Ram Setu: Man-made and not before 7300 years ago. (Article by Sandhya Jain)

From 

Faith gets evidence from Science

by Sandhya Jain 

(Earlier published in Panchjanya.com in Hindi )

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is set to undertake the first scientific investigation of Rama Setu, the isthmus between India and Sri Lanka that enabled Rama’s army to cross the ocean and reach Ravana’s kingdom to rescue his wife. The Setu is a 48-km long chain of corals and shoals that scholars believe is a natural formation that was augmented by human hand. The ASI believes that studying this underwater formation will “help determine the age of the Ramayana period.” The study will be undertaken by the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, using radiometric and thermo luminescence dating for geological timescale. 

Prof. Sunil Kumar Singh, director, NIO, said the three-year probe, to begin in March 2021, aims to determine if Ram Setu is man-made and establish its age scientifically. The results will be verified and co-related with information in Ramayana and other scriptures. The age of the sediments will be determined via Carbon dating techniques. Investigations will cover a range of scientific techniques such as material composition, sub-surface structure, and excavation of remnants or artifacts, if any, from the site. Underwater photography will help determine any habitation remains in the area. Later, scientists will drill into the structure, gather samples and undertake laboratory-based studies.

Prof Singh noted that some scriptures mention wooden slabs along the Setu. If these existed, they would have fossilised by now, and the team will search for them. As the sea bed around the Setu is shallow, barely three to four metres deep, it should be easy to study the structure. This fact is one of the major arguments against dredging the area to accommodate large modern ships.

Dr Badrinarayanan, former director, Geological Survey of India, stated in an interview (Rediff.com, July 31, 2007) that Ram Setu lay in a volcanic region with hot spots underneath; it was constructed around 7000 years Before Present (BP). Asserting that the top portion “appears to be a man-made structure”, he explained that it is originally a natural divide separating the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, so the geological characteristics are different on either side.

During the Ice Age around 18,000 years ago, the sea level was lower by 130 metres than at present, due to de-glaciation. Around 7,300 years ago, major flooding caused the sea level to rise 4 metres higher than what it is today. But the bund linking India and Sri Lanka is not a mere sand dune.

The Geological Survey of India conducted surveys for the Sethu Samudram Canal project authorities in 2004-05. On approaching the structure, they found a sudden rise in the land level: from 10-12 metre it rose 1.5 metre. The northern side is the turbulent Palk Bay that is prone to cyclones, and the tranquil southern side is the Gulf of Mannar which is pristine. It hosts nearly 21 islands full of corals. The GSI did some drilling at the deeper level of about 180-200 metres, but seems not to have probed the top portion.

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIOT) dug around 10 bore holes along the Adam’s Bridge alignment; four were along the islands (where sands keep shifting) and six in the water. It found that everywhere, below the top six metres, there were marine sands on top and below a mix of corals, calcareous sandstones, and boulder-like materials. Further below, up to 4-5 metres, again there was loose sand and after that, hard formations.

This, according to Dr Badrinarayanan, shows the structure is not natural. Corals are found only on rocks and hard surfaces. But on the Setu, below the corals and boulders, were loose sand, and on top of the loose sand, formed when the sea level was low, divers found boulders, which normally occur on land. The boulders are not a marine formation. Somebody dumped the boulders to use the structure as a causeway.

In Rameswaram, Pamban, Tuticorin region, one can see old corals on the land, because the sea level was 4 metres higher at the time they were formed 7,300 to 5,800 years ago. Then, from 5,800 to 5,400 years ago, the sea level fell, and from 5,400 to 4,000 years ago, it rose 2 metres higher than it is today. Hence, we find corals at two levels.

Between 5,800 to 5,400 years ago, or around 4,000 years ago, somebody brought all the boulders to the Setu. All aerial pictures show the Setu as 2 to 3 km wide. It is high on the eastern side, so someone took advantage of the raised portion and dumped the boulders to cross the waters. On the Rameswaram islands and in Pamban, on both sides of the railway bridge, one can see such formations and raised corals, which suggest that quarrying was done there. Since no one will dump materials for 30 km, the task was undertaken to cross the sea. The boulders are compact and light.

The region is geologically and geo-tectonically sensitive. Drilling revealed hot springs of 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. Earthquakes in Sri Lanka are felt in India, which means a major fault-line runs there. Towards the north and south, are remnants of old volcanoes.

It seems obvious, therefore, that widening the water channel could activate the fault-line and trigger seismic activity or earth quakes. It is well known that cyclones or tsunamis in the Bay of Bengal are contained by the Setu, or they would devastate southern India.

*

Tamil sources uphold the significance of Ram Setu as national heritage. Scholar Jayasree Saranathan observes that Valmiki Ramayana mentions a tsunami-impact at the isthmus just before Rama built the Setu, and probably caused the submergence of Southern Madurai around that time. Rama and the Vanaras reached the shore (VR 6:4) and waited for three days to find an opening in the ocean, failing which Rama shot an arrow to part the waters. After much tumult in the waters, Sāgara (God of the Sea) appeared and promised to hold back the waters so that the Vanaras could build the bridge, which they did in five days.

Saranathan puts Ramayana events at the time when the old Tamil kingdom of Pandyans was ruling in the South. Valmiki Ramayana mentions Kavatapuram, capital city of the Pandyas; there is also a corroboratory reference to Ravana in the Sinnamanur copper plates of the Pandyans. The copper plates mention that the Pandyans often clashed with Ravana and made him seek truce, or negotiated with him for some reason. This proves that Ravana was not a mythical character, and that Ramayana happened. Saranathan estimates that per literary and epigraphic evidences, the Ramayana period must have happened after 5550 BC when Kavatam was the capital of Pandyan kings. Prof Pushkar Bhatnagar puts the date at 5114 BC, based on astronomy-inputs of Ramayana.

