At the time when Christ was born, the Indic civilization pervaded a vast area of Asia , bounded on the north by the steppes of Central Asia, on the west by the Persian empire and on the east by by what is now known as South East Asia. Contrary to what is popularly believed it was the Indic civilization that had far greater currency in most of Asia rather than the Sinic (even in China). This topic will attempt to explore what we are uncovering from recent studies. we start of with this vignette from HH on the Parthian empire. The word Iran is a derivative of Arya and it is clear that the modern Iranian considers himself descended from Aryans. It is another matter that i have a problem with the category of Aryan as an ethnic designator, but that is a topic for another thread.
When i use the word Greater it is more in a geographical sense and not to imply superiority over other civilizations. The French author Coedes uses the term 'Farther India' to describe such geographies where the Indic civilization was the predominant one. Furthermore, it does not imply that the entire area was under one central suzerainty. What it does mean is that a traveller could go from one corner of this vast area to another and find himself in linguistic and cultural affinity wherever he went
Quote:The Seleucid kingdom was founded by one of Alexander's generals
Seleukos Nikator, who had led his troops with much perseverance during
the former's Indian campaign. The Seleucid kingdom started
degenerating in 245BCE as Indo-Greek kshatrapa, Andragoras declared
himself an independent monarch. About this time and Iranian tribe
termed the Parni organized a massive cavalry army in the steppes,
broke free from another Iranian tribe, the Daha, that was their
overlord, and moved into Southern Turkmenistan. From here the Parni
launched a massive invasion of Andragoras' satrapy under the
leadership of their famed leader Arshaka (Arsaces in Greek).
Andragoras was killed in the battle against the Parni and the Greeks
forces scattered, allowing the invaders to conquered the territory to
the southeast of the Caspian corresponding to Hyrcania and Parthia.
After this they acquired the name Parthians in the West after the
territory they had conquered. This sparked off a see-saw struggle with
the Macedonians that turned to their advantage after the death of the
Arshaka who had a prolonged war with Seleukos II. Arshaka II his son
was beaten in battles by Antiochus III and had to sue peace after
losing Hyrcania. However, in 171BC, the Parthian king Mithradata I
came to power, who(Mithridates in Greek) raised them to the height of
their glory. In 148 BC he crushed the Seleukids in crucial battle,
sacking Media, in 141 he followed it up with the conquest of Babylon.
Then he struck to his east outflanking the Indo-Greek army and
destroying it at Margiana and annexed their territory to found what
may be called the Parthian empire. He settled the Shaka tribe that
aided him in these conquests in Seistan (Shakastan) and took on the
title Kshatyatama- emperor. His son Phraetra II (Phratres) finally
destroyed the Seleukid empire completely by smashing them completely
in 129 BC. This was followed by a struggle with their onetime allies
the Shakas, and the Massagetaen tribes of the Daha confederacy that
nearly destroyed the Parthians. Their capital was established in Nisa
near today's Ashkhabad and studies show that within a few years of
their conquest of the new territory they became quite urban in their
economy. Excavation reports by Russians at Nisa reveal large fortified
constructions, with Fire temples. This suggests that we should not be
so prompt in claiming that the oasis civilizations and the mature/late
Harappan had nothing to do with the early Indo-Iranians- the parallel
to the Parthians is very clear. The Indo-Iranians could have occupied
these centers and become urban in a very short time: note the Fire
temples were not an acquired cult for these Parthians but merely
expanded on urban settlement. Hence, what we see is a near complete
Aryan domination of both Persia and the steppes till they were
ultimately decimated and absorbed by the great expansion of the
Altaics under Motun-tegin of the first Hun Kha'khanate.
Had posted this elsewhere before, but it may be parked here for now.
The general perception that India and China never had any historical conflicts is flawed, and in part is the fantasy of communists. While the past relationships between India and China have been better than what we see today, we should keep in mind that Chinese have played a major role in destroying Indic cultures of Central Asia and have even led direct invasions of India with the help of the Tibetans and attempted to seize mainland Indian territory. I shall outline briefly the historical conflicts between China and India starting from the destruction of the satellite Indic civilizations in the Tarim region prior to the foundation of the Uighur Khanate.
