Tradition, Culture, Religion & Law in Indian Society

[Cyrano]

I haven't watched the first one but did watch the bhoota kola song on YT and I was fascinated.

Then check this out

https://youtu.be/oYK6JU7Nx38?si=JWPNQEosKlVMWvK-

[Cyrano]

And this one takes it to another level

https://youtu.be/g18l2w83l7E

[Hriday]

I did not like Kantara at all. It had a fantastic concept but terribly poor execution.

Are all of you talking about the first picture Kantara or the recently released Kantara: Chapter 1 which is a prequel as per Wikipedia?

I haven't watched the first one but did watch the bhoota kola song on YT and I was fascinated.

Yes my post was about the first picture Kantara.

[uddu]

Sabarimala Gold 'Scam' Rocks Kerala: BJP Chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar EXCLUSIVE | Plain Speak
A sacred shrine like Sabarimala would end up with 4.5kgs of gold missing is shocking to start with and is unforgivable to say the least. But I think there is an overall systematic culture of corruption that has crept into the Kerala government.

Neither has the Devaswom Board chief resigned, nor did the Devaswom minister. Pinarayi Vijayan is a weak CM, he can't even make these ministers in his government resign.

This is not an issue of control of the government but about the accountability that a government takes. Under the constitution, the state government has the control of the Devaswom Boards, with that comes accountability.

[Rudradev]

viewtopic.php?p=2662016#p2662016

Yes, I was talking about the original movie Kantara as well.

[Manish_P]

One pillar of the Indian state, the Media, commenting on the other pillar, the Judiciary

A snippet of an Ajeet Bharti interview

[A_Gupta]

[chetak]

[chetak]

[chetak]

Happy Deepawali to all

[Cyrano]

Deepavali shubhaakankshalu to all the BRF members and their near and dear.

Crackers phodo our BIF ke bhoot bhagao !

[Hriday]

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa once remarked, if tears appear when you tell the name of God then no further work is required for Moksha. Your own nature will carry out the work of Sadhana (penance).

Though the above state is too high for the common man there are still some rare temporary occurrences of this state. One example is Feroz Khan who played Arjun in B R Chopra's Mahabharat serial. After his work in Mahabharat, Feroz changed his name to Arjun as he felt deeply affected by his role as Arjun. As per him his mother also calls him Arjun in their home. There is a YouTube video of him crying after the shooting of the last scene in Mahabharat. The soul stirring music in Mahabharat, the realistic and very dignified performance by actors all created a glimpse of the spiritual aura of ancient India. For a newcomer with a developed mind this sudden meeting with Hinduism with its teachings of universal love, its long glorious history etc will be overwhelming. It is like one suddenly entered the land of Devas and then realising one day that the stay is over and have to return to the gross world.

YouTube video of 3.39 minutes duration given below.

[VKumar]

Pankaj Dhir, who played Karan in the epic, sadly passed away last week. May he attain moksha

[chetak]

Resplendent Ayodhya

[Vayutuvan]

Diwali Dazzle Worldwide
DD India



A very nice special from DD News on Deepavali celebrations across the world

NZ, Australia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Germany, The Netherlands, Paris, Madrid, and Toronto.

[Vayutuvan]

Diwali in Trafalgar Square London 2025 || ट्राफलगर स्क्वायर में दिवाली || Dancing in the Sq || DIL

Oct 13, 2025 #london #diwali2025 #trafalgar

Trafalgar Square celebrated the Mayor of London’s annual Diwali on the Square on 12th October 2025, right in the heart of London.

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is an important celebration for Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities. It symbolises the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Diwali on the Square brought people from all over the UK and abroad together for a joyful day of light, hope, and unity.

The day was packed with exciting activities that included
• a colourful opening dance sequence with 200 dazzling dancers
• a main stage showcasing music, dance, and performances from London’s Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities
• family-friendly activities like sari and turban tying, yoga, meditation, puppet shows, and dance workshops
• comedy, cookery theatres, and henna
• a bustling market and food stalls offering tasty vegan and vegetarian treats.

It was a fantastic day out for everyone to enjoy – Wishing you a Happy Diwali 2025

I feel that PIOs of the UK are very confident. They are way more confident than the PIOs of the US. They have more experience with the British than we in the US have with the Americans. Moreover, UK PIOs are there by right of being oppressed for two centuries in India itself. Here we are as much usurpers as the Europeans who came here before us and exterminated the native Americans.

[S_Madhukar]

Pankaj Dhir, who played Karan in the epic, sadly passed away last week. May he attain moksha

Indeed! I recall in an interview it was his idea to not blink when delivering his lines when playing Karna. Also he got this role because he refused to shave his moustache when he was being offered Arjun/Brihannala!

[bala]

Fireworks Fourth of July IshStyle..

https://x.com/marinebharat/status/1979914812852486546

// watch the video by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on occasion of Diwali

[Hriday]

Diwali and Holi are the biggest festivals in India but look totally disconnected from the Hindu roots. So disconnected that even seculars who don't want anything to do with Hinduism had the comfort to wish on these holidays.
What surprises me is that even the right wings in social media seems not bothered about it.

[uddu]

https://x.com/MumukshuSavitri/status/19 ... 8035668407

@MumukshuSavitri
Sabeer, don’t venture into subjects that you know nothing about - you sound like a pompous fool.

Your claim that fireworks “arrived” in India with the Mughals is completely blown to pieces by evidence - fireworks were already blazing across the skies of India centuries before the Mughals. In 1442 CE, the Persian ambassador Abdur Razzak, was sent by Timurid ruler Shah Rukh, to visit the Vijayanagara Empire and recorded his travels in Matla-us-Sadain wa Majma-ul-Bahrain. He described the Mahanavami festival at Vijayanagara as a spectacle of pyrotechnic fireworks and regal illuminations. This is an irrefutable evidence that proves there were organized firework displays during festivals in India a century before the Mughals came to India.

Several decades later, Portuguese chronicler Domingo Paes (c. 1520 CE) witnessed the same grandeur at Hampi, writing of “many fiery rockets and different sorts of fires… castles that burn and fling out bombs and rockets.” That was 6 years before Babur. These firsthand accounts offer irrefutable proof that India’s mastery of fireworks and rocketry was already flourishing long before any Mughal atishbazi.

The Sanskrit scientific texts reinforce this with older evidence. The Śukranīti (written earlier than 4th c.) gives the exact proportions for gunpowder - 5 parts saltpetre, 1 part sulphur, 1 part charcoal. The ancient Rishi Vaiśampāyana referred to exploding smoke-balls used in war, which later commentators identify as gunpowder devices, while the Rājalakṣmīnārāyaṇa Śraya of the Atharvaṇa Rahasya uses the explosive blending of sulphur and charcoal as a metaphor for illumination through knowledge.

Linguistically, Sanskrit agnicūrṇa (“fire-powder”) and Tamil marundhu / Kannada maddu / Telugu mandu/ Malayalam marunnu are all ancient terms which show how the science of combustion with gunpowder was well known to Indians millennia ago. Plus with ancient expertise in saltpetre extraction, India clearly possessed both the materials and the know-how of explosive chemistry well before such knowledge reached the Islamic or Chinese worlds.

Dr. Gustav Oppert, in his study of the Nītisāra (3rd c.) noted that the Indian formula for gunpowder closely matches the one found in the Chinese Wujing Zongyao (1044 CE) which gives the first Chinese specific chemical formulas for gunpowder. This suggests that India’s formulation predates the Chinese recipe. Meanwhile, Chinese Taoist alchemists stumbled upon gunpowder accidentally while experimenting for the elixir of immortality - yet much of Taoist alchemy itself had absorbed Ayurvedic and Rasāyana Śāstra influences. The usage of mercury and cinnabar in Chinese alchemy (waidan) elixir recipes was directly derived from Indian metallurgical and rasāyana methods transmitted by Buddhist monks centuries earlier.

European historians like Johann Beckmann and M. Langlès have even acknowledged that the Arabs most likely obtained gunpowder from India, not vice versa.

