

To the south of the Kutchin were a number of other tribes, including the Han, Kaska, Secanais, Sa-Arcix, Takkuli, etc. Then in Arizona and New Mexico are the Navadjo (Navaho), and Apache tribes, which include the Mescalero, Jicarillo, Lipan, and Tagui, all of which are said to have migrated from Central British Columbia from 1200 to 1500CE.

In this way, we can see a means in which many of the tribes of the western part of North America came from across the sea from Central Asia, where they had been a part of the Vedic traditions. Then, after leaving that region, they went eastward and arrived in Alaska, traveling into western Canada, and also then trekking south through Oregon, California, and even down to the area of Arizona and New Mexico. This is why many of the tribal customs not only tell the story of their ancient traditions, but also still contain what can be recognized as remnants of the Vedic culture of which they were a part.

The post Vedic Influence in North America appeared first on Dharma Today.

In the Rig Vedic age, Afghanistan and its neighboring countries were culturally a part of ancient India, Bharatvarsha, and ancient Iran was also hardly distinguishable from India. It is recognized that some forms of Vedic culture prevailed in Western Asia. According to the Syrian writer Zenob, there was an Indian colony in the canton of Taron (in the region of modern day Turkey) on the upper Euphrates, to the west of Lake Van, as early as the second century BCE. Two temples were built there containing images of the Vedic divinities as large as 18 and 22 feet high.

According to Dr. Sayce, a pioneer British Assyriologist and linguist the commerce by sea between India and Babylon must have been carried on as early as about 3000 BCE, when Ur Bagas, the first king of United Babylonia, ruled Ur of the Chaldees. Indian teak wood is believed to have been found in the Babylonian remains of the third millennium BCE, and Hewitt is of the opinion that this wood must have come by sea from some port of the Malabar coast. (Mookerji, Indian Shipping, p. 86) Herodotus even explains that Babylonia imported precious stones from India. (Cowell, Jataka, III, p. 83) The Baveru Jataka (no. 339) speaks of the visit of Indian maritime traders to the kingdom of Baveru (Babylon), which may refer to the Seleucid empire, established in 312 BCE., with its capital at the city of Babylon.

Sandalwood, rice and peacocks were exported from India to Babylonia. It may also be pointed out that Phoenician trade with South India has been traced from the fact that peacocks brought by Hiram’s ships to Solomon were called tuki derived from Tamil Tagai. In pre-Islamic days Indian spices were imported in large quantities into Arabia, and Indian wares were sent to the mart of Batene. Arabic words like Quaranful are derived from Indian names like Karan-phul. The word, made of Indian steel, is proverbial in Arabic literature. Thus we can safely conclude that there were trade relations between India and Western Asia from times immemorial. Some scholars say that this trade may have been interrupted with the rise of Islam, when Arabia became the seat of Islam.

IRAN

Parthia or Persia, now Iran, was the land where several tribes connected with the Vedic tradition had settled, such as the Druhyus, Panis, Parsas, and Bisnois. They all followed various Vedic practices, such as fire rituals and Sun worship, many of which were later incorporated in ways into Zoroastrianism. Support by the rulers for such practices went on for sometime until the area was taken over by Muslims, after which many of the architectural monuments were also lost.

In the Vedic period during the time when Parashurama defeated the Kshatriyas 21 times, many of the defeated Kings, those who refused to follow or be a part of the Vedic civilization, left the region of India to find their own place to live. These people were known as Parshvas, and resided in Persia. These people later became followers of Zoroastrianism wherein they worshiped Asur Medha, or Asur Mahta, later called Ahurmazda. Today they are known as Parsis.

Dr. Poonai has also written that Persia was named after the Vedic axe warrior Parashurama. “The doctrines of the Vedas were therefore widely taught to the noble people of Iran, also called Purusham Aryanam, a phrase which can be abbreviated to Parsianam or Parthians or Persians.”¹

More recently, Dr. Peter B. Clarke, editor of The World’s Religions (1993, p. 130), writes that the name Iran is derived from Aryan, and Aryans inhabited that ancient Iran.

T. Burrow in The Sanskrit Language (2011, p.4) explains:

The relations between this ancient Iranian and the language of the Veda are so close that it is not possible satisfactorily to study one without the other… It is quite possible to find verses in the oldest portion of the Avesta, which simply by phonetic substitutions according to established laws can be turned into intelligible Sanskrit.

Dr. Jagat K. Motwani, nicely summarizes:

It clearly suggests that the Iranian Aryans and the Indo-Aryans were one and the same people in ancient times when they ‘lauded the same gods with the same hymns, and worshipped them with identical rites.’ The people may not have been known as Hindus or Persians at the time. All the people of the subcontinent, including Indians, Iranians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Sri Lankans, Burmese, etc., must have been called Aryans, as the country was known as Aryavarta, Aryadesh, or Aryabhoomi. The unfounded theory of the Aryan Invasion–engineered in London and guided by the world-known British policy ‘Divide and Rule’–seems to have divided Indians and Iranians who, in ancient times, were one and the same people.²

Max Muller had written:

The Zoroastrians were a colony from Northern India. They had been together for a time with the people whose sacred songs have been preserved to us in the Vedas. A schism took place and the Zoroastrians migrated westward to Archosia and Persia.³

He goes on to explain,

Still more striking is the similarity between Persia and India in religion and mythology. Gods unknown to any Indo-European nation are worshiped under the same name in Sanskrit and Zend.⁴

In the Iranian religion the ritual was called the yazna, in which a festive meal would take place and a god would be invited to attend, in which fire and a sacred drink, called houma, would be offered. This would be done in the open air, outside, often performed by the priestly clan, called the Magi. Through the performance of such rituals, blessing from the gods would be attained.⁵

This is very similar to the Vedic tradition, in which the ritual was called the yajna (pronounced as yagya), or the homa ritual, with a central fire that would become the vortex to the deity or the mouth of the deity, and the sacred drink called soma would be offered, and then consumed as prasada. This would often be performed by the priestly class called the Brahmins (Brahmanas). So the Iranian ritual is likely a direct carry-over from that Vedic tradition.

In Introduction to the Aitareya Brahmana (Vol. I, page 23), Dr. Huang, another noted Indologist, writes:

The ancestors of the Brahmans and those of Parsis (the ancient Iranians) lived as brother tribes peacefully together.

This indicates that when the Parsis came to India in 910 CE, to escape the religious persecution they were suffering at the time at the hands of the Muslims, they were merely returning to their original home.

However, Persia had the Vedic culture and its spiritual philosophy before Zarathustra founded the Zoroastrian religion. Their religious gatha “Zend Avesta” is “Chhanda Avastha” as part of or derived from the RigVeda. In fact, Lord Vishnu was worshiped in the region even after the arrival of Islam. For example, Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian writer who has traveled extensively through several Muslim countries, relates that near the city of Shiraz in Iran is a village named Saadi. The village gets its name from the poet Saadi, who is buried there. This Saadi, a Muslim by birth, was a devotee of the Vedic deity Vishnu. Vambery writes,

He even assumed the religion of the worshipers of Vishnu in order to extend and increase his knowledge of all things.⁶

Sir W. Drummond also corroborates this in Origins of Several Empires:

In the early ages of the world, the inhabitants of Iran and India were governed by the same laws and were united as one people under the same monarchy.

Sir William Jones, as quoted by Lt. General Charles Vallancy, says,

It has been proved by clear evidence and plain reasoning, that a powerful monarchy was established in Iran, long before the Assyrian government, that it was in truth a Hindoo monarchy that subsisted for many centuries and that its history has been engrafted on that of Hindoos, who founded monarchies of Ayodhya and Indraprastha.

From his book, The Aryans: A Study of Indo-European Origins, V. Gordon Childe writes that the Mitannis were warriors (Kshatriyas) from India:

Finally we know that there existed among the Mitanni at this time a class of warriors styled marianna which has suggested comparison with the Sanskrit marya, young men, heroes.⁷

Childe goes on to describe the dynasts installed in the Mesopotamia region, who were perhaps Mitanni and Hittites:

So it is clear enough that the dynasts installed on the Upper Euphrates by 1400 B.C. were Aryans, closely akin to those we meet in the Indus Valley and later in Media and Persia. But their subjects were non-Aryan Asianics, and the rulers had adopted the native language and the Babylonian script for their official correspondence, and apparently acknowledged local gods besides their own.

Dr. Peter B. Clarke (ed), in The World’s Religions (1993: p.130), writes that the name Iran is derived from Aryan. He seems to suggest that Iran, in ancient times, was inhabited by Aryans. The old Iranian language Avestan was very close to Sanskrit.

This is in line with the more recent research of C. V. Vaidya as he explains in History of Sanskrit Literature (1986, vol. 1, pp. 39-40) wherein he gives lingual evidence in Sanskrit and Avestan to establish that in ancient time, the Indian Aryans and Iranians lived together, but were also one people. The evidence he uses is that the Avestic gathas and the Rig Veda mantras were extremely similar and sometimes identical.

Argument again in favor of a late date for the Rigvedic hymns is sought to be derived from the extreme similarity of Avestic gathas and Rigvedic mantras which are sometimes identical. There is no doubt that the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians once formed one people and lived together.

