As Hinduphobia peaks in the US, Christian and Islamist groups push new campaign against Hindus: How NY State Council of Churches and IAMC have joined forces to target Hindus
OPINDIA POST
A Christian nationalist church group and the Islamist outfit IAMC have teamed up to host anti-Hindu seminars in the US, accusing Hindus of “weaponizing” their faith even as attacks on the community rise. Hindu groups have slammed the events as an organised effort to vilify Hindu Americans and mainstream Hinduphobia. This collaboration comes amid IAMC’s long record of anti-Hindu propaganda in the US.
Amidst surging Hinduphobia in the United States, a Christian nationalist outfit and the Islamist group, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), have joined forces to further vilify the Indian American Hindus and their faith. The New York State Council of Churches (NYCOC), through its Religious Nationalisms Project (TRNP), has announced a series of interfaith seminars from 20th to 23rd November, in North Carolina’s Bay Area.
The events titled “The Weaponization of Hinduism in Northern Carolina and India and the Relationships to Global Religious Nationalisms” are being co-organised by the Islamist group IAMC. The additional sponsorship for these anti-Hindu events comes from the White Christian Nationalisms Task Force of the California-Nevada Conference of the United Methodist Church.
As per the promotional material of the scheduled events, the seminars will be held at several locations, including the United Methodist churches in Roseville, Alameda, and Santa Rosa; First Church Berkeley (United Church of Christ). One of the seminars will also be held at a Sikh Gurudwara Sahib in San Jose.
This series of seminars will be on the theme of Religious Nationalisms, with “a special focus on Hindutva as a central case study.” The events will have three presenters: The Reverend Peter Cook, The Reverend Neal Christie, and The Right Reverend Joshua Lickter.
American Hindu rights groups call out Christian-Muslim collaboration to peddle Hinduphobia
The collaboration of a church-linked Christian outfit and a rabid anti-Hindu Islamist IAMC has sparked outrage among American Hindus.
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) criticised the anti-Hindu tour and highlighted that it comes at a time when hatred against Hindus is increasing in the US. The HAF also questioned the city authorities why such an event is being allowed in California and why public funding is involved in such an anti-Hindu propaganda event.
“A New York based Christian church group joining the Indian American Muslim Council on a “tour” in spewing provocative lies against Hindus when anti-Hindu hate is at its zenith is absolutely unacceptable. Why does your office fund this @GovKathyHochul? Is this ok in California @CAgovernor?” the HAF wrote on X.
Suhag Shukla, the Executive Director of the HAF, said, “The New York State Council of Churches is joining a Muslim group to tour California—not to promote solidarity & peace—but to target peaceful Hindu Californians. This isn’t interfaith solidarity, this is an ambush. @GovKathyHochul, your NY Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is funding NYCOC when anti-Hindu hate is peaking. How is this ok?”
IAMC and its anti-Hindu/anti-India activities and past Hinduphobic collaboration with the New York State Council of Churches
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) is a Washington-based Islamist outfit which has been involved in anti-India activities and pushing an anti-Hindu agenda for many years. In 2021, IAMC, along with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), campaigned to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern”.
During the India-Pakistan conflict in May this year, when the Indian Armed Forces eliminated Islamic terrorists and their infrastructure deep inside Pakistan, the IAMC and CAIR condemned India’s Operation Sindoor.
The Indian American Muslim Council is reported to have links with the banned Islamic terror outfit, Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). Besides, the Indian American Muslim Council has ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) through its founder, Shaik Ubaid. The IAMC is a Jamat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organisation claiming to be a rights advocacy group. The IAMC has also been involved in promoting antisemitism.
The IAMC has also formed the Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) group, which is an open anti-Hindu and anti-India organisation based in the US.
Not to forget, in 2021, ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ also endorsed the anti-Hindu event ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ conference. It also came up with a “special toolkit” to propagate against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his State visit to the US in June 2023.
In June 2023, Congress scion Rahul Gandhi was seen sitting alongside Sunita Vishwanath during an event hosted by the Hudson Institute. In October 2023, the X account of HfHR was withheld in India in response to a legal demand.
In the past, the IAMC had reportedly collaborated with and even paid money to various groups in the USA to get India blacklisted by the USCIRF (United States Commission on International Religious Freedom). IAMC had been caught spreading fake news and misinformation to further the Islamist cause in India. It had also been slapped with the UAPA in 2021. The IAMC often publishes dubious reports and propaganda materials slandering American Hindus and Hindus in India, under the pretext of countering ‘Hindu nationalism’.
From seminars to surveys, reports to speeches, the IAMC has long been vilifying the American Hindus and their faith. In September 2024, IAMC conducted a ‘survey’ [pdf] with the ulterior motive to brand the religious minority group as ‘racist’, ‘intolerant’ and ‘Islamophobic.’ OpIndia reported how the IAMC survey passed off vague and subjective opinions from its respondents as absolute truth.
Unsurprisingly, the upcoming ‘Weaponization of Hinduism’ seminars are not the first anti-Hindu collaboration of the NYCOC and the IAMC. In August 2024, the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE decided to include a Ram Janmabhoomi Temple float in the India Day Parade to mark the 78th Independence Day of India. This, however, did not go well with the IAMC and the New York State Council of Churches, who, along with other Islamists, pro-Khalistan and other anti-Hindu groups, wrote a letter to the New York Governor Kathy Hochul and then Mayor Eric Adams, peddling lies to oppose the inclusion of the Ram Mandir float in the parade.
These organisations have claimed that VHPA, an offshoot of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) “has been designated as a militant religious organisation by the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook”. However, OpIndia reported back then that while it is true that VHP and Bajrang Dal were designated as “militant religious organisations” on 4th June 2018, the names were effectively removed from the list by 25th June 2018. It was a mistake to call these two organisations “militant”, and the CIA itself had rectified it in less than a month.
In June 2025, the NYSCOC and TRNP joined the IAMC in issuing a statement slandering an event hosting several Hindu activists in Dallas. These anti-Hindu groups linked Hindutva with violence and religious hatred. They also hurled sweeping allegations about religious freedom and tolerance in India, insinuating that somehow Christians and Muslims are under threat in the Hindu-majority country.
Amidst rising racism against Hindus and Indians in America, anti-Hindu elements attempting to ride the wave and further their nefarious designs
From the 1907 anti-Indian mob violence in Washington, the 1910 Detroit Times “Hindoos (Hindus) Continue to Flock to the US” article referring to Hindus as ‘Oriental scum’, the discriminatory Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, the Dot Busters group in 1980s which targeted Hindus Americans based on their religious and racial identity and assaulted them, to the individual cases of religiously-motivated hate crimes against Hindus post 2001, attempts at revisingCalifornia’s K-12 history-social science curriculum to include stereotypical representation of Hindus and Hinduism in textbooks, Hindus in the US, have faced hatred, discrimination and violence.
Earlier, these Hinduphobic attitudes found manifestation in anti-Asian racism and labelling of Hindus as ‘caste-ridden savages’ and ‘heathens’, and attacks. It manifests today in temple desecrations, school bullying, media propaganda and online hatred. A 2022 Network Contagion Research Institute report documented a 1,000% increase in anti-Hindu slurs online, blending white supremacist “replacement” fears with Islamist narratives accusing Hindus of “genocide” in India.
History of the National Song, how it was called ‘anti-Muslim’ and given a communal colour, and how Congress found it ‘not suitable as national anthem’
Posted from OP India on 7-11-2025
Muslims argue that since the Vande Mataram song was an ode to Mother India, singing it is against the “tenets of Islam” and a “sacrilege against Allah” because a Muslim can bow to only Allah and no one else.
7th November 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of India’s National Song ‘Vande Mataram’. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the year-long commemoration of the iconic song at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the national capital.
150 years ago, Bankimchandra Chatterji, also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, wrote the Vande Mataram song on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Navami, which was on 7th November 1875. Appearing first in the literary journal “Bangdarshan” as a part of Chatterji’s iconic novel Anandamath in 1882, the song invoked the motherland as a shining embodiment of strength, unity, prosperity and divinity. The song became synonymous with devotion to Bharat.
Chatterji’s composition transcended its literary origins and became a rallying cry for freedom fighters and nothing short of a national anthem during the independence struggle. Decades later, Vande Mataram became the national song of India, connecting Indians of independent Indian with those who fought and won freedom from the British colonial rule.
