FROM SARASVATI TO SYRIA -THE WESTWARD FLOW OF VEDIC CULTURE

Out of India: For generations, the Aryan Invasion Theory has been taught as if it were settled fact: tribes sweeping into India from the northwest, bringing language and culture with them. But the Out of India Theory (OIT) paints a very different picture. It argues that the roots of Indo‑Iranian culture, language, and spirituality were seeded in India itself, and from there spread outward into Iran, Central Asia, and beyond.

What does this mean in practice? It means that when we examine the evidence—whether it’s the rivers described in the Rigveda, the way sounds shift between Sanskrit and Avestan (Old Persian), the echoes preserved in place names, or the cultural memories carried into treaties far from India—the direction of movement consistently points east to west. In other words, the story of origins begins in India, and the footprints of that story can be traced outward across geography, language, and history.

Sarasvati ancient river map” by Joshua Jonathan,

corrections based on Clift et al. (2012) and Nature Scientific 

Reports (2017).  Licensed under Wikimedia Commons.

The Rigveda, our oldest text, is not vague about its geography. It describes rivers with a precision that locks perfectly into the northwest of India. The Sarasvati is placed between the Yamuna and the Sutlej, a sequence that exists only in India. Try to map this onto Afghanistan or Central Asia, and the puzzle collapses. The contrast becomes sharper when we look westward at the Helmand River, Afghanistan’s longest. Rising in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains, it flows through rugged valleys before entering the arid southwest. Along its course, the river crosses stark desert plains—the Dasht‑i Margo (“Desert of Death”), the Dasht‑i Jehannum (“Desert of Hell”), and the sand‑covered Registan Desert—before finally dispersing into the shallow Hamun Lake of the Sistan Basin, near the Iranian border.

Lake Hamun, Sistan Basin.
Hamun likely derives its name from Sanskrit
Samud meaning 'wet'.

Here, the naming becomes revealing. Hamun originally derives from the Sanskrit root samud (समुद्), meaning “wet” or “water.” In the Rigveda, the Sarasvati is praised for reaching the Samudra—the great expanse of waters, usually understood as the ocean. But the Helmand never touches the sea; it dies inland. To call its terminal lake “Samud” is almost an intentional stretch, a way of claiming that the river fulfils the Vedic description by reaching “some water.” In fact, in modern Persian usage, Hāmūn is a generic term for shallow, seasonal lakes or lagoons in the deserts of southeast Iran.

Contrast this with Yāska’s Nirukta (5th–4th century BCE), the earliest book of etymology in India. Yāska explains samudra not narrowly as “ocean,” but as “a gathering of waters”—from sam (together) + ud (water). In Vedic usage, this allows samudra to mean any vast expanse of water, whether the sea, a lake, or a reservoir. In India, the Sarasvati’s flow into the Arabian Sea naturally fits this definition. In Iran, however, the Helmand’s shallow lake is being linguistically elevated into a “samudra” to force the geography into the Rigvedic mould. The difference is telling: in India, the description matches the landscape; in Iran, the landscape is made to match the description.

Language by itself also carries its own trail. Sanskrit preserves three distinct “s” sounds—ś, ṣ, and s—while its Iranian cousin, Avestan, collapses them into one. Linguists know that simplification usually comes later, not earlier. Linguistically, simplification (Sanskrit → Avestan) is far more likely than spontaneous complexity. The Avesta even remembers India directly, speaking of Hapta Hendu, the Seven Rivers, echoing the Vedic Sapta Sindhu. But while the Rigveda sings of this land as its living present, the Avesta recalls it as something already left behind. The direction of memory points east to west.

Place names often carry echoes of the past, and Ramsar is a striking example. In Rajasthan, towns called Ramsar are transparently derived from 'Rama' (the deity) and sar (सर), the Sanskrit word for 'lake' or 'pool'. The meaning is straightforward: 'Rama’s Lake'. Now, look westward to Iran. On the southern shore of the Caspian Sea lies a city also called Ramsar, famous today for its wetlands and coastal beauty. The name fits perfectly—'Rama’s Lake' beside a vast body of water. Yet here, scholars hesitate. Instead of acknowledging the Sanskrit root, they insist that sar must mean “head” in Persian, thereby stripping away the Vedic connection.

What makes this selectivity even more striking is the inconsistency. The same scholars readily accept that the Sanskrit Sarasvati can be linked to the Iranian Haraxvaiti through the S → H sound shift. But when faced with Ramsar, they refuse to allow sar to mean “lake,” even though the geography—the Caspian Sea itself—demands it. The double standard is hard to miss, and it reveals how interpretations are often bent to avoid admitting a Vedic footprint in western toponyms.

And then there is memory itself. If the Vedic people had migrated from colder lands to the north or west, wouldn’t their hymns carry nostalgia for snowbound mountains or rivers left behind? Instead, the Rigveda’s memory is rooted firmly in the Sarasvati-Sindhu landscape.

By the mid‑second millennium BCE, traces of Vedic culture appear far beyond India’s borders. One of the most striking examples is the Mitanni Treaty, signed around 1380 BCE in what is now Syria. This treaty calls upon gods such as Indra, Mitra, and Varuna—names that are unmistakably Vedic, and used in their distinctly Indian forms. These aren’t vague parallels or generic deities; they are the very same figures praised in the Rigveda.

What this tells us is crucial: by the time the Mitanni were making political agreements in the Near East, Vedic culture was already fully established in India. The presence of these gods in Syria doesn’t suggest India borrowed from the West; it shows the opposite—that Indian spiritual traditions had already radiated outward, carried westward by people and ideas. The Rigveda’s world was not isolated; it was influential enough to leave its imprint on a treaty thousands of kilometers away.

Taken together, the rivers, the sounds, the names, and the memories all point in the same direction. India was not a passive recipient of culture from the northwest. It was the source, the cradle, the place where Vedic knowledge took shape before flowing outward. The “Aryan Invasion” begins to look less like history and more like a colonial-era story crafted to fit a narrative. The Rigveda, meanwhile, keeps quietly insisting: We began here.

Shiraz in Iran: A Land named after Wine 🍷🍇

Mainstream etymology holds that Shiraz derives its name from the Elamite name Tiraziš, later evolving into Old Persian Širājiš and finally modern Persian Shirāz.

