The
Gods of ancient Mesopotamia are many totalling to more than 3000. Yet there are
some without names whose identity is beyond the perception of the researchers
of the West and Near East but which are easily identifiable by anyone from
India. Figures resembling the divine couples of
Tirumala – Tirupati and the four faced Brahma- Saraswati,
Shiva linga, Bhuvaneswari and Hanuman are
found among the Gods of
Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian period of the early 2nd Millennium
BCE. Housed in the Oriental Institute Museum of
the University of Chicago these figures stand out in marked contrast to
the numerous other Gods of the Mesopotamian pantheon that reached the maximum
head-count in that period. That period also witnessed the highest level of
scribal activity, creation of myths, poems and art works. Perhaps the dynasties
of Isin and Larsa and the longest ever reign of a Sumerian king falling in that
period (of Rim-Sin) attracted traders from all directions whose co-existence
led to the transmission and transfusion of their respective cultures and
god-heads. It is in this background we are going to discuss the plaques and
seals that resemble popular Hindu Gods.
The
first figures that struck this writer on her recent visit to this Museum in
Chicago were two exhibits that bear close resemblance to Lord Venkateśvara of Tirumala
Hills! Made of some form of clay, they are mold-impressions of hardly
three inches long. Having no parallel with any other image discovered in the
region, these impressions have been termed as Goddesses, standing inside a
shrine made of reeds. But to a person coming from India, these images resemble
the God of Tirumala.
(Figure
1)
Source:
Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago.
Though
not of the same mold, the figures are hardly any different from each other. The
structure is self –revealing as male and not female. The unique style of the
decoration of the deity of Venkateśvara can be seen replicated in these
plaques. On closer examination one can find the Sankha
and Cakra (conch
and discus) resting on the shoulders like how it is for Lord Venkateśvara. The
hands are not seen but hidden inside the long decorative fabric in the front. Perhaps
this is how the decoration was done for Lord Venkateśvara in those days. But
one cannot miss out the long garlands on the shoulders and hanging down from
the head evenly on the two sides. This decoration is unique
to Lord Venkateśvara on all days since the times our elders can
recollect, but these plaques seem to convey that it has been so in the past
too.
More
importantly, the kind of flowery garlands found in these plaques are completely
absent in every other image of God or Goddesses of Mesopotamia in display in
the Museum. One figure is seen carrying flowers along with a bud (Figure 2) but
flowers and garlands were never part of accessories or decoration for the deities
or royal people of ancient Mesopotamia.
Figure 2
While
on the process of collating the facts and information on Lord Venkateśvara of
such an antiquity as that of the early 2nd Millennium BCE this
writer kept thinking that unless the consort of Venkateśvara is found in the
same region, the case for this plaque as the Hindu God Venkateśvara cannot be
effectively made out, as traditionally Venkateśvara is worshiped along with his
consort as a couple though his shrine is geographically away from that of his
consort. Surprisingly and fortunately this writer happened to stumble upon an
image in the data-base of AKG images that is exactly a look-alike of Goddess Padmavati, the
consort of Lord Venkateśvara. The data-base says that this plaque was
discovered in Old Babylon of the same period of early 2nd millennium
BCE.
Figure
3
Picture
source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/483151866256746177/
Belonging
to the same age and same site as the Venkateśvara look-alike plaques, the above
plaque offers the best match for those plaques in terms of the mold-creation
and the decoration. This is a female and one can see the huge ear studs dangling
on the sides. Wearing ear studs is unique to Vedic culture as it follows the
ear-boring ceremony, a Vedic samskāra. Although quite a few images of
the same Mesopotamian period are seen with ear studs, they differ in style from
what is seen in this plaque. The Padmavati look-alike
is wearing a kind which is commonly found to adorn Hindu deities.
Like
Venkateśvara images, this image also has a long garland hanging from the
shoulders and another from the crown. There is a short garland from around the
neck. All these are how the Hindu deities are decorated. Rows of jewellery are
covering the upper part while the lower part looks like a fabric. This is
exactly how Goddess Padmavati is decorated even today.
The
note given along with this image says that it is a goddess
lying on the bed but it cannot be so. A cross-check with a couple of
beds (artefacts) excavated at the same site (Iraq) of Isin-Larsa
(Old-Babylonian period) and housed at the Chicago Museum shows that they are
beds with four legs. In contrast this artefact is a flat plaque with the image
of the deity cast by a mould.
Figure 4
The posture of the deity with garlands and jewellery flowing vertically down clearly indicate that the deity is not lying on the bed. Goddess Padmavati is in seated position and this plaque also shows deity in such a position with the fabric covering the portion of the seat she is mounted on. For comparison, the divine couple as they are seen today (figure 5) is given together along with the excavated plaques (figures 6 & 7).
