Tags
codices, discovering mexico, Moon, Popol Vuh, Rahu, Rig-veda, Sun, Vedas, Vedic literature
The ancient Hindu texts are difficult to date because they are believed to have been passed down through oral tradition more than 100,000 years before being written down for the first time somewhere around 1400 BC to 900 BC.
The ancient texts of Vedas, sacred to Hindus, were composed by sages and poets from different priestly groups. The Vedic literature which contains the basis for the Hindu religion is composed of many books, the oldest among them being the Rig-veda, Yajur-veda, Sama-veda, and the Atharva-veda. There are also many other compositions like Upanishads, Puranas, Brahmanas and auxiliary texts called Vedangas.
The Maya account of the creation of the universe and mankind also began a long time ago and the story was handed down from generation to generation through the centuries. The account was finally recorded in hieroglyphics in the language of the Quiché Maya (they are considered as the inheritors of the legacy of the ancient Maya) in the highlands of Guatemala. The Popol Vuh, is the sacred religious book of the Maya. In 1558, a Guatemalan Mayan translated a hieroglyphic version of the Popol Vuh into his native language of Quiché. In the 1800’s, a Spanish priest, Padre Francisco Ximenez, found the translation in his church in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. He translated it into Spanish. After being lost for almost a hundred years, it was discovered and eventually taken to the Newberry Library in Chicago. Another sacred book is the Book of Chilam Balam of Chuyamel which was heavily influenced by post-Conquest Christian teachings. Only four hieroglyphic books called codices survived the mass destruction of the ancient texts by the Spaniards. These include the Dresden, Madrid and Paris codices and an unknown codex discovered in the 1970s. The sexual-religious contents of this much-discussed unknown codex have been such that some experts have proclaimed it as a textbook on Maya tantric knowledge, a strange similarity to the well-known ancient Hindu texts.
Furthermore, it is said that the hymn 121 of the book ten in the Rig-veda is very similar to the description of creation as found in the Popol Vuh. A fascinating similarity is the story of the churning of the milky ocean which is common to both the Hindu and Maya mythologies. It goes like this: Once a fierce battle took place in which all the Devas (demi-gods) were defeated. The Asuras (demons) brought all the wealth including the jar of ambrosia to their kingdom in Patala, the netherworld. But the Asuras were not destined to be the owner of this plundered wealth for too long as the entire wealth got submerged into the Milky Ocean. Meanwhile the Devas, after being defeated went to seek Lord Vishnu’s help. After giving a deep thought to the whole issue, Lord Vishnu advised them to patch up with the Asuras so that all the wealth could be retrieved from the ocean bed. The Devas went to Patalaloka and convinced the Asuras to participate in the churning of the ocean. When the process of churning of the ocean began, Mandarachal Mountain was used as a churner and the serpent Vasuki as the rope. Both, the Devas and the Asuras immersed the Mandarachal Mountain into the cosmic ocean but it sank down, as there was no base upon which it could be placed. So, Vishnu took the form of a tortoise and dived to the bottom of the cosmic ocean and held the mountain on his back. From the churned Milky Ocean emerged all planets, poisonous halahala, many treasures, and finally the jar of ambrosia. The Devas wanted to keep the entire jar of ambrosia. However, a serpent Asura named Rahu, disguised as a Deva, was able to get a share of the ambrosia. But, the Sun and the Moon discovered him. Rahu’s head was instantly cut off. However, as he had already ingested the ambrosia, he could not be killed. Even today, the head of Rahu tries to swallow the Sun and the Moon. Rahu represents the ascending node of the moon’s orbit, and swallowing of the Sun and the Moon represent symbolically the occurrence of the eclipses.
In the Dresden Codex there is a representation of this churning of ocean. The tortoise, however, is on the summit of the mountain-pestle instead of being beneath it, and the other form of the serpent god appears above his avatar. A snake is twisted round the mountain-pestle. Two dark gods, like the Asuras, hold one end of the snake while the other end is grasped by the elephant-headed god (the Hindu Lord Ganesh?). To the snake a symbol of the Sun is attached. The similarity of the picture to the churning of the Milky Ocean of the Hindu mythology is remarkable. The Dresden Codex contains glyphs representing eclipses and depicting the sun or the moon being devoured by a serpent. The similarity to the Hindu representation in which Rahu tries to devour the luminary object is unmistakable.
