Hindu Itihaasas are Not Myths..Read on

Enge Brahmanan - Watch him in Practice

2010-12-18T13:07:00.006Z

On Jaya TV 8.00 PM IST...DONT MISS IT for anything in this world! If you cant get to see it on time, providence has it on archives section of the Channellive website and is at its best too...you can see with crystal clear clarity from these archives http://www.channellive.tv/ - a small price to pay for abundant spiritual wealth - in the form of wisdom abound from the mahatmas. Why not clarify those lurking spiritual doubts so easily and yet so appealingly? All Hail the Mahatma and the team who make and play this serial, they do the service of a lifetime.

Best of all you can still get all the intrigue, the fun, people and plots that you can get from a plethora of stupid year long TV soaps that fill your nerve cells with an endless stream of negative expletives galore! BUT NARY A NEGATIVE WORD SPOKEN HERE...Watch them words carefully, you can hardly identify a negative thought, feeling or speak - Have you ever wondered that it is really possible to be talking without using negatives in a language!...Well.. you can find out how?...and to top it all why not improve on your sanskrit as well and see how POSITIVE the language itself is..and...good things are albeit cheap, they are at http://engebrahmananserials.blogspot.com/

Enge Brahmanan is on facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Enge-Brahmanan/223708269171

...While we all wait eagerly for Enge Brahmanan part 3....

From Archives of Hindu Wisdom - Dwaraka Site

2010-04-19T10:36:00.002+01:00

This and other photographs are the copyrights of Hindu Wisdom Site http://www.hinduwisdom.info/ ! Credits to them...

About Dr.Shikaripura_Ranganatha_Rao http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikaripura_Ranganatha_Rao

Vedic Harrapans - Dr N S Rajaram - MIT Samskritam & Samskrita Bharati

2010-04-18T20:59:00.002+01:00

MIT Samskritam & Samskrita Bharati - Lecture by Dr N S Rajaram on VEDIC HARAPPANS: AN ENIGMA NO LONGER

2010-04-18T20:58:00.001+01:00

A talk by Dr. N.S. Rajaram at MIT. He is a great scholar (a mathematical scientist from academia who has been researching in the field of history and history of science for many years now), speaker and writer. He has done a lot of research in the Indology field and has challenged the old, colonial, euro-centric theories.

Harappan archaeology represents the material side of the civilization that created the Vedic civilization. It came at the end of a long maritime phase going back to the end of the Ice Age.

Ever since archaeologists unearthed the Harappan civilization nearly a century ago, scholars have sought to keep it separate from the Vedic literature and culture. This has resulted in the paradox of a history without literature for the Harappans and a literature without history for the Vedic Aryans. Following the collapse of the ‘Aryan invasion’ version of history, and recent findings in natural history and genetics, it is possible to identify the Harappans as belonging to the late Vedic Age. Harappan civilization was the twilight of the Vedic Age and broke up due to ecological degradation including the drying up of the Sarasvati River.

Natural history further allows us to trace the origins of the Vedic civilization to the maritime world of the end of the last Ice Age. Harappan iconography is full of Vedic symbols. The presentation will highlight the Harappan symbolism and its connections with the Vedic and other ancient literature. The presentation will also indicate important areas for research, which, however, requires dropping old dogmas and a readiness to use multidisciplinary approaches based on science, literature as well as combining ancient and modern metaphysics.

Cho - Hinduism dates back in time (> 5000 thousand years) much beyond what Western Historians led us to beleive!

2010-04-08T12:50:00.001+01:00

Hinduism and its significance

2010-04-06T12:04:00.005+01:00

Enge Part 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Cho talks about Hinduism Proofs

2010-03-27T12:37:00.003Z

Rama's Bridge

2010-03-23T19:56:00.002Z

Rama's Bridge. A subset of Landsat 5 TM true color composite of Rama's bridge or Ram Setu (referred by British cartographers as Adam's Bridge). Path 142 Row 54; Bands 742 (RGB); Resolution 30 meter. Original image acquired on 6 February, 1988 at 4:42:00 GMT Adam's Bridge (Tamil: ஆதாம் பாலம் āthām pālam), also known as Rama's Bridge or Ram Setu (Tamil: இராமர் பாலம் irāmar pālam, Sanskrit:रामसेतु rāmasetu), is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.

The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places, which hinders navigation.

Rama was God but in human form!

2010-03-22T00:42:00.002Z

Forums @ KanchiForum.org

2009-09-19T19:05:00.002+01:00

Read the Complete articles from the website to gain an understanding of Hinduism...

PARAMACHARYA DOWNLOADS at the KANCHI FORUMS Threads

Umpteen articles and downloads at

Forums @ Kanchi Forum

Cloth merchant uses Sanskrit as business lingo

2009-09-18T22:00:00.000+01:00

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Hubli/Cloth-merchant-uses-Sanskrit-as-business-lingo/articleshow/5904310.cms

BIJAPUR: These days, a revival in ancient languages is palpable, and Sanskrit is no longer a forgotten tongue. There is also talk of establishing a Sanskrit and Vedic university in the state. But off campus, right in the city, is a trader who uses the language for his day-to-day business.

3R Garments Shop, at Meenakshi Chowk in Bijapur city is owned by Ram Singh Rajput. He has eight employees, and for the past eight years, they have been using the language for business. Ram Singh says there is no difficulty in using the language. "After we started using Sanskrit, our customers increased. Most of the customers first want to talk and learn some Sanskrit, then they buy clothes." Inadvertently, it has worked as an advertising gimmick. Ram Singh is an active member of the Sanskrit Bharati organization. He had learnt Sanskrit at a 10-day camp, and then started using it at home. After that, he introduced it for the first time in his business. He has now done his MA in Sanskrit. His inspiration is North Karnataka's most powerful seer, Siddeshwar

swamiji. On many occasions, the seer has introduced Ram Singh to his followers as the "Sanskrit man and his family", which inspired Singh to learn more. His younger brothers, Mohan Singh and Vitthal Singh, also work in the shop. All of them speak Sanskrit fluently, though their mother tongue is Hindi. According to the brothers, Sanskrit is the language of God, and learning it purifies a person's life by reducing bad habits and arrogant behaviour. "We automatically become polite, and good thoughts come to our mind," they say. Says Mohan Singh: "Our customers believe more in us because of our language. They don't bother to question the price, but pay what we quote because they feel we do not deceive anybody. We too keep their faith." Following this attraction at Ram Singh's shop, now barbers, kirana shop owners, beauty parlours, cloth merchants and several traders have begun to use Sanskrit as their business language.

Bharat - Varsha 6th Century B.C

2009-09-08T19:30:00.001+01:00

Locations where Upanishads were constructed

2009-09-08T11:17:00.000+01:00

Unearthing historical vestiges - Prof S.R.Rao founder of Dwaraka

2009-08-13T15:48:00.006+01:00

RADHIKA RAJAMANI Source: The Hindu, Wednesday, Nov 20, 2002
Credited with path-breaking excavations of the Harappan port of Lothal and the submerged city of Dwaraka and the `decipherment' of the Indus script, the renowned archaeologist and scholar Prof. S.R. Rao continues to work on the Indus script and marine archaeology with indomitable spirit and energy. DWARAKA ON LAND: The Dwarkadeesh Temple and other buildings.