The bottom line is that Hindus had both fireworks and gunpowder centuries before the Mughals even existed.
We had mastered the art of turning light, knowledge, and chemistry into joy through fireworks at our important Hindu festivals like Mahanavami and Deepavali. This was perfectly in sync with the tradition of Ulka Dāna as specified in the ancient Skanda Purāṇa. Ulka-dāna meant offering or holding blazing firebrands and fireworks to light the way for our Pitris (ancestors) to return to the heavenly realm during the time of Pitṛpakṣa, Mahalaya, and Dīpāvalī.

Next time you watch a Diwali firework pierce the night sky, remember - that blaze is way older than the Mughals, their empire or Islam, and far brighter than the darkness of your ignorance.

So cut the nauseating fake historical Gyaan already - this ain't Hotmail - outdated, overhyped, and permanently out of service.

[uddu]

President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple
Kerala: President Droupadi Murmu offered prayers at the famous Sabarimala Temple during her visit to the state. The President’s temple visit marks a moment of spiritual significance and respect for Kerala’s revered pilgrimage site dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. Devotees and officials welcomed her with traditional rituals and warm hospitality.

[uddu]

https://x.com/ShefVaidya/status/1981233458321195089
@ShefVaidya
Think my home state of Goa is just about beaches and beer? Think again. Beyond the beach lies a Goa that carved its story on stone long before there was even a word for history.

Down by the serene banks of the Kushavati River, near Rivona in South Goa, lies Ponsaimol. On an ancient laterite riverbed, archaeologists found Goa’s oldest storytellers, geoglyphs, etched into rock perhaps 20,000 years ago, maybe even older.

Most prehistoric carvings in India cling to cave walls or boulders, hidden from the sun. But here in Goa, our ancestors chose open skies and flowing water as their canvas.

See carefully and you will notice humped bulls, graceful deer, labyrinths, giant footprints, and mystical human figures etched on the stone. The Ponsaimol geoglyphs whisper of a time when humans lived by the river, hunting, fishing, and foraging, watching the stars wheel above them.

These engravings link Goa to the larger Konkan geoglyph tradition, creating a silent map of memory that tells us people have lived, dreamed, and created here for tens of thousands of years.

So, the next time you head to Goa, skip the shack and sunscreen for a morning exploring the geoglyphs of Drive Ponsaimol. Stand on the river bed, and look beneath your feet. You’re standing on the earliest pages of Goa’s story.

Follow me for more such stories about Goa, that very few people outside Goa know.

[Vayutuvan]

...

(Sorry for reposting the image, but read on.)

This image is exactly what we used to draw as children of the famous padmavyooham AKA chakravyooham described in mahaabhaaratam in which abhimayu is murdered.

[Amber G.]

^^^ @uddu et-al - Thank you all so much for sharing these fascinating images! The visuals were deeply appreciated and it provided a wonderful glimpse into genius of the ancient texts. It's amazing to see how such complex formations like the Chakravyuha and Padmavyuha were visualized .

FWIW For future reference, and just for clarity some additional comments:

- The archaeological facts about the carving itself are same as Archaeological Survey of India, (& Wikipedia citing multiple sources).

- The location ( Ponsaimol/Usgalimal, on the banks of the Kushavati River etc) are correct. It is a petroglyph of a unicursal labyrinth. It is officially the oldest known labyrinth.

- Dating estimates are generally in the Mesolithic to Neolithic period (e.g., 8,000 BCE to 1,500 BCE), with some pinning the labyrinth specifically at around 4,500 years old) Nit-Pick: The exact date is impossible to confirm using carbon dating as there are no carbonaceous artifacts on the exposed rock. The dating is an estimate based on comparative archaeology and IMO not 'Pre-historic').

-Chakravyuha/Padmavyuha Connection - No doubt about visual Similarity! The formation and the subsequent battle are detailed in the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata.   The vyuha is described as a multi-tiered defensive formation resembling a blooming lotus (Padma) or disc (Chakra), with seven concentric rings that rotate to trap the enemy.

अहं हि सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि व्यूहं दुर्भेद्यं सुरैरपि।
चक्रव्यूह इति ख्यातो येन मृत्युर्विनिश्चितः॥

(Rough Translation/sense - Chakravyuha, its characteristic (impenetrability), and its grim purpose (certain death for the one who tries to enter. And geometric shape is described....where Dronacharya creates the formation and where the tragic story of Abhimanyu unfolds.

[Hriday]

I had posted a short description of Graham Hancock's book, Fingerprints of the Gods. The main theme of the book is the destruction of the ancient advanced civilizations about 12,000 years ago and the description of that catastrophic event in the many ancient writings and societies all over the world. Link to my post given below.
viewtopic.php?p=2639148#p2639148

In his website Graham presents Bibhu Dev Misra's article on the same subject.

https://x.com/Graham__Hancock/status/17 ... DQYbQ&s=19

Bibhu Dev Misra's latest article on my website (linked below) explores comet impact mythology within Rigvedic legends, examining the similarities with this type of mythology found all over the ancient world.

Link below.
https://grahamhancock.com/dmisrab16/

Some excerpts given below without quote function. My comments in braces.

Indra Killed Vritra in 9703 BCE: The Rigvedic description of the Comet Impact that ended the last Ice Age

Around 12,900 years ago (10,900 BCE), temperatures suddenly plummeted to glacial-like conditions for a period of nearly 1200 years. It was as if some giant freezer switch had been flipped. The glaciers began to advance to their Ice Age positions. This period of sudden cooling is called the Younger Dryas (YD) period..

In 2007, a team of international scientists led by Richard B. Firestone found compelling evidence that that the earth was bombarded by multiple fragments of a giant disintegrating comet nearly 12,900 years ago, (c.10,900 BCE) which destabilized the Laurentide Ice Sheet and triggered the Younger Dryas cooling. The shock waves and biomass burning generated by this catastrophic impact even led to the extinction of 35 genera of North American Pleistocene megafauna, and ended the prehistoric Clovis culture.

The Younger Dryas period, which extended for roughly 1200 years from c.10, 900 to 9,700 BCE, ended as abruptly as it had started, for reasons not clearly understood. Geologists from the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen, studied the Greenland ice-core data in 2008 and concluded that the Ice Age ended exactly in 9703 BCE. Ice Core researcher Jorgen Peder Steffensen wrote that, “Then, finally 11,703 years before 2000 AD, the climate flipped back into a warmer mode where it has remained ever since.
In spite of the fact that the end of the last Ice Age has been narrowed down to a specific year i.e. 9703 BCE, scientists don’t know what caused this sudden reversal in temperatures. However, the legends and sacred texts left behind by our ancestors provide some tantalizing clues.
The Rigvedic legend of Indra killing the dragon Vritra, which has been repeated in many hymns of the Rig Veda, appears to be describing a blistering volley of impacts from a comet swarm as being the causative agent for the end of the Ice Age. The echoes of the same story can be found in the Mesopotamian legend of Marduk slaying the water dragon Tiamat, the Cherokee folktale of the God of Thunder killing the monstrous water serpent Uktena, and the Greek legend of Zeus killing the serpent-headed monster called Typhon.
...
The foremost achievement of Indra, for which he had been extolled in many hymns, was the smiting of the dragon Vritra (“the enveloper”), and releasing the waters of the Seven Rivers that had been “imprisoned” by Vritra.
..
It is obvious that the hymns describe an event of monumental importance that occurred in the Himalayas in the distant past, for there are unambiguous references to the “Seven Rivers”, which are the seven tributaries of the Indus River that are collectively called Sapta-Sindhu. For instance,
“He, men, is Indra, Who slew the Dragon, freed the Seven Rivers, and drove the kine forth from the cave of Vala” (RV 2.12.2-3).
..
One of the earliest observations along these lines came from geologist B. P. Radhakrishna, who wrote in the book Vedic Sarasvati: Evolutionary History of a Lost River of Northwestern India (1999) that,
..As and when the climate became warmer, the glaciers began to break up and the frozen water held by them surged forth in great floods, inundating the alluvial plains in front of the mountains. This was a great event and no wonder, the early inhabitants of the plains burst into song praising Lord Indra for breaking up the glaciers and releasing water which flowed out in seven mighty channels (Sapta Sindhu). The analogy of a slowly moving serpent (Ahi) for describing the Himalayan glacier is most appropriate.
..
The name Marduk was pronounced as Marutuk,7 which sounds uncannily similar to Marutvat, an epithet of Indra, which means “the leader of the Maruts” (the Maruts are a group of sky-gods who accompany Indra).
..
Marduk’s thunderbolt and the “vajra” in the hands of Indra look exactly similar; both resemble double tridents.
..
The Rigvedic hymns inform us that Indra had hurled “the bolt with thousand spikes and hundred edges” to shatter the body of Vritra and release the imprisoned waters. This seems to imply that a shower of large, sharp projectiles – most likely stony meteors or cometary debris – had impacted the Himalayan ice-caps and triggered the collapse of the ice dams, and the subsequent meltdown.
..
Even though the Rigvedic hymns generally describe Indra as a powerful god riding a chariot pulled by a pair of horses, one of the hymns praising his feat of slaying Vritra describes him as a “horse’s tail”:

“A horse’s tail wast thou when he (Vritra), O Indra, smote on thy bolt; thou, God without a second” (RV 1.32.12).

