The Periplus of the Erythræan Sea, a 1st century book about a sea journey from the Red Sea to India talks about a the Gulf of Baraca, which contains seven islands and where the sea is violent. The unknown author then writes that from that point it is the begining of the Kingdom of Nambanus and all of India.

An article in The Hindu mentions that some scholars think Baraca refers to Dwaraka while Wilfred H. Schoff who translated Periplus from Greek thinks Gulf of Baraca is the modern Gulf of Kutch and the claim that it comes from Dwaraka is suspect. Schoff is of the opinion that Baraca is the same as Bahlika, associated with Saurashtra in Mahābhārata, Rāmāyaṇa and the Vishnu Purana, while A.S.Gaur of the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa who has been conducting exvations writes that Baraca is Dwaraka.

While there is confusion regarding if Baraca is Dwaraka or not what we know for sure is that Gujarat had a maritime history dating back to the mid-3rd millennium BC with Mesopotamian texts mentioning that boats used to be harbored there. Archaeological excavations have discovered a jetty at Kuntasi and stone anchors at Lothal dating to the Harappan period

Recently, the ASI has been conducting extensive archaeological work in the Dwaraka area, both on land and under water and it has revealed fascinating information about life in that region from the Late Harappan Period (1900 – 1300 BCE).

Continue reading “Dwaraka Update (2)” →

Present day Chess is a variation of Chaturanga which originated in India sometime in the 6^th century or earlier. The Chaturanga was played on an 8×8 board called the Ashtāpada. The game shows the four fold division of the ancient Indian Army consisting of the Infantry, elephants, cavalry and chariots.

The Vinayapitaka, a Buddhist text that prescribes monastic rules for monks and nuns mentions that a convert should keep away from Ashtapada, while the Jain text Suyagadamga goes one step furthur and says that people should not even learn to play the game. There are references to chess like games in Mahābhārata and Vasavadatta, but it is Banabhatta‘s Harsha Charitha whcih has the earliest reference of Chaturanga.

Now a groups of German Indologists have claimed that chess originated in Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh when it was the capital of the Maukhari kingdom.

The Maukhari ruler Sharva Varman had gifted the game of ‘chaturanga’ to his contemporary Persian ruler Khushrau-II in lieu of saltpetre (a variety of gunpowder).
A recent book ‘Kannauj, The Maukhari And Chaturanga — The origin of chess and its way from India to Persia,’ authored by Ranate, laid the foundation for further research. The Maukhari rulers used to play ‘chaturanga’ with 16 cabinet terracotta before venturing into military campaigns, said Eder. Even Banbhatta in his ‘Harshcharita’ had mentioned a game called ‘ashtapada’ similar to chess, he added.
Historical accounts say during the later Gupta period there was an Indian army school where cadets were taught about warfare through terracotta pieces on ‘ashtapada’, which was again the game of chess in its primitive stage, said Eder. [Origin of chess is UP]

it was through Gilgit, one of the important towns on the Silk Route, that Buddhism spread from India to China and other countries. Buddhist Sanskrit texts like the Hridaya Sutra and Jyotiskavadana have been found in Gilgit. Recently the Archaeology and Museums of Kashmir was given the National Award for preserving the 5th – 6th century birch manuscript of the Sangahata-Sutra, a recording of a lecture given by Buddha in Rajagriha.

The Gilgit Manuscripts were accidentally discovered in 1931 when a group of cattle grazers unearthed a box in the region of Gilgit [now part of Pakistan administered Kashmir] in the then undivided Jammu & Kashmir state. This manuscript collection contains such Buddhist works, both canonical and non-canonical which helped in the evolution of Sanskrit, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Tibetan religio-philosophical literature. Gilgit was then the major trade centre on the Silk Route.

