Hindu Origins of Judeo-Christian Religion

[sarabhanga]

All monotheistic religions must be considering exactly the same ultimate deity. And all Christians, all Jews, all Muslims, and all Hindus, understand that in truth there is only one Godhead, which in each case must be one and the same. Some see further than others, into finer levels of abstraction, but all are looking towards exactly the same aim (as various spokes leading back to the same hub that drives them all).

All names and forms are taken by that indefinable essence of immortal existence, yet no name or form is sufficient for the unborn advaitam. That unnamed rudra is know only in samAdhi (not by name or form, but only by the indescribable experience of absolute identity), but its apparently diverse rudrAs are followed by the various theologies, each adhering to its own expression of the one name that is truly beyond all names.

In the highest samAdhi of perfect advaitam there is only the one God, so that any suggestion of plurality or verifiable form is impossible.

sanAtana dharma is founded in the wisdom of the dharma cakram and yama and yoga and advaitam. Whereas the devoted followers of an individual guru, following just one spoke of the eternal wheel, in ignorance (or denial) of any other true spokesman, take their dharma as a veritable sword cleaving a straight path to the source of all illumination.

Knowing the whole field of dharma (cf. kurukshetram) the wise guru understands that many different paths are valid for different individual circumstances, but that (when all true paths are considered) there is ultimately no difference at all. And Hindu understanding (the mother of all monistic religion) has always been tempered by this overriding thought of ultimate unity.

[sarabhanga]

Over the centuries, the advaita dharma cakram (the sun of dharma) has cast an occasional AryaHinduH (a bright spark of true illumination) to the west ~ as an occasional ray of brilliant light shooting westwards into the darkness from the dawning of immortal wisdom that eternally recurs in the east, only to be trampled and lost. And those muddied gems still lie hidden and only awaiting their discovery.

The original (forgotten) diaspora of bRMhan became abRMham in the west, and the subsequent diaspora has become what appears today as a range of separate religions.

Each spoke in the wheel of dharma has its own guided path, and while the language remains the same the sign posts on another path remain familiar instructions, but if the language is translated then the similarities soon become invisible to anyone unfamiliar with both tongues.

The philosophies of Jainism and Taoism (for example) seem to be distinguished only by the language used. And the original separations of Vedanta and Jaina and the Tao, and also the teaching of Christ, are fundamentally due to translation of the one dharma into different tongues.

The speciation of dharma has occurred along the lines of biological species, and originally identical paths have become different paths only when their previously regular intercourse becomes interrupted by some isolating cause (such as geography and language).

The veda was revealed to various RSayas over a long period of time, but they are songs which have been sung for thousands of years, learned by heart as a sacred tradition and passed over countless generations from father to son (with no mistakes allowed). And the songs are virtually self-composed from the very nature of saMskRta language and the natural history of reality itself (the two are intimately bound).

Of course, the interpretations are subtly revised and represented for new generations and new situations, and that is why the corpus of Hindu texts is so vast, with layers and layers of coherent reinterpretation of exactly the same theme.

The vedAs were originally passed by learned brAhmaNAs from generation to generation only by direct speech, and were never actually written down, and this process has been continuous over millennia. And at some point, the written code of brAhmI (and later devanAgarI) was established, and the vedAs were fixed in writing for the first time.

The major upaniSadas were composed in the first half of the first millennium BC, and it was during this time that the Brahmi, Phoenician, and Aramaic, scripts were developed. And by recording the oral traditions in an easily translatable script, they were effectively released for broad publication.

And I believe that the codification of the shruti (which had previously only been heard and remember by heart) in written form, which created for the first time what we now consider as “scripture” and spawned various “new” religions, which are in truth only different translations of exactly the same eternal truths. And in the absence of the original oral traditions, the various dispensations have continued to diverge under their own cultural influences, with their original identities masked by the general veil of non-comprehension between different languages and scripts.

The strict advaitam of the upaniSad insists that the only true image of God is actually beyond any possibility of description, and therefore ALL images of God are technically false images.

And the advaita philosophy of Hinduism was transported to the west, where it has been interpreted mainly by philosophers with a dvaita perspective. So it is no surprise that adharmA and avidyA has resulted. But it is not the original words that are faulty, only the subsequent interpretations and translations, every one of which must involve the personal interpretation of the translator, which then becomes its own dogma, denying and limiting other possibilities, and perhaps even turning the original truth on its head.

Religion was originally a personal matter of correct “selection” or “perception” of Truth. Over time, however, the various selections made by some inspired members of different cultural groups have become “set in stone” for those groups, and subsequently their particular cultural version of “religion” or dharma has been presented more dogmatically.

And the production of actual scripture (the written word as opposed to the spoken word) is perhaps the main reason for the historical change in the perceived nature of religion (from wise choice to veritable bondage) which has tended to occur in all the established faiths.

Just as different monistic religions are like spokes in the wheel of Hindu dharma, each language of the Indo-European family represents a part of the whole, and resting at the hub is surely Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is the oldest living language, and Hindu scripture traces an unbroken line back to the source of language itself, with only slight changes along the way. And Sanskrit is well-recorded in mantras and shlokas from every stage.

Scripture, like poetry, carries multiple levels of meaning that cannot easily be compressed and transcribed into another language. And every translation into another language can only be the translator’s interpretation of the original words.

And every translation gives plenty of scope for corruption of the original meaning, and my contention is that the bulk of Judaic and Christian scripture actually stems from originally Sanskrit texts and teachings.

[sarabhanga]

From Genesis:

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.

And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language.


From Sir William Jones:

We cannot justly conclude, by arguments preceding the proof of facts, that one people must have borrowed their deities, rites, and tenets from another; since Gods of all shapes and dimensions may be framed by the boundless powers of imagination, or by the frauds and follies of men, in countries never connected; but, when features of resemblance, too strong to have been accidental, are observable in different systems, without fancy or prejudice to colour them and improve the likeness, we can scarce help believing, that some connection has immemorially subsisted between the several nations who have adopted them.

From all this, if it be satisfactorily proved, we may infer a general union or affinity between the most distinguished inhabitants of the primitive world.

The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet being to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source … there is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick and the Celtick, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanskrit; and the old Persian might be added to the same family.

Meros is said by the Greeks to have been a mountain of India, on which their Dionysos was born.

The names of the planets and Zodiacal stars, which the Arabs borrowed from the Greeks, but which we find in the oldest Indian records, were originally devised by the same ingenious and enterprising race, from whom both Greece and India were peopled; the race, who, as Dionysius describes them,

“first assayed the deep, and wafted merchandize to coasts unknown, those, who digested first the starry choir, their motions marked, and called them by their names.”
We see five races of men peculiarly distinguished … but we have reduced them to three, because we can discover no more, that essentially differ in language, religion, manners, and other known characteristicks : now those three races, how variously soever they may at present be dispersed and intermixed, must (if the preceding conclusions be justly drawn) have migrated originally from a central country.

Three sons of the just and virtuous man, whose lineage was preserved from the general inundation, travelled, we are told, as they began to multiply, in three large divisions variously subdivided : the children of Ya’fet seem, from the traces of Sklavonian names, and the mention of their being enlarged, to have spread themselves far and wide, and to have produced the race, which, for want of a correct appellation, we call Tartarian; the colonies, formed by the sons of Ham and Shem, appear to have been nearly simultaneous; and, among those of the latter branch, we find so may names incontestably preserved at this hour in Arabia, that we cannot hesitate in pronouncing them the same people whom hitherto we have denominated Arabs; while the former branch, the most powerful and adventurous of whom were the progeny of Cush, Misr, and Rama (names remaining unchanged in Sanskrit, and highly revered by the Hindus), were, in all probability, the race, which I call Indian.

Now these primeval events are described as having happened between the Oxus [Amu Dharya] and the Euphrates, the mountains of Caucasus and the borders of India.

[sarabhanga]

As the last ice-age ended (c. 10000 BC) the human practice of agriculture began in the ‘Fertile Crescent’ of the Middle East.

Wheat (godhUma) first became domesticated (c. 9000 BC) in the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Kurdistan), and barley (yava) was domesticated (c. 8000 BC) around the Jordon River. The domestication of goats (aja) and sheep (avis) began in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, and cattle (gaus) and pigs (varAha or sUkara) had been domesticated in the Fertile Crescent by 7000 BC. And sun-dried mud bricks (iSTakA) were first used for building in ancient Jericho (c. 8000 BC).

The first agricultural settlement known from the Indus region was at Mehrgarh (Baluchistan), beginning around 7000 BC, with similar strains of domesticated wheat and barley, goats, sheep, and cattle, and dwellings made with sun-dried mud bricks.

Irrigation systems were first developed in Mesopotamia (c. 5500 BC).

The Egyptian Sothic calendar was introduced in 4241 BC.

And horses have apparently been domesticated numerous times (unlike the previously mentioned animals, each of which seems to be descended from just one or two original strains), but the first signs of domestication in horses appear from the Ukraine (c. 4000 BC).

By about 3600 BC, urban settlements were developing in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley. The wheel was apparently invented in Sumer, and sails in Egypt (c. 3500 BC); and the Egyptian hieroglyphic script, Sindhian logosyllabic script, and Sumerian pictographic script, were all established by 3200 BC.

The first Egyptian Dynasty was founded by King Narmer (or Menes), perhaps as early as 3400 BC.

And the brAhmaNAs record the vernal equinox in conjunction with rohinI, which points to a date around 3100 BC.

And AryabhaTTa determined (in 499 AD) that the kaliyugam had begun 3600 years earlier, fixing the start as 3102 BC.

The “Indo-European” or “Aryan” language group arose from a common ancestral tongue (“Proto-Indo-European” or “Proto-Aryan”) that existed perhaps as early as 4,000 BC, somewhere around the Aral and Caspian Seas. And the expansion of “Proto-Aryan” began about 3,000 BC, and it developed along two distinct lines ~ “Indo-Iranian” (“Indo-Aryan”) and “European”.



saMskRtam is the form of sarasvatI, who is brAhmI, the vAc of brahmA.

If we begin by accepting the idea that languages as apparently divergent as Gaelic and Gujarati are actually related, then we must begin by assuming that these languages have some common ancestral root. There is no reason to assume that this ancient parent tongue is still spoken anywhere exactly as it was originally, and the source must be inferred from the various commonalities of each language.

Exactly as the relationships between different groups of living things may be inferred by considering their degree of similarity with regard to many varied characteristics, the same process may be applied to the problem of language relations to arrive at the most likely common ancestor ~ which in this case has been termed “Proto-Indo-European”.

It is likely that the divergence began before the invention of writing, so it is unlikely that any example of the posited Proto-Indo-European will ever be discovered. But that should not prevent us from proposing the most likely nature of that tongue based on all kinds of other information.

Even a cursory examination of any of the Indo-European languages will reveal many similarities ~ and Sanskrit seems to permeate all of the languages grouped as “Indo-European”.

Blessed be the Grammarians!



veda is “knowledge, sacred knowledge or lore, or knowledge of ritual”.

vid (nominative singular vit, nominative plural vidaH) is “knowing or understanding” or “one who knows”.

vid means “to know, understand, perceive, learn, become or be acquainted with, be conscious of, have a correct notion of, know how to, recognize or consider as, take for, declare to be, call, mind, notice, observe, remember, experience, feel, inquire about, make known, announce, report, tell, teach, or explain”.

And the perfect form of vid is veda (first person “I know” or third person “he/she/it knows”).

ya evam veda ~ “who knows thus” or “who has this knowledge”.

From the Sanskrit vit to the English wit, there has been very little change.

English and Old Saxon wit, Old Norse vit, Danish vid, Swedish vett, and German witz.

All with the same meaning ~ “knowledge, understanding, intelligence, mind”.

And the suggested proto-Aryan root is veid or vid, meaning “to see”, and thus “to know”.

Sanskrit veda, Avestan vaeda, Greek oida, Doric woida ~ “I know”
Bulgarian vidya ~ “I see”
Latin videre, Russian videt, Greek idei, Polish widzeic ~ “to see”
English wise, Old English and Old Swedish witan, German wissen, Old Russian vedat, Gothic weitan, Polish weidzeic, ~ “to know”
And Old Irish fis (“vision”) or fuiss (“knowledge”).

Sophisticated irrigation systems were established in the Indus region by 3000 BC, and rice (vrIhI or annam), which was first domesticated from perennial wild-types in the eastern foothills of the Himalaya, was introduced soon after. And the buffalo (mahiSa) was domesticated in the Indus region (c. 2500 BC).

The Sindhu-Sarasvati civilization flourished throughout the 3rd millennium BC; the Sarasvati river was navigable to Ropar (near Chandigarh), and maritime trade was well established. The star Thuban was the perfect pole-star around 2700 BC, and it was the effective guide for navigators and the fixed reference point for astrologers throughout the 3rd millennium BC. There was continuous contact between the civilizations of the Nile, the Euphrates, and the Indus, and the ports of dvArakA (Gujarat) and sopAra (Sofale, just north of Mumbai) were renowned.

The stepped pyramid of Djoser (the first Egyptian pyramid) was constructed c. 2750 BC. And Pharaoh Sahure (c. 2500 BC) organized the first recorded expedition to the Land of Punt (pañca) Ta Netjer (“God’s Land”, generally referring to the eastern region of the Sun’s rising).

And c. 2350 BC, export trade from the Indus to Sumer and the Akkadian Empire (founded by Sargon in 2371 BC) was the major revenue source for Sindhu civilization.

The vaidika ritual calendar was established c. 2300 BC.

And the Ziggurat of Ur was constructed c. 2100 BC.

And horse-drawn chariots with spoked wheels appeared in Mesopotamia and Egypt c. 2000 BC.

By about 1900 BC, the Sarasvati was no longer flowing continuously, and Aryan nomads, with horses and wheeled chariots, arrived in Bactria and Margiana (the headwaters of the Oxus ~ vakshus or amu dhArya).

A second wave of (somayAjin) Aryans swept across Bactria-Margiana c. 1700 BC, and Aryan movement into northwestern India began, with horses and chariots appearing for the first time in the Indus Valley.

And the Canaanite script was developed around 1700 BC.

[sarabhanga]

The most famous expedition to Punt (primarily to obtain myrrh) occurred during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1500 BC), when Punt was apparently ruled by King Parahu and Queen Ati (figured below).

The port of dvArakA became submerged c. 1500 BC, and the compilation of the Rgveda began around the same time.

Philological and linguistic evidence indicates that the Rgveda was composed between 1700 and 1100 BC, with the oldest elements reaching back to around 2000 BC (perhaps as early as 3000 BC).

And the veda defines five domestic or sacrificial animals (the pañcapashu or “five tethered animals”), including men, cattle, horses, goats and sheep (but not pigs).

Based on astronomical calculations (and evidence from the Puranas), the mahAbhArata yuddha occurred in 1397 BC.

In Egypt (c. 1350 BC), Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) established the new capital of Akhetaten and enforced the monotheistic worship of the Sun God (Ra). But after his death, the both Akhetaten and Akhenaten’s reforms were abandoned (1332 BC).



The cerebral rakAra arises from agni and is associated with kAla.

ra indicates “motion or vibration, and thus giving and taking”.

ra is “fire, light, and love”.

ram is the agni bIjam and the rakta bIjam.

rakta is “impassioned, devoted, and beloved”.

rakta is “fire”, and raktam is “blood”

ram means “to set at rest, abide, make happy, and rejoice”.

rama is the active imperative form of ram.

And rama is “pleasing, delighting, rejoicing, and beloved”, indicating “joy and love”.



From Subhash Kak ~ http://www.ece.lsu.edu/kak/akhena.pdf

Scholars see in Akhenaten the beginning of the Judaic monotheistic tradition. Our examination of the facts shows that it might, equally plausibly, be a retelling of the improperly understood ideas, or ideas modified by the prevailing ones in their new land, in the journey to West Asia by the Mitannis. We are basing our conclusions not only on the connection to the Mitanni through Akhenaten’s wife but also on the pervasiveness of the Vedic concepts in West Asia as in the notion of 33 gods, the use of the disk to represent the sun exactly as is done in Vedic ritual, and the conception of the sun who superintends personal destiny which is perhaps the central idea of Vedic thought. We have also alluded to the similarity between the Vedic Yahvah and the Hebrew Yahweh and between other gods. These parallels are significant enough to demand a thorough investigation of the 2nd millennium BC connections between India and the West. The interaction between the Indic (Mitanni and other groups) and the Egyptian and West Asian can help us in understanding the evolution of the Western religions.


A Hymn of praise of Her-aakhuti, the living one exalted in the Eastern Horizon in his name of Shu who is in the Aten, who liveth for ever and ever, the living and great Aten, he who is in the Set-Festival, the lord of the Circle, the Lord of the Disk, the Lord of heaven, the Lord of earth, the lord of the House of the Aten in Aakhut-Aten, [of] the King of the South and the North, who liveth in Truth, lord of the Two Lands, Nefer-Kheperu-Ra Ua-en-Ra, the son of Ra, who liveth in Truth, Lord of Crowns, Aakhun-Aten, great in the period of his life, [and of] the great royal woman whom he loveth, Lady of the Two Lands, Nefer-Neferu-Aten Nefertiti, who liveth in health and youth for ever and ever.

