Why India was invaded many times since ancient times, but India did not invade? (1)

Why India was invaded many times since ancient times, but India did not invade? (1)

Indians taught that “India” was invaded always by others: Indian students of schools, colleges and universities are / have been taught that “India” was invaded by the Persians, Greeks, Huns, Arabs, Mohammedans, Europeans and so on[1]. This develops some sort of inferiority complex, in spite of the glorious past of India[2]. A careful reader, however, finds that something is wrong with such imposition, propagation and teaching of such ideas in the curriculum. Indians can also understand the dilemma of the extremities existing in such narratives made. Moreover, what “India,” that was invaded, was not clearly identified, geographically defined and historically described[3]. However, “India” was found so easily, as if it was situated very near to them, before the Indus River. Does it mean that “India” was extended up to the Persian Empire on the west and beyond north-west?  Or “India” was near to the Greece or Ionian peninsular? In any case, they were knowing “India” that existed in those days attracting them for some reason. Then, why they wanted to invade, rather than visit.  The word “invade” connotes attack, assault, raid, loot, forcefully occupy and so on, whereas, “visit” is like a caller, guest, tourist or sightseer.

What  was / is / has been “India”: About “India,” Indians have to propose, propund and establish possible theories and then, select the best possible one. From the earliest times, “India” was conceived, perceived and imagined by the Chinese, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, and others in their own way. It is evident that earlier, Indians were throughout the world, because, incidentally, all were perhaps, “Indians”. As the Indians and the Chinese had / has been the only two living civilizations, definitely, they had acted, interacted, and dialogues with each other.  The Persians called “Hind,” the Greeks “India-intra-gangem” and “India-extra-gangem” and the Arabs “Hind.” Thus, “Hindustan” had been the popular expression for more than 2500 years.  Of course, the Indian literature, the land was mentioned as “Bharat,” and even Manimekhalai of the post-Sangam literature mentioned it as “Bharatam.” Thus, in the Constitution, it has been mentioned, “India that is Bharat.” The Indian literature, definitely describe the world, continents, countries with details. Incidentally, most of the documents have been missing or reportedly not available. However, the astronomical works starting with Vedanga Jyotisha to Surya Siddhanta and other works, the prevalent of cartography, geography, geology etc., were there, as clear cut ideas – Heliocentric theory, the land mass surrounded with oceanic and sea water s etc – of such concepts are available.

“India” is always studied by others,, but, “others” are not studied by Indians: If any foreigner, non-Indian or outsider is subjected to any inconvenience, crime etc., immediately, it gets wide publicity and is reported in the media. However, when any Indian suffers similarly in a foreign country, rarely or nothing is reported in the Indian media. Millions of workers of all sorts have been working in the UAE, USA, European and other countries. Their position is also reported rarely or the issue becomes serious. Of course, they themselves do not express, as they get money, i.e, salary in one way or the other[4]. “India” has been studied by many European, American, Australian and other scholars, experts and researchers[5]. However, Indians have not studied European, American, Australian and other societies, their social processes, institutions, interactions, and other issues. How man-woman relationships, marriage, family, child-growing, child-care, treatment of elders in the family, age-old customs, tradition, heritage and other aspects are not deliberated. How the domestic, industrial, hospital and other institutional waste, garbage and filth are disposed of, who have been engaged, what is their position in the society, whether they can become president, prime minister or marry others and such other subjects are not examined and reported. Thus,  the Indian narratives and discourses dominate and Indians continue to study and work on them, instead of looking at overall progress, development and well-being of 130 crores of people under peaceful conditions.

From ancient times to the medieval period, the Persians, Greek philosophers and Arabs visited India to learn: If Indians had to go by the records of Greeks and Persians, their travellers made visits to India.

• Scylax of Caryanda (in modern Turkey), was commissioned by Darius to explore India and sailed the Indus in 515 BCE.
• Pythagoras of Samos (b. 560 BCE), who is reported to have travelled to India, Persia and Egypt. Esme Wynne-Tyson points out that Pythagoras’ philosophy was essentially that of the highest teaching of Hinduism and that his name may have been conferred on him by the Brahmins, referring to “Pitta Guru” or Father-Teacher.
• Democritus (460 BCE -370 BCE), often referred to as the father of modern science, is reported by Cicero in de Finibus, and Strabo’s in Book XVI as having visited India, in addition to other places in his quest for knowledge[6].
• Reportedly Calanus, a leading figure among the Indian ascetics, called by the Greeks  Gymnosophists  (‘naked sophists’), spent two years in Alexander’s company[7].
• The Neo-Pythagorean Apollonios of Tyana writes of his visit to Taxila around 46 CE, where he met the King Phraotes and the inhabitants of a Hellenized settlement[8].
• During the Abbasid period, not only the Arabs came to India and collected Indian works on different subjects, but also invited Sanskrit scholars to Bagdad to translate the works into Arabic.

Thus, even for knowledge, many Persians, Greeks and Arabs came to “India,” studied in Indian Universities and taken away books / manuscripts on different subjects.  As the Europeans knew such knowledge of numbers, mathematics, chemistry, medicine etc., they were mentioned as Arabs or transmitted by them. Thus, al-chemy, al-gorithm, al-gebra and other words and expressions were created and formed. The Arabs called “Sind-hind,” “Hind-sha,” “Siddha-nt,” “Zij” and so on. Thus, from the 6^th cent.BCE onwards, there was sojourn of the Persians and Greeks to “India,” but, only knowledge transfer had taken place and no invasion or war between the people groups.

