The name Vālakhilya evokes excitement and interest
besides puzzlement for two main reasons. One is that it refers to a group of
eleven hymns generally counted as an appendage to the 8th Mandala of
Rig Veda. Opinions vary on why they are there and whether they are later
additions. Another reason is that sages by a generic name Vālakhilya have
existed in a remote past amply referenced in Mahabharata, with a couple of
references appearing in Vālmiki Ramayana also. Mahabharata often refers to
their height of unbelievable proportions - as ‘thumb’ size. Yet another often
mentioned feature describes them as doing penance by hanging upside-down in the
branches of the trees. A penance of this kind done by Vālakhilya rishis finds
mention in Bhrṅgīśa samhita and also practiced
as yogic posture by the name Vālakhilyāsana even
today.
With enough source materials to decode the myths
around Vālakhilyas, what is left improbable is their thumb sized height. Even that can be interpreted as a symbolic
reference to their short stature compared to normal human beings. Interestingly
support comes from archaeological findings on very small beings, hardly of three
feet height who walked on the earth along with normal human beings (Homo
erectus) as recently until 13,000 years ago if we go by fossil records and
until the 16th century CE as per many first person accounts. They
were the “Hobbits”
who had lived in Indonesia! The information we gather from the three texts (Rig
Veda, Ramayana and Mahabharata) gives us ample leads to connect Vālakhilyas with Hobbits.
Such information includes the origins of
Vālakhilyas, their olden location, their later location, their characteristics
and their contribution. Of these let us first proceed from the information on
their olden location to establish their origins in Indonesia!
Oldest story of Vālakhilyas.
Both Mahabharata and Vālmiki Ramayana repeat a
similar incident involving Vālakhilyas in which the Garuda came to be
identified as the king of birds for the first ever time. Interestingly enough,
the name Garuda came into being for the first time only after that incident, coined
by the none other than Vālakhilyas. This means that the concept of Garuda as
the carrier of Vishnu and later as the insignia of Viṣṇu
/ Kṛṣṇa must have come up after
this incident. This places Vālakhilyas much before the origin of the concept of
Garuda and its status as the carrier bird for Viṣṇu!
This incident is recalled by Rāvana (VR:
3-35) on his way to meet Mārīca
to seek his help to abduct Sīta. While passing
through the sea coast he saw a huge banyan tree that reminded him of an
incident of the old in which the mighty Garuda plunged from the sky to perch on
a huge banyan tree with an elephant and a mammoth tortoise clutched in his
paws. By the weight his plunge, the branch where he landed started breaking
off. It was then he noticed that sages such as Vālakhilyas were doing penance
by hanging upside down on that branch. Anxious that they should not fall down,
Garuda immediately picked up the broken branch with his beak and soared high
with the sages still hanging in the tree-branch.
It was an awe-inspiring to see the huge bird flying
in the sky with an elephant and a huge tortoise in firm grip of its two claws
and a huge branch of a tree in its beak with many Vālakhilyas hanging down from
that. Rāvana recounts that the bird safely landed the Vālakhilyas in a site
after which it unleashed the branch on a habitat of Nishādas (fishermen or
boatmen implying coastal or riverside people) destroying them. The sight of the
huge banyan tree brought out the memory of this old tale of Garuda and
Vālakhilyas to Rāvana. This incident appearing in Vālmiki Ramayana goes without
saying that Vālakhilyas existed even before Rama’s times!
Now coming to the chronologically later history of
Mahabharata, the same incident is narrated by Ugrasrava
Sauti in the story of Garuda. (MB:
1-29 & 30). Here he gives some more information.
Garuda, the son of Vinata was keen on increasing
his strength to fetch amrita in order to
free his mother from the bondage of Kadru, the
mother of snakes. He did this by eating the Nishādas and the creatures of the
forest. Once he spotted an elephant and a huge tortoise fighting with each
other in a lake. He swooped on them and caught them with his claws. He soared
high with the two huge animals in the grip of his claws looking for a place to
perch and saw a group of banyan trees near ‘Ālamba tīrtha’ (MB: 1-25-27).
There the Vālakhilya rishis were engaged in penance while clinging on to the
tree-branches with their body and the head downwards.
