Recently a news item said that a ‘sunken town’ was
discovered off the coast of Mahabalipuram. This particular structure became partly
visible during the tsunami of 2004. This structure has been hypothesized (not
dated) to be little more than 1000 years old. But the background impetus to
explore this structure, given in the news item makes a disturbing reading.
Mr Rajiv Nigam, the chief of the team of explorers
of this site is quoted (in italics) to have said, ““From the Gujarat
experience (of having discovered a sunken town off the Gulf of Cambay dated
at 9000 years BP) we know the sea level around 3,500 years ago was lower
than what we see now. But 6,000 years ago it was higher. We wanted to see if
the pattern is the same at other coasts,”
But even at the time of discovery of the sunken town
in Gulf of Cambay (2001- 2002), it was reported in 2002 by Graham Hancock that a
sunken town was found off Mahabalipuram that could be dated at 6000 years
before present. (Read
here and here).
The sea level being low in the past, was very much in the know of the scientific
community at that time itself. Even at that time Dr
Glenn Milne, the researcher known for having worked on sea level rise and
fall, had given the opinion that the sunken structures of Mahabalipuram coincide
with the time period of sea level that was 6000 years ago.
Without giving any thought to those opinions, the
researchers at present have just said that they carried out the research at
Mahabalipuram driven by Cambay experience. If Cambay experience is the trigger,
how could they account for structures and townships found at 27 ft depth? Land
subsidence? Or lower sea level in the past?
The temple made of stone might have made them think
that it belongs to the Pallava period. Only Pallavas were known to have started
the construction of temples in stone. But the structures indicating the presence
of a township needs a proper dating that includes assessment of the sea level
too. This part of Mahabalipuram has a famous Vishnu temple which was supposed
to have been rebuilt for the 7th time with old ones having been lost
to the seas for 6 times in the past. Old timers were said to have heard from
their ancestors that there was a time when the sunken towers of the previous
temples could be seen above the sea waters.
In my opinion there were 7 times the city of
Mahabalipuram was lost and rebuilt. By the name “Mahabalipuram”, it is known
that the city had a past connected with Mahabali of Vamana avathara times.
Graham Hancock’s research also shows similar results.
Hancock quotes a traveller’s report done 300 years ago. One Mr William Chambers
made a visit to Mahabalipuram between 1772 and 1776 and heard the legends of
Mahablipuram from the Brahmins. This was written as follows by Hancock:
“The God Vishnu had deposed a corrupt
and wicked Raja of these parts at some unknown date in the remote past and had
replaced him on the throne with the gentle Prahlada whose reign “was a mild and
virtuous one”. Pralahada was succeeded by his son and then by his grandson
Bali, said to have been the founder of the once magnificent city of
Mahabalipuram (which, translated literally, means “the city of the great Bali”
or more likely “the city of the giant Bali”). Bali’s dynasty continued with his
son Banasura – also portrayed as a giant- but during his reign disaster struck:
Aniruddha, the [grand]son of Krishna,
came to his [Banasura’s] court in disguise and seduced his daughter, which
produced a war in the course of which Aniruddha was taken prisoner and brought
to Mahabalipuram; upon which Krishna came in person from his capital Dwarka and
laid siege to the place.
Although the God Siva himself fought on
the side of Banasura they could not prevail. Krishna found a way to overthrow
Siva, captured the city and forced Banasura into submission and lifelong
fealty.
An interval followed, after which
another Raja – whose name was Malecheren — took the throne at Mahabalipuram. He
encountered a being from the heavenly realms who became his friend and agreed
“to carry him in disguise to see the court of the divine Indra” – a favour that
had never before been granted to any mortal:
The Raja returned from thence with new
ideas of splendour and magnificence, which he immediately adopted in regulating
his court and his retinue, and in beautifying his seat of government. By this
means Mahabalipuram became soon celebrated beyond all the cities of the earth;
and an account of its magnificence having been brought to the gods assembled at
the court of Indra, their jealousy was so much excited at it that they sent
orders to the God of the Sea to let loose his billows and overflow a place
which impiously pretended to vie in splendour with their celestial mansions.
This command he obeyed, and the city was at once overflowed by that furious element,
nor has it ever since been able to rear its head.”
