Is Vedic astrology derived from Greek astrology? Part -8.

The current trend within Official Indian and foreign sources is to quote Indus civilisation as the beginning of Indian history. If it is true, how amazing that this civilisation flourished so well with advanced architecture and artisanship immediately after it was born!

But recent discoveries give a different picture that fits well with an Indian past that we know from the Epics and Puranas. Well developed techniques of reclamation of land by the construction of a wall in the Arabian sea as early as 8000 years ago have been discovered off the Konkan coast  at Srivardhan.

(Read) http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread714018/pg1

Marine archaeological researches in the Gulf of Cambay had brought to the fore proofs of human settlement as early as 13,000 years BP in the land extensions of west coast of India.

(Read) http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/BadrinaryanB1.php?p=1

West coast of south India stretching up to Gujarat was very much above the sea level about 6000 years ago. In the region of Gulf of Cambay, a river channel had been identified with indications of human activity about 31,000 years ago. This stretch was seismically active too. A combined effect of sea water rise at the end of Ice age and seismicity forced the people to shift towards Indian mainland gradually.

One notable shift was by Dravideswara Manu (Vaisavatha Manu) along with a host of sages who entered through Dwaraka ( where river Saraswati entered the sea at the end of Ice age) and sailed through Saraswati and settled down in the banks.

By the time of Mahabharata, river Saraswati disappeared at most places. If one traces the path of the refugees from Dwaraka whom Arjuna led forward and arranged their settlements, one would end up in the Indus civilisation settlements.

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All these can be dismissed as conjectures but these show a perfect continuity with the historical past as told in the Epics. The Indian past goes even to the time of Toba- eruption some 74,000 years ago, which is recorded as a Puranic story (of Tripura Samhara Read:- Mystery of Mt Toba (Sundaland) explained through Puranas! ) at which time mankind lived in India in a community system. This has come to be known from the archaeological excavation in Jwalapuram, Andhra Pradesh  Read:- http://archive.archaeology.org/0801/topten/paleolithic_tools.html

With this background information on the archaeological history of India, let me concentrate on what the Indus sites show us.

Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were the earliest sites which were developed almost simultaneously about 5000 years ago. Initially the name Mohenjo-Daro was thought to mean "the mound of the dead". But now the researchers (of foreign origin) themselves have come to think that Mohenjo-Daro means "Mohan's Mound", Mohan being Krishna. Read:- http://www.mohenjodaro.net/mohenjodaroessay.html

But the word 'daro' in Mohenjo-Daro sounds like Dera or  Deri in Gujarati language. Both words mean 'temple' or mandir – Dera referring to big sized temple and Deri to small sized temples in Gujarati. There are many Hunuman Deri and Durga Deri in Gujarat. Gandhi Dham is also known as Gandhi Dera – or Gandhi Mandir – a reference to temple. The Dera is there in Pakistan too where the names of Gods were replaced during Moghal invasions. Thus we hear of Dera Ismail khan, Dera Ghazi khan etc. This is told here to show the extent of the influence of Gujarati Dera to regions far away from Gujarat – but which were once very much part of Indus –Saraswati valley civilisation.

Mohenjo-Daro, with its name Mohan seems to indicate that it was Mohan Dera once. The Prakruth expression for "of Mohan" (Mohan + sa) must have come into usage in course of time making it Mohanasa Dera > Mohanacha Dera > Mohancha daro > Mohenjo-Daro as it is pronounced today.  Gola dhoro, Kerala-no-dhoro (in Gujarat) and Chanhu daro,  Lakhueen jo daro, Sutkagan Dor (in Pakistan) are some Dera sounding Indus valley places. This is being told here to show "Dera" (temple) presence in these regions, predominantly influenced by Gujarati terminology for temple.

Before going further into the main theme of this article, I want to make a reference to the presence of Vedic culture in the Indus Valley region even as early as 4600 years ago which is known from the excavation of Vedic altars in Lothal and Kalibhangan. The picture below shows a part of seven Fire altars in Kalibhangan.

The existence of Vedic altars at Kalibhangan shows that Vedanga Jyothisha had existed as early as 2600 BC. As if to prove the notion of the opponents that Vedic worship was centred only around the nakshatras, there are 27 formations found in Mohenjo-Daro, the oldest of the Indus sites.

Initially thought to be a 'granary', this 27 part structure is found next to the famous Great Bath water tank.  These 27 distinct parts are arranged in 3 rows of 9 each.  What are they? For what purpose they were used?

Each one of these 27 structures has separate foundations and arranged in East – West direction in 3 rows. It is also found that there were sockets for wooden super structure and doorways. This shows that this was originally a building having 27 distinct enclosures or partitions.  Initially it was thought (by western researchers) that this structure could have been a granary! But this structure was close to the water-outlet of the Great Bath tank! How could a granary exist so close to a water outlet?

