Where did Adi Sankara write Soundaryalahari? Mount Kailas, Kanyakumari or Kashmir? A stone pillar bas-relief image, supposed to be of Sankara has been found in Bhagavathy Amman temple at Kanyakumari.

Centre secretary Padmanabhan, who undertook the research, said the Adi Sankara might have visited the temple during his pilgrimage, called Sankara Vijayam. The image in sitting pose is carved as bas-relief facing north. A `Danda’ (the staff of an ascetic) is seen in his right hand with a piece of cloth tied near the top.
The image is evidence for the saint’s visit to the temple; it also corroborates the theory that Adi Sankara wrote Soundaryalahari at Kanyakumari. [ Bas-relief, said to be of Sankara, found]

How does having a bas-relief in a temple prove that he wrote a specific book there?

In Kalki’s novel, Ponniyin Selvan, the hero Vandiyathevan happens to see a performance of Kuravai Koothu while visiting the Kadambur Palace. The performance starts with the arrival of nine girls on stage. They sing and dance praising Lord Murugan’s fame and valor, the skill of his victorious spear which killed the demons, Gajamukhan and Soorapadman. They also praise many of his qualities and his charities.
Now a terracota plaque depicting five women performing the kuravai koothu have been discovered near Mamallapuram. The location for this plaque is the oldest temple in Tamil Nadu which was discovered in post-tsunami archaeology. The original temple made of brick and dedicated to Muruga was built during the Sangam era (200 BCE to 300 CE). This temple was destroyed and the Pallava kings rebuilt it as a granite temple during 800 – 900 CE.

T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle, said the terracotta plaque depicting the dancers “is one of the fabulous collections that will enrich the archaeological wealth of the State.” It is a 13 cm by 12 cm bas-relief panel that shows the women with headgear and prominent eyes. Their mouths are open as if they are singing. The plaque belongs to circa second or third century A.D., he said.
“It is an important find because it is difficult to find terracotta figurines of the pre-Pallava period,” said P. Shanmugam, Director, Institute of Traditional Cultures of South and South-East Asia, University of Madras. “This is the first time in Tamil Nadu that such a group dance plaque has been found,” he said. `Kuravai koothu’ performed in Muruga temples find mention in the Tamil epic Silapadhikaram. [Rare artefacts found]

This particular Murugan temple, at Thiruvizhchil, which is the present-day Salavankuppam has been mentioned in a few inscriptions which give more details on the temple’s history.

All spoke of the gift of gold for burning a perpetual lamp at the temple. One inscription on a pillar belongs to the Pallava king, Kambavarman (of 9th century A.D). Another was issued by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna III, in his 21st regnal year of 971 A.D. The third belonged to the Chola king, Rajendra III, of 13th century A.D.
During the earlier excavation from July to September 2005, the ASI had discovered the sanctum sanctorum built of bricks of the Muruga temple of the late Sangam age or the pre-Pallava period. According to archaeologists, a tsunami or tidal action damaged it. The Pallava kings subsequently converted into a granite temple in the 8th or 9th century A.D. It too collapsed because of a storm surge or a tsunami. The temple had a third phase of re-construction under the Cholas.
During the excavation last year, the ASI had unearthed two pillars with Tamil inscriptions of two Pallava kings, Nandivarman II of late 8th century A.D. and Dantivarman of early 9th century A.D. They also spoke of donations to the Muruga temple at Thiruvizhchil [Rare artefacts found]

He was around 250 years old and has witnessed the history of India like no one. If he could talk, he would have told many stories, but unfortunately he was a tortoise. Robert Clive’s pet tortoise, Addwaitya died in Calcutta this week.

“Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago,” West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said.
“We have documents to prove that he was more than 150 years old, but we have pieced together other evidence like statements from authentic sources and it seems that he is more than 250 years old,” he said.
The minister said details about Addwaitya’s early life showed that British sailors had brought him from the Seychelles islands and presented him to Clive, who was rising fast in the East India Company’s military hierarchy. [Tortoise that saw Sepoy Mutiny dies]

(Images via Ravages)

Our history crazy man Ravages was on a tour of Kanceepuram, Uttaramerur and few other places. During his trip he went to a temple in Uttaramerur which was a Pallava temple rebuilt by Parantaka I and in the walls of the temple he found inscriptions which talk in detail about a process for selecting an officer. These instructions which are more than 1000 years old are one of the earliest explaining the process for conducting an election.