In the year 1896, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore sang the poem for the first time at the Kolkata session of the Indian National Congress. It was officially adopted as the national song by the Constituent Assembly of India on 24th January 1950. At that event, Dr Rajendra Prasad had declared that Vande Mataram should be honoured equally with the national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
Set against the backdrop of the Bengal famine of 1770, which claimed 10 million lives, the novel Anandamath portrays a dystopian Bengal ravaged by exploitation, starvation, deaths and oppressive foreign rule.
Vande Mataram is a lyrical ode to the motherland. It personifies India as a divine feminine figure akin to Goddess Durga. Rabindranath Tagore performed the song for the first time in front of an audience in 1896 during a meeting of the Indian National Congress.
Vande Mataram and the Fakir-Sanyasi Rebellion
At the heart of Anandamath and Vande Mataram lies the Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion of the 18th century. The rebellion was a gritty precursor to the intensified resistance against British colonial rule.
Spanning 1763-1800, the Sanyasi-Fakir Rebellion united Hindu Sanyasis and Sufi fakirs or Derveshis in guerrilla warfare against the East India Company and its puppet Nawabs in Bihar and Bengal. The rebellions torched British outposts, raided Company treasuries, and disrupted revenue collection over the British bans on pilgrim taxes, tolls and grants by Zamindars. Earlier, when Zamindars were affluent, they used to give grants to ascetics; however, since the East India Company seized the Diwani or tax collection rights, demands for tax from zamindars increased. Resultantly, the zamindars were neither able to pay taxes to the Company nor give grants to Sanyasis and Fakirs.
Back in 1771, over 150 Hindu Sanyasis were killed for no apparent reason, triggering an uproar and violence in Natore (now in modern-day Bangladesh). The Britishers deemed the Sanyasis as plunderers and wanted to stop them from collecting money from zamindars or headmen en route to shrines. Many sects of Hindu ascetics, including the Dasanami Naga Sadhus, participated in this rebellion.
Drawing heavily from the history, Bankim Chandra fictionalised the Sannyasis as secret warrior-monks in Anandamath, the abbey of bliss or sacred abbey. These warrior-monks rise against a famine-stricken Bengal struck by the dual tyrannies, British mercantilism led by Governor Warren Hastings and the misrule of Nawab Mir Qasim. The rebels chanted Vande Mataram as their rallying cry, and the song went on to become the paean of Indian resistance against British colonial rule.
Vande Mataram given a communal colour due to its critique of the Bengal Nawab’s misrule, which led to famine
Anandamath was founded during the Bengal agrarian crisis, when the region was struck by three successive famines in the early 1770s, against the backdrop of the Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion. However, interestingly, the novel blamed the agonising conditions on the ruler Nawab Mir Qasim and charged that the state’s downfall was caused by his tacit consent to the East India Company.
In Anandamath, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay unflinchingly depicts the Muslim Nawab of Bengal, modelled on Mir Qasim, as an absolutely corrupt tyrant whose policies exacerbated the famine in 1770. While the scenes of Nawab’s soldiers looting granaries and oppressing peasants, while the East India Company pulled the strings from afar, the novel fuelled allegations by the Muslims that it vilified Muslims as oppressors.
This, however, was far from the truth. The Bengali Muslim elite at that time, installed by the Mughal tyrants and subsequently co-opted by the British, were indeed complicit in the oppression of common people.
Muslims had a special objection to the invocation of Maa Durga and Hindu temple imagery in the Vande Mataram song, arguing that it was idolatrous and against Islamic monotheism.
“The East India Company was then calling the shots from behind the facade of a puppet Muslim Nawab. It was rack-renting peasant surplus to augment revenues from which the Company extracted a massive tribute. The drive was so relentless that three successive droughts produced a famine of catastrophic proportions in 1770. Much of the land returned to waste and approximately one-third of the population starved to death,” noted historian Tanika Sarkar in “Birth of a Goddess: Vande Mataram, Anandamath and Hindu Nationhood.”
The account, according to her, held “the Nawab responsible not just for widespread death and starvation, but also for a deliberate and total destruction of Hindus, of their honour, faith, caste and women. In other words, it forces a split between the agents and victims of the famine: the agents are Muslims and the starving and dying people are always identified as Hindus.”
All India Muslim League to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Vande Mataram got characterised as an ‘anti-Muslim’ song
First sung by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896, Vande Mataram evolved into a battle cry during the 1905 partition of Bengal and quickly advanced to become a strongly evocative representation of the freedom movement. However, the Muslim leadership at that time failed to see and embrace the nationalistic song beyond their narrow fundamentalist mindset. They argued that since the Vande Mataram song was an ode to Mother India, singing of Vande Mataram is against the “tenets of Islam” and a “sacrilege against Allah” because a Muslim can bow to only Allah and no one else.
Sadly, this Islamist viewpoint remains prevalent even in contemporary India, as many Muslim maulvis and Islamists in general refuse to sing Vande Mataram.
Many of the Muslim leaders in British-ruled India, who labelled Vande Mataram as some sort of ‘anti-Muslim’ or ‘Hindu nationalist’ song, ended up being the proponents of the separatist agenda that culminated in the creation of Pakistan. These Islamists not only derided Vande Mataram as idolatrous and anti-Muslim but also argued that the deification of the motherland amounts to ‘shirk’.
All India Muslim League President Syed Ali Imam while speaking at the organisation’s second session in December 1908, declared, “I cannot say what you think, but when I find the most advanced province of India put forward the sectarian cry of ‘Bande Mataram’ as the national cry, and the sectarian Rakhi-Bandhan as a national observance, my heart is filled with despair and disappointment; and the suspicion that, under the cloak of nationalism, Hindu nationalism is preached in India becomes a conviction.”
Three decades later, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who partitioned the country on Islamic lines, echoed similar views in an article dated 1st March, 1938, published in The New Times of Lahore:
“Muslims all over India have refused to accept Vande Mataram or any expurgated edition of the anti-Muslim song as a binding national anthem.”
Muslim League members walked out and Jinnah used the episode for his divisive agenda and to rally Muslim support for the same.
Notably, the main offence over the full Vande Mataram song stemmed from the lyrics “त्वंहिदुर्गादशप्रहरणधारिणीकमलाकमलदलविहारिणीवाणीविद्यादायिनी, नमामित्वाम्नमामिकमलांअमलांअतुलांसुजलांसुफलांमातरम् (Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen, With her hands that strike and her swords of sheen, Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned, And the Muse a hundred-toned, Pure and perfect without peer, Mother lend thine ear, Rich with thy hurrying streams, Bright with thy orchard gleams, Dark of hue O candid-fair In thy soul, with jewelled hair And thy glorious smile divine, Loveliest of all earthly lands, Showering wealth from well-stored hands! Mother, mother mine! Mother sweet, I bow to thee, Mother great and free.)
Jawaharlal Nehru truncated Vande Mataram to placate Jinnah and other Islamists
The Congress party’s ‘placate the Muslims at the cost of Hindus’ policy is not a post-independence phenomenon. Rather, the INC began to cede Hindu interests one at a time to appease Muslims, even in the pre-independence era. Since the Muslim community was offended by the Vande Mataram song due to its later stanzas mentioning Maa Durga, the Congress, instead of countering the Islamists by emphasising Bharat’s Hindu cultural and traditional foundation, chose to genuflect before the Islamist intransigence.
In consequence of Congress’s abject surrender, the Vande Mataram song was mutilated, and four stanzas were dropped out of six to satisfy those who, just years after, betrayed the nation.
It would not be wrong to say that, besides the support of Islamists, Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s biggest strength was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. M.K. Gandhi’s suicidal empathy for Jinnah and the ‘Muslim cause’ and undeserved attention helped Jinnah stay relevant and influential.
In 1937, Gandhi, apparently wary of alienating his Muslim ‘allies’, advocated that only the first two stanzas, which do not mention overt Hindu religious imagery, be sung. Thus, in the Faizpur Congress Session in that year, only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also highlighted this fact in his speech on Friday.
