Snake worship was a huge motif that fascinated the Greeks in India.
Perhaps the consequence of the victory of Astika in convincing King Janamejaya to stop his snake sacrifice at the end of the Mahabharat!
Abisaros (Abhisara) ruled Kashmir.
Strabo recounts the prior and this.
Ancient people of NW India loved to dye their beards different colors, had very colorful clothes, and did have instances of practicing sati.
They possessed much mineral wealth, but didn’t mine much.
Descriptions of mountain yogis worshipping Shiva (?) and consuming marijuana. Strabo mistakes Krishna for Heracles.
The Brahmin commitment to vegetarianism, lifelong ritual, brahmacharya, and imparting education is observed.
A strange “retirement” is mentioned featuring relaxed rules for some. Parallels between Greek & Indian thought is observed as well - almost Vedantic in description. The wandering Sraman is also mentioned & praised
Seems that settled Brahmin & roaming Sraman is a parallel theme.
Accounts of women studying philosophy in ancient India (Gargi Vachaknavi of course a forerunner here).
An early description of Swayamvara is believed to be ascertained from the account of a “boxing match.”
Pliny, a Roman scholar wrote about natural history and geography.
His writings identify the legendary Indian diamond-shaped subcontinent. With the great seas, mountains, & Indus as it’s borders.
A bountiful land it was said to be
Special note of Yogis’ tapasya/asana practices
Indians prized coral and pearls highly in ancient times.
Possibly a reference to the reverence of the conch/Shankh.
Pliny lamented at the trade imbalance between Rome & India as luxury goods flowed to Rome at a gargantuan pace.
Indian minerals were the most vast, varied, and prized in the Mediterranean world.
Arrian (96 CE), a Greek scholar who served in Rome, would first write a posthumous account of Alexander’s invasion into India.
Below is the description of the battle of Alexander and Porus at the river Jhelum (Hydaspes).
Alexander’s death count is probably undercounted lol.
The undercount is hinted at as the Macedonian forces dismay at the prospect of invading a mysterious land that apparently has even greater challenges than the already arduous Indians they faced. Not to mention the length of the campaign
Alexander OTOH is excited at the prospect.
Arrian then writes his famous Indika. Compiling prior records & explorations.
He outlines the borders of India. He considers the mountainous region from Turkey to the Pamirs as 1 great range. The Pamir section being the roof of India, Indus the west, & ocean south/east.
Bhārata
Arrian claims that Indians do not invade other nations nor were truly invaded till Alexander. He claims the great former conquerors Sesostris the Egyptian, Idanthyrsos the Scythian, & Semiramis the Assyrian Queen could not invade India.
Alexander was exceptional for Arrian.
Greeks loved their natural history. Always noting the wild flora and fauna of India as well as the geography.
Indians in the north resembled Egyptians, while Indians more south resembled Ethiopians. Gradient and mix across the land.
There are legends of Dionysus coming to India. He may be identified with an ancient king here (sometimes identified with Lord Shiva). Heracles is mistaken for Krishna again.
The lineage precision & year lengths are again an interesting aspect of how Indians viewed their history
The Mauryan Era Indian would be clad in all white. A dhoti & draped upper garment. Some would wear a turban & ivory earrings. Others would dye their hair shades of blue, red, green, etc. They would use umbrellas against the heat and wear elaborate white leather shoes.
The Indian soldier carried a colossal bow & arrows that penetrated all. An oxhide shield in their left hand. A javelin possibly instead of a bow in their right. But all carried a blade for close combat. The horsemen carried twin lances & a buckler.
The elephant was the highest vehicular status symbol. Chariot next, camel third, & horse last.
To win a maiden, one must demonstrate their virtues in a competition (again another Swayamvar motif).
Grain was a staple food for Indians, but the hillmen especially ate wild game.
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea provides a nautical account of the Indian Ocean trade. Indian plants and their derivatives were in huge demand across the world, with a hotspot of export in Barbarikon, Sindh (near present day Karachi).
Indian steel was also world renowned.
Barugaza (Bharuch) & the Gulf of Khambhat in general was a trading behemoth. Gujarati commerce has deep roots here.
The Deccan is also described as is the trading ports of Tamil India.
