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SURYA/ SUN GOD IN INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (Post No.7593)

Indra or Surya, Wheel God in Indus Valley
Wheel God Jupiter in Europe

RESEARCH ARTICLE WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7593

Date uploaded in London – 19 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

Amazing new information has come out of Rig Veda linking Sun- Indra- Taranis- Jupiter-Zeus- Celtic Wheel God

One more proof that shows Sarasvati/Indus valley civilization is closer to Celtic and Vedic civilization than any other civilization.

Magazines from Scientific American to unknown local news papers have already published the similarities between the most famous Pasupati/Shiva seal image of Sarasvati-Indus Valley civilization and the Horned God on Celtic objects. (See my links for pictures)

I wrote two articles connecting the Indus Figure on elephant with a wheel on top to Taranis-Thor in Celtic and other cultures. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Now there is an unknown story in the Rig Veda about Indra stealing the wheel from Suurya, the Sun God which can be linked to Roman, Greek and Celtic Gods.

These two pictures of Celtic Pasupati and Celtic Wheel God are pushing Indus civilization towards the Vedic Hindu Civilization.

HERE IS THE NEW, UNKNOWN STORY FROM RV

Rig Veda gives a story about INDRA STEALING THE WHEEL OF SUN GOD ‘SUURYA’.

No one has explained it satisfactorily except giving its verbatim translation and some hypothesis. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

1.Rishi Vamadeva Gautama praises Indra in RV 4-30-4

“When for the sake of those oppressed , and Kutsa as he battled , you stole away the Sun’s car wheel”

(It is about the war between the angels and demons- Deva Asura Yuddha)

In another hymn Rig Veda  1-175-4, Rishi Agastya says

“Empowered by your own might , O Sage, you stole Suurya’s Chariot Wheel”

(Suurya – Sun God in Vedas).

In 10-43-5 , Rishi Krishna Angirasa praises Indra

“As in the game a gambler piles his winnings, so Maghavan sweeping all together, gained the Sun

This mighty deed of yours, none other could achieve, none Maghavan, before you none in recent time”

(Maghavan means very generous; another name of Indra)

Xxx

Surya from Bath, Britain

Western Explanations

Above three hymns refer to an anecdote which is not explained by anyone properly. Western commentators make a passing reference saying it may be a solar eclipse or a weather phenomenon. Hindu Puranas did not say anything about it. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Griffith says on RV 4-30-4

‘Stolest away the Sun’s car-wheel’

An eclipse of the Sun, perhaps, is intended; or the meaning may be merely that the Sun’s course was stayed, as in stanza 3.

Griffith says on RV 1-175-4

‘Thou stolest Surya’s chariot wheel’-

Indra is said to have taken the wheel of the chariot of the Sun and to have cast it like a quoit against the demon of drought.

‘Kutsa’

The seer mentioned in the preceding hymn; Indra defended him against Susna, or protected mankind from drought; see 1-151-6

On 10-43-5, Griffith comments

‘Gained the sun’-

Conquers him by taking away the moisture, that is water that he has absorbed- Sayanatamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Xxx

Strabo (Greek Geographer  63 BCE – 27 CE)

It looks like Griffith was also not sure about this ‘Surya Wheel Theft’ episode. It may be a Solar Eclipse or a weather phenomenon.

Strabo says that Indians are worshipping Jupiter Pluvinus, no doubt meaning Indra, and he has also been compared to  Jupiter Tonana. So the scholarly world knows that Jupiter of Rome is Indra of Rig Veda. He is portrayed as God of Sky, God of Thunder. He is again compared with Zeus of Greece.

Indra, Jupiter and Zeus are considered supreme Gods in their own countries.

Alfred Hillebrandt (German Indologist 1853-1927) says

Indra must have been a Sun God who melts the frost on approach of spring; seers praise him as the slayer of Vritra (demon of drought). In the Brahmanas , the mountains that are split open by Indra are explained as clouds . The description fits much better the letting loose of the streams after being imprisoned by frost. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

A lot of seals with Swastika emblem are discovered in Indus- Sarasvati basin. We find Swastika images Europe as well. Western scholars interpreted Swastikaa is Sun. Until this day Hindus worship Swastika as an auspicious symbol, We find it on wedding invitations, Walls in the shops, temples and Jain statues.

from Denmark

Celtic Connection

Miranda Green says in her book ‘THE SUN GODS OF ANCIENT EUROPE’ (Year 1991)

“When the Romans colonised the Celtic territories of Gaul, Britain and the Rhineland , there grew a hybrid , Romano- Celtic culture which had a profound effect upon religious expression in western Europe.

“Observation of the entire spectrum of Celtic Sun images and symbols raises several points of interest. He may appear on public monuments which signify corporate worship. On such occasions, the deity may be accompanied by his Greco – Roman panoply of sceptre, eagle and thunderbolt . In some places Jupiter appear with horns. Bronze statue of Wheel God with the inscription of Jupiter is found  (Landouzy -la- ville, Aisne). Bronze statue of wheel god with thunderbolt and lightning flashes is found in Le Chatelet, Haute Marne.

“The role of the solar symbol itself is interesting; the wheel may simply accompany the celestial god, as one of his attributes or it may possess a more active role as a protective shield, on the images of the warrior sun god .

“In some places swastika or wheel is shown. Wheel and swastika may be mutually replaceable . tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

“ In the Celtic world the Greek Zeus or Roman Jupiter became identified with or linked to celestial powers which were already venerated in pre- Roman Celtic lands”.

The above selections are enough from the 168 page book of Miranda Green to show that Zeus- Jupiter, Celtic Wheel God are one and the same or closely linked.

Europeans were already worshipping Sun and one replaced the other or merged in course of time.

Wheel god is also identified as Celtic Taranis

Indra’s Vajra Ayudha from Mongolia

MY DISCOVERY

Scholars around the world have already discovered and debated over these connections. My discovery is that INDRA IS THE WHEEL GOD and INDRA IS ONE WHO STOLE THE WHEEL OF SUN CHARIOT as we find in the Rig Veda.

Earlier I interpreted the Indus figure of ‘one who stands on elephant with a wheel on his head’ as Indra on his elephant Vahana Iravata with Cakra (wheel) to show that he is a Chakravarthi (Emperor). Indra’s other name is Cakra (wheel). Throughout Buddhist literature he is called Cakka (corruption of Chakra). tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Now my interpretation is HE IS INDRA WHO STOLE THE WHEEL OF CHARIOT OF THE SUN as we see in three Rig Vedic hymns.

