Quest for Dwarka

Quest for Dwarka

The sea, that had been beating against the shores, 
broke the boundaries imposed by nature..
It rushed into the beautiful city,
and swallowed everything in its path.. 
I saw the grand buildings submerge one by one, 
In just a few moments it was all over..
The sea had now become as placid as a lake,
There was no trace of the city anymore, 
Dwarka was just a name; just a memory..

What a terrible end to witness, the submergence of an entire metropolis in front of one's own eyes.. Yet, this is what happened to the golden city of Dwarka and according toMahabharat's Musal Parva, Pandav Arjun was eyewitness to this destruction!

In continuation of my previous post {Pralaya - The end of Days}, I decided to explore the topic further and assess its impact on Indian history. It leads me to believe that civilization hubs on the shores of our vast peninsula have succumbed to these calamities time and again, and Dwarka, was one of the most promising candidates for such a catastrophe.

What exactly was Dwarka? We know from ancient texts that the city was located on the western shore of Indian mainland; we know it was the capital of Yadavs after they migrated from Mathura; we know Lord Krishna made the city His capital and ruled the kingdom from there; and we also know, that this fabled city was submerged under huge Tsunamis as soon as Krishna left the Earth.

Let us now dig a little deeper and find out more about the rise and fall of Dwarka. 

Dwarka, the Golden City

Dwarka or Dwarawati (The-city-of-Doors) finds mention in many Sanskrit epics including the Mahabharat, Harivansha, Bhagvat Puraan, Skanda Puraan and theVishnu Puraan.  It is one of the sacred quartet that forms Char Dham of Lord Vishnu along with Shri Badrinath, Shri Jagannath Puri and Shri Rameshwaram.

Shri Dwarkadhish Temple in the modern city of Dwarka

Legend says that the city was built by none other than Vishwakarma, the architect of demigods on the order of Lord Krishna at a site selected by the Divine Eagle Garud. 

Krishna's Golden City from a Mughal miniature painting

In order to know more about the creation of Dwarka, we would first have to understand the geo-political realities of the time. Let us take a look at the political dynamics in the country at the end of Dvapar Yuga.

Socio-political Condition in Mahabharat Times

The end of a Yuga is always a phase of tumultuous transition. We are talking about the period from the Dusk-of-Dvapar to the Dawn-of-Kaliyuga and there was a lot of political upheaval at this time in the civilized world.

Jarasandh, the king of Magadh had emerged as the most powerful and ambitious king of the time, aspiring to become the Lord of the entire land. He had entered into alliance with other tyrant kings like Kamsa and the Kauravs through matrimony and military deterrence and most other rulers were his vassals. 

Yadavs were settled on the banks of Yamuna and the cities of Mathura and Shauripuri in present Uttar Pradesh were their major centers. Mathura, the main hub of Chandravanshis was ruled by Kamsa who had dethroned his father Ugrasen and usurped the kingdom. 

Another Yadav prince Samudravijay was ruling over Shauripuri, while his younger brother Vasudev (the father of Krishna) was the captive of Kamsa along with his wifeDevaki. When Krishna grew up, He liberated His parents from the dungeons of Kamsa, killed the despot and ended his reign of tyranny but Jarasandh (Kamsa's father-in-law), vowed to take revenge.

Since Krishna was too strong an adversary, Jarasandh, who was a master strategist, decided to target the Yadav subjects and launched a series of raids against the denizens of Mathura. Krishna, being a statesman par excellence, decided to wait for the right time (aka the Mahabharat War) and meanwhile thought of a way to secure His countrymen.

He decided to move the entire population of Yadav kingdom to a place far beyond the reach of Jarasandh and picked the western coast of India. The Sabha Parva ofMahabharat gives a detailed account of Krishna's emigration to Dwarka in order to save the lives of His subjects from unwanted attacks.

Migration routes of various clans due to Jarasandh's attacks

 

Krishna summoned Vishwakarma, the divine architect of the demigods, and commissioned a city that would be the envy of the civilized world. However, the architect wanted to reclaim some land from the sea and the task could be completed only if Varundeva, the Lord of the sea, acquiesced to this proposal. Sri Krishna worshiped Samudra-dev, who gave them land measuring 12 yojans and Vishwakarma then built the magnificent Dwaraka, a city in gold. 

This is what we know from the Mahbharat, let us see what other literary evidence we can gather from other sources. 

Historicity of Dwarka - Literary Evidence

According to the Garuḍa Purāṇ [1.16.14], Dwarka was one of the seven ancient cities in the country that are believed to lead one to Nirvana.

Ayodhyā Mathurā Māyā Kāsi Kāñchī Avantikā

Purī Dvārāvatī chaiva saptaitā moksadāyikāh

Inclusion of Dwarka in this list gives reason that it would have been a historical city as the other six cities mentioned in the verse are very much alive and thriving even today.

Other scriptures record that the city was built on the sunken remains of a previous kingdom, Kushasthali, which itself was built on older ruins. The modern city of Dwarka is located in the westernmost part of India at the confluence of the Gomati river with the sea. 

 Western region of the Indian mainland

Rishi Ved Vyas has described Dwarka in great detail and calls it 'A city so golden that it cast its radiance on the ocean for miles around it'. The city extended over 104 Kms and was divided into six well-organized sectors, residential and commercial zones, wide roads, plazas, palaces and many public utilities. 

It had a special hall called Sudharma Sabha to hold public meetings and the city had beautiful gardens filled with flowers of all seasons and beautiful lakes. It was well fortified and surrounded by a moat, spanned by bridges, boasted of a good sea harbor and had an incredible number of 700,000 palaces made of gold, silver and other precious stones!

