Self styled Historians, nay Anglophiles have started screaming for facts in Indian history, pointing out ,
Rmama Sethu, Built by Lord Rama’s army
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments in October, that Lord Ganesha was the product of plastic surgery, has prompted the Indian History Congress, attended by over 2000 professional historians in Delhi, to pass a resolution that says “genuine historians would stand by the values of their profession and resist interested distortions of our past.”
The resolution, adopted during its Platinum Jubilee meet on Tuesday, mentions the Prime Minister’s statement and also “calls upon the members of the political establishment to refrain from making statements contrary to well-established historical facts.”
Speaking to NDTV, well-known historian Professor Aditya Mukherjee said, “The Prime Minister shouldn’t confuse between history and mythology. In many societies, there are tales of people flying, doing other extraordinary things, but they can’t be taken as history.”
Mr Mukherjee, who also heads the School of Social Sciences in the Jawaharlal Nehru University, responded to the often-cited argument that Historiography in India has been Left-centric and biased.
“There should not be a problem if there are multiple perspectives. In fact, it is good that if the discipline’s rigor is challenged but you can’t treat imagination as history,” said Mr Mukherjee
Indian History Congress’s meet has been in the news for raising issues of contemporary debate. Apart from the PM’s statement on Ganesha, the conference also talked about “attempts to change school textbooks”. Right-wing hardliners have been accused of trying to pressure the government to rewrite school books in line with Hindu-nationalist orthodoxy.
Inaugurating the event on Sunday, Vice President Hamid Ansari had cautioned that the attempt to portray “India as a homogenous nation is problematic”.
Which are the distortions of facts?
Lord Rama , whose existence is proved by astronomical dating, archeology,your own white skinned people,and by Indian Literature in many languages?
Or
The Bible which was composed by Constantine to suit a Political need,
Jesus whose real name is not known till today?
That Krishna’s Dwaraka is found, his date is established,
or
The story of some one whose existence is not proved and who says he read God’s inscriptions on stone in Heaven?
That Indians were advanced in Mathematics,Physics, astronomy,Quantum Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Surgery,Agriculture,Ship building, Aircraft Building, Social Sciences,Astrophysics,Biology, Stem Cell research, …..
The ever-changing views of Science of today when one can never be sure of what he ‘scientists’ will find to-morrow.
The atomic theory of Vaisheshika who are far ahead of repeatedly falling CERN research?
How about these multiple perspectives as these ?(they are established facts)
That Nehru delayed the dispatch of troops to Kashmir to repel Pakistani intruders,
That a certain gentleman of great fame was born in a Brothel , his father ran one,
And another was a Homo sexual,
That Hyder Ali and Tippu Sulthan destroyed temples,
That Shah Jehan Built the Taj Mahal on a Shiva temple,
He imprisoned his father,
That Islam invaders destroyed thousand of temples and killed, maimed raped Indians,
The British genocide toll in India exceeds one Billion.
I can go on.
If an ordinary man like me can quote this much, imagine the knowledge of Real Indian scholars?
Of course you do not recognise them for they are Indians, much worse…. Hindus!
Check your facts.
Nice to be secular but more important is to be a Rational Man.
Mysteries of Nature still daunt Man, despite professed advancements in Science and Technology.
The problem of spirits, Ghosts are yet to be solved,
The Ghost fact-finding adventures in TV channels continue, with evidence surfacing that Ghosts do exist.
We have one in India as well.
Room temperatures vary and Lasers detect strange shadows!
It is the KuldharaVillage in Rajasthan.
Recently, Paranormal Society of Delhi acknowledged that there is something strange about these scary places.
The society was studying one of these locations in Jaisalmer’s Kuldhara village. Kuldhara village is a haunted location and it is believed that it is impossible to spend an entire night in the village. The society decided to unravel the mystery behind the village of Kuldhara’s spirit.
Delhi’s Paranormal Society of Delhi reached Kuldhara under the leadership of Gaurav Tiwari on Saturday.
A brave team of 18 members decided to spend an entire night inside the village along with 10-12 other people.
Kudhara ,Haunted, Abandoned Village, India
The team spent 12 long horrifying hours inside the village and experienced some strange activities.
The team equipped with their high-tech electronic equipments scanned the entire village and encountered really strange activities. From moving shadows, haunting voices to hand imprints of children on cars; the team members lived through one of their scariest nights.
One of the members revealed that he felt someone touching his shoulder from behind. When he turned back to see who it was, he found no one.
The team used a highly sophisticated equipment to communicate with ghosts and spirits. The equipment, named ‘Ghost Box’, was used to ask questions from the spirits. The spirits responded and even told their names.
The team had a K-2 metre device which is used to measure change in surroundings temperature. The device recorded a temperature of 41 Degree Celsius at one location and as it was moved a few steps ahead, the temperature instantly dropped to 31 Degree Celsius.
The team used LASER rays and found unexplained moving shadows.
We are quite familiar with the Stonehenge in England.