Folk traditions often link the name to grapes and viticulture 🍇🌿, interpreting Shirāz as a compound of šer (“good”) and raz (“vine”), resonant with the city’s long-standing reputation for vineyards and wine 🍷.

In Persian, angūr means grape 🍇, ras or āb-e angūr denotes grape juice 🥤, and mey signifies wine 🍷, while raz specifically refers to the vine 🌱.

In Sanskrit, the cognate vocabulary includes drākṣā (grape 🍇), rasa (juice, essence 💧), madhu (sweetness 🍯, sometimes wine 🍷), surā (alcoholic drink 🍶), and āsava (fermented juice 🧉), reinforcing the mainstream association of Shiraz with viticulture and abundance 🌿✨.

The Truth about the name Shiraz 🧂🌍

A compelling alternative view is that both Tiraziš and Shirāz may connect to Sanskrit kṣāra (“saline, caustic 🧂”), echoed in Persian kshore (“salty 🧂”). This etymology aligns with the extensive salt diapiric tracts in the Shiraz–Kazerun basin 🏞️. The basin contains dozens of salt plugs, each typically 1–2 km across, with some domes exceeding several kilometers in diameter ⛰️.

Altogether, southern Iran hosts more than a hundred salt diapirs 🌍, making it one of the world’s major salt tectonic provinces. These saline landscapes shaped soils 🌱, hydrology 💧, and vegetation 🌿, embedding salt into the city’s identity and offering a geological substratum for its name.

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The Sinister reason why Shiraz is named after Salt ⚔️🧂

There is a more sinister reason why this major city of Elam became associated with salt. In a tablet unearthed in 1854 📜 by Austen Henry Layard, Ashurbanipal boasts of his conquest of Elam ⚔️:

“Susa, the great holy city, abode of their Gods ✨, seat of their mysteries, I conquered… I devastated the provinces of Elam and on their lands I sowed salt 🧂.”

This act of sowing salt was both symbolic and practical — a gesture of annihilation 💀, rendering land infertile 🌵 and cursed. If Tiraziš lay within Elamite territory, its association with salt may have been reinforced not only by natural geology 🌍 but also by the trauma of conquest and devastation ⚔️🔥.

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Sanskrit as the Decoder 🔑📜

It is Sanskrit that helps us decode all of this 🕉️. The root kṣāra (saline 🧂) provides the semantic bridge to Persian kshore (salty 🧂), allowing us to see how the name Tiraziš/Shirāz could encode both natural salt tracts 🌍 and the historical memory of salt sown in Elam ⚔️.

Thus, Shiraz’s name carries layered meanings:

• Grapes and wine 🍇🍷 — abundance and sweetness ✨
• Salt tracts 🧂 — purification and liminality 🌿
• Salt sowing ⚔️💀 — devastation and curse 🌵

Together, these strands enrich the city’s mythic and historical geography 🌍📜, balancing cultural tradition 🍷 with ecological reality 🌱 and imperial trauma ⚔️🔥.

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KUTUB MINAR - ITS NAME - THE SANSKRIT CONNECT

In the year 1977, Professor M.S. Bhatnagar flew over the top of Kutub Minar in a helicopter to get a close glimpse of the tower from the skies. A study of the pictures that were taken revealed that the top of the column was shaped like a 24-petaled lotus. He found that, like the base of the column, the entire column is shaped like a lotus flower. Each of the 24 petals represents what is known in Sanskrit as a  'hora' (होरा),  which is the same as the English 'hour'. Around the tower lie the ruins of a 27 temple-complex, each temple dedicated to the 27 nakshatras or star constellations. Obviously, the tower is an observatory.

That there are major discrepancies in the popular beliefs regarding the construction of the tower, its origin, its name and so forth is well known. One of the myths is that it was built by the slave dynasty ruler of Delhi, Kutubuddin Aibak - which is absolutely unconvincing especially because the site predates the birth of Kutubuddin Aibak by many centuries !! Besides Aibak only reigned from 1206-1210, and that was not ample time for the construction of the tower. What was attempted during the reign of the Allaudin Khilji, another Turik Afghan invader who ruled from 1296-1316, was the construction of a column, which Khilji ambitiously wanted to be double the height of the ancient stambh. which stood at 72.5 metres. But unsurprisingly he failed, the column design was a disaster and could not reach beyond a height of 27 meters though he reigned for 20 years to the 4 years that Aibak had stayed in power. Every ruler of the times wanted to claim that he was the builder. Illtutmish, the successor of Aibak who ruled from 1211-1236  was no different. 

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan states in his book 'The Monuments of Delhi', "There is a controversy about its (Kutub's) construction. It is famous amongst the Mohammadans that this minar was built by Illtutmish and often in the books of history, e.g. the Tarik-i-Fiiruzshahi of Asif and in fact in the inscription of Sikander Lodhi, son of Bahlol Lodhi, carved on its entrance, its construction is ascribed to Iltutmish....". There are even more theories. Sir Syed Khan notes, "Some books, e.g., Taqvim ul Baladan mentions it as madhana (Madhina - the tower from where the call to prayer  is given) of the mosque. The Futuhat-i-Firuzshahi of Firuz Shah  Tuglak refers it to as the Minar of Sultan Mu'izz' uddin (Mohammad bin Sam)." Mohammd bin Sam is more commonly known as Mohammad Ghori. To summarize, every Muslim invader of the time claimed to be the builder of this pillar.

 
In his analysis of the history of Kutub, historian P.N.Oak quotes Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (the founder of Aligarh Muslim University) who had in his own research come to the conclusion that the Kutub tower was a Hindu building. There are many who are skeptical about what Prof P.N. Oak, and vehemently oppose what Oak has written, but here are the actual passages quoted from Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan's Urdu Text 'Asar-ul-Sanadid' translated into English by Fatima Quraishi who works as Assistant Curator at the Mohatta Palace Museum in Karachi.

Sir Sayyid Khan writes, "The Kutub cannot be a minaret because the column’s door is north-facing similar to Hindu temples, while the doors of minarets are always east facing.... The structure’s first level also shows evidence of stones being placed at a later stage and there is evidence of the bell-and-chain motif of Hindu temples on the first floor. Additionally, the inscription on this pillar is similar to that of Qutbuddin Aibak and Muʿizzuddin’s conquest on the converted temple-mosque."