If we take a look at the huge outlet from where the water of the tank could flow, it looks obvious that the water had flowed around the 27- part structure. To prove this observation, let me show the same 27-part structure from another angle surrounded by a pathway laid in the recent past. (pic below)

http://www.mohenjodaro.net/induswell42.html

Researchers think that this could have been the way that the water had flowed. This shows that the 27-part structure was surrounded by a kind of moat filled with water. The water was drawn from the Great Bath tank nearby.

First of all the number 27 makes it interesting. Why not 28 or 26 or 25? Why they made only 27 structures and arranged them in groups of 9? This sounds familiar for an astrologer. 27 is the number associated with 27 stars of the zodiac. They are arranged in groups of 9! Huge column of water (huge because the size of the outlet is quite unusual and would allow heavy rush of water from the tank) surrounding this structure reminds one of the concept of "Akash Ganga" – the Milky way in which the 27 stars of the zodiac are swimming!

In a striking resemblance, wells numbering 27 were dug in Chennai in the year 1818. An inscription found in a well in the temple of Goddess Periya PALayatthamman in Royapettah in Chennai says that this well is one among 27 wells constructed by the then Madras Collector, Mr Ellis in 1818. Point 14 in this link:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Whyte_Ellis  He did not just do this donation as a charity. He had followed the rituals and inaugurated them at an auspicious time.

Here also why the specific number 27 was followed is a question. Was there a practice to offer water to the 27 stars or star lords? Or was it a symbolism for keeping the stars floating in the celestial waters? Was that the reason the tank was constructed too close to the 27 part structure so that water could be let out on auspicious occasions?

The length of the 27-part structure also shows a unique connection to the zodiac. Lengthwise they are in 3 rows in east – west direction with a uniform length of 4.5 metres. The breadth varies for each row as 8 m, 4.5 m and 6 metres. The uniform length of all the formations gives an impression of equal length of the star- span in the zodiac. When I checked I found a surprising connection. The span of a star is 13 degrees and 20 minutes. Converted into minutes it is 13 x60 = 780 minutes + 20 minutes = 800 minutes. If we divide the zodiac of 360 degrees by the length of a part of the 27 part structure (360 / 4.5) it gives 80 parts. This is one tenth of the actual span of the star in the sky! Is this a coincidence or a calculated one?

To show that the entire complex housing the tank and the 27-part structure are part of a temple, let me make a comparison with a famous temple –a functioning temple – the temple of Meenakshi at Madurai!

Let us first take a look at the Mohenjo-Daro plan.

In the aerial view shown above, the front structure named Buddha Vihar was formed 2000 years ago. That was not originally the Indus structure. The almost square shaped structure to the right was the original structure built at about 2600 BC.

The directions, the tank and the 27 part structure are highlighted in the picture below.

The area shown as Main structure must have housed a main building which is lost. This was the original structure. What is palpable is that the tank is not in the expected Vastu direction of North east but it is in the South east. However there is a well close to the tank in the north east of the tank. Though no features have been discovered so far for connecting the well water to feed the tank (otherwise how the tank was filled with water is a mystery) , I am of the opinion that there must have originally existed an underground feeding line from the well to the tank. I am saying this on the basis of presence of VApis (step wells with water source from a well at a distance) found in many places of Dwaraka and Gujarat which come under the same Indus culture.  The Great Bath structure also reminds of the indoor tank that Mayan built in the palace of Pandavas at Indraprastha the surface of which was mistaken by Duryodhana as a decorated floor which eventually made him fall in the water. 

 I have reasons to call this structure as a temple as I see a similar plan for Meenakshi temple of Madurai. Take a look at the plan to know the location of the main structures of the temple.          

    

 

 

For easy comparison with Mohenjo-Daro, let me show the plan of Meenakshi temple in the following direction.

 

The Meenakshi temple ( shown above the Mohenjadaro) also has the tank in the South east direction.  This temple was supposed to have been built soon after Pandyans settled down after the 3^rd and last deluge which coincided with the deluge at Byt Dwaraka and the end of Indus civilisation.  The location of the tank and similarity in the location of the structures show that they were built or influenced by the architects of the same school. In contrast the temples built in Tamilnadu in the first millennium of the Common Era have tanks in the North east direction as a general rule. Meenakskhi temple goes to an era previous to this time and resembles the plan of Mohenjo-Daro structure.  

One can notice the similarities in the 3 main structures – the tank is placed in the same region of South east in Meenakshi temple and in Mohenjo-Daro as well. The shrine of Meenaskhi corresponds to the 27 part structure of Mohenjo-Daro.  The main shrine of Shiva corresponds to that part which is vacant now but looks suggestive of a lost structure in Mohenjo-Daro.  This comparison is shown here to drive home the point that the 27 –part structure was a place of worship!

