Ramanisblog

Tag: Greek mythology

  • Shivas Tripura Capital of Atlantis?

    Shivas Tripura Capital of Atlantis?

    It is time for me to start searching for Atlantis,Lemuria and MU in detail as new evidence of emerging city in Antarctica and the finding of an Alloy belonging to Atlantis.

    I have written on the Antarctica as the emerging city of Shiva.

    Now the news about Atlantis Alloy.

    ‘

    Alloy, which according to Greek legend was mined on the ancient mythical island of Atlantis, has been discovered on a shipwreck which sank off the coast of Sicily 2,600 years ago. Some 47 ingots of ‘orichalcum’ have so far been recovered from the ancient underwater find.

    Described as brass-like and made through the reaction of zinc ore, charcoal and copper, the alloy has never before been discovered in such quantity. Uncovered back in 2015, the ingots’ composition was revealed only after analysis using X-ray fluorescence, reported Seeker.

    Two Corinthian helmets, believed to have been part of the ship’s defense against pirates, were also discovered at the shipwreck. “Another hypothesis is that they were meant to be an offer to the gods,” according to Sebastiano Tusa, an archaeologist involved in the find and superintendent of the Sea at Palermo.

    Orichalcum became legendary through the writings of Greek philosopher Plato, who wrote that the material was mined in Atlantis, where it covered Poseidon’s temple.’

    (https://www.rt.com/viral/379302-ancient-atlantis-alloy-shipwreck/)

    Now to Atlantis.

    I have written a few articles on Atlantis,

    Tripura Rotating Cities destroyed by Shiva

    Atlantis White Island of White skinned

    Now references to Atlantis by Plato.

    In Plato’s book, Timaeus, a character named Kritias tells an account of Atlantis that has been in his family for generations. According to the character, the story was originally told to his ancestor, Solon, by a priest during Solon’s visit to Egypt.

    There had been a powerful empire located to the west of the “Pillars of Hercules” (what we now call the Straight of Gibraltar) on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. The nation there had been established by Poseidon, the God of the Sea. Poseidon fathered five sets of twins on the island. The firstborn, Atlas, had the continent and the surrounding ocean named for him. Poseidon divided the land into ten sections, each to be ruled by a son, or his heirs.

    The capital city of Atlantis was a marvel of architecture and engineering. The city was composed of a series of concentric walls and canals. At the very center was a hill, and on top of the hill a temple to Poseidon. Inside was a gold statue of the God of the Sea showing him driving six winged horses.

    About 9000 years before the time of Plato, after the people of Atlantis became corrupt and greedy, the gods decided to destroy them. A violent earthquake shook the land, giant waves rolled over the shores, and the island sank into the sea, never to be seen again.  (   http://www.unmuseum.org/atlantis.htm )

    Now to what Indian scriptures say on this.

    ‘

    The Vishnu Purana, one of the oldest of the Hindu Puranas, speaks of “Atala, the White Island,” one of the seven dwipas (islands) belonging to Patala (Book II, chaps. i, ii, and iii). This ancient text locates Atala geographically on the seventh (heat, or climate) zone, which according to Francis Wilford (the translator) is 24 to 28 degrees north latitude, putting it in the same latitude as the Canary Islands just off the North African coast. Col. Wilford rightly calls Atala, “Atlantis, the White Island”. (Wilford, 1808)

    At least one “authority” has attempted to identify Atala with Italy, but Italy is not an island. Also, Italy is 38 to 45 degrees north latitude. Finally, I fail to see any possibility that the “Western Ocean,” mentioned in the texts as its location, could be the Mediterranean Sea when the Karna Parva of the Mahabharata clearly describes Africa as comprising that ocean’s eastern shoreline—placing that body of water clearly to the west of Africa

    Another non-Sanskrit scholar implies that Atala might be one of the well-known northern lands, such as Iceland or Greenland, and that the epithet “White Island” refers to its being covered with snow the majority of the time—even the mythological Hyperborea has been suggested. This does not appear to be the case.

