Lost Sarasvathi and the lost Vastu of king Bhojaraja.

The loot of India has been happening for long.
Many priceless
and antiquated items have been taken abroad.
One such item is the statue of Goddess Sarasvathi
that once belonged to Bhojshala in Madhya Pradesh.
It is presently housed in a Museum in London.
Dr Subramanian Swamy has said that he would file a case
in London court asking the British Museum
to return the statue of Goddess Sarasvathi to India.
Details on this effort and the details on the
current state of Bhojshala can be read in the link here:

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.com/2011/09/petition-in-london-court-asking-british.html

The link below gives a crucial information
that this Bhojshala has been converted into a Mosque!
Read the other information given after
this news report and take a look at the pictures.
I have some information to share
which I have given after the pictures.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/swamy-visits-bhojshala/835825.html

Swamy visits Bhojshala

PTI | 11:09 PM,Sep 25,2011

Dhar(MP), Sep 25 (PTI) Reviving the controversial Bhojshala issue, 

Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy 
today claimed 

the Shlokas in Sanskrit language were engraved at a place 

where idol of Waghdevi (Goddess Saraswati) 

was earlier installed in the sanctum-sanctorum.

"After visiting the Bhojshala and 
personally inspecting 

the place where the idol of Waghdevi was 
established by the Raja Bhoj, 

I found that shlokas in Sanskrit language 
were engraved at that place," 

he told a press conference.Swamy arrived here 

to visit the disputed Bhojshala where 
Hindus offer puja 

every Tuesday and Muslims offer Namaz every Friday 

as part of an arrangement made by the 

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). 

Rest of the days it is opened for all.

He said he would file a petition in a London court 

where the idol is kept in a museum to bring it back 

to India like the idol of Natraj which he had 

claimed in a similar fashion.PTI CORR MAS RKC

*********************

The Bhojshala Temple in Dhar - built in the 11th century - 

and now used as a mosque and temple.

The BHOJ SHALA or temple of Sarasvati was built by 

King Bhoja the Great who ruled between 1000 and 1055. 

Famed for his learning and love of Sanskrit, 

Bhoja was dedicated to Sarasvati, the goddess of knowledge. 

The city of Dhar was sacked by the Chalukyas and Solankis 

in the 12th century and the statue of Sarasvati was taken away 

to Gujarat where a temple was built for the goddess in 1271. 

The library of Dhar was also looted and manuscripts 

preserved in the Bhandars of western India. 

The mosque known as Raja Bhoj's school or the Bhoj Shala 
was built out of Hindu and Jain remains in the 
14th or 15th centuries: its name is derived from one of the slabs, 
covered with inscriptions giving rules of Sanskrit grammar, 
once used as a paving stone in the hall.

Bhoja Shala Colonade, [Dhar]

 Photograph taken in 1902. Photograph of a Mosque, at Dhar, 
Madhya Pradesh, taken by an unknown photographer in c.1902. 
Raja Bhoja was a famous 11th-century king of the Hindu Paramara dynasty 
which ruled Dhar between the 9th and 13th centuries. 
The Paramaras were known for their support for literature 
and during this period many Hindu and Jain scholars flourished
at the Paramara court and Dhar became a famous centre of learning. 
Legend states that King Bhoja founded a school which is referred 
to as the Bhojashala (or Bhoja's school). 
Dhar fell to the 
Delhi Sultanate under Alauddin Khalji in 1305 
and later became part of the province of the independent Sultans of Malwa. 
A mosque was built here in the 14th century using fragments of Hindu 
and Jain structures. This is a view of the internal court. 
The colonnade consists of carved pillars which appear to have Hindu origins.

Inner structure of Bhoja Shala, Dhar.

Entrance to Bhoja Shala, Dhar. See History of Dhar 

according to a Government website. 

***************

Let me continue.

Bhoj shala was built by King Bhoja raja.

This name is  familiar  for those in the know of 

old texts of Vastu sastra.

This king has authored a book called, "Samarangana Sutradhara" 

which contains rules of Vastu sastra.

On reading the news that the Bhojshala built by 

Bojaraja was converted into a mosque, 

the immediate thought that came in my mind was 

how that could have happened if the structure was built 

by one who framed the very rules of Vastu!

King Bhojaraja lived about 1000 years ago. 

He was said to have learned the 64 arts and so many other 

branches of knowledge. His book on Vastu 

seems to be a creation of his own mind or research 

as there are some deviations from previous books of his time 

such as Viswakarma Prakashika.

 In particular, Bhojaraj has given additional inputs on Aya Prakarana.  

Most old texts have given prime importance to Aya than to anything else. 

Today no one follows Aya and not many have knowledge of Aya.

But this concept of Aya was as old as Rig Veda itself, according to me. 