In 615 AD, the 3 Central Asian kingdoms of Kucha, Agni (later Qara Shahar) and Khotan were islands of the Indic civilization in the Tarim Basin. They were at the pinnacle of their power and prosperity and were great centers of Sanksritic learning, producing a variety of texts on buddhist and classical hindu philosophies. These regions were like mini-Indias, with Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism being practiced by its citizens and were actively maintained by the flourishing trade along the Silk Road. The Middle Indo-Aryan language, Niya Prakrit was used as the language of administration. Kuchaâs rulers belonged to the suvarNa dynasty and its ruler suvarNa puShpa had signed a treaty of non-aggression with the Chinese emperor Yang-ti. In 630, the famous Chinese traveler, Xuan Zang had passed through Kucha and Agni and was warmly welcomed by the rulers. The new king of Kucha, suvarNadeva renewed the non-aggression pact with Tai-tsung, the son of heaven, the expansionist Chinese emperor. In all likelihood Xuan Zang was also acting as a spy to the emperor and providing him intelligence regarding these Indic Kingdoms. Shortly after Xuan Zang passed through this region, Tai-tsung decided to swallow these kingdoms, without much of a warning. In 632 he asked to Tarim kingdoms to humbly accept his suzerainty- fearing an attack they sent token embassies to please the Emperor. However, realizing that the Chinese were advancing a vast army into the region in 640 AD, the king of Agni, formed an alliance with the Turko-Mongol Khanate of the Tuchueh or the Blue Turks, and prepared to face the Chinese troops. Tai-tsung sent his general Kuo Hiao-ko to invade Agni and destroy it. Seeing the Turks and the Agnians massing to face the Chinese troops, Kuo cleverly marched towards Yulduz, causing the defenders to lower their guard. Then at night, he made a lightning march back to Agni and attacked the city from an undefended direction at dawn. The king was killed in the battle and Agni was captured and placed under the Chinese agent Lipo-chuen. However, in 644 the surviving prince of Agni, with the help of the Tuchueh Khan and SuvarNadeva of Kucha slew Lipo-chuen and re-conquered his kingdom from the Chinese.
Emperor Tai-tsung now decided to systematically destroy the Tarim kigdoms and entrusted the task to his son-in-law and greatest general, Ashina Shoyuel Khan. Ashina Shoyuel was a Turko-Mongol Khan from the Gobi who had by marriage become the commander-in-chief of the imperial Chinese troops and had the all the martial ruthlessness of his tribe. In 646 AD SuvarNadeva of Kucha passed away and was replaced by his brother HaripuShpa. Taking advantage of this new Kingâs relative inexperience, Ashina attacked right away with an army of nearly 100000 comprised of Chinese regulars, Turko-Mongol mounted archer divisions and light advance raiders comprising of Toelech Turks. He was accompanied by the veteran Chinese general Kuo Hiao-ko, who led the Chinese regulars. The Tarim kingdoms had a frontline light cavalry comprised of the Turko-Mongol hordes of the Chumi and Chuyuh Khans, the center comprised of the heavy cavalry under Haripushpa and his general Narayana and the rear guard of the Tuchueh Mongols. Ashina struck first by drawing the Chumi and Chuyuh khans to attack near Kucheng and then retreating drawing them into an ambush of the heavy Chinese divisions that massacred them. Taking advantage of this head start he boldly attacked Kucha in a frontal assault. Haripushpa tried to relieve the city by a direct charge on the Chinese center after dispersing the Toelech Turks. Ashina Shoyuel however, weighed in with his mounted archers and turned the battle in his favor. NArAyaNa decided to save the king and led him safely to the fort of Aksu. Ashina pursued him and layed siege to the fort even as Kuo Hiao-ko occupied Kucha. NArAyaNa with the Tuchueh Turko-Mongols and monetary aid from Indian vaishyas, suddenly attacked Kucha and broke through the Chinese ranks slaying Kuo Hiao-ko and took back the city. In the meantime Ashina stormed Aksu and captured Haripushpa and decapitated all inhabitants of the city. He then attacked Kucha and slaying nArAyaNa, depopulated the city and its satellite towns and burnt them down. Ashina then marched on Agni that had already been weakened by the defeats a Kucha, beheaded its king, and depopulated the city. He then sent his deputy Wan-pei to besiege Khotan and devastate its surroundings the cavalry divisions of the Toelech Turks. The King of Khotan of the maNgala clan, seeing the fate of Agni and Kucha surrendered his kingdom to the Chinese. The Ashina Shoyuel returned to China and dragged Haripushpa on the floor before Tai-Tsung and placed him at his foot. He was later beheaded. Thus, the Tarim basin passed from the Indian cultural zone to the yoke of the Chinese. All traces of Indic civilization in this region were subsequently erased with the conquest of this region from the Chinese by the Tibetan hordes, followed by its conquest by the great Blue Turk Khaâkhans of Mongolia.
References: Chavannes Documents (translation of the Tang Shu)
Levi: Fragment des textes koutcheens
Grousset: Empire of the Steppes
Frye: Heritage of Central Asia.
von Gabain: Die uigurische Uebersetzung der biographie Huen-tsangs.