When Sugriva told Hanuman and the vanaras to search for Sita in the southern direction, he said that after crossing river Kaveri, Agastya’s abode and river Tamraparani, they would reach the Kavatam of Pandyas (VR, ch. 41-19). Thereafter they would reach the Southern Ocean and could reach Ravana’s Lanka from Mahendra hills. Kavatam was submerged in the third deluge 3500 years ago.

Ram Setu was an engineering feat of its time. Mandodari knew Ravana would lose the coming war when she learnt about the bridge: “The day when the terrific monkeys built a bridge on the great ocean, that day itself I believed that Rama was not an ordinary mortal.” (VR, 6-111-11)

*

Rama Setu has an illustrious history and has fascinated non-Hindus for ages. The 11th century scholar Al-Beruni observed, “Setubandha means bridge of the ocean. It is the dike of Rama, the son of Dasarath, which he built from the continent to the castle Lanka. At present it consists of isolated mountains between which the ocean flows”. Early European travellers noted that the Setu could be used to reach Sri Lanka at low tide. Temple epigraphs and travelogues recorded in the Madras Presidency Gazetteer of 1893 said this was possible up to 1799, after which the rough sea and changing tide patterns made it difficult. Interestingly, the Sinhalas believe that Ashoka’s son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitra walked over the bridge.

NASA satellite images reveal a broken bridge on the ocean floor, with unique curvature and composition that reveals it to be man-made, about 1,750,000 years old, coinciding with the first signs of human habitation in Sri Lanka. In March 2012, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urged the Prime Minister to declare it a national monument on account of its “immeasurable historical, archaeological and heritage value”.

Rama Setu falls within the Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere, set up by the Government of India in 1989 as South Asia’s largest protected marine ecosystem. It has 3,600 species of plants and animals, including sperm whales and dolphins, 117 species of corals (in Indian territorial waters alone), and many varieties of fish and crustaceans. The marine life on the Sri Lankan side is even richer. The Bar Reef off the Kalpitiya peninsular has 156 species of coral and 283 fish; two other coral reef systems adorn the seabed around Mannar and Jaffna. There are huge banks of oysters, Indian Chank and Sea Cucumbers adjacent to Mannar.

*

Commander Alfred D. Taylor of the Indian Marines mooted the idea of a shipping channel across the Palk Strait in 1860, to shorten the route for ships sailing between the west and east coast of India. In 1955, the Government of India appointed a Committee headed by Dr. A.R. Mudaliar to examine if a channel at Mannar could really save nearly 780 km of sailing distance and 30 hours of sailing time for ships. The committee said the project was feasible but urged an overland passage instead, as a channel cutting through the Setu would suffer from shifting sandbanks and navigational hazards. This effectively negated the project.

Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency warned that widening the channel would increase the water flow from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar, and disturb the inland water balance and Mannar eco-systems. Fishermen opposed the project as shipping and fishing cannot coexist in such a narrow waterway.

Moreover, data from 1860 to 2000 showed that cyclones hit the region every four years and severely erode the coast. Tsunamis such as the one in 2004 can be even more lethal. The project failed to study the sedimentation pattern of Palk Bay, where the open sea constantly brings sand that could keep the channel shut for much of the year. The Suez Canal was cut through land, but needs annual desiltation. Naval experts opined that the channel would be unviable as the large modern-day merchant ships or oil tankers would not like to reduce speed, switch fuels, and incur extra costs like canal charges and pilot navigation assistance to negotiate it, but would prefer the open seas around Sri Lanka.

The Setusamudram project was launched in 2005 at the behest of the DMK, an important partner in the UPA government; dredging began in 2006. Hindu leaders immediately met the President of India to protest against the destruction of the Rama Setu. In October 2008, T.R. Baalu, DMK minister in the Union cabinet, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, claiming, inter alia, that the Rama Setu was destroyed by Rama himself while departing from Lanka. Neither the Culture Ministry nor the Shipping and Road Transport Ministry were informed about the submission.

As Congress went into damage control, BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said, “In the first affidavit, the government said there is no proof of Rama’s existence. Then there was widespread anger and it withdrew the affidavit. In the next one, it said it was a matter of faith and was up to the court to decide. Now they are saying that Rama himself destroyed the Rama Setu, which means they are admitting that Rama existed.”

In 2012, the RK Pachauri committee warned that shipping in the Gulf of Mannar could cause oil spills and pollution, damaging the soft-coral reefs, marine turtles, and endangered sea animals such as Dugongs and Green Turtles, besides affecting the livelihoods of fishermen. It deemed the project “unviable both from the economic as well as ecological angles.”

In 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party promised in its election manifesto that the Setu would be protected as “part of our cultural heritage” and because of the strategic value of its vast thorium deposits. The qualitative value of this intangible heritage may now be established by the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Institute of Oceanography.

Paper-back edition of my book, “Oral cancer -Astrological Prediction and Remedies”

Following the publication of my e-book on the astrological prediction of oral cancer, I am happy to bring out the paper-back edition now (248 pages). 

I can be contacted through the comment section here or by direct message in my twitter page (@jayasartn) for the purchase of this book or by sending a request with the postal address to jayasreebooks@gmail.com

The book is priced at Rs.250 and available only within India. 

Sample page

Health-chart by do-it-yourself model 

This book serves as a guide in medical astrology not just for the astrologers and astrology enthusiasts, but also for those who have no previous knowledge of astrology. This book is the first of its kind in detecting oral cancer in the horoscope. It also offers techniques of predicting different types of cancer, diseases of the mouth and the face including various kinds of eye problems, speech disorders, cleft palate and five types of non-cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth. A section on palm lines related to prediction of diseases is added. More importantly the book offers simple astrological remedial measures, the scientific rationale behind them and the methods to derive remedies from the horoscope.