Unaware of their presence, Garuda landed on a branch
but the branch started breaking. Only then Garuda noticed the presence of Vālakhilyas
in that branch and wishing to save them from getting crushed, he picked up the
branch with his beak and started flying again. The rishis, still hanging from
the branch were amazed to see the huge bird carrying two huge animals in its
claws and a huge branch in its beak as surpassing the might of the Gods and hence
called the bird, ‘Garuda’
meaning ‘the bearer of heavy weight’. The
very formation of the name “Garuda” has thus been attributed to Vālakhilyas!
After they were left to safety, the Vālakhilyas were
guided by sage Kaśyapa to leave for Himavat to continue with their penance without any
disturbance. Sauti continues the
narration on how Garuda managed to get amrita and met Viṣṇu
on his way who on seeing him not drinking amrita, granted him two boons by
which Garuda became immortal and came to be the carrier of Viṣṇu and found a place in his flag. This narrative
from Mahabharata places the identification of Garuda as the carrier of Viṣṇu at
a time when Vālakhilyas were already advanced beings proficient in ascetic
practices.
This incident involving Garuda and Vālakhilyas
cannot be brushed aside as a figment of imagination for the reason it is
repeated in both the Itihāsas. The incident is
filled with ample clues to the location where this had happened. It also tells
about a time when raptors (Garuda) were ruling the skies and almost threatened
all forms of terrestrial life including human beings. The Nishādas living on
sea shores and river-side were forced to move out for fear for life from the
bird. The Vālakhilyas also were forced to take refuge in the Himavat. Piecing
the clues together it is possible to identify the place where this incident had
taken place.
Location of Garuda, Giant tortoise,
Banyan and Vālakhilyas.
The incident has three creatures, a mighty Garuda
(let’s call it eagle), an elephant and a giant tortoise. The location was
teeming with water bodies or it could have been near the coast if we go by
Ramayana narration - where elephants and giant tortoises were co-habiting. This
location must also have plenty of banyan trees.
Banyan trees
The mention of Ālamba
tīrtha’ where the Vālakhilyas were engaged in penance by hanging upside
down on the tree branches unfolds the mystery, as one of the meanings of Ālamba
is ‘hanging down’ and another is ‘support’. Banyan trees have their branches (roots)
hanging down which form their own support. ‘Ālam’ in Ālamba has a curious
connection with the Tamil word ‘Ālam’ (ஆலம்) which is how banyan tree
is called in Tamil! True to its meaning, the Vālakhilyas also had practiced the
upside down posture from the tree-branch during meditation.
Banyan trees are endemic to South Asia and South
East Asia. Giant banyan trees are found in Angkor Wat
temple complex. Banyan tree has a place in the Coat of Arms of
Indonesia inscribed within the giant image of ‘Garuda’!
Coat
of Arms of Indonesia
Though this was recently adopted by Indonesia, the
design reflects native elements specific to the country and its traditions.
Banyan found a place in this design not just for the symbolism but also because
it is native to Indonesia.
The spread of banyans can be seen as far as the
Pacific island of Vanuatu
where the tree has the same utility as in India – i.e., a meeting place or for
public congregations.
Certain species of banyan do appear in Central and
South America. But those places do not qualify to be the venue of the above
mentioned incident of Garuda and Vālakhilyas. The fact that Vālakhilyas had
moved from Ālamba to Himavat points to the region of South or South East Asia.
The movement to Himavat could not have happened from
Europe or Siberia for the very reason that banyans are not native to
those regions. So our search gets narrowed down to South East Asia as a
probable region. India is excluded from this reckoning for other reasons, one
of it being the absence of giant tortoises.
Giant Tortoise.
Giant tortoise found in coastal regions or inland
lakes is an important test feature for this incident. The following map
published by a Checklist
and Review of extinct species of turtles and tortoises shows
that South East Asia had harboured many such species until 12,000 years ago.
Srilanka is the only region in South Asia to have
been home for these species until 12,000 years ago. But some species have lived
until 450 years ago in the east of Australia and in the regions where Vanuatu
is located. Indonesia (Java) was home for some extinct species.
When we look for the probable species of giant
tortoises in South East Asia, we do come across Asian Giant
Tortoises (Manouria
emys) as the most primitive but still living in wet lands and waterways in
South East Asia and South Asia.
Manouria
emys phayrei in Kaeng Krachan National Park,
Thailand
This species is found from ‘Assam in India and
eastern Bangladesh in the west, through Myanmar and western Thailand, and south
through peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and Borneo in the east’ (Here).
To narrow down the search further, we must look for giant eagle population in
these regions.