PROF. S.R. Rao is a renowned archaeologist and scholar who has two path-breaking excavations to his credit (both in Gujarat) namely the Harappan port of Lothal and the submerged city of Dwaraka which have fetched him laurels. One of the first, to work on the decipherment of the Indus script, he has several books to his credit besides numerous articles. S.R. Rao shows enormous enthusiasm to unearth more submerged cities (considering he is in his Seventies). . Excerpts from an interview when he visited the city recently:

What drew you into marine archaeology?

Actually we had no idea of what it meant. It was in London that Ms Taylor, a librarian at the Institute of Archaeology who was also a diver asked me to take up some work on the Indian coast in the Seventies. She pointed to some shipwrecks of which I had no idea. When I was repairing the temple of Dwarkadeesh at Dwaraka (on land) I had to demolish a modern building in front of it and I found the 9th Century temple of Vishnu. I got curious and dug further deeper (30 ft) in 1979-80 on land. We found two earlier temples, a whole wall and figures of Vishnu. We dug further and actually found eroded material of a township lying at the bottom. Then arose the question of dating the remains of the township destroyed by the sea. Thermo-luminescence dating revealed a date of 1520 B.C. The Mahabharata refers to Dwaraka and this was how we thought of marine archaeology.

How did you begin the excavations?

We had no experience in marine archaeology. It was a new discipline to India. The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) gave us some money and we went to the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, as there were some divers there and started work in 1981. Real work started in 1982. We hired boats. First we found some evidence in Beth Dwaraka island because local tradition points to the antiquity of this compared to Dwaraka.

What were the remains found at Beth Dwaraka?

According to the Mahabharata Krishna built Dwaraka at Kushasthali - a fortress in the sea which is in ruins. Then he built another at the mouth of the Gomti river. AtKushasthali (Beth Dwaraka spelt Dvaraka) we found a wall (560 metres long) visible on the shore itself. Dating of pottery found here gave a date of 1528 B.C. So we were satisfied we were on the right spot. We unearthed an important find - a seal (mudra). The Mahabharata refers to how Krishna wanted every citizen to carry some sort of identity - a mudra.

Did the mudra in a way confirm it was Krishna's Dwaraka?

ANCIENT FORTIFICATION: The long wall visible on the shore at Beth Dwaraka.

Yes. Besides plenty of pottery, we found an inscribed sherd with the following maha kacha shahapa (sea, king or protector). This is dated around 1600 B.C. while the mudra is dated to 1700 B.C. We found a 580 metre long wall.

Did you face problems getting hold of manpower and machinery?
One could not take a big ship because of shallow waters - we had to hire small boats. Another problem was divers. No archaeologist could dive. There were no underwater cameras or underwater television cameras (which had to be imported) and the NIO had the side scan sonar by which they did the survey. ). Once we even had to face a shark. The personnel had to be trained in India. We had to modify some boats to suit our needs. The position fixing is important. You may find something the previous day and the next day you should know where to go. Have the structures you found deteriorated over a period of time?
Not much since they are made of stone. Some may have fallen because of currents and cyclone. We were worried about the effect of the earthquake. Fortunately the main temple standing on the shore at Dwaraka has not been affected. So the underground remains will not be affected. In Beth Dwaraka cracks have appeared in the Dwarkadeesh temple.

How did you feel when you found Krishna's Dwaraka?

The excitement came when we found the mudra and the inscription. That was the confirming factor as by mere date one could not say it is Dwaraka. The Mahabharata mentions the city having 50 openings. We found about 25 or 30 bastions. There must be more because they must have protected the wall against currents. On the bastion invariably there are window openings. So that may be the reference.

Did this motivate you to study the epic deeply?

Not just that but other texts like the Puranas - Bhagavata, Skanda, Matsya and Vishnu which refer to Dwaraka.
Literary traditions attest to submergence of Poompuhar (Kaveripoompattinam or Kaveripattinam, the ancient Chola capital) also. How far have excavations progressed at this place?
Poompuhar is generally dated to about 2nd century A.D. But at Kaveripattinam we found a brick wharf with a wooden post dated to 3rd Century B.C. which indicates that it was a big port by then. We surveyed several kms along the shore. At 23-24 metres depth we found some stone structures along with some pottery. So there must have been a township about 4 kms inside the sea. The side scan sonar survey also showed some structures. Further work has to be done as it was only partly done.

Is some work going on at Poompuhar or anywhere else?

Nothing except at Mahabalipuram.

Do you think marine archaeology will corroborate the literary evidence like it has in the case at Dwaraka?
Yes. Further work is likely to yield very favourable evidence of the existence of Poompuhar.

How difficult is it to excavate on the east coast because it is so prone to cyclones unlike the Arabian Sea which is relatively peaceful?
Much more difficult. The sea is rough. We have limited time and the visibility is far better in the Arabian Sea. In the Bay of Bengal unless you go down to a depth of 8-10 metres depth one can't even see one's own hands.

Why is it so?

Because of suspended sand and sediments.

Why was minimal work done at Poompuhar?
The only problem was lack of funds.

What about shipwrecks and other areas being explored?
We got one shipwreck near Poompuhar, two near Lakshadweep. Nothing has been done except photographing the shipwrecks.

How old would the ships be?
What we have seen are late ones - 18th or 19th century. But for much earlier ones we have to go the West coast.

How do you think funds can be channelised into archaeology? Is it purely a government initiative?
Yes it is a government initiative.

Can one get foreign funding?
We work in a sensitive area. Much of the data we collect cannot be published. Dwaraka is sensitive because it is close to Pakistan. Once one takes money from the foreigners they would be interested in seeing all the data collected.

Has marine archaeology been introduced as a course in universities?
No. The Goa University had asked me to send a proposal for the introduction of such a course. But no action was taken.

Is there a chair for marine studies in Andhra Pradesh?
Prof Gangadharan has been appointed as honorary professor. Recently a chair was sanctioned for marine archaeology. Nothing much has happened.

What can be done to improve matters in marine archaeology?

UNFLAGGING ENTHUSIAM : Prof S. R. Rao
What is urgently needed is NIO or NIOT (National Institute of Ocean Technology)
Chennai, should train some archaeologists in diving or ask the navy to do it, establish a few more divers and three four centres in such a vast area - one in Chennai or Visakhapatnam, one in Mumbai and one in Gujarat area or even in Kochi. If you have three-four centres with trained divers each one will survey their own area and some excellent results will materialise.

If this is the state of affairs what is the future of marine archaeology?
There is nobody from India on the international committee which regulates excavations. The Navy is anxious to do something but they need archaeologists. The course has to be introduced in some university (coastal universities) and people should be imparted training. With such a rich maritime heritage something should be done. We have the double advantage of having both submerged cities and shipwrecks which others do not have.