This oral tradition is supported by some references
in Silappadhikaram and a temple in Thiruthangal.
The parts on Bali (Vamana avathara) and Prahladha
(Nrisimha avathara) were something which I will write separately in a future post
by a multi-pronged approach, for they took place at a place somewhere in the
sunken parts of Indonesian archipelago at a time when Ice age was on and Sundaland was a highland
(20000 years +).
The Prahladha connection brings in lion images which
Hancock seems to have seen at location 4 in the sunken part. It is not exactly
a lion but a lion like structure that is not of Pallava period, according to
Hancock. For that matter, one must know that the east coast of India has most
important shrines of Narasimha (Half lion bodied God) than any other part of
India, for the reason that the legend of Narasimha travelled from Sundaland (where
Hiranyapura of Hiranyakashipu was situated) to the east coast of India. When
Sundaland started sinking in bouts or gradually, the immediate place of refuge
for survivors could be in the east coast of India. That is how Mahabalipuram
came to be occupied by the descendants of Prahladha.
It must be remembered that
Haplogroup O2a which is found among the Indonesians and Malays is also found
among some tribes of Andhra Pradesh. More research is needed on this
fact of genetics. This similarity indicates the movement of people between Indonesia
and East coast of India. It must also be pointed out here that the famous
Narasimha shrine of Ahobilam
is near the east coast of Andhra. The memory of Narasimha had traveled from
Hiranyapura in Sundaland to the east coast of India first and to rest of India
later.
Ugra Stambham at Ahobilam.
The city of Mahabalipuram must have been rebuilt 7
times in the past. The oral tradition on the presence of 7 Vishnu temples, all of
which are the same but built every time after the previous one was lost into the
seas reinforce the idea that a temple for Vishnu which was originally
established by someone in Prahaladha’s or Bali’s lineage was resurrected every
time after it was lost. That means this
part of sea must have seen submergences for a minimum number of 6 times.
As the present day contours of Srilanka came into
being around 10,000 years ago (when Shoora samhara by Muruga took place),
Mahabalipuram of that time could have suffered submergence then. A new city
must have been built in the shore after that. But that could have been 6000 or 7000
years ago. The structure that Hancock refers to might be of that period.
Again a new city was built in the remaining shore. krishna's grandson's (Aniruddh) wife Usha belonged to that city. Krishna visited that city to secure the release of Aniruddh for which he for the first time did "karakaattam" (kuda-k-kootthu) - a dance done by balancing pots on the head. That city was referred to as “VANan pErUr” in Silappadhikaram. The capital of the city was known as “ChO”.
Again a new city was built in the remaining shore. krishna's grandson's (Aniruddh) wife Usha belonged to that city. Krishna visited that city to secure the release of Aniruddh for which he for the first time did "karakaattam" (kuda-k-kootthu) - a dance done by balancing pots on the head. That city was referred to as “VANan pErUr” in Silappadhikaram. The capital of the city was known as “ChO”.
Krishna secured the release of Aniruddh and Usha and
had them married in a place called Thiruthangal. There is a Vishnu
temple at that place celebrating that
wedding. That this is a real story can be ascertained from the fact that there
is a Usha ki math, now known as Ukhimath
in Kedarnath where Usha was said to have spent her last days.
Usha ki Mutt (Ukkhimath)
A donation made by King Janamejaya (the great grandson
of Arjuna) at Kedarnath is found at this
Mutt (Read here).
The Aniruddh- Usha incident happened 5000 years ago
(Krishna’s times).After that incident that is, 5000 years ago, that city was
once again swallowed by the sea. Every time the city was lost, it was rebuilt
on the shores. What we see today as Mahabalipuram nurtured by the Pallavas is the
city constructed for the 7th time. The Pallavas were the descendants of Ashwaththama, son of Dronacharya. Their inscriptions
show this connection to Ashwaththama who wrecked havoc similar to a nuclear
war. As if to propitiate for the sin of killing unarmed youngsters during sleep
and countless others by Ashwaththama , the Pallavas initiated new methods of
water conservation and distribution (as if to offer water oblations / tarpan).
They also promoted worship of Vishnu in a big and grand way.
