Friday, January 13, 2012

India or Bharat or Nabhivarsh


The Land of a Million Contradictions,
The Land of a Billion representatives of Humanity,
The Land of the Oldest Existing Civilization on the Planet!


What is it about this land that fills one with a sense of enigma??? The very name conjures up vivid images of contrasting Geographies and colorful Traditions..

The Sub-continent where some of the Greatest religions of the World originated,
The Nation which created History by attaining Freedom through Non-Violent means,
The Economy which is the 4th largest in the world in terms of Purchasing Power Parity,
The Land supporting a Multi-lingual, Multi-ethnic, Multi-cultural and yet Functional Democracy!



Incredible India!



As the Sun God Surya enters Northern Hemisphere (Uttarayan) today, it Inspires us all to move away from darkness and towards light.  In different parts of the country, we are celebrating Lohri/Makar Sankrant/Pongal and Bihu -One festival, many names- Just like our nation..

In a previous post, (Genetics of the Wandering Indian), I talked about the morphological distinctness of Indians hiding Genetically identical constitutions. The same plurality has been preserved in the variety of names that we posess and I am suddenly inclined to explore the history behind them.



Naming a Nation

Our country has two official names - India and Bharat. The Persians and Arabs used yet another name for the country - Hindustan/Al Hind and since Persian has played a big part in the development of our National language Hindi, the term Hindustan is also used in common parlance today.

Both Hindustan and India however, are derived from the name of the river Indus which marked the Western boundary of India for travelers. Indus again is derived from the Sanskrit name Sindhu and both the terms have been in use since at least 5th century BC. However, these are the names given to us by travelers and traders.. What did the indigenous people of ancient India refer to their country as??


India/Bharat/Hindustan/Al Hind
 {Image courtesy Google Maps}



I was fascinated by this question and tried to look into all the scriptural data I could lay my paws on. NOT surprisingly, I found plurality here as well :o)

The Indus-Saraswati people extended in the West from Afghanistan-Pakistan border right upto Yamuna in the East and Gujarat in the South. This region, especially the land between Saraswati and Ganga rivers was known as Aryavarta or the Land-of-the-Noble.

The Mesopotamians with whom ancient Indians ahd extensive trade relations, referred to this region as Meluha. The same name has been popularized by one of my favorite authors Amish Tripathi in his best-seller - 'The Immortals of Meluha'. But again, this was an apellation for a particular region of the country and not the entire Indian sub-continent..


Aryavarta/Meluha/Northern India



Delving further into the research, I quite literaly stumbled onto an ancient ruler, Emperor Agnidhra, the grand-son of the FIRST MAN - Swayambhu Manu who is believed to have ruled over the ENTIRE globe, then known as the Jambu-dweep.{For more details, click on this link - Jambudweep - The Global Island}

While retiring, Agnidhra divided his kingdom (aka the entire planet) into 9 Continents or Divisions handing them over to his 9 sons to rule. Thus, the peninsular stretch spreading from Himalayas to the Ocean, came under the supervision of his eldest son Nabhi, thereby giving us the oldest appellation of our land - the NABHI-VARSHA.

As most of you would know, the term Nabhi refers to the 'Navel' in Sanskrit and thus Nabhi-varsha could easily be translated as the 'Central Region'. Interestingly, the Japanese name for India was Tenjiku. Tian, the root word, means "Heaven", while, jiku, means: "The center of", translating it to "The Heavenly Center of the World".


Nabhi Varsha/Tenjiku/Navel of the World



So I managed to find the oldest name of our sub-continent as per the scriptures. But then, I wondered, where and how did the name BHARAT come from??




India and BhArat

According to at least half a dozen different scriptures, our country is called BhArat as a mark of respect to the legendary Emperor, Chakravarti Raja Bharat.

This fact has been attested by the Vishnu Puran (2,1,31), Vayu Puran (33,52), Ling Puran (1,47,23), Brahmand Puran (14,5,62), Agni Puran ( 107,11-12), Skanda Puran (37,57) and Markandeya Puran (50,41)!! For example, Vishnu Puraan states-

उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
The country lying North of the Ocean and South of the snowy mountains is called Bhārat; There dwell the descendants of Bharat.

BhArat Varsha extending from Himalayas to the Ocean



Now, there are again TWO very interesting stories about this ONE name and I'm gonna share both of them with you today..



The Legends of Bharat

The FIRST legend begins with Emperor Nabhi, the great-grandson of Manu, whom we encountered above. According to Hindu as well as Jain scriptures, Nabhi-dev was married to Meru-devi, the daughter of Indra, and their eldest son was the Saint-King Rishabh Dev.

