There are a lot of similarities between Judaism,Jews and Hinduism and Brahmins.
The Brahmins of India are a Priestly Class,advisors to Kings and the Devout Jews are King among Priests.
The Nondualistic Concept,Advaitha is found in the Vedas.
Swasthika,a Hindu Symbol of Auspiciousness is found in Judaism. The so-called Jewish Star which is the emblem of the Jews is a Tantric, Vedic symbol. It consists of two, interlocked triangles with the apex of one facing North and the other South. This symbol is drawn in front of every orthodox Hindu home in stone-powder design every morning after the house is washed. The desing/drawing is known as Rangawali alias Rongoli. Even its name David is the Sanskrit word Devi, i.e., ” bestowed by the Mother Goddess.” The so-called Humayun tomb building in Delhi, which was a Goddess temple, is inlaid with those emblems on the exterior, upper portions of its walls.
Manu is Noah Yayati Yahuda 1000 years before the Hebrews arrived in Israel, the Cannanites erected a temple to worship the god on the hill now known as the Hill of the Nativity in the town of Beit Lachama. Beit Lachamawas fertile and had a good water supply. When the Jews came in they would naturally not worship the Canan god Lachma and the distortion of interpretations began.
‘‘One of the major triumphs of modern archaeology was the hair-raising discoveries of Sir Leonard Woolley at Ur. Amidst the ruins of Ur, he unearthed a Ram-chapel but totally missed its relevance in world history. This crucial finding not only bridges the wide gaps between Indian tradition and archaeology but also unfolds the historic bonds that once united ancient India, Iran and Sumer. Ram-Sin of (Larsa) to whose memory this chapel was dedicated must have been Rama of Valmiki. The name Ararama of Larsa may be an echo of Rama. This Ram-Chapel of Ur is the earliest known memorial to the great Rama and may have been erected by Dilmun merchants who resided nearby. Dilmun was always mentioned in the Sumerian texts together with Magan and Melukkha and it is possible that these three states were somehow allied to each other.’
There is information that Abraham,common to Judaism,Christianity and Islam seems to have descended from Kauls,A Brahmin sub group from Kashmir.
I have written on the origin of Bacterian Kingdom from Bharatavarsha.
People of what is now called Russia are from the Uttarakuru region of Bharatavarsha and they were from the Kuru Dynasty.
The Kauls hail from Kashmir and Kashmir is named after Sage Kasyapa, Saptharishi.
They were/are worshippers of Shiva and Devi(Shakti)
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In his History of the Jews, the Jewish scholar and theologian Flavius Josephus (37 – 100 A.D.), wrote that the Greek philosopher Aristotle had said: “…These Jews are derived from the Indian philosophers; they are named by the Indians Calani.” (Book I:22.)
Clearchus of Soli wrote, “The Jews descend from the philosophers of India. The philosophers are called in IndiaCalaniansand in SyriaJews. The name of their capital is very difficult to pronounce. It is called ‘Jerusalem.’”
“Megasthenes, who was sent to India by Seleucus Nicator, about three hundred years before Christ, and whose accounts from new inquiries are every day acquiring additional credit, says that the Jews ‘were an Indian tribe or sect called Kalani…’” (Anacalypsis, by Godfrey Higgins, Vol. I; p. 400.)
Martin Haug, Ph.D., wrote in The Sacred Language, Writings, and Religions of the Parsis, “The Magi are said to have called their religion Kesh-î-Ibrahim.They traced their religious books to Abraham, who was believed to have brought them from heaven.” (p. 16.)
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In his bookMoisés y los Extraterrestres, Mexican author Tomás Doreste states,
Voltaire was of the opinion that Abraham descended from some of the numerous Brahman priests who left India to spread their teachings throughout the world; and in support of his thesis he presented the following elements: the similarity of names and the fact that the city of Ur, land of the patriarchs, was near the border of Persia, the road to India, where that Brahman had been born.
The name of Brahma was highly respected in India, and his influence spread throughout Persia as far as the lands bathed by the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The Persians adopted Brahma and made him their own. Later they would say that the God arrived from Bactria, a mountainous region situated midway on the road to India. (pp. 46-47.)
