Ancient Indians and The Veda

This web-site is all about the ancient Indians. Who they were, where they lived and what they did.

How can we know what happened in the far past? Times change so rapidly, that our lives are very different from the times of our parents and grand-parents.

If you wanted to know about your grand father, you would listen to the stories that he told you about himself, the stories that others told you about him, look at his diaries and photographs and other such records. Then you would piece it all together and create in your mind, a picture of what your grandfather was like when he was young, what he did and how he lived.

You would see how it all fits in, with any other information you have about his times. Then you would be ready to tell your grandchildren how your grandfather lived. You might just tell them the story, or write it all down, or make a song about it, or paint pictures about it, or even carve it in stone.

Ancient Indians, our forefathers, preserved all that they knew, all that they did, all that happened to them and descriptions of all the places they had been to or lived in., in The Veda and in the Sthala Puranas or stories of Places.

Ancient Indians were spiritual and poetic. They saw divinity and beauty in everything. They were also highly technical and mathematical and were very good astronomers. And they put everything into their Veda, their rituals and their lifestyle. They lived in a way that they could never forget who they were and what they had learned so far.

Veda Vyasa studied the entire Veda and he classified it into 4 separate Vedas – that had to be used together with rituals and other books whether for worship or for knowledge. He also separated all the stories out into different Puranas.

Vyasa was a great organiser and the first story that I tell will be  Vyasa’s story.

Authorship and Copyright Notice: All rights reserved – Satya Sarada Kandula.

My Veda Guru

She wears the simplest of clothes, un-ironed, her hair uncombed. When I asked her about wearing colour sarees – she said she was not interested.

When I took her fruit, she offered it God and distributed it to children.

When I offered her fees for Vedas, she refused, saying it was RshiRNam., a debt to the Rshis.

She offered to teach me yoga in addition to Vedas, to improve my health. My aches and pains have reduced. When I offered her money for that she refused Very Firmly.

There is a yoga instructor course she wants me to do so that I understand the theory of yoga. That daily course for 3 months and she will accept fees for that at the end of 3 months and not before. And that too I dont think it is for her.. the money is for the samstha and the purpose is my health.

My poorva ashrama  (software etc) vasanas have not left me and I do look at all things in a commercial way still. I have become unused to people with zero greed.

She has asked me to write the rudram in devanagari.. I have not begun. She asked for a printout of my brahmagiri article, I have not given her. She asked me to read a kannada book, I whined. She asked me to practice yoga morning and evening. I have not. she asked me to listen to her guru’s veda chanting CDs, early in the morning, since I asked for them and bought them.  I have not done this.

I expect to pay for invaluable teaching, not with devotion, service and obedience but with money. I have a LONG way to go. To accept gifts of knowledge with the same grace that they have been bestowed upon me and to not try and “somehow repay”.

I have to learn that I am not this rich patron of a pensioned high school teacher, but a grateful, dependent arthi of the highest knowledge in the world, Vedas, Vedangas and Brahmagnyana, being bestowed upon me with the greatest of love, patience, exactness and time.

Basically I have to lose some more of my old vasanas and change as a person.

I have to lose my arrogance and superficial assessments first and foremost.

I am somehow feeling not very proud of myself  today., more in the lines of a donkey.

A few folks write to me asking me to be their guru. This is why I can’t be a guru. I have not won over the 6 internal enemies. I can at best be a co-student sahapATin sharing her notes. If you have the time or opportunity you should try and learn something from my Veda Guru. She lives in Vidyaranyapura and teaches Vedas from 3 to 5 in the afternoon on most days.

Hara Hara Mahadeva : The Ramayana War through the eyes of a small Vanara

Telugu Original : Hara Hara Mahadeva – Story Published in Navya

To the south of the Vindhyas, was a big Neredu (Jambu) tree. In it was a little Vanara. Happily wandering, chomping and grinning. His father came looking for him, “Valaka, where are you?”. Valaka did not answer. Of all his favorite games, he loved playing  dongata (hide-and-seek) with his father the best. So he hid among the leaves. His father saw him, but pretended not to. He persuaded him, “You win! little one. Come down from whichever tree you are hiding up in!”  Valaka jumped down laughingly.

“What is it dad?”, he asked.

“It’s not good to snack all the time?  I brought you four bananas. Come and eat them! Children must eat food that makes them strong.”