This article and a lot many interesting details were part of my epic book titled “Mexico: A grand voyage through the fascinating land with ancient links to India” which I completed in 2010. I set aside these incredible details when I converted the epic book into three e-books Discovering Mexico, Mexico: The Country, Its History & The Maya World and A Guide To Mexican Cuisine which are available for sale on this blog.
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Wow! It all sounds really interesting. How long did it take to write your book?
Hi Amber 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind comment. Well, it took about a year and a half of intense labour to complete my epic book “Mexico” which I later converted into three books 🙂 Do check the three books on Mexico in the pages above…keep visiting! Cheers 🙂
Very interesting how all religions have a common denominator
As in the Popul Vuh it talks about the parting of the seas and the lost tribes .Itzamna, the father god of the Maya in Yucatan ,was foretold of a flood and was given the advice to take to his boat to find a place to give birth again to the people. This town is called Izamal. You may know it?
Hi Valerie 🙂 Thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comment. So true, each ancient culture interpreted an event or happening in its own way. I know about Izamal (one of the oldest cities of the Maya) whose name is derived from the God Itzamná, but till now I’ve never read nor heard anything about the flood in relation to Izamal. Do keep visiting my blog… Cheers 🙂
Reblogged this on Earth ke(y)epers and commented:
Asiatics/Axiatics of AMeRiCas/ Al-MoRoC
Swarupa and Valerie, in Indian mythological fact there is a story where lord Vishnu takes in the form of big gigantic fish , and foretold the person about massive flood, and was given advice to take boat, in tat massive flood the big fish ( lord Vishnu) guards them to safe place,
Valerie go through this.
Hindu mythology there are four eras [yuga] – Satya yuga, Treta yuga, Dwapara yuga and Kali yuga. Each Yuga is supposed to be a day for Lord Brahma. One day of Lord Brahma is 4320 million human years. After the end of every yuga Lord Brahma goes to sleep. The power of Lord Brahma’s creation comes from the Vedas. When Lord Brahma sleeps there is no creation and the universe comes to an end.
Lord Vishnu is the God of Preservation. Whenever the earth was in danger and when evil threatens to overpower good, Lord Vishnu descends from the heaven to incarnate on the earth. There are ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu. [Dasavatar – Das meaning ‘ten’ and avatar is ‘incarnation’, the last avatar – Kalki avatar is yet to come] The first avatar of Lord Vishnu is called as Matsya Avatar [Matsya means ‘fish’].
In the Satya Yuga there was a king by name Manu. He was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. His greatest desire was to see Lord Vishnu with his own eyes. For this he performed severe penances for thousands of years.
The Satya Yuga was about to end and a great flood was to come and destroy all the life on earth to start afresh for the next Yuga. Lord Brahma after a day full of creation, was tired. He wanted to go to sleep and was soon snoring loudly.
While Lord Brahma was sleeping an asura Hayagriva emerged from Brahma’s nose. With Brahma asleep, Hayagriva realized that it was the right time to take in all the knowledge of the Vedas. Hayagriva concentrated and soon absorbed the knowledge in the Vedas. He then hid deep inside the ocean, thinking that nobody would find him there.
Lord Vishnu saw this and was worried. If the Vedas were stolen by the asura, the knowledge of the Vedas could not be passed on to the Next Yuga. As a Preserver, it was his job to make sure the knowledge survived to the next Yuga.
