tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68646534631774136782024-03-18T22:23:42.472+05:30Ancient InquiriesIn this blog, I explore the vast knowledge of the ancients which have been encoded into myriad myths, legends, symbols, art, and architecture across the world. This exploration helps us to understand the interactions between ancient cultures, the significance of the ancient beliefs, customs, and traditions, and the immense wisdom of our ancestors about the cosmos, the cycles of time that govern human civilization, and the human soul. Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-78526018392239142042024-03-18T19:13:00.002+05:302024-03-18T19:17:04.976+05:30The Yuga Cycle and the 25,800-year Precession Cycle of the Earth<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Vc0rAeCGwffMYDip1NdD31rdLOJI89UZxaL9DYBG2zqEfRTzUna9GOPh8Ud0Mk5rviMvGixKmBa55H8FWtA3iwK0E_HlGEiNkI9_aiL5J5KrVHv_zl1A0p7deGzaPDrmTpAE9bWAOZ8lXTrIeOs6n1WnG25txkJS5Yg1p7hOWPZE7rbRuLhczsakIOk/s700/Yuga%20Cycle%2025800%20years2%20small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="700" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Vc0rAeCGwffMYDip1NdD31rdLOJI89UZxaL9DYBG2zqEfRTzUna9GOPh8Ud0Mk5rviMvGixKmBa55H8FWtA3iwK0E_HlGEiNkI9_aiL5J5KrVHv_zl1A0p7deGzaPDrmTpAE9bWAOZ8lXTrIeOs6n1WnG25txkJS5Yg1p7hOWPZE7rbRuLhczsakIOk/s320/Yuga%20Cycle%2025800%20years2%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Most ancient cultures believed that human civilization and consciousness moves in grand cycles, slowly declining from Golden Ages of illumination and harmony to Dark Ages of ignorance and strife. In India, this cycle was called the Yuga Cycle. Other cultures knew it by different names. The Greeks referred to it as the Cycle of the Ages of Man, the Supreme Year, or the Great Year. The Persians called it the World Cycle. The Hopi refer to the four previous ages as the Four Worlds, while the Aztecs knew them as the Four Suns. The Egyptians were also aware of the Yuga Cycle, as did many other cultures; for this understanding was encoded into the ancient tales and sacred wisdom that had been orally transmitted for generations.<span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><p>In the years leading up to 2012, when there was considerable global consternation over the approaching end of the Mayan Calendar, I had become interested in the Yuga Cycle doctrine of ancient India, and decided to take a closer look at the available data and philosophical speculations in order to determine the possible ending of the Kali Yuga or Iron Age – which is the current age of greed and lies, discord and violence, that we are living in. When I dove into the details, however, I realized that a number of errors and omissions had crept into the ancient texts in course of our long passage through the darkness of the Kali Yuga, as a result of which, the original formulation of the Yuga Cycle was completely lost.</p><p>The guiding principle that I decided to adopt in order work out the original Yuga Cycle formulation was that, there could not have been different Yuga Cycles for different cultures. There was only one Yuga Cycle for the entire world that governed the periodic rise and fall of consciousness, and in order to stitch together the original framework, it was of utmost importance to delineate the common threads that run through the different traditions. I was also keenly aware that I needed to keep tabs on the latest archaeological, anthropological and historical findings, for any Yuga Cycle framework needs to be backed up by as much scientific data as possible. </p><p>In July 2012, I had published an article titled, <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2012/07/end-of-kali-yuga-in-2025-unraveling.html" target="_blank">"The End of the Kali Yuga in 2025: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Yuga Cycle"</a>[1] in which I had put forward, what, in my opinion, was the original Yuga Cycle timeline, which indicated that the Kali Yuga was due to end in 2025. I had discussed the rationale for the proposed timeline in the article, and I have treated the matter with a lot more rigor in the book. Without going into the nitty-gritties, let me present some of the essential building blocks of this framework. </p><p>1. The complete Yuga Cycle is of 24,000-years duration, and is comprised of an ascending cycle of 12000 years, when human consciousness gradually increases, followed by a descending cycle of 12000 years when consciousness gradually diminishes. </p><p>2. Each 12,000-year half-cycle is comprised of four Yugas of equal duration of 3000-years each. The actual duration of a Yuga is 2700 years, and it is followed by a transitional period of 300 years before the qualities of the subsequent Yuga is manifested. The Yuga Cycle was tracked using the “Saptarshi Calendar” or “Calendar of the Seven Sages” of ancient India, which has a 2700-year cycle called a “Saptarshi Yuga”.</p><p>3. It can be determined from the extant historical records that, one of the starting points of the Saptarshi Calendar was in 6676 BCE, which denotes the beginning of the Dwapara Yuga (Bronze Age) in the descending cycle. Using this date as an anchor point, the entire Yuga Cycle timeline gets unraveled, as shown below. For those who are not familiar with the Sanskrit terms: Satya Yuga is Golden Age, Treta Yuga is Silver Age, Dwapara Yuga is Bronze Age and Kali Yuga is Iron Age.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvlCZ_t4L3zjkYp5zEfJU1slMXC2ufJNZnyZDW2Glc_2cCnRjWKgtEpv_1K-z1ZXzIL_YWPFswpycz5YUHuWsVaR2YHwD5Mu1EsT4n6lc1f0PyIa_2C6BlgOpWwBu6TAJmfTrua9wkCeVSRyfGsR5ltOcN7ry5KBOaHrVpl4XEZ0fwhG21rTsUvI-zC4/s1400/25%20Yuga%20Cycle%20timeline%2024000%20years3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Yuga Cycle 24,000 years" border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1400" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvlCZ_t4L3zjkYp5zEfJU1slMXC2ufJNZnyZDW2Glc_2cCnRjWKgtEpv_1K-z1ZXzIL_YWPFswpycz5YUHuWsVaR2YHwD5Mu1EsT4n6lc1f0PyIa_2C6BlgOpWwBu6TAJmfTrua9wkCeVSRyfGsR5ltOcN7ry5KBOaHrVpl4XEZ0fwhG21rTsUvI-zC4/w640-h533/25%20Yuga%20Cycle%20timeline%2024000%20years3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1: The 24000-year Yuga Cycle based on the Saptarshi Calendar. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra</td></tr></tbody></table>The Yuga Cycle framework reveals that the descending cycle of consciousness began in 9676 BCE, around the same time that the last Ice Age came to a rather abrupt end. The ancient authors indicate that this was the time when the Golden-age kingdom of Atlantis sank into the ocean, and the Supreme Creator of the Zoroastrians, Ahura Mazda, had re-created the world and initiated the current World Cycle of 12,000 years. <p></p><p>Over the past 5700-odd years, we have been living in two back-to-back Kali Yugas - the descending Kali Yuga followed by the ascending Kali Yuga. These two Yugas of ignorance and discord span most of recorded history, starting with the Bronze Age civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.</p><p>We are now approaching the end of ascending Kali Yuga in the year 2025. The term “ascending” tends to convey the wrong impression that we may be in a “higher Yuga” and our civilization is on an upward trajectory of virtue and progress. Far from it. In the ascending Kali Yuga only the material circumstances of life begin to improve, along with an increase in our lifespan and physical stature, but the degradation of human consciousness and the proliferation of vices continues unabated throughout the entire duration of the Kali Yuga. This is why, at the fag end of the Kali Yuga, we have an out-of-balance society which is characterized by a massive “matter-spirit gap” that is highly destabilizing and is responsible for much of the misery and injustices we see around us. The need of the hour is to reduce our attachment to material acquisitions and focus our energies on the other dimensions of our life, particularly on cultivating mental and spiritual awareness, in order to restore the much-needed balance, harmony and sanity in our lives.</p><p>The Yuga Cycle timeline indicates that we are living in the times of momentous changes, which will begin to unfold as we get closer to 2025 and enter the period of transition. Not only are we about to emerge from the dense, materialistic vibrations of the Kali Yuga, but we are also at the cusp of the entire descending cycle of consciousness that began in 9676 BCE. The events of the past few years have revealed that human consciousness has now plunged into utter depravity, and, all means, however despicable, are now considered legitimate for the acquisition of money and influence and for the exploitation and enslavement of the masses. The specter of hatred, war and unrestrained violence is spreading across the world, while the frequency and ferocity of extreme weather phenomenon such as floods, landslides and wildfires have dramatically increased over the past few years. All of these are precursors of the planetary-scale changes that lie ahead of us.</p><p>Every time we go though the periods of transition between the Yugas, there is a cataclysmic obliteration of the existing civilizations (“pralaya”, in Sanskrit), which is followed by the re-emergence of a new wave of civilizations with different artistic, technological and cultural traits. The purging events purify our consciousness and restore all of nature to its original pristine state to support another round of civilization. In my article, I had presented a gamut of archaeological and geological evidence which show that, every 3000-odd years, a new wave of civilizations emerge all over the world, built on the ashes of the previous civilizations, which are wiped away by a slew of cataclysmic events occurring over a period of roughly 300 years.</p><p>It happened in c.9600 BCE, soon after the cataclysmic end of the last Ice Age, with the establishment of the settlements at Gobekli Tepe. We can be quite certain that similar settlements were springing up elsewhere at the same time, the evidence of which we are yet to uncover. In c.6500 BCE, new settlements emerged in Anatolia and Southeastern Europe with distinct cultural traits, but we don’t have much of an idea about what was going on in other parts of the world at that time. This was preceded by a bout of global flooding, triggered primarily by the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in North America. Then in c.3600 BCE, the “Bronze Age” civilizations arose almost simultaneously in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Malta and other places, while the pre-Bronze Age cultures were wiped out without a trace. Finally at around c.700 BCE, the Iron Age cultures emerged almost simultaneously in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Persia, India, Mesoamerica etc., built on the ashes of the Bronze Age civilizations which had collapsed in a heap over the previous 400-odd years.</p><p>The trend is distinct and unmistakable. The Yuga Cycle is not an article of faith but an important scientific doctrine which captures the cyclical nature of human civilization. Not only does it give us a clear perspective of what had happened in the past, it also tells us where our own decadent civilization of the Kali Yuga is headed. In my book YUGA SHIFT, I have taken a closer look at the events of the last four Yuga-transitional periods, which reveals that comet and meteor impacts inevitably play a crucial role in the periodic destruction and renewal of civilizations.</p><p>However, one of the questions that had puzzled me for a long time ever since I wrote the article on the Yuga Cycle was the reason for the discrepancy between the complete Yuga Cycle of 24,000 years and the earth’s precession cycle of 25,800 years.</p><p>The phenomenon of the “precession of the equinoxes” was known to, and tracked by, many ancient cultures. Briefly, what this means is that, the position of the vernal equinox sun relative to the fixed stars of the zodiac changes very slowly at the rate of 1° every 71.6 years, completing an entire cycle of 360° around the zodiac in about 25,800 years. </p><p>In the present epoch, the vernal equinox sun is very close to the beginning of the Pisces constellation, near its boundary with the Aquarius constellation. This can be determined by drawing a line from the earth to the sun and extending it to the ring of fixed stars beyond.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0KB_bBQXIp66pzdnIngcZrMh7f1db9iU59QJNrbrWLWn4lKQZgC6QT-RGVEyHvJr8jjv86Wnr8AmpyLI90ipmAhmdxQJyGdiVT9cOVNAJhG2qrxFa0l8qwxoEl8cctpEyjvwAy-DiEbK800hjbslcFxlUcXI3hZiWOYpW7y80pQsW-1HIoCdt4k5w9w/s1400/36%20Zodiac%20Constellations%20Yuga%20Cycle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Precession of the Equinoxes" border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1400" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0KB_bBQXIp66pzdnIngcZrMh7f1db9iU59QJNrbrWLWn4lKQZgC6QT-RGVEyHvJr8jjv86Wnr8AmpyLI90ipmAhmdxQJyGdiVT9cOVNAJhG2qrxFa0l8qwxoEl8cctpEyjvwAy-DiEbK800hjbslcFxlUcXI3hZiWOYpW7y80pQsW-1HIoCdt4k5w9w/w640-h485/36%20Zodiac%20Constellations%20Yuga%20Cycle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 2: The zodiac constellations encircle the solar system like a
giant ring. On the vernal equinox date, the Sun appears in front of the
Pisces constellation. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Very soon – perhaps, in a few decades - the vernal equinox sun will appear in front of the Aquarius constellation. In this manner, the vernal equinox point slowly shifts its position relative to the fixed stars of the zodiac at the rate of 1° every 71.67 years, spending roughly 2150 years in each constellation called an Astrological Age. So, we are now in the Age of Pisces, and about to transition to the Age of Aquarius very soon. Since the boundaries between the constellations are not precisely defined by a specific star or asterism, the exact date of transition from one Astrological Age to another is kind of hazy and subject to individual interpretation.</p><p>The slow change in the position of the equinoctial sun against the backdrop of the fixed stars of the zodiac is called the “precession of the equinoxes” or simply precession, while the cycle duration of 25,800 years is called a precession cycle. Human civilizations lives through twelve Astrological Ages in course of the 25,800-year precession cycle. </p><p>Now, here’s the mystery that had baffled me for a long time: What is the reason for the mismatch in values between the 24,000-year Yuga Cycle and the 25,800-year precession cycle? The duration of the Great Year specified by Cicero i.e. 25,920 years, is so close to the scientifically measured value of the precession cycle that it leaves little doubt that the two cycles must be identical.</p><p>Moreover, the Yuga Cycle doctrine of the Jains - which I had discussed in the original article on the Yuga Cycle - strongly hints at this possibility. If we recollect, as per the Jains, the Yuga Cycle consists of an ascending half called Utsarpini, which is comprised of six smaller periods, and a descending half called Avasarpini, which is comprised of six periods as well. Thus, the complete Yuga Cycle consists of twelve smaller periods. What could these twelve periods be, if not the twelve Astrological Ages? If the complete Yuga Cycle is comprised of twelve Astrological Ages, then it gives us a very good reason to suspect that the Yuga Cycle and the precession cycle are one and the same.</p><p>But, how do we account for the apparent mismatch in values?</p><p>I found an answer to this conundrum when I came across a key piece of information about the Yugas mentioned in the ancient Greek texts, that I had overlooked earlier. As per the doctrine of the Ages of Man in Greek tradition, the earth is subjected to two extended periods of purging in course of the Great Year. One is called Kataklysmos (meaning, “Deluge”) or the “great winter” of the Great Year, when the earth is inundated by water. The other is called Ekpyrosis (meaning “Conflagration”) or the “great summer” of the Great Year, when the world is destroyed by fire. In the 3rd century CE, the Roman philosopher Censorinus wrote:</p><p></p><blockquote>“There is a period called “the supreme year” by Aristotle, at the end of which the sun, moon and all the planets return to their original position. This “supreme year” has a great winter, called by the Greeks Kataklysmos which means deluge, and a great summer, called by the Greeks Ekpyrosis or combustion of the world. The world, actually, seems to be inundated and burned alternately in each of the epochs.”[2]</blockquote><p></p><p>Now, there was a fair degree of unanimity in the ancient times that the Flood had occurred at the end of the Golden Age or Satya Yuga. This means that the period of transition that the Greeks called Kataklysmos must have followed the Golden Age or Satya Yuga. </p><p>It is extremely intriguing that the period of Kataklysmos was also called the “great winter” of the Great Year, for it just so happens that the earth went through a long period of freezing temperatures called the Younger Dryas period, which extended for nearly 1200 years from 10,900 BCE - 9700 BCE. During this time, global temperatures had plummeted by nearly 10 - 15°C to near-glacial conditions and the glaciers had advanced to their Ice Age positions.</p><p>Could the entire 1200-year Younger Dryas period, therefore, be the extended period of transition that the Greeks called Kataklysmos or “great winter”?</p><p>In 2007, a team of international scientists led by Richard B. Firestone found compelling evidence that that the earth was bombarded by multiple fragments of a giant disintegrating comet nearly 12,900 years ago, (c.10,900 BCE) which destabilized the Laurentide Ice Sheet and triggered the Younger Dryas cooling. The shock waves and biomass burning generated by this catastrophic impact even led to the extinction of 35 genera of North American Pleistocene megafauna, and ended the prehistoric Clovis culture.[3]</p><p>A dense, carbon-rich, black layer, called the “black mat” was deposited over the bones of the extinct megafauna and the Clovis artifacts at more than 50 sites across North America. The black mat contains evidence of biomass burning and impact proxies such as elevated levels of Iridium, and its thickness spans the entire Younger Dryas cooling period from c.10, 900 – 9,700 BCE. This suggests that impact events must have continued to occur throughout the entire Younger Dryas period! Surprisingly, hardly anyone seems to be talking about this possibility. Is this scenario too mind-bogglingly catastrophic even for our consideration?</p><p>Not many would be aware, though, that a little-known Sanskrit text called <i>Adbhuta-sagara</i> provides astonishing details of a sequence of 26 comets that struck the earth, one after the other, throughout the Younger Dryas period. The second comet in the sequence is said to have caused the Deluge, the tell-tale signs of which are still preserved in the black mat! In my book, YUGA SHIFT, I have discussed in detail about the Younger Dryas comet swarm and the evidence of the Flood.</p><p>Obviously, the kind of environmental calamities that had swept over the world during the Younger Dryas period could not have happened while the Golden Age was still in progress. Conditions of life in the Golden Age were supposed to have been utopian; temperatures were pleasant, nature was teeming with life, and natural disasters or diseases were unknown. The Younger Dryas period could have started only after the Golden Age had ended.</p><p>The Yuga Cycle timeline that I had proposed earlier had a 300-year period of transition after the Golden Age. But that may not be correct, and it is quite likely that the Golden Age had ended by 10,876 BCE, and was followed by a 1200-year period of Kataklysmos or “great winter”, that extended from 10,876 BCE - 9676 BCE, coinciding with the Younger Dryas period.</p><p>This means, the end of Kali Yuga in 2025 will be also followed by an extended period of cataclysmic activity called Ekpyrosis (meaning “Conflagration”) or the “great summer” of the Great Year, for nearly 1200 years, since the upcoming transition is diametrically opposite to the Younger Dryas period. In other words, post 2025, it will be the Younger Dryas period all over again; except that, this time the cleansing will be by fire and not by ice and water.</p><p>There are direct references to the upcoming period of Ekpyrosis in many end-time prophecies. For instance, the <i>Kalachakra Tantra</i> prophecy tells us that, after the divine Savior Rudra Chakrin will destroy the evil forces in an apocalyptic battle, he will bestow “the “perfect age” for at least “a thousand years”, during which time, “the whole world will turn into Shambhala with no sickness or poverty, and no need to work to earn a living.”[4] This dovetails with <i>The Revelation</i>, according to which, after his Second Coming, Christ will reign for a “thousand years” along with the resurrected holy men.[5] Both these prophecies appear to be telling us about the 1200-year period of transition called Ekpyrosis which will follow the Kali Yuga, before the ascending Yuga Cycle begins.</p><p>Although the 1200-year period of Ekpyrosis will be a time of significant earth changes and periodic comet impacts, which will purify and renew our world, it will also be an amazing time to live for the survivors of the impending cataclysms, for a new, divine energy will course through our planet, activating our dormant chakra centers and subtle mental abilities, and, as a result, the people of that period are likely to experience powerful feelings of bliss and connectedness that are inconceivable today. Their awareness will be expanded, revealing to them new possibilities and ways of living that promote peace, justice and harmony. They will establish the foundations of a new civilization which will eventually grow into the enlightened civilizations of the ascending Yuga Cycle, culminating in the next Golden Age.</p><p>In the Yuga Cycle framework that I had proposed earlier, all the transitional periods were of equal length of 300 years. However, since the extended periods of transition called Kataklysmos and Ekpyrosis extend for a whopping 1200 years each, the duration of the complete Yuga Cycle is extended by (900 + 900) i.e. 1800 years. Thus, the duration of the complete Yuga Cycle becomes equal to (24,000 + 1800) = 25,800 years, which is exactly the same as the scientifically measured value of the precession cycle!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlNyWnnuigxWFhmpzXxp0qum73w352aeHqy2lK2pRuH-lU4BUWvvEwhNk5_rSC7e9kQaQMpRG6mDir5ynRAPww29w1WMrC4FVroUTUoL9Drbl7y92mSObxFqiQyoa_Djcc6abVLBCJtASIa4lS7KF_5VtIsiFVXiZwjNGwPtum__-fbl5L8E3_0Yit2I/s1400/39%20Yuga%20Cycle%2025800%20years2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="1400" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlNyWnnuigxWFhmpzXxp0qum73w352aeHqy2lK2pRuH-lU4BUWvvEwhNk5_rSC7e9kQaQMpRG6mDir5ynRAPww29w1WMrC4FVroUTUoL9Drbl7y92mSObxFqiQyoa_Djcc6abVLBCJtASIa4lS7KF_5VtIsiFVXiZwjNGwPtum__-fbl5L8E3_0Yit2I/w640-h518/39%20Yuga%20Cycle%2025800%20years2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3: The 25,800-year Yuga Cycle, including the 1200-year periods of Kataklysmos and Ekpyrosis. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is quite amazing to realize that, once the periods of Kataklysmos and Ekpyrosis are included in the Yuga Cycle framework, the complete Yuga Cycle and the earth’s precession cycle become perfectly aligned! For a long time, the discrepancy in values between the two had baffled me, and it was a great relief to be able to finally put my finger on the solution.</p><p>Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, critical bit and pieces of the Yuga Cycle doctrine had been scattered all over the world, lying concealed with the sacred texts and oral traditions of disparate cultures, for many generations. It is only when we diligently pick up all the pieces and scrutinize them, keeping one eye always on the scientific data so that we don’t veer off track, does it become possible to put together this puzzle for the ages.</p><p>Evidently, the Yuga Cycle and the earth’s precession cycle are one and the same, and extend for 25,800 years. On 21st of March 2025, the Kali Yuga and the entire descending cycle of consciousness will come to an end; and we will enter a long period of transition of nearly 1200 years, during which time our planet will be dramatically altered beyond recognition, and outlines of a new civilization will be manifested, which will be permeated by compassion, peace, harmony and truth, the environment will be restored to its original pristine state, and the interdimensional gateways may open up revealing to us a reality that we have long forgotten.</p><p>In my book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/YUGA-SHIFT-IMPENDING-PLANETARY-TRANSFORMATION-ebook/dp/B0CPLTHDTN/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=EaC4J&content-id=amzn1.sym.c3314f77-20fc-4bcf-a8e9-f0c47346c9da%3Aamzn1.symc.50e00d6c-ec8b-42ef-bb15-298531ab4497&pf_rd_p=c3314f77-20fc-4bcf-a8e9-f0c47346c9da&pf_rd_r=J8FE9VDPVVNHHSDSGYW5&pd_rd_wg=yBP3h&pd_rd_r=30c7c632-e0a7-4fc6-b3cc-b105140afcc5&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m" target="_blank">YUGA SHIFT</a>, I have discussed what causes the cyclical fluctuation of consciousness in course of the Yuga Cycle, the cosmic triggers for the cataclysms during the periods of Yuga transition, and the real meaning of the various prophecies that describe the return of a Savior or Avatar at the end of this age. If you are one of those who can already sense that a momentous shift is underway, and are trying to figure out how exactly this transformation may play out in the coming years, then you will probably find the answers to some your questions in the book. <br /><br /><b><u>References</u></b></p><p>[1] Bibhu Dev Misra, "The end of the Kali Yuga in 2025: Unraveling the mysteries of the Yuga Cycle", Ancient Inquiries, July 15, 2012, <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2012/07/end-of-kali-yuga-in-2025-unraveling.html" target="_blank">https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2012/07/end-of-kali-yuga-in-2025-unraveling.html</a><br />[2] Censorinus, De Die Natali, xviii.<br />[3] R. B. Firestone et al, “Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Oct 2007, Vol.104, No.41, pp. 16016-16021, https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0706977104<br />[4] Victoria Dmitrieva, The Legend of Shambhala in Eastern and Western Interpretations, Mc Gill University, November 1997, p. 11.<br />[5] Revelation 20.4-6</p><p> </p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-81490515224766734772024-03-03T23:24:00.003+05:302024-03-03T23:26:33.895+05:30Earth Ancients Podcast: YUGA SHIFT & the Impending Planetary Transformation <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaveBAbiUKXBjF8uahsI4pYOT5SLyjfcIywJ1p5Yfz8ISq2iv1Ve7tnSA9S57hvhSDZObinl4Zzd75paprslMozShKhVmiUzaDOk25wcDWVgWXzo0avC8B1sq2Zh7Y8MQjuQvP0kztlDeIZZDjvw0WyQFgPGO7aZdsz90KjutGqFZ75YlIJZWSh5_AVLM/s1200/misra_GROUP%20small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="1200" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaveBAbiUKXBjF8uahsI4pYOT5SLyjfcIywJ1p5Yfz8ISq2iv1Ve7tnSA9S57hvhSDZObinl4Zzd75paprslMozShKhVmiUzaDOk25wcDWVgWXzo0avC8B1sq2Zh7Y8MQjuQvP0kztlDeIZZDjvw0WyQFgPGO7aZdsz90KjutGqFZ75YlIJZWSh5_AVLM/s320/misra_GROUP%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My discussion with Cliff Dunning on the Earth Ancients Podcast, on my new book "YUGA SHIFT: The End of the Kali Yuga & the Impending Planetary Transformation".</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We touch upon a lot of interesting points, including the framework of the Yuga Cycle, the very similar ideas about the cyclical framework of ancient history shared by many ancient cultures, the gods, sages and extraterrestrial interventions in human civilization, the transformational changes we can expect going forward and how we can navigate the chaotic and turbulent times over the next couple of decades.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Click here to listen: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/episode/bibhu-dev-misra-yuga-shift-the-impending-planetary-transformation--58893040" target="_blank">https://www.spreaker.com/episode/bibhu-dev-misra-yuga-shift-the-impending-planetary-transformation--58893040</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-57097333810701317502024-02-22T14:13:00.005+05:302024-02-22T17:40:32.615+05:30Crrow777 Radio Interview: YUGA SHIFT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUodRVC8twvVunC_fhZ4fbzBCvZ-c5A4G_5BRK5xO-Rd_LoQNdiDxrLBmI29NSGk9C-0i9hA3xvnf-tu471DUPAc6n6IeGXsJhPUZgz11sscB0FiXdJtLtYI6xZTH_9xHqRteC-DSN92PEIh7DkPvbMfRN8O-XlToPw_PClqrs5O8O6SDDuwpRndfBZ0/s3000/Crrow777radio%20interview%20561-EpisodeImage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWUodRVC8twvVunC_fhZ4fbzBCvZ-c5A4G_5BRK5xO-Rd_LoQNdiDxrLBmI29NSGk9C-0i9hA3xvnf-tu471DUPAc6n6IeGXsJhPUZgz11sscB0FiXdJtLtYI6xZTH_9xHqRteC-DSN92PEIh7DkPvbMfRN8O-XlToPw_PClqrs5O8O6SDDuwpRndfBZ0/s320/Crrow777radio%20interview%20561-EpisodeImage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I discuss my new book, YUGA SHIFT, with Crow and Jason on Crrow777 Radio. The first hour of the discussion is free to listen, while the second hour is only for subscribers. <br /><br />Click here: <a href="https://www.crrow777radio.com/561-does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is-yuga-shift-free/" target="_blank">https://www.crrow777radio.com/561-does-anyone-really-know-what-time-it-is-yuga-shift-free/<br /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-32841334197721158392023-12-15T15:05:00.008+05:302024-02-21T18:40:23.402+05:30Announcing The Release Of My Book "YUGA SHIFT"<p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKQmZDUkwlapXaSoWT-bu9XxXiHzy4xvEpUqzFvXUW9K3LFrpd-QA3pFbk1pBVrPic-cIvWPnMGiBCS5rHTmM0p-SQxJNRDWkS7n_ui4szivg1-FecR522YMxjreafAkgWLIUucXzbt6Y3tTqSpBwH0k3tEa-n1JbL2l6IC0KkmJs09TWHavDjLr-a-4/s400/Yuga%20shift%20edit.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="400" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKQmZDUkwlapXaSoWT-bu9XxXiHzy4xvEpUqzFvXUW9K3LFrpd-QA3pFbk1pBVrPic-cIvWPnMGiBCS5rHTmM0p-SQxJNRDWkS7n_ui4szivg1-FecR522YMxjreafAkgWLIUucXzbt6Y3tTqSpBwH0k3tEa-n1JbL2l6IC0KkmJs09TWHavDjLr-a-4/s320/Yuga%20shift%20edit.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am pleased to announce that my book "Yuga Shift: The End of the Kali Yuga & The Impending Planetary Transformation" has been released on December 15, 2023. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">As some of you are aware, more than a decade ago, in the year 2012, I had written an article on the Yuga Cycle and the impending end of the Kali Yuga in 2025. Since then, I have done a great deal of additional research on this very important topic that concerns all of us, and come across many pieces of evidence from diverse disciplines that corroborates my initial study and sheds much-needed light on many aspects of this grand cycle of time that regulates human civilization and human consciousness. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com for <i>International readers</i> and on Amazon.in, Flipkart, and the online book store of White Falcon Publishers (at a 10% discount) for <i>Indian readers</i>. The links are provided below:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>International</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Amazon.com</b></i>: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/YUGA-SHIFT-IMPENDING-PLANETARY-TRANSFORMATION/dp/B0CPJVYQG4/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1702617983&sr=8-1" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/YUGA-SHIFT-IMPENDING-PLANETARY-TRANSFORMATION/dp/B0CPJVYQG4/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1702617983&sr=8-1<br /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Google e-book</i>: </b>Go to https://books.google.com/ and search for YUGA SHIFT,<b> </b>to get the link for your country.<b> <br /></b></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>India</b></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Amazon.in</b></i>: <a href="https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CPJVYQG4?ref=myi_title_dp" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CPJVYQG4?ref=myi_title_dp<br /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Flipkart</b></i>: <a href="https://www.flipkart.com/product/p/itme?pid=9798892220965" target="_blank">https://www.flipkart.com/product/p/itme?pid=9798892220965<br /></a></span></p><p><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">White Falcon Publishing store (</span><span style="font-size: medium;">Paperback, 10% discount)</span></i></b><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>:</b> <br /><a href="https://store.whitefalconpublishing.com/collections/latest-books/products/yuga-shift-the-end-of-the-kali-yuga-the-impending-planetary-transformation" target="_blank">https://store.whitefalconpublishing.com/collections/latest-books/products/yuga-shift-the-end-of-the-kali-yuga-the-impending-planetary-transformation</a></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><i>Google e-book (discounted price Rs. 209)</i></b>: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://books.google.co.in/books?id=-XfzEAAAQBAJ&lpg=PR14&ots=9Kc8O3qibq&dq=yuga%20shift%20google%20books&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=yuga%20shift%20google%20books&f=false" target="_blank">https://books.google.co.in/books?id=-XfzEAAAQBAJ&lpg=PR14&ots=9Kc8O3qibq&dq=yuga%20shift%20google%20books&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=yuga%20shift%20google%20books&f=false<br /></a></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am sharing a brief description of the book, and a few testimonials. In the coming months, I shall write a series of articles for sharing some of the important ideas, evidence and insights in the book. <i> <br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i></i></span></p><h2 style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Book Description<br /></span></h2><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Almost every ancient culture believed that human civilization and consciousness has progressively declined since an erstwhile Golden Age or Satya Yuga till the current age of greed and lies, discord and strife, called the Iron Age or Kali Yuga. Unfortunately, during our long passage through the darkness of the Kali Yuga, the original formulation of the Yuga Cycle was lost.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In this extensively researched book, Bibhu Dev Misra has delineated the common threads that run through the Yuga Cycle doctrines of multiple ancient cultures, taking the aid of scientific discoveries from various disciplines. His reconstruction of the original Yuga Cycle framework indicates that <i>the end of the Kali Yuga is just around the corner - in 2025!</i></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Within a span of just 15 years, by the year 2040, the Kali Yuga civilization is likely to collapse due to a combination of global wars, environmental catastrophes and comet impacts. <i>We are living in the end-times that the ancient prophecies had warned us about.</i> The survivors of the impending cataclysms will inherit a renewed earth, bathed in the divine light of the Central Sun.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is compelling evidence from many sources that the Yuga Cycle is a valid scientific doctrine, and is perfectly aligned with the earth’s precession cycle. It explains the periodic collapse and re-emergence of civilizations across the world every 3000-odd years, and the progressive decline in our physical size and cranial volume over the past 11,700 years of the descending Yuga Cycle. </span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">But why does our size and consciousness fluctuate in a sinusoidal manner over the course of the Yuga Cycle? What are the triggers for the cataclysmic obliteration of civilization during the periods of transition between the Yuga? What is the significance of the end-time prophecies which tell of a Savior or Avatar returning at the end of the Kali Yuga? How can we navigate through the upheavals and chaos of the Yuga-ending period? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These are some of the key questions addressed in this book. This riveting and thought-provoking work contains one of the most important messages of our time. </span></p><h2 style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Testimonials </span></h2><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Yuga Shift is a triumph in its scope and overall message...The world now sits at the precipice of a major transformation. This book is the key to understanding these changes in an entirely new, yet grounded and centered way, that emerges from Misra's meticulous research and spiritually infused voice."<br /><br />- Brian Francis Culkin, author, The Ayahuasca Dialogues and Studies in Symbolic Astrology<br /><br />"Impeccably weaving together mythology, history and sacred texts from across the world, Bibhu Dev Misra makes a compelling case that we are nearing the end of the Kali Yuga, and beginning to emerge once again towards an Age of Light...through the doorway of awakening, perhaps as early as 2025."<br /><br />- Kiara Windrider, author, Gaia Luminous, Homo Luminous, and the Issa trilogy<br /><br />"Yuga Shift is both enlightening and riveting. Harnessing a wealth of historical data, Misra meticulously charts the Yuga Cycles, unraveling ancient timelines with remarkable precision. A monumental contribution that couldn't have arrived at a more urgent time."</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">- Benjamin Grundy, host of the Mysterious Universe podcast series. </span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I hope that the readers will find the book interesting and informative. Over the years, many readers have asked me though-provoking questions about many aspects of the Yuga Cycle, which, in some cases, led to long-drawn-out email discussions. I had many lingering doubts and queries of my own, and I am glad to say that I have been able to tie up the loose ends and present a comprehensive picture of the original Yuga Cycle formulation along with its implications for the modern-day civilization. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">After trudging through the dense, materialistic vibrations of the Kali Yuga over the past 5700-odd years, humanity has, once again, reached the crossroads of the Yugas. A long period of dramatic transformation lies ahead of us, which
will test all of us to the very core.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> I hope the book will provide much-needed clarity to the readers as to what exactly is going on, where our decadent civilization of the Kali Yuga is headed and how we can deal with the significant changes that are on the way.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Namaste, and happy reading! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-85893669438288162532023-11-10T12:36:00.009+05:302024-02-21T19:47:26.837+05:30Indra Killed Vritra in 9703 BCE: The Comet Impact that ended the Ice Age<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_1035TWPGM-gSPAP1sYi_CVmi_3tCiga2QxuN-y0ojn7Qhq1y72IYOozoFPhHzMckp0_4-aamL41YwjTQfBAUh6NvunSYYS_JWkD3U1v-KThdqxzot0NWzAN-1_AkiA3tFAYzfoVtDGMhM0m816DYrWZK7xCG6IXi32pDPb-Do-ZONUC-5TH0YtNU74/s1400/Header%20Image%20Adobe%20Stock%20Comet%20and%20asteroid%20impact.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1400" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_1035TWPGM-gSPAP1sYi_CVmi_3tCiga2QxuN-y0ojn7Qhq1y72IYOozoFPhHzMckp0_4-aamL41YwjTQfBAUh6NvunSYYS_JWkD3U1v-KThdqxzot0NWzAN-1_AkiA3tFAYzfoVtDGMhM0m816DYrWZK7xCG6IXi32pDPb-Do-ZONUC-5TH0YtNU74/s320/Header%20Image%20Adobe%20Stock%20Comet%20and%20asteroid%20impact.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The last Ice Age, which began nearly 125,000 years ago, had reached its maximum extent during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) around 20,000 years ago. At this time, large parts of the Northern Hemisphere were covered in kilometers thick ice caps, and the sea level was nearly 400 feet lower than it is today.[1] Large tracts of the continental shelves which are now submerged under water, used to be sea-front, real estate – perhaps supporting many thriving, maritime, Ice Age civilizations. Not only were the existing islands much larger back then, but many new islands were exposed in the seas, which were connected to each other and to the mainland by land bridges, forming vast antediluvian landmasses. <span><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Around 19,000 years ago, as the weather began to warm up, the ice-sheets started to melt and retreat, resulting in a gradual rise in sea level. The Barbados coral reef borings reveal that, a massive pulse of freshwater – called “Meltwater Pulse 1A” or MWP-1A – was released into the oceans from the melting ice caps between 14,690 - 13,730 years ago, which raised sea level by nearly 24 meters.[2] This took place during a sudden warm phase known as the Bølling–Allerød interstadial, which extended from about 14,400 to 13,000 years ago.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was around this time that the Ice Age finally appeared to be ending and the climate started warming up all over the world. The glaciers were in retreat and plant and animal life started to proliferate. All was warm, good and looking up. But then, something drastic happened which completely reversed the process of post-glacial warming. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Around 12,900 years ago (10,900 BCE), temperatures suddenly plummeted to glacial-like conditions for a period of nearly 1200 years. It was as if some giant freezer switch had been flipped. The glaciers began to advance to their Ice Age positions. This period of sudden cooling is called the Younger Dryas (YD) period, since it was first recognized in fossil pollens of the <i>Dryas octopetala</i> wildflower, which became common in parts of Europe some 12,800 years ago. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For a long time scientists were unsure as to what had caused this abrupt reversal to Ice Age conditions. In 2007, a team of international scientists led by Richard B. Firestone found compelling evidence that that the earth was bombarded by multiple fragments of a giant disintegrating comet nearly 12,900 years ago, (c.10,900 BCE) which destabilized the Laurentide Ice Sheet and triggered the Younger Dryas cooling. The shock waves and biomass burning generated by this catastrophic impact even led to the extinction of 35 genera of North American Pleistocene megafauna, and ended the prehistoric Clovis culture – the first human inhabitants of the New World.[3] <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Younger Dryas period, which extended for roughly 1200 years from c.10, 900 to 9,700 BCE, ended as abruptly as it had started, for reasons not clearly understood. Geologists from the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, studied the Greenland ice-core data in 2008 and concluded that the Ice Age ended exactly in 9,703 BCE. Ice Core researcher Jorgen Peder Steffensen wrote that, “Then, finally 11,703 years before 2000 AD, the climate flipped back into a warmer mode where it has remained ever since.”[4] <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In an interview with the Danish paper Politiken, Steffensen said that the transition from the ice age to our current warm, interglacial period was so sudden that “it is as if a button was pressed.” In a span of a single year, temperatures increased by 10 – 15°C in many parts of the world.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spite of the fact that the end of the last Ice Age has been narrowed down to a specific year i.e. 9,703 BCE, scientists don’t know what caused this sudden reversal in temperatures. However, the legends and sacred texts left behind by our ancestors provide some tantalizing clues. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B53KAZGZHbc9jjuvkM2nw5ZCQXf5x0GiKRzdN7QgKxdczP9Bseij4EDV3JkOZkD6k54tLnVJRpf4PCLXN5siQNIJJx92-EadvREpHRkkvboPinmqfUmqkTcKoiufTSG9wlYlNYaTPH39D2LathM86ZnmCirELaY1433MbqEbnnM-M6S5kihQBjYuYRU/s1180/Temperature%20changes%20during%20late%20Pleistocene%20and%20early%20Holocene,%20Younger%20Dryas,%20based%20on%20Greenland%20ice%20core%20data,%20Wikimedia%20Commons,%20United%20States%20Geological%20Survey,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1089" data-original-width="1180" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B53KAZGZHbc9jjuvkM2nw5ZCQXf5x0GiKRzdN7QgKxdczP9Bseij4EDV3JkOZkD6k54tLnVJRpf4PCLXN5siQNIJJx92-EadvREpHRkkvboPinmqfUmqkTcKoiufTSG9wlYlNYaTPH39D2LathM86ZnmCirELaY1433MbqEbnnM-M6S5kihQBjYuYRU/w400-h369/Temperature%20changes%20during%20late%20Pleistocene%20and%20early%20Holocene,%20Younger%20Dryas,%20based%20on%20Greenland%20ice%20core%20data,%20Wikimedia%20Commons,%20United%20States%20Geological%20Survey,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 1:
Temperature changes during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene
period, with the Younger Dryas period clearly marked out. Temperature
graph based on Greenland ice core data. Credit: United States Geological
Survey, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rigvedic legend of Indra killing the dragon Vritra, which has been repeated in many hymns of the Rig Veda, appears to be describing a blistering volley of impacts from a comet swarm as being the causative agent for end of the Ice Age. The echoes of the same story can be found in the Mesopotamian legend of Marduk slaying the water dragon Tiamat, the Cherokee folktale of the God of Thunder killing the monstrous water serpent Uktena, and the Greek legend of Zeus killing the serpent-headed monster called Typhon.</span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indra Kills Vritra</span></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rig Veda are the earliest scriptural texts of humanity composed in Vedic Sanskrit. The text contains more hymns dedicated to the thunder-wielding King of the Gods, Indra, than to any other deity. The foremost achievement of Indra, for which he had been extolled in many hymns, was the smiting of the dragon Vritra (“the enveloper”), and releasing the waters of the Seven Rivers that had been “imprisoned” by Vritra. It was because of this feat that Indra was given the epithet Vrtraghna (“the slayer of Vritra”). The hymns describing Indra’s battle with Vritra are not only found in the Early Books (6, 3, 7) of the Rig Veda but also in the Middle Books (4, 2) and the Late Books (5, 1, 8, 9, 10).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first Rigvedic book, Mandala VI (Book 6), provides a detailed description of Indra’s battle with Vritra, which was repeated without much variation in the later books. </span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before his epic battle with Vritra, Indra consumed the Soma juice which gave him “power and rapture” (RV 6.40.2). Then, “leagued with Visnu”, he “slewest Vrtra the dragon who enclosed the waters” (RV 6.20.2). The weapon used by Indra for crushing the dragon was his irresistible thunder, “the bolt with thousand spikes and hundred edges”, which was made for him by Tvastar (RV 6.17.10). When Indra smote the dragon, he “settest free the rushing wave of waters, the floods’ great swell encompassed and obstructed” (RV 6.17.12). The released waters cascaded down the mountain slopes along channels that were carved out by Indra, and rushed towards the ocean. “Along steep slopes their course thou turnedst, Indra, directed downward, speeding to the ocean” (RV 6. 17.12).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the essential theme of the legend that repeats in different hymns of the Rig Veda. It is obvious that the hymns describe an event of monumental importance that occurred in the Himalayas in the distant past, for there are unambiguous references to the “Seven Rivers”, which are the seven tributaries of the Indus River that are collectively called Sapta-Sindhu. For instance, </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“He, men, is Indra, Who slew the Dragon, freed the Seven Rivers, and drove the kine forth from the cave of Vala” (RV 2.12.2-3). <br />“Indra with mighty strength cleft asunder the head of Arbuda the watery monster, Slain Ahi (another name of Vrtra, meaning “serpent”), and set free the Seven Rivers” (RV 10.67.12).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It has been noted by scientists and researchers that the smiting of Vritra and the release of the imprisoned waters of the Seven Rivers could allude to the great meltdown of Himalayan glaciers at the end of the last Ice Age. One of the earliest observations along these lines came from geologist B. P. Radhakrishna, who wrote in the book, <i>Vedic Sarasvati: Evolutionary History of a Lost River of Northwestern India</i> (1999) that,</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Geological record indicates that during Late Pleistocene glaciation, the waters of the Himalaya were frozen and that in place of rivers there were only glaciers, masses of solid ice. As and when the climate became warmer, the glaciers began to break up and the frozen water held by them surged forth in great floods, inundating the alluvial plains in front of the mountains. This was a great event and no wonder, the early inhabitants of the plains burst into song praising Lord Indra for breaking up the glaciers and releasing water which flowed out in seven mighty channels (Sapta Sindhu). The analogy of a slowly moving serpent (Ahi) for describing the Himalayan glacier is most appropriate.”[5]</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKnkfNNlqdlwALEH-_vgA98IaQY8snFnyD6Xkh2M0b6l0S7xXHZtIgt1Yrqs36HheV1H_0Z20q4J2UNqxXtQFcUKbC3JoX7wxaQ3TLxRpc0mc1Ep3k_6RPrbEpEu2rdYDiAaUYUVdgPHB1USSRWCwkMG19o4G2MmmHQuYMpg_rnxxtCfbmO3j2Coo9dw/s1280/The%20Khumbu%20Glacier%20lies%20at%20an%20elevation%20of%2017,999%20ft%20on%20the%20slopes%20of%20Mount%20Everest%20and%20moves%20an%20estimated%203%20to%204%20ft%20every%20day,%20Uwe%20Gille,%20CC%20BY%20SA%203.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1280" height="421" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguKnkfNNlqdlwALEH-_vgA98IaQY8snFnyD6Xkh2M0b6l0S7xXHZtIgt1Yrqs36HheV1H_0Z20q4J2UNqxXtQFcUKbC3JoX7wxaQ3TLxRpc0mc1Ep3k_6RPrbEpEu2rdYDiAaUYUVdgPHB1USSRWCwkMG19o4G2MmmHQuYMpg_rnxxtCfbmO3j2Coo9dw/w640-h421/The%20Khumbu%20Glacier%20lies%20at%20an%20elevation%20of%2017,999%20ft%20on%20the%20slopes%20of%20Mount%20Everest%20and%20moves%20an%20estimated%203%20to%204%20ft%20every%20day,%20Uwe%20Gille,%20CC%20BY%20SA%203.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 2: The
Khumbu Glacier lies at an elevation of 17,999 feet on the slopes of
Mount Everest and moves an estimated 3 to 4 feet every day. Credit: Uwe