You had finished working on the Indus script before you took up Dwaraka. What do you think of all the recent attempts on the script?
I kept quiet all these years because I let people talk what they want. Even today I am still working on the script. Recently we have confirmed that it is definitely an Indo-Aryan language and deciphered. Prof. W.W.Grummond of Florida State University has written in his article that I have already deciphered it.

It is normally believed that the world's ancient scripts are deciphered through bi-lingual inscriptions?
Not necessary.

What are you working on now?
An alphabet museum is being established most likely at Tirupati. I have worked out the whole concept. I have got copy of the seals of Lothal and a copy of the Rosetta stone from Egypt. We have decided to exhibit about 600 inscriptions in Semitic, Cuneiform, Hieroglyphics, Brahmi and Kharoshthi. The Epigraphical Society is also involved.
The Indus script keeps me busy. I am the president of Keladi (in Shimoga district) museum We are setting up an art gallery there.

RADHIKA RAJAMANI Source: The Hindu, Wednesday, Nov 20, 2002

Ramayan Proof Scroll for Lots of Images

2009-08-10T16:31:00.000+01:00

Significant finds at Dwaraka

2009-08-09T21:16:00.004+01:00

Ancient structures, under water and on land, discovered. By T.S. Subramanian - The Hindu February 23, 2007

Ancient structural remains of some significance have been discovered at Dwaraka, under water and on land, by the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Alok Tripathi, Superintending Archaeologist, UAW, said the ancient underwater structures found in the Arabian Sea were yet to be identified. "We have to find out what they are. They are fragments. I would not like to call them a wall or a temple. They are part of some structure," said Dr. Tripathi, himself a trained diver.

Thirty copper coins were also found in the excavation area. The structures found on land belonged to the medieval period. "We have also found 30 copper coins. We are cleaning them. After we finish cleaning them, we can give their date," he said.

Dwaraka is a coastal town in Jamnagar district of Gujarat. Traditionally, modern Dwaraka is identified with Dvaraka or Dvaravati, mentioned in the Mahabharata as Krishna's city. Dwaraka was a port, and some scholars have identified it with the island of Barka mentioned in the Periplus of Erythrean Sea. Ancient Dwaraka sank in sea and hence is an important archaeological site.

The first archaeological excavations at Dwaraka were done by the Deccan College, Pune and the Department of Archaeology, Government of Gujarat, in 1963 under the direction of H.D. Sankalia. It revealed artefacts many centuries old.

The ASI conducted a second round of excavations in 1979 under S.R. Rao's direction. He found a distinct pottery known as lustrous red ware, which could be more than 3,000 years old. Based on the results of these excavations, the search for the sunken city in the Arabian Sea began in 1981. Scientists and archaeologists have continually worked on the site for 20 years.

The UAW began excavations at Dwaraka again from January 2007. Dr. Tripathi said: "To study the antiquity of the site in a holistic manner, excavations are being conducted simultaneously both on land [close to the Dwarakadhish temple] and undersea so that finds from both the places can be co-related and analysed scientifically."

The objective of the excavation is to know the antiquity of the site, based on material evidence. In the offshore excavation, the ASI's trained underwater archaeologists and the divers of the Navy searched the sunken structural remains. The finds were studied and documented.

On land, the excavation is being done in the forecourt of the Dwarakadhish temple. Students from Gwalior, Lucknow, Pune, Vadodara,Varanasi and Bikaner are helping ASI archaeologists. In the forecourt, old structures including a circular one have been found. A small cache of 30 copper coins was discovered.

Discovery of Dwaraka

2009-08-09T21:13:00.002+01:00

Between 1983 to 1990, the well-fortified township of Dwaraka was discovered, extending more than half mile from the shore. The township was built in six sectors along the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea. The general layout of the city of Dwaraka described in ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city discovered by the MAU. According to the discoveries, Dwaraka was a prosperous city in ancient times, which was destroyed and reconstructed several times. The work of great excavators like Z.D. Ansari and M.S. Mate allowed chance discovery of temples of the 9th century A.D. and 1st century A.D. buried near the present Dwaraka.

Conclusions arrived at after carrying out these underwater archaeological explorations support and validate the dates arrived at through astronomical calculations. They also prove that the reconstructed city was a prosperous port town, and that it was in existence for about 60-70 years in the 15th century B.C. before being submerged under the sea in the year 1443 B.C.

"The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been founded by Shri Krishna, is an important landmark in the history of India. It has set at rest the doubts expressed by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwaraka city. It has greatly narrowed the gap of Indian history by establishing the continuity of Indian civilization from the Vedic age to the present day." (S.R. Rao, former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in the excavations).

Submergence of Dwaraka

2009-08-09T21:03:00.003+01:00

After Shri Krishna left for the heavenly abode, and the major Yadava heads were killed in fights among themselves; Arjuna went to Dwarka to bring Krishna's grandsons and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur. After Arjun left Dwaraka, it was submerged in the sea. This is the account given by Arjuna, in Mahabharat:

"The sea, which had been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everything in the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the city. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory."

The town has association with Shri Krishna, who founded this town by reclaiming 12 yojanas of land from the sea. During its glorious past, Dwaraka was a city of beautiful gardens, deep moats, and several ponds and palaces (Vishnu Purana), but it is believed to have submerged just after the disappearance of Shri Krishna.

Due to its historical importance and association with the Mahabharata, Dwaraka continues to attract archeologists and historians besides scientists.

Some more facts on Dwaraka (Shri Krishna's city)

2009-08-09T20:58:00.004+01:00

Scientifically proven scriptures: Krishna's city was named Dwaraka and the Hindu scriptures have described that the city was submerged in water in a particular area after Krishna's incarnation was over. The city has now been found by archaeologists in the same place mentioned by the scriptures. A mind boggling article on Dwarka:
http://www.hvk.org/articles/1205/16.html.
http://s8int.com/water25.html
Some more facts on Dwarka (Shri Krishna's city) and new under water finds in Shri Krishna's city City
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Dwaraka.htm#Underwater%20museum%20in%20Dwaraka%20yet%20to%20surface

NASA Images Find 1,750,000 Year Old Man-Made Bridge

2009-08-09T19:43:00.003+01:00

WASHINGTON (PTI) -- The NASA Shuttle has imaged a mysterious ancient bridge between India and Sri Lanka, as mentioned in the Ramayana. The evidence, say experts matter-of-factly, is in the Digital Image Collection. The recently discovered bridge, currently named as Adam's Bridge and made of a chain of shoals, 30 km long, in the Palk Straits between India and Sri Lanka, reveals a mystery behind it. The bridge's unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man-made. Legend as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.

Courtesy NASA Digital Image Collection

Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam&laqno;s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.

The bridge&laqno;s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge&laqno;s age is also almost equivalent.

This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in tredha yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago).

In this epic, there is a mentioning about a bridge, which was built between Rameshwaram (India) and Srilankan coast under the supervision of a dynamic and invincible figure called Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation of the supreme.

This information may not be of much importance to the archeologists who are interested in exploring the origins of man, but it is sure to open the spiritual gates of the people of the world to have come to know an ancient history linked to the Indian mythology.