Preview is available in the e-book in the following links.

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B099NHBVPJ  (India)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099NHBVPJ  (US)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B099NHBVPJ  (UK)

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B099NHBVPJ  (Australia)

 

 

The poetry forms of Divya Prabhandam and the count of 4000 verses

Introduction.

One can see a divine design in the way aazhwars' avataras had been
effected and the way they have sung the prabandhams.

The songs of the first 3 Mudal aazhwars are all in traditional forms
of poetry namely in VeNbaa.
The aazhwars have started their verses in the traditional way of
lighting Thiru villakku as is done before starting any worship or
action.
Vilakku means `edu vilanga-ch-chaigiradO adu vilakku'. By
lighting the lamp, the aazhwars have removed the darkness or tamas.

The first verse of the Mudal Thiruvandaadhi, " vaiyam thagaliya..'
is about lighting the vilakku at the physical level with the world as
the lamp, the oceans as the ghee and the Sun as the light.
Modern
science considers the entire world as a single cell, in that whatever
happens in one part of the land affects the other parts too.
The
wind movements, monsoons, hurricanes are all only but a few examples
of global phenomenon.
Poigaiyaar had considered the earth as one unit
even in those times itself and lit the lamp for the entire human
race.

The second Thiruvandhaadhi begins with lighting the ViLakku at the
mental level. (anbE thagaLiyaa).

With this, the entire body of Bhagavan comes to be seen in the Third
Thiruvandhaadhi in Thiru-k-kandEn, pon mEni kanden..

Thereafter the other aazhwars have taken up the task of revealing
Bhagavan in various ways for the benefit of mankind.
And the poetry forms they have employed also shows
how wonderfully they have been able to convey their message in ways
that can not be easily ignored or forgotten.

Almost all of them are in Prabhandam form with suitable
types of sound enjoyment (rhythm) that can be easily memorized and
remembered.
Not to miss is the bhava and the emotion conveyed by them
by their choice of specific poetry forms.

Before proceeding, lets us know some basic grammar to understand the
verses.

Each letter is known as `yezhutthu' in tamil.
2 letters together are known as `asai'.
The asai, coming singly or in two or in three together is known
as `sIr'. It is nothing but the `word'.
It is this term sIr that one often finds in the poetry type of the
verses.

In Prabandham we find iru sIr (2 words), aru-sIr (6 words), ezhu-sIr
(7 words) or eN sIr (8 words) in each line.

Now about the poetry type. The poetry type is mostly a blend
of `Viruttham' and `kali'.

Viruttha-p-paa is known for its vOsai nayam (rhythm). So also, kali
and aasiriya-p-paa. We often find the blend of Viruttham with kali
and aasiriyam in AruLi-ch-cheyal giving different sound effects.

The basis of this is in placing `mellina mei' suitably in between 2
vallinam (ka, cha, ta, tha, pa, ra). This combination can be made in
countless ways and a beautiful stress can be attained on the
otherwise soft mellinam. The Viruttha-p-paa gives plenty of these
combinations. Kali viruttham is even more effective in bringing out
the sound variation effectively.

To understand this, let us take up 2 verses from SenniyOngu pasurams.
(Periaazhwar Thirumozhi). This is kali viruttham.
The 3rd verse `emmanaa en kula deivamE' is full of such placing of mellina
mei in between 2 vallinams or others.
The bhava effect and sound
effect in this is different from the very next verse "kadal kadaindu
amudam kondu" which is dominated by vallinams with much less of
mellina mei.
While the former exudes pathos, the latter excels
in `seppudal' (utterance).

The poetry forms

Now let’s see the poetry types of starting from Thiruppallaandu
( in the order as found in Mayilai Madahava dasan edition).

(1) Thiruppallaandu. –

aru sIr aasiriya viruttham.

You will find 6 words (sIr) of 4 lines (may be split up in different
publications)
The aasiriyam ensures the `agavalOsai' which is like calling someone
or in the note of a peacock.

(2) Periaazhwar Thirumozhi.

A variety of forms have been
employed. The popular one being Pillai-th-thamizh, about different
stages in the life of a child (pillai).

>In kali viruttham, one can find 4 words of 4 lines

Ø In kali-th-thaazhisai (seeda-k-kadal), there is addition of
extra lines due to use of thaazhisai. The effect is that of a `neer-
ch-chuzhi' (swirl) in thaazhisai as per grammar sutras

Ø Likewise in other forms of kali viruttham, you can find
differences in the number of words per line.

Ø In aru sIr aasiriya viruttham, 6 words per lines are used and
in eN sIr aasiriya viryttham, 8 words per line are used. The grammar
type such as aasiriyam depends on the other angas of Yaappu as per
grammar.

(3) Thiruppavai –

Iyal tharavu iNai kochchaga-k-kali-p-paa.

Tharavu is the first part of kali-p-paa. There are many varieties by
which the taravu is applied in a poem. By the name of it, I guess
that it is about the first two taravu (taravu iNAi) blending
naturally (iyal – iyalbaaga).
We find that the first 2 taravus (words) of each line go together.
Like
Maagazhi-thingaL
Neeraada-p-pOduvIr
Vongi-ulagu

That is, the words are blended in such a way that one of them
conveys something of the other, either as adjective or adverb. They
are best interpreted as one.

This is understood from the way that the verses are paused at the
next or previous line while reciting.

Such as,
In the 3rd verse, Vongi ulagu, we make a pause at seertha mulai
pattri vaanga and not at the end of 4th sIr, seertha mulai pattri.
Because only then the next verse `kudam –niraikkum' completes the
grammar `iyal taravu iNai.'
It should not be vaanga –k-kudam which is not a double taravu as per
the grammar of Thituppavai. It should be `kudam-niraikkum'.

