FROM INDRAPRASTHA (ITO/PURANA KILA) TO AGRAVANA (AGRA)

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

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

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.

KALSI, AN ANCIENT TANTRIC SITE IN DEHRADUN

Kālsi (कालसी), a modest town in the Jaunsar–Bāwar region of Dehradun district, is best known for the Rock Edicts of Ashoka. Carved around 250 BCE, these inscriptions preserve all fourteen Major Rock Edicts, making Kālsi unique among the sites of Mauryan imperial memory. Discovered by Alexander Cunningham in the mid‑19th century, the edicts stand as a testimony to the emperor’s vision of dharma, compassion, and governance. Thus, Kālsi is already inscribed into the historical consciousness of India as a locus of Ashokan authority.

The Temple of Kali at the confluence of the rivers:

Yet, beyond the imperial stone of Ashoka’s edicts, Kālsi shelters another layer of sacred geography. At the confluence of the Amalāva River, flowing down the Chakrāta Road, with the currents of the Yamunā basin, stands a humble yet enigmatic shrine dedicated to Mā Kāli. The sangama itself feels charged: the cool winds of the Uttarakhand valleys carry whispers of purity and secrecy.

In Purāṇic imagination, such confluences are never accidental; they are chosen abodes of śakti, liminal thresholds where energies coil and awaken. Kālsi’s shrine is remembered as one such seat, associated with Kubjikā Māta, the goddess of hidden, coiled energy.

Several small rivers like the Amlava, the Bin and the Naro fall
into the Yamuna near Kalsi, making it a sacred spot.

The meaning of the name Amalava: 

The river’s very name, Amalāva, is a cypher. Derived from amala (अम्लान), meaning pure or moonlike, it resonates with the Śākta tradition, where Amala (अम्ल) signifies “she who is free of impurity.” 

A foundational Tantra scripture, called the Kularatnoddyota, describes an internal "inner Moon" situated just above the brahmarandhra—the subtle spiritual aperture at the crown of the head. During deep meditation, this inner moon overflows, diffusing a cooling, immortal nectar of awakening or light throughout the body. This is known as Amala.

The Kumārikākhaṇḍa text identifies this cascading, radiant light as the form of the goddess Amā, the deity of pure lunar illumination. Emerging dynamically from the still, unmanifest body of the god (Shiva), this goddess—representing pure, radiant, awakened consciousness—manifests as Kubjikā herself. Thus, the real-world Amalāva River is not merely a mountain stream; it is a physical, living manifestation of one aspect of the Goddess. It has to do with light.

The cave of Kubjika at the temple site:

The mystery of Kālsi does not end with the river. According to the temple’s chief priest, Bharat Bhushan Sharma, there once existed a cave beside the shrine, now sealed. Local tradition holds that during their exile, the Pāṇḍavas rested here, invoking their kuladevatā, Kāli, who appeared to them in fierce splendour. 

The entrance to the cave is still visible within the temple precinct, a silent witness to epic memory. Its closed mouth radiates secrecy, suggesting hidden energies beneath the surface. In the Kubjikā tradition, the goddess dwells not on the loftiest peaks but in middling heights, in valleys charged with mystery. Kālsi’s terrain resonates with this description, and the sealed cave becomes more than a relic of epic lore — it is a dark, womb‑like cavity, a hidden sanctum of śakti, echoing Kubjikā’s coiled, secret presence.

Once, the Kalsi Temple Site may have looked like this.

The visit of the Pandavas:

Perhaps it was for this very reason that the Pāṇḍavas came seeking the site. On their way to Lakshmaṇādāl, they paused here, drawn not only by hardship but by an instinctive pull toward the hidden śakti (शक्ति) of the sangama. Lore tells us she appeared, blessing them with victory in battles yet unseen. After the war, as they journeyed toward the Himalayas for their final ascent, they are said to have paused once more at Kālsi, reaffirming the sanctity of the goddess’s abode.