Comment

From Hugh Joseph

10-12-2

Hi Jeff...

I read the story headlined above with great interest. This is a story of major significance, as understanding its implications will turn the entire world of Science and History on its head. This bridge, according to accounts in the Ramayana and the Srimad-Bhagavatam, was constructed in the age know as Treta, over 2 million years ago.

How did the writers without super space-ranging satellites know about the existence of this bridge? In these ancient accounts, written over 5,000 years ago, we find discussions of, among other things, space travel, inter planetary travel, what we call UFOs and what we mistakenly call ETs. This is not only the History of the planet Earth, but also of this Universe, (a mediocre universe among many millions of universes.)

Here one can also learn the real undisguised and uncontaminated truth about God. Our man-made religions are of little or no value when compared to the stunning and breathtaking revelations found in the pages of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Ramayan, Bhagavad-gita, etc.

I hope you will publish this comment for the benefit of your readers.

Thank you for the great work you are doing.

Hugh Joseph

For your readers, here is the way the "Srimad Bhagavatam" describes the event:

Text 22

nara-devatvam apannah

sura-karya-cikirsaya

samudra-nigrahadini

cakre viryany atah param

Translation:

"In the eighteenth incarnation (of Lord Krishna), the Lord appeared as King Rama. In order to perform some pleasing work for the demigods, He exhibited superhuman powers by controlling the Indian Ocean and then killing the atheist King Ravana, who was on the other side of the sea".

Purport

(by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

The Personality of Godhead Sri Rama assumed the form of a human being and appeared on the earth for the purpose of doing some pleasing work for the demigods, or the administrative personalities, to maintain the order of the universe. Sometimes great demons and atheists like Ravana and Hiranyakasipu and many others become very famous due to advancing material civilization by the help of material science and other activities, with a spirit of challenging the established order of the Lord. For example, the attempt to fly to other planets by material means is a challenge to the established order. The conditions of each and every planet are different, and different classes of human beings are accommodated there for particular purposes mentioned in the codes of the Lord. But, puffed up by tiny success in material advancement, sometimes the godless materialists challenge the existence of God. Ravana was one of them, and he wanted to deport ordinary men to the planet of Indra (heaven) by material means without consideration of the necessary qualifications. He wanted a staircase to be built up directly reaching the heavenly planet so that people might not be required to undergo the routine of pious work necessary to enter that planet. He also wanted to perform other acts against the established rule of the Lord. He even challenged the authority of Sri Rama, the Personality of Godhead, and kidnapped His wife, Sita. Of course Lord Rama came to chastise this atheist, answering the prayer and desire of the demigods. He therefore took up the challenge of Ravana, and the complete activity is the subject matter of the "Ramayana". Because Lord Ramachandra was the Personality of Godhead, He exhibited superhuman activities which no human being, including the materially advanced Ravana, could perform. Lord Ramacandra prepared a royal road on the Indian Ocean with stones that floated on the water. The modern scientists have done research in the area of weightlessness, but it is not possible to bring in weightlessness anywhere and everywhere. But because weightlessness is the creation of the Lord by which He can make the gigantic planets fly and float in the air, He made the stones even within this earth to be weightless and prepared a stone bridge on the sea without any supporting pillar. That is the display of the power of God.

(Srimad-Bhagavatam First Canto, Chapter 3, text 24, 1972)

Here's the account from the "Ramayana" of Sage Valmiki:

"At Rama's command, those lions among the monkeys entered the mighty forest with alacrity in hundreds and thousands on every side and those leaders on the simian tribes, tearing up the rocks, which in size they resembled, and the trees also dragged them to the sea and they covered the ocean with Sala, Ashvararna, (list of tree names).Those foremost monkeys transported those trees, with or without roots, bearing them like so many standards of Indra (the king of heaven) and they heaped (list of tree names) here and there. With the aid of mechanical devices, those powerful colossi dug up stones as big as elephants and rocks, and the water suddenly spouted into the air only to fall instantly. Thereafter those monkeys churned up the sea by rushing into it on all sides pulling on the chains.

"That immense causeway constructed by Nala in the bosom of the sea was built by the arms of those monkeys of formidable exploits and it extended over a hundred leagues.

"Some brought trunks of trees and others set them up; it was by hundreds and thousands that those monkeys, like unto giants, made use of reeds, logs and blossoming trees to construct that bridge, rushing hither and thither with blocks of stone resembling mountains or the peaks of crags, which, flung into the sea, fell with a resounding crash.

"The first day those monkeys resembling elephants, or immense energy, full of high spirits and exceedingly merry, erected fourteen leagues of masonry. The second day, those highly active monkeys of formidable stature set up twenty leagues. Bestirring themselves, those giants threw twenty-one leagues of structure over the ocean on the third day and on the fourth, working feverishly, they built up twenty-two leagues in extent. The fifth day, those monkeys, industrious workers, reached to twenty-three leagues distance from the further shore.

"That fortunate and valiant son of Vishvakarma (architect of the demigods), leader of the monkeys, constructed a causeway worthy of his sire over the ocean and that bridge erected by Nala over the sea, the haunt of whales, dazzling in its perfection and splendor, was like the constellation of Svati in space.

"Then the gods, Gandharvas, Siddhas (living beings superior to humans) and supreme Rishis (great sages) assembled in the sky, eager to see that masterpiece, and the gods and Gandharvas gazed on that causeway, so difficult of construction, that was ten leagues in width and a hundred in length built by Nala.

"Those monkeys thereafter dived, swam and shouted at the sight of that unimaginable marvel that was almost inconceivable and caused one to tremble! And all beings beheld that causeway thrown over the ocean and by hundreds and thousands of kotis (millions), those monkeys, full of valor, having built that bridge over the immense repository of waters, reached the opposite shore.

"Vast, well-constructed, magnificent with its wonderful paved floor, solidly cemented, that great causeway like unto a line traced on the waves, resembled the parting of a woman's hair.

"Meanwhile Bibishana (brother of Ravana who joined Rama), mace (club) in hand, held himself ready at his post with his companions in case of an enemy attack. Thereafter Sugriva addressed Rama, who was valiant by nature, saying "Mount on the shoulders of Hanuman and Laxmana (brother of Rama) on those of Angada. O Hero, vast is this ocean, the abode of whales; those two monkeys who freely range the sky will transport you both."

"Then the fortunate Rama and Laxmana advanced thus and that magnanimous archer was accompanied by Surgriva. Some monkeys strode forward in the center, some threw themselves into the waves, some sprang into the sky, others marched on the bridge, some ranged through space like birds, and the terrific tumult of the trampling of that formidable army of monkeys drowned the roar of the ocean.

"When those simian troops had passed over the sea by the grace of Nala's causeway, the king ordered them to camp on the shore which abounded in roots, fruits and water.

At the sight of that masterpiece that had materialized under the command of Raghava (another name of Lord Rama), despite the difficulties, the gods, who had drawn near with the Siddhas and Charanas as also the great Rishis, anointed Rama in secret there, with water form the sea, and said: "Mayest thou be victorious over thy foes, O Thou, who are a God among men! Do Thou rule over the earth and the sea eternally!"