Some other places where we recite the taravu (from previous line)
together are
`nammaal pOttra' (not narayanan nammaal and then pOttra-p-parai
tharum)
`pandoru naaL koottram' (not puniyanaal pandorunaaL)
`vulaginil thOttramaai'
`matthinaal vOsai-p-paduttha' (we should not stop at matthinaal along
with the previous line)
`maadhavi-p-pandal mEl'
`abhimaana bhangamaai'

(4) Naachchiyaar Thirumozhi –

The now familiar types of poetry forms are found in this
composition. The basic form is Kali Viruttham with beautiful rhythmic
effect. The kOchchgam is also a kind of Kali-p-paa which has some
blends in sIr. There is another prabhandam type blended here, which I
will quote while taking up Madal. The Thoodhu vidudal (sending clouds
as messenger) is also a famous type of prabandham

(5) Thiru-ch-chanda viruttham –

There are not just 2 but 3 types of sound- based poetry forms blended
into one, the chandam, kali and viruttham. There is a beautiful blend
of all the three as per meanings of the verses. The chandam is based
on yedugai, the 2nd letter in the first word of every line. The
language itself is rhythmic in this combination.

My favourites, `voonin mEya' and `atthannagi' which I consider as the
essence of all Vedanta are more chandam based than the other two
types. There is that forceful declaration by using more of vallinam
in the former and a `kuzhaivu' by using more of mellina mei in the
latter one (above quoted)

(6) Thirumaalai –

 aru sIr aasiruya viruttham.
6 words in each line with aasiriya—p-paa grammar and viruttham.

(7) Thiru-p-paLLiyezhuchchi –

eN sIr aasiriya viruttham.
8 words in each line with aasiriyam and viruttham.

(8) Amalanadhi piraan –

Aasiriya-th-thurai.

Usually, thurai is the sub-set of the main one (like the banks of the
river forming the subset of the river. Thurai means bank –like in
aattru-th-thurai).

Here the main poetry form is aasiriya-p-paa. The traditional form of
it will have 4 words in all lines except the penultimate line which
will have one less. (That is, 3 words). The minimum number of lines
will be 5. Maximum any number.

In this prabandham, the grammar is that of aasiriya-p-paa.
All lines have 5 words (since it is thurai)
The penultimate line has lesser words than the other lines.
The last one `kondal vannan' is kali viruttham having 4 words in 4
lines.

(9) KaNNi nuN sirutthaambu –

kali viruttham

(10) Peria Thirumozhi –

Various types of kali, aasiriyam, viruttham
with 6 or 7 or 8 words are used.

One can understand the types by the sIr used and its number.

>In `vaanavar thangaL' , thurai of aasiriyam is used which
can be determined by the
number of words in each line and the way they are repeated.

Ø In `VaNduNu naru malar' vanji viruttham is used.
As per Yaaparumkalam sutram, there are 4 lines of sindhu-p-paa
(another variety of prabandham) joined with viruttham of 4 words each line.

( 11) Thiru-k-kurum thaandagam.

Thaandagam is a type of prabandham and this one is a shorter version
(kurugiya) of it having 6 words of 4 lines. The specialty of this
type is that the lines look similar. The rhyme is distinct which can
be experienced while reciting. The paadu-pOruL (the Hero, in other
words) is always some God. In contrast the other prabandhams may have
any valiant person, a king or God as the theme of the composition.

(12) Thiru nedum thaandagam.

Same as Thiru-k-kurum thaandagam. Only that the words are more per
line. It is 8. Usually, Thaadagam comes only in 6 or 8 sIr per line.

(13) Mudal Thiru andhaadi.

Nerisai Venbaa with andhaadi adi.

This veNbaa type has 4 lines of 4 words in the first 3 lines and 3
lines in the last line. The first words of the first two lines have
similarity in rhyme (yedugai) followed by the 4th sIr of the 2^nd
line having the same yedugai which blends with the 3rd line. There
will be a ‘–’ in the 2^nd line showing the split. The last 2 lines go
together in yedugai. There are grammar rules to determine how the
last sIr of the poem must end.

This type is also an andhaadhi, a prabandham type. The first 3
Thiruvandhaadis are a blend of traditional veNbaa and prabandham
(andaadhi)

Andaadhi is that in which the andam of the previous verse, becomes
the aadhi of the next verse. That is, the last word of the previous
verse becomes the first word of the next verse.

(14) Irandaam Thiruvandaadhi

Same as the previous one.

(15) Moondraam Thiruvandaadhi

Same as previous one.

(16) Naan mugan Thiruvandaadhi

Same as previous one.

(17) Thiru viruttham

The type is kattalai kali-th-thurai
The viruttham ensures rhyme. But this is one of the difficult ones to
compose going by the grammar used. There are rules in using the other
angas of poetry such as thaLai and the kind of sIr (nEr 16 and nirai 17 ).
The last word also must be of specific sIr type. This comes
under a category, Iyal paa, meaning strictly adhering to traditional
grammar form.

(18) Thiru aasiriyam

This is also an iyal paa, composed in a traditional type, aasiriyappa
with 4 words in all lines except the penultimate line where it will
be 3

(19) Peria Thiruvandaadhi.

VeNbaa and andaadhi together. Same as Mudalaazhwars' pasurams.

(20) Thiruvezhu koottrirukkai.(Thiru yezhu koottru irukkai)

This is in aasiriyappa form with a beautiful build-up of verses. The
words indicate a ThEr thattu (temple car) in successive layers.

That is, it begins with words meaning 1,2,1
1,2,3,2,1
1,2,3,4,3,2,1……
upto 7 (yezhu koottru)
The last layer will be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.

(21) Siriya Thiru madal.
I am too excited to write about madal. I think Bhagavan too would
have been excited to listen to Thirumangai aazhwar sing this. A
daring poetry fittingly given by a daring person with whom bhagavan
too enjoyed His leela. It is perhaps to enjoy the madal that bhagavan
chose none other than our Kaliyan who was so vociferous in expressing
his feelings and emotions.

