Recent Advances in South Indian Archaeology – The 2nd International Symposium in memory of Iravatham Mahadevan – 11-03-2023- Animal remains, Ashmound, ash, slag, Iron waste etc (7)

Recent Advances in South Indian Archaeology – The 2^nd International Symposium in memory of Iravatham Mahadevan – 11-03-2023-  Animal remains, Ashmound, ash, slag, Iron waste etc (7)

Mohanty – Manikapatna: an ancient port site in Odisha: Excavation of Manikapatna by D.R. Pradhan yielded the material evidence belonging to an early medieval port having remains of maritime activities. Manikpatna or Manikapatna is an archaeological site in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It has been identified with the medieval port of Chelitalo described by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang. The site is located on the sea coast near Brahmagiri which is situated near the left bank of the Bhargavi river, at the northeastern end of the Chilika Lake. Findings indicate trade contacts with many countries. Chinese celadon ware and porcelain have been dated to different centuries, showing prolonged trade. Trade with the Roman Empire is evident from fine greyish-white rouletted pottery, knobbed ware and fragments of the amphora. Other pottery fragments originate from Burma, Siam and Arabian countries. A Sri Lankan coin belonging to the reign of Sahassa Malla has been found dating from the 11th or 12th century CE. The site is named after the nearby village of Manikpatna, which in turn is named after Manika, a milkmaid whom legend says sold yoghurt to Lord Jagannath and Lord Balabhadra when they passed by. The village is home to the Bhabakundalesvara Temple, which has a Shiva Linga made of black chlorite stone as the presiding deity.

Vedachalam – Vattezhutu (read in Tamil): Vattezhuttu and Tamil inscriptions of Varaguna Pandya II: – He was stressing that the first vattezhutu (a syllabic alphabet used for writing Tamil and Malayalam) was used and then during the medieval period, both vattezhutu and Tamil scripts were used, then, mostly, Tamil script was used. Though, he did not tell why such change, modification or transformation took place, he explained several inscriptions of the Pandyas and Cholas.

K. Sridharan – Pattaraiperumpudur excavation: It is situated on the eastern bank of the river Kosathalaiyar and lies on the western side of Tiruvallur, the district headquarter which is about 60 km from Chennai. This place is surrounded by a number of prehistoric sites like Gudiyam, Attirampakkam, Vadamadurai, Neyveli, Parikulam etc. The archaeological mound was found at three places in the village namely anaimedu, nathamedu and irulanthoppu.  In order to examine the potentiality of the archaeological vestiges the excavation was conducted at the place in April 2016. During the course of excavation it has been found that area was accumulating  the rich archaeological vestiges right from prehistoric period to early historical period.  The deposit contain stone tools, different type of potteries, bricks, iron objects, roofing tiles, carnelian beads, shell bangles, terracotta objects, glass beads, copper objects, inscribed sherds (Tamil Bhrami), sherds with graffiti marks, painting potsherds, ivory object, terracotta ring well and other house holding objects in different levels of the excavated trenches. A pragmatic study of the cultural vestiges and the in-situ study of findings gleaned from that the cultural deposit at pattaraipeumbudur can be divided into Stone age period, Iron age period and Early historical period.

Pankaj Goyal- Animal based subsistence strategies at Gottiprolu, a southern Satavahana outpost in Andhra Pradesh’s SPSR Nellore District: Gottiprolu, 2000 years ago, as revealed from archaeological investigations was once apart of the Satavahana Empire which was spread across the modern states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It was inhabited by many small to large settlements, the latter displaying urban characteristics and a rich material culture. These included sites such as Peddabankur, Dhulikatta, Kotilingala, and Veerapuram, etc. Some of these sites were fortified (Shastry 1983).During this period, particularly in its coastal region, major economic activities like craft specialization, Indo Roman trade along with Buddhism had flourished (Shastry 1983). One of the factors attributed for the urbanization in this region was the rich fertile alluvial soil of the Krishna and Godavari river basins, which had helped agriculture to develop. While animals may have also contributed to the early historic economy, theirrole is not clear because of the limited faunal studies carried out for sites of this period. Some of the studied sites are Peddabankur (Krishna Shastry 1983), Nagarjunakonda(Nath 1963; Talukder and Pal 2007), Pochampad (Alur 1979a), Yelleshwaram (Alur1979b) and Veerapuram (Thomas 1984).

An interesting feature of the faunal study revealed is the rich animal diversity in existence around Gottiprolu during the Early Historic period. Currently the site islocated adjacent to a reserve forest zone where many of the represented wild animals can be found even today. The representation of a wide range of animals particularly wild buffalo, wild pig, deer, birds, turtles strongly indicates that the climate during the settlement’s occupation was fairly wet and humid supporting a landscape with water bodies and vegetation. Due to which the region was rich in wild life. The Swarnamukhi River and its tributaries had adequate water to support aquatic animals like fish,turtles, molluscs etc. It is this congenial environment with its rich fauna that may have been one of the reasons for establishing the ancient settlement at Gottiprolu. While itstill needs to be determined whether Gottiprolu had functioned as an agricultural, religious, trading, industrial or a military settlement, the faunal study does strongly indicate that it had hosted a fair sized population sustained by a strong animal-based subsistence.

Observation: Incidentally, this paper has already been published in “Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.1: 2020” and they have uploaded in “Researchgate” site also[1]. So How he presents the same paper here is not known[2].

J. Soundararajan and K. V. Ramakrishna Rao – The importance of Ashmound found during the Excavations conducted at Valasai, Gudiyatham, Tamilnadu[3]: The Neolithic culture of South India has been invariably connected with ashmounds and Iron Age with the archaeological evidences found in the parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. the Ancient History and Archaeology department of University of Madras, found ashmound in 2006 and 2021 at the Valasai village. Earlier, ashmound was reported at Appukkallu and Modur by the TN state archaeology department. Whether the Valasai ashmound can be compared with that of Karnataka, Maharastra and Andhrapradesh; people of Tamilnadu had the similar practices of them; the existing hypotheses and theories of ashmounds; and other issues are discussed, as the Valasai ashmound could be that of non-cowdung nature and that is discussed in this paper taking all factors into consideration and conclusion drawn.

location of the site, side view etc., showing the ash mound…..