Thus in various auspicious words, did they acclaim Rama in the midst of the homage offered to him by the Brahmins."

(The Ramayana of Valmiki, Yuddha Kanda)

Note: Lord Krsna's incarnation Rama, appeared as a human being because only a human being could kill Ravana, due to certain benedictions that he had been given.

Note: The monkeys mentioned here as comprising Rama's army, were not ordinary monkeys. They were in fact greatly powerful demigods who appeared on this earth to assist the Lord in his pastime of subduing this atheistic demon, Ravana.

Note: There are 4 ages, or yugas, rotating through time like the 4 seasons: Satya, 1,800,000 yeas long; Dvarapa, 1,200,000 years long, Treta, 800,000 years long and Kali, 432,000 years long. In this most recent yuga cycle, the Dvarapara and Treta yugas were reversed. This event took place about 2 million years ago.

2009-08-09T16:27:00.000+01:00

NASA images of Ramayana Bridge

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by Umesh | Upload your own presentation

2009-08-09T07:59:00.002+01:00

Ramayana and scriptures mention about the floating stones used by Hanuman and other Vanara Sena to build the Ram Setu connecting India and Srilanka at Rameswaram. In this show, you will see the original stones picked up from Ram Setu and the scientfic validation. 17 feet long Tomb of Demon Rawana found in one 'Gumpha' in revala area of Sri lanka. Proofs of flying machines with Rawana also found.

The facts about Ram...Proof of Ramayana

2009-08-04T14:44:00.020+01:00

The story of Shri Ram's life was first narrated by Maharishi Valmiki in the Ramayana, which was written after Shri Ram was crowned as the king of Ayodhya. Maharishi Valmiki was a great astronomer as he has made sequential astronomical references on important dates related to the life of Shri Ram indicating the location of planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and the other stars (nakshatras). Needless to add that similar position of planets and nakshatras is not repeated in thousands of years. By entering the precise details of the planetary configuration of the important events in the life of Shri Ram as given in the Valmiki Ramayan in the software named "Planetarium" corresponding exact dates of these events according to the English calendar can be known.

Mr Pushkar Bhatnagar of the Indian Revenue Service had acquired this software from the US .. It is used to predict the solar/lunar eclipses and distance and location of other planets from earth. He entered the relevant details about the planetary positions narrated by Maharishi Valmiki and obtained very interesting and convincing results, which almost determine the important dates starting from the birth of Shri Ram to the date of his coming back to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.

Maharishi Valmiki has recorded in Bal Kaand sarga 19 and shloka eight and nine (1/18/8,9) that Shri Ram was born on ninth tithi of Chaitra month when the position of different planets vis-a-vis zodiac constellations and nakshatras (visible stars) were: i) Sun in Aries; ii) Saturn in Libra; iii) Jupiter in Cancer; iv) Venus in Pisces; v) Mars in Capricorn; vi) Lunar month of Chaitra; vii) Ninth day after no moon; viii) Lagna as Cancer (cancer was rising in the east); ix) Moon on the Punarvasu (Gemini constellation & Pllux star); x) Day time (around noon).

This data was fed into the software. The results indicated that this was exactly the location of planets/stars in the noon of January 10, 5114 BC. Thus Shri Ram was born on January 10, 5114 BC (7121 years back). As per the Indian calendar it was the ninth day of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month and the time was around 12 to 1 noontime. This is exactly the time and date when Ram Navmi is celebrated all over India .

Shri Ram was born in Ayodhya. This fact can be ascertained from several books written by Indian and foreign authors before and after the birth of Christ - Valmiki Ramayan, Tulsi Ramayan, Kalidasa's Raghuvansam, Baudh and Jain literature, etc. These books have narrated in great detail the location, rich architecture and beauty of Ayodhya which had many palaces and temples built all over the kingdom. Ayodhya was located on the banks of the Saryu river with Ganga and Panchal Pradesh on one side and Mithila on the other side. Normally 7,000 years is a very long period during which earthquakes, storms, floods and foreign invasions change the course of rivers, destroy the towns/buildings and alter the territories. Therefore, the task of unearthing the facts is monumental. The present Ayodhya has shrunk in size and the rivers have changed their course about 40 km north/south.

Shri Ram went out of Ayodhya in his childhood (13th year as per Valmiki Ramayan) with Rishi Vishwamitra who lived in Tapovan (Sidhhashram). From there he went to Mithila, King Janaka's kingdom. Here he married Sita after breaking Shiv Dhanusha. Researchers have gone along the route adopted by Shri Ram as narrated in the Valmiki Ramayan and found 23 places which have memorials that commemorate the events related to the life of Shri Ram. These include Shringi Ashram, Ramghat, Tadka Van, Sidhhashram, Gautamashram, Janakpur (now in Nepal ), Sita Kund, etc. Memorials are built for great men and not for fictitious characters.

Date of exile of Shri Ram: It is mentioned in Valmiki Ramayan's Ayodhya Kand (2/4/18) that Dashratha wanted to make Shri Ram the king because Sun, Mars and Rahu had surrounded his nakshatra and normally under such planetary configuration the king dies or becomes a victim of conspiracies. Dashratha's zodiac sign was Pisces and his nakshatra was Rewati. This planetary configuration was prevailing on the January 5, 5089 BC, and it was on this day that Shri Ram left Ayodhya for 14 years of exile. Thus, he was 25 years old at that time (5114-5089). There are several shlokas in Valmiki Ramayan which indicate that Shri Ram was 25-years-old when he left Ayodhya for exile.

Valmiki Ramayan refers to the solar eclipse at the time of war with Khardushan in later half of 13th year of Shri Ram's exile. It is also mentioned it was amavasya day and Mars was in the middle. When this data was entered, the software indicated that there was a solar eclipse on October 7, 5077 BC, (amavasya day) which could be seen from Panchvati. The planetary configuration was also the same - Mars was in the middle, on one side were Venus and Mercury and on the other side were Sun and Saturn. On the basis of planetary configurations described in various other chapters, the date on which Ravana was killed works out to be December 4, 5076 BC, and Shri Ram completed 14 years of exile on January 2, 5075 BC, and that day was also Navami of Shukla Paksha in Chaitra month. Thus Shri Ram had come back to Ayodhya at the age of 39 (5114-5075).

A colleague, Dr Ram Avtar, researched on places visited by Shri Ram during his exile, and sequentially moved to the places stated as visited by Shri Ram in the Valmiki Ramayan, starting from Ayodhya he went right upto Rameshwaram. He found 195 places which still have the memorials connected to the events narrated in the Ramayana relating to the life of Shri Ram and Sita. These include Tamsa Tal (Mandah), Shringverpur (Singraur), Bhardwaj Ashram (situated near Allahabad), Atri Ashram, Markandaya Ashram (Markundi), Chitrakoot, Pamakuti (on banks of Godavari), Panchvati, Sita Sarovar, Ram Kund in Triambakeshwar near Nasik, Shabari Ashram, Kishkindha (village Annagorai), Dhanushkoti and Rameshwar temple.