Did Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Egypitian forces invaded India?: Incidentally, “India” was known to Babylonian, Assyrian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian civilizations, as “Indians” were copying and borrowing mathematics, astronomy and other things from them[9]. However, the Hittite people were invoking “Vedic gods” – Indrasil, Mitrasil, Varunasil and Nasathya and it was duly recorded in the Bogoz khai inscription[10] dated to c.1400-1350 BCE.

After all, the Parasika, Gandhara and other kingdoms were part of “India,” as repeatedly mentioned in the Indian and Persian literature like Vedas and Zend Avesta.

Cotton was indigenous to India and from her soil its knowledge and cultivation spread to the rest of the world. The name of this plant has been borrowed by all the nations of antiquity from India. Thus Sanskrit ‘Karpasa’ (Kapas in Hindi) became ‘Kapas’ in Hebrew and ‘Carpasos’ or ‘Carbasos’ in Greek and Latin and then, cotton.

In Egypt mummies have been found wrapped in coloured cloth, and chemical tests of red fabric found in the tomb of king Tutankhamen in Egypt showed the presence of alizarin a red pigment extracted from madder (Rubia cordifolia).

G. Wilkinson[11], Margret Murray[12], S.A.I. Tirmizi[13] on Indian sources for African history clearly reveals that ebony, ivory and cotton goods including silk meant for wrapping the well-known Egyptian mummies were supplied to Egypt in the Second millennium BCE by the Abyssinian and Somali traders who used to transport them from India. Thus, they were having trading relationship and not aggressive attitude toward invading. Waddle, Donald A Mackenzie, William Jones and others pointed out the similarities between these civilizations and thus, perhaps, they had not invaded India.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

10-09-2022

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[1]  “Aryan invasion” was also added with the invented racial “Dravidans” also entering into India from the northwest and as well as north-east and so on by different “Aryan-Dravidian” protagonists and racist experts.

[2]  It is some sort of misinformation campaign, willful propaganda, and psychological war carried on by the vested interests of the colonial period to the present day, ideological groups, definitely, working against the Indian ethos.

[3]  The Greek maps attributed to classical cartographers depict the globe and the continents etc., in an incredible, skewed and distorted form, proving that they did not have an idea about “India” of the material period.

[4]  Coolie, daily wages, contract labourer, doing hard and menial work – such categories suffer most, but, they do nt come out with the facts. They suffer, suppress the ill-treatment meted out against them and the other unfavourable conditions. They think and decide that after five or ten years, they could earn a sizeable amount, so that they can live happily in India, after their assignment.

[5]  Thousands of research papers, millions of theses and dissertations, books have been produced, printed and available all about India and most of them have narratives and discourses in the pessimistic attitude with a negative perspective.

[6] Georgios T. Halkias, “When the Greeks Converted the Buddha: Asymmetrical Transfers of Knowledge in Indo-Greek Cultures“, Religions and Trade Religious Formation, Transformation and Cross-Cultural Exchange between East and West, ed. Peter Wick and Volker Rabens, London, 2014, pp.65-115.

[7] Megasthenes’s account of the Calanus story is founded on Onesicritus, see Karttunen, India in Early Greek Literature, 99. Strabo, Geography, trans. Horace Leonard Jones (Loeb Classical Library, 1969), 63–65, reports that after falling ill, Calanus decided to end his life by setting himself on fijire at Susa amid great honours by Alexander and his generals.

[8] Osmond De Beauvoir Priaulx, The Indian Travels of Apollonius of Tyana, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 17, (1860): 70–105.

[9]  This is how, scholars still record in the writings, research papes and books, without going into the logic, reason and sequential development processes based on modern scientific methodology.

[10] In 1907, a German archaeologist, Hugo Winckler, discovered an inscription of Boghozkoi which gives the peace treaty signed by two warring tribes in 1400 B.C. in Asia Minor. These tribes – the Hittites and the Mitanis-invoke the Vedic gods, Mitra, Indra, Varuna, and the twin gods, Ashvinis, the latter to bless the marriage alliance between the royal families.

[11] G. Wilkinson respecting some mummy-cloths examined by the late Mr. Thomson, of Clithero: “My first impression on seeing these cloths was, that the first kinds were muslins, and of Indian manufacture; but this suspicion of their being cotton was soon removed by the microscope. Some were thin and transparent, and of delicate texture, and the finest had 140 threads to the inch in the warp………. Purpurissimum Indicum was brought from India. ……..”

Quoted by L. W. Yaggy and T. L. Haines, Museum of Antiquity – A description of ancient life: The Employment, amusements, customs and habits, the cites, palaces, monuments and tombs, the literature and fine arts of 3000 years ago , Standard Publishing House, New York, 1882, p.380.

[12] Margaret Murray, The Tomb of Two Brothers (Museum Handbook), Manchestor, London, 1910, p.66-67. She quoted the microscopic analysis of Thomson and his comparison with Indian muslin.

[13] Tirmizi, S.A.I, Some Aspects of Medieval Gujarat, Munshiram Manhorlal. Delhi, 1968.