He saith:

Thy rising [is] beautiful in the horizon of heaven, O Aten, ordainer of life. Thou dost shoot up in the horizon of the East, thou fillest every land with thy beneficence. Thou art beautiful and great and sparkling, and exalted above every land. Thy arrows envelop everywhere all the lands which thou hast made.

Thou art as Ra. Thou bringest [them] according to their number, thou subduest them for thy beloved son. Thou thyself art afar off, but thy beams are upon the earth; thou art in their faces, they [admire] thy goings. Thou settest in the horizon of the west, the earth is in darkness, in the form of death. Men lie down in a booth wrapped up in cloths, one eye cannot see its fellow. If all their possessions, which are under their heads, be carried away they perceive it not.

Every lion emergeth from his lair, all the creeping things bite, darkness [is] a warm retreat. The land is in silence. He who made them hath set in his horizon. The earth becometh light, thou shootest up in the horizon, shining in the Aten in the day, thou scatterest the darkness. Thou sendest out thine arrows, the Two Lands make festival, [men] wake up, stand upon their feet, it is thou who raisest them up. [They] wash their members, they take [their apparel] and array themselves therein, their hands are [stretched out] in praise at thy rising, throughout the land they do their works.

Beasts and cattle of all kinds settle down upon the pastures, shrubs and vegetables flourish, the feathered fowl fly about over their marshes, their feathers praising thy Ka. All the cattle rise up on their legs, creatures that fly and insects of all kinds spring into life, when thou risest up on them.

The boats drop down and sail up the river, likewise every road openeth at thy rising, the fish in the river swim towards thy face, thy beams are in the depths of the Great Green [Sea]. Thou makest offspring to take form in women, creating seed in men. Thou makest the son to live in the womb of his mother, making him to be quiet that he crieth not; thou art a nurse in the womb, giving breath to vivify that which he hath made.

[When] he droppeth from the womb … on the day of his birth [he] openeth his mouth in the [ordinary] manner, thou providest his sustenance. The young bird in the egg speaketh in the shell, thou givest breath to him inside it to make him to live. Thou makest for him his mature form so that he can crack the shell [being] inside the egg. He cometh forth from the egg, he chirpeth with all his might, when he hath come forth from it, he walketh on his two feet. O how many are the things which thou hast made! They are hidden from the face, O thou One God, like whom there is no other.

Thou didst create the earth by thy heart, thou alone existing, men and women, cattle, beasts of every kind that are upon the earth, and that move upon feet, all the creatures that are in the sky and that fly with their wings, [and] the deserts of Syria and Kush, and the Land of Egypt. Thou settest every person in his place. Thou providest their daily food, every man having the portion allotted to him, [thou] dost compute the duration of his life. Their tongues are different in speech, their characteristics, and likewise their skins, giving distinguishing marks to the dwellers in foreign lands.

Thou makest Hapi (the Nile) in the Tuat (Underworld), thou bringest it when thou wishest to make mortals to live, inasmuch as thou hast made them for thyself, their Lord who dost support them to the uttermost, O thou Lord of every land, thou shinest upon them, O Aten of the day, thou great one of majesty. Thou makest the life of all remote lands. Thou settest a Nile in heaven, which cometh down to them.

It maketh a flood on the mountains like the Great Green Sea, it maketh to be watered their fields in their villages. How beneficent are thy plans, O Lord of Eternity! A Nile in heaven art thou for the dwellers in the foreign lands, and for all the beasts of the desert that go upon feet. Hapi cometh from the Tuat for the land of Egypt. Thy beams nourish every field; thou risest up [and] they live, they germinate for thee. Thou makest the Seasons to develop everything that thou hast made:

The season of Pert (Nov. 16 - March 16) so that they may refresh themselves, and the season Heh (March 16 - Nov. 16) in order to taste thee. Thou hast made the heaven which is remote that thou mayest shine therein and look upon everything that thou hast made. Thy being is one, thou shinest among thy creatures as the Living Aten, rising, shining, departing afar off, returning. Thou hast made millions of creations from thy one self ~ towns and cities, villages, fields, roads and river. Every eye beholdeth thee confronting it. Thou art the Aten of the day at its zenith.

At thy departure thine eye … thou didst create their faces so that thou mightest not see … One thou didst make … Thou art in my heart. There is no other who knoweth thee except thy son Nefer-kheperu-Ra Ua-en-Ra. Thou hast made him wise to understand thy plans [and] thy power. The earth came into being by thy hand, even as thou hast created them. Thou risest, they live; thou settest, they die. As for thee, there is duration of life in thy members, life is in thee. [All] eyes [gaze upon] thy beauties until thou settest, [when] all labours are relinquished.

Thou settest in the West, thou risest, making to flourish … for the King. Every man who [standeth on his] foot, since thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, thou hast raised up for thy son who came forth from thy body, the King of the South and the North, Living in Truth, Lord of Crowns, Aakhun-Aten, great in the duration of his life [and for] the Royal Wife, great of majesty, Lady of the Two Lands, Nefer-neferu-Aten Nefertiti, living [and] young for ever and ever.

[sarabhanga]

Most chapters of the Rgveda represent the accumulated wisdom of just one RSi and his gotram, and those individual compilations were at some point compiled and perfectly arranged as a whole (which had long existed in all its parts, only the parts had not previously been collected together in a unified form ~ which is an important aspect of the dAsharAjñam and its solution).

The Rgveda (and Hinduism as we know it) results from the merging of two great cultures.

The northern AryAs were nomadic hunters and herdsmen; and their wanderings were at first limited to the wide shores of the Aral and Caspian Seas, but for some reason (perhaps environmental changes) they were displaced. And the southern drAvidAs ~ the dark (kRSNa) people ~ were highly civilized, at least in the huge urban areas that had developed around their fixed agricultural and trading communities.

The two groups of people (one born on the northern slopes of the himAlaya, and the other born on the southern slopes) perhaps came into conflict when the Arya nomads began moving in numbers into the long established communities of the sindhu and shatadru, but there were great changes happening on the sindhu-sarasvatI plains, as some once mighty rivers dried up completely and others flooded suddenly with multiplied force, and whole cities were swallowed by the sea.

The two traditions, languages, etc., were successfully merged over time, and it is partly due to this great ancient merging of apparently opposite cultures and natures that India and Hinduism are what they are today.

From India’s point of view, the so-called Aryan Invasion is only a trans-Himalayan migration ~ when the sons of ikshvAku and vasiSTha came down from himavan onto the plains that had long been ruled by the sons of iDa and bhRgu.

The Oxus (amU dhArA) flows directly from Afghanistan into the Aral Sea, and it has been an important trading and migration route for many thousands of years.

And amU dhAryau is “that (twin) to be borne or carried, to be kept or remembered, to be upheld or maintained, to be observed or followed, or to be kept back or restrained”. And in its highest headwaters, the dhArAya pañca (Darya ye Panj) flows together with the sindhu.

The amU dhAryau flows from himAlaya to samudra. However, while there is only one himAlaya range, it has two flanks, with opposed river systems flowing into two seas ~ the sindhu flowing, via the pañcApas, to the Arabhya samudra; and the amU dhArA (vakshus or cakshus), via the dhArA ya pañca, to the ara samudra.

sanAtana dharma comes down to us by the flow of gaÑgA. But the wise ones know gaÑgA as iLA (or iDA), and they understand that the eternal flow from pArvatI himajA radiates in ALL directions from the himAlaya to the seas.

There is little objection to including the regions now covered by Pakistan and Afghanistan as integral to ancient India; and if the neighbouring areas of Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, are also included, then the Aryan “Invasion” Theory is merely suggesting an ancient radiation of Aryan culture from the north-western corner of Arya-desha.

Horses were domesticated around the Aral Sea long ago, but they were apparently unknown in the Indus Valley until about 1800 BC. The Rgveda, however, represents a perfect fusion of the ancient wisdom of both cultures. And by the time the full Rgveda was fixed (all 10 books, exactly as we know them today), which seems to have occurred somewhere between 1400 and 1200 BC, horses were intrinsic to the shared culture of both regions.

[sarabhanga]

Whether traveling overland by ox-cart, or on an ancient vessel at sea, the rate of progress would not be much different to walking. And given 11 hours traveling at about 5 km per hour, a full day’s journey would be about 55 km.

The distance from the Euphrates to the Indus, by land or sea, is about 2,200 km, which would take forty days to complete ~ 40 days in the wilderness, or 40 days in the flood, and kRSNa’s dvArakA is reached, and the wisdom (and other riches) of the sindhu-sarasvatI may be obtained.


Genesis 7:

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 8:

And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:

And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
Genesis 50:

And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.

And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed.
Exodus 16:

And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
Exodus 24:

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 34:

And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Numbers 13:

And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.

And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great.
Direct communication between Egypt and the Indus Valley was likely only by sea, although the voyage would have been a considerable undertaking. And the famed expeditions to God’s Land, the mysterious Land of Punt (cf. pañca ~ as the pañca Apas or ‘Punjab’), represent the most likely means for that contact to have occurred.

The Egyptian naval expeditions to Punt always began in the Red Sea, although the precise destination remains obscure. Most commentators have assumed Africa (Ethiopia, Sudan, or Somalia) as the location of Punt, but a final destination in India makes more sense to me.

The voyage through the Red Sea and along the coast to the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula covers about 4,500 km (requiring about 80 days). And from there, the shortest route would be due east, across about 950 km of open sea. Coastal navigation is dangerous at night, but sailing across open waters could easily be continued day and night (thus requiring only eight days without sight of land). With confident navigation and sailing continuously, the full distance of almost 5,500 km might be covered in about 45 days.


Queen Hatshepsut’s Expedition to Punt

Sailing in the sea, beginning the goodly way toward God’s-Land, journeying in peace to the land of Punt, by the army of the Lord of the Two Lands, according to the command of the Lord of Gods, Amun, lord of Thebes, presider over Karnak, in order to bring for him the marvels of every country, because he so much loves the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, [Matkara (Hatshepsut)], for his father Amun-Ra, lord of heaven, lord of earth, more than the other kings who have been in this land forever.

[The arrival] of the king’s-messenger in God’s-Land, together with the army which is behind him, before the chiefs of Punt; dispatched with every good thing from the court, L. P. H., for Hathor, mistress of Punt; for the sake of the life, prosperity, and health of her majesty.

The coming of the chiefs of Punt, doing obeisance, with bowed head, to receive this army of the king; they give praise to the lord of gods, Amun-Ra …

They say, as they pray for peace: “Why have ye come thither unto this land, which the people know not? Did ye come down upon the ways of heaven, or did ye sail upon the waters, upon the sea of God’s-Land? Have ye trodden [the way of] Ra? Lo, as for the King of Egypt, is there no way to his majesty, that we may live by the breath which he gives?”

The chief of Punt, Parahu.

His wife, Ati.

The ass which bears his wife.

Pitching the tent of the king’s messenger and his army, in the myrrh-terraces of Punt on the side of the sea, in order to receive the chiefs of this country. There are offered to them bread, beer, wine, meat, fruit, everything found in Egypt, according to that which was commanded in the court, L. P. H.

Reception of the tribute of the chief of Punt, by the king’s messenger.

The coming of the chief of Punt bearing tribute at the side of the sea before the king’s [messenger] …

[Look to] your feet, ye people! Behold! the load is very heavy!

Prosperity [be] with [us], for the sake of the myrrh tree in the midst of God’s-Land, for the house of Amun; there is the place [where] it shall be made to grow for Matkara, in his temple, according to command.

The loading of the ships very heavily with marvels of the country of Punt; all goodly fragrant woods of God’s-Land, heaps of myrrh-resin, with fresh myrrh trees, with ebony and pure ivory, with green gold of Amu, with cinnamon wood, khesyt wood, with ihmut-incense, sonter-incense, eye-cosmetic, with apes, monkeys, dogs, and with skins of the southern panther, with natives and their children. Never was brought the like of this for any king who has been since the beginning.

Sailing, arriving in peace, journeying to Thebes with joy of heart, by the army of the Lord of the Two Lands, with the chiefs of this country behind them. They have brought that, the like of which was not brought for other kings, being marvels of Punt, because of the greatness of the fame of this revered god, Amun-Ra, Lord of Thebes.

They say as they pray for peace from her majesty: “Hail to thee, king of Egypt, Ra, who shines like the sun, your sovereign, mistress of heaven … Thy name reaches as far as the circuit of heaven, the fame of [Matkara] encircles the [sea] …”

The King himself, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Matkara; presentation of the marvels of Punt, the treasures of God’s-Land, together with the gifts of the countries of the South, with the impost of the wretched Kush, the baskets of the Negro-land, to Amun, lord of Thebes, presider over Karnak, for the sake of the life, prosperity, and health of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Matkara, that she may live, abide, and her heart be joyful; that she may rule the Two Lands like Ra, forever.

Thirty-one fresh myrrh trees, brought as marvels of Punt for the majesty of this god, Amun, lord of Thebes; never was seen the like since the beginning.

Electrum; eye-cosmetic; throw-sticks of the Puntites; ebony; ivory, [shells].

A southern panther alive, captured for her majesty in the countries.

The king himself, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Matkara. Taking the measure of the electrum, laying the hand on the … of the heaps, first instance of doing the good things. Measuring of the fresh myrrh unto Amun, lord of Thebes, lord of heaven, the first of the harvest … of the marvels of the countries of Punt. The lord of Khmunu (Thoth) records them in writing; Sefkhet counts the numbers. Her majesty herself, is acting with her two hands, the best of myrrh is upon all her limbs, her fragrance is divine dew, her odor is mingled with Punt, her skin is gilded with electrum, shining as do the stars in the midst of the festival-hall, before the whole land. There is rejoicing by all the people; they give praise to the lord of gods, they laud Matkara in her divine qualities, because of the greatness of the marvels which have happened for her. Never did the like happen under any gods who were before, since the beginning. May she be given life, like Ra, forever.

Heaps of myrrh in great quantities.

Measuring the fresh myrrh, in great quantities, for Amun, lord of Thebes; marvels of the countries of Punt, treasures of God’s-Land, for the sake of the life, prosperity and health …

Recording in writing, reckoning the numbers, summing up in millions, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, thousands and hundreds; reception of the marvels of Punt, for Amun-Ra, lord of Thebes, lord of heaven.

The balances, accurate and true, of Thoth, which the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, [Matka]ra, made for her father, Amun, lord of Thebes, in order to weigh the silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite, and every splendid costly stone, for the sake of the life, prosperity, and health of her majesty …

Weighing the gold and electrum, the impost of the southern countries, for Amun-Ra, lord of Thebes, … presider over Karnak …

Recording in writing, reckoning the numbers, summing up in millions, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, thousands, and hundreds. Reception of the marvels of the South countries, for Amun, lord of Thebes, presider over Karnak.

Horus: Mighty in Ka’s; Favorite of the Two Goddesses: Fresh in Years; Golden Horus: Divine in Diadems; King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Matkara, … of Amun, whom he loves, who is upon his throne, for whom he has made to flourish the inheritance of the Two Lands, the kingdom of the South and North, to whom he hath given that which the sun encompasses, that which Seb and Nut enclose. She hath no enemies among the Southerns, she hath no foes among the Northerns; the heavens and every country which the god hath created, they all labor for her. They come to her with fearful heart, their chiefs with bowed head, their gifts upon their back. They present to her their children that there may be given to them the breath of life, because of the greatness of the fame of her father, Amun, who hath set all lands beneath her sandals.

The king himself, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Matkara. The majesty of the court made supplication at the steps of the lord of [gods]; a command was heard from the great throne, an oracle of the god himself, that the ways to Punt should be searched out, that the highways to the Myrrh-terraces should be penetrated: “I will lead the army on water and on land, to bring marvels from God’s-Land for this god, for the fashioner of her beauty.” It was done, according to all that the majesty of this revered god commanded, according to the desire of her majesty, in order that she might be given life, stability, and satisfaction, like Ra, forever.

Utterance of Amun-Ra, lord of Thebes: “Welcome! my sweet daughter, my favorite, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Matkara, who makes my beautiful monuments, who purifies the seat of the great ennead of gods for my dwelling, as a memorial of her love. Thou art the king, taking possession of the Two Lands, Khnemet-Amun, Hatshepsut, great in oblations, pure in food-offerings. Thou satisfiest my heart at all times; I have given thee all life and satisfaction from me, all stability from me, all health from me, all joy from me, I have given to thee all lands and all countries, wherein thy heart is glad. I have long intended them for thee, and the aeons shall behold them until those myriads of years [of usefulness which I have thought to spend]. I have given to thee all Punt as far as the lands of the gods of God’s-Land.”