“If I become strong can I come with you for the next battle with the Rakshasas?”

“Of course! Sure! Eat up!”

Valaka gobbled up the bananas very quickly and went to play with the other Vanara children. His father went to the king’s court. There was a lot of excitement there.  King Sugriva had sent for all the Vanaras and Jambavus in the four corners of the country (all directions of the country), to come and help in the war against Ravanasura.

Valaka’s father was worried. It was impossible to cross Sugriva. If he started for the war, Valaka would certainly come along too. Since Valaka’s mother passed away when Valaka was born, he had raised Valaka with a lot of love and care, as someone more precious than his own life. As he was thinking thus, his king said, “Let him come! Its okay. Agni’s son Nila is coming along. He is also very mischievous. Vali’s son Angada is also coming. His intellect is just becoming steady, but he hasn’t completely lost his playful monkey mischief. Viswakarma’s son Nala has become an excellent bridge engineer like his father. Let us put Valaka to help him!” and gave him confidence.

Valaka was very happy that he could see the fruits of eating bananas so quickly. The Vanara group started out. Along the whole way, other Vanara groups kept joining them from other regions.

Valaka was very excited. As they walked, everyone shouted, “Victory to Rama!”, “Victory to Sugriva!”, and Valaka too joined in yelling and jumping. Slowly the Vanara hordes reached Kishkinda.

A person on a high seat got up and said, “Tomorrow, we leave for Lanka!”.

“Who is he, dad?” Valaka asked his father. ”That is Sugriva! He is the Maharaja (great king) of all of us!”

Then Valaka yelled, “Victory to Sugriva Maharaja!” Everyone shouted “Jai! (Victory)” after him. Valaka was thrilled that so many people responded to his cry. So he enthusiastically yelled it out another couple of times. And the Vanaras responded again.

Sugriva was pleased and said, “Nila, Angada, take this little fellow into your group. He will be useful in keeping the soldiers enthusiastic.” Valaka’s father said, “I am grateful,  Maharaja!”

Valaka was full of questions.

“Who are those two?

Why don’t they have tails?

Oh, they are Rama and Lakshmana! Why didn’t they comb their hair?

Why are they coming with us? Oh, we are going with them! Not the other way!

Why are we going with them? If Ravana carried Sita away, Rama could have just married another girl, no?”

Nila liked Valaka! But Angada was just learning how to be dignified. He was the crown-prince after all. So he warned them, “if you are mischievous, I shall chop off your tails.. just watch out!”

Nila showed Valaka all his skills and tricks. When he threw stones in the water, they appeared to sink for a bit and they floated on top. Valaka saw this and clapped.

“Who is this bear like person?” Valaka asked Nila with new humility.

“He is Jambavantha, the son of Brahma, he fought alongside Indra in wars. He is very strong. He is a gnyani (a knower of truth).”

“He always looks like he is think about something., who is he?”

“He is Hanumantha. He is the one who found Sita in Lanka, saw her and came and told about it. He also set Lanka on fire.”

As soon as he heard that, Valaka became very enthusiastic. He slowly came next to Hanuman and said, “”Pedananna (father’s elder brother), Pedananna! This time when we go to Lanka, you will set it on fire, no? Then I shall be with you”.

Hanuman affectionately said, “I never do anything unnecessarily my little son, at that time, they set fire to my tail. Therefore I set fire (to Lanka).  If I am to set fire again to Lanka, they have to again set fire to my tail, isn’t it? Then I was a messenger, that’s why I let them catch me. Now they cannot catch me, right? ” When Hanuman himself did not know about his own strength, then how was Valaka to know about it?

Valaka was a little disappointed that Lanka was not to be set on fire, but he also did not like the idea of Uncle Hanuman’s tail being set on fire either! “Let it be”, he thought, “also, if they set my tail on fire, I won’t even be able to save it.” Valaka suggested an alternative, “let us pluck all the fruits on their trees an eat them up! okay?”

“All right, son!” said Vayuputra. (Hanuman, the son of Vayu). The Vanara Sena set out, everyone with a single purpose, but Valaka had his own ideas. He thought that war was like his wrestling bouts or fist fights with his friends. He did not know that some of the persons who set out would never return. His father was worried. “What will happen to this fellow if I do not return?” he thought.