Madal is originally known as MadalEral or Madaloordal in Tamil.
Madal is the palm leaf and the dried twigs of the palm leaf (panai
maram).

The scenario always involves a nayaka and a nayaki (thalaivan and
thalaivi). The two are in love and there are obstructions to
consummate their love into marriage. In another scenario, the nayaka
is in love, but the nayaki is not serious about his love.
In any of these circumstances,
the nayaka takes the extreme step of madaloordal.

In this, he paints the picture of his lady-love on a palm leaf, makes
a horse out of the dried palm leaves, takes the picture and looks at
it as though nothing else matters and sits on this madal horse and
moves around in that (oordal) like a mad person.

He would not care what people think about him, nor would he bother about the shabby
looks he has developed due to lack of care of his body. Such a person
would even roam like this with no clothes on.
The sharp edges of the palm leaf would hurt him. If by such hurt, his vital fluid is
released, people would think that his love is indeed supreme and see to it that he marries his lady-love.
If the obstacle to his love is from the nayaki herself, she would relent.
But instead, if blood seeps out due to the scratches by palm leaf, people would not
consider his as true love.

There are instances when the nayaka would blackmail the nayaki that
he would mount the madal if she refuses him. If he mounts the madal,
every one in the town would come to know of the affair and the tiff
between them and it won’t be a pleasant one for the nayaki. So, she
would oblige.

A similar threat is sounded by Andal in the first pasuram of
Naachchyaar Thirumozhi when she takes refuge in Ananga devan. This is
an indirect warning to PerumaaL that he must come immediately to
accept her.

Thirumangai aazhwar excels in flinging such `ultimatums' to PerumaL
in his two madals. The entire composition is fast-paced showing his
‘aattraamai’ and anger that Bhagavan has not yet taken him with Him. If
recited with bhava after knowing the meaning, I am sure the madals
are a great experience.

This is termed as siriya Thirumadal going by its size. The entire
composition is in single kali veNbaa with no full stop in between!

(22) Peria Thirumadal.
This is same as the previous one, only that it is lengthier than it.
Usually a madal is mounted by the man. Women don't mount it. But
aazhwar makes a deviation from the established norms and takes up
nayaki bhava in madaloordal. "mannum vada neriyE vEndinOm" meaning
that though this is not in vogue in Tamil culture, he has taken up
the way of Northies.

(23) Thiruvaimozhi.
All types discussed above have been handled by aazhwar with most of
them also of andaadhi type.

Even madaloordal has been done by Nammaazhwar.
In 2-1-4, (kadalum, malaiyum, visumbum.) he expresses the nature of
the one mounting the madal in always moving around without sleep
catching the `vudalam nOi'

The vanji-th-thurai of `veedumin' (1-2) and `vodum puLLEri' (1-8) are
another special form of poem. In this there are 2 words of 4 lines
which speak about a specific notion. They are usually written in
kuraLAdi, two lines like kuraL.

Ramanuja Noottrandaadhi is in the difficult kattaLai kali-th-thurai,
like Thiru viruttham.
 

How the 4000 are calculated.

As per Tamil grammar, Siriya Thirumadal and Peria thirumadal
are considered as single Kali veNbha each and as such
the total pasuams are 3774 + 2 = 3776.
This is what is followed in most of the publications.

But there 3 ways by which the 4000 is arrived at.

By one method, each ‘kaNNi’ of the 2 Thiru madal are taken as each pasuram,
thereby arriving at 77-1/2 + 148-1/2 = 226.

Then the total will be 3774 + 226 = 4000

To substantiate this, the Vaazhi –thiru-naama cheyyuL is quoted which says,

“Elangezhu kootrirukkai iru madal eendhaan vaazhiyE;

im-moondril iru-nootru-irupatthEzhu eendhaan vaazhiyE”


By another method, the pasurams in Siriya Thirumadal are calculated as 40

and in Peria Thirumadal as 78 and by adding Iramanusa Nootrandhaadhi,

it is calculated 3774 + 40+ 78+ 108 = 4000

This is based on Sri Vedantha Desikar’s verses,

“siriya madal paatu muppatthu ettu irandum (38+2)

sir peria madalaranil yezhupatthettum (78)”

and

“mutthi tharum yadiraasar ponnadikkE, mozhinda amutha nal paadal noorum ettum”


By yet another method, it is said that

since it is customary to consider the 947 of the mudalaayiram as a 1000,

and 1137 as 2000 (irandaayiram),

it is also acceptable to say 3776 as 4000.

Glacier burst at Chamoli, Uttarakhand

 

A tragedy by deluge struck the higher Himalayan regions seven years after a similar tragedy by a cloudburst around the same region in Uttarakhand. Having studied the floods at Kedarnath, Mantralaya, Kerala, the meteorological causes and the astrological causes I am posting here the astrological combinations that existed at the time of the breaking up of the Himalayan glacier near Chamoli.

At the moment of writing this not much information was available except one from a tweet that tragedy struck at Raini village around 10-45 am (7^th Feb 2021)

Though we have been expecting some kind of escalation on 10^th and 11^th February due to the conjunction of five planets in Capricorn, a different combination occurred  today (7^th Feb) related to water. Moon crossed Ketu in the watery sign of Scorpio. In the rainy season, this crossing over is accompanied with a sudden spurt in rainfall or a landfall - both ensuring destruction. We see a similar tragedy by water in the non-rainy season.

The sign of cancer – a watery sign is receiving the direct aspect from the 5 planets transiting Capricorn, the 4^th aspect of Mars and the 11^th aspect of Rahu (Rahu and Ketu aspect the 3^rd sign on both sides of their location. Though there are other aspects, these two aspects are found to be effective in many case studies) Ketu is aspecting the 5 planet combination in Capricorn. 