Valasai, also known as Modikuppam Valasai (78^o51’53”E; 13^o01’47”N) is a small Village/hamlet in Gudiyattam Block, Kallapadi Panchayath in Vellore District of Tamil Nadu State, India.  In a first of its kind, students attached to the Madras University’s Ancient History and Archaeology department have excavated a neolithic ash-mound during their field training at Sendoor Malai near Gudiyatham[4] in 2021. Though Neolithic ash-mounds have earlier been discovered in other parts of south India, including at Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, this is the first time such a mound is excavated in Tamil Nadu. However, ASI in 1980 had already reported that there were evidences found here for the existence of Neolithic people at Valasai site. A thesis submitted in 2006 by A. Kumar, an alumni of our department, had recorded that there was an extensive mound with multi-cultural phases near Sendoormalai in Vellore district.

ashmound with moulds……..

Iron articles found……..

even holes / porous nature of slag / ferrous oxide waste can be noted……….

Valasai has evidences for Iron smelting and manufacture: The excavation resulted in finding of ferrous presence in the form of ash, slag and broken article. Ferrous slags are produced in different stages of the iron making processes resulting in varying physiochemical properties. Additionally, the rate of cooling of the slag material affects its degree of crystallinity further diversifying its range of properties. Thus, the evidences found are as follows:

1. The site yielded the evidence of Iron smelting activity in the form terracotta pipes and broken pieces of furnace with potsherds like Black-and-Red ware.
2. The excavation has yielded an iron slags from Layer 1 at M.VLS 2.
3. Terracotta blow pipe was also found in M.VLS-3 and 5, and it was used in iron smelting furnace to supply air inside it. It indicates the presence of Iron smelting activities.
4. The excavation has yielded an iron object at M.VLS- 3 and 5. The iron object was found in broken state. A broken knife was noticed from M. VLS-5.
5. The presence of iron slags, iron smelting pipes and iron objects indicate people does have the knowledge of iron smelting technology.
6. The excavation at Modikuppam Valasai has exposed a number of antiquities ranging from the period of Neolithic to Iron Age period. The antiquities include lithic objects, terracotta objects, TC beads, burnishing tool, grinding stones, Iron objects etc.

Here, the Valasai ashmound might thus differ with others with the metallic nature of content. Thus, the Iron furnace broken parts, terracotta pipes, Iron slag, broken Iron object etc., prove the Iron smelting activities and the waste, slag and powder / ash found could be related to Iron  (ferrous oxide) conglomerates with sand etc. the 74,000 YBP volcanic ash ad that of 3000-1500 BCE “ashes” have to be contrasted and differentiated.

Conclusion: In view of the above archaeological excavations, investigation and interpretation of excavated artefacts comparing with that of others, the following details are drawn out and submitted as concluding points:

1. Valasai, the Neolithic site has traces of ashmound, but, it is related to Iron Age period and thus, could be that of Iron smelting.
2. “Sendoor malai” could refer to the mound made of red soil with ferrous oxide content. The soil of the town is constituted with gravel clay mixed with sand soft rock. The eastern portion of the town has soft rock and red soil, red loam soil or red ferruginous variety both sandy and loamy. There is an hillock called “Sendukkarai Hill” in this portion.
3. Iron ash, furnace, slag and related items have been recovered to correlate and corroborate such investigation and interpretation.
4. The ceramic industry also vouchsafe the high temperatures handling capacity of the people, furnace and fuel materials, later reduced to ashes.
5. Cow / Cattle dung cake known as “Varatti,” had / has been a common man fuel producing temperatures of high order, depending upon the usage. These cakes were used in the furnaces used for the manufacture of clay articles, ceramics, beads, glass, metallic objects etc. Nowadays,, machines are available for making dung cakes[5].
6. Even today, the red soil is used widely for pottery making, brick manufacture and construction work for its ferrous, ferruginous and binding nature.
7. As elephant presence has been here, whether their dung available in huge quantities could be a source for the “ashmound” can also be studied[6].

Santanu Vaidhya – Socio-economic perspectives of Vidarba Megaliths:.. The finding of new sites has opened a new arena in study of the Early Iron Age. It can be seen as follows: a) The observation of Vaidya (2014) that there are and have to be many more sites with Early Iron Age habitation and also that the habitation and burials form one single cultural entity is supported. Hence, it can be said that there are settlements present in areas rich in resource like alluvium, pasture and iron ore.

b) Malli excavations (Sontakke 2014a) as discussed earlier have brought out some new aspects of the Early Iron Age such as the presence of a different burial architecture, negligible burial goods and also the importance of internal burial architecture more than the interments. Recent explorations have yielded only solitary evidence of menhir from Sasara. Menhirs are not very common in the Nagpur region, except at Nagbhir and Umred. But even the last mentioned two places are near the Wainganga River. Even at Malli and surroundings menhirs are noticed (Sontakke 2014a). Thus it can be said that this burial typology was confined probably to the Wainganga proper and not in the Nagpur region and further west. Also it seems that the burials differed in ideology from the Nagpur region, since at Malli not many burial goods were recovered as in the Nagpur region burials (Sontakke 2014a). Again this suggests the presence of a different burial type like menhir and cist in this region. Sasara and its surroundings therefore make up a promising place for further probing and investigations.

Observation: Here also, it is noted that the same or similar paper has already been published and appearing in the Bulletin of the Deccan college and also internet[7]. He might have presented here with slight changes of the same site and details[8].

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

14-03-2023.

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[1] Deshpande-Mukherjee, A., Goyal, P., Sreelakshmi, T., Rajesh, M., Veeraraghavan, N., Krishna, S., & Vinodh, N. Past Faunal Diversity and Animal Usage Revealed at Gottiprolu, A Southern Satavahana Outpost in SPSR Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 8.1: 2020.

[2]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359710811_Past_Faunal_Diversity_and_Animal_Usage_Revealed_at_Gottiprolu_A_Southern_Satavahana_Outpost_in_SPSR_Nellore_District_of_Andhra_Pradesh

[3]  K. V. Ramakrishna Rao in December 2022 itself sent two papers one joint paper with J. Soundararajan and another individual, both accepted, CV and detals asked, invited, but suddenly, K. V. Ramakrishna Rao  – name removed, he was invited to attend the conference as “participant,” for the best reasons only known to the organizers. Is it also “Recent advances in South Indian Archaeology” or not – is not known.

[4] Incidentally, the Kudatini ashmound, which sits astride a pass through a north– south spur of the Sandur Hills, was one of the first described by colonial surveyors, resemble “Sendoor malai,” Sendoor hills.

