Dating of Ramayana

[Banukumar Rajendran]

http://scroll.in/article/723351/was-the-ramayana-actually-set-in-and-around-todays-afghanistan

History is said to be the original discipline in the faculties today known as humanities. This is owing to the fact that every discipline in knowledge discourse has a history – even abstract disciplines like mathematics or astronomy – and every piece of history has a geophysical contextuality.

Ever since Herodotus (484 BC - 425 BC, Greek-occupied Turkey) started the discipline, he recorded events during the reign of four Persian kings and chronicled life and society in their times. These were times of conflict between Greece and Persia and had a geographical contextuality.

Herodotus also speaks of “India”, where he saw the Himalayan marmot bathing in gold dust. Much later, deconstructing his text led to the conclusion that the great father of historical praxis must have passed through the North West Frontier province and reached the base of Hindu Kush.

This posed a question, which Herodotus did not ask himself: if he had indeed travelled to “India”, which “India” was this? For that matter, if he was “Greek”, which “Greece” did he live in? Similarly. if Ram of the epic poem Ramayana was an “Indian”, where was this “India” situated?

The so-called Ram Setu

A ship that wishes to sail from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal has to pass through the Indian Ocean to the south of Sri Lanka. The voyage would have been 30 hours shorter if it could have travelled along the Gulf Of Mannar, which separates India and Sri Lanka, but this isn’t possible. For there are thousands of small submerged rocks beneath its surface, stretching like a bridge across 47 km between the two countries. As a result, the sea is between one and 30 metre deep here, which isn’t favourable for sailing.

The British government of colonised India as well the government of independent India had often planned to dredge the channel to make it suitable for sailing; but the plans have remained elusive for various reasons. At present, for instance, Hindutva followers believe that this is the bridge built by an army of monkeys, as described in the Ramayana, which Ram and Lakshaman crossed to conquer Sri Lanka.

Their demand is that, far from dredging, let the Archaeological Survey of India declare this bridge a national monument. Not that the colonisers were any less fundamentalist. In 1804 a certain British cartographer named the structure Adam’s Bridge – according to him this was the bridge described in the Bible which Adam crossed to scale a mountain peak, where he meditated for 1,000 years while standing on one leg.

Even before this, we have seen Marco Polo describe the structure as a bridge, as did Al-Biruni in the book he wrote in 1030 CE. In other words, it has long been held that this row of rocks beneath the surface of the water is a bridge.

Not exactly a bridge

According to geologists this structure is actually a limestone shoal, the outcome of natural processes. Between 300 and 30 million years ago, a portion of the Indian subcontinent is believed to have broken off because of continental drift to form the island of Sri Lanka. The debris that this fragment of land left behind at birth in the water as it drifted away led to the creation of this so-called bridge.

It may have jutted out of the water at some point in history, in which case it might have been used as a bridge. But there is considerable doubt whether the users belonged to the age of the Ramayana. This is because the inhabitants of Sri Lanka went directly from the Stone Age to the Iron Age; the use of copper was not very prevalent here. On the other hand, the Ramayana is a tale from an advanced Copper Age – an epic in verse from a period two or three thousand years before the Iron Age.

Where was Ramayana set?

Let us drop the preamble and get to the point now. If the Lanka mentioned in the Ramayana was not the Sri Lanka of today, where was it located? Where did Ram belong, for that matter? Wherever he may have lived, he was certainly not an inhabitant of what is the Ganges valley today, or of “Ramjanmabhoomi” Ayodhya. For, civilised man did not live in the forest-infested Ganges valley before the Iron Age, since there were no axes with which to clear the vegetation before iron was discovered. There were no swords either, which proves that the Ramayana, unlike the Mahabaharata, is not an epic of the Ganges valley. It makes no mention of swords – the bow and arrow are the primary weapons in it.

The primary objective of this essay is to point to the geographical location of the Ramayana. It is not the writer who has arrived at the answer, nor an Indologist like Max Mueller or even a historian or archaeologist. The person in question is Rajesh Kochhar, a physicist with an inclination for history, who has broken through the traditional techniques of history in his work The Vedic People – Their History and Geography.

How the Ramayana is different from the Mahabharata

The primary difficulty of discussing the ancient history of India lies in the necessity of first demolishing several well-established inaccuracies, such as the Aryan Invasion Theory, for instance. Spun by white men and broadcast by colonial historians, this old wives’ tale is still taught in schools and colleges, with half of any written work – measured in terms of paper, ink and effort - being expended on it. We shall not entertain it. We will only examine whatever can be determined through the social and geographical pointers available in the Ramayana.

There are two other fundamental differences between the Ramayana and the Mahabharata – in the rivers and in the divine pantheon. In the Mahabharata the Ganga and the Yamuna are almost ubiquitous, but they’re completely missing from the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata we see the powerful presence of the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar – but they’re absent from the Ramayana. We do not find these two rivers and these three gods together in the Rig Veda.

However, the rivers and gods that are to be found in the Rig Veda are also to be found in the Ramayana – the rivers Saraswati and Sarayu, and the original trinity of Agni, Varun and Pavan. From this it is easy to surmise that the Ramayana is a Rig Vedic epic. Which period was this? It would not be correct to estimate this using our current calendar: it would probably not be possible either. An approximation can be made from the sequence of events.

The somras clue

Vedic nomads travelled from the Eastern Europe to Bactria (present day Afghanistan). From here they went to Persia (today’s Iran). During their migration to Persia there was probably a battle for power amongst the gods, which led to the birth of the Avestan religion. As a result, Indra, the king of gods, became an inferior figure in the Avesta, while Yama, the god of death, turned into the finest of the gods. Worshipping Agni is a prominent practice within the Parsi community, but Hindus do not worship this ancient god. This indicates that the Rig Vedic age predated Persia. Kochhar has provided clues to whether this was the Afghan branch of the Vedic journey.

The first such clue that Kochhar alludes to is the Vedic drink somras. It was so important in ancient Vedic life that an entire mandala or chapter of the Rig Veda has been devoted to it. The importance of soma is evident in the Avestan Zend scripture – it is referred to as haoma in Persia. It is seen that the closer the Vedic nomads get to the Indian peninsula, the more they seek continuously new alternatives to the soma plant; that was how important somras was.

But the original soma plant was to be found only in what is modern day Afghanistan and Persia or Iran. In 1951 the German historian Karl Friedrich Geldner proved that the ephedra plant was what was described as soma in the Rig Veda. Ephedrin or somras is not alcohol – this intoxicant is an alkaloid. Kochhar’s investigations led to the discovery of four varieties of ephedra, found in Afghanistan, Iran, the northern Himalayas, and the Hindu Kush.

What we learn from summer solstice

There are 49 cosmic hymns in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas whose meanings have not been explained. But one particular hymn from Vedanga Jyotish informs us that the longest day of the year, or summer solstice, comprised 18 periods of daylight and 12 of night. Day and night are of equal length on the Equator; in the higher latitudes, summer days are longer than nights.

The latitude at which the proportion of daylight and darkness is 3:2 is 34 degrees North. It is worth noting that the cities to be found around this latitude today are Herat and Kabul in Afghanistan. In other words, the place and time of the composition of the Vedanga Jyotish is the same as that of Vedic Afghanistan and Iran. This second piece of evidence offered by Rajesh Kochhar further strengthens the perception of the location and time of the Rig Veda.

In search of the rivers

Kochhar has deconstructed the Rig Veda in search of the Saraswati and the Sarayu, the two rivers also mentioned in the Ramayana. Here too our current history has come in the way.

There is a tiny river named the Sarayu in Uttar Pradesh, which flows into the Ghaghara, which in turn merges with the Ganga. Many people consider the rainwater-fed Saraswati in the Aravallis, flowing along the Ghaggar (not to be confused with the Ghaghara) basin the mythical Saraswati. On viewing the scans of North-Western India made by the Russian Landsat satellite between 1972 and ’79, it is natural to assume that the Ghaggar was a wide river. It flows into the Rann of Kutch.

The scan reveals the basin of a dried up older river, which is up to 8 km broad in some places. It was this that led to the hasty conclusion of this basin’s belonging to the original Saraswati.

From Neil Roberts’s The Holocene it is clear that the basin of this river widened to the north of the Rann of Kutch because of the accelerated movement of a glacier during the previous Ice Age. But deconstructing the Rig Veda doesn’t suggest any of this. The Saraswati has been referred to as non-perennial towards the end of the Veda. The original stream of the Ghaggar enters India from present-day Pakistan, drying up in the Thar desert. Kochhar believes this is the non-perennial Saraswati.

However, the Saraswati of the Rig Veda is extremely powerful, grinding rocks with sheer force. Its roar subsumes all other sounds. And the Sarayu of the Rig Veda is immensely wide and deep, the mother river. None of these descriptions matches the actual rivers in present-day India with those names.

Hymn No. 5 | 53 | 9 of the Rig Veda says, “May the Rasa, Krumu, Anitabh, Kuva or Sindhu not be able to stop you; let the deep Sarayu not be an obstacle.” The order of the rivers clearly moves from east to west. So the Sarayu undoubtedly flows to the west of the Indus.

Kochhar believes it is the 650-km river known as the Hari-Rud in Afghanistan, whose source is in the Hindu Kush mountains. It flows past the city of Herat and then for 100 km along the Iran-Afghanistan border before disappearing in the Karakom desert of Central Asia.