Bactria (a region of ancient Afghanistan) was the locality of a prototypical Jewish nation called Juhuda or Jaguda, also called Ur-Jaguda. Ur meant “place or town.” Therefore, the bible was correct in stating that Abraham came from “Ur of the Chaldeans.” “Chaldean,” more correctly Kaul-Deva (Holy Kauls), was not the name of a specific ethnicity but the title of an ancient Hindu Brahmanical priestly caste who lived in what are now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Indian state of Kashmir.
“The tribe of Ioud or the Brahmin Abraham, was expelled from or left the Maturea of the kingdom of Oude in India and, settling in Goshen, or the house of the Sun or Heliopolis in Egypt, gave it the name of the place which they had left in India, Maturea.” (Anacalypsis; Vol. I, p. 405.)
“He was of the religion or sect of Persia, and of Melchizedek.”(Vol. I, p. 364.)
“The Persians also claim Ibrahim, i.e. Abraham, for their founder, as well as the Jews. Thus we see that according to all ancient history the Persians, the Jews, and the Arabians are descendants of Abraham.(p.85) …We are told that Terah, the father of Abraham, originally came from an Eastern country called Ur, of the Chaldees or Culdees, to dwell in a district called Mesopotamia. Some time after he had dwelt there, Abraham, or Abram, or Brahma, and his wife Sara or Sarai, or Sara-iswati, left their father’s family and came into Canaan. The identity of Abraham and Sara with Brahma and Saraiswati was first pointed out by the Jesuit missionaries.”(Vol. I; p. 387.)‘
I have often wondered why Ghazni Muhammad should single out the Somnath Temple,an Abode and Temple of Shiva in Gujrat.
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An idol of her was also likely among the 360 idols in the Kaaba. According to Ibn al-Kalbi, when worshipers would circumambulate the Kaaba, they would chant her name along with that of her sisters, al-Lat and al-Uzza, seeking their blessings and interception.[12]
The attack on Somnath temple in India in 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni may have been inspired by the belief that an idol of Manat had been secretly transferred to the temple.[20] According to the Ghaznavid court poet Farrukhi Sistani, who claimed to have accompanied Mahmud on his raid, Somnat (as rendered in Persian) was a garbled version of su-manat referring to the goddess Manat. According to him as well as a later Ghaznavid historian Abu Sa’id Gardezi, the images of the other goddesses were destroyed in Arabia but the one of Manat was secretly sent away to Kathiawar (in modern Gujarat) for safe keeping. Since the idol of Manat was an aniconic image of black stone, it could have been easily confused with a lingam at Somnath. Mahmud is said to have broken the idol and taken away parts of it as loot and placed so that people would walk on it. In his letters to the Caliphate, Mahmud exaggerated the size, wealth and religious significance of the Somnath temple, receiving grandiose titles from the Caliph in return’
Manat was also thought to watch over graves, as indicated by a tomb inscription reading “And may Dushara and Manat and Qaysha curse anyone who sells this tomb or buys it or gives it in pledge or makes a gift of it or leases it or draws up for himself any document concerning it or buries in it anyone apart from the inscribed above”.[2]
1025: Somnath: Mahmud sacks the temple and is reported to have personally hammered the temple’s gilded Lingam to pieces, and the stone fragments are carted back to Ghazni, where they are incorporated into the steps of the city’s new Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in 1026. He places a new king on the throne in Gujarat as a tributary. His return detours across the Thar Desert to avoid the armies of Ajmerand other allies on his return.( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmud_of_Ghazni )
Islamic sources indicate that Ghazni Muhammad believed that an Idol of Manat was spirited away to Somnath ,India from Mecca when the idols at Mecca’s were destroyed at the behest of The Prophet.
The information.
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Contrary to what we have been taught,Arabia indeed had Religion and street culture before the advent of The Prophet.
The Pre Islamic Arabia had a Religion and they had a Pantheon of Gods ,whose legends have been borrowed from Hinduism.
Arabia was influenced by Sumrerian Culture and Religious practices.
The Prophet Muhammad destroyed around 300 Idols in Mecca.
These included the Navagrahas and Saraswathi.
The three Goddesses mentioned above are from the Hindu Trinity of Goddesses Saraswathi,Lakshmi and Durga.