Gille, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Radhakrishna’s observation that the serpentine Himalayan glaciers were described in the Vedic hymns as the Vritra dragon is most illuminating. However, his suggestion that the melting of the Himalayan glaciers had resulted in a sudden release of the frozen waters, which flowed out in seven mighty channels, is not entirely convincing. This is because, the melting of glaciers occurs slowly due to the thermal inertia of large ice sheets. The Meltwater Pulse 1B, which had caused an episode of rapid sea level rise between 9500 BCE – 9200 BCE, had begun nearly 200 years after the Ice Age had ended. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, the Vritra legend describes a sudden, dramatic release of the “imprisoned” waters of the Seven Rivers, after Indra smote the dragon. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A slightly different scenario was proposed by Graham Hancock in the book, <i>Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization</i> (2002). Hancock suggested that the release of the imprisoned waters probably describes a particularly devastating episode of “glacial lake outburst flooding” (GLOF), which occur when massive glacial lakes break through their ice or moraine dams. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Outburst floods occur routinely in the Himalayas even now. Sometimes landslides or surging glaciers block-off river valleys creating large glacial lakes. A subsequent cloudburst or landslide can cause the moraine dam to be breached, resulting in catastrophic outburst floods that cause significant downstream damages, obliterating villages, army camps, power plants, roads and arable land.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A similar situation may have prevailed towards the end of the last Ice Age, albeit on a much larger scale.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With the onset of the Younger Dryas, the glaciers had started advancing again, and attained the same gigantic size as they had during the Last Glacial Maximum. It is likely that the re-advance of the Himalayan glaciers between 10,900 – 9,700 BCE blocked off most of the important river valleys, cut off the flow of water along the river channels, and created massive, upstream glacial lakes. The Vedic bards may have described this event as the dragon Vritra “imprisoning” the waters of the Seven Rivers.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the Ice Age came to a sudden end in 9,703 BCE, the ice-dams which had blocked the flow of the rivers were suddenly and catastrophically breached, and the waters of the massive glacial lakes burst out in huge torrents, cascading down the steep mountain slopes, and glided all the way to the ocean. This event was probably described in the Rigvedic hymns as Indra slaying the dragon Vritra and releasing the waters of the Seven Rivers.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI9qdmPyNLZ5wIwDnvnX5BtGpIb8bZzyM5P5rCce_vWDX32UG9PeUSunAOQgeSMUyP8PkJWQtcoEfiG0XA5zlWIz_wcbx4QBFac0jPR6l4mPUF5bdc7DCGU3_8WdE-SL1QxfjPWly4vqs9fWI82rL82lAauvMd325seufN-lZn_eqdMjAqeb6YiUxUZE/s622/Glacial%20lake%20outburst%20flood%20credit%20Richardson%20and%20Reynolds,%20BBC1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="622" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI9qdmPyNLZ5wIwDnvnX5BtGpIb8bZzyM5P5rCce_vWDX32UG9PeUSunAOQgeSMUyP8PkJWQtcoEfiG0XA5zlWIz_wcbx4QBFac0jPR6l4mPUF5bdc7DCGU3_8WdE-SL1QxfjPWly4vqs9fWI82rL82lAauvMd325seufN-lZn_eqdMjAqeb6YiUxUZE/w400-h226/Glacial%20lake%20outburst%20flood%20credit%20Richardson%20and%20Reynolds,%20BBC1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 3: Glacial
Lake Outburst Floods are caused when the moraine dam is breached due to
cloudbursts, landslides, earthquakes and meteor impacts. Credit:
Richardson and Reynolds, BBC.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Graham Hancock had further opined that, “the sages who composed at least some of the verses of the Vedas could have been in the Himalayas 12,000 years ago to witness the end of the Younger Dryas cold advance and to commemorate it as Indra’s victory over Vrtra.”[6] <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While this seems to be the most logical explanation for these Rigvedic hymns, such ideas are generally ignored by mainstream historians, who seem to assign no particular geological, archaeological or environmental importance to these sacred hymns left behind by our ancestors. Which, of course, doesn’t make any sense, since sacred texts which have been memorized and transmitted orally for many millennia are expected contain important clues to the significant events of past.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sudden ending of the Younger Dryas period resulted in a slew of catastrophic events transpiring all over the world, and not just in the Himalayas. The Vedic legend of Indra slaying Vritra has its almost exact counterpart in the story of Marduk slaying the water dragon Tiamat, as described in the <i>Enuma Elish</i>, the Babylonian creation epic. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marduk was the god of war and thunder and stood at the head of the Babylonian pantheon. The name Marduk was pronounced as "Marutuk",[7] which sounds uncannily similar to "Marutvat", an epithet of Indra, which means “the leader of the Maruts” (the Maruts are a group of sky-gods who accompany Indra). While Indra rode a chariot drawn by two horses or was seated on an elephant called Airavata, Marduk went to battle on his storm-chariot drawn by four horses, or rode a horned dragon called Mushussu. Marduk’s thunderbolt and the “vajra” in the hands of Indra look exactly similar; both resemble double tridents.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tiamat, was the goddess of the salt sea, symbolizing the forces of chaos. In some sources she is described as an enormous sea serpent or sea dragon. Tiamat spawned a brood of monsters – fanged serpents, scorpion men and others – and appointed her son Kingu as her general in her battle against the gods. But Marduk made a “net of seven winds” to entrap her, released a mighty wind that burst her belly and slayed her with his lightning bolts.[8] He then sliced Tiamat’s body in half. Her eyes became the source of the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, and mountains emerged from her breasts. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7m1m5PMg31A_QQ-RnL_AW0UjLVcgTCNcu7_ONof0ct8WVhmzfr7agSLw2Y6_lZcekezEPn5Yt0rdkANIApVTdmffv7KwJxXEYwBeyOlA1VquPbAxRgWvv84Q5F6baX8NOf07dxe5iMzis3pn1IYQP7K3dSeB4zkwDQUBDYAC5_d2EVc3xT-8tnjTq_zA/s1042/Tiamat%20Marduk%20Neo%20Assyrian%20cylinder%20seal%20impression%20from%20the%20eighth%20century%20BCE%20identified%20by%20several%20sources%20as%20a%20possible%20depiction%20of%20the%20slaying%20of%20Tiamat%20from%20the%20Enuma%20Elish,%20Ben%20Pirard%20at%20nl%20dot%20wikipedia%20CC%20BY%20SA%203.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="1042" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7m1m5PMg31A_QQ-RnL_AW0UjLVcgTCNcu7_ONof0ct8WVhmzfr7agSLw2Y6_lZcekezEPn5Yt0rdkANIApVTdmffv7KwJxXEYwBeyOlA1VquPbAxRgWvv84Q5F6baX8NOf07dxe5iMzis3pn1IYQP7K3dSeB4zkwDQUBDYAC5_d2EVc3xT-8tnjTq_zA/w640-h370/Tiamat%20Marduk%20Neo%20Assyrian%20cylinder%20seal%20impression%20from%20the%20eighth%20century%20BCE%20identified%20by%20several%20sources%20as%20a%20possible%20depiction%20of%20the%20slaying%20of%20Tiamat%20from%20the%20Enuma%20Elish,%20Ben%20Pirard%20at%20nl%20dot%20wikipedia%20CC%20BY%20SA%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 4: This
Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal impression from the 8th century BCE could be a
depiction of the slaying of Tiamat by Marduk. Credit: Ben Pirard CC
BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">There are a number of obvious parallels between this story and the Rigvedic legend of Indra killing Vritra. While Indra’s killing of Vritra had released the waters of the Seven Rivers, Marduk’s slaying of Tiamat released the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Marduk had trapped Tiamat with a “net of seven winds”, and the net was the weapon used by Indra to snare his enemies. The Atharva Veda states, “Vast indeed is the tactical net of great Indra…By that net, O Indra, pounce upon all the enemies so that none of the enemies may escape the arrest and punishment.”[9]<br /><br />In Native American folklore, a similar tale has been recounted. In Cherokee legends, Uktena or Great Serpent was a monstrous water serpent having horns and a magic crystal on his head. As per the legends,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Anyone who approached Uktena would be dazed by the light of the crystal in his head and would run towards the serpent rather than away from it. In one myth, Uktena was slain in a battle with the Tlanuwa, the Great Hawk…In another legend, Uktena fought with the God of Thunder, wrapping himself around Thunder’s head so tightly that the god cried out for help. A hunter called out that he was coming to Thunder’s rescue, but before he could arrive, Thunder killed Uktena with a mortal blow.”[10]</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The slaying of the monstrous water serpent Uktena by the God of Thunder has obvious parallels with the killing of Vritra by Indra or of Tiamat by Marduk. The Cherokee legend does not specifically mention the waters of the rivers being released upon the death of Uktena, but in light of the other symbolic connections it is apparent that the same legend has been recorded here.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Greek story of Zeus killing the monster Typhon is along similar lines. In <i>Theogony</i>, Hesiod writes that, from Typhon’s shoulders grew, “a hundred heads of a snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvelous heads flashed fire…”[11] Zeus struck Typhon with his thunderbolt, burnt the serpent heads of the monster, and hurled down his wrecked body on the earth. Such was the force of the impact, that the earth groaned, and “a great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible vapor and melted as tin melts.” </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The melting of the earth’s crust due to the impact is suggestive of meteor and comet impacts. When a comet or an asteroid hits the earth, it vaporizes the material from the rock that they hit, which, then, condenses into microscopic droplets of metal called impact spherules. Is this legend alluding to a comet impact at the end of the last Ice Age? Quite possibly.</span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Horse Comet ended the Ice Age?</span></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rigvedic hymns inform us that Indra had hurled “the bolt with thousand spikes and hundred edges” to shatter the body of Vritra and release the imprisoned waters. This seems to imply that a shower of large, sharp projectiles – most likely stony meteors or cometary debris - had impacted the Himalayan ice-caps and triggered the collapse of the ice dams, and the subsequent meltdown. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rigvedic hymns spare no effort to remind us of the tremendous force with which Indra’s bolt struck the body of Vritra, shattered them into countless pieces, which were then washed away by the gushing torrents of water. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Indra with his own great and deadly thunder smote into pieces Vrtra.” (RV 1.32.5) “Emasculate yet claiming manly vigour, thus Vrtra lay with scattered limbs dissevered.” (RV 1.32.7) “The Dragon lies beneath the feet of torrents which Vrtra with his greatness had encompassed.” (RV 1.32.8) “Rolled in the midst of never-ceasing currents flowing without a rest for ever onward. The waters bear off Vrtra's nameless body.” (RV 1.32. 10)</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though the Rigvedic hymns generally describe Indra as a powerful god riding a chariot pulled by a pair of horses, one of the hymns praising his feat of slaying Vritra describes him as a “horse’s tail”: </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“A horse's tail wast thou when he (Vritra), O Indra, smote on thy bolt; thou, God without a second” (RV 1.32.12). </span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This conjures up the imagery of a comet, since the curvy, white dust tail of a comet bears a resemblance to the tail or mane of a horse. The Roman philosopher Pliny had mentioned a class of comets called “hippeus” or “horse comets”[12], having plumes much like horses’ mane in rapid motion. Hephaistion of Thebes tells us that the hippeus comet foretold the quick fall of kings and tyrants.[13] <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9bW7asKiFEDwOl-WSEbXn4xPZwSVnMoKcyChruePJ1KkxJXWwMKjdXxwdPcWXx2Pdhm1eRsfjYTkFBf6kLrqu_0vgyDnN43FBMlSEoAylOmCjxUQmwjv0985ugXCygWMOmzuWX5-mIUWPgm_Z9kAeonnO5fa_1ppJ91-j-M8N8FZKnqR-M4XSE9odkI/s1400/Comet%20McNaught%20over%20the%20Pacific%20ocean%20as%20viewed%20from%20the%20ESO%20Paranal%20Observatory,%202007,%20ESO%20slash%20Sebastian%20Deiries,%20CC%20BY%204%20small.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="932" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp9bW7asKiFEDwOl-WSEbXn4xPZwSVnMoKcyChruePJ1KkxJXWwMKjdXxwdPcWXx2Pdhm1eRsfjYTkFBf6kLrqu_0vgyDnN43FBMlSEoAylOmCjxUQmwjv0985ugXCygWMOmzuWX5-mIUWPgm_Z9kAeonnO5fa_1ppJ91-j-M8N8FZKnqR-M4XSE9odkI/w640-h426/Comet%20McNaught%20over%20the%20Pacific%20ocean%20as%20viewed%20from%20the%20ESO%20Paranal%20Observatory,%202007,%20ESO%20slash%20Sebastian%20Deiries,%20CC%20BY%204%20small.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 5: Comet
McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, over the Pacific Ocean as viewed from
the ESO Paranal Observatory. The white dust tail of a comet can be
imagined as the tail or mane of a horse in motion. Credit: ESO/Sebastian
Deiries, CC BY 4 via Wikimedia Commons.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The earliest known depiction of a “horse comet” is found on the bronze coins issued by Mithridates VI of Pontus, which shows the unusually bright comet that appeared sometime around c.135 BCE, coinciding with the year of birth of Mithridates. The coins depicts a ten-pointed star with a long tail that resembles a horse’s mane.<br /><br />Could it be that the celestial appearance of Indra, towards the close of the last Ice Age, was in the form of a “horse comet”? Perhaps, this is why Indra used to be seen in the skies by the early poets, but in a hymn of a later period the composer wonders aloud, “Where the famous Indra is now located? Where he travels, among what people?” (RV VI.21.4)<br /></span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Maruts as a Comet Swarm</span></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The idea of Indra being a “horse comet” is aligned with the hypothesis of Prof. R.N. Iyengar of the Indian Institute of Science, who had argued with substantial evidence in the paper titled, “Comets and Meteoritic Showers in the Rig Veda and their Significance”[14] that the group of Rigvedic deities called Maruts, who were the followers of Indra (Indra is called Marutvat i.e. “Chief of the Maruts”), were actually “meteoritic storms”. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are 33 hymns dedicated to the Maruts in the <i>Rig Veda</i>. They are described as a group made up of 27 to 60 fierce sons of Rudra (Shiva). Most of the hymns describe them as brilliant celestial objects, who move in swarms, and appear like shining stars. Their roaring sound induces fear in the minds of men, and they hurl stones that disturb the oceans, shatter mountains and human dwellings, and kill animals. Once they created an impact crater filled with water. They also eat up the forests with their bright red flames. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prof. Iyengar believes that such hymns can only refer to a “swarm of meteors” that periodically enter into the earth’s atmosphere and cause widespread havoc. Let us review some of these descriptions from the Rig Veda, as documented by Prof. Iyengar:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Maruts are brilliant with terrible forms and kill people. Maruts sit as deities in heaven, above the luminous vault. They move the mountains and disturb the oceans (RV I.19.5, 6, 7). Maruts are described as widening with their light and storming the oceans with their power (RV I.19.8). To withstand the ferocious journey of the Maruts, man has strengthened his dwelling with columns. Even rugged hills get crushed (RV I.37.7). Maruts have mowed down men on earth and have made mountains fall. Wherever the group of Maruts goes, everyone is sure to hear their roaring sound (RV I.37.12, 13). At the roar of the Maruts, every house on the earth shook. The people also trembled (RV I.38.10). The Maruts are mighty, with wondrous power and marvelously bright, self-strong like mountains, who glide swiftly on their way. Like the wild elephants they eat the forests up when they assume their strength among the bright red flames (RV I.64.7). All creatures on earth along with their dwellings shake in fear that they might get hit by the weapons of Maruts. The tearing weapons of Maruts hit animals like well-aimed darts. Maruts are visible at a distance shining like stars (RV I.166). They come in thousands like waves on water (RV I.168.4). They came down to earth together, effortless, with burning looks and shook the mountains (RV I.168.5). Far be from us, your impetuous shaft. Far from us be the stone you hurl (RV I.172.2). Maruts dug a well for Gotama (RV V.52.12).</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While Prof. Iyengar’s inference that the Maruts may be a swarm of “stony meteorites” is very insightful, I would like to take the argument forward and propose that the Maruts were likely to have been a “swarm of comets”. This is because the Maruts were said to be a “fixed number of deities”, numbering between 27 and 60. If the Maruts were meteoroids (which are typically small grains of dust or fist-sized pebbles) they would have burnt up and dissipated on atmospheric entry or upon striking the earth’s surface. But a swarm of comets can come close to the earth, strike the surface with stony debris, and move away, thereby retaining the number of members in the swarm. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another point that argues in favor of the Maruts being comets is that, they were said to form clouds and bring rain. For instance,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Maruts are sure to bring airless showers to deserts (RV I.38.7). They loosen their rain-floods (RV I.38.8). When they inundate the earth they spread forth darkness in day time, with the water-laden rain-cloud (RV I.38.9). </span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The current scientific opinion is that comets seeded life on the early earth by bringing in water and complex organic molecules. Comets are believed to have a frozen nucleus containing the ices of many gases, the most copious amounts being that of frozen water vapor. Hence, comets striking the earth’s surface can create pools of water. However, I believe that it is not even necessary for comets to impact the earth, in order for us to receive water. Comets can create rainclouds, simply by passing through the earth’s atmosphere.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is because, comets release jets of water vapor and carbon-dioxide (along with small quantities of other organics), which blow dust grains into the coma. If a comet enters the earth’s atmosphere, the dust grains in the coma can act as “nucleating agents” around which the water vapor released by the comet can condense to form water drops. Therefore, if a swarm of comets were to glide through the earth’s atmosphere – something that has not happened in the historical era - we can expect the formation of rainclouds and heavy precipitation. <br /></span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Comet Swarm ended the last Ice Age</span></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Rigvedic legend of Indra slaying Vritra seems to be telling us of an exceptional time in our prehistory, when a swarm of comets called the Maruts, periodically entered the earth’s atmosphere, and struck the surface of the earth with large chunks of rocks causing the mountains and dwellings to shatter. They also brought copious rainfall, for which they were praised by the poets. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps, the comet swarm was caught up in the gravitational field of the earth for an extended period of time towards the end of the last Ice Age. Something similar had happened with comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1992, when it was captured by the gravitational field of Jupiter during a close approach, and then broke apart into at least 20 pieces. Over a period of six days in July 1994, these pieces, having diameters up to 2 km, slammed into Jupiter at 60 km/s. and created huge craters on its surface.[15] <br /><br />One of the comets in this swarm called Maruts, was a giant “horse comet”, which the Vedic sages referred to as Indra, the King of the Gods. This giant comet bombarded the Himalayan glaciers with large chunks of fiery projectiles that caused the ice barriers to shatter and release torrents of waters that had been locked up in the high-altitude glacial lakes. This blistering volley of impactors effectively ended the Ice Age and initiated the warm interglacial epoch that we live in today, called the Holocene. The whole of nature underwent a drastic transformation – almost as if winter had given way to spring – in 9703 BCE.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We now reach a rather incredible conclusion: Indra had killed Vritra in exactly 9,703 BCE! It is quite amazing to realize that, it is, in fact, possible to assign a specific date to this famous Rigvedic legend, which has its counterparts in the traditions of many other cultures. This just goes to show that many of the sacred hymns and oral legends transmitted by our ancestors encode vital information about the monumental events of the remote past; and, as such, they are of great importance to us for gaining a well-rounded understanding of what may have transpired on our planet in those ancient times.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A final question, however, still needs to be answered. If it was a comet swarm that ended the last Ice Age, then from where did this swarm of comets originate? </span></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Taurid Resonant Swarm</span></span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prof. R.N. Iyengar, whose insightful paper on comet showers in the Rig Veda I had referred to earlier, had associated the Maruts with the Taurid meteor stream. He provided specific evidence from the Vedic texts to support his argument. He wrote that, the Vedic text called <i>Taittiriya Brahmana</i> (which is a branch of the <i>Krishna Yajurveda</i>) “associates a season with Maruts, namely the hemanta rtu (i.e. autumn) the dewy season, which is the two month period ending with the winter solstice”. As we know, this is the time of the year when the earth passes through the Northern Taurid meteor stream.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He further pointed out that, another Vedic-era text called the <i>Taittiriya Aranyaka</i> (which is also a branch of the <i>Krishna Yajurveda</i>) mentions two different groups of related sky deities - rudra-gana and marut-gana. Prof. Iyengar wrote,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“The Taittiriya Aranyaka differentiates rudra-gana from marut-gana and mentions that the first appear in the grisma-rtu (summer), the two month season ending with the summer solstice before the rainy season starts. The latter appear in the hemanta-rtu, as in the Taittiriya Brahmana. The commentators mention that both are sky deities appearing in the respective seasons. Rudra- gana is described as being white robed and recurring with the summer season. The second group appears red with anger as though ready for battle in the dewy season. It is easily recognized that both should be meteor groups separated by six months.”</span></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the basis of this information, Prof. Iyengar concluded that the Taurid meteor stream was the source of the impactors since, as he wrote, “even now, the two branches of the Taurid meteor shower appear in May-June and November-December.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before we go further, let me add some relevant information about the Taurid meteor stream. We know that the earth experiences a number of meteor showers every year, in course of its annual orbit around the sun. The meteor showers occur when the earth passes though a meteor stream that intersects its orbits. The meteor streams are “rivers of debris” left behind by a comet with an Earth-crossing orbit, composed mainly of dust and pebbles. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Taurid meteor stream is the largest stream of cosmic debris in the inner solar system. The earth crosses the Taurid stream twice in course of its orbit around the sun, once in summer and once in late autumn.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cCE8h4CJp4Pe1V2mxe__aWDHCL9za1Lmc3flQmjHk1sPKhQnAqcxe-9iRhovxoL89eTCvcDGfaVkQol7PWxnpHjTBpWz-39fXKHvHZN5F5nLxOtF0fX32xIDlV7yHBexDt3S1tOeK37aZk3dPOy2gNqk7CF9IshS3nxz_11jMUUYbhKn07AedDimRqs/s1400/54%20Taurid%20Meteor%20Stream%20Yuga%20Cycle.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1400" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cCE8h4CJp4Pe1V2mxe__aWDHCL9za1Lmc3flQmjHk1sPKhQnAqcxe-9iRhovxoL89eTCvcDGfaVkQol7PWxnpHjTBpWz-39fXKHvHZN5F5nLxOtF0fX32xIDlV7yHBexDt3S1tOeK37aZk3dPOy2gNqk7CF9IshS3nxz_11jMUUYbhKn07AedDimRqs/w640-h458/54%20Taurid%20Meteor%20Stream%20Yuga%20Cycle.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure
6: The earth crosses the Taurid meteor stream twice a year, in course
of its orbit around the sun. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first crossing of the Taurids takes place from June 5 – July 18, with peak activity on June 29. This is a daytime shower called the Beta Taurids. The next crossing of the Taurids occurs from Sep 10 – Nov 20, when the earth crosses the Southern Taurids, followed by the Northern Taurids from Oct 20 – Dec 10. These are two cross sections of the same meteor stream. The Southern Taurids peak on October 10, while the Northern Taurids peak on November 12. It is during a one-week time frame extending from November 5 through November 12 when the Taurids are most active. Since these meteor showers occur in late October and early November they are also called “Halloween fireballs”.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Prof. Iyengar pointed out, in the Vedic astronomical texts, the sky deities called rudra-gana who appeared in the summer season were described as “white robed”. That’s because the Beta Taurids, which is active from June 5 – July 18, is a daytime shower, and the meteors, if at all they are visible, appear as white streaks of light. On the other hand, the Vedic texts describe the marut-gana, who appear in autumn, as being “red with anger”. This is because, the Northern Taurid meteors, which blaze through the skies between October 20 to December 10, have a yellow, orange or reddish hue.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While most meteor streams contain small particles, not larger than a grain of sand or a pebble, the Taurid meteor stream contains some large chunks of rocks. The Beta Taurids have been held responsible for generating Earth-impacting meteors in the recent past. Astronomers believe that the Beta Taurids, which have peak activity on June 29, probably caused the Tunguska event of June 30, 1908, when a large meteor exploded over Eastern Siberia with the force of a 1000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs, and flattened over 2000 square kilometers of forest.[16] The meteor is believed to have been about 120 feet across and weighed a 100 million kilograms. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier had postulated that the progenitor of the Taurid stream was a giant comet, around 50 - 100 km in diameter, which had entered the inner solar system at least 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. The comet was tossed into a short-term orbit around the Sun, and disintegrated in stages, leaving behind the trail of debris known as the Taurid Complex.[17] </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The research carried out by Clube, Napier, Asher and their colleagues indicate that the giant progenitor comet of the Taurids still remains hidden in the center of the Taurid stream, moving within a tightly packed swarm consisting of several minor comets formed by the fragmentation of the progenitor (all of which are probably in a dormant state), and dozens of full-size asteroids up to 1 km wide. This dense cluster of comets and asteroids within the Taurid meteor stream is called the “Taurid Resonant Swarm”. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The faint Comet Encke, which is the only visible comet within the Taurid meteor stream today, orbits the Sun once in 3.3 years, and could be a recently reactivated fragment of the Taurid progenitor comet. The Taurid Resonant Swarm is in an orbit similar to that of Comet Encke’s, moving round the sun in an Earth-crossing orbit every 3.3 years. Napier noted that at least 19 of the largest NEO’s (Near-Earth Objects) have orbits significantly close to that of Comet Encke, and are likely to be the remnants of the giant Taurid progenitor.[18]</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, the most likely location for the comet swarm called Maruts and the giant “horse comet” called Indra described in the Rig Veda, is within the Taurid Resonant Swarm, which contains many large fragments of the Taurid progenitor comet. It is eminently possible that the earth had a few head-on encounters with the Taurid Resonant Swarm in the decades prior to 9703 BCE, which resulted in a series of cometary bombardments that brought about the end of the last Ice Age. The memories of this epochal event were recorded by the Vedic sages in their sacred hymns that commemorated the victory of the thunder-god Indra over the dragon Vritra, who had imprisoned the waters of the Seven Rivers. <br /></span><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>References</b></span></p><p>[1] “Sea Level Rise”, Smithsonian, https://ocean.si.edu/through-time/ancient-seas/sea-level-rise<br />[2] Edouard Bard, Bruno Hamelin, Richard G. Fairbanks & Alan Zindler, “Calibration of the 14C timescale over the past 30,000 years using mass spectrometric U-Th ages from Barbados corals”, Nature, May 1990, 345, pp. 405-410.<br />[3] R. B. Firestone et al, “Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Oct 2007, Vol.104, No.41, pp. 16016-16021, https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0706977104<br />[4] Jørgen Peder Steffensen, "Determination of end of the Ice Age?" Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, https://nbi.ku.dk/english/sciencexplorer/earth_and_climate/golden_spike/determination_of_end_of_ice_age/<br />[5] B. P. Radhakrishna, S. S. Merh, Vedic Sarasvati: Evolutionary History of a Lost River of Northwestern India, Geological Society of India, 1999, p. 7.<br />[6] Graham Hancock, Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, op. cit., p. 196.<br />[7] “Marduk”, Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. by Lindsay Jones, vol. 8, 2nd ed., pp. 5702–5703.<br />[8] “Enuma Elish”, New World Encyclopedia, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Enuma_Elish<br />[9] Atharva Veda 8.8.6, taken from Atharva Veda: Authentic English Translation by Tulsi Ram, 2013.<br />[10] Native American Mythology A to Z, Infobase Publishing, 2010, p. 48.<br />[11] Hesdiod, Theogony 825-880, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:820-852<br />[12] Pliny, Natural History 2.22.<br />[13] M. R. Molnar, “New Numismatic Evidence about the Comets of Mithridates the Great of Pontus (134 and 119 BC)", Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, December 1997, Vol.29, p.1262.<br />[14] R.N. Iyengar, “Comets and Meteoritic Showers in the Rig Veda and their Significance”, Indian Journal of History of Science, 2010, Vol.45, No.1, pp. 1-32, https://www.academia.edu/7324390/COMETS_AND_METEORITIC_SHOWERS_IN_THE_R_GVEDA_AND_THEIR_SIGNIFICANCE<br />[15] “Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collision with Jupiter”, NASA, http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/comet.html. </p><p>[16] John Roach, “Meteor Shower Promises Seven Shooting Stars an Hour”, National Geographic News, 7 November 2003, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1107_031107_taurids.html<br />[17] D.I. Steel, D.J. Asher, S.V.M Clube, “The Taurid Complex: Giant Comet Origin?” International Astronomical Union Colloquium, 1991, Vol. 126, pp. 327-330, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0252921100067063 <br />[18] W. M. Napier, “Palaeolithic extinctions and the Taurid Complex”, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.405, No.3, July 2010, pp. 1901–1906, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16579.x <br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-13602282140419930262023-10-14T18:51:00.003+05:302023-11-10T12:37:16.335+05:30The Lament of Hermes: A Prophecy of Civilizational Decline and the End-Times<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWBXW5HHEF2VNvzZO1dwoL-XTXvKeIOvHrFIVUfec4Isv0-RjhFvDClqdCQrndc1_PTvnLeRvpJoqyTwR58rzvj-qOr-YhxE2h_wu_FIxm8ZsCkMeAXNs8EYy4fJupecM3DUjAQ9F9ro-LjjMPoj6tIgwhUdxfYq98q9gw9806fjbCO3fV8kOCLS69eU/s1800/the-end-of-the-world-wallpaper.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="1800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghWBXW5HHEF2VNvzZO1dwoL-XTXvKeIOvHrFIVUfec4Isv0-RjhFvDClqdCQrndc1_PTvnLeRvpJoqyTwR58rzvj-qOr-YhxE2h_wu_FIxm8ZsCkMeAXNs8EYy4fJupecM3DUjAQ9F9ro-LjjMPoj6tIgwhUdxfYq98q9gw9806fjbCO3fV8kOCLS69eU/s320/the-end-of-the-world-wallpaper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Note: I have written this article for Mysterious Universe (MU). </i> <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"The Lament of Hermes" is a Hermetic text written sometime between the 1st - 3rd centuries CE, and is attributed to the deity Hermes / Thoth. The text contains prophetic statements about the future decline of the Egyptian civilization, which came true with surprising accuracy. In fact, the prophecy seems to be a visionary commentary on the destruction of native cultures around the world over the past 2000-odd years. The final part of the prophecy, which describes the eventual renewal and restoration of the world is pertinent for our times, and ties in with the impending end of the Kali Yuga in 2025.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the full article here: <a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/09/The-Lament-of-Hermes-A-Soul-Stirring-Prophecy-of-Civilizational-Decline-and-the-End-Times/?fbclid=IwAR2sW9CF95kZrKN8hqtPCdZEpMyYIeIYQHvWaSAbdg4duIIciBVb154dWrw" target="_blank">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/09/The-Lament-of-Hermes-A-Soul-Stirring-Prophecy-of-Civilizational-Decline-and-the-End-Times/?fbclid=IwAR2sW9CF95kZrKN8hqtPCdZEpMyYIeIYQHvWaSAbdg4duIIciBVb154dWrw<br /></a></span></span></p><p></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-20724674566668294412023-09-17T13:53:00.006+05:302023-09-17T15:41:07.443+05:30Earth Ancients Podcast: The Mahabharata War, Vimanas and Astras<p>My discussion with Cliff Dunning on the Earth Ancients Podcast, on the topic of the Mahabharata War in ancient India, and the references to vimanas and powerful astras (i.e. celestial weapons) in the Mahabharata and other Sanskrit texts.<br /><br />I get introduced at 16:58 mins into the podcast, and our discussion continues for more than an hour after that. We touched upon of lot of interesting questions, including the possibility of extraterrestrial interventions in human civilization in the remote past.</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylerL8iL80gPAnJh8qPEfy_yUb858N4CdPuNfqwTmnsWKFMigZqyf6jH0e4mcvuN0OWWEKcKMH2Yq-Hbca0VH2CYu1bcMjiQtatYTK7YCZreesbZQ1XAIFqrgARyCeJiG25gLqwxDEXLKe0N3y1poeIZYP-JHf82lT-iHIK8uEbU6YN3e4tjQDn3nlc8/s1200/bibhu%20misra%20earth%20ancients%20mahabharata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1200" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylerL8iL80gPAnJh8qPEfy_yUb858N4CdPuNfqwTmnsWKFMigZqyf6jH0e4mcvuN0OWWEKcKMH2Yq-Hbca0VH2CYu1bcMjiQtatYTK7YCZreesbZQ1XAIFqrgARyCeJiG25gLqwxDEXLKe0N3y1poeIZYP-JHf82lT-iHIK8uEbU6YN3e4tjQDn3nlc8/s320/bibhu%20misra%20earth%20ancients%20mahabharata.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Click here to listen: <a href="https://www.earthancients.com/?portfolio=bibhu-dev-misra-the-mahabharata-and-the-war-for-earth" target="_blank">https://www.earthancients.com/?portfolio=bibhu-dev-misra-the-mahabharata-and-the-war-for-earth</a> <br /></div><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-81847585313747405192023-05-03T19:31:00.004+05:302023-12-07T19:12:40.770+05:30Could the "Eye of the Sahara" be the Legendary Atlantis?<p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCLF_bL19vF_FD-Ls_PSU7xf68pLjx4AK04pfLr53WDV_cnB78uo2ZVkvwoKpa6mAuf3dvaacAf_lMAoYGK1zbc2BmKwz8SYVNNvnkfxHMWvRf_UOK1QDgpqYlRaKyQfG-IpEGteX1NpttczQuUyvVun0IdK5AeSvXEPlhU-zwG6tSxhIEl1cxlXS/s721/Richat%20Structure%20USGS%20EROS%20NASA%20Landsat%20Public%20Domain%20edit%20very%20small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCLF_bL19vF_FD-Ls_PSU7xf68pLjx4AK04pfLr53WDV_cnB78uo2ZVkvwoKpa6mAuf3dvaacAf_lMAoYGK1zbc2BmKwz8SYVNNvnkfxHMWvRf_UOK1QDgpqYlRaKyQfG-IpEGteX1NpttczQuUyvVun0IdK5AeSvXEPlhU-zwG6tSxhIEl1cxlXS/s320/Richat%20Structure%20USGS%20EROS%20NASA%20Landsat%20Public%20Domain%20edit%20very%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i><br /><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Note: I wrote this article for Mysterious Universe (MU)</span></i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A theory that has been doing the rounds on the internet in recent times is that the "Eye of the Sahara", also known as the Richat Structure, in Mauritania, West Africa, is a possible location of Atlantis. Martin Ettington had written a small booklet on this in 2018, and the Bright Insight YouTube channel made a couple of videos in the same year, and another one in 2023. I found that both the book and the Youtube videos have quite a few errors, and decided to do my own research to see if the evidence adds up. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I have listed out the similarities and mismatches, but, in the end, I believe that the correlations are quite persuasive, and the Richat Structure could be the potential remnants of Atlantis, if we are willing to acknowledge that the story of Atlantis, which had been handed down by means of oral tradition for more than 9000 years before it was written down by Plato, is bound to contain many modifications and embellishments. Read it, and decide for yourself. Until archaeological evidence is found, however, nothing can be concluded, one way or the other.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span>Read the full article here: <a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2023/04/A-New-Theory-Claims-that-the-Eye-of-the-Sahara-is-Atlantis.-Is-there-Sufficient-Evidence-/">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2023/04/A-New-Theory-Claims-that-the-Eye-of-the-Sahara-is-Atlantis.-Is-there-Sufficient-Evidence-/</a></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-38787459042586580922023-01-17T11:54:00.000+05:302023-01-17T11:54:31.935+05:30The Lost Years of Jesus in India: Following the Trail of Evidence<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q-In8BzC_bzVJIuwGrbwedTkAeNFttGTr5zvV8XKlIs9Lkus11ZgXu_2lo8FuDA7jpqoBmTinEwSgU57h1x62-O7LHDs5CTO-KQEN1DhpgLXOj7Rc8I5WnrIVvqIrY5jp882TexgDblI9LzDHKib6fT-cAl_UtC3Utf-kIdpJrnAKV9uuO9oqO6v/s1800/Jesus%20Christ%20meditation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1800" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-q-In8BzC_bzVJIuwGrbwedTkAeNFttGTr5zvV8XKlIs9Lkus11ZgXu_2lo8FuDA7jpqoBmTinEwSgU57h1x62-O7LHDs5CTO-KQEN1DhpgLXOj7Rc8I5WnrIVvqIrY5jp882TexgDblI9LzDHKib6fT-cAl_UtC3Utf-kIdpJrnAKV9uuO9oqO6v/s320/Jesus%20Christ%20meditation.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><p></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Note: I wrote this article for Mysterious Universe (MU)</span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Hemis monastery scrolls found by Nicolas Notovitch during his journey to Ladakh in 1887 indicates that Jesus spent the lost-years of his life, between the ages 13 to 29 in India, where he was known as Saint Issa, learning from the Hindu and Buddhist masters and preaching to the people. This was confirmed by the testimony of Swami Abhedananda who visited Hemis in 1922, and by Nicholas Roerich during his wide-ranging expedition across Central Asia from 1924-1928. Afterwards, the Hemis scrolls appear to have been locked away in a storeroom by the lamas, fearing they will be carried off. Jesus's 18 year sojourn in the East is further validated by the depiction of yoga mudras in Orthodox art, and the various yoga siddhis demonstrated by Jesus in the Gospel accounts.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Read the full article here:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/12/The-Lost-Years-of-Jesus-in-India-Following-the-Trail-of-Evidence/">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/12/The-Lost-Years-of-Jesus-in-India-Following-the-Trail-of-Evidence/</a><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-11178962511605250442022-11-16T18:34:00.003+05:302022-11-16T18:36:29.920+05:30The Four Worlds and the Mysterious Ant People of the Hopi: What it Means For Us<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp2D3pE2FTGS3Tmotqi6pbzojiZzs4Ixgk3-vdB9pF1IQRYpsY508KpopSm3SlXgCXFuNyqWicCcDFR4JmjzpTWkVeyBXb1Gwnw5rjs7BNIPyekgJiWJubC01V40XzsNPWyABKzSaEVYHuYu8Kv8s4-kBBkTTAt44gySzSJ3tnqw_zyUGu0LD7nDQ/s500/Hopi%20McKee%20Springs%20Petroglyph%20featured%20image%20small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="500" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp2D3pE2FTGS3Tmotqi6pbzojiZzs4Ixgk3-vdB9pF1IQRYpsY508KpopSm3SlXgCXFuNyqWicCcDFR4JmjzpTWkVeyBXb1Gwnw5rjs7BNIPyekgJiWJubC01V40XzsNPWyABKzSaEVYHuYu8Kv8s4-kBBkTTAt44gySzSJ3tnqw_zyUGu0LD7nDQ/s320/Hopi%20McKee%20Springs%20Petroglyph%20featured%20image%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: medium;">N<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>ote: I have written this article for Mysterious Universe (MU)</span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></span></i><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hopi oral legends indicate that there were three Worlds prior to the current one, each of which ended in cataclysms. We are now living in the Fourth World which will meet the same fate as the previous ones if humanity does not live in accordance with the plan of creation. They also tell us of the mysterious Ant People who live in underground chambers, who gave shelter to a few righteous Hopi when the previous Worlds were destroyed. Who are these Ant People, and what does these legends mean for us? </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the full article here:</span></span></p><p><a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/11/The-Four-Worlds-and-the-Mysterious-Ant-People-of-the-Hopi-What-it-Means-For-Us/"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/11/The-Four-Worlds-and-the-Mysterious-Ant-People-of-the-Hopi-What-it-Means-For-Us/</span></span></a></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-87341086179274541042022-10-24T13:56:00.002+05:302022-10-24T14:01:04.979+05:30The Incredible Giants of Ancient Sicily: Was Homer Right about the Cyclopes? <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidimPmr10VMnciflPBjNWyYmbqJrRasJ2uDLMyb8riCwEYSH7kLILtRzRWU2Ybbm6Kpujkza1oK6lpTfa-MqjnOCsrAsOvXN1YZGzDnF-BRZjWYZ9H41VIJT6idGo6XOhKy2V-OJKj31ZqizZx7-XryK-f0P35Z6s-EwRSfBnnm-mrt151EdSJ592i/s1800/cyclops.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1017" data-original-width="1800" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidimPmr10VMnciflPBjNWyYmbqJrRasJ2uDLMyb8riCwEYSH7kLILtRzRWU2Ybbm6Kpujkza1oK6lpTfa-MqjnOCsrAsOvXN1YZGzDnF-BRZjWYZ9H41VIJT6idGo6XOhKy2V-OJKj31ZqizZx7-XryK-f0P35Z6s-EwRSfBnnm-mrt151EdSJ592i/s320/cyclops.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Note: I have written this article for Mysterious Universe (MU). <br /></span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The history of Sicily has always been entwined with those of giants. As per many Greek historians, including Homer, the earliest inhabitants of the island were one-eyed, cave-dwelling giants called the Cyclopes. They were not only regarded as expert blacksmiths, but were also credited with building many "Cyclopian Walls" using massive, polygonal stone blocks. Tommaso Fazello, the father of Sicilian history, wrote about giant 30-feet long human-like skeletons that were unearthed at many places in Sicily. Could the legend of the Cyclopes be based on facts? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the full article here: </span></p><p><a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/10/The-Incredible-Giants-of-Ancient-Sicily-Was-Homer-Right-about-the-Cyclopes-/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: medium;">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/10/The-Incredible-Giants-of-Ancient-Sicily-Was-Homer-Right-about-the-Cyclopes-/</span></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-84665091965462817902022-10-18T13:39:00.003+05:302022-10-24T13:58:31.338+05:30The Giants who Ruled the Ancient World: Art, Texts and Skeletal Remains<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmsO2ygKAovKgE-5GD90oRJRRUJLJjBhp545SxYHcHO63NrGIZVgGl67YucL1_c4yKTkpfo9oO0D8zj1TU3wMPPXF8NK1QqcBeSXm7-C-qyOegfE9F9UCRXAGLBNNFK5kTzM7jAmHoWL_p9o46wlhYj_3fYZMPto_zAdg91kFngnD986UvVYmlQ_v/s1800/giants%20featured%20image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1800" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmsO2ygKAovKgE-5GD90oRJRRUJLJjBhp545SxYHcHO63NrGIZVgGl67YucL1_c4yKTkpfo9oO0D8zj1TU3wMPPXF8NK1QqcBeSXm7-C-qyOegfE9F9UCRXAGLBNNFK5kTzM7jAmHoWL_p9o46wlhYj_3fYZMPto_zAdg91kFngnD986UvVYmlQ_v/s320/giants%20featured%20image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Note: I have written this article for Mysterious Universe (MU). <br /></span></i></p><div class="" dir="auto"><div class="x1iorvi4 x1pi30zi x1l90r2v x1swvt13" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" id="jsc_c_81"><div class="x78zum5 xdt5ytf xz62fqu x16ldp7u"><div class="xu06os2 x1ok221b"><span class="x193iq5w xeuugli x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1xmvt09 x1lliihq x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xudqn12 x3x7a5m x6prxxf xvq8zen xo1l8bm xzsf02u x1yc453h" dir="auto"><div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Legends of the giants who roamed the world in the ancient times are found in almost every culture and depicted in art, particularly in a form that is widely known as the "Master of Animals" or "Mistress of Animals". What is perhaps not so well known is that a number of esteemed Greco-Roman historians such as Herodotus, Pliny, Philostratus, Pausanius and others reported on the discovery of many "giant skeletons" that were found within tombs and coffins. In addition, the discovery of giants bones in the modern era at Castelnau and Montpellier in France, provides compelling evidence that the ancient legends about giants may very well be based on facts. </span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the full article here:</span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/10/The-Giants-who-Ruled-the-Ancient-World-The-Astonishing-Correlation-Between-Art-Texts-and-Skeletal-Remains-/" target="_blank">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/10/The-Giants-who-Ruled-the-Ancient-World-The-Astonishing-Correlation-Between-Art-Texts-and-Skeletal-Remains-/</a></span></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> </div><div dir="auto" style="text-align: start;"> <br /></div></div></span></div></div></div></div><p></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-71410756521612798552022-09-21T19:03:00.008+05:302022-12-06T23:48:26.565+05:30The Vimanas and Aerial Cities described in the Ancient Indian Texts<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_zEp2LqIUxkD8YHx0W8M5qQuDy_-1frcKGFYPqrpngd0Al3Zyj8wsVGHpzBAJABBq6Db1tlN4tHTNn9poUZlSX6VFDOmlFXyqZDAsPzh8mYEPpJtDEZ0O-AnZaC9uDCn_rr7fHDd87NN-c-sGhGySj5pNgVL6xBeXPTyUjad3gAZ3klXCjaWDViq/s1026/Pushpaka%20small.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="829" data-original-width="1026" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_zEp2LqIUxkD8YHx0W8M5qQuDy_-1frcKGFYPqrpngd0Al3Zyj8wsVGHpzBAJABBq6Db1tlN4tHTNn9poUZlSX6VFDOmlFXyqZDAsPzh8mYEPpJtDEZ0O-AnZaC9uDCn_rr7fHDd87NN-c-sGhGySj5pNgVL6xBeXPTyUjad3gAZ3klXCjaWDViq/s320/Pushpaka%20small.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Vimanas or flying crafts as well as aerial cities have been mentioned in many places in the ancient Indian texts. There is a colourful description of the <i>Pushpaka vimana</i> in the Ramayana, in which Rama returns to Ayodhya from Lanka. The Srimad Bhagavatam describes the <i>Saubha vimana</i> in which King Salva had attacked Dvaraka, the city of Krishna. The Mahabharata tells us of the celestial chariot of Indra, on which Arjuna traveled to Amaravati - the heavenly city of Indra. </span><p></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Mahabharata also tells us of large “aerial cities” belonging to the asuras and danavas, which were furnished with gates, towers and houses, just like any terrestrial city. A couple of these aerial cities have been described in detail – <i>Hiranyapura</i> and <i>Tripura</i>. In the following sections, I have selected passages from the primary texts to illustrate what these vimanas and aerial cities looked like and how they functioned.<br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Rama Returns from Lanka on the Pushpaka Vimana</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Ravana, the demon-king of Lanka, had abducted Rama’s wife Sita, at which Rama marched there with an army of monkey-chiefs headed by Hanuman. After Rama killed Ravana, he installed Ravana’s brother Bibhisana on the throne of Lanka. When Rama expressed his desire to return to Ayodhya quickly, Bibhisana told him about the Pushpaka Vimana which could take him to Ayodhya in a day. This is described in Chapters 124, 125 and 126 of the <i>Yuddha Kanda</i> (Book 6) of the <i>Valmiki Ramayana</i>.[1] Here are some excerpts from the text that describe how the Pushpaka vimana conducted Rama and his army of monkey chiefs from Lanka to Ayodhya.<br /><br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Thus did Rama speak and Bibishana answered: “I will arrange for you to reach that city in one day, O Prince! May happiness attend you! There is an aerial car named Pushpaka that shines like the sun, which the powerful Ravana forcibly took from Kuvera, having overcome him in combat. That celestial and marvellous chariot, going everywhere at will, is at your disposal, O You of unequalled prowess! That car, bright as a cloud, which will transport you to Ayodhya in perfect safety, is here.”<br />…Hearing Rama’s words, that Indra among the Titans, Bibishana, hastened to order the aerial Chariot Pushpaka, gilded and bright as the sun, with its seats of emerald and pearl, its rooms ranged round about, silvered all over, its white banners and supports and gilded apartments enriched with golden lotuses which were hung with many bells. Round the windows, set with pearls and rare gems, rows of bells were placed giving forth a melodious sound, and that moving palace, resembling the peak of Mount Meru, constructed by Vishvakarma, abounded in rich ornaments, gold and jewels and sparkled with silver, and its floors were inlaid with crystal and the thrones of emerald (displayed there) furnished with rare coverings.<br />Having prepared that indestructible vehicle, the Chariot Pushpaka, which was as swift as thought, Bibishana stood before Rama, and that aerial car, that went everywhere at one’s will and resembled a mountain, having been placed at his disposal, the magnanimous Rama who was accompanied by Saumitri, was astonished.<br />…Rama ascended the chariot of his adversary, holding the chaste and illustrious Vaidehi (Sita) to his breast and accompanied by his brother Lakshmana, that valiant bow-man…Thereupon Sugriva with the monkeys and Bibishana with his counsellors, took their places in the celestial Pushpaka Chariot and, all being installed, that marvellous aerial car belonging to Kuvera rose into the air under Raghava’s command. In the chariot, which shone brightly, and was harnessed to swans, Rama exulted, overcome with delight, and resembled Kuvera himself, whilst all the monkeys, bears and titans, full of vigour, seated comfortably in that celestial car travelled at ease. Under Rama’s command, that aerial chariot harnessed to swans flew through the air with a great noise…”</span></blockquote><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtrf5CcY4c_jctuOjaBsPBxOaUcdCtPZW2BucYMma2yjFALr9KcwQBXW_xd-oCXtWYcRDb4eNpjfnoQqy_UvIalNNzhxtdxSobpLefhG2-EXOaFPZHcWowaZ0jV7SO57SOPeewKDAUYmxWZfYdAk0yn-fmDI51mp8VUDempfloAbZd78lz0POyDmd/s1493/Pushpaka%20Vimana,%20Pahari%20art,%20Himachal%20Pradesh,%20India%20c%201650%20CE,%20San%20Diego%20Museum%20of%20Art,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pushpaka Vimana, Pahari art, Himachal Pradesh, India c. 1650 CE. San Diego Museum of Art." border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="1173" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivtrf5CcY4c_jctuOjaBsPBxOaUcdCtPZW2BucYMma2yjFALr9KcwQBXW_xd-oCXtWYcRDb4eNpjfnoQqy_UvIalNNzhxtdxSobpLefhG2-EXOaFPZHcWowaZ0jV7SO57SOPeewKDAUYmxWZfYdAk0yn-fmDI51mp8VUDempfloAbZd78lz0POyDmd/w503-h640/Pushpaka%20Vimana,%20Pahari%20art,%20Himachal%20Pradesh,%20India%20c%201650%20CE,%20San%20Diego%20Museum%20of%20Art,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" width="503" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 1: Pushpaka Vimana, Pahari art, Himachal Pradesh,