Mulabaagilu or Mulbhagal Mutt of Srirangam – The Abode of Vishnu on the Earth

Mulabaagilu or Mulbhagal Mutt of Srirangam – The Abode of Vishnu on the Earth

Location of the Mulbaghali Mutt – Google Map is shown in two directions. The Main Mutt roof is in blue colour and the adjacent modern building roof has been in reddish colour.

The front portion of the Mulabhagali Mutt

The board showing the details of the Brindavans inside the Mutt.

Mulabaagilu or Mulbhagal Mutt of Srirangam: Mulabaagilu is a town and taluk headquarters of Mulabaagilu taluk in the Kolar district in the state of Karnataka, India. Mulabagilu is located at 13.17°N 78.4°E. It has an average elevation of 827 metres (2,713 feet). It lies just off the National Highway 75 as the easternmost town of the state and a hill landmark. “Mulabagilu” (ಮುಳಬಾಗಿಲು) comes from the word mualabagilu, which means the “eastern door” in the native Kannada language. Mulabagilu was supposedly the easternmost frontier of (and thereby the entrance to) the state of Mysuru.  Mysore has close contacts with the Tamilagam Kings like Tanjore, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram and others. The movement of sages, poets, musicians, artists and others had been very common[1]. It is believed according to the Madhwa sampradhya that the Hanuman temple here was installed by Arjuna, one of the Pandavas, after the Mahabharata war (3102 BCE)[2]. Sage Vasishta is believed to have installed the idols of the main deity Srinivasa, Padmavati and Rama-Sita-Lakshmana. The history of Mulabagilu was compiled by Benjamin Lewis Rice, in his book “The Gazetteer of Mysore” (1887). In modern history, Mulabagilu is mentioned as the site of the Battle of Mulabagilu on 4^th October 1768, during the First Anglo-Mysore War. Incidentally, there has been connection of the Madhwa Samparadhaya Saints with Srirangam.

The Old Mutt structure was demolished and the pictures show the demolition activities with the JCB machine. The old compound wall can be seen at the backside.

The pillars, lintels and other parts of the Old Mutt.

The JCB machine worked day and night to complete the work.

Sripadaraya (c.1422-1480): Sripadaraya or Lakshminarayana Tirtha was a Dvaita philosopher, scholar, composer and the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Mulbagal. He worked here and then moved to Mulabhagile, Karnataka. He is widely considered as the founder of the Haridasa movement along with Narahari Tirtha. His songs and hymns, written under the nom-de-plume of “Ranga Vitthala”, contain the distillation of Dvaita principles infused with mysticism and humanism. He has also been credited with the invention of the Suladi musical structure and composed 133 of them along with several kirtans. He was the advisor of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and mentored the young Vyasatirtha.  He has also authored a commentary on Jayatirtha’s Nyaya Sudha called Nyayasudhopanyasa-Vagvajra.

The rooms, where we used to stay have gone and disappeared……

All have been the evidences of the past, now bygone!

The medieval wall and the Temple Gopura can be seen at the backside of the Mutt site under demolition.

Mulbhaglu Mutt important for the Madhwa community: The Mutt at Srirangam is called as Mulabhagal Mutt, Mulbhagal Mutt, Mulabhgalu Mutt, Mulubhagal Mutt etc., 41. South Chittirai Street, has been the centre for the Madhwas, the followers of Madhwacharyas for religious activities. It is situated very near to the Sri Ranganatha Temple. Particularly, the “Antyesti” Samskara, the last rites, rituals and ceremonies for the departed souls are carried on systematically by well-versed Pundits, prohits and priests and trained in such liturgical practices. I have been visiting this Mutt for the last more than 50 years, as our relatives used to conduct rites here and I find that it has been one of the oldest and historical places of Srirangam. However, my recent visit in 2021 made me uncomfortable and distressed to note that the traditional building has been demolished and a new vertical building has come up, just like any modern building appears nowadays. It has three parts – one multi-purpose hall on the LHS, the Mutt at the Centre and another hall at RHS for religious and ceremonial activities. The cental building has a underground parking place, now used as a dining hall, oly for the Mut religious purposes.

The medieval wall and the Temple Gopura can be seen at the backside of the Mutt site under demolition.

The rooms

The Vigrahas…

The Acharya Parampara: The old structures – traditional stone pillars, lintels and other parts have been missing, granite and tiled covered floors and walls have been replaced with. Actually, they must have been retained, i.e, the original structure dated to some 400 years back, must have been retained and the modern structure could have been built over it as a protective cover or for utilizing the space without affecting according Agama or other Sastras binding. The three Brindavans stand in the RHS hall of Sri Padaraja, Sri Vysaraja and Swarnavarna Parashuramatheertha. The Guruparampara goes like this – Swarnavarna Theertha[3] -> Sripadaraya Theertha -> Vysaraya Theertha[4] -> Vijayendra Theertha[5]. Interestingly, Brindavans of these Gurus, Saints or Philosophers are also found inside the Sri Ranganatha Temple. It is also known that some Brindavans are found inside the Srirangam Temple. Generally, they are unnoticed by the ordinary devotees, but, they have clear evidences of carved sculptures peculiar to the Madhwa Sampradhya with Anjaneya Sculptures and Sri Rama-Sita-Lakshmana nearby.