Pictures of Mt. Kailash and Manasarovar
[url="http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_photo.asp?subcatid=91&z=0"]Mount Kailash via Kathmandu [/url]
One view of Mt.Kailash
![[Image: mtkailash.jpg]](http://www.esamskriti.com/html/images/mtkailash.jpg)
The great Hindu Kingdoms of Indonesia
[url="http://www.balix.com/travel/guide/chapters/about_bali/history_java.html"]JAVANESE INFLUENCE[/url]
Over 400 years ago most of East Java was exactly like Bali is today. Prior to 1815 Bali had a greater population density than Java, suggesting its Hindu-Balinese civilization was even more successful than Java's. When Sir Stamford Raffles wrote his History Of Java in the early 19th century, he had to turn to Bali for what remained of the once-great literature of classical Java. Even today Bali provides scholars with clues about India's past religious life, clues which long ago vanished in India itself.
The Warmadewa Dynasty
Bali first came under the influence of Indic Javanese kings in the 6th to 8th centuries. The island was conquered by the first documented king of Central Java, Sanjaya, in 732; stone and copper inscriptions in Old Balinese have been found that date from A.D. 882.
From the 10th to the 12th centuries, the Balinese Warmadewa family established a dynastic link with Java. Court decrees were thereafter issued in the Old Javanese language of Kawi and Balinese sculpture, bronzes, and other artistic styles, bathing places, and rock-cut temples began to resemble those in East Java. The Sanur pillar (A.D. 914), partly written in Sanskrit, supports the theory that portions of the island were already Indianized in the 10th century.
Bali's way of life was well defined by the early part of the 10th century. By then, the Balinese were engaged in sophisticated wet-rice cultivation, livestock breeding, stone- and woodcarving, metalworking, roof thatching, canoe building, even cockfighting. The Balinese of the time were locked into feudal genealogical and territorial bondage. They were subjects of an autocratic Hinduized rulerâone of a number of regional Balinese princesâwho himself acknowleged the sovereignty of a Javanese overlord...
Re. the Western boundary of the Indic civilization being the Persian empire -- I recall seeing a post long back on BR about couplets by an ancient Arabian poet
about sacred (Hindu) sites in pre-Islamic Arabia. Could Kaushal or someone else say whether there is anything to that?
Also, if one looks at Aurel Stein's books, one can see reproductions of parchments in Aramaic & Hebrew found in Khotan & elsewhere in the Taklamakan region. Perhaps that might indicate a more regular interaction with other regions (apart from the well-known contacts with Rome, etc) & a more westward "civilizational boundary" than Persia.
You are probably right. The Hittite Mittani treaty of 1400 BCE makes references to Vedic deities. This treaty took place in Anatolia (present day Turkey).
You are also right about (Sir)Aurel Stein . Incidentally Aurel Stein was the first to postulate the existence of the dried up river bed of Ghaggar Hakra as being the remnant of the once mighty Saraswati.
(Welcome to you Samudragupta - i should have recognized you by your note ! <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
The pre-Buddhist religion of Mongolia, the one followed by the early Uralo-Altaic peoples right from the times of the first Hun Kha'Khan Motun Tegin, has been shrouded in mist. Buddhism made two contacts with Mongolia, both via the Tibetans. The first instance was during the reign of Khan Kublai and lasted for about 75 years. Subsequently in the 17th century there was a secon influx via the yellow hat Lamas. The Mongols created the post of the Dalai Lama that persists to this date. The Tibetan influence of course did carry some Indian influence along with it. However, if we carefully analyze the old Mongolian we see that the Indo-Iranian influence on the steppe goes beyond the Buddhist contact.Examination of Buryat, Oirat and Chingizid material
reveals these features. Only three great scholars of Mongolian history have ever analyzed this issue: 1)Krystyna Chabros 2)Walther Heissig and 3)Lokesh Chandra. After looking into their works a synthetic view of the old Turko-Mongol religion can be obtained. I note below some features of this in the direction of the Indo-Iranian connection:
One set of influences can be traced to the late Iranian period:
The Supreme deities of the Northern regions are called Qormusda and Adar. These are derivatives of Ahura Mazda and his son Atar. One of the deities of the southern regions is Chagchi, the god of time. who is described as a white old man riding a Lion. This matches well with the late Iranian deity Zurvan and perhaps entered the Mongol world from the Iranian colonists in central Asia rather than the steppe Iranians.
Heissig records a fragment of a chant printed prior to 1500 that goes as:
"The highest of the 99 gods is Moengke Tengri; The the 33 gods are led
by Qormusta Khan Tengri."
The number 33 also appears clearly Indo-Iranian and the above chant suggests a syncretic development where the original Altaic deity Moengke Tengri is invoked along with the Iranian Qormusta. Another chant states "Burqan (Buddha) struck the first light but it was Qormusta who made the first fire". Thus the fire cult is also associated with Qormusta. The Western visitors to the court of the Chingizid Mongols records their worship of the fires suggesting that it was acquired well before expansion of the Mongol regime.
