SANSKRIT-THE MOTHER OF PERSIAN

Ramsar, Ravansar, Siyavar and Lankaran
are present-day city names in Iran

The Zend-Avesta is the collection of Seven Primary Texts books of 'Zoroastrianism' the ancient religion of Iran, then called Persia. Their language Persian stems from the Avestan language which is a distortion or derivation of Sanskrit. Zend is a Zoroastrian term for translations of the Avestan texts. 'Zend' is a contraction of the Avestan language word zainti meaning 'understood' derived from Sanskrit (जानति) janati.

So why is there such a close affinity between Sanskrit and Persian. Scholars such as Professor Arnold Heeren have made note of this similarity in their writings. Heeren stated in his work 'Historical Researches', “In point of fact, the Zend is derived from Sanskrit, and a passage in Manu (Chapter X, Slokas 43-45) makes the Persians to have descended from the Hindus of the warrior caste (kshatriya)." (page 220)

Sir William Jones, scholar of Ancient Indian Studies, made the observation that Sanskrit is ultimately the mother of Persian via Avesten Zend. He states in his 'Works', “I was not a little surprised to find that out of ten words in Du Perron’s Zend Dictionary, six or seven were pure Sanskrit." Many similarities exist between the ancient Vedic texts and the Zend Avesta. For example:

1. Book I of the Avesta is called 'Yasna'. 'Yasna' is derived from the Sanskrit Yagya (यज्ञ), which means the 'Holy Fire Worship'. The Yasna also includes the 'gathas'. The word 'Gatha' comes from the Sanskrit 'gatha' (गाथा), which means 'hymns' or 'verses'.

2. Book II is the 'Visperad' and is a supplement to the 'Yasna'. It contains the rituals and the liturgical code of the Yagna. The Avestan word 'Visperad' has been decoded as 'Visspe Ratavo', meaning 'prayer to all patrons'.

The Yasna and the Visperad, like the Hindu Yajur-Veda, encode the 'vidhi' (विधि) or the method of the ritualistic ceremony and fire worship The 'Visperad' is never recited without the 'Yasna' which points to the fact that the 'Visperad' were the hymns that were chanted as the 'Yasna' (Avestan) or Yagna (Sanskrit), or 'Offerings to the Holy Fire' (English), were made.

Visperad' may be decoded with the help of Sanskrit as follows: 'Perad' is a distortion of Sanskrit 'Parida' (परिदा) which means 'an offering of devotion'. The first syllable 'Vis' may have entered into Avestan from Sanskrit 'Vidh' (विध्), which means 'Honour a God with'. The Sanskrit 'Vidh-Parida' would then translate as 'Honour a God with offering of Devotion".

3. The IIIrd Book is the 'Vendidad' and is generally accepted to be a corruption of the Avestan 'Vi-Daevo-Data', which if decoded with the help of Sanskrit means 'Given Against the Demons'. In Sanskrit 'Videva' (विदेव) means 'those who are not Devas or Gods' that is equivalent to 'Demons'. 'DatA' means 'giver' in Sanskrit.

The name 'Vendidad' is therefore interpreted as a 'method to confound the demons'. But that has a negative connotation (which may originate from the fact that the Rig Vedic 'Sura' or Devas' were considered as 'Demons' in the kingdoms of Central Asia). Besides, in Sanskrit, 'Vedeva' (विदेव) does mean 'hostile to Gods'. However, unlike the 'Yasna', the 'Vendidad text is not universally revered, and some have argued that the 'Vendidad' was either written much later than the 'Yasna' or else distortions were introduced into the original 'Vendidad' texts.

It is also said that though the language of Vendidad is Old Avestan, the religious concepts enumerated in it are not. The original meaning of the name 'Vendidad' may then have had much more to do with Sanskrit 'Vandana' (वन्दना), which means 'the act of praising', or  with 'Vandita' (वन्दित), which means 'One who is praised or revered like God' to the rather dark 'Vi-deavo-data' meaning 'Given against the Demons'.

4. The IVth book is the 'Yasht', the name derives from Avestan 'yesti', which means 'to venerate', and is a book of 21 hymns. 'Yasht' may be derived from any of these Sanskrit words - 'Yachati' (यच्छति), which means 'offer' or to 'give', Yacha (याच्) 'to ask for' or 'request', 'Yacha' (याच्य) 'making a humble request' and so on.