The text also states," ...there is nothing odd in the fact that epitaphs have been inscribed where idols once were.....when the Muslims conquered the temple, they added their own epigraphs upon the building'."

About the so-called Islamic inscriptions carved on the Kutub Minar, Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan wrote, "..... Often, the shape of letters has been made out, but close inspection reveals that they are incorrect, in some cases just imitations of alphabets, and in other cases words which have little to do with the subject of the inscription. Until today, the inscriptions of this monument have not been read. I have read all of them with the aid of a telescope".

But even more glaring is what Professor P.N.Oak points out and states hence, "The frieze patterns on the tower show signs of tampering, ending abruptly, or in a medley of in-congruent lines. The Arabic lettering is interspersed with Hindu motifs like lotus buds....". This is a fact that can be easily verified.

Here is a Hindu 'Bell and Chain' Motif inscribed on the walls of the Kutub Minar that Sir Syyed Ahmed Khan had written about:

Notice the 'Hindu 'Bell and Chain Motif on the
Kutub Wall that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wrote
about in his book 'Great Monuments'

The Bell and Chain Design
on the Temples Columns of Kutub Complex

The Bell and Chain Motif on Kutub Temple Walls

The Bell and Chain Motif on the ruins of ancient temples of Kutub

The same 'Bell and Chain' motifs that are seen
on the ancient temples of the complex are seen
on the walls of the Kutub Tower.

Scholars who have read the Surya-Siddhanta have in their writings explained the concept behind the construction of this column-shaped-observatory. Kutub-minar is a model of Sumeru. Sumeru is a mountain that one may imagine to be located on the axis of the earth.

The semi-vertical angle of the column is equal to difference between true and mean latitude of the point at which the column stands. According to Surya-Siddhanta a pillar divided into 12-units, known as the 12-angula Shiva Linga or the Shankhu, can be used to measure the latitude and the time at any point on the surface of the earth. The smallest shadow of the Shankhu or the column will obviously occur at the time when the sun is directly over the tip of the column. The shape of the shadow will be like a funnel or like the 'kutupa' as a funnel is known in Sanskrit. The time or the muhurut at that instance is known as the kutupa or the kutuba mahurat. The word kutupa was therefore always linked with this pillar or stambh.

The 25 inch tilt of this stambh ensures that on 21st June, the day of the summer solistice, at the time of the kutupa mahurata, there is no shadow of the tower anywhere. This is a claim that can be verified by observation.

Originally this kutupa-mana, (mana मान, is Sanskrit for measure) or the Observatory of Kutupa, was named Vishnu-dwaja or Vishnu-Stambh meaning Vishnu's tower. This named is inscribed in Sanskrit in the Bramhi script on the non-rusting pillar in the temple Complex of Kutupa-Mana which Islamic rulers had tried to blast at least once but luckily for present day researchers, had failed to do. The temple complex hillock was called Vishnupad Giri. Many of these names had died a temporary death at the hands of the then rulers but are now being reinstated. 

In any case the Islamic rulers of India were masters at creating deception by distorting words and giving them new meanings. And there are many such examples. One such example of this is the name Qutubbudin. As mentioned above the word 'kutupa' was always associated with this structure. It is only a myth that Vishnu stambh got its name Kutub Minar from that of the so called ruler Qutubuddin Aibak. That Aibak  who was of Turkish descent, gave himself the name Qutubbudin after seizing Vishnu Stambh is obvious from the fact that the Turkish word for pillar or pole is 'kutb'. He undoubtedly gave himself the name Qutubbudin after he captured the 'pole' or 'kutb' while at the same time camouflaging under 'kutb' the Sanskrit 'kutupa'. No matter what the history books say, it is highly unlikely that Aibak was called 'pole' as a child. The name only makes sense in the form Qutubbudin meaning 'the conqueror of the pole'.

The name Mehrauli, the location of the tower, is said to be a distortion of the Sanskrit Mihiravali - named after astronomer Varahamihira who is regarded as the architect of the ancient Kutub. Unlike the word 'Mehrauli' which has no meaning in any language, Mihiravali is a compound Sanskrit word, 'mihira' (मिहिर) means 'sun' and 'avali' (आवलि) means a 'row', 'a line', or 'lineage'. Mihiravali is known to have been astronomer Varahamihira's residence. Varahamihira is one of the most prominent known Vedic astronomers and pre-dates Aryabhatta by a few centuries.

A diagram made from the picture takenby Prof. M.S. Bhatnagar 
flying over the Kutub Minar in 1977, reveals
the 24-Petal Lotus shape of the Tower.
To read more about it, click here. 

Above Plates: Courtesy: Satyashodh.com/kutub.html

Suggested Links:
1.Great Monuments by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
2. Mihirawali - The original name of Mehrauli
3. About the Temple of Kutub
4. Meru
5. Kutub Minar - Its Origins

Footnote: The rotation axis or the spine of the earth is known as 'meru' (मेरु) in Sanskrit, just as our spinal-nerve is known as meru-cheta (मेरु-चेता). The eighth muhurut of the day, when the sun is right on our heads is known by many names including Abhijit Muhurat, Chaturtha Lagna, Kutub Muhurat, Kutupa Mahurat and Swami Tithiyansha Muhurat. And here-in lies the explanation to the name of the column-observatory known as Kutub-Minar.

REMNANTS OF ANCIENT VISHNU TEMPLE AT HUMAYUN TOMB SITE, NEW DELHI

A photo taken some time before 1893 is reproduced here from page 78-79 of  the book 'The World of Ancient India' which indicates that the site where the Humayun Tomb stands today was the site of an ancient Vishnupada Temple. The book, 'The World of Ancient India' is the English version of Dr. Gustave Le Bon's original French work titled 'Les Monuments de L'Inde' which was published in Paris in 1893. The English translation was published by David Macrae, Tudor Publishing Co., (New York) in 1974.

'Vishnu Pada' (विष्णुपद) or 'Vishnu Charan' (विष्णुचरण) temples are significant in the context of the legend that Vishnu, in the avatara of Vamana, strode across the world and planted his feet at three sites on earth. These sites are unknown but many temples in India commemorate this legend of Vishnu. 'Pada' and 'Charan' both mean 'feet'. The destroyed Vishnupada temple at the site where Humayun Tomb stands today was one such site.