This conjures up the imagery of a comet since the curvy, white dust tail of a comet bears a resemblance to the tail or mane of a horse. The Roman philosopher Pliny mentioned a class of comets called “hippeus” or “horse comets”12, having plumes much like horses’ manes in rapid motion.
..
{My comments: See the picture of the comet below and description below the picture given in the article.}


Figure 5: Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, over the Pacific Ocean as viewed from the ESO Paranal Observatory. The white dust tail of a comet can be imagined as the tail or mane of a horse in motion. Credit: ESO/Sebastian Deiries, (CC BY 4.0)
..
The Maruts as a Comet Swarm
The idea of Indra being a “horse comet” is aligned with the hypothesis of Prof. R.N. Iyengar of the Indian Institute of Science, who had argued with substantial evidence in the paper titled, “Comets and Meteoritic Showers in the Rig Veda and their Significance”14 that the group of Rigvedic deities called Maruts, who were the followers of Indra (Indra is called Marutvat i.e. “Chief of the Maruts”), were actually “meteoritic storms”.
..
There are 33 hymns dedicated to the Maruts in the Rig Veda. They are described as a group made up of 27 to 60 fierce sons of Rudra (Shiva). Most of the hymns describe them as brilliant celestial objects who move in swarms and appear like shining stars. Their roaring sound induces fear in the minds of men, and they hurl stones that disturb the oceans, shatter mountains and human dwellings, and kill animals. Once, they created an impact crater filled with water. They also eat up the forests with their bright red flames.

Prof. Iyengar believes that such hymns can only refer to a “swarm of meteors” that periodically enter into the earth’s atmosphere and cause widespread havoc. Let us review some of these descriptions from the Rig Veda, as documented by Prof. Iyengar:
..
They move the mountains and disturb the oceans (RV I.19.5, 6, 7).
..
All creatures on earth, along with their dwellings, shake in fear that they might get hit by the weapons of Maruts. The tearing weapons of Maruts hit animals like well-aimed darts. Maruts are visible at a distance, shining like stars (RV I.166). They come in thousands like waves on water (RV I.168.4). They came down to earth together, effortless, with burning looks and shook the mountains (RV I.168.5). Far be from us, your impetuous shaft. Far from us be the stone you hurl (RV I.172.2).
..
I would like to take the argument forward and propose that the Maruts were likely to have been a “swarm of comets”. This is because the Maruts were said to be a “fixed number of deities”, numbering between 27 and 60. If the Maruts were meteoroids (which are typically small grains of dust or fist-sized pebbles) they would have burnt up and dissipated on atmospheric entry or upon striking the earth’s surface. But a swarm of comets can come close to the earth, strike the surface with stony debris, and move away, thereby retaining the number of members in the swarm.
..
We now reach a rather incredible conclusion: Indra had killed Vritra in exactly 9703 BCE! It is quite amazing to realize that, it is, in fact, possible to assign a specific date to this famous Rigvedic legend, which has its counterparts in the traditions of many other cultures.
..
The Taurid Resonant Swarm
Prof. R.N. Iyengar, whose insightful paper on comet showers in the Rig Veda I had referred to earlier, had associated the Maruts with the Taurid meteor stream. He provided specific evidence from the Vedic texts to support his argument. He wrote that the Vedic text called Taittiriya Brahmana (which is a branch of the Krishna Yajurveda) “associates a season with Maruts, namely the hemanta rtu (i.e. autumn) the dewy season, which is the two-month period ending with the winter solstice”. As we know, this is the time of the year when the Earth passes through the Northern Taurid meteor stream.
..
He further pointed out that another Vedic-era text called the Taittiriya Aranyaka (which is also a branch of the Krishna Yajurveda) mentions two different groups of related sky deities – rudra-gana and marut-gana. Prof. Iyengar wrote,
..
As Prof. Iyengar pointed out, in the Vedic astronomical texts, the sky deities called Rudra-Gana, who appeared in the summer season, were described as “white-robed”. That’s because the Beta Taurids, which is active from June 5 – July 18, is a daytime shower, and the meteors, if at all they are visible, appear as white streaks of light. On the other hand, the Vedic texts describe the marut-gana, who appear in autumn, as being “red with anger”. This is because the Northern Taurid meteors, which blaze through the skies between October 20 to December 10, have a yellow, orange or reddish hue.
..
The research carried out by Clube, Napier, Asher, and their colleagues indicate that the giant progenitor comet of the Taurids still remains hidden in the center of the Taurid stream, moving within a tightly packed swarm consisting of several minor comets formed by the fragmentation of the progenitor (all of which are probably in a dormant state), and dozens of full-size asteroids up to 1 km wide. This dense cluster of comets and asteroids within the Taurid meteor stream is called the “Taurid Resonant Swarm”.
..

[Hriday]

One significance of the above post by me about the Vedic description of comet strikes is that many are suggesting that the same comet and its fragments which ended ice age will have a high probability of hitting Earth in 2030. Graham Hancock's book Fingerprints of the Gods presents a collection of such reports including the comments by astronomers Victor Klube, Bill Napier.
The other is by Craig Stone in X.

I will post their findings in Miscellaneous thread later if I am in the mood.

For now few links given below for a quick reference.
https://x.com/Graham__Hancock/status/14 ... y3rfQ&s=19

In Magicians of the Gods (2015) & America Before (2019) I wrote about the giant comet progenitor of the Taurid meteor stream, fragments from which sparked a global cataclysm 12,800 years ago.
Now "Taurid Smoking Gun" recognised:
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
&
discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/s…

By Craig Stone,
https://x.com/nobulart/status/179980229 ... 42q8Q&s=19

In 2030 we will experience one of these gravitational lulls at precisely the time that Encke (and the Taurids) will be making one of its closest passes to Earth since the Tunguska event. Chart shows Encke-Earth distance (blue) and Sun-SSB distance (red, scaled).

https://x.com/nobulart/status/179807372 ... J5sXQ&s=19

This comet and its companions have been convincingly cast as the the actors in the Younger Dryas impact/airburst event.
researchsquare.com/article/rs-288…

Craig Stone had a detailed writing on this topic on website. Link below.

https://nobulart.com/comets-and-dragons/

[bala]

Indra Killed Vritra in 9703 BCE: The Rigvedic description of the Comet Impact that ended the last Ice Age

Thanks Hriday. I have some more on this topic...


Anecdotes from RigVeda

Rudra is Shiva. Solar deity (Surya) is Vishnu, Brahma is mentioned, Indra is a Vedic Deva (cosmic allegory) who killed the great serpent Vritra. Indra is also known as Vritrahan “slayer of Vritra”. Vritra’s mother, Danu (is the mother of the Danava race of Asuras), was then attacked and defeated by Indra with his thunderbolt Vajra. Danu is a cosmic allegory for river Devi Danube.

In the Rig Veda, Vritra kept the waters of the world captive until he was killed by Indra, who destroyed all the 99 fortresses of Vritra before liberating the imprisoned rivers. After Indra was born, and he had drunk a large volume of Soma at Tvashtri’s house to empower him, before facing Vritra. Tvashtri fashioned the thunderbolt (Vajrayudha) for Indra, and Vishnu, when asked to do so by Indra, made space for the battle by taking the three great strides for which Vishnu became famous. Tvaṣṭṛ is mentioned 65 times in the Ṛgveda and is the "former of the bodies of men and animals', and invoked when desiring offspring, called garbha-pati or the lord of the womb. Hymn 18 of Mandala IV provides the most elaborate account of the Vedic version.