The LHS building was completed…

The Brindavan…

The Contribution of Vyasaraja (c.1460–1539): Vyasaraja has installed hundreds of Anjaneya Idols all over the medieval Thamilagam. The Brindavans – either the tombs of the Madhwa Saints or the earth taken from the tombs, characterized and known as “Mruthika” – have been built to commemorate the association of them with the specific places, where, they have carried their work. Thus, the Brindavans found inside the Srirangam Temple could convey their services to the Temple. Sri Vyasaraja was a great saint of that time and follower of the Dwita philosophy of Sri Madvacharya. He was the Rajaguru for both Saluva and Tuluva dynasties of Vijayanagaram. He was instrumental in the renovation of many temples that were destroyed during the onslaught of Malik kafur. He was a great devotee of Sri Hanuman and had built many temples for Sri Anjaneya. He also solved the boundary dispute between the Srirangam Temple and Tiruvanaikkovil by constructing “Ellai Anjaneyar Koils.” It is customary of Vijayanagara to mark the boundary of villages with a temple for Sri Anjaneya. With no exception, Sri Vyasaraja who was also a devotee of Sri Hanuman had built four Hanuman temples at these four places marked as boundaries of Srirangam. Now, only three of them are in existence and the fourth one at Ellaikarai Mandapam had been missing. This is how the historical evidences are missing and history is also forgotten and misinterpreted.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

24-12-2021

The Three Brindavans inside the Mulbhala Mutt, Srirangam..

The Three Brindavans inside the Mulbhala Mutt, Srirangam..without coverings…..

The Narasimha sculpture

The Anjaneya sculpture

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[1] The Temple building and renovation activities brought the people of Maharastra, Karnataka, Andhra and Tamilagam together. Such tradition had been continuing since the Sangam period, as the Sangam literature men such interaction of the people for metallurgy and stonework.

[2] Vibhshina had reportedly installed the Idol at Srirangam and that spot became sacred to be converted into a Great Vaishnavite Kshetra, the Bholuga Vaikuntam on the Earth. As Post Sangam literature mentions (Silappathikaram) about the Srirangam, it is evident that the tradition has been about 2000 years old.

[3] His real name is Parashurama Tirtharu and was regularly involved with Srihari Chintane and Japa tapa.  As such, his body was shining like gold and hence called as Swarnavarna Tirtharu. He helped the kings in solving the problems faced by them. Once he went to see Sri Purushottama Tirtharu, the mathadipathi of Abboor Matha in a pallakki.  On his way, he saw an 8 years old boy who was grazing the cows.  The boy was none other than Sri Lakshminarayana Muni who took the ashrama from Swarnavarna Tirtharu and later got the title Sripadarajaru.

[4] Vyāsatīrtha (c.1460–1539), also called Vyasaraja or Chandrikacharya, was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya’s Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vijayanagara Empire, Vyasatirtha was at the forefront of a golden age in Dvaita which saw new developments in dialectical thought, growth of the Haridasa literature under bards like Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa and an amplified spread of Dvaita across the subcontinent. Three of his polemically themed doxographical works Nyayamruta, Tatparya Chandrika and Tarka Tandava (collectively called Vyasa Traya) documented and critiqued an encyclopaedic range of sub-philosophies in Advaita,[note 1] Visistadvaita, Mahayana Buddhism, Mimamsa and Nyaya, revealing internal contradictions and fallacies. His Nyayamruta caused a significant stir in the Advaita community across the country requiring a rebuttal by Madhusudhana Saraswati through his text, Advaitasiddhi.

[5] Vijayīndra Tīrtha (also known as Vijayendra Tīrtha) (c.1514-1595) was a Dvaita philosopher, dramatist and dialectician. A prolific writer and an unrelenting polemicist, he is said to have authored 104 treatises expounding the principles of Dvaita and defending it against attacks from the contemporary orthodox schools of Vedanta. He held the pontifical seat at Kumbakonam under the rule of Thanjavur Nayaks where he participated in polemical discussions with the Advaita philosopher Appayya Dikshita Inscriptions from that era record grants of villages received by Vijayindra for his triumph over theological debates. Legend ascribes to his mastery over 64 arts and his erudition, writes Sharma, “is evident from a few of his works bearing on Purva Mimamsa, Nyaya and Kavya literature”

Sri Vijayendra Teertha Brindavan at Kumbakonam

The National Seminar on Rural Society, Culture and Economy in Telangana – Historical Perspective – held at the Kakatiya University on March 14th and 15th 2020 [1]

The National Seminar on Rural Society, Culture and Economy in Telangana –  Historical Perspective – held at the Kakatiya University on March 14^th and 15^th 2020 [1]

From Chennai to Kajipet: On March 14^th, I had to leave Chennai for Kakatiya University to attend the National Seminar on Rural Society, Culture and Economy in Telangana –  Historical Perspective to be held on March 14^th and 15^th 2020 at the Kakatiya University, Warangal, Telangana. However, there were calls from my friends and relatives from Hyderabad and other places informing to avoid going considering the prevailing conditions of Carona virus spread. I contacted Prof K. Vijaya Babu and he informed that there was no problem at KU and Warangal. As I had already booked tickets I decided to proceed. Some of my friends, who supposed to come, backed out on one or the other personal reasons. When I reached Central, I could find that the young persons, evidently working with IT industries, were conscious of and worried about, as they have to contact with foreigners, even in day-to-day dealings and interactions at the place work. In the compartments also, they were seen covering their faces with masks of different colours, varied shapes and various sizes. Of course, I too brought consciously, the regular one. Anyway, my conscious informed me that there was no necessity to get panic.