Please read my articles on Mithraism around the world.
Will be writing on these Arabian Gods and Goddesses in detail.
‘The Goddesses Al-Uzza, Al-Lat and Menat formed a triad in pre-Islamic Arabia. They were widely worshipped: from Nabatean Petra in the North to the legendary Kingdoms of Arabia Felix in the South, including Saba, the Biblical Sheba; as far east as Iran and Palmyra; and the three of them were very popular Goddesses in Mecca at the time of Mohammed. From left they are: Al-Uzza, whose name means “The Mighty One”, the Goddess of the Morning Star; Al-Lat, the Mother, whose name means simply “The Goddess”, as Al-Lah simply means “The God”; and Manat, Crone-goddess of Fate or Time. Sometimes the three of them are referred to as the daughters of Al-Lah; sometimes Manat and Al-Lat are considered daughters of Al-Uzza.(. Image and quote from. http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/arabtriple.php )
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The pre-Islamic Arabs believed Manāt to be the goddess of fate. The followers prayed to her for rains and victory over enemies. She was considered the wife of Hubal.There are also connections with Chronos of Mithraism and Zurvan mythology. The Book of Idols describes her:
The most ancient of all these idols was Manāt. The Arabs used to name [their children] ‘Abd-Manāt and Zayd-Manāt. Manāt was erected on the seashore in the vicinity of al-Mushallal in Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. All the Arabs used to venerate her and sacrifice before her. The Aws and the Khazraj, as well as the inhabitants of Medina and Mecca and their vicinities, used to venerate Manāt, sacrifice before her, and bring unto her their offerings… The Aws and the Khazraj, as well as those Arabs among the people of Yathrib and other places who took to their way of life, were wont to go o
n pilgrimage and observe the vigil at all the appointed places, but not shave their heads. At the end of the pilgrimage, however, when they were about to return home, they would set out to the place where Manāt stood, shave their heads, and stay there a while. They did not consider their pilgrimage completed until they visited Manāt.
— Book of Idols, pp 12–14
The attack on Somnath Temple in India in AD 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni may have been inspired by the belief that an idol of Manat had been secretly transferred to the temple.According to the Ghaznavid court poet Farrukhi Sistani, who claimed to have accompanied Mahmud on his raid, Somnat (as rendered in Persian) was a garbled version of su-manat referring to the goddess Manat. According to him as well as a later Ghaznavid historian Gardizi, the images of the other goddesses were destroyed in Arabia but the one of Manat was secretly sent away to Kathiawar (in modern Gujarat) for safe keeping. Since the idol of Manat was an aniconic image of black stone, it could have been easily confused with a Shiva lingam at Somnath. Mahmud is said to have broken the idol and taken away parts of it as loot and placed so that people would walk on it. In his letters to the Caliphate, Mahmud exaggerated the size, wealth and religious significance of the Somnath temple, receiving grandiose titles from the Caliph in return.
Ibn al-Kalbī; (author) and Nabih Amin Faris (translator & commentary) (1952): The Book of Idols, Being a Translation from the Arabic of theKitāb al-Asnām. Princeton University Press. LCCN52-6741.
Grunebaum, G. E. von (1970). Classical Islam: A History 600 A.D. – 1258 A.D.. Aldine Publishing Company. ISBN978-0-202-15016-1.
It appears that Worship at Kaaba, touching and Kissing the Object is not allowed.
Here are excerpts and Link.
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In the pictures you can clearly see people prostrating to Kabah. Allah the Great says,
“And to Allah prostrate all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, of the moving (living) creatures and the angels, and they are not proud.”(16:49)
Yet who do these polytheists prostrate to? They prostrate to Kabah. Another verse describes monotheists,
“And those who spend the night in worship of their Lord, prostrate and standing.” (25:64)
Allah the Great prohibited prostrating to His creation:
“And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. prostrate yourselves not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you (really) worship Him.” (41:37)
People stopped prostrating to sun and moon and instead started to prostrate to Kabah. They left one Shirk for another and refused to worship Allah the Great. These Muslim polytheists really dislike to worship Allah the great alone but worship with him Kabah. And those who disdain, dislike worship of Allah the Great and worship beside Him Kabah, graves, Saints, Imams, Prophets, Trees, Idols, Allah the great tells them,
“And your Lord says, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter hell [rendered] contemptible.“ (40:60)
A video example of Kabah worship is also available here. Please people are making Tawaf of Kabah. At 0:35 onwards you can see the polytheistic Muslims kissing, huging, clinging to Kabah and this is exactly same as what the Sufi’s and Shia’s do on to the graves of their saints. This is manifest Shirk and every Muwahid will agree that tawaf of Kabah, kissing, hugging, clinging, rubbing the beard and cheeks on walls of Kabah is Shirk.’