[5] cow dung processing machines such as –

1. Cow dung dewatering machine
2. Cow dung cake machine
3. Cow dung dia making machine
4. Agarbathi making machine –  are available in the market.

[6] Elephant dung produced has been enormous – as an elephant could produce 100 kgs dung per day and more than 40 MTs in a year. Thus, even, if ten elephants herd was there, 400 MTs dung would have been deposited in that area. Had it been disposed off periodically at a place by way of buring with other waste, it coud have also formed part of the “ashmound.”

[7] Vaidya, S., Abbas, R., Sontakke, V., & Willis, M. (2015). Recent Findings on the Early Iron Age in the Bhandara District and Wainganga Basin, Vidarbha. Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute, 75, 85-92.

[8] https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/49933029/Arch-75-07_85-92_Vaidya_etal-libre.pdf?1477646966=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DRECENT_FINDINGS_ON_THE_EARLY_IRON_AGE_IN.pdf&Expires=1678901644&Signature=SxxBHBzZ3vRt9eiwkRgUCXgLH~3YszAdK2WcrSBBU1A5xHHeNRnHxWAt2-cv8oYMqWEYNyQgGPn8nsgFR0AFDEJ1ZfOwRQ~ASf1dTJdd-5oZrcqFeBJJxQmqc5DZdeBItJ6MMeoA47OY9pyx3EjCP-eS1lNa6s2V32VDnHha6RSMPEx7dvKxLQ8pinjO4W~HdyTbDwS2jLzI8pBY7QyS-3CCNJGJm0GgdhXSCtsH9Yo78M9SQoaWceBTx1Uk-iHcoVI~v8Wnu3iPE8aLxN-NbiQbYp6-pmLAfC0E8rjwxhaUUHzOP0eM6o2csWy52Gc3w9EI2k0eZ2SZO6kI96JSkw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

12,000 years of Indian culture, formation of 16-experts committee, research of Indian culture…. etc.

12,000 years of Indian culture, the formation of  16-experts committee, research of Indian culture…. etc.

 

Why Indian historians have been politicized?: In India, the politicians do not care for anything, as they change parties, alliances, ideologies and any other thing. Though, Indian historians, most the dominant Marxist-Mohammedan categories have a political agenda to negotiate with their political parties, as for them, religion and politics have been inseparable[1]. During the last 70 years historical conferences and the associated political parties, one could easily note how they have been associated and mutually interested in the business of each other directly or indirectly. Indian people have been living organism and they cannot be treated as vested groups, animal herds etc., to determine that such and such things happen, if they do something or made to do so. In 135 crores living state, none can become such conditioned, hypothesized state and stereo-typed species to be subjected to ideological experiments. As every human being has thinking capability and power, none can be controlled with propaganda and thought processes. Therefore, when culture, tradition, heritage and civilization are mentioned or talked about, some or certain ideologized groups may not like, but, try to dub as their opponents. Here, only, they become opponents to other neutral or not-interested 120 crores, and get exposed slowly.

12,000 years of Indian culture: Wittingly or unwittingly the central government has kicked up a row by constituting an experts’ committee to study the Indian Culture for the past 12,000 years[2], thus, the PTI news was carried on by the media with different headlines. The Committee set up by the ministry of culture has 16 members and all are from north India[3]. The member from Canada is perhaps ignored. The circular was released on 14-09-2020 with dated letter and uploaded in the website also. The media went on reporting, “It has led to a furore in the South, which believes that the Dravidian history is the oldest and Dravidians are the original inhabitants of what we call India, today”[4]. The Ministry of Culture which handles the department of archaeology has issued a notification with the names of experts tasked to study India’s ancient past on 16-09-2020 Wednesday[5]. It says the aim is to study the origin and evolution of Indian culture[6]. Noted historians and archaeologists from the north, KN Dixit, RS Bisht, BR Mani, Santosh Shukla, RK Pandey, Makkan Lal, GN Srivastava, Mukundam Sharma, PN Shastri, RC Sharma, KK Mishra, Balram Shukla, Azad Kaushik and MR Sharma are on the committee[7].

 

The 16-members expert committee: The members of the committee are as follows[8]:

1. Shri K.N. Dikshit, Chairman, Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi and former Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India;
2. Dr. R.S. Bisht, former Joint Director General, Archaeological Survey of India;
3. Dr B.R. Mani, former Director General, National Museum, New Delhi and former Additional Director General, Archaeological Survey of India;
4. Prof. Santosh Shukla, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi;
5. Dr. Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Vice Chancellor, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi;
6. Prof. Makkhan Lal, Director, Delhi Institute of Heritage Management,, Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi;
7. Dr. G.N. Srivastava, former Additional Director General, GSI;
8. Justice Dr. Mukundkam Sharma, Chancellor, Lal Bahadur Shastri Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Delhi and former Judge of Supreme Court of India;
9. Prof. P.N. Shastri, Vice Chancellor, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi;
10. Prof. R.C. Sharma, Head, Department of Linguistics, University of Delhi;
11. Prof. K.K. Mishra, Dean, Anthropology, University of Hyderabad and former Director, Anthropological Survey of India;
12. Dr. Balram Shukla, Department of Sanskrit, University of Delhi;
13. Prof. Azad Kaushik, Scientist and International Thinker, Canada;
14. Pt. M.R. Sharma, Chairman, “Sangmarg” World Brahmin Federation, India, New Delhi;
15. Representative from Ministry of Culture; and
16. Representative from Archaeological Survey of India.

Therefore, it is evident that the research is approached in a multi-disciplined manner as historian, archaeologist or numismatist alone cannot deal with the issues involved.

Opposing in the name of Aryan, Dravidian, Dalit and so on: Former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has launched a campaign against this committee, calling it an insult to Dravidians, who have not been appointed to the committee[9]. In a series of tweets and statements, he has described it as an Aryan committee constituted by the BJP-led central government to ensure that India’s history is north Indian history[10]. Speaking to News18 he said, “I have serious doubts about the objective and purpose of this committee. It is full of those who are appearing to have prejudices over culture, history and heritage, besides being fully occupied by the North Indians.”………”It does not have even one member from Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, two oldest states and cultures in India. We are Dravidians and no Dravidian from the South is on the committee. It raises serious doubts about the motives of the Centre. Sadly, it does not have even one female member,” he said. It is wonder why he suddenly started talking in terms of Aryans and Dravidians. Congress MP from Tamil Nadu, Manickam Tagore, has also expressed concerns over the committee calling it an insult to South and East. “It seems they are studying a history which would be okayed by the RSS. How can we study India’s ancient history without any representation from the South and East? These two are much older regions. What BJP is doing is dividing India further in the name of studying our ancient culture,” Tagore said. The Tamil Nadu Congress MP further said that he would raise the issue in the ongoing Parliament session to ensure that experts from South and East are also included in the committee. He demanded that all 30 States and 22 official languages should have at least one member each on the committee.