Giant eagles
The narration tells about the size of Garuda and not
his colour. He was a man-eater initially and had devoured huge animals
including elephants. He was not snake-eater, as Garuda had not troubled the
snakes born to Kadru. Not all eagles eat snakes. After he got the boon of
immortality from Viṣṇu, Garuda came to be known as ‘Suparṇa’,
a bird with ‘beautiful wing’. With these clues we have to locate the eagle in a
region which was a habitat for giant tortoises and elephants too.
The most widespread eagle family in the northern
hemisphere is the Golden
Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).
But they are found in regions to the north of India and in Europe and not in
South East Asia. Since our search is narrowing down to South and South East
Asia, we have to look for the species found here. The most common one is white-bellied
sea eagle (H. leucogaster) seen from India to
Indonesia to Australia.
White-bellied
Sea eagle.
The characteristic white coloured belly of this
eagle can be expected to be found in the narration if this is the bird that
came to be called as Garuda. But the absence of this reference rules out this
to be Garuda.
But far from Indonesia, an extinct eagle of huge
size has been found in New Zealand (closer to Vanuatu where extinct tortoises
have been found and where banyans abound). A study
published in PLOS Biology had identified an extinct giant eagle called Haast's eagle. “With a
2.5-3m wingspan weighing in at between 10 and 14 kg, Haast's eagle was about
30-40% heavier than the largest living bird of prey (the harpy eagle of Central
and South America) and was approaching the upper weight limit of powered flight”.
The absence of terrestrial mammals except a few species of bats in New Zealand
about 700 years ago when human settlement began was attributed to the presence
of this giant eagle in the past.
It had no predators, but plenty of food in the form
of terrestrial animals that resulted in gaining weight to the maximum possible
limit to enable it to fly. This is the same description we find in Mahabharata
on Garuda, as having no enemy but only food everywhere, and thereby becoming ‘immortal’
though it had not drunk amrita it carried!
Drinking Amrita is figurative expression for immortality
of a race. The Garuda had its genesis after the birth of snakes, as per the
story of Garuda. It did not live on snakes which is normally believed to be the
food for eagles, but on other animals. It had preyed on human beings too. With
these insights if we probe into the origins of Haast’s eagle, we find a genetic
study on a 2000 year old bone of this eagle mentioned in the same article as
saying that it is closely related to the world’s smallest eagle –“the "Little Eagle" from Australia and New Guinea,
which typically weighs under 1 kg”. They had a common ancestor who lived a
million years ago, but the giant eagle had grown in size 10-15 times over a
period just by eating unabatedly with none to threaten its survival.
The
giant Haast's eagle attacking the extinct New Zealand moa.
An interesting correlation is that the region where
the fossil of this eagle is discovered is close to Vanuatu, the region of
banyan trees and tortoises. Generally eagles are territorial. The Haast’s eagle
had held its hold on New Zealand. It is not known whether Garuda belongs to
this genus or is different from it but there can be no doubt that it had a
similar life style as that of Haast’s eagle.
Its immortality was threatened by Indra in the same
story on Garuda wherein it is stated that Indra discharged his weapon on Garuda.
But Garuda managed to survive after losing a few feathers. This sounds symbolic
of a reduced form of Garuda in due course while continuing to exist as a
species as a mark of immortality. We may not get to identify the exact species
of Garuda unless and until we find fossil remains of the bird. However the very
fact about the way of life of Haast’s eagle raises the probability of an
ancestral or a sub-species of that bird ruling the skies and the land long ago
anywhere from Indonesia to New Zealand.
Fortunately our search is further fine-tuned by an
account on Garuda’s territory at Śālmali Dwīpa described in Vālmiki Ramayana.
Garuda, the native of Śālmali Dwīpa.
Garuda and Vālakhilyas appear in regions far-east of
India (Bharat) in the narration of Sugrīva of a route until a point in the
globe where sun rise is witnessed (VR:
4-40).