In the Avesta we find the Saraswati as the Harahaiti – the similarity in sound is noticeable – which enters Iran along the combined basin of the river Arghandar on the Afghan-Iran border and the river Helmand. According to Kochhar, it is this Helmand that is the Vedic Saraswati river.

The source of the Helmand is in the Koh-i-Baba mountain range. Flowing for 1,300 miles through the heart of Afghanistan, the Vedic Saraswati joins the Vedic Drijadbati or Arghandar. The Avesta identifies this wide river as the Hetumanta (or, in varations, as Setumanta). In Iran the Saraswati is named the Harahaiti, which flows into the inland lake Hamun-e-Sabari in the Saistan area of northern Iran.

The conclusion

The political map of the ancient world, of the Copper Age, provides an extraordinary realisation. The kingdoms of the two main political powers – the Persians and the Greeks – all lie between and around the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. None of these is a coastal civilisation, however.

This raises a question. What did ancient man refer to as a sea? The Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Campian Sea are all saltwater lakes, and not seas in the way we understand them today. This make us wonder: perhaps the Lanka of the Ramayana was an island in the Hamun-e-Sabri.

The one thing that’s obvious: wherever it was that Ram and Lakshman went from Afghanistan, it could not have been to present-day Sri Lanka, for that would have meant crossing the Indian peninsula. And since Ravana, the lord of Lanka, was also partial to somras, it is unlikely that he went very far from the land of soma after abducting Sita.

Although it is not possible to prove archaeologically, there is considerable reason to assume that the lineage of Dasarath (and of Ram), the Ikshvakus, were from western Afghanistan. For the Puranas say that King Kubalasa slayed a demon on the shore of the Sabari. Vishwamitra received his second birth where the Saraswati met the sea. And Valmiki discovered Sita on the shore of the Sarayu. Which is why there is little room for doubt that today’s Hamun-e-Sabri is the sea mentioned in the Ramayana, one of the islands in which was the kingdom ruled by Ravana, lord of the rakshases.

The focus of attention for those studying the lost history of India is the contentious issue raised by Hindutva historians, who have repeatedly asserted that western historians have been unable to identify the roots of ancient India. We find these assertions in the writings of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, as well as in  those of certain lesser known right-wing historians. It is surprising how easily conclusions unsupported by the array of Vedic texts can be arrived at because of mindless adherence to a popular brand of politics.

The rock formation between India and Sri Lanka could well be preserved, but not as Ram Setu or Adam’s Bridge. Let it be protected as a geological feature. For no matter how far one looks, no relationship is evident between this Lanka and the Lanka of the Ramayana.

[தேமொழி]

இதையொத்த மற்றொரு ஆய்வு: சுவையானதும் கூட 

The Sixteen Lands of Ahuras

http://takshasila.wikidot.com/article:sixteen-lands-of-ahuras

This article is an analysis of the sixteen lands described in the first chapter of Vendidad, based on the additional information available in Vendidas as well as the various texts of Vedic tradition, such as the four Veda Samhitas, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.

Fold Table of Contents The Sixteen Lands of Ahuras Airyana Vaeja Sughdha Mouru Bakhdhi Nisaya Haroyu Vaekereta Urva Khnenta Harahvaiti Haetumant Ragha Chakhra Varena Hapta Hendu Rangha Further Analysis Geographical Domain of the Ahuras Role of Sarasvati River Sequence of the Sixteen Lands Local Migration sequence From the cold Airyana Vaeja to the hot Desert Wandering in Sindhu-Sarasvati plains Conquest of Kurukshetra The Final Retreat The Classification of Lands Further Reading Internal Sources External Sources

The Sixteen Lands of Ahuras

The table given below summarizes the analysis of the sixteen lands in the order it is mentioned in the first chapter of Vendidad . From this analysis, what is revealed is that the Ahuras / Asuras shared the territory with the Devas or Deva-worshiping tribes in India, sometimes coexisting with them and often conflicting with them, in agreement with the evidence available from Rig Veda, the other three Vedas, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The Asura / Ahura region extended from Kurukshetra (Hariyana) to westward including Sarasvati-Sindhu valleys and the many tributaries of Sarasvati and Sindhu. This territory includes western India and what is now Pakistan and Afganistan. From other place-names found in Vendidad and other Avestan text, we can also concluded that they later migrated to Iran and adjacent central Asian countries (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) before all the texts of Avesta was fully completed.

n	Place / Land	Additional Data	Vedic Eqivalance	Identifiable Location	Later Migrations
1	Airyana Vaeja	near the Vanguhi (good) Daitya river; climate: 10 month long winter; invaded by serpants (Nagas)	Airavata (region of the Airavata Nagas; a cold region);	Airavati / Iravati (Raavi) / Daitya river and regions north and north-west of it; here winter is 10 month long;	Amu Darya (Oxus); Aras River; Iran; Arran; Karabagh;
2	Sugdha plains	inhabited by the Sugdhas; a plain; infested with locusts harming cattle and plants	Sumandala (best plain / region)	North of Kurukshetra; Srughna, Sugh; southern Punjab plains	Sogdiana (Uzbekistan), Iran
3	Mouru	strong, holy; affected by plunder and Sin	Maru (ie the desert country)	West of Kurukshetra; Northern extent of Thar Desert; northern Rajastan; Marvad	Merv, Marv, Margu, Margiana (Turkmenistan), Iran
4	Bakhdhi	beatuiful; affected by the Ants and the ant hills	Bahli, Bahlika	western Punjab	Baktria, Balkh (eastern Afganistan, southern Uzbekistan), Iran
5	Nisaya	lies between the Mouru and Bakhdhi; inhabited by non belivers (non Ahura people)	Vinasana (place where Sarasvati river dried first); inhabited by Sudras and Abhiras	Punjab-Rajastan boarder; western Rajastan	India, Pakistan
6	Haroyu	house deserting; people with tears and wailing	Sarayu (western Sarayu river); people desert houses as river dries;	a dried up (western) tributary of Sarasvati	Herat, Hari-rud, Hari river (Afganistan), Iran
7	Vaekereta	of the evil shadows; inhabitted by the Pairika Knathaiti who claves unto Keresaspa (Krisaashva; Krsa-ashva, lean horses)	Vaaji-ratha (horse driven chariot); Vaaji-rashtra or Ashvaka (the land of horses)	Kabul, Afganistan; famous for lean, thus swift horses	Afganistan, Central Asia, Iran
8	Urva	of the rich pastures; inhabited by pride people (probably non-Ahura)	the native place of Urvasi; Sushoma / Suhoma, Suvastu	Swat Valley	Mesene ( Characene); southern Iraq, Iran
9	Khnenta;	inhabited by Vehrkanas; inhabited by unnatural sinners (non Ahuras)	Uraga (Vehrkana = Uhrakana = Uraga)	west of Kashmir valley	Varkana, Gurgan, Jorgan (Azerbaijan), Iran
10	Harahvaiti	beautiful; inhabitted by non-Ahura people who bury dead	Sarasvati river (inhabited by Sudras and Vedic people)	dried up Sarasvati river in Hariyana & Rajastan	Haraxvaiti ( Arghandab river), Iran
11	Haetumant	bright, glorious; inhabited by people who do witchcraft, sorcery locust infesting etc	Kekaya, Gandhara	North-west Pakistan	Helmend (Afganistan), Iran
12	Ragha	people of three races (priests, wrriors, husbandmen)	Sivi, Sauvira, Sindhu territories	Zhob-Kulachi, Sibi, western Pakistan	Rigestan (southern Afganistan), Rai, Iran
13	Chakhra	strong, holy; inhabited by people who cook (cremate) corpses	Shamachakra	South-west corner of Kurukshetra	India, Pakistan
14	Varena	Four cornered; Thraetaona born here who defeated Azi Dahaka (Ahi / a Naga king); abnormal births; barbarian oppression	Vara, Vara-Prithvya (the best place); Kurukshetra; abnormal births after Kurukshetra War;	Kurukshetra, with the four corners ( Tarantuka, Arantuka, Rama-Lake and Shama-Chakra)	Iran; Tabaristan ( southern coasts of Caspian sea); Gilan
15	Hapta Hendu	abnormal births; excessive heat	Sapta-Sindhu, Sapta-Sarasvata; climate:- warm to very hot	Sindhu-Sarasvati region (western India, eastern Pakistan);	India, Pakistan
16	land near Rangha	the land near the sources of the Rangha; people with no chiefs	Aratta (Arashtra)-Bahlikas, Madra-Kambojas; they were kingless or people with no cheifs; republics ruled by people	northern and middle Pakistan	Iran, Tigris (eastern Iraq), Eastern Mesopotamia

Sixteen Lands of Ahuras / Asuras

Airyana Vaeja

vdd.1.2:- The first of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Airyana Vaeja by the Vanguhi Daitya Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Serpent in the River and Winter, a work of the Daevas. vdd.1.3:- There are Ten Winter months there, Two Summer months and those are cold for the waters cold for the earth, cold for the trees Winter falls there, the worst of all Plagues.