Oblivious of this fact, the Hindus still believe that the only significant Vishnupada temples that ever existed were the one at Gaya in Bihar located on the Niranjana river now known by the meaningless name 'Falgu', and the other, which too was destroyed by the Slave Dynasty rulers of Delhi, at the Kutub Complex in Delhi.

However, there is evidence of a third site of a Vishnupada temple which was built in antiquity on the original course of the Yamuna river. The tract of land that connects the site of present day Humayun Tomb and Purana Kila is more or less accepted as the site of the Indraprastha city of Mahabharata.  The Yamuna river course has of course since then shifted. 

Here is the evidence in the form of a photograph of the Vishnu footprint slab, or Vishnu-pada taken at the Humayun Tomb site in Delhi which appeared in Dr. Gustave le Bon's English version of the French book Monuments De L'Inde. The slab had survived at least until 1893 when the picture was taken. The photograph was captioned in the English version of the book 'The World of Ancient India' as 'Vishnu's "Footprints", Tomb of Humayun'.

Vishnu's Footprints from the ancient temple at Humayun Tomb, photographed around the year 1893 at the Humayun Tomb.
From Gustave Le Bon's  book 'Les Monuments de L'Inde'

Above is the caption from the English version of Le Bon's book
titled 'The World of Ancient India'

A page from Le Bon's book

There are other indications that the Humayun Tomb was constructed by the Moghuls on the site of an ancient Hindu temple. Some remnants of those ancient structures still remain.

Ancient Temple Pillars were used as construction material.

Here we see eroded carvings of elephant trunks on the pillars of Humayun Tomb rampart.

Another view of the pillars taken from destructed Hindu Temples
and used for construction of Humayun Tomb. In the background
is a section of a typical Moghul fortress wall at the Isa Khan Tomb within the Humayun Tomb Complex.

Notice the 'elephant head' engravings at the bottom of the pillar -
a characteristic of Vedic and Hindu art.

A closer view of a less eroded
'elephant head' engraving.

Ancient Temple Pillars were used as construction material at Humayun Tomb. Notice that the pillars were placed upside down in this 'canopy structure' by the artisans in Moghul times.

The white quartz structure which is a remnant of the ancient temple is far more eroded than the red-sandstone rectangular structure dating to Moghul times. Sandstone erodes faster than quartz. The fact that the sandstone piece is in better shape than the quartz structure proves that the quartz pillars
are much older than the sandstone piece.

Eroded engravings on Temple Pillars which were used for construction
of tomb of Isa Khan at the Humayun Tomb Complex indicates that they belong to a different era.

That Humayun Tomb was built over the site of a Hindu temple is beyond doubt. But as Gustave Le Bon states in his book 'The Crowd', " The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste. preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master, whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim."

THE COSMIC DANCE OF SHIVA AND THE BIRTH OF SANSKRIT

Dr Fritjof Capra, an eminent American Physicist, who wrote the book 'The Tao of Physics' in 1975, connects the rhythmic pulsation of the subatomic particle with the Cosmic dance of Lord Shiva.  He says, “Every subatomic particle not only performs an energy dance, but also is an energy dance, a pulsating process of creation and destruction, without end. For the modern physicists, then Shiva's dance is the dance of subatomic matter...... Modern physics pictures matter, not as passive and inert, but as continuously dancing and vibrating. This is very much like the Eastern mystics description of the world. Both emphasize that the universe has to be grasped dynamically. It structures are not static, rigid ones, but should be seen in terms of dynamic equilibrium.”

The Cosmic Dance of Shiva
Statue presented by Indian Government in June 2004 to
CERN (European Centre for Research in Particle Physics), Geneva, Switzerland
CERN is the seat of the Hadron Collider

Lord Shiva performs the Tandava Nritya (ताण्डव नृत्य) which is a divine dance. Rudra Tandava is described as a vigorous dance that is the source of the cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. The Rudra Tandava marks the destruction of one cycle of creation followed by the beginning of a new cycle. 

नृत्तावसाने नटराजराजो ननाद ढक्कां नवपञ्चवारम्।
उद्धर्त्तुकामो सनकादिसिद्धादिनेतद्विमर्शे शिवसूत्रजालम्॥
At the end of His Cosmic Dance,
Shiva, the Lord of Dance,
with a view to bless the sages Sanaka and so on,
played on His Damaru fourteen times,
from which emerged the following fourteen Sutras,
known as Shiva Sutras or Maheshwara Sutras.

The new beginning is marked by Shiva playing his 'damru' from which the first sounds appear in the newly born universe. The sound is popularly known as Maheshwara Sutra. Amazingly the fourteen verses of Maheshwara Sutra that emanate from Shiva's Damru at the beginning of the new cycle of Creation are also the phonemes of the Sanskrit language. A phoneme is a basic unit of a language's phonology, which is combined with other phonemes to form meaningful units such as words.

Thus, as per the Rig Veda, the Maheshwara Sutra is the first organized sound on earth. To listen to it click here.
Hence, it is believed that the sound of Sanskrit words and the science of Sanskrit grammar (much like mathematics) has existed eternally. The ancient Vedic grammarians Panini, Katyayana and many more conceived and visualized Sanskrit grammar and merely re-established the revealed knowledge in their treatises.

The mouth of the Hadron Collider, Geneva
An Interpretation
Courtesy: 'AboveTopSecrets.com'

THE TAMING OF THE GANGES

Though King Sagara, the dynamic ruler of the Ikshvaku dynasty and forefather of Sri Rama, had successfully prepared a channel for the descent of the Ganga and even constructed a reservoir to hold its waters, the greater task still lay incomplete. The sacred river continued to surge unchecked in many directions, while the channel carved to contain her remained barren and dry. To read more about the 'Channelling of the Ganges' click here. 

Sagara ascended to heaven, and his grandson Anshuman too could not advance the work—the task remained formidable. Another generation passed; King Dileepa, though he spent long years in the Himalayas studying the challenge, made no progress. At last, when his son Bhagirath came of age, the dynasty was prepared to attempt the undertaking, but only under the guidance and power of Lord Shiva. The Ramayana tells us that thousands of years had elapsed—a metaphor for the long passage of time—since King Sagara had completed the first phase of the work. Now, at last, the ashes of his sons—incinerated by Sage Kapila for disturbing his sadhana—were destined to be sanctified by the descent of the Ganga.