The fire worship amidsts the Mongols, with libations of ghee, has many parallels to the I-Ir fire worship. Important fire rituals are performed at the end of the year, spring equinox and summer solstice like the mahAvrata rite. Further the marriage cermonies were also fire
rituals with a chant asking for good children and brides. However, the fire was mainly invoked as a female deity Ghalakhan Eke. The Mongols make a fire offering similar to the svAhA offered by the Indo-Aryans. One such hymn to the supreme tengri of heaven is recored as being used when the banner of Chingiz Kha'khan was planted when he was ordained supreme Khan of Turko-Mongol tribes:
"Above is my eternal Koeke Moengke Tengri,
Below is my mother Earth,
Through the prior decision of Koeke Moengke Tengri arose fire,
From him was the cattle born. (Fire offering)
Tengri Echige, sacrificing I pray to you,
you who protect my body,
who takes illness and sorrow away from me,
who keep far from me the danger of the sword. (Fire offering)
Tengri Echige, sacrificing I pray to you,
you who defeat brigands and bandits,
those who act covetously,
you who keep far from me the danger of the deity of death. (Fire offering)"
A distant echo of the ancient common Eurasiatic culture shared by the Indo-Europeans and Uralo-Altaics with the later layer of the fire offering from an Indo-Iranian source becomes apparent.
The Mongols also worship sets of gods arranged analogous to Indian deity hierarchies:
doerben jobkis un tengri: Gods of the 4 directions
nayiman kijaghar-un tengri:Gods of the 8 directions
with Maqagala Darqan guejir tengri (mahAkAla) in the center.
mahAkala is also called *Mal-un tengri- the cattle god (as pashupati). This suggests a possible syncretization of an original ancient rudra-like deity with the later Indian import mahAkAla (via Tibet). Maqagala is also associated with two later Indian imports bisnu tengri
and Bisman (viShNu and kubera respectively).
The influence of the Indian Indra is also clearly noticeable. As lamaism spread he was clearly identified with a much older deity Khan Atagha Tengri, not traceable thus far amidst any of the Turkic branches (other than perhaps the early Uighurs). It may suggest an early acquisition from Indo-Iranians from an Indra like deity. A fragment chanted by a Buriat shaman has been preserved (note the ancestral similarity to Indra):
"We worship Khan Atagha Tengri,
your thundering voice is heard close to the abyss,
unifier of thoughts of the Mongols,
With a gigantic, great body, with a thunderbolt,
Ruler over the many clouds, with a thousand eyes,
My Atagha Tengri supreme over all,
May you grant me the blessing and good fortune of your protection."
(*Hindi word mAl?)
Beyond this the form of tAntrism known as mahachInachara also evolved in central Asia in the Mongol empire of the Qara Khitai. A pandita from kAshmir called sAmantashrI is supposed to have gone to Mongolia around 1180 AD and founded the great school of tantrism centered around mahAkAla. This was absorbed by the Buddhists and became the mainstay of Tantric Buddhism such kAlachakra tantra performed by the Dalai Lama.
Shobori Ganguli/ New Delhi
The Pioneer
Date: 08 November 2003
It was June 2000, four months since the Venerable Kushok Bakula had
returned to India, having served as India's Ambassador to Mongolia
for a decade since January 1990. We were sitting in the lounge of the
Indian embassy in Ulaanbaatar, local staffers at the mission regaling
us with stories of how welcome Indians were to this remote country,
all courtesy the venerable Bakula who had initiated post-Communist
Mongolia into Buddhism and introduced its people to the Land of
Buddha - India.
The beginning of Venerable Bakula's tenure as Ambassador coincided
with the crash of Communism in Mongolia in 1990, the socio-political
atmosphere ripe for a religious revival. And, Ambassador Bakula, the
20th incarnation of Arhat Bakula, found himself at a moment in
Mongolia's evolution that has ensured for him a place in that
country's history forever.
The most revered Buddhist leader of Ladakh returned to India in
February 2000, leaving behind a fascinating story of Indian diplomacy
in the land of Chengiz Khan. Today, the average Mongolian greets an
Indian with a warmth and cordiality unbelievable in a country that
has the rarest of rare contacts with India.
Indeed, India owes its presence and appeal in Mongolia to the 86-year-
old head Lama of Ladakh, who passed way here on Tuesday.
Acknowledging the Lama's unique contribution to Indian diplomacy,
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha in his condolence message
said, "Venerable Bakula had contributed immensely to strengthening of
our bilateral relations with Mongolia."
The minister acknowledged that the Ambassador had "played a
particularly valuable role in reinforcing our traditional religious
and cultural ties with that country". Under routine circumstances,
words like "traditional, civilisational ties" can be easily dismissed
as diplomatic cliche. In Mongolia's case, the connection is truly
unique.