The city of Dwarka

 Narad Muni's visit to Dwarka

After Krishna departed from Earth, about 36 years after the Mahabharat War (3102 BCE), Arjun went to Dwarka to bring Krishna's grandsons and remaining Yadavs to safety. As soon as they left, the city was submerged into the sea and the eye-witness account is mentioned in the beginning of the post.

The Vishnu Puran also mentions the submersion of Dwarka, stating-

On the same day that Krishna departed from the earth, the dark-bodied Kali Yuga descended. The oceans rose and submerged the whole of Dwarka.

Besides Dwarka, there are mentions in the scriptures of many renowned cities which were washed away by the rivers on whose banks they were situated. Mahabharatmentions that Hastinapura was washed away by the Ganga and consequently the Pandavas had to migrate to Kaudambi. 

Similar was the case with Pataliputra which, even though the premier city of the land, later became the worst victim of inundation according to Dandin, the author of theDashakumaracarita.  

The question in front of historians now is, whether these cities ever really existed or were they just a figment of poet's imagination? Let us try to understand where archaeology stands on this question.

Archaeological Evidence

Pargiter, a noted historian in British India, was the first to suggest that Dwarka was located near the Raivataka (Girnar) mountain and also mentioned that it was constructed on the remains of an earlier city known as the Kushasthali.

The Girnar mountain is considered holy not only by Hindus but is also a major site of pilgrimage for the Jain community. It is the place where the 22nd Jain Tirthankar,Lord Neminath (who BTW was a paternal cousin of Lord Krishna), attained liberation.

Girnar Mountain

 Jain Temples on top of Mount Girnar

Jain legends tell many stories of both the brothers and acknowledge the presence of the Metropolis of Dwarka as being close to the Girnar mountains.

According to Jain texts, Shri Krishna negotiated Neminath's marriage with Rajamati, (the sister of Kamsa), but Neminath, empathizing with the animals that were to be slaughtered for the marriage feast, left the procession and renounced the world!

Interestingly, Jain tradition also recognizes Krishna as Vasudev and Jarasandh as theprati-Vasudev (similar to the Christ & anti-Christ belief) showing how important the rivalry between the two was.

The Yadav kingdom at that time spread around Junagadh district and the nearby Gir Forest (which is the last sanctuary for the Asiatic Lions today). The first excavations at the site were conducted by Deccan College, Pune and the Department of Archaeology, Govt. of Gujarat, in 1963 under the direction of H.D. Sankalia. 

These and other archaeological excavations unearthed artifacts that prove that modern Dwarka is the sixth settlement of the name on this site. The earlier cities have been, at various times, swallowed by the sea. The waves of the sea still lap the shores of this famous town, lending scenic beauty to this important pilgrimage destination. 

The sea adjacent to Shri Krishna Temple

Gradually, the myth of Dwarka was coming alive, but the final breakthrough came with the discovery of submerged remains of Dwarka by the Marine Archaeology Unit (MAU) jointly formed by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Underwater Exploration of Dwarka

This exploration was undertaken under the guidance of Dr. S.R. Rao. Dr. Rao is widely considered widely the Grand-father of Indian Archaeology and has served the ASI for over 32 years. He is credited with the discovery of a large number of Indus-Saraswati sites including the port city of Lothal in Gujarat.

 Dr. S. R. Rao

Before the underwater ruins were discovered, most scholars were of the view that theMahabharat was just a mythological epic and it would be futile to look for the remains of Dwarka. However, Dr. Rao and his team, undertook an extensive search of this city along the coast from 1984-88 and finally succeeded in finding the submerged city off the Gujarat coast. 

The use of advanced techniques of geophysical survey combined with echo-sounders, mud-penetrators, sub-bottom profilers and underwater metal detectors helped uncover this missing link in our history! 

Between 1983 to 1990, the well-fortified township of Dwaraka was discovered, extending more than half a mile from the shore. In his work, The Lost City of Dwaraka, Dr. Rao has given scientific details of these discoveries and artifacts.  

You can find a similar report report on the link - {Recent underwater exploration at Bet Dwarka and Okha Mandal }

Excavations at Dwarka

Offshore exploration of the legendary city was resumed in 1988 and continued through 1990, further seaward of the Temple of Samudranarayana (Sea God) with a view to trace the plan and extent of the port-city and the purpose of the massive stone walls built on the banks of ancient Gomati. 

From the structural remains in Dwaraka and Bet Dwaraka waters, it is possible to visualise that the city-ports were large and well planned.

The findings of Bet Dwarka can actually be divided into two broad periods:Protohistoric period which includes seal, two inscriptions, a copper fishhook and late Harappan pottery; and the Historical period which consists of coins, ship anchors and pottery. 

Underwater exploration of Dwarka

 

JUST AS DESCRIBED in the scriptures, the township was built in SIX sectors along the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea. 

The general layout of the city described in ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city discovered by MAU. Mahabharat mentions a Prasada which corresponds to the high fort wall of Dwarka, a part of which is extant. The epic says that flags were flying in the city of Dwarka which can again be corroborated by the stone bases of flag posts found in the sea bed excavation. 

 Ruins of the Fort walls in Dwarka

A significant antiquity that further corroborates a statement of the Harivamsha is the SEAL bearing the motif of a three-headed animal representing the bull, unicorn and goat. The text states that every citizen of Dwarka had to carry a seal as a mark of identification and the seal recovered from the sea-bed matches with the scriptural description!

The seal of Dwarka

A large number of rectangular blocks of various sizes are also scattered in a large area in the vicinity and are evidently part of a single structure. These blocks are lying on a rocky seabed and a few of them are buried in sand.