The verses describe the events and circumstances leading up to the battle between Indra and Vritra, the battle itself, and the outcome of the battle. Tuisto relates to Vedic Tvasthar, the Vedic father-creator Sky Deva, who is also a name for the father of Manu (RV X.17.1-2). This makes the Rig Vedic people also descendants of Manu, the son of Tvashtar. In the Rig Veda, Tvashtar appears as the father of Indra, who fashions his thunderbolt (vajra) for him (RV X.48.3). Yet Indra is sometimes at odds with Tvashtar because is compelled to surpass him (RV III.48.3-4). Tvashtar’s son is Vishvarupa (Vritra), whom Indra kills, cutting off his three heads (RV X.8.8-9), (TS II.4.12, II.5.1).

Indra slays the serpent Vritra, who lurks at the foot of the mountain withholding the waters and prevents release of the seven rivers to flow into the sea. In several instances, Vritra is called Danava, the son of the Devi Danu who is connected to the sea (RV I.32.9; II.11.10; III.30.8; V.30.4; V.32). In the Brahmanas Vishvarupa/Vritra is the son of Danu and Danayu, the names of his mother and father (SB I.6.3.1, 8, 9). Vritra is Vishvarupa, the son of the Deva Tvashtar and the Devi Danu. Danava also means a serpent (RV V.32.1-2), which is not only a symbol of wisdom but of power and both Vedic and ancient European lore have their good and bad serpents.

In this story both Indra and Vritra are brothers – both sons of Tvashtar. Tvashtar fashions the thunderbolt for Indra to slay Vritra (RV I.88.5). Indra and Vritra represent the forces of expansion and contraction or the dualities inherent in each one of us. They are both inherent in Tvashtar and represent the two sides of the Creator or of creation as knowledge and ignorance. As Vritra is also the son of Tvashtar and Danu, Indra must ultimately be a son of Danu as well.

Both the Vedic Aryans and the Proto-European Aryans are sons of Tvashtar, who was sometimes not the supreme Deva but a demiurge that they must go beyond. The Danavas in the Puranas (VaP II.7) are the sons of the Rishi Kashyapa, who assumes the role of Tvashtar as the main father creator. Kashyapa is a great rishi connected to the Himalayas. He is the eighth or central Aditya (Sun Deva) that does not leave Mount Meru (Taittiriya Aranyaka I.7.20), the mountain used in Samudra Manthan. Kashyapa is associated with Kashmir (Kashyapa Mira / lake) and other Himalayan regions (the Vedic lands of Sharyanavat and Arjika, RV IX.113.1-2), which connects the Danavas to the northwest. The Caspian Sea and Kashmir is named after Kashyapa.

The Proto-Europeans, therefore, are the sons of Tvashtar/ Kashyapa and Danu, through their son Manu. They are both Manavas and Danavas, as also Aryans. In the Puranas (VaP II.7), as in the Vedas the term Danavas refer to a broad group of peoples, many inimical, but others friendly, as well as various mythical demons. Irish epics contains details of the struggle between the Children of Domnu, representing evil, and the Children of Danu, representing good. Like Brahma and Shiva they are opposite poles–not necessarily creator and destroyer.

The conflict is between the ‘waters of heaven’ and the ‘world’. The same thing could be said of the Vedic wars of opposites - the Devas and Danavas or the Purana wars of Devas vs Asuras. The Rig Veda contains many instances where Danu has a positive meaning indicating abundance or even standing for divine in general. Danucitra, meaning the richness of light, occurs a few times (RV I.174.7; V.59.8 ). Mitra and Varuna are said to be Sripra-danu or easy to give and their many gifts, danuni, are praised (RV VIII.25.5-6). The Ashvins are called lords of Danuna, Danunaspati (RV VIII.8.16). Soma is also called Danuda and Danupinva, giving Danu or overflowing with Danu (RV IX.97.23), connecting Danu with water or with rivers.

Danu, like Asura, was earlier a positive word and meant divine. There was not only a bad Danu but a good or Sudanu. In the Rig Veda the references to the Sudanavas are much more than those to Danava as an inimical term. Maya is the power of the Danavas (RV II.11.10). Maya Danava created the palace of illusions where Duryodhana fell in a pool of water, kick starting the Mahabharata war. The Danavas, particularly Ahi-Vritra, are portrayed as serpents (RV V.32.8 ), the serpent who dwells at the foot of the mountain holding back the heavenly waters, whom Indra must slay. Maya itself is the serpent power. The Maruts are the good serpents, shining bright like serpents (RV I.171.2 ). The Maruts help Indra in slaying Vritra and are his main friends.

Indra is called Marutvan, or possessed of the Maruts. Their leader is Vishnu (RV V.87), who is called Evaya-Marut. Maruts are the cosmic allegory devas controlling the winds. Maruts, or the 49 kinds of winds that flow in the universe, doing tremendous good. The major ones amongst them are Avaha, Pravaha, Nivaha, Purvaha, Udvaha, Samvaha, and Parivaha. The chief wind, known as Parivaha, also bears the name Marichi. Krishna states that his vibhūti (opulence) manifests in the wind called "Marichi". The Maruts help Indra slay Diti’s son Vritra, lending him their power. In the Rigveda (I.32.9), Diti is identified as the mother of Vritra, the serpent slain by Indra.

With Rudra (Shiva) and Shakti as parents, they reflect the Devas of Hinduism. As Shiva’s sons they are connected with Murugan and Ganesha. Sudanavas or good Danus are the Maruts, who in their travels guided and led many peoples including the Celts and other European followers of Danu. As the sons of Rudra, we note Cernunos among the Celts, who like Rudra is the lord of the animals and is portrayed in a yoga posture, as on the Gundestrop Cauldron. Maruts spreading Vedic culture, could have called their children, the children of Danu, in a positive sense. Sudanavas were the Maruts, Druids and other Rishi classes, while the peoples they ruled over, particularly the unruly Kshatriyas could become Danavas in the negative sense when they refused to accept spiritual guidance. Names of rivers like the Danubel, Don, Dneiper, Dneister, Donets of Europe are connected with Danu.

[bala]

The Priests of Yagna

Today with the disappearance of Vedic ritual practice, purohit has become a generic term for “priest”. There are two basic types of yagya – srauta performed by pandits and grihya ceremony performed by the householder, along with his wife. Srauta ceremonies are more detailed, richer and more complicated, and their goals extend far beyond the well-being of a household. Srauta yagya includes the participation of four pandits. They are known as hotr, adhvaryu, udgatr and brahmin, each of which performs a strictly defined part of the ceremony: one prepares a place for the rite according to the instructions of the Vedic science about space – Vastu Shastra, the second sings mantras, the third performs the ritual, and the fourth oversees the correctness of the above and corrects tiny errors with special mantras. The performance of the yagya itself consists of four main parts, which are present in each ceremony. In the first part a fireplace is created (depicted, built and richly decorated), which is also a mandala that at this stage does not contain life or pran-shakti.

In the second part this character is filled with life energy, hence this level is called prana pratistha. The third part is called upacar, and that is the part during which the evoked energy intensifies and increases. The fourth part is called parayan or prasthan – the energy release, in which yagya culminates. The derivation of the word Yajus is ‘yajur yajanaat’ – yajus is for the sake of yajna – the ritual of sacrifice. The Havis is the offering of the oblation. The attitude in offering is shradha devotion. The Rigveda, containing hymns to be recited by the hotṛ; The Yajurveda, containing formulas to be recited by the adhvaryu or officiating priest; The Samaveda, containing formulas to be sung by the udgatṛ. Rig Veda manuscripts have been selected for inscription in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Register 2007.