They naturally have some mantras in common. But we must remember that Zoroaster did not himself compose these gathas. He only preserved what had come down for centuries, and even if we take 550 B.C. as the date of Zoroaster, that cannot be the date of those gathas. Indeed, as the Hindus have preserved the Vedic mantras intact for thousands of years, because they have become sacred, so also must the Avestic gathas have been preserved intact for thousands of years before they were taken up by Zoroaster for his new religion.

IRAQ

Iraq was known as Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and where the records of the area show the recognition of the Vedic gods. This is the place of the Sumerian society, followed by the Assyrian. Later groups of the area also included the Mitanni, Hittite and Kassites.⁸

Furthermore, the excavations at Ur, dating back to the 6^th and 7^th  century BCE, revealed Amazanite beads, which could only come from the Nilgiri Hills in South India.⁹ Even in the area that became Iraq, Baghdad had become a city of Vedic learning. The last Barmak or minister at the time had been brought up in India and received his education in Kashmir before he was appointed Minister at the court of Baghdad. (Ibn Faqih Hamadani, Kitab ‘ul-Buldan)

The name of the city itself is of Indian origin, as Bagh in Sanskrit means God, as in Bhag or Bhagavan, and da in Sanskrit means “to give”. Hence, Baghdad means the “gift of God” and “city of God.” Its earlier name was Madianul-as-Salam, which meant “city of peace.” Of course, as they now say, it is a city in pieces.

It was founded and built by Caliph Al-Mansur in A.H. 145 (762-63CE), and was designed on a scientific basis with the help of Indian engineers and architects.¹⁰ However, it was planned in an organized manner, circular in design, with the help of Indian engineers and architects in the Vedic fashion. It was one of the first Muslim cities which was circular in design. This leads some to believe it was actually a Vedic city but only captured or renamed by Muslims outside Saudi Arabia.

Of course, capturing and renaming cities by Muslims has a long history, as we have seen with such places as Jarbavatu that was renamed as Ahmedabad, or Prayag renamed Allahabad, Agravan as Agra, Bhagyanagar as Hyderabad, and many others.

There were also many similarities between India and the Semitic world, including the flood legends, cosmological stories, the earth tales, and many other cultural traits. Legends and stories relating to the mysteries of creation, life and death, child birth, death, to the domains of theogony entered Western Asia from different sources including India, and were reflected in Islamic mythology, and then changed, altered and adapted to suit the local mood.

On the other hand, as we study the Talmud and Midrash, some stories therein are directly adopted from Indian sources. For example, in the Puranas are the cosmographic conception of seven firmaments and seven underworlds, as also found in the Koran XLI, 8. This also reminds us of the Hebrew conception of seven heavens (Villon, Rakia, Shekhakim, Szebhul, Maon, Makhon, and Araboth) and the seven underworlds (Eretz hatachtonch, Adamah, Arka, Ge, Neshia, Zija, and Tebel).¹¹

SUFISM

The term Sufism came into existence in the second half of the eighth century. It is generally believed that the followers of Sufism had their inspiration from the Indian wandering ascetics. An earlier form of such influence is manifested in Zuhd or asceticism that in fact is proto-Sufism. Before that, the Tasabhuf was followed by various ascetic sects like the Zuh’ha’d, the Kkas’sas, the Shak’kaun, the Nashmak and others.

The presence of wandering Indian monks was a factor of practical importance to the adherents of Islam as early as the time of Abbasid Caliphate. (Titus, Indian’s Islam, p.149)

EARLY MUSLIMS WERE RECEPTIVE TO VEDIC THOUGHT

In the early days of Islam, they were more ready and open to learn from India and to look into the knowledge that was provided by the Vedic philosophy. Unfortunately, with the decline of the Abbasid power by around the middle of the ninth century, the direct exchange between India and Baghdad was practically cut off.

With the fall of Arab power, the leadership of Islam went into the hands of the Turks as a result of which Islamic culture and learning were decentralized. The new situation thus created was not very favorable to the spread of Indian thought in the lands dominated by the Turks who were not so respectful towards Indian culture as the Arabs.

In conclusion, Edward Pococke writes about the evidence that shows how Persia was but an extension of Bharatvarsha and the Vedic culture:

The ancient map of Persia, Colchis, and Armenia is absolutely full of the most distinct and starling evidences of Indian colonization and what is more astonishing, practically evinces, in the most powerful manner, the truth of several main points in the two great Indian poems, the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. The whole map is positively nothing less than a journal of emigration on the most gigantic scale.¹²

 (Excerpts from the book Mysteries of the Ancient Vedic Empire)

References:

1. Poonai, Premsukh, Origin of Civilization and Language, Dayton Beach, Florida, Pearce Publishers, Inc.,1994, p.170.
2. Motwani, Jagat K., India Reborn: Bharat Mahan As Perceived by Westerners, Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore & Others, 2012, p. 190.
3. Muller, Max, Science of Language ,Vol. II, p.170. Muller, Max,
4. Muller, Max, Chips From a German Workshop, Vol. I, p. 83.
5. Haywood, John, The Ancient World, New York, Metro Books, 2013, p.124.
6. Shah, Niranjan, Iranians and Indians are Cousins, India Tribune, November 6, 2004.
7. Childe, V. Gordon, The Aryans: A Study of Indo-European Origins, 1926, p.19.
8. Shah, Niranjan, Iraq–A Center of Vedic Civilization, India Tribune, May 10, 2003.
9. Gadre, Mrs. Medha Vishwas, India’s Cultural Links With Africa Since Ancient Times, Afro-Hindu Vision, International Centre for Cultural Studies, Nagpur, India, 1998, p.88.
10. Siddiqi, W. H., India’s Contribution to Arab Civilization, India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan Trust, Chennai, India 1970, p.586-7.
11. Bhattacharya, N. N., India’s Contribution to Islamic Thought and Culture, India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan Trust, Chennai, India 1970, p.575.
12. Pococke, Edward, India in Greece; or Truth in Mythology, London, Richard Griffin and Company, 1856, p.47.

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Japanese scholar Okakura observes, in his Ideals of the East: “The religion and culture of China are undoubtedly of Hindu (Vedic) origin.”

Vedic tradition went from India to China and on to Japan. The practice of meditation, for example, was Ch’an in China and became Zen in Japan. However, some of these traditions also arrived in Japan through the sea route from Tamil Nadu. This explains how some Sanskrit terminology was adopted into Japanese through Tamil phonology, or why Sanskrit mantras are written in the Siddham script of South India.  Sanskrit words such as homa – Vedic fire ritual and acharya – teacher became goma and achari, respectively, in Japanese. In Central Japan they observe the homa fire ceremonies, rub incense on their foreheads (similar to applying tilak) and consider Ganesh the remover of obstacles. Temples follow the basic Vedic design –  a main hall before the sanctum and a circulatory path around them. Vedic devas have their Japanese counterparts!

Vedic Gods In Japan

The Shingon pantheon of Japan include Daikoku (Siva), Shoten sama or Kanjiten (Ganesh), Taishaku (Indra), Katen (Agni), Emma-o (Yama), Benzaiten or Benten (Sarasvati), Suiten (Varuna), Futen (Vayu), Ishana, Bonten (Brahma), Jiten (Prithvi), Nitten and Gatten (Surya and Chandra), among others. “Though most of the deities are venerated only as forming part of Mandara (mountain]), some of them such as Shoten sama, Emma-o, Suiten and Benten are popular objects of worship and have temples dedicated to them.” (Sir Charles Eliot, Japanese Buddhism, London, 1935, p.355). According to author Hisashi Nakamura, there is no country in the world other than Japan where students are taught the rudiments of Sanskrit.  About 15 miles from the heart of Tokyo is a Vedic temple of Indra with two figures of Hanuman guarding the image. Large crowds also visit the temples of Saraswati and Fudo, a form of Shiva, who possesses a third eye, trident, and a lasso of snakes.

You can still recognize deities of Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Durga, Ganesh, and others in the temples at Kyoto, Nara, Miyajima, and other places. Nara was a center of Sanskrit learning even earlier than 700 CE. Japanese temples have Sanskrit manuscripts, some of which are much older than those preserved in India. Furthermore, according to Japanese Shinto scholar Taka Kasu, Japan’s oldest religion was Brahman-okoyo, or Brahmanism, now known as Shintoism, the main religion of Japan today. Shinto centers around the belief in worship of natural forces and ancestors and also some Vedic gods, mentioned earlier.  At the Kotohira shrine on the island of Shikoku, sailors worship Kompera, which is a corruption of the Sanskrit word Kumbhira (crocodile). The divine architect in the Rig Veda, Vishvakarma, was regarded in ancient Japan as the god of carpenters, Bishukatsuma. In Japan, the Kanjiten (Ganesh) cult was first mentioned in 806 and the images clearly reflect the deity’s Vedic origins., While the Indian deity is elephant-headed, Kanjiten may be depicted with an elephant’s head and human body, or a pair of two-armed, elephant-headed deities in embrace.

Mahayana Buddhism spread to China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and with that came the basic Vedic pantheon of deities. Mahayana Buddhist scriptures were also in Sanskrit, while the earlier Theravadin texts were in Pali. You may also see Ganesh at some Buddhist temples, such as the popular temple at Futako Tamagawa in Tokyo. Benten is usually depicted as a beautiful oriental woman dressed in sophisticated robes, wearing a jeweled crown, often with multiple arms, playing her biwa or lute. As with Sarasvati, Benten is the Goddess of music, learning, the arts and entertainment and additionally of rivers and water. For this reason, Benten shrines can be found on islands, in rivers, ponds, lakes, or near the sea. Benten has also been identified with the Shinto Goddess of islands, Itsukushima-Hime or Ichaikishime-Hime.