The route passes through Yava Dwīpa, the olden
name for Java. From there after crossing Mt
Shishira (Mt Semeru) and River Shona (R.Solo) the route passes through a series
of islands leading to Śālmali Dwīpa. Even today many islands are seen to the
east of Java. Sugrīva specifically mentions that Śālmali Dwīpa was the home of Garuda, Vinata’s son
(VR:4-40-4)
In Sugrīva’s narration, the next region to the east
of Śālmali Dwīpa is described as having horrifying demons of the shapes
and size of mountains, dangling upside down from the mountain peaks and surrounded
by oceans. Day after day they fall into water and also freshly arise from
mountaintops (VR 4-40.41-43). This is a reference to lava spiting
volcanoes of this region. The ocean of this region was described as Red sea (VR
4.40. 39) precisely because the hot and molten lava running down the volcanoes
into the seas had given red hue to the sea. This description fits with Mt Puncak Jaya in
Papua province.
This limits the region of Śālmali Dwīpa (Garuda’s
home) to the parts to the east of Yava Dwīpa and west of Papua New Guinea. The
probable location of Śālmali Dwīpa deduced from this description is shown in
the picture below.
The currently available archaeological findings in
the region that we identified as Śālmali Dwīpa are known for ‘Lapita pottery’.
Interestingly a bowl of this culture exhibits the image of Garuda! (Illustration
below)
Garuda images have been found in different parts of
the world. But no other region in the world has all the three, namely, banyan
trees, giant tortoises and giant eagles at one place as in Śālmali Dwīpa, which
is part of Indonesia today.
There are other two entities, the elephant and the
Vālakhilyas of short stature that we have to find in this region. The elephant
also must be of the size that a giant eagle (Garuda) is capable of holding with
one of its claws. That means they must be of smaller than normal size of
elephants. Incidentally Insular Dwarfism
is common in islands and Indonesia, an archipelago fits the bill very well.
Dwarf elephants of Indonesia.
An extinct species of dwarf elephant known as Stegodon florensis
insularis is found to have lived in Indonesia, Philippines,
Taiwan and Japan. The ancestral species of these elephants were found to be
huge in size, but dwarfism occurred as an evolutionary development for those
species that were confined within islands where the food supply was limited.
Interestingly the birds of Indonesia have shown gigantism while the elephants
have shown dwarfism.
For example Giant
storks of size 6 feet high and weight 16 Kg had lived in
Indonesia until 11,000 years ago. Similarly giant rats and giant tortoises had
lived in the same region while the elephants were of dwarf kind. This disparity
is attributed to the availability of food. The species dependant on food
available in water had grown big in Indonesian islands while a species like an
elephant had struggled to get its food. The story of Garuda lifting the
elephant and the tortoise actually narrates the scenario of the two fighting
with each other in a water body when Garuda picked them up. That fight must
have been for food and territory that each of them wanted for itself. The
amazing correlation of the story with the discovery of the presence of these
two species in Indonesian islands further reiterates the fact that the elephant
could have been of a dwarf kind that the huge Garuda (a case of island
gigantism of birds of prey) was able to lift with ease.
Adding credence to this supposition, Indonesia was
home for dwarf people who lived along with dwarf
elephants. Dwarf people named as Homo
floresiensis after the name of the place Flores - an island in Indonesia where their fossils
have been found in the cave Liang Bua
had lived at a time the dwarf elephants were roaming in Indonesia. Fossil
remains of the dwarf elephant Stegodon
are found in the same stratigraphic layer associated with the fossils of Homo
floresiensis who have been nick-named as Hobbits! A comparative size of a Hobbit and the dwarf
elephant are shown below with the model of a giant stork and a giant rat of the
same place that lived until 11,000 years ago.
A research article
presumes that Stegodon elephants were eaten by the still extant Komodo Dragon,
a species of lizards. It is no wonder that they were also falling prey to the
giant raptor, Garuda. The extinction of Stegodon can also be attributed to the
giant eagle, Garuda – whose liking for the elephant can be made out from the
incident narrated in both the Itihāsas.
Flores where the fossil remains of Hobbits have been
found is well within Śālmali Dwīpa where Garuda had lived, and where elephants
(dwarf variety) and giant tortoises also had co-existed. This region is also
known for banyan growth.
Researchers have established Hobbits as hominins, a
short race of humans whose ancestral species had lived 700,000 years ago. They
had evolved from homo erectus and lived along with us (homo sapiens)
in Indonesia. Starting from this piece of information let us see what Indic
scriptures have to say about the short species, the Vālakhilyas.
Vālakhilyas: early and distinct human
species.
A narration in Mahabharata describes “Brahma darśana” on creation
of life forms (MB:13-85)
including human beings. Decoding of the metaphorical verses of this description
shows that the earliest life was formed from heat in water, then from heat on
land and then from the latent heat of the previous one. They have been named as
Bhrigu, Angiras and Kavi.