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Further
examination of the Venkateśvara look-alike shows that the long fabric covering the
front is a woven material of some vegetation (reeds).
The crown-like head gear also looks like made of cloth. The same observation also holds good
for Padmavati look-alike, in addition to the cloth material adorning the lower
part which is actually the visible part of the entire garment that is covering
her front. The preliminary inference from this is that the decorative material for the
Venkateśvara look-alikes of these plaques came from weavers and wild vegetation
of the forest.
Of
importance to mention here is that the Tamil Sangam poems on Venkatam hills (that house Lord
Venkateśvara’s shrine) invariably speak about abundance of bamboo and Vengai trees (Ptrocarpus Marsupium) in the
region. There is reference in a Sangam composition[i] about making dresses from Vengai leaves. The fabric worn by Venkateśvara look- alikes seem to be
woven with bamboo reeds. The big, round flowers of the garland look like the products
of Vengai trees (figure 8).
Figure 8
Only 1000 years ago, flower gardens
growing specific flowers for the Lord were created at the instance of Sri
Ramanujacharya. This conveys that
until then the deity was decorated with wild flowers and products of the forest.
The plaques unmistakably reveal the olden ways of using forest products for decoration.
The continuing practice of
using a long cloth as a garland (Thomala) and
around the head as a crown for Lord Venkateśvara seems to be the legacy
of the olden practice that we can make out from the plaques.
Weavers’ deity.
The
woven material dominating the decoration of the images of the plaques
pre-supposes the existence of weaver communities that were preparing the
fabrics for the deity. As regular suppliers of the vegetative fabric and cloths
to the deity, those communities could have developed close allegiance with the
deity to the extent of treating it as family deity and a personal identity
wherever they went. The Venkateśvara look-alike
appearing in Mesopotamia 4000 years ago could not have happened without such
communities moving over to Mesopotamia obviously for trading purpose.
Even
today specific weaving communities are preparing the cloths for Lord
Venkateśvara. Though their service started a few centuries ago, the presence of
this practice can only be a continuation of an older tradition. The huge size
of the deity required specially woven cloths for this deity and not just any
cloths. This emphasises the fact that specific weaving
communities must have been engaged in preparing the fabric in the remote past
too.
A
couple of bronze objects looking like weaver’s
implements unearthed in Isin-Larsa in the early part of the 2nd Millennium
BCE and bearing resemblance to Indian images strengthens the notion of the presence of weavers of Indian origin in that region.
Figure 9 shows one of those objects whose purpose is not known but could fit
with the weaver’s kit.
Figure 9
Source:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1998.31/
The
female figure in the middle looks more Indian
than any Mesopotamian female figure found so far, in the same period or any
time before or after. The jewellery in ears, neck,
waist and hands are typical Indian style that we find in old temple sculptures
of south India. The men also look different from the male figures of the
comparative period. Their adornments, facial looks and cloths are Indian in
style.
Figure
10 shows yet another bronze image found in the same place, same era. The roller
in the image looks like a bobbin used for winding thread.
Figure 10
Source:
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1980.407.1/
The
male figures in this piece are also different from contemporary Mesopotamian
males in other art works. A shaven head with a forelock
is unknown in Mesopotamia, though completely shaven heads are found in
Akkadian period that preceded the period under discussion. The forelocks in these images are
characteristic of Cholia people of Tamil lands and also were witnessed
across India in the past. A figurine found in Harappa
has a similar forelock (figure 11).
Figure 11
Cossacks of Ukraine also sported similar
forelocks but their early presence in Mesopotamia has no back-up support. The Indian-ness of these objects
and the plaques of Venkateśvara look-alikes weigh in favour of a weaving
community to be present in south Mesopotamia in early 2nd Millennium
BCE.
Further
back in time, weaver’s presence is also noticed in Uruk
period of 4th Millennium BCE. The location is close to
Isin-Larsa. Figures 12 and 13 show three cylinder seal impressions of women
engaged in weaving, kept in Chicago Museum.
Figure 12
The pig tailed women bear close resemblance to the seven women of
Mohenjo-Daro seal that appeared 600 years later
(Figure 14)
For
closer comparison, the Uruk and Mohenjo-Daro seals are shown side by side in
figure 15.
Figure 15.
The
pig tailed women with similar costumes appearing in Uruk seals engaged in what
looks like looms (textile making) give rise to
an opinion that the Mohenjo-Daro
seal was a ceremony done by weavers! This similarity is brought out here
to justify the presence of
weavers in south Mesopotamia in late 4th to early 2nd
Millennium BCE who shared similar physical traits with people of Indus
civilisation (India).
Available
research works done so far have established that Lothal
has served as a transit point from India to Mesopotamia via Persian Gulf.
