During Mahabharata times, in 3100 BCE, i.e. 5000 years ago, this game was known as Ashta Pada. Ashta is eight and Pada means foot, steps. i.e. a game that was played on a board with 8x8 squares.
One of the earliest physical evidence of chess having been played in India more than 5000 years ago, comes from Dholavira, a Sindhu Sarasvati civilization city then and an archaeological site today. Dholavira is located in the present day state of Gujarat.
Jul 16, 2020 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
#Myth: India only had an oral system.Writing came much later.
#Reality: India used both oral and written forms of communication, from very early days, i.e. Puranic days, depending on need.
SCRIPT VS SPOKEN
A language comprises of two distinct facets – the spoken sound and the written script.
The spoken sounds of a language can be written using different scripts.
The language spoken during Mahabharata times was similar to the present Samskrt language.
Jul 13, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
INDIAN SHIP SIZES
Vasco da Gama’s Ratification
The ratification for this comes from Vasco da Gama’s logs.
Vasco da Gama reached India sailing around Africa in 1497 and is credited with having found the sea route to India.
But Vasco da Gama, had written in his logs, how, he had travelled down in the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Verde to Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
#Reality: In the traditional education system of India, caste played no role.
All are led to believe, that the Gurukula system of education that existed in India through the centuries was only meant for the Brahmins and that there was no other education system in the land.
Jun 30, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Myth: #Chilli was brought to India by the Portuguese 500 years ago
Reality: Chilli existed in India even before the arrival of the Portuguese.
If Portuguese had brought chilli to India, then we would have had only the few varieties of chillies that they had imported into India.
But, if we look at the food habit of India, chilli has been cultivated and consumed all across India, for centuries. There are a wide variety of species, with different colors, shapes, flavours, and spiciness.
Lunar eclipses occur only on Full Moon & Solar eclipses occur only on New Moon. Eclipses by nature, do not occur on every Full Moon or New Moon. Generally in a year, there occur around 5 to 6 eclipses & not all r usually visible from same place.
3 eclipses occurring back to back, in 2 successive fortnights, in a 30 day span, is a bit rare indeed.
Krishna Dwaipayana observes such a celestial event & records this with amazement.
A Paksha, fortnight is the duration between a New Moon to Full Moon or a Full Moon to New Moon
How do we explain the monkeys in Ramayana? If Rama was historical, how could people of those time converse with monkeys?
Monkey is a term that has been loosely used in last couple of 100 yrs to explain the term Vanara in English language.
The term Vanara when analyzed, can give us vital suggestive clues, some of them being:
•People of the forest or Vana –Vana nara
•Vanara could be an exclamatory ! word as in “Are they human too?” Vah nara? So human like, yet so different !
Mar 19, 2020 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
AGARBATTI
Agar is an evergreen tree which mainly grows in the tropical climate of India & neighbouring lands.
Agar is a fragrance that is obtained when the heartwood of the Agar tree is attacked by a fungal infection & gives out a resin, which gets embedded in the heartwood.
The infected portion of the tree trunk becomes darker in colour and it is these portions which give out the most exotic smell in the world, when burnt.
Indians will readily relate to Agar when the word Agarbatti is mentioned.
Mar 12, 2020 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Air pollution, in the eyes of our ancients went beyond visible dust & fumes to the invisible sub atomic particles, microbes & bad vibes too.
The way to purify air, was to battle bad air with good air. For, it is only air that can reach as high as air & undo the damage in bad air
Performing #Homa createed good smoke which carried both neutralizing / purifying molecules as well as sound vibrations / electromagnetic waves that could then pervade through the air & cleanse it of both particulate matter & harmful radiation energies.
In the south west coast of India, in the town of Udupi, #Krishna continues to give us a glimpse of His childhood form through an idol that He had gifted to Rukmini, His wife more than 5100 years ago.
As legends tell, inorder to satisfy His mother Devaki’s desire to relive the moments of His childhood, #Krishna had an idol sculpted out of Saligrama stone by Vishwakarma, the architect. This idol was later given to Rukmini.
Feb 10, 2020 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
THE ASURA
Asura was not the name of a specific clan or offspring that originated from Rishi Kashyapa.
The word Asura was used as an adjective or form of address, for various clans other than the Deva or Sura clan.