Some of the most popular jinja or temples to Benten include the small island shrine at Enoshima, connected by a bridge near Kamakura. There are two images of Benten inside, both over 600 years old. Itsukushima has a small shrine on the island reached by ferry from Hiroshima. Chikubushima has a shrine in Lake Biwa, along with other Buddhist temples for her. There is a shrine to Zeniarai Benten in a cave in the hills above Kamakura, where deep within it the image of Benten is in the form of a snake with a human head. Other shrines near Tokyo include the one at Shinobazu Pond at Ueno in Central Tokyo, and at Inokashira Pond at Kichijoji, which means Lakshmi Temple. Other small shrines or temples are scattered throughout Japan.

According to author Donald A. Mackenzie: “The Indian form of myth of the churning of the Milky Ocean reached Japan. In a Japanese illustration of it, the mountain rests on a tortoise, and the supreme god sits on the summit, grasping in one of his hands a water vase. The Japanese Shinto myth of creation, as related in the Ko-ji-ki and Nihon-gi, is likewise a churning myth. Twin deities, Izanagi, the god, and Izanami, the goddess, stand on ‘the floating bridge of heaven’ and thrust into the ocean beneath the ‘Jewel Spear of Heaven.’ With this pestle they churn the primeval waters until they curdle and form land.” (Myths of Pre-Columbian America – By Donald A. Mackenzie p.190-191)

Further Evidence Of Vedic Influence

The cultivation of cotton in Japan is also traced to an Indian who had drifted to the shore of Aichi Prefecture in 799. To commemorate the event, the Japanese named the village where the shipwrecked Indian had landed Tenjiku, which was the Japanese name for India, meaning heaven. The popular Japanese game of sunoroku or sugoroku (backgammon) is of Indian origin. In Japan the game is played as nard, which is regarded as an Iranian game. But the ninth century Arab scholar, Al Yaqubi, considered nard an Indian invention used to illustrate man’s dependence on chance and destiny. According to Wei-Shu, sugoroku was brought to China in ancient times from Hu country, which at that time meant a country somewhere in the vicinity of India. Karl Himly has pointed out, the Hun Tsun, Sii, written during the Sung period (960- 1279), states that t’shu-pu, another Chinese name for sugoroku, was invented in western India, that it was known in its original form as chatushpada, and that it reached China during the Wei period (220-265).

The Vedic Influence In Korea

English orientalist Philip Rawson writes in The Art of South East Asia: “The culture of India has been one of the world’s most powerful forces. Countries of the Far East, including China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Mongolia owe much of what is best in their own cultures to the inspiration of ideas imported from India.”

Korea was already profoundly influenced by Vedic traditions and its Sanskrit language before the arrival of Buddhism. It had plenty of Vedic temples and was a center of Sanskrit studies. Five hundred years ago Korea wanted to change its script to Devanagari. China changed Korea’s language and ideographs, but India’s Sanskrit and phonetic letters from which syllables or alphabets were constructed remained for vernacular writings and printing.

Modern historians believe Korea formally accepted Buddhism in 372 CE and presumed that Korea’s links with India must have started then. But Vedic culture had already influenced Korea many years earlier. The name of a 1st century Korean King was Kim Suro. According to Vedic tradition, the family lineage called Suryavanshi was connected or descendants from the solar dynasty. Kim Suro also claimed to be a Suryavanshi and had a marital connection with the most illustrious solar dynasty, which had its capital in Ayodhya in India. The capital of Korea at that time was Kaya. Many times it is written as Gaya after the name of the holy town in India. So the name of Korea may have come from a corrupted translation of the name Gaya or Gouriya.

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We should first take into account that ancient India, which was centered around the Indus Valley years ago, and was already well developed before 3200 BCE, stretched from Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean and points farther east and north, the largest empire in the world at the time. But its influence spread much farther than that. During its peak developments, it had organized cities, multistory brick buildings, vast irrigation networks, sewer systems, the most advanced metalwork in the world, and a maritime trade network that incorporated the use of compasses, planked ships, and trained navigators that reached parts of western Asia, Mesopotamia, Africa, and other ports far beyond their borders. (¹⁾ So they were certainly capable of ocean-going trips that could have reached even to the Americas.

Prakash Charan Prasad explains in his book, Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India (p. 131): “Big ships were built. They could carry anywhere upwards from 500 men on the high seas. The Yuktialpataru classifies ships according to their sizes and shapes. TheRajavalliya says that the ship in which King Sinhaba of Bengal (ca. sixth century BCE] sent Prince Vijaya, accommodated full 700 passengers, and the ship in which Vijaya’s Pandyan bride was brought over to Lanka carried 800 passengers on board. The ship in which the Buddha in the Supparaka Bodhisat incarnation made his voyages from Bharukachha (Broach) to the ‘sea of the seven gems’ [Sri Lanka], carried 700 merchants besides himself. The Samuddha Vanija Jakarta mentions a ship that accommodated one thousand carpenters.”

Marco Polo also related how, “An Indian ship could carry crews between 100 and 300. Out of regard for passenger convenience and comfort, the ships were well furnished and decorated in gold, silver, copper, and compounds of all these substances were generally used for ornamentation and decoration.” (²⁾

Because of the Vedic civilization’s great reach, Aurel Stein (1862-1943), a Hungarian researcher also related: “The vast extent of Indian cultural influences, from Central Asia in the North to tropical Indonesia in the South, and from the borderlands of Persia to China and Japan, has shown that ancient India was a radiating center of a civilization, which by its religious thought, its art and literature, was destined to leave its deep mark on the races wholly diverse and scattered over the greater part of Asia.” (³⁾

In this regard, Philip Rawson, in The Art of Southeast Asia (1993, p. 7), further praises India’s gift of its civilizing affect on all other cultures. “The culture of India has been one of the world’s most powerful civilizing forces. Countries of the Far East, including China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Mongolia owe much of what is best in their own cultures to the inspiration of ideas imported from India. The West, too, has its own debts… No conquest or invasion, nor forced conversion [was ever]imposed.” And this is the basis for the mystery of the widespread nature of the ancient Vedic empire, which in many ways still exists today. It was this subtle spiritual dimension that spread all over the world.

ADVANCED EAST INDIAN SAILING IN THE EARLY VEDIC TEXTS

As Gunnar Thompson also explains, regarding the capability of Indian ships: “Extensive maritime trade between India and the islands of Indonesia is well documented and illustrated. A 1^st century Hindu manuscript, the Periplus, mentions two-mates ships with dual rudders mounted on the sides in the fashion of ancient Mediterranean vessels. The ships are portrayed in 2^nd century Indian murals. Chinese chronicles of the same era describe seven-masted Hindu vessels 160 feet in length carrying 700 passengers and 1000 metric tons of merchandise. Buddhist records of a 5^th century pilgrimage from Ceylon to Java report vessels large enough to carry 200 passengers.” (⁴⁾

India’s ancient maritime history is referenced as far back as the early Vedic texts. This is taken from my book, Advancements of Ancient India’s Vedic Culture (pp. 143-45). As we look at other cultures, what is often left out is the advanced nature of the ancient Indian civilization. As we look over this information, it becomes clear that ancient India had the means for sailing over great expanses of water, and also had a thriving trade industry based on shipping.

The fact is that the ancient Vedic texts, such as the Rig Veda, Shatapatha Brahmana, and others refer to the undertaking of naval expeditions and travel to distant places by sea-routes that were well-known at the time. For example, the Rig Veda (1.25.7) talks of how Varuna has full knowledge of all the sea routes that were followed by ships. Then (2.48.3) we find wherein merchants would also send out ships for foreign trade. (⁵⁾

Another verse (1.56.2) speaks of merchants going everywhere and frequently to every part of the sea. Another verse (7.88.3-4) relates that there was a voyage by Vasistha and Varuna in a ship skillfully fitted for the trip. Then there is a verse (1.116.3) that tells of an expedition on which Tugra, the Rishi king, sent his son Bhujya against some of his enemies in the distant islands. However, Bhujya becomes ship wrecked by a storm, with all of his followers on the ocean, “Where there is no support, or rest for the foot or hand.” From this he is rescued by the twin Ashvins in their hundred oared galley. Similarly, the Atharva Veda mentions boats which are spacious, well constructed and comfortable.

We should keep in mind that the Rig Veda is said to go back to around 3000 BCE, which means the sailing capacity for the Vedic civilization of ancient India was well under way by that time.

An assortment of other books also referred to sea voyages of the ancient mariners. Of course, we know that the epics, such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata referred to ships and sea travel, but the Puranas also had stories of sea voyages, such as in the Matsya,Varaha, and Markandeya Puranas. Other works of Classical Sanskrit included them as well, such as Raghuvamsha, Ratnavali, Dashakumaracharita, Kathasaritsagara, Panchatantra, Rajatarangini, etc.

Actually, ships have been mentioned in numerous verses through the Vedic literature, such as in the Vedas, Brahmanas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, and so on. For example, in the Ayodhya Kand of Valmiki’s Ramayana, you can find the description of such big ships that could hold hundreds of warriors: “Hundreds of oarsmen inspire five hundred ships carrying hundreds of ready warriors.” The conclusion is that ships have been in use since the Vedic age.