Now, RISHABH Dev was the first Tirthankar according to the Jain tradition and I should mention here that Srimad Bhāgavatam also counts Him as 8th of the 24 Incarnations of Lord Vishnu. According to the Bhagavatam, He was born to show the people of this world the path of salvation. It was He who laid down the foundations of Civilization and advised people to follow the path of spiritual bliss, instead of indulging in a life of worldly pleasures and enjoyment.


Adinath Rishabdev



Rishabh Dev had many sons, and the eldest two from his two wives were Bharat and Bahubali. The two sons were competing for the illusive title of Chakravarti (Emperor-of-Entire-World) but Bharat was the natural winner and as per the scriptures, it is THIS Bharat after whom our country is named.

 In Hymns 2.1.31 and 2.1.32, the Vishnu Puraan states-

Rishabh was born to Merudevi, Bharat was born to Rishabh,
Bharatvarsha was named from Bharat, and Sumati arose from Bharat. [2.1.31]

This country is known as Bharatavarsha,
Since the time the father entrusted the Kingdom to the son,
And himself went to the forest for ascetic practices. [2.1.32]

Talking of Ascetic practices, it has been observed, that a lot of Indus-Saraswati Civilization seals and figurines depict Yogic postures on them, which BTW highlights the continuity of Yogic practice in India since at least 5000 years ago.


Yogic postures in Indus-Saraswati figurines
Three-faced Pashupatinath seal



There are certain seals that depict the Yogic position called Kayotsarga, traditionally described in connection with the penance of Rishabh-dev. It may very well be that the seals record the histories of Jain Tirthankars as much as the Hindu Gods as ultimately both belong to the same Spiritual Tradition.

Before I share with you the second story, I must tell you that many Puranas describe Bharat as the ruler of the whole world. In that sense then, Bharat-varsha would actually refer to the entire globe and not just the country.




The Second Legend of Bharat

The SECOND legend of Bharat, brings us into more familiar territory, probably due to the wider reach and popularity of the Epic containing it, the Mahabharat.

The story begins with Brahma-rishi Vishwamitra, one of the Seven Great Seers of Hindu Mythology. The rishis's penance worried Indra sufficiently enough to make him send Menaka, the most beautiful Apsara in heaven, to distract the sage. The result of their dalliance was Shakuntala who got married to King Dushyant of the ruling Lunar Dynasty. Their story is the stuff of a typical Bollywood movie and has been immortalized in Sanskrit in Kalidasa's poetic rendition and in art by one of the most celebrated Indian artists Raja Ravi Varma.


Shakuntala by Raja Ravi Varma



Dushyant and Shakuntala's son was called Sarvadaman, the subduer-of-all by the caretakers in the ashram where he grew up. Even as a kid, he would play with lions and other ferocious animals of the jungle. By the time he was six, he could subjugate lions and tigers with his bare hands, a feat which is remarkable and is mentioned MORE than once in various scriptures. Nevertheless, this subduing child of Shakuntala was later renamed Bharat as he was 'cherished by all' in his father's kingdom.


Shakuntala introduces Bharat to Dushyant


Interestingly, there's again an Indus-Saraswati Seal that matches the description of Bharat subduing two tigers with his bare hands! The scene may or may not refer to Shakuntala's son, but its iconography is certainly suggestive.. These seals when deciphered, would be an extremely valuable and AUTHENTIC source of our ancient History


Indus Valley Seals probably depicting Bharat



Bharat grew up to be a great warrior and a Chakravarti Raja who conquered and united the entire continent of India again, spreading right from the Ocean to the Himalayas, thus giving the country his name. This re-making of BhArat is captured in my book on this legendary character from our history.


Who was Chakravarti Raja Bharat?



{Available on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2uKMfOh
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Flipkart: https://bit.ly/2yAF0JW



This appellation for the country was well noted in the ancient world as well. From the perspective of the Malaysians, Indians were the most common visitors from the West, therefore the word Barat was absorbed into Malay language meaning "West".

For the Middle Eastern traders, particularly Arabs and Turks, spices were the most common materials coming from the East. Therefore, some scholars believe, the term Bharat was borrowed first into Arabic as Baharāt (meaning - spices); and then into the Turkish as Baharat with the same meaning.

It is fortunate that the two BHARATs of our History who gave their name to the Nation were called the same, otherwise one of them could have quite easily been forgotten like the Emperor Nabhi. We should therefore understand BhArat to mean not just the 'Land-of-Bharat' but the 'Land-of-BharatS' instead.