It is said that Brahma and the other celestials counseled Bhagirath to seek the aid of Lord Shiva, for the task was beyond the reach of lesser beings. Lord Shiva accepted the plea and resolved to master the descent of the Ganga. He planned to break the river’s furious torrent upon the Himalayas, tempering its force, and then guiding the waters gently down to the plains, where they would flow into the channel already carved by the sons of King Sagara.

It is said that Lord Shiva first bound the Ganga within the coils of his matted locks—perhaps a metaphor for the ridges, ravines, rocks, and roots of the Himalayas—and thus broke the force of her descent. He tempered the torrent by channeling it through lakes and reservoirs, dispersing the waters into many streams before releasing them to flow onward.

The water flowing through the matted locks of Shiva?

The great lake created to slow the descent of the waters bound in Shiva’s matted hair came to be known as Bindu Sarovar. Its vast expanse tempered the river’s force, allowing the torrent to settle. From there, the waters were divided into seven streams: three flowing eastward, collectively known today as the Brahmaputra; three directed westward, forming the Sindhu; and the seventh, the Bhagirathi—the Ganga herself—guided into the central channel prepared for her descent.

The gods beheld the descent of the Ganga from the skies, and Valmiki’s description is wondrous. He writes: “Some of the gods, in aerial craft vast as cities, some astride prancing horses, and some upon mighty elephants, entered the firmament at the sight of the plunging Ganga.” [Valmiki Ramayana 1‑43‑18b, 19a].

From the verses that follow, it is evident that the celestials watched from above, borne in aerial vehicles. Even Bhagirath himself guided the river’s release from an airborne chariot—not a horse‑drawn conveyance, but a hovering craft. Had he been earthbound, the torrent newly freed would have engulfed both chariot and charioteer in an instant.

Bhagirath flew ahead of the surging Ganga, tracing her course over the channel already prepared. Behind him, the river followed—swift in some stretches, slower in others, at times colliding with her own waters—yet always pressing forward along the path he marked.

Another legend tells that Skanda, son of Shiva and Ganga, was born upon the banks of the sacred river. He is described as having six faces, nourished by the milk of six nurses. Yet the imagery in the Valmiki Ramayana evokes another vision: here stood a dam beyond Bindu Sarovar. Rather than merely “drinking the milk of six nurses.” 

Skanda seems to embody the very act of construction—the myth perhaps arising from scenes like the one captured above, of water gushing forth from the gates of a dam. Skilled in engineering, Skanda is said to have drilled a tunnel through Mount Kailash in another of Shiva’s undertakings. He was not only the son of Shiva, but his helper and collaborator in works of immense scale.

POR BAJIN, SIBERIA IS THE CITY OF SRI KRISHNA

About a hundred years ago an archaeological site by the name 'Por-Bajin', also spelled 'Por Bayzn' was discovered in the Tere-Kol Lake, located across the Altai Mountain Range in Tuva, Southern Siberia. The secret of the fort at Tere Kol lake in Por Bajin has never been solved. But the answer to the many questions about Por Bajins history may lie in the story of the asura Vajranabha described in the Harivamsa Purana of India. In fact it may be asserted here that the ancient history of Por Bajin may be revealed by tracing the etymology of the name 'Por Bajin' itself, which can be decoded by studying the history of a city by the name Bajrapur, mentioned in the annals of ancient Indian history and literature. Many of these elusive texts are held by descendants of past royal families or by pandits in-charge of ancient Hindu temples.

Lt. Col James Tod, the Political Agent of the East India Company, who was stationed in India in the latter part of the eighteenth century had befriended the Maharaja of Jaisalmer and gained access to the ancient annals of Rajasthan and western India that had been handed down to the Maharaja by his ancestors. James Tod researched these ancient texts and in 1790 summarized his findings in his 'Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'*, which is now regarded as one of the major works that the British produced during their raj in India.

What James Tod wrote reveals interesting information about ancient tribes of India, their activities, their emigration to other countries and their conquests. In his study Tod found that the 'Yadhu Tribe', of whom Sri Krishna and his three sons were the most prominent members, spread the Yadhu empire westward and northwards, beyond the geographical boundaries of present-day India. One of the cities that was conquered by the Yadhu tribe was called Vajrapur (वज्र-पुर्), later called Bajra-pur. The city was located far away from Bharatvarsha. This magnificent city was known as the city of jewels and was located far beyond north of the Himalayan range. The Harivamsa Purana describes this city in some detail and states that it was surrounded by a lake.

Various ancient Indian sources, in particular the Harivamsa Purana, describe the conquests of Sri Krishna's son Pradyumna who extended the Yadhu Empire in the northern direction. One of the cities that he had had attacked was the city of Vajrapura, where he had defeated its king, known by the name Vajranabha. After his defeat, a truce was called and as a peace gesture Pradyumna married Vajranabha's daughter Prabhavati. The poetic versions of this war say that Pradyumna is transported from Dwarka by geese to a land far far away before he attacked the destination city of Vajrapur, indicating the great distance he had to travel.

Is it possible that 'Por-Bajin' is a distortion of 'Pur-Bajra', that is 'Bajra Pur' in reverse. That perhaps is the only explanation. As mentioned above, the ancient name 'Vajra', is commonly pronounced as 'Bajra'. In Sanskrit, 'Vajra' (वज्र) means 'impenetrable', 'Pur' (पुर्) means a city. Archaeologists at 'Por Bajin' have described the fortress there to be amazingly sturdy and have stated that in ancient times the fortress must have been almost 'impenetrable'.

In the local 'Tuvan' language 'Por Bajin' translates as 'Clay House' which does not describe the sturdiness of the Por Bajin structure at all. In fact, the Sanskrit 'Vajra Pur' is a much more apt word for describing an 'impenetrable fortress'. It therefore becomes evident that the name Vajrapur distorted to Bajrapur and then transposed to Pur Bajra before taking on the form of Por Bajin which could be explained by the local Tuvan language. 