    Atala and Sveta Dwipa (“White Island”) are not the only names for Atlantis in Sankrit lore. Another name, Saka Dwipa, is used just as often in the Puranas; and according to the Sanskrit Dictionary (1974), Saka Dwipa means “island of fair skinned people.” It is therefore quite possible that “white” refers to the skin color of its inhabitants, rather than to the dominant color of the island—although it should not be assumed that all Atlanteans were white-skinned.

    The terms “Atala” and “White Island” are used also by the Bhavishya Purana (4th cent. B.C.). Here it is stated that Samba, having built a temple dedicated to Surya (the Sun), made a journey to Saka Dwipa, located “beyond the salt water” looking for the Magas (magicians), worshippers of the Sun. He is directed in his journey by Suryahimself (i.e., journeys west following the Sun), riding upon Garuda (the flying vehicle of Krishna and Vishnu) he lands at last among the Magas.

    The Mahabharata (circa. 600 B.C.) also refers to “Atala, the White Island”, which is described as an “island of great splendour.” It continues: “The men that inhabit that island have complexions as white as the rays of the Moon and they are devoted to Narayana . . . Indeed, the denizens of White Island believe and worship only one God.” (Santi Parva, Section CCCXXXVII)‘…

    The Santi Parva also describes Atala as being inhabited by white men who never have to sleep or eat. (Ibid.) Interestingly enough, the Greek historian Herodotus (450 B.C.) describes a tribe of Atlanteans who “never dream and eat no living thing”. (History, Book IV) Can this be coincidence? And just as the god Poseidon is very much involved in the Atlantis story, likewise in the Sanskrit accounts we find Varuna (the Hindu Poseidon) very much involved in Atala.

    In other words, Atala, the White Island is remarkably similar to Plato’s Atlantis, even down to its circular capital city, Tripura! Tripura is made in three concentric parts, just as Plato’s Metropolis is divided into three parts by concentric canals. During the war of the gods and Asuras, the wicked cities of the Asuras began to fall, one by one, amidst loud cries of woe: “Burning those Asuras, he [the hero] threw them down into the Western ocean” (Karna Parva, Section XXXIV).

    Concerning the “concentric arrangment” of Tripura, a recent archeological discovery of a fortified palace in Bactria, India, known as Dashly-3, turned out to be a concentric 3-ringed structure of the “tripura type”. [Their words, not mine.] The archaeologists, excavating under the auspices of the Archaeological Departments of Pakistan and India (Mahadevan, 15), also state that the Dasyas, the builders of Dashly-3, were “Asura-worshippers”.

    In the Surya Siddhanta, an ancient Sanskrit text on astronomy, the translator (W. D. Whitney, 1860) mentions an “island” (dwipa) called Jambu Dwipa, surrounded by rings of alternating land and water. I am tempted to equate Jambu Dwipa with the Atlantean capital, which Plato describes as surrounded by circular canals, “making alternate zones of sea and land” (Critias)…’

    Source :my article Atlas White Island, Link provided above.

    To Varuna of Hinduism ,who has an an uncanny resemblance to Atlantis Deities,especially Poseidon.

    Varuna’s son, Daksasavarni, is the ninth Manu.

    By the semen of Varuna, the great mystic Valmiki took birth from an anthill.

    Bhrgu and Valmiki were specific sons of Varuna, whereas Agastya and Vasistha Rsis were the common sons of Varuna and Mitra, the tenth son of Aditi.

    Vedic Varuna is sometimes thought to be a reflex of the same Proto-Indo-European theonym as Greek Ouranos, based on similarities between both names and the respective gods’ attributes, but no successful derivation has yet been produced that is consistent with known laws of sound change.

    Sage Agastya’s wanderings in Lemuria is well known.