The easiest route is through Persian Gulf and not
through North West India. Dr B.S During in his thesis on “Seals in
Dilmun society”[ii]
established on the examining the seals how Dilmun (Bahrain) served as a nodal point of trade for
those entering the gulf that further takes them to south Mesopotamia. The trade routes from Lothal to Dilmun and Mesopotamia in the
period 2800-1500 BCE is reproduced in figure 16 from his paper.
Figure 16
Authors
Steffen Laursen and Piotr Steinkeller
established that military conquests of Sargonic kings of Babylonia
were aimed at controlling trading points and ensuring smooth business for their
own subjects[iii]
. Trade and commerce were the buzz words of rulers of that time.
It
is worth noting here a parallel
incident from Mahabharata. It is everyone’s knowledge that almost every
ruler of India participated in the war. This could be possible only if the
participating countries had some stakes in winning the war. The Pandyan king by
name Sarangadwaja refused to side with the Pandavas as he wanted to avenge Krishna for
having killed his father (previous enmity). But he was discouraged from
doing that by his friends in the Pandava camp (Drishtadymna)[iv]. What could have weighed in favour of keeping aside his
personal enmity and siding with the Pandavas? Only if a larger good is
assured in return for his country, this Pandyan king could be expected to have
for kept aside his personal grouse. That larger good could in all possibility
be economic and commercial
returns.
If
by siding with the Pandavas and Krishna, the Pandyan traders could get easy and
hassle-free access to the ports of Dwaraka (Gujarat) in the event of Pandavas
winning the war, then the Pandyan king had no other choice than burying his
personal enmity and backing up the Pandavas. The
traditional date of Mahabharata war coinciding with Early Harappan period and the
rise of Lothal as a busy port concur well with Indic history as revealed in
Mahabharata. By keeping control over the
ports in west coast of Gujarat, entire South India that sided with Pandavas
stood to benefit while the north Indian traders
could have chosen Gandhara- route that was with Kauravas before the war.
Until
now everyone has been talking about Indus regions. There is absolutely no thought about south India. The Tamil
kingdoms existing for long and grand rivers draining the lands of south India
offer enormous scope for evolution of economically
profitable occupations well before the Indus civilization. The nearest points of transit to enter west Asia and
Europe were the ports of Arabian Sea. The closest and safest port (from
monsoon vagaries) was Lothal.
It is in this backdrop, the movement of
weavers of south India who were once serving Lord Venkateśvara, to Mesopotamia
through western ports and Persian Gulf looks very much viable. Both Gujarat (Saurashtra) and Andhra Pradesh are known for
traditional weaving practices. Anyone from these regions could have
taken their families and family deities to Middle East.
Conducive
atmosphere for trade in Isin-Larsa period had attracted people from all sides.
The culture, language and religious beliefs of all the new entrants were
absorbed leading to the formation of Anunnaki – group of various
and numerous deities that dominated Mesopotamia for over two millennia later. The Hindu deities too have contributed to the diffusion of
Thought (to be discussed in upcoming articles) but Venkateśvara stands
out from other deities in this regard. There is no trace of Venkateśvara in Anunnaki and no trace of the
people (who carried memory of this deity) further in time. May be they
were absorbed in the local community or had gone beyond the Middle East. This
probability must be borne in mind in any genetic study that finds a link with south Indians or
Indians.
This
monograph cannot end here without ascertaining an antiquated presence of Lord
Venkateśvara at Tirupati hills on par with the date of the plaques found in
Isin-Larsa 3500 years ago.
Antiquity of Venkateśvara temple at Tirupati.
There
are literary evidences from Tamil Sangam texts in support of antiquity of Lord Venkateśvara.
The
earliest reference to the presence of this deity on top of the hill is found in
the 2000 year old* Tamil Epic called Silappadhikaram.
Tirupati was known as ‘Venkatam’ in those days.
A Brahmin from Māngādu near Kudamalai (Kodagu) on a pilgrimage to worship
Vishnu at Srirangam and Venkatam describes the deities of these two places. As
per his description the deity at Venkatam was standing in between the sun and
the moon, with the conch and discus in his hands and adorned with beautiful
garland on his chest and a fabric dotted with golden
flowers.[v]
The reference to sun and the moon is because of the strategic location facing
the east as one can see the luminaries on the two sides of the temple and crossing
the temple every day.
This
description conveys that this deity was popular 2000
years ago. Yet another reference to Venkatam comes in the same text when
a newly married couple belonging to Northern Chedi
travelled to Pumpukar to witness the Indra festival.