The UAW began excavations at Dwarka again from January 2007. The objective of the excavation was to know the antiquity of the site, based on material evidence. In the offshore excavation, the ASI's trained underwater archaeologists and the divers of the Navy searched the sunken structural remains. 

According to the news releases made by the Govt. of India, the radiocarbon testing on a piece of wood from the underwater site has yielded an age of 9,500 years which would place it near the end of the last Ice Age. 

As discussed in the previous post {Pralaya - The End of Days}, the last melt-down was responsible for drowning a large number of civilizations all over the globe leading to theFlood Myths. This piece of wood could very well be a remnant of the same lost ante-diluvian civilization on the remains of which Dwarka was created. 

Offshore explorations near Bet Dwarka jetty also brought to light a number of stone anchors of different types that include triangular, Indo-Arabian and ring stones. 

These are made of locally available rocks and their period may also be similar to those found at Dwarka and other places. Recent findings have also shown evidence of active Indo-Roman trade from the fourth century BCE to 4th century CE. 

Other artifacts recovered from the sea

All these findings should be able to build our faith in the belief that there indeed existed a port-city on the westernmost fringe of the Indian mainland which was into international maritime trade and hence would have been a popular and prosperous metropolis before its submergence.

The obvious next question is, what led to submergence of this massive trading city?

So what happened???

The answer lies in the progressive rise in sea-levels witnessed over thousands of years and tectonic upheavals taking place in the womb of the planet. These two combine like a potion being brewed in a witch's cauldron, and stir up giant Tsunamis capable of wiping out entire civilizations in one go!

In one of the major studies of its kind, scientists at National Institute of Oceanographyhave developed sea level variation history of the last ~14,500 years B.P. (Before Present), for the western coast of India. 

To generate the sea level variation curve for these past 16,000 years, they had to compile all the data of past shore line indicators available between 21°N to 14°N latitude (till south of Saurashtra Peninsula). These dates ranging from 14,500 to 1,500 yr B.P. were then plotted against height/depth from which the dated material was recovered. 

The sea level curve was then drawn based on geological reasoning and other supporting evidence such as the presence of terraces, nature of samples and inferences of sea-level rise from other stable areas.

  

The curve shows that 14,500 years ago, sea level along the west coast of India was about 100m lower as compared to the present, and rose to 80m depth around 12,500 years ago with a rate of ~10m/1,000 years. 

It was followed by a quiet period when the level remained unchanged for about 2,500 years, thus providing time for civilization to flourish before being engulfed by the sea again. From 10,000 to 7,000 years ago, sea level rose at a very high rate (~20m/1000 years) and after approximately 7,000 years B.P. it has fluctuated to more or less the present level.  

Animation depicting the shrinking of the Indian coast in years Before Present

 
The animation above shows how the shoreline has changed over thousands of years, and how much land has been lost to the sea. All along the peninsula, we have most certainly lost civilizations at various stages of development and out of these, Dwarkawas one of the most prominent ones.

In another study conducted on the Seismic activity in the Western region, work in peripheral land areas of the Gulf of Cambay like Kathana, Lothal and Motibaur gave evidences of major earthquakes in the following periods -
(1) 2780 ± 150 years BP
(2) 3983 ± 150 BP and 
(3) 7540 ± 130 BP 

In the first major event at about 7,600 BCE, the FIRST metropolis found in the underwater ruins appears to have succumbed to the tectonic forces and the sea appears to have inundated it. Because of this catastrophe, people would have proceeded north to the higher sea level and established the SECOND metropolis. 

This also got affected by faulting due to earth quakes around 4,000 BP and was destroyed by the second or the last Earthquake around 2780 ± 150 BP, when the sea transgressed to completely submerge it.

We have experienced in the recent years how catastrophic submarine earthquakes can be. They do not affect the land directly but lead to huge waves that are meters tall and are capable of wiping out cities in minutes just as described by Arjun in the beginning of the post!

Giant Tsunamis generated by Submarine Earthquakes

From our point of view, the older site of 7600 BCE could very well correspond toKushasthali, the foundation of Shri Krishna's Dwarka and the second settlement of 4000-2800 BCE would then be the tentative time-frame of existence of the Golden City of the Lord.   

This also matches very well with Shri Krishna's historical dates that we arrived at in the post {Krishna - The Historical Enigma} and again proves that our scriptures are not mere figments of fertile imaginations but have a historical basis.

Dr. S.R. Rao after his careful research made the following statement: "The findings in Dwarka and archeological evidence found are compatible with the Mahabharat tradition and removes the lingering doubt about the historicity of the Mahabharat. We would say that Krishna definitely existed".

Krishna, the Great Statesman and King was indeed a historical figure who ruled from  the city of Dwarka until the day He departed from the mortal realm. He lived the life of a householder and raised His family in the city of Dwarka.

 Krishna, the Yadav king of Dwarka

If Dwarka excavations can throw light on the historicity of Lord Krishna, sea-bed excavations at Ayodhya situated on the banks of Sarayu might yield equally valuable information about the historicity of Lord Rama.

We, the youth of the country should participate more in spreading the knowledge of our ancient heritage and endeavor to be a part of a further exploration of its origins. Only then, we would be able to unearth the true history of our own civilization as well as that of Mankind.

 .

 Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

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Friday, August 31, 2012

Pralaya - The End of Days

Some say the world will end in Fire; Some say in Ice,
From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor Fire.
But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate,
To say that for destruction, Ice is also great!

End of the World - How does the phrase sound to you? 

For me it conjures up something abstract.. an inconclusive conclusion fashioned from the catastrophe-centric best-sellers churned out of Hollywood and the Doomsday predictions of a few ancient mythologies.