I can conclude Indra = Sun God = Zeus= Jupiter = Celtic Wheel God.

Another interesting titbit is Jupiter (European Indra) is shown with Eagle. Vedic scriptures also identify Indra with Eagle (Suparna, Syena). The famous Sibi story found in Mahabharata, Buddhist Jataka tales and Sangam Tamil ‘Pura Nanuru’ verses also show Indra came in the form of an Eagle and Agni came in the form of a Pigeon.

Books used —

The Rig Veda- Griffith’s Translation

A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology , John Dowson

The Sun Gods of Ancient Europe by Miranda Green (1991)

Vedic Hymns by Edward J Thomas, 1923

Sun Goddess- Myth Legend and History , Sheena Mc Grath, (1997)

Pasupati from Gundestrup, Denmark

My Old articles on Indus- Sarasvati River Civilization-


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And many more in my blogs under Aryan- Dravidian Issues

Indra from Laos, South East Asia

–subham–

 
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by Tamil and Vedas on February 19, 2020  •  Permalink
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Posted by Tamil and Vedas on February 19, 2020

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MIRACLES DONE BY HINDU WOMEN (Post No.7590)

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7590

Date uploaded in London – 18 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

Hindu epics and Puranas narrate many stories about women who changed the course of Nature to save their near and dear or their honour. Hindus believe chaste women can do miracles through the power of their chastity. Tiruvalluvar, the greatest of the Tamil poets, is the strongest advocate of such miraculous powers.

He says,

“A wife who may not worship god but wakes up with worshipful devotion to her husband has the (miraculous ) power to make rain fall at her bidding” – Kural couplet 55 tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Another translation of the same couplet

“Even the clouds will obey and pour out rain at the bidding of a wife

Who prefers to worship her husband rather than any other god”.

That is, a virtuous woman who knows no other god but her husband may command the very clouds to pour forth rain and they will do so.

Probably this is an echo of Manu Smrti, where Manu says,

A virtuous wife should constantly serve her husband as a god, even if he behaves badly.

Apart from their husbands women cannot perform fire sacrifices or undertake a vow or fast; it is because a wife obeys her husband that she is exalted in heaven- Manu 5-154/155 tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

This means they get direct, free flight ticket to Heaven without doing any ritual!  If they serve their husbands , that is more than enough!

Chaste women did such miracles only when they were very desperate. Hindus believed that truth and honesty are more powerful than Gods or Truth and Honesty are Gods.

Women don’t use the power for petty things. Hanuman had a novel plan for rescue Sita. Even when Hanuman asked Sita to sit on his shoulder so that she can easily escape from the prison house of Ravana, the demon,

Sita replied  “What did you say? I can burn the three worlds with my one word through my power of chastity. But that will diminish the name and fame of my beloved husband Rama”

–Kamba Ramayana in Tamil. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

So each one is expected to do his or her lawful duty. If one failed to so, then women used their power.

Kannaki, the heroine of the greatest Tamil epic Silappadikaram, burnt Madurai City, when her husband was unjustly executed. She just commanded Agni , the God of Fire, to burn all the bad people in the city and Madurai was burnt to ashes.

Here are FIVE GREAT MIRACLE WOMEN who are worshipped by Hindu women even today—

1.Damayanti

2.Nalayini

3.Anusuya

4.Savitri

5.Arundhati

What did they do?

1.Damayanti

Damayanti fell in love with a king named Nala. But the heavenly deities Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama also wanted to marry her. Hindu women of the warrior caste (Kshatriyas) had the greatest freedom in the ancient world and they had chosen their own husbands. It was called Swayamvara. All the kings would get invitation letters. When Nala also attended it, the four Vedic Gods dressed themselves just like Nala and attended the Swayamvara ceremony. When the beauty Damyanti entered the decorated hall she was perplexed by seeing Five Nalas there. Immediately she used her power and prayed God to identify the Real Nala. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Vedic Gods are from alien worlds. They are extra -terrestrials. Hindu scriptures beautifully describe the qualities of ETs,

Their feet wont touch the ground;

They would not perspire;

Their eyes wont wink;

Their garlands wont wither;

They can have beautiful women Apsaras with them, but they cant have sex. If they want sex they have to do Inter Galactic Travel and come to earth for sex. Puranas say Parvati cursed them that they can never have sex in the Swarga/Heaven.

Damyanti knew all these things. So after her prayer she looked at the feet of Five Nala Figures in the hall. Feet of four deities or ETs were above the ground. She identified her dream lover Nala and garlanded him.

Xxx

2.Nalayini

The story of Nalayini is very long with interesting turns and twists. But for our part we will take only one incident. Since Nalayini put one condition for her marriage, she had to marry an old seer whose legs got paralysed. She told the world that she would marry a man of wisdom and thus landed herself in the hands of an old seer Maukhalya. He asked her to carry him in a basket wherever he wanted to go and Nalayini readily obeyed him. While transporting him in the strange vehicle of basket, she accidentally hit another seer Mandavya who was fighting for his life in a spiked pole. He was falsely accused of stealing royal jewels and was impaled. He was seething with anger because he did not steal the jewels and he cursed Nalayini that she would lose her husband before sun rise the next day. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Nalayini  also became angry for punishing her husband for her mistake. And she vowed that the sun would not rise if she is chaste and really devoted to her husband. The sun did not rise next day and it was still dark at 10 am. The whole world suffered and begged to Nalayini to bless them all with sun light. People even sought the good offices of Tri Murtis- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.

Though out Hindu scriptures we can see Truth wins; even god can’t change the Rtam=Rhythm=Truth. So gods begged to her as well. And she said ‘Let the Sun rise’. And it rose and shone. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Such is the power of chastity!

3.Anasuya

Vedic sage Atri had a chaste wife called Anasuya. Her name meant ‘Never Ever Jealous’. Because of this rare virtue in a woman (women always feel jealous of someone; men too, but not to the extent of a WOMAN) and her devotion to her husband, she earned her miraculous powers. When the whole world praised her there were some non- believers . So the all powerful Triumvirate – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came in the guise of Brahmins and had a good lunch at her house, when her husband was out. As a last request they told her they want to have breast milk, that too straight from her, not in a bottle or a cup.  She did not even wait for a moment. She said ‘Yes my Darlings. So be it – Thadaastu’- she changed them into six month old babies and fed the Three Great Gods. Such is the power of Chastity. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

4.Savitri

Savitri was the woman who married Sathyavan (meaning is Mr Truth) though astrologers told her family that he would die within a year of the marriage. She had so much confidence in her Chastity power she boldly married him. And came the predicted day. Yama, God of Death, came to take away his life. She argued with him and followed him, nagging him to return the life of Sathyavan. Yama couldn’t tolerate her nagging. He promised her several boons and one of which the traditional greeting that all Hindu women get. When a woman salutes any sage they will say ‘Deerga Sumangali Bhava. This means ‘let you live with your husband for ever’.  Yama also greeted her with these words. She put a tricky question. How can I be a Sumangali (wife with a husband)  when Yama has taken her husband’s life. Yama yielded and gave her husband’s life back. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

5.Arundhati

Arundhati was a low caste woman by name Akshamala. She became the wife of Vasistha, a great sage of Vedic lore, and became a symbol of chastity. She literally became a star and became part of Ursa Major constellation also known as Sapta Rishi mandala in the northern sky. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, every married woman must see her before entering the First Night room and take a vow that she would be another Arundhati.