How the concept “12,000 years of Indian culture” was evolved?: Announcing the committee to study Indian culture back to 12,000 years in 2016, then culture minister Mahesh Sharma had said its mandate was to “trace Indian culture from way back and compare it with other cultures across the world[11]. It has got nothing to do with Hinduism or Islam. It is about our civilisation”. Earlier given the same mandate in 2016, the panel had failed to submit a report within its one-year deadline, and is now hoping to achieve the task in light of the findings of the Rakhigarhi, Haryana, excavations. Mani, who had led the digging at the Ayodhya disputed site, told The Indian Express, “The mandate (of the committee) is to quell misconceptions created by Western scholars about Indian culture through archaeological, astronomical and literary evidences. For instance, the theory of Aryan invasion stands debunked in the light of the 2019 Rakhigarhi DNA report (under Vasant Shinde of Pune’s Deccan College), which points to the continuity of Indian culture since 4,500 years.” The former head of the National Museum said the report will mostly focus on archaeological findings of the past 15-20 years “since that is considered as scientific evidence”…“Even though there was no hard evidence yet to say Indian culture was 12,000 years old, archaeological excavations at Mehrgarh (now in Pakistan) put the age of the Indian civilisation at 10,000 years,” Mani said[12]. Dikshit, who chairs the new panel, like the earlier one, said they had held a couple of meetings on the matter last time. Shastry said, “In 2016, I had presented literary evidence from the Vedas and Puranas to talk about the historicity of Indian civilisation. Rest is for the archaeologists to corroborate.”

Such committee was there in 2016 itself: A 14-member committee was set up in November 2016 tasked with the job to trace Indian culture and compare it with other cultures across the world[13]. The committee on ‘holistic study of origin and evolution of Indian culture since 12,000 years before present and its interface with other cultures of the world’ was formed in November 2016 and had a tenure of one year. It wrapped up its proceedings in November 2017. The committee consisted of bureaucrats, archaeologists and academics[14]. That means, in 2018 and 2019 also such committees were there with members. Thus, in 2020, the committee has been reformed, reconstituted with new members. Incidentally, in 2016 or 2017, these leaders did not bother about it. Therefore, opposing something for some ideology or hidden political agenda cannot serve academics. Generally, the elite, emeritus and Marxist-Mohammedan historians would oppose, but, this time, the politicians did first and they may come later.

Why the fight over Aryans and Dravidians, north versus south etc.,: Indian history has not been written in Indian perspective, in the sense, it need not be “nationalistic,” as some dub and try to interpret differently, but, the historical facts have to be presented to Indians in the right perspective. The subject History has to be updated with the new archaeological, numismatic and other evidences. Though, the racist, racialist and linguistic-racist interpretations have been rejected, still, they are revived and exploited for political purposes. Since the RJM-BM issue has been resolved, the BM-historians may not have issues. Or slowly, they may jump in to make it as an issue. The “atom” (that cannot be divided) became misnomer, but the noun has been retained, but it broken into different sub-atomic particles viz, electron, proton, neutron, and others. The noun “nurse” (the woman who kills) has been retained, but the medical field has been advanced. Thus, in science and technology, many hypotheses, theories why even gadgets and machines have been thrown away as obsolete, useless, outdated, archaic and so on, but in Indian history, Indians are made to harp upon in this way. Though, they cry, claim and call for “scientific and secular history,” they have their own methodology to mythologize and communalize. In other words, the Marxist-Mohammedan leftist historians must have updated Indian history in all aspects, but they did not do or colud not do or do not want to do.  Therefore, if they or any other ideological groups(s) want to perpetuate such condition, the youth of today could easily identify who has been telling lies in Indian history and they throw away. History people cannot be made as a sort of marketing commodity, as they have been doing so, naturally, people might go for “other ones” for change, compulsion or understanding facts.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

19-09-2020

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[1] The Communist categories many times work together under different banners – women wing, workers’s wing, activists of human rights, children rights, animal rights and so on. They also support LGBTQ, divorce, living together, jalli-kattu and other issues also.

[2]  Economic Times, Shouldn’t minorities, Dalits talk about Indian culture: Kanimozhi asks Centre, By Vasudha Venugopal, ET BureauLast Updated: Sep 16, 2020, 08:05 AM IST.

[3] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/shouldnt-minorities-dalits-talk-about-indian-culture-kanimozhi-asks-centre/articleshow/78134014.cms

[4] Deccan Herald, Centre’s panel to study ancient Indian culture kicks off row, Sagar Kulkarni, DHNS, New Delhi, SEP 17 2020, 21:57 ISTUPDATED: SEP 17 2020, 21:57 IST.

[5] https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/centres-panel-to-study-ancient-indian-culture-kicks-off-row-889042.html

[6] The Hindu, Formed 16-member committee to study ancient Indian culture: Union Minister Prahlad Patel, PTI, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 16:34 IST; UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 16:38 IST

[7]  https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/formed-16-member-committee-to-study-ancient-indian-culture-union-minister-prahlad-patel/article32600102.ece

[8] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1654152

[9] News18India, Centre’s Committee to Study Ancient History Sans Dravidians and Women Kicks Up Row, LAST UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 17, 2020, 10:51 AM IST

[10] https://www.news18.com/news/india/centres-committee-to-study-ancient-history-sans-dravidians-and-women-kicks-up-row-2883777.html

[11] Indian Express, Pre-12,000 years: Govt re-ups panel to study ‘Indian culture’, Written by Divya A | New Delhi | Updated: September 17, 2020 7:38:53 am.

[12] https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pre-12000-years-govt-re-ups-panel-to-study-indian-culture-6599116/

[13] Hindustan Times, Try to find correlation between ancient Indian history and epics: Govt committee, Press Trust of India, New Delhi, Updated: Mar 07, 2018 18:26 IST

[14] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/try-to-find-correlation-between-ancient-indian-history-and-epics-govt-committee/story-ywGQN0pYIizFfmswiVMa8N.html.