Kazipet Railway station, KU Guest House: I reached Kajipet in time. Slowly, I came out to get an auto. I reached the Guest House of Kakatiya University by auto, it was about 5 am. None was there. I went inside, switched on lights and fan and sat down. By 5.30, I contacted Prof Vijaya Babu and he informed that one student-volunteer would come to take to a room. After some time, one student came and he took to Room no.10. I started to complete my daily routine. But, I found that there was no heater and it was taken away cutting the wires and water connection tubes. So I informed the student-volunteer that as I have nervous problem and he changed my room to 9. Evidently, he knew that heater was not there etc., but yet, he had chosen it first and then changed. I got ready and came out by 9 am.

Prof K. Vijaya Babu, convenor, 11.00 to 11.07 am: The inaugural function was held at the Senate Hall. They were waiting for the Vice-Chancellor, but, he did not come. So they decided to start the function. The seminar coordinator Prof K. Vijaya Babu explained the theme of the seminar on March 14th at the time of inauguration[1].  During the Qutub Shahi (1518-1687), the Mughal (1687-1724) and the Asaf Jahi (1724-1947) rule several administrative reforms were introduced in Telangana. The Revenue Administration was redesigned and Revenue Farming (Contract) System was introduced by the Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi rulers. Their Revenue Reforms resulted in the emergence of dominant Sudhra Communities like Reddies and Velamas[2] as revenue farmers. The dominant landed gentry had established their power centers in the form of ‘Ghadies’ in all the villages throughout Telangana[3]. There was a concentration of revenue, and judicial powers in the hands of these aristocratic families and they established their firm control over the people. The village officials like Patwaries and Patels used to serve the Land Lords in revenue administration, collection of taxes and maintenance of law and order in the villages. The Jagirdars as they were powerful could grab the lands by fraud from the actual cultivators. There was a concentration of land in the hands of certain caste groups like Reddy and Velama communities. These Jagirdars (Doras) also exploited the village people with an evil practice of ‘Vetti’ or forced labour[4]. These ruling families enjoyed the position and privileges as Jagirdars, Deshmukhs[5] and Deshpandias. Traditionally the artisan and service castes were bound to the landlords in terms of certain caste obligations[6]: Carpenters and Blacksmiths (Vadla / Kammari) prepared and repaired agricultural implements, the Shepherds (Gollas) used to supply sheep and goats on the festival and other ceremonial occasions; the Washer men (Chakali) worked as messengers, the Mangalis served as barbers, the Toddy tappers (Goundla) supplied toddy, the Madigas used to provide leather goods. The Malas and Madigas worked as agricultural laborers. The agricultural communities, pastoral, communities, artisans, service castes, dalits, dependent castes a the rural areas, were leading a miserable life, though they were extending their services as per their traditional occupations. These poor people without any landed properties had become either tenants at will or landless labourers. Thus, the agrarian structure of Rural Telangana was marked by extreme inequalities in ownership of land and other means of production. Change taken place[7]: It is observed that in the specific context of Telangana, the evolution of land tenure systems and agrarian relations were shaped by certain historical developments which facilitated the concentration of landed property in the hands of certain castes. Since they owned landed property they could invest their surplus income in developing commercial and industrial establishments and emerged as modern capitalist class. These families have settled in urban areas and also developed modern educational Institutions with the support of the Government to provide advanced technical education to their children. After accumulating a lot of wealth as capitalists, they entered into democratic politics and became political leaders and have been enjoying the higher positions and privileges at the state and central level. The Weaker Sections and Dalits have also joined these modern educational institutions with the support of social welfare schemes introduced by the government. These modern educated youth entered into government services as subordinate staff. Some of them emerged as intellectuals and trying to bring social change in our society during the last several decades in independent India. Fairs and Festivals[8]:  In Telangana, one can clearly witness the composite, pluralistic and inclusive culture and traditions. Be it Bathukamma, Sankranthi, Moharram, or Christmas, the region is known for secular traditions. Bathukamma is a colourful and vibrant floral festival of Telangana, celebrated by women, with flowers. The festival is the pride of Telangana’s cultural identity. Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra. The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil, is celebrated with traditional fervour, devotion across Telangana. Mother goddess worship is very popular in all the villages of Telangana. Bonalu is a Hindu Festival where Goddess Mahakali is worshipped. It is celebrated in Telangana state, especially in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The Tribal people in Adilabad district celebrate Nagobha festival. Sammakka Saralamma Jatara is a world-renowned tribal festival celebrated at Medaram in Mulugu district. In Warangal Inavole, Kommala, Komaravelli Jataras are popular folk fairs. Seminar sub-themes[9]: The seminar brings to light the locally dominant castes and the kind of dominance they exercised over the Socio-Economic life of the people. The Rural society and Caste System in Telangana have to be analyzed from Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Perspectives. The Sub –Themes are : 1. The Geo- Historical aspects of Telangana. 2. Social Structure and Economic Conditions. nomadic groups, who were involved in the production process in 5. Dependent Castes and Folk Arts. 6. Tribes and their Culture. 7. Conditions of Weaker Sections, Dalits and Women. 8. Artisans and Handicrafts. 9. Fairs and Festivals. 10. Heritage Sites- Tourism Potential.   © K. V. Ramakrishna Rao 17-03-2020

[1] From the brochure sent by the organizers. He read from the brochure, as I could follow him carefully.