India c. 1650 CE. San Diego Museum of Art. Source: Wikimedia Commons,
Public Domain</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In a single day, Rama and the monkey chiefs of his army, returned from Lanka to Ayodhya, crossing over the seas and the mountains in the Pushpaka vimana, in a journey that would have otherwise taken many months of arduous walking. Throughout the journey, Rama looked out of the windows of the vimana, and described to Sita all the places that he had roamed, while looking for her, until the great battle with Ravana in Lanka. The spacious vimana, which was gilded and shone like the sun, was dome-shaped or conical (for it resembled a mountain), was operated by the power of the will or by voice instructions and moved through the air making a great noise. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8FKfn-nHknkWdS4S3joHsVrEfi9iDOMvpTbLa77O0oAbpbBBcG0M-TL465zTDgzc6HAH8IsVdR0uwuc86-3pWWPVMefLbVafNdMwDvuhkosl8vb-Q5G80Z9teKIWcJ9qDh9cFzGkSmkSIDNcywrpsscLOP_zG9NQa2V-voRFZfULyN6S4XTVLdSf/s1106/A%20miniature%20of%20the%20Phnom%20Rung%20temple,%20being%20drawn%20through%20the%20air%20by%20Hanuman's%20monkey%20army,%20identified%20as%20Ravana's%20Pushpaka%20chariot,%20Michael%20Gunther,%20CC%20BY%20SA%204.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A miniature of the Phnom Rung temple, Thailand, being drawn through the air by Hanuman's monkey army. It has been identified as Ravana's Pushpaka vimana." border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1106" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8FKfn-nHknkWdS4S3joHsVrEfi9iDOMvpTbLa77O0oAbpbBBcG0M-TL465zTDgzc6HAH8IsVdR0uwuc86-3pWWPVMefLbVafNdMwDvuhkosl8vb-Q5G80Z9teKIWcJ9qDh9cFzGkSmkSIDNcywrpsscLOP_zG9NQa2V-voRFZfULyN6S4XTVLdSf/w640-h594/A%20miniature%20of%20the%20Phnom%20Rung%20temple,%20being%20drawn%20through%20the%20air%20by%20Hanuman's%20monkey%20army,%20identified%20as%20Ravana's%20Pushpaka%20chariot,%20Michael%20Gunther,%20CC%20BY%20SA%204.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 2: A miniature of the Phnom Rung temple, Thailand,
being drawn through the air by Hanuman's monkey army. It has been
identified as Ravana's Pushpaka vimana. Source: Wikimedia Commons /
Michael Gunther CC BY-SA 4.0</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">King Salva Attacks Dvaraka on a Vimana</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;">King Salva had aquired a vimana called <i>Saubha</i> from Lord Shiva, which was made by Maya Danava. He attacked Lord Krishna’s city Dvaraka from the vimana, when Krishna and Balarama had gone to Indraprastha. Upon returning, Krishna fought against Salva, destroyed the vimana using his mace, and killed Salva with his discus weapon, the Sudarshana Chakra. This event has been described in the <i>Srimad Bhagavatam</i>, Canto 10, Chapters 76 & 77. (SB 10.76.2 – 10.76.33; 10.77.1 – 10.77.37).[2] Here are a few selected passages from the text that illustrate the nature of this fantastic flying machine and how it was eventually destroyed by Lord Krishna.<br /><br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The great Lord Umapati [Shiva] is known as “he who is quickly pleased,” yet only at the end of a year did he gratify Salva, who had approached him for shelter, by offering him a choice of benedictions. Salva chose a vehicle that could be destroyed by neither demigods, demons, humans, Gandharvas, Uragas nor Raksasas, that could travel anywhere he wished to go, and that would terrify the Vrsnis. Lord Siva said, “So be it.” On his order, Maya Danava, who conquers his enemies’ cities, constructed a flying iron city named Saubha and presented it to Salva.<br />This unassailable vehicle was filled with darkness and could go anywhere. Upon obtaining it, Salva went to Dvaraka, remembering the Vrsnis’ enmity toward him. Salva besieged the city with a large army, O best of the Bharatas, decimating the outlying parks and gardens, the mansions along with their observatories, towering gateways and surrounding walls, and also the public recreational areas. From his excellent airship he threw down a torrent of weapons, including stones, tree trunks, thunderbolts, snakes and hailstones. A fierce whirlwind arose and blanketed all directions with dust. Thus, terribly tormented by the airship Saubha, Lord Krsna’s city had no peace, O King, just like the earth when it was attacked by the three aerial cities of the demons….<br />At one moment the magic airship built by Maya Danava appeared in many identical forms, and the next moment it was again only one. Sometimes it was visible, and sometimes not. Thus Salva’s opponents could never be sure where it was. From one moment to the next the Saubha airship appeared on the earth, in the sky, on a mountain peak or in the water. Like a whirling, flaming baton, it never remained in any one place. Wherever Salva would appear with his Saubha ship and his army, there the Yadu commanders would shoot their arrows…As the Yadus and Salva’s followers thus went on attacking one another, the tumultuous, fearsome battle continued for twenty-seven days and nights.<br />Invited by Yudhisthira, the son of Dharma, Lord Krsna had gone to Indraprastha. Now that the Rajasuya sacrifice had been completed and Sisupala killed, the Lord began to see inauspicious omens. So He took leave of the Kuru elders and the great sages, and also of Prtha and her sons, and returned to Dvaraka. The Lord said to Himself: Because I have come here with My respected elder brother, kings partial to Sisupala may well be attacking My capital city. After He arrived at Dvaraka and saw how His people were threatened with destruction, and also saw Salva and his Saubha airship, Lord Kesava [Krishna] arranged for the city’s defense and then addressed Daruka as follows. [Lord Krishna said:] O driver, quickly take My chariot near Salva. This lord of Saubha is a powerful magician; don’t let him bewilder you.<br />Thus ordered, Daruka took command of the Lord’s chariot and drove forth. As the chariot entered the battlefield, everyone there, both friend and foe, caught sight of the emblem of Garuda. When Salva, the master of a decimated army, saw Lord Krsna approaching, he hurled his spear at the Lord’s charioteer. The spear roared frighteningly as it flew across the battlefield. Salva’s hurtling spear lit up the whole sky like a mighty meteor, but Lord Sauri tore the great weapon into hundreds of pieces with His arrows. Lord Krsna then pierced Salva with sixteen arrows and struck the Saubha airship with a deluge of arrows as it darted about the sky. Firing His arrows, the Lord appeared like the sun flooding the heavens with its rays…<br />While Salva continued to hurl torrents of weapons at Him with great force, Lord Krsna, whose prowess never fails, shot His arrows at Salva, wounding him and shattering his armor, bow and crest jewel. Then with His club the Lord smashed His enemy’s Saubha airship. Shattered into thousands of pieces by Lord Krsna’s club, the Saubha airship plummeted into the water. Salva abandoned it, stationed himself on the ground, took up his club and rushed toward Lord Acyuta. As Salva rushed at Him, the Lord shot a bhalla dart and cut off his arm that held the club. Having finally decided to kill Salva, Krsna then raised His Sudarsana disc weapon, which resembled the sun at the time of universal annihilation. The brilliantly shining Lord appeared like the easternmost mountain bearing the rising sun. Employing His disc, Lord Hari removed that great magician’s head with its earrings and crown, just as Purandara had used his thunderbolt to cut off Vrtra’s head. Seeing this, all of Salva’s followers cried out, “Alas, alas!”</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">In this manner, the magical “flying city of iron” fashioned by Maya Danava– which could go anywhere, appear in many identical forms, and disappear at will – was eventually destroyed by Lord Krishna using his mace. This tells us that, although vimanas were said to be indestructible, they could be smashed into pieces by very powerful weapons. <br /></span><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Arjuna Goes to Indra’s heaven on a flying chariot</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The Pandava prince Arjuna had performed great austerities and penances on Mount Mandara, upon which Lord Shiva became pleased with him and granted him the invincible weapon called the “Pasupata astra”. Soon afterwards, he was visited by Indra, the King of the Gods, who informed him that his celestial chariot, driven by Matali, shall conduct Arjuna to Indra’s heavenly city Amaravati, where he shall bestow on Arjuna all his celestial weapons. This event has been described in the <i>Vana Parva</i>, Chapter 42 (Indralokagama parva) of the <i>Mahabharata</i>.[3] Here are some extracts from the text that describe Arjuna’s fantastic journey on the flying chariot.<br /><br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">After the Lokapalas had gone away, Arjuna - that slayer of all foes - began to think, O monarch, of the car of Indra! And as Gudakesa (Arjuna) gifted with great intelligence was thinking of it, the car endued with great effulgence and guided by Matali, came dividing the clouds and illuminating the firmament and filling the entire welkin with its rattle deep as the roar of mighty masses of clouds. Swords, and missiles of terrible forms and maces of frightful description, and winged darts of celestials splendour and lightnings of the brightest effulgence, and thunderbolts, and propellors furnished with wheels and worked with atmosphere expansion and producing sounds loud as the roar of great masses of clouds, were on that car…And the car was drawn by ten thousands of horses of golden hue, endued with the speed of the wind. And furnished with prowess of illusion, the car was drawn with such speed that the eye could hardly mark its progress…And while Arjuna was occupied with his thoughts regarding the car, the charioteer Matali, bending himself after descending from the car, addressed him, saying, 'O lucky son of Sakra (Indra)! Sakra himself wisheth to see thee. Ascend thou without loss of time this car that hath been sent by Indra. The chief of the immortals, thy father - that god of a hundred sacrifices - hath commanded me, saying, 'Bring the son of Kunti hither. Let the gods behold him…’<br />"Arjuna replied, 'O Matali, mount thou without loss of time this excellent car, a car that cannot be attained even by hundreds of Rajasuya and horse sacrifices. Even kings of great prosperity who have performed great sacrifices distinguished by large gifts (to Brahmanas), even gods and Danavas are not competent to ride this car. He that hath not ascetic merit is not competent to even see or touch this car, far less to ride on it. O blessed one, after thou hast ascended, it, and after the horses have become still, I will ascend it, like a virtuous man stepping into the high-road of honesty.'"<br />…Thus having bidden farewell to the mountain, that slayer of hostile heroes – Arjuna- blazing like the Sun himself, ascended the celestial car. And the Kuru prince gifted with great intelligence, with a glad heart, coursed through the firmament on that celestial car effulgent as the sun and of extra-ordinary achievements. And after he had become invisible to the mortals of the earth, he beheld thousands of cars of extra-ordinary beauty. And in that region there was no sun or moon or fire to give light, but it blazed in light of its own, generated by virtue of ascetic merit. And those brilliant regions that are seen from the earth in the form of stars, like lamps (in the sky) - so small in consequence of their distance, though very large - were beheld by the son of Pandu, stationed in their respective places, full of beauty and effulgence and blazing with splendour all their own. And there he beheld royal sages crowned with ascetic success, and heroes who had yielded up their lives in battle, and those that had acquired heaven by their ascetic austerities, by hundreds upon hundreds. And there were also Gandharvas, of bodies blazing like the sun, by thousands upon thousands, as also Guhyakas and Rishis and numerous tribes of Apsaras. And beholding those self-effulgent regions, Phalguna (Arjuna) became filled with wonder, and made enquiries of Matali. And Matali also gladly replied unto him, saying, 'These, O son of Pritha, are virtuous persons stationed in their respective places. It is these whom thou hast seen, O exalted one, as stars, from the earth.' Then Arjuna saw standing at the gates (Indra's region) the handsome and ever victorious elephant – Airavata - furnished with four tusks, and resembling the mountain of Kailasa with its summits. And coursing along that path of the Siddhas, that foremost of the Kurus and the son of Pandu, sat in beauty like Mandhata - that best of kings. Endued with eyes like lotus leaves, he passed through the region set apart for virtuous kings. And the celebrated Arjuna having thus passed through successive regions of heaven at last beheld Amaravati, the city of Indra.</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrfSXYl4z63EmBuW1_mq1c7Do9_aBNPtP7T6FfUoRkJAJSOK-d2WF00leODifg6x-db2xZhsXpOrFrnvpc5ulUcSpUyeLOlWhZt0_u0emgfBgp9-BFD8Ece5C6Km5E1a-bkViy2YrVlLGnuM2yvktUY-NZ-tj7FAcjrSyE7lMvl8nB8wV3PlMTiYB/s1882/King%20Nemi%20riding%20through%20the%20skies%20on%20the%20chariot%20of%20Indra%20drawn%20by%20Matali,%20Scene%20from%20the%20Nemi%20Jataka%20in%20a%20paper%20folding%20book,%20central%20Thailand,%201894,%20British%20Library,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="King Nemi riding through the skies on the chariot of Indra drawn by Matali, scene from the Nemi Jataka in a paper folding book. Central Thailand, 1894." border="0" data-original-height="1882" data-original-width="1295" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrfSXYl4z63EmBuW1_mq1c7Do9_aBNPtP7T6FfUoRkJAJSOK-d2WF00leODifg6x-db2xZhsXpOrFrnvpc5ulUcSpUyeLOlWhZt0_u0emgfBgp9-BFD8Ece5C6Km5E1a-bkViy2YrVlLGnuM2yvktUY-NZ-tj7FAcjrSyE7lMvl8nB8wV3PlMTiYB/w440-h640/King%20Nemi%20riding%20through%20the%20skies%20on%20the%20chariot%20of%20Indra%20drawn%20by%20Matali,%20Scene%20from%20the%20Nemi%20Jataka%20in%20a%20paper%20folding%20book,%20central%20Thailand,%201894,%20British%20Library,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 3: King Nemi riding through the skies on the
chariot of Indra drawn by Matali, scene from the Nemi Jataka in a paper
folding book. Central Thailand, 1894. Source: British Library, Public
Domain</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">There are a few interesting points in this rather extraordinary passage. Firstly, Arjuna mentioned that a person could ride a vimana only after he has aquired sufficient ascetic merit. This means, ordinary mortals couldn’t buy tickets and go on a joyride in a vimana. This was a privilege granted only to a few. Secondly, when Arjuna passed through the celestial regions, he saw “thousands of cars of extra-ordinary beauty”. This tells us that vimanas were extensively used as the means of transport by the heavenly dwellers. Finally, Arjuna saw that the bodies of the celestial beings blazed with a light which illuminated the entire area. This is an imagery that recurs multiple times in the ancient texts. The divine and semi-divine beings appear as “shining orbs of light”, and most ordinary mortals are not able to make out their bodily form. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e-oFwsHeJ-Ew406ufPGwszxVEf3gguFD_SoFjvuWKOpFE66yinNmAVb3lxB-W6UVv-ft_n3boZNZb3rU4fLYJ11M9afB1w32EpFEVJkcNj2TEKixmMhOBdUV53btkb20diVjm66gyNpiKeskKzQnv58deNVWO5eXA4rZHGpBaTDQd2L1HT4-j8Zo/s3133/Krishna%20and%20Rukmini%20as%20Groom%20and%20Bride%20in%20a%20Celestial%20Chariot%20Driven%20by%20Ganesha,%20Rajasthan%201675%20to%201700,%20watercolour,%20LACMA,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Krishna and Rukmini as Groom and Bride in a Celestial Chariot Driven by Ganesha. Rajasthan 1675 - 1700, watercolour." border="0" data-original-height="3133" data-original-width="2515" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5e-oFwsHeJ-Ew406ufPGwszxVEf3gguFD_SoFjvuWKOpFE66yinNmAVb3lxB-W6UVv-ft_n3boZNZb3rU4fLYJ11M9afB1w32EpFEVJkcNj2TEKixmMhOBdUV53btkb20diVjm66gyNpiKeskKzQnv58deNVWO5eXA4rZHGpBaTDQd2L1HT4-j8Zo/w514-h640/Krishna%20and%20Rukmini%20as%20Groom%20and%20Bride%20in%20a%20Celestial%20Chariot%20Driven%20by%20Ganesha,%20Rajasthan%201675%20to%201700,%20watercolour,%20LACMA,%20Public%20Domain.jpg" width="514" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 4: Krishna and Rukmini as Groom and Bride in a
Celestial Chariot Driven by Ganesha. Rajasthan 1675 - 1700, watercolour.
Source: LACMA, Public Domain</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;">These are the three well-documented instances of vimanas that have been described in detail in the ancient Indian texts. We can see that, in every case, the vimana had been built by the “archiects of the gods or asuras” and gifted to humans for their use. The <i>Pushpaka vimana</i>, on which Rama returned to Ayodhya, had been built by Vishwakarma – the architect of the gods - and gifted to Kuvera, the Lord of Wealth, from whom it was taken away by Ravana. The <i>Saubha vimana</i>, which used by King Salva to attack Dvaraka, was built by Maya Danava – the architect of the asuras - and was given to Salva by Lord Shiva. Finally, the celestial chariot on which Arjuna reached the heavenly city of Amaravati, belonged to Indra, the King of the Gods. Therefore, the ancient texts make it abundantly clear that vimanas were not built by humans - which means, vimanas were not a product of human technology; they represent the “technology of the gods”.<br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Aerial Cities – Hiranyapura and Tripura</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition to the vimanas, we also read of some “aerial cities” in the Mahabharata. One of these was called <i>Hiranyapura</i>. Arjuna saw this beautiful, effulgent, aerial city – furnished with gates and towers - from the aerial chariot driven by Matali, when he was returning to Amaravati after defeating the demons called Nivata-Kavachas. When Arjuna asked Matali about the city, he said this city was given to the daityas and asuras as a boon by Brahma. It was, <br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“A highly effulgent and surpassingly fair aerial city, furnished with all manner of gems and invincible even by the celestials…this city is furnished with all desirable objects, and is unknown of grief or disease. And, O hero, celebrated under the name of Hiranyapura, this mighty city is inhabited by the Paulamas and the Kalakanjas…Formerly, Brahma had destined destruction at the hands of mortals.”[4]</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">When Arjuna attacked that aerial city - since it was inhabited by the enemies of the gods - he found that, the sky-ranging unearthly aerial city, which resembled Amaravati, the city of Indra, was capable of going anywhere at will. <br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“And now (the city) entered unto the earth and now it rose upwards; and at one time it went in a crooked way and at another time it submerged into water. At this, O represser of foes, I assailed that mighty city, going anywhere at will, and resembling Amaravati. And, O best of the Bharatas, I attacked the city containing those sons of Diti, with multitudes of shafts, displaying celestial weapons. And battered and broken by the straight-coursing iron shafts, shot by me, the city of the Asuras, O king, fell to the earth.”</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">The Mahabharata also describes three aerial cities of the demons, collectively called <i>Tripura</i>, which were received by the demons as a boon from Brahma. Three asuras performed great penances and propitiated Brahma. They requested him for a boon saying, “Residing in three cities, we will rove over this Earth, with thy grace ever before us. After a 1,000 years then, we will come together, and our three cities also, O sinless one, will become united into one.” The cities were then constructed by the architect of the demons called Maya. The text states,<br /><blockquote>“Then Maya, of great intelligence, by the aid of his own ascetic merit, constructed three cities, one of which was of gold, another of silver, and the third of black iron. The golden city was set in heaven, the silver city in the welkin (upper atmosphere), and the iron city was set on the Earth, all in such a way as to revolve in a circle, O lord of Earth. Each of those cities measured a hundred yojanas in breadth and a hundred in length. And they consisted of houses and mansions and lofty walls and porches.”[5]</blockquote>When the demons began to oppress the inhabitants of all the worlds, and defeated the gods in battle as well, Lord Shiva fired a single missile at the three aerial cities, when they came together in the heavens (like a conjunction of planets) after 1000 years. This weapon, called the <i>Pasupata astra</i>, burnt the three cities to ashes, along with the host of danavas who lived in them.<br /><blockquote>“The illustrious deity, that Lord of the universe, then drawing that celestial bow, sped that shaft (Pasupata astra) which represented the might of the whole universe, at the triple city. Upon that foremost of shafts, O thou of great good fortune, being shot, loud wails of woe were heard from those cities as they began to fall down towards the Earth. Burning those Asuras, he threw them down into the Western ocean. Thus was the triple city burnt and thus were the Danavas exterminated by Maheswara.”[6]</blockquote>Evidently, both the aerial cities mentioned in the Mahabharata – <i>Hiranyapura</i> and <i>Tripura</i> - were given as boons by Brahma to the demonic beings called the asuras and daityas. The text explicitly mentioned that Tripura – the triple city - was built by the architect of the demons, Maya, on the advise of Brahma. The aerial cities were not gifted to humans or inhabited by them at any stage. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The ability of the aerial cities to revolve around the Earth, and move at will in any direction, suggests that they could be “enlarged versions” of the vimanas themselves. In other words, the same kind of technology was probably used to propel both the vimanas and the aerial cities. In the modern parlance, we could refer to the vimanas as “UFOs” and to the aerial cities as “UFO Motherships”. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I would like to stress that, at no point, is it suggested in the texts that humans were involved in the construction of the vimanas or aerial cities, nor has it been specified how they were constructed. They were given as “gifts” by the gods; and if we think of the ancient gods of humanity as alien beings – for there is no other way to visualize them – then they represent “alien technology”.<br /></span></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Fraudulent Vaimanika Shastra</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: medium;">An early 20th century fraudulent text called the <i>Vaimanika Sastra</i> has introduced a lot of erroneous ideas into the topic of vimanas. The Vaimanika Sastra was written in Sanskrit by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry sometime between the years 1918 to 1923. Shastry claimed that the text was <i>telepathically transmitted to him by the ancient sage Bharadvaja.</i> In other words, its not an “ancient text” at all, as has been incorrectly claimed by many people who have written about it. It is purported to be “channeled text”, which, in itself, makes its authenticity extremely doubtful. While telepathy or channeling may work to a limited degree in some specific situations, to channel a entire technical manual on vimanas from an ancient sage who lived thousands of years ago is pure nonsense. It is good to be open-minded while investigating ancient civilizations. But we should not become gullible and put our faculties of reason and logic in abeyance.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In the 1950s a Hindu academic called G R Josyer found a copy of the text written by Subbaraya Shastry, and brought out a Hindi translation in 1959, followed by an English translation in 1973. The book is filled with absurd diagrams of vimanas, resembling wedding cakes and minarets, along with a mass of bizarre items for building and powering the vimana. For instance, Angela Saini notes,<br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“On the baby-pink cover of his book was a small pencil drawing of one of these planes. Part submarine, part mechanical fish, it was built in four tiers like a wedding cake, with three fins and a thin propeller at the front. Among the substances powering this unlikely contraption, the book said, was mercury, the silver-coloured liquid metal used in thermometers. Other ingredients included snake poison, rhinoceros bones and camel urine…And there was a detailed description of how to generate electricity to power the dynamos that would drive the aircraft (‘get a . . . flame-faced lion’s skin, duly cleaned, add salt, and placing in the vessel containing spike-grass acid, boil for . . . 15 hours. Then wash it with cold water’).”[7]</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Right. Camel urine-powered vimanas running on lion-skin electricity! Sounds like the kind of aircraft the penguins made to get out of Madagascar. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Thankfully, in 1974, a detailed study of this text was carried out by the researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. They found that aircrafts that the Vaimanika Sastra described were aeronautically unfeasible, and the discussion of the principles of flight in the text were largely perfunctory and incorrect. The study concluded:<br /></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Any reader by now would have concluded the obvious – that the planes described above are at best poor concoctions, rather than expressions of something real. None of the planes has properties or capabilities of being flown; the geometries are unimaginably horrendous from the point of view of flying; and the principles of propulsion make them resist rather than assist flying. The text and the drawings do not correlate with each other even thematically.”[8]</span></blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Obviously, the Vaimanika Sastra is not an ancient doctrine on vimanas but a modern fabrication that is often bandied around as a proof of high technology in the ancient times. No flying craft has ever been built, or can ever be built, using those specifications. As we have already noted, the ancient Indian texts make it very clear that vimanas and aerial cities were given as boons by the “gods”. They were not built by humans, and therefore, the question of a human technology does not arise at all. Unfortunately, the Vaimanika Sastra has gained a lot of undue popularity due to continuous repetition by people who do not bother to check for facts or logic.<br /><br />I would like to conclude by saying that there are ample descriptions of vimanas and aerial cities in the “truly ancient” Indian texts, and it is not necessary to take recourse to modern-day fraudulent texts as proof of high technology in the ancient times. Both vimanas and aerial cities were given by the “gods” as boons to humans, asuras and danavas. We do not know who these gods were or what technologies were used in the construction of vimanas or aerial cities. However, the fact remains that the ancient Indian texts are replete with information about flying vehicles and cities, that could perform astonishing manoeuvres in the sky. This suggests that the ancients may have been in contact with higher-order beings, perhaps from other dimensions or stellar systems, who interacted with humanity and nurtured and guided the growth of the civilizations on our planet in the past. </span><br /><br /><br /><u><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>End Notes</b></span></span></u><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 Ramayana 6.124, https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-ramayana-of-valmiki/d/doc424752.html<br />2 Srimad Bhagavatam 10.76, https://www.srimadbhagavatamclass.com/srimad-bhagavatam-canto-10-chapter-76-text-01/<br />3 Mahabharata 3.42, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03042.htm<br />4 Mahabharata 3.172, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03172.htm<br />5 Mahabharata 8.33, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08033.htm<br />6 Mahabharata 8.34, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08034.htm<br />7 Angela Saini, "The Strange Library: A visit to the Academy of Sanskrit Research in Melkote", The Caravan, 25 January 2015, https://caravanmagazine.in/vantage/grjosyer-academy-sanskrit-research-melkote<br />8 Mukunda, H. S.; Deshpande, S. M.; Nagendra, H. R.; Prabhu, A. & Govindraju, S. P. (1974). "A critical study of the work "Vyamanika Shastra"" (PDF). Scientific Opinion: 5–12. Retrieved 2007-09-03.</span></span><br /></p><p></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-23430873479550731532022-09-20T11:35:00.006+05:302023-12-07T19:11:59.626+05:30Yeti Footprints found by Indian Army point to Monsters of Indian Legends!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZFLXl4KLnj5O1evOyXjho7h6tHjv2MN_-Rk-Fk39tPIbF9T8eWsgeUOYiOfOF5WXSRcnDnI5WclQR7YcCklA_0lWRTgZOCea7sYIgFCBPwEKVpnv9Dog8hhNM-At_xS35PhiMdTKQaJReamGx7mzlpoOkPKrDky5-Vp4xBP0nDmj8_1KlBElxw3x/s1080/Yeti-wallpapers%20edit%20smallest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="1080" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZFLXl4KLnj5O1evOyXjho7h6tHjv2MN_-Rk-Fk39tPIbF9T8eWsgeUOYiOfOF5WXSRcnDnI5WclQR7YcCklA_0lWRTgZOCea7sYIgFCBPwEKVpnv9Dog8hhNM-At_xS35PhiMdTKQaJReamGx7mzlpoOkPKrDky5-Vp4xBP0nDmj8_1KlBElxw3x/s320/Yeti-wallpapers%20edit%20smallest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Note: I have written this article for Mysterious Universe (MU) </span></i></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2019, the Indian Army reported finding gigantic footprints measuring 32 inches * 15 inches at the Makalu base camp, high in the Himalayas, which they believed could be that of the elusive Yeti. Very similar tracks were observed by Major Bill Tillman nearly 80 years ago, which had been at that time linked to the Yeti as well. Various other clues seem to indicate that the Yeti phenomenon may be linked to the monsters of the Indian epics called "rakshasas".</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Read the full article here: </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/09/The-Giant-Yeti-Footprints-found-by-the-Indian-Army-Clues-Lead-to-Monsters-of-Indian-Legends-/</span><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-58218163650797865862022-08-20T22:33:00.007+05:302022-08-24T17:39:02.666+05:30The Phoenix: Is it a Mythical Bird or a Sungrazing, Jupiter Family Comet?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcXtagydAOyC9rTRwgqdUtbxttwywJAV2TXCc8dH9xxKBD5nCDy31z-jEIiF999TLZ6SG4jqlYJ5s7NknKV6k8jtnxhCIUkJmWyRtu5qQZoZEwwQZG2LxZ2xlzULYvugG19K-Q-pQeCI16Wae5FQ2Mvp8-__AW6DQBe0KCpIz7hkY3LDWkEAMxNOt/s1800/wallpaperflare%20edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1800" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcXtagydAOyC9rTRwgqdUtbxttwywJAV2TXCc8dH9xxKBD5nCDy31z-jEIiF999TLZ6SG4jqlYJ5s7NknKV6k8jtnxhCIUkJmWyRtu5qQZoZEwwQZG2LxZ2xlzULYvugG19K-Q-pQeCI16Wae5FQ2Mvp8-__AW6DQBe0KCpIz7hkY3LDWkEAMxNOt/s320/wallpaperflare%20edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Note: This is an article that I wrote for mysteriousuniverse.org.</span></i><br /><br />The legend of the <i>Phoenix</i> that rises from the ashes of its parent is quite well-known. Herodotus had taken this legend to Greece from Egypt, where it was called the <i>Benu Bird</i>. When we read the legends and descriptions of the Benu Bird or the Phoenix, and its counterparts in the Mediterranean region such as the <i>Aetos Dios</i> (Eagle of Zeus) in Greece, the <i>Aquila</i> of the Romans or the <i>Double-headed Eagle</i> that became a symbol of imperial strength and authority across Europe, it becomes quite clear that the Phoenix is not a terrestrial bird, but a periodic comet, that gets very close to the Sun during its perihelion passage (i.e. a <i>Sungrazing comet</i>), and whose apehelion is near the orbit of Jupiter (i.e. a <i>Jupiter-family comet</i>). Like many other comets, it has a <i>double-lobed nucleus</i>, because of which it was also represented as a double-headed eagle. The comet periodically strikes the Earth with fiery projectiles and seeds our planet with water and life, acting as the herald of a new dispensation.<br /><br />Read the full article here: <a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/08/The-Phoenix-Is-it-a-Bird-or-a-Sungrazing-Jupiter-Family-Comet-/" target="_blank">https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2022/08/The-Phoenix-Is-it-a-Bird-or-a-Sungrazing-Jupiter-Family-Comet-/</a></span></span><br /><p></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-52669145005726118262021-06-07T12:33:00.040+05:302022-08-20T19:09:00.523+05:30Orion, Taurus, Pleiades and the Legends of Kartikeya, Horus, Nergal and Apollo<p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b></p><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b></p><p></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAx1MFxBcus/YMCxCSsYp_I/AAAAAAAADxU/dedRhqR90g4fbcWuZKoyrPhyfGM_0EwWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/Orion%2BTaurus%2Bsmall%2Bbright.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kAx1MFxBcus/YMCxCSsYp_I/AAAAAAAADxU/dedRhqR90g4fbcWuZKoyrPhyfGM_0EwWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Orion%2BTaurus%2Bsmall%2Bbright.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></b></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Orion and Kartikeya <br /></span></span></b></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of all the constellations that embellish the night sky, it is Orion which is probably the most conspicuous and easily recognizable one. Since the Orion constellation lies on the celestial equator, just south of the ecliptic, it can be seen from any part of the world. <span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The three stars of Orion’s Belt – <i>Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka</i> – form a pattern that is hard to miss. Orion contains two of the ten brightest stars in the sky – <i>Rigel and Betelgeuse</i>. Betelgeuse defines the right shoulder of Orion, while Rigel marks the left foot. The left shoulder of Orion is defined by another particularly bright star - <i>Bellatrix</i>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xh3gyUZ3L_k/YMCpgvVO92I/AAAAAAAADw8/d5HT6M0kxaENrrheDn7KlnGV_BuRmctigCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/SkyChart_2_Orion%2B-edit%2Bsmall.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Orion and other neighboring constellations" border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1048" height="340" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xh3gyUZ3L_k/YMCpgvVO92I/AAAAAAAADw8/d5HT6M0kxaENrrheDn7KlnGV_BuRmctigCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h340/SkyChart_2_Orion%2B-edit%2Bsmall.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 1: The Orion and other neighboring constellations. SkyChart software.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>I<span>n
Greek mythology, Orion - the son of the sea-god Poseidon – was a mighty
hunter of great beauty and enormous strength. In Homer’s <i>Odyssey</i>,
his shade is seen by Odysseus in the lower world, driving the wild
beasts with a great bronze club. In ancient star maps, Orion was
visualized as a hunter, holding a club in his right hand and a shield or
lion pelt in his left, facing the charge of Taurus, the bull. </span></span></span></span></span></span> <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The bright star <i>Aldebaran</i> marks the eye of the bull, while on the shoulder of the bull is the famous <i>Pleiades</i> star cluster – known to the Greeks as the Seven Sisters. Just below Orion is the constellation of <i>Lepus</i>, the hare, and behind Orion is his hunting dog, the <i>Canis Major</i> (Greater Dog) constellation, containing <i>Sirius</i> – the brightest star in the night sky.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0VCSDPgwdU/YMCp4yVoNmI/AAAAAAAADxE/AoUyC6skkN4F0eVhDUFnQ_noYUynsLD4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/Orion%2BTaurus%2Bsmall.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Orion facing the charge of Taurus, followed by his hunting dog Canis Major" border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="1048" height="362" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0VCSDPgwdU/YMCp4yVoNmI/AAAAAAAADxE/AoUyC6skkN4F0eVhDUFnQ_noYUynsLD4QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h362/Orion%2BTaurus%2Bsmall.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 2: Orion facing the charge of Taurus, followed by his hunting dog Canis Major. Stellarium software.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For a long time, the star chart of this part of the night sky has been a subject of mysteries and speculations. Who really was Orion, the hunter? Although the sky chart shows Orion facing the charge of Taurus, the bull, there are no stories in Greek legends which describe such an event. What ancient story does this sky chart encode?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Orion’s identity as a hunter and warrior was pervasive in the ancient world. In Hungary, Orion is known as a magical "archer" or "scyther". Some recently discovered Hungarian legends associate him with Nimrod, a famous hunter. The Chinese called the constellation Shen (“Three Stars”) and knew it as “the hunter constellation”. It was of interest to me, therefore, to figure out who Orion might have represented in the Indian context. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When we think of a “hunter” deity in the Indian tradition, the first name that comes to mind is that of <i>Rudra</i> (Shiva), who is described in the Rig Veda as a fearsome hunter, armed with a bow and fast flying arrows [1]. At the same time, Rudra-Shiva’s son <i>Kartikeya</i> – who is the leader of the celestial army - is also a great warrior and hunter. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya’s identity as a hunter is best illustrated in the Tamil legend about <i>Murugan</i> (a popular name of Kartikeya in Southern India), in which the Vedars, an indigenous group of hunter-gatherers, worshiped Murugan as their ancestral “hunting god”. In the same story, Murugan adopts the guise of a handsome tribal hunter in order to court <i>Valli </i>(who becomes his second wife). </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the <i>Mahabharata</i>, one of the epithets of Kartikeya is <i>Rudra </i>[2], which indicates that this title – signifying a fearsome warrior and hunter - was applicable both to him and to his father Shiva. Incidentally, Rudra is also the “presiding deity” of the star <i>Betelgeuse</i>, which is known as the <i>Ardra nakshatra</i> (i.e. lunar asterism) in the Vedic nakshatra system.</span></span><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aRRnjR8Bc0o/YLzR3Yuzy1I/AAAAAAAADto/Rz4__5QWE_UJvwjMgar-Hs9trrBgaltCACLcBGAsYHQ/s1149/Skanda%2Bseated%2Bon%2Ba%2Bpeacock%252C%2Bholding%2Ba%2Bspear%2Band%2Bflower%252C%2BKannauj%252C%2BNorth%2BIndia%252C%2B8th%2Bcentury%2BCE%252C%2BZippymarmalade%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kartikeya seated on a peacock holding a spear" border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aRRnjR8Bc0o/YLzR3Yuzy1I/AAAAAAAADto/Rz4__5QWE_UJvwjMgar-Hs9trrBgaltCACLcBGAsYHQ/w279-h400/Skanda%2Bseated%2Bon%2Ba%2Bpeacock%252C%2Bholding%2Ba%2Bspear%2Band%2Bflower%252C%2BKannauj%252C%2BNorth%2BIndia%252C%2B8th%2Bcentury%2BCE%252C%2BZippymarmalade%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 3: Kartikeya
seated on a peacock holding a spear. Kannauj, North India, 8th century
CE. Credit: Zippymarmalade CC BY-SA 3.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like Orion, Kartikeya is renowned for his enormous strength, for he is referred to as the “strong-armed god”. He also possesses dazzling good looks like Orion, as indicated by his epithets such as <i>Lalita</i> (The beautiful), <i>Kanta</i> (The handsome), <i>Diptavarna</i> (The bright-complexioned), <i>Subhanana</i> (Of beautiful face) etc.[3] Orion is generally shown in the star maps holding a club in his upraised right hand. Although the spear is Kartikeya’s favorite weapon, he also wields a club. That is why one of his names is <i>Dandapani</i> (Wielder of the club).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Evidently, there are very specific symbolic connections between Orion and Kartikeya. We can gather additional knowledge about Orion from the <i>Dendera Zodiac</i>, which was inscribed on the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, Egypt, built during the Ptolemaic Period. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the Dendera Zodiac, Orion is called Sah, the “Fleet-footed” or “Long-strider”. He holds a <i>was scepter</i>, which is generally seen in the hands of Egyptian gods such as Horus or Set, and a <i>flail</i> – the insignia of a pharaoh. As per Gavin White, in the Babylonian star catalogues of the Late Bronze Age [4], Orion is called the “True Shepherd of Anu”- Anu being the supreme ruler of the heavens in the Mesopotamian pantheon.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3DkSL8mm8k/YL88AdG79_I/AAAAAAAADv0/JskmTBTU7k8EreUxlTgCNdCKh5KTMvu0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1047/A%2BSketch%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDendera%2BZodiac%252C%2BPicture%2Bfrom%2BPopular%2BBible%2BEncyclopedia%2Bof%2BArchimandrite%2BNicephorus%2B1891%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain%2Bedit2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1047" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s3DkSL8mm8k/YL88AdG79_I/AAAAAAAADv0/JskmTBTU7k8EreUxlTgCNdCKh5KTMvu0wCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h259/A%2BSketch%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDendera%2BZodiac%252C%2BPicture%2Bfrom%2BPopular%2BBible%2BEncyclopedia%2Bof%2BArchimandrite%2BNicephorus%2B1891%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain%2Bedit2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 4: A Sketch of
the Dendera Zodiac in the Popular Bible Encyclopedia of Archimandrite
Nicephorus (1891). Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Right behind Sah on the Dendera Zodiac is a “crested bird”. Gavin White mentions that, in the Babylonian star catalogue, a “Rooster” is located behind the figure of the “True Shepherd of Anu”, corresponding to the position of the <i>Lepus</i> constellation.[5] The rooster is also a popular symbol of Kartikeya. While the peacock serves as his vahana i.e. animal mount, the rooster is the emblem on his flag.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On many coins issued by the <i>Yaudheya</i> rulers of Northwestern India (c. 5th century BCE – 4th century CE), who ruled in the land between the Indus and Ganges Rivers, <i>Kartikeya is depicted holding a spear or scepter, with a cockerel by his side</i> – bearing a strong resemblance to the depiction of Sah on the Dendera Zodiac.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3gBVibcJFYs/YLzUjpmDTFI/AAAAAAAADt4/Y0CXl_NOfcIFPfybJF-j6n3RLGGmfX7fACLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/Karttikeya%2BWith%2BSpear%2BAnd%2Bcockerel%252C%2Bcoin%2Bof%2Bthe%2BYaudheyas%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPHGCOM%252C%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kartikeya holding a spear / scepter with a cockerel to his left." border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1040" height="391" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3gBVibcJFYs/YLzUjpmDTFI/AAAAAAAADt4/Y0CXl_NOfcIFPfybJF-j6n3RLGGmfX7fACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h391/Karttikeya%2BWith%2BSpear%2BAnd%2Bcockerel%252C%2Bcoin%2Bof%2Bthe%2BYaudheyas%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPHGCOM%252C%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 5: Kartikeya
holding a spear / scepter with a cockerel to his left. Coin of the
Yaudheyas, British Museum. Credit: PHGCOM CC-BY-SA 3.0</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, Kartikeya is associated both with Orion as well as Sah on the Dendera Zodiac. This opens up a new door for understanding the symbolism of this sky chart, for the legend of Kartikeya killing the buffalo-demon <i>Mahisha</i> with his spear (or <i>Shakti</i>) perfectly explains the imagery of Orion facing the charge of Taurus the bull.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya Slays Mahisha</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <i>Markandeya-Samasya Parva</i> [6] of the epic <i>Mahabharata</i> describes in great detail the fight between the gods and the daityas (demons), in which Kartikeya, who was leading the celestial forces as their commander, slew the evil, shape-shifting, buffalo-demon called Mahisha using his spear. The battle had taken place near the sacred <i>Sarasvati River</i> in Northwest India, and the Mahabharata tells us that, when Mahisha was killed, “his head massive as a hillock, falling on the ground, barred the entrance to the country of the Northern Kurus.” </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was because of this terrific act of killing Mahisha that Kartikeya was given the epithet <i>Mahishardana</i> (The slayer of Mahisha). Indra, the King of the Gods, said to him, “this victory shall be celebrated as thy first achievement, and thy fame shall be undying in the three worlds.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the <i>earliest</i> account of the slaying of Mahisha found in any Indian text. However, sometime around the 5th century CE - with the composition of the <i>Devi Mahatyma</i> - this feat of killing Mahisha became associated with the goddess Durga. Subsequently, there was a decline in the popularity of Kartikeya all over Northern India, although his appeal remained undiminished in Southern India. I had explored the possible reasons for this transference of mythology, in a previous article titled, “<a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2021/04/harappan-tablet-kartikeya-killing-mahisha.html">A Harappan tablet depicts Kartikeya slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha</a>”.[7] <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had also proposed that the image depicted on Harappan molded tablet (H95-2486) shows Kartikeya killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha with his spear, in the presence of his father <i>Rudra-Shiva</i>. The yogi with the horned headdress who is watching the scene is the same entity depicted on the <i>Pashupati seal</i> whom Sir John Marshall had identified as an early prototype of <i>Lord Shiva</i>. As per the Mahabharata, Rudra-Shiva was present on the battlefield to witness the slaying of the buffalo-demon Mahisha by Kartikeya.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bdgqfdGddY/YMCcMddg0KI/AAAAAAAADw0/pJmkUY7RMhAuj2yd0wfDe4Ry6APyQkYRQCLcBGAsYHQ/s533/Indus%2Bseal%2Bspearing%2Ba%2Bbuffalo%2BOrion2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="533" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9bdgqfdGddY/YMCcMddg0KI/AAAAAAAADw0/pJmkUY7RMhAuj2yd0wfDe4Ry6APyQkYRQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h301/Indus%2Bseal%2Bspearing%2Ba%2Bbuffalo%2BOrion2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 6: Harappa
molded tablet H95-2486 depicting Kartikeya killing Mahisha with his
spear, in the presence of Rudra-Shiva. This is the legend of Orion