“No one trod the Myrrh-terraces, which the people knew not; it was heard of from mouth to mouth by hearsay of the ancestors … The marvels brought thence under thy fathers, the Kings of Lower Egypt, were brought from one to another, and since the time of the ancestors of the Kings of Upper Egypt, who were of old, as a return for many payments; none reaching them except thy carriers.”

“But I will cause thy army to tread them, I have led them on water and on land, to explore the waters of inaccessible channels, and I have reached the Myrrh-terraces.”

“It is a glorious region of God’s-Land; it is indeed my place of delight. I have made it for myself, in order to [divert] my heart, together with Mut, Hathor, Ureret, mistress of Punt, the mistress, ‘Great in Sorcery’, mistress of all gods. They took myrrh as they wished, they loaded the vessels to their hearts’ content, with fresh myrrh trees, every good gift of this country, Puntites whom the people know not, Southerns of God’s-Land. I conciliated them by love that they might give to thee praise, because thou art a god, because of thy fame in the countries. I know [them], I am their wise lord … I am the begetter, Amun-Ra; my daughter, who binds the lords, is the king [Matkara]. I have begotten her for myself. I am thy father, who sets thy fear among the Nine Bows, while they come in peace to all gods. They have brought all the marvels, every beautiful thing of God’s-Land, for which thy majesty sent them: heaps of gum of myrrh, and enduring trees bearing fresh myrrh, united in the festival-hall, to be seen of the lord of the gods. May thy majesty cause them to grow … my temple, in order to delight my heart among them. My name is before the gods, thy name is before all the living, forever. Heaven and earth are flooded with incense; odors are in the Great House. Mayest thou offer them to me, pure and cleansed, in order to express the ointment for the divine limbs, to offer myrrh, to make ointment, to make festive my statue with necklaces, while I am making libations for thee. My heart is glad because of seeing thee.”

Behold, it was commanded, as follows: “They shall give the court, L. P. H., to the hereditary prince, count, wearer of the royal seal, sole companion, chief treasurer, Nehsi, to dispatch the army [to] Punt.”

Year 9, occurred the sitting in the audience-hall, the king’s appearance with the atef-crown, upon the great throne of electrum, in the midst of the splendors of his palace. The grandees, the companions of the court, came to hear; a command was brought, a royal edict to his dignitaries, the divine fathers, the companions of the king, the grandees:

“I shine forever in your faces through that which my father hath desired. Truly, it was greatly my desire in doing, that I should make great him that begat me; and in assigning to my father, that I should make splendid for him all his offerings; that which my fathers, the ancestors knew not, I am doing as the Great One [did] to the Lord of Eternity; I am adding increase to that which was formerly done. I will cause it to be said to posterity: ‘How beautiful is she, through whom this has happened’, because I have been so very excellent to him, and the heart of my heart has been replete with that which is due to him. I am his splendor [on high, and in the nether world]. I have entered into the qualities of the august god, he hath opened … He hath recognized my excellence, that I speak a great thing [which] I set among you; it shall shine for you upon the land of the living … ye may grasp my virtues. I am the god, the beginning of being, nothing fails that goes out of my mouth, beloved … that which he desired. Ye shall fulfil according to that which I have exacted. Your lifetime is the life [that is] in my mouth … for the future. I have given a command of my majesty that the offerings of him who begat me should be made splendid, that the ointment should be increased … of prime ointment of the pure ox, in order to supply with offerings …”

“… [a decree of] my majesty commanding to send to the Myrrh-terraces, to explore his ways [for him], to learn his circuit, to open his highways, according to the command of my father, Amun … for choice ointment, in order to express ointment for the divine limbs, which I owed to the lord of gods, in order to establish the laws of his house. Trees were taken up in God’s-Land, and set in the ground in [Egypt] … for the king of the gods. They were brought bearing myrrh therein for expressing ointment for the divine limbs, which I owed to the lord of Gods.”

Said my majesty: “I will cause you to know that which is commanded me, I have hearkened to my father … that which he hath ~ commanding me to establish for him a Punt in his house, to plant the trees of God’s-Land beside his temple, in his garden, according as he commanded. It was done, in order to endow the offering which I owed … I was [not] neglectful of that which he needed. Ye shall fulfil according to my regulations without transgression of that which my mouth hath given. He hath desired me as his favorite; I know all that he loveth; he is a god … his desire and that which he loveth … I have made for him a Punt in his garden, just as he commanded me, for Thebes. It is large for him, he walks abroad in it.”

… Hathor, mistress of myrrh; she hath opened to thee her two arms with resin …

[sarabhanga]

The Fifth Dynasty Pharaoh Suhure’s expedition to Punt (c. 2730 BC) returned with 80,000 measures of myrrh, and 6,000 measures of electrum, but little more is known.

The ancient tradition was revived in the Eighteenth Dynasty by Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1473 – 1458 BC), by which time the sarasvatI nadI had disappeared, the sindhu civilization (which was thriving at the time of Suhure) was in decline, and northern Arya culture was yet integrating with the southern sindhu culture on the pañcApa plains.

The 18th Dynasty began with Ahmose (c. 1580 – 1557 BC) and his wife Nefertari, and their son Amenhotep married his sister Meritamon. Amenhotep’s daughter Aahmes married Thutmose, and their daughter Hatshepsut married her step-brother Thutmose II. And Hatshepsut’s offspring did not inherit the throne, with the subsequent Pharaoh Thutmose III being descended from his father’s second wife, Aset ~ although Hatshepsut was apparently coregent with Thutmose III for most of his reign.

After some generations of regular succession, Amenhotep III (c. 1388 – 1351 BC) was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV or Akhenaten (c. 1352 – 1334 BC), whose consort was Nefertiti. And Akhenaten was briefly succeeded by his daughter Ankhkheperure Neferneferuaten (Meritaten) who ruled Egypt for just two years and one month (1335 – 1333 BC), before Amarna (amaraNam ~ “the not dying”) Akhetaten was abandoned and the throne returned to Thebes.

Punt Ta Netjer ~ the sacred land of Punt

pañcan indicates “the outspread hand with its five fingers”.

pañcatA is “the fivefold state” indicating “an aggregate or a collection of five things (especially the five elements ~ earth, air, fire, water, and ether ~ and dissolution into them)”.

paÑka is “mud, earth, or clay”.

paÑkatA is “the nature or property of mud”.

pAnta is “a drink or beverage”.

pAntatA is “the quality of refreshment”.

pAntha is “a wanderer or traveler”, especially indicating “the sun (as the wanderer in the sky)”.

pAnthatA is “the state or property of a wanderer”.

puNT means “to speak or to shine”

And in the periphrastic future tense, the active third person singular puNTTA predicts that “he/she/it will speak or shine”.

tA is “impassableness, inaccessibility, or inviolability”.

nadIja is “river-born, or coming from a river”, especially indicating yAvanAla-shara (a kind of reed resembling sorghum) ~ bhISma nadIja fought against the pañca pANDavas in the mahAbhArata yuddha.

And thus, if the Egyptian idea of “Punt Ta Netjer” is considered as derived from Sanskrit sources, the following (entirely appropriate) connotations arise:

pañcatA nadIjA ~ “the five elements born from a river”

paÑkatA nadIjA ~ “muddiness coming from a river”

pAntatA nadIjA ~ “refreshment coming from a river”

pAnthatA nadIjA ~ “river-born wandering/pilgrimage”

puNTTA nadIja ~ “coming from the river, he/she/it will shine/speak”.

Near the mouth of the Indus, there is a place famed for its sacred mud ~ Mata-na-Madh, or simply Madh (or Murr).

mAtAnam-Adhi ~ “the place of the royal court of the divine mother” ~ i.e. AshApuram, where AshApura-guggulum (bdellium, a fragrant resin used as a perfume and medicament) may be found.

mAtAnam-ADhya ~ “the opulent royal court of the divine mother”.

mAtAnA-mAdhava ~ “the queen of the mAdhavas (i.e. of the yAdavas)” or “the queen representing kRSNa”.

And the mAtA nAma “Adi” ~ atti (“elder sister”), Adi (“the first”), Adhi (“a foundation or pledge”), ADhya (“abundance or opulence”) ~ would thus appear to be the queen of the yAdavas.

The inscriptions of the expedition to Punt by Queen Hatshepsut or Matkara (mAtRkA ~ “the divine mother”, “the wife of aryamA”, or “a nurse”) record the names of Queen Ati and King Parahu ~ parahan (“foe-killer” ~ a prince mentioned in the Mahabharata), paraloka (“the other world”), pArada (“quicksilver”), pAradAs (the Parthians of Gedrosia ~Baluchustan), parada (“delivering” or “leading across” ~ Dadu, c. 160 km upstream from Hyderabad).

And another two Lords of Punt are recorded ~ Irem (IriNa or IraNa ~ the Rann of Kutch) and Nemyew (nemiyahu ~ “mighty nemi” or ariSTanemi, the jaina tIrthaMkara and cousin of shrI kRSNa, the lord of raivata, gIrNara girinAra or Mt Girnar; or “son of nemi”) the chiefs of kaccha and saurASTra.

And so, in the record of Hatshepsut’s expedition, there are four named representatives of Punt:

Irem, the chief of the IriNAs of kaccha (for the fragrant earth of kAcchI and AshApura-guggulum); and
Nemyew, the chief of saurASTra (renowned for frankincense); and
Parahu, the chief of the pAradAs (for electrum, etc.); and
Ati, the yAdava queen recalled as AshApuramAti.


From the Periplus Maris Erythraei (http://www.und.ac.za/und/classics/india/periplus.htm) (by an anonymous Egyptian merchant, c. 46 AD) :


Beyond the Ommanitic region there is a country also of the Parsidae, of another Kingdom, and the bay of Gedrosia … This country yields much wheat, wine, rice and dates; but along the coast there is nothing but bdellium.

Beyond this region, the continent making a wide curve from the east across the depths of the bays, there follows the coast district of Scythia, which lies above toward the north; the whole marshy; from which flows down the river Sinthus [Sindhu], the greatest of all the rivers that flow into the Erythraean Sea, bringing down an enormous volume of water; so that a long way out at sea, before reaching this country, the water of the ocean is fresh from it … This river has seven mouths, very shallow and marshy, so that they are not navigable, except the one in the middle; at which by the shore, is the market-town, Barbaricum. Before it there lies a small island, and inland behind it is the metropolis of Scythia, Minnagara; it is subject to Parthian princes who are constantly driving each other out.

The ships lie at anchor at Barbaricum, but all their cargoes are carried up to the metropolis by the river, to the King. There are imported into this market a great deal of thin clothing, and a little spurious; figured linens, topaz, coral, storax, frankincense, vessels of glass, silver and gold plate, and a little wine. On the other hand there are exported costus, bdellium, lycium, nard, turquoise, lapis lazuli, Seric skins, cotton cloth, silk yarn, and indigo. And sailors set out thither with the Indian Etesian winds, about the month of July, that is Epiphi: it is more dangerous then, but through these winds the voyage is more direct, and sooner completed.

Beyond the river Sinthus there is another gulf, not navigable, running in toward the north; it is called Eirinon [Rann of Kutch]; its parts are called separately the small gulf and the great; in both parts the water is shallow, with shifting sandbanks occurring continually and a great way from shore; so that very often when the shore is not even in sight, ships run aground, and if they attempt to hold their course they are wrecked. A promontory stands out from this gulf, curving around from Eirinon toward the East, then South, then West, and enclosing the gulf called Baraca [Dwarka, i.e. the Gulf of Kutch], which contains seven islands. Those who come to the entrance of this bay escape it by putting about a little and standing further out to sea; but those who are drawn inside into the gulf of Baraca are lost; for the waves are high and very violent, and the sea is tumultuous and foul, and has eddies and rushing whirlpools. The bottom is in some places abrupt, and in others rocky and sharp, so that the anchors lying there are parted, some being quickly cut off, and others chafing on the bottom. As a sign of these places to those approaching from the sea there are serpents, very large and black; for at the other places on this coast and around Barygaza [Bharuch], they are smaller, and in color bright green, running into gold.

Beyond the gulf of Baraca is that of Barygaza [i.e. the Gulf of Cambay] and the coast of the country of Ariaca [Aryaka], which is the beginning of the Kingdom of Nambanus and of all India. That part of it lying inland and adjoining Scythia is called Abiria, but the coast is called Syrastrene [Saurastra]. It is a fertile country, yielding wheat and rice and sesame oil and clarified butter, cotton and the Indian cloths made therefrom, of the coarser sorts. Very many cattle are pastured there, and the men are of great stature and black in color. The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza. In these places there remain even to the present time signs of the expedition of Alexander, such as ancient shrines, walls of forts and great wells. The sailing course along this coast, from Barbaricum to the promontory called Papica, opposite Barygaza, and before Astacampra, is of three thousand stadia.

Beyond this there is another gulf exposed to the sea-waves, running up toward the north, at the mouth of which there is an island called Bavones: at its innermost part there is a great river called Mais [Mahi]. Those sailing to Barygaza pass across this gulf, which is three hundred stadia in width, leaving behind to their left the island just visible from their tops toward the east, straight to the very mouth of the river of Barygaza; and this river is called Nammadus [Narmada].

This gulf is very narrow to Barygaza and very hard to navigate for those coming from the ocean; this is the case with both the right and left passages, but there is a better passage through the left. For on the right at the very mouth of the gulf there lies a shoal, along and narrow, and full of rocks, called Herone, facing the village of Cammoni; and opposite this on the left projects the promontory that lies before Astacampra, which is called Papica, and is a hard anchorage because of the strong current setting in around it and because the anchors are cut off, the bottom being rough and rocky. And even if the entrance to the gulf is made safely, the mouth of the river at Barygaza is found with difficulty, because the shore is very low and cannot be made out until you are close upon it. And when you have found it the passage is difficult because of the shoals at the mouth of the river.

Because of this, native fishermen in the King’s service, stationed at the very entrance in well-manned large boats called trappaga and cotymba, go up the coast as far as Syrastrene, from which they pilot vessels to Barygaza. And they steer them straight from the mouth of the bay between the shoals with their crews; and they tow them to fixed stations, going up with the beginning of the flood, and lying through the ebb at anchorages and in basins. These basins are deeper places in the river as far as Barygaza; which lies by the river, about three hundred stadia up from the mouth.

Now the whole country of India has very many rivers, and very great ebb and flow of the tides; increasing at the new moon, and at the full moon for three days, and falling off during the intervening days of the moon. But about Barygaza it is much greater, so that the bottom is suddenly seen, and now parts of the dry land are sea, and now it is dry where ships were sailing just before; and the rivers, under the inrush of the flood tide, when the whole force of the sea is directed against them, are driven upwards more strongly against their natural current, for many stadia.

For this reason entrance and departure of vessels is very dangerous to those who are inexperienced or who come to this market-town for the first time. For the rush of waters at the incoming tide is irresistible, and the anchors cannot hold against it; so that large ships are caught up by the force of it, turned broadside on through the speed of the current, and so driven on the shoals and wrecked; and smaller boats are over-turned; and those that have been turned aside among the channels by the receding waters at the ebb, are left on their sides, and if not held on an even keel by props, the flood tide comes upon them suddenly and under the first head of the current they are filled with water. For there is so great force in the rush of the sea at the new moon, especially during the flood tide at night, that if you begin the entrance at the moment when the waters are still, on the instant there is borne to you at the mouth of the river, a noise like the cries of an army heard from afar; and very soon the sea itself comes rushing in over the shoals with a hoarse roar.

Inland from this place and to the east, is the city called Ozene [Ujjain], formerly a royal capital; from this place are brought down all things needed for the welfare of the country about Barygaza, and many things for our trade: agate and carnelian, Indian muslins and mallow cloth, and much ordinary cloth. Through this same region and from the upper country is brought the spikenard that comes through Poclais; that is, the Caspapyrene and Paropanisene and Cabolitic and that brought through the adjoining country of Scythia; also costus and bdellium.

There are imported into this market-town, wine, Italian preferred, also Laodicean and Arabian; copper, tin, and lead; coral and topaz; thin clothing and inferior sorts of all kinds; bright-colored girdles a cubit wide; storax, sweet clover, flint glass, realgar, antimony, gold and silver coin, on which there is a profit when exchanged for the money of the country; and ointment, but not very costly and not much. And for the King there are brought into those places very costly vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful maidens for the harem, fine wines, thin clothing of the finest weaves, and the choicest ointments. There are exported from these places spikenard, costus, bdellium, ivory, agate and carnelian, lycium, cotton cloth of all kinds, silk cloth, mallow cloth, yarn, long pepper and such other things as are brought here from the various market-towns. Those bound for this market-town from Egypt make the voyage favorably about the month of July, that is Epiphi.