[2] : Tradition says that the velamas were in race of Khastriya, who ruled over the country to the north of Narmada river. As they vanquished by a mightier people Raja Pratapa Rudra of Kakatiya dynasty attracted by their physique and commanding features welcomed them to his Kingdom and conferred on them the command of 77 forts in his kingdom. They gradually became agriculturists and traders. In Telangana their main occupation is agriculture. Many of them held lands and worked as tenants. A few of the velamas were rich landlords and village officers.

[3] The social conditions of Jagirdari village are revealed round the Gadee in 19th, and first half of the 20th century. Gadee is the residue place of Dora, in which he lives with his family members, Adabapa and Dasis (slave girls) and their children and a large number of vetti workers and bhagelas This place is the centre of political, social and economical activities. What decision was taken in Gadee is implemented in Jagir village. These Gadees persisted in 19th century and first half of the 20th century.

[4] This system prevails in Telangana during 19 th century and first half of the 20th century. By the 18th century in deccan, political stabilisation was established by Asafjahs. They initiated various tenures to bring the land under cultivation. “Like most of the Deccan states, in Telangana too “bara balutadars” played an important role in colonising the region and setting up villages and developing agriculture”

[5] The deshmukhs in the process of becoming landlords with their own patta lands practically usurped the authority of the state and kept the whole country side in their possession to establish their Rajyam. They established their authority over government property. They established their supremacy over wastelands, government lands, trees, tanks, steams in the village. They imposed restriction on peasants and shepherds grazing their cattle and on labourers collecting firewood from such common resource lands.

[6] From the brochure sent by the organizers. He read from the brochure, as I could follow him carefully

[7] From the brochure sent by the organizers. He read from the brochure, as I could follow him carefully

[8] From the brochure sent by the organizers. He read from the brochure, as I could follow him carefully

[9] From the brochure sent by the organizers. He read from the brochure, as I could follow him carefully

[10] Komatis are an integral part of the peasant society. This is the name for Telugu traders, shopkeepers and money lenders mostly found in Telangana. They played crucial role in agricultural finance and benefitted immensely. It is considered to be a wealthy and prosperous caste. They were mainly found in their traditional occupation i.e. trade, commerce and money lending. Very few of them worked as cultivators and agricultural labourers.

[11] During late nineteenth century the deshmukhs in the process of becoming land lords usurped the authority of the state and kept the whole country side in their possession and established Dorala rajyam. In Nalgonda District the most notorious, dora families were Rapaka, Janna Reddy, Nukala, Rama Sahayam, Pingali and Lingala. The number of families increased in last quarter of nineteenth century through the matrimonial relations established with the doras and following the doras practices. New Doras converted these services castes as “Vetti workers”. Untouchables and low caste peoples were converted as “bhagela”s. As the landlords owned large land fields due to reforms of Salarjung and they were forced to cultivate commercial crops like castor and groundnut by the British. These circumstances forced the landlords to introduce vetti and bhagela system.

National Seminar on “The Chola Art and Architecture in South India with special reference to Rājēndra I” held at the University of Madras on October 20th and 21st 2016.

National Seminar on “The Chola Art and Architecture in South India with special reference to Rājēndra I” held at the University of Madras on October 20^th and 21^st 2016.

20-10-2016-registration done for the seminar

The two day seminar “The Chola Art and Architecture in South India with special reference to Rājēndra I” to commemorate the 1000^th coronation year of Rajendra Chola – I was held at the auditorium, Centenary Buildings of the University of Madras. The seminar was sponsored by the ICHA and ASI and conducted under the auspices of the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology. It was inaugurated by Sri Thirumagan, Controller of Examinations on October 20^th 2016 instead of Dr. P. David Jawahar, Registrar, University of Madras could not attend the function. ICHR and ASI sponsored the seminar. Prof. Dr. Raju Kalidass, Former Prof. and Head, Dept. of Sculpture, Tamil University, Thanjavur gave a keynote address. Thirumagan released the volume containing the papers to be presented in the seminar and the first copy was received by Raju Kalidass.

20-10-2016-inauguration – Panneerselvam, Amarnatha Ramakrishnan, Srilaksmi, Tirumagan, Raju Kalidass, Sadasivam, Tirumurthy (L to R)

20-10-2016-inauguration-j-sundararajan-convenor-of the seminar -invites

20-10-2016-inauguration-audience-view-LHS-second-session- AVG can be seen

20-10-2016-inauguration-audience-view-RHS

20-10-2016 (Thusday) – the First day proceedings: Thirumurugan while speaking stressed for the importance of promoting the art and architecture. “India differs from other countries, only because of its unique culture. We have to create awareness about archaeological monuments and protect our historical evidences. During the Chola period, the architecture attained great heights.”

11.20 to 11.27 am: Mrs. T. Sreelakshmi pointed out the connection between the sculptures of Cholas with that of Kerala with three temples. As she was transferred to Chennai circle from Trissur, he told that he had to study more.