Once all the Seven Great Rishis (Seven Seers in the Great Bear/ Ursa Major Constellation) did a Fire Sacrifice -Yajna in Sanskrit. Agni, the messenger of Gods, who carry all the offerings to heaven wanted to test whether Arundhati is a chaste woman. In fact, Agni wanted to show the world that she is chaster than any woman in the world. So he invited all the women to come to bed with him. Wives of six seers were ready and Swaahaa helped them to take her guise and they entertained Agni. Swaha is the wife of Agni. Swaha could not take the shape of Arundhati however hard she tried. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Though it is a symbolic story that shows Arundhati became a star because she was the most chaste woman in the universe. Sangam Tamil literature praises her in several places. So she was recognised from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Even today she is one of the important part of rituals in Hindu marriages.

There are many more stories of chaste Hindu women. This must be part of School syllabus. There are many stories where men remained chaste and Rama stands at the top. All Hindu kings could marry many women, but Rama was the only Hindu king who refused to marry another woman. Since Hindu scriptures say that a man cannot perform religious rituals without wife, Rama made a golden statue of Sita and did religious rituals keeping it by his side. This rule applies when one’s wife is alive but not available for rituals. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

It wouldn’t be out of context to mention here that  two great people insisted  chastity for men also. Subrahmanya Bharatiyar, the greatest of the modern Tamil poets, who lived 100 years ago and Varahamihira who lived 1500 years ago insisted chastity for men like women.

Long Live Chaste Women!

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by Tamil and Vedas on February 18, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Culture, History, Miracles, Paranormal, woman, Women
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Posted by Tamil and Vedas on February 18, 2020

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GREATEST MUSLIM QUEEN OF INDIA (Post No.7576)

COMPLIED BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7576

Date uploaded in London – 15 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

The daughter of an impoverished Persian noble and a foundling, Nur Jahaan, whose life story reads like a real romance, rose to be the greatest Muslim Queen of India. Her father Mirzaa Beg was the scion of a distinguished family of Persia which had fallen upon bad days. Finding his life in Persia, ( Iran ), to be intolerable, he started for India with his wife and children under the protection of a caravan led by a rich merchant named Malik Masud. With his kind help they travelled to Agra, the capital of emperor Akbar. Their benefactor who had influential friends at the court, got Mirza Beg and his two sons presented to Akbar who appointed them to certain petty offices. This was the beginning of Nurjahan’s phenomenal rise to greatness, for she soon became a favourite with the ladies of the royal household and frequented the palace in the company of her mother tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

.

Her first romantic meeting with Jahaangir, then Prince Salim, happened in a garden of the royal palace, when her girlish innocence and ready wit captured the young prince’s heart and he wanted to marry her. Jahangir was deeply touched by her beauty, grace and wisdom. She was however married at the age of seventeen to Ali Quli Khan, whom Akbar appointed as the Governor of Burdwan. But when in 1605 Prince ascended to the throne fate contrived to bring them together. Ali Quili Khan was suspected of complicity in treason and Jahangir’s brother was asked to punish him. His men fell upon him and cut him into pieces. His palace was surrounded and Nur Jahan was captured and taken to the royal court.

Four years later she was married to the emperor at the age of thirty four.

She received successively the titles Nur Mahal, the light of the palace, Nur Jahan, the light of the world. She now found a vast field for the exercise of her varied talents, gaining fame for charitable deeds, clever innovations in food, jewellery and dress, skill in riding and the use of weapons. For eleven years she carried on the administration of the greatest empire in the world of the time by her wise statesmanship and her great influence on the emperor. She, as a matter of fact, dominated her royal husband as no woman in Indian history, has ever done  so that Jahangir had left most of the state of affairs to her care contenting himself with a life of ease and comfort. Firmans were issued under her seal, and her name was struck on coins, one of which bore the legend tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

,

By the command of Emperor Jahangir,

Gold has acquired a hundred fold beauty

With the name on it of Nur Jahan,

The emperor’s royal consort.

Her father was promoted to the rank of prime minister with the title of Iti madd -ud-daulaa, while his sons received responsible posts.

INVENTOR OF ROSE ATTAR

History and legend have surrounded Nurjahan’s personality with many stories. She is reputed to have the inventor of the Attar of Roses, though the credit really belongs to her mother. On one occasion she is said to have shot four tigers with gun and arrows; the emperor was so pleased with her skill and he presented her with a diamond ring worth one lakh rupees, and distributed one thousand gold mohurs among the poor and needy. The story of how a stray arrow  from her bow killed a washer man on the river bank near the palace, and how on a complaint from the dead man’s wife, Jahangir ordered Nur Jahan to be brought to his court of justice like any ordinary criminal is a well-known story.

But the last few years of her married life was not happy. Prince Khurram, later known as Shah Jahaan, Jahangir’s eldest son was a dominating  personality and he was the obvious successor to the throne. His cause was championed by Asaf Khan, whose daughter the famous Mumtaaz Mahal was married to him. Nur Jahan on the other hand, did not like the idea. She wanted Shahryar, the youngest son of Jahangir, to succeed his father, and for this purpose she married her daughter by her former husband to this docile prince whom she could use as her tool. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

This led to a revolt by Khurram (Shah Jahan). Mahabhat Khan, who first helped Nur Jahan to subdue the revolt, later captured both Nur Jahan and Jahangir in a surprise attack. Nur Jahan escaped and rallied the emperor’s loyal troops and attacked Mahabhat Khan. Nur Jahan rode on an elephant and boldly drove into the swollen river, while her followers couldn’t do that. She was captured again, but her womanly tact succeeded where the military strategy had failed and both herself and emperor Jahangir got released. Jahangir , however, did not survive this episode long. Because he was drinking too much he died on his way from Kashmir to Lahore in 1627. He was laid to rest in a garden at Lahore planted by Nur Jahan.