This whole voyage as above described, from Cana and Eudaemon Arabia, they used to make in small vessels, sailing close around the shores of the gulfs; and Hippalus was the pilot who by observing the location of the ports and the conditions of the sea, first discovered how to lay his course straight across the ocean. For at the same time when with us the Etesian winds are blowing, on the shores of India the wind sets in from the ocean, and this southwest wind is called Hippalus [Hypalos ~ the southwestern monsoon wind], from the name of him who first discovered the passage across.

[sarabhanga]

The Sumerians referred to the Sindhu region as Mehluha (mahAloham ~ “great iron” or “magnetic iron”), acting as a veritable magnet for traders, and requiring a compass to find it.

And malhavat is “as if having a dew-lap”, as the coast of saurASTra hangs down from the throat of the sindhu.

But Mehluha is synonymous with foreign language, and fortune hunters from many lands, and the Sanskrit terms mleccha and barbara both refer to indistinct speech and non-Aryan nature ~ thus the later name of “Emporium Barbaricum” (and barbaram particularly refers to myrrh resin and yellow sandalwood).

And barbara (or varvara) is very likely recalled in the port town of Veraval, nearby the first jyotirliÑga of somanAtham, and the site of lord kRSNa’s mortal wounding by a hunter’s arrow.

[sarabhanga]

The ancient name of saurASTra was kushavat, and kRSNa’s dvArakA was originally known as kushasthalI.


Rgveda 3.26
vaishvAnarammanasAgniM nicAyyA haviSmanto anuSatyaM svarvidam |
sudAnuM devaM rathiraM vasUyavo gIrbhI raNvaM kushikAso havAmahe || 1 ||

Revering in our heart agni vaishvAnara, the finder of the light, whose promises are true,
The liberal, gladsome, car-borne god, we kushikAs invoke him with oblation, seeking wealth with songs.

taM shubhramagnimavase havAmahe vaishvAnarammAtarishvAnamukthyam |
bRhaspatimmanuSo devatAtaye vipraM shrotAramatithiM raghuSyadam || 2 ||

That agni, bright, vaishvAnara, we invoke for help, and mAtarishvan worthy of the song of praise;
Brhaspati for man’s observance of the gods, the singer prompt to hear, the swiftly-moving guest.

ashvo na krandañjanibhiH samidhyate vaishvAnaraH kushikebhiryugeyuge |
sa no agniH suvIryaM svashvyaM dadhAtu ratnamamRteSu jAgRviH || 3 ||

Age after age, vaishvAnara, neighing like a horse, is kindled with the women by the kushikAs.
May agni, he who wakes among immortal gods, grant us heroic strength and wealth in noble steeds.

pra yantu vAjAstaviSIbhiragnayaH shubhe sammishlAH pRSatIrayukshata |
bRhaduksho maruto vishvavedasaH pra vepayanti parvatAM adAbhyAH || 4 ||

Let them go forth, the strong, as flames of fire with might: gathered for victory they have yoked their spotted deer.
Pourers of floods, the marutas, masters of all wealth, they who can never be conquered, make the mountains shake.

agnishriyo maruto vishvakRSTaya A tveSamugramava Imahe vayam |
te svAnino rudriyA varSanirNijaH siMhA na heSakratavaH sudAnavaH || 5 ||

The marutas, friends of men, are glorious as the fire: their mighty and resplendent succour we implore.
Those storming sons of rudra clothed in robes of rain, boon-givers of good gifts, roar as the lions roar.

vrAtaMvrAtaM gaNaMgaNaM sushastibhiragnerbhAmammarutAmoja Imahe |
pRSadashvAso anavabhrarAdhaso gantAro yajñaM vidatheSu dhIraaH || 6 ||

We, band on band and troop following troop, entreat with fair lauds agni’s splendour and the marutas’ might,
With spotted deer for steeds, with wealth that never fails, they, wise ones, come to sacrifice at our gatherings.

agnirasmi janmanA jAtavedA ghRtamme cakshuramRtamma Asan |
arkastridhAtU rajaso vimAno ajasro gharmo havirasmi nAma || 7 ||

Agni am I who know, by birth, all creatures: mine eye is butter, in my mouth is nectar.
I am light threefold, measurer of the region, exhaustless heat am I, named burnt-oblation.

tribhiH pavitrairapupoddhyarkaM hRdA matiM jyotiranu prajAnan |
varSiSThaM ratnamakRta svadhAbhirAdiddyAvApRthivI paryapashyat || 8 ||

Bearing in mind a thought with light accordant, he purified the sun with three refinings;
By his own nature gained the highest treasure, and looked abroad over the earth and heaven.

shatadhAramutsamakshIyamANaM vipashcitampitaraM vaktvAnAm |
meLimmadantampitrorupasthe taM rodasI pipRtaM satyavAcam || 9 ||

The spring that fails not, with a hundred streamlets, father inspired of prayers that men should utter,
The sparkler, joyous in his parents’ bosom, him, the truth-speaker, sate ye, earth and heaven.


kuS means “to tear asunder, pinch, force or draw out, extract, knead, test, gnaw, or nibble”.

kusha is “a grass with long pointed stalks (Poa cynosuroides)” or “a rope (made of kusha grass) used for connecting the yoke of a plough with the pole”.

kushA is “a ploughshare”, and kusham is “water”.

kusha is “a son of rAma”.

And kusha may also be “wicked, depraved, mad, or inebriate”.

kushavat is “covered with kusha grass”, and kushAvatI is “the residence of kusha (the son of rAma)”.

kushala (also kuSala or kusala) is “right, proper, suitable, good, well, healthy, in good condition, prosperous, fit, competent, able, skilful, clever, or conversant”.

kushalam is “welfare, well-being, prosperous condition, happiness, benevolence, virtue, cleverness, competence, or ability”.

kushalavat is “well or healthy”, and kushalavAc is “eloquent”.

The kushalAs are the “brAhmaNAs of kushadvIpa”, and the kushalau represent the ashvinau.

The kushalavau or kushIlavau are “the two sons of rAma (kusha and lava)”.

kushi is “an owl”, and kushika is “squint-eyed”, and kushin is “furnished with kusha grass”.

kushikas is “a ploughshare”, or “the father of vishvAmitra”, and the kushikAs are his descendants.

kushIlam is “a bad character”, and kushIlava is “a bard, herald, actor, mime, or newsmonger”, and kushI or kushIlava are names of vAlmIki, who raised kusha and lava (or lavaNa) as his own, and taught them to repeat the rAmAyaNa at assemblies.

lava is “cutting, reaping, mowing, plucking, gathering, loss, destruction, or sport”.

lAva is “cutting, cutting off, plucking, reaping, gathering, cutting to pieces, destroying, or killing”.

lavana is “a cutter or reaper”, and lavanam is “the act of cutting, reaping , mowing, etc.” or “an implement for cutting, a sickle, knife, etc.”.

lavaNa is “saline, salt, briny, tasteful, graceful, handsome, or beautiful”, and lavaNA is “lustre, grace, or beauty”.



From Genesis 10:

And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah.
And the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.




From Sir William Jones:

When we find, indeed, the same words, letter for letter, and in a sense precisely the same, in different languages, we can scarce hesitate in allowing them a common origin: and not to depart from the example before us, when we see Cush or Cus (for the Sanskrit name is variously pronounced) among the sons of Brahma, that is, among the progenitors of the Hindus, and at the head of an ancient pedigree preserved in the Ramayan; when we meet with his name again in the family of Rama; when we know, that the name is venerated in the highest degree, and given to a sacred grass, described as a Poa by Koenig, which is used with a thousand ceremonies in the oblations to fire, ordained by Menu to form the sacrificial zone of the Brahmans, and solemnly declared in the Veda to have sprung up soon after the deluge, whence the Pauranicks consider it as the bristly hair of the boar which supported the globe; when we add, that one of the seven dwipas, or great peninsulas of this earth, has the same appellation, we can hardly doubt that the Cush of Moses and Valmic was the same personage and an ancestor of the Indian race.

[sarabhanga]

The 18th Dynasty in Egypt lasted for about 250 years (c. 1550 – 1300 BC), and the 19th Dynasty’s Pharaoh Ramses II (1292 – 1225 BC) commanded that the names of all kings (and queens) implicated in the previous heresy of Aten be removed from the records.

The exact details of this crucial period are disputed, but the following reconstruction of events may be helpful:

1550 – 1525 BC ~ Ahmose
1526 – 1506 BC ~ Amenhotep
1506 – 1493 BC ~ Thutmose
1493 – 1479 BC ~ Thutmose II
1479 – 1428 BC ~ Hatshepsut
1479 – 1425 BC ~ Thutmose III
1427 – 1401 BC ~ Amenhotep II
1401 – 1391 BC ~ Thutmose IV
1391 – 1353 BC ~ Amenhotep III
1353 – 1336 BC ~ Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)
1336 – 1335 BC ~ Smenkare
1335 – 1333 BC ~ Neferneferuaten (Meritaten)
1333 – 1324 BC ~ Tutankhamun
1323 – 1319 BC ~ Aya
1319 – 1292 BC ~ Horemheb Meryamun

Amenhotep III’s consort Tiya (c. 1398 – 1338 BC), along with Amenhotep IV’s consort Nefertiti (c. 1390 – 1335 BC) and daughter Meritaten (died c. 1333 BC ?) were the matriarchs of Akhenaten’s (just born yet professing eternity) Amarna, which flourished for little more than 20 years, until the throne was returned to Thebes in 1332 BC.

And meanwhile …

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/C%C3%A9crops_Meyers.png
Kekrops I (mythical king of Athens) had three daughters, who were charged by Athena with the responsibility of keeping the secret child of Gaia (named Erichthonius) in a special box. But they opened the box and revealed the child, which led to their own destruction.

The legendary autochthonous King Erichthonius of Athens, who taught his people how to cultivate the earth with a plough, to yoke horses to pull chariots, and to smelt silver, and whose sign is the serpent, was succeeded by his son Pandion I, during whose reign of 40 years Dionysus arrived in Attika.

And Pandion I is said to have died in 1397 BC (in the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose IV).

Tiya (the mother of Akhenaten) was born c. 1398 BC.

And the mahAbhArata war occurred in 1397 BC.



From Dr S. Balakrishna:

The Lunar-Solar eclipse pair from Julian year 1397 BC meets the “thirteen day” period requirement. The season is right. The two retrograde planets Brihaspati and Sani are very near declared positions. This eclipse pair is a good candidate for the Mahabharata war.


About 36 years later (c. 1361 BC, in the reign of Pharaoh Amenhotep III), the pAshupata lord of saurASTra (and beyond), the best of the yAdavas, shrI kRSNa was killed ~ and the kaliyugam truly began.

And about 26 years after that (c. 1335 BC, in the reign of Akhenaten’s daughter Meritaten), the story was dictated by vedavyAsa.

The birth of Tiya, to Yuya and Thuyu (whose names indicate some foreign extraction), prophesied the rise of the solar god Aten and monotheism in Egypt, and around the same the mahAbhArata conflict (yuddha) was prophesied, and quickly settled by shrI kRSNa and the pañca pANDavas.

At the same time, Pandion I (the ‘pAN-Deva’ who received Dionysos from ‘Meros’, near the Khyber Pass) is said to have begun his reign of 40 years.

And just as “40 days” or “40 years in the wilderness” is likely to be an ancient euphemism for a journey to India, the mythic recording of a reign (or lifetime) of 40 years is perhaps also indicative of some significant relationship with India.

Both ‘Pandion’ and kRSNa are supposed to have died as the new city of Amarna was established; and as the three mothers (Tiya, Nefertiti, and Meritaten) all passed away, shrI vyAsa was arranging the ancient veda and dictating the whole story of bhArata (the mahAbhAratam), thus revealing the three mothers of the trayI vidyA ~ mahI, sarasvatI, and iLA.

Three kings of Punt (Parahu, Irem, and Nemyew) brought their peculiar riches (electrum, myrrh, and frankincense) to the one queen Ati (Adi of “the first fruits”, the big sister atti malhavatI, “the dew-lapped devourer” with a heavy laden ass, so to speak) in an offering to the nIlA mAtRkA.

The events recorded on the walls of amaraNam provide the basis for the later legend of three eastern kings bringing the same three gifts to Mary the mother of Christ, who (just as Akhenaten before him) became the anointed seed of the one solar lord ~ Aten (Atma).

From Matthew 2:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

And the various references are all recalling the transmission of san-Atana dharma to the west.

[sarabhanga]

A shakA is “a long-eared animal” (with the “long ears” perhaps indicating wings), and the shakAs represent the Arya shastradharAs who ran down from the himAlaya as sweat from the flanks of gomAtA nandinI (“the cow of plenty”, known as iSTakAmaduh, kAmaduhA, or kAmadhenu) the daughter of rohiNI (“the red cow or red mare”, dwelling among the five stars of Taurus) and favorite of soma’s 27 wives (daksha’s daughters).

And shAka is “power or might, help or aid”, indicating “a helper or friend” (cf. aryaman ~ “bosom friend”, and especially “a friend who asks a woman in marriage for another”).

The dark lunar race had long prevailed on the plains of the sindhu, in matrifocal agricultural communities, descended from iLA. And the fair Arya radiated from the ariSTa-nemi (“secure hub”) of the ara samudra (araloka, the spoked expanse of the wheel-shaped altar of the Aral sea), following the Oxus (ikshus or vakshus), beaming out from the eye (cakshus), as the awn (shUka) from a grain of barley (yava), as an arrow (iSus) from a bow (dhanvan), moving swiftly as an awl (ArA) probing through the araNya (“distant land or wilderness”). The legendary archer (ashva) twinned with his horse (ashva), his composite bow (sharAsa) and quiver (sharadhi) of reed arrows (sharAs), saMskRta language, patriarchy, and solar inheritance, appearing in the sindhu region from c. 1800 BC. And the first king of the solar dynasty (the ikshavas) was ikshvAku.

shara is a kind of reed or grass used for making both arrows and pens, and it is synonymous with the number five.

And the twin conception of such divine forces is recalled in the shastram (as sharp tools for wounding and chastising) and the shastram (as graven scripture for instructing and lauding), and in the twin of shastradhara (“bearing arms”, which includes both mortal weapons and immortal wisdom).

An astram is “a missile weapon”, an aSTrA or ASTrA is “a goad for driving cattle”, ASTram indicates “the ether or sky”, and ASTrI refers to “an extensive forest”.

And shastram is both “invocation or praise (especially verses recited at the soma libation)”, and “an instrument for cutting or wounding”.

shAstram is “an order, command, precept, rule, teaching, instruction, direction, advice, or counsel”, as “any instrument of teaching (especially a manual or compendium of rules, a religious or scientific treatise, a sacred book or composition of divine authority)”.

The term shara is particularly associated with a kind of sugar-cane (Saccharum sara), and since ikshu (ikshusAra or ikshurasa) also refers to molasses or sugar, it is likely that the production of guDa (sugar) ~ especially from yava (barley) or yavanAla (sorghum), as guDabhA or himaja ~ and its fermentation and distillation, was particularly associated with the aikshvAka culture.

The unified rule of Egypt was disrupted by the Hyksos (“foreign rulers”) ~ presumably the same iSudhara (archer) ikshavas from the ikshus ~ who appeared in the lower nIla region soon after 1800 BC, rising to power around 1670 BC and ruling the northern kingdom for 108 years, until the two lands were reunited by Pharaoh Ahmoses.

The 18th Dynasty was founded by Ahmoses ~ “born of (descended or released from) the moon”, i.e. somaja ~ and the suffix -moses frequently appears in the names of his descendants ~ e.g. Thutmoses ~ “born of Thoth (the moon god)”. And the same glyphs (ms-s) occur in the later name Ramses (Ra-moses ~ “born of the sun”).

From about 1500 BC, the Shasu (“wanderer or nomad”) appear in the Egyptian records, but their origins remain obscure. Perhaps various races have been included under this title, but it seems likely that these wandering tribes stem from the same expansion of Arya ikshavas.


shaS or shas means “to injure, cut down, slaughter or kill”, and shasanam is “slaughtering or killing”

shAs means “to chastise, correct, censure, punish, restrain, control, rule, govern, administer the laws, direct, bid, order, command, enjoin, decree, teach, instruct, inform, confess, announce, proclaim, predict, foretell, blame, reject, praise, or commend”, indicating “command” or “a ruler”.

shAsa, shAsus, or shAsaka, is “an order or command”, “a commander, ruler, chastiser, teacher, instructor, or governor”, also indicating “a butcher’s knife”.

shAsin or shAsana is “punishing, chastising, governing, ruling, teaching or instructing”, indicating “a punisher, chastiser, or instructor”.

shAsti is “correction, punishment, direction, order, command, governing, or ruling”, indicating “a scepter”.

shAsanam is “punishment, chastisement, correction, government, dominion, or rule”, indicating “an order, command, edict, enactment, decree, or direction”.

shAsanA is “a royal edict, grant or charter (usually a grant of land or of particular privileges, and often inscribed on stone or copper), a writing, deed, written contract or agreement, any written book or work of authority, scripture, teaching, instruction, discipline, doctrine, faith, or religion”.