To understand how submissively the Congress leadership acquiesced to appease Jinnah and other Islamists, one needs to go through the correspondence and addresses of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
In a letter to Urdu poet Ali Sardar Jafri, Nehru stated that the song Vande Mataram is unrelated to the Congress and is “not suitable as a national anthem.”
“The Congress has not officially adopted any song as a kind of national anthem. In practice however the Bande Mataram is often used in national gatherings together with other songs. The reason for this is that 30 years ago this song and this cry became a criminal offence and developed into a challenge to British imperialism,” Nehru wrote.
Although Nehru acknowledged the popularity and significance of the Vande Mataram song in uniting Indians against the British, he further tried hard to reinforce Congress party’s secular credentials and wrote, “I do not think anybody considers the words to have anything to do with a goddess. That interpretation is absurd. Nor are we concerned with the idea that the author of the book, which contains this song, had in his mind when he wrote it, because the public does not think on these lines.”
In his pursuit of distancing Congress from ‘Hindu nationalism’, Nehru went on to write, “It contains too many difficult words which people do not understand and the ideas it contains are also out of keeping with modem notions of nationalism and progress. We should certainly try to have more suitable national songs in simple language.”
Similarly, in his letter to Subhash Chandra Bose dated 20th October 1937, Nehru said that the Vande Mataram song was meant to “irritate the Muslims.”
“I have managed to get an English translation of Ananda Math and I am reading it at present to get the back- ground of the song. It does seem that this background is likely to irritate the Muslims…There is no doubt that the present outcry against Bande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the communalists. At the same time there does seem some substance in it and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it. Whatever we do cannot be to pander to communalists’ feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist,” Nehru wrote.
Similarly, in his letter to Subhash Chandra Bose dated 20th October 1937, Nehru said that the Vande Mataram song was meant to “irritate the Muslims.”
“I have managed to get an English translation of Ananda Math and I am reading it at present to get the back- ground of the song. It does seem that this background is likely to irritate the Muslims…There is no doubt that the present outcry against Bande Mataram is to a large extent a manufactured one by the communalists. At the same time there does seem some substance in it and people who are communalistically inclined have been affected by it. Whatever we do cannot be to pander to communalists’ feelings but to meet real grievances where they exist,” Nehru wrote.
Gandhi and Nehru’s arbitrary truncation of Vande Mataram to appease Muslims reminds of another similar doing of MK Gandhi. The corruption of the Hindu bhajan ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ to secularise it and include ‘Allah’.
Although Gandhi is credited with popularising this hymn by using it during his famous Dandi March in 1930, the lyrics were taken from Shri Nama Ramayanan, an old religious text penned by Sri Lakshmanacharya, and modified by Gandhi.
While Gnadhi inserted “Ishwar Allah tero naam, sabko sammati de Bhagwan”, the original lyrics made no mention of Allah. Raghupati raghava rajaram, patita paavana sitaram, Sundara vigraha meghashyam, Ganga tulasi shaligram. Bhadra girishwara sitaram, Bhagat janapriya sitaram. Janaki ramana sitaram, Jaya jaya raghava sitaram.
Be it the truncation of Vande Mataram or bastardisation of Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram song, these episodes showed unmatched alacrity in stripping Hinduness of a song evoking nationalist fervour and distorting a Hindu religious song to address the reservations held by Muslims showed that just like in the post-independence Congress era, even in pre-independence times, it was always the responsibility of the Hindu majority to accommodate the demands of the Muslim minority while expecting nothing but betrayal in return.
Neither Gandhi nor Nehru nor the Congress party ever denounced the verses in the Holy Quran that call idol-worshipping a shirk/sin and ordain capital punishment for idolatry. Gandhi embraced the Khilafat Movement, which eventually gave strength to Muslims in Malabar and resulted in the Hindu genocide, also known as the Moplah riots of 1921. Gandhi embraced Jinnah, who eventually declared Direct Action Day, resulting in the killings and rape of thousands of Hindus, Sikhs and other non-Muslim communities.
History tells us that a Hindu departure from its religious roots has only pushed Muslims towards their religious extremist foundation. The more secular the Hindu leadership becomes by ceding its religious ground, the further Islamists expand their tentacles.
Vande Mataram: India’s National Song that does not get celebrated by all Indians
On 24th January 1950, Vande Mataram was adopted as independent India’s national song by the constituent assembly based on a proposal by President Rajendra Prasad. While the song is sung in school assemblies, Independence Day events, and patriotic programs, the portions truncated by Congress back in 1937 remain comparatively lesser known and sung. Such is the impact of Congress’s surrender.
Even today, the Muslim bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, including Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) and Anjuman-e-Ahl-e-Hadith, have come out in opposition against a government directive asking schools across Jammu and Kashmir to commemorate the 150th Vande Mataram anniversary.
These Muslim bodies have given the same old excuse of infringement upon Muslim religious freedom and “against our religious beliefs”. They have also called an order to commemorate Vande Mataram, as “a deliberate attempt to impose an RSS-driven Hindutva ideology on a Muslim-majority region under the guise of cultural celebration.”
Islamists in general, too, have been opposed to singing Vande Mataram or raising Bharat Mata ki Jai slogans, calling it against their religious tenets. As the nation commemorates the sesquicentennial of Vande Mataram, India must remember the historical communalisation and derision of the song by Islamists and take measures not to repeat the sinful mistake Congress leadership made back then. Accommodating the unreasonable demands of Islamists does not bolster secularism or ensure peace; it rather amounts to tightening the noose around one’s own neck.
Shraddha Pandey is a Senior Sub-Editor at OpIndia, where she has been sharpening her edge on truth and narrative. With three years in experience in journalism, she is passionate about Hindu rights, Indian politics, geopolitics and India’s rise. When not dissecting and debunking propaganda, books, movies, music and cricket interest her. Email: shraddha@opindia.com
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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Part 22
Snake Goddess Manasa Devi (manasaa)
Manasā (मनसा).—Name of a daughter of Kaśyapa, sister of the serpent king, Ananta, wife of the sage जरत्कारु (jaratkāru) and mother of the sage अस्तिक (astika); so मनसादेवी (manasādevī).
Indus Valley Seal of Sarpa Rajni (Rig Veda Poetess name in Tenth Mandala Hymn 189)
Snake Goddess is worshipped during Vedic time and in Harappan Civilization. She is also seen in Egypt, Greece and in the Middle East.
Manasa Devi is worshipped mainly in Bengal and adjacent states of Bihar and Assam. She is another form of Parvati, wife of Shiva.
Manasa is greatly revered in Bengal , where she is believed to ward off poisonous snakes. She is the daughter of Kasyapa and Kadru and sister of Ananta or Vasuki according to local legends. Lord Vishnu lies on the snake bed in the middle of milky ocean, and he is said to rest between cosmic emanations.
Manasa stands upon or is shaded by a seven headed snake. Her symbols or attributes are snake and water jar.
She is the wife of Jarat kaaru . she is also called Jagad gauri, Nityaa (eternal) and Visha -haraa. Visha haraa means one who has the special power of counter acting the venom of serpents.
Snake worship originated in India. All the words for snakes in ancient languages are derived from Sanskrit and Tamil (Naga-S/Nake, Sarpa- Serpent), Oviyar- Ophis, Uraga, Pannaga). All Hindu Gods and Goddesses have snakes as their ornaments. Egypt followed Hindus and we see snakes over the heads of Pharaohs. Snake and Garuda are seen with Vaishnavite Naamam symbol in Wedget/Udget .
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Stories of Manasa Devi are told in different ways in Bengal. The gist of the stories is one gentle man ignored Manasa Devi worship and he lost his children due to snake bites. Ultimately they were saved through the worship of Mansa.
From Rig Veda, Indus Valley to Sabarimalai in Kerala, we see snake worship.
The greatest wonder is Brahmins worship snakes with reverence in daily oblation Sandhyavandana with a mantra beginning with Narmadaayai Namah….
