புத்தாண்டில் வாங்கிப் படிக்க, பரிசளிக்க ஒரு புத்தகம் (The Roots of Hinduism)

[N. Ganesan]

இந்தியாவின் செம்மொழிகள் இரண்டும் இணைந்து இந்திய கலாசாரத்தை உருவாக்கிய 4500 ஆண்டுக்கால

வரலாற்றை நண்பர் பேரா. அசோகன் பார்ப்போலா அழகாக விளக்கியுள்ளார்கள். 50+ ஆண்டுக்கால

உழைப்பை பழச்சாறாகப் பிழிந்து பாடப்புஸ்தகமாக தந்துள்ளார். ஆக்ஸ்போர்ட் பல்கலை 2015-ல்

வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. சில மாதங்களிலே இந்த டெக்ஸ்ட்புக் இரண்டாம் பதிப்புக்குச் செல்கிறது.

மிகக் குறைந்த விலையில் அமேசான் தளம் விற்கிறது. முதற்பதிப்பின் சில பிரதிகளே எஞ்சியுள.

வேத காலம், அதற்கும் முந்தைய தமிழ்ச் சமயம், சமூகம், இரண்டும் சேர்த்து உருவாக்கிய

இந்திய உபகண்டத்தில் மாந்தர்களின் சரித்திரம் அறிய எல்லா தமிழர் வீடுகளிலும் இருக்கவேண்டிய

நூல் இஃது. தமிழிலும், பிற இந்திய பாஷைகளிலும் மொழியாக்கம் பெறத் தகுதியான படைப்பு. பார்ப்போம்.

புத்தகம் வாங்க,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0190226927?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_asin_lnk

அமேசான்.கொம் வலைக்கண்ணில் நான் இட்ட நூன்முகவுரையை இணைத்துள்ளேன். 

நா. கணேசன்

A great synthesis of Indian History using Archaeology, Vedic Philology and Linguistics

This work is a  summary of 50+ years of the wide-ranging research that Prof. Asko Parpola has done and published in specialized articles and brings up to date his 1994 book. For unraveling of the ancient history of India, three significant discoveries are brought together: (1) Discovery of Indo-European languages and Sanskrit's place in it (2) Dravidian language family and its oldest texts, called Sangam literature of Tamil (3) Discovery of Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) in the 1920s. This book shows that an earlier form of Dravidian language was spoken by the authors and elites of IVC, even though like modern India, IVC was multi-lingual. This book is an important contribution on par with Robert Caldwell's book on Dravidian language family (1856 CE) in demonstrating Tamil and other Dravidian languages' role in the formation of "Village Hinduism". A major factor in Indian society is Caste and the system which shows the formation is in Sangam texts [a]. The intertwining nature of the two classical languages of India - Tamil and Sanskrit - in the fundamental elements of ancient Indian society and religion is brought out beautifully. For example, Dravidian "nīra" (water) becomes "nīla" to denote blue/black color. Similarly, Parpola suggests Mēru, the cosmic mountain's name is from Dravidian "Mēlu-" ('upper, top, peak"). Also, Vaac, cognate with Latin "vox", is Sanskrit. In Hinduism's concept, Vaac is a loan translation of Dravidian viḷ/veḷ, connected with vēḷ, a name of god Murukan, chieftains and land lords in Tamil. Genetics also proves the language shift in North India around 3000 years ago with small number of Indo-European speakers ingressing, just as it happened 400 years ago in Central and South Americas.

Parpola's work discusses two major waves of Aryan language speakers entering via the Northwest of India from Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). This happened around 1800 BCE ("Atharvavedic") and then ~1400 BCE ("Rgvedic"). The first wave of “Atharvavedic" folks connected with Varuṇa worship merged with the earlier Harappan crocodile god [b & c]. In the Post-Harappan phase, when BMAC folks moved in and the language shift in North India was going on, the continuity of Harappan religion can be shown using the bronze Anthropomorphic Axe sculptures found from Haryana to Uttar Pradesh. Yamuna and Ganga doab valley with Yamuna river name connected with Yaamai 'turtle' in ancient Dravidian and IVC's gharial god is the symbol of the Ganga river. Post-Harappan "Anthropomorphic Axe" sculptures are made as huge monolithic sculptures in south India during the Early Iron Age "megalithic" period. This continuity of crocodile worship from Indus civilization to Iron Age Tamil country shown from archaeology and Sangam era coins gives clinching evidence that the IVC authors were Dravidian language speakers.