The land masses that joined the southern peninsula to Lanka was submerged under the ground. Nila was given the job of placing boulders on the land masses to raise their level and create a land route above the water surface. As the stones placed by Nila floated on the water surface, the other Vanaras  were made to place boulders on the sunken land to raise the level. Nila asked every one to work as per a laya (beat).  They laid the bridge to the laya of Rama-Sri Rama. It was Valaka’s job to keep the beat. As the stones thrown by Nila were carried off by the waves, Nala had creepers brought which he twined together to create thick ropes to bind the surface rocks together. (This increases their mass and prevents them from being carried away.) Valaka sang, this is Ra, this is Ma, naming the rocks being tied together.

A squirrel carried bits of sand to help build the bridge, according to its capacity. Rama ruffled its back with his fingers. At that time Valaka went and stood next to the squirrel. Rama ruffled Valaka’s tail. Valaka made happy kichakicha sounds.

After that there was a fierce war to the chanting of “Hara Hara Mahadeva”! Valaka was bewildered to see it. This wasn’t a playful pretend battle of maces, wrestling and fists. Vanaras on this side and rakshasas on that side lost their lives. With the death of Ravana, the war ended. Siva’s Tandava ended.

Lakshmana and Vibhishana brought Sita. Sita entered the fire. As Agni brought her out, Nila yelled, “There’s my nanna (dad)!” “Pedananna!” Valaka called out.

“Who is she?” Valaka asked. “That lady is Sita!” Nila replied. “How lovely she is!”, said Valaka.

“Everyone thinks their mother is lovely. She is a mother to all of us, isn’t she?” said Hanuman devotedly. “Amma (mother)” yelled Valaka as he ran towards Sita. Sita, who had no children (yet) took Valaka close to her. Rama gave a chirunavvu (little smile).

“It is for this mother, that so many people died,” thought Valaka. ”This mother is Dharma. Fighting for Dharma is unavoidable. This mother is Purity”, said Hanuman. Valakudu sang happily, “Sitamma mayamma, SriRamudu maaku tandri” (Sitamma is our mother, Sri Rama is our father).

See Also :

1. Sitamma mayamma is a kirthana of Thyagaraja
2. Rama श्री राम
3. Sita Devi
4. Ravana
5. Brahma
6. Jambavantha
7. Sugriva
8. Hanuman
9. Indra
10. Viswakarma, Nala, Purochana – Architects and Engineers
11. Metallurgy
12. Vanaras and Kishkinda
13. Rakshasas
14. Asuras
15. Rama Sethu – A Vanara Achievement
16. Devas: Human or Divine?
17. Versions of the Ramayana

Vanara Rakshasa Conflicts : The Rama Ravana war over Sita was not the first conflict between the Vanaras and the Rakshasas. The Vanaras were fast and strong and had won over technically sound Rakshasas many times before the Ramayana war.

1. Vali defeated Ravana
2. Vali defeated and killed Dundhubhi and Mayavi, the sons of Maya Danava, the father-in-law of Ravana and Maya ran away to Patala.
3. Under the leadership of Sri Rama and Sugriva, the Vanara Armies defeated the Rakshasas of Sri Lanka.

Translation, Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula, Kavana Sarma

Kalki Avatar and Kaliyuga – Vishnu Puranam

Illustration Courtesy : http://rajandraws.wordpress.com/

Reference : Vishnu Puranam Page : 327 onwards. 4th Amsa 23rd and 24th Adhyayas :

1. The 23rd Adhyaya of the 4th Amsa of the Sri Maha Vishnu Puranam describes the Magadha kings from Jarasandha’s time till 1000+ Ad. See : Magadha from Jarasandha to Satavahanas to pre Qutb Ud Din period as per Vishnu Puranam
2. The 23rd Adhyaya contains only 13 lines and stops with the Barhadratha dynasty (Jarasandha’s descendants).
3. The 24 th Adhyaya starts with the Pradyotanas and ends with kings of Magadha just before Qutb Ud Din Aibak. This is 69 lines.
4. Then from the 70th line begins a description of the worthlessness of the kings of that period.
5. It also describes the ‘mleccha-aacharas’ among the people. (mleccha means foreigners).
6. From the 74th line a poetic rhetoric restarts, that expresses a general disgust with the state of affairs. They are not prescriptions for behaviour only observations of a state of affairs. See Fig 1 for shlokas from 74 to 92.