Airyana Vaeja is very important for the Ahuras and the inheritors their ideology viz. the Iranians, since the name Eran Vej is derived from it which later became the name 'Iran'. This region is described in Vendidad as the region near the Vanguhi (good) Daitya river. Climate is described as very cold; 10 month long winter and 2 month long summer in which water is still cold and temperature is still cold for vegetation. This cold climate makes the identification of Airyana Vaeja with Arya-varta (Indo-Gangatic plain) very difficult. The temperature is not that cold in Arya-varta. Fortunately piece of information that it was invaded by serpants (Nagas) (the Serpent in the River) allows us to identify it with the Airavata region, the regions north and north-west of the Iravati river. This region include the cold Himalayan territory, including the Kashmir valley, Swat valley, northern most regions of Pakistan and north-eastern Afganistan. Here winters are extremely cold and long but summers are short and without any heat.

The serpent mentioned here is identifiable with the Airas or the Airavata Nagas, a snake worshiping tribe inhabiting in this same region. They had a stronghold at Uraga (to the west of Kashmir valley). The Daitya river is identifiable with Rig Vedic Asikni, which is same as the Chandrabhaga (Chenab) mentioned in Mahabharata. It could also be the Vitasta (Jehlum) river to the north of Chandrabhaga or the Iravati to its south.

The serpent in the river could also be the frost or glacial ice sheets that sweep through the river as its water freeze due to winter.

The name Airyana Vaeja is often wrongly identified with Aryan homeland and with Arya-varta (Indo-Gangatic plain), but more accurately it is identifiable with Aira Vata (Airavata). Vaeja means, 'territory', 'homeland' etc. Vata too means 'territory' 'homeland' etc.

Sughdha

vdd.1.4:- The second of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the plain which the Sughdhas inhabit. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the locust which brings death unto Cattle and plants.

The north of Kurukshetra is described in Mahabharata as a fertile land, untouched by the aridity that existed in the south of Kurukshetra. Mahabharata describe this region as Sumandala meaning 'good region'. Sughdha could also mean 'good terrain' (Sukha-dhara) or 'a terrain good for comfortable living'. Sughdha is thus identified with this Sumandala. This region now lies in southern Punjab which is even today a fertile land and a heavily cultivated land. This fertile strip of land stretches from the foothills of Himalayas to westwards. The name Sughdha survives here as Srughna and Sugh. Cattle and plants here are sometimes infested with locusts (the swarming stage of a variety of grasshoppers and other pests).

Mouru

vdd.1.5:- The third of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy Mouru. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created Plunder and Sin.

West of Kurukshetra is Maru, the desert land, which extend southwards (as what is now known as the Thar desert). Mouru is identified with this Maru. The formation of this Maru and the drying up of Sarasvati river were the result of the same climatic and tectonic changes that occurred in this region before Kurukshetra War, but after the earliest formative periods of Rig Veda. This Maru region also came to be known as Marvad and many historical kingdoms arose in this region with the same name. Like in any desert country, water and other resources are very rare in Maru and people fight for them, giving rise to plunder and sin.

Bakhdhi

vdd.1.6:- The fourth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the beautiful Bakhdhi with high lifted banner. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Ants and the ant hills.

Bakdhi is identified with Bahli or Bahlika. The descriptions in Mahabharata make it identifiable with western Punjab (of India). This place is beautiful with its fields often infested with ants and ant-hills. During Kurukshetra war, Kuru-Bahlikas ruled this place, who were allies and kins of the Kurus at Kurukshetra.

Nisaya

vdd.1.7:- The fifth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Nisaya that lies between the Mouru and Bakhdhi. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Sin of Unbelief.

Nisaya as per Vendidad lies between the Mouru and Bakhdhi and it was later inhabited by non belivers (non Ahura people). The place namedVinasana described in Mahabharata fits the description. It lies between Maru and Bahlika. Vinasana is the place where Sarasvati river dried up first, due to the tectonic activities of the region. Non Vedic (and probably non Ahura) tribes lived here including the Sudras and Abhiras. Nisaya could be a corruption of 'Naasana', the (place of ) destruction (of Sarasvati).

Haroyu

vdd.1.8:- The sixth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the house deserting Haroyu. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created Tears and wailing.

Haroyu is the Avestan distortion of the Vedic-Sanskrit name 'Sarayu'. The land of Haroyu is described as a region where people go deserting their houses. People there is mentioned as full of tears and wailing. The description fits with the western Sarayu river, which was a western tributary of Sarasvati that dried up along with some parts of the Sarasvati river. People often desert their houses when the river that provide them sustenance dry up. Subsequently the river name Sarayu was applied to rivers in east and west of Sarasvati. An eastern river with the name Sarayu was the river that flows through Ayodhya. The Hari river in the west flowing through Herat in Afganistan too got the name Haroyu / Sarayu.

Vaekereta

vdd.1.9:- The seventh of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Vaekereta of the evil shadows. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Pairika Knathaiti who claves unto Keresaspa.

This region is described as having the evil shadows. It was inhabitted by the Pairika Knathaiti who claves unto Keresaspa, i.e rides on Keresaspa, which is an Avestan corruption of Vedic-Sanskrit ' Krisaashva' (Krsa-ashva meaning lean horses). Vaekereta could be an Avestan corruption of Vaaji-ratha (horse driven chariot) or Vaaji-rashtra (the land of horses). The land of horses was also known as Ashvaka and its people were known as Ashva-ganas. The territory of the Ashva-ganas was called Ashva-gana-stana from which is derived the name Af-gani-stan or Afganistan. Thus Vaekereta is identified with Afganistan especially with the Kabul region.

Urva

vdd.1.10:- The eighth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Urva of the rich pastures. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Sin of Pride.

Urva region is described as having rich pastures (Urvaras), however its people later became filled with pride (probably they disregarded Ahura religion). The regions described in the Vedas as Sushoma and in Mahabharata as Suhoma matches with the description. It seems to be the native place of the Apsara Urvasi. This region lied to the west of Uraga (Khnenta) in what is now northern Pakistan.

Khnenta

vdd.1.11:- The ninth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Khnenta which the Vehrkanas inhabit. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created a Sin for which there is no atonement, the unnatural Sin.

This region is described as inhabited by Vehrkanas who later became unnatural sinners (non Ahuras). The name Khnenta is difficult to identify but the name Vehrkanas corresponds to Uhrakanas or Uragas, a Naga tribe (snake worshiping tribe) mentioned as living to the west of Kashmir valley.

Harahvaiti

vdd.1.12:- The tenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the beautiful Harahvaiti Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created a Sin for which there is no atonement, the burying of the dead.

Harahvaitis the Avestan distortion of the Vedic-Sanskrit name 'Sarasvati'. Harahvaiti region is described as beautiful. It is mentioned as being inhabited by non-Ahura people who bury dead. The region is identified with both western shore line of Sarasvati river. Many non Vedic (and non Ahura) tribes like Sudras who lived on the banks of Sarasvati buried their dead as part of their traditions.

Haetumant

vdd.1.13:- The eleventh of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the bright, glorious Haetumant Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the evil work of Witchcraft. vdd.1.14:- And this is the sign by which it is known, this is that by which it is seen at once: wheresoever they may go and raise a cry of Sorcery, there the worst works of Witchcraft go forth. From there they come to kill and strike at heart, and they bring locusts as many as they want.

Heatumant is described as bright and glorious which later got inhabited by people who do witchcraft and sorcery. The problem of locusts (pests) infesting cultivation and cattle is described here as well. This make it similar to the Sugdha region. The Kekaya territories that lied to the west of Kuru-Bahlika (western parts of Punjab, India), which lies in what is now Punjab of Pakistan, too was a fertile land, supporting rich farming and cultivation. It is still a highly cultivated land. The description of locusts fits well here. The mention of witchcraft and sorcery probably is a hostile comment of the Ahuras about this Vedic people. The Kekayas later migrated along Helmend river in Afganistan, to reach Caucasus. The name Caucasus is derived from Kekaya.

Ragha

vdd.1.15:- The twelfth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Ragha of the Three races Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created the Sin of utter Unbelief.

Ragha seems to be a region in continuity with Rangha, to its south-west. It is mentioned as having people of three races (priests, wrriors, husbandmen) much like the Ahuras themselves. People here were mentioned as becoming non Ahura (non believers). In Zhob-Kulachi region of western Pakistan, there are several places with the name Ragha. This could be the region west of Sindhu (Indus). In Mahabharata this region was mentioned as part of the Sivi (Sibi) kingdom. Sivi region had the three Varnas:- Brahmana (priests), Kshatriya (warriors) and Vaisya (husbandman), who were later known to be foremost among Indra worshipers. A Sivi king is mentioned as one among the many Indras. Thus they were non believers (Indra-worshipers / Daeva worshipers) from the Ahura point of view.

Chakhra

vdd.1.16:- The thirteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy Chakhra Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created a Sin for which there is no atonement, the cooking of corpses.

Chakhra is described in Vendidad as strong and holy. It is mentioned as being inhabited by people who cook (cremate) corpses. Chakhra is identified with Shamachakra the south-west corner of Kurukshetra. Cremating of corpses is a common practice here following the Vedic traditions. This was a holy place. Probably the dead bodies of warriors dead in numerous battles fought in Kurukshetra were cremated here.

Varena

vdd.1.17:- The fourteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Four cornered Varena for which was born Thraetaona, who smote Azi Dahaka. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created abnormal issues in Women and barbarian oppression.