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (3)

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (3)

Hayagriva faith[1] spread to Tibet, China and Japan: The Himalayan valley range have yielded fossils of elephants, horses etc., as pointed out by the geologists. The Indian poets could not have imagined and lied while describing horses of battle scenes involved etc[2]. The Gangetic Valley had been subjected to plate-tectonic processes, floods etc., and therefore, there have been surface and stratigraphical disturbances. After settling down, the Gangetic Valley Civilization flourished with culture, tradition, and heritage.  The Horse-God faith has been spread to Tibet, China and Japan also[3]. The wind horse is an allegory for the human soul in the shamanistic tradition of East Asia and Central Asia. In Tibetan Buddhism, it was included as the pivotal element in the centre of the four animals symbolizing the cardinal directions and a symbol of the idea of well-being or good fortune. It has also given the name to a type of prayer flag that has the five animals printed on it. This matches with the Vedic description of the parts of Vishnu body fell oriented with the cardinal points of cosmos. Ratnasambhava, Avalokiteswara, and other depictions in sculpture, icons and paintings show the dominant presence of a horse.

In China, the Hayagriva, Peiping, probably found in the old city of Peiping, now known as Peking, the Capital. The Horse-God has been the God of wisdom. The Chinese incorporated horse as the seventh in their year cycle / zodiac. The Vajikukh or horse representation of tantric practices could have reached Peiping through Buddhism. In the Paintings, the Yama had been the king and the two gate-keepers have been horse-faced and ox-faced guards. They punish the wicked as per the directions of the King Yama.

In the Korean temples, mausoleums and monuments, the horse-guard has been prominently depicted.

In the respective literature, whether written in Tibetan, Chinese, Pali or Sanskrit, the Indian presence is easily noted as the names, slokas and ritualization have not been changed. Only, the tantric formation differs from the normal bakti India worship. Thus, when the horse myth was carried to outside India, through Buddhism, it became oriented towards tantric mode, whereas, when it spread to the south, it was converted into bakti mode, as could be noted from the liturgy and the literature.

Hayagriva in the Southeast Asian cultures: It is quite natural that the Hayagriva worship and later tantric practices spread to, flourished and settled with the Hindu, Buddhists and the local population. The god with the equine head played a significant role in the belief system of pre-Ankorean Cambodia[4]. The most well know statuary of this deity was found at Sambor Prei Kuk by the ex-colonial French governor Adhemard Leclere around 1860. The statue was transported to Paris, France and is now housed at the Gumiet Museum shown far right bottom row[5]. There is no mention of this deity in Cambodia or in any of the literature and is not even mentioned in Lawrence Palmer Brigg’s definitive work”The Khmer Empire”. However, there have been other statuary of Hayagriva found in Cambodia testifying to the prominence this deity once had for the devotees of Vishnu Narayana.

Hellen Jessup and Therry Zephur in their book “Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia” show a 135cm high deity with a horses head, top row far left, which is now housed at the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The stance of this piece shows a very pronounced posture of kindness and one of overseeing his world. Elsewhere an exceptional piece of Hayagriva is housed at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada in their new Asia Galleries. A 106cm statute of Vajimukha was found at Prasat Neang Khmau, in Cambodia, and it is from the first quarter of the 10th century. Thus, the dating of Hayagriva here during the pre-Angkorian period is significant.

Indo-Aryans, horses and related theories and hypotheses: During the 19^th-20^th centuries, the scholars, archaeologists and historians have been believers of race theories and therefore, they were interpreting historical processes in their discourses accordingly. The pure Aryan race developed somewhere in northern Europe and from where, it spread down to other countries. Even, B.C.Tilak believed such hypotheses and recorded in his book “Arctic Home of Aryans.” The evidences of domesticated horses were found in the horse sculptures in the Volga and Dnieper regions around 4,500 BCE. The Dereivka settlement yielded the earliest remains of domestic horses dated to c.4350-3675 BCE. Therefore, when they reached Indus Valley to form an advanced civilization, it is not known as to why they had forgotten their knowledge of horses, chivalry, chariots etc. The pro-Dravidian enthusiastic researchers also do not bother and they have been silent about the Dravidian bards started composing “Sangam literature” immediately, around c.500-300 BCE period., when they were driven down to South India. In their literature, they mentioned horses, chariots etc. Therefore, the movement of racial groups as proposed by the non-Indian experts has not been consistent. Having accepted that there was no race, no racial Aryans and Dravidians, still they are not able to arrange the events historically and chronologically. Now, the Dravidian protagonists have been confusing with the incomplete Keeladi evidences. Thus, the horse question and other issues question many inconsistent, contradicting and incompatible hypotheses and theories.

Conclusion: A comprehensive, comparative and matching study of Horse-God, Horse-headed God, foaled God, association with “fallen angels,” “sons of god,” Centaurus myth etc., prove the origin of myth in India, rather than at the northern parts of Europe or Arctic region.

1. As European scholarship itself accepted at one point about the Ganges oigin of Indian literature, then, the Itihasa’ description of spreading of degraded Khastriyas to other areas of the world, after the “Great War,” or Mahabharat could be considered. In fact, J. B. Bury[6], Edward Pocokoke[7], Colonel Todd[8] and others have pointed out the Indian origin of the Greek civilization.
2. Of course, William Jones was also engaged in such Comparative study. As now the archaeological evidences of the Ganges Valley go back to c. 5,500 BCE, it is safely taken for the comparative study.
3. Nowadays, there have been many experts posing as “inter-religious dialoguers,” professors of “Comparative Religion”, and “Comparative theology” etc., who have been producing tonnes of research papers and books, but with bias, prejudice and preconceived notions. They set the goal or result and proceed to get their goal or result.
4. Had they taken these “horse” studies, then, they could change their viewpoint.
5. Therefore, they still treat the literature of others as heathenish. Therefore, such an attitude should change to do research in the Horse-God narratives also.
6. All the legends can be demythologized to find out the mythistory hidden behind, from which, historical details could be culled out.
7. Then, it is clearly pointed out that the Hayagriva – horse god myth was developed on the banks of the Ganges and then spread to other cultures from there through Jainism and Buddhism and later incorporated in the other branches of faiths of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Mohammedanism.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

06-08-2020

[1]  Instead of “cult,” the expression faith is preferred, as it is not fad, craze or unusual trend for any religious group that believed in godhead or not..

[2] van der Geer, Alexandra, Michael Dermitzakis, and John de Vos, Fossil Folklore from India: The Siwalik Hills, 2008.