Many people have this misconception that it was the British who actually turned us into a nation and to the supporters of this belief, I would urge to read their scriptures and understand their own heritage. There is no Future for any nation, if we do not remember our Past. I hope I was able to share with you some interesting facts about our Origin as a Country and I guess should conclude here with one of the most optimistic poems ever by Gurudev Rabindranath Thakur-

Where the Mind is without Fear,
And the Head is held High,
Where Knowledge is Free,
Where the World has not been broken i
nto fragments
by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of Truth,
Where tireless striving stretches its arms
towards Perfection;
Where the clear stream of Reason has not lost its Way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by Thee,
into ever-widening
Thought and Action,
Into that Heaven of freedom,

My Father,
Let my Country awake.

 
Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:
.

66 comments:

  1. Brilliant, keep it up..: )

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  2. @Vineet,, its a great work u r doing and to improve more please add some short but effective videos about the subject coz message is more striking whn its visually attractive as reading is not everyone's cup of tea! i wish u best luck for ur blog.

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  3. Param Purohit i knw what u mean!! had d same thing in mind but sadly blogger is not allowing external videos coz of the size problem... maybe smtm in d near future :)

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  4. Thanx @Ram!! Do share it wid friends n give sm feedback as well when u get time :)

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  5. Hi Vineet its really interesting to read this blog. Great work.

    I want to know what all you have learn't in terms of Sanskrit texts. And how did gain this knowledge, as these are not easily available.

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  6. Thanx a lot @kiran :)
    well i have read the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Bahgvad Geeta in original Sanskrit hence i rely more on these.. for others i try and get the translated versions from various libraries and online stores

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  7. Gud description....

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  8. its a gud article Vineet Aggarwal.

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  9. very nice post ...keep penning!!

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  10. topics were nice..bring more!

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  11. Thanx @MK :) will sure keep the process gng :D

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  12. I'm not Indian, but that was a nice read.

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  13. Many named came with many structures , your article was really praiseworthy but let me clear you with one small point
    aaryawarta does not mean a specific land bounded by geographical limits . Aaryawarta is any place where nobles can live in peace and harmony continuing to uplift humanity . it can be established in between sarswathi and ganga , it can even be established in japan . since its Dharmic concept human made things like geographical limits, races and stuff doesn't effect it

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  14. As much I know, this subcontinent was known as Jombu Dwip. Later in ancient literature we found the name became Bharat.

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  15. @Hari Tejam thanx for ur input..
    @Jigyasu thanx for d appreciation :)

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  16. @Saikat... i know lot of people identify Jambudwip wid the indian sub continent.. but in my research i have come across a lot of data which points me in a completely diff direction.. wil share that in the next post soon :)

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  17. You my dear forgot another oldest name of India i.e. Jambudweep. It was the entire Asia continent. During the period of Mahabharat, India was the jambudweep.

    with regards
    vijay

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  18. Dear Vijay, as i mentioned above in reply to another comment, Jambudweep was not the name of the India sub-continent but that of the entire Earth globe!! my next article is on the same topic so wil b great to get ur feedback on that :)

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  19. Good Show Vineet-I am very proud of you!We are with you!!

    K.v

    Vimanika Comics

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  20. Thanx a lot @Karan Vir n Prem Prakash Tiwari :)

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  21. Awesome blog! keep up the good work!

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  22. read some of your blogs.... its great to know that we still have a generations which is interested in knowing their roots other than those who r just copying western culture undermining their own rich and varied sanskriti... Kudos to u man!!!!

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  23. Thanks a lot SSS for ur appreciation :)

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  24. Good job dude..Sanatana Dharma rocks!!

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  25. Namaskar Vineet !!

    Wow nice information...
    keep it up

    Dhanyawad!!

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  26. very good vineet ji,

    as per some text they do confirm Aryawarta as some region in limit place unlike what Hari Tejam said....it may be due the limitation of humanity within self and generalized in a way that we have the habit to say that every thing do has it limits and so aryawart had.

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  27. Thanx all u guys :)
    @Priyanshu i totally agree.. Aryacvarta was the name given to the geographical tract of land inbtw the Sindhu-Saraswati in the West and Ganga in the East

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  28. i like your blog as it is close to my heart, but my area of concern is THE BULAND BHARAT. hats off to your knowledge regarding our core, our culture, our everything.
    i can not define it in words.

    i like to take your help and guidance for my movie which will be like an atom bomb blast.
    i want my BHARAT back, the BHARAT which you call THE BHARAT VARSH......