Helping a fledgling nation come out of its communist death-trap,
Ambassador Bakula established the Pethub Stangey Choinkho-rling
Monastery and the Bakula Monastic school in Ulaanbaatar, opening the
doors for a fascinating religious revival in a politically nascent
Mongolia.
Today, the man enjoys divine status in that country, its people
taking every opportunity to express their gratitude to friends from
India. Widely acknowledged as a close ally of His Holiness, the Dalai
Lama, the former Indian Ambassador was decorated with a rare civilian
award by the Mongolian Government in 2001 - the Polar Star. It is the
third highest state order conferred on civilians and rarely given to
a foreigner.
Indeed, the Venerable Bakula will go down in the history of Indian
diplomacy as a unique individual whose religious calling made him a
one-man institutional link in Indo-Mongolian bilateral relations. As
the Head Lama of Ladakh, the venerable Buddhist leader enjoys no less
an icon status back home in India, the Indian Government having
felicitated him with a Padma Bhushan award.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday visited Kashmir House
to place a wreath on the mortal remains of the Buddhist leader. In
his tribute, Mr Vajpayee described the former Indian Ambassador as
a "great spiritual leader, guide and inspiration" of the Buddhist
world. In the condolence book, the Prime Minister wrote, "It is
difficult to imagine Ladakh without him."
[url="http://ignca.nic.in/pb0009.htm"]Hindu trinity in central Asia[/url]
Hindu Gods in Western Central Asia A Lesser Known Chapter of Indian History
S.P. Gupta
[url="http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_Apr02/Hindu.htm"]http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_Apr02/Hindu.htm[/url]
[url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3260637.stm"]Pakistani Hindu temple faces demolition[/url]: :furious
A 150-year-old Hindu temple in the Pakistani city of Peshawar has become the focus of a property dispute involving the army.
![[Image: _39555883_peshawartemple203.jpg]](http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39555000/jpg/_39555883_peshawartemple203.jpg)
Question for the Historical guru's, recently came across a couple of pictures of the Kalash Kafir's located in Chitral Pakistan. There are numerous articles to suggest their linkages Alexander and Greek decent, worship of Greek Gods etc. As is to be expected it seems, the Kalash people have suffered horribly at the hands of continual Islamic barbarians constantly inflicting hardships in an effort to force them to convert to Islam. Are there greater Indic/Hindu links to these people than previously thought?
Photos
[url="http://www.alexbybike.ihatemimes.com/photo.html"]http://www.alexbybike.ihatemimes.com/photo.html[/url]
Ethnic Cleansing of the Kafirs in Pakistan
[url="http://www.gowanusbooks.com/kafirs.htm"]http://www.gowanusbooks.com/kafirs.htm[/url]
A brief, non-historical aside on the topic of Kafiristan & Alexander the Macedonian which might interest people:
There is a short story by Rudyard Kipling, "The man who would be king", which is based on the premise of there being a lost kingdom in Kafiristan founded by Alexander. It is an excellent piece of fiction, apart from suffering somewhat mildly from the usual Kiplingesque weltanschauung of the East being the "white man's burden". An excellent movie, very true to the original work, starring Michael Caine, Sean Connery & Christopher Plummer, is also extant.
It must be reiterated (had posted the same on another forum earlier) that the Kalash Kaffirs have nothing to do with Alexander, Macedonians or Greeks. They were there much before Alexander. They are the third branch of Aryans like the Iranians and the Indians. They appear to have been isolated in the mountain regions after their lands were engulfed by the Islamic invasions from Central Asia. They may have already been a restricted tribe after the Iranian and Macedonian expansions. Their customs are closest to those of the Hindus and are known to worship deities like Mahandev, Inar who are shared with Hindus. The also remember epic heroes like Ram and Pandav.
See Richard Strand's web site for more info.
The claim that they had something do with the Greeks was a romantic fiction first invented by the westerners and they actively spread by the TSPis to conceal signs of Hindu identity that they have.