All the life forms including human beings have sprung from one of these
elementary three forms only. Creation of this kind is described as a yajna.
Then comes the reference to the blades of Kuśa grass spread out for the yajna.
It is further said (in the words of sage Vasishtha) that Vālakhilyas sprang from the blades of Kuśa grass. It
further adds that from the same blades of Kuśa, sprang
Atri – a famous Rig Vedic sage!
The narration puts Vālakhilyas and Atri on the same state of origin!
It must be noted that they were not put on par with numerous offsprings that
emerged from the yajna or the fire of the yajna. Instead they were traced to
the Kuśa blades that would be discarded once the yajna is over! Does this convey that these two species of
human race originating from the same source would cease to exist at some point
of Time?
Vālakhilyas and Atri-s
The most common feature between Vālakhilyas and Atri
was their affinity to the Sun! In as many as 3 places Mahabharata describes Vālakhilyas
as subsisting on sun rays (MB 3.125, 9.43 & 13.115). Sugrīva in his
description of ‘Udaya
Paravata’ in far-east refers to Vālakhilyas coming into sight at the
region of sunrise shining with the resplendence of the Sun. (प्रकाशमाना दृश्यन्ते सूर्य वर्णाः VR:
4-40-60).[i]
Sugrīva also refers to that location as the place of sunrise where Viṣṇu makes
his first foothold. The reference to difference in time between that place and
Jambhu Dwīpa shows that it is near Fiji islands and there is a 6-hour gap
between the two places. (VR:4-40-59). Obviously that was considered to be the
region of sun rise for the globe and Vālakhilyas, who subsist on sun rays had
preferred to live at that location sometime in the past.
Sage Atri
is also associated with observing the Sun. The
Rig Vedic hymn attributed to him refers to eclipse of
the sun (RV: 5-40). It is believed that Atri or the family of
Atri were the first ones to have understood the occurrence of solar eclipse.
With Atri-s sharing a common origin with Vālakhilyas, were
they similar in traits with Vālakhilyas – one of which being observing the sun relentlessly
as though they were subsisting on the sun?
Though born of the same Kuśa grass, Atri was
classified along with Sapta rishis while Vālakhilyas were not. From the
insights gained from the names of the rishis mentioned in the narration of Brahma darśana, it looks as though each rishi
signified a separate human race with Atri also signifying a separate race of
human beings. The sapta rishis being present always, it implies that Atri race
still continues in existence. The
exclusion of Vālakhilyas in the group shows that they were not ever lasting.
Atri-s, sharing the same origin with Vālakhilyas
could mean that they were
also short in stature but not as short as Vālakhilyas. The absence of
any specific mention about their height is taken to mean this. But they had
some affinity with sun like Vālakhilyas.
Thinking about height, sage Agastya also is said to be short. He was
also associated with Sun,
in the metaphorical narration of subduing Vindhya
Mountain to make way for the Sun to move beyond that. Did he also belong to an olden human race that was short and spend more
time under the sun, watching the movement sun – a habit that was common between
Vālakhilyas and Atri-s?
Of all the three, the incident involving Garuda
offers better clues to link Vālakhilyas with Hobbits of Indonesia.
Hobbits and Valakhilyas.
The olden location of Vālakhilyas occurring in
Śālmali Dwīpa, they make better candidate to have had genetic connection with
the short Hobbits. Science says that Hobbits, though shorter in stature were in
no way inferior to homo sapiens in intellect. Falk
et al observed that the area of the brain associated with
higher cognition (Brodmann area 10)
in Hobbits is of the same size as in humans even though the overall brain size
is small. This means the Hobbits were as intelligent as human beings and were
capable of all the executive functions like humans.
Comparative
skull size of Hobbit (left) and modern human (right)
Hobbits were living in the cave of Flores of
Indonesia until the 16th century as per the report of the Portuguese
in 1511 CE (Details
here).
This is confirmed by an article
in Science Daily saying, “There are lots of local
folk tales in Flores about these people, which are consistent and incredibly detailed. The
stories suggest there may be more than a grain of truth to the idea that they
were still living on Flores up until the Dutch arrived in the 1500s.”
For generations, the Nagekeo
tribes living near the Flores cave have told about Hobbits as small
people, but very much like humans, walking erect and the body covered with
hair. They were not known to have used fire but gobbled up any food whole and
raw. On rare occasions they were invited by the villagers and given food. But
they were found to eat indiscriminately anything they found around, that they
had to be stopped from gulping sharp instruments.