Literary scholars studying the Veda have identified that in the older verses of the Veda, the word”Asura” was used in the context of “lording” or “lordship”, i.e. “master of ”. Even the Deva such as Indra, Varuna & others were referred to be Asuratva, lordly or having control of.
Jan 27, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Due to this dominance of India in all fields, for the last few 1000s of years, the world’s #PrimeMeridian was passing through India. The Zero meridian then passed through Avantika, the ancient name for present day #Ujjain.
This meridian passing through Ujjain, starting from North Pole & passing all the way down to the South Pole, has been repeatedly mentioned by many of the ancient geographers of India and the world. Notable among them are Aryabhatta, Varahamihira, Bhaskaracharya etc.
Dec 31, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
INOCULATION IN INDIA
In India, the disease of Small Pox had been prevalent through the ages. There was a regular system, whereby physician would go around inoculating ppl with cow pox, which they called as “Govasoori”. This has been recorded by early British officers in India.
Dr.John Zephaniah Holwell, Fellow of the Royal Society, was a surgeon and an employee of the English East India Company serving as a temporary Governor of Bengal. He was also one among the first few Europeans to study Indian antiquities.
Dec 23, 2019 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Lying spread across Afghanistan & #Pakistan is a region called #Kalash. The part of Kalash inside Pakistan is called Chitral.
This region has been populated from over 5000 years by people whose beliefs & customs are similar to those of the #Veda. #BreakingTheMyths#AboutIdentity
With Indra as their chief deity, called Indr & with idol, temple & Nature form of worship, these ppl live a Vedic way of life.
They r therefore, commonly dubbed as infidels or Kafirs by the Islamic community & #Kalash has also been derogatorily called Kafirstan, land of infidels.
Dec 19, 2019 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
THE JOURNEY OF ZERO
The English word Zero draws its origin from Indian word shunya as it travelled from India, westward.
The travel of Zero from India to Europe, through Persia, Arabia, Central Europe to England & through the centuries, shows how & when Shunya morphed to Zero.
While there seems to be no connection linguistically between the word Shunya and Zero, this travel chart of Zero, shows not only the geographical route taken but also the linguistic route it morphed through.
According to the Indian thought, 16 Guna, qualities, make a complete and perfect human being, they being
1. Gunavan - having many auspicious good qualities 2. Veeryavan - possessing the capacity to subdue others with divine weapons
3. Dharmajna - knower of the means of transcendental bliss, good etc.
4. Krtajna-one who remembers even small help rendered incidentally but does not remember the troubles given by others
Sep 14, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
#DaraShikoh, was the son of Shah Jahan the Mughal king and his Queen Mumtaz Mahal, after whom the Taj Mahal has been built.
Dara Shikoh was the heir apparent to the Mughal throne, till his brother Aurangazeb, publicly disgraced and beheaded him.
Dara Shikoh, in 1657, translated 50 Upanishads from #Samskrt into Persian as Sirr-e-Akbar, “The Greatest Mysteries” which the French orientalist, Anquetil Du Perron, who visited India between 1755 & 1761, translated from Persian into French & Latin, under the title “Oupnek’hat.”
Sep 13, 2019 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
Calculus originated from Indian
This study of Calculus, while it has had its roots in the age old Indian philosophies, blossomed & took on a finite form between 1300s CE & 1600s CE, with a line of stalwart mathematicians such as Madhava, Nilakantha, Acyuta Pisarati and so on.
They worked on & leveraged the platform established by Pingala, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara I & II and so on during earlier centuries.
Caspian Sea, Kashmir and Kashgar is a triangle of three regions. On the Indian side, it is believed that the names of these regions are derived from Rishi Kashyapa.
The populace as per the Indian system of classification was divided into various groups, based on various aspects, such as their character, physical traits, their skills, the region they inhabited & so on.
Sep 3, 2019 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
SIMILAR GODS & GODDESSES
There exists a lot of similarity between the Japanese & Hindu pantheon of divinities both in form & function.
Many Hindu Gods got integrated into Indian Buddhism & travelling far & wide, reached Japan. In Japan they got an exalted position. For example,
• God Brahma and Bonten in Japan.
• God Narayana is depicted as Naraenten in Japan
• There are a few deities revered in Japan which are similar in form & function to the divinity Shiva in India such as,
- Daikokuten in Japan for Mahakala
- Daijizaiten in Japan for Mahesvara