Fig 1. The state of society in Kaliyuga : Vishnu Puranam

All of these lines are very true even today. Eg

• Travel (Tourism) is the only reason for visiting the Tirthas (Places of Piligrimage).
• BrahmaSutra is the only reason for a Brahmin (Not brahmacharya)
• Only lies cause victory in material works
• Charity is the only ethics (dharma).. etc

Now see Fig 2., which shows us shlokas from 93 to 102.

It tells us that thus the kings were those who were strong, independent of Varna. (This is still more than a thousand years before the British Christian Missionaries came to India and tried to “free” us from our “caste system”).

It tells of a decline in food habits (sweet based) and mode of dress. Hardly anyone lived beyond 23 years in Kaliyuga.

(This is another indication that the Kaliyuga we refer to now, was not the Kaliyuga referred to then.)

There was a revolution (viplavam) in the Shroutha Shastra Dharmas.

(Could this be a reference to Adi Sankaracharya?  Today we would call it a “reform” not a revolution.)

At this time was born in Shambala Village, with an Amsa of Vasudeva, in the house of the foremost brahmana Vishnuyasa, with 8 guna siddhis, in the form of Kalki, who destroyed the Mlecchas, Dasyus, People of Bad Practices, and established his own religion. (Shloka 99).  See Also  22 Avatars of Vishnu – Srimad Bhagavatam

• One minor point is that when things got really bad, brahmins did take to arms as with Kalki and Parasurama.
• A major point is a change in my world view : I always thought from childhood that Kalki Avataar was due some 4 lakh plus years from today.

This was because :

• of the use of future tense in the Puranas, which I have now rendered as past tense : See justification here : Magadha from Jarasandha to Satavahanas to pre Qutb Ud Din period as per Vishnu Puranam )
• of not realising that the duration of Kaliyuga evolved from 12 years to 4 lakhs 32 thousand years. (See : Kaliyuga duration 360000 years, 1200 divine years, Vishnu Puranam. Tracking the growth of the Kaliyugam from 12 to 432000 years)

A note For those with faith :

• Some believe that Kalki Avataar is due and some believe that Kalki Avataar is ongoing now. There are also those who believe firmly in Sri Yuktheshwar’s  Yuga Durations.
• I never argue with faith, so please continue with your respective beliefs. I myself changed my mind just a few days ago. And it is quite a dizzying thought and a slightly unnerving one.
• This post is for those who want to know what is said in the Vishnu Puranam and are curious about my interpretation of the same. It is also for those who wish to try their hands at their own interpretations. Hare Krishna! Harih Om!

Fig 2. Sri Maha Vishnu Puranam : Kalki Avataram

See Also :

How many kinds of Yugas are there?

22 Avatars of Vishnu – Srimad Bhagavatam

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

Magadha after Sri Krishna

First, Sri Krishna did not rule Magadha, Jarasandha did. Even during the late Dwapara Yuga, Magadha was one of the most powerful empires of Ancient India.

Magadha was not all of India. Magadha was that part of India, that covered Bihar and Jharkhand, approximately. (Maybe also parts of Uttar Pradesh) See : Ancient India Map, Ancient India Map (2)

Once the Saraswathi River dried on the surface (5000 to 3000 BCE) and became an underground river (antarvahini), many brahmans moved to Naimisaranya in Uttar Pradesh. These were headed by Saunaka and the others. They received history as recorded in the Mahabharata and the Puranas from Veda Vyasa’s students. (Romaharsha and Ugrasrava Sauti and others). This was the beginning of the Kaliyuga. (See How many kinds of Yugas are there?)

Ganesha : Illustration Courtesy : Rajan Iyer http://rajandraws.wordpress.com/

Designated chapters of each of the puranas, and a seperate bhavishya purana, were set aside for “bhavishya” ie for those incidents that took place after the Mahabharata war. They were updated in future tense to keep with the voice of the narrator. But they took more interest in the rulers and history of Magadha.

The Yadavas moved south along the west coast (Maharashtra, Karnataka). The Ikshvakus went back eventually to the east coast (Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu). I think the Vasus were connected with Bengal.

A smaller set of people also moved to and settled in the Sindhu Valley. ( See : Archaeological Connections)

The Purus continued in Hastinapur and at least initially in Gandhar (Takshashila).