(Mandhata’s son Purukutsa married Devi Narmada and the latter was the sister of Nagaas of Rasatala. Nagaas were afraid of Gandharvas as some six crore Gandharvas resided in Rasatala tormenting Nagaas by hunting their ‘Ratnas’(jewels) from their hoods. The Nagaas prayed to Bhagavan Vishnu and the latter assured that the son of Mandhata viz. Purukutsa would destroy all the Gandharvas at the instance of Narmada Devi. As professed, Purukutsa eradicated Gandharvas and the Nagaas gave a boon to Narmada that whosoever bathed in the River or even recited the following would be safe from ‘sarpa-visha’ or the poison of serpents; the relevant Shloka or stanza to be recited states:
(Devi Narmada! My salutations to you in the day or night, do safeguard me from the fear of Serpents and their poisonous bites!) The full mantra includes the names of great seers Jarat kaaru, Aastika and the King Janamejaya)
The Harappan seal with a goddess surrounded by snakes on either side shows Snake Goddess was worshipped from 2000 BCE or before that, because Nagaraani is in the Vedas as well.
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Story of Manasa Devi (from old article)
Chand was a merchant who did not believe in the Goddess Manasa devi. As a result, he lost all his sons due to snake bites. But yet he was very obstinate and never paid reverence to the Goddess. He got one more son who was the apple of his eyes. He was still obstinate in not worshipping Manasa and Manasa Devi was also relentless and she bit his son on his wedding day in spite of his precautions. His newlywed wife Vehula did not allow his body to be cremated. She was fasting till her body became a skeleton but never stopped her prayers to Manasa. She begged to Manasa for the restoration of his husband’s life. At last Manasa relented and gave his life back.
It is the belief of many that a person supposed to be dead by a snake bite, really lives in a state of suspended animation for a long time after.
Bengalese plant a milky white plant (Euphorbia Lingularum) on these days on a raised mound of earth in the courtyards of their houses and worship Goddess Manasa Devi. They worship her to get immunity from snake bites or avoiding bitten by snakes. If anyone has died due to snake bite in the family all of them join in worship and they pour milk in the ant hills where snakes live.
Hindus, by not killing the snakes, the vital animal in the food production chain, increase the production of food grains. The snakes keep even frogs and toads in control which freely enters every home during rainy season.
Villagers don’t fear snakes even when it enters a house; they simply trap it in a box or pot and release it in the field. They know the value of it.
Manasa Devi
The serpent worship is universal. There is no ancient culture without a serpent God. Whether it is Egyptian or Mayan, Indus or Vedic, Minoan or Babylonian we see serpents with Gods and Goddesses. But Hindus are the only race in the world who maintains this culture until today. We have Naga panchami celebrations celebrated throughout India where live snakes are worshipped. Hindus respect Nature and Environment and use the natural resources to the minimum.
Snake Goddesses such as Manasa Devi and Naga Yakshi are worshipped in India. The Vedas has an authoress named as Serpent Queen. She was one of the 27 women poets of Rig Veda and her poem is in the Tenth Mandala (10-189). Her name is SARPA RAJNI (Serpent Queen)
We have two more references to this lady in Taitriya and Aitareya Brahmanas. Sarpa Vidya (science of snakes) is mentioned in Satapatha and Gopatha Brahmanas. (see Vedic Index of name and subjects by authors AB Keith and AA Macdonell, page 438 for more details).
Aligi is the name of a kind of snake in the Atharva Veda (V-13-7) and Viligi, another snake, is also mentioned in the same hymn. Earlier scholars like AA Macdonell and AB Keith mentioned them as snakes in their Vedic Index Volumes. Bala Gangadhara Tilak did lot of research and told us that these were from the Akkadian languages. He dated the Vedas to 6000 BC. Modern research by scholars Dr Bhagawatsharan Upadhyaya and Dr Naval Viyogi showed that they were not snakes, but kings of Assyria- Aligi (Alalu) and Viligi (balalu) of 3000 BC.
Garuda with Vaishnavite Naamam on head.(left); Snake/Naaga (on left); Eye in the middle . Egyptian Symbol Wedjet
Atharva Veda in Sumeria 3000 BC
Taimata is twice mentioned in Atharva Veda (V-13-66; V-18-4) as a species of snake according to Whitney and Bloomsfield. Once again, the old Vedic translations are wrong. Actually Taimata is nothing but Tiamat found in Babylonian literature as a Goddess. May be it is the corrupted form of Sanskrit DEVA MATA (Goddess).
More research shows many Sanskrit words in Sumerian and Babylonian literature such as Berorus (Vara Ruci), Ottaretas (Urdhwaretas), Mesopotamian god Dumuzi/Tammuz/Sammata (fish God). They are pure Sanskrit words. One and the same god was called in different names by different cultures at different times and that too in corrupted forms. When we read Sumerian names we have to remove prefixes Nan, Nin,Sin. They are equal to Sri, Sow etc. Future research will prove that they have migrated from India in the remotest time.
Naga Yakshi worshipped in all the Ayyappan temples including Sabarimalai and other goddess temples found in the Middle Eastern countries around 3000BC. We see them in Indus valley and the Vedas as well.
My conclusion can be summarized as follows:
1. Vedic translations of Aligi, Viligi and Taimata are wrong and they were all really people, may be people with snake totem (Nagas). 2. Since Atharva Veda mentions Kings who lived around 3000 BC, it must be dated around that period. Rig Veda is (linguistically) older than Atharva Veda. 3. We see snake gods or goddesses in all ancient cultures. In India, we see it from Vedic days. They are worshiped until today proving that Indian culture is the oldest living culture. 4. Last but not the least; such continuity is possible only when this worship originated in India. So we can safely conclude that Hindus went to different parts of the world taking their culture. Like we lost the whole of South East Asia after 1300 year Hindu rule, we lost the Middle East long before that.
Tamil Version follows…………..
To be continued……………………………..
Tags- Hinduism through 500 Pictures in Tamil and English; படங்கள் மூலம் இந்து மதம் கற்போம்- Part 22 , Snake Goddess, Manasa devi, Alii, Viligi, Harappan, Rig Veda, Atharva Veda, Tiamath
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
Scholars are attracted to the topic Plato and the Upanishads and there are three books published with the same topic in the past 50 years.
I read all the three books recently and almost similar topics are discussed by the three authors. Indian authors on Upanishads also compared them.
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Plato and the Upanishads by Vassilis Vitaxis was published by Arnold Heinermann Publishers (India) Private Limited New Delhi at the price of Rs 20 in 1977.
The review in The Weekly Mail said,
“It has been established that there was contact between India and Greece even long before Alexander’s campaign. Eusebius (315 CE) speaks of a tradition which he attributes to Aristoxenus, the well known wrier on harmonics and a pupil of Aristotle that certain learned Indians actually visited Athens and conversed with Socrates. The similarities between the Greek philosophy and early Indian thought are very close.
The attempt of the author is to show how the philosophy of Plato has much in common with the philosophy of the Upanishads. The quest of the leaders of the Eleatic school for ONE REALITY underlying material phenomena is very much the same as the metaphysical quest of the Upanishadic seers of that ‘knowing which everything else becomes known.’
The Socratic irony may be matched by a passage in the Kena Upanishad which declares with reference to the TRUTH “it is not understood by those who understand; it is understood by those who do not understand”.
1
The author finds many parallels between the Upanishads and Plato both in method and substance; the dialogue forms are used by both the Upanishads and Plato. Moreover, this serves as a suitable instrument or vehicle of teaching.
2
Indian philosophy insists that the sphere of logical thought is far exceeded by that of the mind’s possible experience of reality. Similarly, Plato sees ‘Supreme Truth cannot be orally thought or committed to writing. It can only be an object of some inner experience.
3
In the Phaedrus, the image of the chariots used by Plato is almost the same as in Katha Upanishad. Both the Upanishads and Plato use sleeping state as a metaphor to signify the conditions of life lacking philosophy or enlightenment.
4
The sun is used by the Upanishads and Plato as the cause of light and so of vision and visibility. The light of the sun directed at man that is a beam turned towards the inner self, is platonic. This principle “know thyself“ was the foundation on which Plato erected his theories. It is needless to add that it is Upanishadic method also.
5
There are however several differences between Plato’s object and that of the Upanishads. One of them is that Plato seems to believe in the existence of many souls. His is in consonance with certain schools of India philosophy like Sankhya , but not with Advaita which is the major principle expounded by the Upanishads.
6
Further there are many passages in Plato’s RUPUBLIC wherein he refers to God as if He were a person. Nevertheless, he has also evidence that this is only an image or a way of speaking and His true concept about the Absolute and infinite, that Real Being is anything but a personal God .