And shAsanAt signifies “by command of …”

shasa is “reciting”, and shasti is “praise or a hymn”, indicating “a praiser or singer”.

shasyam is “recitation”, indicating “good quality or merit”.

shasya is “to be recited or treated as a shastra, to be praised, celebrated or wished, desirable, or excellent”.

And shasya is “to be cut down, slaughtered, or killed”, indicating “corn or grain”.

sAsi is “having a sword”, and sAsahvas is “overcoming or conquering”.

sasArtha is “with a caravan, containing goods, or laden (as a ship)”.

sasuta is “having sons” or “with the charioteer”, and sAsu is “having life”.

sasra or sasrut is “flowing or streaming”, and sasri is “running rapidly or speeding along”.

sasura is “having liquor” or “along with the gods”.

sAsava is “having spirituous liquor”.

And sasoma is “with soma”.

sashUka is “furnished with awns”, indicating “a believer in the existence of God” or “a blanket”, and sashukra is “together with brightness”.

SaS is “six” and SaSTi is “sixty”, and SaSTija or SaSTika is “bought with sixty”.

SaSTikA is “rice that grows quickly, ripening in about 60 days”.

And SaSTidhA is divided “in sixty ways or parts”.

shasha is “a hare, rabbit, or antelope”, especially as “the markings on the moon”, also indicating “a meteor” or “a man of mild character”. And shAsha is “belonging to the hare”.

shashat is “leaping or jumping”, and shashin is “containing a hare”, indicating “the moon” or “the number one”.

shashAÑka is “hare-marked”, indicating “the moon”, and shashAÑkakulam is “the lunar race”.

shashipAda is “a moon-beam”, and shashIsha is “lord of the moon”.

shashija or shashAÑkaja is “the moon’s son”, indicating “mercury”.

shashAÑkashRÑgam is “a horn or point of the moon’s crescent”.

shashAÑkashekhara is “moon-crested”.

And shashasthalI is another name for kushasthalI.

shashaviSANam is “a hare’s horn (i.e. an impossibility)”.

shashayu is “pursuing hares”, and shashaya is “ever-flowing, unfailing, or abundant”.

And mU shasha (cf. Musas or Moses) suggests “hare binding or bounding”.

shashvat is “perpetual, continual, endless, incessant, frequent, numerous, many (especially as the ever-recurring dawns), or all. And shashvat is “always, ever, truly, certainly, or indeed”.

shAshvata is “eternal, constant, perpetual, or all”. shAshvatam is “for evermore, incessantly, or eternally”, indicating “the future, continuity, eternity, heaven, or ether”. And shAshvatI is “the earth”.

sAsnAvat is “having a dewlap” (= malha).

And the various implications of sAsnAvat and shashvat and sarasvat are closely related in scripture and history.




Rgveda 10.152 ~ by RSi shAsa bhAradvAja


shAsa itthA mahAM asyamitrakhAdo’dbhutaH |
na yasya hanyate sakhA na jIyate kadA cana || 1 ||

A mighty governor art thou, wondrous, destroyer of the foe,
Whose friend is never done to death, and never, never overcome.

svastidA vishaspatirvRtrahA vimRdho vashI |
vRSendraH pura etu naH somapA abhayaMkaraH || 2 ||

Lord of the clan, who brings us bliss, strong, warrior, slayer of the fiend,
May indra, soma-drinker, go before us, bull who gives us peace.

vi raksho vi mRdho jahi vi vRtrasya hanU ruja |
vi manyumindra vRtrahannamitrasyAbhidAsataH || 3 ||

Drive rakshasas and foes away, break thou in pieces vRtra’s jaws:
O vRtra-slaying indra, quell the foeman’s wrath who threatens us.

vi na indra mRdho jahi nIcA yacha pRtanyataH |
yo asmAM abhidAsatyadharaM gamayA tamaH || 4 ||

O indra, beat our foes away, humble the men who challenge us:
Send down to nether darkness, him who seeks to do us injury.

apendra dviSato mano’pa jijyAsato vadham |
vi manyoH sharma yacha varIyo yavayA vadham || 5 ||

Baffle the foeman’s plan, ward off his weapon who would conquer us.
Give shelter from his furious wrath, and keep his murdering dart afar.

[sarabhanga]

Rgveda 10.178 ~ by RSi ariSTanemi tArkshya


tyamUSuvAjinaM devajUtaM sahAvAnaM tarutAraM rathAnAm |
ariSTanemimpRtanAjamAshuM svastayetArkshyamihAhuvema || 1 ||

This very mighty one whom gods commission, the conqueror of cars, ever triumphant,
Swift, fleet to battle, with uninjured fellies, even tArkshya, for our weal, will we call hither.

indrasyevarAtimAjohuvAnAH svastayenAvamivAruhema |
urvInapRthvIbahulegabhIremAvAmetaumAparetauriSAma || 2 ||

As though we offered up our gifts to indra, may we ascend, him as a ship, for safety.
Like the two wide worlds, broad, deep, far-extended, may we be safe both when he comes and leaves you.

sadyashcidyaH shavasApañcakRSTIH sUrya ivajyotiSApastatAna |
sahasrasAH shatasA asyaraMhirnasmAvaranteyuvatiM nasharyAm || 3 ||

He who with might the five lands hath pervaded, like sUrya with his lustre, and the waters,
His strength wins hundreds, thousands, none avert it, as the young maid repelleth not her lover.


kRSTa is “drawn, ploughed, tilled, or lengthened”, and kRSTas or kRSTam is “cultivated ground”.

kRSTi is “man”, and the kRSTayas represent “mankind or humanity”.

In particular, the pañca kRSTayas are “the five tribes”, the bhArgava shashAÑkakulam, the pAshupata yatayas, descended from iLA and purUravas, who instituted the three sacrificial fires ~ gArhapatya (iLA), AhavanIya (sarasvatI), and dakshiNa (mahI or bhAratI), as the mAtrika mAtRkA of tryambaka rAjA kRSTInAm (agni).

kRSTis is “cultivating the earth”, “attracting or drawing”, indicating “a teacher or learned man”. And karma kRSTis indicates “the harvest” or “the consequences”.

kRSTaja is “grown in cultivated ground, or cultivated”, and kRSTopta is “sown on cultivated ground”.

kRSTapacya is “ripening in cultivated ground, sown or ripening after ploughing, or cultivated”, kRSTaphalam is “the product of a harvest”, and kRSTarAdhi is “successful in agriculture”.

kRSTihan is “subduing nations”, kRSTyojas is “overpowering men”, and kRSTiprA is “pervading the human race”.


The initial descent of the lunar and solar races from manu (cf. Noah) is shown in the following attachment ~ the pañca shashAÑkAs and the ikshvAkavas, together comprising the SaTkulIya satkulam of greater bhAratam.

[sarabhanga]

In the records of amaraNa (el Amarna), six names are listed from the land of the Shasu:

Se’ir ~ sairA (sa-irA), known as ‘Edom’ (aruNa)

Laban ~ lavaNa (salt, as the briny sea or saline earth)

Sam’ath ~ samATA (all-roaming), somATa (going after soma), somAda (eating soma)

Wrbr ~ varvara or barbara (not Arya), barbarin (curly-haired), barbaram (myrrh, sandalwood, vermilion)

Yhw ~ the juhU sacrificing to yahva

Pysps ~ puSpAsava (spirit distilled from flowers)

The six foreign tribes of nomadic traders and wandering priests, dealing sacred essences from the orient, appear after Hatshepsut’s expedition to Punt (c. 1470 BC), when an alliance was established between the nobility of the two lands, which inspired the solar monotheism of Akhenaten (c. 1340 BC).

The SaS sAsu (six living), sasri sasura (speeding along with the gods), sAsava sashUka (believers in the existence of god, having spirituous liquors), whose sAsnAvata (dew-lapped) queen shAshvatI (shAshv-atI) is the earth herself.

‘Shasu’ is surely derived from Sanskrit, and it is clearly synonymous with ‘Punt’.

pAnta or pAnIyam is “a drink or beverage”, indicating “water or refreshment” (as iLA, iDA, or irA ~ sarasvatI).

pAnIya is “to be drunk or drinkable”, and the pAnIya is “to be cherished or protected or preserved”.

paN means “to honour, praise, barter, purchase, buy, negotiate, or bargain”.

paNa is “a pact, agreement, or treaty” or “a handful”, indicating “a commodity for sale or its price, a distiller, a dwelling or property”.

pAnam is “drinking (especially spirituous liquors)”, indicating “a drink, a vessel or cup, a vender of spirituous liquors, or an inn-keeper”, and “protection or defense”.

pANa is “trade, traffic, or praise”, and pAna is “exhalation or expiration”.

A paNi is “a bargainer or miser (especially one who is sparing of sacrificial oblations) or a class of envious demons (jealous gods) watching over treasures”, indicating “a market”.

And a paNi is a mUSaka (plunderer) or mUSA (a mouse or rat, and also a crucible) or hara (seizer) or hAra (carrier) in the guise of a purohita (an agent ~ one holding a charge or commission, and especially a family priest).

A pANi is “a place of sale, a shop or market”, and the pANi or pANa is pañcan (“the outspread hand”).

panIyas is “very wonderful”, and paNAyA is “business or transaction”, indicating “a market-place”.

panth means “to go or move”, and pAntha is “a wanderer or traveler”, indicating “the sun”.

And a panthAna is “a mantra spoken over weapons”.

pANTa or phANTa (from phANita) is “obtained by straining or filtering” (as soma), or “made or won by an easy process”, indicating “one who does not exert himself” or “an infusion or decoction”.

phANTam is “the first particles of butter produced by churning”, and phANita is “the concentrated juice of the sugar cane and other plants”.

pAnIyapRSThaja is “water-surface-born” ~ as a coracle or water-born crucible (mUSA).

pAnIyakRSTaja is “marsh-born or born from irrigated land”, and pAnIyakRSTis is “water-ploughing”, as a navigator or ferryman, or a fisherman, cultivating the narAs (both “the waters” and “the people”). And the pAnIyakRSTayas are “water-men” or “spirit-men”.

And the amaraNArtha is “the prospect of immortality”.

[sarabhanga]

The flow of melt-waters from ice retreating after the last glacial period, collected from the north by the Volga (Rha) and from the high ranges to the east and south by the Syr Dharya (Iaxartes) and Amu Dharya (Araxes), filled the Caspian and Aral Seas to capacity and they flooded together over the surrounding plains. The extent of inundation in the Aral region and the paths taken by the Syr and Amu across the plain have varied widely through the course of time, but it seems that the Aral was not separated from the Caspian Sea until after 1000 AD. And for general historical purposes the two seas may be regarded as one.

kha (neuter) is “a cavity, hollow, cave, cavern, aperture”, particularly “the hole made by an arrow” or “the hole in the nave of a wheel through which the axis runs”, indicating “empty space, air, ether, sky, heaven”, and naming brahma (nara).
kha (masculine) is “the sun”, naming brahmA (nArAyaNa).
khA (feminine) is “a fountain or well”, naming brAhmI (sarasvatI).

sphar means “to expand, open or diffuse widely, bend, or discharge (a bow)”, and sphAra is “extensive, wide, large, great, abundant, violent, strong, or loud”. sphAy means “to grow fat, become bulky, swell, increase, expand, or resound”, and sphAyana is “increasing, expanding, resounding, etc.”. spharaNam or sphuraNam is “trembling, quivering, throbbing, vibration, pulsation, penetration, springing or breaking forth, starting into view, expansion, manifestation, flashing, twinkling, or glittering”. And sphyam is “a sharp instrument used for marking out the sacrificial ground”.

Thus, the khAsphyam marks the sacred font, and the khAsphAyana or khAspharaNam is the well of expansion or manifestation, the glittering oasis, the renowned fountainhead of increase. And the khasphyam marks the royal path of the sun, and the khasphAyana indicates solar resonance, and khaspharaNam is the throbbing heart of the cave of heaven, the hole in the nave of the pANaya’s eternal cakram.

kashojUs (accusative kashojuvam) is “hastening to the water” (from kashas, as “motion and water” ~ i.e. flow or flood) or “impelling with the whip” (from kasha or kaSA, as “a whip, rein or bridle”).

kAsha is “the becoming visible” or “the appearance”, indicating the grass Saccharum spontaneum (“wild sugar-cane”, used for making arrows, pens, matting, roofing, etc.). And the vigorous kAsha grass of indra’s kAshasthalI is the emblem of rAjanya or kshatriya. While the kusha grass is Desmostachya bipinnata (= Poa cynosuroides), used only for ritual purposes by the brAhmaNa. And the two grasses (kusha and kAsha) are the twin attendants of yama ~ the whole earth being kushakAshamaya.

kusha is connected with the kutapAs (indicating “grain” or “the twice-born”) and kutapas (“a blanket made from the hair of the mountain goat”) and kuthas (“a variegated cloth housing an elephant”). And kusha is associated with the pavitram (“means of purification” as “a filter or strainer”, especially for clarifying the rasa of soma, and obtaining amRtam), with the pavitrau (“pair of kusha leaves”, as the winged ashvinau of the kRSNa’s kushasthalI, and comprising the brahmasUtram and the sUtrAtman), and the pavitradhAnyam (“the pure grain”) of yava (“barley”), indicating fortune in the hand and in the eye (as a double convex lens). And with the vahni (“the flowing or streaming one”, especially as agni or the three sacrificial fires) who conveys oblations to the gods and returns soma from the gods.

And kAsha is recalled as the ashvavAla (“hair from the tail of a horse”) or cAmaravAla (“hair from the tail of a yak”), the amarapuSpa (“immortal flower”) comprising the AshvavAra (“made of kAsha”) abode of the ashvavAra (“horseman”). And the kAsha (ikshukANDa or kANDakANDaka) is connected with ikshurasa (“sugar syrup”) and the iSIkA (“reed arrow”) or khaDgaTa (khaDga-Ta ~ from khaDga, as “ a sword or scythe”, “a sacrificial knife”, or “a rhinoceros”, and khaDgam, as “iron”) and, as the reed from which both pens and arrows are made, with lekhana (“scratching, scraping, scarifying, lancing, exciting, or stimulating”) and lekhanam (“writing or transcribing”).

And, while the humble kusha covers the hills as an ageless kutapa kambala, the noble kAsha is nAdeya or nAdIja (“coming from the river”), rapidly spreading on the fertile plains after inundation and effectively marking the extent of the flood.

kAshyapi is a name of tArkshya (ariSTanemi, “the felly of whose wheel remains unhurt”), and the kashyapAs (as the twelve kAshyapeya AdityAs) regulate the course of the sun ~ and the kAshyapAs arose from the Caspian (khAsphAyana or kAshyapAyana) Sea.


kAsha = sharva = rAjanyam (“kingship”) & iSvAyudham (“bow and arrow”) & Ashva (“horse related”) & khaDga & lekhana & ikshurasa & svadhA

kusha = bhava = brAhmaNyam (“priesthood”) & yAveyam (“field of barley”) & aiDa (“sheep related”) & pavitram & vAkyam & somarasa & svAhA

[sarabhanga]

Paths radiate in all directions from the crucible of the Caspian Sea, from the all-seeing khAsphAyaNa cakshus at the principle crossroad of the ancient world.

The tributaries of the Volga (Rha) extend northwards as a tree from Astrakhan to the Baltic Sea and the Arctic, with a broad (rather bulbous and occasionally constricted) root running westwards (via the Black Sea to the Aegean and Mediterranean) to the Atlantic Ocean.

And the Syr Dharya sends fine tendrils eastwards, to Tashkent (takshakANDa) and cutting through (by way of the Naryn or nArAyaNa) along the silk route and (with luck) attaining the Pacific; with the Amu Dharya passing through the land of Khiva (shiva) to Samarkand (the immortal sAmarakANDa) and Balkh (bAhlika, famed for its horses and as the birthplace of Zoroaster) and penetrating the Paropamisus (pArApAram or parApam-iSus; the Hindu Kush, sindhukoSa, hiNDukoSa, indukoSa) mountains through high passes leading both eastwards to Yarkand (yAvakANDa) and Kashgar (kAshagA or kAshaghAra) and southwards via the upper branches of the Indus all the way to the Arabian Sea.

The northern vAlaka is the way of the rudrAs, and the chain of seas to the west mark the way of varuNa, and the sairA marks the eastern way of the AdityAs, together with the amU, which also marks way of yama to the south.

vala (vRtra’s brother) or valaka refers to “an enclosure, cave, cavern, cloud, beam or pole”, and a valagam is “a secret charm or spell (especially hidden in a pit or cavern)”. vAlI is “a pit or cavern”, from medha, as “the essence or marrow”, especially of a sacrificial victim, indicating “the sacrificial animal or any oblation”. And vAlI is “a pillar or post”, as the methi or medhi binding the oxen in the middle of a threshing floor, or as the methI, medhI, or meDhi, supporting the carriage shafts. And a vAlikA is “a seal-ring”.

vAla or vAlaka is “the hair of an animal’s tail (especially of a horse)” or “a hair-sieve”, also indicating the grass Vetiveria zizanioides (Sorghum zizanioides, Andropogon muricatus) which is also known as kAsha and which is prized for its roots. And vAlaja is “hairy or consisting of hair”. And the vAlA is a shiphA, as “a fibrous or flexible root” or “a lash or stroke with a whip or rod”, also indicating “a branch, a river, a mother, and a tuft of hair on the crown of the head”.