I have written on the Vedic past of Arabia , though doctored History would have us believe that there was no civilization or culture before the Prophet and Islam.
I had written on the fact that Arabia is from the word Arabia was derived from the Sanskrit word Aravasthan, meaning the place of Horses.
I had also written that,
Arabia was a part of Lemuria,
Lord Rama’s Kingdom included Arabia,
Chandragupta Vikramaditya established his Kingdom there,
He subdued the local tribes,
Established Shiva Temple, which is now Kaaba,
His inscriptions are found there,
Kaaba is a Shiva Temple,
786 is flipped OM,
Muhammad’s maternal Uncle composed a Hymn in Praise of Lord Shiva,
The Arabian Kings followed Tamil practices,
The Arabians followed Vedic System of marriages with Sapthapathi Mantra.
Now more evidence that Prophet’s Grandfather dug the Zamzam spring which is a word from Ganges, Ganga . associated with Lord Shiva,
Prophet’s Father and his ancestors were the custodians of the Shiva Temple,
the affinity of Arabic with Sanskrit, and the worship of Moon and the
Rama and Soma Tribes were in Arabia!
Shiva Stuthi by Prophet’s Uncle.
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The Black Stone is badly mutilated; its carved base has disappeared, and the stone itself is broken at seven places. Its parts are now held together by a silver band studded with silver nails. It lies half buried in the South East portion of the Kaaba Wall. The term Kaaba itself appears to be a corruption of the Sanskrit word Gabha ( Garbha + Griha ), which means “sanctum sanctorum.”
In addition, in inscriptions from Hajja and its neighborhood was found a votive vessel dedicated by members of two tribes called Rama and Somia. Rama and Soma are Vedic deities… Rama is of the Solar dynasty and Soma of the Lunar one.
The moon god was called by various names in pre-Islamic times; one of them was Allah. Allah had 3 children : Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat. Al-Lat and Al-Uzza were both feminine deities. Alla is also another name for the Hindu goddess Durga. It is likely that the goddess Al-Lat was Alla ( Durga ) and Al-Uzza was Oorja ( energy or life force, also known as Shakti ).
Manat may have been none other than Somnath, which is another name for Lord Shiva. One significant point to note is that Soma, in Sanskrit, means Moon and Nath means Lord. Thus the Kaaba itself seems to have been dedicated to the Moon God Somnath, alias Shiva, and the word Somnath was corrupted to Manat.
As observed, the famous Black Stone could have been none other than the Shiva linga of Makkeshwar, alias Mecca. Lord Shiva is always shown with a crescent Moon on his head and every Shiva temple is supposed to have a sacred water spring, representing the Ganges. The Crescent Moon pinnacle of the Kaaba and the Zamzam spring ( actually Zamza, from Ganga ) seem testimonies to the Vedic connections of Kaaba.
Sahih Bukhari Vol 2, Book 26, No 689
Narrated by Abu Huraira :
In the year prior to the last Hajj of the Prophet,
when Allah’s Apostle made Abu Bakr the leader of the pilgrims,
the latter ( Abu Bakr ) sent me in the company of a group of people
to make a public announcement –
‘ No pagan is allowed to perform Hajj after this year;
and no naked person is allowed to perform Tawaf of the Kaaba.’
Can you imagine naked pagans and Muslims performing Tawaf ?
Among Hindus though, Naga ascetics do not cover their bodies
with anything except ash !
Tradition proclaims that Mohammed’s grandfather dug the well of Zamzam and dedicated it to Asaf and Neila. He almost sacrificed his son, Mohammad’s father, to the two stone idols … a very distinct pagan practice !