The existence of a Sanskrit name at this site is not surprising. Por Bajin lies close to Mongolia, and there is a huge influence of Sanskrit on the Mongolian language. For example, in Mongolian, Sanskrit weekdays name are still in use, such as Adiya for Sunday (derived from Aditya-Sun), Soumiya for Monday (derived from soma- moon), Angarag for Tuesday, Bud for Wednesday, Barasbadi, derived from Brhaspati - Jupiter, Sugar for Friday, derived from Shukra or Venus and Sanchir derived from Sanischar or Saturn four Saturday. The ancient name of Mongolia is supposed to have been Mangala, Sanskrit for prosperity. It is obvious that in antiquity Por Bajin must have been influenced in a similar manner.

The Por-Bajin Structure at 'Tere Kol Lake', Siberia
Could this have been Lord Krishna's City of Vajra-Pur
or Bajra-Pur mentioned in ancient Indian annals.

Now a look at the name of the lake that surrounds Por Bajin. The name is Tere-Kol. Kol is an obvious distortion of Sanskrit 'Kula' (कूल)  meaning 'lake', 'pond' or 'pool'. ' In fact, the word kol appears in the names of many lakes in the region such as Ssayakol, Koshyarkol and Ala Kol. The name Tere of the lake can be explained by 'Teer' (तीर) is Sanskrit for 'shore' or 'bank' of a river, or the 'edge' of a pool or lake, or it may be a truncated form of a combination word.

Until now, the archaeologists have dated Por-Bajin site to only 8th century AD, but have not been able to figure out much else about it. Is 'Por Bajin' the Yadhu city that was established by Sri Krishna's sons in Southern Siberia? Could it be that traces of the city of the Yadhus still exist somewhere deep among the ruins of 'Por-Bajin'?

A look at ancient Dwarka, the city from where Sri Krishna ruled and was built prior to Bajra-Pur, may reveal the answer. Dwarka located off the coast of Gujarat is now submerged. What is uncanny though is the close resemblance of the foundation structure of Dwarka as described in the Harivamsa Purana and to that of Por Bajin.

An artist's conception of Sri Krishna's city
of 'Dwarka' based on descriptions in Hindu texts.
The city is now being explored by marine archaeologists
off the coast of Gujarat in India.

Aerial views of Por Bajin are almost identical to that of the description of Dwarka in Indian scriptures. Though artifacts found at Por Bajin have been currently dated to no earlier than medieval times, and though they reveal some links to China, it is also evident that if there were links to the Yadhu tribe of India as recorded in the Puranas, then the medieval structures that exist today at the site were constructed above or on top of  what was built by the Yadhus in about 3000- 4000 BC. However, the foundations must even today be the same as that of the earliest structure and can be studied to reveal the truth about the antiquity of this structure.

The name Siberia, it is said, originates from the Tatar-Bashkirs word for 'sleeping land' (Sibir) or 'beautiful land' (Siber). 'Siberia' translates as 'the beautiful land' from Sanskrit. In Sanskrit 'Su' (सु) means 'good' or 'beautiful' and 'Pura' (पुरा), 'Puri' (पुरी) or 'puram' (पुरम) all mean 'land' or 'city'. These is widely accepted in the Indian circles. The reason is that the Harivamsa Purana clearly states that Supura was a dependent city of the city of Vajra. In fact, when Pradyumna attacks the city of Vajra, the Harivamsa Purana states that Pradyumna made a stop at Supura before proceeding to Vajrapura. This perhaps explains the etymology of Siberia the best.

Others have contended that 'Sibir' (शिबिर) means 'camp'. Archaeologists have conjectured that, in antiquity, Por-Bajin was possibly used only as a summer residence, or a camp, given the extreme weather conditions of Siberia. Some have therefore contended that the name of Siberia in ancient Indian texts is 'Shibir', in reference to the temporary 'camps' that were set up there by travelers, but this view is not accepted for lack of authenticity. there is no text that states this in an obvious way, though places in Siberia may have been used temporarily during summer as a camp.

Some consider Por Bajin stronghold to be a temple and call it 'Russian Shaolin'. Others believe that this construction serves as the northern gates to sacred place Shambala, but no other text gives us more details than the Harivamsa Purana does.

Suggested Links
*Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan' (published- 1829 AD) by Lt. Col. James Todd of East India Company.
1. Lake Baikal and Angara River, Siberia - The Sanskrit Connection
2. Dwarka or Por Bajin
3. Yoni Worship in Siberia
4. Por Bajin - Fortress of Solitude
5. Pradyumna: Son of Krishna - Usha Narayanan

POR BAJIN, SIBERIA IS THE BAJRAPUR OR VAJRAPUR OF HARIVAMSA PURANA

About a hundred years ago, an archaeological site by the name 'Por-Bajin', also spelled 'Por Bayzn', was discovered in the Tere-Kol Lake, located across the Altai Mountain Range in Tuva, Southern Siberia. Mainline archaeologists say that the secret of the origins of the fort at Tere Kol lake in Por Bajin is lost in history.

But the answer to the many questions about Por Bajin's history may lie in the story of the conquest by Pradyumna, Sri Krishna's son, of a city by the name Vajrapur which existed during the times of the Mahabharata. The city of Vajrapur was constructed by an asura architect Nikumba for the asura Vajranabha described in the Harivamsa Purana - which consists of the description of Sri Krishna's life after the end of the Mahabharata war.

The ancient history of Por Bajin may be revealed by tracing the etymology of the name 'Por Bajin' itself, which can be decoded by studying the history of Vajrapur, later called Bajrapur, mentioned in the annals of ancient Indian history and literature. Many of these elusive texts were held by descendants of past royal families or by pandits in-charge of ancient Hindu temples, and some information from these texts has trickled down to us.

Lt. Col James Tod, the Political Agent of the East India Company, who was stationed in India in the latter part of the eighteenth century had befriended the Maharaja of Jaisalmer and gained access to the ancient annals of Rajasthan and western India that had been passed down to the Maharaja by his family. James Tod researched these ancient texts and in 1790 summarized his findings in his 'Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'*, which is now regarded as one of the major works that the British produced during their rule in India.