7
Both Plato and the Upanishads regard self -perception as a source of purity in information, and stress the importance of thought and need for reflection and contemplation.
8
Plato also speaks of two kinds of knowledge, the lower leading to opinion and the higher leading to knowledge, which is similarly mentioned in the Mandukya Upanishad and the Katha Upanishad.
9
There is also the touch of the principle of MAYA in Plato who states that the empirical world is thought of as a shadow of reality. “our senses perceive only ghosts and appearances, which are in a state of continuous flux. Only the mind (NOUS) can reach the TRUTH by the communion of the soul through whatever immortal quality it possesses with the unchangeable and the real within the world of form which exist in a super celestial state beyond the substance. Both Plato and the Upanishads agree about the impossibility of defining the Absolute.
10.
These and many other parallels, quoted by the author, are of great interest to the students of comparative religion and philosophy. The ultimate emphasis of Indian thought has always been liberation or Moksha. The ultimate emphasis of Greek thought has always been to expand the norms and forms of life in whatever manner possible.
–Mail Newspaper Interview by S Y K.
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Two more books
Plato and Vedic Idealism
Swami Paramananda
Anmol Publications, New Delhi, 1990
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Hindu Influence on Greek Philosophy
J Lomperis, Department of Political Science, Duke University
All the three books mentioned here are available at University of London Library at SOAS, London.
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
xxxx
164
Tamil is not Mother, but only Sister of Kannada and Telugu! தமிழ் மொழி – தாய் அல்ல , சகோதரியே!
Let us continue with Maamuular (MM) in Akananuru………..
In Akam 197, MM gives us a beautiful simile of a worn-out pillow. A housewife’s voluptuous shoulders became skeleton like an old worn out pillow in our bed, because her lover/husband did not return on time. He also gave us one more simile when he compared an elephant calf playing on its mother with a child playing/rolling on its mother. In this verse, we get a historical reference to Ezini, a chieftain.
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165
In Akam 211, he says illiterate (uneducated) Ezini; also MM used his favourite cliché மொழிபெயர் தேயம் Mozipeyar Theyam in Tamil which means lands where many languages spoken or a Non Tamil land. From this we know about ancient India which is described as 56 desams in Sanskrit literature and old story books. Even a story telling grandma in Tamil Nadu says to her grandchildren that “all the kings of 56 Desams came to…….
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Thanjavur Brihadeeswara temple
Tiruvalankadu Copper Plates
(These three images are taken from an article by Sunitha Madhavan in Hinduism Today.)
166
Tamil language a Mother or a Sister of Telugu and Kannada?
Now and then politicians say something about the relationship between Tamil and other languages. Apart from political controversy, one must look at how many Tamil words are in Telugu and Kannada. Even old Tamil dictionaries and Nikandus (thesauruses) have MORE Sanskrit words than pure Tamil words. The reason is ancient scholars considered these languages as sisters.
In the recent years, many Kannada and Telugu inscriptions have been discovered and reported in newspapers. The big difference between ancient Tamil and Non-Tamil inscriptions is that they are longer than ancient Tamil inscriptions. Tamil Nadu is the less affected state in foreign invasions. Why didn’t we find longer inscriptions in Tamil? Even the longest old inscription found at Poolankurichi belongs to fifth century CE only. Another point to be noted is that ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions have Prakrit and Sanskrit words.
No one has done any research on the proportion of Sanskrit words in these South Indian inscriptions. Inscriptions from the same period in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada should be taken for research. Tamil may not be the Mother of Kannada and Telugu, but may be the Sister of these Languages. This argument can be settled only after finding the proportion of language wise words.
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முகபடாம் , தழை உடை, கொற்கை பூலாங்குறிச்சி தமிழ், தெலுங்கு ,கன்னட கல்வெட்டுகள் , பழையர் , கடல் தெய்வம் , கொற்கை, எழினி , மொழிபெயர்த்தேயாம் , முத்து, வலம்புரி, பெருஞ்சோறு, கூளிச் சுற்றம் (Ghouls)
167
Worship of Sea God
In Akam 201, MM gives us very important news about worship of Sea God. In the oldest book Tolkaappiam, Vedic God Varunan is shown as one of the Gods Tamils worshiped. Commentator of this poem confirms it. The words Sea God is not in the poem. Ancient commentators interpret it on the basis of Tolkappiam. Pazaiyar, the coastal people wore garments made up of plants and leaves. Even today we see such leafy garments in Hawaii (USA) tourist pictures. Another interesting point is that the women worshipped Sea God with pearls and Right Whorled Conches.
Historical references in the verse: Korkai port (Kapata Puram?), Pazaiyar- sea people, Pandya King, Chozas and their Paddy Fields
Wealth of the Country: The elephants have golden Mukhapataam , that is the ornamental cloth or metal plate that is covering the head and trunk of an elephant.
MM adds the picture of a happy bear family in the forest . the hidden meaning is that your lover will hurry back when he sees the male and female bears playing with one another
201 அம்ம, வாழி – தோழி – பொன்னின் அவிர்எழில் நுடங்கும் அணிகிளர் ஓடை வினைநவில் யானை விறற்போர்ப் பாண்டியன் புகழ்மலி சிறப்பின் கொற்கை முன்துறை, அவிர்கதிர் முத்தமொடு வலம்புரி சொரிந்து, 5 தழைஅணிப் பொலிந்த கோடுஏந்து அல்குல் பழையர் மகளிர் பனித்துறைப் பரவ, பகலோன் மறைந்த அந்தி ஆர்இடை, உருகெழு பெருங்கடல் உவவுக் கிளர்ந்தாங்கு, அலரும் மன்று பட்டன்றே: அன்னையும் 10 பொருந்தா கண்ணள். வெய்ய உயிர்க்கும்’ என்று எவன் கையற்றனை, இகுளை? சோழர் வெண்ணெல் வைப்பின் நல்நாடு பெறினும், ஆண்டு அமைந்து உறைகுநர் அல்லர்- முனா அது வான்புகு தலைய குன்றத்து கவாஅன், 15 பெருங்கை எண்கின் பேழ்வாய் ஏற்றை இருள்துணிந் தன்ன குவவுமயிர்க் குருளைத் தோல்முலைப் பிணவொடு திளைக்கும் வேனில் நீடிய சுரன் இறந்தோரே.
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168
Akam 233 gives us information about Perunchoru. This word Perunchoru means Big Cooked rice, that is, big balls of cooked rice are offered to the departed souls who are in the heaven, by the Chera king Uthiyan Cheral.
The word Perunchoru occurs in Purananuru verse 2 as well, composed by Mudi Nagarayar (Mr Nagaraja or Mr Shiva who has snake /Naga on his head). There the previous lines refer to the fight between the Kauravas and Pandavas in the Mahabharata war. The commentators say that King Uthiyancheral supplied food for both the warring factions without any partiality.
I think this is wrong. How is it possible for Uthiyan cheral to live 3000 years before the Sangam age? So, the real meaning is, Uthiyan cheral offered balls of rice for the dead in Mahabharat battle. He did not take sides, so he offered Big Rice Balls for both the factions. Maamuulanar makes it very clear in Akam verse. Moreover, such Big Balls are taken by the Spirit/ Ghosts/Ghouls, he adds
The word in the Akam verse is Kooli where from Ghouls is derived . In Madurai Chellaththamman temple, every year on a particular night, ballas of rice mixed with animal blood will be thrown upwards/in the sky. The Madurai Corportaiion Council used to switch off the street lights for this event. I lived very near by this place. We were tod that the balls of rice thrown into the sky wont fall on the ground. Whatever may be the truth, offering balls of rice is a custom associated with dead people or their spirits. Brahmins do this in funeral rites but with small balls of rice called Pindam. The word Pindam is also in Sangam literature in this connection.
In short Perunchoru (big Cooked Rice) is a funeral rite.
Tags- தமிழ் மொழி – தாய் அல்ல, சகோதரியே, Ancient Tamil 27; One Thousand Interesting Facts -Part 27 Encyclopaedia -Part, பெருஞ்சோறு, கூளிச் சுற்றம் (Ghouls)
Oct 18, 2025, 11:24 AM | Updated 11:30 AM ISTTR Ramesh had challenged the construction of a shopping complex in front of the eastern gopuram of the Arunachaleswarar temple.A PIL by temple activist T. R. Ramesh has brought the Arunachaleswarar Temple under judicial spotlight, as the Madras High Court questions how far state-run temple departments can go in the name of modernisation and revenue.