Varena also known as Vara is described several times in Vendidad. It seems to be very important for the Ahurs, as they have high regard for this region. This region is described as rectangular with four corners, resembling the description of Kurukshetra in Mahabharata. Kurukshetra is described as a rectangular region. Tarantuka, Arantuka, Rama-Lake and Shama-Chakra are the four corners of Kurukshetra. Varena is mentioned as the birthplace of Thraetaona who defeated Azi Dahaka (Azi = Ahi / Naga; Azi Dahaka = the great Naga). Kurukshetra region had witnessed several abnormal births described in Mahabharata often associated with end of battles fought in Kurukshetra. Examples are the abnormal births of delivered by Gandhari and later Uttara. Kurukshetra also had suffered many barbarian oppression.

Vara is also described as the place where Yima the son of Vivanghat (Yama, the son of Vivasvat) established himself after the Great Frost described in Chapter 2 of Vendidad. The territory of Yama is identified with the territory to the west of river Yamuna, which is same as Kurukshetra and Kurujangala. This was also the same territory ruled by king Yudhisthira, the Pandava, who is mythologically described as the son of Yama (probably since he ruled the same territory formerly ruled by Yama).

Kurukshetra was formerly a fertile land, given to cultivation. The founder of Kuru dynasty, viz. king Kuru is mentioned as using this land as a field. Later, aridity in the west and south of Kurukshetra extended northwards and reduced Kurukshetra into an uncultivated plain, suitable for conducting large battles and laying out huge armies. There were several wars in this region, before and after the Kuru-Pandava war described in Mahabharata.

Hapta Hendu

vdd.1.18:- The fifteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Hapta Hendu (Seven Rivers) Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created abnormal issues in Women, and excessive heat.

Hapta-Hendu or Hapta-Hindu is easily identified with Sapta-Sindhu, the land of seven rivers that lies between rivers Sindhu and Sarasvati. The seven rivers include, Sindhu, Sarasvati and the tributaries of Sindhu (some of which were formerly tributaries of Sarasvati). This name is applied to the whole of Punjab, but is sometimes more precisely applied to the confluence of Satluj and Sindhu known as Panjnad (southern Punjab of Pakistan). Avesta mentions that this region became subject to excessive heat and abnormal births. Sindhu Sarasvati region is warm and extremely hot in summers especially in its south and in the regions where aridity increased due to the drying up of Sarasvati river. Abnormal births mentioned in this region could also be linked to the harshness of the climate at such places in this region.

Rangha

vdd.1.19:- The sixteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the land by the sources (?) of the Rangha where people live who have no chiefs Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter created Winter a work of the Daevas.

The land near the source of Rangha is described as inhabited by people with no chiefs. Such a territory is mentioned in Mahabharata. It is the region of Arattas, also known as Aratta-Vahikas, the people without kings or chiefs. They lived between the rivers Iravati (Raavi) and Chandrabhaga (Chenab) but also spread along all the rivers to its west. Aratta was also famous for its excellent horses. Aratta (Arashtra)-Bahlikas seems to have some kinship with the Madra-Kambojas or they could all be same people. Rangha could be one among the many rivers in this region. Climate of the region seems to be dominated by winter, indicating that the region is close to cold Himalayan regions like Kashmir. This also strengthen the identification of this region between Raavi and Chenab, which is close to Kashmir. A much severe winter is mentioned in Airyana Vaeja, which seems to lie adjacent to Rangha, and to its north.

Further Analysis

Positive comments are given more weight in the analysis (creative works of Ahura Mazda) than the negative comments (works of Angra Mainyu) which are taken if additional evidence is needed to confirm the identification of the location.

Geographical Domain of the Ahuras

From the analysis we get that the Ahura / Asura territories as described in the first chapter of Vendidad, lied predominantly in the north-western India and most parts of Pakistan. They extended further into Afganistan. In later periods of prehistory they might have spread westward into Iran and Azerbijan and northward into Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmensitan. Etymologically, Azerbijan is Azer-bi-jan / Asurabhijana / Asura-abhi-jana, the country of Asuras or Ahura people. Azerbaijan could also be Atharva-jana, the country of the Atharvans. The Atharvans were Ahura priests.

Role of Sarasvati River

Sarasvati river of India was like an eastern boundary of the Ahura territories. The northern course of Sarasvati river in Kurukshetra seems to be a region of conflict between the Ahuras and the Deva worshipers. The Deva-Asura conflicts mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Puranas (and the / Daeva-Ahura conflicts mentioned in the Avestan texts like Vendidad) seems to have occurred at Kurukshetra and on the banks of Iravati (Parushni), Chandrabhaga (Asikni) and Vitasta, which might have lead to the dispersal of Asuras / Ahuras to western (Iran) and northern (Central Asian) countries.

Sequence of the Sixteen Lands

The sequence in which the sixteen lands are mentioned in Vendidad had puzzled researchers for more than a century. One of the earlier inference was that 1) the 15th (Hapta-Hindu = India(?), excessive heat) and 16th (Rangha, winter) lands represents the eastern and western extend of Ahura lands, 2) the 1st land (Airyana Vaeja = Iran / Iraq (?), severe winter) is close to the 16th land since both mention winter and that other lands (2 to 14 somehow lied in the middle of these extremes.

However our analysis reveals that the Ahura land was almost confined within the western mountains of Pakistan in the west and Saraswati and Kurukshetra in the east, with only a small territory spilling through Afganistan into further west. In the north was the Himalayas with its severe freezing winters and in the south is the hot desert (which has now grown to the Thar desert) .Thus all lands lied within these boundaries. This result is reinforced by the fact that all kinds of extreme climates (hot summers, sever winter, fertile lands, deserts, floods, aridity), flora and fauna (ants, ant-hills, locusts etc) exist within this region of the Indian Sub-continent.

Local Migration sequence

The sequence then seems to be the local and irregular migration paths taken by the Ahuras, within their larger geographical domain, who often encountered Deava worshiping tribes and had to change their course or retreat back to where they came from. The over all theme of the narration also support the view that the Ahuras suffered severe oppositions and set backs from the Daeva tribes which made them to move hither and thither.

Local Migrations of Ahuras / Asuras in the sixteen lands. The migration sequence is numbered from 1 to 16. Older migrations (1 to 9) are colored with orange paths and later migrations (10 to 16) are colored with red paths, for clarity.

From the cold Airyana Vaeja to the hot Desert

The Asuras set forth from the Airyana Vaeja (Kashmir and Swat valleys with prolonged 10 month long winter). From there, due to severe winter and probably(?) due to the serpent worshiping tribes like Uragas, they went to the plains of Sughda in the south (Punjab). Their they tried to settle with their cattle and cultivation for some time. Daeva worshiping farmers could have infested their cattle and fields with locusts. Probably they tried migrate further south into Varena (Vara) / Kurukshetra (Vara Prithivya), which is the best place to live, but were made to flee by the Daevas to the desert country Mouru (Maru) in the west and south of Kurukshetra. There it seems their wealth was plundered. They might have tried to retreat back to Sughdha but were deflected to Bakhdhi (Bahli or Bahlika, literally to the outskirts), which lied to the western outskirts of Sugdha, not as good as Sugha plains but with many cultivable lands. Their lands were then infested with ants and ant-hills, which Ahuras attributed to be the work of Daeva worshipers. From there, they were forced to flee back to Mouru (Maru), but they stopped at Nisaya (Vinasana) which lies in between Bahlika and Maru and an entry point into the Maru (desert). From there they went to Haroyu (Sarayu) a western tributary of Sarasvati (or Sindhu), where houses were already deserted by its former inhabitents due to the drying up of the river.

Wandering in Sindhu-Sarasvati plains

As it was impossible to stay along the dried up Haroyu for long, they went westwards to Vaekereta, the mountainous terrains of Afganistan centered around Kabul. There they faced opposition from the horse riding Ashvakas. They then went eastwards to the rich pastures of Urva (Sushoma / Suhoma) attacking the Daeva worshipers. However they were forced to flee northwards into the mountainous Khnenta, the territories of Uragas ,which was very uncomfortable for the Ahuras due to there bizarre religious practices. From there they went southwards to reach the banks of Harahvaiti (Sarasvati), probably a second attempt to reach Varena / Kurukshetra. However they had to retreat to Haetumant (Kekaya) which is again a cultivated land that lied to the west of Bakhdhi (Bahlika) and which had usual problems of locust infection. Apart from this there were people practicing witch-craft and sorcery, probably an allusion to people practicing (Indic) Atharva Vedic hymns of black magic and sorcery. From there the Ahuras went further west into Ragha (Sivi territories) full of people of three Varnas (much like the Ahura society, but who were Daeva worshippers).

Conquest of Kurukshetra

After gaining strength, the Ahuras then went north-eastwards, aiming at Varena / Kurukshetra (for the third time). This time they attacked from the south west as the other two attempts were to enter Kurukshetra from the north. They reached Chakhra (Shamachakra), the south-western corner of Kurukshetra. There they saw the disgusting act of corpse being cremated (cooked). They moved ahead to conquer Kurukshetra (Varena). There they defeated the Nagas with their king Azi Dahaka.