What James Tod wrote reveals interesting information about the ancient tribes of India, their activities, their emigration to other countries and their conquests. Colonel Tod says: “The Jaisalmer annals assert that the Yadu and the Balica branches of the Indu race ruled Korassan after the Great War, the Indo-Scythic races of Grecian authors. Besides the Balicas and the numerous branches of the Indo-Medes, many of the sons of Cooru dispersed over these regions : amongst whom we may place Ootooru Cooru (Northern Coorus) of the Puranas, the Ottorocurm of the Greek authors. Both the Indu and the Surya races were eternally sending their superfluous population to those distant regions.” 

The Great War is a reference to the Mahabharata war fought between the Kurus and the Pandavas. Cooru refers to the Kurus, Ootooru Cooru and Ottorocurm is Uttara Kuru of the Puranas, which is identified as the region beginning north of the Himalayas, right up to the Artic circle. The Yadhus are also known as the Yadavas. The Balicas is the Balikha tribe of Mahabharata and Korassan is Khurasan, a region in eastern Iran.

In other words, in his study of the Rajasthan annals, Tod found that the 'Yadhu Tribe', of whom Sri Krishna and his three sons were the most prominent members, spread the Yadhu empire westward and northwards, beyond the geographical boundaries of present day India. He states that one of the cities that was conquered by the Yadhu tribe was called Vajrapur (वज्र-पुर्), later called Bajra-pur. The city was located far away beyond the Himalayan range. Col. Tod states in his Annals and Antiquity, Vol 1, page 85, “The sons of Krishna eventually left Indus behind and passed into Zabulisthan, and peopled those countries, even to Samarkand.” Zabulistan is the present day region of Kabul and Ghazni in Afghanistan. They also peopled territories north of Afghanistan.

Other ancient Indian sources such as the Harivamsa Purana state the same story. It sates that Sri Krishna's son Pradyumna extended the Yadhu Empire in the northern direction. One of the cities that he had had attacked was the city of Vajrapura, where he had defeated its king, known by the name Vajranabha. After his defeat, a truce was called and as a peace gesture Pradyumna married Vajranabha's daughter Prabhavati. 

The poetic versions of this war says that Pradyumna is transported from Dwarka by geese to a land far far away before he attacks the destination city of Vajrapur. The Harivamsa Purana describes this city in some detail and states that it was a magnificent city, known as the city of jewels. It was located far beyond the Himalayan range and was surrounded by a lake. That Pradyumna is carried by geese to this city indicates the great distance he had to travel. An analysis of the description in the verses reveals that the geese were aerial cars or vimanas.

For example, in Vogel's 'The Goose in Indian Literature & Art', the author says that the powerful geese fly in military like formations leaving behind what he describes as 'strips of white sandalwood paste emitted from the golden tips of the wings'. This undoubtedly is a description of airplanes leaving behind chem- trails.

Scholar Hari Bilas Sarda arrived at the same conclusion in his research. In his book 'Hindu Superiority', Har Bilas Sarda, quoting Harivamsha Purana states that a band of Hindu settlers left India for Siberia, where they founded a kingdom, with Vajrapur, which later came to be called Bajrapur, as its capital. It is related that on the death of the king Vajranabh of that country in a battle, Pardyumna, Gad and Sambha, three sons of Sri Krishna, with a large number of Brahmans and Kshatriyas went there, and the eldest brother succeeded to the throne of Vajrapur. On the death of Sri Krishna, the three sons paid a condolence visit to Dwarka.

As mentioned above one of the cities that was conquered by the Yadhu tribe was Vajra-pur (वज्र-पुर्), later called Bajra-pur. An analysis of the verses of Harivamsa Purana and the location of 'Por-Bajin' bring us to the conclusion that the name Por Bazin is a distortion of 'Pur-Bajra' - or 'Bajra Pur' in reverse. That perhaps is the only explanation. The ancient name 'Vajra', is commonly pronounced as 'Bajra' in India. In Sanskrit, 'Vajra' (वज्र) means 'impenetrable', 'Pur' (पुर्) means a city. Archaeologists at 'Por Bajin' have described the fortress there to be amazingly sturdy and have stated that in ancient times the fortress must have been almost completely 'impenetrable'. That is exactly how the city is described in the Harivamsa Purana.

In the local 'Tuvan' language 'Por Bajin' translates as 'Clay House' which contradicts the fact that the one feature that stands out is the sturdiness of the Por Bajin structure. In fact, the Sanskrit 'Vajra Pur' is a much more apt word for describing an 'impenetrable fortress'. It therefore becomes evident that the name Vajrapur distorted to Bajrapur and then transposed to Pur Bajra before taking on the form of Por Bajin which could then be explained by the local Tuvan language. 

The existence of a Sanskrit name at this site is not surprising. Por Bajin lies close to Mongolia, and there is has been a huge influence of Sanskrit on the Mongolian language. For example, in Mongolian, Sanskrit weekdays name are still in use, such as Adiya for Sunday (derived from Aditya-Sun), Soumiya for Monday(derived from soma- moon), Angarag for Tuesday, Bud for Wesdnesday ,Barasbadi, derived from Brhaspati - Jupiter, Sugar for Friday, derived from Shukra or Venus and Sanchir derived from Sanischar or Saturn four Saturday. The ancient name of Mongolia is supposed to have been Mangala, Sanskrit for 'prosperity'. It obvious then that in antiquity Por Bajin must have been influenced culturally in a similar manner.

The Por-Bajin Structure at 'Tere Kol Lake', Siberia
Could this have been Lord Krishna's City Vajra-Pur
or Bajra-Pur mentioned in ancient Indian annals.

Now a look at the name of the lake that surrounds Por Bajin. The name is Tere-Kol, also called Tore-Kol. 'Kol' is an obvious distortion of Sanskrit kula (कूल) meaning 'lake', 'pond' or 'pool'. Though the most common Mongolian word for a lake is 'nuur', 'river' translates as both 'gol' and 'qol', the latter is a cognate of Sanskrit kula.  In fact, the word qol appears as 'kol' in the names of many lakes in this region such as Ssayakol, Koshyarkol and Ala Kol.

Located about 25 km away, is a lake regarded as scared of them all is a lake by the name Kara-Khol, located in the Western Tuva, in Bai-Taiga region. The lake is surrounded by steep cliffs which lend a dark colour to its waters, hence the name Kara which means black in the Tuvian language. It is likely that it was the Sanskrit kāla (काला) or black', which was adapted as kara in languages where /r/ was more dominant, or/l/ was less stable. This could be a substrate influence from an earlier language like Sanskrit in Central Asian or Turkic tongues or a semantic borrowing where the meaning of 'black' or 'darkness' was retained, but the phonetics shifted.