Janamejaya, the son of Parikshit also ruled over Kishkinda (Bellary – Karnataka, Andhra).

The calendar we must use to understand the time of the Manus, prior to Vaivaswatha Manu is the Manvantaras, the region is Dravida. One major event was the flood of the Matsya Avataram, (See Manus and Manvantaras)

The calendar that we must use to understand the period of the Ikshvakus (Sri Rama) and Yadavas (Sri Krishna) from the Vedic period, Ramayana War and till the Bharata War is the Yuga Calendar. The  region is all over India. See (Date of Sri Rama, Date of the Mahabharata War, Date of Veda Mantras)

The calendar that we must use to understand the period from the Bharata war to the Muslim Rule are the different Sakas as well as the Yugas and the Saptarishi Calendar. The region is in and around Magadha. (See : How many kinds of Sakas (Eras) are there? How many kinds of Yugas are there? Saptarishi Calendar)

The document below is a collection of my various articles on this subject and will be updated as time flows past space in our perception. (Space Time Continuum, Time Line or Time Circle?, Two kinds of time)

For other areas, other texts and possibly other calendars must be used.

View this document on Scribd

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

Chronology from Sri Rama to Salivahana : Prof. K.V.N. Sarma, IISc

Chronology from Sri Rama to Salivahana by Prof. K.V.N. Sarma

Many thanks to Prof. K.V.N. Sarma for sharing his chronology of Ancient Indian History  with us here at Ancient Indians.

This is the conclusion of a set of essays to be published in Rachana Masa Patrika. It is copyrighted material.

I have also completed the Kaliyuga Chronology from Jarasandha to 1000+ AD as per the Vishnu Puranam.

It is available here : Magadha from Jarasandha to Satavahanas to pre Qutb Ud Din period as per Vishnu Puranam

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

Puranic History should also be treated as the Recorded History of India

History Recorded in Incorruptible, Poetic Form , engraved on bubbles of air and brain patterns.

India has recorded history from the time of Brahma or Swayambhu Manu. It was not engraved on stone, but onto the minds of Indian citizens in incorruptible poetic form easy to remember in the form of Vedas, Itihasas and Puranas. All castes in India had access to the Puranas and the Itihasas which not only contained the history of the Indian people but also our ethics, morals, science, astronomy and entire wisdom upto the point. Our Itihasas were thus more than just itivrittis (a set of events). In modern languages itihasa has come to mean the dry history, that Chanakya referred to as itivritti. Itihasas have in them, far more intrinsic value and appeal than itivrittis alone.

In this document, I take the stand that we do have the most ancient recorded history in the world carved on bubbles of air and preserved in our brain patterns and customs. It is our responsibility to sort out out the calendars and events.

Sometimes we find 10 places claiming to host an event such as the birth of Sita Devi’s twins. At such times I select the one for which there is corroborative evidence in the texts. (In this instance it is Bithoor, near Kanpur.)

Western miracle workers are supposedly historical, while Indian miracle workers are treated as mythical :

History is an emotional issue for Indians. We had 4 centuries of foreign rulers who believed that only Christ or Mohammed could perform miracles. These people therefore ruled that any Indian who was said to have performed a miracle had to be mythical. So historical heroic figures like Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Siva, Vishnu, Brahma,  Devi and everyone else was directly treated as a  figment of the fertile Indian imagination. By the time we threw the British out, the Communist, Socialist and Determinist Religions took hold of the Macaulay brand of intellectuals. While a large number of them did emigrate, a larger number of them stayed behind with a will to free India from her supposedly feudal and allegedly superstitious mindset.

The effect of Discovering the health (body) benefits of Indian Tradition and Customs : were our Rshis right about other things too?

As the westerners started discovering the value of yoga and turmeric, and as they discovered the healthy psychological benefits of rituals and meditation, many Indians have started relooking at our own culture and customs wondering whether we have thrown the baby out with the bath water. The new generation of Indians are not born under foreign rule, but are strongly under the influence of non Indian cultures. A small fraction of us are relooking at our history with a mind free from Christian, Muslim and Marxist dogma. We are in a sense fighting not for political freedom, but for freedom of Indian History.