In Valmiki Ramayan it is mentioned that Shri Ram's army constructed a bridge over the sea between Rameshwaram and Lanka. After crossing this bridge, Shri Ram's army had defeated Ravana. Recently, NASA put pictures on the Internet of a man-made bridge, the ruins of which are lying submerged in Palk Strait between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka . Recently the Sri Lankan Government had expressed the desire to develop Sita Vatika as a tourist spot. Sri Lankans believe this was Ashok Vatika where Ravana had kept Sita as a prisoner (in 5076 BC).

Indian history has recorded that Shri Ram belonged to the Suryavansh and he was the 64th ruler of this dynasty. The names and other relevant particulars of previous 63 kings are listed in Ayodhya Ka Itihas written about 80 years ago by Rai Bahadur Sita Ram. Professor Subhash Kak of Lousiana University , in his book, The Astronomical Code of the Rig Veda, has also listed 63 ancestors of Shri Ram who ruled over Ayodhya. Sri Ram's ancestors have been traced out as: Shri Ram, King Dashratha, King Aja, King Raghu, King Dilip and so on.. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Bengal to Gujarat , everywhere people believe in the reality of Shri Ram's existence, particularly in the tribal areas of Himachal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North-East. Most of the festivals celebrated in these areas revolve around the events in the life of Shri Ram and Shri Krishna.

The events and places related to the life of Shri Ram and Sita are true cultural and social heritage of every Indian irrespective of caste and creed. Therefore, it is common heritage. After all, Shri Ram belonged to the period when Prophet Mohammed or Jesus Christ were not born and Muslim or Christian faiths were unknown to the world. The words Hindu (resident of Hindustan) and Indian (resident of India ) were synonymous.. India was also known as Bharat (land of knowledge) and Aryavarta (where Aryans live) and Hindustan (land of "Hindus" - derived from word Indus ).

During Ram Rajya, the evils of caste system based on birth were non-existent. In fact, Maharishi Valmiki is stated to be of shudra class (scheduled caste), still Sita lived with him as his adopted daughter after she was banished from Ayodhya. Luv and Kush grew in his ashram as his disciples. We need to be proud of the fact that Valmiki was perhaps the first great astronomer and that his study of planetary configurations has stood the test of times. Even the latest computer softwares have corroborated his astronomical calculations, which proves that he did not commit any error.

Shabari is stated to be belonging to the Bheel tribe. Shri Ram's army, which succeeded in defeating Ravana, was formed by various tribals from Central and South India . The facts, events and all other details relating to the life of Shri Ram are the common heritage of all the Indians including scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, Muslims, Christians, etc.

Prophet Mohammad was born 1,400 years ago. Jesus Christ was born 2,000 years back. Gautam Buddha was born 2,600 years back, whereas Ram was born 7,000 years back. Hence, discovering the details relating to Shri Ram's life would be lot more difficult as destruction caused by floods, earthquakes and invasions etc., would be far greater. But, should that stop our quest for learning more about our cultural heritage?

As Indians, let us all take pride in the fact that the Indian civilisation is the most ancient civilisation today. It is certainly more than 10,000 years old. Therefore, let us reject the story of Aryan invasion in India in 1,500 BC as motivated implantation. In fact Max Mueller, who was the creator of this theory had himself rejected it. Let us admit that during the British Rule, we were educated in the schools based on Macaulay school of thinking which believed that everything Indian was inferior and that entire "Indian literature was not worth even one book rack in England". If there were similarities in certain features of Indian people and people from Central Europe, then automatic inference drawn was that the Aryans coming from Europe invaded India and settled here. No one dared of thinking in any other way. Therefore, there is urgency for the historians and all other intellectuals to stop reducing Indian history to myth. There is need to gather, dig out, search, unearth and analyse all the evidences, which would throw more light on ancient Indian civilisation and culture.

There is need for the print and the electronic media to take note of these facts and create atmosphere which would motivate our young and educated youth to carry out research and unearth true facts about the ancient Indian civilisation and wisdom and would also encourage them to put across the results of their research before the people fearlessly and with a sense of pride!

by Saroj Bala, The Pioneer
The author Saroj Bala is in IRS, Commisioner of Income Tax posted at Delhi .

Ancient Map of India

2009-08-01T11:16:00.000+01:00

2009-08-01T08:27:00.001+01:00

Radhekrishna!!

This is an incredible presentation on the Vedas, their content accompanied by scientific evidence sent to me as part of another yahoo group. It is truly worth listening to.A great 30 min video

Wooden piece at Dwarka site to tell all... date, time

2009-07-31T21:45:00.003+01:00

Express News Service

Rajkot, May 4: Archaeologists are excited about a circular wooden structure found underwater at a near-shore excavation site off the coast of Jamnagar. Thought to be the remains of the lost city of ancient Dwarka, the wooden structure is well preserved and surrounded by another structure made of stone blocks. “It is significant as scientific dating of wood, which is carbon, is possible. This was not the case with evidences like stone, beads, glass and terracota found earlier,” said Alok Tripathi, Superintending Archeologist, Underwater Archeology Wing of Archaeological Survey of India.

The dating of submerged ruins off the coast of Dwarka has been matter of debate for since long. Archaeologists and historians have been at loggerhead about the period when these structures were built and have claimed various dates about the origin and decay of one of the most scared places in India. Answers to questions like when did Lord Krishna set up his kingdom in Dwarka? When did the “Golden City” submerge in the sea? — were based on the interpretations of these scholars and no material evidence had so far been found so that these structures could be scientifically dated.

“Though excavation at Dwarka has been carried out a number of times, this is for the first time a wooden block has been found, and this is going to help us almost pin-point a time frame and give some credible answers,” said Tripathi.

This piece was found during a near-shore excavation carried out in the southwest region of Samudranarayan Temple. The structure is made of stone and wood. The underwater archaeologist carried out diving in shallow water and studied the technique of joining these blocks in detail. The blocks were joined so well with the help of wooden dowels and nails that they remained in situ (in position) despite heavy surfs and strong current for a long period.

“The collected samples will be sent to different laboratories. We expect the results to come as soon as possible,” said Tripathi.

According to ancient literature the ancient Dwarka city had submerged in the sea. The Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India undertook systematic study of Dwarka about two years back. After a thorough analysis of earlier research and extensive fieldwork, UAW started archaeological excavation at Dwarka from January 1, 2007 to know the antiquity of the site based on scientific study of the material evidence.

S R Rao and his findings

2009-07-31T21:44:00.001+01:00

"The search for the lost city has been going on since 1930," S.R. Rao, former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in the excavations, told India Abroad. "It is only after marine archaeologists started exploring the seabed near modem Dwaraka from 1981 that the structural remains of the city were found."