The Well of Zamzam (or the Zamzam Well, or just Zamzam; Arabic: زمزم) is a well located within the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 20 m (66 ft) east of the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam. According to Islamic belief, it is a miraculously generated source of water from God, which began thousands of years ago when Abraham’s (Ibrāhīm) infant son Ishmael (ʼIsmāʻīl) was thirsty and kept crying for water. Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its wate
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In all probability, Tsabaism is a corruption of the word Shaivism which is part of the Vedic religion. On page 439 of this book, Sir Drummond mentions some of gods of pre-Islamic Arabs, all of which were among the 360 idols that were consecrated in the Kaaba shrine before it was raided and destroyed by Muhammad and his followers.
Here are some of the Arab deities mentioned and their Sanskrit names :
‘A popular saying refers to the Hussaini Brahmins or Dutts thus:
Wah re Dutt Sultan,
Hindu ka Dharm
Musalman ka Iman,
Adha Hindu Adha Musalman
Oh! Dutt, the king
[Who follows] the religion of the Hindu
and the faith of the Muslim
Half Hindu, half Muslim.’
HERE IS WHAT THE COLUMBIA ENCYLOPEDIA SAYS:
[Sixth Edition – 2001]“Kaaba or Caaba’ (both: kä´b or kä´b) (KEY) [Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the site predates Islam: tradition says that the Kaaba was built by Adam and rebuilt byAbraham and the descendants of Noah. Also known as the House of God, it is the center of the circumambulations performed during the hajj, and it is toward the Kaaba that Muslims face in their prayers (see liturgy, Islamic). Pre-Islamic Meccans used it as a central shrine housing their many idols, most notable of which were al-Lat, al-Uzza, and Manat, collectively known as al-Gharaniq or the Daughters of God, and Hubal, a martial deity. The Black Stone, possibly of meteoric origin, is located at one of its outside corners. Also dating from pre-Islamic times as a heavenly relic, this stone is venerated and ritually kissed. Worn hollow by the centuries of veneration, the stone is held together by a wide silver band. The actual structure of the Kaaba has been demolished and rebuilt several times in the course of its history. Around the Kaaba is a restricted area, haram, extending in some directions as far as 12 mi, into which only Muslims may enter.”
The above provides impeccable evidence about that pragmatic role played by the Datt Mohyals in the catastrophe of Karbala. There are more than a dozen ballads composed centuries ago which vividly and with great passion describe the scenario of the historic event.
Ancient Shiva Linga in Kaaba
Photo by Suzanna Olsson
In the Preface of a famous historical novel by Munshi Prem Chand, titled “Karbala”, published in 1924 from Lucknow, has stated that the Hindus who fought and sacrificed their lives in the holy war of Karbala, are believed to be the descendants of Ashvathama (hero of “maha bharata”).This clearly establishes their link with the Datts who consider Ashvathama as an ancestor of their clan.
I have written articles on the Vedic roots of Arabia.
If one were to look at the history of Arabia and Africa, one would find that, in the case of Arabia, the entire history of Arabia is dispensed with something like’Idol worshipers were defeated ‘ and Muhammad established his religion,Islam; in the case of Africa it is dismissed with ‘Tribes with superstitious beliefs were engaged in internecine war!( I am surprised that those who make this statement are also the people who say with a straight face that Human migration began from, Africa and it was in Africa Humans evolved from forgetting that such an early civilization could have nothing to offer except wars!).
But real history is different.
Saudi Arabia,, in the earlier days, was a part of Mesopotamia /Sumeria and these were ruled by Sumerians.
One can find , among the Kings of Sumeria, in the Kings List of Sumeria, the names of Lord Rama, his father Dasaratha and Bharatha.
And there is the Tamil connection of Arabia with the unique practice patronizing Poets in Tamil style by offering Gifts to them in return for their praising the Kings.
Sapthapathi was practiced in Arabia and Navagraha Idols were found in Mecca.
Not to forget that Mecca was /is a Shiva temple.
Chandra Gupta Maurya ruled over Arabia and his inscription is found in Mecca.
Prophet’s Uncle composed a Poem on Lord Shiva and the hereditary rights of maintaining the Shiva temple was entrusted to Brahmin Families who settled there.