5. The Vth book is the 'Sriroza', which means 'Thirty Days' in Avestan. In the Hindu tradition, the concept of Thirty Gods exists as 'TridashGuru' (त्रिदशगुरु). The 'Sri' in 'Sriroza' is a distortion of Sanskrit (त्रिंश) 'trinsh' or 'Trinshat' (त्रिंशत्), both meaning 'thirty'.

 6. The VIth Book is the 'Khordeh Avestan', which means 'Small Avestan'. 'Khordeh' is derived from Sanskrit 'Kriduh' (कृधु) meaning 'small'.

So, what is the degree of similarity between Zend Avesta and its source language Sanskrit? In his book 'Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture', the author Douglas Q. Adams states, "The close similarity of the earliest attested Indo-Iranian languages is clearly evident if we extract several lines from the Avestan hymn to the Iranian god Mitra, and provide it with an inter-linear translation in the language of the Rigveda of ancient India....".

A page from 'Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture
 by Douglas Adams

'

Here is a look at Avestan hymn that Douglas Adams is referring to. The Avestan hymn says: "tem amavantem yazatem, surem damohu scviatem, mitram yazai zaotrabayo". It the same as the Sanskrit "tam amavantam yajatam, suram dhamasu savistham, mitram yajai hotrabyah" with a few phonological changes. It means "this powerful deity, strong among the strongest, Mitra, I offer my libations to...". The Iranian god Mitra is the same as the Rig Vedic god Mitra.

Says Douglas Adams, ".... Linguistics remark that the similarity between Iranian and Indic is not only one of grammar and general lexicon but even the references to the means of ritual offering in the two languages derive from a common ancestor, which speaks for a common cultural background. This common background is also reflected in the sharing of names for rivers and common deities, albeit some of the earlier deities common to both were demonized in the later religious reforms of Zaratustera..."

For example, the Greeks called what is today known as Mazandaran in Iran by the name Hyrcania - a distortion of its earlier name 'Verkana'. The name Verkana is recorded in the inscription of Behistun, dated somewhere between 522 - 468 BC.

The word 'Verkana' is itself a distortion of the Sanskrit 'Vrka' (वृक) which means 'wolf'. The Sanskrit 'Vrka' distorts in Avestan (ancient language of Iran) to 'vehrko', also meaning 'wolf'. Therefore. Hyrcania is translated as 'Wolfland'.

But why did the name Verkana change to Mazandaran. And what does Mazandaran mean? The etymology of Mazandaran is traced to Persian 'mazandaran', literally 'the gate or the valley of the giants'. Persian itself derives from Avestan. In Avestan, the word for giant is 'mazainya'. Now Avestan is phonologically very close to Sanskrit and can be easily decoded with it. 'Maza' is a distortion of Sanskrit 'maha' which means huge, large or giant. The Persian 'dara' meaning 'door' is the same as the Sanskrit 'dwar' with a dropped syllable, also meaning 'door'.

Hence, what was once known as 'Verkana', the land where the wolves roamed, at some point saw the advent of an organized culture, the influence of the Vedic gods, such as Mitra, Varuna and Indra, saw its name change to the more ancient form of Mazendaran.

Thomas Burrow, in his book 'The Indo Aryans' stated that the name Mazandaran contained the name of Indra, he said that 'daran' was a distortion of 'Indra' and that since Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian god is actually 'Asura Mitra', the first part of the name Mazandaran refers to Zoroastrian god Mitra who is the same as the Vedic god Mitra and that the second part of the word had more to do with Indra, rather than 'dara' or 'door'.

This point has been debated much. Any which way it is fairly clear that at some point Indians descended on what is today known as Iran along with their Indic culture. What is of note is that even before this wave, Sanskrit 'vrika' was already known in Iran, suggesting that the language was universal.

Nevertheless the Indic culture, as a part of the Mittani rush, reached Mesopotamia. Burrow states in his book 'The Indo Aryans' that though some Indians moved to Mesopotamia along with the Mittani, a group stayed back in Iran or were already well established in Iran. He was of the view that the many sites with Sanskrit names especially of mountains, rivers and lakes of Iran attest to this fact. More than cities and kingdoms and cities, the mountains, rivers and lakes tend to retain in their ancient names.