Rigveda 2.1.2
तवाग्ने होत्रं तव पोत्रमृत्वियं तव नेष्ट्रं त्वमग्निदृतायतः । तव प्रशास्त्रं त्वमध्वरीयसि ब्रह्मा चासि गृहपतिश्च नो दमे ॥२॥
Thine is the Herald’s task and Cleanser’s duly timed; Leader art thou, and Kindler for the pious man. Thou art Director, thou the ministering Priest: thou art the Brahman, Lord and Master in our home.

In the above hymn enumerates the priests as the hotṛ, potṛ, neṣṭṛ, agnīdh, prashāstṛ (meaning the maitrāvaruna) and adhvaryu.

The executive priest (adhvaryu) accompanies his ritual activities, addressing the implements he handles and the offering he pours and reminding other priests to do their invocations. The adhvaryu was in charge of the physical details of the sacrifice (in particular the adhvara, a term for the Soma yajna). The adhvaryu had to measure the ground, to build the altar, to prepare the sacrificial vessels, to fetch wood and water, to light the fire, to bring the animal and immolate it, among other duties. Each action was accompanied by supplicative or benedictive formulas (yajus), drawn from the Yajurveda. The Rigveda is replete with hymns to various deities.

The Yajurveda contains mostly the methods and directions for the conduct of yagnas. The Brahmin who looks after the conduct of the yagna is the “adhvaryu”. The Adhvaryu is the specialist in Yajur Veda and at his behest the other priests chant the appropriate mantras. He is the one who can bring forth the body of the Yajna – Yajna Shareera. The Hotr invokes the Devas using Vedic hymns. He recited invocations and litanies. These could consist of single verses (ṛca), strophes (triples called tṛca or pairs called pragatha), or entire hymns (sukta), drawn from the Vedas. As each phase of the ritual required an invocation, the hotṛ had a leading or presiding role.

The “hota”(hotr) chants the rks, the hymns from the Rgveda in praise of the deity, invoking the devata to accept the oblation. He has a high place in every Yagna, it is a bloodless sacrifice. Ghee is sacrificed into Agni (fire). The udgatṛ was a chanter of hymns set to melodies (saman) drawn from the samaveda. This was a specialized role in the major soma sacrifices: a characteristic function of the udgatṛ was to sing hymns in praise of the invigorating properties of soma pavamana, the fermented juice of the soma plant. The udgatr intones the mantras of the Samaveda to please the deities. The Udgatr (one who raises his voice and sings) chants the Saman hymns

The Brahman is the master of ceremonies. He is well versed in Rig, Yajus and Sama Vedas. His responsibility is to make sure all the mantras (chanting) and tantras (method of performing the ritual) are properly followed. The brahman was the reciter of hymns from the atharvaveda who was largely silent and observes the procedures and uses Atharvaveda mantras to heal when the slightest mistake of intonation has been made. He knows it all.

O Adhvaryu, do you give me the sacrificial place, Deva Aditya is the divine Adhvaryu, may he grant you the sacrificial place. Be it so,
To the Brahman, O Brahman, do you give me the sacrificial place. Deva Chandrama is the divine Brahman; may he give you the sacrificial place. Be it so,
To the Hotr, O Hotr, Do you give me the sacrificial place. Deva Agni is the divine Hotr, may he give you the sacrificial place. Be it so,
To the Udgat, O Udgatr, do you give me the sacrificial place. Deva Parjanya is the divine Udgatr; may he give you the sacrificial place. Be it so,
To the Sadasya, O Sadasya, do you give me the sacrificial place. Deva Akasa is the divine Sadasya; may he give you the sacrificial place. Be it so
To the Hotrakas, O Hotrakas, do you give me the sacrificial place. Devies waters are the divine Hotrasarhsins; may they give you the sacrificial place. Be it so,
To the Camasadhvaryus, O Camasadhvaryus, do you give me the sacrificial place. Devas Rasmis are the divine Camasadhvaryus; may they give you the sacrificial place. Be it so.

[bala]

The Seven Svaras

Sruti in Sanskrit means “that which is heard” and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts – the Samhitas, the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. Srutis have been variously described as a revelation through anubhava (direct experience), or of primordial origins realized by ancient Rishis. In Hindu tradition, they have been referred to as apauruṣeya (authorless).

The Vedas are called Srutis for the reason that they are always received through the faculty of “hearing” (Sruyate iti srutih). In chanting the Veda, swara or accent is of great importance. In the olden days, the Upanisads were being chanted with svara-notation. There are three “swaras” – Udatta (Acute), Anudatta (Grave) and Svarita (Circumflex). If the “svara” changes, the meaning of the word itself changes totally. This is the reason why only few chosen Brahmins, mainly Namboodiris, could transmit Vedas orally. The three accent pitch or levels can also be stated as: svarita (sounded, circumflex normal), udatta (high, raised) and anudatta (low, not raised). The svara concept is found in Chapter 28 of the ancient Natya Shastra, it calls the unit of tonal measurement or audible unit as Śruti, with verse 28.21 introducing the musical scale as follows:

Natya Shastra, 28.21
तत्र स्वराः षड्जश्च ऋषभश्चैव गान्धारो मध्यमस्तथा ।
पञ्चमो धैवतश्चैव सप्तमोऽथ निषादवान् ॥ २१॥

These seven svara are shared by both major raga systems of Indian classical music. The musical octave evolved from the elaborate and elongated chants of Sama Veda, based on these basic svaras. Siksha is the subject that deals with phonetics and pronunciation. Naradiya Siksha elaborately discusses the nature of svaras, both Vedic chants and the octave.

The solfege (sargam) is learnt in abbreviated form of svara: sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha, ni, sa. Of these, the first that is “sa”, and the fifth that is “pa”, are considered anchors that are unalterable.

Chanting of the Rig, Yajur and Atharvaa veda is done using 3 notes only.
Udātta — the raised note indicated in the text by a vertical stroke over the letter. (a̍)
Anudātta — the lowered note indicated by a line under the letter. (a̱)
Svarita — the neutral drone which is not indicated in the text (a)

Nigādha — a deviant note which is based on the udātta and is like a double udātta with the second being slight raised above the first. In the kṛṣṇa yajur veda it is usually marked by double perpendicular stokes above the letter (a̎).

The udātta changes into a nigādha in the following situations:
When a mantra ends in a long udātta
When a mantra ends in a anusvara which carries the udātta
When the udātta is followed by a samyuktākṣara (combined letter such as kṣ, stha, tv,śr, etc).

Sama-gana employed only three notes called Udatta, Anudatta and Svarita. The lyre (Vana-Veena) accompanying the singing had only three strings, one for each note.

The three notes were differentiated depending on whether it was produced from above or below the palate (taalu). Udatta refers to sound produced from above the palate; and is acutely accented (uchchaih). Anudatta was gravely accented (nichaih); produced from below the palate. Svarita is a combination of udatta and anudatta, with udatta in the first-half. It is called a circumflexed accent. The tone is the Udātta [raised] the other two being the Svarita [drone] and the Anudātta [low].

From udata the notes of nishada (निषाद) and gandara (गान्धार) were created; from anudata the notes of rishaba (ऋषभ) and dhaivata (धैवत) were created; from svarita the notes of shadja (षड्ज), madhyama (मध्यम) and panchama (पञ्चम) were created.

Initially in Sama Veda era the seven notes were named as pratima, dvitiya, tritaya, chaturta, mandra, atisvara and krushta (to shout). The notes are in descending order. Sama veda chants normally used 5 notes, with rare ones using either 6 or 7 notes. Singing of Sama Veda chants had assigned singer roles and these were prastotha (or prastothri), udgata (chief), pratihartha (or pratiharthri) and subramanya.

Various shakhas (e.g. jaimini namboodri shakha) sang the Sama Veda chants and introduced their own signature styles, handed from guru to sishya parampara. Hand and finger movements accompanied the singing. The gathra veena was used. Between lines a stobha was inserted very similar to alap in current singing of classical music.

The 7 swara stanas or note positions: 1. shadjam, 2. rishabham, 3. gandharam, 4. madhyamam, 5. panchamam, 6. daivatam, 7. nishadam

The seven swara notes of the musical scale in Indian classical music are shadja (षड्ज), rishabha (ऋषभ), gandhara (गान्धार), madhyama (मध्यम), panchama (पञ्चम), dhaivata (धैवत) and nishada (निषाद). These seven swaras are shortened to Sa, Ri (Carnatic) or Re (Hindustani), Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, and Ni. Collectively these notes are known as the sargam (the word is an acronym of the consonants of the first four swaras).