Moon, the lord of Cancer was in another watery sign, namely Scorpio crossing Ketu at 3-45 am  this morning (7^th February). So that is the most likely time of the initial break of the glacier which cascaded as time went by. By 5-30 am the moon crossed Ketu completely. 

By 10-45 am the moon shifted to a watery Navamsa, namely Pisces, ensuring floods.

Now looking at the afflicted sign, i.e. Cancer, it is fortunately empty. If any planet is posited there receiving the aspects from almost all the planets, then the people signified by that planet would have borne the brunt. The sign being empty but the signifier being water, water related facilities and structures would be affected. The casualties are likely to be limited, with the moon moving out of Scorpio by 4-15 pm this evening.

Coming to the identification of the location impacted, the sign cancer stands or Northern direction. In the Kurma Chakra division of the places given in Brihat Samhita, the regions in East in North India that include Mithila, Kasi and Kosala come under the sign cancer. These regions, connected with the Himalayan Rivers are likely to see a rise in water level. The overall scenario is likely to be under control with limited casualties.

Let’s hope the next date of concern – 10^th and 11^th February - passes off without much hardships to the people. The likely areas to be affected are NW India and South India at that time. 

Hindu Gods in south Mesopotamia of early 2nd Millennium BCE - Part 2 (Shiva Linga)

 Part 1: Lord Venkatesvara and Padmavati 

Part 3: From Eshwari to Eshnunna to Ishtar

Among the many gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon identified in the excavated artefacts, few remain unidentified mainly because they bear no resemblance to any of the god-forms excavated so far or to the scribal description of Gods. One such image of Isin-Larsa period (2000-1600 BCE) found by this writer among the exhibits of the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago is shown in figure 1. This god standing out from others is a bit odd, but tells a different story for one coming from India! 

Figure 1

The board says, “Two nude figures flank a bearded divinity whose face has been severely damaged. He wears a horned crown and seems to be enveloped in a tufted covering. He stands on the back of a reclining bull.”

The figure in the middle of this mold-impression looks like a decorated image of Shiva Linga! A garland – the completely missing decorative accessory in other Mesopotamian God-figures - can be seen hanging in the front of what looks like a Linga. The note says that the figure was a bearded divinity whose face has been damaged. But the location of the garland shows that it cannot be a face. When we enlarge the damaged part (figure 2), it matches perfectly well with a garlanded Shiva Linga mounted on a raised platform and covered with decorative garments.

Figure 2

More importantly the image of a bull in the front strengthens the idea of Shiva linga. The two men on the sides are carrying a vase or water pot - which is once again a feature that goes with Shiva linga. Linga is always bathed by Ganga (water from river Ganga) and it is a common and a continuing practice in India for the devotee to offer libation to Shiva Linga.

The two men are naked; and we cannot ignore a comparison with the naked Naga Sadhus, the devotees of Shiva. They also grow beard and are found not removing the hair on the head. In this particular depiction, the religious concept is evident and cannot be compared with the other nude figures that often appear in Mesopotamia. Though nudity in males and females appear in Mesopotamia right from 6000 BCE, male nudity in religious activities appear only from 3200 BCE.[1] Such figurines were found in Shara temple excavation, dedicated to Shara, the son of Anu in later literacy texts.[2] One of them is found to carry a pot on the head (Figure 3). Nude and bearded men carrying water pots and offering libations are found from this period onwards. Not to be missed is the fact that bathing the deities is a common practice in Hindu culture and continuous libation of water to Shiva linga is all the more common.

Figure 3

Tell Agrab, Shara Temple, Early Dynastic period, 2900-2700 BC, calcite - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07462.JPG

The presence of naked Naga sadhus in India comes from an undated past. Additionally the specific depiction of only two figures in the plaque reminds us of the two sages always associated with the worship of Shiva. They were Patanjali and Vyāghrapada, known for their intense worship of Shiva. Was this memory taken by the devotees of Shiva to Mesopotamia? 

The devotees of Shiva are supposed to sport a Third eye on the face. The selective damages on this plaque to the face and forehead of the two men and to the main deity to give an impression of a beard (a common feature of almost all Mesopotamian gods) cannot go unnoticed.

Another feature mentioned in the note pertains to the “horned crown” on the head of the deity (Shiva Linga). The close-up view shows that it does not cover the head fully, as how it is seen on other deities of Mesopotamia. For comparison, the horned crown of Ninurta is shown in Figure 4.  

Figure 4

The conical feature on top of the linga look-alike resembles the libation vessel fixed above Shiva Linga (in India) from which water drips continuously on the deity.

The horned crown is unique for the deity Anu, also known as An. This deity, regarded as the first and the foremost among the Mesopotamian pantheon, shares many similarities with lord Shiva.

Similarities between Shiva and Anu[3]

Only ‘Anu’ (or An), the supreme God of Mesopotamia under whom all gods are clubbed together as ‘Anunnaki’ has a parallel with the above image – the look-alike of Shiva Linga.

The foremost similarity is the presence of bull, the carrier of Shiva, also found associated with Anu!  The bull never leaves Shiva; in the same way Anu and his bull were inseparable.

There is no clear iconography of Anu, perhaps along the lines that he is formless; the same formlessness is a unique feature of Shiva. The formless Shiva is worshiped as the Linga in the Hindu culture, whereas until now researchers had not located any form for Anu, though Anu seems to be the first one God whom all the other deities had descended.

There is no origin history for Anu in the period of the Shiva linga look-alike; it appears only in the epic Enūma eliš of the 1^st millennium BCE giving the names of the parents of Anu, as Anšar and Kišar, who are said to be descendants of Lahmu and Lahamu. However the name Anšar is found interchanged with Ashur of neo-Assyrian period, giving rise to the conjecture that the parents of Anu are an invented mythology.