In the Ramayana, in the Kishkindha Kand, Sugriva gives directions to the Vanar leaders for going to the cities and mountains in the islands of the sea, mainly Yavadvipa (Java) and Suvarna Dvipa (Sumatra) in the quest to find Sita. The Ramayana also talks of how merchants traveled beyond the sea and would bring presents to the kings.

In the Mahabharata (Sabha Parva), Sahadeva is mentioned as going to several islands in the sea to defeat the kings. In the Karna Parva, the soldiers of the Kauravas are described as merchants, “whose ships have come to grief in the midst of the unfathomable deep.” And in the same Parva, a verse describes how the sons of Draupadi rescued their maternal uncles by supplying them with chariots, “As ship wrecked merchants are rescued by means of boats.” However, another verse therein relates how the Pandavas escaped from the destruction planned for them with the help of a ship that was secretly and especially constructed for the purpose under the orders of the kind hearted Vidura. The ship was large, and provided machinery and all kinds of weapons of war, and able to defy storms and waves.

Also, in Kautilya’s Arthashastra we find information of the complete arrangements of boats maintained by the navy and the state. It also contains information on the duties of the various personnel on a ship. For example, the Navadhyaksha is the superintendent of the ship, Niyamaka is the steerman, and Datragrahaka is the holder of the needle, or the compass. Differences in ships are also described regarding the location of the cabins and the purpose of the ship itself. (⁶⁾

In the Brihat Samhita by Varahamihir of the 5^th century, and in the Sanskrit text Yukti Kalpataru by Narapati Raja Bhoj of the 11^th century, you can find information about an assortment of ships, sizes, and materials with which they were built, and the process of manufacturing them. For example, one quote explains, “Ships made of timbers of different classes possess different properties. Ships built of inferior wood do not last long and rot quickly. Such ships are liable to split with a slight shock.” (⁷⁾ It also gives further details on how to furnish a ship for accommodating the comfort of passengers, or for transporting goods, animals, or royal artifacts. The ships of three different sizes were the Sarvamandira, Madhyamarmandira, and the Agramandira.

The Shangam works of the South Indian Tamils have numerous references to the shipping activities that went on in that region, along with the ports, articles of trade, etc. Such texts included Shilappadikaram Manimekalai, Pattinappalai, Maduraikhanji, Ahananuru,Purananuru, etc. (⁸⁾

Ancient Indians traveled to various parts of the world not only for purposes of trade, but to also propagate their culture. This is how the Vedic influence spread around the world. For example, Kaundinya crossed the ocean and reached south-east Asia. From there, evidence shows that rock inscriptions in the Sun Temple at Jawayuko in the Yukatan province of Mexico mentions the arrival of the great sailor Vusulin in Shaka Samvat 854, or the year 932. In the excavations in Lothal in Gujarat, it seems that trade with countries like Egypt was carried out from that port around 2540 BCE. Then from 2350 BCE, small boats docked here, which necessitated the construction of the harbor for big ships, which was followed by the city that was built around it. (⁹⁾

In the period of 984-1042 CE, the Chola kings dispatched great naval expeditions which occupied parts of Burma, Malaya and Sumatra, while suppressing the piratical activities of the Sumatra warlords.

In 1292 CE, when Marco Polo came to India, he described Indian ships as “built of fir timber, having a sheath of boards laid over the planking in every part, caulked with iron nails. The bottoms were smeared with a preparation of quicklime and hemp, pounded together and mixed with oil from a certain tree which is a better material than pitch.” He further writes: “Ships had double boards which were joined together. They were made strong with iron nails and the crevices were filled with a special kind of gum. These ships were so huge that about 300 boatmen were needed to row them. About 3000-4000 gunny bags could be loaded in each ship. They had many small rooms for people to live in. These rooms had arrangements for all kinds of comfort. Then when the bottom or the base started to get spoiled, a new layer would be added on. Sometimes, a boat would have even six layers, one on top of another.”

A fourteenth century description of an Indian ship credits it with a carrying capacity of over 700 people giving a fair idea of both ship building skills and maritime ability of seamen who could successfully man such large vessels.

Another account of the early fifteenth century describes Indian ships as being built in compartments so that even if one part was shattered, the next remained intact, thus enabling the ship to complete her voyage. This was perhaps a forerunner of the modern day subdivision of ships into watertight compartments, a concept then totally alien to the Europeans.

Another traveler named Nicolo Conti came to India in the 15^th century. He wrote: “The Indian ships are much bigger than our ships. Their bases are made of three boards in such a way that they can face formidable storms. Some ships are made in such a way that if one part becomes useless, the rest of the parts can do the work.”

Another visitor to India named Bertham writes: “The wooden boards are joined in such a way that not even a drop of water can go through it. Sometimes, the masts of cotton are placed in such a way that a lot of air can be filled in. The anchors were sometimes made of heavy stones. It would take a ship eight days to come from Iran to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari).” (¹⁰⁾

The famous archeologist Padmashri Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar says, “I had gone to England for studies, I was told about Vasco da Gama’s diary available in a museum in which he has described how he came to India.” He writes that when his ship came near Zanzibar in Africa, he saw a ship three times bigger than the size of his ship. He took an African interpreter to meet the owner of that ship who was a Gujarati trader named Chandan who used to bring pine wood and teak from India along with spices and take back diamonds to the port of Cochin. When Vasco da Gama went to meet him, Chandan was sitting in ordinary attire, on a cot. When the trader asked Vasco where he was going, the latter said that he was going to visit India. At this, the trader said that he was going back to India the very next day and if he wanted, he could follow him. So, Vasco da Gama came to India following him. (¹¹⁾

Sir William Jones, in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society–1901, relates how the Hindus, “must have been navigators in the age of Manu, because bottomry is mentioned in it. In the Ramayana, practice of bottomry is distinctly noticed.” Bottomry is the lending of insurance money for marine activities. (¹²⁾

In this way, Indians excelled in the art of ship-building, and even the English found Indian models of ships far superior of their own and worth copying. The Indian vessels united elegance and utility and fine workmanship. Sir John Malcom observed: “Indian vessels are so admirably adapted to the purpose for which they are required that, notwithstanding their superior stance, Europeans were unable during an intercourse with India for two centuries, to suggest or to bring into successful practice one improvement.” ⁽¹³⁾

Mexican archeologist Rama Mena points out in his book, Mexican Archeology, that Mayan physical features are like those of India. He also mentions how Nahuatl, Zapotecan, and Mayan languages had Hindu-European affinities.

In this line of thinking, some American tribes have traditions of having ancestral homelands across the Pacific. A legend of Guatemala speaks of an ancient migration from across the Pacific to the city of Tulan. A tribe from Peru and Tucano of Columbia also relate in their traditions how ancestors sailed across the Pacific to South America. Tales of trade over the Pacific were also related to the earliest of Spanish explorers in Central America. (¹⁴⁾

Georgia anthropologist Joseph Mahan, author of The Secret (1983), has identified intriguing similarities between the Yueh-chic tribes of India-Pakistan and the Yuchi tribe of North America’s Eastern Woodlands. The Yuchi tradition also tells of a foreign homeland from across the sea–presumably in India. (¹⁵⁾

This information makes it clear that ancient India had the means to reach and in fact did sail to many parts of the world, including the ancient Americas, long before most countries. This is further corroborated by information in the chapter of Vedic culture in America inProof of Vedic Culture’s Global Existence, for those of you who would like more information on this.

ANCIENT INDIA’S MARITIME TRADE

Further evidence shows that shipping from Bharatvarsha was a national enterprise and the country was a leader in world trade relations amongst such people as the Phoenicians, Jews, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans in ancient times, and more recently with Egyptians, Romans, Turks, Portuguese, Dutch, and English.

The simple fact is that India’s maritime history predates the birth of Western civilization. The world’s first tidal dock is believed to have been built at Lothal around 2300 BCE during the Harappan civilization, near the present day Mangrol harbor on the Gujarat coast.

The earliest portrayal of an Indian ship is found on an Indus Valley seal from about 3000 BCE. The ship is shown being elevated at both bow and stern, with a cabin in the center. It is likely to have been a simple river boat since it is lacking a mast. Another drawing found at Mohendjodaro on a potsherd shows a boat with a single mast and two men sitting at the far end away from the mast. Another painting of the landing of Vijaya Simha in Ceylon (543 BCE) with many ships is found amongst the Ajanta caves.

That India had a vast maritime trade, even with Greece, is shown by the coins of the Trojans (98-117 CE) and Hadrians (117-138 CE) found on the eastern coast of India, near Pondicherry. This is evidence that Greek traders had to have visited and traded in the port cities of that area.

Kamlesh Kapur explains more about this in Portraits of a Nation: History of India: “Recent archeological excavations at Pattanam in Ernakulum district of Kerala by the Kerala council for Historical Research (KCHR) indicate that there was thriving naval trade around 500 B.C. According to the Director of KCHR, ‘The artifacts recovered from the excavation site suggest that Pattanam, with a hinterland port and a multicultural settlement, may have had links with the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the South China Sea rims since the Early Historic Period of South India.’ KCHR has been getting charcoal samples examined through C-14 and other modern methods to determine the age of these relics. These artifacts were from the Iron Age layer. The archeologists also recovered some parts of a wooden canoe and bollards (stakes used to secure canoes and boats) from a waterlogged area at the site.