Another lake not too far away is called Uvs Nuur. Mainstram scholars are of the view that the term Uvs stems from older Mongolic or Turkic words like' 'ubsa' or 'ubsaq', which refer to briny water or salt marshes. Yet, it is more likely that 'ubsa' and 'upsaq' either related to Sanskrit apsa (अप्सा) meaning 'giving water', or to arshana (अर्षण) which means flowing'.  What makes this compelling is that the two Mongolian word for 'flow', 'ursa' and 'urus' are close cognates of Sanskrit apsa. 

Nuur, which means lake in Mongolian, derives from Proto-Mongolic root: naxur, appears to be linked to Sanskrit akshara (अक्षर) meaning water.

The Dating of Por Bajin:

Until now, the archaeologists have dated Por-Bajin site to only 8th century AD, but have not been able to figure out much else about it. But all fingers point to the fact that 'Por Bajin' might indeed have been the Yadhu city that was established by Sri Krishna's sons in Southern Siberia. Doubts had even been raised about the existence of Sri Krishna's city of Dwarka, but there certainly are remnants of old submerged structures in the Arabian Sea. Could it similarly be that the traces of the city of the Yadhus still exist somewhere deep inside the foundations of the ruined structure of 'Por-Bajin'?

A look at ancient Dwarka, the city from where Sri Krishna ruled and was built prior to Bajra-Pur, may reveal the answer. Dwarka located off the coast of Gujarat is now submerged. What is uncanny though is the close resemblance of  the shape of the  structure of Dwarka, as described in the Puranas, to that of Por Bajin. The Puranas describe Dwarka as a city built like a fortress, with high walls on the outside, and with four main gates on four sides. Within the city were built a palace, living quarters, temples, and military fortifications for the Yadava warriors

 An artist's conception of Sri Krishna's city
of 'Dwarka' based on descriptions in Hindu texts.
The city is now being explored by marine archaeologists off the coast of Gujarat in India.

Aerial views of Por Bajin are almost identical to that of the description of Dwarka in Indian scriptures. Artifacts found at Por Bajin have been currently dated to no earlier than medieval times. Scholars state that and these artifacts reveal some links to Chinese architecture. However, one must remember, that China itself was heavily influenced by Hinduism in antiquity and then later by Buddhism. In any case, no artifacts could have survived from the times of Sri krishna. If Por Bajin had links to the Yadhu tribe of India, then the medieval structures that exist today at the site were constructed above or on top of what was built by the Yadhus in about 3000- 4000 BC. However, part of the foundations must even today be the same as that of the earliest structure.

This tile excavated from Por-Bajin said to display
Chinese Buddhist features may in all possibility
be of Hindu origins

The name Siberia, it is said, originates from the Tatar-Bashkirs word for 'sleeping land', Sibir;  or 'beautiful land' (Siber). 'Siberia' translates as 'the beautiful land' from Sanskrit. In Sanskrit 'Su' (सु) means 'good' or 'beautiful' and 'Pura' (पुरा), 'Puri' (पुरी) or 'puram' (पुरम) all mean 'land' or 'city'. These is widely accepted in the Indian circles especially because the Harivamsa Purana clearly states in its description of Pradyumna's sojourn to Vajrapura, "Thereupon ascending the cars driven by Pradyumna, the great car-warrior Yadavas set out on the mission of the highly powerful celestials. Thereupon they arrived at Supura, a dependent city of Vajra". In other words Pradyumna made a stop at Supura before proceeding to Vajrapura.

Others have contended that 'Sibir' (शिबिर) means 'camp'. Archaeologists have conjectured that, in antiquity, Por-Bajin was possibly used only as a summer residence, or a camp, given the extreme weather conditions of Siberia. Some have therefore contended that the name of Siberia in ancient Indian texts is 'Shivir', in reference to the temporary 'camps' that were set up there by travelers, but this view is not accepted for lack of authenticity.

Some consider Por Bajin stronghold to be a temple and call it 'Russian Shaolin'. Others believe that this construction serves as the northern gates to sacred place Shambala.

Footnote: Related forms in other Mongolic languages suggest a shared etymological root for “salt” or “saline body”: Daur naur, Dongxiang no or noer, and Classical Mongolian ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ (naɣur). The name Uvs Nuur—a large saline lake in western Mongolia—likely reflects this linguistic heritage, its high mineral content echoing the semantic field of salt. A parallel can be drawn with India’s Sambhar Lake, whose name derives from Sanskrit sāmbhara (“salt”), reinforcing the tendency of ancient place-names to encode elemental qualities.


Bibliography:

1. *Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan' (published- 1829 AD) by Lt. Col. James Todd of East India Company.
2. Lake Baikal and Angara River, Siberia - The Sanskrit Connection
3. Dwarka or Por Bajin
4. Yoni Worship in Siberia
5. Por Bajin - Fortress of Solitude
6. Pradyumna
7. Hindu Superiority : Har Bilas Sarda : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
8. vol 2, pt 1, stanza 12 c - The Secret Doctrine (theosociety.org)
9. History Of Ancient India (a New Version) : From 7300 Bb To 4250 Bc, - J.P. Mittal - Google Books
10. Pradyumna: Son of Krishna - Usha Narayanan - Google Books
11. Archaeology Magazine - Letter from Siberia - Fortress of Solitude - Archaeology Magazine Archive
12.Common World Inheritage: Yoni Worship in Siberia.
13. A Prose English Translation of Harivamsha (archive.org)
14.6 Chapter 2 - Gadre.pdf (hmlibrary.ac.in)
15.Altai sacred sites (unu.edu)

16. A_Prose_English_Translation_of_Harivamsh.pdf

17. Anacalypsis, an attempt to draw aside the veil of the Saitic Isis; or, An inquiry into the origin of languages, nations, and religions. : Higgins, Godfrey, 1773-1833 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
18, Indian antiquities vol.I : Maurice, Thomas : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

19. Translation Mongolian-English-Mongolian - FREELANG online dictionary