Hindu Epics such as Mahabharata have often been described as myths. On the same day that Krishnadeparted from the earth the powerful dark-bodied Kali Age descended. The oceans rose and submerged the wholeof Dwaraka.“ According to Vishnu Purana - Dwaraka was submerged by the sea right after the death of LordKrishna.
This was regarded as a grandiose metaphor, part of a story filled with great myths. In the earlyeighties an important archaeological site was found in India, at Dwaraka, the site of the legendary city of LordKrishna. Now, it is discovered that the whole coast of western India sank by nearly 40 feet around 1500 B.C.E. Why is that the rediscovery of Dwaraka has not attracted the same degree of attention in the West, as thatof ancient Troy by Heinrich Schliemann? The first clear historical record is dated 574 A.D. and occurs in the Palitana Plates of Samanta Simhaditya.This inscription refers to Dwaraka as the capital of the western coast of Saurashtra and still more important,states that Sri Krishna lived here. The establishment of one of the four of his pithas at Dwaraka bySankaracharya attests to the great religious sanctity the place must have attained by the eighth century A.D. Dr. S R Rao has written: "The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been foundedby Sri Krishna, is an important landmark in the history of India. It has set to rest the doubts expressed byhistorians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwaraka city. It has greatlynarrowed the gap in Indian history by establishing the continuity of the Indian civilization from the Vedic Ageto the present day."Here is a report about the latest excavations done by Dr. S.R. Rao of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the National Institute of Oceanography of India.

THE EXISTENCE OF IRON IN THE VEDAS, RAMAYANA, AND MAHABHARATA

2009-07-31T12:56:00.000+01:00

By ANAND M. SHARAN
PROFESSOR
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND, ST. JOHN=S,
NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA A1B 3X5
E-MAIL: asharan@engr.mun.ca
http://www.engr.mun.ca/~asharan/bihar/ironage/IRONAGEINDIA2.htm

The Legend of Dwaraka

2009-07-31T11:38:00.000+01:00

TheLegendofDwaraka

Ancient Road Map of India

2009-07-30T00:36:00.001+01:00

Mahabharat - Bharat Varsh

2009-07-29T11:09:00.001+01:00

Sri Rama Sethu

2009-07-23T11:53:00.000+01:00

SriRamaSethu Eng

US Senate to open with Hindu prayers

2009-06-27T11:52:00.001+01:00

07:21 27/06/2007, Indians Overseas-The Times of India
History will be created when a Hindu prayer will be recited at the opening of the US Senate in Washington on July 12.

Sciences that originated in Bhārata Gaṇarājya

2009-06-11T13:39:00.002+01:00

INVENTION OF NUMERALS

Numerals are found in the inscriptions of Ashok The Great in the 3rd Century BCE. This knowledge traveled from there to Europe and West. In Arab countries even now numerals are known as HINDSE: from India. La place, the French mathematician and physicist, wrote during Napoleon's time, "It is India that gave us the ingenious method of expressing all numbers by means of ten symbols" - Prof. O.M. Mathew in Bhavan's Journal. Please click on the post title to read more about this article...

INVENTION OF ZERO

Brahmagupt was the first mathematician to treat ZERO (0) as a number and showed its mathematical operations

INVENTION OF ARITHMETIC

Arithmetic was discovered by Indians in about 2nd Century BCE. Bhaskaracharya's book Lilavati is regarded as the first book on modern arithmetic. The Arabs learnt and adopted it from India and spreaded it to Europe. "In 499 CE Aryabhatt finished his work Aryabhatt, giving rules of Arithmetic" (Encyclopedia Britannica)

INVENTION OF ALGEBRA

In western Europe the knowledge of Algebra was borrowed, not from Greece but from Arabs, who acquired this from India. Algebra is the only Arabic name for Bijaganit. "Aryabhatt was one of the first to use Algebra" (Encyclopedia Britannica)

INVENTION OF GEOMETRY AND TRIGNOMETRY

The brick work of Harappa and Mohenjodaro excavations show that people of ancient India (2500 BCE) possessed knowledge of Geometry. Aryabhatt formulated the rules for finding the area of a 'triangle', which led to the origin of Trignometry.

DISCOVERY OF ASTRONOMY

The knowledge of the motion of heavenly bodies was discovered by Aryabhatt (499 CE), Latadev (505 CE) and Brahmagupt (628 CE), for calculating the timing of eclipses. In "Soorya Siddhant" Latadeva, talked about the earth's axis and called it SUMERU. "That the earth is a sphere and it rotates on its own axis", was known to Varahamihira and other Indian astronomers much before Copernicus published this theory. (Jewish Encyclopedia)

INVENTION OF CALENDAR MAKING

Discovery of measurement of time and discovery of nomenclature of days, month and years and invention of calendar making was made in India. In his book 'Surya Sidhanta' Latadeva (505 CE) divided the year into 12 months. Seven planets of the solar system effect the earth's atmosphere and their names were added to the seven days of the week, which was accepted all over the world.

DISCOVERY OF THEORY OF GRAVITATION

In his book 'Siddhant Shiromani' Bhaskaracharya mentions about force of attraction resembling gravity, discovered centuries later by Newton. (Jewish Encyclopedia)

INVENTION OF IRON PRODUCTS IN 3000 BCE

The word AYAS occurs in the four Vedas which denotes iron. Ashoka pillar at Mehrauli, New Delhi and another iron pillar in Karnataka stand proof of India's metallurgical heritage (A study published in the magazine 'The Current Science').

INVENTION OF COPPER, BRONZE AND ZINC

The copper and bronze artifacts dates back to Indus Valley Civilization (2500 BCE). According to treatise RASARATNAKAR, zinc was made in around 50 BCE at Zawar in Rajasthan (India).

INVENTION OF CHEMICALS PROCESSES, DYES AND CHEMICAL COLORS

Chemistry known as RASAYAN SHASTR was invented in India. Elphinstone wrote in his book 'History of India', "They (ancient Indians) know how to prepare the sulphate of copper, zinc and iron and carbonates of lead and iron". RASAVIDYA or Indian alchemy made its appearance around 5th Century CE (National Science Centre, New Delhi) Posted by John Pifer

India's heritage of solving problems is often overshadowed by centuries of colonialism and conquest. Outside Delhi I visited one of the oldest monuments to that history . . . pillar of iron alloy, smelted by Indian metallurgists with such skill that it has remained rustless for 1,500 years. (Photograph on page 533.) - National Geographic Magazine, Volume 167, Number 4, April 1985; page 527 Posted by Jai Maharaj in 1993

Metallurgy in Ancient Bharat (India)

In ancient times in India, we had evolved a method of making stainless steel. This was also used in casting swords.

The rust-proof Iron Pillar at the Kutub Minar complex near Delhi is one example, there are more such examples.

Some Greek texts which are 2000 years old (Periplus of the Erythrean Sea and others) talk of the import of coins from India. The making of coins presumes the existence of techniques for the smelting of metals.

Incidentally the Emglish Word Cash orignates from the Sanskrit term "Karsha" according to the Oxford Dictionary.

I have come across a Sanskrit text named "Rasa-ratnakara" by Nagarjuna. This texy is dated around the 9th century and talks of the conversion of the base metals into gold- like alloys.