facing the charge of Taurus, the bull. Source: harappa.com. <a href="https://www.harappa.com/slide/molded-tablet-0" target="_blank">Link</a>.<br /></span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya is grasping the buffalo’s horn with his extended </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">left hand</span></span>, while his right arm is upraised and holding the spear. <i>This is similar to the manner in which Orion is shown on the Greek sky charts.</i> Kartikeya’s spear has been thrust into the shoulder of the charging buffalo, and this is where the <i>Pleiades star cluster</i> is located.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Indian legends, the Pleiades has a strong connection with Kartikeya. In Vedic astronomy, the Pleiades star cluster is known as the <i>Krittika nakshatra</i>. The six prominent stars of the Pleiades are regarded as the six Krittika sisters. They were the wives of six of the <i>Seven Sages</i> (Saptarshis), who are represented in Vedic astronomy by the seven prominent stars of the <i>Ursa Major</i> (Great Bear / Big Dipper) constellation. The six Krittika sisters had moved away from their husbands in order to nurse the infant god Kartikeya, and only one of them (Arundhati) stayed back with her husband (Vasistha). Vasistha-Arundhati are the binary double Mizar-Alcor in the Ursa Major constellation.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The term Krittika means “one who cuts”, and its symbol is a sharp tool such as a knife or spear. The Krittikas were also identified with the <i>Sapta Matrikas</i> (Seven Mothers) of Hinduism, who took on the forms of ferocious warriors and assisted the goddess Durga in her battle against the demons. The Sapta Matrikas are regarded as the seven <i>Shaktis</i> (the term “Shakti” means the primordial cosmic energy of the universe) of the goddess Durga.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, the Pleiades constellation is symbolized by a “spear”, and the Krittika sisters are regarded as the “Shaktis” of Durga. <i>This means that the spear or Shakti used by Kartikeya for killing Mahisha represents the Pleiades</i>. On the Harappa tablet, the spear has been thrust into the shoulder of the charging buffalo, and this is where the Pleiades are located in the ancient star maps – on the shoulder of Taurus, the bull. This is the point where the energy or Shakti of the Krittikas has been focused in order to slay Mahisha. In essence, therefore, Kartikeya slays Mahisha with the help of the Pleiades, who have transformed into his weapon.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, all the elements of the story of Kartikeya slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha fall into place in this sky chart. Orion, the hunter, is Kartikeya, Taurus is the buffalo-demon Mahisha, while the Pleiades represents the spear of Kartikeya which has been thrust into the shoulder of Mahisha. Evidently, this part of the sky was envisioned as a grand storyboard to immortalize the tremendous feat of Kartikeya.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having understood the mythological backdrop of this sky chart, let us go back and try to figure out who the deity Sah / Orion </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">on the Dendera Zodiac </span></span>truly represents in the Egyptian context.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Horus is Orion</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a general perception that the Orion constellation represents Osiris, although this association has not been explicitly specified in any Egyptian text. On the contrary, the Greek biographer Plutarch wrote that the Egyptians regarded the Orion constellation to be sacred to <i>Horus</i>, the falcon-headed sky god. In <i>De Iside et Osiride</i> (“Concerning Isis and Osiris”), Plutarch wrote:<br /></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“Moreover, they give to Osiris the title of general, and the title of pilot to Canopus, from whom they say that the star derives its name; also that the vessel which the Greeks call Argo, in form like the ship of Osiris, has been set among the constellations in his honor, and its course lies not far from that of Orion and the Dog-star; <i>of these the Egyptians believe that one is sacred to Horus and the other to Isis.</i>”[8]</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Since the Dog-star is known to be sacred to Isis, this means Orion was sacred to Horus. As we noted earlier, Sah / Orion on the Dendera Zodiac is called the “Fleet-footed” or “Long-strider”. Both of these epithets are applicable to Horus, who was symbolized by the falcon – the fastest animal on our planet. Osiris, on the other hand, was restricted to the Underworld. He was depicted in a mummified form as he had murdered by Set and was restored to life by Isis. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In addition, Sah / Orion was also depicted like Horus, in a striding form, holding the <i>was scepter</i> in his outstretched left hand. Osiris was typically represented in a standing or seated posture holding the crook and the flail across his chest. So, the epithets of Sah as well as his iconography, reminds us of Horus, and not Osiris.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLH69Y0onfE/YL88Qoz-SdI/AAAAAAAADv8/j5PkY6t_KvcUYSLa2oTn_yCgun-6F2nMwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1047/A%2BSketch%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDendera%2BZodiac%252C%2BPicture%2Bfrom%2BPopular%2BBible%2BEncyclopedia%2Bof%2BArchimandrite%2BNicephorus%2B1891%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain%2Bedit2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1047" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLH69Y0onfE/YL88Qoz-SdI/AAAAAAAADv8/j5PkY6t_KvcUYSLa2oTn_yCgun-6F2nMwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h260/A%2BSketch%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDendera%2BZodiac%252C%2BPicture%2Bfrom%2BPopular%2BBible%2BEncyclopedia%2Bof%2BArchimandrite%2BNicephorus%2B1891%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain%2Bedit2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 7: On the Dendera Zodiac, the striding Sah / Orion carries a “was scepter” and wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CC_WTrwK5mE/YLztCaBBESI/AAAAAAAADuQ/dWLkp7IrAvAwHJczSLZVe3FKQDw3cvxCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s770/Horus%2BHathor%2BEdfu2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Horus and Hathor receiving a scarab offering from the Pharaoh." border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="770" height="318" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CC_WTrwK5mE/YLztCaBBESI/AAAAAAAADuQ/dWLkp7IrAvAwHJczSLZVe3FKQDw3cvxCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h318/Horus%2BHathor%2BEdfu2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 8: Horus and Hathor receiving a scarab offering from the Pharaoh. Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the Dendera Zodiac, the symbol of the “Horus falcon on a perch” is right behind the figure of Orion / Sah. This symbol does not correspond to any constellation in the Greek or Babylonian systems. In Egypt, the symbol of the Horus falcon perched on a stylized palace enclosure was called the Serekh. The name of the pharaoh was written within the Serekh.<i> It indicated that the living king was a manifestation of Horus on earth. </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was the earliest of the king’s symbols, used since the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The presence of this symbol behind Orion / Sah suggests that <i>it is the banner or standard of Sah</i>; <i>and that Sah is Horus from whom the heavenly mandate to rule descends to the earthly king</i>. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d5eyob8gosQ/YLztqTI9IKI/AAAAAAAADuY/8PlRZMIxUdchw-uXwtR9RnSej-9bY2VAACLcBGAsYHQ/s788/Serekh%2Bof%2BPharaoh%2BDjet%252C%2B1st%2BDynasty%252C%2Bfrom%2Bhis%2Btomb%2Bat%2BAbydos%252C%2Bon%2Bdisplay%2Bat%2Bthe%2BLouvre%252C%2BCredit%2BGuillaume%2BBlanchard%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Serekh of Pharaoh Djet, 1st Dynasty, from his tomb at Abydos, Egypt." border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="477" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d5eyob8gosQ/YLztqTI9IKI/AAAAAAAADuY/8PlRZMIxUdchw-uXwtR9RnSej-9bY2VAACLcBGAsYHQ/w242-h400/Serekh%2Bof%2BPharaoh%2BDjet%252C%2B1st%2BDynasty%252C%2Bfrom%2Bhis%2Btomb%2Bat%2BAbydos%252C%2Bon%2Bdisplay%2Bat%2Bthe%2BLouvre%252C%2BCredit%2BGuillaume%2BBlanchard%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B1.jpg" width="242" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 9: Serekh of
Pharaoh Djet, 1st Dynasty, from his tomb at Abydos, Egypt. On display at
the Louvre Museum. Credit: Guillaume Blanchard CC BY-SA 1.0</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <i>Narmer Palette</i> (c.3100 BCE), found at the Temple of Horus at Nekhen, provides one of the earliest depictions of the Egyptian king. Here, <i>King Narmer</i> is depicted like Orion on the Greek sky charts, with striding legs, holding a mace in his upraised right hand, and grasping the hair of a kneeling enemy with his outstretched left hand. <i>Since the King was the living manifestation of Horus on earth, this implies that Orion must be Horus</i>. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In front of the King is the <i>Horus falcon</i>, perched above a set of papyrus flowers – symbolizing kingship and the divine mandate to rule. On the top of the palette are two human faced bovine heads which are thought to be those of the cow-goddess <i>Bat or Hathor</i> – the consort of Horus.<span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hnVmpe0ecMc/YLzusjBAEOI/AAAAAAAADug/MdNyyD1R4T86hb1DrkABb8yCiK63V5VHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s945/Narmer_Palette_smiting_side.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Narmer Palette c.3100 BCE, Egyptian Museum, Cairo" border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hnVmpe0ecMc/YLzusjBAEOI/AAAAAAAADug/MdNyyD1R4T86hb1DrkABb8yCiK63V5VHgCLcBGAsYHQ/w434-h640/Narmer_Palette_smiting_side.jpg" width="434" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 10: The Narmer Palette c.3100 BCE, Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Incidentally, the symbol of a “bird on a perch” was also a symbol of royalty in India, where it is called the <i>Garuda banner</i> or <i>Garuda standard</i>, Garuda being the eagle mount (vahana) of Vishnu. A number of coins issued by the Gupta Emperors show the king holding a scepter in his left hand, standing next to the Garuda banner.</span></span><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEXYNwAm56o/YLzvLrNLKcI/AAAAAAAADuo/5EjIGD5RdRAFFsnDL3XIMDwLBVIzEBglgCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/Garuda%2Bbanner%2Bon%2Ba%2BSamudragupta%2Bcoin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Garuda banner on a gold coin issued by Emperor Samudragupta" border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="800" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEXYNwAm56o/YLzvLrNLKcI/AAAAAAAADuo/5EjIGD5RdRAFFsnDL3XIMDwLBVIzEBglgCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h317/Garuda%2Bbanner%2Bon%2Ba%2BSamudragupta%2Bcoin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 11: Garuda
banner on a gold coin issued by Emperor Samudragupta (c.335-380 CE). The
King is holding a bow in his hand. British Museum. Credit: PHGCOM CC
BY-SA 3.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Coming back to the Dendera Zodiac, behind the Serekh or “Horus falcon on a perch” we can see a “cow on a bark” which represents the Egyptian goddess <i>Sothis</i> (Sopdek) - the personification of the star <i>Sirius</i>. Sothis was regarded as the consort of Sah, which would mean that she is the goddess <i>Hathor</i>, the consort of Horus. The iconography certainly attests to that. Hathor not only wears a headdress of cow horns with a solar disk, but in many depictions she is depicted as a cow, either protecting or nursing the pharaoh. Hathor was the goddess of waters, milk, nourishment and fertility, and Sothis was also associated with floods and fertility since the heliacal rising of Sirius preceded the annual flooding of the Nile.<br /></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3L-ixQSzvs/YLzwqc2XJ0I/AAAAAAAADuw/eqgCGI1-hfcIp8Mh4x8Mzy2hwHrWyyHowCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Hathor%2BLouvre.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hathor depicted in the form of a standing cow, flanked by three different forms of Hathor," border="0" data-original-height="1559" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--3L-ixQSzvs/YLzwqc2XJ0I/AAAAAAAADuw/eqgCGI1-hfcIp8Mh4x8Mzy2hwHrWyyHowCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h305/Hathor%2BLouvre.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 12: Hathor
depicted in the form of a standing cow, flanked by three different forms
of Hathor - seated with a crown, standing with lioness head (Sekhmet), and female
headed serpent. Ramesside period (c.1295 - 1069 BCE) from Deir
el-Medina. Louvre, Paris. Credit: Rama CC BY-SA
3.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If Sothis is Hathor, one might ask as to why the Egyptians regarded the star Sirius as being sacred to Isis. The answer is simple: <i>Isis and Hathor are two names of the same goddess.</i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hathor was thought of not only as the consort of Horus but also as his mother, and there are many images of the Hathor-cow nourishing the infant Horus in a papyrus thicket. In fact, <i>Egyptologists believe that Hathor was originally Horus’s mother, before that role was taken over by Isis</i>. Similarly, Isis was not only the mother of Horus, but in some cases she was his consort. For instance, Horus was syncretized with the fertility god Min, and Min is said to have impregnated his mother Isis to engender himself. Thus, Isis was also regarded as Min's consort.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It appears that Hathor was the consort of many Egyptian deities, before she became associated with Horus. So, what probably happened was that, she was the companion of Osiris (as Isis) when Horus was born, and later became the consort of Horus.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a parallel with Indian legends, here. Hathor’s counterpart in the Hindu pantheon is the goddess <i>Lakshmi</i> - the goddess of fertility of the soil, motherhood, and abundance - <i>who is also worshiped in the form of a cow</i>. Just as Hathor transformed into the fierce, lion-headed goddess <i>Sekhmet</i> in order to punish humanity for rebelling against the rule of the sun-god Ra, the goddess Lakshmi also manifested as the lion-riding, war-goddess <i>Durga</i>, for battling the demons who had risen in war against the gods.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lakshmi had been the consorts of many gods – Yama (the Vedic counterpart of Osiris), Kubera and Indra - before she settled down as the consort of Vishnu.[9] As per the Mahabharata, however, Kartikeya’s consort Devasena is also called Lakshmi (hinting at a connection between Kartikeya and Vishnu). This belief is reflected in the coins minted by the Yaudheya rulers of Northwestern India, in which Devasena was shown standing next to a <i>kalasha</i> or “pot of plenty” – a symbol that was intrinsically associated with Lakshmi. Thus, <i>Kartikeya-Devasena</i> is the Indian counterpart of the Egyptian <i>Horus-Hathor</i>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the Dendera Zodiac, the Taurus constellation is shown in front of Orion / Sah, although it is not clear if they are battling each other. However, a panel on the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, depicts a bull being speared by a falcon-headed god, who is named here “Horus, fighter against enemies”. </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvri1LqmM_Y/YR9I3TvIGUI/AAAAAAAAD3k/AEfB6QC6Fuc3hAgz07RyE1va4PKO-7FvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s940/Dendera%2BTemple%2BHorus%2Bspears%2BSeth%2Bbull%2Bedit1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="940" height="338" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvri1LqmM_Y/YR9I3TvIGUI/AAAAAAAAD3k/AEfB6QC6Fuc3hAgz07RyE1va4PKO-7FvQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h338/Dendera%2BTemple%2BHorus%2Bspears%2BSeth%2Bbull%2Bedit1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 13: Horus spearing the Seth bull, held in chains by Isis-Djamet in the form of a hippopotamus. The seven stars of the Pleiades encircle the bull. This is the inspiration behind the sky map of Orion facing the charge of Taurus. Photo Credit: Mick Palarczyk. <a href="https://paulsmit.smugmug.com/Features/Africa/Egypt-Dendera-temple/i-XLZvx8S/A" target="_blank">Link</a>.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The bull in this image is believed to be a representation of Seth, the evil god of chaos and disorder, who was also called the “Bull of Ombos”. In fact, Seth has been depicted in a bull-headed, winged form on a <a href="http://www.joanlansberry.com/setfind/setspear.html" target="_blank">limestone stela of the New Kingdom</a>. The bull, here, is being held in chains by a hippopotamus goddess called Isis-Djamet (the mother/consort of Horus). The bull is surrounded by seven stars, which, in all likelihood, represent the seven prominent stars of the Pleiades. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Thus, we have a remarkable depiction of Horus spearing the Seth-bull, with the help of the Pleiades and Isis.</i> This not only corresponds to the Hindu legend of Kartikeya killing Mahisha with his spear, but also provides a convincing explanation of the sky map of Orion facing the charge of Taurus, the bull.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interestingly, the Egyptian understanding of the Pleiades was strikingly similar to that of the Indians. As per the Egyptian texts, the goddess Hathor manifested as the “Seven Hathors”, who are identified with the seven stars of the Pleiades. This shows an exact correspondence to the Indian notion of the <i>Sapta Matrikas</i> (Seven Mothers) who are regarded as the manifestations of the goddess Durga / Lakshmi, and are identified with the Pleiades.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Seven Hathors were shown as beautiful women carrying tambourines and wearing a cow-horned headdress with a sun disk in the center (like Hathor). <i>The Seven Hathors celebrate the birth of a new child</i>, and make infallible prophecies about his future. In a similar vein, the Sapta Matrikas of Hinduism were venerated as the <i>protectors of infants and children</i>.<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHCE7VKXfLY/YLzzZSbOI6I/AAAAAAAADu4/N_qRxwIDzGQxz5s3KpYSs8NjrGWS3fNeACLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Seven%2BHathors.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Seven Hathors playing on the tambourine. Temple of Horus at Edfu." border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LHCE7VKXfLY/YLzzZSbOI6I/AAAAAAAADu4/N_qRxwIDzGQxz5s3KpYSs8NjrGWS3fNeACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Seven%2BHathors.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 14: The Seven Hathors playing on the tambourine. Temple of Horus at Edfu. Source: Pininterest.com</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zL-VSAxPHzg/YRysWV2DTtI/AAAAAAAAD24/58NyRIoigqYN6Yuhq-KBeo9jgWsYryI0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s3239/The%2BSeven%2BMatrikas%2BFlanked%2Bby%2BShiva%2Band%2BGanesha%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2B9th%2Bcentury%252C%2BSource%2BLos%2BAngeles%2BCounty%2BMuseum%2Bof%2BArt%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Sapta Matrikas (Seven Mothers) depicted as dancers and warriors" border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="3239" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zL-VSAxPHzg/YRysWV2DTtI/AAAAAAAAD24/58NyRIoigqYN6Yuhq-KBeo9jgWsYryI0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h192/The%2BSeven%2BMatrikas%2BFlanked%2Bby%2BShiva%2Band%2BGanesha%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2B9th%2Bcentury%252C%2BSource%2BLos%2BAngeles%2BCounty%2BMuseum%2Bof%2BArt%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 15: The Sapta Matrikas (Seven Mothers) depicted as dancers and warriors. They are flanked by Shiva and Ganesha. Madhya Pradesh, 9th century. Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Public Domain.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the legend of Osiris and Isis, after Isis gives birth to Horus in the papyrus thickets of the Nile Delta, she travels among humans and seeks their help. According to one such story, seven minor scorpion deities travel with her and guard her. They take revenge on a wealthy woman who refused to help Isis by stinging the woman’s son, making it necessary for the goddess to heal the blameless child.[10] <i>The seven minor scorpion deities are probably the Seven Hathors, for even Isis sometimes manifested as a scorpion</i>. As per the Indian tradition, the Sapta Matrikas inflict diseases on infants if they are displeased, which is exactly what the seven scorpion deities did in the Egyptian legend.</span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, the connections between Kartikeya and Horus are far-reaching – extending at a symbolic, iconographical and mythological level - and leave little room for doubt that they are the same deity, albeit in different cultures. Let me sum up some of these associations:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya was born in a field of reeds and was nursed by the six Krittika sisters (or Seven Mothers), and Horus was born in a papyrus thicket in the Nile marshlands, and was nursed by Isis and the Seven Hathors.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya was the god of war and royalty, whose emblem were the peacock and the rooster while Horus was the war-god of Egypt, and the emblem of the “Horus falcon on a perch” symbolized kingship in ancient Egypt. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya killed the buffalo-demon Mahisha using his spear, while Horus defeated the Seth-bull by spearing him.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kartikeya was assisted in his battle against Mahisha by the Seven Mothers i.e. the Pleiades sisters, while Horus was assisted by his mother Isis and the Seven Hathors i.e. the Pleiades. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Horus’s consort Hathor was the goddess of fertility and motherhood, and Kartikeya’s consort Devasena was also called Lakshmi, who symbolized fertility, wealth and motherhood.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Horus was frequently depicted as a child and one of his names is <i>Harpocrates</i> (“Horus the Child”), while Kartikeya is regarded as a youthful god and one of his popular epithets is <i>Kumara</i> (meaning “child”).</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another name of Horus was <i>Haroeris</i> (“Horus the Elder)”, in which form he is the defender of order and upholder of truth. Kartikeya, too, is an indefatigable upholder of truth and dharma.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Horus as <i>Harmakhis</i> (“Horus in the Horizon”), represented the dawn and the morning sun, while Kartikeya has been described as a “Red God” who “shines like the sun rising in the midst of red clouds,”[11] and his emblem - the rooster - is the herald of the dawn.</span></span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another question that was of interest to me is<i> the identity of Orion in the Babylonian pantheon</i>, where he was called the “True Shepherd of Anu”. Gavin White believes that the “True Shepherd” was the Akkadian god <i>Papshukal</i>. Papshukal functioned as a “gatekeeper” to the higher deities. He was invoked to intercede with the higher gods and goddesses on behalf of human supplicants.[12] Gavin White writes that the rooster is the “animal symbol” of Papshukal, since on many Babylonian boundary stones he was represented by the figure of a crested walking bird.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, I found it difficult to associate Orion with a relatively minor deity like Papshukal who functioned as an attendant or gatekeeper to the higher deities. <i>Both Horus and Kartikeya are exceedingly important and powerful deities of their respective pantheons</i>. So the Babylonian counterpart of Orion must have been equally powerful. Perhaps, Papshukal was known by another name? Or, maybe there was another god who was associated with a rooster? </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nergal, Apollo and Orion</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the interesting connections between Horus and Kartikeya is that they were both nurtured by the Pleiades sisters. In addition, Kartikeya used the Pleiades as his “weapon” – the spear or Shakti – to slay Mahisha. I was curious, therefore, to find out if there was a Babylonian deity <i>who was also closely associated with the Pleiades</i>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And indeed, there is. He is <i>Nergal</i> – the son of Enlil – the deity of war and plagues, generally depicted holding a mace and a scimitar. Nergal was invoked as a protector, and was called upon in prayers to battle evil demons and spirits. He was addressed by epithets such as the “the strong one”, the “scorcher”, who protected the country “like a bolt” [13].</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Like Kartikeya, Nergal is “the one who goes in front”, and like Horus, he is the “caretaker of the king”.[14] Due to his strength, he was compared to a bull or lion. Nergal’s (Erra’s) self-introductory statement in the Epic of Erra serves as a guide to his iconography: "In heaven I am a wild bull, in the netherworld I am a lion, <i>in the land I am king</i>, among the gods I am the fierce one...<i>on the war path I am the standard</i>.”[15]</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqFtjQ_Vghk/YL8hnTjg6oI/AAAAAAAADvs/Xsnq76-s-ZsVosDoX7QAzp6_5AfNS3WtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s315/Nergal.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nergal holding a double-lion mace and a scimitar" border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LqFtjQ_Vghk/YL8hnTjg6oI/AAAAAAAADvs/Xsnq76-s-ZsVosDoX7QAzp6_5AfNS3WtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Nergal.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 16: Nergal holding a double-lion mace and a scimitar. Fragment of an impression of seal from Larsa, 2nd millennium BCE, Baghdadi Museum. Credit: Umbisag CC BY-SA 4.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table>Like Horus and Kartikeya, Nergal’s presence was required to defend the kingdom and maintain peace and order. This is why he also had the title <i>Lugal-Silimma</i> (The lord of peace). F. Wiggerman writes, “The complementary character traits of the armed god are expressed by the names of his two dragons at the gate of the Emeslam, his temple in Kutha: <i>War and Peace</i>.”[16] This matches with the traits of Kartikeya, who, in spite of being a warrior god, was wise, pure and tranquil, and the doer of good acts, as indicated by his epithets such as <i>Prasantatman</i> (Of tranquil soul), <i>Suchi</i> (The pure), <i>Bhadrakrit </i>(The doer of good).[17]</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nergal was closely associated with the “Seven Gods” or <i>Sebettu / Sebitti</i>, who were seven warrior-gods associated with the Pleiades. On seals, they were represented by seven dots or seven stars. The Seven are described as “seven awesome weapons” fashioned by Anu, who could “turn the lands desolate and make the people perish”. Armed with bows and arrows, battle axes and swords, they followed their leader <i>Erra</i> (Nergal) into battle. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marduk, the King of the Gods in the Babylonian pantheon, is accompanied on his military campaigns by Nergal and the Sebettu. The <i>Acrostic hymn to Marduk</i> states, “On your left is Erragal (Nergal), the strongest one of the gods, in front of [you go] the valiant Pleiades.”[18]</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N5LiDA8FTw4/YL0O0TX73yI/AAAAAAAADvI/AIxntQga-rc9vA76M8Bdu2tn10Owqp5oACLcBGAsYHQ/s1854/Pleiades%2Bmesopotamia.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Neo-Assyrian Cylinder Seal, from c.800-750 BCE. The cluster of seven dots in the sky are the Pleiades or Sebettu." border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1854" height="259" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N5LiDA8FTw4/YL0O0TX73yI/AAAAAAAADvI/AIxntQga-rc9vA76M8Bdu2tn10Owqp5oACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h259/Pleiades%2Bmesopotamia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 17:
Neo-Assyrian Cylinder Seal, from c.800-750 BCE. The cluster of seven
dots in the sky are the Pleiades or Sebettu. Source: British Museum CC
BY-NC-SA 4.0</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">E<span style="font-family: inherit;">vidently, the Sebettu are connected to the Krtittikas or <i>Sapta Matrikas</i> (Seven Mothers) of Hinduism, who are associated with the Pleiades and have been portrayed as ferocious warriors on the battlefield. Both sets of deities and function as the “weapons” of their leader – Kartikeya and Nergal!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another interesting fact about Nergal, which makes his association with Orion even more obvious, is that, according to the Talmudists <i>his emblem was a rooster or cockerel</i> [19]. In fact, the name Nergal means a “dunghill cock.”[20] Nergal also had the epithet <i>Lugal-banda</i> meaning, “Nergal as the fighting-cock”. Thus, Nergal was not only a war god like Horus and Kartikeya, he was strongly associated with the Pleiades and had a rooster as his emblem. This is a clear indication that Nergal was represented by Orion / Sah on the Dendera Zodiac.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wiggerman writes that, “In SB Akkadian texts Nergal is sometimes the son or offspring of Anu”.[21] This implies that Nergal is also deserving of the epithet, “True Shepherd of Anu”, <i>which is the term for Orion in the Babylonian star catalogues</i>. Papshukal may have been a local name for him, for, in the god list <i>An = Anum</i>, Papshukal belongs to the circles of gods Nergal and Enki.[22] This is probably why Papshukal’s cult was later merged with that of Ninsubur, for Ninsubur was one of the many wives of Nergal. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nergal was not only a solar god, closely allied to <i>Shamash</i> (the sun-god), but he was also the "Lord of the big city (netherworld)” where the souls enjoy a communal afterlife. Since Nergal was married to <i>Ereshkigal</i>, the “Queen of the Netherworld”, he spent part of his time in the sky and part in the netherworld.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interestingly, on the Dendera Zodiac, just above the figure of Sah is the astrological symbol of <i>Gemini</i>, represented by the twins Castor and Pollux. According to Gavin White, in the Babylonian star catalogue, Gemini is called the Great Twins, “<i>who are closely related to Nergal, the king of the dead in Mesopotamia tradition</i>. The Twins stand guard, weapons at the ready, at the entrance to the underworld.”[23] Not surprisingly, they have been depicted close to Nergal on the sky chart.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The iconography of Nergal provides some important insights into the symbolism of the ancient star maps. A Parthian relief of Nergal shows him holding a sword and a battle axe. He is surrounded by serpents and scorpions, indicating his status as the “Lord of the Netherworld”. Incidentally, Kartikeya is also the “Lord of Serpents”, and is sometimes depicted standing under a serpent hood. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A bird is perched on top of Nergal’s forehead, probably his emblem - the cockerel. Most importantly, <i>Nergal’s waist band or belt is tied to a multi-headed dog with a serpent tail </i>– which is definitely the same dog that the Greeks knew as <i>Cerberus</i>, the hound of Hades (the Lord of the Underworld in Greek legends). Cerberus corresponds to <i>Sarvara</i> – the dog of Yama (the God of the Dead in Vedic beliefs). In nearly every ancient culture, dogs were believed to conduct (or accompany) the souls of the dead to the otherworld. It appears from this relief that, it is Nergal who is ultimately in charge of ensuring the safe passage of the souls of the deceased to the netherworld.<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8qJeM2nXEw/YL0Qj3FgbGI/AAAAAAAADvQ/tQJhHeqWvHgIMsDmvYGufqzxDYBTboaVwCLcBGAsYHQ/s607/Nergal%2BAncient_Parthian_relief_carving_of_the_god_Nergal_from_Hatra.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ancient Parthian relief carving of Nergal. Nergal’s belt is tied to multi-headed “hound of Hades”" border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E8qJeM2nXEw/YL0Qj3FgbGI/AAAAAAAADvQ/tQJhHeqWvHgIMsDmvYGufqzxDYBTboaVwCLcBGAsYHQ/w330-h400/Nergal%2BAncient_Parthian_relief_carving_of_the_god_Nergal_from_Hatra.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Figure 18: Ancient
Parthian relief carving of Nergal. Nergal’s belt is tied to multi-headed
“hound of Hades”. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</i></span>.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOWPAmovzHA/YMBPse3hNJI/AAAAAAAADws/DHu5QHmSWcca6mQj7RfqaCCeNUtWT5NgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s887/Orion%2BBelt%2BStars%2BCanis%2BMajor.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The three belt stars of Orion point directly to Sirius or Dog Star. Sirius is part of the Canis Major or Greater Dog constellation" border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="887" height="264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nOWPAmovzHA/YMBPse3hNJI/AAAAAAAADws/DHu5QHmSWcca6mQj7RfqaCCeNUtWT5NgQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h264/Orion%2BBelt%2BStars%2BCanis%2BMajor.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 19: The three belt stars of Orion point directly to Sirius or Dog Star. Sirius is part of the Canis Major or Greater Dog constellation. Stellarium software.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This iconography of Nergal is perfectly matched with the star map of <i>Orion and his hunting dogs</i>. The three belt stars of Orion point to the star Sirius, which the Greeks called the “Dog Star”. Sirius is part of a larger constellation known to the Greeks as <i>Canis Major</i> i.e. Greater Dog, which was said to be Orion’s hunting dog. <i>Thus, a Parthian relief of a Mesopotamian deity explains some elements of the star maps of the Greeks and the Egyptians!</i> </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It may be somewhat surprising to find that Nergal is both a powerful god of the heavens and a lord of the netherworld. But, in Egypt as well, we find that it is Horus, the Lord of the Skies, who conducts the soul of the deceased to Osiris. In the <i>Book of the Dead of Hunefer</i>, for instance, after Hunefer’s soul is weighed against feather of Ma’at and found to be “justified”, he is brought into the presence of Osiris by Horus. This shows that the domain of Horus encompasses the heavens as well as the underworld, and he ensures the safe passage of the souls of the righteous to the afterlife. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xd350PqBrX8/YMIZYooaZ2I/AAAAAAAADx0/DcM-arSffwAbJjOOisGV_vvgwTZZOYMMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2446/Judment%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDead%252C%2BBook%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDead%2Bof%2BHunefer%252C%2Ba%2Broyal%2Bscribe%2Bof%2Bthe%2BNew%2BKingdom%252C%2B19th%2BDynasty%252C%2Bc1300%2BBCE%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Judment of the Dead in Book of the Dead of Hunefer" border="0" data-original-height="1112" data-original-width="2446" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xd350PqBrX8/YMIZYooaZ2I/AAAAAAAADx0/DcM-arSffwAbJjOOisGV_vvgwTZZOYMMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h290/Judment%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDead%252C%2BBook%2Bof%2Bthe%2BDead%2Bof%2BHunefer%252C%2Ba%2Broyal%2Bscribe%2Bof%2Bthe%2BNew%2BKingdom%252C%2B19th%2BDynasty%252C%2Bc1300%2BBCE%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 20: The Judment of the Dead in Book of the Dead of Hunefer. Hunefer was a royal scribe of the New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c1300 BCE. British Museum. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A<span style="font-family: inherit;">nother interesting epithet of Nergal takes us deeper into the mystery. Nergal was called <i>Aplu Enlil</i> in Akkadian, meaning “son of Enlil”, which was transformed into the Hurrian and Etruscan <i>Aplu</i>, the god of plague. Scholars believe that Aplu was transformed into the Greek god Apollo who was associated with plague and healing, just like Nergal.[24] </span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apollo was invoked to bring plague and death to the enemies with his arrows, and since the god who brings plagues is also capable of removing it, Apollo was appeased for healing, protection and averting evil. A number of his epithets refer to his ability to heal and protect, such as <i>Paean</i> (healer), <i>Medicus</i> (physician), <i>Alexicacus</i> (keeping off ill), <i>Apotropaeus</i> (averting evil) etc. Both Nergal and Apollo also looked after agriculture and flocks.</span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y7LIXPINzAU/YL0StAaZIbI/AAAAAAAADvY/OZLvlMVmNT0XuhNIsKhgow2f1XKD-dHjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Apollo%2BKilling%2Bthe%2BPython%2Bby%2BHendrik%2BGoltzius%2B1558%2Bto%2B1617%252C%2BLACMA%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Apollo Killing Python" border="0" data-original-height="1423" data-original-width="2048" height="278" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y7LIXPINzAU/YL0StAaZIbI/AAAAAAAADvY/OZLvlMVmNT0XuhNIsKhgow2f1XKD-dHjQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h278/Apollo%2BKilling%2Bthe%2BPython%2Bby%2BHendrik%2BGoltzius%2B1558%2Bto%2B1617%252C%2BLACMA%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 21: Apollo
Killing Python by Hendrik Goltzius (1558-1617). Apollo, here, is
depicted in the form of Orion. Source: LACMA, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apollo
and his sister Artemis were portrayed as “hunters” and exceptional
“archers”. Apollo’s killing of Typhon corresponds to Horus’s defeat of Seth, for, according to Plutarch, Seth is the embodiment of Typhon - the monster with a hundred dragon heads.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If we look at the star map of Orion it is possible to
visualize him holding a bow in his extended left hand, with arrows in
his upraised right hand. A straight line drawn through the stars
Betelguese (which defines the right shoulder of Orion) and Meissa (near
Orion’s mouth) points directly to the Pleiades – whose symbol in the
Vedic astrological system is a sharp tool like an arrow or a spear. <i>Interestingly, an arrow is typically released from a point close to the right shoulder.</i>
Of course, in this case we need to assume that Orion’s bow is a bit
longer, and he is holding it at a slightly higher point with his left
hand, as shown in the next figure.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Incidentally, Akkadian
texts regularly mention Nergal’s bow, quiver and arrows [25], while in
Eastern India, Kartikeya is always portrayed holding a bow.</span></span><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NqCw5EP9aSA/YRuVFv4qMoI/AAAAAAAAD2k/YDyDdfFTPu82-0KzzhI_0904-SwpaT-xACLcBGAsYHQ/s1254/Orion%2BArrow%2BPleiades.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Orion as an archer. A straight line drawn through the stars Betelgeuse and Meissa points directly to the Pleiades, whose symbol is an arrow or spear" border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="1254" height="341" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NqCw5EP9aSA/YRuVFv4qMoI/AAAAAAAAD2k/YDyDdfFTPu82-0KzzhI_0904-SwpaT-xACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h341/Orion%2BArrow%2BPleiades.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Figure 22: Orion can be visualized in the form of an archer. A straight line drawn through the stars Betelgeuse and Meissa points directly to the Pleiades, whose symbol is an arrow or spear. Created using SkyChart software. Credit: Bibhu Dev Misra</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">L<span style="font-family: inherit;">ike Orion and Kartikeya, Apollo was regarded by the Greeks as being the epitome of youthful beauty (<i>kouros</i>). The nine muses who follow Apollo, and are exceptionally talented in music, poetry and oratory, are reminiscent of the <i>Pleiades sisters</i> who accompany Horus, Kartikeya and Nergal. As we have noted, the Seven Hathors’ are depicted in Egyptian art holding tambourines in their hands. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apollo is also closely associated with the sun-god Helios, and is known by epithets such as <i>Phoebus</i> (“bright”) and <i>Phanaeus</i> (“light bringer”). As discussed earlier, Nergal is associated with the sun-god Shamash, while Both Horus and Kartikeya are associated with the dawn and the rising sun. Thus, they are all solar deities and light bringers.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We can infer that, in the Greek mythological context, Orion is Apollo. Now, Homer wrote in the Odyssey that Apollo had a falcon as his messenger [26], while as per the Roman author Aelian, “<i>the Egyptians appear to regard the Hawk as sacred to Apollo, calling the god 'Horus' in their own language</i>.”[27] </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eusebius wrote, “the second appearance of the moon is held sacred in the city of Apollo (in Egypt): and its symbol is a man with a hawk-like face (Horus), subduing with a hunting-spear Typhon in the likeness of a hippopotamus (Set).”[28] Clearly, Eusebius is referring to the struggle between Horus and Set, in which Horus used a harpoon to defeat Set, who had taken the form of a hippopotamus (as per the Twentieth Dynasty version of the story). This event was re-enacted during the annual <i>Festival of Victory</i> at the Temple of Horus at Edfu, where the king played the role of Horus and speared a live hippopotamus. However, as we have already noted, Seth was also depicted in the form of a bull (“the Bull of Ombos”), and it was in this form that he was speared by Horus, with the assistance of Isis and the Pleiades, as depicted on a panel in the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We have now come a full circle by moving from <i>Nergal -> Apollo -> Horus</i>. The Orion of the ancient star maps, quite clearly, was an extremely important and multifaceted deity of the ancient world. <i>He was the Horus of Egypt, Kartikeya of India, Nergal of Mesopotamia and Apollo of the Greeks. </i>The god of war and the skies, he was the most powerful of all the gods. Invincible in battle, he could not only bring death, fire, and disease, but he also had the power to heal, protect, and establish peace and order. He was closely associated with the Pleiades - ferocious warriors who followed him to the battlefield - and also acted as divine musicians and caretakers of children. Orion’s killing of the buffalo-demon - <i>who was called Mahisha in India, Seth in Egypt and Typhon in Greece</i> - using the Pleiades as his weapon, restored order to a chaotic world, and this significant feat was envisioned in the sky in the form of Orion facing the charge of Taurus, the bull.<br /><br />Orion was a solar deity, closely associated with the dawn and the rising sun, which is why he was perceived as the “light bringer”. At the same time, he was also the “Lord of the Netherworld”, and his association with serpents reveals his wisdom and ability to heal. He was associated with the rooster, - the herald of the dawn - which corresponds to the Lepus constellation in the Babylonian star charts. The falcon - the king of the skies - was sacred to him and acted as a symbol of kingship and a war-standard for many cultures. Orion ensures the safe passage of the souls of the dead to the Otherworld with the help of his hounds, which are shown attached to his belt, and was imagined in the sky in the form of the Canis Major constellation. The Canis Major was also imagined as Orion’s consort, the goddess of wealth, fertility and prosperity.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ancient star maps of Greece and Egypt, therefore, encode many legends and symbolisms which were scattered throughout the world in antiquity. How did these stories and symbols end up in ancient Greece? What factors led to the formulation of these star charts? This is something that I will attempt to explore in the final section. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Origin of the Star Maps</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is known that the Greeks had obtained much of their knowledge of the constellations from the Phoenician sailors. Both Hesiod and Homer – in whose writings we find the earliest mentions of the constellations – were deeply influenced by the mythologies of the Phoenicians, whom they met at Lefkandi, the center of Greek culture from c. 750 BCE - 630 BCE. The Phoenicians were sailing to many distant ports, and it is now becoming increasingly evident that <i>a vast Bronze Age maritime trading network was in operation for thousands of years prior to the historical era.</i> We don’t know how far back it goes, but it was definitely in operation throughout much of the Bronze Age.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few recent discoveries have thrown the lid open in this subject. In 2020, a team of researchers led by Harvard University Prof. Christina Warinner and University of Munich Prof. Philipp Stockhammer examined microremains and proteins preserved in the tooth tartar of individuals who lived during the 2nd millennium BCE in the Southern Levant. The scientists discovered non-native, outlier foodstuffs such as soybeans, turmeric and bananas, which pushes back the earliest evidence of these foods in the Mediterranean by centuries (turmeric) or even millennia (soybean). “<i>This is clear evidence of trade with southeast Asia as early as the 16th century BCE - much earlier than previously assumed</i>,” said Tel Aviv University Prof. Israel Finkelstein, who is an author in the study.[29]</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The study, “Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE,” was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal in January 2021.[30] “These insights force us to rethink the complexity and intensity of Indo-Mediterranean trade during the Bronze Age as well as the degree of globalization in early Eastern Mediterranean cuisine,” the authors wrote in the paper.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another study performed by an international group of scientists in 2019 found that ancient tin ingots found at multiple sites in Israel, dating to the 13th – 12th century BCE, <i>most likely came from the tin mines of Cornwall and Devon in England</i>.[31] This points to a complicated and far-reaching ancient trade route that crisscrossed the Mediterranean. Their paper was published on the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS One.[32]</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These findings are completely upending the traditional mainstream narratives about the evolution of civilizations, and confirming what many independent researchers have been arguing about for decades. If trading ships plied between the Mediterranean and India, we can be quite certain that they sailed all the way across South-east Asia to China. The ancient did not consider the oceans to be a barrier, rather they looked upon it as a superhighway for trade and communications. Our world was not divided up and sequestered into discrete pieces where civilizations emerged in isolation. Rather every civilization was connected by a web of maritime and overland trade routes to other cultures, both near and distant. The traders who plied on these routes collected legends, beliefs and star lore from various places, and disseminated them amongst the people at their ports of call. Therefore, the star maps of Greece are most likely to be an amalgamation of legends and beliefs that were in circulation across vast swathes of the world during the 7th century BCE.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How far back do these star legends go? Since when did the ancients begin to identify specific star patterns in the night sky and associate them with characters and events from their legends? Here, I shall revert to an article titled "<a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2018/10/12000-year-old-petroglyphs-in-india.html">12,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs in India show Global Connections</a>" [33] that I had written earlier, where I had discussed some of the sacred symbols that are depicted in the petroglyphs discovered at the site of <i>Ratnagiri</i> on the western coast of India. A couple of astrological signs are clearly discernible: that of <i>Pisces</i>, depicted by two fishes facing opposite directions and connected by a strap; and that of <i>Aquarius</i>, pouring water from a pot held over his head, standing in the midst of the Pisces and Piscis Austrinus constellations.<br /><br />Intriguingly, these petroglyphs were dated by the Maharashtra State Archaeology Department to around 10,000 BCE, which suggests that, <i>at least some of the astrological symbols that are in use today are a legacy of a lost civilization that flourished during the Ice Age</i>. While some people might be surprised by such an early dating of these petroglyphs, I would like to point out that dozens of similar petroglyphs were discovered in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra in 2002, which were dated to between 7000 BCE – 4000 BCE. So, it has always been accepted that the petroglyphs on the western coast of India are very old and predate the known civilizations of antiquity.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This means that, many star patterns and astrological symbols were identified thousands or even tens of thousands years ago, extending back to a lost civilization of the Pleistocene Ice Age. Plato wrote in the <i>Critias</i> that when the ten kings of Atlantis assembled at the <i>Temple of Poseidon</i> in the center of Atlantis (every fifth or sixth tear), they captured one of the bulls that roamed freely inside the temple complex, “and the bull which they caught they led up to the pillar and cut its throat over the top of it so that the blood fell upon the sacred inscription.”[34] Why would the kings of Atlantis sacrifice a bull over the sacred pillar on which the commands of Poseidon were inscribed? <i>Were they were re-enacting a bull-slaying scene, which was of immense significance and possibly associated with Poseidon? </i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Could Orion be simply another name of Poseidon? As per the Greek texts, Orion was the son of Poseidon, but that could have been easily mistaken in these texts which were written down much later. Poseidon is also closely related to Apollo (who had, in all probability, been adapted from the epithet <i>Aplu Enlil</i>, associated with Nergal). Like Apollo, Poseidon sends diseases, is invoked before battles, and the shrine at Delphi was originally dedicated to Poseidon before Apollo took it over.