Stonehenge ,England.
”
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, about 2 miles (3 km) west of Amesbury and 8 miles (13 km) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks. It is in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.
Archaeologists believe it was built anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. Radiocarbon dating in 2008 suggested that the first stones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,[2] whilst another theory suggests that bluestones may have been raised at the site as early as 3000 BC..
There is little or no direct evidence for the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders. Over the years, various authors have suggested that supernatural or anachronistic methods were used, usually asserting that the stones were impossible to move otherwise. However, conventional techniques, using Neolithic technology as basic as shear legs, have been demonstrably effective at moving and placing stones of a similar size. Proposed functions for the site include usage as an astronomical observatory or as a religious site.
Another idea has to do with a quality of the stones themselves: Researchers from the Royal College of Art in London have discovered that some of the monument’s stones possess “unusual acoustic properties” —when they are struck they respond with a “loud clanging noise”.
Byse, Indian Stonehenge.
Located in Byse village in Karnataka these Megaliths structures dates back to 1000 BC and have been found to be aligned with certain Solar and Stellar movements including solstices andequinoxes.
Megalithic structures have been found at a site called Nilaskal Byana which mean “the field with the standing stones”. In 1975, the site was reported as containing several menhirs (single standing stones) arranged in no particular pattern. In 2007, the researchers from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and Manipal University surveyed the site and discovered 26 megalithic constructions….
According to researcher, this megalithic construction were most probably used for astronomical observations at a site in South India. Using computer simulation, the researchers concluded that at least one of the stone alignments at Byse has “strong astronomical associations”. The standing stones are aligned to the north, east, south and west directions and also match the two solstices and equinoxes. While the two solstices mark the longest and shortest days of the year, an equinox occurs when the sun is in the same plane as the earth’s equator. The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons.
A unique feature of this observatory compared to those in Europe is that it does not have a central location from which observations can be made, but involves multiple sightlines with shadows of several stones falling on other marking stones during days of astronomical importance..
Citation.
Source: Stone alignment with solar and other sightlines in South India by CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 102, NO. 5, 10 MARCH 2012
Brahmins a part of Santana Dharma have branches and subcastes.
It may be noted that Caste is a loose translation of the Term Varna, which indicates disposition(even this term is not an exact translation)
It has nothing to do with race.
Brahmin Community, India
Brahmins, an essential part of Santana Dharma, were spread throughout India.
Brahmins, as in the case of the other varnas(Castes) were a single community.
However over a period of time, there evolved a division among them based on the Sutras they follow and later Geographical location.
Astasahasram, a Group of eight thousand Families,
Vadama, who settled on the northern banks of River Cauvery,
Vaathimaa, most of this group were engaged in Proestly duties, Purohitham.
Bruhatcharanam. it is believed that long time back a family of Brahmins were accused of Brahmahathi, that of killing a Brahmin.
They were ostracized by the Brahmins.
Then they performed a Yagnya, Bruhat Yagnya, to purify themselves.
Then they were readmitted into the Brahmin -fold and hence the name Bruhtrcharanam , now called Brecharanam.
For example, there are Shaiva Vellalars,Kaar Vellalars,Karai Vellalars in the Vella community.
The term Vellala in Tamil means one who regulated Flood.
One who regulates Flood is Vellala.
Among them who minds the Bund are Karai Vellalas.
Kaar Vellalas are those who regulate the flow of Flood at the time of Rainy seasons,Kaar in Tamil means heavy rains.
Among all these those who do not eat meat are called Shaviva Vellalas.
Similarly those who follow the six duties assigned to Brahmins, are Brahmins.
The six duties.
“Adhyaapanam Adhyayanam
Yajanam Yaajanam Tathaa
Daanam Pratigraham Chaiva
Brahmanaanaamakalpayaat”
Learnng the Vedas,
Teaching the Vedas,
Perfoming the Yagnyas by themselves,
Perfoming Yagnyas for the others,
Accepting Gifts and
Donating the needy.
In addition they must have realized Brahman.
The Vedas contain branches, called Sakhas.
Please read my post on Vedas.
The Veda mantras are , most of them aphorisms, especially in Brahmanas and Upanishads.
While the Upanishads speak about Reality Brahman, the Brahmanas talk about the duties to be performed.
As they are terse, there arose people who explained them.
The aphorisms are the Sutras.
Those who explain them are called the Sutradhaars.
They explain the sutras and as the individuals are different , so are the interpretations.
However the essence, the core message of the Vedas are kept unchanged, certain practices vary.
Later geographical locations were taken as a Yardstick.
Read my post on Brahmins subcastes.
” During the sutra period, roughly between 1000 BC to 200 BC, Brahmins became divided into various Sakhas or branches, based on the adoption of different Vedas and different readings and interpretations of Vedas. Sects or schools for different denominations of the same Veda were formed, under the leadership of distinguished teachers among Brahmins. The teachings of these distinguished rishis are called sutras. Every Veda has its own sutras. The sutras that deal with social, moral and legal precepts are called dharma sutras, whereas those sutras that deal with ceremonials are called Srauta sutras and domestic rituals are called gruhya sutras. sutras are generally written in prose or in mixed prose and verse. These sutras are based on divine Vedas and are manmade and hence are called Smritis, meaning “recollected or remembered.”