The arrangement of the 27 structures in groups of 9 corresponds to 9 stars forming one round. It could as well be an arrangement of stars in the JAvAdi series of the Nakshatra lords of Rig and Yajusha Jyothisha. {Remember the period of Mohenjo-Daro was very much Vedic even if we take into account only the Indus feature of Kalibhangan (fire altar).}

Mohenjo-Daro was very much earlier to the period of Lagadha. The worship of 27 Nakshatras as Nakshatra Purusha vratha was vogue in those times. The formation of 27 part structure could perhaps be about the worship of Nakshatra purusha. The last chapter of Brihad samhita explains how the 27 nakshatras were worshiped as the body of the Nakshatra purusha starting from Moola as the feet of Nakshatra Purusha in Sagittarius. Even today, Sagittarius is called as "Nakshatra maasa" in Dwaraka.

The Nakshtra Purusha is identified as Lakshmi Narayana in a narration that involves Rudra and Narada ('Periya Varushadhi Nool' – a compilation of Siddhas' works). The worship of Narayana in Mohenjo-Daro is not odd because the very name Mohenjo-Daro is identified as Mound of Mohan (Krishna)    http://www.mohenjodaro.net/mohenjodaroessay.html  by researchers.

The worship of Nakshatra Purusha comes with worship of 12 forms of Vishnu in 12 signs of the Zodiac as Kesava,  Narayana, Madhava etc. This is also written in the chapter on Nakshatra purusha in Brihad samhita.

 

Interestingly the so-called granary of Harappa has 6+6 = 12 rooms!

In the plan of Harappa as shown above, the so-called granary is close the river Ravi which is now not flowing there. But the location near the river shows that it was not a granary.

The 12 structures, in the form of rooms with separate foundations are arranged in 2 rows of six – the rows facing each other in the east – west direction.

In the picture below, they are clearly seen as separate structures with 3 separate foundations within each structure. They resemble the seats for erecting the deities in temples.

Individual rooms are 15 by 6 meters long, and have sleeper walls for airspace between them. At each end of the rooms are three raised platforms.

This kind of foundation structure is common in temples which are usually located for parivara devathas. One can see similar foundation structures in Somanathapura near Mysore in the unfinished rows of rooms which were meant for smaller deities. Most of the big temples of Tamilnadu have rows of rooms like this for minor deities and acharyas. The only difference is that they are not like to the two rows as seen above – as though facing each other. There is a passage in between the two rows in this structure.

For  more pics:- http://www.harappa.com/walk/index.html

The presence of steps leading to the enclosures from the outer side make them appear as 12 separate shrines.

What are the 12 deities that have been consecrated in these enclosures?

One probability is that they are the 12 forms of Vishnu – an extension of the 27 Nakshatra purusha.

But a surprise find is that in the room situated in the south west corner of the structure, a small figurine of a ram in the form of an amulet has been found!

http://www.harappa.com/indus4/279.html

This is just 21.8 mm length and was used as an amulet. What significance this ram had in this room of the 12 part structure?

Interestingly enough, in the opposite room (of this room) – which is situated in the south east part of the structure, a "Bull" seal has been found!

 

http://www.harappa.com/indus4/e3.html

The location of these two rooms also is striking– one with ram amulet and another with bull seal,  facing each other or opposite to each other (Mesha and Rishabha) . The location of these two rooms can be known from the picture below.

 

What explanation can we give to these objects in these rooms?

First of all, why are there 12 rooms, and why not in any other number?

Why should an amulet of Ram be found in a room?

Why was ram used as an amulet?

For what purpose did they use the room?

Why the bull seal is seen in the room next to this room? Can this be a mere coincidence?

This resembles the zodiacal arrangement in a temple form where the respective zodiacal symbols were held sacred and used as an amulets or offerings.

Donation of carved figures or seals is still a practice in India which can be easily seen in the Balaji temple in Tirupathi.  The figures of organs or human body or some animals are offered in the Hundi in the temple to ward off diseases and evil eye. Temple inscriptions of Coimbatore region also mention the donation of figures or erection of small figures as part of prayers by the devotees. The use of amulets is also a common practice in our culture. All these go to show that the 12 –part structure of Harappa was a temple dedicated to the 12 signs. Whether they were dedicated to the 12 forms of Vishnu, may not be known. Or it can be an extension of the Nakshatra purusha worship. The series of rooms remind me of the series of rooms for Krishna's parivara in Byt Dwaraka. But there was a central hall around which these rooms were lined. In Harappa the rooms were close to each other with little space in between them.