These manuscripts are yet to be deciphered fully. Part of these manuscripts were airlifted from Kashmir to New Delhi under special instructions from first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, during the 1948 India-Pakistan conflict. [Kashmir Archives gets award for preserving Gilgit Manuscripts]

See Also: English Translation of Sanghata Sutra

Technorati Tags: Sanghata Sutra, Gilgit, Buddhism, Jammu and Kashmir, Sanskrit

Medieval age structure and objects found in Dwarka

The recovery of structural remains of medieval age by underwater wing of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) off the coast of this pilgrim town has once again raised hopes of the discovery of Lord Krishna’s legendary city of Dwarka that is reported to have submerged.
The recent off-shore excavation by ASI has revealed a structure of stone blocks with post holes to fit wood. Moreover, the team excavating the area have found coins, pottery, pieces of bangles and toys.
Alok Tripathi of the ASI said that the excavation near the northern gate of Dwarkadish temple has revealed some structural remains of medieval age. Officials said that the discovery is an important landmark as it set to rest the doubts expressed by historians about the very existence of the legendary Dwarka city.[Medieval age structure and objects found in Dwarka]

See Also: Where is Krishna’s Dwaraka?,  Archaeological Work in Dwaraka, More on Dwaraka

Technorati Tags: Dwaraka, Archaeology

Gate of ancient Nalanda university discovered

A team of Indian archaeologists has found the gate of the ancient Nalanda University at a place, some 1,000 meters away from the ruins of the university here.

The entrance gate was discovered at Badagaon village, some 1,000 meters away from the standing ruins of this historic Nalanda University on February 1, said P K Mishra, archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India.
The entrance gate was discovered in the form of a 1,200-feet-high ancient Buddha period mound. The mound located in the north side of the standing ruins of Nalanda University is spread over inan area of 20 acres.
The discovery will throw more light on the history of the old Nalanada University that was a seat of learning and attracted scholars from as many as 93 countries. said Mishra.

See Also: Reconstructing Nalanda, Along Huen Tsang’s path, again, Excavations in Nalanda
Technorati Tags: Nalanda, Buddhism, Archaeological Survey of India, Badagaon

Three bronze idols of Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati were unearthed at Airavateeswara Temple, Darasuram, in Thanjavur district. The Siva idol, measuring two feet four inches x one ft five inches and Parvati measuring one ft three inches x two feet, were found in the north west corner of the cloister `Mandapa’ at a depth of 2.5 ft during conservation work carried out by Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai circle.
According to Sathyabhama Badreenath, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai circle, the idols are a part of the Somaskanda group though they are two separate pieces. Siva is seated in `Sukhasana’ position with four arms, the upper arm carrying `mriga’ and `mazhu’ (battle axe) while the lower arms are in `abhaya’ and `simhakarna’ positions.
The idol is adorned with Jatamakuta, Udharabhanda, etc. Parvati is also in `Sukhasana’ position and her right hand looks as if she is holding a lotus. [ Chola period bronze idols discovered]

The article has pictures of both the idols.

While a lot Indian history was written in stone, copper plates and tree barks, the most popular medium for writing was the Palm Leaf. Words were written on to the dried leaves of palm with a stylus without splitting the leaf. Once the etching of the leaf was done, a black pigment of lampblack or turmeric was applied to enhance contrast. Being organic in nature, the palm leaf is susceptible to disintegration, especially in the humid conditions of India. The practice followed, in such circumstances was to copy the entire manuscript on to freshly treated palm leafs and destroy the old ones.

Recently scientists used Multispectral Imaging to read what is called the Archimedes Palimpsest. A medieval parchment containing 174 folios, with seven treatises by Archimedes, the book was completed by April 1229 in Constantinople. In Multispectral imaging, numerous photos of an area are taken using different wavelengths of light resulting in a digital stack of images. Various algorithms are then used to enhance particular characteristics of the imaged area, such as finding the text which was over written.

Now the scientists who worked on the Archimedes Palimpsest are using those imaging techniques to digitally restore the 700 year old Sarvamoola granthas attributed to scholar Shri Madvacharya (1238-1317). This collection of 36 works contains commentaries of Hindu scriptures and also conveys Madhavacharya’s Dvaitha Philosophy.

Madhvacharya who taught in the 13th century broke with the Upanisadic doctrine of unity of God and human soul and taught Dvaitha or dualism. He explained as figurative all passages of scripture which maintained monism and declared that Vishnu, individual souls and matter were completely distinct. Vishnu has full power over both souls and matter and saves the souls which live pure and moral lives. The Wind-God Vayu is Vishnu’s agent in the world and according to Madhva, evil souls are predestined to eternal damnation[13]

The document is difficult to handle and to read, the result of centuries of inappropriate storage techniques, botched preservation efforts and degradation due to improper handling. Each leaf of the manuscript measures 26 inches long and two inches wide, and is bound together with braided cord threaded through two holes. Heavy wooden covers sandwich the 340 palm leaves, cracked and chipped at the edges. Time and a misguided application of oil have aged the palm leaves dark brown, obscuring the Sanskrit writings.