Sa-----Sadja------------------------------------------The cry of the peacock
Ri-----Rishaba----------------------------------------The blowing of the bull
Ga----Gandhara--------------------------------------The bleating of the goat
Ma----Madhyama ("middle note")------------------The cry of the kraunja bird (crane/stork)
Pa-----Panchama ("fifth note")---------------------The cry of the kokila bird (cuckoo)
Da-----Dhaivata--------------------------------------The neighing of the horse
Ni-----Nishada----------------------------------------The trumpeting of the elephant

Svara or swara is a Sanskrit word that connotes a note in the successive steps of the octave. More comprehensively, it is the ancient Indian concept about the complete dimension of musical pitch. The swara differs from the shruti concept in Indian music. A shruti is the smallest gradation of pitch that a human ear can detect and a singer or instrument can produce.

The ancient Sanskrit text Natya Shastra identifies and discusses twenty two shruti and seven swara.

[uddu]

https://x.com/PhysInHistory/status/1981938229533401134
@PhysInHistory
In the 7th century, negative numbers were used in calculations in India which was innovative because Europeans dismissed these numbers as absurd until the 17th century, when they gained widespread acceptance due to their practical use in accounting and bookkeeping.

[uddu]

https://x.com/Kunal_Biswas707/status/19 ... 3165490425
@Kunal_Biswas707
Titanoboa Wasn't The Largest Snake Ever... This Was https://youtu.be/l2UxolNpTok?si=0YkLzIQohqfXZ_4u via
@YouTube
Titanoboa Wasn't The Largest Snake Ever... This Was
We all know that the Titanoboa was the king of snakes and largest to ever live...but was it really? Lemme introduce you to the new King...

0:00 The Titanoboa's Size
1:47 The New King
3:05 Absurd Body Size
4:47 You've Been Lied To About Titanoboa
6:21 What Vasuki Ate
7:09 A 1-ton Snake You Can't See
8:06 Horrorfying Way Of Eating & Hunting
10:11 How Did Such Big Snakes Evolve?
11:00 The Animals It Lived With
12:52 How Does A Giant Snake Even Disappear?

[uddu]

https://x.com/RShivshankar/status/1986793569412407335
@RShivshankar
XI SHARES DNA PROOF OF "BROTHERHOOD"!
Chinese Ambassador's X post talks of joint ancestry.
Strange "brother":

+ Sides with Pak on blocking of listing of JeM in UNSC
+ Claims Part of J&K, whole of Arunachal etc
+ Colludes with Pak during OP Sindoor
And...the list is long...

[Hriday]

A request for help.

A relative told me that as per Swami Chidananda Puri of Kolathur ashram in Kerala, Kalki Avatar will arrive around the year 2325. That's a strange looking suggestion as the mainstream narration is that Kalki Avatar will come at the end of Kali Yuga which ends only after over 4 lakhs years. My relative can't find or remember other details. I want to know which Yuga cycle matches this description or where it is mentioning the year 2325. Despite some searching I can't find it. If anyone can give useful information it will be very helpful.

The reason I request is that I am now starting to write a summary of the Graham Hancock's book, Magicians of the Gods which gives a thorough presentation on the comet strike risk in the year 2030.
In it he mentioned that as per multiple references we are in a danger period till the year 2325!! Exactly the same year as mentioned by Swami Chidananda Puri !
As per Graham Hancock that year also marks half of the precessionary cycle of Earth.

From chapter 19 of the book Magicians of the Gods,

The targeting here is not so precise as that afforded by the Göbekli Tepe pillar and the Mayan calendar, but then neither is the science by which the impacts that set off the Younger Dryas are dated to 12,800 years ago. The resolution of the carbon-14 evidence upon which scientists base this chronology means that a tolerance of plus or minus 150 years must be allowed. In other words, the Younger Dryas comet – let us, for convenience, refer to it as ‘the Phoenix’ – could have struck the earth as late as 12,650 years ago (i.e. in 10,635 BC, since I am writing in AD 2015) or as early as 12,950 years ago (i.e. in 10,935 BC). Bearing in mind that half a precessional cycle is 12,960 years (or 12,954 years in the peculiarly exact calculations of the return of the Phoenix reported by Solinus 13), we are therefore being invited to consider a period that begins in just ten years from the time of writing, i.e. around AD 2025, and that cannot be considered to have passed safely until AD 2325 – i.e. until the full 12,960 years have elapsed after the latest possible date for ‘the Phoenix’ impacts. The Mayan calendar and Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe, however, refine the calculation, as we’ve seen. If I understand the message correctly, we’re in the danger zone now and will be until 2040. I’m reminded of the Ojibwa tradition cited in Chapter Three: The star with the long, wide tail is going to destroy the world some day when it comes low again. That’s the comet called Long-Tailed Heavenly Climbing Star. It came down here once, thousands of years ago. Just like the sun. It had radiation and burning heat in its tail. The comet burnt everything to the ground. There wasn’t a thing left. Indian people were here before that happened, living on the earth. But things were wrong; a lot of people had abandoned the spiritual path. The holy spirit warned them a long time before the comet came. Medicine men told everyone to prepare. Things were wrong with nature on the earth … Then that comet went through here. It had a long, wide tail and it burnt up everything. It flew so low the tail scorched the earth … The comet made a different world. After that survival was hard work. The weather was colder than before … 14

[bala]

Hriday the 12,950 years, etc., that you quote are closely linked to precession of the earth around Vishnu Nabhi.

उत्तानपादपुत्रोऽसौ मेढीभूतो ध्रुवो दिवि ।
स हि भ्रमन् भ्रामयते नित्यं चन्द्रादित्यौ ग्रहैः सह ।।
Uttanpāda’s son Dhruva is the fixed point in the Heavens on Mount Meru, around which all planets moves around

The 27 nakshatras form the circle of stars around the Vishnu Nabhi (The exact configuration of these stars is depicted in a temple in South India, in Tamilnadu). This is a 360 degree circle.

360 degrees = 360*60 minutes = 360*60*60 seconds of arc = 1296000 seconds of arc. 1296000 seconds of arc/50.26 seconds of arc/year = 25785.91 years. It takes 25785.91 years for 1 full circle – for Revati nakshatra to return. 0n 2286 BC the zodiac of taurus (rishabham /aldebaran) is over – it existed only from 4435 BC to 2286 BC. The age from 2286 BC is aries (medam/hamal), the ram till 137 BC. From 137 BC to 2012 AD it is the age of pisces (eenam). From 2012 AD it is aquarius (kumbam) – a new age, new sunrise at spring equinox - precession of the equinoxes.

The nakshatra with their 4 pada
# Name Pada 1 Pada 2 Pada 3 Pada 4
1 Ashwini (अश्विनि) चु Chu चे Che चो Cho ला La
2 Bharani (भरणी) ली Li लू Lu ले Le लो Lo
3 Kritika (कृत्तिका) अ A ई I उ U ए E
4 Rohini(रोहिणी) ओ O वा Va/Ba वी Vi/Bi वु Vu/Bu
5 Mrigashīrsha(म्रृगशीर्षा) वे Ve/Be वो Vo/Bo का Ka की Ke
6 Ārdrā (आर्द्रा) कु Ku घ Gha ङ Ng/Na छ Chha
7 Punarvasu (पुनर्वसु) के Ke को Ko हा Ha ही Hi
8 Pushya (पुष्य) हु Hu हे He हो Ho ड Da
9 Āshleshā (आश्लेषा) डी Di डू Du डे De डो Do
10 Maghā (मघा) मा Ma मी Mi मू Mu मे Me
11 Pūrva or Pūrva Phalgunī (पूर्व फाल्गुनी) नो Mo टा Ta टी Ti टू Tu
12 Uttara or Uttara Phalgunī (उत्तर फाल्गुनी) टे Te टो To पा Pa पी Pi
13 Hasta (हस्त) पू Pu ष Sha ण Na ठ Tha
14 Chitra (चित्रा) पे Pe पो Po रा Ra री Ri
15 Svātī (स्वाति) रू Ru रे Re रो Ro ता Ta
16 Viśākhā (विशाखा) ती Ti तू Tu ते Te तो To
17 Anurādhā (अनुराधा) ना Na नी Ni नू Nu ने Ne
18 Jyeshtha (ज्येष्ठा) नो No या Ya यी Yi यू Yu
19 Mula (मूल) ये Ye यो Yo भा Bha भी Bhi
20 Pūrva Ashādhā (पूर्वाषाढ़ा) भू Bhu धा Dha फा Bha/Pha ढा Dha
21 Uttara Aṣāḍhā (उत्तराषाढ़ा) भे Bhe भो Bho जा Ja जी Ji
22 Śrāvaṇa (श्र‌ावण) खी Ju/Khi खू Je/Khu खे Jo/Khe खो Gha/Kho
23 Śrāviṣṭha (श्रविष्ठा) or Dhanishta गा Ga गी Gi गु Gu गे Ge
24 Shatabhisha (शतभिषा) or Śatataraka गो Go सा Sa सी Si सू Su
25 Pūrva Bhādrapadā (पूर्वभाद्रपदा) से Se सो So दा Da दी Di
26 Uttara Bhādrapadā (उत्तरभाद्रपदा) दू Du थ Tha झ Jha ञ Da/Tra
27 Revati (रेवती) दे De दो Do च Cha ची Chi