The Zagros Mountains for example gets its name from a group of people who came from the sea into Iran. They called themselves 'Sagara' (सागर) or 'sea'. Zagros is distorted 'Sagara'. That name is undisputabaly Indian. Burrow also says that Lake Urmia, the largest lake in Iran, is named after Sanskrit urmi (ऊर्मि) or 'wave'. This lake has had many names of which the most ancient is Urmia, which translates as 'puddle' in Assyrian.

The etymological origins of the word 'Persia' lie in the word  'Parsa'. The name is of Indian coinage, and of Sanskrit origins. In India, 'Persia' was known as 'Parasa' (परस), which means 'further', 'away' or 'beyond'. stemming from the root word para (पार).

Suggested Links:
1. Encyclopedia of Indo European Culture by Douglas Q. Adams
2, The Sanskrit Language by Thoms Burrow
3. The Avestan Dictionary
4. Handbook of classical antiquity: by Richard Nelson Frye
5. A Textbook of Urdu: In the Roman Script by J. Williat
6. Ancient Indian Colonies of the Far East - Dr. R. C Mazumdar

THE FOREST DRIVE- FROM INDRAPRASTHA TO AGRAVANA

The Hidden Green Ribbon: Uncovering the Ancient Forest Corridor Between Delhi and Agra

When you drive down the Yamuna Expressway today, you see a smooth stretch of modern asphalt connecting India’s political capital, New Delhi, to its tourism capital, Agra. But underneath the concrete lies a fascinating, thousands-of-years-old ecological and spiritual secret.

Long before it was a highway, this entire 200-kilometer stretch was an impenetrable, interconnected web of primeval woodlands, sacred groves, and wildlife sanctuaries.

From the fiery battlefields of the Mahabharata to the mystical groves of the Braj Mandala, let’s journey through the ancient forests that once defined the road from Delhi to Agra—and the growing movement to restore their legacy

The Yamuna Expressway of Yore

The Mahabharata Connection: Was Agra Originally 'Agravana'?

Today, a fascinating historical debate is brewing: Should the city of Agra be renamed Agravana? To understand why, we have to look back at the Mahabharata.

When Sri Krishna and Arjuna needed to clear a space to build their magnificent capital city, Indraprastha (modern-day Delhi), they had to burn down the massive, untamed Khandava Forest.

According to the Markandeya Samasya Parva (Canto 220) of the epic, sacrificial offerings made to the fire god, Agni, are called ‘Agra’ (अग्र). Because this entire forest was sacrificed to Agni as an offering, the vast woodland came to be known as Agravana—the forest offered to fire.

Geographically, this primeval canopy was immense. One end anchored itself at Indraprastha (Delhi), while the other reached all the way down to Agravana (Agra). Modern cities have swallowed the trees, but the lineage remains. The ancient Madhuvana evolved into Mathura, Vrindavana still thrives, and many believe restoring the name Agravana would complete the circle of this ancient corridor.

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Mapping the Sacred 12 Forests (Dwadasha Vanas)

At the heart of this ancient corridor lies Braj Mandala (Vraja Bhoomi). Spanning a traditional 84-kos (approx. 252 km) pilgrimage circuit, this landscape was historically a contiguous, lush paradise centered around the Yamuna River.

The Padma Purana documents that this eco-spiritual landscape was split into 12 Principal Forests. Seven guarded the western bank of the Yamuna, and five lined the eastern bank.

🌲 The 7 Forests of the Western Bank

• 1. Madhuvana (The Honey Forest): Located just outside Mathura, it was famous for wild honey reserves and houses Dhruva Tila, where the child sage Dhruva performed his legendary penance.

• 2. Vrindavana (The Forest of Tulsi): The most famous of all, dedicated to Vrinda-devi. Hidden pockets like Nidhuvana and Seva Kunja survive today as dense, mystical, low-canopy thickets.
• 3. Kamyavana (The Wish-Fulfilling Forest): A vast woodland on the western border where the Pandavas took refuge during their long exile. The present-day name is Kaman.
• 4. Talavana (The Palm Forest): Dominated by towering palm trees, this is where Balarama famously defeated the demon Dhenukasura to reclaim the forest fruits for local cowherds. In present times, it is known as Tarasi and is located near Vrindavana.
• 5. Kumudavana (The Lotus Forest): A lowland plain packed with historical wetlands that were once completely blanketed by night-blooming lotuses (kumuda). And is called Kudarban.
• 6. Bahulavana (The Forest of Abundance): A serene woodland tied to the ancient story of the virtuous cow, Bahula, symbolizing absolute truth. It is now called Bati and is located in Braj. (Bati in Mathura) 
• 7. Khadiravana (The Khair Forest): Abundant with Khadira (Catechu) trees, providing deep shade, celebrated as the site where Krishna defeated Bakasura, Khadiravana is now called Khayaro.