Oldest Vedic Icon Forms Bharat History

Whoever first dug up the foot-tall copper head outside Delhi obviously didn't know how they held a key piece of the early Hindu history puzzle. It was 1958, and the curious, hollow image was on its way to being melted down into a copper-zinc soup. Six thousand years of archeology, metallurgy, art and religious history would have been liquefied.

Fortunately, it didn't become some rich person's copper plumbing. But it's presence did begin melting rigid buttumptions by Western scholars on the timing of the migration of Indo-Europeans into northern India -- moving their arrival back by some 2,000 years to around 4,000 BCE. State-of-the-art Carbon-14 dating (carbon deposits were found on the figure's inside) ages the life-size head at 3,700 BCE, plus or minus 800 years. That makes it the oldest artifact discovered from the Vedic period, and puts it on a par with the most timeworn artifacts from the Indus Valley empire of North India (believed Saivite.) According to Harry Hicks, of the Hicks Foundation for Cultural Preservation --which owns the artifact -- the bust is the "oldest discovered, worshipped image of any religion."

The head is an anomaly. Its style is radically unique -- no other artifact exists quite like it. The hair is coiled into a knot dipping to the right side of the head, a Vedic coiffure that Hicks says is typical of the Vashishta priests mentioned in the Vedas. It bears the Third Eye mark and the crescent moon of Shiva, and the curious inclusion of a "warrior's mustache." (I am looking at a photograph of the figure.) The face, which is quite realistic, appears to fuse into an unrealistically thick neck, prompting Hicks to speculate that the figure is the first--or oldest known--example of the face of Shiva appearing out of a Lingam form.

If indeed the head sacerdotal icon, it also dispells the common perception that the Vedic era's mode of divine- communion was only the Yagya or fire ceremony. The earliest evidence of urbanization in the territory of Bharat features circular temples with Shivalingam stones enshrined in the center. And the most powerful Yagya rites involved the burying of a small golden man underneath the Homa pit.

At the neck of the head is inscribed the word "Narayana," which in tests by copper aging facilities at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory proved to be scratched in six or seven centuries ago. Excerpted from Hinduism Today Posted by Jai Maharaj in 1993

Ravana's Air Plane and the Lift of Ramayana Times

2009-05-01T00:28:00.003+01:00

Chitrakuta is the only Sri Lankan fortress which had a wooden lift operated from top to bottom. If any one enters this great fortress through the lion's head, he will be able to see a huge hole on the rock. Stone structures and stands both on the top and bottom of this "route-hole" are believed to be places on which the wooden lift had been fixed. King Ravana's period was famous for woodcraft and they used a "lift" too, for the day to day work in the fort. History relates that Ravana's air-plane was also made of light wood which was brought from Himalayan forests. Archaeologists, historians and some legends say that there were more than 500 paintings on the walls of Chitrakuta and most of them had been dilapidated due to natural causes. King Ravana was talented in all the fine arts as well as physician and pundit. Sri Lankans are proud to have Chitrakuta or Sigiriya, the world's oldest palace fortress

Verses from the Valmiki Ramayana

2009-04-29T11:18:00.004+01:00

9,500-Year-Old City Found Underwater Off India

2009-04-28T13:10:00.000+01:00

Western Archaeologists to Rewrite History, Source : The Internet

According to marine scientists in India, archaeological remains of this lost city have been discovered 36 metres (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Cambay off the western coast of India. And carbon dating says that they are 9,500 years old. This news completely contradicts the position of most Western historians and archaeologists, who (because it did not fit their theories) have always rejected, ignored, or suppressed evidence of an older view of mankind's existence on planet Earth. Human civilization is now provably much more ancient than many have believed. According to the BBC's Tom Housden, reporting on the Cambay find:

The civilization of Ancient Egypt occurred in a past so remote that today it seems mystical. The pyramids and other temples, with their hieroglyphics depicting a flourishing civilization, have a mysterious, almost magical appeal. It seems inconceivable that people of an advanced society could have walked those ancient streets.

Now, it was announced in January, a civilization has been uncovered that would have appeared just as ancient to the people who built the pyramids as the pyramids seem to us.

The vast city — which is five miles long and two miles wide — is believed to predate the oldest known remains in the subcontinent by more than 5,000 years.

The site was discovered by chance last year by oceanographers from India's National Institute of Ocean Technology, who were conducting a survey of pollution.

Using sidescan sonar, which sends a beam of sound waves down to the bottom of the ocean, they identified huge geometrical structures at a depth of 120 feet.

Debris recovered from the site — including construction material, pottery, sections of walls, beads, sculpture, and human bones and teeth — has been carbon dated and found to be nearly 9,500 years old (BBC article).

Several reports confirm this estimate. Housden added, "The whole model of the origins of civilisation will have to be remade from scratch."

Unheard-of Scope of Cambay Ruins

The BBC article tells us that the remains of this ancient city stand upon "enormous foundations." Marine archaeologists discovered them with a technology known as "sub-bottom profiling."

Author and filmmaker Graham Hancock, an authority on archaeological investigations of ancient civilizations, reportedly said that the evidence was compelling. For example, he said that the oceanographers had found two large blocks that were larger than anything that's ever been found. "Cities on this scale," Hancock told BBC Online, "are not known in the archaeological record until roughly 4,500 years ago when the first big cities begin to appear in Mesopotamia.

Theorists are postulating that the area where this city exists was submerged when the ice caps melted at the end of the last Ice Age.

"A month ago in mid-January [2002]," says Hancock on his website, "marine scientists in India announced they had sonar images of square and rectangular shapes about 130 feet down off the northwestern coast of India in the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay). . . . [There are] sonar shapes with 90-degree angles. The Indian Minister of Science and Technology ordered that the site be dredged. What was found has surprised archaeologists around the world" (GrahamHancock.com/news.)

The Find Includes Human Remains

Linda Moulton Howe, who investigates occurrences of this type worldwide, interviewed Michael Cremo about this new discovery. Cremo is a researcher and author of the book Forbidden Archaeology. Cremo, Howe said, has visited India and attended local meetings about the Cambay site.

"Within the past few months," Cremo told her, "the engineers began some dredging operations there and they pulled up human fossil bones, fossil wood, stone tools, pieces of pottery, and many other things that indicated that it indeed was a human habitation site that they had. And they were able to do more intensive sonar work there and were able to identify more structures. They appeared to have been laid out on the bank of a river that had been flowing from the Indian subcontinent out into that area."

According to Howe:

Even if we don't know what the cultural background of the people is, if it does happen to be a city that is 9500 years old, that is older than the Sumerian civilization by several thousand years. It is older than the Egyptian, older than the Chinese. So it would radically affect our whole picture of the development of urban civilization on this planet.

Now, if it further happens that additional research is able to identify the culture of the people who lived in that city that's now underwater — if it turns out they are a Vedic people, which I think is quite probable given the location of this off the coast of India — I think that would radically change the whole picture of Indian history which has basically been written by Western archaeologists.

To read about the previously most ancient finds in India, at Harappan, and their relationship to Vedic tradition, please see Linda Moulton Howe's article at her website