What’s New about Mohenjo-Daro?

This article by archaeologist Andrew Lawler has appeared in the January 2013 issue of the Archaeology magazine.  According to this article, the so-called Buddhist stupa in Mohenjo-Daro might have been a structure from much earlier than Buddhist times.  Read the article in the following link for more details:

156909248-Mohenjo-Daro-s-New-story-Andrew-Lawler-2013

It’s almost one century since the remains of Mohenjo-Daro were unearthed for the first time – but it certainly it still holds many secrets of Indian civilization!

-neelanjana

The Myth of Aryan Invasion of India

In my post a few months ago, I had written about why Indus Valley Civilization be better termed as Saraswathi-Sindhu Civilization, and it’s relation with the people who composed the Vedas.

Recently, I listened to a lecture of Dr R Ganesh on the topic of the Myth of Aryan Invasion – A myth that was the brainchild of colonialists of the 19th century to best suit their beliefs of those times – but unfortunately carried down even to this day, when all the scientific evidence shows otherwise.

This lecture was held at Rasadhwani Kalakendra, Benagluru, and I thank the organizers for agreeing to share the recording. The lecture is in Kannada and runs for about two hours.

Here is a link to to download the lecture for your listening pleasure.  : The Myth of the Aryan Invasion of India by Shataavadhani Dr R Ganesh

If you have Google Chrome Apps such as DriveTunes or TwistedWave, you can listen to the lecture online as well from the same link.

You can get in touch with the people at Rasadhwani Kalakendra at rasadhwani.kalakendra@gmail.com, or by going to their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/rasadhwani.kalakendra)   for information about their future
events and lectures.

Here is a video link for the lecture:

-neelanjana

Naasadeeya Sooktam

The 129th sookta (hymn) from the 10th manDala of Rg vEda is called the nAsadIya sUkta (नासदीय सूक्तम्). The recurrent use of the word नासत्, नासीत् (meaning, ‘it wasn’t there’ ) has given the the name – nAsadIya sUktam.

Here is the text of this sookta in original:

This sookta has also been termed as the “Hymn of Creation” because it talks about the wonders of this creation, and wonders whether there is a creator behind it.

The 10th manDala of Rig Veda has been accepted as one of the latest parts of this book. But since this manDala describes the Saraswati river, it definitely dates at least to 1800 BC. Satellite imagery has shown that Saraswati river had all but dried up by that time. So, given that this sooka was written almost four thousand years ago, I can’t but admire the wonderful minds behind this poetic creation!

For those who were DD fans – This sookta (more specifically, it’s translation in Hindi) made the catchy signature tune for a fairly popular TV series titled “The Discovery of India: भारत् – एक् खोज्” in the 1980’s.

I had posted my translation of this sookta on my kannaDa blog almost an year ago. I am re-posting it again here.

ನಾಸದೀಯ ಸೂಕ್ತ
-ಅಥವ –
ಇಲ್ಲದುದರ ಮೇಲೆರಡು ಮಾತು

ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಇದ್ದದ್ದು, ಇಲ್ಲ ಇಲ್ಲದದು
ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಗಾಳಿ ಬಲು ದೂರದಾಗಸ
ಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಏನದು? ಯಾರದನು ಕಾಯ್ದವರು?
ಇತ್ತೇನು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಆಳದ ಕರಿನೀರು?

ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಸಾವು, ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಬದುಕು
ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಹಗಲು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಇರುಳು
ಉಸಿರಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಉಸಿರೆಳೆವ ಭಾವ
ಅದನೊಂದ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಏನೂ

ಕರಿ ಕತ್ತಲ ಕಟ್ಟಿಟ್ಟ ಹಿರಿಗತ್ತಲು
ಎಲ್ಲವನು ಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅರಿಯದಾ ನೀರು
ಶೂನ್ಯವೇ ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ತೆರೆದಿಟ್ಟ ಮನಸು
ಅದನು ಹೊರತರುವ ಆ ಮಹಾತಪಸು

ಹುಟ್ಟಿತ್ತು ಅದು, ಹರಡಿತ್ತು ಎಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲು
ಮನದ ಮೂಲೆಯಲಿ ಮೊಳೆತಂಥ ಪ್ರೀತಿ
ಎದೆಯ ಬಯಲೊಳಗೆ ಆಡಗಿದ್ದ ರೀತಿ
ಅರಿತರೇ ಇಲ್ಲದಕು ಇದ್ದುದಕು ನಂಟು?

ಇಲ್ಲದಕು ಇದ್ದುದಕು ನಡುವೊಂದು ಸೂತ್ರ
ಅದರ ಮೇಲೇನಿತ್ತು ಇತ್ತದದರ ಕೆಳಗೇನು?
ಆ ಬೀಜದ ಭರದ ಮಹಿಮೆಯ ತರವೇನು?
ಏನದರ ಶಕ್ತಿ? ಏನದರ ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸು?

ಯಾರದನು ಅರಿತವರು? ಯಾರದನು ಹೇಳುವರು?
ಜನಿಸಿದ್ದು ಎಂದು? ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಕರ್ತನು ಯಾರು?
ಕಾವ ದೇವರು ಕೂಡ ತರುವಾಯ ಜನಿಸಿರಲು
ನಿಜವಾದ ಚರಿತೆಯನು ಪೇಳುವವರಾರು?

ಜಗವನ್ನು ಇದನು ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದರಾರು ?
ಹುಟ್ಟಿಸಿದನೊ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ? ತಿಳಿದವರು ಯಾರು?
ಆಗಸದಿ ಮೇಲೆ ನಿಂತು ನೋಡುವನವನು
ಹೇಳಬಲ್ಲನೆ ಇದನು? ಅರಿತಿಹನೆ ಅವನು?

-neelanjana