But broadly, it tells that to elect an officer, candidates are invited from the 30 families living in the 12 villages in and around Uttaramerur. Each member will put write the name of a candidate on a piece of palm-leaf (olai) and put into a small vessel (kudam) after which, one evening, every citizen, without any discrimination or differences will assemble in the hall of the temple. Here, the current village head (Madhiyastan) will accept all the ballot-papers, without cheating (the procedure for accepting is detailed – the head-guy should spread his fingers wide, accept the ballot paper on his fore-arms and prove to the assembly he hides no extra ballot)

The head-guy will then read out the name on the ballot-paper…and as he reads, the scribe will mark it down. This way, the one who gets the max-votes will be elected and everyone in the assembly will accept him as their officer. The final tablet describes the minimum requirements for a candidate as well as what circumstances bar him from competing the elections

Requirements
1) Must own a plot of land
2) His own house on his own land
3) Minimum age: 35. Max: 70
4) Must be well versed in the vedas, and other knowledges. Should be able to explain it competently
5) Must be pious
6) Should not have occupied the same post in the preceeding 3 years

Things that would disqualify a person from the polls

1) One who fails to show proper accounts after elections. (Apparently, bribery in India isn’t new 🙂 The best thing is, a corrupt official also means his family and dependants are barred from the elections
2) The one who has committed adultery, murder, burgulary, and alcohol consumption is disqualified…these four acts are considered great-sins. Also, anybody who has committed the sins and is reforming from them is barred
3) The one who eats that which shouldnt have been eaten (what kinda rule is this?)

Finally, the inscriptions talk of the tenure of the elected official – 360 days. (Perhaps based on the lunar calendar year?) At the end of the period, the official should voluntarily resign from his post. Also, if he faults along the way, he will be removed from his post immediately.

In a followup mail Kingsley says he is skeptical of this interpretation and states that this was pseudo-democracy since it was used only to rotate officers from a pool.
See Also: India – Democracy and Identity

In Kalki’s epic novel, Ponniyin Selvan, which is about the the early life of 10^th century Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola I, there are many references to Buddhism. In the second book, we get to see him in Sri Lanka restoring the Buddhist Viharas and getting impressed by the size of the statues of Buddha. Later when he gets caught in a cyclone and falls sick, he lives in hiding in the Buddhist Monastery of Nagappatinam in Tamil Nadu.

Recently the Archaeological Survey of India had found a 10^th century Tamil inscription that mentioned the donation of land to build a Shiva temple in Kolapakkam, 20 km from Chennai. Deciphering the inscriptions, they found two Buddha statues in dhyana pose and some ornamental pillars.

S. Rajavelu, epigraphist, ASI, had recently found that the third inscription belonged to “Sri Vijaya Maharaja,” a king from Sumatra, and that it was issued in his eighth regnal year. The inscription mentions his donating 250 kuzhi (a measurement) of land to Agatheeswarar at Kolapakkam, which was in Perur nadu (country), a sub-division of Puliyur. Sri Vijaya was a contemporary of Raja Raja Chola and the palaeography of the inscription showed the script was similar to that of the period of Raja Raja Chola. Sri Vijaya had a cordial relationship with the Chola kingdom. Although the inscription mentioned Sri Vijaya’s donation to the temple, it indirectly indicated Buddhist activity nearby, because Sri Vijaya was a Buddhist.

Dr. Satyamurthy and Dr. Rajavelu explored the area and found the ruins of a Buddhist temple close to the Agatheeswarar temple. The two Buddha sculptures and ornamental pillars, in granite, were unearthed. The Buddha sculptures are three feet tall. One sculpture has a dharma chakra on either side of the Buddha. This was sculpted in the ancient region that is now Tamil Nadu. The other sculpture has a three-tiered umbrella above the Buddha’s head and women bearing fly-whisks.

According to Dr. Satyamurthy, the face of this Buddha has Mongoloid features and this sculpture shows South-East Asian influence. One of the ornamental pillars unearthed has a bas-relief of a human face, with a head-gear that shows South-East Asian influence. An image of Ganesa is carved on this pillar.

Kolapakkam perhaps was a centre of Buddhist activity. According to Dr. Rajavelu, this area coming under Tondaimandalam was noted for Buddhist activity about 1,000 years ago, prior to the Chola period. [Buddha statues unearthed near Chennai]

Update: It seems the statues are not that of Buddha, but of Jain thirthankaras

Jainism like Buddhism started around the Magadha region and then moved down to South India. One famous migration is that of Chandragupta Maurya (Asoka’s grandfather). At the end of his regime, there was a famine and he led an exodus from the Ganga Valley to the Deccan. He spent his last days in Shravanabelagola, in present day Karnataka and died of starvation.
Shravanabelagola has two hills, Chandragiri and Vindyagiri and it is believed that Chandragupta Maurya medidated and died in Chandragiri. Now two statues of Gomateshwara, both 1000 years old have been found at Kambadahalli, near Shravanbelgola.