Around 200 kilometres from Chennai is one of the most famous Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, standing at the foot of the Annamalaiyar hill.
It is a landscape where devotion and heritage have converged for centuries. To this day, thousands of devotees walk barefoot around the hill every full moon on the 14-kilometre Girivalam path, their chants mingling with the scent of camphor and jasmine that fills the night air.
But it is during Karthigai Deepam that the town truly transforms. Lamps flicker on every street, temple gopurams give a golden glow, and atop the hill, a massive flame is lit, said to symbolise Lord Shiva himself as an eternal light.
This annual spectacle draws pilgrims from across India, reaffirming Tiruvannamalai’s place at the centre of Shaivite devotion. Amid this timeless faith, however, a modern battle over the temple’s surroundings has taken shape, a case that may redefine how sacred heritage coexists with the world around it.
A few days ago, the temple witnessed something unusual. Two judges of the Madras High Court came to look at construction works inside and outside the temple. These had been brought to their attention through a PIL filed by temple activist T. R. Ramesh.
While he had challenged the building of a shopping complex in front of the Rajagopuram (eastern tower) of the temple, the Bench later expanded the matter to assess other projects proposed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department.
Hours later, after a thorough inspection, Justices R. Suresh Kumar and S. Sounthar, who were hearing the matter, returned and, after a few days, passed orders staying all such civil works. The final judgment in the matter is expected soon.
Given the stand of the Court till the last hearing, it is unlikely to go in HRCE’s favour. The outcome, Hindu activists believe, will set a national precedent to stop seeing temples as sources of revenue generation and to draw a red line on what can and cannot be done at a heritage structure in the name of modern amenities.
At this timely moment, Swarajya spoke with Ramesh to follow up on the case, about which he had spoken with this publication in great detail before approaching the Court in November 2023.
Q: Could you begin by explaining what exactly your PIL challenged? It would be helpful for those who have not followed the matter previously.
A: The PIL was filed against a government order, G.O. No. 336 of 2023, that approved the construction of 150 shops, a shopping complex, right opposite the Raja Gopuram, the main eastern tower of the Tiruvannamalai temple. The estimated cost was Rs 6.36 crore, taken from the temple’s funds.
The land in question belongs to the temple and has a 16-pillar mandapam at its centre. That mandapam holds immense religious significance. During festivals, processional deities are first brought there for worship before being taken out in chariots or palanquins.
The open space is crucial because the Tiruvannamalai temple has almost one festival every month. It has two or three major festivals during the year, but almost every month there is some celebration.
During festival times, thousands of people gather in that space. That open space is very important, both for religious significance and practical reasons. Whenever there is open space in a vantage position, the HRCE department wants to develop it in the name of building shops or other constructions.
Q: How did the court respond when you initially brought this to its attention?
A: Soon after they brought the G.O., they started constructing. I was in Delhi at the time for a case in the Supreme Court. When pictures of the construction reached me, I mentioned it before a special Bench of Justice Mahadevan and Justice Adikesavulu, who were hearing temple cases.
I mentioned the matter on a Thursday afternoon, explaining what was going on in Tiruvannamalai. I managed to produce pictures of the construction and the plan to the Honourable Bench. I had asked a colleague to take printouts and give them to the court. When the judges saw that, they were shocked.
The government counsel said, “No, there are already shops there, we are just reconstructing them.” All sorts of lies were presented before the court. The counsel also claimed that there were shops as early as 1920 and that the court had recognised them. It was a blatant lie.
In 1920, the court had said that the land belongs to the temple, not to the municipality, and also that no shops should be opened there. I had that judgment, given to me by a devotee, and I presented it too.
When the judges saw that they were being misled, they were very upset. At 2:45 p.m., they said, “This work should stop right now, at this minute.” They told the government counsel, “Call the Commissioner and instruct him immediately. We want the status by 4 o’clock.” By 4 p.m., they confirmed the work had been stopped. Remember, I had not even filed any petition yet.
Subsequently, I filed the petition and the stay order continues.
Q: Please tell us about the arguments made in court. Did you mention anything more than what you have said earlier, that the HRCE Act does not allow the use of temple funds for these purposes? What was the stand taken by the department?
A: Yes. We were helped by a judgment delivered by the Madras High Court. On 9 January 2025, there was another case regarding a shopping complex being built using temple funds, not within the temple complex, but nearby.
That construction was challenged before the Chief Justice’s Bench. After extensive arguments, the Chief Justice said that temple funds cannot be used to build a shopping complex.
That was the Nandishwarar Temple near Chengalpattu. The order was very detailed and said that neither surplus funds nor the main funds of a temple can be used for such constructions. The government made the Executive Officer of the temple file an appeal before the Supreme Court. In May, the special leave petition was dismissed, so the High Court’s order became final.
Subsequently, when the Tiruvannamalai case came up again in August, we brought this order to the attention of the temple Bench and pointed out that it had been upheld by the Supreme Court. Immediately, the HRCE took a different stance, stating that they would not construct shops now, but would instead construct a queue complex and waiting area.
It is alleged that they had already taken money from the contractor in advance. When the work was stopped, the contractor demanded his money back. To compensate, officials told him they would give him some other civil work in the same place.
That is when I objected, saying that the case was about G.O. 336, which specifically concerned a shopping complex. If they wanted to do something else, they should withdraw that G.O.
The court said they should not go ahead with the construction, but the matter was not finalised. They were asked to bring proper plans and drawings for the proposed queue complex outside the temple.
When those plans were submitted, I produced photographs showing that massive constructions for a queue complex and waiting area were already going on inside the temple, very close to the ancient wall.
This construction inside the temple had not been disclosed. The HRCE presented it as if they were only proposing the queue complex outside, while work was already going on inside. When I presented the photographs, the judges were shocked that HRCE had hidden this fact.
They said, “How can you build such a thing inside the temple? You cannot do this at all.” On that day, a stay order was given, preventing any construction inside or outside the temple.
The court also said they would inspect the temple themselves. The inspection took place on 5 October. I requested that the petitioner also be present, and the judges agreed.
Q: Since the stay on construction continues, it is clear that the judges were not pleased with what they saw on site. But could you please walk us through what happened that day? Was it a thorough inspection or just a quick visit?
A: It was a detailed check. The two judges were there for a few hours. During the inspection, they found three guest houses built inside the temple in the fourth prakara, all modern structures.
They also saw a massive Annadhanam hall under construction. The officials had earlier said it would only be temporary and covered with asbestos sheets, but the judges observed that concrete pillars were already up.
I pointed out that they had not even obtained municipal approval. They (HRCE) said they would get the approval. I asked how they could even start without it. The judges noted everything, including a modernised mandapam being used as the temple office. They were visibly disturbed.
Q: What followed that was the last hearing on 9 October. What did the Bench say about the inspection, and did you make any fresh arguments?
A: Last week, when the matter came up again, HRCE submitted a list of ongoing works and falsely claimed most were 70 per cent complete, clearly to pressure the court.
I again raised the issue of the Annadhanam hall, saying that the municipality cannot approve it without referring it to the Heritage Commission, as per the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission Act, 2012, which came into force on 1 March 2025.
Under that Act, any construction, development, or alteration in a heritage place cannot happen without approval from the Heritage Commission. The government counsel tried to say they had approval from a heritage committee, but that was a temporary body appointed by the court, not the statutory commission. The judges agreed.
I also presented an affidavit filed by the Municipal Commissioner in 2005 in the Supreme Court, stating there were only two shops inside the temple selling puja articles, and no shops outside or adjacent to it. All encroachments had been removed. The Supreme Court had accepted that affidavit and said that any future construction must have municipal approval.
I asked how these massive works could happen without it. Someone should go to jail for this.
The court continued the stay and directed the Tamil Nadu government to form the Heritage Commission within four weeks. The Act came in 2012 but was never operationalised until March 2025.
The court took cognisance after I presented the copy of the Act and the G.O. putting it into force. I doubt if the government will comply because the proposed composition of the Commission has too many bureaucrats and too few experts.