There are reports that Seramaan Perumaal Nayanaar, a Shiva Bhaktha and King of present Kerala having met prophet and became a follower of Islam.
The evidence about Seramaan Perumaal becoming a follower of Islam is not strong.
Now to the Brahmins and Brahmin Kings of Arabia.
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According to “vide Bandobast Report of Gujarat” by Mirza Azam Beg page 422 and widely famous folk songs, “Later on, when umvies and abbasies let loose an orgy of vendetta on Ahl e Bayet (A.S), Shias and Datts, then Datts returned to their motherland around 700 AD and settled at Dina Nagar, District Sialkot and some drifted to as far as the holy Pushkar in Rajasthan. Starting from Harya Bandar (modern Basra on the bank of river Tigris) with swords in hand and beating durms, they forced their way through Syria and Asia Minor and marching onwards captured Ghazni, Balkh and Bukhara. After annexing Kandhar, they converged on Sindh and crossing the Sindh at Attock they entered the Punjab”.
An ancestor of Rahab named Sidh Viyog Datt assumed the title of Sultan and made Arabia (old Iraq) his home. He was a tough and tenacious fighter.
He was also known as Mir Sidhani. He was a worshipper of Brahma. He was the son of the stalwart Sidh Jhoja (Vaj) who was a savant and saint and lived in Arabia (Iraq) around 600 AD.
The supporters of imam Hassan (A.S) and imam Hussain (A.S) honored the Datts with the title of “Hussaini Brahmin” and treated them with great reverence in grateful recognition of the supreme sacrifices made by them in the war of Karbala. According to Jang Nama, written by Ahmed Punjabi, pages 175-176, “At the time to the Karbala, fourteen hundred Hussaini Brahmins lived in Baghdad alone”
According to the “encyclopedia of Indian casts” page 579 “Hussaini Brahmins are a group bringing harmony and brotherhood between Muslim and Hindu religions. They are greatly influenced by martydom of Imam Hussain (A.S), grandson of ProphetMuhammad(peace be upon him and on his children), at Karbala in 680 AD. It is also claimed that their ancestors were fought with imam hussain and martyred during the war of karbala. When the holy month of Muharram starts these Brahmins starts lamenting the death of Imam Hussain (A.S) in Lucknow with the muslims. Brahmins are the highest caste in Hindu hierarchy”
The Hussaini Brahmin sect, located mostly in Indian Punjab, also known as Dutts or Mohyals. Unlike other Brahmin clans, the Hussaini Brahmins have had a long martial tradition, which they trace back to the event of Karbala.
Some Mohyal Brahmins migrated eastward and became as some sub-divisions of Bhumihar Brahmins, some of whom are also descendants of Hussaini Brahmins and mourn the death of Imam Hussain (A.S). An eminent example was Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh. Sir Ganesh Dutt Singh, who was a freedom fighter, administrator and educationist in which capacity he did a lot for improving education and health services in the state of Bihar in the pre-independence era. Sir Ganesh Dutta made generous donations from his earnings and personal property for the development of educational institutions, like radium institute in Patna Medical College, Darbhaga Medical College, Ayurvedic College and schools for the blind, deaf and dumb, among others. A short film based on the life and works of Sir Dutt has been made by Prakash Jha. His essays, articles and books etc, clearly show his love towards imam hussain (A.S).
According to a Hindu news paper “Par tap(English)” 21 April 1949
“The Hussaini Brahmins are concentrating in “satghara katas” (the Rawalpindi-Jhelum regions of Pakistan) for the mourning of the muslim imam “hussain” (A.S). According to the traditions, the Hussaini Brahmins believe that their ancestor Rahab Dutt and his sons fought on the side of Imam Hussain (A.S) at Karbala and they were martyred along with the Imam. They remained Hindus but the tragedy of Kerbala was commemorated from generation to generation in their families and even now their clans observe it all over India, although the younger generation is less keen on such traditions”.
What is particularly striking about the observances of the month of Muharram in large parts of India is the prominent participation of Hindus in the ritual mourning. In several towns and villages, Hindus join Muslims in lamenting the death of Hussain (A.S), by sponsoring or taking part in lamentation rituals and taazia processions. In Lucknow, seat of the Shia nawabs of Awadh, prominent Hindu noblemen like Raja Tikait Rai and Raja Bilas Rai built Imambargahs to house Alams, standards representing the Karbala event.