Mukund first became involved with the project when his spiritual teacher in India brought the problem to his attention and urged him to find a solution. This became a personal goal for Mukund, who studies and teaches Hindu philosophy or “our way of life” and understood the importance of preserving the document for future scholars. The accuracy of existing printed copies of the Sarvamoola granthas is unknown

The scientists traveled to India in December 2005 to assess the document stored at a monastery-like mathas in Udupi, India. Sponsored by a grant from RIT, the team returned to the monastery in June and spent six days imaging the document using a scientific digital camera and an infrared filter to enhance the contrast between the ink and the palm leaf. Images of each palm leaf, back and front, were captured in eight to 10 sections, processed and digitally stitched together. The scientists ran the 7,900 total images through various image-processing algorithms using Adobe Photoshop and Knox’s own custom software.[Imaging Technology Restores 700-Year-Old Sacred Hindu Text via e-mail from Srijith]

Here is the picture of the original text and of the restored image.

Between 200 BCE and 600 CE people of the Nazca culture created gigantic geoglyphs in the the Peruvian desert of the same name. Such geoglyphs have been found around the world from California to Chile, but the Nazca ones are the largest and the most densely packed. The images drawn range from simple lines to monkeys and humming birds. It was as if the Peruvians had a giant Doodle-Pro. You don’t understand what the lines mean unless you are high up in the air and there are various theories on why they drew the images.

The BBC has a report (via Anand) on the discovery of a giant Roman numeral VI on a hillock in Kutch, Gujarat with a speculative title connecting it to Peru.

The feature has evoked the curiosity of archaeologists because such signs have mostly been observed so far in Peru. The team, led by Dr RV Karanth, a former professor of geology at the Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara, Gujarat, has been involved in a palaeoseismological study of the Kutch region for the past 11 years.

The Kutch region is host to several archaeological findings belonging to the Harappan civilisation (3000-1500 BC).This has led to the speculation that this feature could be related to the Harappan civilisation.Dr Karanth clarifies that it is too early to arrive at any conclusion.

“It could be a manmade feature or may have been formed naturally due to erosion of the hill slope along a fracture formed by the movement of earth’s crust,” he says.

“However structures formed naturally due to erosion generally tend to be parallel to each other. But here, all three arms are in different directions. Besides, all the ditches are almost uniformly wide and deep.” [Peru link to Indian archaeological find]

Last year some researchers from Oman tried to sail along an ocean route used by traders about four millennia back. They didn’t reach the other end as the boat sank. One of the best captured travels along an ancient route is the one done by the Japanese and Chinese along the silk route which resulted in a wonderful documentary, The Silk Road DVD Collection.

Another well known path is that traveled by Xuanzang (Huen Tsang) who spent a good part of his life in India visiting places like Nalanda, Punjab and Gaya. A recent travelogue on this route was Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud by Sun Shuyun. Now two Chinese Buddhist monks have decided to retrace those steps again. While Xuanzang did his trip entirely on foot, these monks will use all modes of travel. Their trip will  be televised and they will also blog.

They will travel through Pakistan and Nepal and are expected to arrive at Nalanda in Bihar of India, the ancient center of Buddhist learning, in mid-November.

In addition to religious studies in Nalanda during their stay, the two monks will present a handwritten sutra by famous Chinese calligraphers to the Indian temple.

“The trip is of great significance in religious and cultural exchanges between the two nations,” Monk Mingxian said. Xuanzang’s pilgrimage to India, which was full of trials and tribulations, has become known to more people of coming generations in China largely through the classical fiction “Journey to the west”, commonly known to western readers as “Monkey King”.

Written by Wu Cheng’en ( 1510-1582), “Journey to the west” is one of the four Chinese literary classics. The other three are “The Water Margins”, “Dream of the Red Mansion” and “Romance of Three Kingdoms”. [Chinese monks begin pilgrimage to India]

See Also: Along Huen Tsang’s path, Following Huen Tsang’s Steps