God decides to End our Days

Assuming that it happens within our lifetimes, how would the world end indeed? A lot of people believe, it would happen because of a Nuclear War.

A very plausible scenario a decade ago but currently the chances of that seem a little less. It may still come to pass as we have varying degrees of religious fanatics running around the globe with secret stashes of atomic-missiles obtained through illegitimate means.

A Nuclear Cloud obliterating Life

Others believe, the world would end because of a Meteor crash.

This again is a possibility as there are loads of meteors hurtling past Earth everyday in their journey around the Sun. From time to time, one or the other of these meteors keeps scaring the scientists with its proximity to Earth. It has happened in the past (when the Dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago) so the chance of that happening again can not be ruled out!

Armageddon Arrives

Others, believe in Global Warming or Earthquakes triggering a Great Deluge that would submerge the entire landmass and drown everything in its colossal Tsunamis.

This again is a decent possibility since we have been observing the melting of Antarctic Ice sheets and frequent Earthquakes in the sea-bed. The Tsunamis that hit south-east Asia few years back reminded us of how fragile our relationship with nature is!

Drowning of the Earth

All these, I must confess, are possible and extremely PROBABLE events that may happen anytime in our future. 

Yet, as mentioned by Robert Frost in the beginning of this post, I believe its Ice that is destined to wipe out the entire civilizational progress of Humanity and that too in a not too distant future!! There is a reason why MY preferred Modus Operandi (if you can call it that) of Destruction is ICE and in the current post, I'll share with you descriptions from ancient scriptures to support the argument.

End of the World in Hindu Mythology

Strictly speaking, Hindu Mythology does not believe in a SINGLE event of destruction of the World, or even a SINGLE event of creation for that matter.

As discussed in the Page {Kalchakra} of this blog, Time in Hinduism, is not Linear i.e. it doesn't start and end at specific points, rather, it is Cyclical and never-ending. This eternal cycle of Life and Death; Birth and Re-birth; Formation and Dissolution is called the Kaal-chakraor the Wheel of Time.

The Cyclical Destruction of the World as we know it, occurs in events singularly known as a Pralaya  that takes place at the end of a Chatur-Yuga. A cycle of Four Yugas is known as a Maha Yuga or a Chatur-Yuga and at the end of this cycle, our Earth experiences a cataclysmic event which has the capacity to wipe out all life from the face of the planet.

Ancient Puranas detail this concept further and describe different types of Pralayas:

• A Pralaya at the end of a Chatur-Yuga (every 4.32 Million Solar Years), 
• Manvantar Pralaya at the end of the rule of each of the Manus (every 307 Million Solar Years), 
• Naimittik Pralaya at the end of the Day of Brahma (4.32 Billion Solar Years) and lastly,
• Prakritik Maha Pralaya at the end of Brahma's Lifetime (311.4 Trillion Solar Years)!

Leaving the latter three for later, let us first see how the tiniest of these, the Pralaya looks.

Description of Pralaya

In various Puranas, the description of Pralaya that happens at the end of a Chatur-yuga is extremely applicable to what is referred to as the Great Deluge in Biblical and Koranic references.

In these as well as the Hindu legends of Manu, entire Earth was inundated by Water which swallowed up the land and gobbled up most living as well as non-living things surviving on it. In all the three traditions, ONE Man was chosen by God to continue the legacy of Human race.

In Hinduism, this man is Vaivasvat Manu and in Biblical references he is called Noah. We have learnt more about him already in a previous post {Manu - The First Man}.

The belief in a Great Deluge is not limited to the three above mentioned religions alone.. it was widely believed by a lot of ancient mythologies as well viz:

• In Sumer and Babylonia Atrahasis, Ziusudra, Xisuthrus and Utnapishtim are the different heroes credited with the same feat as Manu. Each of these is credited hoarding with cattle, wild animals and birds on the boat to constitute “the seed of all living creatures” in the next Eon.

• According to Tibetan legends, Tibet was almost totally inundated, until the godGya drew off the waters through Bengal, and sent teachers to civilize the people, who repopulated the land.

• In the Ifugaos of Philippines and the Kammu of Thailand, a brother and sister were the only survivors after the flood and they were responsible for populating the Earth with different races.

• For the Batak of Sumatra, the giant snake on whose head Earth rests, Naga-Padoha (Hindu Shesh-Naag?), grew tired of its burden and shook it off into the sea. But the god Batara-Guru caused a mountain to fall into the water to preserve his daughter and the human race is descended from her.

• In Egyptian mythology, Set sent forth the deluge to destroy the evil Sebau, the Sami, the Apap-dragon ( Hindu Vrtra) and the long-armed ones. There is another story, about Horus steering his ark across the cosmic ocean as six poles are capsized leaving only the seventh one as dry land, upon which he rested.

Egyptian god Horus in his ship

• In the Greek myths, Zeus sends a flood to destroy all of humanity but Prometheus warns his son, Deucalion, about the coming deluge, and advises him to build an ark.

• In Norse mythology, the flood occurred at the dawn of time before the world was formed. Ymir, the first giant, was killed by the god Odin and his brothers and his blood drowned almost the entire race of giants with the exception of the frost giantBergelmir and his wife. They escaped in a ship and survived, becoming the progenitors of a new race of giants. 

The Frost giant Bergelmir

• According to the Quechua Native Americans, a llama tells his human owner about an impending flood and saves him; for the Mayans, the gods used a flood to destroy the wooden people, an early imperfect version of humanity.

•  Similar beliefs are echoed by the Shaur of Andes, the Caddo of Texas, and theHopi.