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What this implies is that, some of the ancient legends definitely originated <i>before the beginning of the Holocene epoch</i>. Our ancestors imagined certain patterns in the stars to correspond to specific persons (primarily deities and heraldic animals) and events in these tales, so that these stories could be remembered and transmitted. Astrological ideas - regarding the influence of specific stars or groups of stars on human character and destiny – may have played a part in such efforts, particularly with respect to the zodiac constellations. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The sky was transformed by them into a canvas, a giant storyboard, where the ancient tales were etched out so that they could survive the ravages of time that destroy most written records</i>. Unlike the modern day, where we are distracted by all the electronic gadgets at our disposal, the ancients valued their traditional knowledge and beliefs. They would have probably gathered around a fire under the night sky to listen to the ancient tales related by the elders in the family. In this manner, the legends were orally transmitted for generations. Over time, as the legends grew in number, more events and characters were transposed to the sky. Sailors who spent a long time at sea, and relied on the stars for navigation, may have come up with more patterns and constellations, and dispersed them amongst distant cultures.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is quite likely, therefore, that the ancient star charts were compiled over tens of thousands of years, and reflect an amalgamation of legends from different parts of the world. The star map of Orion facing the charge of Taurus, with Pleiades sitting on the shoulder of the charging bull, <i>may reflect one of the earliest and most significant episodes from the past.</i> This is probably why the constellations of Orion and Taurus, along with the Pleiades asterism, are the not only brightest and most conspicuous ones in the night sky, but have also captured our collective imagination.<br /><br /><u><i><b>References</b></i></u></span><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">[1] RV 7.46, tr. Griffith</span><br />[2] The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva, Section 230, tr. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03230.htm<br />[3] Ibid<br />[4] Gavin White, Babylonian Star-lore, An Illustrated Guide to the Star-lore and Constellations of Ancient Babylonia, Solaria Publications, 2008<br />[5] Gavin White, "A Brief Guide to the Babylonian Constellations", Solariapublications Oct 25, 2011, https://solariapublications.com/2011/10/25/a-brief-guide-to-the-babylonian-constellations/<br />[6] The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva, Section 230, tr. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03230.htm<br />[7] Bibhu Dev Misra, "A Harappan tablet depicts Kartikeya slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha", Ancient Inquiries, April 23, 2021, https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2021/04/harappan-tablet-kartikeya-killing-mahisha.html<br />[8] Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, Section 22, ed. Frank Cole Babbitt, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0239%3Asection%3D22<br />[9] “Lakshmi”, New World Encyclopedia, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/lakshmi<br />[10] Meeks & Favard-Meeks 1996, pp. 82, 86–87, taken from “Isis”, Wikipedia.<br />[11] https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03224.htm<br />[12] "Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses", http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/papsukkal/<br />[13] F. Wiggerman, Nergal A. philologisch [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 9, 2001<br />[14] Ibid<br />[15] Ibid<br />[16] Ibid<br />[17] The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva, Section 230, tr. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03230.htm<br />[18] Acrostic hymn to Marduk; Livingstone, 1989: no. 2l.r. 4, taken from “Pleiades in Ancient Mesopotamia” by Lorenzo Verderame, Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 16, No 4,(2016),pp. 109-117.<br />[19] "2 Kings 17:30", Clarke's Commentary on the Bible.<br />[20] Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, "Cock and Bull story", Dictionary of phrase and fable: giving the derivation, source, or origin of common phrases, allusions, and words that have a tale to tell, p. 268.<br />[21] F. Wiggerman, Nergal A. philologisch [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 9, 2001<br />[22] Litke 1998: 25, taken from "Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses", http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/papsukkal/<br />[23] Gavin White, "A Brief Guide to the Babylonian Constellations", Solariapublications Oct 25, 2011, https://solariapublications.com/2011/10/25/a-brief-guide-to-the-babylonian-constellations/<br />[24] Nancy Thomson de Grummond(2006), "Etruscan Myth, Sacred History, and Legend", (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology), taken from “Apollo”, Wikipedia<br />[25] F. Wiggerman, Nergal A. philologisch [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 9, 2001<br />[26] Homer, Odyssey, 15.525<br />[27] Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, 10.14<br />[28] Eusebius, Preparation of the Gospels, 3.12.1<br />[29] Amanda Borschel-Dan, "Globalized’ early Bronze Age Levantines consumed exotic Asian nosh, study shows", The Times of Israel, Dec 22, 2020, https://www.timesofisrael.com/globalized-early-bronze-age-levantines-consumed-exotic-asian-nosh-study-shows/<br />[30] Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE<br />Ashley Scott, Robert C. Power, Victoria Altmann-Wendling, Michal Artzy, Mario A. S. Martin, Stefanie Eisenmann, Richard Hagan, Domingo C. Salazar-García, Yossi Salmon, Dmitry Yegorov, Ianir Milevski, Israel Finkelstein, Philipp W. Stockhammer, Christina Warinner, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2021, 118 (2) e2014956117; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014956117<br />[31] Amanda Borschel-Dan, "Groundbreaking study: Ancient tin ingots found in Israel were mined in England", Times of Israel, Sept 16 2019, https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-tin-ingots-found-in-israel-were-mined-in-england/<br />[32] Article Source: Isotope systematics and chemical composition of tin ingots from Mochlos (Crete) and other Late Bronze Age sites in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: An ultimate key to tin provenance?<br />Berger D, Soles JS, Giumlia-Mair AR, Brügmann G, Galili E, et al. (2019) Isotope systematics and chemical composition of tin ingots from Mochlos (Crete) and other Late Bronze Age sites in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: An ultimate key to tin provenance?. PLOS ONE 14(6): e0218326. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218326<br />[33] Bibhu Dev Misra, "12,000-Year-Old Petroglyphs in India show Global Connections", Ancient Inquiries, October 05, 2018,https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2018/10/12000-year-old-petroglyphs-in-india.html<br />[34] Plato, Critias (360 BC) tr. by Benjamin Jowett</span></span><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-8678439989126146352021-04-23T15:46:00.007+05:302022-08-20T19:19:51.203+05:30A Harappan tablet depicts Kartikeya slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kartikeya Slays Mahishasura</b></span> <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A Harappa molded tablet (H95-2486) shows a person thrusting a spear into the shoulder of a water buffalo. He is pressing down the water buffalo’s head down with his foot, while holding the tip of a horn with his left hand. A yogic figures seated in <i>mulabandhasana</i> posture, and wearing a horned headdress with a central leafy branch, is looking on. What is the significance of this image?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocrMPi2WILg/YHkyPMfarCI/AAAAAAAADj8/sNCn7ErZ9d4KQ3rMydOaMVNaxhQyK-tWACLcBGAsYHQ/s533/Indus%2Bseal%2Bspearing%2Ba%2Bbuffalo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Harappan Molded tablet H95-2486 depicting an individual spearing a buffalo" border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="533" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocrMPi2WILg/YHkyPMfarCI/AAAAAAAADj8/sNCn7ErZ9d4KQ3rMydOaMVNaxhQyK-tWACLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/Indus%2Bseal%2Bspearing%2Ba%2Bbuffalo.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 1: Harappan Molded tablet H95-2486 depicting an individual spearing a buffalo. Source: harappa.com</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I had initially thought that this might depict a buffalo sacrifice as part of a funerary rite, which is a common practice amongst some tribal cultures of the Indian subcontinent. However, the horned yogic figure would look out of place in a funerary scene. Besides, even in tribal cultures, buffaloes are never speared by holding their horns. This is a dangerous undertaking, and is likely to be the work of some heroic figure. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then I came across an explanation in the book <i>The Soviet Decipherment of the Indus Valley Script: Translation and Critique</i>, which seemed to make sense. The authors Zide and Zvelebil wrote,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“An evident parallel to this scene is found in an episode from the late mythology of the killing of the demon-buffalo Mahisa. This motif has many variants in the ancient Sanskrit monuments. The feat of killing Mahisa is ascribed to several deities, Skanda among them. According to the myth related in the Mahabharata, Skanda appeared in this world in order to head the army of the gods in their struggle against various demons. Among other demons slain by Skanda one finds Mahisa…He (Skanda) may hold various attributes in his hands, one of which – a spear – being obligatory for any representation of Skanda. The spear may assume different forms. The Sanskrit names of Skanda Saktyayudha, Saktidhara describes him as a spear-bearer.”[1] <br /></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Like most Indians, I was under the impression that it was the goddess Durga who had killed the buffalo-demon Mahisha. I was not aware that the Mahabharata had attributed this famous feat to Kartikeya, the son of Shiva. I looked up the <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03230.htm" target="_blank"><i>Markandeya-Samasya Parva</i> in <i>Book 3: Vana Parva</i></a> of the Mahabharata where a detailed description of Skanda’s birth and his subsequent battle against Mahisha has been given. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Skanda is here said to be a son of the Fire-god Agni (because of which he is also called Agneya). He is also called the “son of Rudra”; and when Skanda talks to his father, he addresses him as Mahadeva or Maheshwara, both of which are names of Shiva. As I have discussed in an earlier article titled, “<a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/01/shiva-as-bada-dev-gond-symbolisms-on_23.html" target="_blank">The Symbolism of the Meditating Yogi on Indus Seals</a>”[2], Agni-Rudra is a cognate deity in the Rig Veda, and identical to Lord Shiva of later-day Hinduism.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As per the Mahabharata, during Kartikeya’s battle with Mahisha, Rudra-Shiva was present on the battlefield. But Rudra desisted from killing Mahisha, so that Skanda could fulfill the purpose of his birth:<br /></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">“And Mahisha was greatly enraged at this, and he quickly advanced towards the chariot of Rudra; and reaching near, he seized its pole with his hands…And although that adorable god (Rudra) was in that plight, yet he did not think it worthwhile to kill Mahisha in battle; he remembered that Skanda would deal the deathblow to that evil-minded Asura. And the fiery Mahisha, contemplating with satisfaction the prize (the chariot of Rudra) which he had secured, sounded his war-cry, to the great alarm of the gods and the joy of the Daityas.<br /></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">And when the gods were in that fearful predicament, the mighty Mahasena (Skanda), burning with anger, and looking grand like the Sun advanced to their rescue. And that lordly being was clad in blazing red and decked with a wreath of red flowers. And cased in armour of gold he rode in a gold-coloured chariot bright as the Sun and drawn by chestnut horses. And at his sight the army of the daityas was suddenly dispirited on the field of battle. And, O great king, the mighty Mahasena discharged a bright Sakti for the destruction of Mahisha. That missile cut off the head of Mahisha, and he fell upon the ground and died. And his head massive as a hillock, falling on the ground, barred the entrance to the country of the Northern Kurus, extending in length for sixteen Yojanas though at present the people of that country pass easily by that gate. It was observed both by the gods and the Danavas that Skanda hurled his sakti again and again on the field of battle, and that it returned to his hands, after killing thousands of the enemy's forces…<br /></span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">And when the enemy was completely defeated by Skanda and when Maheswara (Shiva) left the battle-field, Purandara (Indra) embraced Mahasena and said to him, 'This Mahisha, who was made invincible by the favour of Brahma hath been killed by thee. O best of warriors, the gods were like grass to him. O strong-limbed hero, thou hast removed a thorn of the celestials. Thou hast killed in battle hundreds of Danavas equal in valour to Mahisha who were all hostile to us, and who used to harass us before. And thy followers too have devoured them by hundreds. Thou art, O mighty being, invincible in battle like Uma's lord; and this victory shall be celebrated as thy first achievement, and thy fame shall be undying in the three worlds. And, O strong-armed god, all the gods will yield their allegiance to thee.”[3] <br /></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As I reflected on this passage, I realized that it perfectly explains the imagery on the Harappan tablet under discussion. It shows Skanda killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha with his favourite weapon, the spear, which is also called his <i>sakti</i>. The yogi with the horned headdress is the same entity on the Pashupati seal i.e. Rudra-Shiva, who was present on the battlefield to witness the slaying of Mahisha by Skanda. The Mahabharata states that this was Skanda’s first great achievement, because of which one of his epithets was <i>Mahishardana</i> (The slayer of Mahisha).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAJqkOO3pu0/YIEY7O8qb3I/AAAAAAAADoI/r64ExiGX3gMeVeZ8KJ1QG93vXr4_0j2KgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1149/Skanda%2Bseated%2Bon%2Ba%2Bpeacock%252C%2Bholding%2Ba%2Bspear%2Band%2Bflower%252C%2BKannauj%252C%2BNorth%2BIndia%252C%2B8th%2Bcentury%2BCE%252C%2BZippymarmalade%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Skanda-Kartikeya seated on a peacock holding a spear. Kannauj, North India, 8th century CE." border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAJqkOO3pu0/YIEY7O8qb3I/AAAAAAAADoI/r64ExiGX3gMeVeZ8KJ1QG93vXr4_0j2KgCLcBGAsYHQ/w279-h400/Skanda%2Bseated%2Bon%2Ba%2Bpeacock%252C%2Bholding%2Ba%2Bspear%2Band%2Bflower%252C%2BKannauj%252C%2BNorth%2BIndia%252C%2B8th%2Bcentury%2BCE%252C%2BZippymarmalade%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Figure 2: Skanda-Kartikeya seated on a peacock holding a spear. Kannauj, North India, 8th century CE. Credit: Zippymarmalade CC BY-SA 3.0</span></span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of the earliest depictions of Kartikeya in the historical period are seen on the coins issued by the <i>Yaudheya</i> rulers of Northwestern India – a confederacy of Kshatriya or military tribes who ruled in the land between the Indus and Ganges Rivers from c. 5th century BCE till 4th century CE. On these coins, <i>Kartikeya holds a filleted spear, which looks very similar to the spear on the Harappan tablet</i>. Kartikeya has his hair tied up in a bun above his head, while on the Harappan tablet his hair is tied up in a bun behind his head. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tx2XQjwssh0/YLIIksVyBII/AAAAAAAADr0/l_iXbsR69zMIcnrczTrcRbjlz3NFrUhawCLcBGAsYHQ/s657/Kartikeya%2Bdepicted%2Bon%2BYaudheya%2Bcoin%252C%2B1st%2Bcentury%2BBCE%252C%2BPunjab%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Kartikeya depicted on a Yaudheya coin, 1st century BCE, Punjab, on display at the British Museum" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="657" height="312" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tx2XQjwssh0/YLIIksVyBII/AAAAAAAADr0/l_iXbsR69zMIcnrczTrcRbjlz3NFrUhawCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h312/Kartikeya%2Bdepicted%2Bon%2BYaudheya%2Bcoin%252C%2B1st%2Bcentury%2BBCE%252C%2BPunjab%252C%2BBritish%2BMuseum%252C%2BWikimedia%2BCommons%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 3: Kartikeya depicted on a Yaudheya coin, 1st century BCE, Punjab, on display at the British Museum. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Harappan tablet also depicts a <i>gharial</i> i.e. a fish-eating crocodile, just above the buffalo. The gharial is depicted on a number of Indus seals. It used to abound in the rivers of the Indus water system, but is now extinct in that region. <i>The depiction of the gharial seems to indicate that the slaying of Mahisha took place near a river</i>. This is exactly as per the <a href="https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09046.htm">Shalya Parva (Book 9, Section 46) </a> of the Mahabharata, which tells us that the battle between Kartikeya and Mahisha took place on the banks of the Sarasvati River.</span></span><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Shalya Parva informs us that Kartikeya had slain various daityas including Taraka, <i>Mahisha</i>, Tripada, Hradodara and others. It also states that this famous battle between the gods and the daityas, danavas and rakshasas <i>took place near a sacred tirtha called Taijasa, on the banks of the Sarasvati river</i>. This is where Kartikeya was installed by the gods as the commander of their forces. The text states, “In that tirtha is a gigantic Aswattha tree. Under its shade, Kartikeya, otherwise called Kumara, always resides in person.” <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This explanation leads us to an intriguing question. How did the monumental feat of killing Mahisha get transferred from Kartikeya to goddess Durga? I wondered if the story of Kartikeya killing the Mahisha demon has been preserved in any rural or tribal folklore, and if that could shed some more light on this matter. My research led me to Lord Ayyappan, who is very popular in the southern state of Kerala and whose shrine at Sabarimala draws millions of pilgrims every year. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is little doubt in my mind that Ayyappan is simply another name of Kartikeya. Like Kartikeya, Ayyappan is a warrior deity, a military genius and a son of Shiva. Both Ayyappan and Kartikeya are celibate (<i>brahmacharin</i>), teacher (<i>shasta</i>, <i>dharma shasta</i>, or <i>brahma shasta</i>), handsome (<i>kanta</i>), lord of the universe (<i>bhuvaneshwara</i>), epitome of dharma (<i>dharmatman</i>), and destroyer of evil. Ayyappan wears a bell around his neck, and so does Kartikeya, for this bell was given to him by Indra, who took it from his elephant mount Airavata. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Most interestingly, as per the Hindu tradition popular in the Western Ghats of India, Ayyappan was born with the purpose of killing <i>the evil buffalo demoness Mahishi</i>, who had been committing atrocities on the gods, thanks to a boon granted by Brahma.[4] <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbZROhDv1Cc/YHkzWu8M9xI/AAAAAAAADkI/unDuJIPu4S493XrYc3kPw1LcyTEQuS-cQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1359/Ayyappa%2BIdol%2Bat%2BMridngasaileswari%2Btemple%252C%2BMuzhakkunnu%252C%2BKannur%252C%2BKerala%252C%2BCredit%2BVinayaraj%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ayyappa Idol at Mridngasaileswari temple, Muzhakkunnu, Kannur, Kerala" border="0" data-original-height="1359" data-original-width="1332" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lbZROhDv1Cc/YHkzWu8M9xI/AAAAAAAADkI/unDuJIPu4S493XrYc3kPw1LcyTEQuS-cQCLcBGAsYHQ/w314-h320/Ayyappa%2BIdol%2Bat%2BMridngasaileswari%2Btemple%252C%2BMuzhakkunnu%252C%2BKannur%252C%2BKerala%252C%2BCredit%2BVinayaraj%2BCC%2BBY%2BSA%2B3.jpg" width="314" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 4: Ayyappa Idol at Mridngasaileswari temple, Muzhakkunnu, Kannur, Kerala. Credit: Vinayaraj CC BY-SA 3.0</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, we do have a regional tradition of a warrior-son of Shiva killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha (or Mahishi in this case). This means that the story of Kartikeya killing Mahisha, as recounted in the Mahabharata, may have been a part of more widespread tradition at one time. But later, for some mysterious reason, this ancient legend was changed. What could have led to this? When did goddess Durga become associated with the slaying of Mahishasura?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Emergence of Durga</b></span> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A tiger goddess was known to the Indus people, since a cylinder seal from Kalibangan shows a goddess figure wearing a horned headdress, and having the hind part of a tiger. She probably represents the tiger-riding goddess known to us today as Amba Mata or Durga (who was later shown on top of a lion). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two men standing near the goddess are holding the hand of a lady and pointing spears at each other. I had proposed in an <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/03/navratri-and-dandiya-raas-in-indus.html" target="_blank">earlier article</a> [5] that this may represent a post-harvest folk dance like <i>Dandiya</i>, which is performed at the time of Navratri in honour of Amba Mata. During Dandiya Raas, the dancers hold sticks - <i>representing the sword or spear of Amba Mata</i> - and move in circles striking their own sticks and those of the dancers next to them, as if they are fighting each other. This symbolizes that Amba Mata is also a “goddess of war”.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EORrmS1HSAI/YIPAuBH9xHI/AAAAAAAADos/1WbVR0K6ulo_iS1O9lkMDasmxIJUlIVyQCLcBGAsYHQ/s540/kalibangan-seal-3a%2Bharappa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Impression of Kalibangan Cylinder Seal K-65 shows a goddess wearing a horned head-dress and having the hind part of a tiger" border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="540" height="310" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EORrmS1HSAI/YIPAuBH9xHI/AAAAAAAADos/1WbVR0K6ulo_iS1O9lkMDasmxIJUlIVyQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h310/kalibangan-seal-3a%2Bharappa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Figure 5: Impression of Kalibangan Cylinder Seal K-65 shows a goddess wearing a
horned head-dress and having the hind part of a tiger. Source:
harappa.com</i></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of earliest representation of the goddess Durga during the historical period can be seen on the terracotta plaques found at the archaeological site of Chadraketugarh in West Bengal, dating from the Shunga Period (c.200 – 100 BCE). The goddess has an array of weapons projecting from her hair – such as arrow, axe, spear, trident, ankush etc. - which indicates that she is a “goddess of war”. Her right hand is typically in a boon-bestowing posture (<i>varada-mudra</i>), and in one of the images she is pouring out coins from a purse, which implies that she is a “goddess of prosperity”. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What is missing in these plaques, quite conspicuously, are the lion vahana of the goddess and the buffalo-demon Mahisha, both of which are an integral part of any representation of goddess Durga in India today.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyrq4W_Gf8Q/YHk07N29XEI/AAAAAAAADkQ/G_pFOZRq09w-9U-X0gXelNCfuKJPchhXACLcBGAsYHQ/s900/Durga%2BChandraketugarh%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Goddess with weapons in her hair, Chandraketugarh, West Bengal, 2nd - 1st century BCE" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="719" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyrq4W_Gf8Q/YHk07N29XEI/AAAAAAAADkQ/G_pFOZRq09w-9U-X0gXelNCfuKJPchhXACLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h640/Durga%2BChandraketugarh%2B1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 6: Goddess with
weapons in her hair, Chandraketugarh, West Bengal, 2nd - 1st century
BCE. Source: Ethnological Museum, Berlin.</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another bronze figurine of a goddess from Kausambhi (near Allahabad), dating to around the 2nd century BCE, has an array of weapons sticking out of her hair. This resembles the Chandraketugarh versions of the goddess Durga, which makes it quite probable that this is how Durga was represented in the early historical period of India. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7YJGYcCd02waMINCM0UxVR7EoDHTsnY8As2nPv87_CeJgeTslTR3vDeNX3_Gi57zG4iPdq4MljLYa-vUUbKYlHcNRbz-ZlrddJcECdOZQfHQRkgGGaLs3Hy51mmyt_146vCKZ6VdfRlR/s2048/Durga+Kosambi+2nd+century+BC.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Bronze goddess with weapons in her hair from Kosambi, 2nd century BCE" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1660" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL7YJGYcCd02waMINCM0UxVR7EoDHTsnY8As2nPv87_CeJgeTslTR3vDeNX3_Gi57zG4iPdq4MljLYa-vUUbKYlHcNRbz-ZlrddJcECdOZQfHQRkgGGaLs3Hy51mmyt_146vCKZ6VdfRlR/w324-h400/Durga+Kosambi+2nd+century+BC.jpg" width="324" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 7: Bronze
goddess with weapons in her hair from Kosambi, 2nd century BCE. Source:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain.</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In fact, Durga in her form as <i>Mahishasuramardini</i> - holding weapons in her ten arms, riding a lion, and slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha - appears much later. The earliest known representation of this form is from the Udaygiri caves in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, dating to the 5th century CE. This means that sometime in early centuries of the Christian era, the story of the slaying of the buffalo-demon Mahisha had become associated with Durga. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The fact that Skanda had killed Mahisha with his spear – which was also called his <i>sakti</i> – may have played a role in this, since <i>Shakti</i> is a term used for the goddess Durga who personifies the primordial cosmic energy that flows through the universe and is the source of creation, sustenance and destruction. As per Tamil tradition, the divine spear or <i>Vel</i> was given to Murugan by goddess Durga.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7KBzaUUTIo/YHk1um45SJI/AAAAAAAADkg/3KwW_3qhZVY9sHBAqvPhJTxH2pYdkV7AwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Durga%2Bas%2BMahishasuramardini%2Bat%2BUdayagiri%2BCaves%252C%2BVidish%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2BCredit%2BPhoto%2BDharma%2BCC%2BBY%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Durga as Mahishasuramardini at Udayagiri Caves, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1785" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G7KBzaUUTIo/YHk1um45SJI/AAAAAAAADkg/3KwW_3qhZVY9sHBAqvPhJTxH2pYdkV7AwCLcBGAsYHQ/w349-h400/Durga%2Bas%2BMahishasuramardini%2Bat%2BUdayagiri%2BCaves%252C%2BVidish%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2BCredit%2BPhoto%2BDharma%2BCC%2BBY%2B2.jpg" width="349" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 8: Durga as Mahishasuramardini at Udayagiri Caves, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. Credit: Photo Dharma CC BY 2.0</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">During the early centuries of the Christian era the worship of the <i>Matrikas</i> or <i>Sapta Matrikas </i>(Seven Mothers) was on the ascendancy in Northern India. The Matrikas are the wives of the Seven Sages who had acted as foster mothers of the infant Kartikeya. Astronomically, they are identified with the seven stars of the Pleiades (<i>Krittika nakshatra</i>). The Sapta Matrikas used to be worshiped for the conception and protection of infants. It was believed that if the Matrikas were not pacified they would inflict children with diseases and other perils. The first stone carvings of the Matrikas appear during the Kushana Period (1st – 3rd century CE), and by the Gupta Period (3rd – 6th century CE) they start appearing on royal monuments. </span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zNmE2L2DDcI/YHk2F9iIDDI/AAAAAAAADko/c1HIx_e9vHAu_14_imAlohzVPL8Wsod_gCLcBGAsYHQ/s3239/The%2BSeven%2BMatrikas%2BFlanked%2Bby%2BShiva%2Band%2BGanesha%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2B9th%2Bcentury%252C%2BSource%2BLos%2BAngeles%2BCounty%2BMuseum%2Bof%2BArt%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Sapta Matrikas Flanked by Shiva and Ganesha. Madhya Pradesh, 9th century" border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="3239" height="192" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zNmE2L2DDcI/YHk2F9iIDDI/AAAAAAAADko/c1HIx_e9vHAu_14_imAlohzVPL8Wsod_gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h192/The%2BSeven%2BMatrikas%2BFlanked%2Bby%2BShiva%2Band%2BGanesha%252C%2BMadhya%2BPradesh%252C%2B9th%2Bcentury%252C%2BSource%2BLos%2BAngeles%2BCounty%2BMuseum%2Bof%2BArt%252C%2BPublic%2BDomain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 9: The Sapta
Matrikas Flanked by Shiva and Ganesha. Madhya Pradesh, 9th century.
Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Public Domain</span></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By the 5th century CE, a well-developed <i>Shakta</i> tradition had emerged within Hinduism with the composition of the <i>Devi Mahatyma</i>, in which the goddess Durga was portrayed as the supreme power and creator of the universe, who led the heavenly forces in the battle against the demon Mahisha. She was said to be a manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi – the giver of wealth, fertility, beauty, and sovereignty. Incidentally, Sri-Lakshmi is an ancient deity, who has been described in the <i>Sri-Sukta</i> - an appendix to the Rig-Veda – as the bestower of fame, bounty, agrarian fertility, and abundance in the form of gold, cattle, horses and food. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Devi Mahatyma</i> states that, in the battle against the demonic forces, Durga was assisted by the Sapta Matrikas, who had taken on the form of ferocious warriors, slaughtering the demon army. In some sections of the text, the Matrikas are said to be different forms of Durga. They appear out of the body of Durga and get absorbed inside her at will.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It seems, therefore, that by the 5th century CE, the act of slaying the buffalo-demon Mahisha had been assigned to Durga. Not surprisingly, soon afterwards there was a decline in the popularity of Skanda-Kartikeya all over Northern India. Till the time of the Gupta Empire, Kartikeya had been highly venerated; coins were issued with his image, and two of the Gupta emperors - Skandagupta and Kumaragupta - were named after him. But from the 6th century onwards the worship of Kartikeya was on a steep decline in Northern India. Whether this was solely due to the rise of the Shakta philosophy and the transference of Kartikeya's monumental feat to Durga, or whether other factors were also involved, is not known.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Conclusion</b> <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We can conclude that the imagery depicted on the Harappa tablet (H95-2486) is aligned with the theme from the Mahabharata of Kartikeya killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha, with Rudra-Shiva acting as a spectator on the battlefield. As we have noted, this belief is also rooted in the tradition of Lord Ayyappan in Kerala. The factors that led to the transference of this mythology from Kartikeya to Durga, sometime around the 5th century CE or earlier, is not very clear, but is probably related to the emergence of the Shakta cult of Hinduism which increased in importance over the succeeding centuries. Today, the imagery of Durga slaying Mahishasura has become so ubiquitous, and so deeply entrenched in our minds that, that for many people it may be difficult to accept that Kartikeya was originally the slayer of the buffalo-demon Mahisha, as shown on this Harappan tablet, and as described in the Mahabharata.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><u><b>References</b></u></span></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Arlene R. Zide, Kamil V. Zvelebil, The Soviet Decipherment of the Indus Valley Script: Translation and Critique (Walter de Gruyter, 1976) p.115-116<br />2. Bibhu Dev Misra, "The Symbolism of the Meditating Yogi on Indus Seals", Ancient Inquiries Jan 23 2016, https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/01/shiva-as-bada-dev-gond-symbolisms-on_23.html<br />3. The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva, Section 230, tr. Kisari Mohan Ganguli, 1883-1896, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03230.htm<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. Ayyappan, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyappa</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. Bibhu Dev Misra, "Navratri and Dandiya Raas in the Indus Valley?", Ancient Inquiries March 07, 2016, https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/03/navratri-and-dandiya-raas-in-indus.html <br /></span></span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></span></span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com10India20.593684 78.96288-11.660378096055194 43.80663 52.847746096055189 114.11913tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-83407038542454779182021-02-02T00:10:00.006+05:302022-08-20T19:25:59.881+05:30Olmec sculptures in the La Venta Museum, Mexico<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7NVEns6Aas/YBhF9s_E7KI/AAAAAAAADfI/u3n-5aAhkQsIvY8kfAuvrzdzEqiVLDHpQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/14.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7NVEns6Aas/YBhF9s_E7KI/AAAAAAAADfI/u3n-5aAhkQsIvY8kfAuvrzdzEqiVLDHpQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/14.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />The La Venta Museum in Villahermosa, Mexico, has an intriguing collection of Olmec sculptures, including three colossal Olmec stone heads. The artifacts had been moved there from the Olmec settlement of La Venta in western Tabasco, when petroleum exploration in the 1950s had threatened the safety of these rare objects.<span><a name='more'></a></span><br /><br />My visit to the La Venta museum had inspired me to write a couple of articles on the Olmecs. One on the <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/08/olmec-yogis-with-hindu-beliefs-did-they.html" target="_blank">prevalence of yoga, and many elements of Hindu-Buddhist architecture</a> and beliefs in Olmec culture, and the other on the possible <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/10/the-olmec-heads-did-they-serve-as_14.html" target="_blank">significance of the colossal Olmec heads</a>.<br /><br />In this photo journey, I will describe some of the interesting artifacts on display in this open-air museum cum zoo, and bring in some Hindu-Buddhist perspectives wherever applicable. </span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kYlLVSVeLG8/YBhFlszbdqI/AAAAAAAADd8/E1TqvKt2-usDCXu-6O9fSxpoIfNFy_o8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/01.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermosa" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kYlLVSVeLG8/YBhFlszbdqI/AAAAAAAADd8/E1TqvKt2-usDCXu-6O9fSxpoIfNFy_o8ACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/01.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A replica of an Olmec Head at the entrance</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYEeRJuXyrM/YBhFlbt03dI/AAAAAAAADd0/lAKqRSV7xTgaGA6A6yC7-8Ozc2MG223bwCLcBGAsYHQ/s926/02.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="La Venta Museum, Villahermosa" border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nYEeRJuXyrM/YBhFlbt03dI/AAAAAAAADd0/lAKqRSV7xTgaGA6A6yC7-8Ozc2MG223bwCLcBGAsYHQ/w544-h640/02.JPG" width="544" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N7CfCD0fwBQ/YBhFljz43SI/AAAAAAAADd4/__4QcQQ__vwcRczQBPlVrGbQgajUDSnCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1045/02a.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stele 2, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="1045" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N7CfCD0fwBQ/YBhFljz43SI/AAAAAAAADd4/__4QcQQ__vwcRczQBPlVrGbQgajUDSnCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w482-h640/02a.JPG" width="482" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Is that an Olmec hockey player? No, this is Stele 2, The Stele of the King. It probably shows a king or a dignitary with a staff, surrounded by six other figures, also carrying staffs. I think the face of the king has a distinct oriental look.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAYU7trHBcE/YBhFmKcKmTI/AAAAAAAADeA/eMHn2fzWYRIEkuArKrp26YBm1BYqWdOwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s928/03.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument 77, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="928" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oAYU7trHBcE/YBhFmKcKmTI/AAAAAAAADeA/eMHn2fzWYRIEkuArKrp26YBm1BYqWdOwQCLcBGAsYHQ/w542-h640/03.JPG" width="542" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monument 77: The Governor. This may not be a governor but a yogi, for he is seated in a yogic posture called Sukhasana, and his fingers are performing a mudra called "gyan mudra", which is used during meditation. This sculpture led me to realize that the Olmecs were aware of yoga. Later, I saw online collections of many Olmec clay figurines and stone statues in various yoga postures. Check my article: <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/08/olmec-yogis-with-hindu-beliefs-did-they.html" target="_blank">Olmec Yogis with Hindu beliefs: Did they migrate from ancient China?</a> <br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCvtTzb4Nys/YBhFnITyPuI/AAAAAAAADeI/0cT8u3ZZhscgFFKwVj0U82ZZ5pDLq-6vACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/04.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument 5, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="1048" height="440" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCvtTzb4Nys/YBhFnITyPuI/AAAAAAAADeI/0cT8u3ZZhscgFFKwVj0U82ZZ5pDLq-6vACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h440/04.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monument 5: The Grandmother. Not really sure why this is called the grandmother, nor is it clear what she is holding in her hands.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DK5HKBIaeJc/YBhFmxl89lI/AAAAAAAADeE/5657EnCsz9oBrW2ZSl2LtUmQdEmBpB5RACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/05.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DK5HKBIaeJc/YBhFmxl89lI/AAAAAAAADeE/5657EnCsz9oBrW2ZSl2LtUmQdEmBpB5RACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/05.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A bearded man with a flag.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqpm3pSpkSA/YBhFncSvSEI/AAAAAAAADeM/Hgqh6Gy5Ouo1U41Lv06aRuhBPQ14NffEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1180/07.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stele 3, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oqpm3pSpkSA/YBhFncSvSEI/AAAAAAAADeM/Hgqh6Gy5Ouo1U41Lv06aRuhBPQ14NffEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w426-h640/07.JPG" width="426" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Stele 3: The Bearded Man. It shows two large men facing each other. One of them is bearded with a complicated head-dress. More figures are floating above them.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTKzZL80Raw/YBhFnmYHZOI/AAAAAAAADeQ/qVMx4XSUKmsL58w3wqStsnnjQYOsNYDKACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/08.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Altar 5, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1048" height="466" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qTKzZL80Raw/YBhFnmYHZOI/AAAAAAAADeQ/qVMx4XSUKmsL58w3wqStsnnjQYOsNYDKACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h466/08.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Altar 5: The Altar of the Children. I think this probably represents an underworld deity of fertility, emerging from a cave, with a child in hand. All the Mesoamerican cultures believed that caves contained passages that led to the watery underworld of nine levels.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEGhGn5_vCU/YBhFoEWTmWI/AAAAAAAADeU/0au2v3jFlN0dn_p2m3emOLYDdAwnXZgaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/08a.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Altar 5, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEGhGn5_vCU/YBhFoEWTmWI/AAAAAAAADeU/0au2v3jFlN0dn_p2m3emOLYDdAwnXZgaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/08a.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Altar 5: More figures carrying children, on the left side of the altar. One of the deities has a snake wrapped around his head, which suggests he is a underworld deity. One child has a cleft head - probably a congenital deformity.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ugtwUFqhQDI/YBhFoVCuBOI/AAAAAAAADeY/zhBnqRHMPXQhCgz2vJF2ttAadLfAwOw8QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/08b.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Altar 5, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1048" height="584" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ugtwUFqhQDI/YBhFoVCuBOI/AAAAAAAADeY/zhBnqRHMPXQhCgz2vJF2ttAadLfAwOw8QCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h584/08b.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Altar 5: More figures carrying children, on the right side of the altar.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xu9VKaglKc8/YBlJBxNFtQI/AAAAAAAADf0/sGjbBF_E5z8ikowgzj1PHRgetYX9C9YewCLcBGAsYHQ/s868/09.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="868" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xu9VKaglKc8/YBlJBxNFtQI/AAAAAAAADf0/sGjbBF_E5z8ikowgzj1PHRgetYX9C9YewCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h360/09.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Altar
4: Triumphal Altar. This could be an underworld deity sitting near a
cave entrance. Above him on the cornice is a face with large eyes and
sharp fangs, which resembles the "Kalamukha" or "Kirtimukha" depicted
above the entrance to Hindu-Buddhist temples.<br /><br />The deity holds a
rope in his hand, just as the Hindu God of the Underworld, Yama, holds a
noose made of rope, while Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld in ancient
Egypt, holds an "ankh" made of cloth or reeds. The ankh and the noose
are equivalent symbols and denote a "knot in the breath- thread", as I
have discussed in my article: <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2019/05/the-egyptian-ankh-and-hindu-pasha-are.html" target="_blank">The Egyptian Ankh and the Hindu Pasha are Equivalent Symbols</a></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzcpHtrZBhk/YBhFoyzXF8I/AAAAAAAADeg/M7o2ewp83L8x24hph3XKBc22RKJoJd6zgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/12.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument 3, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KzcpHtrZBhk/YBhFoyzXF8I/AAAAAAAADeg/M7o2ewp83L8x24hph3XKBc22RKJoJd6zgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/12.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monument 3: An Olmec head called "The Young Warrior", weighing 12.8 tons.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uSVL7IR8xnk/YBhFpbPYi8I/AAAAAAAADek/zwKTGCfD4B0IfZVQdPkMduMrs84WSBwWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/13.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument 4, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uSVL7IR8xnk/YBhFpbPYi8I/AAAAAAAADek/zwKTGCfD4B0IfZVQdPkMduMrs84WSBwWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/13.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monument 4: An Olmec stone head called "The Old Warrior", weighing 19.8 tons</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q85kWw4mEDA/YBhFpn3cXBI/AAAAAAAADeo/-9Zc0jAvDDkkcybhhrs7a4UPtZ3kdtl5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/14.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument1, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermos" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q85kWw4mEDA/YBhFpn3cXBI/AAAAAAAADeo/-9Zc0jAvDDkkcybhhrs7a4UPtZ3kdtl5gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/14.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Monument 1: An Olmec Colossal Head, weighing 24 tons. All the Olmec heads are decorated with a tight-fitting head-dress, with straps descending in front of each ear. The long ears are adorned with large flattened rings.The Olmec heads correspond to the "Dvarapala" or door-guardian statues placed outside Hindu-Buddhist temples. Like the Dvarapalas, the Olmec heads were placed at the entrances of Olmec ceremonial zones, were of very large size, and had similar facial expressions. Chinese Dvarapalas wore a tight-fitting head-dress and were depicted with long ears as well. I have discussed these correlations in the article: <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/10/the-olmec-heads-did-they-serve-as_14.html" target="_blank">The Olmec Heads: Did they serve as the door-guardians of the Olmec shrines? </a><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge47m0xgxZTewwXoh39QR5Plpwpftl447t_JrQetDhz-uDwm_8X8mqhwrEgy05jQuFm6-064ySlFgJMCprH3_8fO3y-BOKZHqCy33Iw_RfRABSYbnx9qE0iRAYEwfayuZ-yiPYGtUoiau4/s1048/15.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Monument 1, Olmec sculpture, La Venta Museum, Villahermosa" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge47m0xgxZTewwXoh39QR5Plpwpftl447t_JrQetDhz-uDwm_8X8mqhwrEgy05jQuFm6-064ySlFgJMCprH3_8fO3y-BOKZHqCy33Iw_RfRABSYbnx9qE0iRAYEwfayuZ-yiPYGtUoiau4/w640-h480/15.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another view of Monument 1, which shows how big it is.<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br /></span></span><p><br /></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-75571212595581080212021-01-14T00:10:00.009+05:302022-08-20T19:14:03.589+05:30 2200-year-old Mermaid reliefs raise age-old question: Are Mermaids real?<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoX8-53Dx1g/X_9EQP9j0hI/AAAAAAAADcg/qbch3TMWoTkLLWNpNbEgMmxCdY_j21s7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Mermaid%2Bon%2BTerracotta%2Bplaque%2Bfrom%2BChandraketugarh%2B1%2Bclose%2Bup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RoX8-53Dx1g/X_9EQP9j0hI/AAAAAAAADcg/qbch3TMWoTkLLWNpNbEgMmxCdY_j21s7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Mermaid%2Bon%2BTerracotta%2Bplaque%2Bfrom%2BChandraketugarh%2B1%2Bclose%2Bup.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not many would have heard of the archaeological site of Chandraketugarh in India, located roughly 35 km from Kolkata in Eastern India. Chandraketugarh used to be a prosperous, coastal city engaging in international trade, with continuous habitation from c.400 BCE - 1250 CE. All that remains at the site today are the remnants of a brick-built Buddhist temple from the 10th century CE. </span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The reason why Chandraketugarh is particularly interesting because of the large number of terracotta artifacts of astonishing workmanship that have been found at the site, most of which date from the Shunga Period i.e. 200 BCE – 100 BCE. Unfortunately, nearly all of them were smuggled abroad to private collectors, and only a few broken shards and pieces remain in the museums of India. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Although the site was discovered in 1906, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which was then functioning under British Rule, did not conduct any official excavation and simply stood by as these priceless pieces of work were routed through the illegal market for ancient relics. A few of the artifacts are now housed in international museums such as the Met museum, Norton Simon Foundation, LACMA etc. The first official excavations at Chandraketugarh were done much later </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">in 1957-68 by the Ashutosh Museum of Indian Art in Kolkata. </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Mermaids of Chandraketugarh</b></span> </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A couple of terracotta plaques from Chandraketugarh depict a mermaid, which is a bit odd since mermaids are not common in Indian folklore and art. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first plaque shows a mermaid swimming in a lake, holding what could be a mirror or a flower. A throng of people have gathered on the shore. They are looking at her as if she was an unusual spectacle. A nobleman or chieftain has arrived at the scene on his horse-drawn chariot. One of his assistants is pointing out the mermaid to him. We can see three men standing on the shore with (what appears to be) a big fishing net hanging over their shoulders.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bW6p7pM29t8/X_hTsjsVf0I/AAAAAAAADZw/XCW0_R5pcIgI_JQBtWv3AwW9eeNvyRTWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1479/Mermaid%2Bon%2BTerracotta%2Bplaque%2Bfrom%2BChandraketugarh%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Terracotta plaque depicting mermaid from Chandraketugarh, India, 2nd century BC." border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="1479" height="488" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bW6p7pM29t8/X_hTsjsVf0I/AAAAAAAADZw/XCW0_R5pcIgI_JQBtWv3AwW9eeNvyRTWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h488/Mermaid%2Bon%2BTerracotta%2Bplaque%2Bfrom%2BChandraketugarh%2B1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 1: Terracotta
plaque from Chandraketugarh, India. c.200 - 100 BCE, Shunga Period.