Nur Jahan’s life, after the demise of her loving husband, was spent in quiet solitude, lighted up only by the memories of past glory. Shah Jahan, the new emperor, treated her kindly enough, but she had now lost all interest in life. She lived to the advanced age of seventy two, dying in 1646, nineteen years after her husband.

A sadly neglected, unpretentious dome now covers her mortal remains, standing not far from Jahangir s splendid mausoleum and bearing the pathetic inscription tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

,

On our lone grave no roses bloom

No nightingale would sing!

No friendly lamp dispels the gloom

No moth ever burns its wing.

But she lives in the memory of millions of people, not only as a great queen, but more as a woman of extraordinary charm, who could sway the hearts of the highest and the mightiest of her contemporaries.

Summarised from Great Women of India, Advaita Ashrama, 1953.

Xxx Subham xxx

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ARE WOMEN HUMAN BEINGS? CHRISTIAN DISCUSSION!!! (Post No.7555)

COMPILED BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7555

Date uploaded in London – 9 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

Great philosopher and former President of India Dr S Radhakrishnan gives very interesting information about the attitude towards women in ancient India. Then in the same volume R C Majumdhar, former Vice Chancellor of Dacca University adds that anti women attitude was common among the Hindu Smrti writers, Greek philosophers, Gautama Buddha and the Christian poets and monks . Christians maintained anti women attitude until very recent times.

“Indian tradition has generally respected womanhood, as the essays in this book indicate, though occasionally we find derogatory references to women ( in his introduction to Great Women of India book). Even god is regarded as half man and half woman, ‘ardha-naariiswara’. Manu declares that where women are honoured, there gods are pleased; where they are not honoured, all works become fruitless (Manu 3-56).

Women cannot do some things that men can. Their physiology prevents this. That does not prove any inferiority on their part. We must do the things for which we are made and do them well.

In early times education of women was engaged. The Goddess of Learning is Saraswati.

The Mahanirvana Tantra says

‘A girl also should be brought up and educated with great care and effort’ -8-47

The Devi Mahatmya declares,

‘All forms of knowledge are aspects of Thee; and all women throughout the world are Thy forms- 11-6. We hear of great women like Maitreyi, Gargi, Arundhati, Lilavati etc.

In the Vedic age women enjoyed equal opportunities for education and work. They were eligible for ‘upanayana’ (Sacred thread)  or initiation and Study of Brahma Knowledge.

There is an interesting passage in the Durga Saptasati, where Durga who is Kumari/ virgin tells the Asuras who  aspired to marry her- ‘He who conquers me in battle , he who humbles my pride ,he who is my equal in this world, he shall be my husband’. Women were not the bond slaves of pleasure. The end of marriage is spiritual comradeship. The Mahabharata says ‘ let this heart of yours be mine , and let this heart of mine be yours’- 1-3-9. Yet sex life was not despised. Its importance for human development was recognised.

Matri Devp Bhava – Treat your Mother as a Goddess – is the advice given to the young. Again Manu says,

‘One acharya excels ten Upadhyayas in glory; a father excels a hundred Acharyas in glory; but a mother excels even a thousand fathers in glory’- 2-145

Marriage without motherhood is incomplete.

Xxx

R c majumdhar says after quoting anti women references from the Smrtis (HINDU LAW BOOKS), and the following about other religions-

Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita of sixth century CE gives all out support for women-

“Tell me truly, what faults attributed to women have not   been also practised by men? Men in their audacity treat women with contempt, but they really possess more virtues than men….. men owe their birth to women: O ungrateful wretches, how can happiness be your lot when you condemn them?”

The ascetic and puritanical ideas which came into prominence about the sixth century BCE laid stress on the temptations offered by women and regarded them as the chief obstacles to salvation. Women came to be looked upon as the source of all evils and as potent instruments of destroying the souls of men. Hence the denunciation of women as a class reached a degree which is not unknown in other countries. It is well known how Christian monks gathered at the Synod of Macon in 585 CE seriously discussed whether women were human beings at all.

Even Gautama Buddha was not wholly above this spirit. For a long time, he refused to admit women to his religious order, and when he did so, he prophesied that that the purity of his religion would not endure for more than half the period that it would have otherwise done. He also imposed a far more rigorous test and placed the nuns as a class in a position of inferiority to the monks. It was laid down, for example, that a nun though hundred years old, must stand in reverence even before a young monk just initiated into the church.  Such a sentiment was shared by other religious sects, and naturally reacted on the people at large, thereby creating an unfavourable view against women.  These and other reasons must have produced the feeling that women were wicked  and sensuous by nature and must be constantly  held in check by women.

It should be remembered, however, that such a feeling was almost universally held  throughout the world down to down to very recent times. Confucius, Aristotle, Milton, and even Rousseau preached that women, being inherently inferior to men, should always be in a subordinate position to men”.

Source book – Great Women of India, Advaita Ashrama, 1953.

My Comments

Tamil devotional literature and Kamba Ramayana also have lot of anti women remarks. They looked at women from three angles:

As mothers they were worshipped as Goddess.

As wives they were appreciated for the work they did;

As courtesans they were criticised. The writers who criticised women knew that every woman was a mother to someone. So only when the women acted against the norms of the day they were condemned.

The strange thing is that the Hindus were the only one race who gave them full rights in the Vedic days.

But Britain and other countries paid less wages to women than men who did the same job. While I am typing this, several women sued the BBC against lesser pay they are getting right now and winning their cases slowly.

Britain gave voting rights to British women only after India gave voting rights.

In almost all Western countries women are paid less than men while I am finishing typing this article.

Victorian novels have lot of anti -women remarks. Women were treated as dumb, arrogant, gossip mongers. They were projected as jealous anti women (one woman wont help another woman of same age or status).

Long Live Women!

Long live Bharati, Tamil poet, who fought for women’s’ rights as early as in 1900s.

–subham–

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‘WOMEN IN VEDAS’ IN BULLET POINTS (Post No.7551)

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7551

Date uploaded in London – 8 February 2020

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The number of female seers in Rig Veda comes to about thirty. This number includes five lady seers of Khilasukta also . Khila is like appendix or supplement.