The non-Muslim tribal Lambadi communities in Andhra Pradesh have their own genre of Muharram lamentation songs in Telugu. Among certain Hindu castes in Rajasthan, the Karbala battle is recounted by staging plays in which the death of Imam Hussain(A.S) is enacted, after which the women of the village come out in a procession, crying and cursing Yazid for his cruelty. This custom is known as “Pitna Daalna”.
In large parts of rural India, Hindus believe that if barren women slip under a Moharrum Alam they would be blessed with a child.
Another story, which seems reliable (but no strong historic avidence is found yet to prove it completely), is related as to how the Dutts of Punjab came to be known as Hussaini Brahmins. According to this version, one of the wives of Imam Hussain(A.S), the Persian princess bibi Shahr Banu(A.S), was the sister of “Chandra Lekha” or “Mehr Bano”, the wife of an Indian king called Chandragupta famous as “raja jaisalmer”.
When it became clear that Yazid was adamant on killing the Imam Hussain (A.S), and “Raja jaisalmer” received the information regarding this, he came to Iraq with a large army to assist the Imam Hussain (A.S). By the time they arrived, however, the Imam (A.S) had been slain. In the town of Kufa, in Iraq, he attacked Damascus the capital of yazid and got martyred by yazeed army however Imam Ali ibn al Hussain (A.S), known as zain ul Abideen, made them alive by the grace of Allah. They went back gathered their army, met with Mukhtar Saqaffi, (a disciple of the Imam(A.S)), who arranged for them to stay in a special part of the town, which even today is known by the name of Dair-i-Hindiya or ‘the Indian quarter’.
Some Dutt Brahmins, under the leadership of one Bhurya Dutt, got together with Mukhtar Saqafi to avenge the death of the Imam. They stayed behind in Kufa, while the rest returned to India. Here they built up a community of their own, calling themselves Hussaini Brahmins, keeping alive the memory of their links with the Imam (A.S).
The Hussaini Brahmins believe that in the “Bhagwadgita” Krishna had foretold the event of the Imam’s death at Karbala. According to them, the Kalanki Purana, (the last of eighteen Puranas), as well as the Atharva Veda, the fourth Veda, refer to Imam Hussain(A.S) as the divine incarnation or avatar of the ”Kali Yug”, the present age. They hold Rasool Allah, in particular reverence, referring to him as “MAHA DEV MAHA MADD” (greatest God) and Imam Ali (A.S), (Imam Hussain’s father, and son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him and on his children)), with the honorific title of ‘Om Murti’. (God’s face).
They also believe that in “ramaayana” “SIRI RAAM JI” told about the birth of Prophet MUHAMMAD (peace be upon him and his children).
Uttar ramaayana says “Siri RAAM said! Behold! that after 4000 years there would be a revelation of a “dev atee dev” (GOD of the gods) near the world’s greatest temple of black stone (kaba) in the land of dates, his name would be “MAHA DEV MAHA MADD” his greatest disciple “OM MURTI (God’s face) shall miraculously revealed beyond the black stone temple. His daughter “DURGA” will get married with “OM MURTI” known as Lion of God and they will have two lions one of them will be martyred on a river bank however he would be thirsty for three days”
Though other Hindus do not believe that it is said for Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him and his children) but The Hussaini Brahmins observe it like Muslim beliefs.
The Hussaini Brahmins, along with other Hindu devotees of the Imam Hussain (A.S), are today a rapidly decreasing. Younger generation of Hussaini Brahmins are said to be abandoning their ancestral heritage, some seeing it as embarrassingly deviant.
No longer, it seems, can an ambiguous, yet comfortable, liminality be sustained, fuzzy communal identities giving way under the relentless pressure to conform to the logic of neatly demarcated ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’ communities. And so, these and scores of other religious communities that once straddled the frontier between Hinduism and Islam seem destined for perdition, or else to folkloric curiosities that tell of a bygone age, when it was truly possible to be both Hindu as well as Muslim at the same time.’
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