However further connection of the so-called parents of Anu with Tiamet,[4] (wife of Apsu) a name referring to the primordial sea, gives rise to a speculation that these Gods were primarily brought to Mesopotamia by a people who came by sea, or in other words, the Gods had come from places across the sea. This will be elaborated later in the context of Indic parallels with Marduk.

Anu was credited with creating the Universe, either alone, or along with Enlil and Ea. He was supposed to occupy the Highest level of the ‘three’ levels of Heaven, said to be made of the reddish luludānitu stone! Similar kinds of attributes are there for Shiva also, as the creator. The three world concept is also very much part of the Vedic culture from a long past. The red colour is also amazingly associated with Shiva, as he is known as red-haired (Tamil tradition) and as a personification of fire (reddish).

An or Anu was regarded as the “Father of the Gods”. Along with the Gods, he created the monsters and demons that are part of Mesopotamian mythologies. He ordained some of the demons to protect Gods and others to kill human beings![5] In the epics of Erra and Isum, Anu was supposed to give weapons of massacre. This has parallel to Shiva who is also associated with the act of destruction.

Anu’s importance was such that the Mesopotamian society and mythologies had drawn their genesis from the idea of Anu. The epicentre of Anu’s cult was Uruk – the city ruled by Isin kings![6] The Shiva linga look-alike was found in Isin-Larsa period only (2000-1800 BCE). The surrounding cities of Der, Lagas and Ur also had temples of Anu (Figure 5)

Figure 5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_Agrab#/media/File:Hammurabi's_Babylonia_1.svg

Only from the 5^th century BCE onwards, Anu came to be depicted with a form - a statue with rituals that very much resemble Hindu temple practices, with the only difference being, the food is always a sacrificed animal.[7] 

No one exactly knows the appearance of the temples of Anu, but can make a fair guess from the engravings available.

Figure 6

The “horned crown” on top of the temple like structures in Figure 6 could perhaps refer to the temples of Anu – the God without form, but who was identified with a form that is a replica of Shiva linga!! With many parallels between Shiva Linga and Anu, and the crown of Anu modelled after the linga, the Shiva linga look-alike plaque seems to endorse the origin of Anu concept from Shiva linga, carried by migrants who happened to be the devotees of Shiva, the God in their former land, i.e. India!

It must be noted that the numerous Mesopotamian deities were not indigenous in origin, as known from the fact that ideas had kept changing from time to time, and within short time.

An or Anu appears in the God list roughly around the mid-third millennium BCE and regularly from the 2^nd millennium BCE in literary texts, inscriptions and as personal names – the period in which the Shiva Linga look-alike is found. [8]

This time period is pertinent for a probable migration when we talk later about Kish Dynasty coming up after a flood that coincided with the flood at Dwaraka when Krishna left the world in the year 3101 BCE! I prefer to call this as the cut-off date for the history of both India and Mesopotamia.

It is important to note that the Anu concept came up only after this cut-off date.  By the 2^nd millennium BCE (the date attributed to the Shiva Linga look-alike), Anu started appearing in literary works. In the Old Babylonian period (2000 BCE – 1595 BCE) Anu gained more importance as protector of kings.

Anu appears for the first time in Assyrian royal inscriptions around 1700 BCE. After that we start finding direct evidence of Shiva Linga in the Greek pantheon.

The appearance of Omphalos and the apparent etymology of the name seem to be an amalgam of the linga look-alike and the sacred utterance of AUM of the Vedic culture.

Migration of Shiva concept from Mesopotamia to Greece!

The continued presence of Shiva-concept from Mesopotamia to Greek pantheon can be identified by the bull and bathing!

For example quite a few artefacts and paintings recovered from Delphi and housed in the museums of Europe show Artemis and Apollo pouring libation on ‘Omphalos’ which sounds a compound word of Om and Phallus, a reference to Shiva linga. Figure 7 shows one such depiction where a bull’s head is also featured above, as if to convey that it is the Bull of Heaven of Anu while it original concept can be traced to Shiva and his bull.

Figure 7

Source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/355221489333431433/

Between these two - the Linga look-alike of Isin-Larsa period (figure 1) and libation to Omphalos (figure 7), the concept of Shiv linga had undergone gradual transformation in Mesopotamia while the concept had retained its purity in India, its original home.

Let’s begin from Anu, the first and supreme god of Mesopotamian pantheon. There is no scribal document on how he looked like, but every other God was connected with him. Many of those gods underwent changes from time to time and there was a time even Anu was abandoned and his bull was killed! All these show a cacophonous development of Thought over time and not an original and well thought-out development of theology evolving from within. In fact the very region or civilization that we call Mesopotamia was not recognised by that name or as a single unit by the inhabitants themselves. It was a conglomeration of many small states peopled by different communities having their own perception of gods for different things. The continuous political instability and the fads of the rulers in patronising the deity they liked resulted in changes and modifications in gods themselves. But most of the Gods were retained in memory or even in worship until the times Hatti and Mitanni became dominant kingdoms.

Tracing the presence of Linga in Mesopotamia, the earliest figures were the ‘Foundation figures’ dated at 2130 BCE each holding a Linga-like stone (figure 8). These figures were kept inside brick boxes and buried in what looks like strategic locations of a temple, such as under the doors, pathways and the periphery. This is similar to what is done in Vaastu rituals for foundation.

Figure 8

The ironical part of it is that the researchers concentrate on the head gear of these images and compare it with the headgears of other figures, but fail to probe what the identical cylindrical objects held by the men are about. The head gear seems to be that of Anu but the cylindrical objects are of linga form. A Linga is an organ of generation, creation and growth. This symbolism and sacredness had perhaps gone into placing it as a foundation upon which temples were raised.