“The radiocarbon dating from Pattanam will aid in understanding the Iron Age chronology of Kerala. So far, testing done by C-14 method to determine the ages of the charcoal samples from the lowermost sand deposits in the trenches at Pattanam suggests that their calibrated dates range from 1300 B.C. to 200 B.C. and 2500 B.C. to 100 A.D. Thus there is strong evidence that Kerala had sea trade with several countries in Western Asia and Eastern Europe from the second millennia B.C. onwards.” (¹⁶⁾

The influence of the sea on Indian Kingdoms continued to grow with the passage of time. North-west India came under the influence of Alexander the great, who built a harbor at Patala where the Indus branches into two, just before entering the Arabian sea. His army returned to Mesopotamia in ships built in Sindh. Records show that in the period after his conquest, Chandragupta Maurya established an admiralty division under a Superintendent of ships as part of his war office, with a charter including responsibility for navigation on the seas, oceans, lakes and rivers. History records that Indian ships traded with countries as far as Java and Sumatra, and available evidence indicates that they were also trading with other countries in the Pacific, and Indian Ocean. Even before Alexander, there were references to India in Greek works and India had a flourishing trade with Rome. Roman writer Pliny speaks of Indian traders carrying away large quantity of gold from Rome, in payment for much sought exports such as precious stones, skins, clothes, spices, sandalwood, perfumes, herbs, and indigo.

The port cities included such places as Nagapattinam, Arikamedu (near Pondicherry), Udipi, Kollam, Tuticorin, Mamallapuram, Mangalore, Kannur, Thane, and others, which facilitated trade with many foreign areas, such as Indonesia, China, Arabia, Rome, and countries in Africa. Many other inland towns and cities contributed to this trade, such as Madurai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Ellora, Melkote, Nasik, and so on, which became large centers of trade. Silk, cotton, sandalwood, woodwork, and various types of produce were the main items of trade.

Trades of this volume could not have been conducted over the countries without appropriate navigational skills. Two Indian astronomers of repute, Aryabhatta and Varahamihira, having accurately mapped the positions of celestial bodies, developed a method of computing a ship’s position from the stars. A crude forerunner of the modern magnetic compass called Matsyayantra was being used around the fourth or fifth century CE. Between the fifth and tenth centuries CE, the Vijayanagara and Kalinga kingdoms of southern and eastern India had established their rules over Malaya, Sumatra and Western Java. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands then served as an important midway for trade between the Indian peninsula and these kingdoms, as also with China. The daily revenue from the western regions in the period 844-848 CE was estimated to be 200 maunds (eight tons) of gold.

Not only was there trade from ancient times, going to many areas of the globe, but other countries may have also been going to India. It is reported that marine archaeologists have found a stone anchor in the Gulf of Khambhat with a design similar to the ones used by Chinese and Japanese ships in the 12th-14th century CE, giving the first offshore evidence indicating India’s trade relations with the two Asian countries. The stone anchor was found during an exploration headed by two marine archaeologists, A. S. Gaur and B. K. Bhatt, from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO). “Though there are a lot of references and Chinese pottery (found from coastal sites) indicating trade relations between the two Asian nations (China and Japan) in the past, but this anchor from the offshore region is the first evidence from Indian waters. Similar type of anchors have been found from Chinese and Japanese waters,” stated Mr. Gaur. (¹⁷⁾

Furthermore, another recent finding that shows the ancient advancement of Indian maritime capabilities is the evidence that Indian traders may have gone to South America long before Columbus discovered America. Investigation of botanical remains from an ancient site, Tokwa at the confluence of Belan and Adwa rivers, Mirzapur District, Uttar Pradesh (UP), has brought to light the agriculture-based subsistence economy during the Neolithic culture (3^rd-2^nd millennium BCE). They subsisted on various cereals, supplemented by leguminous seeds. Evidence of oil-yielding crops has been documented by recovery of seeds of Linum usitatissimum and Brassica juncea. Fortuitously, an important find among the botanical remains is the seeds of South American custard apple, regarded to have been introduced by the Portuguese in the 16^th century. The remains of custard apple as fruit coat and seeds have also been recorded from other sites in the Indian archaeological context, during the Kushana Period (CE 100-300) in Punjab and Early Iron Age (1300-700 BCE) in UP. The factual remains of custard apple, along with other stray finds, favor a group of specialists to support with diverse arguments the reasoning of Asian-American contacts way before the discovery of America by Columbus in 1498. (¹⁸⁾

THE INDIAN NAVY AND SEA POWER

In the south especially there was an established navy in many coastal areas. The long coastline with many ports for trade for sending out ships and receiving traders from foreign countries necessitated a navy to protect the ships and ports from enemies. According to records, the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, and the Cheras had large naval fleets of ocean bound ships because these rulers also led expeditions against other places, such as Malayasia, Bali, and Ceylon.

The decline of Indian maritime power commenced in the thirteenth century, and Indian sea power had almost disappeared when the Portuguese arrived in India. They later imposed a system of license for trade, and set upon all Asian vessels not holding permits from them.

The piratical activities of the Portuguese were challenged by the Zamorins of Calicut when Vasco da Gama, after obtaining permission to trade, refused to pay the customs levy. Two major engagements were fought during this period. First, the battle of Cochin in 1503, clearly revealed the weakness of Indian navies and indicated to the Europeans an opportunity for building a naval empire. The second engagement off Diu in 1509 gave the Portuguese mastery over Indian seas and laid the foundation of European control over Indian waters for the next 400 years.

Indian maritime interests witnessed a remarkable resurgence in the late seventeenth century, when the Siddhis of Janjira allied with the Moghuls to become a major power on the West Coast. This led the Maratha King Shivaji to create his own fleet, which was commanded by able admirals like Sidhoji Gujar and Kanhoji Angre. The Maratha Fleet along with the legendary Kanhoji Angre held sway over the entire Konkan Coast keeping the English, Dutch and Portuguese at bay. The death of Angre in 1729 left a vacuum and resulted in the decline of Maratha sea power. Despite the eclipse of Indian kingdoms with the advent of western domination, Indian shipbuilders continued to hold their own well into the nineteenth century. The Bombay Dock completed in July 1735 is in use even today. Ships displacing 800 to 1000 tons were built of teak at Daman and were superior to their British counterparts both in design and durability. This so agitated British shipbuilders on the River Thames that they protested against the use of Indian built ships to carry trade from England. Consequently, active measures were adopted to cripple the Indian shipbuilding industries. Nevertheless, many Indian ships were inducted into the Royal Navy, such as HMS Hindostan in 1795, the frigate Cornwallis in 1800, HMS Camel in 1801, and HMS Ceylon in 1808. HMS Asia carried the flag of Admiral Codrington at the battle of Navarino in 1827, the last major sea battle to be fought entirely under sail.

Two Indian built ships witnessed history in the making. The Treaty of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong to the British, was signed onboard HMS Cornwallis in 1842. The “Star Spangled Banner” national anthem of the USA was composed by Francis Scott Key onboard HMS Minden when the ship was on a visit to Baltimore. Numerous other ships were also constructed, the most famous being HMS Trincomalee, which was launched on 19 October, 1817, carrying 86 guns and displacing 1065 tons. This ship was latter renamed Foudroyant.

The period of 4000 years between Lothal and Bombay Dock, therefore, offers tangible evidence of seafaring skills the nation possessed in the days of sail. In the early seventeenth century, when British naval ships came to India, they discovered the existence of considerable shipbuilding and repair skills, as well as seafaring people. An ideal combination was thus available for supporting a fighting force in India. (¹⁹⁾

HOW THE BRITISH KILLED THE MARINE INDUSTRY OF INDIA

When the westerners made contact with India, they were amazed to see their ships. Until the 17^th century, European ships were a maximum of 600 tonnes. But in India, they saw such big ships as the Gogha, which was more than 1500 tonnes. The European companies started using these ships and opened many new factories to make Indian artisans manufacture ships. In 1811, Lt. Walker writes, “The ships in the British fleet had to be repaired every 12^th year. But the Indian ships made of teak would function for more than 50 years without any repair.” The East India Company had a ship called Dariya Daulat which worked for 87 years without any repairs. Durable woods like rosewood, sal and teak were used for this purpose.

The French traveler Waltzer Salvins writes in his book Le Hindu, in 1811, “Hindus were in the forefront of ship-building and even today they can teach a lesson or two to the Europeans. The British, who were very apt at learning the arts, learnt a lot of things about ship building from the Hindus. There is a very good blend of beauty and utility in Indian ships and they are examples of Indian handicrafts and their patience.” Between 1736 and 1863, 300 ships were built at factories in Mumbai. Many of them were included in the Royal Fleet. Of these, the ship called Asia was 2289 tonnes and had 84 cannons. Ship building factories were set up in Hoogly, Sihat, Chittagong, Dacca, etc. In the period between 1781 to 1821, in Hoogly alone 272 ships were manufactured which together weighed 122,693 tonnes.