Greco-Roman passion for zoology is very endearing. Accounts of Indian fauna fascinated many ancient zoologists. One of whom is known as Aelian, a Roman who spoke excellent Greek. From the time of Hadrian.
Aelian first points out the ferocity of Indian dogs who would fight lions.
Alexander was a Mor-rakshak. Fascinated by peacocks & wanted to protect them.
The kind bond of Porus and his elephant is also attested.
If you can’t notice already - Alexander was a LEGEND to Greco-Romans. The epitome of daring and excellence.
Indian snakes were feared for their bite across all Greek sources - and that fear is matched by their awe of Indian antidotes against the poison.
Curiously, Indians believed that snakes who killed humans would bear ill karma & live a wretched life thereafter.
Echos of Parikshit
The executioner of the Indian death penalty was a bask of crocodiles.
An account of an Indian royal court is given. Gardens filled with peacocks, birds, and various exotic plants.
The parrot was sacred for its ability to imitate human speech.
Snake worship again a major theme.
A terrifying account of a great snake “god” that inhabited a cave near a conquered town. Said to be of gargantuan size as it peaked only its head out of the cave, eyes the size of a large Macedonian shield.
Greek flair or Indian divinity…
Perhaps the most interesting chronicler thus far - Apollonius - a sage, anti-Christ, & Egyptian god avatar all wrapped up into one. Apollonius would travel to India to observe and learn from the famed wise men and philosophers he had heard so much of.
Apollonius would become a vegetarian, celibate, and maintain a vow of silence - all apparently before he went to India.
Parallels with ahimsa, brahmacharya, and the maun vrat of Indians.
In Taxila, Porus is supposed to have built a temple to Aditya, the sun god, and also decorated it with murals and statues exalting Alexander the Great.
Apollonius on the famed Brahmins of India.
Asceticism, sun-worship rituals, Spartan hair and discipline, clad in white robes.
Some are said to have levitated 😎
A wise Indian sage called Iarches would have a discourse with Apollonius after showing him the customs of the land - ritual bathing, singing praises to the gods, using an amber ointment to heat the body.
Next we have a possible ode to “Aham Brahmasmi” & Atmajnan - soul knowledge
Iarches explains the theory of reincarnation. The transmigration of the soul.
He draws on the Homeric epic, the Iliad, to build rapport with Apollonius.
Greece, Egypt, and India were the nations considered to birth godlike men.
Iarches narrates a legend of Ethiopians being expelled by Indians, the King of the Ganga in fact.
He exalts the Indian who doesn’t revel in sacking cities but instead building them as opposed to Achilles.
He then reveals that he was that same King of the Ganga in a past life.
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek chronicler in the Roman Empire. He collected fragments about Indian history.
Apparently, the average Indian encountered were big & tall versus other peoples. Greeks claimed it due to their diets (clue as to what it was I prior tweets) & environment.
Very famous assertions here:
-Dharmayuddha observed in wars + reverence of farmers
-Indians did not have slavery*
*Slavery is mentioned by Chanakya tho. I assume maybe the Indians they encountered didn’t practice it or Indian slaves weren’t as ill treated as the rest of world.
A rock temple most likely from the Deccan/Maharashtra region that had a great idol of Ardhanarishwar - form of Shiva Shakti.
Ganga also mentioned on top of the idol’s head. A clue to the unity of divinity and sacred geography in the Indian subcontinent.
I want to make this clear - the Greeks were fascinated by the *lifestyle* as well as knowledge of the Brahmins. The asceticism, non-violence, mysticism, & general purity of how they lived was amazing to them.
Live up to the lifestyle to earn the respect. Nussing else to say.
We must bid adieu to the Greco-Roman portion of our journey. Now we’ll join travelers from the Middle Kingdom on their journey to the West as the Chinese make pilgrimage to the Land of Dharma…
We continue our journey looking East to Chinese accounts of ancient India.
See the below for Part 2 of The India They Saw 🧵🇨🇳☸️
In this case, I will refer to strict subcontinental boundaries at inception, so I will skip Āryavarta in the Vedas & go directly to Bhārata - named after all-conquering King Bharata.
Here's an emphatic declaration from the Vishnu Purana. You cannot argue with geography...
Jambudvīpa, the Island of the Jambu (Indian blackberry) tree, is found across ancient literature as well.
The below excerpt shows how subcontinental the idea really was as the extreme south is directly correlated with extreme north for pilgrims.
A few thoughts on the (geo)political ramifications of the Pahalgam Massacre:
Firstly, we have to start with Pakistan. There was local support in Kashmir, but the signs point to Pakistani involvement whether via the actual terrorists (a couple have already been ID'ed as Pakistani) or just clandestine support from the Pakistani state.
If you look at it from their angle, this is a great time to pull this off. Whether Pakistanis are seen as strong-willed or numb, they've endured massive economic stress which now seems to be cooling. Simultaneously, Baloch & Pashtun lands have seen much more militant attacks recently. For the Pak Army, there's no better time to unite the Pakistani people via provoking India than now.
They won't seem desperate due to economy not being the *worst* it could be (while still being bad). And also they can rally around alleged Indian involvement in Balochi & Pashtun areas.
For India, it is an interesting situation to say the least. The economy is doing good, but could be doing better - much better in fact. Reforms are coming via state and some backend central moves (that may materialize or not) but for the centre, there is a looming notion of pulling the trigger of reform and going head to head with anti-development forces, something that could definitely result in electoral defeats and power loss.
This is a double-edged sword here. On one hand, Modi could use a riled up populace to sneak in reforms on the down low. On the other, it could be seen as too opportunistic in a time where he should be doing more to address the issue of Kashmir/Pakistan. Nonetheless, the initial diplomatic silo has been a solid and uncharacteristically quick first move. Keep an eye on how uniform the condemnation has been from the West & Gulf countries, this may play a role in further long term beyond military action like economic or diplomatic isolation that could bleed Pakistan over the years.
Kashmir has had issues recently with terror attacks, but it is relatively much more stable than pre-370 and easily much better than high octane periods like the 90s. Tourism and investments were rising. For local separatists, this wasn't a good situation. They do not want locals to let go of their very real religious bigotry & ethnic animus towards Hindus & Indians just for a couple of rupees. This attack in coordination with Pakistan helps kill the money train & slow motion normalization (some may say futile normalization).
One of the biggest precursors to the Meiji Restoration was the downfall of the samurai.
Once revered as emblematic warrior elites, they were now debased in the eyes of commoners.
This collapse of hierarchy would pave the way for a cataclysmic civil war changing Japan forever 🧵
The primary reason for their fall was their involvement in commercial affairs & subsequent deep debt many took on due to a weak hand when it came to finances:
The most kinetic aspect of this was the entry of commoners into formal armies in the form of mixed units (kiheitai), especially those of the Choshu domain.
The kiheitai were originally not that successful as Choshu commoners didn't respect the samurai, especially rebels (ronin).
In Hinduism, the Jivatman is said to be composed of 3 aspects:
-Sthula: Physical
-Sukshma: Mental
-Kāran: Causal
The Upanishads & Yoga Sutras explore this doctrine in-depth.
But what if we applied this doctrine to India itself? 🧵
Sthula
Regarding the Jivatman, sthula refers to the physical body that we use to engage with our senses & feelings.
It is the physical matter of our body. Our sensory organs help us observe the world.
Our Prana, the life force that sustains us & physiological processes.
For Indian civilization, this is its geography, structures, & people itself.
"The county north of the ocean & south of the snowy mountains..." as the Vishnu Puran says.
India is pilgrimages & structures made by its most important sthula element - its people.
Even those not in the Republic of India today still descend from those who, at one point in time, identified as Indians or were under the local rule of those who did. Genetics will forever display "Indianness" on their faces and cells in one way or another.
One of my most fascinating visits in India was going to Jama Masjid in Delhi.
Some confirmations & other surprises from my priors 🧵
Walking up to Jama Masjid firstly consists of walking through a bazaar up till the main gate & stairs.
Saw both Muslims & Hindus in the bazaar (more of former while latter were less & mostly shopping).
The grandness of the gate is the first thing that stands out to you once you reach. This theme of size & grandness is an important spark of thought as I walked across the mosque.
The mosque is Mughal architecture par excellence.
My visits in Istanbul, Jordan, & Dubai gave me a taste of Turkish & Arab styles, but here is where you really see the “Indo” in Indo-Islamic architecture.
The chhatris, ramparts, gates, “kalashes,” etc… all gave a distinctly Indian feel