The sculpting of the 58.8-feet-tall statue of Gommateshwara in Shravanbelogla in 981 AD depicts him with curly hair, whereas the Gommateshwara statues recovered before 981 AD show him as having long hair reaching the shoulders.
The statues recovered in Kambadahalli have long hair falling on the shoulders and tendrils encircling the thighs. This proves that the statues found have been sculpted before the 9th century, say historians.
“Kambadahalli is a historical Jain centre. More research is needed to shed light on the other statues and Jain temples, which were distorted at the end of the 17th century.[1,000-year-old Bahubali statues discovered ]

Travel along a path taken by a historical figure is always exciting and many books have been written about those trips. For example Walking the Bible is a journey from Egypt to Jerusalem along the path followed by Moses. Chasing Che is a motorcycle trip along the route that Che Guevera took.

Last year some researchers attempted a bronze age trade route from Sur in Oman to Mandvi in Gujarat in a bronze age boat.

Recently there was a new book, Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud by Shuyun Sun which follows the path taken by Huen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim who toured India during in the 7th century.

Now four Buddhist selected from Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are planning to retrace the steps of Huen Tsang.

The group will carry valuable gifts for Nalanda, including a Liuzu altar sutra embroidered on silk, a Sakyamuni statue and a copy of an ancient Chinese book, “records of the western regions of the tang dynasty” by Xuanzang`s disciple Bian Ji.

“The embroidered Liuzu altar sutra is the most valuable gift as it is the only sutra originated in China,” said shi Zhongyao, secretary-general of the trip organizing committee. “Others were all translated from Sanskrit,” he added.

In the late autumn of 628, monk Xuan Zang started his journey to South Asia. He walked 25,000 kms and spent 19 years [Retracing Zang`s journey to India]

Unlike Huen Tsang, these folks don’t plan to walk all that 25,000 on foot since they don’t have time for it. Still it would be an interesting journey and I hope someone makes a documentary on it, similar to the Walking the Bible series on PBS.

Till recently aam junta like us believed that Subhash Bose died in plane crash in Taiwan. But investigations by the Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry has revealed that it was a hoax. According to the Taiwanese, there was no plane crash during that period. The question then is, did anyone know about this previously and allow this false story to be propagated? Turns out our “favourite” Prime Minister, J Nehru knew about this and he kept quiet.

The biggest revelation, complete with documentation, is about the guilt of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in suppressing the basic facts about the Taiwan non-crash and subsequent bogus cremation of Netaji. Nehru, who doubled as India’s External Affairs Minister, had been personally informed by the Government of Formosa (as Taiwan was then called), albeit through British channels, in August 1956 about the full facts behind Japan’s staging of a spectacular “death” for the Indian hero.
Yet, Nehru had allowed the Shah Nawaz Khan Committee to go on with its command performance of an inquiry. He had accepted a report that completely contradicted the Formosan version. The myth about the air crash was allowed to grow under the assumption that a lie told many times becomes the truth. The Khosla Commission, instituted by his daughter Indira Gandhi, also reiterated it. Finally, in January 2005, the JMCI got the truth straight from Taiwan. [Did Nehru mislead nation on Bose?]

It seems the British, Formosans and Nehru knew the truth, but then certain documents which were handed over to the MEA in India just disappeared.

Did the first Prime Minister of India treat the Formosa papers as his personal property? There is reason to believe in the affirmative. He did not place it before Shah Nawaz Khan. Fourteen years later, his daughter, Indira Gandhi, did not turn them over to the GD Khosla Commission she had constituted to perpetuate the fiction about the Taihoku crash.
Had the British Government not declassified them in 1996, the Formosa papers would never have reached JMCI. The Vajpayee Government, which turned over hundreds of valuable files to JMCI during its six-year term, would certainly have included the Formosa papers if they were available in the archives of the MEA.[Despite Formosa probe, Nehru closed chapter on Netaji]

Also it turns out that the ashes kept at Renkoji Temple near Tokyo belong to somebody else. Justice Mukherjee went to Japan and had the box opened.

They found no ashes. There were parts of a human skull, portion of a jaw, some teeth (no gold filling in any of them) and some bone fragments. If, as the Shah Nawaz Khan Committee and GD Khosla Commission claimed, “Netaji’s body” had been “cremated ” for an entire night, no medico-legal expert would adduce that such soft bones would survive. Dr Madhusudan Paul of Kolkata Medical College, who went as a deponent, opined that skull fragments, three-fourths of the mandible and teeth would, in the event of cremation, be the first to vanish. Justice Mukherjee saved this crucial piece of insight for his final report.[Those aren’t Netaji’s ashes in Renkoji]

This is the opinion of one “expert” and there could be various other opinions as well. So far the investigation seems to suggest an alternate history, than the one we were made to believe with lot of cover-up at high levels of the Government. This could even be the plot for an episode of X-Files. So far the Pioneer reports have not leaked out information on what actually happened to Subhash Bose. If he did not die in the plane crash, then where was he at that time? Where did he live and how did he eventually die?
Related Links: Subhash Bose: Was not in Russia, Subhash Bose: The Investigations – II, Subhash Bose: The investigations, How did Subhash Bose die?