In this connection, Suresh Soni, in his book India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition, explains how India was deprived of its marine industry, but also from any notation in its ancient history of its ship-building ability. He writes:

“The shipping magnates of Britain could not tolerate the Indian art of ship manufacturing and they started compelling the East India Company not to use Indian ships. Investigations were frequently carried out in this regard. In 1811, Col. Walker gave statistics to prove that it was much cheaper to make Indian ships and that they were very sturdy. If only Indian ships were included in the British fleet, it would lead to great savings. This pinched the British shipbuilders and the traders. Dr. Taylor writes, ‘When the Indian ships laden with Indian goods reached the port of London, it created such a panic amongst the British traders as would not have been created, had they seen the enemy fleet of ships on the River Thames, ready for attack.’

“The workers at the London Port were among the first to make hue and cry and said that ‘all our work will be ruined and families will starve to death.’ The Board of Directors of East India Company wrote that ‘all the fear and respect that the Indian seamen had towards European behavior was lost when they saw our social life once they came here. When they return to their country, they will propagate bad things about us amongst the Asians and we will lose our superiority and the effect will be harmful.’ At this, the British Parliament set up a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Robert Peel.

“Despite disagreement amongst the members of the committee on the basis of this report, a law was passed in 1814 according to which the Indians lost the right to become British sailors and it became compulsory to employ at least three-fourth British sailors on British ships. No ship which did not have a British master was allowed to enter London Port and a rule was made that only ships made by the British in England could bring goods to England. For many reasons, there was laxity in enforcing these rules, but from 1863 they were observed strictly. Such rules which would end the ancient art of ship-building, were formulated in India also. Tax on goods brought in Indian ships was raised and efforts were made to isolate them from trade. Sir William Digby has rightly written, ‘This way, the Queen of the western world killed the Queen of the eastern oceans.’ In short, this is the story about the destruction of the Indian art of ship-building.” (²⁰⁾

Of course, let us not forget that not only was commerce between ancient India and other countries made through maritime capabilities, but also through land routes that extended to China, Turkistan, Persia, Babylon, and also to Egypt, Greece, and Rome, which continued to prosper.

These days, India is still very much in the ship building business, mostly in small and medium size ships. As of 2009 there were 27 major shipyards, primarily in Mumbai, Goa, Vishakhapatnam, and Cochin.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the fact is that the ancient Vedic civilization had a strong connection with the sea, and maritime abilities. Even in their language of Vedic Sanskrit, words such as samudra, salil, sagar, and sindhu indicated the sea or large rivers. The word sindhuka also meant sailor, which became the name Sindbad for the sailor in Arabian Nights. Also, the English word navigation actually originates from the Sanskrit word Navagati.

Further evidence has been shown, such as that presented at a 1994 conference on seafaring in Delhi where papers had been presented that shows how Indian cotton was exported to South and Central America back in 2500 BCE. Another report suggested Indian cotton reached Mexico as far back as 4000 BCE, back to the Rig Vedic period. According to Sean McGrail, a marine archeologist at Oxford University, seagoing ships called ‘clinkers’ that were thought to be of Viking origin, were known in India a good deal earlier. Thus, India’s maritime trade actually flourished many years ago, along with many other of its advancements that are hardly recognized or accounted for today. (²¹⁾

This helps reveal that India’s maritime trade actually flourished more and far earlier than most people realize. This was one of the ways Vedic culture had spread to so many areas around the world. Though the talents and capabilities that came out of ancient India’s Vedic civilization have often remained unrecognized or even demeaned when discussed, nonetheless, the Vedic people were far more advanced in culture and developments then many people seem to care to admit, and it is time to recognize it for what it was.

CHAPTER NOTES

1. Lehrburger, Carl, Secrets of Ancient America: Archaeoastronomy and the Legacy of the Phoenicians, Celts, and Other Forgotten Explorers, Bear & Company, Rochester, Vermont, 2015, p.209.
2. Kuppuram, G., India Through the Ages, pp 65..527-31.
3. Ibid., pp.527-31.
4. Thompson, Gunnar, American Discovery: Our Multicultural Heritage, Hayriver Press, Colfax, Wisconsin, 2012, p.216.
5. Rao, S. R., Shipping in Ancient India, in India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture, Published by Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan, Chennai, 1970, p. 83.
6. Science and Technology in Ancient India, by Editorial Board of Vijnan Bharati, Mumbai, August, 2002, p. 105.
7. Ibid., pp. 108-09.
8. Ramachandran, K. S., Ancient Indian Maritime Adventures, in India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture, Published by Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan, Chennai, 1970, p. 74.
9. Soni, Suresh, India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition, Ocean Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2010, p. 68.
10. Ibid., p. 72.
11. Ibid., p. 73.
12. Shah, Niranjan, Little Known Facts About Shipping Activity in Ancient India, in India Tribune, January 8, 2006.
13. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 1) (Singhal, D. P., Red Indians or Asiomericans–Indian Settlers in Middle and South America, India’s Contribution to World Thought and Culture, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan Trust, Chennai, India 1970, p.644.
14. Thompson, Gunnar, American Discovery: Our Multicultural Heritage, Hayriver Press, Colfax, Wisconsin, 2012, p.223.
15. Thompson, Gunnar, American Discovery: Our Multicultural Heritage, Hayriver Press, Colfax, Wisconsin, 2012, p.235.
16. Kapur, Kamlesh, Portraits of a Nation: History of India, Sterling Publishers, Private Limited, 2010, pp. 414-15.
17. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200903151560.htm.
18. http://www.ias. ac.in/currsci/ jan252008/ 248.pdf.
19. http://indiannavy.nic.in/maritime_history.htm.
20. Soni, Suresh, India’s Glorious Scientific Tradition, Ocean Books Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2010, p. 74-75.
21. Frawley, Dr. David, and Dr. Navaratna S. Rajaram, Hidden Horizons, Unearthing 10,000 Years of Indian Culture, Swaminarayan Aksharpith, Ahmedabad, India, 2006, p. 79.

The post India’s Ancient and Great Maritime History appeared first on Dharma Today.

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmiki and an important part of the Hindu canon. One of the most important literary works of ancient India, the Ramayana consists of 7 chapters (Kanda), and narrates the story of Rama’s wife Sita being abducted by Ravana, the demon (Rakshasa) king of Lanka.

According to the Ramayana, King Ravana brought Sita Devi from India in a “Pushpaka Vimana” which is widely known in Sri Lanka as the “Dandu Monara Yanthranaya,” or Large Peacock Machine in Sinhala.

The Ramayana has fascinated many generations, and had a profound impact on art and culture in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.

For over thousands of years, the Ramayana, epic of Asia, has had an unshakeable hold on the beliefs of vast multitudes of Asia’s teeming millions. As diverse span of humanity as Kashmiri pandits and Cambodian fishermen, it is the universal heritage of all humanity.

A rich legacy of sites and temples in the country where the most significant events of this epic took place – Lankapura – Sri Lanka. Though some people do not believe that the present Sri Lanka is the one mentioned in the Ramayana, when we investigate the area, there is still much convincing tradition therein and many sites identified with the Ramayana.

Sri Lanka is the proud custodian of more than 50 Ramayana sites from the place of Sita Devi’s captivity to the battlefields where vast armies clashed, to the groves of exotic herbs dropped by Hanuman, to the ultimate theater of war where Lord Rama slew Ravana, the ten-headed demon-king.

People living in the areas where great events took place remember to this day the connection of their soil to the great epic. An oath taken at the spot where Sita Devi undertook “Agni Pariksha” is still considered valid in village courts or grama sabhas. The color of the soil of the ancient battlefield is still red today, and is still surrounded by lighter colored earth. One of the airports of Ravana, torched by Hanuman when he came looking for Sita Devi, still has a scorched-earth look. A patch of darker soil surrounded by brown earth. Exotic alpine Himalayan species are found suddenly amidst tropical Sri Lankan vegetation, the legacy of Hanuman’s heroic voyage carrying a mountain with life-restoring herbs.

Incredibly, the names of places have come down to modern times unchanged. Though great social, cultural and religious changes have taken place in Sri Lanka since.

Sri Lanka shares a special bond with India geographically, historically, culturally and spiritually. The Ramayana begins with Ayodhya in India and climaxes at Lankapura.

People in Sri Lanka through generations believed that king Ravana ruled this country. There are many sites in Sri Lanka which are connected to the Ramayana. Below is a list of places which have been identified as connected to the Ramayana and listed in sequential order.

The Kidnapping of Sita by Ravana

Ravana was the king of Lanka and another 9 kingdoms. He was known as Dasis (or Dasa Shirsha) meaning 10 heads, because he had ten crowns, one each for his ten kingdoms.

His sister Surpanakha went to Jambudweepa for some business. Surpanakha chanced upon Rama at his hermitage and became enamored with the handsome prince. Rama being faithful to his wife, Sita, did not respond and asked Surpanakha to approach Lakshmana who was unmarried. Surpanakha, who felt humiliated by this, tried to attack Sita in anger saying Sita was the cause of the men’s contempt for her. Lakshmana then intervened and cut off Surpanakha’s nose.

Surpanakha, terrified and in pain, flew at once to Lanka to seek the protection of Ravana. When Ravana asked his sister for the cause, Surpanakha said that she had seen Sita, a lady of incomparable beauty, and wanted to bring her for Ravana. Ravana resolved to take revenge for the insult his sister had suffered, as well as to get lovely Sita for him self, and set out to abduct Sita and bring her to Lanka.