The proceeding volume containing papers was released

11.28 to11.49 am: K. Amarnath Ramakrishnan, Superintending Archaeologist and director of the current excavation told that the Bengaluru-based Excavation Branch VI of the ASI has taken up the excavation at Keezhadi village, 12 km south east of Madurai, in Sivaganga district to prove “city-type” civilization existed in Kizhadi coinciding with the Sangam period. “This is the ASI’s major excavation in Tamil Nadu after Adichanallur, nearly 293 Sangam Age towns along the course of River Vaigai ever, ” says.

20-10-2016-inauguration-audience-view-rhs-second-session

11.50 am to 12.29 pm: Raju Kalidass gave many details as to how to locate a place of significance for carrying out archaeological excavation. The names natham kishati etc., actually point to the fact that they were not only ancient, but also, contains antiques. He gave the following points about the Cholas: For the last several years, he was researching Nalayiya Divyaprabantham, but, he could not find a single word “chola” in it. But, the expressions like “Kochengannan”, are found and they denote Cholas only. Interestingly, while the Sangam literature mentions the names of the Cholas as Maran, Vazhuthi, Tiraiyan etc., the inscriptions record Adithyan, Kesari, Varman and so on. After Kalbhras, the Cholas must hace come to domination by replacing the Mutharaiyar. One may read “Kalingattupparani”, “Muvarula” etc., to research into the history of the Cholas.

20-10-2016-inauguration-avg-discussing-with-raju-kalidass

12.30 to 1.10 pm: R. Nagaswamy pointed out that Rajendra was unique in conquering countries by taking his fleet across the ocean. The Southeast Asian countries were taken aback by his excellence. He did not get pride, but bakti and hence decided to bring Gangous water in a different way by conquering the Kings on the banks of the river and made them to bring water to his capital. His learned all arts and sciences including Vedas, warfare and other techniques. He established Vedic colleges at Chozhamadevi and Puthur in memory of his mother. Karanthai copperplates give these details. At the time of dying, he called all people and ministers and requested to keep their sons in their laps and stand for good governance and breathed his last.

rajendra-chola-seminar-r-nagaswamy

Thirumoorthi, gave a vote of thanks and the inaugural function was over.

There was also an exhibition with excavated archaeological evidences, coins, specimens and charts depicting the arts and architectural features of the Cholas Empire.

kvr-at-chairing-a-session-21-10-2016 – Angelo Nzarabahi presenting paper

Rajendra Chola’s Oversea Expedition and the Historiography involved in interpreting the Tanjore inscriptions: The first technical session was started with paper presentation. K. Sridharan, Deputy S.A (Retd) and Mr. Gandhi, Museum Curator (Retd), conducted the first technical session. Only one paper was presented. K. V. Ramakrishna Rao presented his paper “Rajendra Chola’s Oversea Expedition and the Historiography involved in interpreting the Tanjore inscriptions.” He pointed out that during 1950s itself, too much emphasis of Indian influence of SEA countries given through the expressions like “Greater India”, “Hindu colonies”, “Hindu-Javanese monuments” had been questioned by the western scholars[1] cautioning the “nationalistic historiography” of Indian scholars. Even historians B. Ch. Chhabra[2], R. C. Majumdar[3], H. B. Sarkar[4], K. A., Nilakanta Sastri[5] were accused of for such Indian bias / India-centric approach exhibited in their history writing. The oversea expedition of Rajendra Chola affected many scholars and they got divided in interpreting and accepting the Tanjore inscriptions. George W. Spencer[6] straight away dubbed the Prasasti / Meikirti description of such alleged nautical narratives as simply poetic fantasy, as the Cholas could not have fought any naval battles at all. Thus his “tax-tribute-continuum” hypothesis has been carried out by others, who deny the overseas expedition of the Cholas. However, recent studies have again depended upon the proposition that the Cholas had, in fact, carried out such voyages. He objected on another ground that the Cholas could not have had enough troops and fleet to carry out such operations simultaneously within two or three years moving from Gangaikonda Cholapuram to Ganges to SEA and back and also to guard their Kingdom and as well as control the occupied areas of Ceylon. Pointing out that the Victory pillars erected at Pegu (Myanmar)[7], Mauritius, Kedah (Malaysia)[8] were found missing, he argued that some researchers in future might declare that even those “erection of pillars” are also myth!

After lunch, three sessions were held with paper presentation.

21-10-2016 (Friday) – the Second day proceedings: The second session was chaired by Dr. K. Karuppaiah. Deputy Superintending Epigraphist (Retd) and K. V. Ramakrishna Rao, IRS. There were seven papers presented:

No	Title of the paper	Paper presenter
1	Vestiges of Cholas in Sri Lanka
2	Brihadheswara Temple of Rajendra I at Ariyalur District – a study	K. Kamala
3	Contribution of Cholas to Education with reference to “Ennayiram”	Gayatri, ASI.
4	Cholas inscriptions	Veeraraghavan
5	Rajaraja Chola – I Memorial Mantap and its renovation.	Mani, ASI
6	Monetary System of Cholas	Guhan Babu
7	Supernova and Nataraja Icon	Srushti Sankara Narayanan

The last paper used up much of information from the article of Sharada Srinivasan[9]. Arudra/Ardra darisanam is a ten-day annual festival in December related to the moon being full in the lunar asterism of the naksatra ardra (the reddish star Betelguese or Alpha Orionis), associated with the wrathful aspect of Siva. The constellation of Orion and surrounding stars is bathed in the soft glow of the full moon when it is high in the sky at Chidambaram. A thousand years ago, devoid of the present smog and light flares, the stars must have been even brighter in the tropical night sky.