• The Michoacan of Mexico have the same story as Manu and the hero here is a guy called Tezpi. The Tarahumara and the Toltecs of Mexico also have their own versions of the flood myth.

• The Nahua of central Mexico talk about a man known as Nata (“Our Father”) and his consort Nene who were protected by their God at the time of flood while the Mixtec  of northern Oaxaca, Mexico believed that the earth was once well populated, when mankind committed a magical fault for which they were punished by a great deluge. 

 A Native American survivor of the flood

 

• In New Guinea legends, Lohero and his brother were angry with their neighbors, so they put a human bone into a small stream. Soon a great flood came forth, and the people had to retreat to the highest peaks until the sea receded.  

• In Africa, the Kwaya residing around Lake Victoria believed that the ocean was once enclosed in a small pot kept by a man and his wife which was by mistake shattered by their daughter-in-law, and the resulting flood drowned everything.

• The Yoruba of southwest Nigeria talk about an adro-gynous god Olokun who in a fit of rage, destroyed nearly everybody in a great flood. 

Olkun, the Orisha who flooded Earth

• For the Vogul after seven years of drought, the Great Man counseled the other giants to make boats from cut poplars, anchor them with ropes of willow roots 500 fathoms long, and provide them with seven days of food and with pots of melted butter to grease the ropes. Those who did not make all the preparations perished when the waters came. 

• In North-central Siberia, Yenisey-Ostyak believe that during the seven day flood some people and animals were saved by climbing on floating logs and rafters. A strong north wind blew for seven days and scattered the people, which is why there are now different peoples speaking different languages.

• According to Tuvinian tails of Mongolia, the giant frog (or turtle) which supported the earth moved, which caused the cosmic ocean to begin flooding the earth. An old man who had guessed something like this would happen built an iron-reinforced raft, boarded it with his family, and was saved.

There are hundreds more from around the world, from various tribes and cultures, and so this is just a handful. What could have caused these Geographically separate civilizations to form such a common belief?

The answer according to me, rests in Ice, or more specifically, the Ice-Age. It is MORE than likely that all the above myths refer to the same phenomenon, one which we scientifically KNOW to have taken place - that of the Ice Age. 

There have been at least five major ice ages in the Earth's past. The earliest well established ice age, called the Huronian, formed around 2.4 to 2.1 Billion years ago and the latest one started about 2.58 million years ago when the spread of ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere began!

Since then, the world has seen cycles of glaciation with ice sheets advancing and retreating on 40,000 and 100,000 year time scales called Glacial periods, and Glacial retreats called the Interglacials. We are currently in an interglacial, and the last glacial period ended about 10,000 years ago.

Extent of the previous Ice Age

We saw in the post {Heaven at the North Pole} that the Arctic region had a temperate climate, quite conducive to the growth of plant and animal life before the Ice-Age set in. In the same post, I also mentioned the possibility that at least some of the Vedic seers and magi had lived in the Arctic area in close proximity to their Gods who dwell on Mount Meru.

But everything changed 20,000 years ago when extensive ice sheets covered large swaths of Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Consequently, whatever civilizations were existing before, were forced to migrate to warmer places or perish.

North Pole during the last Ice Age

But that was not all, the real trouble would have begun when ALL this Ice began to MELT!

During Ice-Age, water was taken from the oceans to form the ice, thus Global Sea-levels must have dropped, forming bridges between land-masses for animals to migrate. However, duringDeglaciation, or Meltdown, the ice-water returned to the oceans, causing the SEA-LEVEL to rise by as much as 110-120 meters!!

Pre-glacial US coastline

Pre-glacial coastlines in Australia

Pre-glacial India and S-E Asia

And what can be the result of such a meltdown?? Of course we get what is theologically labeled as The Great Deluge!!

Throughout our history, the busiest cities have been located either on the banks of mighty rivers or near busy coastlines. All the melted ice lead to a RISE in sea-levels, inundating huge chunks of land and ALTERING the shape of the planetary landmass.

Consequently, there would have been wide-spread displacement of people and populations leading to probably the BIGGEST catastrophe in the History of Human civilization. No wonder then, that mythologies from such different parts of the World narrate the same story!!

The existing hubs of civilization were inundated and the tracts of land connecting different continents too got submerged altering the course of our history. A case in point is the Bering Bridge which was the landmass connecting Russia to America.

The Bering Strait replaced the bridge of land connecting Russia to America

This small tract of land performed a vital function as numerous species of animals, as well as the ancient humans migrated to and populated the American continent through the same bridge!

The Migration route of Homo sapiens into America

If the inundation of such a tiny piece of land could have such immense effect, imagine the condition when major civilizational hubs on the planet would have undergone submersion under the super-massive TSUNAMIS!!

As such a catastrophe would lead to major uprooting of people and populations all over the world, it can very well explain the presence of the SAME LEGEND in widely differing Geographical locations! 

Water reclaiming Land during the recent Tsunami

The flood waters would wipe clear all evidence of civilization from the face of Earth leaving only a few stranded pockets at the highest altitudes of the Planet! One such place is Manalihigh in the Northern Himalayas where the Ark of Vaivasvat Manu is believed to have docked.

There are other explanations given by the scientific community for the Great floods, ranging from Meteor crashes to Volcanic eruptions.. However, it is the CYCLICAL nature of the Ice Ages along with their capacity to generate GLOBAL FLOODS that prompts me to co-relate them with the Pralaya myths from Hindu Mythology!

And as far as cyclicity goes, already, many scientists predict a coming of the next Ice Age as we may have reached the end of the current period of Interglacial interval. The predictions have created a lot of debate and not surprisingly, there have been movies based on the same theme.