As the Earth spins on its axis, the two celestial poles remain fixed in the sky, and all other points appear to rotate around them, completing one circuit per day (strictly per sidereal day). The north celestial pole (SUMERU) and south celestial pole (KUMERU) are the two imaginary points in the sky where the Earth’s axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere. The celestial poles do not remain permanently fixed against the background of the stars, because of a phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes, the poles trace out circles on the celestial sphere, with a period of about 25,765 years. Thuban was the north pole star from 3942 to 1793 BC. The north celestial pole currently is within a degree of the bright star DHRUV (Polaris). In 12,000 years, Vega will become the north star. DHRUV (Polaris) holds nearly still in sky while the entire northern sky moves around it. The six-month period (Dec 22 to June 21) when there is sun in the North Pole is called uttarayana and the similar sunny period on the South Pole is dakshinayana.

A cycle of four yugas takes 25765 years. Cosmic mechanism is in reality a spiral, never a stagnant circle. 4 Hindu yugas are a spiral – at the rate 4:3:2:1, Dharma walks on four feet in Krutha/Satya Yuga, on 3 feet in Tretha Yuga, on two feet in Dwapara Yuga and one foot in Kaliyuga - this is an allegory. The 25765 years is divided into 4 yugas in a ratio of 4:3:2:1 (satya/treta/dwapara/kali). A cycle of four yugas takes 25765 years today (instead of 4,320,000). Precession of the earth is approx. 50.26 seconds every year. The 25765 years is divided into 4 yugas in a ratio of 4:3:2:1. (satya/treta/dwapara/kali).

From Manusmriti

स्वारोचिषश्चोत्तमश्च तामसो रैवतस्तथा ।
चाक्षुषश्च महातेजा विवस्वत्सुत एव च ॥ ६२ ॥
svārociṣaścottamaśca tāmaso raivatastathā |
cākṣuṣaśca mahātejā vivasvatsuta eva ca || 62 ||
[These six Manus]— Svārociṣa, Uttama, Tāmasa, Raivata, Cākṣuṣa, and the glorious Vivasvat-suta (the Son of Vivasvat).

दैवे रात्र्यहनी वर्षं प्रविभागस्तयोः पुनः ।
अहस्तत्रोदगयनं रात्रिः स्याद् दक्षिणायनम् ॥ ६७ ॥
daive rātryahanī varṣaṃ pravibhāgastayoḥ punaḥ |
ahastatrodagayanaṃ rātriḥ syād dakṣiṇāyanam || 67 ||
One year (of men) forms the Day and Night of the Brahma; and the division of these is that the Northern course is the Day, and the Southern Course the Night


चत्वार्याहुः सहस्राणि वर्षाणां तत् कृतं युगम् ।
तस्य तावत्शती सन्ध्या सन्ध्यांशश्च तथाविधः ॥ ६९ ॥
इतरेषु ससन्ध्येषु ससन्ध्यांशेषु च त्रिषु ।
एकापायेन वर्तन्ते सहस्राणि शतानि च ॥ ७० ॥
यदेतत् परिसङ्ख्यातमादावेव चतुर्युगम् ।
एतद् द्वादशसाहस्रं देवानां युगमुच्यते ॥ ७१ ॥
दैविकानां युगानां तु सहस्रं परिसङ्ख्यया ।
ब्राह्ममेकमहर्ज्ञेयं तावतीं रात्रिमेव च ॥ ७२ ॥
तद् वै युगसहस्रान्तं ब्राह्मं पुण्यमहर्विदुः ।
रात्रिं च तावतीमेव तेऽहोरात्रविदो जनाः ॥ ७३ ॥
catvāryāhuḥ sahasrāṇi varṣāṇāṃ tat kṛtaṃ yugam |
tasya tāvatśatī sandhyā sandhyāṃśaśca tathāvidhaḥ || 69 ||
itareṣu sasandhyeṣu sasandhyāṃśeṣu ca triṣu |
ekāpāyena vartante sahasrāṇi śatāni ca || 70 ||
yadetat parisaṅkhyātamādāveva caturyugam |
etad dvādaśasāhasraṃ devānāṃ yugamucyate || 71 ||
daivikānāṃ yugānāṃ tu sahasraṃ parisaṅkhyayā |
brāhmamekamaharjñeyaṃ tāvatīṃ rātrimeva ca || 72 ||
tad vai yugasahasrāntaṃ brāhmaṃ puṇyamaharviduḥ |
rātriṃ ca tāvatīmeva te'horātravido janāḥ || 73 ||

In antiquity, Manu indicates a period of 24,000 years - clearly a reference to precession of the earth around vishnu nabi. 24000 multiplied by 360 gives a value of 4,320,000 years to follow the golden spiral of time. A maha yuga, are 4,320,000 years long. A thousand mahayugas add up to the period of 14 Manus. The regnal period of a Manu is a manvantara (lifespan of manu), where Manu as ruler of all the worlds. Currently the universe is on the seventh Manu, Vaivasvata. The past Manus were Svayambhuva Manu, Svarocisha Manu, Uttama Manu, Tamasa Manu, Raivata Manu and Cakshusha Manu. There are fourteen Manus ruling the world successively from the creation of man. The life-span of the fourteen Manus put together make one day (daytime) of Brahma, that is 4,320,000,000 years. His night has the same length. While one day of Brahma is thus 8,640,000,000 years, his one year is 365 such days and his life-span is 100 such years. The life of this cosmos is the same. When Brahma’s life comes to an end the Brahman alone will remain and there will be no cosmos. Then another Brahma will start creation all over again. Currently, half of Brahma’s allotted life-span is over. This life-span is divided into seven "kalpas". Now we have come more than half way of the fourth kalpa, "Svetavaraha". Fourteen Manus reign successively during one daytime of Brahma which lasts a thousand caturyugas. So one manvantara is 71 caturyugas. Now running is the 28th caturyuga, the Vaivasvata manvantara.

[Hriday]

^^
bala ji, thanks for the information. I think there needs to be more clarification required for the explanation of Vishnu nabhi. I did some posts on the subject quoting Swami Sri Yuktessvar. Link below. The same subject is also mentioned in Satapatha Brahmana , an important text in Hinduism.
viewtopic.php?p=2599256#p2599256

And just recently I come to know that Sadhguru also talked about a similar concept which he named as Super Sun and Rudra star.

As per Sadhguru, a "super sun" refers to a time when our solar system's position in its galactic orbit brings it closer to a more potent source of energy, which is believed to usher in an era of expanded human consciousness and intelligence. This is not a physical "super sun" in the sense of our Sun becoming larger, but rather a period marked by increased solar radiation, gamma rays, and other energy fluxes that stimulate human development and a greater awareness of the interconnectedness of all life.