GHOSA KAKSHIVATI, LOPAMUDRA, APALA, ROMASA, SURYA, JUHU BRAHMAJAYA, SRADDHA KAMAYANI, YAMI, INDRANI, MEDHA, AGASTYAVASA, ATREYI, SASVATI ANGHIRASI, VISWAVARA, SACI PAULOMI, DAUGHTERS OF KASYAPA, OR SIKHANDINS, URVASI, INDRAMATARAH

NON HUMAN FEMININE  CHARACTERS

SARAMA THE BITCH, GODHA THE CORODILE, SARPA RAJNI

INANIMATE FEMININE CHARACTERS

RATRI BHARADWAJI, DAKSHINA  PRAJAPATYA, VAG/SPEECH, NADHI/NADHYAH, SRI, LAKSA

It is pleasing to note that no religious disabilities were associated with women in India down to the end of the Upanishadic age (pre buddha period 600 BCE)

In the Vedic age there is ample evidence to show that the women not only studied the Vedas but also figured among the authors of Rig Vedic hymns. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

ONLY FOR WOMEN

In the Vedic age there were certain sacrifices  like the Siitaa sacrifice and Rudra sacrifice that could be performed by women alone.

(Siitaa sacrifice at harvest and Rudra sacrifice to ensure fecundity among cattle)

Some women Vedic scholars like Lopaamudraa, Vishwavaaraa and Ghoshaa composed hymns that were later admitted into the sacred canon. Usually Vedic sacrifices were to be offered jointly by the husband and the wife.

The wife took an active part in the daily and periodical sacrifices along with her husband. She had her own hut in the sacrificial compound; the duty of chanting the sSaman hymns  usually fell upon her. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

FIRST BRICK

The wife used to make the first brick for the sacrificial altar and participate in the consecration of the fire and the offering of oblations.

If the husband is away on a journey, the wife alone performed the different sacrifices which the couple had to do jointly.

Xxx

As women enjoyed the same religious privileges as men and received the same education, their status in the family was nearly the same as that of men. Their status in society also was naturally satisfactory. Many of them were famous scholars and authors. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Women in Industries

 It is rather surprising to find that women were taking active part in the industrial life. They were manufacturing arrows and bows, making baskets, weaving cloth and participating in outdoor agricultural work. It is important to note that words like female arrow makers (ishukartryah) do not occur in later literature.

Among the fine arts music and dance have been cultivated by women fairly extensively; their love for and excellence in these arts were well known. Since women were following many outdoor professions there was naturally no ‘purdah’ (face covering veil) in the society. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Dampati

The husband and wife were the joint owners of the household and its property. They are called Dampati (Couple).RV 8-31-5/6

Yaa dampatii samanasaa sunuta aa ca

Dhaavalah devaaso niyayaasir

The expression ‘the wife is the home’ shows how woman was the central point of domestic life-RV 3-53-4

Jaayedastammaaghavantsedduyoni

Grhinini /housewife is used in tamil as well as ‘illaal’ tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

POST VEDIC

What living women have proved to be such formative force as, for example, Sati, Sita and Savitri?

What could be better illustrative examples of the true dignity of Indian womanhood than Draupadi, Shakuntalaa, and Gaandhaari?

We hear of great women like Maitreyi, , Gaargi, Arundhati and Liilaavati

Source – Great Women of India and New Horizons of Indological Research tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

TAGS – Vedic Women, Vedic Poetesses, Rig Veda

–subham–

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Great Exodus -Yadavas’ Migration to Gujarat from Uttar Pradesh (Post No.7544)

Ivory Krishna

Research article Written  by London Swaminathan         

Post No.7544

Date uploaded in London – – 6 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

Great Exodus -Yadavas Migration to Gujarat from UttarPradesh

There is a very interesting historical anecdote in Puranas and Harivamsa which is an annexure to Mahabharata. This is a major event in Indian history which is ignored by many, probably to keep the good name of Lord Krishna. This happened 5000 years before our time and 2000 years before Moses who is associated with the Biblical Exodus. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Why did Krishna run away from Mathura to Dwaraka with his group ?

Why did all the Yadavas travelled 800 miles with all the beds and boxes to go to Dwaraka?

Who is Kala Yavana , the Black Greek, who attacked Lord Krishna along with Jarasandha?

How come Krishnan shuttled between Dwaraka and Mathura, a distance of 1291 kilometres, 800 miles in ancient times?

Was there a Bullet train or a Helicopter?

The answer for all these questions is in amazing Harivamsa, part of Mahabharata. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

In addition to the answers there is a very interesting Ant and Snake anecdote.

Xxx

Exodus forms the second chapter in the Old Testament of the Bible. It describes the exodus of Jews under the leadership of Moses from Egypt to Israel. Jews were delivered from slavery. Though there is no historical or archaeological proof for Moses until this day three great Semitic religions believe in him. The Exodus was written around sixth century BCE .There are two striking similarities between the Bible and the Bhagavata. Bhagavata is the life story of Lord Krishna. Like Red Sea divided into two parts and gave a safe way to Moses, river Yamuna separated into two parts during very heavy rains and floods to give a safe exit to Vasudev who carried child Krishna in a basket.

Another striking similarity is the great exodus of Yadavas from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh to Dwaraka in Gujarat. It may be compared with Moses exit from Egypt to Israel tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

.

There are other similarities like ‘killing the first born child’ and ‘floating a child in a basket’, ‘Adam and Eve story’ and ‘parables of Upanishad and Jesus parables . Christians copied all thse stories through Greeks, who were well versed with Hindu stories. And the Greek Bible was translated into English 1600 years after death of Jesus. Let me stop there and continue with the historical EXODUS incident.

From Harivamsa

“Kala Yavana came with a big force to attack Mathura. He was the son of Gargya Rishi. Since Yavana king had no issues when he died, Kala Yavana became king.

Hearing of the approach of huge army, Vasudeva, the leader of the Vrshnis and Andhakas addressed his kinsmen saying,

Great is the calamity that has befallen descendants of the Vrshni and Andhaka races. For this enemy is unslayable by us on account of the boon conferred on him by the holder of the trident (Lord Shiva). I employed all other means as conciliation etc to win him over. But he wishes for battle worked up with pride. ‘I am to live here’, this Narada said to me. I too tell you this. The emperor Jarasandha is not forgiving towards us; and the other kings too, assailed by the Vrshni discus and on account of the destruction of Kamsa, have been displeased with us and sought refuge with the Magadha king. Under the protection of Jarasandha they want to obstruct us and many kinsmen of the Yadavas were slain by them. What more we will never acquire prosperity if we live in the city. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

Saying this, and desirous of retreating Keshava, sent an envoy to the  king of Yavanas. In order to terrorise the Yavana king the highly intelligent Krishna . put a deadly poisonous snake in a pot and sealed it. It looked very black like the collyrium. He then sent it to the Yavana king through his own emissary. He told the emissary to tell the Yavana king Krishna is like this black serpent. The emissary showed the pot with the serpent to Kala Yavana and said Krishna sent this. Kala Yavana undetood that Krishna is threatening him. He placed ants into the pot and filled it. The innumerable ants with sharp beaks ate the snake completely. He sent it back to Krishna. This baffled Krishna. He left Mathura and went to Dwaraka with his people. When Yadavas settled there, he went all alone to Mathura to confront Kala Yavana. When the waiting Kala Yavana  pursued Krishna he could not catch him. Krishna did all these things with a purpose.