    Sage Vasishta,had in all probability accompanied Shiva and Ganesha when they left Indian shores because of a Tsunami,the same time when Satyavrata Manu left for Ayodhya.

    The above mentioned facts and Shiva presence from Saudi Arabia,Syria,Lebanon and the matching description of Tripura in Atlantis and in Indian texts compel me to postulate that  Tripura was the capital of Atlantis.

    One may recall that the Sumerians called Ayodhya ,their Capital!

    As to the location of Atlantis and Tripura as found in Indian texts, I shall write.

    References.

    http://www.atlantisquest.com/Writings.html

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitra_(Vedic)

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varuna

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  • Dionysus Greek God Is Shiva Migrated From South India

    My studies of the Puranas,Ithihasas,Ramayana, Mahabharata,Astronomical Events mentioned in them, Archeology,Sanskrit and Tamil literature had pointed out to , not ony the Myth of Aryan Invasion Theory,The Dravida-Aryan Divide, but also led me to the fact that Lord Shiva , with His son Ganesha left South India through the Middle east ,Europe, Africa, Americas,before settling down in the Arctic where the Rig Veda was composed.

    All because of a Tsunami.

    At that time Satyavrata Manu also left for Ayodhya to found the Ikshvaku Dynasty, to which Lord Rama belongs.

    The archeological finds throughout the world, od Shiva and His Symbols, confirm my theory.

    The Shiva family returned to India through Russia, Kazakhstan, and Persia.

    The Greek connection of Shiva.

    Hercules is believed to be either Balram or Lord Krishna.-quoted by Megasthenes

    Lord Shiva seated.jpg
    Lord Shiva seated in Yoga Posture

    Please read my post on this.

     

    And the Pillars of  Hercules are a tribute to Lord Krishna.

     

    Akkian,Flavius Arrianus, the Grecio-Roman Biographer with Alexander, the Great , in His Book, it is also called as Indica like Megasthenes’s, describes the voyage of Alexander to India.

    He chronicles  the customs and manners of the people of India.

    Dionysus.jpg
    Abode Mount Olympus Symbol Thyrsus, grapevine, leopard skin, panther, cheetah Consort Ariadne Parents Zeus and Semele Siblings Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hebe, Hermes, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Perseus, Minos, the Muses, the Graces Roman equivalent Bacchus, Liber “Dionysos Louvre Ma87 n2” by © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dionysos_Louvre_Ma87_n2.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Dionysos_Louvre_Ma87_n2.jpg

     

    “he Nysaeans are not an Indian race, but descended from the men who came into India with Dionysus–perhaps from those Greeks who were rendered unfit for service in the wars which Dionysus waged with the Indians. Perhaps also he settled with the Greeks those of the natives who were willing to join his colony. Dionysus named the city itself Nysa, and the land Nysaea, in honour of his nurse Nysa. The mountain near the city, at whose base Nysa was built, is called Meros (thigh) after the misfortune he experienced as soon as he was born. This is the story framed by the poets in regard to Dionysus, and let the writers of legends Grecian and foreign expound it. Among the Assacenians is Massaca, a large city, where also is the stronghold of the land of Assacia; and there is also another large city, Peucelaitis, not far from the Indus. These tribes have been settled west of the Indus as far as the Cophen….

     

    Of the expedition of Dionysus, indeed, the city of Nysa is no mean monument, as also are the mountain Meros, the ivy which grows on this mountain, the Indians themselves also marching into battle to the sound of drums and cymbals, wearing speckled garments like the bacchanals of Dionysus. But of Heracles there are not many memorials. For the statement that Alexander forcibly subdued the rock of Aornus, because Heracles was not able to capture it, seems to me a piece of Macedonian boasting; just as they called the Parapamisus Caucasus, though it has no connection with it. And having observed a certain cave in the land of the Parapamisadians, they said that it was the famous cave of Prometheus, the son of the Titan, in which he was hung for the theft of the fire. And besides, in the land of the Sibians, an Indian race, because they saw the inhabitants clothed in skins, they said that the Sibians were those who had been left behind from the expedition of Heracles. The Sibians also carry cudgels, and the figure of a club was branded upon their oxen; this too they explained to be a commemoration of the club of Heracles. If anyone gives credit to these tales, this must have been another Heracles, neither the Theban, nor the Tyrian, nor the Egyptian; but some great king of a land situated in the interior not far from India.