The Aya mentioned in Rig Veda is considered as Iron, but the context 

where this word appears always is related to lands or fields or some area. 

This makes me think that Rig Vedic Aya is 
not aya-iron, but the Aya of Vastu.

There is no exact term for Aya in English. 

Aya means Increase or income or yield from a place.
Today we look at the length and breadth dimensions 

of the plot or house for Vastu compliance.
But originally as per Vastu, there are some calculations

related to the area of the plot or house which determines 

whether the plot or house will be a source 
of Growth or increase of Aya.

There are a number of factors connected to Aya, 

such as whether the owner of the plot will live long or 

earn well or would have ever increasing happiness in the House.  

The life of the structure also is determined by Aya.

The Aya is a mathematical derivation and the different kinds of 

derivations show the Aya connected to 

different kinds of issues of Increase / Income / Aya.

The Aya is applicable to all areas, such as fields, houses, 

godowns, palaces or even wells which gives some yield.
The yield of fields was determined by 

Aya calculations based on which the king collected a  tax called Aya.
The same word appears in Tamil also, 

as Ayam (ஆயம்), aayath theervai (ஆயத் தீர்வை), 

kanakkaayar (கணக்காயர்) etc.

The tax collectors of Aya, are mentioned
in the accounts of Magasthenes.
The people of Indus valley civilization, 

who moved to Tamilnadu after the deluge at 

Dwaraka around 3500 years ago, continued 
their job as collectors of Aya. 

Ayy Andiran was a tax collector first 
who became the ruler later.

Now we will come to Bhojaraja.
He has handed over some concepts - 

which might have existed before him and 
revived by him - on Aya.
For example he has a calculation of Aya 

that is related to the birth star of the owner.
Yet another important calculation is related 

to the longevity of the place and the owner.

I am relating this to the longevity of the 
structure built by Bhojaraja.
The calculation is done like this.
> Calculate the Kshetra phala (area) 

by multiplying the length and breadth of the 
proposed construction. 

>  Multiply this area by 8
> Then divide the resultant by 120.
> The remainder is the Ayush or 
Longevity of the structure.
> This number must be divided by 8.
> If the remainder is zero, the structure 

will not last long. Zero as remainder means death.

King Bhojaraja must have calculated this and 

other issues of Aya when he built this structure.
It is possible to calculate the Ayush of the structure 

that now stands using the above method.
In all probability, I am sure the Ayush bala is there. 

Otherwise the structure would not have survived this long.

But the question is why did the structure slip into another's 

hand and ceased to be a School for which it was meant?
Why it got converted to a Mosque?

I think, the King could not have ensured 

all the principal norms when he built this structure,
For example, for a structure to last for over 1000 years, 

the inauguration muhurta of the construction 

must have been done when one of the 3 planets, 

Venus, Jupiter or Saturn must have been in exaltation.
Here the lagna also is important.

Lagna as Pisces with exalted Venus in the lagna,
or lagna as Aries with exalted Jupiter in Cancer (4th house)
or lagna as Sagittarius with 2nd lord Saturn 

in exaltation in the 11th house
are recommended by old texts to ensure 

the structure to stand for more than 1000 years.
That the structure has stood up so long shows 

that Bhijaraja must have started the 
construction in any one of these combinations.

But if the 7th lord or the 10th lord of that Muhurta 

goes to occupy a sign of enmity or
if the occupant of the 7th and 10th house at that time 

is a planet inimical to the lord of that house,
it is said that the structure would go out of hand!

Perhaps this could have been the condition 

when Bhojaraja started the construction of the 
Bhojashala.
The structure was captured by Muslims and 

converted into a Mosque.
The purpose of the structure, namely 
as an educational institution has been lost.

In those days, the image of 
Sarasvati and Ganesha 

used to be consecrated at the 
entrance of the school 

which the pupils would worship 
before entering the classes.
This information is found in the chronicles 

given by Dharampal in his book "Beautiful tree".

The standing posture of Goddess Sarasvati 
goes well 

with Bhojshala which was meant to be a school, 
may be along with a temple also.

The perfect shape of the courtyard 
and the mantap 

in the pictures above show the case of  
a perfect Aya,

for which Bhojaraja's Vastu book 
stands out unique. 

The structure has survived and his name 
also continues to be remembered.

Perhaps he could not have avoided a 

malefic connection in the start-up time 
Muhurta.
Perhaps that led to the loss of structure 
to Mlecchas and loss of

the most revered Goddess who is worshiped
for gaining knowledge.

These thoughts give us very poignant notions 
of our wonderful past.
What a nation, what a culture, what a tradition  
we have bequeathed!
Is it not right to ask all those who have taken 
the possessions of this country 

to return them and help us rebuild the 
wonderful institutions of the past?
 

Related post:

http://thamizhan-thiravidana.blogspot.com/2010/12/24.html