Narada told him a secret about one king called Muchukunda, son of Mandhata. He prayed for long and peaceful sleep and the god also gave him that boon. He also asked another boon that whoever wakes him from sleep must be burnt alive by his look. Having learnt all this from Narada, Krishna slowly entered the cave where Muchukunda was sleeping. Without disturbing him, Krishna sat near his head. Kala Yavana, who pursued Krishna also entered the cave and Muchukunda looked at him when Kala Yavana touched his feet. He was burnt like an insect falling in to fire. Then Krishna told Muchukunda all that happened during his sleep” tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

.

This story is in Hari vamsa ;in another place it was told that the emissary should be sent by an aerial car it is told as a passing remark. So we can conclude that aerial cars or helicopters were used by kings on special occasions.

This Yadava exodus must have taken place just before Mahabharata war. We know that after the war, Krishna was killed by a hunter and Yadavas fought among themselves and Dwaraka went under the sea in a Tsunami. It is proved by submarine excavations. We may safely conclude it happened before 3102 BCE. tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

tags- Kala Yavana, Gargya, Exodus, Dwaraka, Mathura, Yadavas, Migration

—subham–

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by Tamil and Vedas on February 6, 2020  •  Permalink
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Mega Treasure discovered in Britain (Post No.7534)

Museum curator Neil Mahrer sorting out the coins
Treasure hunters Mr Mead and Mr Miles with Metal Detector

Compiled by London Swaminathan               

Post No.7534

Date uploaded in London – – 4 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

Detectorists’ £10m Iron Age coin stash is UK’s biggest ever

AS COIN finds go, this one took a lot of counting… almost eight years in fact!

A hoard of 69,347 silver and gold Iron Age coins — worth £10million — has just been officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the UK’s biggest ever.

The stash, which dates from around 50BC and weighs almost 1,700lb, was unearthed by metal detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles on Jersey in the Channel Islands in 2012.

It was hidden under a hedge in a clay mound and also included jewellery.

The pair began their search back in the 1980s after a woman told them she had seen what looked like ‘silver buttons’ in a field.

The hoard has been declared ‘treasure’, which means it officially belongs to the Queen. But the duo are entitled to a reward — which is expected to be ‘considerable’. Some of the finds are now on display at the island’s La Hougue Bie Museum. Olga Finch, curator of archaeology for Jersey Heritage, said: ‘We are delighted that such an impressive archaeological item was discovered, examined and displayed in Jersey.

‘Once again, it puts our island in the spotlight of international research into Iron Age coinage and demonstrates the world class heritage Jersey has to offer.’

The previous Guinness record for the largest collection of ancient coins found in Britain was 54,951, near Mildenhall, Wiltshire, in 1978.

The world record is 150,000 pennies from the 13th century, found in Brussels in 1908.

Mr Mead and Mr Miles described the moment they received their official record certificates as ‘lovely’.

From Metro Newspaper dated 3-2-2020

–subham–

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TARIGONDA VENGAMAMBA AND MADHURAVANI (Post No.7530)

Compiled by London Swaminathan               

Post No.7530

Date uploaded in London – – 3 February 2020

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Tarigonda  Vengamamba  was a poetess from Chittoor area in Andhra region. She has dedicated all her work to deity Narasimha in Tarigonda village. She was perhaps a native of that village. She was the daughter of a Brahmana named Krishnayya;  widowed early in life , she found solace in religion and philosophy  — especially yoga — , which furnished themes for her literary compositions. She was probably born in the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

Vengamaambaa was a more prolific authoress than most of the women writers who had preceded her.  Three of her metrical works in Telugu   — the Bhagavata, the Rajayoga sara and the Venkatachala Mahatmya  – have come down to us. Though not equal in literary craftmanship to Molla or Muddupalani, her poetry is not without charm.  Her language is sweet, and her descriptions, especially of erotic subjects , are free from the excesses  which mar the compositions of others.  The popularity of Vengamamba rests more upon Rajayoga sara  than on her other works.  It serves as an introduction to the study of the Yoga philosophy, and is read with avidity by many who devote their lives  to the cultivation of the spirit.

The Nayaka queens of Thanjavur were cultured women, and some of them have made distinct contributions to Sanskrit  and Telugu literatures. The poems and dramas composed during this period mark the growth of a vigorous Southern school of Telugu literature. It certainly speaks highly of these ladies that were able to distinguish themselves in a  region which has for centuries  been the hub of the South Indian culture, and during this particular period  when it produced men of eminence .

xxx

Two consorts of Ragunatha Nayaka  (1600-30 )

Madhuravani and Ramabhadramba , both pupils of Kalayya , and one queen of Vijayaraghava (1633-73) – Ranjamma deserve mention .

Madhuravaani

Her attainments are enumerated in the introduction to Ramayana.  She was proficient in grammar and prosody  and in adept in completing ‘Samayas’ – incomplete cryptic verses –  and in Ashtaavadaana  – attending to eight things at a time –  and Shataavadaana – attending to 100 things at a time.  She was also a gifted musician, and for her skill in playing on the Vina, her loyal lover called her Madhuravaani (of sweet tone).

Vijayaraghava , the next ruler introduced her as a character in his y

Yaksha Gana – the Rahunadabhyudhayam, where she is spoken of as an ‘ashu kavitaa vaani ‘– one who can compose verses spontaneously and instantaneously.

Her Ramayana in 14 cantos purports to be a Sanskrit  rendering of Raghunatha Nayaka’s poem in Telugu, Which is now probably lost. The translation is no mean work of art; the style is simple, graceful and dignified, reminiscent of Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsa , which she  appears to have imitated successfully in many placeS.

Source book – great women of India, Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati.

–SUBHAM–

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WONDERS IN PRAKRIT LANGUAGE- 2000 INSCRIPTIONS! (Post No.7523)

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7523

Date uploaded in London – 1 February 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

There are 2000 inscriptions in Prakrit from Asokan period. Next to Asokan we have Kharavela’s inscriptions. Oldest Tamil inscriptions of first century BCE have Prakrit words in Brahmi lipi/script.