The political camps of Indian History : Left, Right and the emerging Centre:

The terrain of Indian history has been divided between the Marxists and Nationalists in India, and both of them dump us in the opposite camp, without so much as a hearing, denying us an identity.

But people like us with a strong background in science and strong exposure to western methods and a strong respect for India are trying to make a new place for ourselves, to find, understand and present history as we find it. Today we are not a stereotype and we have no independent label yet. I would like to call us the Science and Scripture historians, trying to focus on Truth without any political agenda or interest.

In the traditions of the hamsas of Brahma we are trying to separate milk from water.

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

pathi tyaktAsi  kastUrI pAmaraih pankasankayA.

alam khEdEna, bhUpAlO, kim na santi mahItalE.

Purohita : One who benefits the Pura (Town), Gokarna and Ganesha

This is one of those posts, which I normally would have put into my Stories and Stuff blog, and yet I feel like putting here…

Siva’s Atmalingam at Gokarna :

I am just back from a tour of the west coast of Karnataka (wonderful!), and the major point of interest to me was the sparsha darsanam of Siva’s Atmalingam at Gokarna, Uttara Kannada district. It was brought there from Kailasa by Ravana, who really wanted to take it onwards to Sri Lanka. The credit for installing it goes to our all time favorite, Ganesha. Ravana asked Ganesha, who was disguised as a Vatu (student), to hold the atmalingam for a little while as he performed his evening sandhyavandanam and so on. Ganesha said that he would call out for him thrice before setting it down, and called out for Ravana thrice at times when he could not possibly hurry back. He then set it down on Gokarna soil, near the beach.

• Thus the ‘pratishtha’ is done by our Ganesha himself and too bad for Ravana and his designs on this atmalingam. Another atmalingam brought by Hanuman (from Kasi or Kailasa) is established at Rameswaram, close to the main sand lingam made by SitaDevi, worshipped by Sri Rama and by us. (We had a netra darsanam of this a few months ago.)

At Gokarna, the atmalingam is below floor level and submerged by the water and milk used for abhishekam.. so you have to stick your hand into the liquid and feel the sivalingam with your hands, you cannot “see” it.

The social need to support Purohitas :

At the entrance we were accosted by many purohitas who offered to perform the ritual worship to the SivaLingam on our behalf and told that this would save us time in the queue for a darshan of the atmalingam. We elected to go in line (waiting for hours) and skip the the ritual procedures. We wished to undistractedly experience the darsanam as most Indians without the money would do.

But this decision brought us into conflict with our own ideals. The purohitas spend years learning the veda mantras., in absolute purity and austerity. To skip the rituals is to deny them their only means of livelihood.  (See : Brahmin Dalits) The money you deposit in the hundi goes to the temple upkeep and not to the purohitas.

• See : Veda Pathasalas. It is NOT easy to learn the mantras with their chandas, shiksha, etc as I am discovering the hard way. We owe them a debt of gratitude for preserving the most ancient culture in the world at a cost of their lifestyle and brainspace.

How Ganesha solved my conflict :

There is also the internal misery of leaving a holy place without giving a daana or a dakshina, which is difficult to bear. So after the darsanam, we were sitting just outside the garbhagudi, as is the custom, looking at the sculptures on the pillars, looking at the other bhakthas and experiencing Siva’s presence.

• (pradakshinam – circumambulation before darsanam and sitting down after is the general custom. In addition my father’s rule for me is that I should sing at least one classical carnatic song in honour of the Devatha of the temple. This allows one to practice devotion overcoming the shy consciousness brought on by the physical presence of so many other bhakthas and what they might think of one’s inabilities in this regard.)

Then a brahman came offered his prayers and turned directly to us and asked for a dakshina.

• This is unusual because a daana or gift is asked of one when no service is performed and a dakshina is asked only when a puja or yajna etc are performed on your behalf.

We were delighted beyond measure and offered him our dakshina and touched his feet. And he blessed us with all the best of worldly and spiritual things with a smile on his face. After this he just left and we never saw him again, though we did see all the purohitas and others around the place. So quite convinced that Ganesha himself appeared as a brahman to accept our dakshina and make us happy, we left the place. You really have to be a Hindu or a child, to understand this bit,  and to be able to put your hush your left brain.