Another annual festival at Chidambaram, the Brahmotsavam of Ani Thirumanjanam, which is related to the lunar asterism of Uttara Nakshatra around June-July, seems to have begun in the mid-eleventh century from inscription. The Indian zodiac of 360 degrees is divided into 27 parts based on the moon’s sidereal period such that a nakshatra denotes the longitudinal position of the moon within 13 degrees 20 minutes. Thus, by using astronomical software, Dr. Raghavan could ascertain that in 1054 AD the moon would have been full in Uttara Nakshatra on 11 July[10]. This is uncannily close to the date that Chinese astronomers recorded the crab supernova explosion of 4 July! Although this is a preliminary finding, it could suggest a perceived metaphoric link between an observed cosmic phenomenon and notions of cosmic dance.

Indeed, a drawing from a Tamil manuscript sourced by Raja Deekshitar of Chidambaram shows how the Nataraja icon itself was probably traditionally visualized within the stars around Orion. In an exciting collaborative study with Dr. Raghavan, we took some photographs of Nataraja images dated from archaeometallurgical fingerprinting and plotted star charts for the constellation Orion of that corresponding era onto them. As reported in Orientations (Srinivasan, 2006), the star positions were found to a fair extent to correlate with iconometric design as noted in an image in the British Museum attributed from archaeometallurgical fingerprinting to the Pallava period (c. 800 CE). Moreover, the star chart for 1054 AD fitted well the iconometric design of a Nataraja image from Kankoduvanitham archaeometallurgically fingerprinted to the mid-eleventh century AD. Here, the hypothetical position of the crab supernova which exploded in 1054 AD lies near the top left of the head, close to the crescent moon. Chinese records suggest that the crab supernova came into view with a morning crescent moon near it and was visible for 23 days, being four times as bright as Venus. Even American Indians are believed to have made cave paintings of a supernova with a crescent moon. Could it be that the iconometric design of this icon had indeed taken into account the observation of the supernova explosion?

 

When Raju Kalidass expressed his view that it was better to learn many languages including Sanskrit, as it would help the researchers and therefore, it need not be objected to. For this some delegates protested and claimed that Sanskrit was used only to oppress Tamil and so on. The arguments took usual turn of “political overtones”.  Anyway, other delegates requested to calm down.

 

Name	Title of the paper
Angelo Nzarabahi	Chola vestiges in sri Lanka: Their contribution toward History building and tourism
M. Gandhi	Tiruvallam temple under Rajendra Chola’s time
S.Rajagopal, K. Vijayanarasimhan and B.Thaamarai	Rajendra Chola and his achievements in different fields
பெ. அர்த்தநாரீசுவரன்	முதலாம் ராஜேந்திரனின் மெய்கீர்த்தி
மா. சந்திரமூர்த்தி	முதலாம் ராஜேந்திர சோழனின் அங்கைகொண்ட சோழபுரத்து செப்புத்திருமேனிகள்.

The third session was conducted by Dr. K. Sadasivan, Former Prof and Head, Dept. of History, M.S University, Tirunelveli. Er. R. Mani, Retd, Conservation Asst, was Rapporteur. The next session was conducted by Dr. S. Rajavelu, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Underwater Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur. Dr. K. Venkatesan, was Rapporteur. Most of the papers had been of repetitive nature, giving the details that are already available in hundreds of thousands of papers and books. Half of the papers had been in Tamil. The Valedictory session was held with a special by Dr. D. Dayalan, Director (Retd) ASI, New Delhi.

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

25-10-2016

[1] D. G. E. Hall (Ed.), Histories of South East Asia (Historical writings on the Peoples of Asia), Oxford University Press, London, 1961. The book has been a collection of papers presented in conferences held between 1956 and 1958. Incidentally, no paper of Indian scholar was included for either not presented or attended is not known.

[2] B. Ch. Chhabra, Expansion of Indo-Aryan Culture During Pallava Rule (as evidenced by inscriptions), Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 1965.

[3] R. C. Majumdar, The Overseas Expeditions of King Rajendra Chola, in Fecilitation volume presented to Prof Geoge Codes on the occasion of his sevrnty fifth birthday, 1961, pp.338-342.

[4] H. B. Sarkar, Trade and Commercial Activities of South India in the Malaysia-Indonesian World (upto A. D. 1511), Firma KLM private Limited, Calcutta, 1986, pp.109-111.

[5] K. A. Nilakanta Sastry, The Colas, University of Madras, Madras, 1984,

[6] George W. Spencer, The Politics of Expansion – The Chola Conquest of Sri Lanka and Sri Vijaya, New Era Publications, Madras, 1983

[7] Taw sein Ko, Burmese Sketches, British Burma Press, Rangoon, 1913, pp.103-104.

[8]Sullivan, Michael. Excavations in Kedah and Province Wellesley, 1957, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 31.1 (181 (1958): 188-219.

[9] Sharada Srinivasan, Cosmic Dance, India International Centre Quarterly, Volume 34, Number 2, Autumn 2007 issue.

[10] Raghavan, Nirupama. Is Siva Iconography Inspired by the Stars?. Indian journal of history of Science, 41.3 (2006): 271.