How insipid are the names compared to the original names.

🌳 The 5 Forests of the Eastern Bank

• 8. Mahavana (The Great Forest): The largest and most impenetrable of the twelve. Because it was so dense, Nanda Maharaja chose it as the ultimate hiding spot to secretly raise infant Krishna away from King Kansa.
• 9. Bhandiravana (The Banyan Forest): Famed for its giant, sprawling ancient Banyan trees under which the cowherd boys would play and rest.
• 10. Bilvavana / Baelvana (The Bael Forest): Thick with wild wood-apple trees, where text says Lakshmi Devi performed penance to witness the pastimes of the valley.
• 11. Lohavana (The Iron Forest): Named for its iron-rich soil and the defeat of the demon Lohajanghasura, today it remains a scenic spot of flowering groves.
• 12. Bhadravana (The Auspicious Forest): The northernmost meadow landscape where Krishna and Balarama grazed their vast herds of cows beside the peaceful Bhadra Sarovar.

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Modern Eco-Bastions: Where the Ancient Forest Survives Today

While the contiguous canopy has vanished, a few incredible wildlife and ecological zones still protect the remnants of this historic corridor. If you are planning a road trip from Delhi to Agra, these are the places where you can still breathe in the ancient wilderness:

• The Delhi Ridge: The rocky northern anchor of the corridor. It is a rugged extension of the ancient Aravalli Range and serves as the "lungs" of New Delhi, best experienced at the Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park.
• Mangar Bani Sacred Grove: Tucked on the Delhi-Haryana border, this is a pristine, untouched patch of virgin Aravalli forest. Preserved for centuries by local tribal folklore, it even features prehistoric cave art dating back tens of thousands of years.
• National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary: Located just 70 km south of Agra, this massive 5,400 sq. km riverine sanctuary preserves the wild, untamed ravines of the region. It is a critical haven for endangered gharials, Gangetic river dolphins, and rare birds.

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Final Thoughts: Time to Restore the Corridor?

Reclaiming the green heritage of the Delhi-Agra corridor isn’t just about changing names on a map; it’s about recognizing that our highways were once pathways of deep ecological harmony. By protecting the remaining Vanas and biodiversity parks, we keep the spirit of the ancient Khandava Forest alive.

But let's start with the easy part and restore the ancient names. The pride will come.

THE SOUND OF THE PULSAR IS THE SOUND OF THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET EMANATING FROM THE DAMRU

Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,

They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe.

These opening lines, sung by the Beatles in Across the Universe, capture the sense of sound as an unstoppable, cosmic flow. That very image resonates with the Sanskrit tradition: the Maheshvara Sūtras, the primordial sequence of Sanskrit letters, are said to emanate from Śiva’s ḍamaru.

Maheshvara Sutra is the sound of the ancient most Sanskrit alphabet sequence.

 It emanates from Shiva's damru. The sound made by Shiva's damru is 

the sound of the Pulsar. Pulsar sounds are audio representations

of the radio pulses, emitted by rapidly rotating neutron stars, 

converted from electromagnetic signals into audible sound.

This Maheshvara sutra is also a healing mantra.

Pulsars are highly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation along their magnetic poles. As the star spins, these beams sweep across space like a cosmic lighthouse, producing regular pulses detectable on Earth. The rotation periods vary widely, from milliseconds to several seconds, giving each pulsar a unique "voice" when converted to sound. These unique voices collectively the alphabet of the Sanskrit language..

Encyclopedia Britannica states that the Sanskrit language (from Sanskrit saṃskṛta, 'adorned, cultivated, purified') is an Old Indo-Aryan language in which the most ancient texts are the Vedas, more prominently, the Rig Veda, and the Upanishads, which came into existence on the banks of the Sapta Sindu rivers. It also states that scholars generally ascribe the Vedas to 1500 BCE. There is much room for debate about the Aryan invasion and the dating of the Vedas, but that is not the subject of the post here.