After celebrating the Festival of Kāma deva (on the
Full Moon day of Phalguna month when the Sun is in Pisces – today’s Holi
festival), they crossed the highs of Himalayas and then the river Ganga
and reached Ujjain. From there they went to Venkatam hills before going to
Pumpukār. [vi]
Figure 17
This
description at once changes the currently held popular views on Holi festival
and the location of Northern Chedi. In the tourist map for someone coming from
the Himalayan region, Venkatam hills being held as an important place of
destination is something that conveys more than just a hill station or a
stop-over. The popularity of
Lord Venkateśvara even as early as 2000 years ago is the inevitable
message of this travel map.
Further
back in time, Venkatam gets frequent mention in Tamil Sangam texts. The grammar
book of the 3rd Sangam, namely Tol
Kāppiyam begins with the name Venkatam as
the northern boundary of the speakers of Tamil language.[vii] Tol
Kāppiyam was composed at the beginning of 3rd Sangam after the
previous Sangam location was lost to the seas. By the calculation of the Sangam
age-years given in another text called “Iṟaiyanār
Agapporuḷ Urai”, the previous location was lost in 1500 BCE which
means the reference to Venkatam
as northern boundary had been made soon after 1500 BCE.
The
existence of the name Venkatam as early as 1500 BCE reiterates the presence of
the God Venkateśvara even at that time as the etymology of ‘Venkatam’ is traced
to ‘burning the body (of sins)’. It is VenGhata
where ‘ghata’ means pot, a reference to human body. The hymns of
Vaishnavite saints (Alvars) also convey that this God removes the sins of
previous and current births. In other words the Lord
burns the sins of the human body. So this goes without saying that the hill got the name from the
deity and not vice versa. The reference to Venkatam in Tol Kāppiyam
is proof of existence of this deity from before 1500
BCE.
How widespread was the popularity of Venkateśvara in
olden times?
The
reference to Venkatam hills as the northern boundary of Tamil speakers opens up
considerable part of South India to have been inhabited by those who spoke
Tamil. This is because Venkatam is a range of mountains
running from north to south in the form of a cobra. Abodes of Gods dot the important organs of
the cobra. Puranic description of Venkatam is such that Nallamala housing Srisailam forms the tail of the cobra. Ahobilam is located at the trunk. Tirupati is at the back of the cobra’s hood while the mouth
can be identified by Kalahasti. A Sangam poem also reiterates the idea
that the range is a house of Gods.[viii]
Figure 18
The regions on both sides of the Venkatam range had people finding mention in the Tamil Sangam compositions. While Nannan was associated with Konkan, Velir were reigning from Kudremukh in Karnataka. On the eastern side, Kallada was the native place of Sangam poet ‘Kalladanar’. In all his compositions, he describes the scenes of Venkatam hills, the ruling dynasty of Pulli of Venkatam and the difficulties in crossing this range. While all his compositions found in Aganānuru describe the difficulties faced by those going for trade while crossing the range from south to north, in one composition in Purananuru[ix] he describes a scene of drought induced poverty that drove the hero into crossing Venkatam from north to South to reach Tamil kings.
Figure 19
From
the Sangam poetry it is known that the Venkatam range
was a well-known landmark for people going for trade and livelihood. In
all those trips the main deity of the hills, Venkateśvara must have been worshiped to ensure safe
journey and return. With the range spanning across South India, the
deity also must have been a popular one throughout South India. From the
Silappadhikaram narration of the newlywed couple of Northern Chedi making a
stop at Venkatam it is known that Venkateśvara was popular throughout India 2000 years ago.
Who
among them had gone to south Mesopotamia taking with them Venkateśvara and his
consort Padmavati? There is a clue to
this which we will discuss in the next part of this article.
(to
be continued...)
*
Silappadhikaram can be dated at 2000 years BP based on a cross reference from a
Satakarni who helped the Chera King Senguttuvan in his northern
expedition. Silappadhikaram makes a reference to a victory over the Yavanas by
this king during the expedition (Ch 28: lines 141-142). Gautamiputra
Satakarni was the only Satakarni who scored a victory over the
Yavanas. This conveys that together they have fought and won the Yavanas. From
the date of Gautamiputra Satakarni, the Silappadhikaram date can be made
out as belonging to the beginning of the Common Era.
[i] Kurinji Paattu
[ii] During, B.S., 2011, “Seals
in Dilmun Soceity”, University of Leiden.
[iii] “Babylonia, the Gulf Region and the Indus: Archaeological and Textual Evidence for Contact in the Third and Early Second Millennia BC (Mesopotamian Civilizations)” https://www.harappa.com/content/babylonia-gulf-region-and-indus-archaeological-and-textual-evidence-contact-third-and-early
[iv] Mahabharata: 7-23
[v] Silappadhikaram: Chapter 11: lines 41-52
[vi] Silappadhikaram:
Chapter 6: lines 1-33
[vii] Tol Kāppiyam: Line 1
[viii] Agananuru: 359