Wondering what to do, Lord Vishnu looked at Manu performing penance. Lord Vishnu smiled realizing that he could complete quiet a lot than just save the Vedas…
The next morning, Manu went to the river to begin his prayers. He took the water in his hands and held it high above his head and offered it to the Lord Vishnu to mark the beginning of his prayer. He was about to pour the water into the river, when he heard a tiny voice from his hands. ‘O great king! Please do not put me back in the river…’
Surprised Manu stared at his hands. In the palms of his hands was a tiny fish, squirming. The fish looked at Manu, pleading, ‘Please do not put me back in the water. There are so many bigger fishes in the water, they will eat me. Please, O great king…’
Manu looked at the tiny fish with pity. As a king it was his duty to protect anybody who came to him for help. The king readily agreed and put the fish inside his ‘kamandalam’. [Kamandalam is a small jug carried by sages in those days to carry water]
Manu finished his penance and went home for the night. He had left the fish inside the kamandalam, knowing that the fish would be safe inside. He woke up next morning hearing a strong voice, ‘O king…Help me…Your kamandalam is stifling me. I cannot breath in here…’ Surprised Manu looked at his kamandalam, only to find a big fish staring at him from the top of the kamandalam. The fish was pushing the sides of the jug as the jug was too small for it.
Overcoming his surprise, Manu ran inside his house to get a bigger vessel. The fish gulped few breaths and said softly, ‘Thank you, kind king.’
Manu smiled and was about to walk out the home to begin his morning prayers, when he heard an even more powerful voice, ‘King, this vessel in too small for me. Please get me another one.’
Manu blankly stared as the fish stared out of the vessel he had got just minutes back. The fish was again struggling for breath. Manu brought the biggest vessel in his house and threw the fish inside it. The fish thanked him and after checking that the vessel was big enough for the fish, still puzzled, was about to walk out of the house, when he heard a strong voice, ‘I am sorry this vessel is also not sufficient for me, king’
Manu stared in disbelief as he saw the huge fish stare out of the big vessel. However realizing that this was not the time for questions, he carried the fish and ran to the river, where he had found the fish and threw the fish inside.
The fish gulped a few breaths inside water, ‘Thank you…king. You have protected me. But please don’t leave me here. I am afraid the other bigger fishes may eat me…’
Manu began to get suspicious, but he was a king. He could not just stop protecting someone who had come to him for help. He stared at the fish for long and before his very eyes saw the fish getting larger and larger, till it had covered up the entire river.
The same routine followed again. Manu carried the fish from one river to another river, but the fish kept getting bigger.
Finally he dropped the fish inside the ocean, only to find that the fish grown to full one side of the ocean. Looking at gigantic fish, a sudden flash came to Manu. He bowed before the fish, ‘Narayana, you are Narayana..my Lord.’
The fish smiled, ‘You wanted to see me and here I have come.’ Manu stared with tears in his eyes, as a huge horn grew on the head of the fish.
‘My Lord, you have granted me my only desire. I want nothing more. What do you want me to do now?’ Manu said prostrating before the fish.
‘Manu, the Yuga is about to end in seven days. There will be a great flood and all living things on the earth would perish. I want you to build a big ship. Take the seeds of all plants, the male and female of every animal, and the seven sages along with their families. Take them all on the ship’
Manu nodded. The fish continued. ‘Don’t forget to bring Vasuki, the snake God also.’ Manu nodded again as he watched the fish tear through the ocean to the other side.
One half of the fish’s work completed, the fish went to the other side to complete the other reason for the incarnation. On the other end of the ocean, the fish saw Hayagriva guarding the Vedas. Seeing the huge fish, Hayagriva was terrified. What a huge fish…However no sooner than he had thought this, the fish attacked him. The fish was so huge, that a single push sent the asura reeling. Still dazed Hayagriva tried fighting the fish, but the fish was huge and powerful.
After a brief and futile struggle, the asura was dead. Once the asura was dead, the vedas imbibed by him went back to Lord Brahma, who was still asleep.
On the other side of the ocean Manu was building his ship. He had also brought the seven sages with their families.
Soon there were torrential rains which washed away everything. The water level kept increasing and very soon there was a flood. The ship wobbled and many times was about to capsize, but Manu and that others were steadfast in their belief that Lord Vishnu would protect them.
Soon the fish came as promised, ‘Manu, use Vasuki as a rope to tie my horn to the ship’ It bellowed loudly, above the roar of the rain.
Once the fish was tied to the ship, the fish guided the ship in sea and kept the ship safe while the storm raged outside. The fish taught the Vedas to Manu and the others during the voyage. After the storm abated and everything was washed away, the fish deposited the ship at Mount Himavan for the people there to continue the new yuga.
Hi, Sudheer. Thanks so much, do keep visiting 🙂