In the Indic tradition, it is said that Sanskrit was introduced to human civilisation by the sages of Sanatana Dharma. Sanatana Dharma entails a universal code of conduct, a description of the duties applicable to all humanity. Santana Dharma, later came to be known as Hinduism, which is its exonym; it is what the outsiders called Sanatana Dharma, which was the philosophy, the way of life, the code of conduct and path to god, practised in India. There are many theories why the name Hindu emerged, but none of those is relevant to the origin of Sanatana Dharma. India, like Hindustan, is an exonym; the endonym is Bharatavarsha or Jambhudwipa. 

A famous verse in Sage Panini’s Ashtadhyayi says that Panini's grammar, which is in current use, in its original form, was graced by Lord Shiva himself. 

Shiva's damru and the Sanskrit Alphabet: Rig Vedic literature states that it is Shiva himself who created language and passed on its 'sounds' to humankind. Hence, the first known organised sounds of Sanskrit are known and presented as the Maheshvara Sutra - Maheshvara being another name of Lord Shiva. Here is the verse from Panini's Ashta-Dhyayi which states the same:

"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,

popularly known as Shiva Sutras or Maheshvara Sutras"

The fourteen sounds of the Maheshwara Sutra, also known as the 'akshara-samamnaya', or the 'recitation of phonemes', is also the most ancient known Sanskrit alphabet sequence. Interestingly, this sutra is at the same time a powerful Mantra; the vibrations of its sound are known to have healing powers, and hence this sutra has also been used by sages for healing. It was used in Kashmir Tantric practices for curing diseases, waking up the unconscious and is known to have sometimes revived the dead. Here is the sequence of the 14-sounds:

1. अ इ उ ण् |
2. ऋ ऌ क् |
3. ए ओ ङ् |
4. ऐ औ च् |
5. ह य व र ट् |
6. ल ण् |
7. ञ म ङ ण न म् |
8. झ भ ञ् |
9. घ ढ ध ष् |
10. ज ब ग ड द श् |
11. ख फ छ ठ थ च ट त व् |
12. क प य् |
13.श ष स र् |
14. ह ल् |

The Sound of the Pulsar is the Sound of the Sanskrit alphabet: Interestingly, modern astrophysics has revealed a parallel cosmic rhythm. NASA has converted the periodic signals of pulsars—rapidly rotating neutron stars—into audible frequencies. These stellar vibrations, though astrophysical in origin, strikingly resemble the cadence of Śiva’s ḍamaru. Just as the Sanskrit varṇamālā is said to emanate from the damru’s beat, the pulsar’s rhythm can be envisioned as a celestial echo of this primordial sound, linking the alphabet’s sacred vibration with the universe’s own pulse.”

The sound of the Pulsar is the sound of the Sanskrit 

alphabet emanating from Shiva's damru.

The alphabet emanates from the pulsar or the damru.

The fourteen sutras contain all the letters of the Sanskrit varnamala- the svaras (vowels) and all the vyanjanas (consonants). The sounds of the alphabet originated from Lord Shiva's 'damru', which in this context appears to be a sophisticated sound device.

The Sanskrit alphabet sequence is known as the 'Varna-mala'. The word 'varna' (वर्ण) means a 'syllable' and all the energies related to that syllable - colour, presiding force, the mouth part used to pronounce each syllable, the related body part, etc. 

Sanskrit is known as the language of the gods. Its fundamentals are scientific, and most of its theory is way beyond the cognition of an average learner. In his paper 'Mantra & Initiation', Pandit Rajmani Tignuit states, "....on a more subtle level, the Sanskrit phonemes relate to the energy currents which lie deep within the interior of the human body. Each of the 72,000 currents has a distinct sound, although they are too diffuse and vague to be enunciated distinctly. Moreover, the yogis have identified places in the body where two or more energy currents cross. In mantra shastra, the point where two energy currents intersect is called a sandhi, the point where three energy currents cross is called marma shthana, and the point where more than three energy currents converge is called a chakra. Here at the chakras, the vibratory patterns of energy are strong and vibrant. At the centre of each chakra, a distinct sound predominates, and other distinct sounds are centred around it. That is why, in kundalini yoga, each chakra is represented as having a particular letter at its centre, as well as a letter on each petal........ ".