This feature has a striking resemblance to Atri as Atri means ‘devourer’! That is the best word to
describe the eating habit of Hobbits! This eating habit earned them a name Ebu Gogo by the
surrounding villagers, which means “Grandmother who
eats everything”.
Whatever they ate was not cooked with fire but they
seemed to have survived well with whatever they ate raw. Was this taken to mean
that the sunrays entering their body provided the heat to soften the food
within their body? One cannot help thinking like this, for the very fact that
Vālakhilyas were repeatedly described in Indic texts as those subsisting on sun
rays.
The 20th century text titled ‘Gaudiya-Kanthahara’ gives the meaning of the name
Vālakhilya somewhat closer to the habit of devouring food. It says that ‘Vālakhilya
is one who discards the stock of food he has with him (purva ancita anna
tyagah) the moment he gets a fresh stock of food (nave pane labdhya)’
(refer
here).
This meaning could not have been written without a source text describing so.
This meaning looks suitable to Hobbits who never
used fire and therefore never devised cooking methods and therefore never
indulged in saving anything for the next meal. By not having used fire and
cooking methods, the Hobbits must have lived on whatever they got new while
discarding what they already they had.
The comparison of Vālakhilyas with Hobbits does not
end here. An interpretation of Vālakhilyas appears in Taittrīya
Āranyaka (I-23) in the context of creation of world by Prajāpati. It says
that Vālakhilyas were the ‘hair’ of Prajapati. ‘Vāla’ means hair and Khila refers to appendage.
Vālakhilya could just be a reference to their hairy appearance. It must be
noted that Hobbits too were hairy-bodied.
Another interpretation could be that hair can be
completely discarded. By referring to them as the hair of Prajapati, did the
rishis mean that Vālakhilyas would cease to exist sometime? Were they already extinct during the time of
Vyāsa whose references to them were only quotational and not contemporaneous?
Whatever be the original import, one cannot deny the
fact that some beings by name Vālakhilyas had existed in the past and moved to
Himavat.
Vālakhilyas in Himavat.
After the incident involving Garuda, the Vālakhilyas
had moved to Himavat (MB:13-10). If they were part of Hobbits, it can be
presumed that a section of them living within the territory of Garuda had moved
to Himavat for doing peaceful penance. Others outside the territory of
predating Garuda had continued their life in Indonesia.
Yet another reference from Mahabharata (3-141)
says that Vālakhilyas lived near Alakananda.
The book ‘Wandering
Himalayas’ published by Chinmaya Trust refers to ‘Vālakhilya’ mountain to the south of Uttarkashi. Nachiketa Tal is located near this mountain. Why
should a mountain get this name unless this was connected with (occupied by)
Vālakhilyas in the past?
Reiterating the view that Vālakhilyas did reside in
that part of the Himalayas, there is a description of ‘Khilyāyana
tīrtha’ in the 3rd chapter of Bhrṅgīśa
Samhita. It says that rishis by
name Vālakhilyas were doing penance by standing on their toe with a posture of
‘Urdhva retas’. When Viṣṇu appeared, they ‘jumped down’ and offered their obeisance.
Though not explicit, the minimal description of the
posture of penance shows that they were hanging down from the branch of a tree
with the toe of one leg supporting their posture. A yogic posture known as Vālakhilyāsana can be
re-positioned to a hanging position from a tree with a toe pressing the
ground.
Vālakhilyāsana
The re-positioned posture of Vālakhilyāsana as
hanging from a tree would look as follows:
It is amazing that this posture by name Vālakhilyāsana
replicates a possibility of hanging upside-down from a tree – that Vālakhilyas
were known for.
Valakhilyas’ devotion for Visnu.
Vālakhilyas were associated with the worship of Viṣṇu
in Rig Vedic hymn, Bhrṅgīśa samhita and Vālmiki Ramayana. Bhrṅgīśa samhita says
Viṣṇu appeared before Vālakhilyas and granted boons. That location is known as Narayana tīrtha and the place where the Vālakhilyas did the
penance is called as Vālakhilya Grāma.