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    1. Thanx a lot @Sudhir.. I wish we can get those days of glory back but we all have to do our bit and put in efforts to transform India into Bharat again.. Happy Independence Day Jai Hind :)

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    2. Dear you have done a quite good work – thanks and keep it up !!

      I apreciate your pointed work though I don’t personally aceept mixing of west and east – science and religion. There is a frame of reference for everything and when frames are mixed life is a ‘mess’ !!

      About India – I have read many many things – but what I came across from Osho had no parallel. When ever politically minded Indians asked him about India – he use to tear India apart – but when seekers, meditators asked him about India – he opened up an India that none knew. When a teacher from Italy asked him about certain things she felt in India , that she never felt else where in the globe – he responded to her an India that he so much loved – here is the excerpt – all of Osho’s talks are from frame of his experience of the mystery – here is his experience of India. It is not an argument, theory
      ----------------
      India is not just geography or history. It is not only a nation, a country, a mere piece of land. It is something more: it is a metaphor, poetry, something invisible but very tangible. It is vibrating with certain energy fields which no other country can claim.

      For almost ten thousand years, thousands of people have reached to the ultimate explosion of consciousness. Their vibration is still alive, their impact is in the very air; you just need a certain receptivity, a certain capacity to receive the invisible that surrounds this strange land.

      It is strange because it has renounced everything for a single search, the search for the truth. It has not produced great philosophers - you will be
      surprised to know it - no Plato, no Aristotle, no Thomas Aquinas, no Kant, no Hegel, no Bradley, no Bertrand Russell. The whole history of India
      has not produced a single philosopher - and they have been searching for truth!

      Certainly their search was very different from the search that has been done in other countries. In other countries people were thinking about truth; in India, people were not thinking about truth - because how can you think about truth? Either you know it, or you don't; thinking is impossible, philosophy is impossible. It is absolutely an absurd and futile exercise. It is just like a blind man thinking about light - what can
      he think? He may be a great genius, may be a great logician - it is not going to help. Neither logic is needed nor genius is needed; what is needed is eyes to see.

      Light can be seen but cannot be thought. Truth can be seen, but cannot be thought; hence we don't have a parallel word in India for `philosophy'. The search for truth we call darshan, and darshan means seeing. Philosophy means thinking, and thinking is circular - about and about, it never reaches to the point of experiencing.

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    3. India is the only land in the whole world, strangely, which has devoted all its talents in a concentrated effort to see the truth and to be the truth.

      You cannot find a great scientist in the whole history of India. It is not that there were not talented people, it is not that there were not geniuses. Mathematics was founded in India, but it did not produce Albert Einstein. The whole country, in a miraculous way, was not interested in any objective research. To know the other has not been the goal here, but to know oneself.

      For ten thousand years millions of people persistently making a single effort, sacrificing everything for it - science, technological development, riches - accepting poverty, sickness, disease, death, but not dropping the search at any cost... it has created a certain noosphere, a certain ocean of vibrations around you.

      If you come here with a little bit of a meditative mind, you will come in contact with it. If you come here just as a tourist, you will miss it. You will see the ruins, the palaces, the Taj Mahal, the temples, Khajuraho, the Himalayas, but you will not see India - you will have passed through

      India without meeting it. It was everywhere, but you were not sensitive, you were not receptive. You will have come here to see something which is not truly India but only its skeleton - not its soul. And you will have photographs of its skeleton and you will make albums of its skeleton, and you will think that you have been to India and you know India, and you are simply deceiving yourself.

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    4. There is a spiritual part. Your cameras cannot photograph it; your training, your education cannot capture it. You can go to any country, and you are perfectly capable of meeting the people, the country, its history, its past - in Germany, in Italy, in France, in England. But you cannot do the same as far as India is concerned. If you try to categorize it with other countries, you have already missed the point, because those countries don't have that spiritual aura. They have not produced a Gautam Buddha, a Mahaviraa, a Neminatha, an Adinatha. They have not produced a Kabir, a
      Farid, a Dadu. They have produced scientists, they have produced poets, they have produced great artists, they have produced painters, they have produced all kinds of talented people. But the mystic is India's monopoly; at least up to now it has been so.

      And the mystic is a totally different kind of human being. He's not simply a genius, he is not simply a great painter or a great poet - he is a vehicle of the divine, a provocation, an invitation for the divine. He opens the doors for the divine to come in. And for thousands of years, millions of people have opened the doors for the divine to fill the atmosphere of this country. To me, that atmosphere is the REAL India. But to know it, you will have to be in a certain state of mind.