     

    He says that in ancient times the Indians were nomads, like that section of the Scythians who are not agriculturists, but wandering about on waggons, live at one time in one part of Scythia and at another time in another part, neither inhabiting cities nor consecrating temples to the gods. So the Indians had no cities or temples built for the gods. They clothed themselves in the skins of the wild beasts which they killed, and ate the inner bark of certain trees, which are called tala in the Indian language, and, as upon the tops of palm-trees, there grow upon them things like clews of wool. They also fed upon the flesh of the wild beasts which they caught, eating it raw, until Dionysus came into their country. But when Dionysus came and conquered them, he founded cities and made laws for them, and gave the Indians wine as he had given it to the Greeks. He also gave them seeds and taught them how to sow them in the earth; so that either Triptolemus did not come to this part when he was sent by Demeter to sow corn through the whole earth, or this Dionysus came to India before Triptolemus and gave to the inhabitants the seeds of cultivated crops. Dionysus first taught them to yoke oxen to the plough, and made most of them become husbandmen instead of being nomads, and armed them with martial weapons. He also taught them to worship the gods, and especially himself with the beating of drums and the clashing of cymbals. He taught the Indians the Satyr-dance which among the Greeks is called the cordax, and to let their hair grow long in honour of the god. He also showed them how to wear the turban, and taught them how to anoint themselves with unguents. Wherefore even to the time of Alexander the Indians still advanced into battle with the sound of cymbals and drums.

    8. When Dionysus had arranged these affairs and was about to leave India, he appointed as king of the land Spatembas, one of his companions, the man most versed in the mysteries of Bacchus. When this man died his son Boudyas succeeded to his kingdom. The father reigned fifty-two years, and the son twenty years. Cradeuas, the son of Boudyas, succeeded to the throne. From this time for the most part the kingdom passed in regular succession from father to son. If at any time direct heirs were wanting, then the Indians appointed kings according to merit. The Heracles, who according to the current report came to India is said, among the Indians themselves, to have sprung from the earth. This Heracles is especially worshipped by the Sourasenians, an Indian nation, in whose land are two great cities, Methora and Cleisobora, and through it flows the navigable river Jobares. Megasthenes says, as the Indians themselves assert, that this Heracles wore a similar dress to that of the Theban Heracles. Very many male children, but only one daughter were born to him in India, for he married many women. The daughter’s name was Pandaea, and the land where she was born, and over which Heracles placed her as ruler, was named Pandaea after her. From her father she received 500 elephants, 4,000 cavalry, and 130,000 infantry. Certain of the Indians tell the following story about Heracles, that when he had passed over every land and sea and had rid them of every evil beast, he found in the sea a woman’s ornament, such as up to the present day those who bring wares from India to us still buy with zeal and carry away. In former times the Greeks and now the Romans who are fortunate and wealthy with still greater zeal buy what is called in the Indian tongue the marine pearl. The ornament seemed so fine to Heracles that he collected pearls like this from all the sea and brought them to India to be an adornment for his daughter. Megasthenes says that the mussel of it is caught in nets, and that many of them live in the sea at the same place, like bees, and that the pearl-mussels have a king or queen as bees have. Whoever has the good fortune to capture the king, easily throws the net around the rest of the swarm of pearlmussels, but if the king escapes the fishermen, the others are no longer to be caught by them. The men allow the flesh of those which are caught to rot, but they use the shell for ornament; for among the Indians the pearl is worth thrice its weight in refined gold. This metal is also dug up in India.