The Final Retreat

However the Asuras were soon forced back by the Daeva worshipers south-westwards to Hapta-Hendu (southern Punjab of Pakistan or more precisely Panchnad at Indus-Satluj confluence). This region is much hotter compared to the original homeland (Airyana Vaeja / Kashmir-Swat valleys) of the Asuras. They migrated northward from there and reached the territory of Arattas in northern Punjab (Pakistan) between the rivers Iravati (Raavi) and Chandrabhaga (Chenab) and further north. This region is Rangha which is dominated by a winter climate but not as severe as Airyana Vaeja which lied adjacent in the north.

The Classification of Lands

The table shown below shows the five-fold classification of the sixteen lands based on their north-south geography. To the extreme north is Airyana Vaeja with its extreme winter climate, on the Himalayas as the first group. To the extreme south is hot and dry desert lands that includes Hapta Hendu, in and near the Thar desert, as the fifth group. The middle three groups (2,3,4) are not so distinct but follow a north south pattern. The second group is a cold region to the south of Himalayas, but not as cold as the Himalayas. The third and fourth group are cultivated lands. The third group containing Punjab is very good for cultivation. Punjab is even know well known for its agriculture potential. The fourth group is good for cultivation but known more for its religious significance, including Hariyana. This region contains the priced land Varena or Kurukshetra for which the Ahuras / Asuras fought many times (three times from our inferences).

n	Climate	From Vendidad	From Sanskrit Texts	Current Location	Signs
1	Extreme Cold Regions (Northern Most)	Airyana Vaeja	Airavata	Kashmir, Northern Pak, North-Eastern Afganistan	extreme winter
2	Cold Regions	Vaekereta, Urva, Khnanta, Rangha	Ashvaka, Sushoma, Uraga, Aratta	Kabul, Islamabad, Uri, Sialkot	lean-horses, rich pastures, winter
3	Cultivated lands	Haetumant, Bakhdhi, Sughdha,	Kekaya, Bahlika, Sumandala,	Faisabad, Lahore, Punjab-India	locusts, ants, ant-hills
4	Lands with strong non-Ahura customs	Ragha, Harahvaiti, Chakhra, Varena	Sivi, Kekaya, Bahlika, Sumandala, Sarasvati, Shamachakra Kurukshetra	Zhob, Multan, Hariyana	burying-dead, cremating-dead, unbeleif
5	Hot or dry desert lands (Southern Most)	Hapta Hendu, Haroyu, Nisaya, Mouru	Panchnada, Western-Sarayu, Vinasana, Maru	Northern Sindh, Southern Punjab, the Thar Desert	house-deserting people, excessive heat

Further Reading

Internal Sources

1. Vendidad
2. Sixteen Lands of Ahuras.
3. Nouns in Vendidad, Alphabetical
4. Nouns in Vendidad, Frequency-wise

External Sources

1. The Zend Avesta, Part 1 of 3: The Vendidad - James Darmesteter, www.forgottenbooks.org
2. The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European world - JP Mallori, DQ Adams
3. Avestan Dictionary

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 11 Sep 2011, 12:44 and updated at 10 Jan 2012, 06:22

..... தேமொழி 

[தேமொழி]

அத்துடன் இதையும் பார்க்கலாம்:

Iliad

http://takshasila.wikidot.com/article:iliad

The Iliad is a Greek epic traditionally attributed to Homer. Scholars are of the opinion that it could be the work of several contributors all of whom attributed their work to the first contributor Homer. Thus its evolution is similar to Mahabharata and Ramayana, which were attributed respectively toVyasa and Valmiki, though their evolution was the result of contributions from several others. Iliad is sometimes referred as the Song of Ilion or the Song of Ilium. It is composed in dactylic hexameters. The language used, for want of a technical term, is called Homeric Greek, a literary mixture of Ionic Greek with other dialects probably descended from the dialects spoken by the heroes mentioned in Iliad. The Iliad contains over 15,000 lines.

Fold Table of Contents Temporal Span Warring tribes Defenders of Troy Ilius and Ila Attackers of Troy Achaeans, Ajas, Ajamidhas and Ahis Danaans and Danavas Atreus and Atri Book-wise Summary of Iliad Book 1: Dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon Book 2: Agamemnon's Dream Book 3: Dual between Paris and Menelaus Book 4: The War Begins Book 5: Diomedes fights Aeneas Book 6 : Diomedes befriends Glaukos Book 7: Hector fights Ajax Book 8: Achaeans defeated Book 9: Agememnon tries to pacify Achilles Book 10: Ulysses and Diomedes fights in the night Book 11: Achilles sends Patroclus to battle Book 12: Achaeans defeated again Book 13: Advise of Polydames Book 14: Interference of Poseidon Book 15: Achaeans retreat to the ships Book 16: Patroclus killed by Hector Book 17: Fight for Patraclus's body Book 18: Achilles mourns Patroclus's death Book 19: Agamemnon returns Briseis to Achilles Book 20: Achilles enters into battle Book 21: Achilles advances to Skamandros river Book 22: Achilles kills Hector Book 23: The dream of Achilles Book 24: Funeral of Hector's body Gods and Goddesses Possible explanations Poetic Imagination? Extraterrestrials? Gandharvas, Devas and Danavas? Indic Connections Apollo Artemis Zeus and Hera Hermes and Ares Athena and Aphrodite The Goddess Triad Chronous, Ouranous, Posideon and Hedes War Heroes and other People Place Names Danava / Danaan culture Information from Indic texts Information from Avestan texts Information from Iliad Danavas in ancient India Concept of Dharma

Further Reading Internal Sources External Sources

 
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Temporal Span

The core temporal span and focus of Iliad is a few weeks of the tenth year of the war famously known as the Trojan war (occurred approximately around 1200 BCE). However in the different parts of the epic we finds events that occurred before this few weeks in the 10th year as well as those occurred in the other nine years. It also contains narrations that described the cause of the war, viz. abduction of princess Helen, wedded wife ofMenelaus (brother of the great king Agamemnon) by the Trojan prince Paris. It also contains events that occurred spanning several generations that preceded the war-heroes who fought this war, describing the deeds of their parents and grandparents. In this way it is similar to Mahabharata, in which the core temporal span is the 18 days (close to 3 weeks) of the war, famously known as the Kurukshetra War (occurred approximately around 3100 BCE) fought between two branches of the Kuru tribe, but which also contains information on many generations that preceded and succeeded the generation of the war-heroes. In Iliad, a few narrations have a futuristic predictive tone, such as the death of Achilles the foremost hero among theAchaeans and the final sacking of the city of Troy. However it is clear that these were added in a futuristic tone after the events had occurred.

The few weeks where Iliad focus most of its content deals with a quarrel between warrior Achilles and king Agamemnon regarding a captive women belonging to the Trojans named Briseis. It also includes the subsequent battles and death of many war-heroes like Hector.

Warring tribes

Defenders of Troy

The defenders of the city of Troy, on behalf of its king Priam and his sons including Hector and Paris (who abducted Helen), were generally called the Trojans. They were supported by several other tribes who came from neighboring territories of Troy and from far away lands to the east of Troy (which could include whole of Turkey and what later became Persia and now Iran). These tribes seems to have migrated from the western regions of India and most of Pakistan, taking several generations. Iliad clearly mentions that these tribes were diverse, assembled from far away lands and speak diverse languages. The tribe of king Priyam ruling at Troy is specifically mentioned as Dardanian. A region named Dardania is mentioned as their older territory before establishing Ilius with the capital city named Troy. Dardanians were identical to or a branch of the Darada described in Mahabharata, whose territories lied to the north of present day Kashmir valley. This group seems to have migrated from the mountainous terrains to the north of Kashmir valley to the mountainous terrains of western Turkey.

Ilius and Ila

The name Ilius finds connection with the Ailas (the descendants of Ila), a prominent tribe described in Mahabharata. Ila is described as a goddess in Rigveda and as the originator of a royal race in Mahabharata. The name Priyam too have a Vedic-Sanskrit etymology, and means, 'the one who is liked', 'the favored one' etc.

Attackers of Troy

The attackers of Troy under the supreme command of king Agamemnon and warriors like Achilles too were diverse in their origin but spoke a common language (probably with recognizable dialects) and hailed from more or less the same territory which is now Greece and a few territories around it. They called themselves as Achaeans and as Danaans.

Achaeans, Ajas, Ajamidhas and Ahis

A tribe named Aja is described in Mahabharata and Ramayana. A king named Ajamidha is described in Mahabharata as founder of several royal dynasties many of which migrated to the west. Achaeans seems to have connection with the Ajas or with the Ajamidhas. The Achaemenids of Persia (550–330 BCE) too seems to be linked with the several descendants of Ajamidha. Another tribe having connection with Achaeans was the Ahis, the Nagas. In Hittite texts the Achaean-territory is called by the name 'Ahiyyava'. The Ahis of India had established cities like Ahichatra in Indo-Gangatic plain.