The precinct itself bears further marks of antiquity. Scattered around the site are ancient kundas, said to have been used by kings for Aśvamedha yajñas, situating Kālsi as a ritual centre of sacrifice and sovereignty. Tradition also recalls that in the Dvāpara Yuga, this was a site of Navarātri worship, where the goddess was invoked in her nine forms, binding the rhythms of cosmic time to the valley’s sacred geography.

Kālsi thus presents both aspects of the goddess: the luminous purity that shines through the Amalāva and the mysterious presence of Kubjikā concealed in the cave. And all of this unfolds at the threshold where the Amalāva meets the Yamunā — a sangama that is both natural and supernatural, a confluence where purity flows into secrecy, and secrecy coils into power.  

Kālsi’s Kāli temple is not only a place of worship but a hidden centre of Kubjikā Māta, where the waters of the Yamunā embrace the purity of the Amalāva, and together they guard the mysteries of the goddess in the valley winds.

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INDIC-SANSKRITIC ROOTS OF THE NAME OF THE SEA-PEOPLES

Around 1200 BCE, Egyptian inscriptions began to mention mysterious groups arriving by sea. Pharaohs described battles against tribes whose names sounded unfamiliar: Shardana, Shekelesh / Shakalesh, Washesh, Peleset, Denyen, Teresh, and Tajjekaras. Historians later grouped them under the label “Sea Peoples,” and their sudden appearance became one of the great puzzles of ancient history. However, all of these names have Sanskrit roots, a view that the mainstream has not either delved-in or recognised yet.

Who were the Sea-Peoples?

Mainstream scholarship, led by figures such as Michal Artzy and Assaf Yasur‑Landau, places these tribes in the Aegean and Mediterranean world. According to this theory, they were displaced migrants from Cyprus, Anatolia, or the Aegean islands who raided Egypt and settled along the Levantine coast during the Late Bronze Age collapse. Egyptian records like the Medinet Habu inscriptions of Ramesses III and the Merneptah stele are cited as evidence of their incursions, and scholars interpret their ships and weaponry as Aegean in style.

Yet there is another way to understand them. Instead of treating these names as unidentifiable, we can trace them to Sanskrit roots and Indic geography.

• Shardana recalls śṛdh (शृध्)— “defiant, windy.” Or sardha (सार्ध) meaning 'troop'.
• Shakalesh echoes Sakaleśvara (सकलेश्वर)— “lord of all.”
• Washesh, ties to vaṣ (वष्)— “to overpower,” and the Vakṣu river (Amu Darya).
• Peleset  reflects Pala (पाल)— “protector.”
• Denyen derives from dhana (धन)— “wealth” or dāna (दान)— “generosity.”
• Teresh comes from tāra (तार)— “to cross.”
• Tajjekaras from tajjña (तज्ज्ञ)— “resourceful, skilled.”

Seen this way, the tribes listed in Egyptian records were not alien marauders from the Aegean but Indic groups whose movements reflect a sacred‑geographic continuum stretching from the Vakṣu river to the Levant. This reframing situates the Sea Peoples within India’s civilizational ambit and challenges the dominant narrative of purely Mediterranean origins.

By contrast, the Sagartians (Σαγάρτιοι / Asagartiya) appear in Herodotus and Achaemenid records as an Iranian nomadic tribe allied with the Medes and Persians. They were known for their horse‑based pastoralism and distinctive use of the lasso in battle. Their homeland lay on the Iranian plateau, near Media and Yazd, and they were integrated into the Achaemenid imperial system.

Linguistic Resonances

• The name Sagartia / Asagarta has been analysed by mainstream scholars as containing asa (“horse” in Old Iranian, cf. Sanskrit aśva) and garta (“pit, seat, enclosure,” cf. Sanskrit garta).

• This parallels Indic tribal names such as Trigarta (त्रिगर्त), showing the Indo‑Iranian spread of nomenclature.

• Alternatively, the Sagartians may simply derive their name from Sagara (सागर) — “sea” — situating them within the same semantic field as the Sea Peoples, whose identity was tied to maritime movement.