But alas one among them became so self-centred that
he changed the age old name of Mahabalipuram into Mamallapuram
– a name to glorify his wrestling ability. Interestingly the original name of that
Pallava king was Narasimha
varman, the name of Lion God whose legend is connected with Prahladha.
Mahabalipuram having such a rich past that goes back
in time to 20,000 years plus period, much before the rest of Indian sub continent
became peopled with, the casual approach to the discoveries in the sea bed
makes a disturbing reading.
So far, in the history of Bharat, only three cities had been built and rebuilt every time after they were lost, due to inundation in all the three cases. That shows the tremendous importance, history and culture attached to those places. They are Dwaraka, Madurai and Mahabalipuram. Of these the last Madurai was built inland to avoid submergence. All these three places have past histories going back upto 12000 + years. In the case of Mahabalipuram, with sunken places coming into our knowledge let us hope the ASI takes serious interest and does more research on this section of the sea.
So far, in the history of Bharat, only three cities had been built and rebuilt every time after they were lost, due to inundation in all the three cases. That shows the tremendous importance, history and culture attached to those places. They are Dwaraka, Madurai and Mahabalipuram. Of these the last Madurai was built inland to avoid submergence. All these three places have past histories going back upto 12000 + years. In the case of Mahabalipuram, with sunken places coming into our knowledge let us hope the ASI takes serious interest and does more research on this section of the sea.
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From
and
When the shoreline
receded during the 2004 tsunami, tourists in Mamallapuram swore they saw a long
row of granite boulders emerge from the sea, before it was swallowed again as
the water hurtled forward.
More than a decade later, a team of scientists and
divers have uncovered what eyewitnesses saw on that fateful day – vestiges of
an ancient port.
In a discovery that could lead to more underwater explorations off the historic town of Mamallapuram, a group from National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has found the remains of a port or ruins of one of the six shore temples which, according to legend, went under water. The 10-member team, comprising divers, geologists and archaeologists, found a 10m-long wall, a short flight of stairs, and chiselled stone blocks scattered on the seabed.
In a discovery that could lead to more underwater explorations off the historic town of Mamallapuram, a group from National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has found the remains of a port or ruins of one of the six shore temples which, according to legend, went under water. The 10-member team, comprising divers, geologists and archaeologists, found a 10m-long wall, a short flight of stairs, and chiselled stone blocks scattered on the seabed.
They were found 800m from the shoreline at a depth
of nearly 27ft. Rajiv Nigam, head of the marine archaeology unit of NIO, said
the divers found it difficult to identify many of the structures as they were
covered with thick aquatic growth.
“Some of them are badly damaged due to
strong underwater currents and swells. However, we could make out that they were
part of a building complex,” said Nigam, who led the exploration from March
10-18.
Archaeologists on board the vessel that bobbed
around a 12 square kilometers area, where the remains were found, believe
the structures could be around 1,100 to 1,500 years old.
“We also found some brick structures, which were sighted more during the Sangam period (300 BC- 200 AD),” said Nigam, who also pitched in with research after a team in 2001 stumbled upon a 9,000-year-old underwater town in the Gulf of Cambay near Gujarat. Nigam, a geologist, embarked on the project in Mamallapuram after studying the history of sea-level pattern.
“From the Gujarat experience, we know
the sea level around 3,500 years ago was lower than what we see now. But 6,000
years ago it was higher. We wanted to see if the pattern is the same at other
coasts,” he said.
T Sathyamurthy, former superintending archaeologist,
Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, said such explorations are
gradually proving myths as fact. In April 2005, ASI and the Navy began
searching the waters off the coast of Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) by boat,
using sonar technology.
“We discovered that the row of large
stones people had seen immediately before the tsunami were part of a 6ft-high,
70m-long wall. We also found remains of two other submerged temples and one
cave temple within 500m of the shore,” he said.
However, the team wasn’t equipped to take underwater
images. Historians say many of these structures, including the port, could have
gone under water because of a tsunami-like event that took place in 952AD.
Geophysical survey data from past explorations also
confirm the submergence of a large area comprising a building complex, which,
they say could be possible remains of a submerged township. A global sea level
rise of even 1-2mm per year would inundate up to several hundred metres of
coast line over a period of 2,000 years.
Other reason for submergence of these structures
could be soil erosion and tectonic movement.