The Mongol conquest of Myanmar
In 1044, rAja aniruddha the chief of the Mramma tribe was brought to the fold of the sangha by the brAhmaNa paNDita, dharmadarshi from bhAratavarsha. He ascended the throne in Pagan and Sanskritized it as arimardanapura. He first moved against the Mon kingdom of Thaton and conquered it after a 3 month war. Next he annexed the city of Shrikshetra of the Pyu who were the other dominant force in Myanmar and carried away the bauddha relics from the city. Next he advanced against the North Arakan and conquered it after a swift campaign. The Shan tribes were then subdued and their chiefdoms were invested. aniruddha next marched into Yunnan with a large army and ousted the Thais in a keenly contested battle. With this he had completed the conquest of Myanmar and crowned himself as rAjAdhirAja. This increased prestige allowed him to gain a kshatriya princess from India. He formed an alliance with the Simhalas against the Cholas, but was crushed in a naval battle by the Chola navy. In 1077, he was succeed by his half-Indian son tribhuvanAditya dharmarAja, who Indianized Myanmar further by settling Buddhists and Hindus from India. He was involved in a tripartite struggle with the Cholas from South India and the Chinese, however, he finally formed a alliance with the former by marrying a Chola princess. The Chinese tried to interfere in Myanmar by setting up their agents in south Arakan, but tribhuvanAditya conducted a successful campaign against them and succeeded in maintaining the unity of Myanmar. He made a trip to India to renovate buddha gayA and was great builder who raised the might Myanmar to its pinnacle. The impetus of the aniruddhan dynasty lasted 1270 keeping Myanmar intact and very much in the Indian cultural sphere. However, its last ruler, Narasimhapati, who boasted of impregnating a new woman every day and eating 365 curries, had neglected the threats from his surroundings.
On his deathbed Chingiz KhaâKhan had laid out the vast lines of action that his successors were to follow. One these include the conquest of Myanmar. The two small Chinese states in Yunnan, namely Lai Liu and Yung Chang had been made vassals of Myanmar by tribhuvanAditya and remained so till the reign of Narasimhapati. Kublai KhaâKhan sent his greatest generals, Baghatur Uriangkhadai, son of Subedai, who in turn was one of the greatest warriors of Chingiz, to annex these territories. Uriangkhadai was assisted by an advance raiding party under the Mongol warrior Soegetue Noyan, and an auxiliary force led two Chechnyan generals Ali Haiya and Nassireddin. Soegetueâs advance force seized Lai Liu and Yung Chang and beheaded its rulers. Then he sent a messenger to Narasimhapati to humbly surrender to the Mongols and hand over his kingdom to Kublai KhaâKhan. Proud over his strength the Burman king refused and declared his intentions to seize back the provinces of Yunnan. Then Soegetue made a move with Nasser towards Myanmar from Yunnan in the North West. This drew the Burman army in that direction, as Uriangkhadai marched in from the North and seized the relatively undefended Northern Mynamar through a swift campaign and moved in to occupy Bhamo. The conquest of Bhamo opened the path to the Iravati (Ayerayawaddy) valley and gave them a straight route to arimardanapura (Pagan). Uriang then secured a forest in the vicinity of Bhamo and planned his attack on the Burman interior. Shaken by move Narasimhapati sent a force of 60,000 men to take on Uriang. Of this around 10000 made the elite Burman cavalry and the frontline was made of a large elephant force with archers borne on howdas. Uriang led a charge but his horses seeing the elephants fled in terror and for some minutes the Mongols failed to check the beasts under them. This made the Burmans bolder and they advanced forward boldly. However, Uriang noticed that the elephants lacked armor and ordered his men to dismount and shower arrows on the elephants. The Mongol archers, with strong armor and being able to hit targets with their iron-tipped arrows from a much greater distance than the Burmans, who only shot bone arrows, held the upper hand in such a confrontation. The elephants wounded all over by the arrows fled backwards into the forest and their howdas broke and sent the archers crashing down. With the elephants out of the way the Mongols remounted and covered the Burmans with swarms of arrows. When they were weakened, Uriang led a direct charge with the cavalry to cut the poorly armored Burmans to pieces with their swords and axes. The Mongols captured 200 elephants in the campaign and incorporated them as draught beasts. Having destroyed the Burman army, Uriang marched along to the Iravati valley to conquer the entire northern Burma but did not move further due to their horses not standing the oppressive heat.
In winter of 1283 Kublai KhaâKhan sent his general Siankur Noyan to slay Narasimhapati and put and end to the Burman kingdom once and for all. A fierce Mongol army with spread through the Iravati valley to destroy all the major Burman cities and grind down the Burma economy. A division of engineers of the Mongol army appeared near the city of Katha on the Iravati and set up huge trebuchets to hurl enormous stone missiles on it. In November of that year the assault began with Mongols hurling a hail of ballistas crushing everything in the city that they fell on. The Burmans having never encountered anything of this kind gave up all hopes of defense and fled in terror. Narasimhapati sent a strong Burman fleet on the Iravati to relieve his northern defense from the Mongols. However, Sianchur sent his cavalry and infantry on either side of Iravati river to hurl storms of stone ballistas and fireworks on the Burman fleet. Several of their barges were sunk and the river was said to be reddened by their blood. Narasimhapati fearing a total route fled his capital. However, the Mongols paused their campaign against Myanmar to move east and devastate the mahArAjas of Thailand and Indo-China who were bravely defending their independence. In this context the valiant struggle of mahArAja indravarman IV of Cambodia, with his guerrilla troops, was particularly noteworthy.