[a] Early Evidence of Caste from Sangam literature,

http://www.tamilnation.co/caste/hart.pdf

[b] Gharial god and Tiger goddess in the Indus valley, Some aspects of Bronze Age Indian Religion, 2007

https://archive.org/stream/IVCReligionByNagaGanesan2007/IVC_religion_by_Naga_Ganesan_2007#page/n0/mode/2up

[c] A Dravidian Etymology for Makara - Crocodile, 2011

https://archive.org/stream/MakaraADravidianEtymology2011/Makara_a_Dravidian_etymology_2011#page/n0/mode/2up

In March 2016, Proceedings of 16th World Sanskrit Conference will be published in Bangkok, Thailand.  In it, the following paper of mine discusses the Tamil country's early religion derived from IVC crocodile deity.

 Indus Crocodile Religion as seen in the Iron Age Tamil Nadu

Abstract:  This article is about some aspects of Indian religion in the Post-Harappan period providing a link to the Indus Valley Civilization seen in its Bronze Age seals. The meaning of the anthropomorphic axes found in the Indo-Gangetic doab plains of the Second Millennium BC as a ritual symbol of a Makara (crocodile) god will be presented. The characteristic fish sign pointing to the Dravidian language spoken by the elite Harappans has long been explored from the days of Fr. H. Heras, SJ. However, the importance of crocodiles in IVC culture is recently coming to light (A. Parpola, 2011). When this Crocodile cult disappears and gets forgotten in North India, it appears as large monolithic sculptures in the megalithic South. An interpretation of the Tamil Brahmi inscription at Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam, near the ancient Pandyan capital Madurai, discovered by History department, Pondicherry University will be offered as mentioning the crocodile god and his spouse. The Aśvamedha sacrifice on the banks of a Water Tank was performed for a crocodile as evidenced in Pāndyan Peruvaḻuti and Chera coins. Graffiti symbols from Sāṇūr and Sūlūr as linguistic sign for the crocodile deity, and the crocodile couple in Adichanallur burial urn (500 BCE) along with the battle-axe bearing great god in Sangam poetry will be used to illustrate the prevalence of the crocodile based religion until the Early Sangam period. The first stone sculpture made in south India at such places as Mottur, Udaiyarnatham, - monumental in size, over ten feet tall -, in the Iron Age will be linked to the earlier metallic Anthropomorphic Axes in the Yamuna-Gangetic doab, found in many Post-Harappan Ochre Colored Pottery sites of North India. The lecture will include etymology of Dravidian names such as Viṭaṅkar, Nakar, Ghaṛiāl, Makara, Karā for the three species of Indian crocodiles. Finally, an interpretation of Gudimallam Viṭaṅkar (Liṅgam) as Varuṇa, rather than as Śiva assumed by earlier scholars like A. K. Coomaraswamy, is offered. In the subsequent Pallava period, development of Tantric Śaivism includes the tantric term Viṭaṅkar applied more broadly for the forms of Śiva like naked Bhikṣāṭana and Somāskanda.

N. Ganesan, PhD

Houston, Texas, USA

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1G92Z0TVAB9B9/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

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[N. Ganesan]

Looking at the timeline of the development of mythology of Goddess Parvati stopping the haalahaala poison in Siva's neck and hence his name NeelakaNTan. I mentioned poems by Kulasekara Pandyar and Kumarakurupar SwamikaL, and about Stalapuarana of CuruTTapaLLi near Chennai.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/santhavasantham/hB2Hhbt0QQI

There is an incisive analysis of how the name NiilakaNTan developed for the 'great god' (Mahadeva) of India in a paper by Iravatham Mahadevan.