[3] Shahar, Meir. The Tantric Origins of the Horse King: Hayagrīva and the Chinese Horse Cult., in Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. Brill, 2017. Pp. 147-190.

[4] http://www.earthportals.com/Portal_Messenger//vadavamukhagallery.html

[5] 10th century statue in Pre Rup style Vajimukha from Prasat N7, Sandstone, MG. 18099 at the Musée national des arts asiatiques‐Guimet, Paris

[6] J. B. Bury, History of the Greece,  Macmillan & Co., U.K, p.821.

[7] Edward Pocoke, Indian in Greece, Orient Publishers, New Delhi, 1976.

[8] Colonel Tod, The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, Motilal Banaraidas, New Delhi.

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (2)

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (2)

The mythologization and demythologization of Madhu-Kaitabhas: Madhu (Sanskrit: मधु) and Kaitabha (Sanskrit: कैटभ) are two rakshasas (demons) in Sanatan Scripture and are associated with Hindu religious cosmology. They both originated from the earwax in God Vishnu’s ears while he was in the meditative deep sleep state of Yoganidra. From his navel, a lotus sprouted on which Brahma, the creator, was found sitting and contemplating the creation of the world, plants and cosmos. Mahabharata explains their origin. Bhagavata Purana states that during the creation, the demons Madhu and Kaitabha stole the Vedas from Brahma and deposited them deep inside the waters of the primaeval ocean. Vishnu, in his manifestation as Hayagriva, Hore-headed God killed them, and retrieved the Vedas. The bodies of Madhu and Kaitabha disintegrated into 2 times 6 — which is twelve pieces (two heads, two torsos, four arms and four legs) and these are considered to represent the twelve seismic plates of the Earth. Thus, the geographical and geological concepts were mythologized by the Puranic composers for a particular time and place and they have to be demythologized now in 2020.

• The sculptural representations of the two rakshasas have been different starting from the post-Mauryan, Gupta periods onwards. They are all kept in the Mathura Museum.
• In the Mahabalipuram cave temple sculptures, the Madhu-Kaitabha pair has been depicted as normal warriors.
• In the Kashmir sculpture dated to c.800 CE, Madhu and Kaitabh appear human, may be in the dwarf form. (Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir region, circa 800 CE Sculpture).
• In paintings, they are depicted as animals, evidently, because of the tantric influences.

The myth of Madhu-Kaitabh has been similar to that of “fallen angels,” “sons of God” etc.

Hayagira, Jwarasura, Sakti worship etc: Recently, Elisa Freschi has summarized the research work done so far[1]. According to Suvira Jaiswal (Jaiswal 1981), Hayagrīva had a local origin in Assam as a demon connected with fever and was only later incorporated in Mantrayāṇa Buddhism and then in pan-Indian Hinduism in general and Vaiṣṇavism in particular. The killing of by Jwarasura Hayagriva is related to Sakta worship and the details are found in the Devi Mahathmyam. The Kalika Purana narrates that Visnu-Hayagriva killed the fever-demon (Jvarasura) and took up his abode on the Manikuta hill; between the hills of Manikuta and Gandhamadana flowed the river Lauhitya . In Assam, the Vaisnava shrine of Hajo dedicated to Lord Visnu is popularly known as Hayagriva Madhava is on an isolated hill, popularly known as Manikut Parvat, this temple was rebuilt in CE 1583 by Koch king Raghudeva (CE 1581- 1603), over the foundation of the ancient temple ruins of 10^th-11^th century CE, as reflected in the plinth through mouldings of friezes of elephants (Gajatharas) and geometrical designs of low relief in the basement. The Hayagriva Upanishad tells us that Hayagriva is worshipped as a wrathful form of Avalokiteshwara, who has around 108 forms and is capable of curing skin diseases. Horse dealers of Tibetan origin believe that Hayagriva is capable of driving away horse thieves by neighing loudly. It is said that the loud neighs of Hayagriva drive away Maya and bring truth to the forefront. Hayagriva has some degree of popularity in Japan, and is known by the name Bato Kannon there.

The struggle among the Vedic and non-Vaidic groups over the Vedic scriptures: As Bhagavata Puranam, Devi Bhagawatam,  Devi Mahathyam and Kalikapuranam have rival claims of conquering Rakshasas, demons etc. Incidentally, the Madhu and Kaitabha were the gate-keepers of the residence of Vishnu and therefore, when their owner was sleeping, it is quite natural that they planned to kill him or steal away valuables from him. Thus, they were stealing Vedas and hiding. During the Jaina and Buddhist periods, there had been a long battle between the Vedic and non-Vedic (Jaina, Buddhist etc) to acquire the manuscripts of Vedas. As the Vedic seers had been very particular that they should not fall into their hands, as they try to manipulate, misinterpret and corrupt, they were hiding their scriptures. It is well-known that the Jaina and Buddhist groups had arisen criticizing certain Vedic concepts, but accepting most of the philosophical concepts. It is well-known that none could criticize any scripture without reading carefully, understanding properly and mastering the fundamentals. Though, they opposed God, idol worship etc., they themselves split into various groups to accommodate the same. However, they could not win over the Vedic concepts completely and thus, they were making attempts to steal the scriptures applying different methods, by joining Gurukulas as disciples, women and others. They were indulged in “Mantra-tantra-yantra” mode of worship involving women leading to vamachara and other extreme practices. Thus, the mantras were changed to accommodate new Goddesses for the purpose leading to the production of more tantric works. The Purana stories have been plenty in this regard. Of course, Jataka tales, Katha Sarit Sagar and other literature too vouchsafe the fact. During such period only, the interpolations like “Women and Shudras should not learn Vedas” etc., occurred. As the Brahmins had been a demand in China, Japan and SEA regions for various ceremonies, the Buddhists also floated a counter that, “Brahmins should not cross the sea / Oceanic waters.” These have been discussed in the “Kali vrajya” texts of the medieval period[2].