Danaans and Danavas

Even stronger than the Achaean-Aja-Ajamedha-Ahi connection is the connection of Danaans with the Danavas described in Mahabharata. The three tribes viz. the Daityas, Adityas and the Danavas were described as the most ancient tribes in Mahabharata and in the later parts of the Vedas. They were three matriarchal lineages that originated from three women who were often described as goddesses named Diti, Aditi and Danu. Daityas were the descendants of Diti, Adityas descended from Aditi and Danavas from Danu. Interestingly the Danaans too were described as descended from goddess Danu as per Greek and Irish mythology. Mahabharata describes the Danavas to be one among the most beautiful tribes. In the Indic texts that emerged after the Vedas called the Puranas, the Daityas and Danavas were together called the Asuras who opposed the Devas viz. the Adityas. This description is found in later parts of the Vedas and the two epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana) as well while the older parts of these texts does not speak of any animosity between the Devas (Adityas) and Asuras (Daityas and Danavas). Thus this division seems to have occurred after the emergence of the Vedas, towards the last stages of the Vedic age and close to the Kurukshetra War event.

After the continued clash of these tribes, the Daityas and Danavas spread westwards, while the Adityas spread in the Indo-Gangatic plain and went northwards (into Central Asia and Russia). Daityas later spread to Iran. They were attested as living on the banks of the Daitya river (northern Indus tributaries or Oxus) as per Avestan texts like Vendidad. Daityas finally settled in Iran. The Danavas went further westward. The Danaans described in Iliad as a people settled in Greece seems to be a branch of this Danavas. They themselves or another branch which went further westward and later established their home in Ireland, which explains the Irish mythology about goddess Danu and their children viz. the Danaans.

There were two more matriarchal sister tribes described in Indic texts. They are the Nagas (snake worshipers) and the Suparnas (snake eaters) descended from two women viz. Vinata and Kadru. The Nagas and Suparnas spread throughout India, but some of them migrated to South East (reaching South East Asia and Australia) and North East (reaching China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan and finally the two Americas).

Atreus and Atri

As per Iliad, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the sons of Atreus. The descendants of sage Atri were called Atreyas as per Mahabharata. This this figure Atreus (The father of Agamemnon and Menelaus) is most likely an Atreya, born to a Danaan (Danava) women upon an Atreya father.

Book-wise Summary of Iliad

Book 1: Dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon

Chryseis was a Trojan women held as a captive by Agamemnon. Her father Chryses was a Trojan priest of god Apollo the foremost of all bowmen. He offers the Achaeans much wealth for the return of his daughter. Agamemnon refuses. Chryses prays for Apollo's help, and Apollo shoots many of the Achaeans with his arrows. Achilles, the foremost warrior among the Achaeans, calls an assembly to solve the problem. Under pressure, Agamemnon agrees to return Chryseis to her father, but also decides to take Achilles's captive, Briseis, as compensation. Achilles declares that he and his men will no longer fight for Agamemnon. Ulysses takes a ship and brings Chryseis to her father, whereupon Apollo ends his attack. In the meantime, Agamemnon's messengers take Briseis away. Achilles mother, a goddess, ask Zeus (Jove) to plot against Agamemnon so that they know the value of Achilless as a great warrior. Jove agrees.

Book 2: Agamemnon's Dream

Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack the city. Agamemnon heeds the dream but decides to first test the morale of the Achaean army by telling them to go home. The plan backfires, and only the intervention of Ulysses (Odysseus), inspired by Minerva (Athena), stops the rout. Odysseus confronts and beats Thersites, a common soldier who voices discontent at fighting Agamemnon's war. After a meal, the Achaeans deploy in companies upon the Trojan plain. The poet takes the opportunity to describe each Achaean / Danaan contingent. When news of the Achaean deployment reaches king Priam, the Trojans too sortie upon the plain. In a similar list to that for the Achaeans, the poet describes the Trojans and their allies.

Book 3: Dual between Paris and Menelaus

The armies approach each other on the plain, but before they meet, Paris offers to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, to the advice and will of his brother and head of the Trojan army, Hector. While Helen tells Priam about the Achaean commanders from the walls of Troy, both sides swear a truce and promise to abide by the outcome of the duel. Paris is beaten, but Venus (Aphrodite) rescues him and leads him to bed with Helenbefore Menelaus could kill him.

Book 4: The War Begins

Pressured by (Juno (Hera's) hatred of Troy, Zeus arranges for the Trojan Pandaros to break the truce by wounding Menelaus with an arrow. Agamemnon rouses the Achaeans, and battle is joined.

Book 5: Diomedes fights Aeneas

In the fighting, Diomedes kills many Trojans and defeats Aeneas, whom again Venus (Aphrodite) rescues, but Diomedes attacks and wounds the goddess. Apollo faces Diomedes, and warns him against warring with gods. Many heroes and commanders join in, including Hector, and the gods supporting each side try to influence the battle. Emboldened by Athena, Diomedes wounds Ares and puts him out of action.

Book 6 : Diomedes befriends Glaukos

Hector rallies the Trojans and stops a rout; the Achaean Diomedes and the Trojan Glaukos find common ground and exchange unequal gifts. Hector enters the city, urges prayers and sacrifices, incites Paris to battle, bids his wife Andromache and son Astyanax farewell on the city walls, and rejoins the battle.

Book 7: Hector fights Ajax

Hector duels with Ajax, but nightfall interrupts the fight and both sides retire. The Achaeans agree to burn their dead and build a wall to protect their ships and camp, while the Trojans quarrel about returning Helen. Paris offers to return the treasure he took, and give further wealth as compensation, but without returning Helen, and the offer is refused. A day's truce is agreed for burning the dead, during which the Achaeans also build their wall and trench.

Book 8: Achaeans defeated

The next morning, Zeus prohibits the gods from interfering, and fighting begins anew. The Trojans prevail and force the Achaeans back to their wall while Juno (Hera) and Minerva (Athena) are forbidden from helping. Night falls before the Trojans can assail the Achaean wall. They camp in the field to attack at first light, and their watchfires light the plain like stars.

Book 9: Agememnon tries to pacify Achilles

Meanwhile, the Achaeans / Danaans are desperate. Agamemnon admits his error, and sends an embassy composed of Odysseus, Ajax, Phoenix, and two heralds to offer Briseis and extensive gifts to Achilles, who has been camped next to his ships throughout, if only he would return to the fighting. Achilles and his companion Patroclus receive the embassy well, but Achilles angrily refuses Agamemnon's offer, and declares that he would only return to battle if the Trojans reach his ships and threaten them with fire. The embassy returns empty-handed.

Book 10: Ulysses and Diomedes fights in the night

Later that night, Ulysses (Odysseus) and Diomede venture out to the Trojan lines, kill the Trojan Dolon, and wreak havoc in the camps of some Thracian allies of Troy.

Book 11: Achilles sends Patroclus to battle

In the morning, the fighting is fierce and Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus are all wounded. Achilles sends Patroclus from his camp to inquire about the Achaean casualties, and while there Patroclus is moved to pity by a speech of Nestor.

Book 12: Achaeans defeated again

The Trojans assault the Achaean wall on foot. Hector, ignoring an omen, leads the terrible fighting. The Achaeans are overwhelmed in rout, the wall's gate is broken, and Hector charges in.

Book 13: Advise of Polydames

Many fall on both sides. The Trojan seer Polydamas urges Hector to fall back and warns him about Achilles, but is ignored.

Book 14: Interference of Poseidon

Hera seduces Zeus and lures him to sleep, allowing Neptune (Poseidon) to help the Achaeans, and the Trojans are driven back onto the plain.

Book 15: Achaeans retreat to the ships

Zeus awakes and is enraged by Poseidon's (Neptune's) intervention. Against the mounting discontent of the Achaean-supporting gods, Zeus sendsApollo to aid the Trojans, who once again breach the wall, and the battle reaches the ships.

Book 16: Patroclus killed by Hector

Patroclus can stand to watch no longer, and begs Achilles to be allowed to defend the ships. Achilles relents, and lends Patroclus his armor, but sends him off with a stern admonition to not pursue the Trojans, lest he take Achilles's glory. Patroclus leads the Myrmidons to battle and arrives as the Trojans set fire to the first ships. The Trojans are routed by the sudden onslaught. Patroclus, ignoring Achilles's command, pursues and reaches the gates of Troy, where Apollo himself stops him. Patroclus is set upon by Apollo and Euphorbos, and is finally killed by Hector.

Book 17: Fight for Patraclus's body

Hector takes Achilles's armor from the fallen Patroclus, but fighting develops around Patroclus' body.

Book 18: Achilles mourns Patroclus's death

Achilles is mad with grief when he hears of Patroclus's death, and vows to take vengeance on Hector; his mother Thetis grieves, too, knowing thatAchilles is fated to die if he kills Hector. Achilles is urged to help retrieve Patroclus' body, but has no armour. Made brilliant by Athena, Achilles stands next to the Achaean wall and roars in rage. The Trojans are dismayed by his appearance and the Achaeans manage to bear Patroclus' body away. Again Polydamas urges Hector to withdraw into the city, again Hector refuses, and the Trojans camp in the plain at nightfall. Patroclus is mourned, and meanwhile, at Thetis' request, Hephaistos fashions a new set of armor for Achilles, among which is a magnificently wrought shield.

Book 19: Agamemnon returns Briseis to Achilles

In the morning, Agamemnon gives Achilles all the promised gifts, including Briseis, but he is indifferent to them. Achilles fasts while the Achaeans take their meal, and straps on his new armor, and heaves his great spear. His horse Xanthos prophesies to Achilles his death. Achilles drives his chariot into battle.