Chronologically the next appearance of Linga in Mesopotamia is what we showed in figure 1. The only explanation for its presence is that some migrant population from India had continued with the worship of Shiva in Linga form. It was around the same time the ‘Sealand’ dynasty made its appearance in Isin.[9] They occupied southernmost part of Mesopotamia in what can be termed as the head of the Persian Gulf. Though the name Sealand is coined by modern researchers, their location makes it possible to deduce that they entered the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Sea and made Mesopotamia their home. This location lends scope to speculate that they were migrants from India. 

The Sealand kings kept records on ‘Kudurru’ stones that look like Linga. The oft repeated expression in the royal inscriptions of the Sealand king Damiq-ilīšu on Kudurru is that he was a “farmer who piles up the produce (of the land) in granaries”![10] In a surprising connection, Kudurru is phonetically closer to the word ‘Kudhir’ in Tamil for granary! Colloquially it is pronounced as ‘kuduru’ in Tamil. The Kudhir is cylindrical in shape or like an inverted jar as shown in figure 9. Even today these granaries can be seen in rural Tamilnadu.

Figure 9

The Kudurru stone is shown in figure 10 for comparison.

Figure 10

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kudurru_of_Gula-Eresh.jpg

Was Kudhir, the granary, the chosen shape for the Sealand king to write his edicts as it was the symbol of his prosperity? The shape is also like that of the Linga. The inscribed features also sync well with Shiva-concept.  One can see the crescent moon on top of many Kudurrus, similar to the crescent on Shiva’s head. The crescent is how it looks for an observer in the tropical region of the world – like a cup. The crescent gets tilted as one goes towards northern latitudes. The cup-like crescent does not look the same in Mesopotamia – in the regions where the Kudurrus are found. Does this mean that the very first king (of Sealand) who conceived the idea of engraving the crescent moon on the Kudurru, got it engraved in the shape and position as how it appeared in his previous location,  that is, in the tropics? The region of Tamils in whose language the word ‘Kudhir’ appears to mean ‘granary’, is in the tropics where the crescent moon appears as how it is engraved on the Kudurru.

Taking up for analysis the Kudurru in figure 11 issued in the name of a governor of Sealand dynasty, there is a snake on the side of the stone reaching up to the top like how snakes coil around Shiva’s body. A close-up of this Kudurru reveals more information of Indian connection.

Figure 11

The snake and the crescent are features associated with Lord Shiva. The tortoise positioned more or less in the middle is an inevitable feature that forms the base of Indian temple architecture like the flag-posts. Known as Kūrma it is considered as divine manifestation of Lord Vishnu that forms the axis of the created world by holding the world on its back. The two buildings on the left (identified within a square) have the ‘horned crown’ of Anu, but one cannot ignore the resemblance with the tower (Gopuram) of the south Indian temples (Dravida style architecture). Researchers have explanation for the stars and other features in this Kudurru, but can a sincere researcher disregard the similarities with Indic features and the concept development traceable only to India?

Most of the Kudurrus were land donation records and as such they were regarded as boundary stones. But the Linga-shape was the preferred one for most of the dynasties whenever they wanted to pass a royal decree. The famous code of Hammurabi was carved on a Linga-shaped stone (figure 12)[11]. It shows him receiving the law from the Sun God which has a parallel with Danda-niti imparted by Lord Shiva.

Figure 12

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammurabi#/media/File:F0182_Louvre_Code_Hammourabi_Bas-relief_Sb8_rwk.jpg

It is wrongly believed that Manu was the author of code of law for people. Originally Lord Shiva was credited with being the first one to have given the laws of chastisement (Danda-niti). Mahabharata describes (Ch 12:58) how Danda-niti was codified by Shiva from the compilation of Brahma and transferred to Indra who in turn taught it to Brihaspati from whom Shukracharya received. Similar type of code of law appearing in the stele of Hammurabi raises a question on why he chose the Linga-shaped stone for inscribing the codes.

He could not have known anything about Shiva, but his choice of the Linga-stone shows that some notion of sacredness and central authority were attached to that shape. Many steles and obelisks carrying the royal decrees of the succeeding periods were also linga-shaped.

From Mesopotamia the Linga concept had spread to Greece and other parts of Europe. The most glaring connection with Lord Shiva is seen in the Omphalos found in many places (figure 13) and even in coinage.

Figure 13

The Omphalos comes with an additional feature called ‘oracles’ which pre-suppose some meditative or thought connection with Omphalos. This is also true for Linga, for, Shiva was the foremost Yogi whom ascetics meditated on for Self-realisation. The ‘Om’ in Omphalos is proof of an original connection with Hindu Thought that however was forgotten in due course. But the development of the idea had gone from Mesopotamia. The presence of the Linga look-alike (figure 1) in Mesopotamia fills the missing link with India.

If Shiva worshippers had gone to Mesopotamia, could they have left out his consort, whom we call variously as Shakti, Devi, Parvati, Eshwari and so on? This writer was stunned to see an image resembling the consort of Shiva in the category of “Ishtar” in the same museum in Chicago. Will write about it in the next part.

 

---

[1] Zainab Bahrani, “ The iconography of the nude in Mesopotamia” https://www.jstor.org/stable/23202931?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

[2] http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/an/

[3] An / Anu (God) http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/an/

[4] Tiamet http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/tiamat/index.html

[5] “Mesopotamian God Anu: Facts and Mythology” https://study.com/academy/lesson/mesopotamian-god-anu-facts-mythology.html

[6] “Isin- Larsa and the Old Babylonian Periods” https://webcourses.ucf.edu/courses/1298370/pages/isin-larsa-and-old-babylonian-periods

[7] http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/cams/gkab/P363711

[8] http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/an/

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand_Dynasty

[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damiq-ilishu

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi