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GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
@GemsOfINDOLOGY
Aug 14, 2022 • 20 tweets • 18 min read • Read on X
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1/ #Thread

#Sanskrit was not limited to India it was far spread upto Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam 2000 years ago let's see the reach in this #Thread
*Map not political
Src #wikiwand
#Archaeology Image
2/ The earliest surviving Sanskrit inscription is from Vo Canh inscription discovered near Nha Trang, Vietnam dates 3rd century ce
The inscription ordains grand daughter of King indicating a Matrilineal society.
#Archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/V%C3%B5_C%E…
m.phnompenhpost.com/post-plus/epig… ImageImage
3/ Yūpa Mulawarman (H!ndu king) inscription in Indonesia written by Brahm!ns in Pallava Script, Borneo, Kutai, Indonesia
Dates 4 century ce

This attests to the emergence of an Indianized state in the Indonesian archipelago.

wikiwand.com/en/Y%C5%ABpa#/… Image
4/ Kebon Kopi or 'Tapak Gajah inscription', Indonesia dating 5th century ce describes elephant ride of King Purnawarman of Tarumanagara, which is equated with Airavata, the elephant vahana (vehicle) of Indra.
#Archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Kebon_Kopi_… ImageImage
5/ Tugu inscription in Pallava script in Sanskrit dates 5th century ce found in Batutumbuh hamlet, Tugu village, Koja, Indonesia

It describes hydraulic, irrigation and water drainage project of Chandrabhaga river by Rajadirajaguru

#Archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Tugu_inscri… Image
6/ Cidanghiang inscription, also called Lebak inscription, from Tarumanagara kingdom, estimated to be from the 4th century CE, Banten, Indonesia
It is abt a king Purnawarman, with title vikrānta, who was worshiper of Lord Vishnu.
#Archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Cidanghiang… ImageImage
7/ Prasasti Ciaruteun Inscription is 5th-century stone inscription discovered on the riverbed of Ciaruteun River, aWest Java, Indonesia.
The inscription states King Purnawarman is the ruler of Tarumanagara (An early H!ndu Kingdom)
#Archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Ciaruteun_i…
#Archaeology Image
8/
 Sanskrit inscription in Early Pallava script on a stone lying on the Pasir kole-angkak hill, Jambu, to the west of Bogor, Indonesia
C.5th century ce

#Archaeology
…italcollections.universiteitleiden.nl/view/item/84279 Image
9/
 "Suvarnbhumi" "सुवर्णभूमि" found inscribed in 'Sanskrit' on a 7th century slab in Cambodia
#Archaeology Image
10/
 Indonesian non-royal Sanskrit inscription dating 7th century describing how Sankara fulfilled his promise to his father to house a Linga 'representation of Shiva'
#archaeology
brill.com/view/journals/… ImageImage
11/
 Ligor inscription is an 8th-century stone stele or inscription discovered in Ligor, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Southern Thailand Malay Peninsula.
written by Mahārāja dyāḥ Pañcapaṇa kariyāna Paṇaṃkaran, king of Shailendra dynasty
#archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Ligor_inscr… Image
12/
 Sanskrit inscription found in Trowulan, Melang dating c.966 ce
#Archaeology
journals.openedition.org/archipel/1976 ImageImage
13/ Singapore Stone inscription written in Sanskrit 10th-13th century originally stood at the mouth of Singapore river to be blown by Britishers in 1843 to widen the river pathway

#archaeology
wikiwand.com/en/Singapore_S… Image
14/
 Few sanskrit writings found on pillars of Angkor Wat, Ta Nei, Kravan and Koh Ker temples Cambodia

#Archaeology
angkorphotographytours.com/blog/sanskrit-… Image
15/
More inscriptions at below link i skipped
wikiwand.com/en/Sanskrit_in…
15/
 Laguna copperplate inscription is an official acquittance inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 (Gregorian A.D. 900).
It is the earliest known calendar-dated document found within the #Philippines
#Archaeology #philippinehistory
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Co… ImageImageImage
16/
Sawlumin inscription is one of the oldest surviving stone inscriptions in Myanmar. The slabs were mainly inscribed in Burmese, Pyu, Mon and Pali, and a few lines in #Sanskrit. the stele was founded in 1079 by King Saw Lu of Bagan.

#archaeology
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawlumin_… Image
17/
 5.1 Engraved copper sheet of Harsavarman with Sanskrit inscription K.964 found in the ancient moat of U Thong, #Thailand;
5.2. Stone inscription in Sanskrit K.1155 found at Ban Phan Dung, #Thailand
c.7-8th century

#Archaeology
researchgate.net/figure/51-Engr… Image
18/
 #Sanskrit Inscription found in Brunei, a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea Brunei

#Archaeology
jstor.org/stable/41492843 ImageImage
19/
 300 CE stone inscription in Sanskrit read
"This is a few feet like the feet of Vishnu. They are the glorious footprints of Purnawarman, the great king of the land of Taruma, the valiant king of the world.”
Bogor, Java, Indonesia
#archaeology
kris-keris.eu/page/mystiek Image

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More from @GemsOfINDOLOGY

GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 25, 2025
1/ Every December, lights appear worldwide.

Diwali: diyas blaze during Kartik's darkest new moon (late Oct/early Nov).
Hanukkah: 8 candles in December.
Christmas: trees glow on Dec 25.
Yule, Dongzhi, Saturnalia... all cluster around winter solstice.

Why? 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 🕯️Image
2/ Rome, 217 BCE: Saturnalia begins Dec 17.

For one week, social order inverts. Slaves dine first. Masters serve. Courts close, gambling's allowed. Gifts exchanged: candles, wax figurines, pottery.

It celebrated Saturn's mythical "Golden Age"—a world without hierarchy.

Then normal life resumed.Image
3/ Fast-forward to 4th-century Rome: Christianity spreads.

Challenge: populations cling to winter festivals—Saturnalia, Sol Invictus (Dec 25 "Unconquered Sun"), local traditions.

Solution: 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭, don't erase.

Dec 25 becomes Christmas. Bible's silent on the date. Shepherds in fields suggest spring.

Same season, new meaning.Image
Read 9 tweets
GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 18, 2025
🧵 THREAD: Sambhar Lake didn’t become salty by accident.
It is the chemical footprint of the Aravallis. 🧂⛰️

Erase the hills, and the lake doesn’t shrink.
It dies.

#SaveAravalli Image
Image
Image
Image
@narendramodi @PMOIndia @mygovindia @TVMohandasPai @CPCB_OFFICIAL @PIB_India @moefcc 1/
Sambhar Lake sits at the NE edge of the Aravalli Range.
This is not coincidence.
It is a tectonic basin formed along ancient Aravalli fault lines.

No Aravallis → no Sambhar.
Simple geology. Ignored policy. Image
Image
Image
Image
2/
 The Aravallis are ~3.2–2.5 billion years old.
Among the oldest folded mountains on Earth.

Sambhar exists because these rocks fractured, weathered, subsided.
Deep time created today’s salt.

Not “desert evaporation folklore”.
Read 10 tweets
GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 17, 2025
1/
 #GemsofASI #2 : British ASI manuals still rule India.
Not symbolically. Institutionally.

India became independent in 1947.
Its archaeology did not.

The Archaeological Survey of India still operates on conservation doctrines framed between 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟒–𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟖, designed for colonial governance—not for a living civilisation.

#DecolonisationImage
2/
 The 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐜𝐭, 𝟏𝟗𝟎𝟒 wasn’t written to protect Indian culture.
It was written to **control it**.

Its goals were explicit:
• Centralise authority
• Isolate monuments from locals
• Treat ritual use as damage
• Convert living sites into silent ruins

This logic never left ASI.Image
3/
 British conservation doctrine insisted:
“Preserve the monument in the condition in which it is found.”

In Europe, that meant stabilising already-dead ruins.

In India, it meant 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡.

One rule. Two civilisations. Very different consequences.
scribd.com/document/44447…Image
Read 13 tweets
GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 16, 2025
1/9
 Ever hear of the Santhal Hul? Two years BEFORE the 1857 "Sepoy Mutiny" that history books love to call India's "first war of independence," the Santhal tribes rose up in 1855 against British exploitation. This was pure grassroots fury – bows and arrows vs. an empire. Let's dive in. 🏹Image
2/9
 Background: The British "invited" Santhals to clear forests in the Rajmahal Hills (Damin-i-Koh, now Jharkhand/Bihar/WB) for farming and revenue. Sounded good – until zamindars, moneylenders (mahajans), and corrupt officials turned it into a nightmare. Debt traps, land grabs, exorbitant interest, forced labor. Santhals called outsiders "dikus" – exploiters.Image
3/9
 The spark: Brothers Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu (plus Chand, Bhairav, and sisters Phulo & Jhano) claimed divine visions from Thakur Bonga (their god) commanding them to rebel and establish Santhal rule. On June 30, 1855, at Bhognadih village, 10,000+ Santhals gathered, took oaths, and declared war on the dikus.Image
Read 9 tweets
GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 15, 2025
#GemsOfASI #1

ASI was founded in 1861, not to protect India’s past—but to manage it.

The Archaeological Survey of India was created by the British Empire, staffed by military engineers, and embedded inside colonial administration. The name "Survey" itself says it all.

This matters.Image
2/
 ASI’s first Director General, Alexander Cunningham, was a Royal Engineers officer.

His training was not in living cultures.
It was in surveying, mapping, classification, and control.

Archaeology was an imperial tool. Image
3/
 The mandate was clear:
• Identify ruins
• Catalogue monuments
• Standardise interpretation
• Detach sites from communities

A living civilisation is unpredictable.
Ruins are manageable. Image
Read 11 tweets
GemsOfINDOLOGY Profile picture
Dec 12, 2025
🧵🏰 What kind of fort gets called "minor" at 2,700 feet with multi-tiered defences visible for miles?

The kind that didn't fit colonial narratives. Rayadurgam Fort, Anantapur — massive, sophisticated, erased.

We're still using their textbooks. The stones outlasted empires. The lie outlasted the stones.

#GemsofASI MNI#20

1/15Ancient stone fort perched atop a rocky hill, winding battlements and stairways bathed in warm golden sunset light.
🛕 Built by 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐚 𝐍𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐤𝐚 (1520s–30s), this was a Vijayanagara frontier fort controlling movement between AP & Karnataka. Colonial historians later downgraded it as "minor". Minor? A 2,700-ft citadel controlling two regions. But the empire narrative couldn't accommodate decentralised power. So it became "minor".

2/15Bearded, armored ruler with sword and staff overseeing laborers building a massive stone fort wall from scaffolding and blocks beneath a dusty sky
⛰️ At ~𝟐,𝟕𝟐𝟕 𝐟𝐭, Rayadurgam was built for surveillance: long-range visibility, multi-tiered access paths, natural cliffs turned to defence. But British-era archaeology catalogued it under 'regional ruins'. Right — altitude high, curiosity low. Classic imperial scholarship.

3/15Steep rocky hill with ruined stone fortifications and terraced walls, scattered vegetation and a rectangular ruin at the base under a cloudy sky
Read 15 tweets

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