Ravana, using a golden deer as a decoy, visited Sita when she was alone. In the guise of an old sage, he abducted and brought her to Weragantota in Lanka in his plane, the Pushpaka vimana.

Weragantota means the “place of aircraft landing” in Sinhala. This is the first place Sita Devi was brought to Lankapura (capita city of king Ravana). These jungles are the place where the city of Lankapura once stood. The city had a beautiful palace for Queen Mandothari surrounded by waterfalls, streams and varieties of flora and fauna. Sita Devi was kept at Queen Mandothari’s palace at Lankapura. The place Sita was held captive is called Sita Kotuwa, which means “Sita’s Fort” in Sinhala. It is believed Ravana had an aircraft repair center at Gurulupotha close to Sita Kotuwa. Sita devi was kept in queen Mandothari’s palace until she was moved to Sita Kotuwa and then on to Ashoka Vatika. The remains that are found here are the remnants of later civilizations. In Valmiki’s depiction, King Ravana’s vimana resembled a huge peacock. The vimana in Sinhala language means “Dhandu Monara” which is known as “flying peacock,” and hence the name Gurulupotha, which means “parts of birds” in Sinhala. This is also called Gavagala.

Sita Taken from Sita Kotuwa to Ashok Vatika (also known as Ashoka / Asoka Vanam)

Ravana moved Sita from Sita Kotuwa to Ashok Vatika the salubrious garden in the mountains. The route too was said to be spectacularly beautiful, as Ravana wanted to show Sita the beauty of his kingdom. The barren land atop the mountain range is believed to be the route in which King Ravana took Sita devi from his capital city Lankapura to Ashoka Vatika, which was a paradise on earth. The Chariot Path atop the mountain range is still visible. Till date no vegetation grows on this passage except grass. King Ravana is believed to have taken this passage on top of these hills to show Sita devi the beauty of his kingdom.

Ashok Vatika is the garden where Ravana held Sita captive. This is in the area of Sita Eliya, close to the city of Nuwara Eliya. The stream that runs from the hill catered to the needs of Sita devi during her stay at Ashok Vatika. She is said to have bathed in this stream. The Hakgala Gardens located at the base of the Hakgala Rock forms part of the famed Ashok Vatika. The Sita Pokuna is a barren area atop the Hakgala Rock Jungle where Sita was kept captive. The Sita Amman Temple is located at this spot. It is interesting to note that foot prints akin to Hanuman’s are found by this river and some are of small size and some are of large size, which tells us of the immense powers of Hanuman transforming himself into any size.

About a century ago three images were discovered in the stream, one of which was that of Sita. It is believed that the deities have been worshipped at this spot for centuries. Now there is temple for Lord Rama, Sitadevi, Lakshmana, and Hanuman by the side of this stream.

The summit of the mountain next to the mountain range overlooking Frotoft Estate in Pussallawa is the place where Hanuman first set his foot on mainland Lanka. This mountain known as Pawala Malai is visible from this mountain range. These hills stand tall in-between King Ravana’s capital city and Ashoka Vatika.

The Sita tear pond is found en route by the chariot route, and is believed to have been formed by the tears of Sita devi. It has not dried up since, even during severe droughts when the adjoining rivers dry up. Visitors could also see the famed Sita Flowers which are endemic to this area. In this area there are many large trees whose bright red blooms add color to the scenery. These flowers are called Sita flowers. The peculiarity of these flowers is the configuration of the petal’s, stamen and pistils, which resemble a human figure carrying a bow, and is said to represent Lord Rama. These flowers are unique only to this area in the whole of Sri Lanka.

Search for Sita

Sugriva, ruler of the Vanara or special monkey kingdom, ordered his monkey armies to search for Sita in all four corners of the earth. Hanuman, Angada, Jambavan and other heroes traveled southwards. Hanuman was the only one strong enough to cross the ocean to reach Lanka. Whilst crossing the ocean, Hanuman was tested by Surasa Devi, the Naga maiden en-route to Lanka. This place is now called Nagadipa.

Hanuman meets Sita at Ashok Vatika and is Captured by Ravana

Hanuman after meeting Sita at Ashok Vatika, decided to test the strength of King Ravana and his army of Rakshasas. He invited battle by uprooting trees and destroying the garden. Upon being captured by the Rakshasa guards, Hanuman was brought in the presence of Ravana. As a punishment, Hanuman’s tail was set on fire. Hanuman in turn set fire to the houses in the city. Ussangoda is one such torched area.

On the way back to India Hanuman rested at Mani Kattuthar. The hilltop where Hanuman is believed to have rested after meeting Sita devi is known as Mani Kattuthar. This is a rock in the Labookelle estate. Hanuman met Sita devi and on his way to announce this happy information to Lord Rama, rested on this hilltop. Today an open temple with statues of Lord Rama, Sita devi, Lakshmana, and Hanuman stands on top of it. Locals visit the temple often.

Near by is the village of Kondagala, known as Kondakalai in Tamil, where Sita is said to have deranged her hair whilst passing the place. Kondakalai (Kondagala), like many other cities and villages in Sri Lanka, also derives its name from the Ramayana. When King Ravana took Sita devi in a chariot to Ashoka Vatika, her hairs got deranged because of the speed of the chariot. “Konda kalai” in Tamil means “deranging of hair.” Till date the villagers live with the legacy of this event.

The village also contains Sita Gooli which are rice balls offered by Ravana to Sita; which she refused and threw away. When King Ravana carried Sita devi on his chariot to Ashoka Vatika, he provided her with vitaminized rice balls for refreshment. But Sita devi who did not want to consume anything provided by King Ravana, scattered the rice balls all over the place during her journey, and they are found till date along the chariot track. The local people call these rice balls Sita Gooli and they prescribe them for their children as a cure for stomach disorders and headaches. The farmers too keep them in their cash boxes or grain pots for prosperity. It is claimed that carbon dated testing has been done in Tokyo and Delhi on these rice balls and ascertained them to be more than five thousand years old.

Sita is Hidden after the visit of Hanuman

Upon hearing Hanuman’s threat and seeing his capabilities, King Ravana decided to hide Sita at various secret locations as a precautionary measure. Ravanagoda, which means Ravana’s place in the Kotmale area, is one such complex of tunnels and caves.

Istripura is another ingenious network of paths which are interconnected with all major areas of king Ravana’s city. Istripura means “Area of Women” in Sinhala. This refers to the retinue of ladies Ravana made available to look after Sita.

Konda Kattu Gala refers to the many intruding tunnels and caves in this area. This seems to be a part of a great ingenious network of paths, which is interconnected to all the major areas of King Ravana’s city. Sita devi took bath in this very stream and had dried her hair sitting on a rock and put clips to her hair, hence this rock is known as Konda Kattu Gala. This is situated in the Welimada Area.

Tunnel Network

This tunnel network proves beyond doubt the architectural brilliance of King Ravana. These tunnels served as a quick means of transport through the hills and also as a secret passage and networked all the important cities, airports and dairy farms. A close look at these tunnels indicates that they are man-made and not natural formations. The Buddhist shrine at Kalutara was once where King Ravana’s palace and a tunnel existed. Additional existing tunnel mouths are situated at Welimada, Ravana cave at Bandarawela, Senapitiya at Halagala, Ramboda, Labookelle, Wariyapola/Matale, and Sitakotuwa/Hasalaka, along with many more tunnels. Some have also said that Ravana had a tunnel that went all the way to South America, in which he had stored much of his gold and treasury.

Preparing for Battle

Gayathri Peedum is believed to be the place from where King Ravana’s son Meghanath propitiated Lord Shiva with penance and pujas, and in turn was granted super natural powers by Lord Shiva prior to the battle. Neelawari is located in the North of the country in the Jaffna peninsula and is where Lord Rama shot an arrow to the ground to obtain water for his army upon arriving at Lanka.

Dondra, Seenigama & Hikkaduwa are places in the South of Lanka where Sugriva (king of Vanaras, the special species of monkeys) prepared for his onslaught on King Ravana’s forces from the Southern flank.

War Breaks Out

During the height of the battle Indrajit, elder son of Ravana beheaded a lookalike of Sita Devi in front of Hanuman to break his spirit. This place is known as Sitawaka in the Avissawella area.

Yudhaganawa, meaning battlefield in Sinhala, is a place in Wasgamuwa where the major battles took place.

Upon being hit by Indrajit’s Brahmastra, both Rama, Lakshmana and the monkey army lay unconscious on the battle field. To cure them, Jambavan the veteran monkey instructed Hanuman to go to Sanjeevani Parvatha, the hill of herbs between Rishhaba and Kilasa peaks in the Himalayas and bring the necessary medicinal herbs. As he could not identify which herbs to select, Hanuman uprooted the entire peak with all the herbs growing there from the mountain and returned to Lanka.

Parts of the hill fell on five places in Sri Lanka; namely Rumassala in Galle, Dolukanda in Hiripitiya, Ritigala close to Habarana on the Habarana Anuradhapura road, Talladi in Mannar, and Katchchathivu in the north.

Lord Karthikaya Subramaniyam was requested to go to battle by Lord Indra to protect Lord Rama from king Ravana’s Brahmastra. This was at Kataragama, which is now a very popular place for worship among Sri Lankans.