    Pandea referred to here is the daughter of Lord Krishna/Balrama.

    Please check my post on this.

    It is probable that Shiva had traveled through Greece before reaching the Arctic and returned to India.

    This is what Arrian is referring to repeatedly as Dionysus having invaded India.

    And note the symbols, clothes.

    ” was under the impression that Dionysus was the Greek precursor of Krishna. But, deeper analysis of character and life events of Dionysus shows that he was the Greek format of Hindu God Shiva. Now, let us consider some of the characters of Dionysus. Generally he is known as the wine God, similarly Shiva is a kind of vagabond with drinking habits. Consider the strange animals that pulls the cart of Dionysus and strange creatures that follow him. They look similar to “shiva Ganas”, who come all kind of shapes and animal shapes. (These animal figures –themselves may be indicating various constellations —with animal motifs)’

    Citation.

    The Indica by Flavius Arrianus

    Dionsysus and Shiva

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  • Pillars Of Hercules Tribute To Krishna ?

    Pillars Of Hercules Tribute To Krishna ?

    The Pillars of Hercules (Latin: Columnae Herculis, Greek: Ἡράκλειοι Στῆλαι, Arabic: أعمدة هرقل‎, Spanish: Columnas de Hércules) was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar (now part of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar). A corresponding North African peak not being predominant, the identity of the southern Pillar has been disputed through history,[1] with the two most likely candidates being Monte Hacho inCeuta and Jebel Musa in Morocco.

    Lord Rama’s Empire extended throughout the world.

    The landmass then called Gondwana.

    “At the time of Atlantis and Rama, the Mediterranean was a large and fertile valley. This ancient civilization, pre-dating dynastic Egypt, was known as the Osirian Civilization. The Nile river came out of Africa, as it does today, and was called the River Stix. However, instead of flowing into the Mediterranean Sea at the Nile Delta in northern Egypt, it continued into the valley, and then turned westward to flow in the deepest part of the Mediterranean Valley where it created a large lake and then flowed out between Malta and Sicily, and south of Sardinia into the Atlantic at Gibraltar (the Pillars of Hercules). When Atlantis was destroyed in a cataclysmic upheaval, this cataclysmic change in the Atlantic slowly flooded the Mediterranean Basin, destroying the Osirian’s great cities and forcing them to move to higher ground. This theory helps explain the strange megalithic remains found throughout the Mediterranean

    ”

    Pillars Of Hercules.jpg
    Pillars Of Hercules.

    Both Greeks and Romans habitually tried to understand the religions of India by trying to fit them as far as possible into Greco-Roman categories. Deities in particular were spoken of, not in Indian but in Greek terms and called by Greek names. Thus Shiva was identified as ‘Dionysos’, and Hare Krishna as ‘ Hercules’.

    In a passage of the Rig Veda, Vac is praised as a divine being. Vac is omnipotent, moves amongst divine beings, and carries the great gods, Mitra, Varuna, Indra and Agni, within itself. The doctrine of Vac teaches that “all gods live from Vac, also all demi-gods, animals and people. Vac is the eternal being, it is the first-born of the eternal law, mother of the Vedas and navel of immortality.” Vedic Aryans attached such great importance to the spoken word that one who could not correctly pronounce Sanskrit was called barbar (meaning stammering). ‘

    Hence one should not be too sure of the incredibility of the view of those who conceive that there is continuity between the parts about the Pillars of Hercules and the parts about India, and that in this way the ocean is one. As further evidence in favor of this they quote the case of elephants, a species occurring in each of these extreme regions, suggesting that the common characteristic of these extremes is explained by their continuity. Also those mathematicians who try to calculate the size of the earth’s circumference arrive at the figure only that the earth’s mass is spherical, but also that as compared with the stars it is not of great size. 400,000 stades. This indicates not only that the earth’s mass is spherical, but also that as compared with the stars it is not of great size…