As each grain of Time is destroyed, the next comes along and brings with it either Creation or Destruction. The eminent Austrian Physicist Fritjof Capra, in his monumental and path-breaking work called {The Tao of Physics}, calls it the Dance of Shiva.

Tandav - the Cosmic Dance of Shiva

Everything we amass in this life will all be taken away one day by the hands of Time. The same thought must have inspired Oppenheimer, Father of the Atomic Bomb to quote Lord Krishna, from the Bhagvad Gita - Time, I am, the Destroyer of All.

The sooner we realize the transient nature of all existence and start on the Path of Spirituality, the easier it would become to deal with that Final Moment in the End. I conclude this post with the same sentiment expressed in the words of a 6th Century Sanskrit Poet Bhartrhari:

A Hundred Years complete our span,

And Half of that is passed in Night,

Childhood and Old-age devour the Half,

Of what belongs to Light.

The rest is torn with parting pangs,

Of ceaseless toil the Slave,

What profit is our Human Life,
Unstable as a Wave.

Our Bloom of Youth decays,
Our Joys are brief as lightning flash,
And in Summer's cloudy days,
Our riches fly away and crash.

Faith in the One Supreme,
Alone will bear us over the Chasm,
Of Existence's Stormy Stream,
And Maya's elaborate Phantasm.

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Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:

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Thursday, June 21, 2012

On Wings of Fire

The fire in a Hearth, that cackles and burns,

Is a remnant of Life, of Ashes and Urns,

Stored in trees, by breaths of the Sun,

Life giving Life, the Wood bakes the Bun..

Fire, one of the FIVE essential elements or the Panch-Mahabhoot of Hinduism; the element that brings fold images of immense energy; the element that gave humanity the chance to survive; the element that would ultimately destroy everything at the end of Time.

Even though it may appear predominantly Destructive, Fire is a Constructive force which has quite literally ignited the development and growth of Human species. Almost single-handedly, the taming of this devastating force of Nature, led Humanity away from its dark origins and helped in the development of Culture and Civilization.

From Darkness to Light

In this post, I would take you through the origins of the use of Fire by early man and the role it played in the development of Civilization as we know it. We will also take a look at the role it plays in various World mythologies including our own.

The Life before Fire

A report published in 2010, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, shows that there was a very real risk of extinction for our ancestors.

The study declares that the effective population of humans living 1.2 million years ago was just about 18,500. This implies a really really tiny population size, especially if you compare with the population sizes of chimpanzees (21,000) and gorillas (25,000) during the same time period!!

Man was in fact quite vulnerable - he was poorly insulated because of no fur; had nails and teeth unsuitable for defense or hunting; and was completely ill-equipped to tolerate the fluctuating extremes of the Climate.

Left on our own, we might have PERISHED like numerous other species in the history of our planet! What changed our fate was the 'Discovery of Fire'.

Early Man probably first encountered bush-fires in summers or lightening strikes that set fire to tall trees. It would have taken him some time to actually get control of it and even more time to actually PRODUCE fire on his own.

Forest Fire, probably the First form of Fire encountered by Early Man

Claims for the evidence of use of fire by various species of Hominids are made from almost 1.5 million years ago (mya) however, most historians believe that the controlled use of fire started with Homo erectus some 400,000 years ago.

You light my Fire!

Once tamed, Fire helped early man ward off the DARKNESS that tormented him at night. It provided him security and let him survive in the harshest WINTERS especially during the ICE-AGEs.

Fire provided PROTECTION from dangerous predators and kept them at bay. It facilitated the conversion of forests into FIELDS and helped bake UTENSILS and forge TOOLS. Fire let human-beings COOK food and make it more edible, a feat which most scholars agree led to various modifications including some in our anatomy.

As human diet became easier to chew and swallow, the tooth size decreased and the jaws became less prognathic or ape like. There was also the shift from eating-in-the wild to eating-in-the-kitchen which further strengthened the community bond and led to the appearance of the first rudimentary Hearths and Homes.

Communities evolved by eating together

Humans could now stop worrying about defense and safety and use their brains for development of new ideas. Both directly as well as indirectly, Fire initiated INDUSTRY and  has led mankind to the EXPLORATION of Space, the Final Frontier.

Therefore, it is not surprising, that the Early Man developed deep reverence for this Primal force of Nature. In fact, some World Mythologies worship Fire as the Supreme God Himself. Let us explore some of these beliefs and understand the importance it held in the life of the ancients.

Worshipping the Fire-God

The Sanskrit word for Fire is Agni and this consequently, is the name of the Fire-god as well.

Most of you would be aware that fire-lamps forms an integral part of Hindu rituals. We see fire being offered to the deity at prayer time; oblations being put in the sacrificial fire of a Yagnya; the seven promises of a marriage ceremony being made circum-ambulating the witness fire; diyas being lit for Diwali and so on...

Rig-Veda, places Agni second only to Indra in importance and we find 1/5th of Rig Vedic Hymns dedicated to the Fire-god! In fact, the very 1st verse of the Rig-veda is dedicated to Agni:

अग्नि॒म् ई॑ळे पुरो॒हि॑तं यज्ञ॒स्य॑ देव॒म् ऋत्वि॒ज॑म्। होता॑रं रत्नधा॒त॑मम्॥

Agni I laud, the High-priest, Invoker, Minister of Sacrifice, Deva and Bestower of Wealth

Agni is represented with TWO faces, suggesting his destructive as well as beneficent qualities. He has THREE legs which represent the three worlds that it is present in and SEVEN arms that represent the seven directions that he covers.