Book 20: Achilles enters into battle

Zeus lifts the ban on the gods' interference, and the gods freely intervene on both sides. The onslaught of Achilles, burning with rage and grief, is terrible, and he slays many.

Book 21: Achilles advances to Skamandros river

Driving the Trojans before him, Achilles cuts off half in the river Skamandros and proceeds to slaughter them and fills the river with the dead. The river, angry at the killing, confronts Achilles, but is beaten back by Hephaistos' firestorm. The gods fight among themselves. The great gates of the city are opened to receive the fleeing Trojans, and Apollo leads Achilles away from the city by pretending to be a Trojan.

Book 22: Achilles kills Hector

When Apollo reveals himself to Achilles, the Trojans had retreated into the city, all except for Hector, who, having twice ignored the counsels ofPolydamas, feels the shame of rout and resolves to face Achilles, in spite of the pleas of Priam and Hecuba, his parents. When Achilles approaches, Hector's will fails him, and he is chased around the city by Achilles. Finally, Athena tricks him to stop running, and he turns to face his opponent. After a brief duel, Achilles stabs Hector through the neck. Before dying, Hector reminds Achilles that he is fated to die in the war as well. Achilles takes Hector's body and dishonors it.

Book 23: The dream of Achilles

The ghost of Patroclus comes to Achilles in a dream and urges the burial of his body. The Achaeans hold a day of funeral games, and Achilles gives out the prizes.

Book 24: Funeral of Hector's body

Dismayed by Achilles's continued abuse of Hector's body, Zeus decides that it must be returned to Priam. Led by Mercury (Hermes), Priam takes a wagon out of Troy, across the plains, and enters the Achaean camp unnoticed. He grasps Achilles by the knees and begs to have his son's body. Achilles is moved to tears, and the two lament their losses in the war. After a meal, Priam carries Hector's body back into Troy. Hector is buried, and the city mourns.

Gods and Goddesses

In Iliad gods and goddesses are integral part of the narration, playing an active part in the Trojan war. This is much different from Mahabharata and Ramayana. In Mahabharata, the gods (Devas) are described as nothing more than passive spectators. Divine interference is much less. Only in war preparation stage do we see Indra interfering by taking away the armor of Karna in exchange of a weapon, to help his son (mytholocical attribution)Arjuna, the enemy of Karna. In Ramayana too there are no direct interference of the Devas, except India again giving his chariot to Rama before the commencement of his dual fight with Ravana. No god is mentioned as fighting for or against any party in the war described in Mahabharata and Ramayana. But in Iliad we see many gods and goddesses mentioned as fighting in favor of Achaeans or Trojans.

Possible explanations

Poetic Imagination?

One theory is that the acts of gods (and goddesses) described in Iliad are all poetic imaginations. This is also the stand adopted by a recent Hollywood movie named Troy, where only actions of men are considered as historical and discarding all actions of gods as pure fiction. This is a valid stand point.

Extraterrestrials?

Another possibility is that the gods and goddesses were some extraterrestrial tribes who had interest in humanity and activities of human individuals. They took sides with their own favorite individuals and may even fight against themselves to promote these human individuals chosen by them.

Gandharvas, Devas and Danavas?

A third possibility is that the gods and goddesses were some superior human tribe who taught warfare and technology to the Greeks. Who were this tribe is unknown but all indications point to ancient India, which had higher technology and knowledge in all fields including warfare preceding the Trojan war at least by a millennium. Analysis reveal that the characteristics of Greek gods and goddesses were derived from the Vedic gods and goddesses. However they indeed have a Greek character. The actions and characteristics of the best men and women who were the first to make Greece as their native place, were mapped to this Greek gods and goddesses. These early settlers could be a branch of the Vedic people (especially the Gandharvas, Devas, Danavas and the Daityas, and very particularly the Danavas) who reached Greece after migrating from the Vedic Sarasvati region in ancient India.

Indic Connections

Apollo

The description of Apollo resembles a skilled archer portrayed in Mahabharata, like Karna and Arjuna and in Ramayana like Rama. Karna is described as the son of Sun god. Rama is described as a descendant of Sun god. Apollo too has sun-god like characteristics. The musical skills of Apollo coupled with his skills in archery make him resemble a Gandharva. Gandharvas inhabited the Gandhara territories that lied close to Kashmir and Punjab to the west. This same region was the source of origin of Ionians, Achaeans, Danaans and Dardanians who inhabited Greece and Turkey. They were well versed in martial arts (especially archery) and art music and dance. The word 'Apa' in Apollo indicate association with water (Apa). Gandharvas too were associated with protection of sacred waters.

Artemis

Diana

The twin of Apollo, the goddess Artemis derive her name from Madra (a territory close to Gandhara) whose rulers adopted the name Artayani, meaning 'those who traverse the path of truth' (Arta, or Rta means truth). The women of Madra kingdom too were equal to men and good archers and huntresses and carried bows and arrows. They also had dogs in their household, unlike the eastern kingdoms of ancient India.

Zeus and Hera

Jupiter and Juno

The goddess name Hera (Juno) resembles Hera, the warrior goddess of ancient India, who was also known as Durga, Parvati, Uma and Sakthi the goddess of Power. She was sometimes mentioned as the wife of god Shiva. The great god Shiva was also known as Rudra, the god of the gods and as the great god (Mahadeva), a title which make him identical with Indra the king of the gods, much like Zeus (Jove or Jupiter). Even the name Zeus is derived from the Vedic Dyaus (the sky god).

Hermes and Ares

Mercury and Mars

Hermes (Mercury) is identified with Rigvedic Sarama (deification of hunting dogs). The war-god Ares (Mars) is identifiable with Arya (the Kshatriya warriors of ancient India).

Athena and Aphrodite

Minerva and Venus

Athena (Minerva) seems to be a patron goddess of ancient Greece. No connection with any Indian goddess of same name is found. However she was portrayed as a goddess of knowledge, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic, and music which make here similar to goddessSarasvati, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, crafts and music.

Aphrodite (Venus), the goddess of love, beauty and fertility seems to have connection with goddess Diti (the mother of the Daityas). She seems to be a descendant of Diti. The word 'Ap' signifies water (Apa) and she could have formerly a water goddess (Apsara). The word 'aphros' in Homeric-Greek means 'sea foam', which again signifies water. The Daityas (sons of Diti) were good at sea navigation, and probably would have influenced the Danaans / Danavas in Greece through sea-trade.

In the post-Vedic age, goddess Diti lost prominence and that position is taken by Lakshmi, hailed in the Puranas as goddess of wealth, beauty and fertility. The origin of Lakshmi too was from water (sea) like Aphrodite. Goddess Sarasvati continued to be revered as the goddess of knowledge. There is no mention of any kind of animosity between Lakshmi and Sarasvati like those described in the Iliad between Athena and Aphrodite, except in the youngest Puranas. Even these too, are figurative or symbolic to address the question of superiority of wealth and beauty over knowledge and wisdom or vice versa.

The Goddess Triad

In the Vedic literature of India we had three goddesses forming a triad viz. Bharati (power), Ila (beauty & opulence) and Sarasvati (knowledge, arts & crafts). Similarly in the post-Vedic, Puranic literature of India, we have three goddesses forming a triad, viz. Durga (power), Lakshmi(beauty & opulence) and Sarasvati (knowledge, arts & crafts). A similar triad is found in Iliad, as Hera (Juno), Aphrodite (Venus) and Athena(Minerva). Similar goddess triads are found in many other cultures like in Arabia where we had Manat, Al-Lat and Al-Ussa. Thus these triads could be parts of a global goddess worship cult that existed since ancient periods, coexisting with the Vedic Indo-European culture.

Chronous, Ouranous, Posideon and Hedes

Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto

Chronous as the name indicate is the god of time, a function identified with Mahakala (the great god of Time), viz. Rudra-Siva. Thus both Chronous and Zeus are mapped to Rudra-Siva. However another Rig Vedic god viz. Yama too does the function of time. Ouranous (Uranus) is identified with the Rig Vedic Varuna, the lord of the celestial sea (sky). Posideon (Neptune) is identified with the Rig Vedic Pusan (Pusa-deva:- Posideon) and Hedas (Pluto) with the Rig Vedic Yama (the god of time, justice and later the god of the underworld). the Roman god Neptune is also identified with the Vedic Apam-Napat (a god of the sacred waters (Apa)).