These are the developments so far.
Q: Are you happy with how the court proceedings have gone?
A: As far as interim measures go, yes. But look at the blatant violations. First, HRCE did not obey the law. Under the HRCE Act, temple funds can only be used for dharmic purposes. Constructing a shopping complex, that too in a sacred space used for monthly festivals, is completely anti-Hindu.
Second, the temple is being controlled illegally by HRCE. There is no order appointing an Executive Officer to this temple, yet one functions there, issuing tenders and orders. I have pointed this out to the court, but they said it does not fall under this PIL.
They already spent around Rs 50–75 lakhs on preparatory work. My prayer includes refunding that money to the temple and punishing those responsible, but the court has been silent on that so far.
The judges’ inspection made it clear that HRCE’s functioning is deeply problematic. I am grateful to the judges for personally visiting. Only then could they see the extent of what was happening in Tiruvannamalai.
The overall impression seems to be that all is not well, including crowd management and general administration. In fact, the judges orally observed that, given the scale of the temple and the crowds it attracts, it should be managed like Tirupati, under a Devasthanam-type structure.
That gives an idea of their thinking. They perhaps feel enough is enough.
So, I believe any judgment in the Tiruvannamalai case will be along similar lines, against the HRCE department.
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NEWS BULLETIN
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MRS Brhannayaki Sathyanarayanan from Bengaluru speaks on
DEVA PRAYAG TEMPLE
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Talk by Prof S Suryanarayanan
Topic- Some Interesting Facts
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SPECIAL EVENT-
Talk on Keezadi Excavations
Keezadi and South India
By
N Ganesh Raaja, Amateur Historian and Author
Ganesh Raaja. N hails from Tamil Nadu. He completed his engineering in 2003 and has more than twenty years of experience in the software industry.
He was attracted towards ‘History of India’ after noticing a defaming article in an Indian magazine. He has spent more than eight years researching on this subject. He has read vast number of books related to ancient Sanskrit literature, ancient Tamil literature, scientific evolution etc. written by eminent Indian and foreign scholars.
Each book he referred to catered to a specific aspect of Indian life. After understanding them, a natural interest arose in him to reconcile and chronologically arrange them in a ‘holistic’ and ‘interesting’ way. This is a first attempt at narrating India’s story ‘as-it-happened’.
The result is the book, titled, “The Jambū Island”. This book chronologically organizes the Rishis, kings, literaryevolution, people’slives, and scientificprogress based on Sanskrit and Tamil literature. It aims to eliminatemyths, interpolations, and exaggerations. It strives to present the story in a logical and captivatingnarrative, with many pictures.
This book covers the period from roughly 6000 BCE to 3138 BCE, narrating significant events including the rendering of the Vedicmantras by the Rishis, the Aryan clan split towards Iran resulting in the formation of the Zōrōastrians, the atrocities and defeat of the Haihaya clan, fusion of Nāgās and other native tribes into the Vedic religion, Āryancolonization of SouthIndia, and the Bharata battle at Kurukshetra.
Post launching his book, Ganesh has started an Youtube channel in Tamil to share his learnings. The goal of this channel to spread awareness about the greatness of our country and Hindu religion, to create a counter-narrative to the popular Dravidian ideology of Tamil Nadu.
Mamular (mahaa moolar) is the oldest Tamil Historian. He is the only poet who sang about Nandas and Mauryas of fifth and fourth centuries BCE.
Though another great Brahmin poet Paranar from Kerala region mentioned about eighty historical anecdotes, the highest number, he was junior to Mamular.
Mahaa moola must have been born on Moola star/nakshatra day like another great Tamil poet Tiru Moolar. He was from Kashmir who gave us 3000 Tamil verses on Yoga etc lived 1000 years after the great Sangam poet Maamoolar.
Sangam Tamil poets Paranar, Mamular and many others give us the history of Tamil Land, what is now called Tamil Nadu in India.
Maamoolar (hereafterwards MM) gives some interesting details about golden treasure of Nandas as well. MM contributed at least 27 verses in Akananuru (naanooru=400).
His name is a Sanskrit name like Paranar and Kapilar. Lord Shiva in the famous Kanchipuram temple is also called Maamoolar. There they attribute the name to the mango tree (Maa Maram in Tamil).
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130
MM gives us following details about Kings:
a) Pulli of Venkatam Hills (the Balaji or Venkata Achala Pathi temple at Venkata Hills is the richest temple in the world and that was the northern border of Tamil speaking world in ancient times.)
b) Nannan of Ezil Hills.
c) Badaga/ Vaduka chief Katti is one of them. Vaduka now stands for Telugu speaking people (B=V are interchangeable through out India from Sangam days (Rig Vedic saBhaa was changed as aVai in Sangam poems)
d) Other names in his poems: Kannan Ezini, Paanan and Anji)
***
131
Important note about Great Choza emperor Karikaalan
One of the greatest Tamil emperors is Karaikaal Chozan. He went up to the Himalaya and engraved his Tiger emblem there. He defeated another great king of Chera/ Kerala country named Nedun Cheralaathan. Chera king died by fast unto death called Praayopavesa.
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132
Fast unto death
Hindus , when they wanted to die, sit facing Holy North and starve themselves to death. This is seen in Valmiki Ramayana, Bhagavata etc and they called it Praayopavesa.
Parikshit is described to have observed the prayopavesa when the Bhagavata Purana was narrated to him by the sage Shuka, son of Vyasa.
In 1982, Acharya Vinoba Bhave (spiritual successor of Mahatma Gandhi) died by prayopavesa.
On 11 January 1997 Swami Nirmalananda subjected himself to prayopavesa.
In October 2001, Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami subjected himself to prayopavesa. Subramuniyaswami was diagnosed to be suffering from terminal intestinal cancer. He later died on the 32nd day of his fast on November 12.
Kopperun choza also starved to death; his friends including great Tamil poet Pisir Aaanthaiyaar joined him.
Pancha Pandavas along with Draupadi walked up the Himalayas in the holy north and died.
***
133
Chera’s sea expedition
MM also sang about Cheralathan’s sea expedition where he cut the Kadampa tree (Totem symbol) of his enemy in the middle of the sea. He also won several countries in the north and brought the treasure to his town Manththai
***
134.
Tooth Relic
We read lot about Buddha’s Tooth Relic which is holy. But here in MM’s poems we read about enemy’s teeth embedded on the door of the victorious one. Ezini was defeated by Maththi. Chera won Maththi and brought his teeth buried them on the door.
(Z= special L of Tamil language)
***
135
Controversial Information
MM said that Uthiyan Cheral, a Chera/Kerala king, fed the Mahabharata warriors. If we believe that literally that Chera should have lived in about 3100 BCE! which is impossible.
The word used in MM poem is Perum Soru meaning great food. It is actually a great feast to commemorate the dead people. That is food in memory of the war heroes. Bhagavad Gita, Sangam book Purananuru and books from Non Hindu religions say that war heroes reach heaven. They have Visa free direct flight to heaven! So, they are remembered, and feast is organised.
***
136
Lyre Broken in Disappointment
Another interesting detail added by MM is a singer breaking his Yaaz (Veena/ lyre) when Evvy died in the battle field. This may be compared to another incident that happened 1400 years ago in Dharmapuram. That was the birth place of great musician named Thiru Neelakanta Yaazpaanar. He was a great Yaaz/ Lyre instrumentalist. He accompanied the Boy Saint Tiru Gnana Sambandar with his wife Mathanka Choolaamani. When he became very proud of his skill, Lord Shiva wanted to teach him a lesson. When Sambandar came to his town he could not cope up with Sambandar’s singing. When he was about to break his lyre, Shiva himself played on his instrument and so even today Shiva appears in a rare form here. He holds a lyre in his hand in this temple. Musicians also break their instruments when they get disappointed. That was reported to us by MM two thousand years ago.
Now let us go into details of Nadas and Mauryas.
To be continued………………
Tags -பிராயோபவேசம் வடக்கிருத்தல் யாழ்முறிநாதர், மாமூலனார், கதவில் பல் சின்னம் , யாழை முறித்த பாணன், மூல நட்சத்திரம், Ancient Tamil Encyclopaedia- Part 2, One Thousand Interesting Facts! -Part 22, Oldest Tamil Historian Mamular
Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.
this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.
tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com
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Akananuru (naanooru) wonders continued……………….