It is for this reason alone that Sanskrit cannot be regarded as a derived language. Its source is cosmic, like that of mathematics. Each alphabet is generated in the form of sound energy, conjunct with its meaning. If the sound shifts, the meaning dissolves. In other words, any distortion renders both the meaning of the word and the vibration generated out of sync and therefore erroneous.

In kundalini yoga, each chakra is represented
as having a particular letter at its centre.

In a mantra, a different part of the body is invoked and healed by reciting a different alphabet of the 'varnamala'. The power lies in the vibration caused by the mantra. Hence, the sound has to be perfect, for it is also in tandem with its meaning. If the vibration changes, it is no longer effective. The Maheshwara Sutra is a healing mantra too, as mentioned above, its sounds are arranged in a sequence, designed to create vibrations which it is said have the power to revive the sick or dying.

No script is known to have ever been formulated for the Vedic mantras or alphabets in the earliest times. The requirement for a script, in the context of Sanatana Dharma, was considered irrelevant. The scriptures were passed on through smriti (memory) and shruti (hearing). The emphasis was on 'uccharana' or correct pronunciation. The belief was that the script could emerge or dissolve at any time.

In the context of Hindu philosophy, therefore, where the emphasis was on the study of the power of sound, on the primordial sound of the omnipresent Om, on meditation, on the unity of supreme consciousness, on sutras, on mantras and on telepathy, a script was considered redundant for it did not serve any function.

Suggested Links:

1. The Origin of Sanskrit

THANK YOU, NEXT — AN İNEK’S TAKE!

If you’re hooked on Thank You, Next (Kimler Geldi, Kimler Geçti), you probably love the messy drama of who enters Leyla’s life and who exits. But here’s the ultimate plot twist: the title isn’t just about bad breakups. It carries echoes that stretch back thousands of years. Your weekend Netflix binge is actually a secret gateway to ancient Sanskrit.

Thank you, Text! The Netflix Linguistics Breakdown

The Turkish title Kimler Geldi, Kimler Geçti sounds shockingly familiar to the Indian ear. Look at how the vocabulary aligns:

• Geldi & Āgataḥ: Turkish geldi means "came"; Sanskrit āgataḥ means "arrived."
• Geçti & Gacchati: Turkish geçti means "passed"; Sanskrit gacchati means "goes or passes."
• Kim & Kim: In Turkish, kim means "who." In Sanskrit, kim means "what" or "which."

Thank you, Lex! The Turkish-Sanskrit Dating Dictionary

If you want to translate modern situationship drama into ancient tongues, here is your cheat sheet:

• Geldi / Āgataḥ: "He showed up." (Definition: He finally replied after ghosting you for three weeks.)
• Geçti / Gacchati: "He moved on." (Definition: He just unfollowed you on Instagram.)
• Kim / Kaḥ: "Who?" (Definition: The exact text you send when your friend says, "Guess who just viewed my story?") Note: While kim is Sanskrit for "what," the word for a male "who" is kaḥ.
• Kim Vartate: Sanskrit for "What’s up?" (The original, 3,000-year-old "You up?" text.)
• Kimler / Ke: "Who all?" (The ancient Sanskrit equivalent of tagging the entire group chat.)

Red Flags and Bug Juice

In the show, the nicknames fly fast: Lawyer Leyla the Drama Queen, Ömer the Ghoster, Cem the Heartbreaker, and Defne the Fashionista. From ancient royal courts to bustling Turkish coffeehouses to modern streaming apps, human gossip has always run on these colorful labels. Whether you call it a nickname, a lakap, or a nāma, it is the exact same language of social chatter.

As one might ask in Turkish: Kim kime ne lakap verdi? (Who gave what nickname to whom?)
Or in Sanskrit: Kaḥ kasmai kiṃ nāma dadau? (कः कस्मै किं नाम ददौ?)

That göl is a kula

See that lake shimmering in the background? In Turkish it’s called göl. Compare that with Sanskrit kula — both words circle around the idea of an embankment or an enclosure of water, and in historical linguistics the sounds /k/ and /g/ often interchange. So, what looks different is really just the same root word wearing a different mask.

And take Mount Ararat, known in Turkish as Ağrı. That name is nothing other than the Sanskrit adri, meaning “mountain.” A little phonetic shuffle from /d/ to /ğ/ and suddenly you’ve got a word that looks different but is really the same old peak in disguise. Languages love costume changes.