    Most pre-Ptolemaic Greek geographers did accept that Africa was bounded on all sides by the sea, except where it joined Asia. Ptolemy, however, supposed that not far below the Horn of Africa, the continent trended to the east, eventually joining the Chinese mainland and making of the Indian Ocean a landlocked sea. He may have been influ­enced in this by the pas­sage from De Caelo, where Aristotle    sug­gests that the presence of elephants in both Asia and Africa might indi­cate that the two conti­nents   were contiguous. Ptolemy compounded his error by postulating the exist­ence of a huge “Southern Conti­nent,” a Terra Australis, to the south of Africa. This imaginary continent did not finally disappear from European maps until the early 18th century.

    ”

    Megasthanes took the legend of Krishna to Greece and had it incorporated  in Greek Legends.

    See the excerpts towards the close of the Post.

    Similarities between Krishna and Hercules.

    Krishna’s Killing of Kalinga is similar to Hercules with Hydra.

    Balarama Is Hercules.

    There is also a view that Balaram is Hercules.

    ““The Hercules who penetrated so far, the Indians tell us, was a native of their country. He is particularly worshipped by the Suraseni (Shurasena), who have two great cities, Methora (Mathura) and Cleisoborus (Surapura), and the navigable river Jobares (Yamuna), passes through their territories. This Hercules, as Megasthenes asserts, and the Indians themselves assure us, uses the same habit with the Theban Hercules. Many male children, but only one daughter was born to him in India, for he married many women. The daughter’s name was Pandaea, and the land where she was born, and over which Heracles placed her as ruler, was named Pandaea after her.”

    It is probable that the symbol of Pillar of Hercules was erected in honor of Lord Krishna even if Balarama was Hercules, Krishna being the most popular of the to brothers.

    Citation.

    saudiaramcoworld

    romaniamegalitica

    https://ramanisblog.in/2014/03/05/lord-krishna-was-also-a-greek-god-hercules/

    https://ramanisblog.in/2015/01/17/balarama-is-hercules-megasthenes/

  • Balarama Is Hercules, Megasthenes

    All of us are aware of Megasthenes of Chandragupta period.

    The Greek geographer and explorer Megasthenes arrived at the court of the Indian emperor Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra (modern Patna). He was sent as an ambassador by Seleucus Nicator of the Seleucid dynasty, with whom Chandragupta Maurya had entered into a treaty and matrimonial alliance. During his stay in India, Megasthenes compiled the book Indica – a commentary on the geography, social traditions, and religious customs of India.

    Balarama,brother of Lord Krishna.gif
    Balarama,Balarama with four hands, holding the club, plough, conch and sword, with a serpent coiled on his head. Illustration by Sourindo Mohun Tagore, 1880. Source: Wikimedia Commons. – See more at: http://bibhudev.blogspot.in/2014/03/hercules-and-balarama-symbolic-and.html#sthash.M2YLC9mO.dpuf

     

    Hercules.jpg
    Herakles crowned with a laurel wreath, wearing the lion-skin and holding a club and a bow, c. 460–450 BC. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Marie-Lan Nguyen –

    Indica, the book by Megasthanes is not available now.

    Later Greek Historians ,Arrian and Diodorus Siculus refer to his works.

     

    Arrian (c.86 AD – 160 AD) writes on Hercules and Balarama.( Arrian’s Book is also named as Indica)

     

    “The Hercules who penetrated so far, the Indians tell us, was a native of their country. He is particularly worshipped by the Suraseni (Shurasena), who have two great cities, Methora (Mathura) and Cleisoborus (Surapura), and the navigable river Jobares (Yamuna), passes through their territories. This Hercules, as Megasthenes asserts, and the Indians themselves assure us, uses the same habit with the Theban Hercules. Many male children, but only one daughter was born to him in India, for he married many women. The daughter’s name was Pandaea, and the land where she was born, and over which Heracles placed her as ruler, was named Pandaea after her.”