Once this flank clearing operation was done with the Mongols decided to trap Myanmar in a pincer grip, in 1287. One Mongol army under Siankur advanced from the north, which had already been conquered, while Uriangkhadai marched from the east to intersect at Pagan. First the Mongol raiding parties destroyed major cities and blockaded the ports of Myanmar to cause an economic paralysis. This resulted in the total breakdown of the central authority of the aniruddhan dynasty and local tribal rebellions of the Shan tribes broke out. The chaos prevented any concerted action by the Burman army which splintered up rapidly. At this point the two Mongol generals marched straight on arimardanapura (Pagan) to deliver the coup de grace, even as Narasimhapati was assassinated by agents of the Mongols. The ramshackle Burman army led by the general Ramya was overwhelmed by the Mongol armies and butchered completely. He made his final stand in Pagan, which was besieged by the Mongol generals and assaulted with trebuchets which hurled rocks over a ton on the fortifications. When the cities defenses were broken the Mongol army stormed it and massacred the population and burnt it down. With that the conquest of Myanmar had been achieved and it became a vassal of the Mongols. Kublai Khaâkhan was pleased with his generals and rewarded them richly for the great task. Puppet agents from the Shan tribe were placed for administrative purposes in the captured territory. An important consequence of this event was that Burma moved out of the Indian sphere of influence and was appended to the Mongol (to be inherited by the Chinese) sphere. This was especially so because it also corresponded to a low-point in Indiaâs history: its fall under Moslem occupation was underway. The other important issue with the Mongol invasion of Burma was the devastation of its economy, that never allowed its unity to recover completely to the pre-Mongol period.
note that most of the names of Persian kings and dynasties that we are familiar with are the Greek version. The original Indo-Iranian names are listed below. For instance,
Achaemenes is actually Haxamanish
Artaxerxes (Gk), Artaxshasa.
Cambyses. See Kambûjiya
Cyrus. See Kûru
Darius. See Dârayavahu.
Xshayârshan or Akshayarshan(Gk Xerxes).
and so on
Old Persian names
Based on Kent, Old Persian Grammar.
Achaemenes. See Haxâmanish.
[Ainairya
a Babylonian]
Ardaxcashca (or -shda)
probably miswritten for Artaxerxes, q.v.
Ardumanish
ally of Darius
Ariaramnes. See Ariyamna,
Ariyamna (Gk. Ariaramnes)
great-grandfather of Darius
Arsaces. See Arshaka
Arsames. See Arshâma.
Arses.
Son of Artaxerxes III.
Arshaka. (Gk. Arsaces).
Arshâma (Gk. Arsames).
Persian king.
Artavardiya
one of Darius's generals
Artaxerxes (Gk), Artaxshasa.
(I, son of Xerxes; II, son of Darius II; III, son of Artaxerxes II)
Artostes.
Son of Darius II.
[Arxa, Arkha.
An Armenian rebel]
[Ãsina,
an Elamite rebel]
Aspacanah (Gk Aspathines)
bow-bearer of Darius
[Atamaita, [U]mamaita.
An Elamite rebel]
Athiyabaushna,
father of Arsaces
Bagâbigna.
A Persian, father of Hydarnes
Bagabuxsha (Gk. Megabyzus).
An ally of Darius.
Bardiya (Gk. Smerdis).
Brother of Cambyses
Cambyses. See Kambûjiya
[Cincixri.
Father of Martiya]
[Cisantaxma.
a Sagartian rebel]
Cishpi (Gk Teispes).
King of Elam about 610 B.C., ancestor of Cyrus and Darius.
Cyaxares. See Uvaxshtra.
Cyrus. See Kûru
Dâdarshi.
(1) An Armenian, (2) a Persian, satrap of Bactria.
Dârayavahu (Gk. Darius).
(I, son of Hystaspen, king 522-486 B.C.; II, son of Artaxerxes I, king 426-04 B.C.)
Darius. See Dârayavahu.
Dâtuvahya.
Father of Megabyzus
[Frâda.
A Margian rebel]
Fravarti.
A Median rebel.
Gaubaruva (Gk. Gobryas).
Ally of Darius
Gaumâta.
Median pretender, enemy of Darius, who took the name of Smerdis.
Gobryas. See Gaubaruva.
[Haldita.
An Armenian, father of Arkha]
Haxâmanish (Gk. Achaemenes).
Founder of the Achaemenian dynasty.
Hydarnes. See Vindarna.
Hystaspes. See Vishtâspa.
[Imanish,
name assumed by the Elamite rebel Martiya]
Intaphernes. See Vindafarnah.
Kambûjiya (Gk. Cambyses).