Comparative Table

Group	Region	Era	Identity	Indic Connection
Sea Peoples	Egypt & Levant	ca. 1200 BCE	Tribes listed in Egyptian records	Names linked to Sanskrit roots (śṛdh, pala, dhana, tāra, tajjña)
Sagartians	Iranian plateau (Media, Yazd)	6th–5th c. BCE	Nomadic Iranian tribe under the Achaemenids	Name Asagarta parallels Sanskrit aśva + garta, or derives from Sagara (“sea”)

Taken together, the Sea Peoples and the Sagartians illustrate the Indo‑Iranian continuum of tribal names and identities. Whether through roots like śṛdh, pala, dhana, or through broader terms like aśva, garta, and sagara, these groups reflect a shared linguistic and cultural heritage. The Sagartians, though not part of the Sea Peoples, may well derive their name from Sagara, reinforcing the idea that both sets of tribes belong to the same sacred‑geographic imagination stretching from India to the Mediterranean.

THE VEDIC-HINDU LAND OF NURISTAN IN AFGHANISTAN

We begin our journey from the Sapta Sindhu, and step into Nuristan, the easternmost land of Afghanistan, nourished by the Kunar River, which is mentioned in the Rigveda IV.18.8 as Kusava (कुसावा), its name a combination of kusha ( कुश) 'sacred grass' and the hydronymic suffix ava (अव). In Rigvedic hydronyms (Kusava, Rasava), ‑ava functions as a nominal ending that marks “that which flows”. Hence, ava is a suffix in river names, and avani (अवनि) means 'river'. In Vedic lore, the name Kusava ties water to fertility, ritual purity, and the sacred grass of Vedic rites.

However, the mainstream view, reflected by scholars such as Alexander Cunningham, holds that the name Kusava shares its origin with the Kabul (Kubhā) River. Cunningham asserts that hydronyms such as Kubha, Kunar, Kurram, Gomal, and Kunihar derive from a Scythian root 'ku' meaning 'water'. Cunningham, in his writings, even claimed that the name Kophes (Greek Cophen for Kabul) is 'as old as the Vedas'. 

This argument, however, does not withstand philological scrutiny. We have already established, with scriptural and archaeological support, that Kubhā derives from the Sanskrit root kubha, meaning “crooked,” a descriptive epithet for the Kabul River’s winding course, similar to Kurram, derived from krimi (कृमि), or 'crawl'. Other river names are likewise Sanskritic in origin: the Gomal corresponds to the Rigvedic Gomatī, 'that which roams', the root word linked to gau (गो) or 'cow'.

The root 'ku' is not a Scythian borrowing, and the names are Sanskritic formations. Yāska’s Nirukta provides internal Vedic philological evidence. In glossing water‑terms, Yāska explains kulya (कुल्या) as a 'channel cut through the earth', a rivulet or distributary, and situates it alongside nadī (नदी) 'river' and srutī (सृति) 'flow'. This shows that Vedic tradition itself classified river names within the Indo‑Aryan lexicon, using precise Sanskrit categories. The Nirukta anchors hydronyms like Kubhā and Kusava firmly in Sanskrit semantics, not in Scythian etymology.

Modern Indo‑European linguistics confirms this. The true Indo‑European root for 'water' is wed-, from Sanskrit udaka (उदक), Latin 'unda', English 'water,' not ku. Cunningham’s reliance on a Scythian ku root is therefore speculative and unsustainable. 

Sanskrit names still abound in Nurustan. Parun or Parana,

Mandol or mandal, Kamdesh and Ameshdesh.

These are names with a Sanskrit history.

Courtesy: Map data © Microsoft Bing Maps

Parun-The capital of Nuristan: Mainstream scholarship remains largely silent about the widespread Sanskritic geography of Nuristan and the neighbouring district of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The capital of Nuristan bears the name Parun. Given the Sanskrit tapestry of names, its etymology must derive either from para (पर), meaning 'boundary' or 'high', or it perhaps has more poetic origins, such as pāraṇa (पारण), meaning 'cloud' or 'flight'. In keeping with the Sanskrit–Purāṇic method of toponomy, the name is best read in relation to its geography.