And Rha derives from ra (the connotations of which have been noted), and especially raha or rahas, as “swiftness or speed” or “a deserted place, solitude, privacy, secrecy, or retirement”, indicating “a secret, mystery, or mystical truth”.

aSTrA is “a goad for driving cattle (the mark of the agriculturist)”; astra is “a missile weapon”, as “a bolt, arrow or bow” or “that which throws out rays of light”, and astrakAra is “a maker of weapons”; AstrI is “an extensive forest”, and ASTram is “the ether or sky”.

And kANDa indicates “a single joint of the stem of a reed”, “a branch or the part of the trunk of a tree whence the branches proceed”, “a cluster or multitude”, or “an arrow or long bone”.

Vulcan’s earthly forge was in astrakANDa, at the vAlaga’s ford, kept securely in a fiery cavern (the vAlI of agni) where the valagam was revealed. And the Gorgon’s head (gargara or gharghara ~ “a whirlpool or churning post”) surrendered to Athena was the cyclopean realm of the khAsphAyana sea.

[sarabhanga]

dara is “cleaving”, as “a conch-shell or a stream”; dAra is “tearing up or rending”, indicating “a cleft or hole”; darI is “a cave or hole in the ground”; darum or dharam is “a poison”; and a dAra is “a wife”.

dhara or dhAra is “bearing, supporting, holding, carrying, wearing, possessing, having, keeping sustaining, preserving, or observing”; and a dharA is “a bearer or supporter”, as “the earth, the uterus or womb, the marrow, a vein or vessel, a mass of gold or heap of valuables, or the earth”.

dhAra is “a stream or gush”, “coming down in a stream or as rain”, and dhArA indicates “a stream or current of water”, “a flood, gush, or jet”, “a drop of liquid”, “a shower of rain, arrows, flowers, etc.”, “a family line”, “a margin, edge, blade or rim”, “the highest point or summit”, “glory or excellence”.

The Oxus is known as the Amu Darya (amU dhAryau) ~ “that (twin) to be borne or carried, to be kept or remembered, to be upheld or maintained, to be observed or followed, or to be kept back or restrained”. And the noted couple includes both the Amu (Gihon, Oxus, vakshus) and the Syr (Sihon, Jaxartes, yakshArthas).


Regarding the name of Syr:

sirA or shirA refers to “water”, especially as “a stream”, and thus “a tubular vessel or vein-like channel”, “a nerve, artery, tendon, etc.”, or “lines crossing each other like veins”. And sIra is “a plough” or “ draught-ox”, also indicating “the sun”, and saira is “belonging to the plough”.

sairAvat is “having plenty of provisions (said of a ship)”; from sa-irA ~ “together with, having, or containing” irA (iDA or iLA), as “a drinkable fluid or draught (especially of milk), food, refreshment, comfort, or enjoyment”, equated with vAc or sarasvatI, and remembered as dharA (the wife of kashyapa, and the mother of migratory water-birds).

sharas is “the cream” and shiras is “the upper or foremost part”, “the leader or chief”, and especially “the head or skull”; and shirodA means “to give up one’s head”, shirodharA (“head-supporting”) indicates “the neck”, and shirodhArya is “to be borne on the head” or “to be greatly honored”.


And Jaxartes or Iaxartes:

A yaksha is “a living supernatural being, spiritual apparition, ghost, or spirit”, and the benign yakshAs are sons of kashyapa, in the service of kubera. And kubera (“the three-legged lord of riches and treasure, regent of the northern quarter”) is iDaviDAja ~ iDaviDA-ja, “born from iDaviDA”; or iDaviDA-Aja, “the iDaviDA goat”; or iDaviDA-aja, “the unborn or eternal iDaviDA”.

iDa is “agni, who is to be invoked with the stream of praise” (i.e. invoking iLA). viDa refers to “black salt”, and vida is “knowledge or discovery”, and the aja iDa-vidyA is the eternal yajña (“knowing ya”) of the ancient yaksha.

arthas or artham is “aim, purpose, cause, motive, or reason”, “advantage or utility”, indicating “the object, substance, meaning, or manner”, “the liÑga”, “prosperity or price”. And Artha is “significant” or “based on the possession of something”.

ATa is “going or going after”, aTA is “the habit of roaming or wandering about (especially as a religious mendicant)”, and AtA is “the frame of a door”, indicating “a quarter of the sky”.

Rti is “going or motion” as “a path or way”, indicating “prosperity, protection, felicity, or remembrance”, but also “assault, attack, envy, emulation, reproach, abuse, aversion, misery, or pain”. And Rtis is “a god to be worshipped by human sacrifice”.

And the Iaxartes is the yaksharti or yakshAthas (“the way of the yaksha”), framing the yakshATA (“the habitual wandering of the yaksha”).

The yaksharti is the way of yama or yamana ~ “restraining, governing, managing” ~ and of yAman ~ “coming or going”, “motion, course, flight, or expedition”, and especially “approaching the gods, invocation, prayer, sacrifice, etc.”.

yama is “a rein or bridle”, “a driver or charioteer”, “restraint, self-control, or forbearance”, as “a rule or duty”, and yAma indicates “motion, course, going, or progress”, as “a road, way, path, carriage, or chariot”.

yama is “twin-born or forming a pair”, and the yamau are the ashvinau.

yama was the first born man, descended from the sun by the fleet saraNyU, herself wrought by the supANi (“dexterous handed”) tvaSTR (“the carpenter or maker of carriages”, “the heavenly builder”, “the creator of living beings”, “the maker of divine implements, especially of indra’s vajra”, and “the guru of the Rbhus”).

yama was the first to realize eternity through his sacrifice; praised as “the gatherer of men”, he rules over the pitaras in heaven. And yama is described as being “dressed in blood-red garments, with a glittering form, a crown on his head, and glowing eyes, and holding a noose, with which he binds the spirit after drawing it from the body (in size about the measure of a man’s thumb)”.


Rgveda 10.184 ~ by RSi tvaSTA garbhapati


viSNuryoniM kalpayatu tvaSTA rUpANi piMshatu |
A siñcatu prajApatirdhAtA garbhaM dadhAtu te || 1 ||

May viSNu form and mould the womb, may tvaSTA duly shape the forms,
prajApati infuse the stream, and dhAtA lay the germ for thee.

garbhaM dhehi sinIvAli garbhaM dhehi sarasvati |
garbhaM te ashvinau devAvA dhattAmpuSkarasrajA || 2 ||

O sinIvAli, set the germ, set thou the germ, sarasvati:
May the twain gods bestow the germ, the ashvinau crowned with lotuses.

hiraNyayI araNI yaM nirmanthato ashvinA |
taM te garbhaM havAmahe dashame mAsi sUtave || 3 ||

That which the ashvinau rub forth with the attrition-sticks of gold,
That germ of thine we invocate, that in the tenth month thou mayst bear.



The khAsphAyana lands of the kAshyapa clans, ruled by yama and the wandering yakshAs, where the marutas (sons of rudra) roamed with the winds, where indra’s vajra was later forged from the ancient bones of RSi dadhIca (who fathered sArasvata by sarasvatI), the immortal realm of yava and yahva, may be identified with the “Yamna” (yamana) culture that seems to have established the foundations (c. 4000 BC) of “Indo-European” language (and other paNAyya traditions), which spread far and wide with their peregrinations.

[sarabhanga]

Regarding the dhArA of amU:

amu is the root of adas (“that”), and adas is “thus or there”. The masculine and feminine nominative singular is asau, and the accusative case is amum (masculine) or amUm (feminine). And the amUdhAra is “bearing that (couple)”

ambu is “water”, so that ambudhAra is “water-bearing” or “the gushing stream”, and ambudhArA is “the flood of water”, etc.

abhU is “unborn”, so that abhUdhAra is “the unborn stream” or “bearing the unborn”, and ambhUdhArA is “unborn excellence”, etc.

ambuda is “giving water”, especially as “a cloud”, so that ambudAra (ambuda-ara) is “swift water giving” or “moving cloud”, and ambudArA (ambuda-ArA) is “an awl that pierces the clouds”, etc.

ambhas is “water”, especially “the celestial waters”, indicating “power or fruitfulness”, and ambhodhara is “a cloud”.

And likewise abbhra is “the water-bearer”, and abhram indicates “a cloud (especially a thunder-cloud), the sky or atmosphere”, also referring to “a cipher, dust, gold, camphor, or reeds”. And ambhaHpati is “the lord of the waters”, while ambhaHsAra is “a pearl”.


On the Oxus or Vakshus:

uksh means “to sprinkle or scatter in small drops”, “to moisten or wet”, “to emit, throw out, or scatter (as sparks or seed)”, or “to be strong”; and oksh (A-uksh) means “to sprinkle over or upon”.

uksh is “dropping, pouring, or becoming strong”; ukshaNam is “sprinkling or consecrating”; and ukshita is “sprinkled, moistened, strong, or fully grown”.

ukshA is “an ox or bull (as impregnating the flock or drawing the chariot of uSA, the dawn)”, “soma or agni (as sprinkling or scattering small drops or sparks)”, also known as RSabha. auksha is “coming from or belonging to a bull”, and auksham is “a multitude of bulls”.

vakshus indicates “an ox or bullock” or “the breast, bosom, or chest”; while vakshi is “a flame”, and vAksha is vAc.

vakshaNa is “strengthening, refreshing, invigorating, or rushing along”; vakshaNam is “refreshment or invigoration”; and vakshaNA is “the nourisher”, indicating “the stomach, abdomen, udder, or yoni”, “refreshment or oblation”, and “the bed of a river”.


And recalling “that couple” (amU = yava):

amUm = sIra = saira = sairA = shirodharA = ambhaHsAra = Sarai = sArasvatI = yAksha = ya = य
amum = vakshus = auksha = abhram = ambhodhara = ambhaHpati = Abram = sArasvata = vAksha = va = व

[sarabhanga]

The pronoun ya (nominative singular yaH, and locative plural yeSu) indicates “who, which, that, etc.”, and ya is “a goer or mover, wind or carriage, joining or restraining, abandoning, fame, barley, or light”. And yA is “going or moving, restraining or attaining”, indicating “a carriage, religious meditation, or the yonI”.

yava is “barley”, yAva is “prepared from barley”, and yAva also refers to “shellac or cochineal”, while yavAnnam is “barley-food or boiled barley”.

yAvan is “going, driving, or riding”, indicating “a rider, horseman, invader, aggressor, or foe”; yavana or yavAna is “quick or swift”, indicating “a swift horse”; yavana is “keeping away or averting”, yAvanam is “keeping off or removing”, and yavanam or yAvanam is “uniting, joining, mixing, or mingling (especially with water)”; and yavanam is “salt from saline soil”.

yAvanAlI is “sugar extracted from yavanAla”, and yavanAnI is “the writing of the yavanAs”; and the term yavana refers to gandhAra or kamboja.

gandhAra is “red lead or vermilion”, known as sindUra or rakta-shAsanam; and gandharasa is “odour and flavour”, indicating “perfumes and spices”, especially “myrrh”.

The gandharvAs dwell in the sky, guarding the soma, knowing and revealing the secrets of heaven. And gandharva was the father of yama and yamI (the first human pair).

pANini and the pANinIyAs hail from gandhAra, and gAndharvI is vAc (given to the gandharva in return for soma).

“kambojAH kambala bhojAH” ~ from the yAskaniruktam (2.2)

The kambojAs are “the bhojAs with the mantle of wool”, as “the enjoyers of the kambala (woolen blanket or dew-lap)”. And bhoja is “leading a life of enjoyment”, indicating “a king with uncommon qualities”.

[sarabhanga]

yu (nominative singular yuH, dual yU, and plural yavaH) is “going or moving”, and yu means “to separate, drive away, ward off, exclude, protect, keep aloof , to be or remain separated”. And yava is “warding off or averting”. And the imperative yUyai promises “I will separate”, “I will drive away”, “I will exclude”, “I will protect”, “I will be separated” or “I will remain separated”.

And yu means “to unite, attach, harness, yoke, bind, fasten, draw towards one’s self, take hold, seize, gain possession, procure, confer, bestow, worship, or honor” (with the absolutive suffix –yUya). And the desiderative yuyUSati indicates “he/she wishes to unite or hold fast”.

hu means “to sacrifice (especially pouring ghI into fire), offer or present an oblation, worship or honour” ~ with the present juhve (“I sacrifice”), imperative juhudhi (“you will sacrifice”), future hotA (“he/she having sacrificed”), infinitive hotum (“to sacrifice”), desiderative juhUSati (“he/she wishes to sacrifice”), and intensive johoti or johavIti (“he/she offers oblations repeatedly or abundantly”).

huta is “offered in fire, poured out (as ghI), burnt (as an oblation), or sacrificed”, indicating “one to whom an oblation is offered”, and huti or hutam is “an oblation, offering, or sacrifice”.

hve means “to call on, invoke, etc.” ~ with the perfect first person juhava (“I have sacrificed”), and the absolutive suffix –hUya (“to call, summon, challenge, invoke, or emulate”).

hU is “calling or invoking”, hUta is “called, summoned, or invited”, and hUti or hUtam is “the act of calling or invocation”.

hava is “an oblation, burnt offering, or sacrifice”, indicating agni (“fire”); hava is “calling”, as “an invocation, direction, order, or command”; hAva is “calling or alluring”, as “a dalliance or blandishment”; havana is agni or rudra, as “fire or the fire-receptacle”; havanI is “the sacrificial ladle” or “a hole made in the ground for the sacrificial fire which is to receive a burnt-oblation”; and havanam is “the act of offering an oblation with fire, a sacrifice or a sacrificial ladle” or “a calling, invocation, summons, or challenge to battle”.

yahu is “restless or swift” or “mighty or strong” (synonymous with mahat); also indicating “an offspring or child”, as an equivalent of putra ~ e.g. sahasoyahuH = sahasoputraH (“son of strength”), both used in reference to agni.

yahva is “restless, swift, active (as agni, indra, soma), or continually moving or flowing (as the waters)”, also synonymous with mahat, and indicating “the sacrificer” (yajamAna).

mahat is “great (in space, time, quantity, or degree)”, indicating “greatness, power, might, dominion, or abundance”, or “sacred knowledge”; and mahi or mahat refers to “intellect”, as “the great principle” (mahattattvam).

ya (“who, which, that”) + hvA (“name”) = yahvA (the implied name of “that” unnamable one). And a cognate term is derived from tad (“he, she, it, that”) + tvam (“the being or abode of”) = tattvam (“truth or essence”, “the being of that”, “his being or abode”, etc.).

yahvat or yavatI is “the ever-flowing (waters)”, the (sapta) yahvyas are “the (seven) great streams”.

And the perpetual yahvyau is “heaven and earth”.

iLA = mahatI = yahvI = rodasI
ILa = mahAn = yahva = rudra



From the Rgveda (1.1):


agnim ILe purohitaM yajñasya devam Rtvijam |
hotAraM ratnadhAtamam | 1 |

I laud agni, the chosen priest, god, minister of sacrifice,
The hotA, most lavish of wealth.

agniH pUrvebhir RSibhir IDyo nUtanair uta |
sa devAM eha vakshati | 2 |

Worthy is agni to be praised by living as by ancient seers.
He shall bring hitherward the gods.


And from yAska’s niruktam (8.8):


ILa (agni) is derived from (the root) ID, meaning to praise, or from indh (to kindle).
The following stanza (Rgveda 10.110.3) is addressed to him.

AjuhvAna IDyovandyashcAyAhyagnevasubhiH sajoSAH |
tvaM devAnAmasiyahvahotA sa enAnyakshISitoyajIyAn |

Invoked, deserving prayer and adoration, O agni, come accordant with the vasavas.
O yahva, thou art the gods’ invoker, so, best of sacrificers, bring them quickly.

AhUyamAna ILitavyo vanditavyash ca A yAhy agne vasubhiH saha joSaNas tvaM devAnAm asi yahva hotA |

Being invoked, thou art to be praised and worshipped. O agni, come associated together with the vasavas.
O great one (yahva), thou art the sacrificer of the gods’.

yahva iti mahato nAmadheyam |
yAtash ca hUtash ca bhavati |

The word yahva is a synonym of mahat ~ i.e. gone (ya) and invoked (hu).

sa enAn yakshi iSito yajIyAn |
iSitaH preSita iti vA adhISTa iti vA |
yajIyAn yaSTRtaraH |

As such, O excellent sacrificer, do thou sacrifice to them, incited (by us).
Incited, impelled, or implored. Excellent sacrificer, the best sacrificer.