(1) father of Cyrus the Great; (2) son of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia before Darius
Kûru (Gk. Cyrus).
Founder of the Persian Empire
Marduniya (Gk. Mardonius).
Father of Gobryas
[Martiya.
A Susian rebel.]
Megabyzus. See Bagabuxsha.
[Nabonidus]
[Nabukudracara (Nebuchadrezzar),
son of Nabonidus; name assumed by the rebels Nidintu-Bel and Arkha]
[Nabunaita (Gk Nabonidus).
Last king of the New Babylonian Empire, 556-39 B.C.]
[Nidintu-Bel.
A Babylonian]
Otanes. See Utana.
Phraotes.
A Median rebel.
[Skunxa.
A Scythian rebel]
Smerdis. See Gaumâta, Bardiya
Sogdianus.
Son of Artaxerxes I,
Taxmaspâda.
One of Darius's generals
Teispes. See Cishpi.
Thuxra.
Father of Otanes.
[Upadarma,
father of Ãsina]
Utana (Gk. Otanes)
ally of Darius
(h)Uvaxshtra (Gk. Cyaxares),
former king of Media
Vahauka.
Father of Ardumanish
Vahumisa (Gk. Vaumisa).
A Persian officer of Darius.
Vahyavishdâpaya.
Uncertain word in Sd, probably a corrupt writing of a man's name.
Vahyazdâta,
A Persian rebel.
Vaumisa. See Vahumisa.
Vâyaspâra.
Father of Intaphernes
Vindafarnah (Gk. Intaphernes)
A Persian, ally of Darius.
Vindarna (Gk. Hydarnes).
A Persian, ally of Darius.
Vishtâspa (Gk. Hystaspes).
Father of Darius.
Vivâna.
A Persian, satrap in Arachosia.
Xerxes. See Xshayârshan.
Xshathrita,
name assumed by the Median rebel Phraortes
Xshayârshan (Gk Xerxes).
Persian King.
The White huns were of course not of Indic origin. But they were responsible for much destruction in India , Persia and Central Asia. They played an important part in smoothing the path for the later invaders such as the Turks and Islamized Arabs
The White Huns - The Hephthalites
Calling on experts - HH, Kaushal et al.
There is no reference to Sindhu river in Maha Sankalpam, Amara kosam etc about the river. The only reference is about Sindhu desham - land with lot of salt. What is the history of this? Can you please shed light on this? Thank you and regards
>There is no reference to Sindhu river in Maha Sankalpam
By the time of the mainstream Kuru-Panchala period Saindhava was considered outside of Aryavarta. This may be a reason for not mentioning it. However, note that in the older texts like the nadi-stuti of the R^ig veda it is mentioned.
A large number of Indian texts whose sanskrit originals have been lost in India survive in Chinese translations in manuscripts recovered from China, Tibet and Central Asia. Most interesting of these are the texts for the worship of gaNapati that were found amidst these manuscripts. The Indian manuscripts were probably lost when the Moslems destroyed vikramashila and nalanda.
1) mahAgaNapati tantra
2) Arya gaNapati hR^idaya
3) mahAvinAyaka rUpopadesha chintAratna
4) Arya gaNapati bali vidhi
(Author: kR^ishNapAda)
5) vinAyaka homa vidhi
6) Arya gaNapati homa vidhi
7) vinAyaka graha nirmochana
(Author: GYAnavajra)
8) mahAgaNesha sAdhana
9) gaNapati sAdhana daridra nidhiprada nAma
(Author: dIpaMkarabhadra of vikramashIla
10) gaNapati guhya sAdhana
(Author:amoghavajra of kA~nchipuraM)
11) meghAloka gaNapati sAdhana
(Author: ratnavajra)
12) shri AGYA vinivarta gaNapati sAdhana
(Author: indrabhUti of Kashmir)
13) gaNapati sAdhana mahAchakra nAma
(Author: avadhUtapAda)
14) vinAyaka rAja sAdhana
15) sunipuNa mahAdeva vighnarAja sAdhana
(Author: dIpaMkara)
16) subudha devamahAvigna vignarAja sAdhana
(Author: vairochana of Koshala)
17) shri gaNapati chakra sUrya
18) shri gaNapati shAnti sAdhana
19) Arya gaNapati cintAratna
20) mahAgaNapati dhAtutrika rakta vashikara sAdhana
21) krodha gaNapati sAdhana
(Author: suvarNadvIpa)
22) Arya gaNapati cintAratna
23) gaNapati samaya guhya sAdhana
(Author: chanakIrti)
24) Arya gaNapati rAgavajra samaya stotra
(Author: dIpaMkarashriGYAna)
25) Arya gaNapati stuti
26) gaNapati stotra
(Author:amoghavajra)
27) kAmeshvara stotra
|