Spot the pattern? Mainstream scholars will wave their hands and insist Turkish and Sanskrit live in separate linguistic neighborhoods. But point out these deep overlaps, and those rigid academics don’t just frown — they see red. Or kırmızı, as you say in Turkish.

Seeing Crimson, Kirmızı,  Kṛimi-ja

Ironically, that very Turkish word derives from the Sanskrit kṛmi-ja (कृमिज), which literally means "produced by a worm." If you are wondering what squirmy bugs have to do with the color red, ancient people used to crush tiny, oak-dwelling scale insects to harvest a brilliant crimson dye. So yes—when a linguist gets defensive about alternative theories, they are quite literally blushing from a historic bottle of red bug juice!

THE GAGGAR-HAKRA RIVER SYSTEM: GAGAR-SAGAR (गागर-सागर) OF YORE

The age-old Gāgara–Sāgara (गागर-सागर) river system now bears a meaningless name, as do many of our magnificent rivers. This river that now bears an insipid name, the Ghaggar–Hakra system is today reduced to a seasonal stream in Haryana and a dry bed in Cholistan. But is more than a forgotten watercourse. Its very name encodes a memory of the river’s ancient journey. It was named the Gāgara–Sāgara (गागर-सागर) for a reason.

To restore the designation Gāgara–Sāgara is to restore that memory. In Sanskrit and Hindi, gāgara denotes the pitcher, the vessel that contains water, while sāgara signifies the ocean, the limitless expanse. The pairing of these two terms is not a mere idiom but a hydrological truth: a contained flow that once emptied into the sea. 

Archaeological surveys along the Ghaggar–Hakra corridor have revealed hundreds of Harappan settlements, from Kalibangan to Rakhigarhi, flourishing on the banks of a perennial river. The alignment of textual praise and archaeological settlement patterns points to a mighty stream that sustained both culture and cult.

Modern science has confirmed what tradition remembered. Remote sensing studies by ISRO in 2014–2015 traced a continuous paleo‑channel from the Shivaliks through Haryana and Rajasthan into Gujarat, terminating at the Arabian Sea. Sediment analysis by the Geological Survey of India in 2016 revealed Himalayan deposits along this corridor, dating back more than twenty thousand years, consistent with a perennial river system. 

Hydrological reconstructions suggest that before tectonic shifts diverted the Sutlej westward and the Yamunā eastward, their waters fed the Ghaggar–Hakra, making it a river of oceanic reach. In that era, Sarasvatī was not a seasonal stream but a river that fulfilled the Vedic description: mountain‑born, sea‑bound.

The tributaries of the Ghaggar–Hakra system tell the same story. The Tangri, for instance, derives from the Sanskrit root taṅgati (तङ्गति), “to flow.” Its very name is a verb of movement, a reminder that rivers are defined by their ceaseless motion, their destiny to join greater waters.

 Adapted from Sarasvati‑ancient‑river.jpg by Joshua Jonathan, with corrections based on Clift et al. (2012), Geology 40(3): 212–215, and Nature Scientific Reports 7: 5476 (2017). CC BY‑SA 4.0.

The Markanda carries a different resonance. Its name recalls Mārtāṇḍa, the sun, a Vedic epithet and also the name of a Ṛgvedic ṛṣi. Here, the hydrological is joined to the cosmological: the river is not only a stream but a solar symbol, a reminder that sacred geography is always entwined with celestial order.

The Sirsa offers perhaps the most direct testimony to Sarasvatī herself. Medieval sources record its name as Sarsūti, while ancient literature preserves Śairīṣaka. Both forms point unmistakably back to Sarasvatī, the great river whose course once passed near Sirsa. The shortened modern name Sirsa is thus a linguistic fossil, a fragment of Sarasvatī’s presence in the region. To restore Gāgara–Sāgara is to recognize that Sirsa itself is a living reminder of Sarasvatī, a place‑name that encodes the goddess‑river’s proximity.

Taken together, these tributaries demonstrate that the Ghaggar–Hakra system was never merely a set of channels. It was a network of names, each preserving a memory: the pitcher pouring into the sea, the verb of flowing, the solar epithet, the shortened form of Sarasvatī.

To restore Gāgara–Sāgara is to restore this entire archive, a philological map of hydrology and sacred geography. In doing so, we revive not only the history of Sarasvatī but the history of the system itself, where every tributary name is a testimony to the river’s journey from mountain to sea.