[sarabhanga]

There are many proper names in the Old Testament affixed with yhv (yeho- or -yahu), and yhvh is the very name of God, which is known from inscriptions dated c. 830 BC.

The Hebrew derivation of yhv is unclear, and scholars have suggested that it may have a non-Israelite origin, with some seeking meanings in Aramaic or Arabic or Egyptian. Although Sanskrit sources, where the same term is found with exactly the connotations appropriate to the biblical usage, have rarely been considered.

Why did the followers of Abraham and Moses refer to their god as Yahweh? The evidence from Hebrew language seems rather slight.

From ‘The Oxford Companion to the Bible’:

The name yahweh looks like the third-person singular of the verb hāwā, a rare alternative to the usual hāyā, “to be”. The “a” vowel suggests a causative theme of the verb (“he causes” or “will cause to be”), but that theme is not used with this verb in the Bible.

If, however, the name is archaic or of non-Israelite origin, then another meaning is possible, and some have sought a meaning found in Aramaic (“to fall” as well as “to be”) or in Arabic (“to fall, blow,” etc.), but firm evidence is lacking.

More plausible ~ though still uncertain ~ is a connection with yhw (perhaps yahweh) in Egyptian texts from ca. 1400-1200 BC, which may be a place associated with pastoral nomads in or near the Sinai peninsula.


Both the name and the nature of the God, however, are easily taken straight from ancient Sanskrit usage. And yahva (yahvaH or yahvIH), which is doubtfully explained from Hebrew grammar, is repeatedly found in vedic Sanskrit, with exactly the same connotations as apply to the biblical term (yhv, yhvh, or ‘yahweh’).

YHV appears 41 times in 33 of the Rgveda’s 1028 hymns ~ in maNDala I (5x), II (2x), III (9x), IV (5x), V (5x), VI (1x), VII (4x), VIII (2x), IX (3x), and X (5x) ~ with forms of the masculine yahva appearing 21 times, and forms of the feminine yahvI appearing 20 times. And there are 16 hymns with yahva, 16 with yahvI, and only one with both (RV 3.1) ~ making 33 hymns altogether (trayastriMsha, the traditional sum of the Gods).

In hymns to agni:


RSi kaNva ghaura

pra vaH yahvam purUNAm vishAm devayatInAm |
agnim sUktebhiH vacobhiH Imahe yam sIm it anye ILate || 1.36.1 ||


RSi nodhA gautama

bRhatI iva sUnave rodasI giraH hotA manuSyaH na dakshaH |
svarvate satyashuSmAya pUrvIH vaishvAnarAya nRtamAya yahvIH || 1.59.4 ||


RSi parAshara shAktya

agnim vishvAH abhi pRkshaH sacante samudram na sravataH sapta yahvIH |
na jAmibhiH vi cikite vayaH naH vidAH deveSu pramatim cikitvAn || 1.71.7 ||

svAdhyaH divaH A sapta yahvIH rAyaH duraH vi RtajñAH ajAnan |
vidat gavyam saramA dRLham Urvam yena nu kam mAnuSI bhojate viT || 1.72.8 ||


RSi vishvAmitra

avardhayan subhagam sapta yahvIH shvetam jajñAnam aruSam mahitvA |
shishum na jAtam abhi AruH ashvAH devAsaH agnim janiman vapuSyan || 3.1.4 ||

vavrAja sIm anadatIH adabdhAH divaH yahvIH avasAnAH anagnAH |
sanAH atra yuvatayaH sayonIH ekam garbham dadhire sapta vANIH || 3.1.6 ||

pituH cit Udhar januSA viveda vi asya dhArAH asRjat vi dhenAH |
guhA carantam sakhibhiH shivebhiH divaH yahvIbhiH na guhA babhUva || 3.1.9 ||

akraH na babhriH samithe mahInAm didRksheyaH sUnave bhARjIkaH |
ut usriyAH janitA yaH jajAna apAm garbhaH nRtamaH yahvaH agniH || 3.1.12 ||


RSi vishvAmitra gAthina

tisraH yahvasya samidhaH parijmanaH agneH apunan ushijaH amRtyavaH |
tAsAm ekAm adadhuH martye bhujam ulokam u dve upa jAmim IyatuH || 3.2.9 ||

vishpatim yahvam atithim naraH sadA yantAram dhInAm ushijam ca vAghatAm |
adhvarANAm cetanam jAtavedasam pra shaMsanti namasA jUtibhiH vRdhe || 3.3.8 ||

pAti priyam ripaH agram padam veH pAti yahvaH caraNam sUryasya |
pAti nAbhA saptashIrSANam agniH pAti devAnAm upamAdam RSvaH || 3.5.5 ||

ut u stutaH samidhA yahvaH adyaut varSman divaH adhi nAbhA pRthivyAH |
mitraH agniH IDyaH mAtarishvA A dUtaH vakshat yajathAya devAn || 3.5.9 ||

mAdhyaMdine savane jAtavedaH puroLAsham iha kave juSasva |
agne yahvasya tava bhAgadheyam na pra minanti vidatheSu dhIrAH || 3.28.4 ||


RSi vAmadeva gautama

mA nindata yaH imAm mahyam rAtim devaH dadau martyAya svadhAvAn |
pAkAya gRtsaH amRtaH vicetAH vaishvAnaraH nRtamaH yahvaH agniH || 4.5.2 ||

idam me agne kiyate pAvaka aminate gurum bhAram na manma |
bRhat dadhAtha dhRSatA gabhIram yahvam pRSTham prayasA saptadhAtu || 4.5.6 ||

tRSu yat annA tRSuNA vavaksha tRSum dUtam kRNute yahvaH agniH |
vAtasya meLim sacate nijUrvan Ashum na vAjayate hinve arvA || 4.7.11 ||

yam sIm akRNvan tamase vipRce dhruvakshemAH anavasyantaH artham |
tam sUryam haritaH sapta yahvIH spasham vishvasya jagataH vahanti || 4.13.3 ||

sindhoH iva prAdhvane shUghanAsaH vAtapramiyaH patayanti yahvAH |
ghRtasya dhArAH aruSaH na vAjI kASThAH bhindanUrmibhiH pinvamAnaH || 4.58.7 ||


RSi budha Atreya

abodhi agniH samidhA janAnAm prati dhenum iva AyatIm uSAsam
yahvAH iva pra vayAm ujjihAnAH pra bhAnavaH sisrate nAkam acha || 5.1.1 ||


RSi pUru Atreya

adha hi agne eSAm suvIryasya maMhanA |
tam it yahvam na rodasI pari shravaH babhUvatuH || 5.16.4 ||


RSi vasiSTha maitrAvaruNi

yaH dehyaH anamayat vadhasnaiH yaH aryapatnIH uSasaH cakAra |
sa nirudhya nahuSaH yahvaH agniH vishaH cakre balihRtaH sahobhiH || 7.6.5 ||

ayam u sya sumahAn avedi hotA mandraH manuSaH yahvaH agniH |
vi bhAH akar sasRjAnaH pRthivyAm kRSNapaviH oSadhIbhiH vavakshe || 7.8.2 ||


RSi havirdhAna AÑgi

vRSA vRSNe duduhe dahasA divaH payAMsi yahvaH aditeH adAbhyaH |
vishvam sa veda varuNaH yathA dhiyA sa yajñiyaH yajatu yajñiyAn RtUn || 10.11.1 ||

And to apAMnapAt:


RSi gRtsamada bhArgava (originally AÑgirasa) shaunaka

apAm napAt A hi asthAt upastham jihmAnAm UrdhvaH vidyutam vasAnaH |
tasya jyeSTham mahimAnam vahantIH hiraNyavarNAH pari yanti yahvIH || 2.35.9 ||

asmin pade parame tasthivAMsam adhvasmabhiH vishvahA dIdivAMsam |
ApaH naptre ghRtam annam vahantIH svayam atkaiH pari dIyanti yahvIH || 2.35.14 ||

In hymns to indra:


RSi gaurivIti shAktya

anu yat Im marutaH mandasAnam Arcan indram papivAMsam sutasya |
A adatta vajram abhi yat ahim han apaH yahvIH asRjat sartavai u || 5.29.2 ||


RSi bharadvAja bArhaspatya

paprAtha kshAm mahi daMsaH vi urvIm upa dyAm RSvaH bRhAt indra stabhAyaH |
adhArayaH rodasI devaputre pratne mAtarA yahvI Rtasya || 6.17.7 ||


RSi nArada kANva

tat it rudrasya cetati yahvam pratneSu dhAmasu |
manaH yatra vi tat dadhuH vicetasaH || 8.13.20 ||

tam Imahe puruSTutam yahvam pratnAbhiH UtibhiH |
ni barhiSi priye sadat adha dvitA || 8.13.24 ||


RSi vamra vaikhAnasa

sa yahvyaH avanIH goSu arvA A juhoti pradhanyAsu sasriH |
apAdaH yatra yujyAsaH arathAH droNyashvAsaH Irate ghRtam vAr || 10.99.4 ||

In hymns to soma:


RSi trita Aptya

abhi brahmIH anUSata yahvIH Rtasya mAtaraH |
marmRjyante divaH shishum || 9.33.5 ||


RSi kavi bhArgava

abhi priyANi pavate canohitaH nAmAni yahvaH adhi yeSu vardhate |
A sUryasya bRhataH bRhan adhi ratham viSvañcam aruhat vicakshaNaH || 9.75.1 ||


RSi kashyapa mArIca

tava tye soma pavamAna niNye vishve devAH trayaH ekAdashAsaH |
dasha svadhAbhiH adhi sAno avye mRjanti tvA nadyaH sapta yahvIH || 9.92.4 ||

In hymns to the vishvedevA:


RSi atri bhauma

upa vaH eSe vandyebhiH shUSaiH pra yahvI divaH citayadbhiH arkaiH |
uSAsAnaktA viduSI iva vishvam A ha vahataH martyAya yajñam || 5.41.7 ||


RSi shAryAta mAnava

imam añjaspAm ubhaye akRNvata dharmANam agnim vidathasya sAdhanam |
aktum na yahvam uSasaH purohitam tanUnapAtam aruSasya niMsate || 10.92.2 ||


RSi tAnva pArtha

mahi dyAvApRthivI bhUtam urvI nArI yahvI na rodasI sadam naH |
tebhiH naH pAtam sahyasaH ebhiH naH pAtam shUSaNi || 10.93.1 ||

To the marudgaNa:


RSi vasiSTha maitrAvaruNi

sam yat hananta manyubhiH janAsaH shUrAH yahvISu oSadhISu vikshu |
adha sma naH marutaH rudriyAsaH trAtAraH bhUta pRtanAsu aryaH || 7.56.22 ||

To ashvinIkumAra:


RSi vasiSTha maitrAvaruNi

yAni sthAnAni ashvinA dadhAthe divaH yahvISu oSadhISu vikshu |
ni parvatasya mUrdhani sadantA iSam janAya dAshuSe vahantA || 7.70.3 ||

And in three AprI hymns:


RSi dIrghatamA aucathya

A bhandamAne upAke naktoSAsA supeshasA |
yahvI Rtasya mAtarA sIdatAm barhiH A sumat || 1.142.7 ||


RSi vasushruta Atreya

supratIke vayovRdhA yahvI Rtasya mAtarA |
doSAm uSAsam Imahe || 5.5.6 ||


RSi jamadagni bhArgava (rAma jAmadagnya)

AjuhvAnaH IDyaH vandyaH ca A yAhi agne vasubhiH sajoSAH |
tvam devAnAm asi yahva hotA saH enAn yakshi iSitaH yajIyAn || 10.110.3 ||

[sarabhanga]

mahat is “great (in space , time , quantity or degree)”. And mahat is the mahattattvam (“the great principle”), which is budhi (“intellect”, “wisdom”, “sacred knowledge”).

yahva is synonymous with mahat, and the shatarudriyam praises rudra as “the great ones” (namo mahadbhyaH).


pitushcidUdharjanuSA viveda vyasya dhArA asRjadvi dhenAH |
guhA carantaM sakhibhiH shivebhirdivo yahvIbhirna guhA babhUva || RV 3.1.9 ||

From birth he knew even his father’s bosom, he set his voices and his streams in motion,
Knew him who moved with blessed friends in secret, with the young dames of heaven, he stayed not hidden.

guhA carantam sakhibhiH shivebhiH | divaH yahvIbhiH na guhA babhUva

The masculine instrumental plural sakhibhiH shivebhiH (sakhi shiva or shiva sakhi ~ “the auspicious companion”) is paired with the feminine instrumental plural divaH yahvIbhiH (divo yahvyas, “the young dames of heaven”, and yahvI, “the great dame”).

In the beginning, agni set his voices (the shiva sakhayas of gopati rudra) and his streams (the sapta yahvyas of gomatI rodasI) in motion.

yahvIH Rtasya mAtaraH indicates “the great mothers of sacred law”, and yahvI is Rtasya mAtA, “the mother of divine truth” ~ coupled with shivAH pitaraH (“the auspicious fathers”) and shiva, the Rtasya pitA (“father of truth”).

mAtA = yahvI = gomatI = yajanIya (“to be worshipped or sacrificed”)
pitA = shiva = gopati = yajamAna (“worshipping or sacrificing”)

gomatI is pArvatI, as the greatness to which gopati shiva rises. And their twin yahvyau (the gAvau, mahyau, pitarau, etc.) signifies “heaven and earth” ~ as the ashvinau compelled by agni ~ as rodasI (the lightning wife of rudra).

[sarabhanga]

yahva appears in only 3% of the Rgveda’s hymns, virtually disappearing in post-vedic scripture.

yahvI itself appears just five times in the Rgveda, with three of those repeating the same phrase ~ yahvI Rtasya mAtarA in two of the AprI hymns, and mAtarA yahvI Rtasya in bharadvAja bArhaspatya’s hymn to lord indra. In atri bhauma’s hymn to the vishvedevA (5.41), the formula is pra yahvI divaH. And in tAnva pArtha’s hymn to the vishvedevA (10.93), yahvI appears in the first line as yahvI na rodasI.


RSi vasushruta Atreya

supratIke vayovRdhA yahvI Rtasya mAtarA |
doSAm uSAsam Imahe || 5.5.6 ||


RSi dIrghatamA aucathya

A bhandamAne upAke naktoSAsA supeshasA |
yahvI Rtasya mAtarA sIdatAm barhiH A sumat || 1.142.7 ||


RSi bharadvAja bArhaspatya

paprAtha kshAm mahi daMsaH vi urvIm upa dyAm RSvaH bRhAt indra stabhAyaH |
adhArayaH rodasI devaputre pratne mAtarA yahvI Rtasya || 6.17.7 ||


RSi atri bhauma

upa vaH eSe vandyebhiH shUSaiH pra yahvI divaH citayadbhiH arkaiH |
uSAsAnaktA viduSI iva vishvam A ha vahataH martyAya yajñam || 5.41.7 ||


RSi tAnva pArtha

mahi dyAvApRthivI bhUtam urvI nArI yahvI na rodasI sadam naH |
tebhiH naH pAtam sahyasaH ebhiH naH pAtam shUSaNi || 10.93.1 ||


And yahvIH appears eleven times, in eight hymns, but only once as yahvIH Rtasya mAtaraH, in trita Aptya’s hymn to soma (9.33).

The compound sapta yahvIH appears five times, in four hymns (three to agni and one to soma).

And there are single instances of five other combinations ~ apaH yahvIH (to indra), divaH yahvIH and (to agni), pariyanti yahvIH and paridIyanti yahvIH (to agni apAMnapAt, “grandson of the waters”), and vaishvAnarAyanRtamAya yahvIH (to agni vaishvAnara).