He rides a ram, or a chariot pulled by goats which probably is a reference to the use of these animals for sacrifice. Interestingly, most forms of fire-worship in Graeco-Roman religions also involved burning the sacrificed animal on a fire-altar in front of the temple. 

Agni, the First god worshiped in Rig Veda

Agni is described as the son of Dyaus Pita and Prithvi Mata and hence Indra's twin, both of them performing complimentary functions. While INDRA transmits energy to the Earth in the form of his thunderbolt, AGNI takes energy from the Earth to the Heavens in its swirling smoke.

Rigveda surprisingly, also mentions that 'Agni dwells in the waters' and may even be born from it! This may appear confounding till we think of fire arising from lightening-strikes, natural gas surfacing through water, or even the under-water volcanic eruptions! Because of the same reason, the Persians therefore referred to him as Apam-Napat.

Accordingly, there are said to be Ten different forms of Agni :

1. Regular Fire,
2. Sacrificial Fire produced by rubbing the fire-sticks (Arani or Idhma),
3. Initiation Fire at Upanayana ceremony of a child coming of age,
4. Fire kept in the house for Domestic rituals,
5. Fire spread by Lightening,
6. Fire in the Sun,
7. Southern Fire for ancestors,
8. Funeral Fire used for cremation,
9. Digestive Fire (Jatharagni), and the last but most potent of all,
10. Destructive Fire  or Davagani that initiates the process of Maha-pralaya.

In Ayurveda, Agni is the first guardian of health and manifests through “Jatharagni”, the digestive fire. Each time we eat, we are in a sense making an offering to the digestive fire and these offerings are transformed into nutrition or Prana for the body.

Agni is also appointed as one of the Ashta-digpals and is the guardian of the South-East direction. His wife is Svaha and his sons are Pavak, Pavaman, and Shuchi, who according to the Vayu Puraan, stand for Electric fire, the fire produced by Friction, and the Solar fire respectively.

Svaha's name is mentioned each time an offering is poured into the sacrificial-fire. This suggests that the husband-wife duo is to be appeased together and reflects a rarely researched proximity between the two..

Agni and Svaha from a Mughal miniature painting

The legends talk about a messenger of Surya, Matarishwan (identified in the Upanishads asVayu) who brought the secret of controlling Fire down from the Heavens and gave it to the ancient Bhrigus for safe-keeping. .

This reminds me of the Greek myth of Prometheus where fire was stolen from the King of Gods Zeus and given to Man. As a punishment, Zeus chained the Titan to a rock on the Caucasus mountains where the giant eagle Ethon would eat at his Liver everyday!

Prometheus being punished for bringing Fire to Man

It is in stark contrast to the Hindu legend where Gods themselves send Fire for the benefit of Humans, but probably highlights the gods' concern that Humans probably can not handle such immense power. I, for one, wouldn't blame them for such a thought ;o)

At this point, let us take a look at Fire-worship in the other World Mythologies as well.

Fire-worship in different mythologies

Did other civilizations also venerate Agni to the extent that the Vedas do? Indeed there appear to be numerous references linking fire to God in various world traditions.

In Native American traditions, Fire is the eldest family member and ancient dwelling of Spirit. 

• Aztecs worshiped the turquoise-colored god Xiuhtecuhtli, as the 1st Lord of Creation and the god of Fire, Day and Heat.
• The Incas venerated a fire-god known as Manco Capac, who was created by the Sun-god Inti and was the first king of the Incas.

The Aztec Fire-God Xiuhtecuhtli

• In Norse mythology, there exists a World of Eternal Flame called Muspelheim, which is ruled by Surtr the fire-giant who is the personification of Fire.

• In Slavic mythology, the spirit of fire is known as Svarog.

Surtr, the Norse Fire-giant

• In Jewism the Supreme God Yahweh Himself manifested as a pillar of fire to guide the Israelites out of the Pharaoh's land (reminds me of the story where Shiva appeared as a pillar of Fire).

• Moses got the Ten commandments from a burning bush, Elijah ascended to the heavens in a chariot of fire and the Menorah or the seven-branched ancient lampstand made of gold has been the symbol of Judaism since ancient times.

Yahweh guides Moses and his people in the form of a pillar of Light

• In the Roman/Greek traditions, Fire had two separate forms: one of the 'Hearth' and  the other of the 'Forge'.

• Hearth worship was dedicated to Goddess Vesta, protector of the home, who had an eternal sacred flame tended to by Vestal Virgins in the city of Rome.

Vesta, the Roman goddess of Hearth and Home

• Closer home, Atar is the Parsi concept of Holy fire. In Yasna 17.11, Atar is the Master of the house, and it is only with its assistance, the other six creations can begin their work (Bundahishn 3.7–8; and Zatspram 3.77–83).

Zoroastrians evidence of fire-worship exists from around 1500 BCE, together with the first evidence of cremation. The tradition is still followed in the Indo-Iranian branch of Hindus where Agni is considered an agent of purity.

The Greeks also used to cremate their dead like the Hindus instead of burying them in graves. Probably the Biblical statement 'Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust' also stems from the same tradition.

Agni, the First Priest

Agni, is called the First and Foremost of the Priests. He is a friend of the humans and always within reach.

In Hinduism, Fire-sacrifices hold a very important place. The Bhagavat Puraan declaresYagneshwara (Lord of yagya) to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and Dakshina(donation), the embodiment of Goddess Lakshmi as his consort. Thus, performing a Yagnya is equivalent to appeasing Lord Vishnu.

A Vedic Yagnya in progress

Agni is worshiped in Rig Vedic verse 5.3.1-2 as the embodiment of all gods. He is the priest who prays to other demigods on behalf of humans; he is the officating priest of a Yagnya; and lastly, he is the bestower of the gifts of gods to us humans.