The Horse-God of the Mycenaeans, Minoans, Greeks and other people: Poseidon has been a horse, the god of horses, the god of waters, sea and so on in the Greek mythology. He used to take the form of / appear as a horse. The worship of Poseidon-Hippos was popular among the Mycenaeans, Minoans, Greeks and other people. Horses were sacrificed to Poseidon for occasions. Horses were used to control cattle.  Researchers like S. Bokonyi, Nobuo Komita pointed out that the horse was introduced into Greece by the invading Indo-Europeans during the Middle Hellenic period. The Mycenaeans considered horse as a sacred and precious animal. However, it is not known as to the Mycenaeans, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, the people of SEA are still celebrating any festival connected with a horse or remembering the birth of horse god etc., every year, as Indians do. Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; Latin: Pegasus, Pegasos) is a mythical winged divine horse, and one of the most recognized creatures in Greek mythology. Usually depicted as pure white, Pegasus is the offspring of the Olympian god Poseidon. He was foaled / converted into a horse by the Gorgon Medusa (a goddess resembling Indian) upon her death, when the hero Perseus decapitated / beheaded her. Pegasus is the brother of Chrysaor[3] and the uncle of Geryon[4].

Pegasus was caught by the Greek hero Bellerophon, near the fountain Peirene, with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allowed Bellerophon to ride him in order to defeat the monstrous Chimera, which led to many other exploits. Bellerophon later fell from the winged horse’s back while trying to reach Mount Olympus. Afterwards, Zeus transformed Pegasus into the eponymous constellation. The Centaurus myth has also been equally popular among the Greeks. The stories of Pegasus, Gorgon Medusa, Perseus, Chrysaor, Geryon resemble the Vedic description of Dadhyanc Atharvana, in which Vishnu is beheaded, parts of the body fell in four directions, horse head fixed, Hayagriva created etc.

The Norse and the Greek mythology of horse: In both ancient Greek and Norse[5] mythology, too, there are supernatural horses. The winged stallion Pegasus is the offspring of the god Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa, from whose neck he was born when she was beheaded by Perseus, as already pointed out. After taming Pegasus, the Corinthian hero Bellerophon attempts to ride the horse to the gods’ home on Mount Olympus. But Zeus compels the horse to buck, sending Bellerophon back to Earth as punishment for his pride. Pegasus continues his journey heavenward to live in Zeus’ stables and carry his thunderbolts. Zeus also set Pegasus in the sky as a constellation marking the arrival of spring. Odin, the powerful Norse god of war, poetry, knowledge, and wisdom, also has a divine horse in his service. Renowned for his speed, the eight-legged horse Sleipnir carries Odin on his journeys through the Nine Worlds that are the homelands of the elements found in the Norse worldview—humanity, tribes of gods and goddesses, giants, fire, ice, dwarves, elves, and death. If we take the dating of the literature, the Norse literature is dated to 9^th to 13^th centuries, whereas, the Greek to c.500-300 BCE period. Thus, the spread could be in the reverse direction.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

06-08-2020

[1] Freschi, Elisa, The reuse of the iconography of Hayagrīva in texts and images., 2015.

[2] Batuknath Bhattacharya, The Kalivarjyas or Prohibitions in the Kali Age, University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1943.

[3] In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (Greek: Χρυσάωρ, Chrysáor, gen.: Χρυσάορος, Chrysáoros; English translation: “He who has a golden sword” (from χρυσός, “golden” and ἄορ, “sword”)), the brother of the winged horse Pegasus, was often depicted as a young man, the son of Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa. Chrysaor and Pegasus were not born until Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head.

[4] In Greek mythology, Geryon (/ˈdʒɪəriən/ or /ˈɡɛriən/; also Geryone; Greek: Γηρυών, genitive: Γηρυόνος), son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe, the grandson of Medusa and the nephew of Pegasus, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern Iberia. Geryon was often described as a monster with either three bodies and three heads, or three heads and one body, or three bodies and one head. He is commonly accepted as being mostly humanoid, with some distinguishing features (such as wings, or multiple bodies etc.) and in mythology, famed for his cattle.

[5] Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse language from about the 9th to the 13th centuries.

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (1)

Horse, killing and eating of Horse, Deification of Horse: The mythologization and demythologization of Horse-God theology in the world civilizations! (1)

Horse meat a taboo in the US and European countries: In recent years, there have been a lot of speeches and writings about beef eating, the right to eat and so on in India. However, the taboo of horse-meat has never been whispered here in India or discussed. Horse meat was also eaten as part of Germanic pagan religious ceremonies in Northern Europe, particularly ceremonies associated with the worship of Odin. It is not a generally available food in some English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, the United States, and English Canada. It is also taboo in Brazil, Israel, and among the Romani people and Jewish people the world over. Horse meat is not generally eaten in Spain, except in the north, but the country exports horses both as live animals and as slaughtered meat for the French and Italian markets. Horse meat is consumed in some North American and Latin American countries, but is illegal in some others.

Why the Americans abhors horse meat or Chevaline? No Aswamedha in USA!: Very often, Indians are / have been blamed for having medieval barbaric, heathenish and even satanic practices. How the “beef politics” has been going on is well known. However, historians, researchers and other experts do not tell Indian why the Americans do not eat horse meat or Chevaline! Killing and eating Chevaline (Aswamedha, अश्वमेध ) in the USA has been a taboo. Mohammedans have a taboo about pork and crow stew. The American media has plenty of information for hating horse meat giving the reasons for[1]:

1. Horses became taboo meat in the ancient Middle East, possibly because they were associated with companionship, royalty, and war[2].
2. The Book of Leviticus rules out eating horse, and in 732 CE, the Pope Gregory III instructed his subjects to stop eating horse because it was an “impure and detestable” pagan meat.
3. By the 16^th century, hippophagy—the practice of eating horse meat—had become a capital offence in France.
4. America banned it, as the Pilgrims had brought the European prohibition on eating horse flesh, inherited from the pre-Christian tradition.
5. Besides, horse meat was considered un-American. Nineteenth-century newspapers abound with ghoulish accounts of the rise of hippophagy in the Old World. In these narratives, horse meat is the food of poverty, war, social breakdown, and revolution—everything new migrants had left behind.
6. In early September 2006, the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act passed the U.S. House, with Republican John Sweeney calling the horse meat business “one of the most inhumane, brutal and shady practices going on in the United States today.”
7. The 2014 Obama budget once more ruled out a revival. Meanwhile, the horses continued to be shipped to Mexico and Canada.

The horse-meat politics of the USA has been worse than the beef politics of India, but none points out[3] . And still none has gusts to lift the ban equivocally[4]. There also, very often questions are raised[5].