    One may note that Balarama was of white complexion unlike Krishna who was black.

     

    Diodorus Siculus (c.50 BC) on Balarama and Hercules in his Book ‘Bibliotheca Historica.’

     

    “Hercules was born amongst the Indians, and like the Greeks, they furnish him with a club and lion’s hide. In strength he excelled all men, and cleared the sea and land of monsters and wild beasts. He had many sons, but only one daughter. He built Palibothra (Pataliputra i.e. Patna) and divided his kingdom amongst his sons. ”

     

    There is some light needed here as regards Pandea, the daughter of Balarama whom he placed as a ruler in Madurai.

    I posted an article, based on the evidence in Tamil Epic Silappadikaram and Puranas that Krishna married a Pandyan Princess, had a daughter Pandea and she was a Princess of Pandya Kingdom in Madurai.

    Lord Krishna is recorded to have gifted 100 Yadava Families as Dowry for His daughter’s marriage and they were charged with the task of supplying Milk and Curds to Krishna’s Daughter nad hr heirs at Madurai.

    Now this reference by Megasthanes followers refers Pandea as he daughter of Balarama.

    I shall  do a little more research and update on this.

    * There are some scholas who subscribe to the view that Krishna wa Hercules.

     

    Other references.

    Roman philosopher Cicero (106 BC-43BC) had mentioned that, “the Indian Hercules is denominated Belus”, and he used the term Hercules Belus to refer to him. Captain Francis Wilford wrote in the Asiatic Researches (1799) that this Belus was none other than Balarama, the brother of Krishna:

     

    “The Indian Hercules, according to Cicero, was called Belus. He is the same with Bala, the brother of Crishna, and both are conjointly worshipped at Mutra; Indeed, they are considered as one Avatara or incarnation of Vishnu. Bala is represented as a stout man, with a club in his hand. He is also called Bala-Roma… As Bala sprung from Vishnu, or Heri, he is certainly Heri-cula, Heri-culus, and Hercules. Diodorus Siculus says that the posterity of Hercules reigned for many centuries in Palibothra (Patna), but that they did nothing worthy of being recorded”- Captain Francis Wilford wrote in the Asiatic Researches,1799.

     

    ““How invaluable such remnants of ancient race of Harikula! How refreshing to the mind yet to discover, amidst the ruins on the Yamuna, Hercules (Baldeva, god of strength) retaining his club and lion’s hide, standing on his pedestal at Baldeo, and yet worshipped by Suraseni! This was the name (Baldeo) given to a large tract of country round Mathura, or rather round Surpura, the ancient capital founded by Surasena, the grandfather of the Indian brother-deities, Krishna and Baldeva, Apollo and Hercules. The title would apply to either; though Baldeva has the attributes of ‘god of strength’. Both are lords (es) of the race (kula) of Hari (Hari-kula-es), of which the Greeks might have made the compound Hercules. Might not a colony after the Great War have migrated westward?” -James Tod in his Book  ‘Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829)’

     

    Balarama’s Plough and Hercules.

    Balarama is associated with Plough.

    A popular name of Hercules in Romanian legends is “Iorgovan”, a name which corresponds to the Greek form Georgos, meaning “the one who ploughs”.On an Imperial medallion issued by the Roman emperor Commodus, the emperor is shown dressed as Hercules, ploughing out the “original furrow” of Rome (in order to establish a sacred area for the foundation of the city) with two oxen. In one hand he holds the mace, and in the other he is guiding the plough.

    Citation.

    http://bibhudev.blogspot.in/2014/03/hercules-and-balarama-symbolic-and.html

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  • Ancient Greek Ambassador Worshiped Vishnu

    Ancient Greek Ambassador Worshiped Vishnu

    Hinduism does not advocate conversion.

     

    It believes that Religion is a question of personal choice and holds it sacred.

     

    It does not believe in numbers game.

     

    Hinduism is like a Doctor.