Accordingly, the human priests are also classified into three categories based on the roles they play in a Yagnya - Hotri, Adhvaryu and Udgatri. The Sacrifices performed could be of various types depending on the intended beneficiary.

For example, a Brahma-yagnya is performed to please the Supreme Brahman, while aDev-yagnya aims to appease the Devas. A Pitri-yagnya is performed for the benefit of the Ancestors, Manushya-yagnya for that of men and a Bhuta-yagnya for the benefit of all life forms.

A Deva-Yagnya being performed to appease the Devas

There are numerous instances of special Yagnyas being performed by the Kings and Emperors of yore in order to fulfill their desires. Some examples are the Putra-kameshthi Yagnyaperformed by Dashrath and Yuvanashva; the Ashwamedh Yagnya performed by Lord Rama and the Rajasuya Yagnya undertaken by the Pandavs.

Rishi Kashyap obtained Garuda, a son stronger-than-Indra through a Yagnya while Draupadi, the nemesis of the Kuru family, and her twin brother Dhristadyumna also emerged from the sacrificial fires of Drupad's Yagnya.

Agni is also chronicled as the bestower of advanced weaponry and he gifted Shri Krishna andArjuna the Sudarshan Chakra and Gandiva bow respectively after they helped Agni get back his glory. Similarly, the demon-king Bali Maharaj obtained invincible armour and chariots by means of a Yagnya and was able to defeat Indra with their help.

Agni, the Celestial Witness

Shukla Yajur Veda 21.3 refers to Agni as the 'Master of all branches of Knowledge'.  He is believed to be the symbol of righteousness and truth and hence appointed the witness and the priest for all Vedic ceremonies.

This position he attains by  virtue of being present in all the Three Worlds at all times, in all the dwellings of the sentient beings. Because of this unique presence in all spheres of life, Agni is the ideal witness in case of disputes.

Therefore, in ancient India, promises were made and agreements solemnized in front of a sacred fire. For the same reason, Agni is also the witness of a Hindu Marriage Ceremony.

Hindu marriage ceremony performed with Agni as the witness

{Image courtesy - Imagesbazaar}

Because of this omniscience, Agni was also made the arbitrator of disputes that couldn't be settled by human intellect. The most important example is that of the Agni-Pariksha of Lady Sita.

Many people today criticize the incident giving it a chauvinistic tinge, but the truth is that in ancient times, Agni was the Highest Judge (somewhat like the Chief-justice of our Supreme Court today!). Those were the times when Devas and Asurs freely intermingled with humans and it was not uncommon for a human of good standing to call upon Agni as his witness.

The process is more elaborately detailed in Zoroastrian texts which describe Fire as Atar and a medium through which judgement is passed. This ordeal-by-heat is known in Avesta as Garmo-varah.

An individual who has passed the fiery test, has attained physical and spiritual strength, wisdom, truth and love with serenity Yasna [30.7].  Atar is spoken of in the third person masculine singular: "He detects sinners by hand-grasping" Yasna [34.4] and altogether, there are said to have been 30 kinds of fiery tests in all!

Till now, we have seen the benign and beneficient properties of Agni, let us now take a look at the destructive aspect of his personality.

Fire as the Destructive Force

The most potent representation of the destructive poweres of Agni is seen in the Rudra manifestation of Shiva when the Third Eye of Shiva opens to release a laser beam of destrucion.

Legend has it that Parvati, the daughter of Himalayas fell in love with Shiva. She performed severe penance to obtain the Lord as her husband and was unknowingly supported by the demigods in this endeavor .

Kama, the god-of-love, and his consort Rati tried to draw Shiva into the charm of Parvati's beauty but Shiva was in no mood to be swayed from his penance and in His anger, he opened his Third Eye and incinerated Kama to ashes!

Kamadev is reduced to ashes by Shiva's glare

{Image courtesy - India Authentic}

Issue - Uma

Therefore, one of the epithets of Kamdev is Anang or bodiless. By destroying his body but letting his soul remain, Lord Shiva highlighted the supremacy of spiritual LOVE over physical LUST. (The story later had a Happy ending when Shiva was finally united with Parvati and Kama reborn as Krishna's son Pradyumna was re-united with Rati.)

Shiv Purana [2.3.20.14-19] states that the fall off of this energy fell like lightning from Shiva’s third eye and Brahma had to take it to the ocean and keep it safe there else it would have burnt the entire creation. This mare shaped sub-marine fire at the bottom of the ocean, is known as Vadava.

Normally, the fire is kept in check with the waters of the Global Ocean. But as Mahabharatverse 12.248.13-17 state, the end of the Day of Brahma is nigh that Rudra sparks off the fire again and this explosion of fire from the mare's mouth in the Southern Ocean will begin the process of Pralaya.

Could this sub-marine fire actually refer to underwater volcanoes that keep spewing out magma from the Earth's core. Maybe the end of our days will be initiated by an under-water volcanic eruption that sets a chain of events in motion leading to the annihilation of life as we know it!

Under-water volcano eruption

Interesting possibility and we shall dwell on it in a later post. For now, let us thank Agni, the catalyst of our development and conclude this post with a homage to him by Shri Chinmoy.

Agni, the Hindu-god of Fire

{Image courtesy Vimanika Comics}

O Light of the Supreme!
Kindle the flame of Liberation within me,
Pour down the ocean of Compassion,
Into my heart,
You are my Immortality,
Accept my Darkness, Bondage, Ignorance, Death;
And release me from this Mortal frame.

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