War Heroes and other People

Since the gods and goddesses were much ancient than the war heroes of the Trojan war, they have more Vedic roots. However several war heroes mentioned in Iliad have a Vedic Sanskrit etymology for their names. However this does not exclude for these names to have a different set of etymology based on Homeric Greek language. A sample set is shown below as a table:-

Iliad	Vedic	Meaning
Abantes	Avanti	The name of a Vedic kingdom and its people
Achelous	Achala	the unmoved; name of a Gandhara prince; a Kurukshetra warrior;
Ajax	Ajaksha	Aja-aksha (aja:goat, aksha:eye:- the goat eyed)
Ajax	Ajaksha	Aja-aksha (aja:goat, aksha:chariot-axis:- the having goat driven chariot)
Agasthenes	Agastya	name of a sage, a Vedic tribe
'Andros' in Alexandrus,Andromache etc	Indra	Andros (Gk.) 'of man'; (Skt.) 'of Indra'
Argos city, person	Arjuna	the white one; Arjuna, son of Indra; like Argos the son of Zeus; Indra :- Zeus:- king of gods
Atreus, Otreus	Atreyas	the descendants of sage Atri
Axius	Aksha	the axis
Bias	vipasa	Bias, Beas is the Greek name of Vipasa, a river in Punjab, India
Cadmus	Kardama	a sage and originator of the tribe of Kardamas
Calesius	Kala	Kala is mentioned as a sister of Danu in Mahabharata; here descendants were called Kaleyas / Kalakeyas, who were grouped together with Daityas and Danavas
Danaans	Danavas	one among the ancient tribes that includes Daityas, Adityas and Danavas, who migrated westwards from ancient India
Dardanians	Daradas	a tribe existed in the north, north-west of Kashmir, India
Dares	Daruka	a charioteer mentioned in Mahabharata
Dexius	Daksha	the originator of a tribe, mentioned in the Vedas
Dryas	Drahyu	the originator of the Drahyu tribe
Eumedes	Sumedhas	one with beautiful body
Eurydamas	Sura-Dama	divine person
Hercules Heracles	Hari-kulesha	the god of the tribe of Hari / Hara / Hera;
Ionians	Yavanas	a tribe who took part in Kurukshetra war, who later got established at Ionia in Greece, through sea and land trade
Minos	Matsyas	a tribe which derive its name from fish (Mina, Matsya)
Ulysses (Odysseus)	Odra-desi	hailing from Odra-desa, Odisa (Orissa, India). A Yavana port-city in Odra-Kalinga regions is mentioned in Mahabharata
Pandion	Pandya	a southern tribe
Pelasgi	Pulaha	one among the seven sage tribes
Perseus	Parasu	Parasus, Parasikas, a branch of the Bhrigu tribe who migrated to west
Phegeus	Bhaga	name of a god
Phrygians	Bhrigus	one among the seven sage-tribes founded by Bhrigu; also known as Bhargavas
Rhadamanthus	Radha-madhu?	a clan of the Yadavas
Sarpedon	Sarpas (Nagas)	a clan of the Nagas (snake worshippers; Sarpa: snake)
Sintians	Sindhus	a tribe who lived on the banks of Indus
Sthenelus	Sthanaka	ruler of a place (Sthana), a tribe named Sthanakas
Trojans	Tra-jana	protected people

The names used to denote humanity, like andros, man, human, manushya, purusa were all ancient tribal names. Andros:- descendants of Indra; Man, Manushya, Human :- descendants of Manu; Purusha:- descendants of Puru.

Place Names

Similar to names of heroes some place names (names of cities, rivers, mountain and regions) too have faint Vedic etymologies. This does not mean that these places were located in India. They were indeed located in Greece and surrounding areas but their names bear mark of Vedic culture.

Iliad	Vedic	Meaning
Aesopus river	Ashvapatha	Ashva-patha (ashva:horse, patha:path:- horse way (along the river)
Aetolia city	Atala	a region described as remote and subterranean, where Daitya Danavas live
Argos city	Arjuna	Arjuna, the white, silvery, shining one; son of Indra and the foremost warrior of Kurukshetra
Ascania	Ashvaka Desa	Vedic name of Afganistan; the land of horses (Ashvas)
Cardamyle city	Kardama	a sage who originated a tribe of Kardamas
Crete island	Kratu	one among the seven great sages
Gonoessa	Gana-Desa	territory of united tribes
Hypereia	Upari-Desa	elevated land
Ida, Ilius	Ida, Ila-region	a region mentioned in Indic texts; Ila-river; Ilaspada region
Practius	Prachya	eastern regions (Prachya: eastern)

Danava / Danaan culture

Information from Indic texts

There are several references to the three principal tribes, viz. the Adityas, Daityas and Danavas in Indic texts viz. the Vedas, the Epics and the Puranas. The Adityas were often described favorably while Daityas and Danavas were described as hostile tribes, though there are many exceptions to this rule. Probably the Indic people predominantly descended from the Adityas.

Mahabharata describes the Danavas to be a tribe of beatuful men and women, but strongly critisize them along with the Daityas for their lack of adherence to Dharma. The Puranas critisize them for the lack of compassion (Daya) towards their own tribessmen and towards members of other tribes, their extreme cruelty in war and their practice of keeping women and children (in the enemy side) as captives where they live the rest of their lives in bondage and suffering. In the Vedas, Danu is described as a goddess associated with water (Apa) and seven of her children are mentioned as Danavas, who Indra defeated and sent to the ocean. In Mahabharata and the Puranas Indra is described as the king of the gods (like Zeus, in Iliad). Here the Daityas and Danavas with many other minor tribes were togather described as the Asuras who were enemies of the Adityas (gods). In these later texts, especially in the Puranas, Danu is mentioned as a goddess of bondage and suffering.

Information from Avestan texts

The Avestan texts like Vendidad, indicates that the Daityas who settled around the Daitya river (Kashmir-Afganistan) and later migrated to Iran were the originators of Avestan texts. The Homeric Greek texts like Iliad and Odyssey indicates that the Danavas who lived in the same regions (North-Western India, Eastern Afganistan) migrated to the territories in and around Greece by sea and by land, as Danaans.

Information from Iliad

The characteristics of the Danaans described in Iliad matches with the Epic-Puranic description of the Danavas, as a tribe of beautiful people, but with no concept of Dharma. They were very cruel in warfare and kept the women and children of their enemies captive. There are several specific examples. The Trojan women Briseis was held captive by Achilles and Agamemnon. Andromache, the wife of Hector, was held captive by the Danaans after sacking Troy. Her son Astyanax was brutally killed by Danaan warriors in front of her eyes, who threw the child down from the city walls.

Danavas in ancient India

Many Danava kings were mentioned as ruling in ancient India as per narrations in Mahabharata and the Puranas. King Naraka who ruled at Prakjyotisha is mentioned as an Asura (Daitya or Danava), who took the wives of the kings he defeated as captive. Krishna is mentioned as rescuing around 16,000 women who were thus held captive by king Naraka. Many kings like Jarasandha and Kamsa came under the influence of Danava / Daitya culture and did similar deeds. Kamsa killed the sons of her own sister, fearing that they would become future rulers after killing him. Jarasandha held all the kings defeated by him as captives in his city. They were freed by Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima after Bhima killed Jarasandha.

Concept of Dharma

In the wars that occurred between Indic tribes, as revealed by the Epics and Puranas, harming anyone other than the enemy-warriors was considered as Adharma (against Dharma). Children and wives of the enemies were not harmed. The enemy cities and villages were not sacked but would continue enjoy their normal life except with a change of rulership. In other cases, the victor only collects some tribute or tax and leaves the enemy territory. In many cases, the sons of the enemy king were even allowed to continue as the new rulers. Examples include, Krishna installing Jarasandha's son Sahadeva as the ruler, after slaying Jarasandha; Rama installing Ravana's brother Vibhishana as the ruler after slaying Ravana; Rama installing Angada as the heir apparent after slaying his father Vali. Similarly, the warriors fleeng battle were not killed. In Iliad narrations, we see that many warriors were killed while they were fleeing from battle.

Thus, the notions of Dharma was not developed among the Danaans. Homer who narrated these incidents indeed had some rudimentary concept of Dharma or righteosuness, but was not able to articulate it like Vyasa, the author of Mahabharata and like Valmiki the auther of Ramayana.

Further Reading

Internal Sources

1. Iliad Wiki - A full text Wiki for Iliad with 24 books and 1200 nouns
2. Nouns in Iliad, Alphabetical - Alphabetical list of nouns
3. Nouns in Iliad, Frequency-wise - Frequency spectral analysis of nouns
4. Odyssey
5. Avesta
6. Danava - Rigveda
7. Danavas as a beautiful tribe - a Danavi ( female Danava) is considered as very beautiful
8. Danava - Ramayana
9. Danava - Mahabharata
10. Danava - Vishnu Purana
11. Danavas in Mahabharata
12. Aja - Yajur Veda
13. Aja - Atharva Veda
14. Aja - Ramayana
15. Aja - Mahabharata
16. Aja - Vishnu Purana
17. Ajamidha - Mahabharata
18. Ajamidha - Mahabharata - 2
19. Ajamida - Mahabharata
20. Ajamida - Mahabharata - 2
21. Ajamidha - Vishnu Purana
22. Ajamila - Mahabharata
23. Vishnu Purana
24. Goddess Ila described in Rig Veda
25. Ila - Atharva Veda
26. Ila - Ramayana
27. Ila - Mahabharata
28. Ila - Vishnu Purana
29. Aila - Mahabharata
30. Ailas - Mahabharata
31. Atri - Rig Veda
32. Atri - Yajur Veda
33. Atri - Atharva Veda
34. Atri - Ramayana
35. Atri - Mahabharata
36. Atri - Vishnu Purana
37. Atreya - Mahabharata
38. Atreyas - Mahabharata
39. Atreyas - Vishnu Purana

External Sources

1. Iliad English Translation by Samuel Butler - sacred-text
2. Iliad in Greek Original - sacred-text
3. Historical and Geographical Context of Iliad
4. Vedic Family names in Pre-Historic Greece - AncientVoice
5. Iliad - Wikipedia

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 16 Sep 2011, 02:23 and updated at 7 Oct 2011, 02:32

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