RSi trita Aptya

abhi brahmIH anUSata yahvIH Rtasya mAtaraH |
marmRjyante divaH shishum || 9.33.5 ||


RSi parAshara shAktya

agnim vishvAH abhi pRkshaH sacante samudram na sravataH sapta yahvIH |
na jAmibhiH vi cikite vayaH naH vidAH deveSu pramatim cikitvAn || 1.71.7 ||

svAdhyaH divaH A sapta yahvIH rAyaH duraH vi RtajñAH ajAnan |
vidat gavyam saramA dRLham Urvam yena nu kam mAnuSI bhojate viT || 1.72.8 ||


RSi vishvAmitra

avardhayan subhagam sapta yahvIH shvetam jajñAnam aruSam mahitvA |
shishum na jAtam abhi AruH ashvAH devAsaH agnim janiman vapuSyan || 3.1.4 ||

vavrAja sIm anadatIH adabdhAH divaH yahvIH avasAnAH anagnAH |
sanAH atra yuvatayaH sayonIH ekam garbham dadhire sapta vANIH || 3.1.6 ||

pituH cit Udhar januSA viveda vi asya dhArAH asRjat vi dhenAH |
guhA carantam sakhibhiH shivebhiH divaH yahvIbhiH na guhA babhUva || 3.1.9 ||


RSi vAmadeva gautama

yam sIm akRNvan tamase vipRce dhruvakshemAH anavasyantaH artham |
tam sUryam haritaH sapta yahvIH spasham vishvasya jagataH vahanti || 4.13.3 ||


RSi kashyapa mArIca

tava tye soma pavamAna niNye vishve devAH trayaH ekAdashAsaH |
dasha svadhAbhiH adhi sAno avye mRjanti tvA nadyaH sapta yahvIH || 9.92.4 ||


RSi gaurivIti shAktya

anu yat Im marutaH mandasAnam Arcan indram papivAMsam sutasya |
A adatta vajram abhi yat ahim han apaH yahvIH asRjat sartavai u || 5.29.2 ||


RSi nodhA gautama

bRhatI iva sUnave rodasI giraH hotA manuSyaH na dakshaH |
svarvate satyashuSmAya pUrvIH vaishvAnarAya nRtamAya yahvIH || 1.59.4 ||


RSi gRtsamada bhArgava

apAm napAt A hi asthAt upastham jihmAnAm UrdhvaH vidyutam vasAnaH |
tasya jyeSTham mahimAnam vahantIH hiraNyavarNAH pari yanti yahvIH || 2.35.9 ||

asmin pade parame tasthivAMsam adhvasmabhiH vishvahA dIdivAMsam |
ApaH naptre ghRtam annam vahantIH svayam atkaiH pari dIyanti yahvIH || 2.35.14 ||


yahvAH occurs only twice (in hymns to agni).


RSi vAmadeva gautama

sindhoH iva prAdhvane shUghanAsaH vAtapramiyaH patayanti yahvAH |
ghRtasya dhArAH aruSaH na vAjI kASThAH bhindanUrmibhiH pinvamAnaH || 4.58.7 ||


RSi budha Atreya

abodhi agniH samidhA janAnAm prati dhenum iva AyatIm uSAsam
yahvAH iva pra vayAm ujjihAnAH pra bhAnavaH sisrate nAkam acha || 5.1.1 ||


yahvasya occurs twice, in RSi vishvAmitra’s hymns to agni.


RSi vishvAmitra

tisraH yahvasya samidhaH parijmanaH agneH apunan ushijaH amRtyavaH |
tAsAm ekAm adadhuH martye bhujam ulokam u dve upa jAmim IyatuH || 3.2.9 ||

mAdhyaMdine savane jAtavedaH puroLAsham iha kave juSasva |
agne yahvasya tava bhAgadheyam na pra minanti vidatheSu dhIrAH || 3.28.4 ||


And yahvyaH appears just once, in vamra vaikhAnasa’s hymn to indra.


RSi vamra vaikhAnasa

sa yahvyaH avanIH goSu arvA A juhoti pradhanyAsu sasriH |
apAdaH yatra yujyAsaH arathAH droNyashvAsaH Irate ghRtam vAr || 10.99.4 ||


yahvam appears seven times, in six hymns (four to agni, one to indra, and one to the vishvedevA).


RSi kaNva ghaura

pra vaH yahvam purUNAm vishAm devayatInAm |
agnim sUktebhiH vacobhiH Imahe yam sIm it anye ILate || 1.36.1 ||


RSi vishvAmitra gAthina

vishpatim yahvam atithim naraH sadA yantAram dhInAm ushijam ca vAghatAm |
adhvarANAm cetanam jAtavedasam pra shaMsanti namasA jUtibhiH vRdhe || 3.3.8 ||


RSi vAmadeva gautama

idam me agne kiyate pAvaka aminate gurum bhAram na manma |
bRhat dadhAtha dhRSatA gabhIram yahvam pRSTham prayasA saptadhAtu || 4.5.6 ||


RSi pUru Atreya

adha hi agne eSAm suvIryasya maMhanA |
tam it yahvam na rodasI pari shravaH babhUvatuH || 5.16.4 ||


RSi nArada kANva

tat it rudrasya cetati yahvam pratneSu dhAmasu |
manaH yatra vi tat dadhuH vicetasaH || 8.13.20 ||

tam Imahe puruSTutam yahvam pratnAbhiH UtibhiH |
ni barhiSi priye sadat adha dvitA || 8.13.24 ||


RSi shAryAta mAnava

imam añjaspAm ubhaye akRNvata dharmANam agnim vidathasya sAdhanam |
aktum na yahvam uSasaH purohitam tanUnapAtam aruSasya niMsate || 10.92.2 ||


And yahvaH appears nine times, in eight hymns (seven to agni, and one to soma), with the combination yahvaH agniH appearing five times ~ twice as nRtamaH yahvaH agniH, and once each as kRNute yahvaH agniH, nahuSaH yahvaH agniH, and manuSaH yahvaH agniH. yahvaH caraNam sUryasya, samidhA yahvaH adyaut, and yahvaH aditeH adAbhyaH , appear in the remaining two hymns to agni, and in the one hymn to soma we find the notable phrase yahvaH adhi yeSu.


RSi vishvAmitra

akraH na babhriH samithe mahInAm didRksheyaH sUnave bhARjIkaH |
ut usriyAH janitA yaH jajAna apAm garbhaH nRtamaH yahvaH agniH || 3.1.12 ||


RSi vAmadeva gautama

mA nindata yaH imAm mahyam rAtim devaH dadau martyAya svadhAvAn |
pAkAya gRtsaH amRtaH vicetAH vaishvAnaraH nRtamaH yahvaH agniH || 4.5.2 ||

tRSu yat annA tRSuNA vavaksha tRSum dUtam kRNute yahvaH agniH |
vAtasya meLim sacate nijUrvan Ashum na vAjayate hinve arvA || 4.7.11 ||


RSi vasiSTha maitrAvaruNi

yaH dehyaH anamayat vadhasnaiH yaH aryapatnIH uSasaH cakAra |
sa nirudhya nahuSaH yahvaH agniH vishaH cakre balihRtaH sahobhiH || 7.6.5 ||

ayam u sya sumahAn avedi hotA mandraH manuSaH yahvaH agniH |
vi bhAH akar sasRjAnaH pRthivyAm kRSNapaviH oSadhIbhiH vavakshe || 7.8.2 ||


RSi vishvAmitra gAthina

pAti priyam ripaH agram padam veH pAti yahvaH caraNam sUryasya |
pAti nAbhA saptashIrSANam agniH pAti devAnAm upamAdam RSvaH || 3.5.5 ||

ut u stutaH samidhA yahvaH adyaut varSman divaH adhi nAbhA pRthivyAH |
mitraH agniH IDyaH mAtarishvA A dUtaH vakshat yajathAya devAn || 3.5.9 ||


RSi havirdhAna AÑgi

vRSA vRSNe duduhe dahasA divaH payAMsi yahvaH aditeH adAbhyaH |
vishvam sa veda varuNaH yathA dhiyA sa yajñiyaH yajatu yajñiyAn RtUn || 10.11.1 ||


RSi kavi bhArgava

abhi priyANi pavate canohitaH nAmAni yahvaH adhi yeSu vardhate |
A sUryasya bRhataH bRhan adhi ratham viSvañcam aruhat vicakshaNaH || 9.75.1 ||


There are two occurrences of yahva in the locative plural form, in RSi vasiSTha maitrAvaruNi’s hymns to the host of marutas and the ashvinas’ son ~ and in each case the formula is yahvISu oSadhISu vikshu.


To the marudgaNa:

sam yat hananta manyubhiH janAsaH shUrAH yahvISu oSadhISu vikshu |
adha sma naH marutaH rudriyAsaH trAtAraH bhUta pRtanAsu aryaH || 7.56.22 ||

And to ashvinIkumAra:

yAni sthAnAni ashvinA dadhAthe divaH yahvISu oSadhISu vikshu |
ni parvatasya mUrdhani sadantA iSam janAya dAshuSe vahantA || 7.70.3 ||

[oSadhi is “light-containing” indicating a medicinal herb or an annual plant (which dies after becoming ripe). And oSadhIsha is “lord of herbs”, indicating the soma.]


And the final example is yahva itself, in the vocative singular case (“O yahva”), which occurs in the bhArgava AprI hymn (10.110).


RSi rAma jAmadagnya

AjuhvAnaH IDyaH vandyaH ca A yAhi agne vasubhiH sajoSAH |
tvam devAnAm asi yahva hotA saH enAn yakshi iSitaH yajIyAn || 10.110.3 ||

[sarabhanga]

maha or mahi is “great, mighty, strong, or abundant”, as “a sacrifice, a buffalo, light or brilliance”, and mahA or mAhA is “a cow”.

mahI is “the great world or earth”, indicating “a region”, “a legion”, or “a cow”; mahyas are “the waters or streams” (sapta yahvyas); and the mahyau is “heaven and earth” (yahvI rodasI). And the number of that great beast is 6.66.


Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast:
for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.






Rgveda 6.66
vapurnu taccikituSe cidastu samAnaM nAma dhenu patyamAnam |
marteSvanyaddohase pIpAya sakRcchukraM duduhe pRshnirUdhaH || 1 ||

Even to the wise, let that be still a wonder, to which the general name of cow is given.
The one hath swelled among mankind for milking: pRshni hath drained but once her fair bright udder.

ye agnayo na shoshucannidhAnA dviryattrirmaruto vAvRdhanta |
areNavo hiraNyayAsa eSAM sAkaM nRmNaiH pauMsyebhishca bhUvan || 2 ||

They who like kindled flames of fire are glowing, the maruts, twice and thrice have waxen mighty.
Golden and dustless were their cars, invested with their great strength and their heroic vigour.

rudrasya ye mILhuSaH santi putrA yAMshco nu dAdhRvirbharadhyai |
vide hi mAtA maho mahISA setpRshniH subhve garbhamAdhAt || 3 ||

They who are sons of the rain-pouring rudra, whom the long-lasting one had power to foster:
The mighty ones, whose germ great mother pRshni is known to have received for man’s advantage.

na ya ISante januSo’yA nvantaH santo’vadyAni punAnAH |
niryadduhre shucayo’nu joSamanu shriyA tanvamukshamANAH || 4 ||

They shrink not from the birth; in this same manner still resting there they purge away reproaches.
When they have streamed forth, brilliant, at their pleasure, with their own splendour they bedew their bodies.

makshU na yeSu dohase cidayA A nAma dhRSNu mArutaM dadhAnAH |
na ye staunA ayAso mahnA nU citsudAnurava yAsadugrAn || 5 ||

Even those who bear the brave bold name of maruts, whom not the active quickly wins for milking.
Even the liberal wards not off those fierce ones, those who are light and agile in their greatness.

ta idugrAH shavasA dhRSNuSeNA ubhe yujanta rodasI sumeke |
adha smaiSu rodasI svashocirAmavatsu tasthau na rokaH || 6 ||

When, strong in strength and armed with potent weapons, they had united well-formed earth and heaven,
RodasI stood among these furious heroes like splendour shining with her native brightness.

aneno vo maruto yAmo astvanashvashcidyamajatyarathIH |
anavaso’nabhIshU rajastUrvi rodasI pathyA yAti sAdhan || 7 ||

No team of goats shall draw your car, O maruts, no horse, no charioteer be he who drives it.
Halting not, reinless, through the air it travels, speeding alone its paths through earth and heaven.

nAsya vartA na tarutA nvasti maruto yamavatha vAjasAtau |
toke vA goSu tanaye yamapsu sa vrajaM dartA pArye adha dyoH || 8 ||

None may obstruct, none overtake, O maruts, him whom ye succour in the strife of battle
For sons and progeny, for kine and waters: he bursts the cow-stall on the day of trial.

pra citramarkaM gRNate turAya mArutAya svatavase bharadhvam |
ye sahAMsi sahasA sahante rejate agne pRthivI makhebhyaH || 9 ||

Bring a bright hymn to praise the band of maruts, the singers, rapid, strong in native vigour,
Who conquer mighty strength with strength more mighty: earth shakes in terror at their wars, O agni.

tviSImanto’dhvarasyeva didyuttRSucyavaso juhvo nAgneH |
arcatrayo dhunayo na vIrA bhrAjajjanmAno maruto adhRSTAH || 10 ||

Bright like the flashing flames of sacrifices, like tongues of fire impetuous in their onset,
Chanting their psalm, singing aloud, like heroes, splendid from birth, invincible, the maruts.

taM vRdhantammArutambhrAjadRSTiM rudrasya sUnuM havasA vivAse |
divaH shardhAya shucayo manISA girayo nApa ugrA aspRdhran || 11 ||

That swelling band I call with invocation, the brood of rudra, armed with glittering lances.
Pure hymns are meet for that celestial army: like floods and mountains have the strong ones battled.

[sarabhanga]

mahi dyAvApRthivI bhUtam urvI nArI yahvI na rodasI sadam naH

Mighty are ye, and far-extended, heaven and earth: both worlds are evermore to us like two young dames.

yahvI na rodasI is “swift as lightning” and “mighty as heaven and earth”, and the nArI yahvI (twain) is invoked with narodasI (as naraH dashI ~ “the puruSa having ten parts”).

jU means “to press forwards, hurry on, be quick, impel quickly, urge or drive on, incite, scare, excite, promote, animate, or inspire”, and jU is “quick or speedy, inciting or driving”, as “a courser, the wind, or sarasvatI”.

The juhU is a jihvA, as “a tongue (of agni)”, and the sapta juhvaH are seven tongues of flame from the sacred hearth of brahmA, as brAhmI (the quivering goddess of speech). And the juhU is “a curved wooden ladle (for pouring clarified butter into the sacrificial fire)”, enshrining the puruSa as sadyojAta (“newly born”).

juhuvAna is “the invoked” (as agni or soma) or “the cryer or invoker” (as rudra or a sacrificing priest), and juhuvANa or juhurANa is “the invoker” or “the moon”.

And the juhvaH na agneH (“tongues as of fire”) are the marutas ~ “the brood of rudra” ~ “bright as the flashing flames of sacrifices, impetuous in their onset, chanting their psalm, singing aloud, like heroes, splendid from birth, invincible”.

sapta yahvIH = sapta juhvaH = sapta jihvAH = devI lelAyamAnA = vakshyaH vakshaNesthAH = vAk

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[sarabhanga]

The invoker and the invoked are united by the invocation.

Rgveda 10.125 ~ the vAgyajña of vAgAmbhRNI

ahaM rudrebhirvasubhishcarAmyahamAdityairuta vishvadevaiH |
ahammitrAvaruNobhA bibharmyahamindrAgnI ahamashvinobhA || 1 ||

I travel with the rudrAs and the vasavas, with the AdityAs and all-gods I wander.
I hold aloft both varuNa and mitra, indra and agni, and the ashvinau.

ahaM somamAhanasambibharmyahaM tvaSTAramuta pUSaNambhagam |
ahaM dadhAmi draviNaM haviSmate suprAvye yajamAnAya sunvate || 2 ||

I cherish and sustain high-swelling soma, and tvaSTar I support, pUSan, and bhaga.
I load with wealth the zealous sacrificer, who pours the juice and offers his oblation.

ahaM rASTrI saMgamanI vasUnAM cikituSI prathamA yajñiyAnAm |
tAmmA devA vyadadhuH purutrA bhUristhAtrAmbhUryAveshayantIm || 3 ||

I am the queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship.
Thus gods have established me in many places, with many homes to enter and abide in.

mayA so annamatti yo vipashyati yaH prANiti ya IM shRNotyuktam |
amantavo mAM ta upa kshiyanti shrudhi shruta shraddhivaM te vadAmi || 4 ||

Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them, each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken.
They know it not, but yet they dwell beside me. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it.

ahameva svayamidaM vadAmi juSTaM devebhiruta mAnuSebhiH |
yaM kAmaye taMtamugraM kRNomi tambrahmANaM tamRSiM taM sumedhAm || 5 ||

I, verily, myself announce and utter the word that gods and men alike shall welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him a sage, a RSi, and a brAhmaNa.

ahaM rudrAya dhanurA tanomi brahmadviSe sharave hantavA u |
ahaM janAya samadaM kRNomyahaM dyAvApRthivI A vivesha || 6 ||

I bend the bow for rudra that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion.
I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated earth and heaven.

ahaM suve pitaramasya mUrdhanmama yonirapsvantaH samudre |
tato vi tiSThe bhuvanAnu vishvotAmUM dyAM varSmaNopa spRshAmi || 7 ||

On the world’s summit, I bring forth the father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean.
Thence I extend over all existing creatures, and touch even yonder heaven with my forehead.

ahameva vAta iva pra vAmyArabhamANA bhuvanAni vishvA |
paro divA para enA pRthivyaitAvatI mahinA sambabhUva || 8 ||

I breathe a strong breath like the wind and tempest, the while I hold together all existence.
Beyond this wide earth and beyond the heavens, I have become so mighty in my grandeur.