The discovery of ram and bull figures in two rooms next to each other cannot be dismissed as insignificant as they are seen in a structure of 12 rooms whose utility cannot be explained in any way other than for a ritualistic purpose.

Yet another interesting correlation is that the 27 part structure of Mohenjo-Daro and the 12-part structure of Harappa are in close degrees of longitude.

Mohanjadaro is situated in 68.1375° E

Harappa is in 72.8817° E

In between them is a famous temple Somnath of Prabhas kshetra in Gujarat!

It is in 70.4090° E

Somnath is based on the legend of Moon's path across the 27 stars and Daksha's curse on him. The main theme of Daksha Prajapati's story is that no offering was made to Shiva in Daksha Yaaga. It means that there were less deaths and the population was growing enormously. The subsequent destruction caused by Shiva was by fire. In this connection let me point out the cyclical occurrence of destruction caused by 5 elements of Nature that is told in a Tamil sangam text (Paripadal - 2). The first in the series is destruction caused from the sky – perhaps it meant an asteroid fall that caused massive devastation. The next was caused by air. The third was caused by fire which is where the destruction after the Daksha yaaga fits in. The fourth destruction was caused by water – the deluge suffered in the last 12,000 years with its last occurrence happening about 3500 years ago that submerged Byt Dwaraka and Pandyan lands in the Indian Ocean fits here. The next destruction involves earth. Perhaps a massive earthquake or a volcanic eruption is indicated by which a considerable part of land and population may be wiped out.

In the story of Daksha, the waxing and waning of the Moon in its sojourn across the 27 stars is indicative of the observation of this sojourn and the formulation of astrology based on stars and the luminaries. At the end of destruction of Daksha Yaaga, the resurrection of Daksha with goat's head is indicative of the formulation of the system of the Zodiac with goat as its head. Any entity with a goat's head cannot be identified as a symbolism for the head of the zodiac. But the additional information of the waxing and waning of the Moon across the 27 stars of the zodiac and its close encounters with Rohini in the story of Daksha comes as a double confirmation of the symbolism and its origins in an era that came to an end by fire. Mankind grew up after that and the next destruction by water also had gone past.

It was after this destruction by water, Vaivasvatha Manu entered the Saraswati river, pushed by sea waters. The first act was to pay obeisance to those who were lost in the deluge. Somanath was consecrated to do this worship. It was the first Jyothir linga of Bharat varsha. The uniqueness of this temple is that Karthik Full Moon crosses the dome of this temple as if it is worshiping Lord Shiva.

Why this temple was constructed in a specific place with this unique feature, if Daksha – Moon narration is just a legend?

Where were the people (who constructed this temple or livened up the tradition of Daksha – Moon story), located before they came here?

The BaaN sthambh fixed in this temple tells that it is the first point of land in the North from the  South pole in that longitude – meaning to say that it was water all through the way to the south pole.

(picture not accurate – only for illustrative purpose)

What is so important about this, if not of a civilisation that remembers that all their previous lands were lost to water and that this is the point where they finally settled down? –(entry at Dwara – Dwaraka - door)

The legend of Moon's transit across the zodiac and Karthak Poornima crossing this site – aren't they indications of a previous knowledge of astrology – two of which (equal signs and 25^th hora coming with sunrise) could have possibly evolved only near the Equator? (It was in the same route Pandyans entered South India after the last deluge 3500 yrs BP. Their previous capital in the then standing regions off the extended western ghat was called as Kavaatam which also means door!)

Prabhas was the final place of pilgrimage until Mahabharata period. (Today it is Kashi after a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram – this has the story of the Sagaras and birth of Ganga connected to that. I have written that in a different context here:- http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2013/02/all-tamils-must-unite-to-save-ram-setu.html )

Coming to the core theme of this article, why do the first two settlements of the Indus culture – which I say were the early locations occupied by the people who left Dwaraka after the deluge and Krishna's exit, have features that resemble 27 stars and 12 signs of the zodiac?

Was it a coincidence or a planned act to have founded those two places close to the longitude of Somnath / Prabhas – from where it is all emptiness until the South Pole?

The locations / cities that came up after these two did not have these features. It was perhaps the generations that came immediately after the exit from Dwaraka remembered them and continued the previous habits of worship. The Nakshatra purusha worship cannot be dismissed lightly as there is the story of Dhruva who became a star. The result of Nakshatra Purusha vratha is that the doer of this Vratha would be born as a star in his next birth and would last till the day of Brahma. Dhruva's penance has all the trappings of the Nakshatra Purusha vratha.

The 27 and 12 part features of the Indus cities cannot be explained in any way other than their astrological import. Is it right to ignore the message of these structures that point to a much older origins of Vedic astrology with its knowledge of the 12 signs?

 

(to be continued)