Source: www.sylph-ocular.com. <a href="https://www.sylph-ocular.com/t161#1" target="_blank">Link</a></span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The second plaque shows a mermaid trapped in a fishing net. It could be the same mermaid from the previous plaque, but this time she doesn't have the mirror or flower. Some fishermen are holding the net and have formed a barricade around her. A few people on the shore are waving to the mermaid, and she seems to be waving back at them. Apparently, she is not scared or agitated in spite of being trapped. Once again, a chieftain has arrived on a horse drawn carriage, along with his assistants. This time it’s a different carriage drawn by a single horse. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iI9smGvk8ic/X_hUwr4r5JI/AAAAAAAADaU/jH7_OCZ2cegzAM4fggu_tslltQuboTsXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1162/Mermaid%2BChandraketugarh3.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Terracotta plaque depicting mermaid from Chandraketugarh, India, 2nd century BC." border="0" data-original-height="846" data-original-width="1162" height="466" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iI9smGvk8ic/X_hUwr4r5JI/AAAAAAAADaU/jH7_OCZ2cegzAM4fggu_tslltQuboTsXwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h466/Mermaid%2BChandraketugarh3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 2: Terracotta
plaque from Chandraketugarh, India. c.200 - 100 BCE, Shunga Period.
Source: www.sylph-ocular.com. <a href="https://www.sylph-ocular.com/t091-mermaid-2#1" target="_blank">Link</a></span></span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When I looked at these terracotta reliefs, I wondered if they depict scenes from an ancient legend, or an actual event that the people of Chandraketugarh had witnessed some 2200 years ago.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The manner in which the people have gathered on the shores of the lake and are staring at the mermaid, makes it seem as if these reliefs are depicting a real-life encounter with a mermaid. I have seen a number of terracotta plaques and vases of Chandraketugarh, and many of them depict scenes from the daily life of the people. So these two terracotta plaques would fall in that genre. This would mean that mermaid sightings occurred in India at around 200 BCE! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That is an intriguing thought. It implies that mermaids may not be imaginary creatures as is popularly believed, but real aquatic beings. Could it be that mermaid sightings were more common in the past, but as men became more violent and started shooting animals or locking them up in cages, human interactions with mermaids became progressively less frequent?<br /><br />The other reason why I thought that these terracotta reliefs could be depicting a real-life event is because there are no stories about mermaids in the entire repertoire of Hindu legends and Buddhist Jataka tales. <i>And that’s a lot of stories we are talking about here.</i> The only known instance where we find a mermaid in an Indian legend is in the Thai version of the Ramayana called <i>Ramakien</i>, where the monkey-god Hanuman encounters mermaids while building the sea-bridge to Lanka. That particular story in the Ramakien has no relation to the scenes on these terracotta plaques. However, let me recount it here, since the story is quite interesting and not very widely-known.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Suvannamaccha and Hanuman</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The <i>Ramakien</i> (literally, “Glory of Rama”) is the Thai version of the Ramayana which was taken to Southeast Asia by Indian traders in the first centuries of the Common Era. The current version of the Ramakien was prepared in 1797 by King Rama I, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty that still commands the throne of Thailand.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a story in the Ramakien about a mermaid called Suvannamaccha (from Sanskrit <i>Suvarna matsya</i>, meaning “golden fish”) who tried to hamper Hanuman’s effort to build a sea-bridge to the island of Lanka. When Hanuman and his monkey army were throwing large boulders into the sea in order to build a bridge to Lanka, where Sita – the wife of Rama - had been abducted by Ravana and kept as a captive, he found that the boulders kept vanishing from under the waters every day. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">When Hanuman and his helpers dived into the ocean to see what was going on, they found that a group of mermaids were carrying away the rocks as soon as they were thrown in. Hanuman tried capture the leader of the mermaids but she kept evading him. Slowly, Hanuman started falling in love with her and tried to seduce her. Then she began to respond to his overtures. </span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G45xATi7ESo/X_hVLQZB_FI/AAAAAAAADa0/hjVLWFR7H6QcTbsNjFdMiR7Jo8rwjLeWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Suvannamaccha%2BRamakien_Murals.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hanuman and Suvannamachha, the mermaid princess. Ramakien mural on the walls of the Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok." border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G45xATi7ESo/X_hVLQZB_FI/AAAAAAAADa0/hjVLWFR7H6QcTbsNjFdMiR7Jo8rwjLeWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/Suvannamaccha%2BRamakien_Murals.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 3: Hanuman and
Suvannamachha, the mermaid princess. Ramakien mural on the walls of the
Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. Source:
Wikimedia Commons / Photo Dharma CC BY 2.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span>When Hanuman asked her why she was disrupting their work, Suvannamaccha told him that she was a daughter of Ravana, and she had been instructed by Ravana to foil their efforts to build a bridge. Hanuman then explained to her how Ravana had forcibly abducted Rama’s wife, and why it was necessary to build the bridge and help Rama in his fight against Ravana. Suvannamacha understood the importance of Hanuman’s mission and her mermaid friends did not cause any further disruption. Rather, they returned all the stones that they had removed from the bridge. Today, Suvannamacha is a popular figure in Thai culture. She is regarded as a good-luck charm, and her images are hung outside shops and houses across Thailand.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, that is the story of Suvannamacha and Hanuman - an interesting addition to the Thai adaptation of the Ramayana. Apart from this story, there is no other Hindu or Buddhist legend involving mermaids that I am aware of, which makes me think that the mermaid reliefs of Chandraketugarh may not be a mythic imagery but an actual mermaid sighting.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Mesopotamian Fish-Men</b></span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the reasons why I got interested in the topic of mermaids is because of my earlier <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2020/07/mystery-of-seven-sages.html" target="_blank">research on the Seven Sages</a> [1], who were a group of sages of extraordinary wisdom and supernatural powers who came to the earth in the antediluvian times and imparted all the laws of living and skills of civilization to the people. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In Mesopotamia, the Seven Sages were collectively known as the <i>Apkallu</i>, and some of them were depicted in the form of <i>fish-men hybrids</i>. The first of the Apkallu, called Oannes or Uanna, had emerged from the waters of the Erythraean Sea (i.e. the Arabian Sea). He used to converse with the people during the daytime, when he gave them the knowledge of the sciences, arts and letters. At night, however, he dived under the sea and lived in the deep, for he was an amphibious being. According to the Chaldean astrologer Berossus, the teachings of Oannes was so complete that nothing new was added by way of improvement till the time of Berossus (c.300 BCE).<br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MPmA5uIdYCU/X_hYeCp83OI/AAAAAAAADbA/iUgSu009OB0DH44jDyuHYanhOEndVcHBACLcBGAsYHQ/s620/Apkallu%2BTmple%2Bof%2BAdda%252C%2BAleppo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Sumerian Apkallu, depicted as a human-fish hybrid. 14th century BC, Temple of Adda, Aleppo, Syria." border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="382" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MPmA5uIdYCU/X_hYeCp83OI/AAAAAAAADbA/iUgSu009OB0DH44jDyuHYanhOEndVcHBACLcBGAsYHQ/w246-h400/Apkallu%2BTmple%2Bof%2BAdda%252C%2BAleppo.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 4: An Apkallu, depicted as a human-fish hybrid. 14th century BC, Temple of Adda, Aleppo, Syria. Source: Archaeology.org / Kay Kohlmeyer</span></i><br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the Mesopotamian texts, the Apkallu were referred to as the “puradu-fishes of the sea”, those “who have originated in the rivers”. Their habitat was in the apsu i.e. the subterranean freshwater aquifers, and they were sent to the Babylonians by Enki, who was the Lord of the apsu. Presumably, there are passages and tunnels that lead from the apsu to the rivers and the seas, which allowed them to move freely between various water bodies. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I had pointed out that the subterranean aquifers of our planet extend nearly 30,000 feet below the surface of the earth, and they are divided into many vertical levels by layers of porous rock, which corresponds to the “multiple tiers of the watery underworld” mentioned in the traditions of many ancient cultures. We know practically nothing about the ecosystem of these aquifers. The waters in the lowest levels of these aquifers have remained undisturbed for millions of years. Even the deep oceans and rivers have only been partially explored. Given this incomplete state of our knowledge it is premature for us to dismiss the ancient accounts as fantasies. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Some ancient accounts indicate that the human-fish hybrids may be of extraterrestrial origin. In Dogon legends, fish-men called the Nommo came from the Sirius star system as their “Teachers”, and after having taught the Dogon they lived in the watering holes. In Vedic accounts the Seven Sages or Saptarshis came from the Great Bear constellation (Ursa Major), and transmitted the entire corpus of Vedic wisdom to the ancient Indians.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XuEaAP9kn8Y/X_haQPF7xjI/AAAAAAAADbM/P2dmv3PrX7AnupOaoVgbunw4fivzAFX5gCLcBGAsYHQ/s527/fishman%2Bassyria.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fish-man in the sea. Bas-relief in the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II, ca. 721-705 BCE at Dur-Sharken, modern Khorsabad." border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="527" height="331" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XuEaAP9kn8Y/X_haQPF7xjI/AAAAAAAADbM/P2dmv3PrX7AnupOaoVgbunw4fivzAFX5gCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h331/fishman%2Bassyria.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 5: Fish-man in
the sea. Bas-relief in the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II, ca.
721-705 BCE at Dur-Sharken, modern Khorsabad. Source: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient
Mesopotamia, An Illustrated Dictionary, p 131, fig 107. Taken from </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;">www.bibleorigins.net </span></span></span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xq8vP0hzIK4/X_ha8aYWJVI/AAAAAAAADbU/8Hw6VpAMziUMJhemtUlzUD9bH3AaIsYJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s510/wss-cycle-groundwater-flow-diagram.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="he underground aquifers have many vertical levels, separated by confining beds of rock." border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="510" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xq8vP0hzIK4/X_ha8aYWJVI/AAAAAAAADbU/8Hw6VpAMziUMJhemtUlzUD9bH3AaIsYJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s16000/wss-cycle-groundwater-flow-diagram.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 6: The
underground aquifers have many vertical levels, separated by confining
beds of rock. The lowest levels of the aquifers have remained
undisturbed for millennia. Source: USGS, Public Domain</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Mermaids in Western Folklore</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mermaids, and to a lesser extent mermen, have been chronicled in Western maritime cultures for a very long time. Generally, mermaids were described as beautiful sea maidens, with long flowing hair, and a melodic voice. They were said to possess miraculous and prophetic powers. They warned sailors of impending storms and shipwrecks. Their songs could put sailors to sleep allowing the ship to drift away. In some legends, they changed their form and married humans, who later found out that they were shape-shifting mermaids. Sometimes they taught people the cures for some diseases, or rewarded them with treasures.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In Slavic legends, mermaids are the spirits of young women who died an untimely death. They inhabit lakes and rivers. They can be seen after dark, dancing together under the moon and calling out to young men by name, luring them to the water and drowning them. Mermaids and mermen were collectively called merfolk, and commonly represented in Romanesque sculpture throughout Europe.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkO5cd8lvl8/X_iCkQaTg3I/AAAAAAAADbg/hI2P3ihSS4415wBcnYmI5l9l8fqPz04_QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/mermaids%2BKaysersberg%252C_romanesque_capital_with_mermaids.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Romanesque capital with mermen, Kaysersberg, Northeastern France" border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1024" height="361" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZkO5cd8lvl8/X_iCkQaTg3I/AAAAAAAADbg/hI2P3ihSS4415wBcnYmI5l9l8fqPz04_QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h361/mermaids%2BKaysersberg%252C_romanesque_capital_with_mermaids.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 7: Romanesque capital with mermen, Kaysersberg, Northeastern France. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Pépé Ciseaux CC BY 2.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QHcE4UogNc4/X_iDXaMbxtI/AAAAAAAADbo/n0S08IqXDBQbPHRS1_fpSbKa52AqwkxNACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Mermaid%2BClonfert_Cathedral_Mermaid_2009_09_17.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A15th-century carving of a mermaid with comb and mirror at the Clonfert Cathedral, Clonfert, County Galway, Ireland." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1747" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QHcE4UogNc4/X_iDXaMbxtI/AAAAAAAADbo/n0S08IqXDBQbPHRS1_fpSbKa52AqwkxNACLcBGAsYHQ/w341-h400/Mermaid%2BClonfert_Cathedral_Mermaid_2009_09_17.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 8: A15th-century
carving of a mermaid with comb and mirror at the Clonfert Cathedral,
Clonfert, County Galway, Ireland. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Andreas F.
Borchert CC BY-SA 3.0</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4EuwzOjyYu8/X_iDntuWguI/AAAAAAAADbw/nZkssQAJIAM-s4MJZ1_7Oh_2qRDjmiOcgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1574/Mermaid%2Band%2Bsailors_Pubic%2BDomain.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A Mermaid is lulling sailors to sleep with her song. One sailor is blocking his ears with his fingers to avoid hearing her. Photo from a bestiary c.1230 – 1240 CE" border="0" data-original-height="1574" data-original-width="1336" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4EuwzOjyYu8/X_iDntuWguI/AAAAAAAADbw/nZkssQAJIAM-s4MJZ1_7Oh_2qRDjmiOcgCLcBGAsYHQ/w340-h400/Mermaid%2Band%2Bsailors_Pubic%2BDomain.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Figure 9: A Mermaid is
lulling sailors to sleep with her song. One sailor is blocking his ears
with his fingers to avoid hearing her. Photo from a bestiary c.1230 –
1240 CE. British Museum. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain.</span></span></i></td></tr></tbody></table></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There have been innumerable reported sightings of mermaids over the ages by sailors and explorers. In comparatively recent times, Christopher Columbus reported seeing three mermaids near the Caribbean Islands in 1493. He mentioned that the mermaids were not very attractive, and had masculine features – which could mean that he saw mermen. One might say that we can’t trust a guy who was so disoriented that he landed in America and thought that he was in India. I cant argue with that, but how about this: even Henry Hudson’s crew reported seeing a mermaid in the Arctic Ocean in 1608.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was surprised to find out, however, there have been a number of sightings of mermaids in the past decade itself! Which means mermaids are not just a story from the distant past, but a mystery that endures till the present day. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Mermaid Sightings in the 21st century</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In 2009, news reports claimed that a mermaid had been sighted off the coast of Israel, in the town of Kiryat Yam. The report in <i>Live Science</i> [2] stated,</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Locals and tourists in the Israeli town of Kiryat Yam have been flocking to the coast in hopes of glimpsing a creature that most people believe only exist in fairy tales. An alleged mermaid, said to resemble a cross between a fish and a young girl, only appears at sunset. It performs a few tricks for onlookers before disappearing for the night. One of the first people to see the mermaid, Shlomo Cohen, said, “I was with friends when suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way. At first I thought she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared. We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail.” The sightings apparently began several months ago. The town's tourism board is of course delighted with their newfound fame and local mystery fauna. Taking a cue from the town of Inverness, Scotland (on the shore of Loch Ness), the Kiryat Yam government has offered a $1 million reward for the first person to photograph the creature. Town spokesman Natti Zilberman thinks the reward money is well-spent. “I believe if there really is a mermaid then so many people will come to Kiryat Yam, a lot more money will be made than $1 million.”</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is a rather interesting report because <i>the mermaid had been seen by a large number of people over a few months.</i> There is a tendency in the media, particularly amongst the self-appointed guardians of our reality bubble, to brush off these kind of sightings as a hoax. But I have no idea why any woman would attach a fish’s tail to her body and perform tricks in the water, only for the purpose of entertaining some onlookers for months on end, without getting either money or recognition for her efforts. It does seem pretty odd, if at all this can be pulled off. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nor does it make sense to suggest that the people of Kiryat Yam were suffering from some kind of mass nearsightedness or mass hallucination such that they were unable to distinguish between a mermaid and some water animal - the current favorite in this category being manatees (or sea cows). Really? How fat do you need to be to look like a manatee? Whatever happened to all the stories of beautiful sirens with melodious voices? I think many mermaids would be very upset if they knew they were being compared to manatees.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While the mermaid sighting in Israel was quite mystifying, the next one is even more bizarre – <i>the trickster mermaids of Zimbabwe</i>. If tracking mermaids is your passion then pack your bags and head straight for Zimbabwe - the veritable mermaid capital of the world. Their rivers, specifically the areas near their dams, are teeming with mermaids who love to play ticks on humans. In 2012, the Zimbabwe Water Resources Minister Sam Sipepa Nkomo told a senate committee that <i>mermaids were hounding government workers off a couple of dam sites </i>in Mutare, Manicaland, and Gokwe, Midlands! Here’s an extract from the news report in <i>Voice of America</i> [3],</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">Nkomo said all the workers he sent to work on the dam sites to install water pumps had dumped the project vowing not to return to the areas because of the mythical water creatures. Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo, who also appeared before the senate committee, backed the call for traditional rites to be performed at the dams to allay workers’ fears.Nkomo said the government is prepared to give the population the water it needs, but is unable to do so until the rituals are performed and necessary repairs can be carried out. He said he tried to hire white personnel to do the work at Osborne dam, supposedly because they had not been exposed to the mermaids reports, but they too refused to undertake the project alleging they had seen suspicious creatures. According to the minister, workers report that people have disappeared mysteriously while some have been chased away by the legendary creatures.Traditional leader chief Edison Chihota of Mashonaland East said there is no dispute about the existence of mermaids. “As a custodian of the traditional I have no doubt," chief Chihota said. "For anyone to dispute this is also disputing him or herself.” Cultural activist Prince Peter Zwide Khumalo, a descendant of King Lobengula, said mermaids play a central role in spiritual beliefs and they are thought to mainly inhabit the largest dams, such as Lake Kariba. “They are said to exist in water particularly in big dams like Kariba. I haven’t heard of mermaids in small dams.</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Isn’t this amazing? <i>Mermaids are discussed at the senate level in Zimbabwe!</i> As I was reading this report, I was reminded of the story from the Ramakien where the mermaid princess Suvannamaccha tried to prevent Hanuman from building the bridge to Lanka. I must admit that I rather admire the confidence of the traditional chief Chihota, who said that the existence of mermaids is beyond doubt. He seems to be a person who swims around with mermaids on weekends. In contrast, the cultural activist Khumalo is scratching his head over why the mermaids are migrating from the bigger dams to the smaller dams. These are the issues that people should grapple with! Instead of endless rounds of bickering and venom-spewing on social media. People should just go to Zimbabwe and have a mind-altering mermaid experience. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In case you are wondering what happened to the work at the dam, the <i>Bulawayo 24 News</i> reported that, “The work later resumed after traditional healers brewed beer and carried out some rites to appease the water spirits.”</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are many stories of mermaid encounters in Zimbabwe. Let me discuss a couple of more interesting cases that I came across. In 2106, <i>The Sun</i> [4] reported that, Rose Muguza, 45, a teacher at Chikanga Primary, saw a pair of mermaids when a whirlwind pushed her into a small river, while she was returning home from work. According to her, “The female one is very beautiful and its hair is quite long. It stretches to its bottom half, while the male one has relatively shorter hair that ends on its shoulders. The eyes of the female one are always roving.” She added that, “After that encounter, I managed to proceed home, but I was feeling dizzy with blood oozing out of my mouth.” Other reports from the same area state that these two mermaids often appear as real mermaids, fish or a huge snake. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Again in 2017, mermaids were held responsible for the death of two schoolboys due to drowning, at a dam near Gokwe, Zimbabwe. The Village Seven, where the incident occurred, falls under the jurisdiction of Chief Nemangwe, who spoke to the media about the incident. As per the report in <i>Bulawayo 24 News </i>[5], he said, </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: medium;">It is reported that on the fateful day the two boys who were in Form One and Two at Ganye Secondary School were herding cattle when they saw the mermaid at the dam. According to a friend of the deceased boys, his companions jumped into the dam and tried to grab the mermaid because they believed it was just a big fish. But the mermaid pulled them down into the water.” The friend then ran home to alert the elders, who arrived at the dam to find the boys lying on a rock, alive. “When their parents got to the dam they panicked believing their children had died and started crying. A whirlwind suddenly engulfed the place before the mermaid swiftly appeared from the water and grabbed the boys for the second time but this time their lifeless bodies resurfaced later,” said Chief Nemangwe. According to the chief the latest victims were not the first to meet their demise at the dam under mysterious circumstances. “Two other people that I am aware of were also killed at the same dam in similar circumstances. As a community we have since performed some rituals to calm down the water spirits.</span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By now, it should be obvious that mermaids are deeply embedded in the cultural and religious life of the people of Zimbabwe. They are called <i>njuzu</i> and they live in the rivers, particularly in the areas near the dams. Fishermen hear their voices, and sometimes they get chased away by mermaids if they overfish. Mermaids are spotted on the river banks, and their singing can be heard at night. Mermaid sightings may be associated with whirlwinds. Mermaids in Zimbabwe are also known to abduct humans. When a person is taken by a mermaid, his family members should not cry, for that can upset the mermaid and lead to the death of the person. However, local elders can offer beer to the mermaids as a propitiatory offering. Those who return alive are transformed into traditional healers (<i>n’anga</i>), having knowledge of herbs, medicinal plants, and cures. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, the dictum of the mermaids of Zimbabwe is very clear: “Keep calm and don’t panic, while we rewire your child.” Unfortunately, not many are able adhere to their rules when their near and dear ones go missing.</span></span></p><p><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A Parallel World</span></span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, what do we make of this? Should we just take the easy way out i.e. roll our eyes, and brush it off with a wave of our hands? Call it the meaningless superstition of natives and get back to our lives of glorified slavery and endless consumerism? After all, that is exactly what the “thought police” would want. “There’s nothing to see here folks. Just some manatees and dugongs. Go home and stare at your smartphone screens. We have this under control.” Unfortunately, most will obey their orders and do exactly as they are told.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But some of us are more curious. We ask questions. What if there was something to it? Why can’t there be unknown life forms in the depths of the rivers and oceans, and the vast, unexplored subterranean aquifers? Why would so many people from many different cultures report seeing the same, strange, aquatic life forms over thousands of years?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those of us who live in the big cities of the world are cut off from a large chunk of reality. Life is more primal in the villages, and even more so in the vast wildernesses of Africa and other continents, where the survivors are those who are in tune with the rhythms of nature. For them, nature includes not only the visible world but also the invisible world of spirits. Both are equally real to them. If the belief in mermaids is still so pervasive in Zimbabwe, perhaps it is possible that the legends about mermaids were not the fantasies and hallucinations of ancient sailors.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As I have mentioned earlier, my mindset about the possible existence of human-fish hybrids changed when I was researching on the <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2020/07/mystery-of-seven-sages.html" target="_blank">tradition of the Seven Sages</a>. The Seven Sages are an integral part of Indian tradition. They are the source of all Vedic wisdom in every discipline. Every Indian traces his lineage to one of the Seven Sages. But in Mesopotamia, some of the Seven Sages were depicted as fish-men, and some others had the head and wings of an eagle. The Dogons of Africa depicted the Nommo with the lower torso of a fish. In the Vedic tradition, one the Seven Sages called Kashyapa gave birth to the Nagas – the human-serpent hybrids – who live in the subterranean aquifers. This overlap in symbolism led me to think that, perhaps, the Seven Sages possessed a combination of human, aquatic and avian features that enabled them to travel anywhere. If they were alien beings from the stars, as the tradition claims, there is no reason why we should imagine them in a purely human form. In addition, recent scientific discoveries indicate the presence of vast underground oceans in many of the other planets and moons of the Solar System – such as Mars, Europa, Titan and Pluto – which could act as incubators of life. It is possible that aquatic life forms are the dominant forms of life in the universe. If life forms from the distant stars or planets came to the earth – perhaps by hitching a ride on interstellar comets – they would most likely inhabit the oceans and rivers, and the immense reservoirs of groundwater below the earth’s surface.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Which means there could be a parallel world right below our feet – a world inhabited by mystical beings of possibly extraterrestrial origin – who may have inordinately long lives. As humans, we are temporary visitors here. The underworld denizens may have been here for eons, regulating the earth’s atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere in unknown ways. In some specific epochs, they may even interact with humans and pass on the wisdom and skills of civilization. After all, that is what the ancient traditions tell us: that the Nagas sometime adopt human forms and function as the benefactors and protectors of humanity.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This could be why there are so many sacred lakes all over the world, which are believed to be inhabited by “water spirits”. People are not allowed to disturb the waters of such lakes by swimming, boating, or other activities which could offend the water spirits. Temples and shrines, stupas and monasteries sprang up on the banks of such lakes – such as the Pushkar in India and Manasarovar in Tibet - and over time they became important centers of pilgrimage. At such spiritually powerful places, the veil between the worlds is thin, and it is easier for people to contact the otherworld. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In my opinion, therefore, the topic of mermaids is far from settled, and there is a pretty good chance that human-fish and human-serpent hybrids may exist in the oceans, rivers and, more specifically, in underground aquifers of the earth. It is true, of course, that all reported sightings of mermaids may not be genuine. Preconceived ideas and low light conditions can make people mistake one thing for the other. But even if just one sighting, out of the hundreds that have been reported till date, is correct then it implies that something very strange is going on in the deep waters and aquifers of our planet. We can only hope that, with the widespread usage of smartphones, definitive photographic or video evidence will emerge in future.<br /><br /><b><u>End Notes</u></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">[1] Bibhu Dev Misra, “The Mystery of the Seven Sages: Were they Visitors from the Stars?”, Ancient Inquiries, 02 August 2020, https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2020/07/mystery-of-seven-sages.html<br />[2] Benjamin Radford, "Mermaid Sightings Claimed in Israel", Livescience.com, August 13, 2009, https://www.livescience.com/5642-mermaid-sightings-claimed-israel.html<br />[3] Mermaid' Sightings in Zimbabwe Spark Debate Over Traditional Beliefs, Voice of America, February 03, 2012, https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-mermaids-problem-for-water-minister-138664059/1467126.html<br />[4] "Panic spreads in Zimbabwe as residents claim they’ve been brutally assaulted… by mermaids", The Sun, 25th January 2016, https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/223250/panic-spreads-in-zimbabwe-as-residents-claim-theyve-been-brutally-assaulted-by-mermaids/<br />[5] "Mermaid kidnaps two boys and brings them back alive in Gokwe", Bulawayo 24 News, 03 Mar 2017, https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-105595.html</span></span><br /><br /></span></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-89331979639101056012021-01-05T16:16:00.006+05:302021-01-05T16:40:39.223+05:30The Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ma_uwgRoU-k/X_RA2o3CfxI/AAAAAAAADZM/j7YulwQi5qUQbd67NVNjxUKWfbWFFn78ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/05.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ma_uwgRoU-k/X_RA2o3CfxI/AAAAAAAADZM/j7YulwQi5qUQbd67NVNjxUKWfbWFFn78ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/05.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br />The "Char Bangla" temples in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal were built by Queen Bhavani of Natore in 1755 CE. Each of the four terracotta temples were built in the style of the traditional village huts of Bengal with two sloping roofs, called "Do-Chala" or "Ek Bangla" temples. <br /><br />Each of the temples have three arched openings and 3 Shiva-lingas. Their facades are ornamented with terracotta panels, depicting scenes from the daily life and and Puranic legends. <br /><br />When the temples were built nearly 250 years ago, the Ganges (Bhagirathi) used to flow nearly a kilometer away. But today the temple is barely 10 feet away from the river bank, and its boundary wall has already been damaged by the river. <br /><br />Getting to the temples is half the fun. Since they are located in Baranagar, on the other bank of the Ganges from Murshidabad, we took a ride on a country boat from the Azimganj sadar ghat for a 25 mins trip upstream. A road journey would have taken considerably longer, and certainly less enjoyable.<span><a name='more'></a></span> <br /></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lE_EE33lSDk/X_Q8Yv5HIII/AAAAAAAADXc/c-C7VAk5R0A1iWJx8jEDaV8zQbumuuwzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lE_EE33lSDk/X_Q8Yv5HIII/AAAAAAAADXc/c-C7VAk5R0A1iWJx8jEDaV8zQbumuuwzACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/01.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The journey by a country boat to the temple complex<br /></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WK9znUEJ5ys/X_Q8YvMdAVI/AAAAAAAADXk/UUhalnjdPpo1fOzkFFtqKK4x5z4xzt65gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/02.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1048" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WK9znUEJ5ys/X_Q8YvMdAVI/AAAAAAAADXk/UUhalnjdPpo1fOzkFFtqKK4x5z4xzt65gCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h426/02.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">The temples are located right on the river bank</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSohgi-Rt0k/X_Q8Yj-E-pI/AAAAAAAADXg/siztaxXY-BQx84DDyMR92gV-xRgrvFGjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/03.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSohgi-Rt0k/X_Q8Yj-E-pI/AAAAAAAADXg/siztaxXY-BQx84DDyMR92gV-xRgrvFGjgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/03.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rHadz2wK_gA/X_Q8ZRToTII/AAAAAAAADXo/cdXcf9ywax0YyD53bzDI5VaOV3KX7KzrgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/04.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rHadz2wK_gA/X_Q8ZRToTII/AAAAAAAADXo/cdXcf9ywax0YyD53bzDI5VaOV3KX7KzrgCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/04.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lord Shiva seated on a pedestal, engraved on the side wall of one of the temples</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XyyOJCGY6kk/X_Q8ZVKwiTI/AAAAAAAADXs/t4so4n7eU1wPWLWgk9MRmnvDiKYT0GpigCLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/05.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XyyOJCGY6kk/X_Q8ZVKwiTI/AAAAAAAADXs/t4so4n7eU1wPWLWgk9MRmnvDiKYT0GpigCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/05.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This temple has the richest terracotta ornamentation</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wDNhMoEkodU/X_Q8Zyp6YAI/AAAAAAAADXw/b1EcQ82ZqUEfodtJ4Qh2eQZ9GjAYmxavACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/06.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1048" height="534" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wDNhMoEkodU/X_Q8Zyp6YAI/AAAAAAAADXw/b1EcQ82ZqUEfodtJ4Qh2eQZ9GjAYmxavACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h534/06.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">The battle between Rama, seated on the shoulders of Hanuman, and the ten-headed Ravana, depicted above the entrance arch</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XlyK8mnDR3g/X_Q8aaUxYWI/AAAAAAAADX0/55UhRkL1t70oo45p3MuSuiGwsr9uM3HqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/07.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XlyK8mnDR3g/X_Q8aaUxYWI/AAAAAAAADX0/55UhRkL1t70oo45p3MuSuiGwsr9uM3HqwCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/07.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kGWMbKmrFcE/X_Q8ab2GZYI/AAAAAAAADX4/mte2R_kkXGwjsduvrcnwZGK4GgRd7RbIwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/08.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kGWMbKmrFcE/X_Q8ab2GZYI/AAAAAAAADX4/mte2R_kkXGwjsduvrcnwZGK4GgRd7RbIwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/08.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is probably the goddess Ganga reclining on a makara - a water dragon responsible for rainfall.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9Yp7KQ6Ark/X_Q8amjIIgI/AAAAAAAADX8/gVd57cW0XZMQSKwvfIGBODAdYvdEt09mgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/09.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="786" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9Yp7KQ6Ark/X_Q8amjIIgI/AAAAAAAADX8/gVd57cW0XZMQSKwvfIGBODAdYvdEt09mgCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/09.JPG" width="300" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A mythical battle with a centaur. In Indian legends, centaurs were called gandharvas, who were part-human and part-horse (or part-monkey)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NMi_7d-m-zM/X_Q8awasXII/AAAAAAAADYA/UpQp3a5czVcmb_-kudgbJM1Dp1nkhncaQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/10.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NMi_7d-m-zM/X_Q8awasXII/AAAAAAAADYA/UpQp3a5czVcmb_-kudgbJM1Dp1nkhncaQCLcBGAsYHQ/w480-h640/10.JPG" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Goddess Kali</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fqLEym5I_7k/X_Q8bNctT6I/AAAAAAAADYE/LLZ7IoFxQU8G2f7TFobLCSK6BWu29g1xgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/11.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fqLEym5I_7k/X_Q8bNctT6I/AAAAAAAADYE/LLZ7IoFxQU8G2f7TFobLCSK6BWu29g1xgCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/11.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Goddess Durga</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5T3fkyXV3M/X_Q8boZH-bI/AAAAAAAADYI/JsKeU6_8MzQNvnT_xBi5MjfinxZyHQG4wCLcBGAsYHQ/s885/12.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j5T3fkyXV3M/X_Q8boZH-bI/AAAAAAAADYI/JsKeU6_8MzQNvnT_xBi5MjfinxZyHQG4wCLcBGAsYHQ/w568-h640/12.JPG" width="568" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Scenes of battle</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xFqMDZzmJjA/X_Q8bnn6a0I/AAAAAAAADYM/4I8XB1ENikIV1ik7cNfm0PrYjxBR38MQwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/13.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xFqMDZzmJjA/X_Q8bnn6a0I/AAAAAAAADYM/4I8XB1ENikIV1ik7cNfm0PrYjxBR38MQwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/13.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">The other temples, arranged around a square courtyard. This temple has stucco ornamentation, instead of terracotta plaques.</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pqo2jRaOiNc/X_Q8bz2qbMI/AAAAAAAADYQ/OSWKvoDzD5ILo01C7Rr-vqkCExE3yNqTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/14.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pqo2jRaOiNc/X_Q8bz2qbMI/AAAAAAAADYQ/OSWKvoDzD5ILo01C7Rr-vqkCExE3yNqTACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/14.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WAR2aLBaElM/X_Q8cT4XnXI/AAAAAAAADYU/XMi7OceYgqEUc_Bs_vFVmEknS2LgHz4jACLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/15.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WAR2aLBaElM/X_Q8cT4XnXI/AAAAAAAADYU/XMi7OceYgqEUc_Bs_vFVmEknS2LgHz4jACLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/15.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVmxSLcNU3U/X_Q8ctR-qqI/AAAAAAAADYY/Lc_XYzjwB0oJS2qElPs8I_CwkPzKi-l9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1124/16.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="1124" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVmxSLcNU3U/X_Q8ctR-qqI/AAAAAAAADYY/Lc_XYzjwB0oJS2qElPs8I_CwkPzKi-l9gCLcBGAsYHQ/w448-h640/16.JPG" width="448" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">This unusual looking temple is located just outside the Char Bangla temple complex. Its called the Bhavaniswar Temple. The dome is shaped like an inverted lotus.</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edoOTGoT8No/X_Q8ckWpasI/AAAAAAAADYc/g2Vrv34l_hI3B3OMMBCmg7wHWbUTg2xigCLcBGAsYHQ/s1048/17.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Char Bangla Temples of Murshidabad, West Bengal" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edoOTGoT8No/X_Q8ckWpasI/AAAAAAAADYc/g2Vrv34l_hI3B3OMMBCmg7wHWbUTg2xigCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/17.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Lord Krishna dancing on the hoods of Kaliya, the serpent.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1trXLnMnOLY/X_Q8dLPSgPI/AAAAAAAADYg/yuCai5x6EpQOq5q0hmRvod-BfUKByTpFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/18.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1trXLnMnOLY/X_Q8dLPSgPI/AAAAAAAADYg/yuCai5x6EpQOq5q0hmRvod-BfUKByTpFQCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/18.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our country boat is parked on the river bank.</span><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DXoH-fSRjyecY7MfganS2PU6MkZwdYgGPzTayMDbFTRqns0p0hCnjrIBREAj1iQaz2n7QzPGt-VZsACtaP00P2qVyyBeAcRDX0iJmWQLuKkypb5C_dfwLGJfwAfvnidD2MdM1NdSXX-S/s1040/19.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DXoH-fSRjyecY7MfganS2PU6MkZwdYgGPzTayMDbFTRqns0p0hCnjrIBREAj1iQaz2n7QzPGt-VZsACtaP00P2qVyyBeAcRDX0iJmWQLuKkypb5C_dfwLGJfwAfvnidD2MdM1NdSXX-S/w640-h480/19.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSskp9Quz8A/X_Q8dlWoE9I/AAAAAAAADYo/6Qw_VowoQfsJ0rx9Uij2nbdH6QQTwzb9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1040/20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="1040" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSskp9Quz8A/X_Q8dlWoE9I/AAAAAAAADYo/6Qw_VowoQfsJ0rx9Uij2nbdH6QQTwzb9wCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h480/20.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">The return journey</span></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /> </span><p></p>Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-82594661156962300112020-08-30T15:13:00.005+05:302023-09-17T15:47:02.624+05:30Earth Ancients Podcast: The Mystery of the Seven Sages<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">My discussion with Cliff Dunning on the Earth Ancients Podcast, on the topic of the global tradition of the Seven Sages. This is based on my recent article: <a href="https://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2020/07/mystery-of-seven-sages.html" target="_blank">The Mystery of the Seven Sages: Were They Visitors from the Stars?</a> <br />
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I get introduced at 46:52 mins into the podcast, and our discussion continues for nearly an hour after that. We touched upon of lot of interesting questions regarding the influence of the Seven Sages on our culture, and the implications of their extraterrestrial origins.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many ancient legends tell us that in the bygone ages, a group of <i>Seven Sages</i> of extraordinary wisdom and untold powers visited the earth from the stars. They traveled around the world and passed on the knowledge of all the sciences and the arts to the people. They advised the kings on their royal duties, instituted the proper codes of living, and established the correct modes of ritual in order to sustain the cosmic harmony, and ensure the happiness and prosperity of the people. It was said to be a time when our planet was closely integrated with our larger cosmic family; a very different era compared to the profane world we live in today.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The most extensive accounts of the Seven Sages have been preserved in the Mesopotamian and Indian traditions, although we find traces of similar information almost everywhere. Let us begin by exploring the Mesopotamian account of the Seven Sages, where they were collectively known as the <i>Apkallu</i>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Apkallu of the Antediluvian Times</b></span><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the Mesopotamian religion, the Apkallu were Seven Sages of extraordinary wisdom who came as the teachers of humanity in the antediluvian times. The term <i>Apkallu</i> (Akkadian) or <i>Abgal</i> (Sumerian) means “sage” or “wise”. Each of the Apkallu served as a counselor of one of the seven antediluvian kings. They came from the waters of <i>apsu</i>, which was the “sea of freshwater” under the earth. In Mesopotamia, apsu was the term used for fresh water from underground aquifers. Lakes, rivers, springs, wells etc. were thought to draw their water from the apsu. The Apkallu were sent by the god Ea (Enki), the King of the apsu, the protector of mankind. Ea was the god of wisdom, civilization, water, fertility, crafts and magic. In the city of Eridu, Ea’s temple was called <i>E-apsu</i> i.e. “House of the Deep Waters”, and it was located at the edge of a swamp (an apsu).</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In many texts, the Apkallu were described as “<i>puradu-fishes</i>”. For instance, the late Babylonian Epic of Erra, has the following lines about the Apkallu:</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Where are the seven Apkallu of the apsu, the pure puradu-fishes, <br />Who are perfect in lofty wisdom like Ea's, their lord, <br />Who can make my body holy?” (Poem of Erra; Tablet 2, line 162)[1]</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qwxg7pw1sOM/XyJ_8M3yfpI/AAAAAAAADPU/qFECttCB4Z8hXggvfXTqaVM9g3ZrkMz0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/apkallu%2Bseal_0773%2Bedit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="742" height="514" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qwxg7pw1sOM/XyJ_8M3yfpI/AAAAAAAADPU/qFECttCB4Z8hXggvfXTqaVM9g3ZrkMz0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/apkallu%2Bseal_0773%2Bedit.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 1: Impression of an Assyrian cylinder seal (Morgan Seal 773) depicting fish-skin cloaked Apkallu attending a sacred tree. 7th – 8th century BC. Source: The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The description of the Apkallu as puradu-fishes has been an enduring mystery. Many Assyrian relief carvings of the Apkallu show them as a man wearing a <i>fish-skin cloak</i>. The first of the Seven Sages who had appeared in Babylon in the antediluvian times was called <i>Uanna</i> (Akkadian) or <i>Oannes</i> (Greek), and he had the title <i>Adapa</i> meaning "wise". The Chaldean astrologer Berossus - a contemporary of Alexander and a priest at the temple of Bel - wrote about Oannes in the <i>Babyloniaca</i> (c.300 BC). Berossus said that in the ancient times there was a great crowd of men at Babylon, and they lived without laws. In the first year of the reign of Alorus, the first antediluvian king of the Sumerian King List, </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“There made its appearance, from a part of the Erythraean Sea which bordered upon Babylonia, an animal endowed with reason, who was called Oannes. The whole body of the animal was like that of a fish; and had under a fish's head another head, and also feet below, similar to those of a man, subjoined to the fish's tail. His voice too, and language, was articulate and human; and a representation of him is preserved even to this day.</span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This being in the day-time used to converse with men; but took no food at that season; and he gave them an insight into letters and sciences, and every kind of art. He taught them to construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and shewed them how to collect fruits; in short, he instructed them in everything which could tend to soften manners and humanize mankind. From that time, so universal were his instructions, nothing material has been added by way of improvement. When the sun set, it was the custom of this being to plunge again into the sea, and abide all night in the deep; for he was amphibious. After this there appeared other animals like Oannes, of which Berossus promises to give an account when he comes to the history of the kings.”[2]</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Accounts such as these really makes one wonder how much we really know about our planet and our past. Not only was Oannes possessed of unearthly wisdom, which he imparted to the Babylonians in the antediluvian times, but he dressed as a fish-man and dived under the sea at night. Did he, and the other Apkallu, truly come from a subterranean world located in the midst of the underground aquifers (apsu), which could, perhaps, be accessed by passages under the sea? <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Subterranean Kingdom of the Serpents</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are so many legends from around the world which speak of a subterranean land peopled by spirits and supernatural beings. A number of Native American tribes such as the Hopi, Navajo, Iroquois, and Mandan Sioux believe that their ancestors emerged from a subterranean land, through caverns and tunnels.[3] Every time the Hopi Supreme Creator Sotuknang destroyed the world, some of the righteous Hopi were taken to safe locations in the subterranean world.[4] In Irish legends, the underworld <i>Annwyn</i> was populated with fairies and demons, spirits and deities, and could be reached through portals hidden inside mounds or tumuli.[5] The Greeks built sanctuaries in caves, for they believed that certain caves had passages that led to the underworld.[6] The Mayans also regarded caves and cenotes as openings to their watery underworld of nine subterranean levels.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />In Indian legends, there are seven subterranean regions which are collectively called <i>Patala</i> or <i>Naga-loka</i>. These are the realms of the divine serpent beings called <i>Nagas</i> - and other spirit beings called Daityas, Danavas, and Yakshas - all of whom are progenies of the <i>Seven Sages of Vedic tradition</i>. The Nagas are generally depicted in a part human - part serpent form, sometimes with a seven-hooded serpent canopy over their head, guarding the entrances to Hindu temples. They are believed to be wise and powerful and act as the guardians of treasures and sacred teachings. The Nagas are still worshiped in villages across India on a specific day of the year (<i>Naga Panchami</i>) for fertility, virility, and protection against snakebites. The subterranean regions where the Nagas dwell are said to be delightful, filled with resplendent palaces ornamented with precious gems, groves, lakes and rivers.[7] The sun and moon cannot be seen there, but the jewels decorating the hoods and body of the Nagas emit an effulgence that illuminates the region.[8]</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In Southeast Asia,