Looking at the mythology of the Goddess KoRRavai-Durga, the battle with the buffalo demon is ancient, and see my response

to Sri I. Mahadevan's take. Indeed this is not JallikaTTu, but rather Proto-Durga's battle scene with the Buffalo demon, Mahisasura.

http://nganesan.blogspot.com/2008/01/eru-tazuval.html

Here is another note. Back in 2001, Prof. Asko Parpola published in a paper on BMAC and Indus civilization relations.

In it, he talked briefly about the famous Gharial seal - paralleling "Proto-Siva" seal - and he mistook the Goddess KoRRi's

shaman-priest on an (acacia?) tree and the back-turning tiger as a monkey! Back then, I mentioned then that this is not a monkey,

but rather the shaman-priest of the Goddess who mates with the Vidangar (Gharial crocodile) in many seals. Here is

that note. May KoRRi=Vidangar, the ancient divine couple of India for 4500 years, bless you & family with a Happy 2016!

----------------------

George Hart mentioned about AP's insights in his 2015 OUP book about BMAC as the place from where Aryans

entered NW India. 15 years ago, no one was talking about BMAC and IVC as Asko did.

A correction on A. Parpola's description of Figure 10 in his 2001 paper, which is

the Proto-Siva seal's equivalent with the Gharial deity.

Both the famous Proto-Siva and the Gharial are surrounded

by the same animals: an elephant, a rhino, buffalo/bisons

and a back-turning tiger (which is looking at the "priest"

on the tree)

In Fig. 10 Gharial seal, A. Parpola mentioned a monkey in 2001.

"This includes the monkey, which is not otherwise known from

Harappan iconography but which occurs on several Bactrian seals

(cf. Baghestani 1997: 318-320; Sarianidi 1998:65)"

​

But this this is the shaman-priest with the double-bun headdress.

He is sitting on the tree below which is the back-turning tiger.

This theme we see in so many seals, M-309, K-49, H-163

Figure 11 in

https://archive.org/stream/IVCReligionByNagaGanesan2007/IVC_religion_by_Naga_Ganesan_2007#page/n5/mode/2up

 

and this priest-on-tree connected with "vaahana" of the goddess (bacj-turning tiger as tho' he is watching for his orders)

This priest with the double-bun headdress is one connection to the goddess, proto-Durga with the gharial god.

I mentioned this long ago in an email. Here is my old paper on gharial god. This pan-IVC mythology of gharial god

with goddess' priest: Figures 5, 6 & 7:

https://archive.org/stream/IVCReligionByNagaGanesan2007/IVC_religion_by_Naga_Ganesan_2007#page/n3/mode/2up

https://web.archive.org/web/20150320030820/http://www.harappa.com/indus/32.html

"Terracotta sealing from Mohenjo-daro depicting a collection of animals and some script symbols. This sealing may have been used in specific rituals as a narrative token that tells the story of an important myth."

The priest on the tree is shown in this narrative scene also,

https://web.archive.org/web/20151012193050/http://www.harappa.com/indus3/185.html

	185. Tablet with man-in-tree and tiger
Molded terracotta tablet (H2001-5075/2922-01) with a narrative scene of a man in a tree with a tiger looking back over its shoulder. The tablet, found in the Trench 54 area on the west side of Mound E, is broken, but was made with the same mold as ones found on the eastern side of Mound E and also in other parts of the site (see slide 89 for the right hand portion of the same scene). The reverse of the same molded terra cotta tablet shows a deity grappling with two tigers and standing above an elephant (see slide 90 for a clearer example from the same mold).

NG

 

Is the place where you discuss a lot about eagle/bird seals of BMAC?
Parpola, Asko, in press (2006). Administrative contact and acculturation
between Harappans and Bactrians: Evidence of sealings and seals. Pp.
281-288 in: Catherine Jarrige (ed.), South Asian Archaeology 2001. Paris:
ADPF Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations.

Do you have a PDF of this or related papers?

Thanks
N. Ganesan

 

Now the Vidangar-KoRRi couple find an important place in the following book, establishing Dravdiian's place

in Bronze Age Indus society.

~NG