In Sanskrit dramas Kings and ministers spoke in Sanskrit. But women, workers and Brahmin comedians spoke in Prakrit. Brahmin Comedians/ Vidushakas spoke in seven different Prakrits.

Unique feature of Prakrit is that we have prose first and then poetry later which is not found in existing (ancient) languages.

Vedic Hindus used Sanskrit , Jains used Prakrit , Buddhists used Pali for teaching.

The teachings of Jain Tirthankaras/ saints were composed in Prakrita.

There are thousands of books in Prakrita covering all subjects from astronomy to zoology.

Prakrit  became an ideal source of communication among the people. Therefore, Saint Mahavira, Kings Asoka and Kharavela used Prakrit for delivery and transmission of their messages.

Great Prakrit poet Vakpatiraja praised Prakrit  sky high. He says,

“As water evaporates from the sea to form clouds and comes back to the sea as river, so all languages emerge from Prakrit  and come back to it and again become dialects spoken by the people”.

–Gaudavaho 

Sayalaao imam vaayaa visanti etto ya nenti vaayaao

Enti samuddam cciya saayaraao cciya jalaaim – 2, Gaudavaho

Prakrit  is mostly in Jain Agamas.  Ardhamagadi is the language of the Jain Canon. It is considered a language of saints and monks which indicates its antiquity.

Buddhists consider Magadhi as the basis of all languages, the Jains consider Ardha magadhi and grammarians consider Arsa language as a basic language from which other languages and regional dialects came into existence.

Most of the present day north Indian languages came from Prakrit .

Another unique thing is grammarians wrote grammar of Prakrit  in Sanskrit

XXX

Asoka’s advice

The edicts of Asoka are in Prakrit . This shows that Prakrit  was popular among common people. Asoka depicted high moral values in small phrases. He said,

Praanaanam sadhu anaarambho, apavyayataa apa bhaandataa sadhu – Girnar 3rd edict.

Non violence is good for living beings, less expense and less compilation is good.

Savapaasandaa bahusutaa va asu, kalaanagamaa va asu – Girnar 12th edict

All religious communities should listen to each other and work for welfare

Emperor Asoka

Sravanabelagola Prakrit University

Svastisri  Carukirti Bhattaraka Pattacarya ,a great Jain scholar  and multi linguist, has established a Jain centre with library and research facilities at Sravanabelagola.

There is a Prakrit University in Sravanabelagola  in Karnataka. It is a popular tourist destination because of  the gigantic, reverential Gomateswara monolith statue touching the blue sky. Great Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya came here to spend his last days at the feet of his Jain Guru .

MAIN DIALECTS OF PRAAKRT

Mahaaraastri, Sauraseni, Maagadhi, Ardhamaagadhi,

Paisaaci and Paali are different types of Prakrit.

Sanskrit grammarians treat all these languages as Apabhramsa which means not regulated by strict grammatical rules.

Modern Maraatti came from Mahaaraastri Praakrit

Gujaraathi, Raajasthaani, Punjaabi and Western Hindi from Ardhamaagadhi

Bengaali, Oriaa, Biihaari and Assaamese from Paisaaci.

Nepaali and many Himalayan dialects may be from Paisaaci.

Pali

We have written materials up to 14th century CE.

Sacred language of the Buddhist canons;

Tripidakas, Jataka stories, Mahavamsam and Deepavamsam are some important works in Pali. Earliest works are from 3rd century BCE.

Among the Kavyas written between 10th and 14th centuries –

Jinacaritam of Budhapriya

Padyamadhu of Veedeeha

Ardhamaagadhi

Important works – Agamas of Svetambara Jains; even though it is an ancient language like Pali, it has assumed the status of literary language only in the 2nd century CE. These works on morals comprise 115 books.

Sauraceni

Language of the kingdom of Saurasena with its capital in Mathura, land of Lord Krishna. In Sanskrit dramas women and Brahmin Viduusaka speak in this language. Kathakali literature in Kerala contains certain lines in Sauraseni. It was not used in poetry in dramas.

Kings and noble characters in Sattakam group are ‘Karpuuramanjari’ of Rajasekhara,

‘Chandralekha’ of Kerala poet Srikanthakavi

‘Aanandasundari’ of Ghanasyaama

‘Sringaaramanjari’ of Visvesvara

‘Rambhamanjari’ of Nayachandra.

Mahaaraastri

According to Dandin, it was spoken in Maharshtra. As this language abounds in common nouns, it is not an easily intelligible language. Most grammarians use the word Prakrit to refer to this language. This is highly a musical language and hence the songs sung by women characters in Sanskrit dramas are written in it.

Important works

Gathaa Sapta Sati of Halan

Gathaasahasri of Samayasundragni

Sethubandhana of Pravarasena

Praakrtaprakasam of Vararuci

Gaudavaho of Vaakpatiraaja

Visambanaleela of Aanandavardhaana

Karpuuramanjari of Raajasekhara

Paisaaci

It is also as old as Pali. Grammarians mention it and the places mentioned by them were all in South India. Except a few scanty citations as in Bhoja’s Srngaaraprakaasa , Paisaci doesn’t show any extant literature. The Brhadkathaa of Gunadhya was written in Paisaci.

Apabhramsa

Each of these literary Prakrts has its own colloquial dialect , which is called Apabramsa.

Therefore, Dandin classifying literature speaks of Sanskrit, Prakrta , Apabhramsa and Misra.

Apabrahmsa was used in daily conversation. By the sixth centur,y it goes to the level of a literary language

Bharata’s assessment

Bharata includes both Sanskrit and Prakrit in Aaryabhaasa, which he designates the language of kings. It is remarkable that the Brahmin Vidusaka in Sanskrit dramas speaks prakrts of all seven dialects.

Abhinavagupta explains these as vernaculars/ (desha bhasas) which according to him  are generate forms of Sanskrit.

Natyasaastra of Bharata include another list of languages also, by the name of Vibhasas, which include the language of Sakaras, Abhiras, Candalas, Sabaras, Dravidas and Andhras. Abhinavagupta describes them as language of foresters- gahanavaasinah—and designate them as degenerate forms of Prakrt.

My comments

Amazing thing about India is if we draw a language map of India during 2nd century CE, we see a multitude of languages and thousands of books in different languages from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,  no where in the world we see such a thing. They all hold the same cultural views and praise the same values of dharma, artha kama and moksha.