The Fall of Ravana

Dunuvila lake is a place from which Lord Rama fired the Brahmastra arrow at king Ravana who was directing the war from Laggala. It is here that King Ravana was killed by Lord Rama’s brahmastharam. The top of Laggala is flat and is believed to have been affected by the power of the brahmastharam. “Dhunu” means “arrow” and “Vila” means “Lake,” so it gets its name from this pastime.

The name Laggala is derived from the Sinhala term “Elakke Gala“, which means Target Rock. Laggala served as a sentry point to observe Lord Rama’s army. The cartels behind the Dunuvila lake are called Laggala. It was from this rock the first glimpse of Lord Rama’s army was sighted and informed to King Ravana. This hill is geographically the highest part of the northern region of King Ravana’s city and on a clear day the north east side that is Thiru Koneshwaran and north west side that is Talai Mannar can be seen even today. King Ravana is believed to have done meditation on this rock and prayed to Lord Shiva at Thiru Koneshwaran from this point.

After Ravana’s death, his body was kept at Yahangala, meaning “Bed Rock” in Sinhala. This is situated along the Mahiyanganaya – Wasgamuwa road. King Ravana’s body was kept upon this rock so his countrymen could pay their last respects to their dear departed king. Geographically this rock is visible from miles away on its 3 sides.

After the War

Sita met Rama after the war, and Divurumpola is the place she under went the “Agni” test of fire where she proved her innocence and purity to Rama. Divurumpola means the “Place of Oath” in Sinhala. She came out unscathed and proved her innocence and purity.

The message of Rama’s victory over Ravana was sent to Sita. After a bath and adorned with jewels she was taken on a palanquin before Rama. Meeting her husband after such a long time she was overcome with emotion, but Rama seemed lost in thought. At length he spoke, “I have killed my enemy. I have done my duty as a true king. But you have lived for a year in the enemy’s abode. It is not proper I take you back now.”

Sita was shocked. “You have broken my heart” she said, “only the uncultured speak like this. Have you forgotten the noble family I come from? Is it my fault Ravana carried me off by force? All the time, my mind, my heart, and soul were fixed on you alone, my lord!”

She turned to Lakshmana and said with tears streaming from her eyes, “prepare for me a fire. That is the only remedy for this sorrow of mine.” Lakshmana, in suppressed anger, looked at Rama’s face, but there was no softening, he lighted a big fire. Sita reverently went round her husband and approached the blazing fire. Joining her palms in salutation, she said, “if I am pure, O fire, protect me.” With these words she jumped into the flames. Then arose from out of the flames, Agni the fire-god, whom she had invoked. He lifted Sita from the flames unharmed, and presented her to Rama. “Don’t I know that she is spotless and pure at heart?” cried Rama, standing up to receive her. “It’s for the sake of the world that I made her go through this ordeal of fire, so that the truth may be known to all.”

The spot was initially fenced and walled to protect it from the surrounding wilderness. Then a sapling of the Anuradhapura bodhi tree (one of the 30 original saplings) was planted as a mark of respect for the place. A small pagoda was built subsequently under the Bodhi tree. The temple depicts paintings of the Ramayana epic.

Today the temple is revered for the oath taken by Sita devi and even the legal system permits and accepts the swearing done at this temple while settling disputes between parties.

Vantharamulai is a place that Lord Rama, Sita Devi, Lakshmana, and Hanuman rested after the turmoil of the war. Amaranthakali is believed to be the place where they had the first meal after the war.

When returning to India in one of King Ravana’s vimanas, Rama felt he was followed by a Brahmahasti Dhosham, a malevolent black shadow or dark cloud capable of taking His life, as He had killed Ravana, a Brahmin. When the vimana was passing overMunneswaram, He felt the vimana vibrating, and at Muneswaram realized the “Brahmaasthi Dosham” was not following him at this particular point. So Rama felt safe from the “Brahmahasti Dhosham” at Munneswaram. So Lord Rama stopped the vimana at this juncture and asked Lord Shiva for a remedy. This is the place where Lord Rama prayed to Lord Shiva and where Shiva blessed Lord Rama and advised installing and praying to four lingams to get rid of the Dhosham. The first Lingam was installed at Manavari about 5 Km from here, near the banks of Deduru Oya. This was followed by the lingams at Thiru Koheneshwaram, Thiru Ketheshwaram, and Rameshwaram in India.

It is believed that Munneswaram predates the Ramayana and a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was located here. Munneswaram means the first temple for Shiva (Munnu + Easwaran). A Shiva Lingam was already here when lord Rama visited the place.

After King Ravana’s death, Ravana’s brother Vibhishana was coroneted as a king of Lanka by Lakshmana at Kelaniya. Kelaniya is the closest site to Colombo connected to the Ramayana.

There exists a Buddhist temple, the Kelaniya Buddhist Temple and shrine for King Vibishana. There are murals enshrined outside the Buddhist temple depicting the crowning of Vibishana. Vibishana is considered one of the four guardian deities of Sri Lanka, and temples for Vibishana are found throughout Sri Lanka. A painting of King Vibishana also adorns the new Parliament of Sri Lanka. In fact, there are no temples dedicated for Ravana, but many exist for Vibishana; this goes to prove that his stand towards Vedic Dharma & justice made people to revere him as a god in Sri Lanka.

The Kelani River is mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana and Vibishana’s palace was said to be on the banks of this river. The reason Lakshmana crowned Vibishana was because Lord Rama had to return to India to continue his self-exile of 14 years to honor the commitment to His father, King Dasarath of Ayodhya. King Vibishana was considered a fair king, as he supported Rama against his own brother’s injustice. Many devotees that visit King Vibishana’s shrine pray to him asking his intervention to a fair recourse to their problems.

Other Places of Interests Connected to the Ramayana in Sri Lanka

1. Kanniya – The place where King Ravana carried out the last rites for his mother.

2. Gavagala or Ghoushala – King Ravana’s dairy farm.

3. Airports of King Ravana:

Thotupolakanda (means “Mountain Port” in Sinhala) at Horton plains

Weragantota (means “Place of Aircraft” landing in Sinhala) in Mahiyangana

Ussangoda (means “Area of Lift” in Sinhala) in the Southern coast

Wariapola (means “Aircraft Port” in Sinhala) in Matale and Kurunagala.

4. Neelawari — A place where Lord Rama aimed an arrow to obtain water.

5. Panchamukha Anjanaya Temple, Kalubowila – This is the first Anjaneyar Temple in Sri Lanka and also the only Panchamukha (five faced) Anjaneyar Temple in Sri Lanka. It is the only temple in the world to have a chariot for Ajanyar. The chariot festival is held annually at end of December to the beginning of January. Hanuman’s mother is Anjan. Hanuman is known as Anjan + Aiyar = Anjaneyar in South India (Hamuman in North India).

6. Rama Temple at Rattota — One of the few Rama’s temple in Sri Lanka.

7. Maha Ravanagoda / Kuda Ravanagoda — Ravana’s places in the south.

8. Veedurupola – Buddhist temple dedicated to research on Ramayana.

9. Sri Baktha Hanuman Temple — on the hills of Ramboda is a place where Hanuman was searching for Sita Devi. The name is also associated with Rama’s army. Rampadai means Rama’s force in Tamil. The Chinmaya mission of Sri Lanka built a temple with Hanuman as the presiding deity. On every full moon day special pujas are conducted and witnessed by thousands of devotees.

10. Manavari Temple is the first lingam installed and prayed to Lord Rama and till date this lingam is called as Ramalinga Shivan. Rameshwaram is the only other lingam in the world named after Lord Rama.

11. Rama Temple – Rattota. There are a few Rama temples in Sri Lanka, this is one of them. This is the only Rama temple in this area. This is a privately managed temple. This is one of the most scenic routes to travel from Matale to visit Laggala (on the northern side of Knuckles).

12. Kataragama Temple – This is the temple of Lord Karthikeya Subramaniam at Kataragama. Lord Karthikeya was requested to go to the battlefield by Lord Indra on the last day of war. This was done to protect Lord Rama from the wrath of the Brahmastra aimed by King Ravana which otherwise would have weakened Lord Rama. The benefit was that the most powerful brahmasthra weapon aimed at Lord Rama for the second time was rendered useless by the presence of Lord Karthikeya.

13. Ussangoda – According to the Ramayana, after meeting Sita devi, Hanuman dedicated to test the strength of the mighty King Ravana and his army of Rakshasas. In the events that unfolded, Hanuman’s tail was set on fire by the Rakshasas, who in turn went on to torch some parts of King Ravana’s empire. Ussangoda is one of the torched areas, which is said to have been an airport used by King Ravana.

14. Vishnu Devala, Dondra – These are the places from where King Sugriva of the Vanara’s started his onslaught on King Ravana’s force.

15. Ravana Goda – This is a place where Sita devi stayed during her transit. This area is also linked with tunnels and caves, which runs through to other parts of King Ravana’s kingdom. This is situated in the Kotmala area opposite to Ramboda rock. The main cave entrance was closed by an earth-slip in 1947. Locals believe this part of the complex was used as a prison by Ravana. The cave complex has not been fully explored.

16. Ravana’s mummy – An additional site connected to local belief, but yet to be discovered is the place where locals believe Ravana’s mummified body is hidden within the mountain range of Harasbatha, Ragala and Walapane.

References

• http://www.sltda.gov.lk/ramayana
• http://www.tourslanka.com/ramayana-sri-lanka/tours/ramayana-site-tours-excursions.php

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