     

    If and when you are sick you go to  Doctor.

     

    The Doctor prescribes you medicines.

     

    He does not force you to take the medicine.

     

    It is in your interest to take it.

     

    The Doctor is not affected by your action.

     

    Hinduism is like the Doctor.

     

    It tells you the paths traversed by people who have realized God hood.

     

    In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains about the various systems of Hindu Thought to Arjuna.

     

    In the last chapter(18),just about to conclude the discourse , informs Arjuna,

     

    ‘I have told you what is utmost secret.

     

    You examine them carefully and follow whatever suits and what your disposition tells You’

     

    That’s all.

     

    Hinduism is a way of Life.

     

    Strictly speaking it is difficult to define who a Hindu is.

     

    A Hindu is one who follows certain guidelines of Life and Beyond.

     

    Not necessary to have been born a Hindu.

     

    One need not believe in God even for Atheism is also accepted as a Faith in Hinduism.

     

    However there are certain rules ,qualifications required to study the Vedas, the Sacred Books of the Hindus.

     

    Hindus, though not advocating religious Conversion accepts people from the other Faiths .

     

    There are no ceremonies involved.

     

    Example of this is the worship of Lord Vishnu, by Helidorus, Ambassador to India to Gupta King’s court.

     

    He erected a column in tribute to Lord Vishnu and it is called Heliodorous Column.

     

    Heliodorous Pillar.jpg
    Heliodorous Pillar.

     

    ‘

    It is known that Heliodorus was sent to the court of King Bhagabhadra by Antiakalidas, the Greek king of Taxila. The kingdom of Taxila was part of the Bactrian region in northwest India, conquered by Alexander the Great in 325 B.C. By the time of Antialkidas, the area under Greek rule included what is today Afghanistan, Pakistan and Punjab.(2)

    The column erected by Heliodorus first came to notice in 1877, during an archaeological survey by General Cunningham. The inscription, however, went unnoticed, because of the pillar’s thick coating of red lead paste. It had been the custom of pilgrims who had worshipped there to smear the column with vermillion paste. The column, Cunningham deduced from its shape, was from the period of the Imperial Guptas (3) (A.D. 300-550). Thirty-two years later, however, when the inscription was brought to light, it became clear that the monument was several centuries older. (4)..

     

    Heliodorous Column.jpg
    The Heliodorous inscription on the Heliodorous Column.

     

    A reproduction of the inscription, along with the transliteration and translation of the ancient Brahmi text, is given here as it appeared in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

    1)   Devadevasu Va[sude]vasa Garudadhvajo ayam

    2)   Karito ia Heliodorena bhaga

    3)   Vatena Diyasa putrena Takhasilakena

    4)   Yonadatena agatena maharajasa

    5)   Amtalikitasa upa[m]ta samkasam-rano

    6)   Kasiput[r]asa [Bh]agabhadrasa tratarasa

    7)   Vasena [chatu]dasena rajena vadhamanasa

    ” This Garuda-column of Vasudeva (Visnu), the god of gods, was erected here by Heliodorus, a worshipper of Vishnu, the son of Dion, and an inhabitant of Taxila, who came as Greek ambassador from the Great King Antialkidas to King Kasiputra Bhagabhadra, the Savior, then reigning prosperously in the fourteenth year of his kingship.”

     

    1) Trini amutapadani-[su] anuthitani

    2) nayamti svaga damo chago apramado

    “Three immortal precepts (footsteps)..when practiced lead to heaven-self restraint, charity, conscientiousness.”

    From the inscriptions it is seems clear Heliodorus was influenced by Vedic principles that he could be considered to be a Vaisnava, a follower or worshipper of Visnu. Professor Kunja Govinda Goswami of Calcutta University concludes that Heliodorus ” was well acquainted with the texts dealing with the Bhagavat [Vaisnava] relgion.” (6)

     

    Citation.

    http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/heliodorus-column

     

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