• Subsequently, you will be happy to know,  we were able to contribute to the annadaana program as well as perform the ashtottara satanama service to Devi, where we were in no one’s way and which completely satisfied my internal need to buy bilva patras from the tribal ladies, perform a vedic rite in sanskrit as well as give a dakshina to the purohita and invoke the blessings of Devi on my parents.

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

A Rakshasa from Tenkathittu Yakshagana

P

Tenkathittu Yakshagana : Rakshasa : Photo Credit : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved

Perhaps no one tribe has captured the imagination of indigenous people of India as much as the giant, highly technical,  exogenous Rakshasas.

While the white-washed version of our culture tries to tell us that Rakshasas were dark, the fact remains that our heroes and heroines, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Vishnu, Siva, Draupadi, Parvathi, Tara and so on were dark.

In one conversation actually Chandra demands of Brahma, why the dark and beautiful Tara, should remain married to Brihaspati, instead of to a handsome fellow like himself!

After reading about cannibalism in pre-historic germany, the idea keeps recurring in my head, as to whether the tall and cannibalistic rakshasas could not in fact have been europeans.

The people to the east of India are typically shorter and it is the people to the west who are taller..!

Wherever they were from originally, rakshasas tend be favorites of small and mischievous children, thanks particularly to wonderful movies like mayabazaar.

It is incorrect to translate hindu rakshasas as christian demons., these 2 concepts have nothing in common. Ours are fun-loving and frequently intermarried with gandharvas (Afganisthan and Pakisthan) as well as Indians. Bhima’s son Ghatotkacha is a case in point. They lived, fought in battles and were killed by arrows. Some were devout and some were wicked. They were bigger, stronger, technical, musical, magical and often good looking. But had unfortunate dietary habits. This led to a lot of conflicts with the Vanaras, and I am happy to report that the Indian Vanaras won them all.

See Also :

• Rakshasas
• Vanara Rakshasa Conflicts

• Dark, handsome heroes of Uttar Pradesh – Sri Rama and Sri Krishna
• Anarya! Dushyantha, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna.
• Aryans
• Cannibals in Germany 7000 years ago!

Authorship and Copyright Notice : All Rights Reserved : Satya Sarada Kandula

एषः रावणः

Ravana रावणः : Photo Credit : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved

das’akanTah rAvaNah nIlakanTasya mahAbhaktah. sah mAhA vidwAn api.

asya dOSam sItApaharaNam. sah s’rIrAmENa danditah AsIt.

strINAm rakSaNam  gouravam ca karaNIyam. “yatra nArI pUjyatE tatra ramanti dEvatah,” iti manuruvAca.

eSah kubEraAnujah, poulastyah.

eSah gOkarNakSEtrE mahAs’ivAtmalingam sthApitavAn.

sah viSNOh dwArapAlakasya jayasya avataarah.

s’Apagrasthah sah rAvanajanma prAptavan.

• Sanskrit, Sources, Dictionaries, Translations…
• Ramayanam

Photography, Authorship and Copyright Notice : Satya Sarada Kandula : All Rights Reserved

One honour and one insult

Yesterday was an eventful day for me.

Yesterday morning, one of my regular readers, offered me a research grant to help with the funding of my books travels and so on. I was honored and delighted. As much as if I had won a major scholarship or medal.

Yesterday evening a writer, a pseudo intellectual, who has trouble identifying his father and forefathers, who has been needling me for years came and lectured me that I should be writing like Chetan Bhagat, instead of wasting my life. (BTW, I have read all of Chetan Bhagat’s books., so this is not about Mr. Bhagat.) It is about that writer, who  deliberately and knowingly  insulted Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and their divine mothers in my presence, with an intent to hurt me. He has no concern for truth or for authenticity, no respect for national heroes or for God and certainly no respect at all for my feelings or pain.

So one honour and one insult. A little emotional, I am, right now and a little introspection I will do, and in some way I will change.

Mr. Som Mittal once told me that I should focus on opportunities and not on problems because, I have limited time, energy and resources. I do hope that I will be stronger, calmer and focus on my work instead of on my pain. I hope that I will focus on those who offer me support and encouragement, rather than on those who do the opposite.

I hope that I shall never have to write about negativity again.

BTW, there is a nice programme on Fox History called ‘the story of one’, which shows how Indian Numerals set out and conquered the world.

atrNe patito vahni swayamEvOpas’amyati…

Jai Sri Ram!