எழுத்துடை நடுகல்
Part twenty
Item 125
Interesting customs found in Akananuru:
Coastal fisher woman worshipping Vedic God Varunan by planting Shark fin bone.
Brahmins sent as messengers as told by Tolkappiar.
Women counting days by marking on the wall;
People are listening to lizard clicks to find out good and bad things to come;
Women worshipping crescent moon;
Girls making false cries to attract male youths; Tamil word Venkai stands for both tiger and a tree. Girls shout Venaki, Venaki and the youths come running to save them; and the girls laugh at the youths; but one or two youths will be trapped by the tricky girls.
Women’s games are described in several poems: they played with crabs, chased parrots from the paddy fields; built sand castles;
Soldiers worship hero stones before going to battlefield.
Soldiers look for good omens before marching;
Brahmins who dot follow Vedic rituals make bangles by cutting conches.
Bride is bathed by Four Sumangalis who gave birth to children;
Cowherds take food/ pack lunch in bamboo holes and tie them on the neck of the cow;
Placing spear and other instruments used by a hero near the Hero stones.
Coastal people taking salt bags on the back of the donkeys for selling.
***
126
There are more interesting details ; we will look at them now:-
Three Akam poems (53, 67 and 269; also Ainkuru.352) tell us about the Hero stones with Tamil inscriptions. But until very recently such ancient stones were not discovered. So archaeologist K V Sundararajan raised doubts about the age of such poems. At that time the oldest hero stone was dated Sixth century CE. But in 2006 newspapers reported Hero stones with Brahmi letters and experts placed them in BCE period. Old Brahmi inscriptions never mentioned dates, and they were very short. And so, we need more clearcut evidence for Hero stones with Tamil inscription.
Tamils have the habit of pushing all the Brahmi inscriptions to fourth century BCE which is ridiculous. Asoka’s brahmi inscriptions are very long with lot of information, where as Tamil Brahmi inscriptions are not only very short but also in Prakrit or colloquial , ungrammatical Tamil .So they must be later than , much more later than Asoka’s inscriptions.
We know that Orissa king Kharavela marched into Pandya country and defeated the Pandya king according to Hathikumbha cave inscriptions in Orissa. On another side, Mauryans laid road routes in Western Ghats and marched towards or into Tamil Nadu according to Mamular’s Sangam verses. But in that part, that is Karnataka- Tamil Nadu border, we don’t find hero stones with inscription. From Pallava period only we get inscriptions. Jains must have brought it into Tamil nadu. That shows northern origin of Brahmi script.
Karnataka has more documented hero stones than Tamil Nadu. Nearly 3000 hero stones are in Karnataka from sixth century CE
The big question about Tamil Brahmi inscriptions is why didn’t Tamils write legibly like Asoka?
Why didn’t Tamils write at least three lines?
Why do we have to guess the meaning and put words into the mouths of dead people?
Even the very late sixth century CE ones don’t have long sentences.
My guess is Tamils did not practise writing on stones or on any material until sixth or seventh century. Even Lord Shiva’s letter to Cheraman (Kerala King) belongs to post Sangam period.
Some of the references to Hero stones with writings on it:–
விழுத்தொடை மறவர் வில் இட வீழ்ந்தோர்
எழுத்துடை நடுகல் இன் நிழல் வதியும்
அருஞ்சுரக் கவலை நீந்தி என்றும்,- Akam 53
****
அரம் போழ் நுதிய வாளி அம்பின்,
நிரம்பா நோக்கின் நிரையங்கொண்மார்,
நெல்லி நீளிடை எல்லி மண்டி
நல் அமர்க் கடந்த நாணுடை மறவர்
பெயரும் பீடும் எழுதி அதர்தொறும்
பீலி சூட்டிய பிறங்கு நிலை நடுகல்Akam- 67
***
ஏறுடை இனநிரை பெயரப்; பெயராது
செறிசுரை வெள்வேல் மழவர்த் தாங்கிய
தறுக ணாளர் நல்லிசை நிறுமார்,
பிடிமடிந் தன்ன குறும்பொறை மருங்கின்,
நட்ட போலும் நடாஅ நெடுங்கல்
அகலிடம் குயின்ற பல்பெயர் மண்ணி,
நறுவிரை மஞ்சள் ஈர்ம்புறம் பொலிய- Akam 269
***
My old articles
Hero Stone Worship in North India (Post No.4286)
Date:9 October 2017; Post No. 4286
***
HERO STONES ON SEA BATTLES (Post No.5163)
Date: 29 JUNE 2018
Post No. 5163
***
To be continued………………………
Tags- Hero stones, with Inscriptions,எழுத்துடை நடுகல், Tamil Encyclopedia, Part 20
Making bangles, making pounded rice (pohaa),Salt making, Salt selling, Boiling rice for making parboiled rice, Spying work?, Chasing elephants with Sling shots,
Protecting crops from birds and animals, harvesting, cross border attacks to steal cows, recovering stolen cows (this is how ancient Hindus indicate battle readiness; it is in Mahabharata as well), diving for pearls, diving for rare conches called Valampuri Sangu, Fishing, drying fish, selling fish, catching elephant calf etc
தொழில்கள்
அரத்தால் வலைபோழ்தல் , அவள் இடித்தல், உப்பு விற்றால், ஊன்புழுக்கையர்த்தல், ஒற்றுச் செல்லுதல் கவண் கல்லால் யானையை எறிதல், கொழுப்பானவெறிதல், சாத்தெறிதல், சேக் கொள்ளத் தண்ணுமை கொட்டல், தினை காவல் செய்தல், தினை அறுத்தல், நிரை கவர்தல், மீட்டல் , நெல் அரியுணர் தண்ணுமை கொட்டல் மீன் உவத்தல், மீன் விற்றால், முத்துக் குளித்தல், முதைப்புனஞ் சுடுதல், யானைக்கன்றைப் பிடித்தல், வலம்புரி மூழ்குதல்
***
104
Famous assemblies or Judicial Courts
Uranthai Sabha, Kalloor Sabha.
சபைகள்/ அவைகள்
உறந்தை அவை, கள்ளூர் அவை
Some interesting tit bits
In Sangam literature we see B=V
Sabha in Rig Veda changed to Avai because in Tamil , initial letter SA is banned by Tolkappiam.
So, Tamils dropped SA and inserted vowel A+vai/bai
Thi schange is seen in Avestan language which is extinct now.
The Rig Vedic ASVA is changed to ASPA (V=P) in Avestan. We see it in all words in Bengal nowadays. Vangam is pronounced as Bengal. Vandematarm= Bandemataram
No linguist has explained this change linking Tamil, Avestan and Sanskrit.
Now the question is who directed them to change V=B or B=V.
This is a Vedic rule; Paninian rule followed all over the world. It is seen even in Inca culture and Melanesian (Pacific Ocean Islands) languages.
Unless one studies Sanskrit, no one can understand linguistics. I have already shown how letter “J” migrated from India. If we study the route of J around the world one will understand Yaaz= Jazz, Yazpaanam= Jaffna, Yesu=Jesus, Yusuf= Joseph, Yuudha= Jew. Hindus spread the culture and language around the world. Oxford and Cambridge Linguists give ridiculous reasons for this J=Y change, because they don’t know this change is in Sangam Tamil Literature.
புறநானூற்றுப் புலவர் முடி/ நாக/ ராயர் = முடி/ நாக/ ரா ஜர் (ய= ஜ) Poet name is MR NAGARAJAN.
Oldest Tamil poet in Purananuru is MUDI NAAGA RAAYAR; his real name is Mudi NaagaraaJAr. So the J = Y change is seen even in Sangam Tamil Literature. Regal= Royal are derived from Sanskrit RAJA (J=Y). that is why they say Raja= Roya/l. in my previous research paper, I have given examples from more languages.
Those who don’t know Tamil and Sanskrit can’t be linguists!
J sound is found only in ancient Sanskrit; not even in Greek; Jason of Homer is actually Esan (Shiva’s name)
To be continued……………..
Tags- Ancient Tamil Encyclopaedia- Part 16, One Thousand Interesting Facts, Part 16, Akananuru wonders
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Tamil and Vedas 
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