In Sugrīva’s narration of route to Udaya parvata (Mountain of sunrise) Sun is personified
as Trivikrama (Viṣṇu) making the first step at
Udaya parvata and the second step on top of Meru in Jambhu Dwīpa. (VR:
4-40-58). And Vālakhilyas were to be seen at the region of sunrise shining
with the luminosity of the Sun. They have worshiped Viṣṇu in the form of the
sun.
In the narration of Garuda’s story in Mahabharata
(written in the beginning) Viṣṇu was supposed to have met Garuda in the sky
during his global trot. This could once again refer to the trot of the Sun.
From this it is deduced that personification of Sun as Viṣṇu had existed before
the identification of Garuda.
For all their obsession to be present at the region
of first sunrise and drink the sunrays as much as possible, can the Vālakhilyas be credited
with having ‘discovered’ the Vedic truth of Viṣṇu as Sun making three steps?
Looks plausible as we come across a reference to Viṣṇu’s three steps in the 4th Vālakhilya hymn of Rig Veda. It says
“यस्मै विष्णुस्त्रीणि पदा विचक्रम” (yasmai viṣṇustrīṇi padā vicakrama)
“He to whom Viṣṇu came striding his
three wide steps”.
Isn’t this proof enough that a people by name
Vālakhilyas who were fond of watching the Sun rise from the eastern most part
of the globe beyond which the world is impassable (to quote Sugrīva) were the
same ones who had written the quoted Rig Vedic verse.
Their origins go very much back in time, even before
Rama’s birth and in a location which was outside India. Every reference to ‘Garutman’ in Rig Veda
must have been uttered after the incident involving Garuda and
Vālakhilyas. The verse of Dirghatamas (RV:1-164) equating Garutman (Garuda)
with the Supreme Being has its origins in the
glorification of Garuda by Vālakhilyas at a location in Indonesia!!
The antiquity of the existence of Vālakhilyas even
before many hymns of Rig Veda were composed goes to show that the Vālakhilya
hymns were not later
additions but olden hymns which were added as an after-thought. Some of
the verses of Vālakhilyas appearing in other Vedas disprove them to be of later
origin. Vālakhilya hymns must have existed before Vyasa’s times when Vedas were
classified into four.
The Garuda angle reveals some un-thought-of events. It
was much after the experience of the Vālakhilyas with Garuda, the bird had been
caught and trained as a carrier. Krishna travelling on
this bird does not seem to be fictional when we think about this massive
bird capable of carrying any heavy weight.
Finally Garuda and Vālakhilyas appearing in the same
episode is a strong proof of from where the early Vedic sages emerged.
Certainly Vālakhilyas and Atri-s did not come from West
Asia or central Europe. The glorification of Viṣṇu, Trivikrama, the sun and Garuda / Garutman had
emerged from regions far-east of India and not in North West India or further
North West.
A long route found in the narration of Sugrīva shows
it was possible to walk, hop and swim across the long stretch starting from
Ganga or Sarayu or Vanga or Himavat to Yava Dwipa and winding through Śālmali
Dwipa up until Fiji Islands (Udaya Parvata) and even New Zealand! This entire stretch
has been highly supportive of life-thriving conditions and therefore lasting
growth of human population and civilization and movement of people within this
route. This was also the path of global trot of Viṣṇu from his first to the second
step. The highest point of this step did not go beyond or north of Jambhu
Dwīpa. This is the single most proof of the unlikelihood of the beginnings of
Vedic culture as having sprung from anywhere other than the route that passes
through South East Asia and South Asia just south of the Himalayas.
[i] Devi
Bhagavata Purana refers to Vālakhilyas as numbering 60,000 going in front
of the Sun from its rise till it sets. This doesn’t concur with any of the
description of Vālakhilyas in the Itihāsas except a symbolism that Vālakhilyas
had subsisted on sun rays. Some writers had attempted to link the 60,000 number
going in front of the Sun with certain verses of Tamil Sangam texts (Puranānuru
43, Tirumurugārrup padai- 107 and Silappadhikāram 12). What is
referred to in those texts is the company of Mitra, Varuna and Aryaman
along with the sun who take the oblations of water – of whom Aryaman accepts
for Pitrus while the other two accept from any water source (evaporation). This
is spelt out clearly in Silappadhikāram verse as “avippali” –
‘havis’. The accompanying sages accept Havis, is what is conveyed in the Tamil
sources. This can be illustrated in the Vāstu mandala distribution of
the deities as below:
Nowhere
Vālakhilyas were mentioned as travelling along with the Sun or accepting havis.