      When you are meditating, trying to be silent, you are allowing the real India to come in contact with you. Yes, you are right; the way you can find truth in this poor country you cannot find anywhere else. It is utterly poor, and yet spiritually it has such a rich heritage that if you can open your eyes and see that heritage you will be surprised. Perhaps this is the only country which has been deeply concerned with the evolution of consciousness and nothing else. Every other country has been concerned with a thousand other things. But this country has been one-pointed, a single goal: how human consciousness can be evolved to a point where it meets with the divine;
      how to bring the human and the divine closer.

      And it is not a question of one person but millions of people; not a question of a day or a month or a year, but thousands of years. Naturally, it has created a tremendous energy field around the country. It is all over the place, you just have to be ready.

      It is not coincidental that whenever anybody is thirsty for truth, suddenly he has become interested in India, suddenly he has started moving towards the East. And it is not only today, it is as old as there are records. Pythagoras, twenty-five centuries ago, came to India in search of truth. Jesus Christ came to …And down the centuries, seekers have been coming to this land from all over the world. The country is poor, the country has nothing to offer, but to those who are sensitive it is the richest place on the earth. But the richness is of the inner. This poor country can give you the India…. greatest treasure that is possible for human beings.

      The Osho Upanishad, Chapter 21
      From a Compilation India, my Love of Osho

      So keep up your work – I pointed out frame of referance just from my point of view – you don’t have to take it – continue your journey – your way !!

      All the best !!

      rakesh

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    5. Thanx for sharing your thoughts as well as the wonderful excerpt from Osho's teachings Rakesh.. since you have shared your perspective let me share mine as well.. I don't think Science and Religion represent two different principles! For me, both serve the same purpose - that of discovering and deciphering the hidden truths of this Universe and finding a way to transcend the physical and material to grasp something that is intangible and incomprehensible to a lay person..

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    6. Also, the West does not represent Science by itself! Science has always been an integral part of Eastern cultures... what do you call Ayurveda, Trigonometry, Decimal System, Astronomy, Surgery and so on and so forth found in Indian 'religious' texts? Similarly, it is not the East but West that has given birth to the two most followed religions in the world today.. Unless the two disciplines meet, Science will always tend to breed atheism and religion tend to breed Fanaticism.. hope I could make my point clear :)

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  29. After reading this gem of yours, i remembered one incident of Swami Vivekanandaji's life. After returning from long voyage of USA, someone asked how you feel about India now. Swamiji replied now the dust of India is felt like dust of gold. Once some persons were glorifying British by saying all developments made by British. Swamiji replied British just destroyed all of India's self-esteem along with development.

    Your post will help to restore that esteem again. We were the leader and we will be. It is shame that some prince politician claimed that India never was a country. We were taught wrong History deliberately. Even for IAS exam, till date Aryan Invasion Theory has to mug up, even our history book has not been changed. We become detached from our glorious History, tradition, knowledge and just blindly aping West. Amazingly West are now tilting towards Bharat. We need thousands of Man of Mission. I think the process has been started already with you.

    Jai Bharat, Jai Hind.

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    1. I am humbled by your words Das.. the purpose of this blog is to open our eyes to the infinite wisdom present in our scriptures and plant a seed of inquiry within our hearts so that we can take the next step to truly understand our goal in life.. As the ancient rishis said - 'Athato Bharma Jignyasa' NOW is the time to inquire about Spirituality.. Oh, yes ABHI :)

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  30. Hello Vineet,

    "Bharatha" in samskrutham is split as "Bha" which means light & "Ratha" which means chariot, hence chariot of light!!

    With regards,
    Avinash

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  31. Dear Vineet! I like your posts very much. I learnt a lot of things from your blog.

    A small doubt. "Jambudweep includes the island between Ayravat to Cambodia and not only Indian sub continent".
    My explanation:
    As per the name it is the place where Jambu trees are found. All the land which is covered by Indian ocean is Jambudweep. The best part is, you can find the oldest un-demolished temples in Cambodia. I could understand that the breach arised after the invasion of mughals in Asia and the shrinkage of hindu territory hapened.
    As you know while doing the "Achamna" in any pooja, we firstly mention our geographical location and time. It goes like this "Aadya Brahmanaha Dvitiya Parardesweta Varahakalpe Vaivasweta Manvantre Kaliyuge Pradhamapade Jambu Dweepe Bharata Varshe Bharata Khande Asmin.."
    Please let me know your view about it.
    _________________________________________________________
    A little more info from my side for your future research(but I guess you already know about this).
    From Pangea to the present day globe there were several deformations of the landmass due to continental drift. It is interesting that by the time sanskrit was spoken, there were 8 continents and now only 7. A total continet got submerged which is Kumari kandam, recently it was found during the excavation of Dwaraka.