the indigenous people believe that the Nagas are the benefactors and
protectors of humanity. They are capable of changing their forms, and
Naga princesses are said to have married human kings in the past. They
assisted people in establishing cities, digging irrigation channels, and
protecting dams. But if the kings or the subjects become wicked, the
Nagas punish people by releasing excess water which causes disastrous
floods that wipe away villages.[9] As per Thai and Laotian beliefs, the
serpent lives in a subterranean watery kingdom called <i>Muang Badan</i>, which is the endless water source that keeps the Mekong River and all rivers of the world from drying out.[10]</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dazLxUPMdas/XyAdpaOsKxI/AAAAAAAADMM/uCtojjNhCQEoZ4bHwfCbsqPvXpaiiWzNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Naga%2BGuardians%2Bof%2BHindu%2Btemples.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Many Hindu-Buddhist Temples have Nagas depicted at their entrances, functioning as protectors of the sacred realm." border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="849" height="571" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dazLxUPMdas/XyAdpaOsKxI/AAAAAAAADMM/uCtojjNhCQEoZ4bHwfCbsqPvXpaiiWzNgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Naga%2BGuardians%2Bof%2BHindu%2Btemples.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 2: Many Hindu-Buddhist Temples have Nagas depicted at their entrances, functioning as protectors of the sacred realm.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It may not be very well-known that, during the Roman times, <i>Osiris</i> (whom the Romans called <i>Serapis</i>), the Lord of the Underworld in ancient Egypt, and his consort <i>Isis</i>, were depicted by the Greco-Roman sculptors as part or full serpents, resembling the Naga serpents of Asia. This is really strange. Why did the Romans adopt this artistic convention? </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvHeGfIDCtU/XyAeLI3tyBI/AAAAAAAADMY/M3Lnw8ijajQ7UZn-6TIo7EVOxgZ6s2G2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Isis%2BOsiris%2Bas%2BSerpents.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Romans depicted Osiris (Serapis) and Isis as serpents." border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="859" height="539" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvHeGfIDCtU/XyAeLI3tyBI/AAAAAAAADMY/M3Lnw8ijajQ7UZn-6TIo7EVOxgZ6s2G2ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Isis%2BOsiris%2Bas%2BSerpents.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 3: The Romans depicted Osiris (Serapis) and Isis as serpents.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is generally believed that <i>Serapis</i> was a syncretic deity, derived from the worship of Osiris and his sacred bull Apis, who were together known as <i>Userhapi</i>. Interestingly, a temple of <i>Sarapis</i> existed in Babylon, and the deity of this temple was consulted when Alexander was on his death bed.[11] In the Babylonian context, it was the god Ea (Enki) who was called <i>Sar Apsi</i>, meaning “King of the Apsu”. It is possible, that the Romans took the term Serapis from <i>Sar Apsi</i>, the title of Ea, who ruled in the apsu and sent the Apkallu to Babylon in the antediluvian times.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, the question is, did Ea have any serpentine attribute? Although the cylinder seal representations of Ea does not reveal any snake-like feature, one of the Sumerian epithets of Ea was <i>ushumgal</i>, which means the “great serpent”.[12] This opens up the possibility of a serpent aspect in Ea, although the term “great serpent” could also be a metaphor for a man of “great wisdom”, for Ea was the wisest of the Mesopotamian gods. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Things become more interesting, though, when we consider <i>Nergal</i> – the god of war, destruction and pestilence - who was the Lord of the Apsu or Underworld in the Akkadian times (c.2000 BC). Nergal was depicted with serpent heads sprouting from his shoulders, waistband, battle-axe, feet - which clearly establishes his serpent nature. One of his titles was “tamer of serpents”, which can be interpreted as the “Lord of Serpents.”</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nergal’s son (or grandson) <i>Ningishzida</i> also had serpent heads emerging from his shoulders. Sometimes, he was represented as a serpent with a human head and by the symbol of a pair of serpents coiled around a staff. This is the same symbol that the Greeks call the <i>caduceus</i>, which was carried by Hermes, the messenger of the gods. One can find this symbol carved in stone, scattered all across India, in those places where Nagas are still worshiped. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFkjmzJE9IY/XyAgN_MKzdI/AAAAAAAADMs/OqQupcfa8J0jTYSQ_0SUfaLlX5_qguSswCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Nergal%2Band%2BNinggishzida.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nergal, the Akkadian Lord of the Underworld, and his grandson Ningishzida, were depicted with serpent symbolisms." border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="887" height="536" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hFkjmzJE9IY/XyAgN_MKzdI/AAAAAAAADMs/OqQupcfa8J0jTYSQ_0SUfaLlX5_qguSswCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Nergal%2Band%2BNinggishzida.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 4: Nergal, the Akkadian Lord of the Underworld, and his grandson Ningishzida, were depicted with serpent symbolisms.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thus, we have a whole family of Mesopotamian deities of the underworld – sometimes collectively referred to as the <i>Annunaki</i> – who have very obvious serpent associations. This connects them to the Nagas of Asia, who are said to rule in the subterranean watery realms. Are we to dismiss this worldwide body of legends and symbols as mere fantasies, or should we subject them to serious scrutiny before formulating any particular opinion? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Under our feet, there are vast reservoirs of fresh water, which extend up to 30,000 feet below the surface. Nearly 30% of the total freshwater of our planet is contained in these aquifers (the vast majority of the remaining being locked up in glaciers). The subterranean aquifers have many vertical levels separated by layers of porous rock, similar to the multiple levels of the underworld that the ancients spoke about. <i>The tiered watery underworld of myths does, in fact, exist! </i>The underground aquifers supply freshwater for the springs, rivers, lakes and other surface water-bodies – which is exactly what the ancients believed as well. And yet, how much do we really know about the ecosystem of these aquifers? Very little, for they are practically unexplored.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qj3xpWIthYg/XyAgswOyauI/AAAAAAAADM0/LU087wBU0cQjgvu_eUrUi4byw6qf851KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wss-cycle-groundwater-flow-diagram.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Multiple levels of underground aquifers, separated by confining beds of rock." border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="510" height="376" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qj3xpWIthYg/XyAgswOyauI/AAAAAAAADM0/LU087wBU0cQjgvu_eUrUi4byw6qf851KwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/wss-cycle-groundwater-flow-diagram.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 5: Multiple levels of underground aquifers, separated by confining beds of rock. Source: USGS, Public Domain</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is it not possible that, in the midst of these aquifers, there are islands of green, where unknown life forms thrive? Cracks and caverns on the surface of the earth could act as conduits for air and refracted sunlight into these dark regions, creating a perpetually pleasant environment that is protected from the extremes of temperatures. The subterranean realm may be accessible through tunnels and vents located under mountains, lakes, rivers and seas, which are camouflaged and guarded to prevent unwanted intruders. As per Sumerian legends, the underworld has seven gates which are guarded by a gatekeeper called <i>Neti</i>. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Perhaps, the denizens of this otherworldly realm are <i>bioluminescent</i> i.e. they spontaneously emit light due to a chemical reaction in their body. This would explain the so-called “jewels of the Naga” that illuminates the netherworld. Bioluminescence is found in many deep sea fishes and other marine organisms like jellyfish, algae, bacteria etc. The light from their bodies make the deep seas glow and glitter. Bioluminescence occurs due to the presence of a light-emitting molecule called luciferin, which produces light when it reacts with oxygen. Many organisms also produce the catalyst luciferase, which helps to speed up the reaction.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GEkk0D2o4Nw/XyAh6sWshCI/AAAAAAAADNA/dd4oK_bwGtIbBvyAT80hNgh-RAXbPrLsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Aequorea4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea Victoria" border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="1200" height="292" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GEkk0D2o4Nw/XyAh6sWshCI/AAAAAAAADNA/dd4oK_bwGtIbBvyAT80hNgh-RAXbPrLsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Aequorea4.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 6: The bioluminescent jellyfish Aequorea Victoria. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Sierra Blakely CC BY-SA</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Is it not possible that an advanced race of beings have made these subterranean aquifers into their habitat, and they choose to reveal themselves to us only in certain epochs when the consciousness of humanity is elevated enough to imbibe their wisdom?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The subterranean geography of our planet includes many rivers which flow underground. Some of them flow partly underground, disappearing into a sinkhole only to reappear further downstream. These underground rivers may have formed lakes and valleys, and carved out caves, gorges and canyons, of which we know nothing about. Let me relate a story from the <i>Mahabharata</i> here. Once the prince Bhima was poisoned by his envious half-brothers, who tied him up and threw him into the River Ganges. The water currents swept him along a mystical path to the realm of the divine Naga serpents. There, Bhima was recognized by the Naga king Vasuki, who revived him and offered him a celestial ambrosia to drink which would confer on Bhima enormous strength. Having consumed the divine elixir, and feeling rested and rejuvenated, Bhima took a bath in the sacred waters of a subterranean river and purified himself. Subsequently, the Nagas led him from this subterranean region to the River Ganges, and he emerged at the very place from where he had been pushed in.[13]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Considering that we know practically nothing about the ecosystem of the aquifers that extend up to 30,000 feet below the earth’s surface, or of the subterranean geography of our planet, it is premature for us to dismiss stories such as these as nothing more than fairytales. Things may not have been the same way on our planet all the time; the past may have been radically different from the present, as all the ancient accounts tell us. We need to keep an open mind and let the ancients speak for themselves, so that we may be able to comprehend the truth of what they were trying to tell us.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Plans of Heaven and Earth </span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let us come back to the topic of the Apkallu. Specific information about the names of the Apkallu and their attributes were discovered in a ritual incantation on the <i>Bit meseri</i> tablet series. These incantations were used during the performance of apotropaic rituals to counter evil portents. For the rituals, the Sumerians used to make seven clay figurines of the Apkallu, and after the ritual was completed the figurines were buried under the floor, to avert evil from the buildings and sickness from the inhabitants. In one of the Bit meseri incantations, the Apkallu are referred to as the “pure puradu-fishes” who “originated in the river”, and they are collectively extolled for their ability to “control the plans of heaven and earth”.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“U-Anna, who accomplishes the plans of heaven and earth, U-Anne-dugga, who is endowed with comprehensive understanding, Enmedugga, for whom a good destiny has been decreed, Enmegalamma, who was born in a house, Enmebulugga, who grew up in pasture land, An-Enlilda, the conjurer of the city of Eridu, Utuabzu, who ascended to heaven, the pure puradu-fishes, the puradu-fishes of the sea, the seven of them, the Seven Sages, who have originated in the river, who control the plans of heaven and earth.”[14]</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Apkallu were great builders, as is evident from the epithet of <i>An-Enlilda</i>, “the conjurer of the city of Eridu”. The Seven Sages were associated with the founding of the seven ancient cities of Sumer: Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Kullab, Kesh, Lagash and Shuruppak. As per the <i>Epic of Gilgamesh</i>, the Seven Sages had laid out the plan of Uruk.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After the Deluge, however, mortal men of learning took over the duties of the Apkallu. In some texts, the post-Flood sages are referred to as <i>Ummanu</i> (meaning “craftsmen”) in order to distinguish them from the Apkallu. The <i>Epic of Erra</i> tells us that, after the Flood, the storm god <i>Marduk</i> had banished the Apkallu to the apsu. Subsequently, earthly Ummanus were given the task of cleansing Marduk’s shrine.[15]<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Iconography of the Apkallu</b></span><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The most striking aspect of the Apkallu is the manner in which they were depicted on the Assyrian seals, and on the walls of the palace of King Ashurnasirpal II, at the Assyrian capital of Nimrud. Some of them look like a man dressed in a fish-skin cloak, which is how the first Apkallu Oannes was described by Berossus. Some are human looking; they are probably the earthly <i>Ummanus</i> of the post-Flood period. A few, quite mysteriously, are depicted as bird-men, having the face of an eagle but body of a human. Perhaps, the bird-headed Apkallu were capable of flight? The Apkallu <i>Utuabzu</i> “who ascended to heaven” could have been one of them.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVz9Iu4d0t0/XyJ_HCsQYzI/AAAAAAAADPI/tsHN_OAOXA01eRawGmlkljdlDACmJRvjACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Apkallu%2Biconography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1009" height="468" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CVz9Iu4d0t0/XyJ_HCsQYzI/AAAAAAAADPI/tsHN_OAOXA01eRawGmlkljdlDACmJRvjACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Apkallu%2Biconography.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 7: The Apkallu were depicted in the form of a fish-man, winged bird-man or a winged human.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Generally, the Apkallu are crowned with a <i>horned helmet</i>, which was a symbol of divinity in ancient Mesopotamia. In most cases, they have <i>four wings</i>, of which two or three are visible in profile. They wear <i>rosette bracelets</i> or <i>prayer beads</i> on their wrists.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />I came across an interesting article[16] in the <i>Ancient History Encyclopedi</i>a which explored in detail what the Apkallu hold in their hands. This helps us to understand the ritual significance of these objects, and to find their connections with similar artifacts in other cultures. Many Apkallu figures carry an object in their left hand that has been popularly described as a “hand bag”, but it is actually a ritual bucket containing sacred water </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(called <i>banduddu</i> in Akkadian)</span></span>. The Apkallu sprinkle the holy water using a pine cone (called<i> mullilu</i> in Akkadian) that they hold in the right hand. This is an act of ritual purification that still persists in many religions today. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Apart from the ritual bucket, the Apkallu may hold in their left hand a <i>prayer bead (rosary)</i>, a <i>flowering bunch</i> or a <i>scepter</i>. In all such cases, the right hand is empty and raised up such that the palm faces the viewer. In Indian art, this hand position is called the <i>abhaya-mudra</i> i.e. the fear-dispelling hand posture. The objects held by the Apkallu reveal their many functions as sages and royal priests of the kings. Not only were they teachers of mankind, but they also performed many ritual functions, and were looked upon as figures of authority who afforded protection to the people.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tDin9w5pqwE/XyBnBtqXFLI/AAAAAAAADOo/7mRRDwOZp98gtr7-2E42aJpXKxFnu5S3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Objects%2Bheld%2Bby%2Bapkallu.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="765" data-original-width="1009" height="484" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tDin9w5pqwE/XyBnBtqXFLI/AAAAAAAADOo/7mRRDwOZp98gtr7-2E42aJpXKxFnu5S3QCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Objects%2Bheld%2Bby%2Bapkallu.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 8: The Apkallu may hold different objects in their hands, which signify their many functions.</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Ritual Bucket in Sacred Art</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is interesting how the objects associated with the Apkallu can be seen in widely dispersed cultures, as has already been noted by many researchers. The ritual bucket containing sacred water (<i>banduddu</i>) can be seen in an Olmec carving from c.900 BC (Stella 19 at La Venta) which depicts a god or a priest, seated in the coils of a serpent (possibly the <i>Feathered Serpent</i>), holding a bucket in one hand, which looks exactly like the banduddu. In the <i>Mythic Image</i>, Joseph Campbell noted that, "the left hand of this seated figure is held somewhat awkwardly (as remarked by the archaeologists-discoverers, “turned at the wrist with the palm out”), in a gesture that in the Orient would be everywhere interpreted as the “boon-bestowing hand posture” or <i>varada-mudra</i> of a divinity.”[17]</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ob4xN8_9ipg/XyAlIC3qcUI/AAAAAAAADNo/-c1dGIRw8mkm26Mj1Vhu0R1oSuksro_mgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/La_Venta_Stele_19_%2528Delange%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="La Venta Stela 19, depicting a deity or priest seated in the coils of a Feathered Serpent." border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="619" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ob4xN8_9ipg/XyAlIC3qcUI/AAAAAAAADNo/-c1dGIRw8mkm26Mj1Vhu0R1oSuksro_mgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/La_Venta_Stele_19_%2528Delange%2529.jpg" title="" width="355" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 10: La Venta Stela 19, depicting a deity or priest seated in the coils of a Feathered Serpent. In his right hand he is holding the banduddu, and his left hand is in the varada-mudra posture. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Audrey and George Delange CC BY-SA</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thus, the Apkallu are depicted performing the <i>abhaya-mudra</i> (fear-dispelling hand posture) with the right hand, while the Olmec deity or priest is performing the <i>varada-mudra</i> (boon-bestowing hand posture) with his left hand. Incidentally, these two mudras are often performed together. Many depictions of the Buddha show him performing the abhaya-mudra with the right hand and the varada-mudra with the left hand. It’s as if there was an unwritten rule specifying which hand should be used for performing which mudra, and cultures around the world stuck to these conventions.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />It has been noted by researchers that the ritual bucket motif appears on a monolithic T-shaped pillar at the archaeological site of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, where the oldest layer of the site has been dated to c.9000 BC - a few centuries after the end of the last Ice Age. In the excavation pits on top of a hill, archaeologists have found many T-shaped pillars arranged in circles. The tallest pillars tower 16 feet and weigh between seven and ten tons. Some are blank, while others are carved with animal motifs: foxes, lions, boars, scorpions and vultures. Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt who excavated the site, described these circular stone rings as the “first human-built holy place”, and humanity's first “cathedral on a hill”.[18]</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VpRmgNkvjYQ/XyAljdSQPkI/AAAAAAAADN0/bAHfy70Tiz09KzvgDsIZ_wbgsHUQ3aDWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gobekli%2Btepe%2Bvulture%2Bstone.jpg"><img alt="A row of ritual buckets (banduddu) depicted on Pillar 43, Enclosure D, also known as the Vulture Stone of Gobekli Tepe" border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="502" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VpRmgNkvjYQ/XyAljdSQPkI/AAAAAAAADN0/bAHfy70Tiz09KzvgDsIZ_wbgsHUQ3aDWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Gobekli%2Btepe%2Bvulture%2Bstone.jpg" title="" width="265" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 11: A row of ritual buckets (banduddu) depicted on Pillar 43, Enclosure D, also known as the Vulture Stone of Gobekli Tepe. Source: Phys.org</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On one of the T-shaped pillars on the circumference of a ring of stones, a row of buckets has been carved in relief, resembling the <i>banduddu</i> held by the Apkallu. Just below that is the carving of a vulture holding a circular object, which could be that of an <i>eagle-headed Apkallu</i> sprinkling sacred water using a pine cone (<i>mullilu</i>), in order to make the lands pure and fertile. The implications of this are tantalizing: at around 9000 BC, the people who built Gobekli Tepe knew about the Seven Sages, and probably saw them, as they went about performing purification rituals for the fertility of the land. Since Gobekli Tepe was built a few centuries after the end of the Ice Age, when the melting ice precipitated a global flood which is recounted in the flood legends of many cultures, <i>it is quite possible that the knowledge of the Apkallu extended into the antediluvian times</i>, which is exactly what the Sumerian legends tell us! <br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Apkallu in Africa and Australia?</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Dogon tribe of Mali in West Africa also appear to have retained memories of their interaction with the Apkallu. As per their beliefs, thousands of years ago they were visited by amphibious, fish-men called the <i>Nommo</i>, who came from the Sirius star system and taught the Dogon many skills. Like the Sumerian Apkallu, the Nommo were depicted with a humanoid upper torso and a fish-like lower body. They descended from the sky in a vessel accompanied by fire and thunder. After arriving on our planet, the Nommo dug a reservoir of water and dived into it, since they needed a watery environment to live in. They are referred to by the Dogons as the "Teachers", and the "Masters of Water".<br /><br />The Dogon legends relate that the sky-god Amma had created four pairs of Nommo twins at the very beginning of creation. One of them had rebelled against the universal order of Amma, because of which one of the Nommo progenies were sacrificed by Amma, leaving <i>seven</i> of them. In the book, <i>The Sirius Mystery</i> (1976), Robert Temple wrote that the Dogons knew that Sirius was a binary star, consisting of the bright star that we see called Sirius A, and a white dwarf star called Sirius B, which is invisible to the naked eye. The Dogons also knew that Sirius B revolves around Sirius A in an elliptical orbit, once in 50 years. This anomalous knowledge of the Dogons has been a source of great mystery, since Sirius was identified as a binary system by modern astronomers only in 1862.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />It appears that the Apkallu had visited the Aboriginal Australians as well, in their global mission of propagating the laws of civilization. The inhabitants of the Kimberley region of north-west Australia speak of powerful Spirit Beings called <i>Wandjinas</i>, who came down from the Milky Way and brought the law, culture, and language of their people. Wandjina images can be seen painted on the rock galleries throughout the region, marked in red and white ochre. The paintings were traditionally repainted each decade to ensure the image was kept fresh and lively. It is estimated that the earliest layers of the paintings may date back nearly 4,000 years. The Wandjinas are typically depicted with a large white face, round black eyes, a nose, but without any mouth. <i>They have a red halo around the head, with rays of light radiating outwards.</i></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m9V8SusJ-ZI/XyAmL2xdZnI/AAAAAAAADN8/mqy0rWvmuog6QYXFDEhtYAx9-WtdGqmggCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Aboriginal_rock_art_on_the_Barnett_River%252C_Mount_Elizabeth_Station.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wandjina Rock Art on the Barnett River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia" border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1600" height="488" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m9V8SusJ-ZI/XyAmL2xdZnI/AAAAAAAADN8/mqy0rWvmuog6QYXFDEhtYAx9-WtdGqmggCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Aboriginal_rock_art_on_the_Barnett_River%252C_Mount_Elizabeth_Station.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 12: Wandjina Rock Art on the Barnett River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Graeme Churchward CC BY 2.0</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As per the Dreamtime stories of the Mowanjum community, the first Wandjina was called Idjair. He lives in the <i>Milky Way and is the father of all Wandjinas</i>. The Wandjina Wallungunder was Idjair's first son and he created the Earth and all life upon it. After that he created the first human beings, the Gyorn Gyorn people. Wallungunder travelled back to Idjair to bring back more Wandjinas to give the Gyorn Gyorn people laws to live by.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Wandjinas taught the Aboriginals everything thy needed to know, and after their work was done, they painted their images on the cave walls and entered <i>a nearby water hole. Since then, they have lived at the bottom of the water source associated with the rock paintings.</i> They are regarded as powerful Rain Maker spirits, who control the clouds and rainfall, and punish those who break the laws with floods, lightning and cyclones.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are some obvious connections between the Apkallu and the Wandjinas, which suggest that they are one and the same. Like the Apkallu, the Wandjinas gave the Aboriginals their laws, culture and language, and, just as the Apkallu came from the freshwater aquifers under the earth, the Wandjina entered the watering holes and returned to the bottom of the water source associated with the cave painting sites. In some respects, however, the powers of the Apkallu seems to exceed that of the Apkallu, for they were said to have come from the stars of the Milky Way, and they created the earth and all living beings. As we shall see later, the Seven Sages of Vedic India were also believed to be of extraterrestrial origin. They were “luminous beings of light” (which would explain the rays of light coming out of the halo around the Wandjinas head) and were ascribed with similar, extraordinary powers of creation.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Seven Sages of Greece</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Even though the Seven Sages are not mentioned in the ancient legends of Greece, around the 6th – 7th century BC seven of the wisest philosophers, statesmen and lawgivers of Greece were designated as the Seven Sages. Very likely, this was a continuation of an earlier tradition, the origins of which are lost in the mists of history. The earliest list of the Seven Sages, mentioned in Plato’s <i>Protagoras</i> (c. 387 BC), includes Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobolus, Myson, and Chilon.[19] An important name to note in this list is that of the <i>Athenian lawgiver Solon, who had brought back the legend of Atlantis from Egypt</i>. The Seven Sages of Greece were known for their wisdom in all areas of knowledge, from poetry and politics to predicting eclipses. Many of the maxims that appear at Delphi are attributed to the Seven Sages, such as: Meden Agan (“Nothing In Excess”) and Gnothi Sauton (“Know Thyself”).<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Saptarsis of Ancient India</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Outside of Mesopotamia, the most extensive mention of the Seven Sages are found in India. The Vedic tradition talks of Seven Sages of divine origin – “luminous beings of light” - who were the “mind born sons of Brahma”. These Seven Rsis were collectively known as the <i>Saptarsis</i> (Sapta = Seven; Rsis = Sages). In the Epics and the Puranas, they are generally enumerated as: Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha. The divine Saptarsis took human wives, and established Rishi lineages. Some of their descendants became illumined sages, who “attained heaven” through the performance of sacrifices, and took over the mantle of Saptarsis from their predecessors. This led to the formulation of a new list of Seven Sages: Vishwamitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja, Gautama, Atri, Vasistha and Kashyapa, with Agastya added as the eight sage in some contexts. The Vedic convention, thus, mirrors that of Mesopotamia, <i>where the seven antediluvian Apkallus of divine origin were followed by earthly Ummanus in the post-Flood period</i>. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Although the second list of Saptarsis (starting with Vishwamitra) were of earthly origin, they became more famous than their divine ancestors. This is because, they came to be regarded as the founders of the seven main <i>gotras</i> i.e. clans or ancestral lineages of the Hindu. Originally, only the people of the priestly or Brahmin class traced their ancestry to one of the Seven Rsis. Later, all classes were included. In the Sutra texts[20], it is laid down that the Kshatriya (warrior class) and the Vaishya (business class) should take the gotra of their <i>Purohita</i> i.e. family priest. Today, every Hindu has a gotra, by which they claim descent from one of the Seven Sages. One cannot marry someone from the same gotra. Thus, the gotra organization ensures a form of <i>clan exogamy</i>, which was prevalent in many ancient societies. The ancients knew very well that exogamy (outbreeding) reduces the risk of children having genetic defects – something that scientists have discovered in recent times.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />As early as the <i>Rig Veda</i>, hymns were sung in adoration of the Seven Sages: “They who were versed in ritual and metre, in hymns and rules, were the Seven Godlike Rsis.”[21] They were the “Seven Holy Singers”[22], the “Gods of Old”[23], and “Our Fathers” who first performed this sacrificial worship.[24] In a Rig Vedic hymn to Vasistha, he is called the “knower both of earth and heaven”[25], an epithet also used for the Sumerian Apkallu. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />In the book The Traditions of the Seven Rsis[26], Dr. John Mitchiner explored in detail what the ancient Sanskrit texts tell us about the Saptarsis. In nearly all contexts, they are described as the “mind born sons of Brahma”, where Brahma is the Universal Soul who pervades all of creation. In the <i>Bhagavad Gita</i>, when Lord Krishna reveals his universal form to Arjuna, he says: “The seven great sages and the four ancient ancestors were born from my mind and received my power. From them came all the creatures of this world.”[27] The Saptarsis have been termed as the <i>Prajapatis</i> (“Lords of Creation”), <i>Vipra</i> (“sage”), and <i>Brahmarsi</i> i.e. a sage who has acquired the highest spiritual knowledge or “Brahma-jnana”, and thereby attained <i>moksha</i>. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The Seven Rsis are luminous beings of light, “the Seven Bright-Crested Ones: by their unanimous opinion there came into being what is called the supreme sastra (sacred scriptures)”[28], from which “the dharma of the entire working of the world springs forth.”[29] They were the “foremost knowers of the Veda, who were created as teachers of the Veda.”[30] “Spontaneously attaining wisdom, they are established in dharma”.[31] They are “knowers of yoga” and “teachers of the science of moksha (liberation)”.[32] <i>Sanat Kumara</i> described them as the “seven unassailable brothers whose vamsas (lines of descendants) are celebrated…they sustain these three worlds, and are honored by gods and demons.”[33] <i>Vrdhha Garga</i> said that the Seven Rsis are devoted to dharma and intent upon the protection of living beings. The epic tradition indicates that the Saptarsis were the teachers and priests of <i>Iksvaku</i>, the first king of the solar dynasty, and his contemporaries and successors. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />In essence, the Seven Rsis are regarded as luminous celestial beings, the repository of all Vedic wisdom. They fully comprehend the inner dynamics of the universe - how all things are interconnected and interdependent - and they come to the earth periodically as teachers of humanity to ensure that living being acts in accordance with the cosmic laws. The codes of living that they enjoin and the rituals that they establish works for the greater good. In addition to composing Vedic hymns, the Rsis have also been credited with authoring works in myriad disciplines such as yoga, medicine, astrology, weaponry, architecture, music, language, grammar etc. It is believed that after accomplishing their work on earth, the Saptarsis depart to their heavenly abode called <i>Maharloka</i>, which is one of the five heavens above the earth (<i>Bhur</i>) and its atmosphere <i>(Bhuvar</i>).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Different texts provide us with bits and pieces of information regarding how often the Saptarsis appear on earth to promulgate the Vedic wisdom. As per the <i>Matsya Purana</i>, the Saptarsis appear in every Satya Yuga (Golden Age) to instruct the people in dharma.[34] A passage in the <i>Vayu Purana</i> and <i>Brahmanda Purana</i> adds that, at the start of every Treta Yuga (Silver Age) the Saptarsis, together with Manu, re-establish dharma and people the worlds through the Rsi-vamsas (Rsi lineages).[35] This information correlates with the flood legend in the <i>Mahabharata</i> in which Manu is accompanied by the Seven Sages in the ship that takes them to safety. Another passage in the <i>Matsya Purana</i> states that the Saptarsis took birth in the Dwapara Yuga (Bronze Age), wherein they conquered death and gained immortality.[36] This must be referring to the earthly descendants of the divine Saptarsis, who had to perform sacrifices and penances to attain liberation. A passage in the <i>Vishnu Purana</i> tells us that the Saptarsis come to the earth after every Cycle of four Yugas i.e. after the end of the Kali Yuga (Iron Age) in order to teach the Vedas again.[37]</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />When we put together all of this information, a more comprehensive picture begins to emerge about the periodic involvement of the Seven Rsis in our civilization. It appears that the Saptarsis come to the earth in the Satya Yuga (Golden Age) and stay on for some time in the Treta Yuga (Silver Age) when they re-promulgate the Vedas and establish lineages. Their human descendants carry on the tradition till the end of the Dwapara Yuga (Bronze Age). During the Kali Yuga (Iron Age), which is the present age of darkness, strife and violence, the Saptarsis are seen no more, and the Vedic wisdom and Rishi lineage is gradually lost. The Saptarsis return to the earth once again after the end of the Kali Yuga to establish dharma and re-promulgate the Vedas.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Iconography of the Saptarsis</b></span><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not many architectural depictions of the Saptarsis as a group are to be found in India. However, a number of sculptures and relief carvings of the sage Agastya have survived, especially in the temples of South-east Asia. Agastya was regarded as one of the Saptarsis (of earthly origin), who had led a migration from Dvaraka to the south, and as such was highly venerated in Southern India, and subsequently in Southeast Asia when Tamil influence reached there. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Most sculptures of Agastya show him holding a <i>kamandalu</i> or water pot (containing sacred water used for ritual purification) in the left hand, and a <i>prayer bead </i>in the right hand. The sacred water pot in Indian iconography looks different from the ritual bucket (<i>banduddu</i>) of Mesopotamia, but serves the same purpose. In some carvings, Agastya’s right hand is in the <i>gyan-mudra</i> posture (bestowing wisdom), and he holds a <i>flower</i> in his left hand. Occasionally, a <i>trisula</i> (trident), is depicted behind him. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlL5IN7Z0Fub4GfuVEYmtL4TI71qujqw7ccpd6p4IU7tSTc6WkNGgUjkyCdUUCfDAUPc2gh6cuxbxNfV685KMDUbLWH0W4MfYG-Qq7YplvsRSnZGNQm1KS1ijdL9hDWNdAi5FqJfqHP9r/s1600/Agastya+Iconography.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The iconography of the sage Agastya, who is regarded as one of the Seven Sages of the Vedic tradition" border="0" data-original-height="761" data-original-width="1009" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlL5IN7Z0Fub4GfuVEYmtL4TI71qujqw7ccpd6p4IU7tSTc6WkNGgUjkyCdUUCfDAUPc2gh6cuxbxNfV685KMDUbLWH0W4MfYG-Qq7YplvsRSnZGNQm1KS1ijdL9hDWNdAi5FqJfqHP9r/s640/Agastya+Iconography.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Figure 13: The iconography of the sage Agastya, who is regarded as one of the Seven Sages of the Vedic tradition</span></i>.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thus, a number of iconographical elements associated with Agastya (and, by extension, the Saptarsis) overlap with those of the Sumerian Apkallu, such as the sacred water pot, prayer bead, flower, mudra position of the hand (abhaya mudra / gyan mudra), scepter (mace / trident) etc. This shows how the tradition and iconography of the Seven Sages has remained more or less constant across the world, which would not have been possible if there was not an underlying truth to these legends.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Seven Rsis of the Great Bear</b></span><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Vedic texts are explicit about stating that the Saptarsis are not of this world. They are the “mind born sons of Brahma”, who come from the heavens (<i>Maharloka</i>) to the earth in order to lay the foundations of civilization. Vedic astronomers identified them with the seven prominent stars of the <i>Great Bear</i> constellation (<i>Ursa Major</i>). Their identification was as follows: Marici was the star Alkaid, Atri - Megrez, Angiras - Alioth, Pulastya - Phecda, Pulaha - Merak, Kratu – Dubhe, Vasistha – Mizar. Vashitha’s wife Arundhati is the faint star next to Mizar known as Alcor, which can be spotted with the naked eye provided one has a very good eyesight. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JjOjCkig1Y4/X0Zv2-_wcXI/AAAAAAAADRQ/pVK6Ia3CQ9A7qjCUPzY4p3iCPF3MBEu7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Ursa%2BMajor%2BGreat%2BBear%2Band%2BSeven%2BSages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1017" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JjOjCkig1Y4/X0Zv2-_wcXI/AAAAAAAADRQ/pVK6Ia3CQ9A7qjCUPzY4p3iCPF3MBEu7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Ursa%2BMajor%2BGreat%2BBear%2Band%2BSeven%2BSages.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 14: The Seven prominent stars of the Great Bear constellation symbolized the Seven Rsis. Vasistha - Arundhati forms a binary system.</span></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Vasistha (Mizar) and Arundhati (Alcor) form a binary pair. In a binary system, two stars are gravitationally bound to each other and they orbit a common center of mass. The Vasistha (Mizar) - Arundhati (Alcor) binary system symbolized the marital bond in ancient India. A newly-wed bride was instructed to look at <i>Arundhati</i> (Alcor) and the <i>Saptarsis</i> (Great Bear) before requesting long-life for her husband, children and herself.[38] The natural order was said to be disturbed <i>when Arundhati (Alcor) eclipses Vasistha (Mizar)</i>[39], which happens very rarely, since the orbital period of this binary is nearly 750,000 years. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Evidently, Vedic astronomers knew about the Mizar-Alcor double thousands of years before Benedetto Castelli in the 16th century observed Mizar through a telescope and realized that it was a binary system. So, it’s not only the Dogons who knew about binary star systems; the Vedic astronomers did too. It seems that advanced scientific knowledge was not uncommon in the ancient world!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Ancient Interstellar Travelers</b></span><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The different accounts of the Seven Sages indicate that they came to the earth from the stars. The Vedic legends associate them with the seven stars of the Great Bear, the Dogon say that they came from the Sirius, while the Aboriginal accounts suggest an origin in the stars of the Milky Way. This implies that, the Seven Sages were <i>extraterrestrial visitors to our planet</i>. They probably came here with an objective to ensure that our planet serves as an effective “school” where souls can progress to higher states of consciousness. That is why, not only did they teach us all the sciences and skills of civilized life, but they also imparted to us a wealth of esoteric wisdom. Since our planet goes through repeated cycles of cataclysms, as we move from one Yuga to the next, they play a fundamental role in restarting our civilization after every major cataclysmic episode, and re-promulgate the sacred wisdom to the people of the new Age. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />As we have discussed, the Sumerians believed that the Apkallu emerged from the waters of the Apsu, which is supported by Aboriginal stories which state that the Wandjinas returned to the bottom of the watering holes. This suggests that, the Seven Sages, after arriving on our planet, fashioned a habitat for themselves in the freshwater aquifers below the earth, which could be accessed through tunnels and caverns hidden under mountains, lakes, rivers and seas. This subterranean world was probably designed to suit their “alien” physiology; a place of retreat, an underworld paradise, where they could live in peace, unaffected by the affairs of the noisy world above them. Subsequently, they produced many kinds of progenies with serpentine features who reside in these watery subterranean realms. [As per the Vedic tradition, the Nagas are the progenies of the sage <i>Marici</i> through his son Kashyapa]. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While the Seven Sages return back to their home planets (or stars) after their work of establishing civilization is completed, their Naga or Annunaki progenies, who were regarded by the ancients as their "Underworld Gods" still live in the subterranean aquifers. However, since we are currently in the spiritually bankrupt Kali Yuga (Iron Age) – <i>which is called the night of all creatures</i> – the Nagas or Annunaki may be in a state of <i>hibernation</i>, waiting for the Kali Yuga to get over, after which they may reveal themselves to humanity and pass on their wisdom to a new civilization.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Indeed, <i>subterranean life may be the most common form of life on the other planets of the Solar System and beyond</i>. Surface living - which comes with many attendant problems such as inclement weather, volcanic eruptions, asteroid bombardments, space radiation etc. – may be an exception, rather than the norm. In 2019, scientists found geological evidence of a “planet-wide groundwater system” on <i>Mars</i>.[40] Pluto also has an underground ocean below its thick frozen shell, as does <i>Europa</i>, the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 67 confirmed moons, and <i>Titan</i>, the largest moon of Saturn. Astronomers believe that these subsurface oceans may act as incubators of life, being sheltered from extreme temperatures and high-energy radiation. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Europa is a particularly interesting case, since water from its underground ocean bubbles up to the frozen surface. The exchange of chemicals and energy between the surface and the ocean increases the odds of oceanic life being present on Europa.[41] “At least three million tons of fishlike creatures could theoretically live and breathe on Europa”, according to Richard Greenberg of the University of Arizona in Tucson.[42]</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AS2bdLGJmzM/XyJHRNFspnI/AAAAAAAADO0/psA063AwtDwH9lCMWZRWcJI6Pb8nNcKSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Europa%2Bunderground%2Bocean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="610" height="561" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AS2bdLGJmzM/XyJHRNFspnI/AAAAAAAADO0/psA063AwtDwH9lCMWZRWcJI6Pb8nNcKSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Europa%2Bunderground%2Bocean.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 15: Water from the underground ocean of Europa bubbles up to the frozen surface through vents. Source: space.com, Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech</span></span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If alien fishes can live in the underground oceans of other planets, then why not fish-men hybrids like the Apkallu? Or humanoid-serpent beings like the Nagas? Perhaps some of them even developed avian features such as feathers and wings? If alien life from the subterranean oceans of distant planetary systems arrive on earth, where would they prefer to build their habitat? Most likely in an environment similar to their home planet or star, which in this case would be the subterranean aquifers of the earth. In other words,<i> there could be a veritable alien world right below our feet, of which we know nothing about.</i> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> </i> <br />If the Seven Sages are extraterrestrial visitors, the question that naturally follows is, when and how did they get here. I think they probably came here hundreds of millions of years ago, to direct the course of evolution of life on earth. The Vedic texts describe them as the <i>Prajapatis</i> i.e. “Lords of Creation”, f<i>rom whom all the creatures of the world came</i>, while the Aboriginals claim that <i>the Wandjinas created all the living beings on the earth</i>. If I were to guess, I would say that the Seven Sages came to earth during the <i>Cambrian Explosion</i> nearly 540 million years ago when, in a space of just 10 million years, all the modern phylum of animal life made a first appearance in the fossil record. The anatomical range of this initial explosion exceeded that of modern life, as many early experiments died out and no new phyla have ever arisen.[43] All animal evolution for the last half billion years has come from tinkering with these Cambrian body plans.[44] Scientists are still puzzled by this stunning and unique flowering of animal life during this period, since prior to the Cambrian Explosion, for nearly 3 billion years, only unicellular life forms existed on earth.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Since the Cambrian explosion, our planet has gone through multiple mass extinction events which occur with a surprising periodicity of 26 million years, as well as innumerable Yuga Cycle transitions of lesser intensity, and in every case the Seven Sages came to the earth and repopulated the planet with life forms after the cataclysmic episodes were over.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />As to how the Seven Sages arrived here, there are a few possibilities. First, they could have manifested through<i> dimensional gateways</i>. In the <i>Mahabharata</i>, for instance, interdimensional travelers like the sage Narada – who, like the Saptarsis, is described as a “mind-born son of Brahma” – suddenly appear out of nowhere, which is suggestive of travel through dimensional gateways. The second option is to use <i>spacecrafts</i> or <i>vimanas</i>, which are mentioned in the Indian, Mesopotamian and the Hopi legends (in addition to others), although it is not clear if vimanas were designed solely for terrestrial travel and warfare, of if they could also be used for interstellar travel. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Finally, they could have hitched a ride on <i>interstellar comets</i>. Most scientists now believe that comets seeded life on earth by bringing in water and complex organic molecules. Modern proponents of <i>Panspermia</i>, such as astrophysicists Sir Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, have proposed that comets brought the first living microorganisms to Earth, in the form of dormant bacteria, or desiccated DNA and RNA molecules. The unicellular life that thrived on earth for nearly 3 billion years before the Cambrian Explosion, were probably seeded by the heavy cometary bombardments that impacted the early earth. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Hoyle and Wickramasinghe have contended that life-bearing planetary ejecta can hitch a ride within the shielded environment of interstellar comets, and seed distant planetary systems with life – a theory known as <i>cometary panspermia</i>.[45] Life on earth, therefore, may be of alien origin, a point that Wickramasinghe reiterated in a paper titled “The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry” (2010): </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Astronomy continues to reveal the presence of organic molecules and organic dust on a huge cosmic scale, amounting to a third of interstellar carbon tied up in this form. Just as the overwhelming bulk of organics on Earth stored over geological timescales are derived from the degradation of living cells, so it seems likely that interstellar organics in large measure also derive from biology. As we enter a new decade – the year 2010 – a clear pronouncement of our likely alien ancestry and of the existence of extraterrestrial life on a cosmic scale would seem to be overdue.”[46]</span></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cometary panspermia theory received a boost in 2017, when astronomers discovered the first interstellar space rock <i>Oumuamua</i> (1I/2017 U1), which crossed the Solar System in a hyperbolic orbit and accelerated away from the Sun like a comet. Wickramasinghe was quick to pounce on the significance of this discovery. With his colleagues, he authored a paper in which he wrote, that, “the theory that comets and cometary bodies are the means of transport for biology throughout the galaxy has been extensively discussed by Hoyle, Wickramasinghe and their many collaborators for over nearly 4 decades...the discovery of our first “visitor” on a hyperbolic orbit confirms our inextricable connection with life that may exist in distant planetary systems.”[47]</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w40dNqB4fu8/XyZjF9a8y3I/AAAAAAAADQA/51Dk8VWk3Vox0jEah3F-5ke_ML2L-2X-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/oumuamua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w40dNqB4fu8/XyZjF9a8y3I/AAAAAAAADQA/51Dk8VWk3Vox0jEah3F-5ke_ML2L-2X-wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/oumuamua.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Figure 16: Oumuamua. Source: Universetoday.com</span></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In 2019, astronomers discovered another Interstellar Comet named <i>Borisov</i>, which passed close to the Sun in December 2019, and, much to the surprise of astronomers, it suddenly brightened up as it left the Solar System in March 2020. It looks like the era of interstellar comets is here to stay, and a paradigm shift in our understanding of the universe is underway.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Conclusion</span></b><br /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The tradition of the Seven Sages, along with the related iconography, was dispersed throughout the ancient world, which suggests that it must have been based on actual historical events of a remote past. The texts suggest that the Seven Sages were of extraterrestrial origin who had directed the evolution of life on earth, and had created a habitat for themselves in the subterranean freshwater aquifers. These claims lie within the limits of plausibility, and there is no reason to dismiss them as myths and fantasies – as historians are so often inclined to do - without subjecting them to proper scientific scrutiny. As we become aware of our inextricable connections to life in the universe, it is time for us to let go of preconditioned modes of thinking and embrace new possibilities. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /><u><b>End Notes</b></u><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Kvanvig, Helge (2011), Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic: An Intertextual Reading, Brill, p 162<br />2 Berossus from Alexander Polyhistor recorded in Eusebius and Syncellus (translated from the Greek) taken from Cory 1828, pp. 24-38.<br />3 Lorena Laura Stookey, Thematic Guide to World Mythology (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004) 80<br />4 Boye Lafayette De Mente, America's Famous Hopi Indians!: Their Spiritual Way of Life & Incredible Prophecies!, Cultural-Insight Books (2010), p 18-35.<br />5 W. Buck Baker, Celtic Mythological Influences on American Theatre, 1750-1875 (University Press of America, 1994) 31<br />6 “Descent into the Underworld”, https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/descent-underworld<br />7 The Vishnu Purana Book II Chapter V, translated by Horace Hayman Wilson, [1840], at sacred-texts.com, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp063.htm<br />8 Robert Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (Serindia Publications, 2004) 70-71.<br />9 Phan Anh Tu, "The Significance of Naga in Thai Architectural and Sculptural Ornaments" DIALOGUE, Volume-17 No. 4, http://qlkh.hcmussh.edu.vn/Resources/Docs/SubDomain/qlkh/20160815_PAT.pdf<br />10 Ibid<br />11 Reported from Arrian, Anabasis, VII. 26<br />12 Walter Mattfeld, http://www.bibleorigins.net/Serpentningishzida.html<br />13 Mahabharata, Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva, Section CXXVIII, https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01129.htm<br />14 Hess, Richard S.; Tsumura, David Toshio, eds. (1994), "I studied inscriptions from before the flood", Ancient Near Eastern, literary, and linguistic approaches to Genesis 1-11, Eisenbrauns, 4, ISBN 978-0-931464-88-1<br />15 Kvanvig, Helge (2011), Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic: An Intertextual Reading, Brill, p 160-163<br />16 Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, "Wall Reliefs: Apkallus of the North-West Palace at Nimrud", 19 September 2017, Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.ancient.eu/article/1122/wall-reliefs-apkallus-of-the-north-west-palace-at-/<br />17 Joseph Campbell, The Mythic Image, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974, p 116<br />18 Andrew Curry, "Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?", Smithsonian Magazine, November 2008, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/<br />19 “Seven Sages”, Encyclopedia.com<br />20 For instance, Vaikhanesa Sutra, pravaraprasna v.8<br />21 Rig Veda 10.130.7, tr. Ralph Griffith<br />22 Rig Veda 9.92.2, tr. Ralph Griffith<br />23 Rig Veda 10.109.4, tr. Ralph Griffith<br />24 Rig Veda 10.130.6, tr. Ralph Griffith<br />25 Rig Veda 07.033.12 tr. Ralph Griffith<br />26 John E. Mitchiner, The Traditions of the Seven Rsis, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 2000<br />27 The Bhagavad Gita 10.6-7, tr. Eknath Easwaran <br />28 Mahabharata 12.322.26-28<br />29 Mahabharata 12.322.36<br />30 Mahabharata 12.327.61-62<br />31 Mahabharata 12.327.65<br />32 Mahabharata 12.327.66<br />33 Harivamsa 12.13 -14<br />34 Matsya Purana 144.93-98<br />35 Brahmanda Purana 1.2.29.43-45, Vayu Purana 1.57.38-40<br />36 Matsya Purana 1.24.106 <br />37 Vishnu Purana 3.2.44<br />38 Asvalayana Grhya Sutra 1.7.22<br />39 Mahabharata 6.2.31<br />40 Jackson Ryan, "Scientists find first evidence of huge Mars underground water system", CNET Feb. 28, 2019, https://www.cnet.com/news/mars-orbiter-scientists-find-first-evidence-of-huge-mars-underground-water-system/<br />41 Mike Wall, "On Jupiter's Moon Europa, Underground Ocean Bubbles Up to Surface" Space.com March 06, 2013, https://www.space.com/20078-jupiter-moon-europa-ocean-surface.html<br />42 Victoria Jaggard, "Could Jupiter Moon Harbor Fish-Size Life?", National Geographic, November 16, 2009, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2009/11/jupiter-moon-europa-life/<br />43 Stephen Jay Gould, The Evolution Of Life On Earth, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, October, 1994.<br />44 The Cambrian Explosion, PBS.org, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_02.html<br />45 Wickramasinghe, C. (2011). Bacterial morphologies supporting cometary panspermia: A reappraisal. International Journal of Astrobiology, 10(1), 25-30. doi:10.1017/S1473550410000157<br />46 Wickramasinghe, C. (2010). The astrobiological case for our cosmic ancestry. International Journal of Astrobiology, 9(2), 119-129. doi:10.1017/S1473550409990413<br />47 N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Edward J. Steele, Daryl. H. Wallis, Robert Temple, Gensuke Tokoro, Janaki T. Wickramasinghe, "Oumuamua (A/2017U1) – A Confirmation of Links between Galactic Planetary Systems", Advances in Astrophysics, Vol. 3, No. 1, February 2018 https://dx.doi.org/10.22606/adap.2018.31003</span></span></span></span></div>
Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-23853591823512709002020-04-17T16:14:00.000+05:302020-04-17T16:17:59.111+05:30The Temples of Bishnupur, West Bengal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The temples of Bishnupur were built by the Malla kings between 1600 - 1758 AD. The temples are primarily known for their structural variety and exquisite terracotta work. Although terracotta art has a long history in Bengal, it saw a revival under the Mallas. Many temples were also erected using laterite stones with stucco decoration. Interestingly, the Malla kings maintained cordial relations with the Mughal Emperors at Delhi, because of which temple building flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries.<br />
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According to legends, the Malla kings trace their ancestry to a King who ruled near Vrindavan in the 7th century AD. This King had embarked on a pilgrimage to the Jagannath temple at Puri, when his wife gave birth to a child. Due to the difficulties of carrying a newborn on a journey, he was left in the house of a forest dweller. The child grew up to become an unmatched wrestler, and was conferred the title "Adimmalla" - meaning the "original wrestler" - by the local king. Eventually he became a chieftain himself, and went on to found the Malla dynasty. After 300 years, the 10th king Jagatmalla shifted the capital of the kingdom to Bishnupur.<br />
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Originally, the Malla kings were "Shakta" i.e. worshippers of the Mother Goddess. The first temple established at Bishnupur was the Mrinmoyee Temple in 997 AD, which still has a clay idol of the goddess Durga. This is regarded as the oldest Durga Temple in Bengal. In the early 17th century, King Bir Hambir converted to Vaishnavism. This started a long tradition of building temples dedicated to Krishna and Radha in Bishnupur. Some of these temples are today regarded as the pinnacles of Bengal Terracotta art.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpckrCWYGPs/XpmAJoWkjiI/AAAAAAAADEA/SeY7xOkuh8sIdRF4KPEUrkUqF6brUfjqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpckrCWYGPs/XpmAJoWkjiI/AAAAAAAADEA/SeY7xOkuh8sIdRF4KPEUrkUqF6brUfjqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/01.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Shyamrai Temple dedicated to Radha-Krishna was built by Malla King Raghunath Singha in 1643 AD. This is the best example of the "Pancharatna" type temple i.e. five towers (ratnas) on a sloping roof.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ced3zLrupg/XpmAJvV0qlI/AAAAAAAADEE/AGd_U759DKMqoszOkViwZ3D-OjfGwIOawCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_ced3zLrupg/XpmAJvV0qlI/AAAAAAAADEE/AGd_U759DKMqoszOkViwZ3D-OjfGwIOawCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/02.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On all four sides of the temple there are three arched entrances.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQOCNZungCg/XpmAJkgPN5I/AAAAAAAADEI/o4ZqJAHA8ns898Vt5FWdzXTOb0LAeZ8xwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xQOCNZungCg/XpmAJkgPN5I/AAAAAAAADEI/o4ZqJAHA8ns898Vt5FWdzXTOb0LAeZ8xwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/03.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Decorative terracotta plaques above the entrance arch, depicting Radha and Krishna</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6ZTqt6Av08/XpmAKvwLv4I/AAAAAAAADEQ/luI28VHYR3IjWaJQtEttzpLILU3b4vfogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rasamandala, Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6ZTqt6Av08/XpmAKvwLv4I/AAAAAAAADEQ/luI28VHYR3IjWaJQtEttzpLILU3b4vfogCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/04.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A beautiful "Rasamandala" - Radha and Krishna performing their dance of love (rasa) surounded by the gopis of Vrindavan</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i8X1PXIuHQs/XpmAKh0Og4I/AAAAAAAADEM/WCedPOagm5IRYE7W4-baVjp_FJ_Toms8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chariot, Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="718" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i8X1PXIuHQs/XpmAKh0Og4I/AAAAAAAADEM/WCedPOagm5IRYE7W4-baVjp_FJ_Toms8wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/05.JPG" title="" width="564" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is believed to be a prototype of the chariot of Jagannath at Puri, that is used for the annual Ratha Yatra</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aVSZxMiBVdS6Lild2PbHgAXofqBFZgGHHxEZOT6iTYRV3WUMwd-cWcWEkon2LQZS8J_hYdU623Fs2nUpygSP1Hzozr4rvHULU5EoH6LauRWe4ocfMAEwv6sCBgcf41ipsw3th72nzok8/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="797" data-original-width="680" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aVSZxMiBVdS6Lild2PbHgAXofqBFZgGHHxEZOT6iTYRV3WUMwd-cWcWEkon2LQZS8J_hYdU623Fs2nUpygSP1Hzozr4rvHULU5EoH6LauRWe4ocfMAEwv6sCBgcf41ipsw3th72nzok8/s640/15.JPG" title="" width="546" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Radha, Krishna and Balarama under an Ekratna type (single tower) temple.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pL3wGEYOB_4/XpmALRoWoMI/AAAAAAAADEY/oTt-Vu8SlLQTXQWBclM3AZBl0PNk0O0iQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Shyamrai Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="778" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pL3wGEYOB_4/XpmALRoWoMI/AAAAAAAADEY/oTt-Vu8SlLQTXQWBclM3AZBl0PNk0O0iQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/16.jpg" title="" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Shyamrai Temple is regarded as the best example of Bengal Terracotta art.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nWxQm_-gn10/XpmALvfQ_TI/AAAAAAAADEc/cPsXlVysZVU3KFz7sTDEeATwu5Tho01ZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mrinmoyee Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nWxQm_-gn10/XpmALvfQ_TI/AAAAAAAADEc/cPsXlVysZVU3KFz7sTDEeATwu5Tho01ZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/21.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Mrinmoyee Temple was established in 997 AD by Malla King Jagatmalla. This is the oldest Durga Temple in Bengal. The current structure was built over the older temple. Even now, Durga Puja is celebrated here every year with a lot of pomp.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JM8dW9fzWk/XpmAL3tlOUI/AAAAAAAADEg/kUSsGrg0I0EIb20T3pzb9_WGvc14fCsIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Radhashyam Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JM8dW9fzWk/XpmAL3tlOUI/AAAAAAAADEg/kUSsGrg0I0EIb20T3pzb9_WGvc14fCsIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/22.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Radhashyam Temple was built by the Malla King Chaitanya Singha in 1758 AD. It is a Ekratna type i.e. single tower (ratna) temple.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BtgSmJhEb_4/XpmAMAqWJEI/AAAAAAAADEk/A7gitkUbdbwNaUt_xOH3awFO1KjrqQKqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Radhashyam Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BtgSmJhEb_4/XpmAMAqWJEI/AAAAAAAADEk/A7gitkUbdbwNaUt_xOH3awFO1KjrqQKqgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/24.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This temple is built of laterite stones. The temple has carvings in low relief which are decorated with stucco work.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L7BgToEImA8/XpmAMrKM6VI/AAAAAAAADEo/iZPul1HLcJkvaK2obr9v_ooZUiLcGYXWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rama, Radhashyam Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L7BgToEImA8/XpmAMrKM6VI/AAAAAAAADEo/iZPul1HLcJkvaK2obr9v_ooZUiLcGYXWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/29.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Probably Rama</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kSil2yVAz4I/XpmAM09TTbI/AAAAAAAADEs/DOpmQ1TAz5gbQ5BjSbVwwLfgn96M5aZHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ravana, Radhashyam Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="664" height="558" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kSil2yVAz4I/XpmAM09TTbI/AAAAAAAADEs/DOpmQ1TAz5gbQ5BjSbVwwLfgn96M5aZHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/30.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Definitely Ravana.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRt0Ugd_1tM/XpmAM3DMuhI/AAAAAAAADEw/MvWhC33cmcAta5SBXEHpXYz2TgJN2IV4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/37.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lalji Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRt0Ugd_1tM/XpmAM3DMuhI/AAAAAAAADEw/MvWhC33cmcAta5SBXEHpXYz2TgJN2IV4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/37.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Lalji Temple dedicated to Radha-Krishna was built by Bir Singha II of the Malla dynasty in 1658 AD.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xeIYQPHN8k/XpmANuC1OhI/AAAAAAAADE4/O7FklDiMoiwG95Q1bzi_HYwndJaMx35fgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/38.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lalji Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4xeIYQPHN8k/XpmANuC1OhI/AAAAAAAADE4/O7FklDiMoiwG95Q1bzi_HYwndJaMx35fgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/38.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is another Ekratna i.e. single tower temple built of laterite stones, having stucco decorations on low relief carvings.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIGxPB-G7DI/XpmANfN0WoI/AAAAAAAADE0/e7qV5VAumrEEJ1xxHKNq2JycQQ8lIOvOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/38a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lalji Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vIGxPB-G7DI/XpmANfN0WoI/AAAAAAAADE0/e7qV5VAumrEEJ1xxHKNq2JycQQ8lIOvOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/38a.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is believed to have been the temple kitchen. I could still smell some food :)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QOiyEc0qBM/XpmANheEx_I/AAAAAAAADE8/jvaDDalg7b8_tE_0kYpDSsUjPlxALfiqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/39.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stone Gateway, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QOiyEc0qBM/XpmANheEx_I/AAAAAAAADE8/jvaDDalg7b8_tE_0kYpDSsUjPlxALfiqQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/39.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Main Gateway to the erstwhile Royal Palace. Today cattles use this entrance, which is quite fitting, since the Bishnupur Kings are devoted Vaishnavas, and cows are very sacred to them since Lord Krishna was a cowherd during his childhood years.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bT3NOIKAphI/XpmAOfRj60I/AAAAAAAADFA/-hS63UjmarEiTFd_Q6WVje38G2pl6NVbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/41.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stone Gateway, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bT3NOIKAphI/XpmAOfRj60I/AAAAAAAADFA/-hS63UjmarEiTFd_Q6WVje38G2pl6NVbwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/41.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Soldiers used to stand guard on the elevated platform inside the Main Gateway.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWzGYou78uI/XpmAPN649uI/AAAAAAAADFI/KY6Zmk4kOBoCTshRuphXvOdb4F54-10qgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/48.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Stone Gateway, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="829" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sWzGYou78uI/XpmAPN649uI/AAAAAAAADFI/KY6Zmk4kOBoCTshRuphXvOdb4F54-10qgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/48.JPG" title="" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A side-view through the arches on either side of the Main Gateway.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnTwQuFHGF4/XpmAPLFYFTI/AAAAAAAADFE/bf_L-MKrnMQTpSE3k7iHfEi-ZKP7KitngCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/54.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PnTwQuFHGF4/XpmAPLFYFTI/AAAAAAAADFE/bf_L-MKrnMQTpSE3k7iHfEi-ZKP7KitngCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/54.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Jor Bangla Temple (also known as Kesta Rai Temple) was erected by Malla King Raghunath Singha in 1655 AD. The Temple has a unique design. It consists of two Dochala temples (huts with sloping roofs) joined together, with a single pinnacle. </span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h3rHfOBhet4/XpmAPVPGeTI/AAAAAAAADFM/kgpSmNad6-4iFzoCXBj2XGaziruij-4igCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/55.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="829" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h3rHfOBhet4/XpmAPVPGeTI/AAAAAAAADFM/kgpSmNad6-4iFzoCXBj2XGaziruij-4igCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/55.JPG" title="" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The temple has exquisite terracotta ornamentation and is regarded as one of the finest among the terracotta temples of Bengal.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVXMyr6xUO8/XpmAP_ffXrI/AAAAAAAADFQ/Qkrscfs5gDwy7Dzn5qVUouqEUhiWzXt0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/56.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1106" height="464" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVXMyr6xUO8/XpmAP_ffXrI/AAAAAAAADFQ/Qkrscfs5gDwy7Dzn5qVUouqEUhiWzXt0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/56.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The third row from the bottom shows the monkey army of Rama, picking up boulders to build the Ram Setu for reaching Lanka.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbTnF1Gy9CQ/XpmAQCvEiMI/AAAAAAAADFU/nKfjlYWhNykIgX9GgiSo5FJfF1uSoR5xgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/57.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1106" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qbTnF1Gy9CQ/XpmAQCvEiMI/AAAAAAAADFU/nKfjlYWhNykIgX9GgiSo5FJfF1uSoR5xgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/57.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elaborately decorated False Doorways</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NzZ_5rNjs54/XpmAQfdSiMI/AAAAAAAADFY/rz6b_VpCBM8zBMUAvSbeNOsG-KID2ZtRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/58.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="808" data-original-width="1079" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NzZ_5rNjs54/XpmAQfdSiMI/AAAAAAAADFY/rz6b_VpCBM8zBMUAvSbeNOsG-KID2ZtRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/58.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second row depicts a number of mythical animals and figures. From left to right: 1) Gandaberunda (or Sharabha) 2) Gaja Vyala 3) Purusha-mriga (or Sphinx) 4) Master of Animals</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sSm_8SIaAc/XpmAQviKNgI/AAAAAAAADFc/ZVCaIYPsWVgdUWssYnpVrcUv6hctEzh6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/59.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dasavatar, Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="808" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--sSm_8SIaAc/XpmAQviKNgI/AAAAAAAADFc/ZVCaIYPsWVgdUWssYnpVrcUv6hctEzh6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/59.JPG" title="" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A panel depicting the Dashavatars (Ten Avatars of Vishnu). There are actually 12 avatars here: Balarama and Chaitanya have been included.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHOOOT7jJ1x70WC3ZIFLKJMEYuz_9NH-GlmIW8zJA3XKh8XUjVDS-zBMSPQ2RjNogoVnYrMNQPv5jIOKPiZ4-fRr0SBzm2C2cfjxGJ6WCeeo6UdBTxRh-K4xHcvag8gY_zevdoRuY0xbx/s1600/60.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdHOOOT7jJ1x70WC3ZIFLKJMEYuz_9NH-GlmIW8zJA3XKh8XUjVDS-zBMSPQ2RjNogoVnYrMNQPv5jIOKPiZ4-fRr0SBzm2C2cfjxGJ6WCeeo6UdBTxRh-K4xHcvag8gY_zevdoRuY0xbx/s640/60.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Exquisite terracotta ornamentation.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zr7YeFheI8/XpmAREdh4xI/AAAAAAAADFk/mRBauC0sRXoDRTKt-_Vg5FDrwBxwPrx1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/62.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9zr7YeFheI8/XpmAREdh4xI/AAAAAAAADFk/mRBauC0sRXoDRTKt-_Vg5FDrwBxwPrx1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/62.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the second row you can see the Indian boats of that period. This was just after the advent of the European colonial powers in India. Some temples in Bishnupur depict European soldiers with guns.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JaBx7i70Ww4/XpmARjk8_fI/AAAAAAAADFs/iAOe-tVDBgYrmjQfLLxA3h11fhicPYz_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/63.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jor Bangla Temple, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JaBx7i70Ww4/XpmARjk8_fI/AAAAAAAADFs/iAOe-tVDBgYrmjQfLLxA3h11fhicPYz_ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/63.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another view.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zM9J7qazXLI/XpmAReSv5ZI/AAAAAAAADFo/xwCi06wn3ooAMMQY6ACeXlgkhoPwNKWIACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/65.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rasmancha, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1073" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zM9J7qazXLI/XpmAReSv5ZI/AAAAAAAADFo/xwCi06wn3ooAMMQY6ACeXlgkhoPwNKWIACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/65.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This pyramidal structure is called the Rasmancha. It is the first temple erected by Malla King Bir Hambir in 1600 AD, after having converted to Vaishnavism.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxCMtO2U5Hc/XpmAR1VAdzI/AAAAAAAADFw/rBWESHgMTzgykNnoGeDYBp24EIMAkBiCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/67.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rasmancha, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kxCMtO2U5Hc/XpmAR1VAdzI/AAAAAAAADFw/rBWESHgMTzgykNnoGeDYBp24EIMAkBiCQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/67.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The base of the temple is made of laterite stones and upper part is made with bricks. During the annual Ras festival, all the Radha Krishna idols of Bishnupur town used to be brought here and placed inside the garbagriha (sanctum sanctorum). The annual festival was held till 1932.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Svedw_XQYRA/XpmASWzP6aI/AAAAAAAADF0/fcJ215eENw4TjEPLADNdo6DwlH7d7jj9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/70.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rasmancha, Bishnupur" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Svedw_XQYRA/XpmASWzP6aI/AAAAAAAADF0/fcJ215eENw4TjEPLADNdo6DwlH7d7jj9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/70.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A view through the arches.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-25930473158386769222020-04-17T15:17:00.001+05:302021-02-01T23:41:33.217+05:30The Pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Pb1-jvMGEU/Xpl9DBlltnI/AAAAAAAADD0/KtPZ9cSk83U2W96lVJEfKZaQgRh8GkIGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1048" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8Pb1-jvMGEU/Xpl9DBlltnI/AAAAAAAADD0/KtPZ9cSk83U2W96lVJEfKZaQgRh8GkIGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/preview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Teotihuacan is a fascinating Mesoamerican archaeological site, located roughly 40 kms from Mexico city.
The name Teotihuacan means "The Place where Men became Gods" or "The
Place where Gods were born". The name was given to the city by the
Aztecs when they discovered it centuries after it had been abandoned at
around 550 CE.<br />
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The origins of Teotihuacan are lost in remote antiquity. Scholars believe that the city was established at around 100 BCE, but it could be far older than that. The city was destroyed and burned down in 550 CE, possibly due to a volcanic eruption, and by the time the Aztecs found it the city was already in ruins. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan are not known.<br />
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I had visited Teotihuacan in 2009, in course of a long journey through some of the most fascinating archaeological sites of Mexico. Teotihuacan was probably the most intriguing and spectacular of all the places I had seen in Mexico. Its vast dimensions and grand layout speaks of a time long past, when the ancients modeled their cities and palaces following the map of the heavens.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsqBh4mwnmGM87ZbY-QuW1B8O0VxNN3iIW_g5zxYdYfuBGoBp9Jz8y4xp0Tf9FsTsrF7Rk-kNZYklGV7VivpEOc4-CQBYZaCZMwgBKLn4rpF6gjXoqB4oWFMtHNktVH4pBg__m8zOyttO/s1600/DSCN5025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsqBh4mwnmGM87ZbY-QuW1B8O0VxNN3iIW_g5zxYdYfuBGoBp9Jz8y4xp0Tf9FsTsrF7Rk-kNZYklGV7VivpEOc4-CQBYZaCZMwgBKLn4rpF6gjXoqB4oWFMtHNktVH4pBg__m8zOyttO/s640/DSCN5025.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Standing in front of the Pyramid of the Moon</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqbj3XFYVrkqYEGiRtUMjRrIckSnHn4fxXYLLtavUh4cT18SY1tqGVToIxM7u1Cj4WUBe3eHiXh8eJ1dt05f7GATBMbXjGVtPADFKxeHRdPc7PmD2rJMrbjpmSmwo2l4jOLJgnpve2qBp/s1600/DSCN5026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqbj3XFYVrkqYEGiRtUMjRrIckSnHn4fxXYLLtavUh4cT18SY1tqGVToIxM7u1Cj4WUBe3eHiXh8eJ1dt05f7GATBMbXjGVtPADFKxeHRdPc7PmD2rJMrbjpmSmwo2l4jOLJgnpve2qBp/s640/DSCN5026.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">The Pyramid of the Moon is nearly 140 feet high. Originally a Temple stood on top of the pyramid.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW91lCFDPykrIKVNJR7aGEwrpCxK6E0sfrNi3hwVVOBO9Zjp7sXOXalAAPjSsfa533RnANleQlr_-m_g7p9r6TTxf779qy61dBNldcNFyhR6Cwmtz8PxQMT01NjsSL3MblnJwfTlXi27UQ/s1600/DSCN5031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW91lCFDPykrIKVNJR7aGEwrpCxK6E0sfrNi3hwVVOBO9Zjp7sXOXalAAPjSsfa533RnANleQlr_-m_g7p9r6TTxf779qy61dBNldcNFyhR6Cwmtz8PxQMT01NjsSL3MblnJwfTlXi27UQ/s640/DSCN5031.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The climb up is a more difficult than it looks. The steps are high and the incline is somewhat steep.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AIkhR5MPrBoxEOvda6OVXKkxOD3upEAoeDsqyNXBe36WUOKz70k5BonBl5vmPD1kF90r0mH2u1jMxjN1lJUSYByD7Cc_TiU2xvjlRgL3vOSANwOxWLrE8BLnKRLvvp_mK8dZ-73VIOVh/s1600/DSCN5032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AIkhR5MPrBoxEOvda6OVXKkxOD3upEAoeDsqyNXBe36WUOKz70k5BonBl5vmPD1kF90r0mH2u1jMxjN1lJUSYByD7Cc_TiU2xvjlRgL3vOSANwOxWLrE8BLnKRLvvp_mK8dZ-73VIOVh/s640/DSCN5032.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-size: small;">The view from the Pyramid of Moon, down the Avenue of the Dead. On the left is the massive Pyramid of the Sun. In the center of the square probably stood a temple.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv3gJgmpZnw0phQarLy_fyqNQenZz4yi7O-LuTD05WOvlgcUxfurqkMKzauKfd86V5sAc2GyH5ZoPKbzRjNW-i26Ck6dKDxDTCyaXQUliPhJXqomWHOvgj37RVEUVU8IOjkFylgQcJpI_/s1600/DSCN5037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOv3gJgmpZnw0phQarLy_fyqNQenZz4yi7O-LuTD05WOvlgcUxfurqkMKzauKfd86V5sAc2GyH5ZoPKbzRjNW-i26Ck6dKDxDTCyaXQUliPhJXqomWHOvgj37RVEUVU8IOjkFylgQcJpI_/s640/DSCN5037.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">These stepped-pyramids were built all along the long Avenue of the Dead that runs through Teotihuacan.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqI29fhFZt8LLSLh5CIfOt08IYfOadr9T3HEKFnZDYJBqp1YZz7ulouDObLcTWnz02MSPyXLwsLP61wvUgAM6SFq9bYY2_LsADSWjBugB0Nxc51msJsRVitK6Sp_zxQx0FKVC5VxYflYNI/s1600/DSCN5051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqI29fhFZt8LLSLh5CIfOt08IYfOadr9T3HEKFnZDYJBqp1YZz7ulouDObLcTWnz02MSPyXLwsLP61wvUgAM6SFq9bYY2_LsADSWjBugB0Nxc51msJsRVitK6Sp_zxQx0FKVC5VxYflYNI/s640/DSCN5051.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Avenue of the Dead</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg9i6yjcX82JOkphn3JUbkCObCZVVW90MP8QTkmI39gy5jjqycgKjsb5m807tkrhQNnavcucM0ot2sQzEMQuPJSw0y_0O5Iow7pCQad3zZ9U0CDqVoIhdLbgynU2kQLP1MmIq6KUS1Gr6/s1600/DSCN5056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirg9i6yjcX82JOkphn3JUbkCObCZVVW90MP8QTkmI39gy5jjqycgKjsb5m807tkrhQNnavcucM0ot2sQzEMQuPJSw0y_0O5Iow7pCQad3zZ9U0CDqVoIhdLbgynU2kQLP1MmIq6KUS1Gr6/s640/DSCN5056.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">The
Pyramid of the Sun. Its base perimeter is nearly the same as the Great
Pyramid of Giza, but its height is half of the Giza Pyramid.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WdTkkP09PFpLzgIJ1UtZ_6JZFFC57Jow_unhowaAJaOG6RdIgb0c6nS4jFTGsnOChmBKbuFdZwlWt-7qd6TlL_BRVXnKOdAc7R_PkDMxxyaxmf-sU7Qrd8MppwrbYvdkg-DxpCpalAzM/s1600/DSCN5063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WdTkkP09PFpLzgIJ1UtZ_6JZFFC57Jow_unhowaAJaOG6RdIgb0c6nS4jFTGsnOChmBKbuFdZwlWt-7qd6TlL_BRVXnKOdAc7R_PkDMxxyaxmf-sU7Qrd8MppwrbYvdkg-DxpCpalAzM/s640/DSCN5063.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh well, that's me striking a pose in front of the Pyramid of the Sun.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kNR9FkjBrVHQW9lIir9cPCV0sbGtdp5MugR6tapqSh2kVLKsy_BOy-k1t6aaLw9o5P0UAIH6OqMoJd7gEOcCzU5OEpizn0qHaV2wbUnGEhftz5fAmTSrieKjPUyfH8g-UwKOOPLiC6Ri/s1600/DSCN5075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kNR9FkjBrVHQW9lIir9cPCV0sbGtdp5MugR6tapqSh2kVLKsy_BOy-k1t6aaLw9o5P0UAIH6OqMoJd7gEOcCzU5OEpizn0qHaV2wbUnGEhftz5fAmTSrieKjPUyfH8g-UwKOOPLiC6Ri/s640/DSCN5075.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, I climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun! It took some effort, but definitely worth it. This is a view of the square in front of the Pyramid of the Sun.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc3jxP_bq_azu6E_mn-iuYnYk26R5t4Cl5x9cIh6urRXrHV6YhCWijwvE1asOvLQ43eix-g2uWkHwXtx7Clzk84dVgS4XaBPyyy1txAK1aHORSwr0fmn49tQn532_jyA44G3wQy0LcYOd/s1600/DSCN5080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVc3jxP_bq_azu6E_mn-iuYnYk26R5t4Cl5x9cIh6urRXrHV6YhCWijwvE1asOvLQ43eix-g2uWkHwXtx7Clzk84dVgS4XaBPyyy1txAK1aHORSwr0fmn49tQn532_jyA44G3wQy0LcYOd/s640/DSCN5080.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">The grand view of the Pyramid of the Moon in the distance</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrtxZTvYLTihOfZ2DvAPHxTNv6PjlTcxgSsgyUjNrhw3AIMpGRPELPC5EmoZ5MBW3iQCiJQEOjzhhw8tf4cADDZshoUX3DYz-38Qtx9zo8nHskthd6R_bQkdc3gF3-dIrKsISnoakLWPf/s1600/DSCN5090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinrtxZTvYLTihOfZ2DvAPHxTNv6PjlTcxgSsgyUjNrhw3AIMpGRPELPC5EmoZ5MBW3iQCiJQEOjzhhw8tf4cADDZshoUX3DYz-38Qtx9zo8nHskthd6R_bQkdc3gF3-dIrKsISnoakLWPf/s640/DSCN5090.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption"><span style="font-size: small;">The Palace of Quetzalpapalotl - the bird deity.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmhMpa8KqpHVzJ5HQ_Dw74v6-6bzpCIP2A3jZvr0Qp8ADKg-Q9BLKWiZStp81y2s0QgTqq-lOtUUzjF58OvlNH71og1b72x3lCuUnOQqORYD1R7f4_XCTumsNylKJZxdxE5qwqz2NskwC/s1600/DSCN5091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmhMpa8KqpHVzJ5HQ_Dw74v6-6bzpCIP2A3jZvr0Qp8ADKg-Q9BLKWiZStp81y2s0QgTqq-lOtUUzjF58OvlNH71og1b72x3lCuUnOQqORYD1R7f4_XCTumsNylKJZxdxE5qwqz2NskwC/s640/DSCN5091.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">This
is Quetzalpapalotl - a combination of the quetzal bird and a butterly -
which the people venerated. Some believe it represents “Spearthrower
Owl” - an important military god at Teotihuacan.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6864653463177413678.post-58030870709755705832019-08-09T10:29:00.000+05:302019-08-14T21:19:53.266+05:30The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZvqNmc0V7c/XVQtklh_P5I/AAAAAAAAC2A/_PCl7wimyfM1niegrw8k6qXlSDfMFrI2wCLcBGAs/s1600/cover%2Bpic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="713" data-original-width="916" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SZvqNmc0V7c/XVQtklh_P5I/AAAAAAAAC2A/_PCl7wimyfM1niegrw8k6qXlSDfMFrI2wCLcBGAs/s320/cover%2Bpic1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Nartiang Monoliths is one of the most fascinating megalithic sites in India. Located in the Jaintia hills of Meghalaya, roughly 60 kms from the state capital of Shillong, it has the largest concentration of monoliths at one place in the state.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The locals refer to the place as "Kper Mawbynna", which means "Monolith Garden". As per Jaintia legends, the biggest monolith in the site was raised by a "giant" man named U Mar Phalyngki, a trusted lieutenant of a Jaintia king, to commemorate his victory in battle. The other monoliths were erected by U Mar Phalyngki, U Luh Lyngshkor Lamare and various clans of the Nartiang village between 1500 - 1835 AD. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Jaintia kings ruled in these parts from 1500 - 1835 AD, with their capital in Jaintiapur, in the plains of Bangladesh at the foot of the Jaintia hills. Nartiang was, apparently, a summer capital of the Jaintia kings. As I roamed around in the monolith garden, I was struck with wonder at this large collection of megalithic monuments. Some of the stones were gigantic, and I wondered how such large stones were transported to the hilltop, and what made the ancient inhabitants of this place expend so much time and effort for erecting these formations. I will share my observations as we go through the photo journey.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nukDa5xCajU/XUvnpxRHpfI/AAAAAAAACzM/envpVWIKnxcUYmiYnilrJ_h7MIiWXU1sACLcBGAs/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nukDa5xCajU/XUvnpxRHpfI/AAAAAAAACzM/envpVWIKnxcUYmiYnilrJ_h7MIiWXU1sACLcBGAs/s640/01.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is a typical monolith configuration of the Khasi and Jaintia hills: One or more vertical pillars or menhirs (Moo Shynrang) with a horizontal stone or dolmen (Moo Kynthai) placed in front. The monoliths were raised in memory of clan ancestors, particularly those who showered their blessings on the clan when called on for aid. They were also raised for heroes who died in battles, or for departed parents.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4JuLSgWnhgg/XUvnqDAYuBI/AAAAAAAACzQ/P3-MsZmEpIkjTIwU4TPzzfxjuHZuFMC2QCLcBGAs/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4JuLSgWnhgg/XUvnqDAYuBI/AAAAAAAACzQ/P3-MsZmEpIkjTIwU4TPzzfxjuHZuFMC2QCLcBGAs/s640/02.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is much that we still do not understand about this typical monolith configuration of the Khasi Hills. Did the menhirs represent a specific clan ancestor and his immediate family members, or multiple clan ancestors? Did the flat surface of the dolmen (<i>which did not have any funerary purpose, as determined by archaeologists</i>) serve as an offering table for making ritual offerings to the revered clan ancestors?</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRJHfvruAms/XUvnqhBduzI/AAAAAAAACzU/l_sWv-ZiHY0YYlkaHN0QcGXga4LZT1PHgCLcBGAs/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRJHfvruAms/XUvnqhBduzI/AAAAAAAACzU/l_sWv-ZiHY0YYlkaHN0QcGXga4LZT1PHgCLcBGAs/s640/03.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of the horizontal slabs are quite large. Here you can see my son (who is 4 feet tall), walking along one of the pathways through the site.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqCbxISVolY/XUvnrc-xFRI/AAAAAAAACzY/CEI7vgHTApkPcnFUJMlc3q2NdvljujtowCLcBGAs/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xqCbxISVolY/XUvnrc-xFRI/AAAAAAAACzY/CEI7vgHTApkPcnFUJMlc3q2NdvljujtowCLcBGAs/s640/05.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The horizontal slab in the center of this image was one of the largest that I saw at the site. It was roughly spherical, with a diameter of around 20 feet and thickness of nearly 1 feet. Since the stones are granite, my rough calculations indicate an approx. weight of 23 tons. How were such heavy stones dragged to the hilltop and placed on top of the supporting stones?</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Og_7IAkA8qI/XUvnrhH9ZFI/AAAAAAAACzc/UDzQ5kS20-A53FUdDA4U_VePxSa0KeziwCLcBGAs/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Og_7IAkA8qI/XUvnrhH9ZFI/AAAAAAAACzc/UDzQ5kS20-A53FUdDA4U_VePxSa0KeziwCLcBGAs/s640/06.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the meandering alleys through the site with monoliths on both sides.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-coE9gHJTdbQ/XUvnr8w7MSI/AAAAAAAACzg/6Ekfny0LENUFWQt0y-LhmQDM-DBq-s6SgCLcBGAs/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="829" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-coE9gHJTdbQ/XUvnr8w7MSI/AAAAAAAACzg/6Ekfny0LENUFWQt0y-LhmQDM-DBq-s6SgCLcBGAs/s640/07.JPG" title="" width="478" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A strange contrast between these ancient stones and the modern houses on the other side of the road.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--DgFKfaDKWc/XUvnsaBcq4I/AAAAAAAACzk/WPgcBN0-ye0q2qS54LY-RAoQUNEW--ZkACLcBGAs/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--DgFKfaDKWc/XUvnsaBcq4I/AAAAAAAACzk/WPgcBN0-ye0q2qS54LY-RAoQUNEW--ZkACLcBGAs/s640/08.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My son is trying to prop up one of the pillars that may be on the verge of falling down:) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He
enjoyed his walk through the monolith forest. All the time he was
asking me which one is the soul stone, the time stone, the space stone
and so on...Marvel comics has changed the way kids look at the world.</span></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E6MOkOHvmd4/XUvntHBEvGI/AAAAAAAACzs/UtmC7_7sI3Mug4TZpW5rDFYbizKlW_ZKACLcBGAs/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E6MOkOHvmd4/XUvntHBEvGI/AAAAAAAACzs/UtmC7_7sI3Mug4TZpW5rDFYbizKlW_ZKACLcBGAs/s640/09.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nartiang truly lives up to its name "Monolith Garden". I wonder why this particular site was selected for raising these megalithic structures. Perhaps it was a sacred grove in the bygone ages, where the villagers gathered on auspicious occasions for offering prayers to their clan ancestors.</span> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TkiyYSqrA70/XUvntINKdnI/AAAAAAAACzo/cqPFOhBAQHojjJDXIjmxdBQ3HcAa77oRgCLcBGAs/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TkiyYSqrA70/XUvntINKdnI/AAAAAAAACzo/cqPFOhBAQHojjJDXIjmxdBQ3HcAa77oRgCLcBGAs/s640/10.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNkD51W4QBw/XUvntXz6WJI/AAAAAAAACzw/SXUvu7iuCjIXwL85jeV13tP-1g_11I39gCLcBGAs/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNkD51W4QBw/XUvntXz6WJI/AAAAAAAACzw/SXUvu7iuCjIXwL85jeV13tP-1g_11I39gCLcBGAs/s640/11.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IISHaMeNTcM/XUvnulbGAWI/AAAAAAAACz4/mW1hlHKA0_sEfZdoW8eXYVw3MnPklD-XwCLcBGAs/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya, India" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IISHaMeNTcM/XUvnulbGAWI/AAAAAAAACz4/mW1hlHKA0_sEfZdoW8eXYVw3MnPklD-XwCLcBGAs/s640/13.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This inclined pillar appears to have an image carved on its surface, but its difficult to make out what it is.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkzTwqLKcOk/XU0XaNO48EI/AAAAAAAAC1o/I8bNdkJhV90vjZ9Xnf3bDNRD1NYHan0vgCLcBGAs/s1600/14a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JkzTwqLKcOk/XU0XaNO48EI/AAAAAAAAC1o/I8bNdkJhV90vjZ9Xnf3bDNRD1NYHan0vgCLcBGAs/s640/14a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is one of the tallest pillars in the site, with a heavy slab in front. The really big "royal monoliths", which were built to commemorate the glorious events of the Jaintia Kingdom, are concentrated in this part of site.</span></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0FVPl_CWdsE/XU0XaGmZ6eI/AAAAAAAAC14/Mu0N2wXM3VQ6668DGeARIOGFZ6Ia5g9aQCEwYBhgL/s1600/15a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0FVPl_CWdsE/XU0XaGmZ6eI/AAAAAAAAC14/Mu0N2wXM3VQ6668DGeARIOGFZ6Ia5g9aQCEwYBhgL/s640/15a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8HUfzBy3ew/XUvnwAz4wEI/AAAAAAAAC0E/-hG7VJiV5jkRM0gTsWkT_lnTTJfYVs7iACLcBGAs/s1600/17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The biggest monolith at Nartiang, Meghalaya. It is known as "Moo Long Syiem" and it is 26 feet 5 inches high, 6 feet 9 inches wide, and 18 inches thick. " border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="829" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8HUfzBy3ew/XUvnwAz4wEI/AAAAAAAAC0E/-hG7VJiV5jkRM0gTsWkT_lnTTJfYVs7iACLcBGAs/s640/17.JPG" title="" width="478" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The biggest monolith in the site! According to Jaintia legends, this was raised by a "giant" named U Mar Phalyngki, who was a trusted lieutenant of a Jaintia King.The ASI has built steps to climb up on the dolmen top</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vozuyxMFw0k/XUvnwKqof6I/AAAAAAAAC0I/MvzA_tq7prwOVhkBIC-mpkmCWyAl_dRIQCLcBGAs/s1600/18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The biggest monolith at Nartiang, Meghalaya. It is known as "Moo Long Syiem" and it is 26 feet 5 inches high, 6 feet 9 inches wide, and 18 inches thick. " border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="829" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vozuyxMFw0k/XUvnwKqof6I/AAAAAAAAC0I/MvzA_tq7prwOVhkBIC-mpkmCWyAl_dRIQCLcBGAs/s640/18.JPG" title="" width="478" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This picture gives you an idea of the size of the monolith: its wider than my outstretched arms. This menhir is known as "Moo Long Syiem" and it is 26 feet 5 inches high, 6 feet 9 inches wide, and 18 inches thick. Since it is made of granite, my calculation indicates a weight of approx. 20 tons.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SKn3jnDX894/XUvn1U2bbBI/AAAAAAAAC0M/LISiL8dQlJIitjFlzHJJ2mJCZU7LyAm1ACLcBGAs/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The biggest monolith at Nartiang, Meghalaya. It is known as "Moo Long Syiem" and it is 26 feet 5 inches high, 6 feet 9 inches wide, and 18 inches thick. " border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="479" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SKn3jnDX894/XUvn1U2bbBI/AAAAAAAAC0M/LISiL8dQlJIitjFlzHJJ2mJCZU7LyAm1ACLcBGAs/s640/19.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The horizontal slab in front of the menhir is also very large and could weigh upto 20 tons. It is said that during the days of the kings, an annual durbar (royal court) used to be held here.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOzVLTVexGE/XUvn1xiQjOI/AAAAAAAAC0Q/xi2Is20l8SsAWIz_srK3KXYx2SSJEMbAgCLcBGAs/s1600/20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Horizontal dolmen slabs at Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KOzVLTVexGE/XUvn1xiQjOI/AAAAAAAAC0Q/xi2Is20l8SsAWIz_srK3KXYx2SSJEMbAgCLcBGAs/s640/20.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The view from the base of the tallest menhir "Moo Long Syiem". There are a number of large horizontal slabs, and one can clearly see that the upper surface of these horizontal slabs have been deliberately flattened and polished. This means they were intended to serve a specific function. Perhaps, royal ceremonies and rituals were carried out on top of these slabs, and the King addressed his subjects standing in front of the pillar.</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL5UaE58i7Q/XUvn2AE4LjI/AAAAAAAAC0U/jFD14dEsv50YcI60NB1FaYdIe7q83KPPgCLcBGAs/s1600/21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL5UaE58i7Q/XUvn2AE4LjI/AAAAAAAAC0U/jFD14dEsv50YcI60NB1FaYdIe7q83KPPgCLcBGAs/s640/21.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More menhirs and dolmens hidden behind the trees</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6z-MJ3Daan0/XUvn2UjoHUI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/nwGEEmdUTUUBKrKF5jKiN3M4cf1UnRgTQCLcBGAs/s1600/22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6z-MJ3Daan0/XUvn2UjoHUI/AAAAAAAAC0Y/nwGEEmdUTUUBKrKF5jKiN3M4cf1UnRgTQCLcBGAs/s640/22.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another big monolith...probably set up to celebrate a royal victory or some importan event</span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kjfx0AqN9Zg/XUvn3LgWlHI/AAAAAAAAC0c/j-pVRF80fLAncFtjz8FN6n8QQZxTbKLLwCLcBGAs/s1600/23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kjfx0AqN9Zg/XUvn3LgWlHI/AAAAAAAAC0c/j-pVRF80fLAncFtjz8FN6n8QQZxTbKLLwCLcBGAs/s640/23.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few smaller monoliths set against the backdrop of the rolling Jaintia hills.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmpZobGLEo8/XUvn3RHIN4I/AAAAAAAAC0g/-nvvNOyCE4Io-6pb3xd53xj8ymfFXhmUACLcBGAs/s1600/24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="476" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xmpZobGLEo8/XUvn3RHIN4I/AAAAAAAAC0g/-nvvNOyCE4Io-6pb3xd53xj8ymfFXhmUACLcBGAs/s640/24.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meghalaya is the wettest state in India, and the lush paddy fields were brimming with the late summer rains. </span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W4B7kzBHNuo/XUvn4E7-P2I/AAAAAAAAC0k/IwlWY_ioBNc_uc8cmAfsGt0aVz0QDN1iwCLcBGAs/s1600/25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W4B7kzBHNuo/XUvn4E7-P2I/AAAAAAAAC0k/IwlWY_ioBNc_uc8cmAfsGt0aVz0QDN1iwCLcBGAs/s640/25.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">More monoliths against the backdrop of the rolling green hills. These smaller monoliths were probably set up by the villagers of Nartiang in memory of their clan ancestors.</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6KgpeNwb28A/XUvn5HxSV4I/AAAAAAAAC0o/Ty2Y79Mpz4wuWCYNwstg0AHr69tk4mpWgCLcBGAs/s1600/26.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nartiang Monoliths, Meghalaya" border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1106" height="478" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6KgpeNwb28A/XUvn5HxSV4I/AAAAAAAAC0o/Ty2Y79Mpz4wuWCYNwstg0AHr69tk4mpWgCLcBGAs/s640/26.JPG" title="" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A last look back at one of the meandering alleys before leaving this fascinating "Monolith Garden" of Meghalaya.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Truly, the Nartiang Monoliths took me by surprise. I had not expected such a dense concentration of monoliths, nor did I have any idea that some of them would be so massive. There are important questions about this place that remain unknown. Apart from local legends, there is apparently no archaeological evidence, inscriptions or otherwise, to suggest that the largest monoliths were raised during the period of the Jaintia Kingdom from 1500 - 1835 AD. It is quite possible that some of the monoliths predate the reign of the Jaintia kings, and were raised much earlier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have little idea about the kind of technology that was used to cut and transport these massive granite blocks to the site. Who was this "giant" called Mar Phalyngki who is credited with raising the biggest menhir? Do we know anything else about him?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no clear understanding of the purpose of the dolmen slabs that were placed in front of the memorial pillars. It is clearly evident that, in most cases, the upper surface of the dolmen slabs were deliberately flattened and polished. This suggests that the smaller slabs may have been used for making ritual offerings to the clan ancestors, while the larger ones served as platforms for carrying out royal ceremonies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The English topographer and geologist Godwin-Austen had surveyed the monoliths of the Khasi Hills in the mid-19th century and wrote an article titled, "On the Stone Monuments of the Khasi Hill Tribes, and on Some of the Peculiar Rites and Customs of the People", which was published in <i>The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland</i> Vol. 1 (1872), pp. 122-143. In this article, he mentioned a large collection of monoliths at a place called Lailang-kote, which, unfortunately, was destroyed in a subsequent earthquake. Godwin-Austen wrote, </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The largest collection of huge slabs and upright stones that I have seen anywhere in the Khasi Hills, is at Lailang-kote, the arrangement is so different in every way, that there can be little doubt that it was erected for a very different purpose, and was probably a place of meeting of the chiefs and elders of the clans. The steps to ascend it would indicate such a purpose, and we can imagine all the men of rank and influence seated around, and harangued by one of their number. I could never learn the history of this structure; although I made frequent inquiries, they could not say when or by whom it was set up."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It appears from this that even Godwin-Austen thought that the large dolmen slabs were used for some kind of ceremonial or social purpose. It has been archaeologically established that these dolmens, which were placed in front of the menhirs, served no funerary purpose, and no cremated remains have been found under them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, not much attention is given to these monoliths by modern archaeologists or historians, and they seem to languish in isolation. Archaeological data about these monoliths is scarce, and the brief signboard at the site is practically the only source of information available about these stones, which is repeated endlessly in different websites. I also found it surprising that only a handful of people were at the site during the time we were there, although it can be easily reached from Shillong in 2 hours. Surely, this amazing and unique monolith garden, which preserves an important part of our ancient heritage, deserves a lot more attention and publicity.</span><br />
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Bibhu Dev Misrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15388473714672380058noreply@blogger.com0