• A period of heightened energy: Sadhguru's concept of a "super sun" is tied to a cycle of yugas, or ages. When our solar system passes through a specific zone in the galaxy, it experiences an increase in energy from cosmic sources, which he refers to as being closer to a "super sun".
• Impact on humanity: This increased energy is believed to facilitate a "blossoming of human intelligence". People would naturally move towards higher states of consciousness, and the ability to see the body and universe as electric structures would become more apparent.
• Catalyst for change: This period is seen as a time of significant change and awakening, where the struggles and superficial concerns of the current age would fade, replaced by a more direct and intelligent way of living.
• Connection to yogic practices: Sadhguru's practices, like Surya Kriya, are designed to help individuals align with these natural cycles and prepare for such shifts, allowing them to use the body as a "key to existence" and harness these energies. [1, 2, 5, 6, 7]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.facebook.com/sadhguru/posts ... 105769146/
[2] https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/art ... lies-ahead
[3] https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/vid ... sciousness
[4] https://www.yogaspirit.com.au/about/blo ... nrise-yoga
[5] https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/art ... ecting-sun
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bkLxKAA3w8
[7] https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/art ... ally-means

See the first part of the YouTube link below. I am unable to embed the YouTube link.

When will Kalki Avatar arrive ?
https://youtu.be/25LkUDo0Kp8?si=6DxNFn8yx_vRBuwy

Sadhguru speaks about Kalki – the tenth and final avatar of Lord Vishnu – and the significance of his arrival for human consciousness. He also looks at yugas, the significance of kalyug and provides a Yogic perspective on human intelligence.

In the above video Sadhguru also mention other fascinating points such as,

1.
In Satya yuga brain is much more stimulated that it can telepathically communicate with others. As we progressively falls to lower Yugas telepathy is lost and depends on penetrating sight to sense others; he quotes
the famous greetings in Avatar film 'I see you ' which is an ancient saying with a deeper meaning. Going lower, we depends on smell to sense others intention etc. Snakes possess an incredible etheric aura around them, and that's why they are particularly respected.

[uddu]

https://x.com/GemsOfINDOLOGY/status/1990412160217100552

@GemsOfINDOLOGY
THREAD: Journey from Bhimbetka to Sanskrit Wisdom in Ancient Indian History

The Bond with Bees
At Bhimbetka rock shelters (15,000-11,000 BCE), paintings show humans collecting honey from wild bees. These Mesolithic images emphasize the vital role of pollinators in human development before written language.

[uddu]

https://x.com/varshaparmar06/status/1990612064176615503
@varshaparmar06
Divya darshan of Hanumanji seated in padmasana at Hampi, Karnataka

[chetak]

Savitri Mumukshu - सावित्री मुमुक्षु@MumukshuSavitri

Hello Folks:
Since so many of you kept pressuring me to write longform, I decided to force myself to take the plunge and start writing on Substack. Right now I'm just starting out - but will learn to evolve content along the way.

You can read my first Substack post here:

The Discovery That Didn’t Fit the Script https://open.substack.com/pub/mumukshus ... Share=true

Savitri Mumukshu

The Discovery That Didn’t Fit the Script

How a 4,500-year-old Indian sculpture shattered colonial assumptions.

Savitri Mumukshu
Nov 17, 2025

Pandit Madho Sarup Vats was not just another archaeologist; he was a quiet powerhouse. He was a Sanskrit scholar, an excavator with instinct, and later Director of the ASI (1950–54). Between 1925 and 1934–35, while supervising the Harappa digs, he made a discovery that should have rewritten global art history: a rare red jasper male torso unearthed in 1928 just south of the Great Granary. Its smooth anatomical modeling, subtle musculature, and naturalistic proportions were so advanced that it invited comparison to classical Greek sculpture, except that the Greeks wouldn’t achieve such realism for another two millennia.

Vats confidently dated it to the Mature Harappan period. The stratigraphy was airtight: the torso was excavated from the same level as securely dated Harappan artifacts around 2300 BCE. It was nowhere near later cultural layers, eliminating any possibility of intrusion. Yet when Vats presented his carefully reasoned conclusion, his British superior Sir John Marshall flatly rejected the idea that Indians could have produced such refined art 4,000 years ago.




In 1931, an astonished Marshall wrote “The statuette is of a fine red stone . . . now there was no stone obtainable at Harappa or anywhere near it. Whatever stone was needed there had to be brought from great distances. . . . There is another point of technique that is also significant. In the red stone statuette there is a large circular depression in front of each shoulder, with a smaller circular protuberance broken in the middle of it. What these depressions were for is not clear. They look as if they were to be inlaid with circular ornaments …... The treatment of the red stone torso could hardly be simpler or more direct. The pose is a frontal one with shoulders well back and abdomen slightly prominent but the beauty of this little statuette is in the refined and wonderfully truthful modeling of the fleshy parts.... This is a work of which a Greek of the fourth century B.C. might well have been proud. And yet the set of the figure, with its rather pronounced abdomen, is characteristically Indian, not Greek; and even if Greek influence could be proved, it would have to be admitted that the execution is Indian.”



Marshall’s doubt wasn’t surprising - he had responded the same way when shown the iconic bronze “Dancing Girl” of Mohenjo-daro. In his own words:
“Modelling such as this was unknown in the ancient world up to the Hellenistic age of Greece, and I thought, that some mistake must surely have been made. These figures must have found their way into levels some 3000 years older than those to which they properly belonged.”
Instead of revising his assumptions, he revised the date altogether!



Supported by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, Marshall pushed the claim that the torso must belong to the Gupta period - a full 3,000 years later than the layer in which it was actually found.



Vats, however, refused to back down, and the date of the sculpture remains “disputed” till date, largely because early colonial archaeologists couldn’t believe what the evidence was showing them. Despite Vats’ thorough rationale, his British Boss, Sir John Marshall simply refused to believe that such a well modeled sculpture could have been created by Indians 4000 years ago. Vats also discovered a Shiva Lingam in the area which Marshall simply ignored.



Wheeler in particular brought a military rigidity and an open disdain for Hindu traditions into his archaeology. He admired Max Müller’s interpretations of the Rig Veda and arrived already convinced of Müller’s tale of the Aryan warlike god Indra toppling fortified cities. “Where are - or were these citadels,” he famously asked. When skeletons appeared at Mohenjo-daro, Wheeler celebrated his own theory: “On circumstantial evidence, Indra stands accused,” he declared before retiring.

This is the same Wheeler who looked down with disdain upon Hindu history butlater took credit for the discovery of the ancient Tamil port of Arikamedu - a site actually identified by Indian archaeologist Dr. Aiyappan, then Director of the Madras Museum.

Another Harappan figure of a dancer balanced on his right leg with the torso bent gracefully pushed Marshall even further. His analysis was revealing:
“It will be observed, there are socket holes in the neck and shoulders for attachment of head and arms, which were made in separate pieces. So far as I know, this technique is without parallel among sculptors of the historic period, whether of the Indo-Hellenistic or any other school. I infer from the thickness of the neck, that the dancer was 3 faced, and may represent Siva Nataraja.”



In other words: the technique was unprecedented, unmistakably ancient, and possibly even connected to early Hindu iconography, yet still somehow incompatible with Marshall’s belief that such artistry could not be Harappan.

What makes all of this even more ironic is how these sites were discovered in the first place. Early British teams weren’t looking for India’s own civilizational past - they were chasing someone else’s. Harappa and Mohenjo Daro first came to light because surveyors were trying to trace the route of Alexander’s march into India. Likewise, when Arikamedu was excavated, the goal was to find evidence of Roman trade, not ancient Tamil maritime history. In both cases, the archaeology began with a Western lens - and then clung to it even when the soil revealed something far older, far more Indian, and far more sophisticated than expected.

Taken together, these artifacts prove something remarkable: the people of the Indus Valley had developed unique, advanced sculptural methods over 4,500 years ago - techniques predating and differing from anything in the ancient world. And given their forms, symbolism, and cultural continuity, it is entirely plausible that these pieces represent early Hindu artistic traditions.

It is long overdue that we re-examine discoveries like these without the colonial filters that once dismissed India’s accomplishments as historical impossibilities. The evidence is there. It always has been. What’s changing now is our willingness to finally look at it on its own terms.

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