Till the 19^th century, horse sacrifice was there in Europe: Dr David Anthony gives the reasons why American and Europeans have been uncomfortable in eating horse-meat[6]. The aversion felt by most modern Americans and Europeans originated as a religious taboo in the early Middle Ages. The sacrifice of a horse and the consumption of its sanctified flesh were central parts of very widespread pagan rites in ancient Europe. The early Christian church forbade the consumption of horseflesh because it was so regularly associated with pre-Christian ceremonies. Pope Gregory III (731-741CE) banned the eating of horses as “an unclean and execrable act.” Although the papal ban seems to have greatly reduced the consumption of horseflesh in most of Europe, the ritual sacrifice of horses continued for a surprisingly long time. Horses were slaughtered at the funerals of King John of England in 1216 and the Holy Roman Emperor Karl IV in 1378[7]. As recently as 1781, during the funeral of cavalry General Friedrich Kasimir at Trier, his horse was killed and deposited in his grave. Even more surprising, churches were sanctified with horse sacrifices, perhaps conducted secretly by the workmen who built the church buildings. Modern construction workers found horse bones embedded in the floor of St. Botolph’s at Boston, Lincolnshire, and in the belfry of a church at Elsdon, Northumberland. Eight horse skulls were discovered in 1883 in the stonework of the pulpit at Bristol Street meeting house in Edinburgh, Scotland; others were discovered embedded in the foundation of the choir stalls at Llandraff Cathedral, Wales. As late as the 18th century, Dutch peasants would place a horse skull on the roof to keep bad luck away from the home. Therefore, it is evident that horses were sacrificed before and after the completion f the construction of the Churches, as a practice followed.

The system of belief, non-belief etc: In every believing system, whether theistic or atheistic, agnostic or Gnostic or otherwise, certain beliefs, ideas and viewpoints have been kept in tight, whether they are questioned by others or not. Invariably, the atheistic, agnostic, and such other non-believing ideologies only make a huge noise, as if their belief is superior to others. It is well-known that any person, whether he knows the subject or not, he can go on asking questions, because, he is not bothered about getting any rational, scientific or acceptable answer to his questions, but, interested in asking more questions. Thus, the Indian belief-system has been under attack by many other belief-systems, ideologists and dogmatic experts. And modern, ideologized and politicized Indians have been more fashioned to ask questions. A stage reaches, where, the questioner himself loses his logic of “point of no return,” but, starts again from the beginning.

Horse-headed Deity in Hindu religion: Indians have been celebrating today – 03-08-2020 as Hayagriva Jayanti to commemorate the birth of Horse-God Vishnu! But, the horse was considered as divine by many civilizations. Irish, German, Etruscan, Mycenaean, Minoan, Etruscan, Greek, Chinese, Japan considered horse divine. However, it is not known why they are not celebrating such festivals, every year in their respective cultures and countries. The Horse-headed incarnation of God is traced back to the Vedas by the scholars[8]. The narratives continued through Agama and tantric texts, because of the Jaina and Buddhist intrusion, interpretation and adoption in their worship, rites and rituals. The iconic, sculptural and painting representations also varied accordingly. In the Vedic myth of Dadhyanc Atharvana (Dadhyanc son of Atharvan, horse-headed Vedic Seer) the horse-head is connected with the idea of secret knowledge[9].

The Pravargya Brahmana of Shathapatha narrates a story in which Vishnu himself cuts off of his head and it is replaced with a horse-head. His head becoming Sun, and other parts going to other cardinal points etc., prove cosmic and geological aspects happened figuratively. It also gives these details[10], “The devas were sacrificing and toiling with the headless yagnya. Dadhyanc atharvaNa knew the secret of putting back the head of the sacrifice and hence completing it. Indra warned Dadynac that if he revealed this secret to anybody, he would cut his head off. Ashvins wanted to learn the secret and hence they approached Dadhyanc. He told them about Indra’s warning and hesitated. They told him that they would cut his head off, replace it with a horse’s head and then he can teach them. Once, Indra cuts the head (i.e. the horse’s head), they would fix back the original head. Agreeing to this, Dadhyanc revealed the secret to the Ashvins after they replaced his head with the horse’s head. Indra did as he warned and the ashvins put back his original head.”

Initially, in the Vedic period and literature, there was no sacrifice, but, later, such intrusions were found. It has been interpreted that Brahmans opposed sacrifices. Actually, these narratives could be interpolated and misinterpreted by the Jains and Buddhists to suit their “Matra-tantra-yantra” practices. This points to the important role to be played by Hayagrlva in Tantrism, as was described more by the Dutch scholar H. van Gulik[11]. That the Hayagriva concept could penetrate into the Tibetan, Chinese and Japanese culture through Buddhism proves the impact of Indian philosophy and way of life. The transmission might have taken place through the Buddhist missionaries and the traders through the well-accepted trade routes.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

06-08-2020

[1] The Atlantic,The Troubled History of Horse Meat in America , Susanna Forrest, JUNE 8, 2017.

[2] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/horse-meat/529665/

[3]  USA Today, Ban on slaughtering horses for meat gets last-minute renewal in spending law Trump signed, Erin Kelly, Published: March 16, 2018, 4.12 pm.

[4] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/26/ban-slaughtering-horses-meat-gets-last-minute-renewal-spending-law-trump-signed/459076002/

[5] The Washington Post, Could Congress put horsemeat back on the menu in America?, By Maura Judkis, July 14, 2017 at 11:38 p.m. GMT+5:30

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/07/14/could-congress-put-horsemeat-back-on-the-menu-in-america/

[6] Dr David Anthony, Let them eat horses, http://silkroadfoundation.org/artl/horsemyth.shtml

[7] Duch, Anna Maria. The Royal Funerary and Burial Ceremonies of Medieval English Kings, 1216-1509. Diss. University of York, 2016.

[8]  D. Sridhara Babu, Hayaagriva – The Horse-Headed Deity in Indian culture, Sri Venkateswara University, Oriental Research Institute, Tirupati, 1990.

[9] The horse is head, the source of transcendent knowledge, symbolic of time.Dadhyañc Ātharvaṇa is mentioned in RV in the context of Pravargya (lost head of the then incomplete yajna. The legend is narrated in Jaiminiya Brahmana 3.64 9in fusion with Cyavana legnd in JBr. 3.120-128) and ŚatBr. 14.1.1.1 ff. The JBr.

[10] K. Amshuman, A yajur-vedic legend from shathapatha brAhmaNa, http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ramanuja/archives/oct03/msg00009.html

[11] Robert Hans van Gulik, Hayagrīva: The Mantrayānic Aspect of Horse-cult in China and Japan, Briill, Leiden, Netherlands, 1935.