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  32. Dear Sivan, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts.. please check the posts on Jambudvip and Lokas to get answers for your query.. In a nutshell, Jambudvip does not represent a fixed landmass on Earth but the entire Earth itself!

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  33. can you write about Ayurveda?

    These days we mostly read that Ayurveda is only 5000 years old.


    which is totally false , deliberately done.


    If you can write truth about Ayurveda , people will know the
    truth.

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    1. Well sure I can think of incorporating it in one of the posts :)

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  34. What would be the hindu term for america country. Like Bharata varsha: What would be america?

    This is a very interesting information. I will forward it my son who is crazy about "Through the worm hole" episodes and interested in connecting the European myth to Hindu Myth.

    Thanks,

    girija

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    1. Well traditionally the continent has been known as Pataal desh which may refer to the barbaric practices such as human sacrifice and drinking human blood that were common to the early civilizations of that region.

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  35. Incredible article! Thanks for the analysis

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  36. Nice Post. Thanks for all the hard work.

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  37. I had been reading your blog since the last few days and I must say Thank you from the bottom of my heart for rekindling the love one should have for her motherland, her culture and most importantly, for herself..:) What they teach in history isn't truly worthwhile. Everyday, My bus mate tells me something new about Islam, simply because they know about it. One silly question of hers, "What is hindu view on Apocalypse?" and one silly answer from me, "We don't need one" made me realize our knowledge on our own scriptures is indeed too narrow and confined only to what they air on TV as serials. Nevertheless, we learn, forget and relearn.Proud to Be an Indian.:))

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    1. Haha you're right.. beyond the basic plots of Ramayan and Mahabharat hardly anyone bothers to find out what else is there in our scriptures when they are actually a treasure trove of interesting stories and scientific facts! BTW you should check the post on Pralaya for the Apocalypse question :)

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  38. The present "National Anthem", was actually composed to welcome the representative of the 'Queen', viz. King George V. Sadly he's being praised as "Bharta Bhagya Vidhata"... not so good stuff, anyway...

    Vande Mataram was originally our National Anthem, but since our dear Nehru felt Jana Gana Mana was more suitable for a band, he declared it as a national anthem (something like that)...

    Anyway, A R Rehman has orchestrated it well and it arouses people rather well... most people don't know or care for the significance... and they enjoy both... So, chill, enjoy life and both the songs.

    Theres a facebook page called Bharat Gyan, they have researched ALOT about India.

    Rgds :)

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  39. I'm not much of a reader. But your blog has me totally engrossed. At my present state of mind, your blog is like a answer to so many of my questions.

    More people need to see this, they need to realize the level of knowledge, maturity and intelligence that we have. But all of this has to be spread peacefully ( not like the rest of the world propagating their values violently)

    I just hope we don't become a minority, loose access to our heritage because of our own leaders.

    We have the knowledge from these ancients to tackle today's problems . I just wish we adapt them peacefully.
    I admire your research and I too sit in Mumbai and wonder how infatuated we are with cultures who know so little and how easily people turn into drones.

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    1. Thanx a lot Karthik.. yes its sad that we people are more concerned about Thor and Percy Jackson than characters from our own mythology! We need to revive this curiosity to find our own past so plz do share the articles with other like-minded people :)

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  40. I was desperate to find relationship between bharat and Jain scriptures because a Jain would not come forward to even debate about how we're they involved ever in anything due to their spiritual practice on self enlightenment and completeness. I searched a lot and finally found some relativity. Thank you I can proceed my research. If you don't mind I would like to republish your article on my blog I am member of www.estylebazaar.com

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    1. Hi Sumeet you may use it as long as you mention the original source :)

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  41. Why do we refer our homeland as bharatha matha as our mother and why is bharathi the other name for goddess saraswathi? Any insights?

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    1. Well the reference to India as a goddess actually began in Bengal by the nationalists who were rallying the nation against the British. As for Saraswati I believe that is because most ancient so called Indus Valley are actually along the banks of the Saraswati! She was the one who nurtured Indian civilization and it was along her banks that Raja Bharat was crowned the king of India hence the connection.

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