There are several Brahmin law givers such as Angirasa, Apasthambha, Atri, Brihaspati, Boudhayana, Daksha, Gautama, Harita, Katyayana, Likhita, Manu, Parasara, Samvarta, Sankha, Satatapa, Usanasa, Vasishta, Vishnu, Vyasa, Yajnavalkya and Yama. These twenty-one rishis were the propounders of Dharma Sastras. There is a lot of contradiction among theseDarmasastas, even within one Smriti. These differences in the rules and rituals resulted in the rigid stratification of subcastes among Brahmins. None of these smritis is supreme and universally applicable throughout the Indian Continent. The oldest among these Dharma Sutras are Apasthambha, Baudhayana, Gautama and Vasishta Sutras.
Apasthambha: Apasthambha, a native of Andhra Country, belonged to Krishnayajurveda School. He belonged to fifth century BC. Apasthambha’s teachings are called Apasthambhasutra orApasthambhasmriti. Baudhayana: Baudhayana also belonged to Krishnayajurveda School and was an inhabitant of Andhra Country. Baudhayana’s teachings are called Baudhayanasutra or Baudhayanasmriti. Brihaspati: Brihaspati was probably the first jurist to make a clear distinction between civil and criminal justice. Yajnavalkya referred to Brihaspati. However, Brihaspati is considered to belong to 200-400 AD. Brihaspatismriti has a lot of similarities with Dhammathats of Myanmar (Burma). Gautama: Gautama was the most ancient sage of all Brahmin lawgivers. He was quoted by Baudhayana and belonged to Samaveda School. Gautama’s teachings are called Gautamasutra orGautamasmriti. Harita: Baudhayana and Vasishta in their Dharmasutras quote Harita. Haritasmriti or Haritasutra is an extensive work. Katyayana: Yajnavalkya mentions Katyayana. Katyayanasmriti is quoted in several works of Viswarupa, Mitramisra etc. Smriti Chandrika cites 600 verses of Katyayanasutras. He may belong to the same period as Narada and Brihaspati. Manu: Manu is a mythical personality and is the ancestor of the entire humankind. Manu received the code from Brahma, and communicated it to ten sages and requested Bhrigu rishi to repeat it to the other nine. This code of conduct recited by Bhrigu is called Manusmriti. For convenience, the British took Manusmriti as the paramount law of the Indian Continent.Manudharma is not only revered by Brahmins and Hindus, but also by Buddhists in Java, Siam and Myanamar. Manusmriti was composed around 200 BC, around which time a revival of Brahminism took place under the rule Sungas in the North India. Narada: Sage Narada was probably a native of Nepal around first century AD. Naradasmriti is the first legal code unhampered by the mass of religious and moral teachings. Some authors think that Narada belonged to Gupta period when there was a distinct revival of Brahminism and Sanskrit literature. Vasishta: Vasishta belonged to 3rd century BC and a native of North India. Vasishta’s teachings are called Vasishtasutra or Vasishtasmriti. Vishnu: Vishnu belonged to 1st or 2nd century AD. Vishnu’s teachings are called Vishnusutra or Vishnusmriti. Yajnavalkya: Yajnavalkya belonged to Suklayajurveda School12. He was a native of Mithila City in North Bihar and probably lived anywhere from few centuries before Christ to 200 AD. However, some scholars think he belonged to first or second century AD. Yajnavalkya Dharmasmriti has been subject of numerous commentaries. The most celebrated of all the commentaries ofYajnavlkyasmriti is Mitakshara and is practically the beginning of the Brahmin law and the so-called Hindu law. Passages from Mitakshara have been found practically in every part of the Indian Continent and became an authority. The Yajnavlkyasmriti is concise, more systematic and better arranged than the Manusmriti. From early times, commentators like Viswarupa, Vijnaneswara, Apararka, Sulapani, Mitramisra etc., from every part of India selected the Yajnavalkyasmriti as the basis of their commentaries. Passages from Yajnavalkyasmiriti appeared in Panchatantra.
Other important Brahmins who gave smritis/sutras/laws are: Angirasa, Atri, Daksha, Devala, Laugakshi, Prajapati, Pitamaha, Pulatsya, Yama, Vyasa, Samvarta and Satatapa. Prominent smriti writers of later age include, Devanabhatta or Devanandabhatta of Madras province, who belonged to ~1200 AD and wrote Smritichandrika, and Madhavacharya or Vidyaranya, who was the Prime Minister of Vijayanagara dynasty and pontiff for some time of the celebrated mutth at Sringeri in Mysore province. He wrote Parasaramadhaviya, which is a commentary onParasarasmriti.
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