Parun lies scarcely 300 km from Charsadda, the ancient Puṣkalāvatī, and just over 400 km from Taxila, the Takṣaśilā of the epic tradition. Yet mainstream scholarship remains reluctant to acknowledge the Vedic–Purāṇic elements embedded in Nuristani culture. This reluctance is striking in the case of the Kalash, an Indo‑Aryan community of the Hindu Kush—often described as having traces of Greek ancestry from Alexander’s invasion—who still preserve a polytheistic tradition with clear affinities to Vedic ritual and cosmology.

DNA studies have suggested minor Mediterranean admixture among the Kalash, but they remain inconclusive. What is clear is the predominance of Indo‑Aryan ancestry and the continuity of Indic ritual forms. To concede Greek ancestry on biological grounds is therefore only to acknowledge a limited genetic input, not a cultural inheritance. The living tradition of the Kalash is overwhelmingly Vedic in character.

Alexander himself practised the Olympian polytheism of the Macedonian Greeks, worshipping Zeus, Athena, and Apollo, and later identifying with Zeus‑Ammon in Egypt. His campaigns, however, were political and military, not religious. Greek religion was never established in the Hindu Kush, nor did its armies implant their faith in these valleys.

Nuristan, historically known as Kafiristan, was described vaguely in post‑Islamic sources as “animist.” Tamim Ansary notes that “the people there practised an animist religion involving elaborate graves decorated with images carved of wood.” Yet this characterisation obscures the deeper Indic continuity. The Nuristani tribes worshipped Yama, the Hindu god of death, called Imr’o or Imra in their own tradition. Their polytheism, sacrificial rituals, and cosmologies resonate far more with Vedic Hinduism than with Hellenic cults.

Richard Strand, in his Notes on the Kalasha Religion (Nuristan Language Project), observed: “Their religion is a form of Hinduism that recognises many gods and spirits and has been related to the religion of the Ancient Greeks, who mythology says are the ancestors of the contemporary Kalash […] However, it is much more likely, given their Indo‑Aryan language, that the religion of the Kalasha is much more closely aligned to the Hinduism of their Indian neighbours than to the religion of Alexander the Great and his armies.”

The name Kalash itself has no secure etymology and is best explained either through Sanskrit kalaśa (कलश), meaning a 'ritual pitcher' or 'water vessel'—apt for a region so rich in rivers and glacial streams—or through Kailāsa, the name of the sacred Himalayan peak, evoking the cosmological sanctity of the Hindu Kush.

The largest lake in Nūristān is known as Mondal Lake. In a Vedic land, every name carries meaning. Mondal has no known sense in Dari or Pashto. Mainstream scholarship often seeks Persian cognates to emphasise external influence, overlooking the fact that geographical names—especially of mountains and rivers—rarely change, their toponymy remaining anchored in antiquity. Within that context, one may equate Mondal with the Sanskrit maṇḍala (मण्डल), the closest cognate. 

Yet in the Sanskritic tradition, lakes in the Himalayan region frequently bear the prefix mana (मन), meaning “mind,” signifying the tranquillity and depth of waters, and conveying the nuance of stillness. In that light, the etymology of Mondal Lake may be restored as Manah‑tāla (मनःताल), “the waters of tranquillity.” This restoration lies well within the established phonological framework of Indo‑Aryan sound shifts, where the dental /t/ in tāla regularly softens to /d/, yielding forms such as dol. Thus, Mondal may be understood as a vernacular reflex of the older Sanskritic Manah‑tāla.

Lake Mondol, Nuristan, may derive its name from
Sanskrit manah-taal, the Lake of Serenity
Courtesy: nationalparkassociation.org

Other names in the region too point clearly to Sanskrit origins. In the vicinity of Parun lie the towns of Kamdeśa and Ameśdeśa, still preserving the Sanskritic suffix ‑deśa (देश) and 'country' in their names. There are many such examples. A journey through the land establishes without doubt the deeply embedded Sanskritic toponomy still flourishing.