Some say Prakrit came from Sanskrit; others say Sanskrit came from Prakrit. Some others say both existed at the same time. But the fact of the matter is that we have Vedas in Sanskrit from at least 1500 BCE and Prakrit inscriptions only from 3rd century BCE.

In all the ancient languages, the old materials are in poetry. Then comes prose. It will be interesting to study how long it took for them to reach the prose stage. But we must consider the lost literature in that language as well. My cursory look at this shows it differs from language to language. But everyone would agree human beings spoke in prose and not in poetry. But it was easy to remember poetry because of its rhythm and music. So we have Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata in Sanskrit, Sangam literature, Five epics in Tamil , Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey in Greek, Virgil’s Aeneid in Latin in poetry format.

This is to say that every language speaker begins speaking in prose and write important things in verses. If it is a short one, then they keep it as proverbs. Even those proverbs are with rhyme and rhythm. So we may even consider them as ‘one sentence poems’.

The question Did Prakrit exist first or Sanskrit exist first must be looked into with the above things in mind.

One more strange feature is we have so many Prakrit dialects. Why is it? We must explore this. Even if we discuss it the debate would continue forever without any conclusion. Because linguists are still wondering how come there are over 780 languages in New Guinea among aborigines. Why there are over 200 languages among Australian aborigines? Why did 2000 year old Tamil give birth to Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam from as early as first century BCE?

In short, no one can say what the reality is. It may differ from country to country, society to society, culture to culture. If we go to ancient Middle East still more wonders are seen. Why did Sumerians, Hittites, Kassites, Mitannian and Assyrians speak different languages in a small area (Modern Iraq)?

So don’t jump to any conclusion when you speak about the origin and development of languages.  If we apply Max Muller’s theory that ‘ a language changes every 200 years’, dating of Tamil literature will tumble. Dates of Tirukkural, Silappadikaram and Tolkappiam will be later productions than thought.

Sattaka / dramatic genre

Rajasekhara’s Karpuramanjari – 9th to 10th centuries

Nayacandra suri’s Rambhaamanjari – 14th to 15th

Rudradasa’s Chandralekhaa –17th Century

Visvesvara Pandeya’s Srngaramanjari – 17th to 18th centuries

Ghanasyama’s Anandasundari – 18th century

Source books

Carusri -Essays in honour of  S C B P

New horizons of Indological research

–subham —

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by Tamil and Vedas on February 1, 2020  •  Permalink
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UDAYANA AND VASAVADATTA -OLDEST LOVE STORY OF INDIA (Post No.7520)

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7520

Date uploaded in London – 31 January 2020

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge; this is a non- commercial blog.

UDAYANA was a prince of lunar race/ Chandra kula. He was the son of Sahasraanika. He was the king of Vatsa and called Vatsaraja. He was the hero of a popular love story, probably the earliest love story in India, a real life story. Though we have Nala- Damayanti, Sathyavan- Savithri , Krishna – Rukmini, Arjuna – Chitrangada and other such love stories they all become part of religious literature. Udayana – Vasavadatta love affair is from the secular side and more historical.

One more interesting thing is that it has reached the Southern most of part of India and became a hero  in Tamil   kavyas.

Udayana’s capital was Kausambi. He was a great Veena player. Vaasavadataa , princess of Ujjaiyini , saw him in a dream and fell in love with him. She was the heroine of Subhandhu’s ‘Vasavadatta’.

Here is piece about her in the Great Women of India.

 Vasavadatta  the far famed queen of Udayana is the character where the recognised romantic ideal  (sachiva, sakhii, shishya) is brough to a highest level of execution. The features of sensitive pride and surrender to the cause of the husband are not clouded, but shine in her pre-eminently. There have been poets and dramatists who have brought her  character  into fine relief by presenting her  in comparison and contrast with other queens Padmaavatii,Saagarikaa and Priyadarshikaa .

In two the Bhasa plays,  we have Vasavadatta  as the figure round  which the whole course of events turns. Yaugandharayana’s policy succeeds  because of the force of the circumstances and of the self -effacement  of Vasavadatta , who offered him her ungrudging  aid.  She reconciles herself to her new position as the trusted and respected attendant maid , in which occupation, she has to weave the marriage garland of  Padmavati and do other unwonted and difficult things.  She accuses none for her ordeal of separation but relentless fate. The Samudragriha episode affords solace to her, proving, if any proof was necessary , that she was, as before, the king’s beloved par excellence.

Her recognition or appreciation of Padmavati as  her valued co-wife is a thing not uncommon in literature  and in history for Hindu  wives of high birth  and position.  The mutual respect and affection of the two queens, born of Vasavadatta’s majestic demeanour and Padmavati’s stately courtesy.

Classical Sanskrit literature is replete with examples of this type of adaptability, which is in keeping with the inner promptings of constancy that had their inspiration at least from the Epic Age. Episodes like those developed round  Manorama, Vinayavati, Sagariika are apt illustrations , in some of which the amiable  and accomplished rival claimant to the king’s affection is no less a favourite  with the reader than the main heroine.

Here is a piece from Wikipedia:-

Svapnavasavadattam (Sanskrit: स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, Svapnavāsavadattam) (English: The dream of Vasavadatta) is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhasa. It is probably the best known of Bhāsa‘s works.

(Bhasa lived in 3rd or 4th century BCE).

The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the Vatsa king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet’s time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, Pratijnayaugandharayana.

The complete text of the Svapnavasavadattam was long lost until it was discovered in Kerala in 1912.A tradition is recorded that when the critics subjected the plays of Bhasa to a severe test by throwing them into fire, only Svapnavasavadattam rose out unaffected, while other plays were all consummated by the flames. This play contains some of Bhasa’s greatest characters.

 MY OLD POSTS:-

tamilandvedas.com › tag › udayanas-encounter-with-elephants 
Udayana’s encounter with elephants | Tamil and Vedas

29 Sep 2012 – Posts about Udayana’s encounter with elephants written by Tamil and … Interesting stories about elephants are found in Indian literature.

tamilandvedas.com › tag › svapnavasavadatta 
Svapnavasavadatta | Tamil and Vedas

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18 Apr 2014 – Here are some quotes from ‘Svapnavasavadatta’, his masterpiece and one of the best dramas available today:—. Ignorance 1.Even deities …

tamilandvedas.com › 2014/04/20 › beautiful-and-tranquil-hermitages-… 
Beautiful and Tranquil Hermitages of Ancient India | Tamil and …

20 Apr 2014 – The following passages from Svapnavasavadatta illustrate these points more clearly: Act 1. Yaugnadharayana: Self possessed dwellers of the …

–SUBHAM–

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